by Nash, Lisa
-29-
Donnie and Louis walked into the huge display hall lamenting their luck at having to spend so much of their day with Pope. They talked in a low whisper because they were convinced that she had super hearing. She could be four campuses away and still hear them.
Grant Hall was more or less a large dimly lit hangar. Glass tubes displaying bio-synthetic models, past, and present, in a blue luminous solution were strategically placed throughout the building. A plaque next to each unit listed each member of the design team, and a paper thin digital screen hung above the plague rotating through pictures of the engineering team.
The two Grant Bio-Syn employees heard the click of Ms. Pope’s heels echo throughout the room as she approached, but they couldn’t get a bead on which direction she was traveling.
“Gentleman,” she said stepping out in front of them.
They both jumped.
She looked at her watch. “Seventeen minutes, Donnie. I said fifteen.”
Donnie shrugged. “I couldn’t find him.”
“I was getting a snack…”
“I don’t really care,” she said holding up her hand. “Louis, is it?”
He nodded.
“You said that Mr. Miller looked familiar.”
“Yeah, sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“Well, there was something about his face. I told you I couldn’t put my finger on it…”
“I would like you to.”
“You would like me to what?’
“Put a finger on it, and quickly.”
He looked at Donnie, but his coworker was no help. “I’ll try.”
“I did not call you in here to try, Louis.” She slowly started to circle her two subordinates. “You are to recall where you have seen Mr. Miller’s face before.”
Louis’s eyes scanned several of the bio-synthetic displays. “Why here?”
“Because this room is full of faces…”
“Wait,” Donnie said, “you think Miller is actually a bio-syn?”
“I don’t know what he is,” Ms. Pope said. “I do know that you found a chrome tat in his sample. Until today, chrome tats have only shown up in samples taken from where…? Louis, care to hazard a guess?”
Nervously he said, “Bio-syns?”
“Bio-syns, exactly. It seems logical that we eliminate the possibility that the face we’re looking for isn’t one of our units first.” She started to walk away, but stopped. “Donnie, is there anything in our archives about bio-syn to bio-syn matching?”
“Why would we match a bio-syn to a bio-syn?”
She shrugged. “Curiosity, testing, there are any number or reasons.”
He shook his head. “We wouldn’t run tests like that, but R&D might. I don’t have access to their archives.”
“Of course you don’t,” she said with a condescending tone. Her heels clicked across the floor as she exited the building.
When they heard the door close, Louis said, “Holy shit, she scares the hell out of me.”
Donnie slapped him across the back of his head. “Pussy. Might as well get started so we can get the hell out of here. This place gives me the willies.”
Louis laughed and slapped him across the back of the head. “Pussy.”
“Ha ha. This is nothing but a waste of time anyway.”
“You don’t think Miller’s a bio-syn?”
“Fuck no. Did you see that guy? I mean he was kind of in shape, but he wasn’t bio-syn shape. Those fucking guys are ripped with horse peckers between their legs. Miller was big, but…”
“You looked at his dick?”
“You didn’t?”
“Hell no.”
Donnie pushed Louis toward one of the displays. “Start looking.”
-30-
“I was raised in foster homes,” Thomas said. He worked his soapy hands across Cora’s upper back. The steam from the hot bath water filled the large bathroom.
Cora leaned forward in the large garden tub as Thomas sat behind her and rubbed soap suds on her shoulder and back. “What happened to your parents?”
He didn’t answer.
She did a half turn in her direction. “It’s okay. You can tell me.”
He took a deep breath and said, “I don’t know everything. I picked up bits of information here and there over the years. My mother disappeared when I six.”
“Disappeared? How?”
“I don’t really know. It was my birthday…”
“Birthday?” She turned all the way around and faced him. “Your mother disappeared on your birthday?”
He nodded. “She threw me a party. No kids. Just her and me. Had cake, and presents, everything but other kids. It was always like that. Birthdays, holidays, every day it was just her and me.”
She hugged his neck. “I’m so sorry.”
Normally he hated that sentiment, the fake expression of condolence that people said just because they didn’t know what else to say in the face of someone else’s tragedy. But he welcomed the words coming out of her mouth. If it was possible, he had been waiting for her to say them ever since the day his mother vanished into thin air.
She released him, and he could see tears flowing from her eyes. “What about your father?”
“That’s the part I don’t want you to hear.”
“Did he have something do with her disappearance?”
“No,” he said but didn’t offer more details.
She placed her hand on his face and said, “If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to, but don’t keep it from me because you think I’ll run out the door screaming. I won’t.”
“My father is in a psychiatric facility. Has been since before I was born.”
She squeezed his hand.
“My mother left me with a sitter on the afternoon of my birthday to go visit him in the hospital. I never saw her again. The next day my sitter took me to some church. I don’t remember much about it except for meeting my first foster parents there.”
“The next day? Isn’t that kind of fast to put you in foster care?”
