Savage Genesis, part 5

"Look, he's been missing for a while and his mother seems convinced that he's never coming back. What would be the harm in starting a few hours early?" Britney flashed a pleading smile. Chris could tell she was concerned but that didn't change his position any.

"Ma'am, do you have any idea what kind of trouble I'd get in if my supervisor found out I wasn't following procedure."

"Look... I'm sorry, what's your name?"

"Officer Gillman. Chris." He offered a good natured grin.

"Look, Chris. If you're girlfriend went missing wouldn't you want to start looking for her right away? Wouldn't you not be able to sleep until you knew she was alright?" Britney's warmth and sincere desperation touched Chris. He knew that he couldn't fudge the time because Mesmero, their resident empathy, would know he was lying. Chris figured that he could convince Mesmero to start looking just a hair early. He'd played poker with the man and seemed like a decent enough guy.

"I suppose I might be able to bend the rules, just a little."

"Thank you. Thank you so much," Britney said. She seemed to be breathing easier. Chris hadn't noticed how tense she was until he saw her relax. If he hadn't been sure he going to help her before he'd have been more than determined now.

"This way," Chris motioned for Britney to follow him. The desk sergant was going to be pissed, Chris was sure but since the sergant shouldn't have been on a smoke break he was also sure that the he wouldn't turn Chris in. He walked down the hall, Britney followed close behind him.

"I don't have one," Chris said a matter-of-factly.

"Excuse me?"

"A girlfriend. Don't have one. Not by choice, I just don't really have the oppertunity to meet many nice girls, you know?" Chris was babbeling now and he knew it. He kept trying to stop, to wrap things up but he just kept chugging along.

"It can be tough. You're a good looking guy, you'll manage." Chris smiled at Britney's compliment. "What's that smell?" She asked. Chris, realizing she was noticing the Slug's slime on him, decided to change the subject briskly.

"Here's missing persons." He points at a door that is indeed marked as "MISSING PERSONS." Chris opened the door and holds it open for Britney as she walks through it.

Britney was struck by how tiny and poorly lit the office was. The room was bare except for a desk, an open chair opposite the desk and a mini-fridge with a television perched on top of it. Sitting behind the desk was a small man with a piercing gaze. This was Mesmero. He was puffing on a cigarette and watching Judge Judy shout at a metamorph who had once stolen a man's wife by pretending to be him. Mesmero turned as the two entered his office.

"Gillman? What are you doing here?"

"She's filed a missing person's report," Chris jerked a thumb at Britney.

"So why isn't Gomez bringing her in? And why the hell do you feel so guilty?"

"Well, techinically she can't file the report for another couple of hours. I thought that maybe we could--"

"Subvert protocol?" Mesmero interrupted. "Why? For some piece of ass you're hoping to impress?"

"Look, Mesmero," Chris almost barked. He was beginning to get testy. He knew that he was asking for a favor but Mesmero didn't have to make it so hard for him. "She's got to find her boyfriend and we both know that the more time that passes means that less a chance we have of finding him all in one piece."

Chris heard a gasp behind him. "Oh God," he heard Britney mutter. He knew that he was upsetting her but this was the only way he knew to press Mesmero into action. If he made Britney upset and anxious enough then he'd be making Mesmero feel upset and anxious too.

"If we start searching now maybe we can find him while there is still a chance. Who knows if he's lying somewhere in a pool of his own blood, gasping for breath and trying to shout for help." Chris thought he heard Britney begin to softly sob behind him. He couldn't think about it. He was trying to help her, he kept telling himself. "Or maybe he's being held somewhere, beaten and broken."

"Stop!" Mesmero and Britney shouted at the same time.

"Alright, Gillman." He motioned for Britney to sit down in the open chair. "Please sit down." Britney dabbed at her eyes as she crossed the room and sat down. "I swear Gillman, don't you ever pull this crap again. It's unprofessional." Mesmero turned to face Britney.

"So what do I do?"

"Just sit back and think of the missing person." Mesmero put his cigarette down on a crowded ashtray. He reached out and took a hold of Britney's hand. He clenched his eyes shut, then opened them wide. To be honest, Britney was let down. She was expeticing more of a show. Not the floating head of Oz or anything but something a little more flashy.

"I'm sorry miss. Your friend is dead."

Britney sat in shock for a moment. Mesmero let go of her hand and picked his cigarette back up. He took a drag and let the information sink in. "Dead?" She finally asked. "He can't be dead," she said with more certainity.

Mesmero looked at Britney with great indignity. "Listen, honey," Mesmero spat out. "I'm a class A empath. Do you know what that means?" Britney timidly shook her head. "It means that if your boytoy were unconcious in Singapore, I'd at least have a twitch. But this? I ain't got nothing on this guy. That's what it means." Mesmero looked at Britney for a moment; she was sitting in stunned silence. Mesmero took another puff off his cigarette before asking, "You're not gonna cry, are you? Cause I can leave if you're gonna cry."

"I'm fine," Britney said in a terse forced way that indicated she was not fine but that she did not want to be questioned any further on the matter. She stood up slowly and gracefully. "You're wrong."

