Reviving Zeke

by Becca Jameson

  “What happened?”

  He shrugged. “Who knows? Everyone’s files are scrambled. The data is a mess. It’s going to take half the day to retrieve the backup files and get back on track.”

  “Sounds like something that shouldn’t happen these days. Your systems are so much more efficient than ten years ago.”

  “It shouldn’t happen. There’s no explanation.” He swiped a hand over his eyes and cleared his throat. “I think we have a hacker.”

  “Seriously? You think someone is hacking into highly secure government computers? That would almost have to be an inside job, right?” No wonder everyone was rushing around. In truth, Zeke had also considered the possibility there was a hacker ever since Michelle’s data disappeared. He’d gotten the feeling it hadn’t happened in the lab or directly at her computer.

  “Could be an outside job. These days security is about trying to outsmart hackers. Hell, the Russians probably have the capability to turn off the power supply to our entire country with a few keystrokes. Staying one step ahead of security breaches is a full-time job for every business.”

  “Shit.” Zeke hadn’t heard about anything that nefarious yet.

  “And, as if we don’t have enough going on around here, General Custodio’s wife is waiting in the conference room.”

  Zeke cringed. “Yikes.” He knew the general was in the next group of people being reanimated, but he hadn’t had a chance to think much about it. Every time someone was revived, there were a pile of new issues to consider. Most of them had families to get reacquainted with—parents and siblings who had no idea their reanimation would ever be a possibility.

  Winston Custodio had been the first person in the bunker with AP12. He’d been stationed in Africa when he contracted the virus that caused what was a new rare form of anemia at the time. He’d been transferred to the bunker in Falling Rock, but when the team realized they couldn’t find a cure before he would succumb to the virus, he became the first person to be cryonically preserved before his official legal death.

  The first of many, because eventually every member of the team would be preserved from exposure to the same form of anemia. And all of them had been secretly vitrified before they could fully succumb to the disease. Many of them had come to the bunker after General Custodio had already been preserved. They never even met him.

  It had been fifteen years since Custodio’s arrival. He’d been fifty at the time. He would still be fifty of course. His wife could be in her mid-sixties if she was the same age as him when they met.

  “Why is his wife here?”

  “She wanted to be with him when he awoke.” Ryan grabbed the mouse next to the closest computer and cursed under his breath about whatever he was looking at.

  “Did she…wait for him?”

  “Apparently. Or not so much ‘wait’ as simply didn’t move on.”

  Zeke shuddered. With the exception of Tushar and Trish, who were married to each other, Zeke had been the only one of the original team to have ever been married. He’d been wondering what Meredith looked like now and where she might be, but not enough to search her out.

  Ryan sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Someone has to talk to her. Everyone’s busy. My parents were supposed to meet with her, but they’re down the hall dealing with this computer mess now.”

  “You want me to do it?” It was the last thing he wanted to do. But he needed to find a way to be helpful. It was hard to be useful most days since he was so far behind on research.

  Speaking to other people was outside of his comfort zone. That’s why he’d gotten his PhD in immunology to begin with. He knew he would never be the sort of person to face patients. Not living ones at least. He was too introverted to interact with most people.

  You did a fine job last night.

  He still couldn’t believe how far out on a limb he’d gone to spill so much information to Michelle. It shocked him while it was happening, and it continued to shock him up to this moment. He owed most of his courage to Ryan urging him to confront her. For better or for worse, at least she no longer would believe he hated her.

  “Would you?” Ryan was staring at Zeke. “That would be great. Maybe if she meets someone else who’s been reanimated, she’ll feel reassured about the general.”

  “I’ll do it. Conference room, you say?”

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  Damon rushed past them, looking fit to kill.

  Zeke jerked his gaze back to Ryan. “Are the cryostats or chambers in danger?”

