Project X

by Watkins, TM

  “So what about the homeless guy?”

  “I don't know anything about that, I read the paper too. Quite sad really.”

  I nodded quietly, it was sad. It was likely that it was someone who saw the opportunity of removing a defenseless man and blaming it on Eva. I worried for the other homeless people in the area, was this person going to slowly pick them off one by one? I hoped it wasn't the case. I didn't want to think so morbidly.

  “What did she do to her last attendant?”

  His eyebrow raised at me as he stared at me.

  “Punched her. When did you hear that?”

  “I was delivering the mail and I heard you two talking.”

  Dorian sighed and leaned back against the seat, his fingers caressing the edge of my shoulder.

  “Because Eva is restricted to the apartment she gets bored easily, she yearns for company and things to do. Even though she is ill and she shouldn't even think about getting physical in any sense, she still does. It's understandable, she is a young woman who has needs. If it was boredom or curiosity I don't know but Eva kissed her, the woman took offence to it and started yelling. Eva snapped and punched the woman. Because her skin is so delicate it tore instantly and there was blood everywhere. She can hardly contain the minimal amount she has in her, the medical staff had to fight to keep the blood in her and repair the wounds. The security was dealing with a hysterical woman covered in her own blood and Eva's blood. Then she got the lawyers involved, that was until my lawyers reminded her that she signed a confidentiality agreement. Of course she went the sexual harassment route which I had no issues with. Eva shouldn't have kissed her, end of subject. I paid her out to keep her quiet and that was it. Eva likes to forget about that day, thinking that it's her right to have company. She lost any rights when she punched the woman.”

  I took a sip of the drink, watching as Errol started to put away some of the food items.

  “Does she have fangs?”

  Dorian laughed hard, shaking his head.

  “You have a very active imagination. She is a normal human except that she was stupid enough to inject the serum into herself without testing it first. I was overseas at the time, launching a new product and when I came back I was faced with an almost dead sister. But at least she's pretty, right?”

  I pursed my lips at his sarcasm. I understood the pain of being self-conscious about my appearance, the world was a horrid place when it came to its perception of beauty. Dorian pulled his wallet out and produced a photo of him and Eva. She looked incredible, not that different to how she was now but she seemed a little younger.

  “A few years back, before she started with the surgery. She wouldn't listen, she wouldn't believe anyone who told her that she was beautiful. All she could see was the woman in the mirror that had too many issues.”

  “Have you considered a therapist for her?”

  He nodded and tucked the photo back into his wallet.

  “She went to one session and managed to convince the woman that she didn't have any mental issues and then refused to go to another one when I said that the woman was a fool.”

  “You can't help those that don't want to be helped Dorian.”

  I was given a shrug as a response, it was likely that Dorian would spend his life trying to help Eva.

  “So someone is trying to frame Eva.”

  “Someone wants her out of the way so they can get their hands on the product. I can assure you that if it were safe then it would be on the shelves by now. It's dangerous to the health of anyone that uses it and I worry for what this person wants it for.”

  “What was the code in your wallet for?”

  He grinned, one so dark that I knew I had been played yet again.

  “Lottery numbers.”

  I shook my head with dismay, this man was a nightmare of epic proportions when it came to luring me in with what I believed was a good lead.

  “You said that your father has turned away from the client based on what they found.”

  I nodded.

  “Yet I know that my information has not been accessed, so we have an issue, don't we?”

  “Someone fed the information to my father so that I would walk away.”

  Dorian smiled softly.

  “Leaving me devastated? Preoccupied with finding you?”

  “You did call the cops and the paper rather quickly.”

  He nodded with a smile, it was like everything was a game. But this was a deadly game, someone was after the information for a product that was dangerous.

  “They know that you haven't destroyed the information, my father said that you were keeping it in case it helped with the cure.”

  “I was told to keep one set in case they need it, that is correct. However, I was also told to keep it for when they do find the cure, once they are done with fixing Eva they intend on continuing the research. They want to figure out where the process went wrong then they might be able to create something closer to what Eva asked for.”

  He looked at my curious expression, rolling his eyes with a grin.

  “It was intended to be a basic wrinkle cream that outstripped the leader in the market. Eva found one wrinkle. Can you imagine it?” He scoffed. “How dare the thing appear on her face like that.”

  “Dorian.” I chided.

  “If she had allowed them to continue the research and start the testing then they might have had a chance at creating something amazing, instead they are trying to save her life.”

  Chapter 40: Kiss of death

  Dorian had spoken to Errol for a few minutes and then took my hand, leading me out to the car.

  “It's not safe for you at the apartment nor at your usual residential address. I guess that you might be worried but I ask that you return to my apartment.”

  “How do you know these things?”

  He opened the door and looked at me, casually glancing around the empty street.

  “I have my own spies, I have security personnel and I have all manner of people who watch from the shadows. You believe that one of your brothers has been engaged to watch over you and that is correct but you are watched by another. One that you would never guess.”

  His expression was grim and I knew that I would not like it.

