Dust to Dust

by James M. Thompson

  “We were afraid they would keep the formula for the exclusive use of the rich and powerful, and the common people would never get to benefit from the disease-curing effects of the formula,” Kevin added.

  Stone peered out the window for a moment, finally nodding his head. “Yes, you are most certainly correct in assuming that the government would not act in the common people’s best interests, since it rarely has in the past.”

  Kevin noticed a fine sheen of sweat on Stone’s forehead.

  “Are you feeling okay?”

  Stone smiled and wiped his forehead. “Yes, Mr. Kevin, quite all right. I do not think this is due to a premature effect of the formula, but rather due to the absence of any intake of spirits. In short, I do believe I am still in a bit of withdrawal from my abrupt cessation of partaking of alcohol.”

  “Well, the trip to Conroe only takes a couple of hours. If you can last that long, Sheila gave us some Xanax to give you that should help alleviate the withdrawal symptoms.”

  Stone waved a dismissive hand. “Do not worry, young man. I shall be just fine. After all, I have gone through this many times in the past.”

  * * *

  Stone was surprised when Kat pulled the Honda into a residential neighborhood about a mile from Lake Conroe. “I thought you said you were taking me to your new laboratory location?”

  Kevin looked back over the seat. “We are, Jordan. We decided to rent a regular house in a typical residential neighborhood instead of a lab in a commercial building. Like I told you earlier, we are being hunted and followed by some very good private investigators. If they somehow get wind that we’ve located our lab in Conroe, the last place they’ll look is here.”

  “Plus, it has the added advantage that we knew we’d need to live here while our subject, you, is going through the transformation. Typical labs have very few amenities for long-term inhabitance.”

  “Yeah, this place has three bedrooms, a full kitchen, and even a small office space we can use for our computers.”

  “We’ve set up one of the bedrooms as a makeshift lab and one we’ve set up for you, complete with IV poles, a variety of medications Sheila thought we might need, and even a small TV so you can keep up with the news, should you desire.”

  Stone got a wistful look on his face. “The TV I don’t need. But if I might be so presumptuous, if I give you a list of my favorite authors, do you think you might be able to pick up some of their latest tomes?”

  “I don’t know whether the local Barnes and Noble has a section on philosophy,” Kevin said doubtfully.

  Stone laughed. “The heck with philosophers. Give me Robert Crais, Ridley Pearson, David Baldacci, or Vince Flynn any day.”

  “So, no philosophers?” Kevin asked.

  “Young Mr. Kevin, I read nothing but philosophy for eight years of college and graduate school, and, besides, who said the authors I mentioned are not philosophers?”

  Kevin held up his hands in defeat. “Okay, okay, so popular authors it is, then.”

  Kat turned into the driveway of a house that sat on nearly an acre of fairly wooded landscape. “Here we are, Jordan, home sweet home for the next few weeks.”

  Stone glanced around. The nearest house was almost a mile away. “Why so isolated, Miss Kat? Afraid I’ll cry out in anguish and bring the neighbors running?”

  She laughed. “No, Jordan. Burton just didn’t want a bunch of prying eyes seeing all of the lab equipment he hauled in here. Even so, he did most of the moving in during the dead of night.”

  “Well,” Stone said as he took Angus and set him gently down on the driveway, “I hope he hauled in lots of foodstuffs, because I am famished.”

  Kat glanced at Kevin. “I do believe the Phoenix Formula is already speeding up the professor’s metabolic rate. It’s only been a couple of hours since he ate a huge breakfast.”

  Stone rubbed his hands together and took off at a fast walk toward the front door. “Whatever the cause, I am all for checking out the kitchen . . . what about you, big guy?” he asked Angus, who was trotting by his side.

  Angus barked happily, and the duo passed through the door as soon as Kevin unlocked it.

  * * *

  While Stone and Angus were rummaging through the refrigerator, Kevin brought in the suitcases and duffel bags from the car.

  Once inside, he dumped them on the bed of the room designated for the scientists to use.

  “Hmmm,” he said, looking around. “Only one bedroom with one bed for the two of us to use. Which side do you want?”

