Amoeba (The Experiments) (18 page)

“Absolutely.”

Jake fluttered his lips. “Piece of cake.”

“You think?” Greg asked.

“Yes
,” Jake said assuredly. “Any way you look at us, as a team, as a couple, Cal and I are strong. Cal wouldn’t you agree?”

“Without a doubt
,” Cal agreed.

“So you see
, Dr. Haynes,” Jake explained, “if it is your intention for Caldwell to pull out all stops on our marriage when you see you’re failing at everything else, you’re thinking wrong. It won’t work, because we’re both smarter than that.”

“Good.” Greg held up the contracts. “Then I take it you haven’t a problem with our rules and I don’t
have to rip up the agreements?”

Jake shook his head. “We go.”

“Excellent.” Greg set the contracts down. “One more thing.” He walked slowly around Cal and Jake until he was standing directly behind them. He leaned forward and placed his head between them, whispering with an arrogant smile on his face. “In addition to the wonderful new things we have planned, we have added an incentive program.” He laid his hands on each of their shoulders. “We’ve placed a bounty on your heads. The person or persons responsible for bringing down the number one team, in any way they can, receives a fifty thousand dollar bonus at the completion of the experiment.”

Aldo slid far into his seat. “Oh shit.”

With a tap to an unfazed Jake and Cal, Greg stood straight. “I wouldn’t trust a soul up there.”

Jake merely rolled his eyes, leaning into Cal with a whisper heard only by her. “Does he think that frightens us? Fuck, makes me want to go more.” He sat up
straight while straightening his jacket.

Aldo slightly raised his hand. “Telling Jake this, what makes you so sure that he’s just not going to get to the experiment
and kill the other seven people so they can breeze through to the end?”

“For the most part, Jake knows none of these people are a threat to him at first. Right
, Jake?” Greg looked at him. “They’re human. They’re gonna try to break the team without killing the team. Because these people are just as aware as Jake is that you never know who you are going to need when. Rely on your resources left with you. And though Jake and Cal don’t mean to be, they are very valuable resources, and people will discover this.” Greg let out a long breath after his little speech. “So, that’s it. Any questions?” He received nothing but shaking heads. “All right.” Greg grabbed the contracts. “I’ll get these copied, and then I need you two to do a video for me to introduce yourselves to the other participants.” He moved to the door.

“Wait.” Cal, who
had pretty much stayed silent for most of the meeting, finally spoke up and stood from her seat. “I have a question.”

Greg
, with that closed mouth smile of his, said, “Sure, what is it?”

Cal reached into her purse and laid an envelope on the table. “Why did you turn Billy Griffith down as a participant?”

Greg hesitated, drawing up a thinking look. “Billy Griffith. Billy Griffith. Oh yes, I remember. He didn’t meet the criteria. Funny, I didn’t realize you two knew each other.” He moved to the door.

“Liar
,” Cal said with an edge.

“Cal.” Jake’s eyes widened.

“He’s lying, Jake.” Cal stepped to him. “Why are you lying? You knew damn well Billy and I became friends. You knew everything about it. But what baffles me is how stupid you ended up being.”

“Cal.” Jake warned.

“No.” She held her hand out. “Caldwell strung him along so he wouldn’t pursue his story, made him think he was going to be a part of the experiment so they could bide their time until they could get us to sign up for the next experiment, keeping us silent. Therefore Billy doesn’t go, and he doesn’t get his story. He’s out of luck. Isn’t that right, Dr. Haynes?”

“Whatever you
want to believe. Now I must copy these because I have another appointment.”

“I thought you were a smart man.” Cal stepped even closer to him.

Greg hesitated in grabbing the door, exhaling loudly. “I like to think I am. Yes.”

“Then tell me how a man who
is supposedly that smart failed to conquer the task of basic math? You bought our silence today. Today is December sixth. My thirty-three months of obligated silence to Iso-Stasis twelve ended on. December 3
rd
. Guess what I’ve been doing for the past three days?” Cal raised only one eyebrow as she folded her arms.

Greg
didn’t flinch, nor did he show any signs of even being affected by what Cal said. “Oh well, my error.” He raised his eyebrows and walked from the office.

Aldo let out a slight chuckle when Greg had left. He stood up and walked to Cal. “Good job.”

Cal looked confused.

“Cal.” Jake approached her. “I wish you would have at least let me know you were going to threaten him like that.”

“What are you talking about?” Cal asked. “I didn’t threaten him.” She saw the silent stares of Jake and Aldo. “Oh shit.”

“The question is
,” Aldo said as he pointed out the open door to Greg, “did it work?”

Greg, standing across the office with his secretary, looked at the three of them and smiled.

“Enough of the Iso-Stasis.” Jake, on top of his bed covers with Cal, took the notebook from her hand and placed it on the night stand. “Talk. Are you upset with me?”