  “Your friend works for your father as you know but she is a double agent. She also works for another agency, one that the client has openly engaged on a regular basis.”

  I felt sick, I could feel the color draining from my face as the harsh and cruel reality slowly sank in. But could I believe him? Would Amber really lie to me like that?

  “You lie.”

  “For what purpose KC?” His eyes narrowed at me.

  As sad as it was, it was entirely possible. She had been given such little training by my father yet she was always getting results.

  “Do you really believe that I would want you to lose a friend that you've had for a long time? No, I wouldn't. When I investigated you, I did everyone that you associate with as well. She's been working for them since the day she finished high school, hired by the competitor as a spy watch what your father's company does. You think she's a lay about who'd rather spend her days painting her toenails when in reality she is as highly trained as your twin brothers.”

  “Not me.” I pouted.

  Dorian grinned and shook his head.

  “Sorry KC, your father has failed you on that one. And speaking of your father, you might want to talk to him about how much bugging he did of your house and the apartment that you think he doesn't know about.”

  I huffed as I rolled my eyes.

  “It was supposed to be a secret but I guess not.”

  Dorian gestured to the seat and I got into the car, not so reluctantly any more. I was beginning to run out of allies and if Dorian was the enemy well I guess it didn't matter. If I couldn't trust my father or even my best friend, what did anything matter? Dorian slid across the seat and shut the door, sliding the privacy screen down.

  “
Home thank you Derek.”

  “Yes sir.”

  The screen slid up and Dorian turned side on to face me.

  “Your father is too heavily invested in this to let it go KC, he ordered you off the mission because he found out that your life was in danger. The client grew unhappy at certain aspects of how the mission was progressing.” He offered a sheepish smile. “Uh, that would be me. I would imagine that your friend has reported that things were more than just business between us. Then the goons started following you to confirm it. I guess the client was growing impatient and wanted the matter to be dealt with.”

  “But what happens when they don't get what they want? They are just going to try again.”

  Dorian offered an arrogant smile and I knew that whoever this was, was going to regret trying to steal from him.

  “So who is it that Amber works for?”

  “The McFarlane Group.”

  I pursed my lips as I frowned, it wasn't some little wannabe company, it was my father's biggest competitor. That would be a real kick in the teeth for him, no doubt he will wash his hands of Amber. Maybe even me for associating with her and not realizing she was a dirty double crosser. I paled at the thought, would he do something drastic? It wasn't beyond my father to be a cold and calculating person. I wasn't supposed to know but I knew that he had taken a few missions that were more than just gathering information, I knew that my father's company had ended a few lives. Blood was on his hands but would he go so far as to end Amber's life? Maybe he would, he had protected me from removing me from the mission because my life was in danger, why wouldn't he pre-empt them and kill them?

  “Change of plans.” I turned to Dorian. “Take me to my father, now.”

  “You cannot be serious KC; did he not tell you that your life was in danger? Do you not think that the client would be watching him?”

  I reached over and pressed the button for the privacy screen, barely waiting for it to move.

  “Derek, take us to Hank Bryant's place please.”

  His eyes darted to the rear vision mirror, waiting for Dorian to give him permission. Dorian rolled his eyes and flicked his hand with derision.

  “Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you.”

  I sat back on the seat as Dorian pressed the button.

  “You should learn to trust me.”

  Half an hour later Derek stopped the car beside the gates to my father's place. There were a few lights on and I knew it was likely that Tilley was here with her mother. My father usually worked late, generally arriving home between six and seven. I had a little while left before he might show up.

  “Are you sure about this? Can you trust your father?”

  “I can't trust anyone Dorian.” I paused, realizing how bad that sounded. “Least of all myself but I do know that this house holds things that I need. I don't want to spend my life watching over my shoulder, I can't even trust those that walk beside me so I'm going to deal with it.”

  I pushed the door open and walked to the gate, punching in the security code.

  “What do you mean deal with it?” Dorian hissed from behind me.

  “What do you think I mean?”

  The lock clicked and I opened the gate, waving happily at the security camera. No doubt the silent alarms would have been triggered and whoever was home would know they had company. Dorian followed me through the gate, ensuring it was firmly locked. My father was a stickler for home security, protecting his family and his vast cache of weapons. A cache that was about to be raided. We walked through the highly manicured garden to the large wood double doors, it opened before I had even put a foot on the wide sandstone step. Tilley opened the door warily, when she saw me I was greeted with a beaming big smile as the door opened fully.

  “Hey there stranger!”

  Her eyes darted to Dorian and an eyebrow raised.

  “What's going on?”

  “Problems. I need to raid your wardrobe and the armory.”

  I ignored the frown and the confusion, walking directly to her bedroom. Dorian was a few steps behind me, sounding his own confusion. Tilley's room hadn't changed since we were kids. She was still a messy person and if it wasn't for her mother picking up after her, her room would be a complete disaster. Tilley huffed at me and walked to her walk in robe, pulling out the standard issue outfit that our father had commissioned for dangerous situations. It was a black suit made of Kevlar. Of course it was molded for Tilley's slight frame and I was almost bursting out of it. Dorian grinned with a heated smirk.