  Kat punched him playfully on the shoulder. “Both sides, silly.”

  She turned him around and pushed him toward the living room. “Burton thought of that and made sure the couch in the living room was a sleeper sofa. It folds out into a queen-size bed.”

  Kevin laughed and pulled a quarter out of his pocket. “How about we flip for it? Heads, I stay in the room with you; tails, I sleep out here all alone.”

  She shook her head. “If you are that concerned about sleeping alone, I could ask Angus to bunk with you.”

  Hearing his name, Angus stuck his head around the corner and barked, his tail wagging furiously, before he whirled around and disappeared back into the kitchen.

  “See,” Kat said. “He won’t mind at all.”

  With that, she turned and followed the dog into the kitchen.

  Stone was already seated at the table, a plate containing two huge sandwiches, several large pickles, and a pile of potato chips in front of him. Angus was sitting in the chair next to him, a plate of ham slices before him.

  Around a mouthful of food, Stone said, “Burton seems to have done well with his provisions; however, we could not find any staples for young Angus here, so put that on your list of things to buy, if you do not mind.”

  Kat snapped her fingers. “Darn, Jordan is right. I forgot to tell Burton to get some kibble for Angus.”

  When she looked back at the table, Angus’s plate was empty and he was licking his lips.

  “My guess is he did not mind too much,” Stone said, rubbing the dog’s ears.

  “How about I make us a couple of sandwiches and we can chow down before we unpack everything?” Kevin asked Kat.

  “Sounds good to me,” Kat said. Watching Stone and Angus eat had made her hungry, too.

  * * *

  As Kat and Kevin were finishing their sandwiches, Stone got a funny look on his face and put his hand to his chest.

  “Oh my,” he said in a strangled voice. “I am afraid something untoward is happening.”

  Kat jumped up from the table and rushed to his side. She took his wrist in her hand and looked over at Kevin.

  “I think the formula is beginning to work. His pulse is like a hundred and twenty and is very full.”

  “Should I be alarmed?” Stone asked, his eyes wide.

  Kat shook her head. “No, Jordan, I don’t think so. I believe the formula is doing what it is supposed to do, which is to vastly speed up your metabolism. That is why your heart is racing, and I also detect a slightly warmer temperature.”

  “I am feeling rather shaky. Perhaps I should lie down for a while.”

  Kat nodded at Kevin, who got up, put his arm around Stone’s shoulders, and escorted him to the bedroom designated for their patient.

  He grinned when Angus jumped up on the bed as soon as Stone was under the covers. The dog lay down next to him, his head on Stone’s stomach.

  Kevin reached over and patted Angus’s head. “I do believe the big fella has taken quite a liking to you, Professor.”

  “And I to him, dear boy,” Stone said, laying his hand on Angus’s flank. “I believe you may leave us to our much-needed rest. We shall be fine.”

  Kevin nodded. “You be sure to call us if you get to feeling bad, Jordan. We’ll be in the room right next door.”

  * * *

  As the day progressed into evening, Stone’s symptoms intensified. His fever climbed to 104 degrees, and he began to shake and quive
r so much that Angus jumped down off the bed and stared at Kat with concerned eyes.

  Kat continued to monitor Stone’s vital signs every fifteen to thirty minutes and checked in with Sheila by phone on several occasions to determine doses of the various medications Sheila had left in the medicine cabinet to combat the symptoms of a vastly increased metabolic rate.

  By the morning of the next day, all of Stone’s grizzled hair had fallen out and been replaced by a fine black stubble.

  Kevin had gotten him up twice to change his sweat-soaked bedclothes and take cool showers to help lower his body temperature. On these occasions, Stone had been conscious, but he seemed slightly mentally confused and had to be reminded several times of where he was and what was going on.

  Finally, around ten o’clock in the morning, his fever broke, and he fell into a deep sleep. Angus moved from his bed in the corner of Stone’s bedroom and jumped back up into the bed next to Stone. He gave Kat a baleful glance, as if he blamed her for his friend’s discomfort, and then he once again laid his head on Stone’s stomach and relaxed next to him.

