The Lethal Agent (The Extraction Files Book 2) (44 page)

LRF-PS-100

SEPTEMBER 29, 2232

Aida took a turn around the Planetary Systems wing and tried to pretend that it wasn’t strange. Dr. Parr gone, Dr. Niemeyer gone, Maggie gone. Vincent gone.

All gone, and only she remained.

Any minute now, her new batch of mentees would arrive, fresh from the Academy and willing to do anything she asked. After her little stunt with the bugs, she’d earned a level of notoriety she would never have fathomed. And with an empty department that needed filling, she’d had her fair share of applications to process. Since shuttle facilities on Earth were more than a little disrupted after Miami went down, it had taken longer than she would have liked, but today was the day. They were finally here, on their way down the corridor at this very moment.

Then, she heard the beep of an incoming comm. Aida marched back to her office and hit the intercept button just in time. She was only half-surprised to see it was Dr. Arrenstein.

“Good afternoon, Dr. Perkins,” he offered with an easy smile.

“Should I be concerned that you’re comm-ing me?” she teased.

“I won’t ask to put any bugs in your brain. Not today, anyway. I wanted to let you know that I got Filmore’s permission to put one of my agents in your department. He’s not as good as Dr. Hill, but no one is. He won’t take the space of your researchers, but I need someone who can keep an eye out from up there.”

Aida sighed and nodded. “That’s a logical course. What specifically are you hoping they can accomplish?”

“We’ve had no sign of bugs or any attacks since the colony was terminated, but we still don’t know much about them. If there’s ever an uprising again, we’d like to make sure we have all the information. I’m sending my agent to work with you on bug research. How they got to Earth. How they are transmitted between hosts. The more information we have about them, the better.”

Aida smiled and admitted, “I know how they got to Earth, Dr. Arrenstein.”

“You do?” He didn’t attempt to hide his utter shock.

Again she nodded. “The planet is subject to substantial impact activity. I suspect a partial collision put some of your bugs on an outgoing meteor that, by some stroke of insane probability, managed to land on Earth. Though I’d be very interested to know how they were able to communicate from such a distance.”

“My agent should be there in the next few minutes. Hopefully, together you’ll be able to figure it out. And Dr. Perkins, if for some reason you find this new agent unsuitable, I hope you’ll let me know. I can always reconfigure my personnel and send someone else.”

“I’m sure it will be fine. Thank you for your concern, Dr. Arrenstein. Can I ask what you’ll be working on?” Aida adjusted the sleeve of her favorite white shirt.

“More of the same,” he said, feigning unimportance. “There’s a few million people working on the clean-up and rebuilding efforts. My team is settling in and will be monitoring bug activity, though so far we haven’t seen any. The rest of them are going back to school in the meantime.”

“Even Theo?”

Arrenstein chuckled. “He’s starting some music classes at Boston Northwest. Composition and Music Theory, I believe.”

“Good for him.” Aida didn’t know why the thought of her brother in Artisan classes made her so emotional, but she choked back the threatening tears. Today wasn’t a day for crying.

As if on cue, the door scanner beeped. Someone was here, waiting to be let in.

“I’ll let you get that,” Dr. Arrenstein said. “And best of luck today.”

“Will I see you again?” she asked, suddenly afraid this would be their last conversation.

“We’ll be in touch. I’ll make sure of it.”

Aida smiled and terminated the comm. She spun from her office, walked down the hall, and hit the panel code to open the door to the Planetary Systems wing. Before her stood four people—her three researchers and Dr. Arrenstein’s agent. She knew them all of course. Her three mentees had been carefully selected from a hefty pile of applications, and Dr. Arrenstein’s agent was a face she would never forget.

“It seems I’ve been reassigned,” Vincent said with a shrug, his frown deepening by the second.

Aida stared at him for a good long moment before she turned to the others. “You may each select an office and set up your work space. We’ll have a meeting in the conference room in ten minutes.”

The three new researchers wordlessly passed her as they made their way toward the offices, following her instructions to the letter.

