Shrugging, Wylde nodded. “I believe we are all characters in a book. We only truly live when we are on the page and being read. It is the reader that gives us life.”
Kayla’s eyes went wide. “That’s . . .”
Wylde raised an eyebrow. “Crazy?”
It was, on so many different levels, but confronting Wylde on his delusion never seemed to upset him.
“I’ve been told that multiple times. And by experts in their fields.” No emotion at all in Wylde’s tone. “It doesn’t stop me from believing it.”
Joel watched the scientist click in on Kayla’s face.
“So, how did you come to this conclusion?” She crossed her arms, causing her breasts to raise attractively.
Everything about her caused Joel’s heart to beat a little harder, his breath to catch constantly. So beautiful, so damn smart, and so incredibly sexy.
How would she handle this?
Joel needed to back off and let the two of them hammer this out. Maybe Kayla could make some progress where Joel’s attempts had failed.
~ ~ ~
Wylde’s easy stance and calm demeanor, in the face of that incredible assertion, had Kayla’s curiosity piqued. The premise intrigued her.
“When I look at my life, my back story, it’s far too incredible to be real.” Now authentic emotion seeped into his expression. Wylde drew in a deep breath. “The abuse, the agony, even the fantastic adventures. You have no idea.”
She’d need to spend some time with this man’s file. So fascinating.
“Of course I remember it all, every pain-filled moment. It would be very real, if I chose to accept it, like you choose to believe all the things assigned to your life.”
Ah. Now it started to make some sense. Did she dare challenge him? “So this delusion . . . this belief . . . is a coping mechanism?”
“That is what my last analyst believed before she gave up on me.” A smile played across his face. His eyes glazed. “Are you confused yet?”
“A little.”
His eyes refocused on her. “Sorry.”
For what?
Shaking his head, Joel jumped in. “He wasn’t talking to you or me.”
“Um, there’s no one else here.” Was he seeing invisible people?
Joel took a deep breath, then sighed. “Sometimes he talks to the reader.”
“And they never seem to answer, at least that I can hear.” Wylde cleared his throat. “In any case, that is my belief. My delusion, if you will. My story is too incredible, too dramatic, to be real. Therefore I must be a character, created by a rather sadistic author to pump up the drama in his or her little book. I’m not thrilled, but at least here, on the page, I’m alive.”
“Okay.” Kayla took a deep breath and considered everything she knew about the man. It would take a while to absorb the whole of it, but one thing was clear. They’d had good reason to keep Wylde secluded in that mountaintop cabin.
Chapter 9
Kayla wiggled her fingers into the glove. A prickle radiated through her hand. She placed her palm on the desktop waiting for the tingling to subside. It didn’t take long. Just a few seconds.
Theoretically a host of Heather’s nanobots were connecting the fabric of the glove to those anchor atoms of her hand, making the garment effectively another layer of skin.
Heather leaned over her shoulder. “How’s it fit?”
Kayla couldn’t resist. “Like a glove.”
“Ugh. I walked right into that one.” Heather rolled her eyes. “Okay, let’s test it.”
Shadows gathered once again in Kayla’s peripheral vision. She’d practiced the technique, honing her skills. Just the hand, not her whole body.
A half-inch thickness of plywood a foot square stood upright on an improvised stand on the desk’s surface. Heather ducked around the desk to view the experiment from the other side. “Let’s do this.”
Kayla pushed. Her hand sunk into the wood. The glove disappeared with it. “I think it’s working.”
“It is.” Heather’s tone modulated up. “The glove is coming through the wood with your fingers.”
Another theory proven. Kayla couldn’t wait to get to her sewing machine. She’d constructed three bolts of nanobot infused cotton-poly blend fabric to work with.
She pulled her hand back out of the plywood. Again that slight tingling, but no pain, no lasting effects. Whatever had happened to her, she planned to make the most of it. She’d learn to use this gift, not try to get rid of it.
“So, have you come up with a costume design?” Heather raised an eyebrow.
“A design?” She pulled her sketch pad with the six vastly different ideas she’d been playing with.
Which one to make first?
~ ~ ~
“I’m fine.” There was a growl in Wylde’s tone.
Joel shook his head. Why was it the most not-fine people always kept insisting they were fine? “We need to run some more tests on whatever they did to you, and try to figure out why you’re still alive while those four others died.”
Wylde paused in his pacing. “I can’t wait around here for you to fill in some kind of plot hole. I need to get back to Natasha, Wanda, and the pups.”
Ah, there it was.
“I checked on them a couple hours ago and brought them some extra food. They’re fine.” Two could play the fine game.
Natasha and Wanda had both eyed him suspiciously. Granted, he’d brought a fifty-pound bag of dry dog food. Wylde would probably be pissed. But the pups seemed to love the stuff. Hell, he didn’t know what the heck wolves ate. He certainly wasn’t going to hunt down a deer and drag the carcass back to the wolves’ den.
