Sleeper Cells

by Sandra Y. Desjardins

  “Yes,” she wiped her face as tears slid down her cheeks. “I do.”

  They stood in an awkward silence for several moments. “How’s about we set a date for a few months from now? We can plan a couple of family vacations and maybe help Vanessa move into her dorm—”

  “I don’t want her over there when she finds out,” she shook her head. “She’s not strong enough to handle that on her own. Even with Jeremy there, I think she’ll fall to pieces…”

  “Okay,” he sighed. “Then what’s the alternative?”

  “How’s about we leave a couple of days after the fourth of July?” She said after several moments. “Maybe we can plan another cruise with my parents and grandparents next month...”

  “Okay,” he nodded. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah,” she looked out at the roses. “I’m sure.”

  “So check this out,” he said after several moments. He walked across the room and picked up what looked like a wallet and handed it to her. “I hacked into Tennessee’s government website and I got my job as a Park Ranger right here at Meeman like we talked about.”

  “Ranger Mansell,” she smiled as she studied the badge. “So I’m a ranger’s wife?”

  “Yeah, I thought that was the plan,” he took her hand and pulled her onto the couch. “Are you sure about this, Kat?”

  “Yeah,” she looked at him for a moment. “I’m sure. And I don’t want you to think that it has anything to do with us because it doesn’t.”

  “I know.” He reached for a stack of papers on the coffee table then handed her a pamphlet, “I got this for you the other day…” She looked down at the brochure about a local German shepherd breeder.

  “They’re so cute,” she flipped through and looked at the pictures. Amazingly, it didn’t help her glum mood. She wasn’t quite sure why she still felt so withdrawn from him, and why she was still angry just beneath the surface, but she was. And there was this weird part of her that couldn’t believe she was sitting there pretending to care about a dog. “Can we get one?” She asked.

  “We can get two if you want.” He shifted so he could pull his phone from his back pocket. “We just have to make sure that we can handle them if we want kids running around here too,” he hit the speaker button when he saw it was her mother calling.

  “Where the hell are you?” Her mother yelled before either of them could greet her.

  “Out,” he stammered. The level of urgency and anger in her mother’s voice startled both of them.

  “Andrew is looking for Kat. He said he went by the house, and it’s vacant, but the cars are in the garage, and she isn’t answering her phone!”

  “We’re on our way,” he pulled her up. “Where did you need us to go?”

  “Home, so you can get ready for the charity dinner at the Ritz. Where’s Kat?”

  “Hey, Mom,” she fumbled the phone. “We kinda got into an argument—”

  “Honey, I don’t give a crap if you woke up in men’s underwear next to seven donkeys and discovered a bunny tattoo on your ass! You need to keep your phone with you and not forget your obligations to the Agency!”

  “Yes, ma’am,” she helped shut the lights off and lock the doors. “We’re on our way.”

  “Good, call me when you’re in the limo, it’ll be out front in thirty minutes!”

  Before Kat could respond, her mother hung up on them. Jason scanned their D.C. house for life forms. When it showed the house as empty, they teleported, and hurried to get ready. It wasn’t until they got into the limousine that they were able to catch their breath.

  “What’s with that smile?” He attempted to pull her onto his lap but she shifted, opting instead to sit beside him.

  “You said kids again,” she shrugged; the good mood the thought had brought on dissipated the second he touched her. “Uh-huh,” he studied her for a second. “I thought you wanted kids?”

  “I do. But do you think we can…you know, have babies?”

  “I don’t know,” he answered after giving it some thought. “But we can try. And if all else fails we can adopt.”

  “Really?” She genuinely smiled and looked at him for the first time since they had made it back to Washington. She abruptly turned her face when he moved to kiss her, his lips landing instead on her cheek.

  “What was that?” He leaned back and stared at her in disbelief.

  “What?” She avoided looking at him.

  “Kat,” he forced her to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” she pulled her chin free of his hold.

  “Wow,” he forced her to look at him again. “Did you just pull a Vanessa?”