Mesmero shrugged. "Hey, whatever you gotta tell yourself so you can sleep at night." Britney stared at him, unsure of how to react. She turned and stormed out of the room. Chris eyed Mesmero.

"You're such a dick."

"Hey, I was doing you a favor. Say," he asked, "you got a smoke on you?"

"No. You know you shouldn't do that. It's bad for your health."

"Nah," said Mesmero with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I got a clairvoyant friend who swears I don't need to worry about it. Kinda ominous I admit but I choose to see the silver lining."

"Is your friend usually right?"

"Oh yeah. You should see his stock portfolio."
---

Any psychiatrist would've told you that Britney should've gone home and begun the grieving process. What many people who've lost a close loved one would have guessed she actually did, she went to a bar instead. After her third drink, when she demanded the bartender just leave the bottle, he decided to ask her to leave. The second bar of the evening found her little better and when she described the bartender's mother in a lewd and quite detailed manner, she was once again exiled.

She was driving to her third bar of the evening when she decided to take up smoking again. She'd smoked like a chimney in high school but forced herself to quit during college (she'd found she couldn't afford the habit). She'd always prided herself on quitting but she now found that she didn't care. At that moment she didn't care about much of anything. She'd loved Adam and he loved her, of that she was sure. She's thought she'd marry him. That they'd have kids and then someday, a few decades down the line, play bridge together in a retirement home in Florida. She wanted the whole shebang.

She stumbled out of the 7-11 clutching her newly purchased pack of cigarettes (God, they were even more expensive than when she quit) and a lighter. She sat on the hood of her car and tried and tried to steady herself. She had tried to use her teeth to tear the cellophane off the pack of cigarettes. She removed one of the thin sticks and put it in her mouth. After a few moments spent negotiating the child proof lock on the lighter and mastering the distance between the flame and the end of the cigarette, she took a moment to enjoy her success and take a few puffs of the cigarette.

She got up off the hood and got into her car. She look for her car keys in her urse for a minute before she realized that she'd left them in the ignition. She started the car up and got back on the road. She decided to head to a bar she knew that was nearby. It was a bit of a dive and she suspected them of watering down their drinks but a girl will trade in a lot to get a good booze on.

Of course she'd already had more than enough to drink. She wasn't willing to admit it because she still felt hurt and a touch empty inside. Even though she wasn't aware of how drunk she was, the cop car she sped past could tell quite easily. He turned on his lights and followed her for a bit. Britney glared up at her rearview mirror. Her shoulders sagged and she began pulling over to the side of the road.

"Fuck."

After what felt like an eternity, the cop finally saddled up to the side of the car.

"Do you know how fast you were going?"

"You caught up to me, didn't you? I couldn't have been going that fast."

"Eighty in a fifty-five."

"Damn. Well, let me have my ticket," she extended her hand to receive the ticket.

"Have you been drinking, ma'am?" The cop eyed Britney who was having trouble sitting up straight. If there was ever a question that didn't need to be asked, it was this one.

"Yes. Yes I have."

"Can I get you to step out of the car?" The cop opened the car door. Britney looked at the officer and then the open door.

"Okey-dokey." She pushed herself up and got out of the car. As she stepped out of the car, her foot got caught on her seat belt and she fell flat on her face. She pushed herself up from the pavement and looked up at the cop. "Does this mean I failed the sobriety test?"

"Come with me, ma'am"The cop helped her to her feet and began escorting her to the back of his police car.

"What about my car?"

"A tow truck will get it."

He opened the car door and helped her in. After he shut the door behind her, she waved at her car. "Bye car. I miss you." Britney blew a kiss at her car as the police officer drove off.
---

Adam was coming to. His eyes opened and slowly gained focus. He groaned and blinked several times.

"Ah. You're still alive," Lucas said. "I wouldn't move too much if I were--" He was cut off by the sound of Adam retching. He had decided to roll over and had immeadiately discovered it was a bad idea. "Told you," Lucas said.

"What," Adam asked wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "did they do to me?"

"Same thing they did to me. I tell you, they better hope they kill me. If I ever get out of here... Jesus."

Adam tried to sit up very slowly. He was aware of an extreme nausea and when he went to touch his stomach he found a small cauterized wound. He began coughing blood. He looked down at his blood smeared hand in disgust. He didn't know what they'd done to him but he definitely knew he did not appreciate it. He also didn't know how long he could do this.

"How do you do it? How do you not go crazy?"

"My kid," Lucas responded simply. He added, "You got any kids?" Adam shook his head "Well, I do. James Robert Lovell. He's tiny." He paused, reflecting on this son for a moment. "I can still pick him up. I remember when I used to be able to hold him in one arm from elbow to palm." He took a breath, "His mother, well... we don't talk anymore. To be honest, that's for the best. But whenever I lose hope, I think of him. For him I can be strong. For him, I can do anything.

Adam smiled at the warmth and compassion of his cellmate. He never really knew his own father, he had died when Adam was very young. He'd always dreamed that he had that kind of devotion, though. That he'd have been a great father to Adam if fate hadn't cruelly intervened. He also envied this man's resource of strength and worried that when called to task, he would not fare as well.

"I don't think I'm as strong as you."

