The Fair & Foul (Project Gene Assist Book 1)

by Potts, Allie

  Juliane, not looking up from the page, remembered her early struggles with Alan's script. "It took me awhile to figure out the trick of it myself. Alan has trust issues."

  Betty grumbled something in response that sounded like, "I wonder why." The following silence between them was an oppressive wall. Juliane found herself looking forward to Alan's return if only so that he might help break it down. Betty appeared shaken by the results of the test. Does Betty think that I would share any of that? Juliane didn't think any less of her. If anything, she now had a greater respect for the woman's drive.

  “Betty, I know you think I am an awful person for putting you through those tests, but I had to be absolutely sure that you were going to be able to handle the upgrade.”

  “I understand.” Betty’s voice was clipped in anger. “I didn’t realize that the system had the ability to see quite so clearly into my head.”

  “Those thoughts weren’t as hard to find as you might believe. I had the system home in on your greatest fears, wants, and regrets to ensure that you were able to stay focused.”

  Betty made a harrumphing sound. “Well, what’s done is done. You now know everything you need to know about me. I trust I won’t have to go in there again.” Betty was being childish.

  “You were the one that insisted on being tested.” Juliane tried to remain calm and composed, but Betty was completely overreacting. Juliane wondered if perhaps it was due to being exposed to all three strong emotions in such short order. It might be something worth incorporating into her algorithm. Her mind immediately began framing the problem in terms of variables.

  Three strong emotions. Three-X. Juliane stopped turning the pages of Alan’s notes. Could the solution really be so simple? “Betty, I believe that Alan’s dosing equation is off—however, this is not my area of expertise. Would you care to take a look?” The question was more of an olive branch, as Juliane was confident enough in her personal assessment. Whether or not Betty chose to accept it would tell Juliane much about her character.

  Betty seemed grateful for the distraction and hurried over to look at the page. “Well, I understand why he would have come up with this equation. It is definitely the most expedient method of uploading the data, but you're right. He didn’t take the subject’s natural health response into consideration. By modifying the frequency and dose rate, we can reduce the risk factor by at least a multiple of three, if not ten.”

  “And decrease the subject’s potential strength as a result.” Both women were startled by the comment as Alan returned to the lab. As the door closed behind him, Juliane could see that Alan was accompanied by another man with dark hair; whoever he was, the man did not follow Alan through the doorway. “And yes, I did take the subject’s health response into consideration. I felt the payoff worth a little extra risk.”

  There is no possible way that the procedure would have been approved based on this equation. “Alan, you didn't get approved for human trials based on this information, did you? She still hadn’t heard from Louis. Juliane fought to keep her anger in check. If something happened to him, Alan might be the only one who would know what to do. They couldn't afford to put him on the defensive; he could leave the room and never come back.

  “Especially when the alternative is so obvious!” added Betty.

  “Ah, good. The heat must be back on. When I first opened the door, it felt freezing in here. I assume then that your testing went well?”

  “I have no further concerns.”

  “Well then, if you both are so confident, how about we go ahead and update Betty using your recommendations?”

  Juliane knit her eyebrows. As Betty had pointed out, the alternative had been extremely obvious, almost as if he had planned for one of them to stumble across it, but she still had expected more of a fight from Alan.

  Before she could ask if Alan had some master plan he wasn't sharing, Betty launched herself onto the procedure bed. “I am ready to begin whenever you are.”

  “Your wish is my command. It is so nice to see some enthusiasm around here. You’ll not regret it. Ready, Juliane?” asked Alan.

  He did stretch out the last syllable. Juliane sighed, closing her eyes. Data flowed in her veins, warming her and making her more aware of the world like only a good cup of coffee could. Alan was right. The payoff was worth the risk. She had survived, and she had to believe that Louis would wake soon. How could she deny anyone else the same opportunity?

  “Right, let’s begin.” Alan made a show of bringing the equipment around. While he might not compare to Louis for showmanship, occasionally Alan did have a flare for the dramatic. “Betty dear, you may feel a little pinch.”

  Fifteen

  As they anticipated, Betty’s reaction to the treatment was significantly less severe. She had still grown pale and feverish, but overall, the difference was like a slight cold compared to an extreme case of pneumonia. She never once lost consciousness.

  Louis finally made contact while Betty practiced mastering her focus. He had woken up in the air. Hours ago. Other than the fever and blacking out for a few hours, he hadn't suffered too many ill effects. Juliane had wanted to tell him about her experience with the bird, but before she could bring up the subject, the call was disconnected.

  He must have traveled into a cellular dead zone. It has to be why he didn’t call sooner. Juliane had returned her attention to Betty. Within hours, Betty too was accessing information across the globe as if she had been born with the ability, albeit not quite as powerfully as Juliane.

  As the weeks passed, Chad continued to abstain from the procedure himself, even after seeing how well Betty responded, preferring instead to support the team by running errands. Even with only the three of them online, they were able to compile data with record speed. Juliane reveled in her ability to access massive amounts of computing power by mere thought.

