The Strength of His Heart

by Victoria Sue

  Vance shot Talon an amused look. It was all in fun, though. Finn’s brain had gotten them out of sticky situations a few times.

  Dr. Williams stood slowly and allowed Finn to pump his hand a few times. “I’m pleased to be here” was all he said and then sat down.

  Buchanan cleared his throat as if to pull the attention back to him. “We have no idea why the cartel would bother in this instance, not when they are already making millions from other things that don’t have as much of a problematic extraction method.” Red smiled, obviously thinking he had just made a joke, and looked around, hunting an appreciative audience. His smile fell when he realized he was playing to the wrong crowd, and he focused on Sam. “Perhaps you can explain?” He sat down quickly.

  Talon shot an incredulous look at Gael, as if he couldn’t quite believe the ass had thought they would find the subject remotely funny.

  “Actually,” Sam said, “the night before the raid on the church, Jaylen mentioned something else, but I didn’t have time to follow it up. The Suavez Cartel has been putting the word out about enhanced.”

  Vance knew that would be killing Sam, and he really hoped Jaylen was just hiding, because no one had been able to find him since the raid. His family had been taken in by the US Marshals Service.

  “But you don’t know why?” Talon asked. Sam shook his head.

  “Perhaps you can add to this, Kenton?” Buchanan asked.

  Dr. Williams nodded and got to his feet again. Vance watched as the man seemed to take his time. “We understand the cartels spent a long time hunting the Mexican sewers for the so-called ‘rat children,’ looking for particular ones who might fit a certain requirement, with no luck so far. Basically hoping they might find enhanced across the border, and we understand that Florida is one of the areas in the US they have moved into.”

  “Because of the increase in the incidence of enhanced here that you explained before?” Gael looked at Finn, and Finn nodded. Finn’s theory was that because of the team’s presence, more enhanced were moving to what they considered a safer state to live in.

  “Why would they be searching for enhanced, exactly?” Vance asked.

  “We aren’t completely sure, but our sources are telling us the new drug involves enhanced genetics.”

  “Which is, I assume, why you are here, Dr. Williams?” Finn asked.

  “Yes. I have been doing some research into gene doping, and—”

  “Which is?” Sawyer interrupted.

  “I’m sorry. To start at the beginning, gene doping is an extension of gene therapy. Scientists have been researching gene therapy for a number of years to treat conditions like muscular dystrophy, for example. Certain athletes, however, have been trying to run with the idea in exactly the same way that all doping can enhance performance.” He paused. “No pun intended. It is as illegal as any other forms of blood boosters, but unfortunately there is no definitive testing on how to detect its use. The research I am doing at the moment is on behalf of the International Olympic Committee. I am sure you can understand the link to enhanced abilities.”

  “Blood boosters, Dr. Williams?” Sawyer prodded.

  Dr. Williams looked toward Sawyer, and Sawyer returned his gaze, focusing clear, unapologetic green eyes on him. Dr. Williams smiled slowly, unhurried, like he seemed to do everything else. “Please call me Kenton, and my apologies for not doing a good job of explaining myself. It’s a fine line between imparting information and boring the pants off my audience.”

  Gregory huffed sympathetically.

  “Blood boosting or blood doping is the practice of increasing the number of red blood cells containing oxygen in the body. Increasing oxygen to the muscles to improve endurance and stamina is illegal. There are obviously a great many people constantly trying to find ways around this. Agent Connelly?”

  “Yes?” Vance replied, startled the doctor was talking to him.

  “I understand you would win the gold medal for weight lifting if it wasn’t that the mark on your face prevents you from taking part?”

  Vance’s eyebrows rose. “I guess.”

  “Imagine people wanting to harness that ability.”

  “It could be baloney, but can you imagine the hype? Take this and you can fly?” Gael said with a smile.

  Jake snorted. “Sounds like every crackhead I know.”

  “But people believe it.” Sam leaned forward. “Everyone assumes when we talk about illegal drugs we mean recreational ones, but we’re not talking about getting off your face here. The steroid black market trade is worth over four hundred million dollars.”