But the tests weren’t Joel’s only reason for keeping Wylde at Xi Force Headquarters. Deep down he hoped the man would adapt, actually come to like being here. John had powers that certainly qualified him for the team. His enhanced sight, sense of smell, and stealth capabilities made him excellent at infiltrating an enemy, and the man could fight like a hellcat.
Now the Mutalon fusing with his system, gave him accelerated healing. Not as good as the zombiebot titanium under-armor, but an incredible enhancement none the less. Heather conjectured even his internal organs repaired and regenerated. The four other test subjects remained in perfect condition, but the toxicity of the Mutalon process killed them before the procedure completed.
They’d put the four corpses in cold storage. Quite frankly, Joel wasn’t sure what to do with them. Eventually the bodies would have to be turned over to their families for internment, but Heather felt there might still be more to learn from them.
Somehow, Wylde had survived, and come out even more powerful.
“Civilization stinks.” Wylde sniffed. Hands behind his back, he paced the room.
Joel couldn’t disagree. “It has its moments. But overall, if given a chance, most people are good.”
“No.” Wylde chuckled, shaking his head. “This place, all of you, with my enhanced sense of smell, its overwhelming. Cologne, deodorant, sweat. Chemicals, disinfectants, this whole sterile environment, reeks of humanity. I cannot stay here.”
Okay, Joel completely misunderstood. “Sorry, I didn’t realize.”
Wylde paused his pacing, raised an eyebrow, and captured Joel’s gaze. “And the way the pheromones fly whenever you and that pretty scientist are in the same room, well, if I were a wolf bitch, you’d put me in season.”
Heat rose in Joel’s cheeks. Hopefully it wasn’t as obvious to everyone else.
“Believe me.” Wylde paced once again. “I want vengeance on those who slaughtered my pack. Count me a part of your team, at least until then, but let me return to Natasha, Wanda, and their pups. They smell like home. I cannot abide this stench for long.”
~ ~ ~
For her first design, Kayla went with a charcoal colored fabric. Okay, maybe she mimicked Joel’s shade costume just a little bit, but the garment was functional and that’s what she needed. The full body suit hugged her a little closer than she’d wish, but with the linking anchor atoms, it needed a tight fit. It took numerous fittings and adjustments to disguise the illusion it was painted on and avoid the pesky camel toe effect of the tight fabric.
She’d also decided on a mask, to keep her identity a secret. How long it would stay secret, with today’s intrusive technologies, was anybody’s guess. She could handle the world knowing her identity, but would happily to put that day off as long as possible.
Maybe if I dyed my hair . . .
Heather handed her the white, leather hip holster. “It may work, but I don’t think your gun will go with it.”
Kayla hated the thought of going on missions without her Glock. She wasn’t bulletproof like Joel and Chris. And she wouldn’t heal like Wylde. If someone fired a gun at her, she at least wanted to be able to return fire.
“One way to find out.” She strapped on the belt and holstered her Glock.
Approaching the granite countertop, now a permanent fixture of her lab, Kayla did her thing and melded into the surface. She’d passed through so many times testing her fabrics and placement of the anchor atoms, it now felt like a natural extension of who she was.
“I like Phaze as your superhero name, you know spelled with the Z. Has a nice ring to it.” Heather’s voice muted as Kayla’s ears phased into the granite.
As she feared, her progress halted as her right hip caught just outside the surface. The handgun refused to phase through, and the holster, still outside the granite, refused to let the Glock go.
“Damn it.” Kayla backed out of the countertop. Pulling the handgun from the holster, she placed it on the desk.
Tilting her head, Heather caught her gaze. “You don’t have to go into the field, you know. Stay here in your lab. No one would think less of you.”
“And if Chris got hurt because I wasn’t there?” Her peripheral vision fuzzing, Kayla began her meld back into the granite slab.
“Chris chooses to be out there putting his life on the line.” Heather’s eyes narrowed. “I would never hold what happens out there against you, honey, whether you were there or not.”
“Well, if something happened to Joel or one of the others, I’m not sure I could forgive myself.” The empty holster came with her, offering no resistance as she stepped right through the granite.
Maybe items that phased with her didn’t have to be so closely connected to her anchor atoms. She needed to know how Heather constructed the holster.
Anchoring the Glock to the holster would be her next project. Could it even be done? So many independent parts, different materials. The freaking quantum physics was probably beyond her.
“So, nothing I can do will convince you to stay out of the field, even if you can’t take your beloved Glock with you?” There was something in Heather’s tone, something that sounded like an ultimatum.
Kayla shook her head. “Not a thing. Why?”
With a deep sigh, Heather stood. “I’ll be right back.”
~ ~ ~
“If you don’t believe this is all real, why do you bother?” Joel needed to understand. If John Wylde was going to be working with Xi Force, they had to know they could depend on him. That meant delving deeper into the man’s psyche than he’d ever tried.
The brisk chilling breeze swept around them as they stood outside Wylde’s cabin occasionally wafting smoke from the blazing bonfire toward them.
Wylde ran his hand through the thick fur on top of Wanda’s head. “If I only live when I’m on the page, being read, if that’s all the life I get, I’d better make it interesting, right?” He shrugged like he was making perfect sense. “Plus, I still feel the pain, the loss. That part is real to me. Tony, Steve, and the rest barely got to live at all, but they were my pack. Back-story becomes our reality.”
