“How he got that information is something we’re exploring. So far, much of this is murky.”
Now he had the man’s full attention. “Dr. Cheshire, you’re only alive right now because Alec Farley saved you. And we can continue to keep you alive, but you’ve got to tell me all you know about Orion Systems and its goals. Everything. Even information you don’t think is vital could be the clue to finding Genet and shutting him down.”
Cheshire nodded. “Well, Alec is the rightful owner of our lab. I don’t doubt that. So that makes you my employer. I’ll answer what questions you have.”
Good, Philip thought. First get agreement on small matters, then larger ones.
“Will I be able to continue my research after? I need to see Ms. Sefton,” Cheshire said.
Never. “Perhaps later, if we know we can trust you.”
“I simply want to expand science. I’ve nothing to do with whatever Genet is planning.” Cheshire rubbed the back of his neck. “Mr. Lansing made it all sound so wonderful. The work was fascinating. We understood each other.” Cheshire looked away, breaking eye contact. “But it all seemed abstract until today, when I saw the firestarter in action. No wonder Mr. Lansing wanted to duplicate his abilities.”
It all seemed abstract until today? What about the night you medically raped Delilah Sefton?
Philip nodded. “Alec is unique. Lansing wanted him not to be alone. And his abilities are very useful.” He tried to keep the contempt out of his voice. Let Cheshire ramble.
“Mr. Lansing was a visionary,” Cheshire said.
If you can call an insane immortal a visionary. “Yes, he certainly was. Alec inherited his dream.”
“I suspected that when he came in today.”
“Alec and the Phoenix Institute will continue to protect you, but we cannot do it blind.”
Cheshire nodded again. “No, of course not. But don’t you know everything already if Alec is Lansing’s heir?”
The doctor had recognized Philip’s current name earlier, and now he had started asking questions. Careful, Philip told himself. Cheshire was scared but still able to think clearly. And perhaps lie easily.
“Mr. Lansing was secretive and he died unexpectedly.” All very true. It was always good to convince someone with the truth. “He set up this project under careful concealment to protect Orion. It took some time for Alec to cut through all the bureaucracy and uncover Orion. I would guess that you originally reported directly to Mr. Lansing, yes?”
“Exactly.” Cheshire bobbed his head. “He took a special interest in our lab. Did you work with him?”
A trick question, as Cheshire might know the answer. “As you might guess, I used to work for the CIA. I was most often assigned to Alec.” Mostly true. “Did Mr. Lansing talk about his personal motivations for funding your work?”
“Oh, yes, he told us about his ward, the firestarter. He was a bit more circumspect about the two other sperm samples, however. I wanted more information, but he said that it was most important that the donors from the other two sperm samples be kept completely anonymous. But he had such plans. It was engrossing work. Mr. Lansing was very supportive.”
“A true visionary, as you said.”
“Yes.” Cheshire smiled and sat back, his hands in a steeple. He was feeling more comfortable by the second. Of course he was. He was getting a chance to show off.
“He gave us the firestarter’s sample first, but when we stalled because something in the genetic code resisted tampering, he provided us with the other samples.”
“It’s good Mr. Lansing was understanding of your difficulties.”
“He had such patience with us.” He shook his head again. “Such a loss.”
“Was he pleased with the results of the new samples?”
“The new samples were helpful, one more than the other.” Cheshire frowned. “But there was one part of his orders that baffled me. Mr. Lansing handpicked the woman to be the mother of the child. I objected. I wanted a younger woman, someone in her early twenties to minimize any pregnancy risks, but Mr. Lansing was firm on this matter. He insisted we involve this particular woman. Ms. Sefton. I don’t know why. It’s not as if her genetic material was unique. I wanted someone whose DNA we had tested and studied.”
Philip’s mouth went dry. He now had proof that Lansing had deliberately targeted Del, even against the recommendations of the doctor in charge of the experiment. His blood father must have wanted to not only wound but stab a figurative knife into his heart.
