Jaci's Experiment (23 page)

That thought in mind, he went to the attached bathroom. They’d checked the water system first thing, astounded to find it ready for use, though there’d probably be no hot water until they located and fired up the boiler. That would be the first order of business…tomorrow. For now, cold water would do.

The room was stocked with clean towels and for a moment Mike felt nostalgic for the old world. If he didn’t think too hard, he could pretend he was staying at a hotel, stocked with familiar human items and creature comforts. But he wasn’t. He and his cousin—Jaci too—had to come to terms with the new world. They could hide out here, sure, but eventually, they’d need to rejoin the real world.

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But this is where they’d regroup. If and when the time came for them to contribute to the ongoing struggle, this place—the opportunity it presented for them to be together without any constraints—would give them strength.

Mike wet a washcloth and shook off his dreary thoughts, returning to the brightest part of his life to date—Jaci. He cleaned her gently, loving her, caring for her slightest comfort, knowing it was an honor and privilege to take care of her. It was something he enjoyed doing and would enjoy for the rest of his days.

Dave caught his gaze as he threw the now-dirty cloth toward the tile floor in the bathroom through the door he’d left partially open. One raised eyebrow spoke volumes.

“Give me a break, Dave. We have to take care of her.”Mike used their shared telepathy so they wouldn’t wake Jaci, now sound asleep.

“You like taking care of her,”David accused.

“Can you blame me? Damn, Dave. I never expected to have a woman of my own. Not in this changed world. I’m going to enjoy spoiling her as much as I possibly can.”

Dave chuckled quietly.
“I’ve never seen this mother hen side of you before, cuz.”

Mike got in bed beside Jaci, loving the feel of her warm body next to him.
“I never loved a woman
before, Dave.”

Dave settled down on Jaci’s other side.
“I never did either, Mike, but I never knew it until we met
her.”

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When Mike woke the next morning, Jaci was still sound asleep and Dave was in the bathroom. Dave’s movement must’ve woken him, Mike guessed as he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, rubbing his face.

“Hey, Mike? You up, cuz?”Dave’s silent call sounded through his mind.

“If I wasn’t already, I am now.”Mike scratched as the day’s growth of beard stubble on his jaw.

“Come in here, you gotta see this.”

“Dude, this better not be some juvenile prank.”

“It’s not. Mike, the water from the tap is hot. I mean, really hot.”

That spurred Mike into action. He crept from the bed to the bathroom as quietly as possible. Dave had the presence of mind to shut the light before he opened the door for Mike to enter, in consideration of Jaci, who still slept soundly.

The water coming from the hot tap on the faucet was indeed hot, which brought forth a number of questions.

“You think Bill switched on the water heater?”

“It’s a possibility, but I doubt human-built hot water heaters are much like Alvian systems. It’s more likely that this system runs on some kind of energy that didn’t need to be replenished and was left on.

Geothermal, perhaps? Though I’m no expert.”

“This water does feel a little…sparkly for lack of a better word.”

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

The cousins looked at each other.
“Hot springs.”
They said it at the same time, in both their minds.

“Damn, that would be awesome. No worry about power if it’s coming directly from the earth. We gotta find the source. See if we’re right,”Mike said and Dave nodded in full agreement.

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“All right. I’ve already had a shower. They left soap and shampoo stocked in the medicine cabinet. You grab one while I dress and we can start exploring.”

David left the small room and Mike hit the shower, but they continued to plan telepathically.

“What about Jaci? She’ll probably want to come with us and I think it’s best we stick together until we’ve gone through this whole place. For all we know, we’re not alone down here. Maybe there’s somebody else who kept the hot water flowing.”

“I think we would have noticed if anyone was in here by now, but you’re right. For now we should stick together.”

“What about Bill?”Mike asked.

“We definitely owe him for rescuing Jaci, but he strikes me as a lone wolf. We’ll take him with us on the first run-through of the place, but after that, he’s big enough to take care of himself.”

“You trust him then?”

“As much as I can trust any Alvian, I guess, but it’s in his best interests to keep this place secure. He saved Jaci once. He wouldn’t mess that up now. I don’t think he has any reason to betray us.”

“Good point.”

Mike shut off the taps, feeling refreshed after the hot shower. He wrapped a towel around his waist and shut the light before heading out into the bedroom. Dave was dressed, sitting on the side of the bed, staring down at Jaci. The look on his face spoke volumes about the love he felt for this Alvian woman—their mate.

