worked on his wife. "You're most welcome. Now let's
move some cargo. Slick Micky's waiting."
* * *
Nathan woke up feeling sluggish, but without
the small-space panic he'd been dealing with. He prodded around his
mind, took a swift inventory of his body and swore viciously to
find himself trapped by the effects of Paracuron again. What the
hell? Hadn't Kelly – Cali – whoever she was fixed all this?
The encounter in the ditch had been real. He
knew it! Either healing wasn't her gift, or something else was in
play. Terror of the smart virus crept into his mind, but he
banished it. Can't feed the negativity .
He tested his responses, unreasonably
grateful for cooperative eyelids. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
He did a quick tactile inventory and decided someone had padded the
fall pretty well. The sheets were clean and soft under his
fingertips and the clinical scent in the room was underwritten by
the rich aroma of coffee.
"Hello?" he called, pleased to feel his
fingers and toes respond, though the rest of him felt lead
lined.
Footsteps responded, heels clicking on hard
floors, in a purely feminine manner. Kelly? He was probably just
wishing. She didn't seem the type for heels. Nathan shifted and
failed, cursing Kristoff's chemistry that he still couldn't move
any major muscle groups. Then the clean scent of vanilla teased his
nose. "I've died," he whispered, "and gone to heaven."
"You'll offend your host if you keep that
up," the woman said, leaning into his field of vision.
"Petra!" She looked amazing, healthy and a
bit rounded around the edges. "Where am I? Where's Kelly? Your
assistant," he clarified. "She saved me, but I might've hurt her.
Is she here?"
"Shh," Petra soothed, laying a gloved hand on
his shoulder. "She's asleep in the next room."
A dream or maybe a memory flitted at the
edges of his mind. The cell, the rat, the screaming. "Did I – did I
hurt her?"
Petra shrugged a narrow shoulder. "She's
sporting a few bruises, but I can hardly tell who did that."
"So you didn't look?" Nathan knew his sister
usually respected the privacy of others, but they were both curious
people. It wasn't outside the realm of possibility that Petra had
snooped through Kelly's memories.
"Not past the aura," she confirmed. "Though
that's hard to ignore. Do you have any idea how much emotional
baggage she's hauling around?"
Ashamed he didn't know much at all about
Kelly, Nathan gazed beyond Petra, studying the ceiling.
"Relax. It will all be okay. Can I prop you
up a bit?" She reached behind him, adjusting pillows, and he got a
good view of her belly.
"You're pregnant!"
She stood up, patting herself all over and
looking around. "What? Are you sure?"
"You're not funny. I'll kill Gideon."
"Neanderthal!" Petra punched him. "He's my
husband, you idiot."
"Fine. I'll reserve judgment until
after."
"After what?"
"If the kid's ugly then I'll kill your
husband."
Petra pinned him with Medusa's look before
she changed the subject. "About the poison. You're sure it's
Paracuron?"
"I'm sure." He didn't like the resulting
frown on his sister's face. "Aren't you sure?"
The frown eased a bit. "There's no reason to
doubt you. Do you know which strain?"
"No idea." Kristoff had been working on his
chemistry cocktails for years. "It has to be new," Nathan pointed
out, "because Kelly had me up and feeling normal just before –"
whatever had happened in the car still wasn't clear.
"Is there a Paracuron with an amnesia
effect?" Petra asked.
"I imagine that would be an ideal part of any
Paracuron equation, though we've never found a soldier or inmate
alive to discuss it." Those missing inmates, those who'd been
soldiers, were the catalyst that forced Nathan's department to send
him undercover. "Based on the lingering and alternating affects,
it's obviously a smart viral.
"Kelly told me I had a fever for a couple
days. Then I felt completely normal for a bit." He left out the
details in between. "Now I'm back to
move some cargo. Slick Micky's waiting."
* * *
Nathan woke up feeling sluggish, but without
the small-space panic he'd been dealing with. He prodded around his
mind, took a swift inventory of his body and swore viciously to
find himself trapped by the effects of Paracuron again. What the
hell? Hadn't Kelly – Cali – whoever she was fixed all this?
The encounter in the ditch had been real. He
knew it! Either healing wasn't her gift, or something else was in
play. Terror of the smart virus crept into his mind, but he
banished it. Can't feed the negativity .
He tested his responses, unreasonably
grateful for cooperative eyelids. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
He did a quick tactile inventory and decided someone had padded the
fall pretty well. The sheets were clean and soft under his
fingertips and the clinical scent in the room was underwritten by
the rich aroma of coffee.
"Hello?" he called, pleased to feel his
fingers and toes respond, though the rest of him felt lead
lined.
Footsteps responded, heels clicking on hard
floors, in a purely feminine manner. Kelly? He was probably just
wishing. She didn't seem the type for heels. Nathan shifted and
failed, cursing Kristoff's chemistry that he still couldn't move
any major muscle groups. Then the clean scent of vanilla teased his
nose. "I've died," he whispered, "and gone to heaven."
"You'll offend your host if you keep that
up," the woman said, leaning into his field of vision.
"Petra!" She looked amazing, healthy and a
bit rounded around the edges. "Where am I? Where's Kelly? Your
assistant," he clarified. "She saved me, but I might've hurt her.
Is she here?"
"Shh," Petra soothed, laying a gloved hand on
his shoulder. "She's asleep in the next room."
A dream or maybe a memory flitted at the
edges of his mind. The cell, the rat, the screaming. "Did I – did I
hurt her?"
Petra shrugged a narrow shoulder. "She's
sporting a few bruises, but I can hardly tell who did that."
"So you didn't look?" Nathan knew his sister
usually respected the privacy of others, but they were both curious
people. It wasn't outside the realm of possibility that Petra had
snooped through Kelly's memories.
"Not past the aura," she confirmed. "Though
that's hard to ignore. Do you have any idea how much emotional
baggage she's hauling around?"
Ashamed he didn't know much at all about
Kelly, Nathan gazed beyond Petra, studying the ceiling.
"Relax. It will all be okay. Can I prop you
up a bit?" She reached behind him, adjusting pillows, and he got a
good view of her belly.
"You're pregnant!"
She stood up, patting herself all over and
looking around. "What? Are you sure?"
"You're not funny. I'll kill Gideon."
"Neanderthal!" Petra punched him. "He's my
husband, you idiot."
"Fine. I'll reserve judgment until
after."
"After what?"
"If the kid's ugly then I'll kill your
husband."
Petra pinned him with Medusa's look before
she changed the subject. "About the poison. You're sure it's
Paracuron?"
"I'm sure." He didn't like the resulting
frown on his sister's face. "Aren't you sure?"
The frown eased a bit. "There's no reason to
doubt you. Do you know which strain?"
"No idea." Kristoff had been working on his
chemistry cocktails for years. "It has to be new," Nathan pointed
out, "because Kelly had me up and feeling normal just before –"
whatever had happened in the car still wasn't clear.
"Is there a Paracuron with an amnesia
effect?" Petra asked.
"I imagine that would be an ideal part of any
Paracuron equation, though we've never found a soldier or inmate
alive to discuss it." Those missing inmates, those who'd been
soldiers, were the catalyst that forced Nathan's department to send
him undercover. "Based on the lingering and alternating affects,
it's obviously a smart viral.
"Kelly told me I had a fever for a couple
days. Then I felt completely normal for a bit." He left out the
details in between. "Now I'm back to
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