Cheshire took a deep breath. “We had gene-gineered sperm ready for implantation so I suggested we hire a woman to carry the child to term, one who would be interested in giving up the child for adoption. That way, we’d be able to monitor her carefully and we would have no trouble about it. Careful records are of the utmost importance.” He smiled. “We didn’t have an ob-gyn at the lab, so the woman would naturally go to an outside doctor. But we could have chosen that doctor and put him on our payroll. But this…this choice of Ms. Sefton seemed completely random to me. I told Mr. Lansing that.”
“And he was adamant about it, yes? Richard could be very stubborn.”
“He was absolutely rock-solid that it was essential this particular woman be the mother of the child. I assumed eventually he had information that we did not. Perhaps that she herself had unusual psychic abilities. But Mr. Lansing would not discuss the situation further with me.”
“So you still went ahead?”
“I trusted Mr. Lansing.”
Idiot. “And you certainly didn’t want the work to go to waste,” Philip prodded.
“Naturally not.”
Naturally. “And it worked.”
“It was quite successful. These kinds of things don’t always work. So when it did on the first try, I thought, well, Mr. Lansing does know something I don’t.” Cheshire shook his head mournfully. “But the only problem is that we lacked proper information during her pregnancy. I assumed Mr. Lansing was going to provide that. But when he died, I didn’t know what to do. I’ve been anxious about it. There were some changes made to the sperm’s DNA that could cause…problems.”
“What kind of changes?” Philip snapped.
“An accelerated growth rate, for one,” Cheshire said. “That shouldn’t be dangerous but needs to be watched carefully.”
“I see how that could be a problem.”
Cheshire frowned, perhaps catching the sarcasm. “I thought about contacting Ms. Sefton directly after Lansing died. But I didn’t know how she’d react. Mr. Genet said he would take care of that end when he arrived as our new director a few weeks later. He provided us with ultrasound images, at least, and some of her blood work. That helped.”
Lovely. So now even Del’s doctor or technicians might be in Genet’s employ.
“How did you go about the artificial insemination in the first place?”
“Lansing brought the woman to us. She was semiconscious. I made sure she suffered no harm.”
Cheshire, the idiot, had convinced himself he’d done the right thing despite it being obvious that Del had been taken against her will. It was either hold to a moral code or continue with his work. Cheshire had picked the work. No wonder Lansing had chosen him for this project.
“She was semiconscious the entire time?” Philip asked.
“Yes. I wanted to talk to her and explain but Mr. Lansing had ordered otherwise. I believe he set up some sort of covert surveillance of her residence to make sure no harm came to her. He also said it was no use explaining it all to her when the procedure might fail.”
“But it succeeded.”
“Oh, yes!” Cheshire’s face lit up.
Philip blanked his expression. “You said you received some of Ms. Sefton’s medical records. Did you see anything in the blood work or ultrasound that alarmed you?”
Cheshire shook his head. “No, but we did have serious hints of the accelerated growth rate. She must be carefully monitored—the child could put a strain on
her system by growing so quickly. If she’s not, I’m quite concerned for both of them.” He sighed. “Mr. Lansing should have let me hire a volunteer. Or, better yet, we should have used donated eggs and replaced the entire genetic material. That way, we would have only needed a surrogate mother. It would have been so much less complicated.”
How awful to deal with crazy bosses, eh, Cheshire?
“Which one of the two new sperm samples was the source of what was implanted in Delilah Sefton?” Was Del’s child his son or his half-brother?
“As I said, we had tried to use the firestarter sample but that effort failed.” He sighed. “That was the one Mr. Lansing favored.”
“Go on,” Philip said, his voice quiet.
“We had two sperm samples with similar healing properties,” Cheshire continued. “One we judged from a younger man. We concentrated on that because younger sperm are always the most vital.” He smiled. “And that was our success. The result, as you see, is a pregnancy. A healthy fetus!”