  “Excuse me?” She looked at him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “Okay, I can see that you’re still upset—”

  “How perceptive of you,” she snapped. She looked out the window. She tried to make sense of the nagging urge she had to start another argument with him. It didn’t follow a logical pattern, especially after they had just started to seem happy with their previous discussion about children, yet she continued to snap at him.

  “I’m sorry,” he took her hand. She looked down at their joined hands, and then pulled hers free when she looked at his wedding band. “Kat,” he sighed when she scooted away from him. “I shouldn’t have made the comment about your sister—”

  “Damn right you shouldn’t have,” she slammed down on the button to lower the window.

  “I simply meant that I don’t want our communication style to follow hers…” He scooted toward her and she pressed herself against the door. He stopped and stared at her for a moment then sighed. “Please don’t tell me there isn’t anything wrong when something obviously is. You’re acting…different, and I can feel that something is wrong, so tell me what it is. Please, Kat,” he took her hand into his again. “I can’t fix something if I don’t know what’s broken.”

  She looked at him for a moment then looked away because something about looking into his eyes made her angrier. It was bizarre. He forced her to look at him again. “Did you sleep with her?” She asked after forcing her chin out of his grasp. She looked out the window and waited for an answer she wasn’t prepared to hear.

  “No, we never…” He sighed when she pulled her hand away from his. “Kat, she invited herself to our hotel room the first night Mindy and I met Tony. We told her we weren’t into that sort of thing and I, for the most part, have avoided her ever since. But she’s persistent…I swear nothing has ever happened between us, and I told her today that I was madly in love with my wife, so I was handing the reins over to Andrew and I wouldn’t be back again.”

  “Really?” She looked at him.

  “Yeah, that was the plan. And with Bridgett mentioning our wedding it just helped it along, so no more Teresa.” He took her hand into his. “July fourth?”

  “Yeah,” she nodded.

  She rested her head on his shoulder because she couldn’t kiss him just then, the image of him kissing Teresa still fresh in her mind. And it pestered her the entire night. When they got back to the house and she got ready for bed, she stopped by the calendar and counted the number of weeks until the fourth of July. In only four short weeks, she would say her final goodbyes. She looked at Jason as he came into the room and sighed when he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the dresser.

  Maybe, she thought to herself as she watched him leave the room to set the alarm, the memory of him with Teresa could help her get through her good-byes. Because there was no way in hell she was ever going to be okay with her husband kissing another woman. She only hoped that one day she would be able to erase the image from her mind, and never have to worry about it happening again.

  Chapter Seventeen Ghost from the Past

  “Kat,” Jason kissed her neck softly. “Just one more time, please?”

  “Babe,” she whined. “It’s after nine, and I’m really beat,” she lifted the magazine higher up so she could hide his pouting
face from her view.

  “Please,” he pulled the magazine out of her hands and tossed it on the nightstand. “I’ll love you forever,” he smiled before kissing her cheek.

  “Jason, I really am tired.” She laughed when he sat up on his knees and put his hands together. “Come on, we’ve done it like twenty times already and…” after a second she snapped her fingers several times as a mischievous smile came to her lips. “I have a headache.”

  “We don’t get headaches,” he pulled her into a seated position. “Just one more time,” he begged.

  “Fine,” she pushed the covers back. “Just once though—” she burped and their eyes widened.

  “What the hell was that?” He reached over and grabbed a wrapped duel pack.

  “I think I just burped.” She giggled as she watched him fight with the cellophane, “Really, a new pack?”

  “It’s not that I don’t trust you.” He pulled the flap open and turned the box upside down. “But, babe, it’s like impossible, you’ve beat me the last twenty-seven games!”

  “Jason, its War, there’s no strategy to it, honey, it’s just dumb luck.” She whined as he handed her half the deck.

  “No,” he threw down a card. “It’s statistically impossible. How the hell do you keep winning?”

  “You have seriously lost it.” She giggled when he sighed because she took the first three hands.

  “Ha,” he shouted when his ten bested her three.

  “I really am gonna kill Vanessa for showing you this game.” She laughed, and then covered her mouth when she hiccupped.