  Kat and Kevin, exhausted from a sleepless night, checked in with Sheila to reassure her that the crisis had passed, and then they both fell onto the bed in the second bedroom fully clothed, too exhausted to argue about who would sleep where.

  CHAPTER 29

  On the fourth morning following the injection of the Phoenix Formula into Stone’s body, Kat woke up to the smell of coffee and frying bacon. She leaned her head to the side and saw that Kevin was no longer in the bed. He had finally worn her down two days before by stating that the pull-out bed in the living room was ruining his back.

  She had relented and said he could sleep in the same bed as her, but they were both to wear full pajamas and there was to be no hanky-panky, either implied or assumed. Kevin had agreed, reluctantly, figuring half a loaf was better than none at all.

  She yawned, rubbed her eyes, and walked into the kitchen.

  Standing at the stove was a man who appeared to be in his late thirties, with coal-black hair and a trim build. The sweat clothes he was wearing hung loosely on him as if they were two sizes too large.

  Angus was sitting on his haunches next to the man, his attention riveted on the frying bacon in the skillet on the stove and his tail slowly wagging.

  Kat glanced at the kitchen table and saw Kevin sitting there in his pajamas, drinking a cup of coffee, and smiling at her.

  She looked back to the man at the stove. “Who are you, and what have you done with my elderly professor?” she asked, grinning.

  Stone turned around, his arms held wide. “What do you think, Dr. Kat? Do you approve of what your formula has accomplished?”

  Kat, who up until now had only seen Stone lying in the bed under covers with just his head sticking out, was amazed at the transformation.

  She moved quickly to embrace him, then stepped back and held him at arm’s length. “You look great, Jordan. Really great.”

  He gave a short bow. “Thank you, Dr. Kat. And more importantly, I feel great.”

  Angus gave a short bark and inclined his head toward the stove.

  Stone turned back to his cooking. “You are correct, Angus, lad. If I don’t pay attention to what I am doing, I will surely burn the bacon.”

  He waved back over his shoulder. “Dr. Kat, by the time you have showered and changed, breakfast should be ready. We are having eggs à la Stone, along with bacon, pancakes, and home-style fries with onions and bell peppers.”

  Kat laughed. “Remember, Jordan, not everyone has had their metabolism kicked into high gear. Kevin and I will have to be careful not to gain twenty pounds if we are to let you do all the cooking.”

  She turned and rushed toward the bathroom to get ready, her mouth watering at the thought of breakfast.

  * * *

  Angus lay on his side next to Stone’s chair at the breakfast table, his belly distended from several pieces of bacon and a small helping of scrambled eggs.

  While she drank a post-breakfast cup of coffee, Kat looked at Kevin. “How about I clean up the kitchen and do the dishes while you take Jordan to Dillard’s and get him some new clothes?”

  “That sounds like a plan,” Kevin answered. “And after I bring him back here, I think I’ll take the Honda to Houston and see about picking up Burton and Sheila and bringing them back here. They deserve to see this in person.”

  “Why can’t they just come here in their own cars?” Stone asked.

  “You forget, Jordan, we are being watched. Kevin found GPS locators affixed to all of our cars a few weeks back, so any time we want to go someplace secret, we have to use the Honda,” Kat said. She held up her mobile phone. “We have even begun to use so-called burner phones so that our calls can’t be listened in on.”

  Stone nodded. “More cloak-and-dagger stuff.”

  Kat leaned across the table and put her hand on his. “But necessary, Jordan. I’m sure you can see that. The Phoenix Formula is so . . . so revolutionary that if its secret got out, men would do anything to obtain it.”

  “And most would not want to use it to do good, but to gain power and control over others,” Kevin said.

  “Like the reclusive billionaire with whom you have promised to do business.”

  “Yes, just like him,” Kat answered. “And forgive me, Jordan, but you don’t have to sit there with your ivory tower background and be so judgmental about what we have had to do to get this far with our research.”