A boy, Del had said. A son.
“A healthy fetus now in danger so long as Genet is free,” Philip said.
“Oh, you seem well qualified to stop Genet. Get to what you’re really interested in, Mr. Drake. Obviously, you want to know if the child is yours.” The doctor smiled. “I wasn’t entirely sure before but given the amount of blood on your coat and that you survived toxic fumes from the explosion without any ill effects, I’m certain now. You would have to be the origin of the second sample we were given—the younger one. The child was created from your sperm. And excellent sperm it was!”
The cold rage, so familiar for his whole life, descended on Philip. His mind shut down. His body felt numb. Sights and sound came to him as if through a distant tunnel. No hint of anger or any other emotion escaped.
Once, he’d needed this lack of emotion to stay calm while his stepfather beat him because to fight back meant death. Now, it descended when he was ready to kill.
“No one asked my permission for your experiment, Dr. Cheshire,” he said in a voice barely above a whisper.
“But you must have—” The doctor cleared his throat. “I didn’t know that. But you should be so pleased. Your child is the first of a new generation. We’re hoping his healing ability is even more powerful, that instead of being able to heal himself as you do, the child will be able to heal others.” He smiled widely. “We called it the Messiah gene. I know, it sounds over the top, but it was more of a joke between us at Orion.” He frowned. “I’m going to miss Demetrius.”
Philip did not trust his voice enough to speak. Once he vented the fury inside, there would be no caging it.
Cheshire stared at him, his face slowly losing color. “I can see that this is a shock to you. I’m sorry. I assumed, given that the DNA showed you and Mr. Lansing were father and son, that it wasn’t an issue.”
Philip drank down the last of his water. “The idea takes some…adjustment. I wasn’t always on good terms with Lansing.” He couldn’t say “my father”.
“But you must care about the child or you wouldn’t have run off to save Delilah Sefton from Genet’s people.”
“As I said, protecting people is my job with the Phoenix Institute.” And Del certainly deserved that. “I didn’t know until you spoke that the child was mine.”
“That must be a shock. Again, I’m sorry.” Cheshire stuffed his hands into his lab coat. “But let me take this chance to say that your healing ability is simply amazing. I know, the firestarting is flashy, but the ability to repair cells at a molecular level is on another plane entirely. It requires such control.”
Control, yes. The same control that was keeping him from wrapping his hands around Cheshire’s throat.
Philip nodded. “It’s useful.”
“Your hand and arm were burned when you went to rescue Demetrius, yes? Could I see the healed burns on your arm? I have to see this ability in action.”
Philip rolled up his sleeve and held out his arm without a word. Cheshire said nothing as he examined the healed forearm, but he clicked his tongue several times.
While the doctor held his arm, Philip stayed calm by imagining various ways to kill the man. Tossing people off a bridge or cliff was always a good option, as the victim had time to be terrified on the way down and there was no clean-up required. Maybe he should drop the doctor at Del’s feet and let her decide. No, he wouldn’t let Del get near this man.
“Remarkable. I can see no traces of injury. Were your lungs burned in the fire?”
“I assume they were. It was difficult to breathe until my healing kicked in.”
“And yet, you can breathe normally now. Lung samples would tell me so—”
“Not right now. We have more pressing concerns.”
“Ms. Sefton, yes.” Cheshire sat back down. “I apologize. I do get wrapped up in my work.”
He wondered how Cheshire would react if he obtained a lung sample by ramming his hand down the man’s throat. All in the interests of science, of course. “We all get wrapped up in our work.”
“When can I examine Ms. Sefton? It’s crucial that I know how the child is growing.”
“As I said, when I trust you. Plus, she’s had a shock and she’s exhausted. She needs rest.”
“How can I earn your trust?”
