The Chemist

CHAPTER 24

Val’s huge double fridge was much better stocked than Arnie’s. In fact, it was much better stocked than the average restaurant’s. It looked like she was planning to feed a dozen more guests than those she already had in residence – though she apparently had not been apprised of Alex’s and Daniel’s existence until moments before they arrived.

The incongruity bothered Alex a little, but not enough to deter her from the bowl of grapes. She felt like she hadn’t eaten anything fresh in weeks, though it really hadn’t been so very long. The ranch seemed months ago. She could barely wrap her head around how short the time actually was.

Alex sat on one of the pure white, ultramodern bar stools. It wasn’t terribly comfortable.

Daniel was humming with pleasure as he examined the accoutrements. “Now, this is a kitchen,” he murmured. He started sorting through the lower drawers, evaluating the pots and pans available.

“Making ourselves right at home, are we?”

Daniel jerked upright. Alex paused with a grape halfway to her mouth.

Val came into the room laughing, still in the brief kimono. “Relax. All this stuff is here for you. I don’t really use this room.”

“Um, thank you,” Daniel said.

She shrugged. “Kevin paid for it. So, you like to cook?”

“I dabble.”

“He’s being modest,” Alex told her. “He’s a five-star chef.”

Val smiled warmly at Daniel as she stretched her whole torso across the island toward him so her chin nearly touched the marble. “Well, that’s nice. I’ve never had a live-in chef before. It sounds… fun.”

Alex wondered how Val was able to load so many different implications into one common word.

“Er, I suppose so,” Daniel said, flushing a little. “Where is Kevin?”

“Walking the dog.”

Val turned her face toward Alex, and Alex braced for more aggression.

“I asked Kevin about you. Kevin says you tortured him.” Val jerked her head toward Daniel.

“Ah, well, technically, that’s correct. It was a case of mistaken identity, though.”

Val’s eyes glowed with interest. “What did you do? Did you burn him?”

“What? No, no… Um, I used injectable chemical treatments. I find them more effective, and they don’t leave scars.”

“Hmm.” Val rolled her body sideways along the marble so she was turned to Daniel again, then pillowed her head against her arm. The kimono was partially dislodged by this maneuver, and Alex imagined his view was quite interesting. He stood awkwardly, one hand on the refrigerator door.

“Was it really painful?” Val demanded.

“Beyond anything I’d ever imagined,” Daniel admitted.

Val seemed fascinated. “Did you scream? Did you beg? Did you writhe?”

Daniel couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. “All of the above, I believe. Oh, and I cried like a baby as well.” Still smiling, he seemed suddenly comfortable; he turned back to the fridge and started rummaging.

Val sighed. “I really wish I could have seen that.”

“You’re into torture?” Alex asked, hiding her concern. Of course Kevin would move them in with a true sadist.

“Not torture per se, but it’s so intoxicating, isn’t it? That kind of power?”

“I guess I’ve never looked at it quite that way…”

Val cocked her head, looking at Alex with undisguised interest. “Isn’t everything about power?”

Alex thought about it for a moment. “Not in my experience. Back when that was my job, honestly – it sounds naive now, even to me – I was really just trying to save people. There was always a lot hanging in the balance. It was stressful.”

Val considered that, pursing her lips. “That does sound naive.”

Alex shrugged.

“It never gave you a rush? Being in control?” Val’s wide lapis eyes bored into her.

Alex wondered if people felt this way in a psychiatrist’s office – this compulsion to speak. Or maybe it was more like being shackled to Alex’s own table. “I mean… maybe. I’m not a very dangerous person on the surface. I guess there were times that I appreciated the… respect.”

Val nodded. “Of course you did. Tell me, have you ever tortured a woman?”

“Twice… well, once and a half.”

“Explain.”

Daniel’s head was leaning back as he adjusted the flame under the stovetop grill; he was paying close attention. Alex hated talking about this in front of him.

“I didn’t actually have to do anything to the first girl. She was confessing before she was even strapped to the table. She didn’t belong in my lab anyway – any normal interrogation would have gotten the same results. Poor kid.”

“What was she confessing to?”

“A terrorist cell was trying to coerce some suicide bombers in New York. They’d kidnap someone’s family back in Iran – in this case, her parents – and kill the hostages if the subject wouldn’t do as directed. The NSA had it under control before any of the bombs were detonated, but they lost several of the hostages.” She sighed. “It’s always messy with terrorists.”

