The Complex (The Omega Protocol Chronicles Book 3)

by Courtney McPhail

  He snorted. “You’re gonna have to explain how that works.”

  “When he fell off the roof,” she said. “He was doped up on those sleeping pills and it slipped out. I don’t think he heard me. He’s never said anything about it.”

  “Then tell him and this time make sure he hears you. We’ve got no idea how long we’ve got on this earth. Better you live honestly than hide behind lies because you’re scared. Take a chance at being happy.”

  “This is the only time I’m going to tell you this so you better prepare yourself,” she said. “You’re a pretty smart guy.”

  He chuckled. “I’ve been waiting thirty years to hear that.”

  “Well, we wouldn’t want you getting a big head, now would we?”

  “Of course not,” he drawled sarcastically but then ended with a laugh. “Now that you’ve bolstered my ego, go find Jackson and talk to him.”

  She nodded and pushed herself out of the chair. “There’s a party going on at the lodge. They’ve got cake. You should go get some.”

  “Maybe,” he said with a shrug of his shoulder. The cake sounded good but he wasn’t sure about the reception he’d get in the lodge. “I’ve got to put away the stuff we took with us today.”

  She looked at him with pity and then rounded the desk to hug him. “I hope you can find a way to be happy here. I love you, little brother.”

  “I love you too, big sister,” he said, hugging her back and then she left him alone with his thoughts.

  He was glad his sister had found someone to love here. He wished he had told Janet he had been in love with her.

  The truth was he was still in love with her, even when she wanted nothing to do with him. And he knew he only had himself to blame for how it ended.

  Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t be happy. He just had to figure out what it was that made him happy if he couldn’t have Janet.

  He got up and went to his pack that he had dropped on the couch. His brain always worked better if his hands had busy work. He went to the supply room and began to replace the supplies on the shelf as he considered what would make him happy.

  Before the end of the world, he had been happy and he had been single then. So what exactly made that life happy?

  The answer came to him in an instant. He’d had a purpose. He had been working towards a prominent career as a surgeon. It had been a goal of his for decades and one he had been in the process of achieving. He needed that kind of purpose again.

  There was always the greater purpose of making sure their island community thrived but that was too broad. It wasn’t personal to him the way it was to Malcolm or Angela. He wasn’t part of the Omega Protocol, just a civilian brought along for the ride.

  But maybe he should consider it his own purpose now. He had joined up with Malcolm in the hope of finding a safe place for him and his sisters. He hadn’t cared about the Omega Protocol or what it was trying to achieve. Maybe he should start to care.

  His thoughts went to what Veronica had found on that other island. Those people had been helpless and on their own and they had died because of it.

  It hit him then what he could do.

  He left the supplies to be dealt with later and went in search of Malcolm. He was the one he needed to talk about this with.

  Low music was coming from the open doors of the lodge and Quinton could see the others hanging out inside. He crossed the lawn and spotted Malcolm on the deck with Javier and Banks, drinks and plates of cake in their hands. As he walked to join them, he peeked inside the lodge to see several people around one of the tables with a Monopoly board in the centre.

  “How’s it going?” Quinton asked as he approached the three men.

  “Good,” Banks said, raising his tumbler of whiskey in salute. “Drinks are on Malcolm tonight in honour of his birthday.”

  “Really? You didn’t say anything.”

  “That’s because my birthday was two months ago,” Malcolm replied with a grin, “But apparently Jenny got the idea to start celebrating birthdays and wanted to make up for missing mine. We’re celebrating Travis’ too.”

  “So I take it things went okay with the others,” Quinton said.

  “I’m not saying everybody was happy but they get it. I also made a deal,” Malcolm said. “All it took was me enduring the humiliation of being the first one to go bankrupt in a game of Monopoly against fifth graders.”

  “It wasn’t a proud moment,” Banks added with a grin.

  “Point is, no one is going to bother you about the freak being here,” Malcolm said.

  Quinton could read the subtext. Janet wouldn’t blame him for this little endeavour. That was good to know but he had more important things to discuss.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  Malcolm nodded and led them over to another corner of the deck away from the others.

  “I take it you got a rundown of what happened on the other island,” Quinton said.

  Malcolm nodded, rubbing his palm over his chin. “I’m glad we got the fuel but it sucks that it had to be because all those people died.”

  “And it might have been preventable,” Quinton said. “I don’t know what it was that killed them but had I seen them when they were sick, I might have been able to help them. I don’t like the idea of people out there suffering if I can stop it. We need to focus more on exploring these islands. There are people out here who need help.”

  “We’ve got to take care of ourselves too,” Malcolm said. “We’ve still got a lot to do to prepare for winter.”

  “I know but we’re in a good spot right now. Plus our biggest need for winter is firewood. We have to go back out there for it. When we’re doing that, it won’t hurt us to reach out to other people we know are out there. If we help the people around us, they’ll be less likely to see us as a threat or try and take what we have.”

  Quinton could tell by the furrowing of his brows that Malcolm wasn’t quite convinced.