It’d be a cold day in hell. But this was the lever he needed for Cheshire’s cooperation. Cheshire didn’t need to know that he was making false promises. “She’s also just coming to grips with being involved with firestarters and having men trying to kidnap her. She needs time. A few days, at least, before confronting the man who made her pregnant against her will.”
“I suppose that makes sense.” Cheshire looked at the floor.
“In the meantime, you can help me.”
“I don’t know how I could do that.”
“We need to find Genet, and we need any of your notes about the altered sperm and any problem you anticipate with the pregnancy. You can help with both.”
“I don’t see how I could help find Genet.”
“You’re a genius, doctor. You worked with him for several months. Something you remember might be the clue to finding him.”
“That makes sense. I’ll answer any questions you have.”
Philip nodded. “Good. Now about your research notes—”
“They were destroyed in the fire.”
“C’mon, Doctor. You’re brilliant and dedicated completely to your work. You must have had those notes or files backed up somewhere off-site.”
Cheshire stared at the floor again. “Um…”
“It’s safer here than anywhere else. And surely that information will be necessary as you follow Ms. Sefton’s pregnancy.”
Cheshire nodded. “It is. Mr. Lansing warned me against back-ups. He said someone could steal them, but I had to protect my research.”
“Where are your back-ups? Stored on a remote server?”
“No, too many people could potentially steal content online, even on the most secure servers. I stored my notes on a portable hard drive that I kept hidden in my home.”
Philip blinked. Idiot. He should have thought to go to Cheshire’s home first and search it before confronting the doctor. That was a basic investigative step. The lack of sleep in the past two days had caught up to him.
“I think it’s time to make a trip to your home, then, Doctor, before someone else does,” Philip said.
The door to the room opened and Gabe walked in with a plate of food. “I thought you might be getting hungry, Dr. Cheshire.”
Philip heard Cheshire’s stomach rumble. The doctor shrugged, a sheepish look on his face, and took Gabe’s offering of pot roast and mashed potatoes.
Philip suppressed his irritation. Gabe had to have a reason for interrupting them beyond feeding Cheshire. As the doctor settled down to eat, the two men excused themselves.
After he shut the door to the room, Philip rounded on Gabe in the hallway. “Why the hell did you interrupt me?�
��
“Because I’m not dumb and neither is Alec. He ordered me to take a couple of people and check out Cheshire’s home already,” Gabe said. “But we were too late. Someone had tossed the place before we got there.”
Damn. “Did they get Cheshire’s back-up hard drive?”
“I have no idea but I thought we’d ask Cheshire that after he finishes eating. Alec’s ordered a twenty-four-hour watch on Cheshire. We don’t want him outside the facility at all. If Genet didn’t find the research, they might try to grab him next.”
Philip nodded. “You’re right.”
“Glad you think so, because my next advice is for you to get some sleep. You look like hell, Drake. You got the woman here safely, Alec’s watching over her and I can handle Cheshire. Go get comatose for a while. We’ll need you at your best.”
“I don’t need as much sleep as most people.”
“You need some. Look, you were on the verge of strangling Cheshire in there.”
“I had reason.”
“Yeah, you did, but we need him alive. You got him talking. Now I can go from there by playing good cop. How long has it been since you slept?”
Philip did the calculations in his head. Almost forty-eight hours. “Fine,” he growled.
Gabe grabbed his forearm. “Drake? I’m sorry about what he did to you. I’d want to strangle him too if he did that to me.”
“I appreciate that.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll crash in one of the bedrooms the next level down.”
“I thought you’d go back to the penthouse and stay near the woman. You two seemed pretty tight when you drove in.”
Philip merely stared at Gabe until the younger man backed up a step.
“I’ll sleep where I damn well please.”
Later, as he settled into a utilitarian bunk in a room on one of the lower levels of the Phoenix Institute, Philip realized he would rather have slept with Del curled up against him. As a child, Lily had always comforted him. It had never been sexual back then, that wasn’t even a stray thought all those years ago. It had been all about comfort and love.
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