jRobot, Ch. 5, [NC-17], RPS, J2 AU

[sandymg]

“Doctor Collins?” Pro-One asked. “I do not understand.”

Collins laughed, high and strangely squeaky. He was handsome, but nothing about him seemed attractive. Jared looked at Chad, worried about him, the robot, Jensen. The intruder was a loose cannon jumbled in the mix. Everyone had their own agenda. How in hell had Jared gotten caught up in this mess?

Last time he let a pretty face in a bar catch his attention.

Jared put on his best schoolteacher voice, slow and low pitched. “Now … why don’t we all just calm down. Put down the weapon and talk about this like rational people. Okay?”

Those intense sapphire eyes gave Jared a deep puzzled stare. “Who the fuck are you?”

“My name is Jared. And I’m a friend of Pro-One’s. I don’t want him or anyone else to get hurt. So, please, let’s just put down the gun and act like adults … what do you say?”

Collins and Jensen exchanged a long look. Jensen’s eyes were lasered on his friend. “He made friends, Misha.”

“You shouldn’t have done it, Jensen. Beaver said no and Alona begged you. She’s crying her eyes out because her failure is gonna mean … “

“Misha. C’mon, man, what is this about? You don’t need the weapon. This is me. What’s going on?”

The shorter man seemed to find himself again. “I do need it. Because you’ll never give him up otherwise.”

Chad moved in front of the robot. “What do you mean? What do you want him for? He’s only got days left. Let him live it.”

Misha looked from the robot to Chad. “It’s incredible.” He was talking to Jensen. “What you did is incredible. Look how they react to him. But you didn’t do it alone. And I want what’s mine.”

“I’ve always shared everything. What’s this about?”

“The results since the AI merged are off the charts. Hell, I don’t have to test him to see that. He’s developed relationships on his own. We can’t get there on our own. We need the subroutines he’s written, we need to get them back to the lab and be able to tweak further.” Doctor Collins’ voice was rising with excitement. “Jensen, the applications are endless. Think of the models they could build. The possibilities for fine-tuning, for infiltration scenarios.”

Chad interrupted, “What does he mean get Pro-One back to the lab? Can you save him?”

Jensen turned. “No. The body will deteriorate. It’s inevitable.” He turned back to Misha. “You can’t upload the routines that are part of the neuronet.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You’ll destroy it. Destroy him. Misha, please.”

“I spent my life on this. And it was my subsets that let you develop the positron circuitry. Your delusions of grandeur can’t change the facts. He wouldn’t exist without me.”

“I never said … Misha … Taking him back now will serve no purpose. You won’t get the data. You’ll just terminate him early.”

“Doctor Collins. I do not want to hurt you. But I cannot let you harm anyone in this room.”

Misha steeled himself before pointing the gun straight at Jensen. His eyes grew cold. “Pro-One. You have a choice. Come with me right now or I will pull this trigger. You’re quick and strong and you will overpower me before I can harm the rest. But one bullet will get released. You’ll never save them all.”

Jared’s heart leapt. “No. Pro-One, don’t … “

Too-green eyes met his. “Jared. You have been a good friend.” Pro-One turned to Chad. “And, you. I will never forget you. Well, for as long as my neuronet is functional I will not forget you.”

“I don’t care if he shoots me. Take the fucker down, Pro-One. Don’t go with him.” Jensen’s voice was laced with acid and steeped in anger.

The robot approached his creator. The same face staring into itself like a 3-D mirror. “Thank you. I know you did not want this. But it has been everything to me.”

Jared took a step closer. This couldn’t happen. “Wh-at do you mean he didn’t want it? I thought Jensen went against orders to put his AI in your body?”

Misha glared at him. “He did! I thought he was insane. Didn’t think it would work. Figured it would fry the net and when the brass figured it out we’d all go to fucking prison or worse. His AI ... “ Misha’s gun hand shook. “You tell them that? It’s my AI, too, goddammit.“

“You’re right. I should have told them about you. I know he wouldn’t be as incredible as he is without you. Please … I know you didn’t agree at the time. You, Alona … but look at him now. He deserves this time.”

“Fuck you, Jensen. He didn’t deserve this. You created life only to have it snatched away. It’s fucking cruel. But it’s done. The irony is that I wouldn’t have done it. But you did it and now I deserve my share of the research. And that’s only gonna happen when I take what’s mine.”

“It won’t work. Misha … please.”

Misha cocked the pistol and held it military style in two hands. He seemed less a scientist and more a soldier and there was no question he was about to act.