“You’re the new agent?” she asked when they were alone. “He said it wasn’t Dr. Hill so I thought—”

“I’m not. I’m Vincent Frederick. I’m an Untouchable, formerly a Craftsman, and I work under Silas Arrenstein as part of an alien bug research facility called CPI.” He spewed his introduction like a gas leak from a transport. “I don’t know anything about planets except what I learned from you. I asked him not to send me here, but he didn’t give me much choice.” His chest heaved as the weight of his words left him.

“Let’s go to my office.” Aida marched back to the safety of her desk, refusing to play out this scene within earshot of her new researchers.

Vincent followed like a lost puppy, trudging behind her until he closed the door, sealing them in her office together.

“He made you come here?” Aida asked with hands clasped in her lap. That wasn’t what she expected.

Vincent nodded without looking at her. “I know what I did and what you had to go through because of me. It’s not fair to make you see me every day.”

Aida stood and rounded her desk, standing right in front of him though he refused to look at her. His jaw was tight, and his eyes were locked on his shoes. “Is that the only reason you came here?”

He nodded just enough, locked in place as he was.

“Because Dr. Arrenstein told you to? Because you thought it would hurt me to see you again?”

“Yes,” he said, forcing out the word.

“You were right. It does hurt,” she admitted. “We used to be easy together, and now you won’t even look at me.”

As she hoped, his eyes shot up to hers. Burning emeralds as always. “Aida—”

“You just left. You walked out on me. And now you’re back but you don’t want to be here.” She crossed her arms and waited for him to leave.

“Aida, I love you. And I would love nothing more than spending every day of the rest of my life in this office with you, but I don’t deserve that. You deserve far better than me.” He curled his lip in disgust at himself before he cast his eyes to the floor again.

“What about me?” she asked, arms still crossed before her.

“What do you mean?” For the first time, he looked at her without that edge of fear and anger. His eyes were softer, his jaw less tight.

“What about what I need? What I want? You don’t get to decide what’s right for me. That’s my decision, not yours.” Aida almost spat the last of it she was so angry.

His shoulders heaved with a regretful sigh. “Then tell me. What do you need?”

“I have three new researchers to train, and none of them have any idea how we do things here. I could use some help getting them on track. They’ll need someone to lead them while I’m out.”

“Out?” His features flashed with confusion a half-second before he realized. A wide, consuming smile erupted across his cheeks. “You did it? You really did it?”

Aida didn’t know why he was so excited. It was her pregnancy, and she was somewhere between nervous and terrified. It wasn’t his child, and he was still happier about it than she’d ever been.

Vincent threw his arms around her and squeezed her tight—so tight he picked her up clear off the ground. Aida clutched her arms around his neck when she felt her feet pull off the floor. Then, already held tight in his arms, Aida refused to let go. And she noticed, with great relief, that he didn’t even try.

“I missed you,” she whispered only inches from his ear.

He squeezed her still tighter. “You have no idea how miserable I’ve been. Worried sick about you. All alone up here. I wanted to come but I just—I know what you must think of me.”

Aida released his neck and lowered her white high heels back to the floor. “So change my mind.”

Vincent pressed his open palm against her cheek and settled those green eyes on her. “Everyday. I’ll prove it to you, day in and day out.”

Aida melted against his hand. She closed her eyes and savored the feel of his warm skin pressed to hers. But a second later, he pulled it back. Vincent sank to his knees and gripped both her hips before he pressed forward and kissed the space just below her naval. “I can’t believe you did this. I am so insanely proud of you. You were always amazing and stunning and incredibly intelligent, but I never thought you would be this brave.” He kissed her belly once more before he stood.

“After having a bug in my brain, it didn’t seem so bad. And I think Sal would like it.” Aida put her hand to her abdomen, knowing somewhere in there, was the last living piece of her husband.

“He’d be a fool if he didn’t.” Vincent’s smile was incorruptible. “You really want me to stay?”

Aida nodded eagerly. “I can do this on my own, but I want you to do it with me.”

