by Maren Smith
Well, that was something, I guess. Still, it bothered me that Marshall knew so much. I no longer had any interest in watching television. I looked around the house again. I could always go exploring; Brian had promised no more locked doors.
May as well put that to the test.
There were two hallways, one where my room was located and, on the other side of the living room just past the kitchen, another led to Brian’s room. I started with my hall first. There was my bedroom, and bathroom, and another bedroom. Nothing exciting. My stomach flipped with nerves as I made my way toward the second hall. Brian hadn’t invaded my privacy, but I was about to invade his.
He invaded your privacy when he kidnapped you.
He was just keeping me safe.
Was he keeping you safe when he flipped you over his knee and paddled your ass?
I deserved that. I was not the best houseguest and, ultimately, I was not impressed with my own behavior. Ignoring the voice in my head, I opened the first door.
His bedroom. Like the rest of the house, it was immaculately clean. His bed was made perfectly, and there was very little clutter. Unlike the rest of the house, his bedroom had a bit more personality. There were a couple of standing picture frames on his dresser and his bedspread was covered in different shades of blue. It wasn’t exactly tie-dyed but the blues all flowed into one another, creating a beautiful water-like pattern. There was no television, but he did have a bookshelf full of books that, from a distance, appeared to be well-loved.
I couldn’t remember the last time I read a book. I’d never been much of a reader. I only opened the books I was assigned in school and even then, I only skimmed them long enough to get what information was necessary for the assignment.
His bathroom was humongous. It was decorated the same as my bathroom with sleek grey and white subway tiles and natural rock in a shower that was big enough to fit ten people. There was even a separate jacuzzi tub in one corner. It looked large enough and deep enough to swim in, and I was seriously tempted. Exploring his space was one thing, but getting naked in his space was a whole different level of comfort. Not that I would be opposed to it, but I’d rather he be there. Well, not there as in the bathroom with me, but at least he should know I was in his bathtub.
Who was I kidding? If he wanted to take a bath with me, I would not be opposed.
My pussy fluttered at the thought, and I power-walked out of his room before I got any other unsettling ideas. No, no no no no. I needed to get a hold of my out-of-control sexual cravings for this man.
I found one more door down in Brian’s end of the house, but as I approached it, I heard that familiar click of an engaging lock. Hands on my hips, I glared at the door.
“Brian said no locked doors,” I informed the meddling house.
“No one is permitted to enter the lab.”
Lab? Interesting.
I’d gotten this far and there was no way I was NOT exploring that room.
“So, you can just disobey Brian whenever you see fit? That doesn’t seem right.”
“I am not disobeying. I am keeping a highly sensitive area of the house secured.”
“But Brian said no internal locked doors.” I crossed my arms over my chest in my favorite pose and tapped my foot. “I cannot believe you would disobey him like this. Didn’t he create you?” I was doing my darndest to get my way, but I didn’t know if a computer could feel guilt. Nothing happened and I decided to try the door. It was locked as I’d expected and short of breaking it down, I had no idea how I could get in. I sighed resolutely and turned to walk away when Marshall spoke again.
“I reviewed the conversation you had with Brian this morning and you are correct. He promised no locked doors, so I must disengage the lock. However, I must inform you that Brian does not allow anyone in the lab.”
“So you’ve said.” I spun back around to the door and turned the knob gently. With no idea of what I might encounter, I pushed the heavy door open and walked straight into the high-tech laboratory of a modern-day Frankenstein movie. “Holy shit,” I breathed. “It’s alive.”
Stunned as I was, I forgot to say it in my best Dr. Frankenstein voice, which was a shame because I could totally kill that impersonation when I wanted to.
The man had test tubes in his lab. And not just test tubes, he had beakers attached to hoses, dangling over Bunsen burners. It was dark, but there was enough light coming in from the hallway behind me to count the number of sterilized tables, topped with scales, and chemical setups, a DNA model, a centrifuge, and Petri dishes. Tons and tons of Petri dishes. Some empty; others most definitely not. Petri dishes gently culturing in an autoclave. Others chilling out in a mini refrigerator.
Okay, this was seriously impressive, but also a little bit creepy. I made my way into the room, stopping just short of one entire wall full of monitoring screens and a huge computer console that would have fit better in a NASA research center as opposed to the home of any normal man. Except that Brian wasn’t normal, I remembered with a start. He was superhuman and while that didn’t instantly make all this make sense, it did bring it back into perspective.
I was still reeling in the craziness of it all when the door behind me finished drifting shut and suddenly, I was left standing in the middle of Brian’s lab in the dark. Without the hallway lights, I couldn’t see a thing.
“Marshall, lights,” I commanded.
“I’m trying to make it difficult for you, since you should not be in here,” he answered.
Annoyed, I found the nearest wall and felt my way around the room, searching for a control panel. Eventually, I did find one, but when I touched it, nothing happened.
“You know it’s more dangerous for me to be in here if I can’t see what I’m doing, right?”
“You should not be in the lab.”
