***
A large, dark shadow writhed above Robert. The shadow sucked the light from the space around it giving the ceiling the appearance of a dark night sky devoid of moon and stars.
The shadow twisted and jerked as if it were anticipating something. When Kat leaned into Robert and pressed her mouth against his, the shadow pulsed and quivered expectantly. Kat’s lips parted and her tongue snaked into Robert’s mouth. Her free hand felt for his response. She pulled back slightly, just enough to be able to lock on to his eyes again. She whispered.
“You missed out the other night Robert. I was ready for you and you were too drunk.”
Kat held his hand tight against her breast. Her other hand moved up and worked on his belt.
“You want me, don’t you Robert?”
“Yes,” he replied, his voice raspy, but sure.
Kat pushed her body against him, forcing him back toward the door. She tongued him again as her hand pushed his trousers and shorts down.
“Do you want me, Robert?”
It was more of a demand than a question.
“Yes, Yes. I want you. Oh God, I want you.”
Robert reached down and lifted Kat’s skirt. He was feeling for her underwear when he realized she was naked underneath. His hands reached around to the junction of her thighs and buttocks, just beneath the cheeks of her bottom. He started to lift her up to him.
“Wait,” Kat commanded.
Robert hesitated. Kat escaped his grip, once again standing on the floor.
“Robert, do you remember what I told you when I took you home?”
The shadow above Robert vibrated and shuddered as it slid along the ceiling, always maintaining its position directly above him.
Robert looked glassy-eyed. Sex-tranced.
“All I remember is that I wanted you and I got too drunk,” he whimpered.
Kat’s hand reached down and enveloped him in a velvet flame.
“I told you a secret, Robert. Do you remember my secret?”
“I don’t know.” Robert said. His voice cracked. “I think so. God, I was so drunk.”
“You asked me how I learned so much about advanced genetics in such a short period of time. We talked about life without end. Eternal life and the power of science to save us.”
Robert moaned. The velvet flame dance across his skin.
“I told you that I had discovered a power greater than science. Greater even than this.”
Kat squeezed her hand as she spoke. Robert winced and groaned.
“I asked you if you wanted to experience that power. To share it with me.”
Kat’s hand continued to tease.
“Oh, God, Kat.”
“Not God, Robert. Science! Mixed with something extra.”
Robert reached down and put his hands back under Kat’s buttocks. Kat pushed herself up on her toes, pressing her body tightly against Robert.
“Do you remember your answer, Robert?”
The shadow hovered directly above him. Spidery, black tentacles dropped out of the inky cloud and snaked their way down, stabbing at the air around him.
“No. Yes. Maybe. Oh shit, Kat. I think I’m going to lose it.”
Kat felt the tremors in Robert’s body. She relaxed her grip. Robert’s breath was hot and ragged.
“You can have the same power Robert. You said yes once before. Is your answer still yes? Do you want it, Robert?”
***
Thinking clearly was difficult, but Robert knew what he wanted. He lost himself deep within Kat’s eyes, and there, he discovered his salvation. Power. People respect power. People worship power. I want the power.
He was not sure how he knew, but he knew he was about to receive something special. Something powerful. Something more than sex.
“Yes. Yes, I want it.”
Robert heard his voice, but the words seemed far away. The velvet fire consumed him.
“All the people who hurt you, Robert. All the people who shit on you. Everything will change.” Kat’s lips brushed Robert’s as she continued. “It is a gift, Robert. Tell me you want the gift.”
“I want the gift.”
“It will change you, Robert. Tell me you want to be changed.”
“I want to be changed.”
“Tell me you want to be possessed by the power.”
Robert was vaguely aware that the sentence structure seemed off, weird, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was the power.
“Yes, give me the power,” he told Kat again, his voice barely a whisper.
He lifted Kat up again. This time she moved with him, almost as if she were levitating. Her hand positioned him for penetration. It seemed that she floated in his hands.
