Project Genesis

by Howard, Michelle

  “Has Slade sent anything?” Vin asked. He hadn’t brought his PCU to the table. His only thought this morning had been hustling Helen out as fast as possible. They already had a late start due in part to Vin’s inability to remove himself from her side.

  Lingering in his bed long past his normal wake up time, he’d studied her sleeping features, occasionally stroking a hand down her hair to confirm that it wasn’t a dream. The reality of having her lay next to him in his bed after months of wishing her to be there slowly sunk in. But then he’d forced himself up and shut down all thoughts of it going anywhere. Not happening.

  “Slade’s got nothing on our calendar other than the command performance with all the teams at noon today.”

  Vin winced and checked his watch. Nine thirty. At least an hour to Helen’s place and an hour back, he’d cut it pretty close for the meeting. Harkum eyed him across the table. Earlier, his best friend offered to ride with to take Helen back. They’d both be late.

  Time to go. “Are you done?”

  Helen finished the last of her drink and though her brown gaze didn’t exactly brim with energy, she gave him a firm nod and rose to her feet. Vin nudged his plate toward Sen to dispose. “Harkum and I are taking Helen home. Should be back in time for the meet and greet.”

  “Are you connected?” Rock countered setting his PCU on the table.

  Vin tapped his ear and his ever present ear com. His men nodded, bumped fists with him and called out goodbyes to Helen.

  Chapter 13

  How could an hour car ride through DC and MD traffic go so quickly? Helen used her hip to shut the door of the black SUV they’d arrived in and glanced up at the welcoming entrance of her condo. The small flower bed she’d planted last year showed budding shoots breaking the ground as spring attempted to make an earlier appearance than predicted. Her white Cayenne sparkled in the drive reflecting the wax job from Friday evening. Everyday normal. Nothing to indicate an Earth in crisis.

  The unexpected quiet of the neighborhood rang false. Today, windows and doors remained shut tight. Curtains pulled closed to protect the occupants. Usually children’s laughter poured forth on a weekend. Parents typically sat outside keeping a mindful eye on little ones. The family atmosphere of her street accounted for part of the reason she’d been sold on the property. Not that she ever thought about children when she bought the place.

  Thirty loomed closer though and her birthday signaled the inevitable ticking of her clock. Each year, she put off family wanting to wait until she cemented her spot at LS&G. Now she wondered in the grand scheme of things how important that was.

  Vin came striding around the hood while Harkum stayed seated in the back. Helen waved at him and received an indecipherable chin lift. Since she’d witnessed Vin doing the same thing in the past, she assumed it was guy speak for goodbye.

  “You don’t have to walk me to the door, Vin.”

  He snorted and gripped her hand on his trek up her walkway. Unless she wanted to be dragged, Helen trotted to keep up. In front of her beautiful oak door, his raised brow waited on her. Horror dawned. She didn’t have her keys. No purse. No money. Tears burned the back of her throat. Damn it, was today going to suck too? Helen willed away the water works.

  Vin’s knuckles brushed her jaw. “It’s okay. I can get you in.” He squatted to eye level with her brass door knob and matching locks then dug around in his utility belt and retrieved a multi-faceted tool. In seconds, her door popped open.

  Inside, her alarm began a distant beep, sending Helen rushing through toward the blinking security panel to punch in her birthday. After a final beep, the lights switched from red to green. Vin stood in her small entry way framed by the still open door. His gaze swept through her living room and the adjoining dining area with hard eyes. “I’ll check the rest of your place before leaving.”

  Her protest died on her lips as he took the stairs two at a time to her upper level. Helen sighed and headed toward her kitchen. On second thought, she turned taking the path Vin had to her bedroom. Getting into clean clothes was a priority. Her bedroom took up most of the upstairs. The second smaller space served as an office for the long hours she spent working from home.

  Somehow she expected her place to be different. Disturbed. But Rekabians hadn’t been sighted this far in the county. Nothing had been disrupted. Her perfume bottles lined in size order smallest to largest on her dresser just as she left them. Her king size bed was neatly made from when she’d left for work Saturday morning.