I really didn’t want to mess anything up so I went to the wall of monitors. They gave off enough light for me to move around safely. The screens were all different. One had a continuous string of numbers that kept changing. Another was the security camera feed. The rest, I had no idea what they were doing. What caught my interest was a computer and screen in the corner. There was an outline of a body, with what looked like an electrical current moving through it. On the side of the screen was a bunch of data icons that might as well have been hieroglyphics. The only parts I could understand was Brian’s name, height, weight, and gender, listed up in the top right-hand corner.
“Marshall, what is this?”
“You should not be in the lab,” he answered again, ignoring my question.
“Look, I’m already inside. I’m not going to mess anything up, but if I have to look around more to find answers, I might,” I coaxed.
“You should not be in the lab,” he repeated.
Broken fucking record.
I rolled my eyes and tried clicking around on the screen. The information disappeared and a file folder opened. It was full of documents, videos, and pictures. I went to the first file and clicked it.
“I know, I know. I’m late,” Brian’s voice said from the computer speakers, and a video of him, complete with a date and time stamp tracking along the bottom of the footage, appeared on the monitor. “I lost track of time. Just pulling out of the parking garage now.”
The video was grainy gray-scale and showed Brian talking on the phone, while pacing back and forth. His voice was distracted and impatient as he stopped in front of a table with a robot looking frame lying on it. He was in a lab of some sort. Even in the dark, I could tell it was a different lab than this one.
“No, Stella. Just got caught up in work. You remember what that is, right?” he asked sardonically, and I wished I knew who was on the other line.
He smiled and leaned up against the side of the counter. He relaxed, suddenly seeming less perturbed than before.
“I’m on my way.” He nodded. “Yeah… I’ll be there soon.”
He set down his phone but stood unmoving, staring at that table for
a long moment before his eyes widened and he strode toward the camera. It had to have been a webcam or something because his face loomed right up next to the screen while the clicking of computer keys tapped in the background. He smiled and backed away, taking one last look at the screen before picking up a tiny tool and going back to the heap of metal and wires lying on the table.
There was a pop and the lights all surged before the whole room went dark. The video ended.
I clicked the next one, hoping it was a continuation, but now the footage showed Brian’s body laid out on the table where the robot had once been. He’d been strapped down, and there was a woman looking into the camera. The keys were clicking like crazy and her eyebrows were bunched close together. Worry etched the lines of her face. Behind her was a man. A gorgeous man. He stood with his hand on his chin, looking back and forth between the woman and Brian.
Brian groaned and the man jumped. “He’s awake.”
“Oh, thank god!” Both the man and woman rushed to Brian’s side.
Brian’s body moved in small jolty motions, tugging against the restraints before he ripped through the straps and bolted upright.
“Brian!” the woman exclaimed. “Take it easy. You need to lie back down. Your brainwaves are going crazy! I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“Stella? Bobby? What happened?” he rasped, rubbing the back of his neck and stretching.
“You’re a stubborn liar that basically killed himself,” Bobby, or so I assumed, answered. He and Stella were both staring at a computer screen again.
Brian looked down at his body, his fully naked body, I noticed belatedly, and began to rip the monitors off.
“No, no wait!” Stella waved her hands, but then flopped back in her seat, pouting when he didn’t listen. She smacked the keyboard. “Dammit the analysis was almost complete. Put the sensors back, please!”
She stood and went toward him and like a flash, he sprang off the table, except his feet never hit the floor.
“Holy shitballs.” Stella covered her mouth with her hands, but so did I. I stared at the video, suddenly realizing what I was seeing was Brian’s superhero creation.
Brian looked down at the ground. He was hovering. Hovering! And he was indeed naked. As the day he was born. God, he looked good.
“What the hell?” He grabbed the blanket that had fallen off him when he jumped off the table. Or, more accurately, when he flew off the table.
“Damn, did you see how fast he moved?” Bobby asked.
Stella nodded, her mouth gaping open as she stared at Brian. My look probably mirrored hers as I watched the scene unfold. It was all very confusing, but I was putting the pieces together slowly in my mind. At some point in his past, Brian had been a normal man. Some sort of accident had given him his powers?
This is the shit movies are made of. In fact, I’m pretty sure this story has been told before.
“Can someone please tell me what is going on?” Brian’s voice was loud and clear, unlike it had been a second ago.
“You tell us! You never showed up at the restaurant and didn’t answer your phone, we got worried and came to find you. And luckily we did, because I don’t know what anyone else would have done if they walked in on what we did.” Stella shook her head in disbelief.
“Hell, I saw it and I still don’t believe it,” Bobby added.
“I need more than that, guys. I’m naked and I’m floating in midair.” Brian pointed at the ground.
“Exactly!” Stella agreed. “Except when we came in, you were unconscious and on the ceiling!”
“What?” Brian scoffed.
“She’s not joking, man. Your clothes were a tattered mess and you were sprawled against the ceiling like it was a bed or something. It took some serious work to get you down and when Stella hooked you to the monitors, you kept floating away.” Bobby shrugged. “We had to hold you down and strap you to the table. I checked you out and you seemed fine, just unconscious and your brainwaves were way more active than a normal brain. We were about to take you to the hospital, but you woke up.”
“How long was I out?” Brian asked.