  A supercomputer is limited in that it can only respond to the parameters of its programming. It was one of the major challenges in the development of artificial intelligence, but they had no similar limitation. Seemingly unconnected data points were correlated together for no logic-based reason, yet they fit together perfectly. Soon the team developed a basic working equation that would serve as the backbone for the rest of the experiment.

  The team then set up a collaborative online platform using Juliane's virtual reality software. They could then access the virtual world and manipulate objects and materials without the need for additional programming as easily as modeling clay in the real world, except with a lot less clean up. If it were up to Juliane, they would conduct all their work in the virtual world, but that would limit Chad's involvement, leaving her feeling outnumbered. With the exception of that first day, Betty didn’t act like she still held a grudge against Juliane, but she did tend to side with Alan whenever a topic came up for a vote.

  As Juliane left her virtual world for another day of face-to-face meetings and office work, she clenched her teeth. There had been no further negative side effects. Juliane couldn't understand Chad's continued reluctance to upgrade. Chad was only able to enter by donning bulky gear kept on the campus, which meant their meetings were in person. I could be in the comfort of my home right now. If it hadn't been for Chad, she wouldn’t have to deal with Alan in the flesh. Thinking of flesh, at least she had Louis.

  Juliane closed her eyes and accessed her email server. There were no new messages since the last time she checked it ten minutes ago. Her text feeds remained equally empty. It felt like it had been ages since Louis last visited. She shouldn't complain though. He more than made up for his absence when his schedule did allow for an occasional check-in. Juliane told herself she couldn't really blame him for not communicating more. After all, he was still trying to strengthen his position in the company as much as she was.

  Think of the positives, she told herself. The media frenzy surrounding their relationship had finally died down. Without their constant interruptions, Jul
iane had been able to pay more attention to her work. The downside, however, was the fact that they no longer had to be as secretive about their rendezvous. Juliane realized she missed the extra attention. It had added an element of stealth and danger to their lovemaking that she found she rather enjoyed.

  Juliane discovered that her body now associated the flash of the camera with the anticipation and afterglow of time spent during those clandestine meetings. The result of which was that she now experienced Pavlovian reaction whenever she spotted nearby reporters. It was further reason to avoid the gossip outlets. Unless Louis was in town, she amended to her thoughts. Then, it was quite a different experience.

  Lost in her delicious thoughts, Juliane did not hear the door to her office open. As if summoned by magic, there stood the object of her daydreams.

  "You never call. You never write," Juliane said with a smile on her face as she ran to him.

  "You know I can't risk putting anything about what we do in writing, at least not yet, and I'm always in meetings." Louis pulled her close, lifting Juliane up in his embrace while using his back to close the door. Returning Juliane to the ground but only unwrapping one-half of his embrace, he reached behind and turned the lock with an audible click.

  "I can't stay long." He looked into her eyes. His eyes shone with hunger. Louis pivoted his heel, bringing Juliane with him, pinning her to the wall near the door.

  "You never stay long." Juliane pouted.

  Louis leaned in, nuzzling her neck.

  Juliane tilted her head to the side, giving him more access. Having him here, in person, was always so much better than any of her imaginings.

  "Louis?"

  "Mmm," he answered, not halting from his ministrations. One of his hands began similar strokes along her thighs.

  "You could take me with you sometimes."

  Louis stopped what he was doing. Juliane's body ached in protest. He pulled back and looked at her. "And take you away from your work? When you are so close? You'd never forgive me."

  Louis was right. She wouldn't. She needed to see this project through, but it was so difficult to remain focused on the future when her immediate needs were demanding an altogether different form of satisfaction. "I know. It's just that I miss you so much when you aren't around." Juliane bit her lip. She could see his body tense up as if to further pull away. She shifted her hips, where his hand still lay frozen. "There’s just so much more I'd like to do to you and never enough time."

  Louis smiled and leaned back toward her. "Is that so?" His hand once again began its exploration. "Why don't you tell me more? What would you do?" His voice dropped into the husky baritone that she associated with some of their more enjoyable phone calls. If only the feeling of his lips upon her could be as easily transmitted over distances. She could do such wicked things to him if only she could be two places at once.

  The thought brought her up short. "What if we established a private network?"

  Louis muttered, "I must not be doing something right. You sound like you just switched into work mode."

  "I'm serious. You've been upgraded. I've been upgraded. It's just a matter of manipulating data. We could do it."

  "Do what?" Louis asked.

  Juliane threaded her fingers through his hair. "We could set up a network between us, and no one would ever know. No risk of public leaks. We would be able to not just tell each other what we'd like to do, but show each other," she murmured. "Explicitly." She felt his hand slip behind her waistband as she once again lost her grip on logical thought.

  Sixteen

  Juliane attempted to straighten a few of the books on her office shelf which had become jostled when Louis had sought better leverage. She smiled and shook her head when her eyes spotted her solitary picture frame. Perhaps she would add a few more photos one of these days. "You never did answer me."

  "About what?" Louis asked while straightening his clothes.

  "About the idea of establishing a private network between the two of us."

  Louis wrinkled his forehead in thought. "Do you think that is really necessary?" he asked as he walked over and unlocked the door.