  Vin stood next to her bed, head bowed studying something in his hand. Helen walked closer, curiosity getting the best of her. She couldn’t imagine what he’d find fascinating among her stuff since he’d been here many times.

  “You sleep in this?”

  Vin raised white fabric in her direction. He must have picked it up from her side of the bed. Helen tried to recall if she’d dropped it in her rush to get downtown. She came closer and reached for the shirt but his arm raised high.

  That’s when Helen recognized the tee shirt she had slept in the night before. For months in fact. Cheeks aflame, she snapped, “I thought you were going to check on things and leave.”

  “You sleep in my shirt, hellcat?”

  There was wonder and another note she couldn’t identify in his voice. He tossed it on her bed and approached her on silent feet. Helen swallowed. “You left it, its comfortable. Ownership is nine tenths of the law.” Or something like that.

  Of course, that didn’t explain why she hadn’t washed it. The faint trace of Vin’s scent lingered in the material and on nights when Helen found it difficult to sleep, she snuggled in the overly large shirt and drifted off.

  “What happened to Gator Nation?” His tone mocked even as he cupped her elbows and drew her up onto her toes bringing them close together.

  “Gator Nation, rocks.” She defended her alma mater and managed to move her arms together in a chomping motion. The first time he’d seen her Gator wear, he’d rolled his eyes and tossed it over her head and onto the floor.

  Vin shook his head. “You swore sleeping in that orange and blue jersey helped you focus in the morning for your job.”

  He’d once implied her support for the football and basketball team bordered on obsession. Since he wasn’t an alumni, Helen allowed him his misconception. After she lied about the reason for sleeping in it, he’d let the subject drop. Not that she often got to wear sleepwear on the nights he stayed over.

  Somehow, Vin lowered her to her mattress and Helen soon had a two hundred pound male pressing in on her. “You sleep in my shirt for a reason?”

  Shrugging, Helen placed her hands on the tops of his shoulder. Maybe it was time they both came clean and talked about their relationship. “What do you want from me, Vin?”

  Not bothering to answer, Vin kissed her jaw softly. Helen arched her neck and jumped when he nipped her throat. His tongue trailed up her neck and sucked her earlobe between his teeth. Helen pushed back at his chest but he was an immovable object.

  “You want me,” he murmured when he released her ear and not giving her a chance to respond, kissed her deeply, tongue delving deep into her mouth.

  A kiss of ownership. The claim unmistakable in its fierce intensity. Helen moaned and arched beneath him. How did he do this to her? Bring her this quickly to the heat and heart of passion. Her protesting hands turned to grips of love. She splayed her fingers in the material of his shirt and clenched tight drawing him closer.

  Vin ground his lower half against hers and Helen cried out. The rough pad of his fingers caressed the hollow of her throat, thumb rubbing up and down with light pressure. The move was controlled. Nothing accidental about it at all. Helen gulped.

  When he pulled back from the kiss, his eyes glittered down at her. “You want me,” he repeated, daring her to deny it.

  Helen kept her lips fused together. Not accepting her silence, Vin reached down and unzipped her jacket, the teeth overly loud in the quiet of her bedroom
. The back of his knuckles brushed her braless nipples. His touch sent liquid fire pinging to her center.

  It took all her strength but Helen forced her fingers to release the death hold on his shirt. “What do you want from me, Vin?” She repeated her earlier question.

  “I want you,” he breathed and gently pulled on her bottom lip with his teeth. When he let go, Helen sighed.

  But again she had to remind herself that all they’d shared was sex.

  “That’s the easy answer.” One she was no longer willing to accept.

  Her words seemed to break whatever spell he was under and he leaped to his feet. She wondered if he deliberately created the distance between them. They’d had their night but she needed clarity. “You said one night. What are you thinking now, Vincent?”

  Broad shoulders moved up then down. “It was good. Better than good. I figured we could have another go round.”