“What about the second?”

“That was an entirely different situation. Arms dealer.”

“Was she tough to break?”

“One of the toughest in my career.”

Val smiled as if the answer greatly pleased her. “I’ve always thought that women can handle a lot more pain than the so-called stronger sex. Men are all just oversize children, really.” Then she sighed. “I’ve made men beg, and I’ve made them writhe, and maybe there have been some tears here and there, but no one’s ever cried like a baby.” Her full lower lip pushed out into a pout.

“I’m positive they would if you asked them to,” Alex encouraged.

Val smiled her glittery smile. “You’re probably right.”

Daniel was chopping something now. Alex decided she should slow down on the grapes. Dinner was sure to be worth the wait. Val rolled to the side again to watch him, and Alex felt a sudden urge to distract her.

“This is a beautiful place.”

“Yes, it’s nice, isn’t it? A friend gave it to me.”

“Oh, does he stay here often?” How many people were going to know about them? She’d already been stupidly and bizarrely honest with this strange woman. It would surely come back to bite her.

“No, no, Zhang and I broke up ages ago. He was too stuffy.”

“And he let you keep the place?”

Val stared at Alex, disbelieving. “Let me? What kind of a gift is it if the deed’s not in your name?”

“That’s a good point,” Alex agreed quickly.

“What was that you were saying earlier, about putting Kevin down?”

“Oh, can I tell the story, please?” Daniel butted in. “It’s my favorite.”

Daniel stretched the story out, milking it for Val’s laughs and coos. He made Alex sound more in control than she had been and fictionalized the parts he wasn’t awake for. It was a better story his way, she had to admit. Val’s expression as she assessed Alex now was one hundred eighty degrees from what it had been at their first meeting.

Then the food was ready, and Alex stopped caring about much else. It had been a while since she’d had red meat, and her inner carnivore took over. When she came out of the frenzy, she saw that Val was watching her again, engrossed.

Alex glanced down – Daniel had given Val a plate, too, but she’d eaten only a few slivers off the side of her steak.

“Do you always eat so much?” Val asked.

“When it’s available, I guess. When Daniel is cooking, definitely.”

Val’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll bet you never gain an ounce, do you?”

“I don’t know. I probably must sometimes, right?”

“Do you even own a scale?” she demanded.

“I’ve got one that weighs milligrams,” Alex answered, confused.

Val blew out a puff of breath that ruffled the waves of hair over her forehead. “People with naturally high metabolisms piss me off.”

“Seriously?” Alex said, looking her up and down. “You’re going to complain to me about our relative genetic heritages?”

Val stared at her for a few seconds, then smiled and shook her head. “Well, I suppose a girl can’t have everything.”

“And you’re just the exception that proves the rule?”

“I think I like you, Ollie.”

“Thanks, Val. It’s actually Alex, though.”

“Whatever. You know, you’ve got a lot of untapped potential. With decent hair, some makeup, and a midsize boob job, you could do all right.”

“Er, I do fine as is, thanks. I have lower expectations out of life. It makes things easier.”

“Seriously, you cut your own hair, don’t you?”

“I don’t have another option.”

“Trust me, there’s always another option to this.” She stretched across the counter and tried to touch the hair hanging in Alex’s eyes, but Alex flinched out of her way. It was true that it was time for another trim.

Val turned to Daniel, who was trying to be unobtrusive, leaning against the counter directly behind Val as he finished his food, almost like he was hiding from her. Well, Alex could understand that. And she completely understood why Daniel had found Val frightening on their first meeting.

“Back me up, Danny. Don’t you think Ollie could be pretty if she tried?”

Daniel did the blinking thing he always did when taken by surprise. “But Alex is pretty now.”

“What a gentleman. It’s like you’re Bizarro Kevin.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It is a compliment. Maybe the best I’ve ever given,” Val agreed.

“How long have you known him?” Daniel wondered.

“Too long. I don’t know why I keep opening the door when he comes begging. I guess it’s that power thing.” She shrugged, and one shoulder of her silk robe slid down her arm. She didn’t fix it. “I like watching someone so strong have to do what I say.”