"You'll be as strong as you have to be." With that Lucas laid down and rolled over. Adam could only assume he had gone to sleep. He couldn't imagine falling asleep right now but he supposed that Lucas knew something that he didn't. Perhaps it was like a camel, drinking whenever it could because it didn't know when there'd be another oasis in the desert. So he laid down and closed his eyes. He had feared the pain would keep him awake but he found his exhaustion helped.

His mind began to slow and then he drifted off to sleep. That night he'd dream of the night he made love to Britney for the first time. They'd both had a few glasses of wine so it was a little slow going and there were some giggles on both sides but later on in the evening he remembered feeling like the two of them fit. Not in a physical way, despite Adam's lack of much sexual experience, he understood everyone fit together in purely physical way. No, he felt like he'd found another part of himself. It was as if he'd had a Britney shaped hole in himself and he'd never even known it until he found her. When he awoke the first morning after they made love he was more aware of that hole than he'd ever been in his whole life.

Of course, left alone with Lucas up on this floating spaceship, being experimented on by unknown people for an unknown purpose, he began to wonder if he'd ever see Britney again and what she was doing at that very moment.
---

The arresting officer was leading a stumbling Britney into the station. The two walked by Chris. She was in no place to recognize him but, fortunately for her, he did recognize her. "Hey, Alderman!" Chris shouted. The police officer looked over his shoulder in the direction of the voice. "What you doing?" Chris walked over to where the two were standing.

"Got a DUI to process."

"I'm actually heading up there. You want me to take her?"

"Be my guest. This one ain't been a barrel of laughs." Chris grabbed her by the hand as the officer let go of her other arm. The cops nodded to Chris and walked off. Chris leaned in close to Britney.

"C'mon, let's get you in the drunk tank."

"I don't want to go to the drunk tank," she said a little too loudly and she gave him a solid shove. Chris looked around to ensure that no one was noticing.

"Trust me, it's gonna be for the best." Chris looked her in the eyes. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," she said sullenly.

"Then follow me." Chris led her down the hallways to the holding cells. He opened one up and helped her to the bed inside. She sat down on the edge. "Just wait here. When my shift ends, I'll take you back to your place." Chris stood up and helped her lay down. He swung her legs around so she was stretched out on the prison cot. He turned and began to walk out of the cell.

"Chris?"

"Yeah?" He stopped and turned around.

"Thanks," she said weakly.

"Don't mention it. Just get some sleep. I'll be back in a couple of hours." And with that, Chris left, shutting the cage door behind him.
---

Adam awoke in his cell alone. Lucas was gone. He wondered if he was being experimented on or if he was dead. He then wondered which one he hoped had happened to him. Adam waited, unsure of how much time was passing but very aware that it was passing slowly. Finally, Lucas reappeared in his cell. His whole body seemed to be convulsing and ever after he got enough control of his body to sit up, he was still shaking. Tears seemed to be welling up in his eyes.

"What is it?" Adam asked, concerned.

"My hands," Lucas responded. Adam looked down at Lucas' hands and they seemed to never stay still. "They won't stop shaking. I can't... I can't do anything to make them stop." Lucas pressed his hands hard against the floor but still they trembled. Adam looked on with concern and pity.

"I think the bastards are really getting bloodthirsty." Lucas looked up at Adam. "Tell me something. Anything. I just gotta get my mind off of this."

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't care!" snapped Lucas.

"Well, I got a girlfriend named Britney. I've been thinking about her a lot lately."

"You think she's the one?"

"Oh yeah. As soon as I'm outta here," he paused. He had though about saying 'if I get out of here' but he couldn't bear to give up that hope. Lucas noticed the pause but let it go by quietly. "I'm gonna marry her. That day. I'm driving us to a Justice of the Peace and doing it."

"I envy you that. I ain't got no one to go back to."

"You got your son."

"I do," Lucas sighed, "When I can see him. His mother... his mother doesn't like me much. She and her new husband, they moved to Portland. It's been hard for him to keep having to commute."

"How often do you see your son?"

"Well, he stays at their place in Portland over the school year and mine during the summer. But as he's gotten older, he wants to stay where his friends are during the summer. You know how kids are."

"You could move to Portland."

Lucas chuckled. "I could. Tell you what, if I ever get out of here, I'll do it."

There was a momentary pause between them. Adam was afraid that Lucas might start to worry about himself again. So he decided to press the matter, to find out more about Lucas' life pre-abduction.

"What did you do before all this?"

Lucas paused. "Stocks. I worked on Wall Street. What about you? What did you do before all this?" There was a tension in Lucas' voice but Adam decided not to press the matter.

"I worked at Kid's Vids, it's a kid's videostore.

"I know that store. I used to take Jim there all the time. In fact, one time there was this guy dressed up like this lizard and all the kids went apeshit. I think one of Jim's friends kicked the poor guy in the crotch." Lucas laughed at the memory, then abrubtly stopped. "That wasn't you, was it?"

Adam smiled. "No, it was my boss." The two men laugh.

Deep in the shadows, in a place to dark to be seen by the human eye, a pair of alien eyes watched the two men. They particularly stared at Adam.
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