  "It could be the perfect solution to our problem." Juliane turned to face Louis. "Your father sure could have used it."

  Louis's face darkened. "My father made mistakes. I don't want to discuss him."

  She took a step toward him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound judgmental. Who would ever have guessed that his mistress was not only a underage Saudi Princess with daddy issues, but was also caught up with cartels?" She took another step and helped adjust his tie. "If you ask me, the girl was asking for trouble. I am sorry that your father was sent away and how hard it's become for you to travel in the open without looking over your shoulder. But think of it this way, if they hadn't made those choices, you and I may never have met."

  Louis's eyes softened as he lowered his head to kiss her forehead. "That's true. Fine. If you think this will make you happy, let's try it."

  Juliane closed her eyes and focused. She could see the data stream flowing through Louis. She visualized reaching out to him, her own data stream branching out to him in a line separated from the flow of the rest of the network. As the connection was made, she was flooded with additional sensations. As a test, she projected her feelings of euphoria resulting from the aftermath of their passion. She opened her eyes in time to see his smile deepen.

  "It was good for you then?" Louis asked with a smirk.

  The corners of his eyes tightened, and Juliane suddenly felt a warmth travel down her torso, the same path that had so recently been traveled by his hands. Her breath quickened. He didn't move from where he stood, but Juliane found that she could feel his lips press against her nether regions. She fought the urge to moan.

  "This may have been your best idea yet," gloated Louis.

  Louis's phone rang, shattering their concentration, and the sensation dissipated, leaving Juliane aching for satisfaction.

  "It's time, sir," the voice on the other end of the line announced.

  "I'll be right there," advised Louis. Hanging up the phone, he said to Juliane, "I have to go, but don't worry. We'll finish this later."

  After taking a few minutes to regain her equilibrium, Juliane joined the rest of the team in Alan's lab. She was deep into programming when her vision of the room was replaced with an image of herself in a compromising position. Along with the image, she received a sense of Louis's hunger and his arousal. She blinked, clearing the image, and looked about the room. None of her colleagues noticed anything unusual.

  Once again, she felt the sensation of his body on hers. Her breath became shallow.

  Betty looked up from her workspace. "Is everything all right?"

  "I'm fine." Juliane gritted through her teeth, biting off the moan that threatened to escape from her lips.

  "Are you sure? You look flushed."

  Alan turned around and scanned her face. "Your eyes are glazed," he announced. "You aren't coming down with something?" he asked.

  "Coming down?" Juliane advised. Spiraling out of control maybe, dancing the fine line between torture and ecstasy definitely, but sick? "No. I feel wonderful."

  Alan frowned. "Good. We can't afford to lose our momentum now."

  Juliane visualized smacking Louis on the buttocks and received back a sense of unapologetic mirth. She must have gotten her point across because the rest of the sensations faded away immediately, allowing her to continue work uninterrupted.

  Back in the privacy of her own apartment, Juliane tried to find Louis. For some reason, she still was not able to pinpoint his exact location even with her advanced abilities. When asked about it, Louis had only shrugged and told her that he had equipped his phone with some additional security since his father had made some enemies. Why Louis would need the same level of security as his father was a little unclear to Juliane. It was more than a little paranoid in her opinion. She guessed Louis must hav
e his reasons, but he could be so frustrating at times.

  She searched until she believed she had identified his whereabouts to within an approximate ten-mile radius. He was on the West Coast and likely in a meeting with some very influential business leaders. Juliane's lips turned up in a coy smile. Perfect. She projected her desire across their network and waited for a response. When none immediately followed, she imagined the feel of his chest beneath her hands and pushed. Still nothing.

  Disappointed, she sent a message through their private network. No response. She sent another message through the public network. This time, Louis sent a message back. He was sorry to report he hadn't felt a thing but was looking forward to chatting with her soon.

  Juliane contemplated sending Louis an invitation to meet her in the virtual world she and the team were using, but thought better of it. She didn't trust that Alan wouldn't be using it, and the last thing she wanted would be for him to find them there for any reason outside of pure research.

  More days passed, and Juliane hadn't found the source of the issue. It was as if Louis was blocking her transmissions for some reason. He, on the other hand, did not seem to have the same problem. He had remained uncharacteristically in one place for all of this time, and the time difference had placed her at a distinct disadvantage. There had been a few occasions when she had been forced to excuse herself from the lab before she embarrassed herself due to his preferred manner of wishing her a good morning. The team had begun to take notice.

  As enjoyable as those moments were, the private network overall was rapidly losing its appeal. At least in Juliane's opinion. For Louis, well, Juliane didn’t quite know what Louis thought about it. His recent calendar allowed for little time to talk. And even less time for the kind of talk that didn't first involve play.

  After facing yet another morning of her team's glares and wrinkled foreheads, Juliane decided it was time to disable the network. So much for being spontaneous. Louis will understand, she told herself. He probably won’t even notice it is gone. She really had to put her full attention into the task at hand; otherwise, when he eventually did have time for some well-deserved rest and relaxation, she wouldn’t be able to join him. He is bound to be back soon. I’ll explain it to him later.