  “Down boy.” Tilley snapped. “You want one too?”

  “He does.”

  She rolled her eyes and walked out of her room.

  “What do you need guns for?” He whispered dangerously.

  “It ends tonight Dorian. I will not live in the shadows. Do you know where the client lives?”

  “You would really end their life because they're after one little potion?”

  I sat on the stool and put on the boots, wondering why Dorian cared so much about the person that was so willing to steal from him. It wasn't as if it was a bit of money or a car, this was a product that caused serious health problems in his sister. Why didn't he want to protect it?

  “The potion that you said is dangerous, do you hear yourself?”

  Dorian huffed, turning to Tilley that appeared with a suit for him. She hung it on a rail and dumped the boots onto the floor.

  “What do you want?”

  “Night equipment, silencers and did you know that Amber works for McFarlane?”

  “Are you kidding me?” She snapped with pure shock.

  I shook my head grimly.

  “I can't deal with her Tilley. Tell dad when he gets home, get my stuff out of the house, kick her out, I don't care.”

  Then the realization hit me. Walter.

  “Wal's been…” My eyes caught hers. “You know. You need to warn him.”

  Tilley nodded and turned to leave the room, allowing Dorian to dress without her wandering eye. She looked back as she stood at the doorway, her glum face matched my mood.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Take out the client. There is a reason they shouldn't have the information and dad knows it. He was pulling away from the mission and if we don't get the information for them then someone else will.”

  She nodded her head and walked away. I took a long deep breath in, closing my eyes for a moment. When I opened them again, Dorian was putting his boots on, collecting his clothes. Blood would be spilled tonight and I could only pray that it wasn't ours.

  Part 6: The beauty in death

  The beauty in death is that is final. Because for me,

  I needed to be free from looking over my shoulder.

  I wanted to walk down the street without fear.

  Chapter 41: The rising sun

  Time was our enemy, the dawn was approaching fast and the cover of darkness was slowly slipping away. After we had left my father's house, Dorian and I set out on one of my father's motorbikes. It had fake plates and I could only hope that we didn't come across any cops. I wasn't so sure about it considering that I had little experience riding one but Dorian said that he was more than capable and insisted we take one. It was easier to move in and out of heavy traffic, we could take narrow paths if we needed to and to him it was the ideal option. I had a bag of goodies on my back, Tilley had found a great amount of equipment for me, night vision goggles, a gun with a silencer and of course lots of bullet filled magazines. I hoped I would only need one bullet and that Tilley's excessiveness was unwarranted but that wasn't how life worked.

  We were still on the bike, hidden by the shadow of the wall of the neighbor’s fence. There was one narrow path that separated them from our target's house and allowed for a view of the length of the house and yard. It was a two level place, the living area was on the second floor and even though it was dark and there were no lights on in the place, I could see easily through the large glass windows. It was a voyeurist
ic wonderland with a view into the entire living and kitchen area. And for those who really are into watching what others do in the privacy of their own home, there was a wonderful little invention. I had the night vision goggles on, the green haze showed no movement in the house whatsoever.

  Our target was the head of the opposing cosmetics company; he really did want the serum for his own profits. According to Dorian he knew of the negative side of it, the side effects and he didn't care. The serum was something that could provide wrinkle free beauty if it worked properly. Theoretically it was being hailed as the fountain of youth, but in reality it was a death sentence. Dorian said that Eva's life was always ticking away, faster than it should. The team of scientists and doctors were working day and night to try and fix her and he knew it was in vain. All they were doing was slowing the cold icy grip of death. Dorian wanted to get rid of the paperwork, he wanted to burn it and ensure that no one ever saw it but he couldn't. He had to keep one set of the papers so that the scientists could refer to it if they needed to.

  The tale of how the opposition came into knowing about it was short and simple in Dorian's opinion. A key scientist that had been working on another project found out a few minor details about it and sold the information. I learned that was the reason that there were no real definite plans for the place. Not only was it ideal for security reasons but the biggest reason was that after that incident, Dorian changed the entire innards of the scientific floors. But people were doing the dirty on him at every turn, forcing Dorian to clamp down on security. It seemed that Eric Dunlop, the owner of Belle Femme was ruthless. He hired a team of computer whiz kids to try and crack the computer system at Aphrodite International. I found it odd that so called whiz kids couldn't crack a system. There were kids out there that had hacked government systems, yet one little cosmetics company? It was a little hard to believe but it was true, apparently. How was it possible? In the age of technology, Dorian had outsmarted them. Project x was deemed a high risk situation and as such all computers, photocopiers and scanners were banned. It was a world of pen and paper, a shredding machine and a furnace that destroyed anything unwanted. If anyone were to crack his computer system, they wouldn't find a single thing about project x. I questioned the email that Amber had found in her last dumpster dive and it made Dorian grin, another set up. It had been placed intentionally to keep me occupied and I had to say, it did a really good job at it too.