“I don’t know, it could have been a week later for all I know. I was in kind of a haze when my mother didn’t come home.”
“What did the police say?”
Thomas shrugged. “I don’t know. I was too young. When I got older, I looked into it, but there were no police records.”
“No police records? That seems strange.”
“We didn’t have money. We didn’t have friends. My father is crazy. No one cared about my mother. That’s what I’ve learned.”
She pulled his hand out of the water and kissed it. “I care.” Something occurred to her. “That quote: Fate will find a way. Your mother gave that to you on that day she disappeared, didn’t she?”
He looked at her amazed. “How did you know that?”
“Because you said she gave it to you on some occasion, but the expression on your face suggested it was an occasion you don’t remember fondly.”
He smiled in spite of himself. “Very perceptive.” He kissed her. “That’s my past. I have no roots. I’ve never fit in anywhere because of it. I’ve got a lot of baggage. I wouldn’t blame you if you asked me to leave and never come back.” He knew she was a bio-syn, but she wasn’t just any bio-syn. He had a feeling whatever conditioning she went through wouldn’t prevent her from saving herself from his pathetic life.
“Well,” she said. “I do want you to leave…”
His heart stopped for a moment.
“But only to go downstairs in the lobby and score us a half dozen croissants from the bakery.”
“Croissants?”
“They are unbelievable,” she said rolling her eyes. “And, whenever I’m feeling sad, they cheer me right up.” She kissed his nose.
“Okay,” he said hoisting himself out of the water, “but you should know that I couldn’t possibly feel sad around you.”
“Just in case,” she said standing. “Let me give you a s
mile before you leave.”
-31-
Ms. Pope entered Craig Anders office without knocking. He wasn’t surprised. A closed door meant nothing her. It didn’t matter that Anders was senior VP of R&D, and could have her fired in the blink of an eye. Pope was a ballsy fucker who bulldozed her way through any situation. He liked that about her, and he hated that about her.
“Melissa,” Anders said, “how are you?”
She didn’t have time for niceties. “What do you know about unit-to-unit matching?”
“I’m fine,” he said sarcastically. “Kind of you to ask.”
“What happens when you match a bio-synthetic with another bio-synthetic?”
He looked at her curiously. “What would the practical application of such a match be?”
“Cut the bullshit, Craig. What happens?”
“Nothing,” he said sternly. “Because it’s never been done.”
She placed her hand on her hip and gave him a scolding glare. “This is R&D. Your people test every fucking angle. What happens?”
He rocked his chair from side to side. “Why are you so interested in a unit-to-unit match?”
“I have my reasons.”
He crossed his arms. “Did you check with Lisa in our archives department?”
“Of course not because she would have denied my request.”
“And why is that?” He asked smugly.
“Because I don’t have authorization to view R&D archival files.”
“And there’s a reason for that, Melissa. There are security measures in place to protect this company’s assets. A free flow of information within the company weakens our security. You know everything you need to know to do your job. You don’t need to know any more.”
She blurted out, “We may have had a case of double drift today.”
A look of concern washed over his face. “Double drift?”
“It’s possible. We tested the unit and her match, but their levels were normal.”
“Who’s the client?”
She hesitated. “It’s not a client. It was an applicant for a decommission agent position.”
The concern turned to anger. “Meaning he didn’t go through normal match protocols.”
“No, but his test gave us a full psychological profile.”
“Nonetheless it’s not the way it’s supposed to work. There are too many unknown variables without a complete medical and psychiatric history.” He stood and yelled, “Goddamn it, Melissa. It’s not enough I’ve got to keep those marketing and sales pricks in line doling out free hours here and there with our bio-synthetics, you’re giving fucking job applicants a bio-synthetic to play around with.”
“My system works, Craig. The people I hire complete their rotation. I know what I’m doing.”
“Is that why you’re here telling me we had a case of double drift today?”
“I said may have. May have!”
He worked to calm himself. “What does this have to do with a unit-to-unit match?”
She looked uncharacteristically nervous. “I had my people run a full diagnostic on our job applicant’s sample. We found something unusual.”
There was a moment of silence before Anders barked, “Are you going to tell me or do you want me to guess?”
“We found a chrome tat when we ran a mitochondrial test.”
It was his turn to look nervous. “That’s not possible.”
-32-
Thomas sat on the leather chair wearing a robe with the Conway Tower’s emblem on it. He stretched out his legs on the ottoman and heavy sensation of sleep fell over him. If Cora hadn’t insisted he wait with his eyes closed he might have been able to steer clear of it, but she had and he was falling deeper into a blissful slumber the longer she made him wait.
A dream entered his drowsy conscious as he teetered on the brink of a Theta Brain Wave pattern. The same dream that had started his day. He saw the outlines of people dressed in white. One of them spoke, but he could only make out one word “dream” before he heard the word “Ta-duh!”
