Mako (The Mako Saga: Book 1)

by Ian J. Malone

  She’d been right. It shouldn’t take an all-expenses-paid trip from a multimillionaire to get them all together more often. That should always be a priority, no matter what life threw at them.

  So with that in mind, Lee made a silent pact with himself as he stepped inside the elevator: Come hell or high water, and regardless of what the future had in store, he would never wait two years to see any of them again.

  On a related note, it helped that he’d never again have to sweat the cost of airfare after this trip… even to a tiny, out-of-the-way destination like Athens, Georgia.

  Chapter 15: Exodus

  Waking the next morning to the smell of fresh-brewed coffee, Lee rolled out of bed and threw on a t-shirt and a pair of gym shorts before setting out in search of the morning’s first dose of caffeine. Traipsing barefoot across the cool tiles of the kitchen floor, he retrieved a mug from an overhead cabinet, filled it with the hot, black liquid, and allowed himself a moment to savor its steamy, eye-opening effects.

  “Ah, gimme a break!” someone moaned through a pillow as the coffee pot coughed its final series of perks. “What idiot does construction this early on a Sunday?”

  Rounding the snack bar into the living room, Lee spotted a single leg dangling over the arm of the sofa as Link—still half-dressed in his jeans and undershirt from the night before—lay sprawled across its cushions like a contorted pretzel.

  “That ain’t construction, sport,” Lee replied. “That’s just your t33-year-old body tellin’ your brain that it can’t drink like it’s 22 anymore. Now get up, pop a couple of aspirins, and drink a glass of OJ. You’ll feel better.”

  Slumping himself upright, Link yawned through a stretch and ran his fingers through the porcupine of cowlicks atop his head. Then, staggering to his feet with a final wobble, he steadied himself and began the long, head-splitting shuffle toward the bathroom medicine cabinet.

  “Morning, guys,” Danny said spryly, strolling out of his room just in time to pass Link in the hall. “How’s that last Jäger Bomb working out for ya there, genius?”

  Link said nothing, opting instead to give his friend the finger as he closed the bathroom door.

  “Poor guy,” Danny remarked, joining Lee in the kitchen and grabbing a glass of juice from the fridge. “He can still pound it with the best of ‘em, but he just doesn’t recover like he used to.”

  “And you do?” Lee sniped in Link’s defense.

  “No way,” Danny chuckled. “But sometime around age 30, I figured out that a little water at 2:30 in the morning never killed anybody. Know what I mean?”

  “Be careful,” Lee cautioned, topping off his mug. “I was there for a fair share of the hangovers that drove you to that little piece of wisdom, so don’t judge him too much. Thanks for makin’ coffee, by the way.”

  Danny nodded and grabbed a stool at the snack bar. “So,” he chirped. “It looked like you and Mac were having a nice little moment out on the beach last night.”

  Lee’s lips thinned, though not in surprise. He’d had an inkling that this was coming. “Yeah, I don’t know what that was all about,” Lee balked, stepping to the pantry in search of ideas for breakfast. “Two old friends catchin’ up over beers on the beach—ya know, I think that might be the first time in history that’s ever happened.”

  “Oh look, sarcasm!” Danny retorted. “Because that’s not a defense mechanism or anything.”

  Lee shot him a glare.

  “Hey, don’t catch a ‘tude with me, bro,” Danny pressed. “I totally busted you checking her out last night when she came out for dinner, and why not? She looked hot!”

  “C’mon, Danny,” Lee groaned, placing a box of pancake mix on the counter beside the milk, eggs and bacon he’d found in the fridge. “How many times do we have to go over this, anyway? Mac’s like a little sister—to all of us, not just me. Rollin’ the dice on something more?” He shrugged, cracking four eggs into a bowl and tossing the shells into the trash. “I don’t know… it’d just be weird.”

  “That’s such a cop-out,” Danny grunted. “It was one thing to play the ‘group chemistry card’ back in college when we were all hanging out 24/7, but that’s not the case anymore. We’re all adults, with our own lives and our own careers, and we all live in different places now. Add to that the fact that for the first time in the decade-plus that you’ve known each other you’re both single, and you’re an idiot not to at least consider it.”

