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he wiped off the corner of his mouth with his fist.
The light over his desk was still on and his cheek felt
creased from the folders he'd been sleeping on. "Jordan?"
Tavish called, turning around. The apartment was still dark
and no one answered, but Tavish swore he'd heard the door
open and close.
Tavish stood up. "Who's here?" he called, and banged the
wall. The overhead lights clicked on, and Tavish jerked. Rees
stood less than two feet away.
"You don't knock?" Tavish snapped, angry at himself for
showing the amount of fear he had.
Rees didn't answer, but his slick smile didn't change. He
crossed his arms over his chest. "You failed to report to your
first progress report."
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"It's not until tomorrow," Tavish said, crossing his arms as
well. Rees was invading his space deliberately. Tavish briefly
wondered what would happen if he tried to force the issue.
Rees wanted him to react so he could hurt him. "I have it
marked in my calendar."
"Not Patrice's. Mine. And you are late for it."
"And what is it that Patrice's assistant thinks that he needs
to know before Patrice does?" Tavish asked.
"I need to know everything before Patrice does," Rees
snarled. "What have you found?"
"Nothing," Tavish said. "I'm sure it's airborne, but that is
nothing you haven't already been mostly sure of. And I'm not
going to tell you anything else before I tell Patrice. I don't
answer to you."
"You only think you don't. Jordan's been a good friend of
yours since you've been here, hasn't he? You've spent some
good times together?"
"What do you want to hear? You obviously think you know
the answer."
Rees moved to the desk to flip through Tavish's papers.
Tavish would have blocked him, but Rees gave him another
warning look and Tavish backed away, and hit Jordan
squarely in the chest. Jordan put his hands on his shoulders.
"It's okay," he murmured, softly. "I'll take care of this."
Tavish was quite glad to step back this once.
"He may be a good ... companion, but I wouldn't get too
attached," Rees said, softly. His eyes were cold.
"Oh really?" Jordan asked. "And why is that?"
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Rees jerked. The stab of vicious pleasure Tavish felt at the
man's discomfort was entirely disproportionate. Rees glared,
but after the first look of surprise, his face had gone back to
the same blandness it had always had. "Oh. Jordan. I didn't
see you there."
"Obviously," Jordan said, voice just as bland. "If you're
done poking through the good Doctor's things, I think I'll be
taking him now."
"Of course," Rees said. "I'll have my men photograph what
I didn't get a chance to look at."
Jordan shrugged. He turned his back to the man, casually,
but from where Tavish stood he could see the tension running
in rivers under Jordan's skin. His jaw, dusted with the shadow
of the late night stubble, clenched. If Rees was particularly
observant, and of that Tavish didn't have much doubt that he
was, he could have heard Jordan's teeth grind.
Rees was oblivious to Jordan's presence, somehow. Tavish
still heard the muscle in the hall. How Jordan had gotten past
them without raising the alarm was beyond him. Jordan
crossed his arms.
Rees waggled a short, stubby finger at him. "Don't try to
be brave, Doctor. It doesn't fit your personality profile."
Tavish felt his teeth clench. "What do you want from me?"
"I want your assurance that you will obey me."
"Obey you? I'm not a dog. Get out of my room."
"Or you will do what, exactly?" Rees asked, lightly, but his
eyes were flat and reptilian.
"Tell my father," Jordan said. "Are you ready for the ride,
Doctor?"
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"Yes," Tavish said, but he couldn't shake the way Rees was
staring at him. Turning his back and walking to the lift was
about the bravest thing he had done in his life. Jordan's hand
on his arm didn't relax until they were in the transport and
flying away from the Alpha Site.
The air on the dune was cooler than over the mining area.
The sun had set, but away from the Alpha Site the sand
around them gave off a luminescent glow. The glassed in
dome reflected the light back to them like a buffed copper
mirror, and the forest of rock that was being mined reached
for the bright moon hanging just overhead with dark, bare
fingers of branches.
Patrice had been busy indeed. The huge hollow formations
jutting out of the sand were being ground down and
processed on the spot. In the day, the rocks were bright
orange, red and gold. They made up a glistening forest, and
when the wind blew through them the music produced could
be heard from where they were.
"Patrice will take them all," Tavish said. "And then what?"
"He's learned how to clone Arochos. It's only the calcium it
creates from the rock he needs," Jordan said, and started
down the dune
Tavish followed him, almost slipping once. His shoes filled
with sand and formed uncomfortable lumps in them, and he
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