A key jangled in the front door. Alex slipped from the stool to her feet, muscles tensing automatically. Val watched as Daniel looked to Alex, tensing, too, ready to follow her lead.

“You two are funny,” she murmured.

Einstein ran panting into the kitchen, and Alex relaxed.

Val eyed the dog, his tongue lolling out and his eyes eager. “Does it want something?”

“He’s probably thirsty,” Alex told her.

“Oh.” She glanced around the kitchen, then grabbed a decorative crystal bowl from the center of the island and filled it in the sink. Einstein licked her hand gratefully and then started lapping up the water.

“Smells good,” Kevin commented as he came around the corner.

“You can finish mine,” Val said without looking at him. “I’m done.” Experimentally, she stroked one of Einstein’s ears.

Kevin leaned comfortably against the island, looking very at home as he started cutting into Val’s food. “Everyone getting along?”

“You were right,” Val answered.

Kevin grinned triumphantly. “I told you she wouldn’t bore you.”

Val straightened up and smiled back. “Anyone who’s chained you to the floor is bound to get along with me.”

Kevin’s grin disappeared. “It was a draw.”

Val threw back her chin and laughed, her long neck looking even more swanlike than before.

Daniel turned the sink on and rummaged for dish soap. Alex joined him automatically, comforted by even just the opening chords of their usual routine. Once again she was in an unfamiliar place, well out of her league, unsure and unsafe, but with Daniel there, she could handle it. He was like a gas mask – a touchstone of refuge. She smiled to herself, thinking how little he would care for that comparison. Well, she wasn’t the romantic one.

“Oh, don’t bother with that, sweetie,” Val told Daniel. “The housekeeper comes every morning.”

Alex shot Kevin a loaded glance, which Val caught. “I’ll leave a note on the counter, and he’ll stay out of the bedrooms,” Val assured her. “I know this is all very cloak-and-dagger. Don’t worry, you won’t be exposed on my account.”

“I don’t mind,” Daniel said. “Dishes relax me.”

“What is this brother of yours?” Val asked Kevin. “Can I keep him?”

Alex smiled when Daniel’s eyes widened in panic, but he kept his face down over the sink so Val didn’t see. He handed Alex a clean pair of tongs and she dried them with a dish towel that felt like silk and was probably meant to be ornamental. She had a feeling Val didn’t care about things like that.

“He’s not your type,” Kevin answered.

“I have many types, though, don’t I?”

“Fair enough, but I don’t think he’ll hold your interest long.”

She sighed. “They so rarely do.”

“So, um, back to this housekeeper – what time will he arrive, leave, et cetera?” Alex asked.

Val laughed. “You take things very seriously.”

“People try to kill me a lot.”

“That must get irritating,” she said casually. “When I’m in residence, Raoul comes early and leaves quickly. He won’t even wake you. He’s good.”

“I’ll just lock the door, then.”

“If you like.”

“We’re not sleeping in tomorrow, Ollie,” Kevin interjected. “There’s a lot to get set before we act, and I don’t want to waste more time.”

“Give her the one morning off,” Daniel insisted. “She’s been driving all night for a week, sleeping in the back of cars. She needs rest.”

Kevin made a disgusted face. “She’s not a child, Danny. The big kids have work to do.”

“It’s not a problem,” Alex said quickly. She glanced at the clock on the oven; it was only seven. “I’m crashing now anyway, so I’m sure I’ll be up long before Raoul arrives.”

“I’ll walk you through my inventory, then you can tell me what else you need. I’ve got the video footage of your subject, which I’m sure you’ll want to review, and then -”

“Tomorrow, Kevin,” Alex interrupted. “Now, sleep.”

Kevin inhaled noisily through his nose and rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

Alex almost reached for Daniel’s hand as she left the kitchen. She had to curl her fingers into a fist and hope Kevin hadn’t noticed. It felt unnatural, and she knew Daniel felt it, too. He followed close behind her, almost as if he were thinking about doing something to instigate the conversation – or possible altercation – that she was trying to avoid. Not now, she tried to communicate to him telepathically without turning. She walked faster, but it was a wasted effort. Daniel’s legs were too long for her to build any kind of lead.

She felt much better when she heard him close the door behind him and click the lock into place.

“Thanks,” she said, turning to wrap her arms around his waist.

“Only because we’re exhausted,” he reminded her. “I will be much more tenacious tomorrow.”

