by Chandra Ryan
Dixie went first. His stretcher hooked to the same pulley system that’d safely lowered the chambers. She didn’t breathe deeply again until she was allowed down the ladder. She checked his vitals as soon as her feet hit the concrete floor. Thankfully he didn’t seem to be doing any worse for his journey. The men holding his stretcher barely gave her time to complete her checkup before they started carrying him down the corridor. He needed to be in medical, still, she hated to be separated from him.
The soldiers who’d accompanied them started down the ladder one by one until Ben finally stood beside her, holding the ropes and rigging from above. “Start the evacuation protocol. I want to be off this rock in no more than two hours.”
The remaining men nodded before turning to walk down the long corridor without any argument. With Dixie out of commission, Ben easily slipped into the role of the man in charge.
“Where will we go?”
“Someplace safe.”
She laughed harshly at his answer. “Does such a place exist?”
“It does. Unfortunately, I once publicly swore I’d never return. Dixie is never going to let me live this one down.” He smiled bitterly as he shook his head.
There was only one place she’d ever heard Ben swear off. “Ben?”
“Yes?” He’d taken two steps away from her and had to turn to face her.
“Are we going to Ontesys?” She couldn’t stop the dread that built in the pit of her stomach.
He cocked his head as he stared at her. “Yep. Home sweet home.”
“Why there?”
“It’s time for me to collect on a debt owed me.”
The answer was as cryptic as his choice. As long as she had access to a lab, though, one camp was as good as another. Maybe she’d finally be able to start curing the soldiers of their dependency to NB-7. And with Dixie still recovering, he’d be the perfect starting place. She smiled as the thought took root. She hadn’t minded doing surveillance, but it would be nice to be able to heal people again. Maybe she’d even be able to help the life forms currently being held in stasis. “Once we get there, I’m going to need access to the lab. I want to help.”
“Of course. Anything you need.”
If today had taught her anything it was that she needed Dixie. And she needed Ben. But she had a feeling that that wasn’t exactly what Ben meant. Her good mood deflated a bit but she refused to let it show. She’d take what she could get for as long as she could get it. And when it all fell apart?
She took a deep breath to steady herself. When it all fell apart she’d have a lot of memories to get her through the rough times. And that would just have to be enough.
Chapter Seven
Nate sat on Ben’s lap, completely enthralled in Dixie’s impression of a space shuttle as Dixie waved the toy through the air. If Lisa came through the door and saw them, she’d probably give them one of her now-notorious doctor lectures. Ben could recite most of them by heart at this point. Dixie probably could as well. Then again, they’d both been listening to them for the past week.
Of course it was an overreaction on her part, especially now. Even if Dixie’s genetics hadn’t been manipulated, he’d have healed enough to lift a freaking toy. He could easily return to full duty with his genetic changes. Still, after the fright she’d taken with Dixie’s injury, they did their best to appease her.
Nate climbed off his lap and then crawled over to Dixie. When he lifted his chubby arms in the air, Dixie scooped him up and put him on his lap. Now they were in real trouble if Lisa came back early.
Dixie looked down at the boy and then back up at Ben. “How long did Lisa say she was going to be?” It was almost as if he could read Ben’s mind.
“We should have another hour. She’s determined to train at least two more surgeons today.” The woman had become a doctor possessed since they’d landed on Ontesys. What time she didn’t devote to studying the stasis experiments she spent training other Coalition doctors. So far eight had been trained on the procedure that ended the dependency to NB-7. Ten if he counted the two in there with her right now. And after they were trained, they were shipped off to other bases to train others. If she continued at her current pace, the modified soldiers would all be cured in a matter of months.
Dixie lifted Nate so his belly was level with Dixie’s mouth and then blew a raspberry on the child’s tummy. He guessed he should feel jealous of Dixie’s easy interaction with the son Ben only recently got to know. But he didn’t. He found it reassuring that Dixie and Nate had bonded. And Nate’s delighted laughter as he squirmed in the man’s grasp was all Ben needed to justify his feelings. Of course, Ben kept a close eye on the two in case Dixie did suddenly fatigue. He refused to interfere otherwise. “Has she been on you about having the operation?” Dixie asked as he lowered Nate back to the floor.
“Nope.” He’d told Lisa he wouldn’t undergo the surgery until Dixie had recovered enough to go through it as well. It’d been his attempt at solidarity. If Dixie still had to endure the NB-7 shots, so would he. But he’d seen the shadow of hurt in her eye. He couldn’t blame her for doubting his motives, but if she refused to talk to him about it he couldn’t really defend himself. Besides, when Dixie went under the laser in a couple more days, Ben would too. And then this would all be resolved. He hoped.
Nate had discarded the model space shuttle and had moved on to a stack of blocks just a few feet from them. “So when do you have to leave for your meeting?” Dixie asked.
Ben gave his reader a quick glance. “About half an hour. The sitter should be showing up soon.”
Dixie smirked at him but then sighed. “Sitter for Nate or for me?”