This time, when he picked her up and squeezed her tight, he kissed her, too. Good and strong like she’d missed. His hands were on her back as he carried her to the door, and before she could stop him, he was down the hall and in the conference room, still kissing her as if no one else was there.

By the time he released her, she knew her cheeks were flushed. She pulled a few lost strands of hair behind her ear and tried to recover, trying to remember what she had intended to tell her new researchers.

All three sat motionless and wide-eyed in wait.

“Good morning, everyone,” Vincent began. “My name is Vincent Frederick, and I’m an Untouchable parasite researcher. I’ll be here working alongside you, but the esteemed Dr. Aida Perkins is your superior. You’ll be answering to her as you work to find the next habitable planet for human population.”

Aida stared at him in shock that he would say so much to these Scholars. But his green eyes only shone brighter. “Dr. Perkins and I aren’t married, but we are romantically involved, and she’s pregnant. If anyone has a problem with that, now’s your chance to request reassignment.”

The room was perfectly silent as they held their collective breaths, but no one said a word.

“Excellent. Then I’ll let Dr. Perkins introduce you to the procedures here.” With that, Vincent headed toward the door.

“Where are you going?” she called after him.

“To get started on my research. I have a telepathic hive theory to get started on.” He beamed that winning smile at her before he headed down the hall, and she noticed, back to her office. He’d be there for her when she was done here.

Aida looked at the trio of fresh faces at the conference table. “Now that we’ve had a chance at introductions, let’s go ahead and begin. First, each of you will research potential homeworlds, and each week you will submit a report with your findings. The template report can be found on the network drive, and the database of identified planets is there as well. You’ll be working in open cooperation with each other, so I expect you to get out of your offices and complete your research in a collaborative manner. Once a week, we’ll meet here as a team and discuss any exoplanets that seem eligible. Any questions?”

None of them spoke, but Aida didn’t miss the burning questions on their lips, though of course, she knew none of them were about the work they would do. Still, she didn’t want to get into it at the moment. She had a job to do, and there was a certain man in her office she was eager to see again.

“All right, then. Go ahead and get going. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.” Like humanoid robots, they rose in unison and filed back to their offices. It would take a while for them to adjust to life outside the Academy, but she would make them see the merits of her strategy. And Vincent would help her. She knew with certainty; he would always be at her side. He always had been.

SPRING STREET, BOSTON, NORTH AMERICA

SEPTEMBER 29, 2232

“I don’t see what this is all about,” Theo complained as he set out the thousandth candle.

Okay, there were only four-hundred-something, but still, too many.

“I told you. We’re having a party.” Mable smiled wide, really excited for the first time since before. Even after the move to their new facility, she’d had a hard time. A lot of hours sketching, curled up with Dasia in bed, sleeping a lot. Her arm was covered in tattoos again, and metal piercings sat on both corners of her mouth, like he remembered from the first time he saw her. Just another form of armor. Theo knew it would take months, if not years, for her to conquer the immense grief of losing her brother and son. They all did their best—they were patient, they let her work her way through it as slowly as she wanted. A lot of days, her walls were up. She’d pretend she was fine, only to breakdown again a few hours later. But not today. Theo could easily see she was in brighter spirits, he just didn’t know why.

“A party for Osip?” Theo knew Mable and Osip would always share a unique bond through their mutual love of Dasia, but he didn’t see what the big deal was.

With Ramona too sick to travel and Knox staying behind to care for her, Mable had cooked up all the food herself—online recipes, some files Silas found, even some from memory. She’d been cooking for two days with only momentary jaunts to find an outfit for Dasia.

Their first week in Boston had been a busy one.

The new facility was actually ancient, an old brick thing with creaky pipes and strange noises at night. It lacked the sterility of a Scholar clinic, but Silas said that was the point. No one would guess they were quietly watching for another alien infestation that threatened the human race.

“Your timer’s going off,” Jane called from the kitchen. “Want me to take them out?”

