It sniffed at the surface for a few moments before plunging through. They could see it clearly on the other side, knocking aside vegetation as it walked on. "Hurry, before it's gone!" Madeleine said, beating on Brandon's strong shoulders. "What if the wormhole closes while we're over there?" he asked her, twisting around in the seat. "We'd be trapped in the Cretaceous period, if that's what it is." "What if the wormhole closes and we're still here, discussing it?" Madeleine countered. "We'd have to live out the rest of our lives knowing that we could've witnessed live dinosaurs in their natural habitat." She leapt off the bike and ran for the wormhole. “There’s a reason they call you Mad Maddie!” Brandon shouted. Madeleine didn’t care. She wouldn't be able to go on living if she didn't make it through, she decided. The risk was well worth it. The revving of the motorcycle behind her made her sprint even faster. "Jump on or we'll lose the T-Rex!" Brandon yelled. Madeleine did as he sa
She rubbed her thighs together, painfully aware of how wet her pussy was. Turing to Brandon, she looked at how he licked his lips, noticed the rise and fall of his chest, saw how dilated his eyes were. She wanted him — wanted him worse than anything she’d ever wanted. “Fuck me,” she whispered. Brandon stared down at the nipples straining against the material of her bra before looking back up at her face. “I think we’re reacting to the pheromones in the air,” he said softly, his voice hoarse. “I don’t care,” she said. “Fuck me in the presence of the king of dinosaurs.” She didn’t have to tell him twice. In seconds, he yanked her shorts and panties down before shoving her forward on her hands and knees. Madeleine panted, presenting herself to Brandon as she was sure the female T-Rex had presented herself to her mate. Madeleine was so horny. She needed this desperately. She needed Brandon inside of her. He didn’t make her wait for long. Madeleine looked over her shoulder just in time t
The doctor scrawled a phone number down on a napkin and pushed it across the table. He peered at it solemnly, knowing that his entire future and perhaps even the future of the entire human race could hinged upon that simple paper napkin. Bartholomew Richardson plucked it off the table without looking and stuffed it carelessly into his shirt pocket. He didn’t say another word. He shooed the frazzled, old scientist away with a gesture of one hand and glared at the half full glass of whiskey in the other. He thought about that drink for a long time with a thousand strange possibilities roaming through his foggy mind. He nodded to himself, knowing that this drink must be his last. He let out a long sigh, his entire body seeming to deflate with it and then tossed the remainder of the cool liquid to the back of his throat. It was four very long, worrisome days before the Doctor’s phone rang. He was shocked to hear the very clear and coherent voice of Bartholomew Richardson. With all the b
Then he spoke, making his words very deliberate and clear. “My son could never be replaced,” he said softly. “Even if a child could be brought forth that was genetically identical, he would never be the son I lost. Though I would love him and nurture him as if he were, there would be millions of tiny discrepancies no matter how I tried to recreate the life that my son had known.” He turned his gaze out over the large room, almost seeming to draw strength from the sight of the pianos all around him. “And there’s one big one,” Richardson added, “Namely, he would never know my wife.” His demeanor was solemn but he did not break. Doctor Matthews, however, felt the doom of rejection seeping into his bones. His body began to shake from the inside out. He fought himself to keep from being reactionary; trying to answer back too quickly. He looked around himself nervously as he chewed his lip as if searching for the right words with which to make his case. Richardson shocked him back to reali
The woman neither knew nor suspected the strange origin of the baby that would grow within her. She assumed only that Bartholomew Richardson had finally decided to pull his life back together and that perhaps with his own sperm and maybe even a frozen egg of his late wife’s, was ready to have another child. She was more than happy to help. She was overseen by the finest doctors and checked regularly by Doctor Matthews. Her every expense was taken care of, her every need and desire catered to, and in the end, she was compensated quite handsomely. She would never have to work again. By careful planning, the baby boy was born on January 27th, sharing his birthday with the original Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This child, bestowed upon him by the greatest miracle of science, was no mere experiment to Bartholomew Richardson. He loved the boy as he’d loved his first. His affection was pure and he wanted only the best for his child. He named his new son Jason; the name his wife had insisted upo
Their first dinner together, for all of its wonder and impressiveness to them both, only served to increase Bartholomew’s ever-growing appetite for Hannah’s delightful company. It was clear that Hannah was keeping herself guarded, still unsure of the line where the business relationship between them ended and anything else began. Still, she was wonderful and kind and with every word he could lure from her, Bartholomew fell for her more. After eating well to impress their guest and then slowly becoming bored with the conversation of silly adults flowing endlessly over his head, Jason grew very tired. He was soon whisked away for a bath by Mister Richardson’s caring assistant and finally for the first time Bartholomew had Hannah all to himself. With a few glasses of wine, they both became more receptive to one another. It was the first time he’d had a drink since the day he’d met Tobias Matthews. He’d kept the wine cellar full but had not ventured into it until this day. He knew that