“Tell me, Robert. Say it.”
“I want to be possessed by the power.”
Kat’s lips went to his ear.
“Then receive the gift.”
***
Kat drove her hips forward. She glanced up and saw the tentacles of the shadow gathered around Robert’s head and shoulders. As Robert penetrated her, the tentacles penetrated him. He exploded into Kat and she held on tight as Robert jerked and spasmed. The shadow disappeared into Robert. His legs folded. He slid down the wall, his buttocks slamming into the floor. Kat let him slide out of her, forgoing her own pleasure. Robert squeezed his eyes shut, and his face glowed with both ecstasy and agony.
Kat stood above him and used her hand to keep Robert’s fluid from escaping. She went to the bathroom and anointed both a red and a black candle with the product of her seduction. Kat smiled. She owned Robert now. Robert, the brilliant but socially inept scientist, had easily surrendered his soul. Almost as easily as stupid Bruce. Owning Robert meant controlling all of the resources of AGT, and controlling AGT meant controlling her destiny.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
The pathological need of humans to feel in control amused Baalzaric. Most of them never realized that their unwillingness to admit to what Adonai (some call him God) called their “fallen nature,” gave Lucifer great advantage in his battle for supremacy. Blind to their own avarice and feebleness, humans constructed false realities for themselves, thinking that somehow they could transcend their base natures. Become little gods. Control their destinies. The truth was that humans actually controlled very little, and the few things that they thought they controlled actually mattered little. They were simply powerless pawns in the great battle between Adonai and his darkest angel.
In spite of her naiveté concerning the true source of her new powers, Kat pleased Baalzaric. He would allow her to believe that she was in control for as long as it suited his purposes.
Robert had traded his soul for pleasure and power. Kat had provided the pleasure, now it was time to have Robert exercise some of his newfound power. Under the control of Baalzaric’s demonic minions, of course. Briggs and AGT had made significant contributions to the governor’s campaign, both in money and in kind. It was time to cash in that marker.
***
Robert knew exactly what he needed to do. Kat had left him on the floor in a purple haze. Some kind of darkness had inundated his mind and, for a moment during sex with Kat, he believed he might be having a stroke. After some period of time (Seconds? Minutes? An hour?), his mind cleared and solutions came to him. Out of the blue. Like a computer being fed a list of instructions. Robert had heard about automatic writing — but automatic thinking?
Kat was doing something in the bathroom. He could hear water running as he walked past to his office. After-sex stuff he supposed. He picked up his desk phone’s handset and dialed the governor’s direct line. The governor picked up on the third ring.
“Governor Breckenridge.”
“Governor, Robert Teal, AGT, here.”
There was moment of silence.
“Dr. Teal, I didn’t know you had this number.”
“Just cleaning up some loose ends here, Governor. Briggs wasn’t the type to let a little thing like getting killed hold AGT back.”
&nbs
p; Another pause.
“Briggs was special. No doubt.”
“And so is our research, Governor. Tens of millions of dollars’ worth of special. So special that we can’t afford any delays or distractions. After all, if we lose money, we can hardly justify continuing our large political contributions. I’m sure you understand.”
A third pause.
“Dr. Teal, the State of Florida has a vested interest in the success of all Florida businesses. We certainly don’t want to see any of our corporate citizens lose money. How exactly can I help AGT today?”
“My security team,” Robert corrected himself, “our security team tells me there is no real evidence that Briggs’ mishap was anything but an unfortunate accident. He got himself killed probably driving too fast in his damn Corvette. Tragic, but hardly the stuff of Law and Order or CSI. Like I said, we can’t afford any delays or distractions. Every minute I spend doing something other than research potentially costs us a fortune, and Florida is one of our largest stakeholders. I just thought you might want to help us out here.”
The fourth pause was the longest.
“Only a handful of people have this number, Dr. Teal. I’d like to keep it private.”