“I will go with you Doctor Collins. Please do not harm him.”

“No! Pro-One, you can’t,” Chad yelled.

Pro-One approached Chad. Squeezed his arm. “It will be alright. Doctor Collins will not hurt me. I cannot feel pain.”

Jared might have believed the robot’s words if he hadn’t been looking at the expression on his too handsome face. Matching the agony he saw in Jensen’s eyes. “Take me instead,” Jensen uttered.

“You don’t have the answers anymore. Your child has outgrown you.” Misha laughed bitterly. “He did what neither of us could figure out, genius.” The last word was spit out.

Jensen was desperate. “Don’t do this. Misha, please. I’m begging. I’ll give you whatever credit you want. Say you did all of it. Just. Don’t do this.”

Misha’s eyes glowed a moment, emotion clearly filling him. “Jensen. You shouldn’t have done it. I told you not to. I begged you. Alona begged you. Beaver and his committee said it was wrong. Immoral. Not in our purview. The edict was clear. We didn’t have the right. You … didn’t have the right.” Misha shook his head, the pity leaving him and only a cold certainty remaining. “But it’s done. And it’s fucking brilliant. I wouldn’t have done it. But now that it’s here. Standing there. Magnificent. We can’t let it just … We have to try to retrieve the data.”

“You won’t … you can’t do it. You won’t get any data. All you’ll do is terminate him early.”

“Doctor Ackles. It is okay. I offered to let you try to upload the subroutines as well. I know you did not want it. Wanted me to have all my remaining time. But I cannot let him hurt you, so I will go willingly. And I will ask them to be lenient with you.”

“Pro-One … no.”

“Enough. We’re leaving.”

Pro-One approached Jared and shook his hand. “It has been nice knowing you, Jared. Thank you for being my friend.” Jared stood still, heart hammering and body locked as if a paralyzer beam were keeping him in place. Pro-One leaned in, cool lips brushing Jared’s ear. “Take care of Doctor Ackles. He will not say it. But he will need you.” Jared pulled back eyes stunned.

The robot took Chad’s hand next, holding it more than shaking it. Chad’s eyes were liquid and Jared thought fleetingly that he didn’t remember the last time he saw his friend cry. Neither spoke.

Finally, Pro-One walked up to Jensen. The two stood facing each other - identical yet as different as two snowflakes dissolving against the pavement. “Thank you for my life,” Pro-One said. Jensen visibly shuddered before taking the robot in a hard hug.

“Oh for Pete’s sake,” Misha growled. “Let’s go.”

Pro-One pulled himself out of Jensen’s grip.

Jared stood immobilized as the two left, shutting the door quietly behind them. His knees buckled and he grabbed onto the back of the sofa to keep from falling.

Chad pounced instantly on Jensen. “What will that maniac do to him?!”

Jensen looked surprised at Chad, as if he’d forgotten anyone else was in the room. He took a step back from Chad’s tense body. “H-he’ll try to upload the new subroutines that Pro-One developed since merging with the suborganic body.”

“What’s that mean? Why is it bad?”

Jensen looked beyond lost. “Chad,” Jared began. “Give Jensen a moment.”

He approached the scientist. “Jen? You should sit.” Really, Jensen looked like he was going to collapse any second.

“Jared?” Jared took Jensen’s hand, led him to the sofa. “Oh, god. What have I done?”

Chad’s ferocity could not be restrained. “Answer me, damn you. What’s going to happen to Pro-One?”

“It won’t work,” Jensen said softly. “It’s what we argued about earlier. Pro-One asked if I wanted to try to upload the new subroutines - to save the research. But I told him it’s too risky. The neurons have merged, bonded, it’s partially organic … it’ll take surgery to … And it won’t work. The nanonites will disperse trying to speed up the regeneration cycle. But that’s the flaw … It’ll just cause the degeneration to accelerate.”

Jared stared at Jensen, squeezed the hand he hadn’t realized he was still holding. “It’ll kill him?” he asked even though the answer was obvious.

Jensen nodded.

Chad ran a hand through his hair and paced frantically. “Why, dude? Why’d you do it? Your own creepy secret lab’s ethics committee told you it was wrong. You can’t fuck with life that way. Can’t create it just to play with it! You’re not fucking god.”

“He begged me.”

The words were spoken so softly Jared wasn’t sure he heard them. Chad came closer, leaning in. “What?”