  Ryan shook his head. “No. The cryostats are always safe. And the chambers have sufficient backup generators for any eventuality, but Damon still doesn’t like any glitch. It drives him crazy. He worries about data as much as the rest of us.” Ryan was already backing up. “Thanks again for stalling Mrs. Custodio.”

  Ryan nodded, his gaze returning the spot where Damon had fled. Reanimating everyone was Damon’s life’s work. If anything were put in jeopardy…

  Zeke let his gaze roam toward Michelle again as he left the lab.

  She must have sensed him because she turned her head and gave him a small apologetic smile.

  He returned the smile, even though it felt unnatural after scowling at her and everyone else for the last six weeks. He had no idea what was going to happen next between the two of them. They hadn’t discussed it at all.

  She would undoubtedly prefer no one know about them. Frankly, he would agree. He was still uneasy about the idea of pursuing her at all. He had no confidence he could be relationship material for her. He didn’t relish the idea of taking a risk like that again. Let alone the dubious ethics of sleeping with a coworker.

  Sure, Tushar and Trish had been married for many years and their son, Ryan, had moved Emily into his suite months ago. It didn’t really matter that it wasn’t a strict government policy inside the bunker. The concept made Zeke uneasy. What if something went wrong and they broke up and created workplace tension?

  Zeke was certain something would inevitably go wrong. It always did. He wasn’t exactly boyfriend material.

  Ironically, the thought of meeting with Custodio’s wife in the conference room was almost refreshing compared to awkwardly interacting with Michelle in the lab.

  When he rounded the corner, he found Winston’s wife sitting at the long oval table. He couldn’t see her face yet, but she was wringing her hands together.

  As Zeke entered, he forced a smile. “Mrs. Custodio, so nice to meet you.” He held out a hand. “Zeke Holleran. It’s crazy around here today. I thought I’d stop by and say hello.”

  Her eyes were wide, and she looked nervous. When she took his hand, he realized something he hadn’t known before. This woman was not sixty-five years old. She must have been younger than Winston when he was preserved. Possibly even significantly younger.

  He surmised she was Hispanic and she looked nothing like the gray-haired grandmotherly woman he’d expected. She had dark hair cut and styled at her shoulders. Dark eyes that stared at him with hope and sorrow. Her skin was tanned. Either she aged well, or she was young.

  “Elena,” she said in a soft voice. “I was expecting Tushar Anand.”

  Zeke took a seat across from her. “Yes. He’s trying to break away. He’ll meet with you as soon as he can.”

  “I don’t know anyone else here except General Levenson.”

  Zeke nodded. “Temple is around here somewhere too. We’ve had a computer glitch this morning. Everyone is scrambling.”

  “I understand.”

  “I was also one of the preserved. I awoke six weeks ago. I thought I might be able to answer any questions you might have.”

  She glanced up and down his body. “Are you…healthy? I mean, is this really feasible? I haven’t let myself believe it might be true yet.”

  Zeke nodded. He knew his expression was serious. It was the only one he had. Hopefully he could ease her mind a bit. “It’s true. Assuming there are no complications, Winston should be awake and talki
ng in two weeks.”

  She slowly shook her head and covered her mouth. “Seriously?”

  “Yes. We can’t let you into the room yet, but you can see him through the glass if you’d like. He looks exactly the same.”

  “Why isn’t he awake now?”

  “Each of us has to spend four weeks in the reanimation chamber and then four weeks in an induced coma. He’s halfway through that second stage now. It gives the organs time to awaken and start functioning properly.”

  Shock was apparent on her face. “I can see him?”

  Zeke nodded. “I don’t see why not. The environment is sterile, so you can’t go inside, but you can see a lot through the window,” he repeated. It was surprising that she was struggling to believe him.

  “And he will look…the same?”

  Zeke nodded. “I hadn’t aged a minute.”

  She cringed. “I have.”

  He smiled again and managed to find uncomfortable words. “You must have been a teenager when you married.” Did he sound like an idiot?