Joel helped Wylde pile and burn the corpses of his wolf pack. Only the two females and eight pups survived. And despite John’s crazy delusion, his rage shone clear in his every action, every word.
“I still don’t see how you can believe all this.” He needed to press him. Challenge his delusion. See if the man would crack. “Where’s your proof?”
“Belief is belief.” Wylde bent down and picked up one of the pups that was gnawing on his boot, cradling the wolf and scratching behind its ears. “If every belief had to be proven, we wouldn’t have a religion left on Earth.”
Joel huffed. “That’s different.”
“Is it?” Wylde sat on the ground and let the pups cascade and play on top of him. “It’s only different in the sense that I’m not asking anyone to believe me. I’m not asking for donations, faith, or devotion to some unprovable theory of creation. I’m not starting a church. But this is what I believe.”
He made it all sound so logical. For a moment Joel let himself accept the impossibility of being just a character in some book, a piece in some story. It sure as hell would make things easier. Giving everything over to some supernatural author. Then the whole Amber shit-storm wouldn’t be his fault.
Stop it. He had real business to tend to. “So, we can count on your help despite your beliefs?”
“I will help avenge these little ones, and guard and protect them. That is my charge.” Wylde pushed the pups from his lap and stood, extending his hand to Joel. “After that is accomplished, we’ll talk.”
Joel couldn’t ask for more than that.
~ ~ ~
“What the hell is this?” Kayla ran her fingers along the white plastic barrel. It looked like some kind of toy pistol.
“Happy birthday?” Chagrin washed over Heather’s face.
Kayla shook her head. “It is so not my birthday.”
“Put it in the holster and try to take it through the wall. If it goes with you, I’ll tell you about it.” Heather shooed her toward the granite slab. “If it doesn’t, it doesn’t matter.”
Phasing had become so second nature, Kayla was halfway through before she realized she hadn’t had to concentrate. There’d been no pull at her hip as she stepped through. The plastic gun came right through with her.
Drawing the firearm from her holster, Kayla held it up, turning it side to side. “So what does it do? Does it shoot?”
Heather’s grin reached her eyes. “Better. You’re looking at the only prototype of the POS.”
“Piece of shit?”
The stunned look on Heather’s face couldn’t have been faked. “Oh God, I never thought of that when I came up with the acronym. No, it stands for Phaser on Stun. You know, like Star Trek. The gun shoots a particle beam that disrupts a person’s body chemistry, causing unconsciousness.”
Kayla couldn’t resist. “So it’s a POS.”
Heather’s cheeks reddened. “Stop that. I’ll change the name. I’m so embarrassed. I thought I was being so cool.”
“How about Phaze’s phaser. We could call it Peepee for short.” A giggle bubbled up from inside Kayla’s gut.
Heather joined in. “I give up.”
Chapter 10
“So, where do we stand?” At long last Kayla had Joel in a room all to herself. Time to sort out that kiss before he snuck out on her again.
“I’ve been attracted to you for a long time.”
His assertion sent a thrill twittering through her core. It also highlighted one simple fact. “You never said anything.”
“I’m your boss. This, for all its craziness, is still a government institution. There are certain proprieties . . . rules about employee/boss fraternization.”
“And that kiss?” Her lips tingled at just the thought. No other man ha
d ever made her feel like that. Desired and cherished at the same time.
“Was highly inappropriate.” His gaze softened, the corner of his mouth twitched up. Then he shrugged as mischief danced in his features. “But I sure as hell don’t regret it.”
“Nor I. Believe me.” Kayla brought her fingertips to her lips, remembering the intensity of his kiss. The desire she’d felt. Would he kiss her again? Butterflies erupted in her stomach.
Please let him kiss her again.
Stepping closer he took her hand. “This . . . situation between us . . . is forcing me to do something I’ve been meaning to do for the past couple weeks anyway, but just haven’t gotten around to.”
Joel’s thumb, gentle yet firm, played across her knuckles. His eyes brightened and a cocky smile spread across his oh-so-kissable mouth. “I’m bringing Aaron Braddock back in to run the day to day operations around here. I’m a member of the Xi Force team now, and I can’t be in the field and running things back here at the same time. So I’m stepping down.”
“Down but not out?” Certainly he wasn’t thinking of leaving. “You’ll still be leading Xi Force in the field.”
“That’s the plan.” He nodded, his eyes never leaving hers. “At least as long as the team wants me to lead. All members of Xi Force will be equal partners under the new contracts I’m having drawn up. Private, independent contractors. It should help eliminate any conflicts of interest.”
She cocked her head. “Am I a conflict of interest?”
His eyes narrowed. “Well, you’ve definitely got my interest.”
She stepped into him, running her hand down the side of his face. “Then kiss me again.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I’m still your boss. That would be highly inappropriate.”
Still, he didn’t pull back.
She drew his lips down toward hers. “I don’t care.”
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