Startled, he opened his eyes to see Cora standing in front of him in long black t-shirt that hugged her body like a second skin and ended at the middle of her heart shaped ass. A yellow smiley face stared at him from the center of the shirt. The eyes of the grinning round head revealed dimed sized protuberances where her erect nipples tested the durability of the fabric of the shirt. She turned in a small circle in a pair of black stilettos. Her thigh and calve muscles flared with each little seductive step and her ass swayed with a hypnotic power. “What do you think?”
Thomas was fully awake now. “I think you’re not going to get those croissants if you tempt me like this.”
“Oh, no,” she said pointing to his erection. “Put that thing away. We’ll play with it later. I just wanted to show you the shirt I picked out for you.”
Thomas snickered. “I’m a little concerned it won’t fit.”
“Not this one, silly,” she said quickening her step into the bedroom and then returning with a duplicate smiley face t-shirt. “This one is for you,” she said tossing it to him.
He caught it and examined the tag. “This is a man’s large. What are you doing with a man’s large?”
She hung her head sheepishly to the side. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but I did have boyfriends before you. One or two of them may have left an item of clothing here and there along the way.”
He delivered a look of mock disappointment. “You mean I’m not the first man who’s been in your room?”
“Well,” she said, “you are the first one I didn’t want to leave as soon as he made me come…” She put her hand over her mouth. “I cannot believe I just said that.”
“Cora,” Thomas said, “you do realize I know you’ve had sex with other men, right?”
She nodded. “Of course, but I know guys don’t really like it when their girlfriends share the intimate details of past relationships.”
He cocked his head to the left. “I’m not like other guys. It doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, it just brings out my competitive nature.”
She approached him slowly. “How so?”
“I want to fuck you like you’ve never been fucked before.”
“You are so bad, Mr. Miller.” She stopped just a few feet from him and spread her legs slightly.
His mouth watered as he stared at her moist pussy lips.
“Are you saying you’re not the jealous type?”
“No,” he said running his hand down her thigh. “I am jealous of any man who’s touched you, but any man who desires you…? I have to admit that turns me on. Besides who could blame any man who wants to fuck you.” He kissed her thigh.
Her heart jumped as his lips touched her thigh. She pushed his head back. “Up, Mr. Miller. There are a pair of jeans on the bed. They should fit. You get my croissants, and we’ll discuss your reward.”
He stood and headed for the bedroom, slapping her ass as he passed by. “I got the reward of a lifetime the first time I ever laid eyes on you.”
She blushed.
“But if you’re offering, I think a blow job is a fair exchange for six croissants.”
“It’s a deal, Mr. Miller.”
-33-
Four other officers of Grant Bio-Syn Industries joined Craig Anders opposite side Ms. Pope at the conference table. From left to right, they were Denise Harvey, Head of Security; Franklin Waters, FDA Compliance Officer; Lisa Tann, Director of R&D Archives; Craig, and Dr. Judith Grant, Chairman of the Board. They were all present at the behest of Craig, and they interrupted their late evening plans without question when he said two simple words over the phone: “Ranger protocol.”
In addition to the suits at the table, two large intimidating men stood on either side of the door jamb staring straight ahead. They were two of Harvey’s security team, and they definitely looked the part.
Dr. Grant spoke first. “I have to ask before we start. Denise, has your team proof
ed the room?” She tilted her head down and looked at the head of security. Her brown eyes were falsely kind and aging. Her face only revealed a hint of a wrinkle or two, and her high cheekbones were the remnants of a time when she was a great beauty.
Denise was annoyed by the question, but she didn’t show it. She knew how to do her job. Her team “proofed” the room by installing jammers to prevent the meeting from being recorded. That was security procedure 101 in normal high level meetings not to mention a Ranger protocol meeting. “We’re proofed,” she replied with a reassuring smile.
“Good, then someone tell me how the fuck we got ourselves into a Ranger protocol,” Dr. Grant said scanning the faces in the room.
Craig spoke. “It’s complicated…”
“Simplify it and be quick about it.”
Ms. Pope hid the look of satisfaction spreading across her face. After getting reamed by Craig, it was nice to see him getting his ass handed to him. She had no idea what a Ranger protocol was, but by the looks of Craig’s terrified expression, he feared for his very life. Of course that meant Ms. Pope was in for a world of hurt, too, but she didn’t mind as much if it meant she would take Craig down, too.
“We have a possible natural unit on our hands.”
Dead silence followed his statement. No one moved.
Waters finally interrupted the icy cold stillness. “How the hell does something like that happen? I mean I can site rule 1162 to you verbatim if you like. ‘Whereby it is ordered that the manufacturer shall decommission all units on the 73rd hour after match initiation to prevent…”
“We’re aware of the rule, Franklin. Spare us.” Dr. Grant turned her attention to Ms. Pope. “And you are?”
“Melissa Pope. I’m Director of the Female Conditioning and Decommission Division.” She clasped her hands on the table in front of her to prevent them from shaking.