“No.” Cal looked down at her folded hands.

“I’m sorry.” Jake rolled on his side to face her.

“No, don’t be. It’s your job.”

“I swear to God, Cal, if I didn’t have to go . . .”

“I know.” She took a shivering breath. “Jake, will you please stop with the guilt. If I’m making you feel that way, I’m sorry. I’m not meaning to. I fully understand.”

“I realize that. But know . . .” Jake touched her face. “I tried.”

“What do you mean?”

“I . . . I tried to get out of it. I tried to assign someone else, but I couldn’t get approval.”

Cal’s eyes lit up with a certain pleasure. “Really?”

“Yeah. I wouldn’t blow this off on purpose. You think I want to leave tomorrow? No. Going to Pittsburgh with you tomorrow was something I wanted to do. Not trot off to Zaire. I feel bad because I vowed that every year I would go up there with you for the mass for Jessie and then to the cemetery. I know this sounds silly . . .” Jake grabbed her hand. “But it’s our thing we do. It’s like a family thing.” Jake released her hand. “Sorry. I suck at this fuckin serious talk shit.”

“You did great.” Cal kissed him. “I understand what you’re saying.”

“I feel like I’m screwing my family, you, by going.” Jake saw her smile. “That was not intended to be a funny statement.”

“No. Sorry. But did you ever think you’d hear yourself say that?” Cal asked him. “Since you joined the service, you have just gone
wherever you’ve been needed at the drop of a hat, no thinking about it, no second guessing. Now you think about each trip, and you’re getting worse, Jake, every time you have to go.”

“I know.” Jake gave
her an odd look. “Weird, huh? Even though I still go, I still think about it. I guess having a life will do that to you. And I never really expected to have a life outside of my job.”

“Well, I don’t want you to worry or think about it. You have to do this. And I apologize for any guilt I laid on you. Rickie’s going with me tomorrow
, so he’ll stand in for you.”

“Now there’s another prospect of family I never thought I’d encounter.” Jake pointed. “Rickie. Even though the kid annoys the hell out of me, he adds like . . . this unity to our house. He give
s me a sense of . . . now don’t laugh . . . fatherhood . . .”

Cal laughed.

“I knew you’d laugh at me.”

“No, it’s not you. Well,
okay, it is.”

Jake rolled his eyes.

“No, Jake.” Cal inched to him. “No one asked you to, but you took on a father role to Rickie. You really did. You snatched up the opportunity like it was your only chance to do it.”

“Come on
, Cal. It is. I wish sometimes though I had gotten a hold of Rickie earlier so I could have given him some of the things he missed in his life. Things like my father did with me. I try now, but it’s really not the same. He’s so goddamn hard headed and out there . . .” Jake’s hand shot in the air with a smile. “I hope, and don’t you ever tell him I said this, I hope it’s not in vain. I hope Rickie kinda looks up to me.”

“Jake
, please, Rickie thinks you’re the coolest.”

“Really?” In a rarity, Jake’s face lit up.

“Uh-oh.”

“What?”

“There it is again.”

“What?”

“Was Colonel Roberts showing off pictures of his new grandson again today?” Cal asked him.

“Yeah, but what does that . . .”

“I knew it.” Cal touched her index finger to his nose. “Every single time he does that, or someone else does that for that matter, you manage to make any conversation or situation into a family topic.”

“I do not.”

“You do too,” Cal insisted. “When we went to McDonald’s . . .”

“I hate that fuckin place.”

“Yes, Jake, I am well aware. But you proceeded to engage in a conversation with that sergeant about why he purchased individualized bagged meals for his four kids.”

“Cal, please. I was just trying to determine what the economic advantages were.”

“You were not. You lie.”

Jake gasped. “I cannot believe . . .”

“You got one to go and brought it home for Rickie, because you were curious as to what his reaction would and curious about what was inside.” Cal poked him in the chest. “And then you, Jake, proceeded to tell Rickie, when you didn’t think I could hear, how amazing it was how happy those meals made kids. And what did Rickie say? ‘Dude, that’s why, like, they call them Happy Meals’.”

“It made Rickie happy
,” Jake said.

“You get sentimental about family anymore.” Cal said snidely.

“I do not.”

“You do too. It’s almost like you did the marriage thing, you got a house, and
now you want to have a family, but you are afraid to admit it. I see you looking into Rickie’s room, the nursery, all the time.”

“Cal
, please,” Jake scoffed. “I’m trying to figure out a way to convince him to get rid of that big yellow bird painting on his wall. Besides, discussing ways that you and I can start having a family is not a conversation we have.”

“That’s because you interrupt or change the subject when it comes up.”

“I do not,” Jake argued. “Anyhow, it’s not an option for you.”

