Cameron's eyes narrowed fiercely. The fire swept through him. Hell, he did need instructions--for his wife--not the center. She would not control all that he did.
Damn her indeed, he thought furiously. She was still playing games. She didn't begin to realize Morray was just waiting for her to make a mistake. If Morray found the subterfuge before he did, he would hold the winning card.
He would kill Morray with his bare hands before ever allowing Morray to touch what he deemed his.
"You're quite certain she's rigged the computers and the internal system," he said flatly.
"Yes...I'm sure. I nearly lost the files I made last night for you when I tried to load the computer. I think Vanessa was watching and saved my hide, but I can't be sure."
"It was Nessa. She's the intranet coordinator."
Luke nodded his head. "I don't believe she would deliberately set out to damage my research. We do have a common purpose."
"Common purpose. Knowledge. And be it ever so humble she does not plan on sharing anything," Cameron said angrily. "Why in all of hell won't she come up here and help us? She knows damn well I tried to access a computer."
"I am as puzzled as you, sir. If we are all to work together..."
Cameron was quite ready to find her and throttle her lovely neck.
"Cameron," Luke said in confusion, "perhaps you should go up there. This is starting to give me a headache."
"She is doing this to defy me, though her little pranks will only serve to discredit her more," Cameron muttered darkly.
Yet would her people still listen to her? He suddenly remembered Aisling on a dark night, feeling the breeze sweep around him, watching the fires burn brightly.
She will betray you...
She would never surrender. The battle with the slender woman with amber hair and gray eyes, eyes that could send a man spinning, would continue.
"It's really quite ingenious of her. The only way to use that pin you have there is through her computer in her room."
"I intend to be in that room, permanently, tonight."
"My best wishes, sir," Luke said wryly. "I don't mean anything by this, but I think you'll have your hands full."
"I'll make her understand the situation more clearly." He felt his temper soaring like a dark funnel cloud within him. "I'll make the rules from now on. So I swear it, I will!"
Could he really do that? Set down rules she would obey? Unquestioning? He'd never doubted himself before now. The computer system was immense, and Nessa was a veritable genius with it all. Would he have to make rules for Nessa as well? God! He hoped, he prayed Nessa would be much easier to deal with.
No, Nessa had changed. She had a mind of her own. She would not be easy to intimidate. "I will see my rules obeyed!" he repeated. He tugged open the heavy door leading into the stairwell. The steps rose in front of him, winding inside the huge tower that stood guard over the City. He inhaled a deep breath, preparing for the battle to come.
He hoped it to be a confrontation that would prove fruitful.
Victoria
The hour that Savage had given her had already come and gone.
The late afternoon was dreary and marked by a slight drizzle. She felt as if she'd waited forever for him to lose his temper and storm the castle. He was on his way up. She'd been watching him from the monitors. This was part of her plan. She'd rehearsed it in her mind so many times. She would ask him for the box and all the pins. In return she would give him complete access to all her codes. She would barter for them. She'd already proven to him that he could not run the center without her expertise.
For several long minutes, she watched the security monitors. He was on the second level now, his fists tightly clenched at his sides, and he did look furious. No. He looked beyond furious.
Had he not appeared so angry, she'd be more frightened now. Anger she could deal with. Was he ready to barter? Maybe not, maybe she still had some convincing to do. All she had to do was refuse to turn off the security system. Then she could negotiate until he gave in, and God help her, pray he'd give in soon because the man was truly trying her patience. Maybe he would reprimand her. It didn't matter. She wouldn't try to usurp his research. She would not get in his way. And she wouldn't risk his all-important function with the coalition. She would see to it that Jonathan understood they were separate and pursuing different experiments each with a different hypothesis. It would not be easy to convince both men, but it could be done.
A solution, she added to herself, which would change history.
When she perfected the allele exchange, then Outsiders and City people could once again dwell together--in peace. There were those who believed it could never happen, those who thought the people were too different. Jonathan fought for the legislation that would free the City people from their bondage inside the sterile cities. He battled to have the genetic surgery approved.
But Jonathan was opposed by powerful forces.
Over two hundred years ago biological warfare assumed control of the earth. Mega powers battled mega powers with deadly viruses, afraid to launch the nuclear weapons that had threatened them for years. Millions died.
Thousands took refuge in the hills, hoping isolation would keep them from contracting the deadly diseases that had been unleashed. Eventually those who lived in the mountains developed immunity to almost every virus known to man.
