The Freezer (Genesis Endeavor Book 1) (11 page)

“What year was it?” Jack had no sense of the time line after
1966. Teague had mostly breezed over the years before 2012.

“2009, March. I was born in 1982.” She was watching for his
reaction, and despite trying to make light of it, he felt himself pale a
little.

“My god I robbed the cradle. You might have been friends
with my
grandchildren
!” He was trying to tease her a little, but his
words reminded him of his daughter.
If only Ally’d had a chance to live that
long.
He had spent so many nights thinking about the what-ifs, but now that
he knew what her future would have held, he wasn’t so sure that he would have
wanted her to live through it all.

Wendy saw the change on his face and asked, “What is it
Jack? Did that really upset you? I wasn’t trying to – I mean I was just giving
you some crap.”

Jack hastily said, “No, I just... I was thinking about my
daughter, that’s all. She would have been almost fifty when you died. I’m
beginning to think maybe her death was a blessing. She didn’t have to watch me
die of cancer, and she didn’t have to suffer the war, potentially losing her
own children – or grandchildren.”

“I don’t believe that, Jack, and I don’t think you do either.”
Wendy put her hand over his. “I think, despite what hardships her future might
have brought, getting the chance to live would have been a wonderful gift. I am
truly sorry for you
and
your daughter – that she didn’t get to
experience life. It does, however, make me even more grateful that I – we –
were given a second chance at life.” She had teared up a little, and Jack
squeezed her hand.

“Thank you, Wendy. It’s good to know you care. Let’s change
the subject shall we?” Jack was getting a little emotional, and while her
empathy towards his daughter made him feel good, he didn’t want her to see him
blubbering like an idiot. “Tell me everything about the time from 1966 to
2009.”

Wendy laughed. “Everything? Trust me, you don’t want to know
everything. How ‘bout I give you the highlights, and if you really want to know
about the bad stuff you can talk to someone else about it.” He sat back to
listen to her talk, enjoying every minute of it.

* * *

“So a black man was elected president?” Jack was stunned,
although he wasn’t sure how, after all the things he learned tonight, something
like this still amazed him. He had grown up in a poor neighborhood in
California, and was not a racist by any measure. A good percentage of the men
he had served with, and even some of his closest buddies, were black. He didn’t
see their color as making them any different than him. He had, however,
witnessed how hard of a time they had, compared to the white men, and that must
be what made it difficult to see how a country whose majority population was
made up of white men would elect a black man as their leader. It really put the
differences between 2009 and 1966 into perspective.
To think I might have
lived to see that, if the cancer hadn’t gotten me
... Of all the amazing
things Wendy had told him tonight, that ranked high on the list of those he
regretted missing.

“Yup. Two million people showed up for his inauguration. Of
course, it wasn’t long after that I went down in the chopper, so that’s about
all I have for you.” She had covered it all like a pro, from Vietnam and Nixon,
to Iran and Disco, to Ronald Reagan and John Lennon, to Bill Clinton and
non-sexual oral sex, to George W. and 9/11, and finally to Iraq and the
crashing economy.

“Incredible. That’s all I can really say... just...
incredible. To think I was in my garage less than a week ago, waxing my
mustang, listening to some hippie music on the radio, and here I am, having
missed such amazing things as the end of the Cold War, cellular telephones, and
iced mocha chinos.” Wendy laughed, but it ended in a yawn.

“Crap, do you believe it’s four in the morning? I have to
get up soon to finish fixing that damn heat exchanger on level four.” She
yawned again and stood up.

Jack said, “Wendy, I’ve had an absolutely great time talking
with you. I haven’t had this much fun in months. Thank You.” He was being
sincere.

Wendy laughed at that and said, “Ha! If this is the most fun
you’ve had in months, you must have been pretty damn bored!” She walked around
the table as she said it. Jack stood up, looking a little sheepish. She was
dead on, even if she was just joking with him. She walked right up to him, put
her arms around his neck, pressed her bosom to his chest, and looked into his
eyes. “You know, if you are looking for some real fun, I bet I can accommodate
you.” She leaned in even closer and kissed him. Jack was instantly aroused and
returned the kiss with passion.

He broke off the kiss, and said, “Isn’t this the part where
I walk you to your room and give you a kiss goodnight?”

She pulled away, took his arm and said, “Let’s go see your
room instead.”

This time, when Jack woke up, Wendy was still in the bed,
snuggled up against him. He smiled, and carefully stretched, trying not to wake
her. He didn’t have a clock or a watch, but figured he had slept a little late.
He lay there, enjoying the warmth of Wendy’s body and thinking about the night
before.
What an incredible night!
He wasn’t just thinking about the sex,
well, that was incredible too,
he thought with a smile, but the whole
evening just talking with Wendy, learning about her life and the history that
he had missed.
Is that the right word? History?
He considered the
question and decided if it had happened before now, so it was indeed history.