Mike cleared his throat and Dave sat back. “I guess it’s time to wake her,” he said aloud.

“I’m awake.” Jaci stretched, her voice tempered with sleep as she moved under the covers.

David leaned forward and placed a smacking kiss on her lips. “Are you up for some exploring today?”

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Her eyes opened fully and she rose up on her elbows. She looked around, as if needing a reminder about where she was. She was so adorable, Mike was hard pressed not to join her on that bed and show her just how much he loved her…again. Even though they’d spent half the night humping like bunnies in the greatest sexual marathon he’d ever experienced.

Down boy,he told his wayward dick as it tried to tent the towel.

“Much as I’d love to stay here all day and make love to you, Jaci…” Mike put one knee on the bed, bending forward to give her a good morning kiss, “…we really need to explore the rest of this facility today. For one thing, we need to find the source of the hot water.”

“Hot water?” That seemed to spark her interest as she came slowly awake.

“Yeah, the taps are fully functional, which is something we didn’t expect.” Mike flung the covers off the bed, exposing her beautiful, bare body. “Go take a shower. We’ll wait for you in the living room and then we’ll pick up your friend Bill and go see where the hot water is coming from. What do you say?”

“Sounds like a good plan, though I also would have liked to spend all day in bed. Still, I’m sore in places I have never been sore in before, so hot water and exercise is probably a good idea.” Her blush stole his heart. How she could be even the tiniest bit shy after all they’d shared, he didn’t know, but it was endearing.

He patted her shapely ass as she hopped out of bed and headed for the bathroom. “Hurry up. There’s a lot of ground to cover today and the sooner we finish, the sooner we can come back here and make love.”

She paused at the bathroom door to smile back at him over her shoulder. “I will hold you to that.”

“Honey, you can
hold me
all night long.”

A smile stretched his face as she disappeared into the bathroom and he turned to find Dave watching him with a grin on his face.

“What?” Mike groused.

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“It’s good to see you happy, Mike. That’s all. It’s been too long since we were both happy.”

“Far too long.”

They shared a moment of silent communication before Dave stirred. “I’ll go roust Bill while you get dressed. I’ll bring him to the living room, so come out when you’re ready. We’ll leave from here.”

“Sounds like a plan, cuz.”

Before they could leave the suite, a new but familiar voice sounded in the cousins’ minds. Mick O’Hara sent them a mental “knock” before imparting his news and the cousins had to laugh at his tact. Mick knew damn well what they’d be up to after so many months away from their mate.

“Listen up, guys. I wish I had better news but Caleb sent a warning through Harry last night and Justin went out into the woods at first light. Grady Prime is gone.”

“Gone?”Dave felt a shiver go down his spine at the news.
“He’s sure?”

“He’s sure. Grady had a ship stashed nearby. It was well hidden, but Justin found it. It’s gone and all traces of Grady’s camp sites have been erased.”

“So he went back home to the city then?”Mike asked.

“Harry checked every which way he knew how to check, including hacking into Alvian military computers. Grady’s still off the grid. Coupled with Caleb’s visions of danger, I think you need to stay on your toes.”

“Son of a bitch!”Dave was both pissed off and worried. Not a comfortable combination.

“Justin has no idea how Grady knew Jaci left or how he could have any idea where she went, but Grady’s always been spooky. Justin wants you to be careful. Don’t set foot outside the cave entrance until we know where Grady is.”

“No shit,”Mike grumbled.
“We’ve got a lot to explore in here. We won’t go out, but we’ll need to
watch the entrance. We’ll need to find out if there’s more than one entrance.”

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“There have got to be schematics of this place somewhere.”Dave tried to stay calm but it was tempting to curse a blue streak at this upsetting news.
“We’ll look for those first thing and secure the
entrances as best we can from the inside.”

“Good idea. I’ll be in touch as soon as we have any news for you. Stay sharp.”

“Thanks for the warning, Mick. Your family has gone above and beyond for us in so many ways…”

Dave couldn’t finish the thought as emotion welled up.

“Don’t mention it.”Mick’s tone held understanding and compassion.
“We’re all in this together, Dave.

Humans have got to stick together and help each other when we can if we’re going to survive.”

“Amen, brother.”Mike’s respectful words summed up Dave’s feelings as well.