  “Isn’t the whole point of the Omega Protocol to preserve civilization and our way of life? Our way of life started with thirteen colonies uniting. Seems right we should be doing that here. We’ve got a good thing going with the Port Meyer group. We need to start reaching out to more groups. We know there are others out on those islands. We need to figure out a way to start working with them.”

  Malcolm stared at him a moment, his fingers stroking his chin as he considered everything he said.

  “Alright, we’ll step up the exploration. We’ve got more fuel and more boats to go out now anyway. Grab yourself a piece of cake and celebrate with us. Later, you can come to my cabin and we can figure out the best way to do this.”

  Quinton was about to tell him that he’d forego the refreshments and wait for him in the clinic but he remembered his wish to find some happiness. He wasn’t going to find that hiding in the clinic. He had a purpose again and now he could work towards being happy.

  “Sounds good.”

  Subject File #745

  Administrator: You love her.

  Subject: That ain’t any of yer business.

  Administrator: I apologize if I crossed a boundary.

  Subject: Nah, sorry for snappin’. It’s just...I don’t feel right talkin’ ‘bout it to someone else when I ain’t even told her.

  For the first time in his life, Jackson found himself actually wishing he could be at a party. It was a weird feeling. For years he’d avoided them. It always made him anxious being around a lot of people. He preferred being alone.

  Now here he was sitting watch alone in the tower and all he wanted was to get back to the party at the lodge. Though it wasn’t because he was looking to be a social butterfly. He was worried about Veronica.

  He and Hannah had been waiting on the dock when Veronica and Audrey had come back with the others. Hannah was excited to see them but he had just felt relieved when they both stepped on the dock.

  As he had helped unload the boat, they had related what they had found
on the island. He could see that something was bothering Veronica but when he asked her, she had excused it as just being sad over what they had seen.

  She’d been quiet during dinner and he had wanted to chalk it up to concern about the freak in the lab but he knew this had started before Malcolm had brought it here. Something that had happened on the island had gotten to her.

  He’d considered inviting her on watch, seeing if she would be willing to talk about it out here, but she had gone to visit Quinton at the clinic before he got a chance to ask.

  At least it wouldn’t be long before he was done his shift. Veronica had the whole night off so he would be able to talk to her soon.

  That was another strange feeling, actually wanting to talk to someone, but Veronica was different. He cared about her, a hell of a lot, and that made him want to know she was okay. And if she wasn’t, he wanted to know that too.

  He spotted a light bobbing out in the trees, following the path that led to the cliffside. His relief was here. He leaned against the railing and watched the light get closer, two figures appearing on the path.

  Mendez was his relief and he guessed Angela must have decided to keep her company. He climbed down the ladder, jumping the last couple of rungs to land on solid ground and found his guess had been wrong.

  It was Veronica that walked with Mendez and she was smiling. Whatever had troubled her before, she seemed to have sorted it out.

  “I figured I’d come meet you and walk you back.”

  “Alright,” he replied, conscious of the fact that Mendez was watching the two of them with a big shit eating grin.

  “Things quiet up there tonight?” she asked as she grabbed a hold of the ladder.

  “Yeah but there’s been a buncha bats swoopin’ ‘round,” he said. “Almost had one of ‘em hit me in the face.”

  Mendez shuddered. “Well, if you hear screaming, assume one of them hit me. Flying fucking rats.”

  As she headed up the ladder, bitching about the bats, he and Veronica made their way back to the path.

  “Where are the girls?” he asked.

  “At the lodge playing Monopoly,” she replied. “Looks like it’s going to go long. Claudia said she’d walk them back to the cabin when it was over so we could turn in early if we want.”

  They would be alone in the cabin, just the two of them. That was a first.

  Which had him thinking some X-rated thoughts. They’d been coming to him a lot more often lately. Probably because they had been sharing a bed every night. Even when they were scheduled on late night watches, they’d either start or end the night together in her bed.

  Each time he woke up with the two of them tangled together, he thought about it. Problem was thinking about it was all he managed to do. No matter how much he wanted her, he couldn’t make himself cross that invisible line.

  “Ya still okay ‘bout the freak being here?” he asked. He hadn’t been impressed with the idea but he’d been willing to follow Malcolm’s lead. He hadn’t steered them wrong yet.

  “I am. The lab is secure. It’ll never get out of there.”

  They walked the rest of the way in silence, only the night insects and the waves making any sound. Normally he’d been fine with the silence, they’d shared more than a few comfortable silences between them, but this one was different. He could sense that Veronica was stewing over something.

  He didn’t like seeing her like this, stuck in her head. It reminded him of the days after she had attacked Harold. Today was supposed to help her put that behind her but it looked like it hadn’t worked.

  He watched her as they toed off their boots at the cabin door and shut the curtains so they could turn on the lantern. That brooding look was still there. The shadows the light cast made her seem even sadder as she hung her long sleeve flannel shirt on the peg next to the door.

  “Ya wanna tell me what’s wrong?”

  She nodded and crossed over to drop down on the couch. “Today was hard. Harder than I thought it would be.”

  “What bothered you specifically?” he asked and sat down next to her.