Back in the present he was sensing his bladder was full. Knowing
the consequences of failing to reach a bathroom soon was barely enough to
convince him to move. He carefully extracted himself from the bed and stood up.
Just before he made it to the door, he realized the hallway was public. Even
though he had not seen anyone other than Teague around here, he didn’t think it
would be appropriate to run into someone while in his birthday suit. He sort of
hopped his way into his pants as he made his way to the door, and they were
about halfway up when the door opened automatically. Jack stopped hopping and
looked up to see two women standing in the hall, mouths open, staring at him. He
quickly finished pulling up his pants, flushing a deep red that covered most of
his naked chest.

“Well good morning!” one if the women said. They both
laughed in a giggly sort of way but neither turned to leave. One of the two
women looked past Jack and then glanced at her friend, an almost disappointed
look on her face. Something passed between them and they turned and started
walking down the hall. They both glanced over their shoulders after a few steps
and the one who hadn’t spoken said, “Nice to meet you, Jack. Very nice!” More
giggles.

Jack leaned against the door frame, feeling like an idiot. “Smooth
move Mad Dawg” he said out loud to himself.

“Jack what the hell are you doing?” He turned around. The
voices of the women had woken Wendy up and she was leaning on an elbow in bed
with an amused look on her face. The sheet had slipped down and exposed her
breasts and his eyes wandered down to admire them before answering.

“I uh... I was going to use the bathroom and the damn door
opened before I had my pants on all the way! There were two women standing
there. I don’t know who was more startled, me or them.” Jack was still
embarrassed but as he said it he chuckled. “Is there a way to make it so the
door doesn’t automatically open like that?”

Wendy burst out laughing, laying back down on her back. “God
I wish I could have seen the looks on their faces when the door opened. Did
they get a good look?”

“Are you kidding? I had my pants at about my knees and was
hopping on one foot trying to pull them up! I didn’t even notice the door
opening, I just looked up and there they were with open mouths.” He was
laughing now too.

“Good,” Wendy said, “gives them something to be jealous
about. By the way, the switch next to the door is set to auto – change it to
manual and you will have to press the button below it to make the door open.” He
pressed the button and the door closed, then he changed the switch. By the time
he turned back around Wendy was already out of bed walking towards him. She was
stark naked and the sight took his breath away. She put her arms around his
neck, and gave him a big kiss. “You know I have a little time before I need to
get to work...”

 Jack said, “Hold that thought, if I don’t hit the bathroom
soon, we’re gonna need a mop.”

“Ewww” she said as he turned, hit the button, and ran down
the hall.

* * *

They were lying in bed, sweaty limbs all entwined. The
blankets were on the floor and the sheets pushed off to the side. “So I have
one question Wendy, and I want you to be honest with me.” He looked over at
her, and she adjusted her head on the pillow to look him in the eyes.

“What is it?” she asked, looking serious now. He could feel
her body tense just a little in anticipation of a tough question.

“How do you shower around here?” She smacked him in the
chest, but smiled.

“There’s a shower unit in the room next to the restroom. It’s
too small for two people, so I will have to let you learn how to use it on your
own.” She leaned over and kissed him, and then said, “I’m going to get dirty
working on that exchanger anyway, so I’m going to skip a shower. Besides, I
have your scent on me right now, and I rather like it. I better get going too,
it isn’t going to fix itself.” She hopped out of bed and started to get
dressed. He watched her until she was done, and then got up himself.

“Do I need a towel?” He was remembering the sink in the
bathroom where the goop he washed his hands with dried itself. He really hoped
that the shower didn’t spray that slime on his body.

She walked to the dresser, took out a robe and a towel, and
handed it to him. “Thankfully, some things never change.”

* * *

After a rather refreshing shower, Jack returned to his room.
He looked through the drawers and found a clean change of clothes (more
scrubs), some boxer style underwear, and a device that looked like a small
electric shaver without a cord. He thumbed the switch on it and it kind of felt
like it was vibrating but not making noise like he was used to. He put the end
that looked like the shaver head on his arm to confirm that it was indeed a
shaver. It tickled a little and left his skin as smooth as a baby’s butt. He
walked over to his mirror and ran the device over his cheeks. He was impressed,
it was better than a good barbershop shave. He finished getting dressed,
grabbed the datapad and pushed the icon the doc had shown him. He nearly
dropped it when a voice came from the pad.

“Morning Jack, how about some breakfast?” He was staring at Teague
through the pad, and judging by his smile, he was enjoying a laugh at Jack’s
expense.

“Christ Teague I nearly pissed myself!” He felt weird talking
to the pad, but Teague continued on like he heard him perfectly.

“Meet me in the kitchen on your level.” As quickly as he had
appeared on the pad, he was gone.

Jack headed to the kitchen and was greeted by some new
faces. They were all looking at him, and Jack, a little surprised, scanned each
of them. There was a huge black man, easily six feet six and as wide as a car. A
white man, about five nine, maybe one-sixty, blond hair, brown eyes, and a
beard that partially covered a scar that ran from his ear to his chin on the
left side. He looked to be in his late forties or early fifties, with just a
touch of gray in his hair and a splattering of gray in his beard. A white
woman, one of the women from the hall, about medium height and build, short-ish
blond hair, fairly attractive, and smiling like a cat that had seen where the
mouse lived. There was Teague, seated at the table looking a little weary as if
he had been up late. Finally there was one more man, Caucasian but weathered
skin that looked dark, especially in contrast to Teague’s pale skin. He had
light brown hair worn a little long, looked to be about six foot tall, although
he was seated and Jack couldn’t quite tell, and had bright blue eyes and a
sharp face. “Uh, hello” Jack said to everyone.