“The AI … Pro-One … before he was … before the merger … he wanted. There was a possibility of accelerated learning. We projected the neuronet and the positron subsets and theoretically it … he … would experience human-like … That’s why they said no. Because it would have consciousness. Self-awareness. Would understand its own mortality.”

“Good reasons not to do it, dude.”

Jensen looked up at Chad, eyes blazing. “He. Begged. Me.” Turning quickly, pleading eyes met Jared’s. “Wanted it so badly. You don’t understand. This isn’t like any computer program you’ve ever experienced. Even before the merger … it was still Pro-One. Only … it wanted more. Wanted to walk, talk, touch. See. I told him. Told him Alona had failed. The body wouldn’t last. The neuronet would degenerate and that I didn’t think the upload would work. His memories post-merger couldn’t be saved. That it would be like … dying.”

Jared watched the tears fall down Jensen’s cheeks, ignored his own as he gently reached over and wiped the doctor’s cheek with his thumb. It startled him slightly when Jensen spoke again, voice broken like a shattered windshield. “I kept saying no. B-but then he asked me … if I would choose not to live just because I’m also going to die someday.”

Chad dropped on Jensen’s other side, face softening in compassion. Jensen sucked in huge gulps of air, choking out his emotions. Jared pulled Jensen against his shoulder and held on gently as the scientist’s body shook. He met Chad’s eyes and watched with gratitude when his friend patted Jensen’s back once before retreating into the kitchen and giving them some privacy.

“I didn’t think,” Jensen stuttered into Jared’s shoulder. “Alona took my cells, grew the skin. Until then ... I don’t know, her model was more machine I guess. I mean, we saw the early prototypes. But she pushed it ... At first, its neuronet had a simple program. Well, not simple ... just not ... “ He pulled back and looked at Jared with red-rimmed eyes. Jared squeezed his bicep and let him continue at his own pace. “After I uploaded Pro-One ... it ... he opened his eyes. He blinked in that way he does. And I swear there was ... I told myself it was just the physical similarity. That I was being fooled by Alona’s genius at human mimicking. We started the training. Within two weeks the cat was out of the bag.

“They were furious. But then they started seeing what he could do. God, Jared, you should have seen him. Magnificent. Learning at an exponential pace. The brass didn’t realize ... could hardly see past the physical. But Misha and I knew.” Jensen’s eyes turned hard again. “How could he do this? Betray me this way? We were friends.”

“You’ve known Collins a long time?” Jared asked gently.

“Since we roomed at MIT together as undergrads. I still can’t believe this.”

Jared thought about it. Spoke his mind. “Must have been hard living in your shadow, Jensen.”

Sad eyes met Jared’s again, resignation settling there. Not like Jensen didn’t know his strengths. Yet those same proud eyes started to cloud again. “Do you ... do you think I’m the monster that they all think I am?”

“What’s it matter what I think?” Jared asked, voice warming.

“I don’t ... I mean .. “

Jared decided to put him out of his misery. “No, I don’t.” He smiled. It was barely a grin given the circumstances but it must have been enough because an immediate relief came over Jensen’s face. Jared took advantage of Jensen’s openness to get the rest. “How did Pro-One end up outside the lab? What happened?”

Jared thought he knew the answer to this already so the words didn’t come as a surprise. “I helped him leave.”

“How long ago?”

“About a month. He asked about things ... things I couldn’t show him in the lab. So I gave him some money, credit cards, basic instructions to not attract attention to himself. I pretended to search for him, but really kept them off track. He’d check in periodically.”

Jared had suspected this, but to hear it confirmed warmed something in his chest. “You did good, Jen. Real good.”

“I played god.”

Jared took Jensen’s hand in his and squeezed hard. “You played dad.”

A derisive snort filled the air. “I can barely keep a friend. They turn psychotic on me.” Bitterness twisted Jensen’s lips. “Hardly much of a father.”

“He’s incredible. And he cares so much about you.” Jared watched the gold flecks flicker inside the circle of green. Most beautiful machine and man he’d ever seen. He leaned in gently and brushed his lips soothingly against Jensen’s. All comfort and confirmation. Keeping a promise he’d silently made to a machine to take care of this amazing man.

“Okay bitches,” a hard voice broke their soft bubble. “That sonovabitch has our boy. How do we get him back?”



“This is crazy. And it won’t work.”

“Sure it will.”

Jensen snorted. “In the movies. This isn’t a movie. We can’t just stroll in-“

Jared came between his bickering … whatever they were to each other. It had been a long night. They stayed up very late planning. Then they allowed themselves a few hours of sleep so they wouldn’t be completely useless today.