He tried but couldn’t stop his burst of laughter. For as long as Ben had known the man, Dixie had always been in charge and his whole personality screamed control. Seeing him take orders from Lisa was amusing. “Funny. You don’t complain when Lisa gives you your nightly sponge bath.”
Dixie’s smirk warmed into a genuine smile. “I’m cranky, not stupid. That woman knows how to handle a sponge.”
Ben nodded in agreement. Not wanting him to feel left out, she’d given Ben a sponge bath or two over the last couple of days. Which made her the only one to not have had a turn under the sponge yet. And that was a damn shame. One they’d have to correct tonight. The thought of her skin under a layer of warm, slick and soapy water made him hard.
Damn, would he ever get enough of the woman? Probably not. Since his thoughts were his alone, he could answer honestly. And it’s not as if he found the answer shocking. If he couldn’t get her out of his system in two years of absence, what were the odds he could manage it with her scent lingering in every room he set foot in?
Nope. He was a goner. He’d even become so accustomed to Dixie’s dominant personality that it felt odd when he wasn’t there. They’d been friends forever. But, damn, the man had taken a blast intended for him. Knowing Dixie had been the only thing standing between Ben and death had changed things. He’d wanted the man in his life before. Now he needed him there. It was that knowledge that’d given Ben the strength to put his newest plan into action. If he could show Lisa and Dixie what a great family they could be, then maybe he wouldn’t have to fight them so hard when the time came to convince them they needed him, too.
A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts. “That’ll be the sitter. Will you play nice with him?”
“I’m fine.” Dixie rolled a toy tank on the floor in front of Nate. “I’ll be nice. I won’t send this one away in tears. I promise.” Dixie’s smile didn’t build confidence in Ben.
Ben couldn’t blame Dixie for being cranky. If he’d been cooped up for the past week, he’d be cranky too. Still, limiting the man’s time with other people would be key until he had fully recovered. “Okay. I’ll be back as soon as my meeting is over.”
“You’ve been waiting all week for this meeting. Don’t rush on my account.” He made a couple of blasting noises as if the tank had fired on somet
hing. “Nate and I will be good. Won’t we, buddy?”
“Okay.” The knock sounded at the door again and this time Ben went to answer it. After he checked the person’s badge, he showed the man in and then gave him the long list of instructions Lisa demanded everyone receive before being left alone with Dixie. Fortunately Ben didn’t recognize the man. Dixie had a tendency to be harder on the men who’d served under him. And those men tended to let Dixie get away with it.
But right now that wasn’t Ben’s problem. He needed to focus on the meeting. He made it to the conference room with time to spare so he set up his reader and pulled up the notes Lisa had given him on the experiments thus far. She hadn’t learned much over the last week, but what little she had learned should be enough to pique his contact’s interest.
The door swung open and a tall, blond man walked into the room with sure, confident steps. “Ben Mincer. How the hell have you been?” He held out a hand in greeting.
Ben stood before he took the man’s hand. “Michael. It’s good to see you again. Any problems getting through security?”
“Nope. One of the perks of my job. Pretty much everyone knows me.”
“Good to hear.” He waited for Michael to sit down before he took his seat again. “Before we get started, I wanted to thank you for meeting with me. I know you’re a busy man.”
“Civil wars do tend to keep the journalists busy.”
Ben turned his reader to face Michael. “The journalists and, of course, the weapons makers.”
Michael’s attention became focused on the device in front of him as he skimmed over the material. “Tell me what I’m looking at here.”
“The next step. Super-soldiers’ DNA is manipulated to serve specific purposes. But these beings were created to fill a military’s needs.”
The man’s face paled as he looked back up at Ben. “Did the Coalition do this?”
“We can’t even create a decent cup of coffee.” He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “This is way beyond our capabilities.”
“So how did you come to be in possession of them?”
Michael had slipped into reporter mode but Ben didn’t mind. In fact, he was actually happy about it. The sooner he answered Michael’s questions, the sooner Michael would answer his. “They were planted on one of our bases during a military raid.”
“Why would the military hand the Coalition their newest scientific development?”
He thought it was interesting that Michael didn’t refer to them as weapons even though that’s what Ben had called them. Some things never changed. He was glad that Michael’s ideals were one of those things. He was one of the few people who saw soldiers as people regardless of how much the military fucked with them. “The life forms aren’t viable. Our expert guesses they’ll die as soon as she opens the stasis chambers. That’s all that’s keeping them alive.”
“Still—”
“If they can’t use the life forms, might as well use them to incriminate the Coalition.”
Michael looked down at the reader again. “This is some pretty heavy shit you’re talking about. How’d you even get this far in figuring it out?”
“Dr. Lisa Colt has joined the ranks of the Coalition.” He felt a measure of pride as he said the words.
“Has she now? I had heard something about her going missing. Seems half the galaxy is searching for her.”
“They can search all they like. They aren’t going to find her.”
“They’re saying she’s been kidnapped.” Michael leaned forward as he made the accusation.