  “You’re thinking people will pay to become enhanced?” Gael used finger quotes.

  “Yes, absolutely. Tell me, what’s the obvious drawback for you?” Dr. Williams put up a hand. “That wasn’t a dig of any sort,” he added sincerely.

  “The mark,” Talon said immediately. “Lack of anonymity.”

  “Exactly,” he agreed. “Think what it would be like to have your abilities and no scar.”

  Everyone was silent for a few beats. Gael got up and went to refill his coffee from the pots in the corner. After a second, Jake got up to follow him. It would be hardest on Gael. The scar was a trigger for him in so many ways.

  “Of course it’s complete speculation.” Buchanan brought the conversation back around to him. “We have nothing but rumor so far that enhanced are even targets.”

  “And two bodies,” Sam pointed out.

  “Which could have been there for any number of reasons,” Buchanan argued. “Protection—”

  “Naked?” Sam arched an eyebrow, and Vance smiled, beginning to feel a bit better when Buchanan didn’t argue further. “And destroyed along with any evidence?”

  “I’m going to work with the local DEA here on West Kennedy. Methamphetamines are the biggest problem in Tampa, and being out with them and talking to their contacts may get me some information.”

  Good, thought Vance. Not here, then.

  “And you all are going to keep your ears to the ground and see what you can find out,” Gregory added. “Because all the sources have indicated whatever is happening may be centered farther north in the state, which is why Agent Buchanan is here.”

  “Actually, sir”—Buchanan turned to Gregory—“it would be immensely helpful if Sam could work with me.”

  “No.” Gregory nixed the idea immediately. “I need Agents Connelly and Piper here. They have been absent for over two months—”

  “Oh, we don’t need Agent Connelly,” Buchanan said brightly, then shut up when Talon sounded like he growled.

  There can be only one…. Okay, so maybe a bad Sean Connery in Highlander impersonation was a little excessive, but Vance’s dad was definitely of the opinion Connery was the better James Bond.

  “No,” Gregory said. “I am not splitting up my teams.” He stood up. “Agent Buchanan, I will let you go and get acquainted with the DEA over on Kennedy. Vance and Sam, I want you to look at the enhanced database Adam and Sawyer have been getting together and see if there is any chance either of the bodies you saw is on there.” Vance thought it unlikely. “But first Doc Natalie is waiting to see both of you.”

  “Both of us?” Sam queried.

  “Yes, Agent Piper. You have yet to finish your physical because you were loaned out so quickly. Both of you upstairs, now. Sawyer?” Sawyer glanced at Gregory. “Can you take Dr. Williams with you and show him where he can set up his laptop?”

  Sawyer stood without saying anything, but Finn nudged him before he could take a step toward the door, and looked at Dr. Williams. Vance watched as Dr. Williams reached behind him and took hold of a white stick.

  Sawyer nodded once and stepped forward. “Kenton?”

  Dr. Williams smiled and put out his arm. After a second, a stunned Sawyer took it and let the doctor rest his in the crook of Sawyer’s elbow.

  “Sam?”

  Vance paused at the same time as Sam did when Buchanan called. He stood, wondering if he
ought to leave them to it. He looked at Sam, but Sam was focused on Buchanan. “I’ll just—”

  “Sam. Sorry, do you have a minute?” Buchanan asked, glancing awkwardly at Vance.

  “I’ll see you upstairs,” Sam said apologetically.

  “Sure.” Vance turned and walked the few steps to the elevator. The trouble was he had to wait for it and his hearing was exceptional. Okay, so maybe he could take the stairs, but his feet seemed as reluctant as the rest of him. He was recovering from a serious injury….

  “I have to go get my medical done,” Sam started to explain.

  “Sam,” Buchanan interrupted. “I just wanted to give you some news. I’ve been authorized to head up a special task force to look into the illegal distribution of new synthesized drugs. Most of the problems, as you know, are because by the time we find out about them, people have already died.”

  Vance didn’t look up, even though he doubted they realized he could hear them.