  “Well alright then, Casanova,” Lee shot back. “If you’re so high on her, then why don’t you take her out?”

  “This isn’t about me, Lee. It never has been,” said Danny. “Mac and I are friends, nothing more. I’m perfectly fine with that, and she is too—but I don’t know, man. There’s just always been something about you guys; something deeper, beneath the surface.” He paused for a moment, giving a pensive inspection of the glass between his palms. “Maybe it’s just me being selfish because I want to see my two best friends be happy together— or the fact that you two just so happen to be the biggest pair of nerds I’ve ever known which makes you perfect for each other—but I just think you should at least weigh the possibility, is all.”

  Lee shook his head, placing a trio of bananas on a cutting board and setting the burner beneath his skillet to slightly over medium.

  “I appreciate it, Danny,” he said, mindful of his tone in the hopes of bringing the discussion to a close. “Really, I do. But I’m not interested in seein’ anybody right now—Mac or anyone else. It’s nothin’ personal, trust me. I’m just a firm believer that you have to be happy with yourself before you can ever hope to be happy with someone else, and let’s face it man, my life ain’t exactly the picture of serenity these days. Until I can get my own house in order, I’m all about keepin’ things simple, and relationships?” He huffed, running a whisk through his bowl of batter. “Relationships tend to make things not simple.”

  Danny knit his fingers on the snack bar in front of him. “It’s your call, bro. You gotta do what’s right for you, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t give you one final little word of advice.”

  “Yeah, what’s that?” Lee cracked, and Danny’s look went serious.

  “A woman like Mac doesn’t stay single forever. Sooner or later, somebody’s gonna figure out what a gem of a human being she is, and when that happens, you, my friend,” he said, pointing an accusatory finger at Lee, “will officially be relegated—once and for all—to ‘friend’ status. If you’re okay with that, then so be it. But on the off-chance that you’re not… Well, brother, you will have no one else to blame but yourself for letting the girl of your dreams get away. Just sayin’.”

  Lee felt his expression twist as he turned to face his inquisitor. “Ya know what, Danny? You’ve got all this sage advice about women, but when the chips are down, you never seem to—”

  “Morning, boys,” Mac said with a yawn, emerging from her bedroom and heading straight past Lee toward the coffee pot. “Ooh, banana pancakes!” she beamed. “Awesome!”

  “Morning, Mac,” Danny replied, darting his eyes away from Lee, though not quite subtly enough to keep Mac from noticing.

  “I’m not interrupting something, am I?” she asked, bunching her hair into a ponytail and grabbing a mug from the cabinet.

  “Nah, nothing at all,” said Danny, rising from his stool. “I was actually just about to go hit the showers, so your timing is perfect. I’ll catch you kids in a few.”

  And with that, he was gone.

  As the room filled with the sweet and salty aromas of vanilla, cooked bacon, and browning banana, Mac assumed Danny’s seat at the snack bar and watched Lee massage his spatula under the first pancake before giving it an effortless, sizzling flip in the skillet.

  “Wow, you have picked up a few new tricks since college,” she said, admiring his technique over the rim of her mug.

  “Yeah, well, I love cereal as much as the next guy, but even I need a change every once in a while.”

  “Be
tter you than me,” she admitted, perusing the baseball scores from the previous night on her smartphone. “I even look at a kitchen, and the thing catches on fire… Oh seriously, guys!”

  “What?” Lee asked, seeing her sneer at the device.

  “Eh, the Yanks dropped last night’s game to Toronto,” she grumbled. “That puts us three back of Tampa in the wildcard race, and frankly, I can’t stand those guys. They’re like mosquitoes. They’re small and annoying, and you keep swatting at them, but they just keep coming back to bite you!”

  “At least Boston’s already tanked for the year,” he offered, drawing an ear-to-ear smile from Mac.

  “That’s what happens when you serve cheap beer and fried chicken in your clubhouse… friggin’ losers,” she chided. “Anyway, what were you and Danny talking about when I came in?”