  “What the hell is up with your stomach lately?” He laughed when he saw her comical expression.

  “I don’t know, but I’m pulling you off of cooking duty until it settles down.”

  “Oh, so it’s my cooking then? Well, just remember who forced me to go to couple’s cooking classes the next time you can’t sleep because of indigestion.” He bounced on the mattress. “Yeah, here we go: I declare war!” He dropped the cards on the bed.

  “See, you got one.” She pointed out as she flipped the bottom card over and he took it.

  “What?” He lost the second round, “Dammit, woman!” He shouted when she took the other two rounds, which made her crack up.

  They finished the game with Kat winning yet again. Jason threw a fit and begged her for a rematch, to which she absolutely refused. She ran out of the room and he chased her down the stairs and into the kitchen. She laughed when he caught her coming around the center island, and then kissed him before heading to the refrigerator.

  “Come on,” she teased when he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. “I’m seriously beat, and I’m starved.”

  “We just ate.” He laughed when she pulled out strawberries and a can of whipped cream.

  “Yeah, like three hours ago,” she ran water over the berries.

  “Here,” he fed her a strawberry coated in whipped cream.

  “Yummy,” she giggled after taking a bite. He had just leaned over to kiss her when the doorbell chimed.

  “Dammit,” he groaned. “It’s ten at night, we were about to go to bed and have a very nice night…” He bit the rest of the strawberry then chucked it into the sink with the garbage disposal, “So twenty bucks says its Vanessa here to ruin the mood.”

  “Can I bet you if I think it’s the same thing?” She teased as she pulled her robe closed and headed for the front door.

  “Yeah, no, I think that kinda defeats the purpose,” he said as she pulled the door open.

  Kat gasped when she saw her sister’s tear-streaked face. “Vanessa,” Kat went to pull her into an embrace, the distress written all over her face wasn’t just for dramatics. Something was seriously wrong, Kat’s stomach cramping painfully. Jeremy had a hold of Vanessa’s upper arm and jerked her against him when Kat stepped closer to Vanessa. The sudden movement, matched with the crazed-look in Jeremy’s eyes, startled her. She studied Vanessa then Jeremy. “What’s wrong?” She stepped out of the way so Jeremy and Vanessa could make their way into the house.

  “Get back, Kat.” Vanessa sobbed, “Please—” It looked like Jeremy shook her slightly and when Vanessa sobbed several times, Kat tried to reach out for her again.

  “Vanessa?” Kat stepped toward them when Jeremy took a step away and slammed the door behind him.

  “What the hell is going on?” Jason got out just before Jeremy pulled the gun that had been concealed behind Vanessa’s back and aimed it at Kat. Jason, who had been leaning against the dining room table, made his way across the room in record time. He grabbed Kat’s arm and shoved her behind him.

  “What the hell are you doing, Jeremy?” Jason said putting his hands up in front of him. “Put that down—”

  “Tell her!” Jeremy shoved Vanessa forward after placing the barrel against her temple. “You tell her the truth so she believes me!”

  “Calm down,” Jason gripped Kat’s arm and pushed her behind him. She struggled to get around him, but his grip was like a vise as he guided her farther into the house and away from Jeremy. “Talk to me, Jeremy. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “You wanna know what’s going on?” He shouted, the physical exertion making him shake Vanessa violently. “You’re married to a fucking freak of nature! She’s an alien from another planet!”

  “Kat, just run,” Vanessa shouted. “He’s crazy, totally obsessed with you.”

  Jeremy spun Vanessa around, then punched her in the face, the impact so great that she fell to the floor in a heap.

  “Why you son of a bitch,” Kat yelled. She tried to get around Jason but he held her behind him.

  “You need to calm down, Jeremy.” Jason shouted. “You need to—”

  “I’ve got all the proof I need!” Jeremy pulled Vanessa onto her feet and shoved the gun against her temple again.

  “No!” Kat fought against Jason. “Let her go!”