  Sam nodded. “That’s pretty exciting.”

  “And not just agents. Scientists—Kenton, in particular—are on board. We have the financing already in place, and”—his voice dropped lower—“they’re talking about a domestic FAST team.”

  Vance counted five seconds before he heard the “Wow” from Sam.

  “Thing is, Sam, I’ve been given carte blanche in hiring. One of the requirements is being able to establish intelligence resources. You know how much you’ve impressed people with how quickly you’ve accessed information.”

  Vance didn’t need to be enhanced to know what was coming next.

  “And I really want you with me. We’re talking at least a three-grade pay jump and the ability to work in a small team with less bureaucracy than the FBI. You don’t have to decide now,” Buchanan added before Sam said anything. “We need to wrap this up first, but then….”

  “I can’t say I’m not flattered,” Sam started, but Vance didn’t hear a denial.

  “I know you wanted out of the DEA, Sam, and I remember you telling me you needed to give this posting at least two years. You always were focused on your career, but trust me. Commit to my new unit for five years and they’ll give you whatever job you want afterward.” A door opened. “Look,” Buchanan continued, “I have to go, but you need to give this some serious thought. Five years with this is career springboard material. You could have your choice of cities as well, and there is the potential for overseas work if that’s what you want.”

  The elevator doors opened, and Vance stepped in quickly. He turned automatically to the doors as they closed, but Sam’s hand stopped them from shutting completely, and he smiled and got in.

  Vance had intended to say lots of things after the meeting.

  Give this posting two years.

  Comment on what they’d been told.

  Posting, like what you got in the military—temporary.

  Explain how he thought the science was flawed because they’d always been told no one could reproduce an enhanced ability, and if that was so, why hadn’t Finn or someone downstairs a lot cleverer than him pointed that out?

  Choice of cities.

  Then he was going to ask Sam if he wanted to stop at the store. Vance wouldn’t go in, but he would pay. He could cook too, and he would. Maybe they could watch a film.

  Potential for overseas work.

  Maybe Sam would open up, tell him a little about himself. He didn’t know much except Sam had come from Chicago and had no family. Which was sad. Vance couldn’t wait for his mom to get back. She would love Sam.

  Except Sam wasn’t staying. The enhanced unit was temporary. Vance was temporary.

  VANCE LIKED Doc Natalie. She had a calm, unflappable manner that soothed him. “Do you know my dad has been fending off dermatology experts from all over the world wanting to see you, Agent Connelly?”

  Vance grinned while he was unbuttoning his shirt. Doc Natalie’s dad was a top skin specialist who had operated on Gael a few months ago and knew about his cancer scare. Vance also loved the way she insisted on calling him Agent Connelly, not Vance, even though he’d offered. Made him sound all official.

  “How’s everything feel?” The doc peered at his back after she had gotten him to remove his shirt.

  “Driving me nuts, itching.”

  “It’s like you need after-sun lotion,” Sam said in awe from behind Vance. Vance immediately sucked in a breath in case Sam came around his front.

  “Remarkable,” Doc Natalie agreed. “Do you mind if I take some photos?”

  Vance shrugged and stood patiently while she took out her phone and snapped a few. “Thank you. You can put your shirt back on and take a seat.” She walked over to her desk and sat. Sam dropped down onto another chair. She opened a drawer and took out a large tube of cream. Vance smiled ruefully. “Use this. I don’t want you to scratch your newly healed skin.”

  “Thanks, Doc,” Vance said and took the tube from her.

  “I would also like you to return so we can discuss the results of the tests I ran before you were loaned out—”

  “I can wait outside,” Sam butted in, obviously understanding immediately.

  “We can talk now, Doc,” Vance said firmly. He had no secrets. He didn’t really have any cool abilities like Talon or Gael. He could lift heavy things, but so could a lot of people, and he thought he’d used his voice recognition talents maybe twice in the last two years. It wasn’t something he thought about much.

  “Do you remember the tests I ran before you were loaned out to the DEA?”

