American Mutant by Bernard Lee DeLeo

years since I joined the Marine Corps, and then eventually the CIA, I met only one man who meant more to me than my own life. You ordered me to kill him tonight. Mr. Whitney, I must respectfully tender my resignation, at least to you.”
    “Nate,” Conner said. “I plan to set things up with the only guy in the Center I trust, so you, Karen, Whitney, and me can walk in tomorrow morning. If you would do me the favor of taking Gordie here with you until morning, Karen and I will meet you at the apartment around nine o’clock, and we will all go in together. I can explain everything to you then, and present you with the other deal I talked about.”
    “I would love to entertain Mr. Whitney for the evening,” Nate said, affectionately putting an arm around Whitney. “We will meet you back here at nine sharp. I can hardly wait to hear this.”
    “Did they drop you off, or do you have a ride here waiting?” Connor asked.
    “They dropped me,” Nate confirmed. “I was to work my own way out.”
    “Take Karen’s car, and we will see you back in the morning. Oh, and Nate, try not to believe half of what our friend here spews tonight.”
    “I’ll gag him. I have to get my beauty rest.”
    Connor held out his hand, and Nate grasped it in both of his. “See you tomorrow my friend.”
    “Count on it.” Nate adjusted the front seat, and squeezed in. He started the car, and took off with a little wave and smile for Karen.
    “I think you owe me, little missy, pay up,” Connor said.
    “I have a headache,” Karen replied, holding a hand to her forehead. “I’m tired, I have to get up in the morning, I.”
    “Ooooo…kaaaaaaaaay…,” Connor laughed.
    Up in her room, Connor gently helped Karen undress. They took a shower together, and then went to bed. Connor began gently massaging Karen’s feet, alternating between a firm rub, and an almost feather like touch. She moaned with pleasure. Karen opened her eyes to see Connor watching her.
    “Are you going to use a mind meld on me?”
    “Karen,” Connor whispered, “by the time I get to your lips, you will not have a mind.”
    Quenton’s phone rang on his desk at 8:00 AM. He picked it up and said, “Quenton here.”
    “Derek, I need you to smooth the way for me to return to the Center with one associate, and one prisoner. We will proceed directly to the interrogation room. I will explain everything to you then.”
    “Karen did not come in this morning Thomas,” Quenton told him. “I’m worried. She.”
    “Karen’s with me,” Connor replied, “and she will be coming in at the same time, about 9:30. Can you do it without attracting a lot of attention?”
    “I will leave word at the gate to pass you through into the complex with a minimum of red tape,” Quenton agreed. “I will be at the front entrance to accompany you the rest of the way. I take it you have a breakthrough of some kind?”
    “Not on the phone. See you at 9:30.”
    The phone went dead in Quenton’s hand. He dialed to get things clear for Connor immediately. He wondered whether he would have a job by the end of the day. He smiled, thinking he would at least be able to seek honorable employment. Meeting Connor still remained the single most incredible thing ever to happen to him.
    At 9:30 AM sharp, Quenton stood by the desk at the entrance to the complex. The guards at the gate had alerted him as instructed, when Connor passed the checkpoint. Dr. Blakely came through the outer doors first, followed by a huge black man with a shaved head. Connor brought up the rear with a hooded man wearing a rumpled business suit. The man had his hands stuck into his pockets. Quenton’s heart began to pound as he tried to guess who Connor could possibly be bringing in.
    As they reached Quenton, he smiled uneasily at Karen, and waved for everyone to follow him to the interrogation room. When they were inside the room, Connor motioned for all of them to sit down at the conference table. Quenton sat at the head