“She was liberated from a level-one security facility. She and her son—my son—are safe and she’s working with us of her own free will.”
“Holy shit, man. What have you gotten involved in?”
“The story of a lifetime, my friend. The question you should be asking right now is, who’s going to tell it?”
Michael raised an eyebrow as he leaned back in his chair. “I take it that’s where I come in?”
“We came up together. I trust you.”
“Can you prove any of this?”
Ben pulled up the recordings they’d made of the military personnel working on the chambers at the Coalition base and let Michael watch them.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
“For now.” It might not be enough, but it was something. And it should be enough to convince his friend to take up the cause.
“It’s all circumstantial. You can’t even see what’s in the chambers. I’m going to need something more substantial.”
“We’ll get you whatever you need when the time comes.” He wasn’t sure how but they’d figure it out. They always did.
“Let’s say I believe you will indeed be able to come through with the evidence when the time comes. If what you’re telling me is true, you’re accusing the military of committing some serious crimes. And, just in case I need to remind you, it’s the government who funds the military. There’s no way the government is going to voluntarily sanction itself. It’s just going to sweep this into a corner so deep and dark no one will ever be able to see it.”
Ben had thought that might be a problem. That’s why he’d called a journalist and not law enforcement. “Then we have to go to the government’s boss.”
“And who the hell might that be?”
“The people who put them in office. Let them know what their taxes are funding.”
Michael shook his head but his attention was back on the reader. “I’m one man. My voice can’t reach the entire galaxy. And believe me, if this has any hope of working, you’re going to need the entire galaxy behind you.”
“Ahnal Lee’s voice would reach every corner. Or, at least, it did when the government was helping corporations steal land.” It’d been one of the few times the politicians had been held accountable for their actions. The whole galaxy had demanded justice when the story had broken. Government officials selling citizens’ land to the highest bidders had been heard and those who’d taken part had been thrown out of office all because of Ahnal Lee. The man might be considered a terrorist by the government but he had a voice the people trusted. Hell, that was most likely why the government classified Lee as a criminal. He was one of the few people with the recourses to hold the government accountable. Yes. If there were one person who could help them, Ahnal Lee was that man. “We turn over this information to him, let you do the interview, and we make history.”
“And you know how to get a hold of Ahnal Lee?”
“That’s what I need you for.”
“He doesn’t hand out fucking business cards, Ben. He’s one of the most wanted men in the galaxy.”
“Good thing you’re the best investigative reporter this side of the asteroid belt.” Ben took his reader and powered it down.
“This could get me into some real trouble, Ben.”
“There was a time when you needed me to be there for you. And I was. At great personal cost.” In their youth a protest had gone wrong and at least one building had burned to the ground as a result. It’d been an accident. But when he wouldn’t name the others responsible for the fire, Ben had been held responsible. He’d lost his scholarship and had to enlist in the military in order to pay for his college. That single act had set the rest of his life in motion.
Michael sighed deeply as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Can I speak to Dr. Colt? Check out the story?”
The warmth of victory spread through Ben as he stood. Michael might not be willing to admit it to himself yet, but Ben had talked him into finding Ahnal Lee. And if Michael set his mind to something, he accomplished it. The man was driven. “I’m sure she’d be happy to meet you.”
Michael stood and gestured to the door. “Lead the way.”
Ben looked at the time before standing. “Looks like it’s just about suppertime. Hope you like spicy food.”
Michael followed him in silence but Ben wasn’t fooled. The man’s mind worked constantly. When
he met Lisa, he’d be full of questions again. And Lisa would be happy to answer each and every one of them. He smiled as he thought of Lisa. She wanted justice for the life forms the military created. It bothered her more than it did any of them. He figured it was because they were half created by the military themselves so that extra step didn’t make much difference to him or Dixie. It did to her, though.
When he reached their quarters, he placed his palm against the biometric lock and the door slid open smoothly. The sound of laughter wafted through the opening along with the scent of something that did indeed smell spicy. His stomach growled in response but he didn’t walk to the kitchen. Instead he went to the living room. That’s where the sounds of laughter were coming from.
When he stepped into the room, everyone turned to look at him and then became silent as Michael bumped into his back. “Lisa, this is my friend, Michael. He’s going to find Ahnal Lee for us.”
“I’m going to try to find him. Maybe. If your story checks out.” Michael stepped around Ben as he held his hand out to Lisa. “And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Colt. The work you’ve done in genetic remodeling has been groundbreaking.”
Lisa stood and threw a glance at Ben before taking Michael’s hand. “Thank you.”
“I’m sorry to impose on you during your dinnertime, but I did want to talk to you before I officially took on this fool’s errand.”
“No imposition. Any friend of Ben’s is a friend of ours.”
“Ours?” Michael’s eyes widened as Dixie stood up. The poor journalist looked as if he might pass out. Sometimes Ben forgot how truly intimidating Dixie was when he wanted to be. And apparently Dixie wanted to be right now.
“Ours.” Dixie walked over to them and then held his hand out in greeting.