“Bartholomew…Mister Richardson,” she teased with a coy smile as she pressed herself within an inch of his body, “it’s the most wonderful thing that anyone has ever done for me. “Thank you.” Then, Hannah stood up on her toes, leaning the weight of her slender body against Bartholomew with her hands on his chest and kissed him once, quickly and sweetly. Bartholomew thought that he might faint or that perhaps his pounding heart might suddenly explode inside him. Below them, the guests that remained were so enthralled with all of the other excitements of the evening that they hardly noticed that the two of them were missing. Hannah pulled away from Bartholomew slightly, surprised at what she had just done and surprised by the sensation that was rushing over her. Their eyes locked passionately and without another word, Hannah threw herself at Bartholomew as if she couldn’t stop herself. She pushed against him, this time throwing her arms around his neck, her ample breasts pressing hard a
Bartholomew made a note to look into it later. He had tried to keep the party guarded from the media but the worst of them always seemed to find a way. As he began to read the article, he imagined that it was pieced together from third hand information. It lacked any real substance but there was a picture of Jason playing his son for Hannah and a picture of himself and Hannah dancing together as they gazed longingly into one another’s eyes. It was nothing too incendiary but it angered him just the same and he understood how it had been so off putting to Hannah who had never had the misfortune of dealing with the constant media attention like he had. The poor article described the party as a blatant publicity stunt to announce Bartholomew’s resurgence into the public eye, suggesting that he was most likely poised to release some stunning new technology or unveil another company. In his article, the writer scrambling for anything substantial had unnecessarily brought up Richardson’s de
Brock raked his hand through his hair and strove for calm. “I’m sorry I yelled,” he said. “It’s not your fault.” Under the circumstances, she’d done better than he would have predicted. She’d grabbed food, water, a blanket. They’d been in crisis mode, and she couldn’t be expected to think of everything. His back hurt like a motherfucker, and he worried she would insist on trying to help him, but that was no reason to snap at her. He was irritated with himself because he hadn’t been fast enough to keep her from seeing the little that she saw. No way could he allow her to note the extent of the damage because, by morning, he would be good as new, and how would he explain that? He couldn’t reveal that his nanocytes were already debriding the injured flesh in preparation for regenerating muscle, tissue, and skin. He had hoped that, by morning, they’d be on a space station, or at least on a rescue shuttle. With her PerComm, they could have contacted the IFA or the diplomatic corps direct
Brock readied his hand over the keypad. Numbers streamed across his field of vision like vitreous floaters, only fast. He minimized the codes to a corner of his mind and waited for the right one to pop up. Every second mattered. If the captain himself had locked them in, the code would be easier to break than if the lockdown had been activated by the self-destruct sequence. “Don’t just stand there!” Pia hovered at his elbow. “We have to do something!” “I am.” “Let me try.” She nudged him. T9X4558Z. The code popped out of the morass into his consciousness, and he typed it into the keypad. The door slid open. “Detonation in fourteen minutes thirty seconds.” Fuck, it had taken way too long to open the door. Brock shot for the bridge, conscious of Pia running after him. She had to be scared to death. He wished he could comfort her, assure her everything would be fine. But there wasn’t time—his microcomputer estimated their odds of survival at 23.2%, based on the probability of him cracki
Brock snatched the translator and streaked from the cabin so fast he blurred. “What the hell?” Penelope jumped up, but before she could take more than two steps, an aurora of light exploded in space, flashing through the viewing windows into the cabin. She cried out and fell onto the chair, throwing her forearm across her eyes and squeezing them shut. Had the shuttle been attacked? It hadn’t felt like they’d been hit by anything. A hand landed on her shoulder. “Are you all right?” Brock asked. She lifted her head. Flashes of red and blue tinted her vision, but she could see. Blinking rapidly, she shifted her gaze from Brock to the window. The illumination wasn’t blinding anymore, but it was still bright, as if they were at the edge of a corona. “I’m fine,” she said. “What happened out there?” “A microexplosive device detonated. An MED-21. The one you carried in your bag.” His mouth was a slash across his face. “That I carried?” Her heart slammed against her ribs. He was speaking clea