“Stop it. Fighting all the time isn’t going to get Pro-One out of there.” He stared incredulously at the nondescript red brick building. Turns out that comic book store was way more than it looked.

Chad’s eyes followed the same path Jared’s had taken. “You say it’s all underground?” He whistled. “Cool.”

They approached a grate in a back alley a couple of blocks away. “This’ll get us in?” Jared looked at Jensen.

“Yeah. Upper level maintenance air filtration system.”

“You really know this place, eh?” Chad asked.

“I am Cybernon,” Jensen answered. Jared didn’t quite know that meant. But so far Jensen had been right about things.

They worked their way down into the sewer until, at the end of a long tunnel, they reached a ladder . Jensen started down first, followed by Chad. Jared went last. It was painstakingly slow going, particularly since the only light was that of the flashlights they’d taken from the cabin.

Eventually they found themselves in a small, damp space on level ground. Jensen pushed a switch and the dead-end corridor was bathed in a dim light. Everyone flicked their flashlights off.

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Chad asked.

“Yep. Should be fine. Nobody comes here unless there’s repair work to be done. We can leave our bags here. C’mon.” He led them through a metal door into another corridor with utility bulbs spaced evenly apart on the ceiling between grated duct work. Another door and they started descending a narrow stairwell. Even moving as quietly as they could, their footsteps echoed on the metal grid steps.

“Pro-One said the facility had five stories,” Jared volunteered, remembering his early conversation with the robot.

“That’s right. The lab is on the bottom level. Got a ways to go.”

After walking down four flights, Jensen motioned everyone for caution. “Okay. This level will let us scope out some things. Just need to get my hands on a terminal. Hack into the mainframe. Find out what’s going on.”

“Won’t they spot what you’re doing?” Jared asked.

Jensen just gave him a look, his eyes narrowing. “Misha thinks he’s smart with his back door.” Jensen’s eyes grew colder. “I fucking invented this place.”

The walls painted dingy gray-blue instead of beige seemed the only difference between this hall and the utility corridor. So far they’d spotted no one. Jared thought perhaps they’d see maintenance workers or something but Jensen said the place was pretty self-running. Although there was a small utilities staff, their offices were on the other side of the complex where the cooling equipment was. They were in an area meant for storage. Jensen tried an unmarked door which opened to a room full of metal shelving cabinets. He moved down the row, looking like he was counting the numbered bankers’ boxes on the shelves. Then Jensen stopped, and with a look of satisfaction pulled out a small memory stick from behind one of the files.

“What’s on that?” Chad asked.

Jensen smirked. “Think of it as a master key.”

Jared glanced at Chad unable to keep a smile of pride off his face. His - certainly not boyfriend, not lover … potential romantic interest? Jared settled mentally on something - was pretty bright. Of course, Jared always had a thing for smart men. Or unusual men. Jensen pretty much broke the mold on both.

Jensen was on the move again. He left the storage room and approached a row of lockers, opening and shutting a few until that smirk filled his face again. “This’ll fit you,” he said pointing to Chad. Then he rubbed his chin. “Gigantor, however … “

“Hey … I’m not that much of a freak.”

Jared yanked the white coat that Jensen was handing to Chad. He slipped it on. Okay, so the sleeves were a little short. And it barely reached his butt. And buttoning it was out of the question. Still, it would do if nobody was staring too closely. Jensen bit back a laugh and handed a second, matching lab jacket to Chad.

“Best we’re gonna get.”

He touched a third coat but Chad spoke quickly. “No. Stick to the plan.”

“It won’t work,” Jensen protested yet again.

“Trust me, it will. Just remember what I told you.”

Jensen sighed and turned back down the corridor looking for yet another room. Before they reached it they heard voices. “Shit,” Jared whispered.

As the voices got closer, Jensen pulled a door open and tugged on Jared’s sleeve. “In here.”

The new room was dark but they didn’t dare turn on any lights until whomever was walking around went away. Jared felt a hard body press up against his back and an arm wrapped around his stomach. Wasn’t Chad. Not that he’d ever been pressed up against his best friend that way. But. Definitely wasn’t Chad. Jensen’s breath ghosted along the side of Jared’s neck causing Jared to shiver slightly. “You okay?” Jensen whispered.

Jared brought his hand down to the arm steadying him. Squeezed once and then gently rubbed the soft hairs of Jensen’s forearms. The man emanated strength and Jared felt himself relax slowly. “Yeah. I am. You?”

