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“Leroux put in a request to AGS for protection. AGS does not do bodyguard work in the real sense but only short-term protective custody.”
“Why would Dr. Leroux need protection?”
“She was assaulted in a parking lot last week.”
“Jesus Christ! I assume since she’s in our meeting today, she’s okay?”
“Apparently her assailant has shit-for-brains, attacking her after her kendo class; she had her kendo stick with her and somehow she disarmed the guy. He’s lucky it wasn’t her katana, otherwise he’d be missing a hand.”
Derek leaned back thoughtfully. He had done his research on Dr. Sophie Marie Leroux and knew she was an avid fan of the art of Japanese sword fighting. She had been on his mind for a few months now but given his way with women, he decided she was off-limits or he was just a fucking coward to do anything about his attraction to her. But this attempt on her life had just roused a protective instinct in him that was spurring him to quit being on the sidelines.
“So I told Maia it would promote goodwill between Silver Fire and MDI if she personally assessed Dr. Leroux’s security requirements. Even if AGS can’t do the job, she can act as a consultant and outsource it to their contractors.”
Derek shook his head and grinned. “You really are a manipulative bastard.”
* * *
Sophie thumbedthrough the results of her isotope enrichment experiment on a small sample of zefinium. The isotope levels were stable and the concentration of zefinium isotopes were optimal to produce the power required for a laser application.
“This is fantastic, Polly,” she told one of her two lab assistants. Polly Smith was a fresh grad out of MIT’s nuclear physics masters program; she was in the process of obtaining her Ph.D. “When Jan shows up later, please brief her on the latest results.” Jan Rivers, her other assistant, had been with her since the inception of Silver Fire Research three years before.
Polly nodded and turned her attention back to the lab computer to enter the results. Sophie sighed and walked back to her office, which was adjacent to the lab. She hadn’t thought it possible to meet someone more introverted than herself. She glanced at the safe on the far side of the office. Within its walls was her father’s research—ten years of work cut short by a lab explosion that had ended the life of Dr. Jean-Pierre Leroux and burdened his daughter with the blueprint for mass destruction.
Her phone buzzed.
“Hey, Beth.”
“So what’s up?” Beth Turner was to the point. She had to be, as a hard-nosed investigative reporter.
“What? No; how are you?”
“Baby girl, you left me a weird voice message, like you were crying. So. What. Is. Up?”
“I dreamt of Adam again. About the night they took him.”
Silence.
“Beth?”
“Oh Sophie.” Her friend’s voice lost its edge. “You haven’t dreamt about him for almost a year. You think it’s because of the attack on you last week?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. But I don’t see why.”
“Have you called Dr. Hunter?”
“What’s the point? I won’t let him hypnotize me to forget.”
“But you have to move on. First you retreated into your studies. Now it’s your research. Enough is enough, Sophie. You and David seemed to be making progress. He really likes you, but he said you stopped returning his calls.”
“I—”
“He told me,” Beth cut in. “He told me you freaked out when he, um, you guys got serious fooling around.”
“I keep seeing Adam—”
“Hell!” Beth swore. “If the man weren’t dead, I’d probably want to meet him just to see if he could turn me straight. Well, you definitely don’t want pussy. We tried. Remember?”
“Beth!” Sophie exclaimed, aghast. Her friend could be crude sometimes, and she did not need a reminder of that awkward moment in their friendship. She and Beth had been friends since her freshman year at MIT. Beth was a journalism major at Boston University and they had met at an off-campus house party. Beth got curious about the introverted geek from MIT and decided to make it her mission to pull Sophie out of her shell, starting by dragging her out to bars and other college functions. One day, when they were both slightly tipsy, Beth had kissed her. Although Sophie was curious and tried to respond, the experience left them more than embarrassed. Beth disappeared for several weeks, leaving Sophie despondent with the loss of their friendship. But her friend couldn’t stay away, and when she returned, the friends had a talk and agreed that nothing romantic could come out of their relationship. They had, however, forged a lasting bond.