Tall, muscular, never a hair out of place. Unshakeable confidence. She might have considered him handsome if he hadn’t been so, so, disagreeable. Not that he’d ever said much. No, he’d spoken as little as possible, despite her attempts to engage him in conversation. Agent Brock Mann had personified cold professionalism. Droids had more personality. That didn’t excuse the lies she’d told. One rebellious teenager shouldn’t have the power to ruin a man’s career and livelihood. She wished she could forget him—and the wrong she’d committed. She had hated living in the executive residence, being denied all the normal activities young people took for granted. Teenagers were supposed to be impulsive and spontaneous, but she couldn’t even hang out with friends without their visit being prescreened weeks in advance. You couldn’t have normal when you came from a political family. So she’d mutinied against the limitations. Hardass Mann hadn’t let her get away with anything. Previous bodyguards
She shoved her PerComm into her carry-on and placed it on the conveyor leading to the combined weapons/decontamination imaging unit for inorganic materials. With unease, she recalled the pufft. Had a terrorist been caught with an explosive device, or had some gray-haired grandma going to visit her grandchildren tried to smuggle unauthorized baked goods aboard? Penelope had carefully followed the packing rules. Reportedly, scanners erred only .01 % of the time, but, with tens of millions of passengers, that still meant many innocent people had their bags blown up. Her PerComm contained all essential professional and personal data. She shuddered to contemplate the chaos if the machine blew up the device. Diplomatic status couldn’t help her avoid the security checks. A droid motioned for her to proceed, and she stepped into the organic matter unit. She placed her feet on the marks and raised her arms shoulder height. “Please remain still,” the computer voice ordered. A whirring ensued
“Please verify identity,” said the PeeVee’s computer. Penelope palmed the bio ignition scanner on the dashboard. “Take me to the regional shuttle port.” “Penelope Isabella Aaron. Identity confirmed. You are not scheduled to depart until 14:00.” “Override. Take me to the port now.” “The most direct route or the fastest?” “Fastest.” The sooner she got out of Dodge, the better. “Prepare for departure.” Although computer-controlled and operated PeeVees rarely crashed, an automatic restraint folded over her, strapping her to the seat. The engine hummed, and the PeeVee reversed out of the stall. “Would you care for music?” the computer asked. “No.” “Do you require stops along the way?” “No. Go directly to the shuttle port.” While her PeeVee navigated through the traffic, Penelope reviewed her flight documents on her PerComm. She’d catch a short moon-jumper flight to the Interplanetary Shuttle Port, where she would board a charter to Xenia. If all went well, one of its representatives would
“Oh, hell no!” Penelope glared at her mother. “A husband? Are you crazy?” “Not a real husband,” said Mikala. “A bodyguard.” Penelope shook her head. “The Xenians are wary as it is. If they think I need a bodyguard, it will derail any chance of building an alliance. That’s why I rejected the Central Protection Office detail.” “You’ve been listed by Lamis-Odg.” “Who don’t they want to kill?” Penelope dismissed the threat with a snort. “They’re a small planet of crackpots halfway across the galaxy. Anyone who disagrees with anything they believe is targeted. ” “They can’t be ignored, Penelope. Their support is growing. They’ve been able to recruit the disgruntled and mentally unbalanced from many different planets, train them, and send them home. They’re like that malignancy eradicated in the 23rd century.” “Cancer?” “Yes, like cancer. They invade the host cell and turn it against itself. Lamis-Odg sympathizers are everywhere.” “You’re exaggerating.” “I served as President of Terra Unit
An adolescent Pia had done her damnedest to dodge him. He couldn’t count the number of times he’d caught her attempting to sneak out of the executive residence unescorted. Nor had he appreciated her practical jokes and dirty tricks. When her attempts to shake him had failed, she’d lodged false charges of sexual misconduct. Shot at numerous times during his career, Brock had been seriously wounded twice and almost fatally once. Pia had been his waterloo—or would have been if Mikala Aaron, aware of her daughter’s machinations, hadn’t stepped in. Brock folded his arms across his chest. “It doesn’t have to be me. Get somebody else.” “President Aaron has requested you.” “Former President Aaron. She’s a civilian now. And we don’t report to the president anyway.” Carter sighed. “I could order you to do it.” As Cy-Ops director, Carter was Brock’s superior—technically. But the organization officially did not exist, and commanding a band of rogues who operated outside the law required finesse
“What was so urgent it couldn’t wait until I got back from Darius 4?” Brock flung himself into the wide sensa-chair, which conformed to the angles and lines of his body to provide optimal support and comfort. He would have preferred an android pleasure worker fit her realistic feminine form around him rather than a piece of furniture—as he’d been about to experience when the Cyber Operations director’s summons had come through. “You’re the one who insisted I take respite time.” “Drink?” Carter punched a button on his console, a cabinet slid open, and he removed a decanter. After pouring two shots of bronze liqueur, he shoved one across the desk. Brock’s internal warning system flashed an alert. “What’s the bad news?” “Why do you assume that?” “Whenever you break out the Cerinian brandy, you’re either trying to butter me up or soften the blow.” He eyed the man who’d been his friend since they’d served together in the Terran Central Protection Office thirteen years ago. Carter’s blank