She was really dragging, so she went through only the most important parts of the routine. She didn’t want to bother with rebandaging her face, so she decided to let her skin breathe for the night. The wound was still bright red and puckered, and the stitches in her ear – though she’d used a flesh-toned suture thread – were hard to miss. It looked like the two halves of her lobe would rejoin, though. She’d have a nasty scar, but she didn’t want to think about that now.

She thought about setting up the cot in the closet for show but decided to wait till morning. It wasn’t like Kevin was going to do a room inspection. She also considered stringing a gas-canister line around the door. She didn’t think she had the energy, and anyway, an intruder would surely check the master first, if he got past Einstein. She settled for putting her SIG and belt on the bedside table.

Daniel was in the bed before her, but he was still awake.

“Should I leave my rifle out, do you think?” he asked.

“It’s a big room, but probably a little tight for the rifle. I can go grab the shotgun.”

He gave her an exasperated look. “I was joking.”

“Oh. Right.”

He held his arms open for her. She switched off the lamp and climbed into her now usual place. The bed was absurd – some kind of soft, supportive cloud that was probably made from spun gold or unicorn mane.

“Good night, Alex,” he whispered into her hair, and then she was asleep.

She woke while it was still dark outside; the faint light glowing from around the edges of the shades was the unnatural yellow-green of city lights. She couldn’t see a clock, but she’d guess it was around four. A solid night’s rest and then some. She was glad; today would be long. For years now, all she’d been doing was running and surviving. Now she had to shift into a more proactive mode and she dreaded it. There had been her one uncharacteristic adventure in Texas, but she blamed that on the adrenaline of the moment and the unfamiliar responsibility of having a liability. It wasn’t something she would ever have planned to do.

So when Daniel, woken by her movements, started to kiss her throat, she didn’t mind procrastinating for a bit.

She wondered what it would be like to be a normal person. To be able to expect that mornings like this – waking up with someone you’d chosen – would happen over and over again. To go through the day certain that you’d lie back down at the end of it in the same bed, with that same person next to you. She doubted many people appreciated that certainty when they had it. It would be too much a part of everyday life to them, taken for granted, not something they would think of feeling grateful for.

Well, she couldn’t count on another morning like this, but she could be grateful for it now.

She yanked on his T-shirt and he pulled his hands out of her hair long enough to remove it. Alex tugged her own shirt out of the way, greedy for the feeling of his skin next to hers. His kisses, which had begun so tenderly, started to veer more toward the unrestrained, though she could almost hear him reminding himself to be careful with her. She didn’t want any of that. She kissed him back in a way designed to make him forget any other consideration.

There was no sound, no warning. She didn’t hear the lock turn or the door open. And then, suddenly, the metallic click of a gun safety sliding off, just inches from her head. She froze and felt Daniel do the same. She wasn’t sure if he’d recognized the quiet click, as she had, or was just responding to her.

From the sound, she knew the intruder was closer to the gun on the nightstand than she was. She cursed herself for neglecting basic security and worked to think of any move left to her. Maybe if she tried to spin and kick the gun away, it would give Daniel time to get around him.

And then the intruder spoke.

“Step away from the civilian, you poisonous little snake.”

She blew out the huge gasp of air she’d been holding in. “Hoo! Huh! Okay. Ah! Let’s put the gun down now, psychopath.”

“Not until you get off my brother.”

“This is so far beyond crossing the line, I don’t even know what to call it,” Daniel said in a harsh tone. “Did you pick the lock?”

“Danny, listen to me, she’s drugged you again. That’s what’s happening here.”

“As if I would waste my limited supply on recreation,” she muttered. She rolled, tugging the sheet up to cover herself, and reached for the lamp. She felt the cool barrel of the gun press into her forehead.

“You’re ridiculous,” she told him as she switched the light on.

Kevin stepped back, blinking in the light. He still had his long, silenced pistol aimed at her face.

The bed rocked as Daniel vaulted agilely over her body and placed himself between her and Kevin. “What are you doing? Don’t point that at her!”

“Danny, I don’t know what she has you on, but we’ll get it out of your system, I promise. Come with me.”

“If you know what is good for you, you will turn around and walk away now.”

“I’m saving you here.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I was quite happy with what I was doing before you so rudely interrupted, and I’d like to return to it. Shut the door behind you.”