  Lee’s pulse jumped. “Oh, um, not much,” he stammered, dropping the pancake and some bacon on a plate and sliding it across the snack bar toward her. “Just how Link passed out on the couch last night before he could make it to his room.”

  Mac shook her head and reached for the maple syrup. “I swear,” she said, taking a bite and cooing happily. “That boy will never learn.”

  ****

  Once they’d all showered and had breakfast, they took turns placing phone calls to their respective families to inform them of their extended leave from home. In the interests of quelling any concerns for their safety, and to dispel any questions regarding the state of their overall mental health, the group had decided the night before to stick with the original “consulting gig” cover story, until such time as they could return home to let the dust settle. After all, the collective decision to go had been made final, so there was no sense in worrying anyone if it could be avoided.

  An hour later, as the group sat silently in the limo outside the PGC offices, Lee looked around at the anxious faces of his friends as the weight of that decision began to sink in.

  “So this is it,” Lee said, waiting to see if anyone else would make the first move and open the car door. “If anyone wants out, now is the time.”

  For 30 long seconds, no one said a word.

  “Ah, screw it,” Link snorted, shoving past Danny to the door handle. “I’ve already got my yacht all picked out, so let’s do this already so I can get back here, take off my pants, and christen her proper.”

  Another stunned silence.

  “Like… I don’t even know what to say to that,” Mac griped on her way out of the car.

  “I can’t tell you how happy I am that you decided to come with us” Reiser gushed, rushing out to meet them in the parking lot. “I know that you don’t understand just how significant your cooperation on this project is just yet, but I’m fairly certain you will by the time you return home.”

  “No problem, Dr. Reiser,” Lee replied. “We thought a lot about it, and we’re glad we can be of service.”

  “Thank you, all of you,” Reiser said with his customary bow. “We are in your debt. Now if you’ll follow me, we’ll prepare to get underway.”

  Escorting them back through the building, the doctor gestured the group onto the lift, which made its swift descent past the subterranean lab before stopping at the entrance to the docking bay itself. As the doors swooshed open to reveal the cavernous room of concrete and steel, Lee and the others again found themselves nose to nose with the massive ship that remained in slumber on the platform ahead, while several members of the engineering crew rushed to conclude their final prep for pre-launch.

  “Alright, I’ll admit it,” Link said in amazement as he studied the familiar contours of the ship’s towering gray hull. “That’s pretty much the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “Just keep your frickin’ pants on, okay?” Mac muttered beside him, equally as awestruck.

  Right then, Lee turned to see Sgt. Major Noll exit the ship through a portside hatch, just ahead of Madisyn Reynolds, who trailed him down the boarding ramp.

  “Dr. Reiser,” Noll said, joining them outside the lift. “All crews report green status, so barring any unforeseen complications, we should be ready to break orbit within the hour.” He then shifted to address the others. “On behalf of the entire expedition, as well as the Auran people, we’re honored to welcome you aboard the AS-Milky Way. Now, if you’d please follow Dr. Reynolds here, she has some business to attend to before you can board. After that, we’ll get you settled into quarters and ready for departure.”

  With a final nod to Reiser, Noll took his leave as Reynolds reached into her lab coat, returning with what appeared to be some sort of medical injection gun. Never a fan of needles, Danny took a step back.

  “Relax, Mr. Tucker,” Reynolds frowned, removing the first of five glass vials and inserting it into the top of the device.

  Unflinching, Danny eyed it skeptically.

  “Okay, fine,” Reynolds conceded with an incredulous hand on her hip. “You want to skip the shot, that’s fine by me. Just do me a favor first… Tell me what the comm officer is saying over the intercom right now.”

  Confused, and not having paid any attention to the voice over the docking bay speakers prior to now, Danny turned his attention upward, only to hear a voice speaking in a language that sounded to him like a strange mix of Chinese, Slavic, and French with the occasional dash of Latin. Bewildered, he looked to Lee, whose expression indicated that he didn’t get it either.