  Old feelings of insecurity began to surface but she battled them back. “No, Vin.” She shook her head and forced a smile. “We can’t.” Helen wanted love and commitment. A man to wake up to every morning. One who loved her and wasn’t afraid to show it. Because that’s what she finally realized she needed. What her heart secretly desired.

  “The few seconds on your bed a moment ago say different.” He folded his thick forearms over his chest and tilted his head.

  Helen wanted to swipe the taunting smirk from his face. “Sex was never hard for us, Vin. Two years together proved that. But when you left me without a word, it also proved that we had nothing more. I want more, do you?”

  “More sex? I’d never turn that down.”

  Resentment rose. She pushed up to a sitting position. Experience blocking her emotions kept Helen from reacting to his deliberate attempt to rile her. His body language indicated a lack of concern for how he insulted the both of them with the ignorant claim.

  Helen thought about his recent actions which were opposite of his behavior now. The sex, the latte, his determination to check her house and the curiosity about his tee shirt. She debated her next actions and decided to lay it on the line. Putting her fear aside with her history required monumental strength. Helen reached deep inside for the courage she used to face vendors and directors of the distribution centers in America and Asia.

  Going on faith, Helen risked it all. “I think we could have more, Vin. I’m willing if you are.”

  His laugh held a tinge of sadness. “I can’t, Helen.”

  Her heart shriveled in her chest. Like a wounded animal, Helen wanted to curl up and hide.

  ***

  Vin fought a cold sweat. Regret soured the taste in his mouth. Helen’s face had gone ashen, eyes overly bright. No longer rooted to the spot by her plea he turned, thinking only of escape. He staggered through her bedroom door and stormed down the stairs. His mind’s eye kept flashing Helen’s anguished look and he felt slightly ill.

  He’d had to do it, Vin reminded himself. For a moment, he’d allowed himself to forget the obstacles that stood between them. As soon as Vin returned to the Command Center, he’d put this whole situation out of his mind. Why he ever thought he’d manage to hold on to a slice of heaven with Helen was beyond him. Vin tried to curb his raging emotions. Forever wasn’t in the cards for him and neither was a family.

  Helen’s feet pitter pattered behind him and it took all Vin had to restrain the urge to glance back. To get one more glimpse of the woman he couldn’t keep.

  “Stop, Vincent.”

  He hurried through her entry way.

  “Stop!”

  The scream drew him to a halt. Helen didn’t scream. She didn’t rant. Vin closed his eyes briefly then dragged in a deep breath and turned. He owed her whatever pound of pain she wanted to dig from his skin.

  Helen jammed her hands under her armpits and marched down the stairs. Fury blazed like an unholy light in her eyes. With her hair all over and in the ragged clothes, she looked magnificent. “You don’t have anything to say after I bared all?”

  He stiffened and pressed his lips together. The only answer was no answer.

  “Damn you, Vincent. Damn you for not having the guts to want me enough to fight for me the way I’d fight for you.”

  “Maybe, I’m tired of fighting.” Vin dropped the verbal bomb over his shoulders and did what he did best. He left.

  Chapter 14

  The ride back to DC tanked. Vin fisted his hands and cracked his knuckles. Helen’s last words haunted him because he hadn’t answered truthfully. ‘Damn you for not having the guts to want me enough to fight for me.’ The truth in all its simplicity was easy. Vin was afraid he’d lose. If he thought for one moment there was a chance that Slade wouldn’t destroy him or go after Helen, he’d risk it.

  Risk all, for the chance to see if what he had with Helen could be real despite the fear brewing in the back of his mind. His mind tried to sort the feeling in his chest when he’d discovered she slept in his shirt. Possession and such all consuming passion, he’d wanted to grip her tight and physically brand her with his mark.

  Harkum stayed silent, driving smoothly through 95 traffic going over 80 mph. Appreciation for the speed soothed some of his self remorse. The last thing he needed was Slade riding his ass about his tardiness.

  “Want to talk about it or hit the gym after the meet?”