A second hand came down atop his. “I just … want him back.”

Jared turned his head, pressed his lips to Jensen’s temple. “We’ll get him.”

“I don’t hear them anymore,” Chad whispered. “Think they’re gone?”

Jensen opened the door and peeked out. “Don’t see anyone. Take your jackets off for now and lay them on the floor against the door to conceal the light.”

Once this was done, he hit the wall switch and the room was bathed in a white-green glow from the overhead fluorescents which made a prickly crackling noise before settling down. “This is an older part of the building.”

Jared looked around as Jensen moved decisively toward a desk holding a large CRT monitor and keyboard. Jensen smiled at him. “And this. Was my old terminal. Well, one of them.”

Chad stood behind him. “Is it tied to the mainframe?”

“Yep. But they won’t know we’re here. No worries about that.” He flexed his fingers a moment before popping that memory stick into a slot in the back of the CPU. “Just think of me as the Invisible Man.”

“You like old horror classics?” Jared asked.

Jensen looked up surprised, eyes crinkling in a smile. “Yeah. Love ‘em, you?”

Jared was about to respond in the affirmative when Chad rolled his eyes. “Could we save the speed dating until after we save the good twin’s ass?”

Jensen’s fingers began flying over the keyboard. Both Chad and Jared watched over his shoulder. The screen was a solid black with white characters. The cursor blinked after the last row of code that Jensen had entered. Then Jensen sat back and a new row of words appeared on their own.

Greetings Doctor Ackles.

“Oh my god!” Jared exclaimed while keeping his voice down. “Is that? Are you talking to Pro-One?”

Jensen turned around and stared at the wide eyes of the men behind him. “No. Not yet. Can’t risk it. But this is him, in a way. It’s a copy of the AI before the merger, plus a little more. This is the starting point for the next phase. Meet Prototype Two.”

Chad stared at Jared, mouth slightly agape. This was certainly as odd as it got. Even for Jared.

“Can he help his … brother?”

Jensen chuckled. “I didn’t think of them as siblings.” His eyes shut a moment. “More like a continuum.” The screen came to life again.

Did it work, Doctor Ackles?

Jared noticed Jensen’s shoulders tighten. Instinctively, Jared reached down to touch him, ground him. Jensen started typing.

Yes. The positron neuronet has exceeded all expectations. “You’re magnificent,” Jensen uttered softly.

That is good. According to my database the unit will degenerate in two days, ten hours, thirty-eight minutes, and seventeen seconds.

Jared shut his eyes and squeezed Jensen’s shoulder harder.

Pro-Two, I need your help. Doctor Collins has returned with Pro-One. Are you aware of this?

The cursor blinked. After a pause new writing appeared on the screen.

Doctor Collins is attempting to extract the new subroutines written since the merger. He will fail and terminate the unit prematurely. We do not want this.

Are you in touch with Pro-One? Be careful. Misha is monitoring.

He touched a butterfly. He felt rain. Who is Chad?

“Jensen, what’s going on? Did you make it so they could talk?”

“Sort of … I opened a private corridor of sorts. Hard to explain. Let’s just say they are catching up quick.”

Chad nudged Jensen aside and started typing.

I’m Chad. I’m Pro-One’s friend. Me and Jared and Jensen are here to help him. Get him out.

Yes. Jared. Take care of Doctor Ackles.

Jensen’s eyes flew up to Jared’s. “He asked me .. “ Jared couldn’t say any more as emotion clogged his throat. He reached down to type instead.

Tell him I will. Not to worry.

Worry is an emotion. We do not feel.

The cursor blinked in the silent room, waiting for a response that could not come.

Chad spoke softly. “Doc.”

That moved everyone back into action. Jensen’s hands started flying over the keyboard again, entering codes and other undecipherable lines. After a few minutes he looked back at his friends. “We need Alona.”

“I thought she hates you,” Chad asked.

“She does. But she loves Pro-One more.”



The final staircase was nearby and they didn’t run into anyone else. The door opened on the main working level into a brightly lit corridor. This looked very different from the areas they’d been in so far. It smelled antiseptic and was goose-bump forming cool.

“Have to keep it cold because of all the equipment. One of our biggest expenses is just cooling this place,” Jensen explained.