  “You didn’t honestly think that English was our native language, did you?” Reynolds said smugly. “Now, unless you plan on using rudimentary sign language and crayons to communicate for the next three months, I highly suggest that you let me give you this very small, very harmless, nano injection. It’s just a standard issue translator; I promise it won’t kill you.”

  Reluctantly, and somewhat annoyed by her attitude, Danny leaned in and tilted his neck. A quick, air-compressed pop later, it was over, and listening once more to the intercom, he was surprised to hear the comm officer now speaking perfect English.

  “Next?” she said, ejecting the empty vial from her gun and sliding another into place.

  Once the injections were over, Reynolds collected her things and started for a nearby corridor while Reiser gestured the group toward the ship.

  “I’ll see you onboard, bro,” Danny said, thrusting his suitcase into Lee’s chest and darting off after her.

  “Gotta give the boy one thing,” Mac said as Danny trotted away. “He’s nothing if not persistent.”

  ****

  Rounding the corner into an adjacent alcove, Danny spotted a flash of red and white in the corner of his eye as Reynolds headed for an office at the end of the hall, her attention fixed on the file folder in her hand.

  “Dr. Reynolds?” he called after her.

  Stopping in her tracks, she billowed a hard sigh and turned to face him. “What can I do for you, Mr. Tucker?” she said flatly.

  “Listen,” he chuckled, hoping to lighten the mood. “I don’t know how salutations and formalities work where you come from, but I always find myself looking for my dad whenever I hear someone ask for Mr. Tucker.”

  Saying nothing, Reynolds gave him a blank stare.

  “Anyway,” he battled. “It’s just Danny, alright?”

  “Whatever… Danny, what do you need?”

  Still baffled by her coldness, Danny hesitated with his response. He’d been accused of coming on a bit too strong in the past, but he was fairly certain that this had not been one of those times. True, he might’ve been a little presumptuous during their initial meeting yesterday—he’d admit that—but he thought he’d given her plenty of space since then. Yet here she was, frigid as ever.

  “What?” Reynolds repeated—her impatience growing. “You know, I do have things I need to be doing right now!”

  “Nothing,” Danny blurted. “I don’t need anything. I was just… well, I was just curious if you’re coming with us or not?”

  Reynolds actually laughed at this. “Considering the f
act that I’m not only the chief medical officer on this expedition, but also the lead geneticist on the Mimic project itself,” she said snidely, “yes, I’m pretty certain I’ll be going.”

  “Fine,” he deflected, hands outstretched and matching her sarcasm. “Well then, I won’t take up any more of your valuable time. I suppose I’ll see you onboard… or not. Or, whatever.”

  Returning to her file as Danny started back toward the ship, Reynolds exhaled another sigh and glanced, perplexed, up to the ceiling.

  “Hey Danny,” she called, dropping the yellow folder to her side.

  “What?” he huffed, his back still turned.

  “Thank you,” she managed. “Thank you for doing this… really. I know you and your friends have your doubts about what we’re doing here, but as one of the lead members on this project, take my word for it… it matters. So thank you.”

  His defensive posture temporarily softened, Danny looked back over his shoulder and shot her a smile. “See? That wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

  Annoyed, Reynolds gave a hard roll of her bright blue eyes and headed for the office.

  ****

  Exiting back into the main hangar, Danny spotted Reiser waiting for him on the ship’s boarding ramp.

  “So how’d it go?” asked the doctor.

  “Honestly, Doc, I’m pretty sure she hates me,” Danny replied, the frustration still evident in his voice.

  “I can promise you, that’s not the case,” Reiser assured him. “Dr. Reynolds is just a little… well, difficult to get to know.”

  “Ya don’t say,” Danny grumbled. “Because I’m really just getting the impression she hates me.”

  Reiser shook his head and took hold of his cane to start up the ramp. “Listen Danny, Madisyn is the way she is for a lot of reasons. Is she an acquired taste? Absolutely. But just trust me, it’s nothing personal. Do your job, and let her do hers, and everything will be fine.”