Bill was the one who actually found the schematics for the facility. The man was a cunning scout and even though he didn’t know human tech as well as the cousins, he was a fast learner. Bill led them to what proved to be the nerve center for the entire facility. Inside were a series of manuals on every system in the place as well as the core of the giant computer that was in a low-power mode, maintaining bare minimums in the place in preparation for a new shift of inhabitants that hadn’t shown up for decades.

With any luck, the computer would let them take up where the last residents of this place had left off, but Mike knew military computers could be fickle. Still, he decided to give this one a try. With a silent Hail Mary, he switched it on.

“Welcome.” The somewhat androgynous voice sounded from small speakers built into the walls. Mike hadn’t expected a voice interface, but then, this whole facility was unexpected.

“Thank you,” Mike responded, unsure of what to say as he looked over at his cousin.

“You’re late,” the computer voice scolded, surprising him. “Last shift change was incomplete, so I scanned news databases and learned of the bombardment from space. I followed the news until it stopped being broadcast. Can you tell me what has happened since then?”

Mike sat back in his chair, astounded.

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“Artificial intelligence?”Dave asked telepathically.

“A really advanced form, I’m guessing. We’ll have to tread lightly here.”

“You’re the master where computers are concerned, Mike. Go for it.”

“The bombardment from space was the precursor to an alien invasion. Most humans perished, but some of us lived on in the more desolate areas of the earth. The aliens built cities and engineering facilities. They took some humans captive, but a few of the aliens have begun to help us escape. My cousin and I are escapees from the nearest alien city. Our wife is an alien and she helped us, as did her friend here.”

“I scanned your presence and noted the differences between your physiologies. They are not major, but enough so that I will be able to tell aliens from humans in the future.” The computer continued to amaze.

“Why did you come here and why did you reactivate me?”

“We intended to live here, if you permit it. This is one of the few places we can be free from detection by the aliens. To be honest, I thought I was turning on a regular computer. I didn’t realize you were an AI.”

“My name is BURTIN. Basic Underground Resident Type 1 Intelligence Net. I was designed to run this facility. Apocalyptic scenarios were programmed but I don’t think anyone expected it to occur, or they would have been here when it happened.”

“So you were alone during the bombardment?”

“Powered down, awaiting a new crew,” the machine confirmed. “There were some budgetary changes.”

Mike well remembered the way governments used to work and the bureaucracy involved. In many ways, they were better off without all that, but then, governments had brought order and accomplished great things when all their people worked together.

“Would you allow us to live here, BURTIN?” Mike asked outright. It paid to be clear with computers.

Perhaps AI powered computer brains would be just as straightforward.

“Yes. One of my primary missions is the continuation and protection of the human race.”

“What about our alien friends?” Dave asked, speaking for the first time.

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The computer seemed to think before answering. “Your DNA has shared traits. I would like further analysis, but I think sheltering them would not be incompatible with my mission. They are very close to human.”

That was news to the cousins, but it sounded promising.

“Our wife may be able to assist with your analysis. She was a genetic tech in the alien city before she escaped.” Mike held out one hand for Jaci, noting her pale features.

“That would be agreeable,” the computer responded.

“I’m Mike, this is my cousin, Dave, and this is our mate, Jaci and her friend, Bill. We’re all pleased to make your acquaintance, BURTIN.” It couldn’t hurt to be polite, Mike reasoned.

“And to meet you, Mike, Dave, Jaci and Bill.” Mike was right. The computer was very polite indeed.

“We may need your help, BURTIN.” Dave stepped up, holding a large drawing of the facility in his hands as he scowled at it. “There are alien soldiers—one in particular—who may try to seek entrance to this facility in order to apprehend us. We’d like to secure the facility so that nobody can gain admittance without our knowledge and approval. Is that possible?”

“It is one of my primary functions,” the computer replied. “I monitor the locks on all ingress and egress points. All are in good working order and secure at this time. I have a log of entries and exits that occurred while I was powered down that you can examine.”

“That’s great.” Mike was impressed with the capacity of this amazing computer brain. “Can you give us active alerts if someone tries to enter?”

“Affirmative. Voice alerts are now active.”

“This is going to be easier than I thought,”Mike sent the words silently to his cousin.

“Let’s not count our chickens before they’re hatched.”Dave, as usual, was the voice of caution.

Mike spent an hour or more talking to the computer before they realized the computer could “follow”

them anywhere they went in the facility. There were speakers 214

and pickups throughout the complex so the voice interface could be accessed from just about any location.