  Vance nodded. He’d had to pee into a small bottle. He’d thought it was the standard drug test they all went through. Although breathing into the mouthpiece thing had been kinda weird.

  “I’ve been testing your resting metabolic rate, with remarkable results.”

  Vance groaned. “You’re gonna tell me I gotta diet.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he remembered Sam was next to him, and he wanted to curl up and die from embarrassment. He’d tried to be good this morning, but he was starving, and then to top off his humiliation, his belly grumbled alarmingly.

  Doc Natalie’s eyes widened. “Goodness me, no. I’m sure we could all stand to eat healthier, but that’s not what I mean. A regular human of your height and build would need something like twenty-five hundred to twenty-eight hundred calories per day, but I think according to our tests, you should be on approximately four thousand per day. Obviously a full twenty-four test would give me a more accurate reading, but as you were unwilling….” Doc Natalie smiled when Vance wrinkled his nose. He wasn’t spending a full day and night breathing into that machine.

  “That’s a lot of food,” Sam murmured, and Vance slouched a little in his seat as if he could make his huge hulk a little smaller.

  “Yes,” the doc said, “and it’s linked to his adrenaline and dopamine output.”

  “Fight or flight,” Sam said, and the doc beamed at him.

  Vance’s leg started bouncing. It was a bad habit.

  “What exactly do you mean?” Vance patted his stomach nervously.

  “You have to watch your calories, yes. But not in the way you’re thinking,” Sam added quickly. He turned to Doc Natalie. “You’re thinking his adrenal system what—spikes?”

  “Actually, it’s incredibly high all the time,” she said. “As is his dopamine level.”

  Sam nodded sagely, and Vance looked from one to the other.

  “Under acute stress,” the doc explained, “the adrenal gland pumps out cortisol and adrenaline into the bloodstream. You’ve heard the stories of parents suddenly being able to lift their cars because a child was trapped underneath?”

  Vance nodded.

  “This is what enables them. Blood surges and the heart races. It’s the body’s equivalent of stepping on the gas, but with your body, your foot is to the floor all the time.”

  Vance thought about that. It made him sound a bit like a racing car, and he smiled for the first time in a few minutes. He process
ed what she was telling him. “Is this why I’m strong, then?”

  “And why you are one of the most pleasant individuals I have ever met,” she confirmed with a kind smile.

  “And why you need a bigger breakfast than the snack you had this morning,” Sam said with feeling.

  “Definitely,” Doc Natalie said. “I’m going to prepare some diet sheets for you.” She eyed him. “I will make sure the cafeteria downstairs is suitably equipped.”

  Vance swallowed. No, he wasn’t eating there. Their first week, he’d gone for lunch with Talon and Gael after being in the gym all morning, and he’d been starving. He’d helped himself to some chicken and salad—it had been the last of it—and sat down. Some guys from asset coding had come in, seen the chicken was gone, and complained loudly that the kitchen was gonna have to start buying in bulk. It had been a dig at them. Gael and Talon both ate a lot because enhanced burned through it faster, but he could easily eat more than them. And they hadn’t bothered going into the cafeteria after that. The doc wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t know, really, just wrapping it up in bigger words.

  He remembered once coming in from school and making himself some peanut butter sandwiches because the lunch he got at school was tiny, or tiny for him anyway. He’d just been going up to his room when he’d heard his mom mention to his dad about her getting a part-time job. It had taken another few minutes eavesdropping to find out their grocery bill had doubled since he transformed.

  Two days after that, he’d gotten a job unloading and clearing up in the farmer’s market. The guys seemed to trust him even with the mark, because at the end of the day he was still a Connelly, and he guessed it helped that he could do the work of three people. His mom never knew that the fruit and vegetables he brought home were in lieu of wages. She thought it had been a perk of the job, and there was no way he was telling them otherwise.

  Vance looked up at the sudden silence. Doc Natalie nodded, as if she’d said something he’d missed. “I cannot stress how important it is you maintain the correct diet,” she continued. I think you may need to increase your calorie intake.”