“I understand, Governor.”
“Briggs was a risk taker, no doubt. Probably driving too fast. What a waste. Probably no reason to spend more of the taxpayers’ money. I’ll make a call. Anything else, Dr. Teal?”
“Well, maybe you could join me for dinner sometime, Governor. Next time you’re down this way.”
“Sure, Dr. Teal. Let me make that call.”
The line disconnected and Robert grinned. Briggs had never invited him to any of his many lunches or dinners with the governor. Now Robert would do the inviting.
***
The bathroom door lock clicked and Kat stepped into Robert’s office. Robert sat at his desk grinning like an idiot. Baalzaric’s careful control over Kat mimicked a modern computer interface. He had infiltrated her brain’s neural network and could send an interrupt signal, taking control, feeding information, executing a program. Now he had as much or as little control as he needed. She would still be Kat, but more and more, she would be his version of Kat.
“Do you remember our agreement, Robert?”
Robert’s eyes were locked on Kat. He spoke through his grin.
“Strangely enough, I do. Lead researcher on the Infinity Project.”
“Effective immediately, right?”
“Effective immediately.”
A dozen shadows extended out from Robert’s body. One shadow, larger than all of the others, dipped toward Kat. As he gave her greater knowledge and power, Baalzaric gained greater control. She would lose her own will, her own destiny. What did that matter? She would serve him, and through him, Lucifer’s kingdom. Her destiny intertwined with his, and his destiny would be an eternal existence of pleasure and power.
The cloning of humans would not happen overnight, but it would happen, and Kat and Robert would lay the groundwork. It would only take a few short years to prepare the first spiritually hollow, human receptacles. The transition to a demon-controlled world of pliant flesh pots would then come quickly. Like the days before the great rain, once again, it would be a great time for demons.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
After Jim had left the hospital’s ER at three in the morning, Trooper Mike Stubbens had driven him back to what remained of his house. By the time they returned to Jim’s home, an alphabet soup of local, state and federal investigators — ATF, FHP, FDLE, FMPD, LCSO — swarmed over its crispy remains. It seemed that only God himself had failed to show up with badge and gun.
Several portable lighting generators lit up the crime scene to daylight levels. Yellow police tape surrounded what was left of his home. His damaged personal vehicle sat next to the house. With the exception of some melted plastic, the exterior paint had absorbed most of the damage, but it would be in the body shop for a couple of weeks. At least he hadn’t lost everything he owned. Just almost everything. Fortunately, he had parked his FHP Charger on the street, and it had escaped with no damage from the explosion.
Jim spent two hours answering questions, and another two hours waiting to see if anything could be salvaged. Then he called his insurance agent. It was not a happy conversation.
“I’m sorry, Jim,” Brent said. “The home office says it’s an act of terrorism, and your policy does not cover acts of war, riots, or acts of terrorism.”
“You have to be shitting me,” Jim shouted into his cell phone.
His use of vulgarity — something that, under normal circumstances, seldom occurred — had increased exponentially since last night. Even speaking with Brent, Linda’s brother-in-law, didn’t mitigate the anger. Jim continued his rant into the cell phone.
“What the hell was I paying all those premiums for?”
“Jim, I’m sorry. The initial report is that the cause of the fire was likely an Improvised Incendiary Device that ignited your propane tank.”
“Yeah,” Jim replied. “Some son-of-a-bitch blew up my house and you sold me the insurance policy, and now that my house is burnt down, you’re telling me that my insurance doesn’t cover the damage. That’s a load of crap, Brent.”
“Look Jim, I’m just the agent who sold the policy. Under today’s rules, this could be classified as an act of terrorism. However, I will contact the company’s New York headquarters. It can take a week or two to get an answer out of them. As soon as I know, I’ll call.”
“Fine,” Jim replied, “and you need to call your sister-in-law. She’ll be looking for her share of the house’s equity. Wait, I have an idea. Why don’t you give Linda the number to the insurance company’s home office? After she gets done with them, they’ll probably agree to build each of us a new house.”