  She rolled her eyes. “I get that a lot. I’m ten years younger than Winston. Or I was. I’m fifty-five now.” She winced. “Older than him, I guess.”

  “I don’t think he’s going to mind.” Again, Zeke worried he’d said the wrong thing. He was making this shit up on the fly. This was so far outside of his comfort zone he didn’t recognize himself. Hell, he had no idea what the state of Winston and Elena’s marriage had been fifteen years ago, and he certainly couldn’t be sure Elena hadn’t moved on.

  “I’ve never been so nervous in my life. I know I wasn’t supposed to come for another two weeks, but I couldn’t stand waiting any longer. I needed to know for sure, I guess. It didn’t seem real while I was still at home.”

  “Where is home?”

  “Virginia. I still own the same home.”

  “And you never remarried?” Yeah, he was crossing boundaries, letting his inquisitive mind run his mouth.

  She shook her head. “Everyone tried to set me up with a variety of men over the years, but I couldn’t seem to move on. Maybe a part of me held out hope a day like this would come.”

  He couldn’t imagine holding on to hope like that. He’d been in touch with his own parents nearly daily since waking up, using video conferencing so they could see each other. At no point in the past ten years had they expected to see him again, and they talked non-stop about planning a trip to Colorado to see him as soon as Temple gave him the all-clear.

  Maybe it would have been different if he’d left a wife he loved, but he hadn’t even left a wife he didn’t love. He and Meredith had been divorced for four years when he got sick.

  The door opened behind Zeke, and he turned around to find Temple entering. Thank God. Her face was lit up, and Elena jumped to her feet to give the general a hug.

  Zeke excused himself and quietly stepped out of the room. After rounding the corner, he paused and leaned against the wall. He was emotionally drained from last night and this morning. Making small talk with General Custodio’s wife had been a giant leap for him.

  “Zeke? You okay?”

  He lifted his head to find Michelle striding toward him from several yards away. “Yeah. I’ll live. I just needed a minute.”

  When she reached his side, she set her hand on his arm. “Ryan told me you were talking to Custodio’s wife. I’m still trying to visualize how you filled the silent gaps with words.” Her eyes were twinkling with mirth.

  He smirked. “It wasn’t easy. I managed.”

  “It was a kind gesture.”

  He shook himself out of his funk and stood taller. “Did you get the computers working?”

  “They’re working fine, but the data in them is still scrambled. It’s going to take time to reenter most of what we’ve done in the last few weeks from the backups.”

  “How is it even possible for you to have such an enormous breach in this decade?”

  “It’s usually not.” She glanced around and lowered her voice. “Someone had to have sabotaged it.”

  “I got that vibe from Ryan too. But what the fuck? Again? How is this happening over and over?”

  She shrugged. “I’m super-tired of it.”

  “I can imagine.”

  She gave his arm a tug and then released it, nodding behind her.

  He followed, realizing she wanted to talk to him somewhere besides the hallway.

  After stepping into a small office that Ryan used most of the time, she shut the door behind them. She fidgeted nervously and ran a hand through her hair, not meeting his gaze. Her hair was down. It was gorgeous, but did she wear it down to impress him? Was she also wearing more makeup than usual?

  She paced back and forth in the small office while Zeke leaned against the door watching her. She stopped abruptly and met his gaze. “I can’t even think today, and especially not in this small room with you standing two feet away.”

  He smiled. Thank God he wasn’t the only one. He reached out a hand, snagged her sleeve, and gave a tug. “Come here.”

  She shuffled forward, swallowing.

  When she was closer, he grabbed her hips, drew her toward him the last few inches, and kissed her. God, he loved kissing her. He’d loved every second of it last night, and he loved it just as much today.

  He loved it even more when she leaned into him, melting against him. Her hands smoothed up his biceps and around the back of his neck. She returned the kiss as if she might die soon without recharging, but she was also the one who finally eased back. Her face was flushed, and she had a shy smile. “Thank you.”