“Yeah! Thanks!” Mable jogged in and rearranged some pans. There was enough food to feed at least a dozen people, rather than the six of them, assuming Dasia and Osip ever woke up. They’d been asleep—or at least in bed—since their arrival earlier that morning.

Sometime around dusk, Silas popped in to check on their decorations. Strings of light criss-crossed the ceiling in every direction. Candles in all the windows and across the tops off the counters, tables, and shelves. Theo still hadn’t lit them all.

“The eagle is in route,” Silas told Mable.

“What?” Theo asked. Eagle?

“You’re pretty much the worst secret agent of all time,” Mable said without looking up.

“Says the girl that blew cover after two weeks.”

“Uh, you blew my cover. That one was your fault.”

“Fine.”

“How long do we have?”

“Fifteen.”

Mable walked over to Theo. “I’m going to run upstairs and get Osip and Dasia, okay? You just finish the candles, and then I think we’re ready.” She disappeared around the corner.

Theo looked out at the sea of candles still unlit. How was he supposed to light them all in the time it took her to get Osip and Dasia? And why was there the sudden rush? What was going to happen in fifteen minutes?”

He didn’t understand, but he lit the candles as fast as humanly possible. Jane emerged from the kitchen and helped him, though she maintained a sly smirk the whole time.

Maybe they were playing a trick on him.

Mable returned ten minutes later with her hand in Dasia’s. Osip followed up behind them and said, “Damn. Who knew you could cook, Mable? Smells amazing.” He rubbed his palms together and licked his lips at the impending feast. When he saw Theo, he walked over and shook his hand. “Hey Kaufman. Heard you did pretty good up there.” Osip pointed to the ceiling, through clearly he meant the moon.

“It was pretty much all Dasia,” he admitted. She had been the one to solve it.

“Still, they told me what you did. Thank you.”

Theo shook his hand again and nodded before turning back to his unending candle-lighting. He was only half done when he heard, “They’re here!”

When he turned, he saw two figures in the doorway. Two people he never would have thought to ever see again. Two people he cherished.

Nate rushed him and all but tackled him into the shelf before Theo could process it. His beard was longer and his hair had streaks of light blond, but it was him.

Across the room, Casey stood with his hands over his mouth. He had at least ten bracelets on each wrist, and his hair tied back behind his head.

“What are you doing here?” Theo said in shock.

“They said we needed to come right away.”

“Who did?”

“Some high-brow Scholar. Arrenstein or something.”

Theo embraced his friend for a good long while before he walked over and hugged Casey. “He’s missed you. He’s really missed you,” Casey told him.

“You did this?” Theo asked Silas.

“Well, yes, but it was Maggie’s idea. One of her ‘conditions’,” he said and rolled his eyes.

Theo looked over at her. She stood beside Dasia with a huge smile on her face, her blue eyes shimmering in the candlelight.

“I wanted to meet them,” she said as if that explained it all.

“Come on then.” Theo took her hand and pulled her over. “Mable, this is my oldest friend, Nate. Nate this is Mable. Mable, this is his boyfriend Casey. Casey, this is Mable.”

“Actually, we’re engaged now,” Casey offered. He held up his hand to show a band on his ring finger, though it was nearly hidden in the fistful of rings he already wore.

Nate’s arm appeared across Theo’s shoulders. “We would have told you, but you know, you kind of disappeared for a while there.” In the depths of his beard, Nate’s lips turned up into the same laughing smile Theo remembered.

It didn’t seem real.

“I know. I wanted to tell you. I tried to comm you so many times,” he said.

“It’s not important. We’re here now. Who are the rest of your friends?”

Theo felt the quiver in his chest, his heart near explosion. He had to take several deep breaths before he could tell them. “This is Mable’s girlfriend Dasia, and her boyfriend Osip. Back there is Jane, she’s the assistant director of, well, of this thing. Anyway, that’s Silas. I guess you know him, already.”

Nate and Casey moved about the room clutching hands and hugging people they’d only just met. They were all smiles and kind remarks. It was single-handedly one of the best moments of his life.