“Have you told her what happened?” Brent asked.
“Hell no. I didn’t want to hear the disappointment in her voice, knowing that she had missed out on a big life insurance payout. God, I need to get all of that stuff changed. Look, never mind. Don’t say anything to Linda. I’ll call her later. I have another call. Let me know when you have some good news.”
Jim did not wait for Brent to answer. He pushed the button on his cell phone to accept the incoming call.
“Hello?”
“It’s Kat Connors, Officer Demore. We need to meet.”
Jim could not decide if the day had gone from worse to total insane crap, or maybe, finally, toward the better.
“Okay, when and where.”
“The Midnight Oasis club in Port Tampa. You know, where I work,” she said. “Tonight at 11.”
Her voice seemed to have a built-in seduction mode. She had it switched on and dialed up to full power this morning.
“If you’re not in uniform, tell them who you are at the door and they’ll forget the cover charge.”
“I’ll be there.” Jim replied.
He did not care much for so-called gentlemen’s clubs, but this was in the line of duty. And he had to admit that the prospect of meeting her at her club did peak his curiosity. The part of his psyche governed by testosterone would not object to seeing Kat in her native environment.
The call disconnected. In spite of the anticipation he felt, rooted in a primitive, hormone-driven sexuality, something did not feel right. The off-kilter feeling raised a number of questions. How did a guy like Bruce York get the money for a Dodge Viper and a house any corporate senior vice president would be happy to live in, and land a girlfriend like Kat Connors on a government bureaucrat’s salary? Even with what he had called “a small inheritance,” it seemed implausible. Especially the Kat Connors part. If Kat Connors was just another gold digger, she was most likely digging in a shallow mine. Why? Why settle for the likes of Bruce York? To a guy like Bruce, she must be quite a trophy, but what’s in it for Connors? She had the looks, and appeared to have the brains and class to be hunting much bigger game. Well, regardless, if she caused Briggs’ death, sh
e would be just one more beautiful convict, behind bars, fighting off the dykes.
Jim needed to make one more phone call before he could go find a cheap hotel and sack out for a while. Jim dialed the number for Pedro de la Garza.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Jim found a discount motel in Ft. Myers next to a one-hour dry cleaner and close to a superstore. Before checking into the motel, he spent an hour and a half buying khakis, jeans, shorts, sneakers, and a couple of shirts, since everything owned, except what he was wearing, had been destroyed in the fire. He also picked up some socks, undershorts, laundry detergent and softener.
Returning to the motel, Jim unlocked the door to his room, threw the bags on the bed, and grabbed the TV remote. He turned on the antiquated nineteen-inch television, flipping through the channels until he found a local news broadcast. A weather reporter said the early fall weather would stay unseasonably hot, and the tropical depression that had languished in the Gulf of Mexico was now a tropical storm. Well, at least I won’t have to worry about a hurricane blowing down my house this year.
Jim stripped off his uniform and headed for the shower. The cramped bathroom did not offer much in the way of amenities, but at least the motel supplied plenty of hot water and a relatively modern shower. Jim put the shower head on pulse and let the hot water beat the smoke stink off his body. He washed his hair twice. Lather, rinse, repeat.
He turned the faucet’s single handle until the water sprayed out as hot as he could stand it. He put his head under the pulsing water until it felt as if a molten cocoon engulfed his body. It not only washed the dirt and the smoke away, it also melted some of the tension. Jim allowed his shoulders to relax. His arms hung limply at his sides.
The ringing in his ears had finally subsided and the stabbing pain in his knee decreased to an annoying ache. Just as he was feeling better, the water went from hot to scalding. Jim jumped back, banging his elbow against the hard tile behind him.
“Shit.”
He slapped at the faucet’s handle. The temperature went from scalding to ice cold. He jumped again.
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