  “Then tell her the truth!” Jeremy took several steps toward Jason and Kat. Kat tried to hold her ground but Jason shoved her so that a huge distance remained between them. “Tell her that you’re a freak! I showed her the blood sample; the DNA sequence my father found that isn’t human, and all the footage I have, and she still doesn’t believe me!”

  “Okay!” Kat pulled free from Jason. “I’ll tell her!” She pulled her arm free when Jason grabbed it again. Standing beside him, she held her hands up to show Jeremy that she wasn’t a threat.

  “Don’t bullshit me,” he shoved the gun against Vanessa’s temple again, which made her whimper.

  “I’m not,” Kat assured him. Jason gripped her arm and pulled her toward the staircase, but she shook him off and stood with her hands held up. “Just leave her alone, Jeremy. Let her go, and I’ll do whatever you ask.”

  “Jeremy, calm down man,” Jason said. He once again stepped in front of Kat and took a few steps toward him. “Did you two take anything?”

  “No! I didn’t take anything!” Jeremy shouted. “I’ve been following this bitch my entire life and she knows it. You remember me, right, Kat? Tell them you remember me!”

  Jeremy advanced so he could see Kat around Jason. She felt a wave of energy come off of Jason in response, so she grabbed his arm. He looked at her and she shook her head as she willed the energy to flow into her. They couldn’t expose themselves.

  It didn’t matter that Jeremy seemed to have some kind of insight into their true nature. Humans couldn’t know the truth. And if they used their powers, Vanessa would know what she really was, so she would be in danger. And when the Agency discovered that Vanessa learned of their Hybrid status because she had witnessed Kat and Jason using powers they weren’t supposed to have until they were older, they would terminate all three of them, and probably Brian too.

  “Jeremy, please.” Kat begged. She took a few steps around Jason. “Just calm down and I’ll tell you whatever you want to hear—”

  “You tell her the truth,” he aimed the gun directly at Kat. “Tell he
r, or I’ll kill her.” He turned the gun back onto Vanessa.

  “Okay! I know you!” Kat shouted. She took another step toward them.

  “Jeremy O’Connor,” he said. “Say it!”

  “What?” She looked at Vanessa then back at him. “Jeremy Miller, you said—”

  “It’s O’Connor!”

  “Jeremy,” Jason pulled Kat behind him. “Listen to me; you aren’t going to solve anything by doing this—”

  “O’Connor. As in Dr. Leonard O’Connor, my father!”

  “No,” Kat stared at him as the name registered. “You can’t be.”

  “You see,” Jeremy shook Vanessa violently. “We knew she’d remember. We knew that her memory was better than ours.”

  “What is he talking about, Kat?” Jason asked as he forced her to back away from him.

  “My car accident,” she continued to stare at Jeremy. “It was his dad that had been on call that night…”

  “See, babe, see!” Jeremy yanked Vanessa so she would face him. “I wasn’t lying. She’s a monster—”

  “No!” Vanessa shoved away from him and stumbled backward then fell. “Stop saying that! You’re just a crazed stalker that used me to get to my sister!”

  “Her dad disappeared! He was found dead on the scene, babe, but when my dad finally got down to the morgue his body was gone, they never found it!” He advanced toward Jason and Kat, gun held at the ready. “And when she should have been dead, no brain function at all, she woke up and talked to my dad, clear as day, she asked where her dad was!”

  “Stay back, dammit!” Jason shoved Kat further back. “Jeremy! Think this through, she was a kid, maybe it wasn’t as bad as your dad remembers—”

  “Fuck you!” He aimed the gun at Jason. “He knew. He had taken a blood sample while she was unconscious, and when he went to analyze it and came back, she was all healed, not a scratch on her!”

  “He probably worked all day and night, Jeremy.” Kat tried to reason with him, “And little kids are resilient—”

  “No!” He grabbed a handful of Vanessa’s hair and pulled her onto her feet. He wrapped his arm around Vanessa’s neck and put the gun against her head when Kat advanced toward him. “Then explain the glass that one night. I have it on film. And the stop light exploding and the shit that happened at your school that day!”