“Bullshit.” Cal came back. “I tried to have the conversation with you. I even entered a disclaimer at the beginning of it stating, ‘Jake, time has healed some wounds for me. Would you like to discuss . . .”

“Cal, I never interrupted that conversation. Not once.”

“You just did.”

Jake grunted. “I never meant to.”

“Good. Here and now it’s a hot topic. So, let’s end the
hypothesis of does he, does she and discuss it.”

“All right.”

Cal hesitated, then spoke quickly. “I’m not beating around the bush or taking a chance of you changing the subject. Jake, do you want to try to find a way to have a child?”

Jake’s mouth opened and the phone rang. “I’ll get it.”

“No, don’t, let’s . . .” Cal grumbled when Jake rolled her way, leaning his body on her some as he picked up the phone. “Graison.” He smiled. “Oh, yeah, sure Bill. We aren’t busy at all. Hold on.” He showed the phone to Cal. “Cyber-boy.”

Cal covered the mouth piece. “Jake, we’re talking here.”

Jake scooted backwards off the bed. “You talk to Billy about what went down today, and we’ll, uh, talk later.” Jake pointed to the door. “I’m going down to practice on that computer thing.”

Cal let out a huff and rolled her eyes as Jake hurried out. She uncovered the phone. “Hey Billy. . . . no, it’s not a bad time. Jake is being Jake.”

^^
^^

Lying on her stomach, talking to Billy, Cal felt the shaking of her foot and looked over her shoulder to see Rickie.

“Cal-babe. The opportunity arises. The
Sarge did not lock the door. Plan in motion, babe.” Rickie tilted his head. “It’s time.”

Cal grinned. “Billy, I’ll call you back. We’re busting Jake tonight. Yeah, how about that. Of all things for him to learn, he learns how to delete where he’s been . . . I’ll let you know. Bye.” She hung up the phone and excitedly rolled off the bed. “Are you sure?”

“Positive-a-mentally,” Rickie boasted. “Been doing the Rickie-Meister spying thing on him.”

“Let’s go.” Cal hurried to the door.

“Wait,” Rickie whispered. “Floor board.”

“Yes, you’re right.” Cal moved her leg to the right and edged her way against the wall to the stair railing. “I see you attached the rope.” Cal looked at the rope that dangled over the railing to below.

“I want to take no chance tonight of those old steps busting us.”

“Excellent.” Cal climbed over the railing, grabbing on to the rope and lowering herself to the first floor. She dropped gently and without a sound to the ground. She held the end of the rope while Rickie climbed down. When he reached her, she placed her finger to his lips and whispered
, “Listen.”

Jake’s voice could be heard coming from the family room
, sounding raspy. “Oh yes.”

Cal hunched her shoulders in a snicker and waved her hand to a laughing Rickie.

“Beautiful,” Jake commented. “Oh, that’s nice. That is really nice. Mmm.”

A tear came from Cal’s eye in her laughing as she and Rickie crawled on the floor to the family room doors
, taking the planned route, one of them on each side. “On my call,” she whispered hardly talking.

Rickie nodded.

“Whoa,” Jake commented. “I can handle you. Oh yeah, definitely. You’re not too much for me.”

Rickie had to cover his mouth with both hands to hold in
his laughter. His face was beet red.

Cal widened her eyes in a scold
ing manner, then held up one finger, then two. On the third finger she held up, with a large charge, Rickie and Cal burst in the room. Cal dove for Jake and Rickie blocked the computer.

“What the fuck?” Jake had found himself rolled a good five feet from the computer and Cal on his lap.

“Dude.” Rickie held out his arms. “We hear ya down here. You think we don’t. We know that preacher-creature type of talk is an act. We know dude, own up, what you’re really looking at on the computer.” With a loud ‘a-ha!’ Rickie spun to the screen.

“Assholes!” Jake complained.

“Dude,” Rickie pointed to the screen. “These are like . . . guns.”

“Yes
,” Jake responded. “What the hell did you think I was looking at?”

“Naked babes, guy.”

Jake groaned with a shake of his head. “I’m not perverted like you two.” With Cal still on his lap he rolled himself back to the computer. “And for your information, these are futuristic arsenal weapon designs.”

Cal spun in a view of the screen. “Really?”

“Yes, check it out.”

Rickie watched Cal on Jake’s lap
, the lit up look on their faces not caused by the illuminated screen. “Uh-oh, I think it’s time for the Rickie-meister to book. Get you two looking at danger, weapons, and death, and you’ll be scrolling more than that screen.” Rickie was ignored by Jake and Cal who were in awe, making comments as they each pointed at the computer. “I’m out of here. Goodnight!” Rickie yelled.

Cal raised her hand in a wave.

Rickie took one more look at them before he left. “I better put on my headphones.”