  “The man who had killed himself after the others died. He got to me.”

  He watched her chew on her bottom lip, fighting back the tears that he could see glittering in the lantern light.

  “The man, Pete, he lost his wife and his child. They were the last ones to die. He buried them next to the others and then put a shotgun in his mouth. He had a cellphone in his hand with a picture of them. They were his life and without them, he couldn’t keep going”

  “That’s some tough shit to see,” he said.

  “It was,” she said. “In the blink of an eye, he lost his family. Not to a freak or an attack, but to some illness. Ever since I attacked Harold, I’ve been telling myself that it was an overreaction because we’re safe here but that’s wrong. We aren’t safe here. We can’t really be safe anywhere. We could die at any moment.”

  He wanted to tell her it wasn’t true, not wanting her to go back down that path again, but when he opened his mouth to speak, she squeezed his hand to stop him.

  “I’m not being paranoid or going into survival mode,” she assured him with a small smile. “Life has always been short. Now we’ve just got a lot more things trying to shorten it. We can’t waste what little time we have. I don’t want to be scared anymore. I just want to be happy. You and the girls, you make me happy. I want to work on making good memories that I can look back on when my time comes, whenever it comes.”

  Relief flooded through him. This wasn’t a backslide for her. She was taking a step forward.

  “Alright, then, what good memory do ya wanna work on then?” he asked as he eased back into the couch.

  She stood up and walked over to the door and threw the deadbolt. He swallowed hard when she turned back around and desire shone in her eyes.

  He felt like some virgin preteen when he started to tremble as she walked back over to stand between his spread legs. Jesus, he was acting like he’d never done this before.

  Except it was kinda true. Being with Veronica would actually matter and he’d never been with a woman who mattered. He was terrified he’d fuck it all up and he’d lose her.

  But now, the way she was looking down at him, he knew that he was in a do or die situation. If he rejected her out of fear now, he’d lose her for sure. It was time to man up.

  He pulled her down to straddle him, his other hand fisting in the hair at the nape of her neck and he went in for a kiss.

  This wasn’t like the sweet kisses they had shared before. This was hot and heavy, tongues twining together as they feasted on each other.

  Her hands grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling it up and they parted so he could help her yank it over his head. She kissed him again, her hands running over his bare chest as she hummed in appreciation. Her warm palms gliding over his bare skin was overwhelming, sending all the blood out of his head and into his dick. And that sent any hesitation he had right out of his head.

  He became a man possessed then, stripping her down first so he could feast his eyes on her naked body as he took off the rest of his clothes. He only slowed down when he had her laid out beneath him on the couch and he began to explore her body.

  It was quite the education. He learned that when he kissed the spot where her neck met her shoulder, she shivered. That when his lips teased her nipples, goosebumps broke out over her entire body, and that when he finally sank himself into her, she let out the sweetest whimper that fired up his blood.

  It was only when it was over, both of them panting in a tangle of sweaty limbs, that he remembered he’d been worried about crossing this line. It seemed stupid now that he could feel her racing heartbeat against his own chest and the fresh scratch marks she left on his back.

  She sought out his mouth for another kiss, this one lazy as she nibbled on his bottom lip and then flicked her tongue over the mark.

  “That will definitely go in the good memory bank.”

&nbs
p; He grinned like a smug bastard, ego boosted to know that it had been just as good for her. He nuzzled her neck, threading his fingers in her loose hair. “Gimme a coupla minutes and we can work on makin’ more memories.”

  She giggled, music to his ears. It had never been like this for him when it came to afterwards. Any other time, he’d already be dressed and eyeing up the door. Now all he wanted to do was stay here with her, skin to skin, their hearts beating together in time.

  He finally got why people always made such a big deal about relationships. When you actually cared for someone it was so much better.

  Subject File #749

  Administrator: You’re going to have to loosen the apron strings eventually. They’re ten years old. They’re going to want to do things independently of their mom. The island is a safe place for them to do that.

  Subject: I know but they are my babies. I just want to hold on a little bit longer.

  “Mattie! Mark! Let’s go!”

  Janet smiled at Ruthie who was standing at the foot of the ladder, chubby hands on her hips as she looked up at the loft. The little girl was good at mimicking what she saw and Janet had to admit that was a good imitation of her.

  “Time to wake up, boys,” Janet called up to the loft. “Breakfast will be ready soon.”

  Janet had woken up not too long after dawn and had taken the time to enjoy a long shower to wash off the sweat from the warm night. When she had come out, squeaky clean and refreshed, she had found Ruthie awake and excited to go see the chickens.

  The arrival of the hens and chicks two days ago had been thrilling for everyone. The adults were looking forward to the eggs and the children had been excited to have pets. They’d been quick to claim the chicks as their own and give them all names and volunteer to feed and water them. Even though the chickens hadn’t laid any eggs yet, still adjusting to their new home, Janet was glad to have them just for how happy they made her children.

  She’d been concerned that soon the novelty of going to the beach to swim and playing games in the lodge would wear off and they would start to realize how much they had lost. The chickens put that off for a little while, giving them something new and different to like about their new home.