The majority of the population stayed in the cities, guarded and protected by quickly built sterilization chambers. The cities were covered with giant bubbles. No one was allowed in and no one was allowed out. Everything was purified, the water and the food.
Over the years as their technology developed, ways were found to purify everything that came in contact with the outside world. Envoys could now go between the cities. Purification chambers were developed for the travelers. It was a painful but necessary process for those who would carry on diplomatic missions.
The people of the cities no longer had to battle the viruses and therefore evolved a system devoid of white blood cells, their bone marrow no longer manufacturing them.
It occurred to Tori as she was thinking back in time that she was gambling a great deal on the hope that Savage would understand. She was offering herself in exchange for her research, research that could bridge the gap between the two different peoples of the earth. It was surely true that it was a City Dweller's lot in this life to be confined. Perhaps confinement was not such a sacrifice if she was allowed to work, but maybe, just maybe, she would not have to suffer it for very much longer. She had battled for her freedom all of her life. It was so close now she could taste it, feel it on the wind.
A little tremor swept through her, bringing with it a shiver of dismay. Maybe she had acted childish.
Savage could not use the computer system without Nessa's assistance and she'd ordered Nessa not to interfere. She doubted Cameron had the patience to fight with a password buster algorithm to gain access to a computer system that was soon to be his through their marriage.
Damn! It was his fault. He had been such a renegade from the very start. He didn't even try to understand.
Would it be any different once they were wed?
No, she determined, it would not. She had given her word and she wouldn't break it. There was nothing to do but wait.
She had caught her breath, and she didn't feel quite so frightened now. The drizzle was turning into a steady downpour, the noise of the rain pounding loudly on the roof above her room. He would be here soon.
The intercom suddenly crackled to life. How long had it been since Nessa left the room? They had not communicated. Surely, she would not give in now when he was so close.
"No," she whispered out loud. She looked at the screen in front of her. So close. He would pound on her door any minute now. She felt her throat constrict and her forehead crease. "Oh, Jonathan, forgive me if anything goes wrong here."
Jonathan did not answer but Nessa did as she slipped back into the room.
&nbs
p; "I think we've waited long enough. He doesn't look too pleased."
It was too late to do anything now. She would not turn from her plan. But she did turn toward the door, stiffening her spine in preparation, hoping the act would renew her failing courage.
She opened the door and stepped back, giving him room to enter. She closed her eyes, shivering as waves of apprehension trickled down every nerve-ending within her. Nothing could have prepared her for his entry. He surprised her at every opportunity, walking cool-headed into the room then smiling. He bestowed on her a courtly bow, mocking her, she was sure.
She froze. This was not the man she watched ascend the stairs in fury. She stared at the screen then back to the man before her, her hand resting nervously at her throat.
She inhaled deeply, incredulous. He was testing her. She didn't have the words to battle him when he changed like a chameleon before her eyes.
He wore no look of fury or impatience against his lack of access to the computer system. Nor did he seem upset or anxious. He appeared as unmoved by her computer trickery as he was to her situation. He had come to her in his wedding finery, his black leggings, his white silk shirt and royal blue cummerbund.
"Give me access, please."
She stared at him, dazed for a moment and completely dumbfounded.
She gasped as he held the box out to her.
"If you ever want to see this again..." he let her finish the sentence in her mind. She felt the blood drain from her face. "Give me access," he repeated.
She held her breath, trying desperately to think of a suitable reply but all rational thought escaped her. His eyes had turned frosty and they set chills rippling down her spine, piercing through her.
She knew what needed to be said. She had planned it to the smallest detail.
But apparently he did not intend to give her a chance to draw the battle lines.
"You should have known better, Savage. I thought you had more brains than that. Surely you must have guessed the pins in the box would be top level security," she told him quickly.
"What kind of coward are you, babe, to tie my hands so thoroughly? Even my lab assistants have key-cards, yet I've been granted nothing," he said quietly with a hint of steel in reply.
There was still some distance between them. "Nessa--give him a universal key-card. Make sure he has complete clearance." He had never meant to destroy the pins, she realized.
"By the way," Tori said, "if you seek the pin that is in the computer downstairs, you can't have it. Luke is there. He will collect it as soon as it is released from the drive."
There was no recourse for her. She turned to Nessa and nodded.
"All right," Nessa said. As Nessa left the room, an uneasy peace settled over the laboratory.
He quietly surveyed the room, and without a moment's hesitation he strode to the bookshelves.
"What do you think you're doing?" she cried out, and despite herself there was a desperation to her words.
"I am securing this room and making sure you do nothing foolish when I'm not around to protect you. I know what you're hiding."