  Stone looked stricken. “I am truly sorry, Dr. Kat. There is great merit in what you say, and I must confess to having some doubts about the character and intentions of the man we are talking about, but I would never presume to look down upon you or your compatriots, whom I know have only the best intentions in your hearts.”

  “Thank you for that, Jordan,” Kevin said. “If there was any other way, we would take it, but original research is very expensive, and almost impossible without getting the government involved.”

  “I may have some thoughts on that, which I shall share with you later,” Stone said. “But first, away with us, young Mr. Kevin. My new attire is waiting for us at the nearest men’s store,” he added, obviously attempting to lighten the mood in the room before it got out of hand.

  * * *

  It was almost five o’clock before Kevin managed to return with Burton and Sheila. He had used every trick he could think of to make sure they weren’t being followed. He’d even gone over the Honda with his electronic checker to assure himself there was no GPS tracker on it.

  Burton sniffed as he entered the front door. “My God, whatever that is, it smells delicious.”

  Stone appeared in the dining room archway, a dish towel slung over his shoulder. He was wearing new black Levi’s, a purple and black Izod shirt, and black tennis shoes.

  “I discovered this afternoon that the house you rented came equipped with a gas grill on the back patio, Burton, so I took the liberty of grilling some of those rib eye steaks you had so thoughtfully provided in the freezer.”

  Kat appeared next to him. “He also baked potatoes and cooked corn and green beans.”

  Stone shrugged. “Simple food, but then, I am a simple man.”

  Sheila put her hands to her cheeks, eyes wide. “My God, is it you, Jordan?”

  He laughed. “In the flesh, Dr. Sheila.”

  “Holy smoke!” Burton exclaimed. “It actually worked.”

  “You look thirty years younger, and . . . and so healthy,” Sheila said, moving closer to him to put her palms on his shoulders.

  “And more importantly, I feel thirty years younger, Dr. Sheila,” Stone said, placing his hands over hers.

  Angus appeared in the kitchen doorway and barked loudly, looking back over his shoulder to the kitchen.

  “Ah, young Angus is correct,” Stone said. “The steaks are going to get cold if we do not make haste to the dining room.”

  As the group took seats around the dining room table, Stone speared a
rib eye, cut it into small pieces, and placed them in Angus’s bowl next to his bed in the corner of the room.

  Angus settled down and began to eat the steak, groaning low in his throat in delight.

  Everyone at the table laughed and began to dig into their own food, with much talking back and forth about the formula and what Stone had experienced during the transformation.

  “Well, since I slept through most of it, there is not a lot I can tell you that you do not already know,” he said in answer to the questions. “It was kind of like having the flu . . . chills, fever, shakes. All in all, not too unpleasant.”

  * * *

  J.P. Ashby was getting impatient. He’d heard nothing from the researchers since he had given them the fifty thousand dollars, and since he’d told his investigators to back off, he had no new intel on their actions or whereabouts.

  He angrily hit the speed-dial on his phone and soon had Harold Gelb on the phone. “Do you have any news for me, Gelb?”

  “Uh . . . no, sir. Since you told me to have my men back off, all I’ve been doing is monitoring the movements of the subjects’ automobiles.”

  “And have there been any unusual movements to report?”

  “Not at all. None of the vehicles has made any unusual trips, and especially not out of the city. In fact,” he added, “let me check right now.”

  After a moment, he came back on the line. “Yes, all of their vehicles are in their various parking garages as we speak.”

  “So I can assume they are all currently in their apartments?”

  “Uh . . . again, sir, I have no way of knowing that without going to each location and physically checking on them.”

  Ashby took a deep breath and thought for a moment. “Okay, then I suggest you send your men to do just that. I need to know where they are right now.”

  “Well, Johnson is on another assignment, but I’ll get Gomer on it right away.”

  “Gelb,” Ashby said in a dangerously low voice, “do not ever think me a fool. I know you are charging me almost double your usual rates. Now, I don’t mind that, and, in fact, I expect it, since no one in their right mind ever gives a billionaire a discount. However, at these rates, I do expect that you will keep all of your operatives available to me twenty-four /seven. Do I make myself clear, or should I peruse the yellow pages for other private investigative firms?”