  He chuckled. How did she seem to bring out that odd side of him? “You going to thank me every time we kiss?”

  She shrugged, turning a darker shade of red. “I just mean, I needed that. I wasn’t sure where we stood.”

  “I don’t know where we stand either. We’ll have to figure it out together, but I can tell you that I’ve done nothing but think about holding you again from the moment I left your suite.”

  She cocked her head to one side. “Surely you weren’t thinking about me while you were sleeping.”

  He lifted a brow. “You think I could sleep? Every time I closed my eyes, I pictured you.”

  If it was possible, she grew two more shades darker red.

  This banter was so out of his element, but it felt natural with her for some reason. He didn’t feel nervous when he was holding her. He reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “Where’s the braid today?”

  She shrugged, glancing away.

  He kissed her gently again. “If you’re wearing your hair down to impress me, I want you to know something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You’re sexy as hell with it down, but you’re just as sexy with it pulled back. You look studious or something when it’s braided. Serious. Intelligent. Like your game face is on. It’s a different look, but still makes me take notice from across a crowded room. And those glasses…”

  Apparently she could turn even redder. “You quote that from a romance novel?”

  “Do I look like a guy who reads romance novels?”

  She shook her head, grinning.

  He pressed her away from him and released her. He couldn’t think while touching her. “Tell me more about the strange things happening around here.”

  She took a breath, seeming to calm down from before he’d kissed her. “Ryan has a list you can look at. He’s keeping track now. But most of the incidences are freaky things that wouldn’t ordinarily happen.”

  “Like what?”

  “First there was a beaker explosion that practically made Emily catatonic.”

  “A beaker? Are you serious?” He stiffened. “A bizarre broken beaker is what caused us to all get sick in the first place.”

  Michelle nodded. “I know. That’s why Emily lost it.”

  “Can’t blame her. I would have too. What else?” He didn’t like any part of this story.

  “There have been at l
east three instances with strange data entries that ruined a study.”

  “Someone on your team transposing numbers?” He hoped.

  She shook her head. “Not a chance. Somehow the numbers are changing after they’re entered.”

  “That’s insane.” Computers weren’t that unreliable even ten years ago.

  “Yes. It’s very stressful. Computers around here are also known to shut down at inconvenient times. We’ve had several experts look at them and find nothing. On top of that, we sometimes lose electricity at random in parts of the building which can ruin samples in the fridge or otherwise destroy whatever we’re working on.”

  “But today’s craziness is a new thing?”

  “Yes.”

  He shoved off the door. “Okay, then I guess we need to get to work. Tell me what you want me to do first, and I’ll handle it.”

  She scrunched her eyes, an unusual smile on her lips. “You want me to tell you what to do…”

  “Yes… What?”

  “Is this new Zeke a permanent member of the team? Or is he just hanging around temporarily because he likes kissing me?”

  He straightened, tugging on the hem of his shirt. She had him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  She threw her head back and laughed before lurching forward and flattening her body against his. “I like this agreeable Zeke who smiles instead of frowns and doesn’t argue with me every moment of the day. Can I keep him?” She smoothed a hand up his chest and then cupped his cheek.

  “I think he got struck by lightning, so it’s hard to say how his personality might waffle once he clears his head.”

  “Fair enough, but give a girl warning, yeah?” Without hesitation, she reached for the door and opened it. “It’s going to be a long day. You up for it, Mr. Insomniac?”

  He grabbed both her biceps from behind before she had a chance to step into the hall. Holding her close to his chest, he set his lips on her ear. “I’m up for anything you throw at me, but I’m not ready for everyone to know I’ve tasted you, so can we table whatever is happening between us for the day?”

  “Absolutely.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief as he followed her back to the lab. At least she agreed and didn’t appear angry. He was still struggling with how ready he was to get involved with a woman again at all, let alone one he worked with. He was not ready for anyone else to be suspicious of them, so he would avoid her for the rest of the day and make a point of scowling as often as possible.