  Vin grunted, “What are you now, my girl?”

  Harkum laughed. “The gym it is.”

  “Good.” Vin leaned back in his seat. “Bring your A game because I’m in the mood to go all out.”

  “I hear ya.”

  They pulled up to the gate with fifteen minutes to spare. Off to the side, the rolling door to the hanger slowly pulled closed. “Looks like the boys from Bravo are here.”

  Vin and Harkum leaped from the truck and jogged to the Command Center. Due to the larger audience, Slade had them set up in the cafeteria for the meeting. Bursting through the door after the visual security probe, he noted they beat Slade.

  Alpha Squad, Delta and Bravo filled up the closest tables. A mental count assured him of everyone’s presence. Vin was relieved that no one sported any visible injuries. Their missions must have been as successful.

  “Ms. Scott good to go?” Sen asked the question in a loud enough voice to turn attention from mindless conversation to him.

  Vin sat in an empty seat, ignoring the back hand slap Harkum delivered on Sen’s shoulder. The guys from Delta slouched in their seats but devoured the trays of food in front of their table. Carb loading. Alpha Squad had empty plates around them. After their enhanced abilities became apparent, they’d all noticed their increased metabolism among other things. Their skills burned up as many calories as they could eat.

  The door slammed and Slade strolled in. Dressed in a red polo shirt and creased khakis, he appeared much calmer than earlier. “Now that everyone’s together, we’ll assess the threat known as the Rekabians. A memo has been drafted from our office with the accounting each team provided of their encounters with the alien life forms. Those memos will download to your PCU’s before the afternoon is over. I’m sure you’re all aware the President has ordered mass withdrawal of all US troops on foreign soil. This is the first time this has been done since 2015 when we entered the decade of peace.”

  Slade allowed them time to absorb this before continuing. “Our orders are simple. We will defend the country to the best of your newly acquired abilities. This is what we’ve been expecting since the first space ship sighting and served as the basis for why Project Genesis started.”

  “First sighting? When exactly did the government realize there was a threat to contend with?” Harkum spoke in a reasonable tone but his tight shoulders revealed his anger at this latest revelation.

  Slade took a stance in front of the tables where he could be seen. “Our satellites picked up on the craft a year ago. Scientists, doctors and government officials set up the Command Center here in DC with a specific plan in case the visitors proved to be hostile upon arr
ival. When they entered our orbit, we moved forward with the program starting with all of you.”

  “There are only twenty-three of us. How are we expected to control the volume of attacks? We can’t protect the whole planet by ourselves.” Rock broached what was on Vin’s mind.

  Slade leaned back and stood at parade rest. “Good question, Sinclair. Once we realized the success of Project Genesis, the US shared our work with countries who’d proven their alliance. Those countries number in the hundreds and also have their own troops of enhanced soldiers.”

  “What?”

  “This is bullshit.”

  Everyone spoke at once but it was Delta Squad that Vin watched. Delta Squad whose team of ten sat on the edge of their seats fairly vibrating. No one spoke much about the men from Charlie who died during the initial trials but Vin was aware a few of the Delta guys had been on deaths door as well. If anyone had cause to hate Slade and the indentured servitude they’d been forced to enter, it was the Delta guys.

  All four teams received separate doses and concentration of the body altering drugs. The doctors in the labs recorded their reactions and side effects daily while constantly changing the formulas they injected in the teams. The men in Charlie died in less than forty-eight hours. The enhancement hormones and cocktails given to Delta caused their flesh to fester and decay within the first month.

  In a drastic move to prevent losing another entire team, the doctors amputated the limbs infected and added cybernetic substitutions. Not only did Delta have enhanced abilities, they now had enhanced bodies. And hated it. Each and every man.

  “Quiet. This is our opportunity to put your training to use. We’ll play the part as we’ve always promised.”

  “We? What part do you play exactly?” Cal Jones, the Delta team lead asked in a gravely voice. His head tipped to the side, revealing a red eye implant with digital recording capabilities.