“What’s happened?” Alex asked, yanking her T-shirt on. There was no time for this squabbling. Kevin was wearing only a pair of pajama pants, so whatever the catalyst was, he hadn’t had time to prepare himself. It wasn’t like Kevin to let something – even something this offensive to him – distract him when there was trouble. She leaned around Daniel to grab her belt and then wrapped it around her waist as she spoke. “Do we need to move?” She reached for the SIG next and shoved it into the back of her belt.

Kevin’s gun lowered slowly, and he started to look less confident as he was confronted with her practicality.

“I didn’t believe her, so I came to check,” he admitted, suddenly sheepish. “I wasn’t planning on Danny ever knowing I was here.”

“Her?” Daniel asked.

“Val… she said you two were together. She was so sure of herself. I said there was no way in hell.” His voice was outraged again by the end.

Daniel exhaled, irritated. “Well, I hope you made some kind of bet. With a very humiliating consequence for losing.”

“This is punishment enough,” Kevin grumbled.

“In all seriousness,” Daniel said, “get out, Kevin.”

“I can’t believe this, Danny. What are you thinking? After what she did to you?”

Daniel was still between Alex and Kevin, so she couldn’t see his face, but she could suddenly hear a smile in his voice. “You’re supposed to be so tough, so dangerous. And yet you’re saying you’d let a little pain come between you and the woman you wanted? Really?”

Kevin rocked a step back and took a few seconds to respond. “But why? Why do you want her?” The anger had vanished; when he looked at Alex, there was only bewilderment.

“I’ll explain it to you when you’ve grown up. Now, for the last time, get out, or” – and he reached one long arm around Alex’s body and pulled the gun from her back – “I’ll shoot you.”

He pointed the gun at Kevin’s torso.

“Um, the safety is off on that,” Alex murmured.

“Counting on it,” Daniel replied.

Kevin stared at them – Daniel holding the gun steady, Alex watching from behind his arm – and then his shoulders squared.

He pointed at Alex with his free hand. “You. Just… stop…” He waved his hand in a big, inclusive gesture, taking in the two of them and the bed. “All of this. We leave in fifteen. Be ready.”

His hand shifted to Danny. “I…” He blew out a deep breath, shook his head, and then turned and walked out the door. He didn’t bother closing it. “Damn it, Val!” he shouted as he headed through the dark hall, as if all of this were somehow her fault. Einstein barked from upstairs.

Alex sighed and stretched. “Well, that went about exactly as I thought it would. No shots fired – this was the best-case scenario, I guess.”

“Where are you going?” Daniel asked.

“To shower. You heard the man. Fifteen minutes.”

“It’s the middle of the night!”

“All the better to hide my face. You’re not tired, are you? I think we’ve been asleep for nine hours, at least.”

Daniel scowled. “No, I am not in the least bit tired.”

“Well, then…” She started toward the bathroom door.

“Wait.”

Daniel jumped up, ruffling his hair as he walked to the bedroom door. He shut it and then locked it again.

“What’s the point of that, really?” Alex asked.

Daniel shrugged. “Touché.”

He walked to her and wrapped his hands around her upper arms, holding her securely. “I wasn’t ready to get out of bed.”

“Kevin’s not going to knock,” she reminded him. “He probably won’t even give me the full fifteen.”

“I don’t like letting him call the shots. Not only was I not ready to get out of bed, I was not ready for you to get out of bed, either.”

He bent his head down to kiss her, his hands running slowly up her shoulders till they were cradling her face. She knew that under normal circumstances, it would have taken very little convincing on his part to get her to agree. But these were not normal circumstances, and the idea that Kevin might walk into the room at any moment – probably with gun in hand again – tempered her response.

She pulled back. “What about a compromise?”

The look he gave her was less than thrilled. “I categorically refuse to compromise in any way for Kevin’s sake.”

“Can I please at least make my case before you dismiss it?”

He kept his expression stern, but she could tell he wanted to smile. “Do what you have to do, but I will not be swayed.”

“We have limited time, and we both need to clean up. That shower-slash-lap pool in there will easily fit two – well, actually it could fit twelve – and I was thinking we could multitask.”

The hard-line expression disappeared. “I immediately withdraw my opposition and offer my full cooperation.”

“I thought you might see it that way.”