She was between him and the disc she'd so painstakingly hidden. He couldn't know it was there. But somehow he did. Perhaps it was only her fear that caused the worry.
She gazed into his eyes--then stepped in front of him as he tried to move around her. Yet even as she played this game with him, she knew she would lose and she stopped suddenly, her back now against the rows and rows of books. She moved to the left.
Once again, he followed.
One more time...
Again she found herself cornered, pressed so close to the volume of Shakespeare she didn't want him to see. He didn't touch her, and she could escape easily. Yet if she did, she knew he would possess the last remaining outline to her research.
Frustrated, tired, she held still, staring at his chest, unable to bear the awful feeling of being trapped so.
"I will find it," Cameron warned softly. "Your ploy is futile."
"I will not give it up," she murmured.
His finger touched her chin again, forcing it to rise. She didn't fight him any longer, didn't protest, but looked into his thoughtful and philosophical eyes. "Oh, babe," he said very softly. "You are too obvious. Every action, every subtle glance tells me exactly where it is. Give it up. It is over." He drew his hand away from her chin, settling his finger over her shoulders and brought her forward away from the books.
"You have no right to do this."
"I do it for your own protection. I don't mean to hurt you. Hurting you is the last thing..."
She swallowed hard and turned to the shelves. She gasped as he reached around her and selected the volume of Romeo and Juliet. She straightened her back, dismayed by the feeling of his muscular arms and back. The sensation did not last long. In only a second, he had what he wanted. Within minutes, he had secured the disc within the box with the pins then he smiled at her.
"I had thought we would work together, you and I. But now that I realize I cannot trust you, I am not so sure," he muttered suddenly, his voice husky and warm.
She stiffened instantly, astonished at how very frustrated she was at his declaration, and that she would somehow change his opinion of her.
He must have understood her frustration, for he chuckled softly. "Perhaps if you learn to accept my authority..."
"Never," she gasped with outrage and disbelief. The nerve of him. She would start over from scratch if she had to.
He whirled on his heel and walked through the front room to her office. She didn't follow him, but she watched. Tori started to squirm when he sat down in the leather chair by her desk.
"You've taken everything important to me. You have to--"
"You have to learn that marriage is sharing, a melding of minds as well as bodies."
"Then share." She held her hand out to him, all the while looking pointedly at the little box he set on the desk. She wanted it desperately. She could think of no way to wrench it from him. He didn't even hold it.
He ignored her. Rising from the chair, he left the box exactly where he had set it down just moments before. The window was open, and he walked to it, his back to her.
"Barbarian," she whispered through clenched teeth. "Your arrogance has no boundaries. You hold power over me only because..."
"I am stronger than you," he finished for her. He didn't turn around. "You had best get that through your pretty little head, Victoria. Your life will not be easy until you do."
"So you say."
"So I promise."
"Really. And if I'm a good little girl you'll take care of me--bring me presents--keep me tucked away, barefoot and..." She paused, catching her lip between her teeth.
It was that moment Savage chose to turn around. "And pregnant, how droll. Although it does sound entertaining. Perhaps we should wed first."
"Tori--Dr. Savage?" Nessa interrupted. "She really must get dressed now--the wedding."
Tori pulled the sides of her robe together. She'd forgotten. She looked up to see Savage watching her, his eyes as clear as a summer sky, yet hard--unyielding.
How glad I am that Nessa came back, Tori thought in silence, hugging her arms around her. This is not over yet, Savage! she thought. I will find a way to live with you.
He did not look as if he wanted it to be over either. He simply stepped around her.
"She has ten minutes, Nessa," he informed her.
"Then you must leave," she replied, watching Dr. Savage. "It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding."
Tori's head began to pound.
"Are you all right? You're white as snow..."
"I--"
"I think she was a bit upset by the mention of bad luck," Cameron said blithely.
"I'm sorry." Nessa studied her sister, her confusion obvious, and a frown creasing her brow. "I, well, if you'd just leave, we could finish here."
"She's had time and a half to finish dressing."
"But you've i
nterrupted her, and really, Dr. Savage, I've tried to be patient, but your presence up here has not helped."
"You both wanted me here. Now you want me gone. Make up your minds, but I swear if anything else happens to delay the wedding..."
"Ah, impatience, could be a good sign," Nessa looked wryly between the two. Then she set her arm through Dr. Savage's, leading him pointedly to the door. "We'll be down shortly."
Tori still couldn't seem to speak. Nessa gave Savage a little nudge out the door then closed it.
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