They walked down the hallway with Chad on one side of Jensen and Jared on the other, loosely holding onto Jensen’s arms. Jared looked down at the IDs that Jensen had improvised while still in the old office section. He said they were older than the ones issued today but that they were still acceptable. Jared hoped the doctor knew what he was talking about. He wondered not for the first time what would happen if he was caught. Would he be allowed legal counsel? Was this place so secret they could just disregard the laws and lock him up? Could they claim he was an enemy combatant? Nobody knew where he was except Chad and that was hardly much help. This line of thought started making him sweat despite the cold. He forced his mind back on task.

People milled about. Not too many, but they’d passed some lab technicians. Their trio received stares, but nobody stopped them. Three men in military attire rounded the corner and Jared’s heart skipped a beat. He squeezed Jensen’s arm and felt the other man tense. He leaned down. “It’ll be fine. Remember what Chad told you.”

Next to him Jensen nodded.

“Sirs?” the tallest of the three officers questioned. “I was not informed the unit was being transferred.”

Chad met the man’s eyes and spoke as authoritatively as Jared had ever heard him. “We need to move it to the primary bio lab, sir. Doctor Benedict’s orders.”

“They should have called ahead.”

Just then the man’s phone gave a beep. He pulled it off his belt and looked down. “Seems okay. Maybe it got delayed. Gotta tell the techs not to get lazy about the security protocols. Especially after … “

“Yes, sir,” Jared said, also meeting the man’s eyes and fighting his nervousness with all he had.

Jared wanted to move but the security officers still stood there. Jensen had warned them about that. Said that everyone was curious to the point of obsession. “So … this is it? Haven’t seen it in person yet.”

Jared felt Jensen inhale slowly. “Hello Lieutenant.”

The slightly shorter soldier standing to the right uttered, “Damn … looks just like Doctor Ackles.”

“My organic exoskin was grown from Doctor Ackles’ cells, sir.” Jensen volunteered, voice flat. Jared was impressed. He thought even he might be fooled. Well, not really because at this point Jared was pretty attuned to Jensen. But it would have given him a moment’s pause.

The officers stared a few seconds longer. Chad spoke up. “Excuse us, sirs.” He pulled Jensen along and Jared stumbled a second before proceeding.

Jensen visibly slumped between them. “Shit. I can’t believe that worked.”

“Told you,” Chad gloated. “Fuck, you even fooled Jared at first.”

“Couldn’t happen again,” Jared said quickly. As soon as the words left his lips he was unsure why he said them.

Jensen tilted up to look at him. “No, huh?”

Jared looked around. The hallway was empty. He leaned in so only Jensen could hear. “You smell way better.”

Their eyes locked a moment and a tendril of heat jumped between them. Chad sighed audibly. “Boys. Focus. Big gay love affair later. Rescue now.”

Jared pulled himself together. Jensen affected him like no one had before and he wanted to sit and think about it like he liked to do about everything. But. There wasn’t time. Jensen started slowing down. “Bio lab’s through there. Alona. Not sure what she’ll do.”

“Maybe we should have broken into the arms locker.”

“No,” Jared snapped at Chad. “No way. That’s not who we are. I made Pro-One promise not to hurt anyone. I’ll be damned if I don’t live by that same example.”

Jensen stared at Jared a long moment before taking a deep breath and pulling the door open. The space was huge. Large vats with an indefinable liquid lined one wall. Desks with computer terminals filled the center and behind a series of glass walls were medical stations with doctor’s equipment and examination tables. A dozen white-coated men and women sat by the terminals.

They looked up when the door opened and a murmur shot through the room like a runaway spark. In a large, glass-enclosed office a slender blond woman looked up, eyes widening.

In barely a whisper Jared asked, “That her?”

Jensen twitched in reply. Jared looked toward Chad and they all started walking in that direction. She stood and moved from behind her desk.

“Misha didn’t say he was sending-“ Her eyes widened. An associate approached behind them as they hovered at her doorway. Her eyes locked on Jensen she waved the person away. “Not now Carly.” She pointed to Jared and Chad. “Bring him to exam room three.”

Jensen surreptitiously led the way making it seem like the other two knew which room Alona meant. The biologist turned back to Carly. “Don’t let anyone in.”

Inside the room Alona continued to stare at Jensen, eyes giving nothing away. Finally she hit a button on a console. The glass walls fogged up.

“Security screen,” Jensen mumbled. She held a finger up and pressed another button.

“Okay. They can’t hear us.” She turned on Jensen in a fury. “You have a hell of a lot of nerve showing your face here.”

To Chapter 6
To Master Post
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