“Somewhere between two and four hours. I wanted to get you to the hospital, but your pain in the ass partner-in-crime over here wouldn’t allow it.”
The video ended after that and the rest of the files were documents and photos that were too much for me to comprehend.
“Holy cow,” I whispered to myself. I had so many questions. “Marshall?” I asked hopefully.
“You should not be in the lab,” he repeated for the third time.
“Okay, okay. If I leave, then will you answer some of my questions? Please!” I begged.
The screen reverted back to the original one with the body and data.
“If you leave now, I will listen to your questions.” Marshall finally gave me a glimmer of hope.
I left the room the exact way I’d found it and shut the door. Once in the hall, I put my hands on my hips. “Okay, I’m out.”
I swore I could feel the entire house sigh in relief.
Overreact much?
“Whatever, geez, I’m not a child,” I huffed. “It’s not like I was going to blow something up.”
“The lab is full of highly sensitive materials. Brian will not be happy you were in there. I alerted him, but he has not responded.”
“You alerted him? Like you tattled on me? How? He’s not even here, is he?” I looked around, my stomach twisting in anticipation. I believed Marshall when he said Brian wasn’t going to be happy. I just wondered what that would mean for me. Mostly, what it would mean for my ass? Would he spank me again?
“We keep a constant line of communication. He needs to be able to access information, especially when he goes out on a mission.”
That made sense. It also immediately took my mind off getting spanked and put it back on the matter at hand.
“How did Brian become a superhero?”
“You viewed the footage. You saw how it happened.”
“Yes, I saw. I’m just trying to figure out exactly what it is I did see.”
“What you viewed was a lab accident. Brian was working on his latest research project and invention. He made a mistake. The mistake manifested in his body, taking on superhuman abilities.”
“Yes, I saw all that. So he was born a normal human?”
“He was always highly intelligent, but otherwise, yes.”
“And what? He just became super and started fighting crime? How long ago did this happen?”
“It happened two years ago. I cannot say much more. You will have to consult with Brian, but he did not ask for this, it was an accident. He much prefers the quiet of his research and challenge of his inventions.”
The things Marshall was saying had my heart twisting in my chest. I felt sorry for Brian for some reason. Like he was working hard for a life he didn’t ask for. One he didn’t want. He fell into his powers and was now sacrificed himself to save people. I felt worse and worse about the things I’d said and done since he kidnapped… no rescued me. He had rescued me and I needed to make sure to keep reminding myself of that.
“Marshall, would it be an invasion of privacy for you to tell me what Brian’s favorite dinner is? I’d like to cook for him tonight.”
“Brian is a simple man at heart. He likes simple things.”
I thought about the stereotypical ‘man meal.’ “You mean like, he’s a steak and potatoes kind of guy.”
“Good guess. I do believe he would be very pleased with that choice.”
“Awesome. How about some music?”
The beginning bars of my favorite song filled the air and I smiled and shook my head. “Show off.”
Chapter 7
Brian
After another meeting with the chief and his staff, it was even more evident to me that Angela was exactly where she should be, safe in my home. Patel had burned down the pawn shop. It was going to hurt to have to tell her that. It hurt even more t
hat the chief was so damned clueless. He wanted to believe in the good of all of his men when the truth was written in the smoldering remains of both the safe house and the pawn shop. Someone was feeding information to Patel and that somebody worked for the chief.
I pulled my motorcycle into the garage and shut off the engine. Stretching my neck and shoulders, I let out the breath I felt like I’d been holding ever since I left that morning.
I hadn’t wanted to leave Angela alone today, but taking her with me was just too big of a risk. She’d seemed okay with that decision when I’d left, and certainly she’d felt good enough to go snooping just as soon as I did. Marshall had kept me updated throughout the day with camera shots, but with no idea as to what or how much she discovered as she poked around in my house, I wasn’t sure what mood I’d find her in once I went inside. She was under a mountain of stress these days, and her emotions were all over the place at the best of times. And of course, what I had to tell her wasn’t going to help.
“Welcome home, boss,” Marshall announced. “How did things go today?”
“Same as always,” I replied as I let myself into the house. “Although it seems whoever at the precinct who’s been leaking information, they’re getting bolder. Some seriously sensitive intel was compromised last night.”
“Not good. Want me to run a scan on the station computers?”
“Yes. Find out who is paying special attention to Patel and his men. Run a scan on angel and the pawn shop too.”
“On it.”
“Want to also tell me what I’m about to walk in on?”
Marshall stayed silent.
That can’t be good.
When I opened the door, however, the sights, sounds and smells that greeted me were not only better than not good, they were fantastic. Angela skipped around in my kitchen like she didn’t have a care in the world. She twirled and smiled and sang along with the music. It was beautiful.
Not wanting to interrupt and selfishly wanting to enjoy the show a little longer I leaned against the doorjamb and watched. She opened and closed drawers and cabinets pulling out items to set the table. I didn’t have anything fancy, but she made the table look like it belonged in a home and garden magazine. Fresh flowers even filled a vase as a centerpiece. Where they came from, I had no idea. I didn’t even care. I was going to make it a point to have fresh flowers in that vase more often. It brought color and life to the room. She brought color and life to the whole house.