The man sitting next to Teague spoke first. “Hi Jack, nice
to meet you, welcome to our little slice of heaven.” He had a smooth voice, and
Jack’s first impression was that he was a ladies man. “I’m Gabriel. Most people
just call me Gabe.”

“The rest of us call him Slick.” That came from the woman,
and when she said it everyone laughed. It seemed Jack’s first impression was
right on. Gabe smiled too and shot her a glance that made it obvious he had...
spent some time with her.

The woman spoke up again. “I’m Cathy, Jack, you can call me
Cat like everyone else. We met earlier, in the hall, but I didn’t get a good
look at your face.” There were some chuckles in the room, and Jack suspected
she had been talking about their meeting earlier that morning. Jack colored a
little.

Trying to roll with the punches, he said “I hope I didn’t
startle you too bad, you looked a little scared for a second when that door
opened.” Now the laughter was at her expense. Cat rolled her eyes, but smiled. He
knew she could be trouble.

“Jack, it’s nice to meet you.” The voice was so deep he
almost jumped. The large black man was the source, and his voice lived up to
his appearance. This guy was BIG. “I’m Ezekiel, but please, call me Tiny.” Jack
nodded at Tiny, not really surprised at his nickname. It seemed like every time
he met someone really large they were either named Tank or Tiny. “This here
fella next to me is Chin. His real name is Frances.”

“Goddammit Tiny!” the rather small man exclaimed. “It’s
Frank, not Frances. Don’t let his cuddly teddy bear looks fool you Jack, Tiny
is really just an asshole.” Tiny wrapped his massive arms around Chin, which
all but engulfed the small man.

“Aww, there, there Frances, we all love you.” He said in his
deep voice. Laughter all around at this.

Chin pushed Tiny off him and said, “Boy you better watch it
or I will knock you on your ass!” He said it with a grin and everyone laughed
again. “So you’re the latest corpsicle huh?” When he talked his jaw sort of
moved a little to the side, apparently from the same injury that gave him the
scar. It gave him a little bit of an old Chicago gangster accent.

“Oh Christ Chin, do you have to use that term? You ever stop
to think that someone might be offended by it?” Jack got the impression that
Cat was not very fond of Chin.

Before he could ask, Teague gave Jack an uncomfortable
glance and said, “That’s what some of the residents here call those who… came
from the same place you did. Some people find it a bit offensive.”

Jack wasn’t offended in the least, he had been called far
worse in his life. In the army, everyone had a label of some kind, whether it
was had to do with your race, your size, your personality, or your rank. “I
guess I am, Chin.” Looking around the room he said, “Is everyone a ... corpsicle
here?” More laughter. Either these people were all very friendly or there was
some underlying tension that had everyone a little slaphappy.

Teague spoke up quickly, “No, Cat here is a refugee, we
found her about 70 years ago.” Jack did a double take before remembering they
could clone people and make them young again. “Chin is her grandson.” That one
caught Jack completely off guard and all he could do was blink a few times.

Chin laughed and said, “Yeah, it’s kind of spooky knowing
your grandma as a hot chick ten years younger than you are.”

“That’s enough Frances!” Cat yelled at him. She was a little
red, both from anger and embarrassment. “And I’m about twenty years younger
than you, thank you very much!” Jack tried to work out some of the logic with
all the cloning and such, and was immediately confused. It would be very
awkward to meet someone you are attracted to only find out they are the clone
of your Aunt or something. At least now he understood the animosity between
Chin and Cat.

Teague continued on. “Tiny here just about broke the
incubator when we grew him.” Chin chuckled. “And Slick has been around for
about two years. As most of the new reborn, they were both military. Tiny was a
Gunnery Sergeant in the marines and Slick a Corporal in the Army. Gentlemen,
Jack here retired as a Captain, so don’t forget that not only does he outrank
you both, he has probably seen more conflict than either of you combined.”

Slick kicked in, “Hell Doc, before coming here the closest I
had seen to conflict was on TV.” Jack was intrigued by this statement.

“I don’t understand Teague, are you at war with anyone?”

Teague didn’t really avoid the question, but he didn’t
really answer it either. “The remnants of the EoS are not all on friendly
terms” was all he said. “Jack why don’t we take a little tour and you can ask
me some questions along the way.” It was not a request. “Besides, these folks
probably have things to get done.” That seemed to put a bit of weight on the
mood.

“I look forward to getting a chance to learn more about each
of you.” he said to the other people in the room. He made brief eye contact
with everyone but Cat, hoping to send the hint that he was not really
interested. He was enjoying his relationship with Wendy and didn’t want to mess
it up.

Cat was undeterred however and said, “I look forward to
getting to know you better as well, Jack.” The meaning was not even thinly
veiled, but nobody in the room even seemed to notice. That part probably
disturbed him even more than the thought of women like Cat trying to… what
would be the right word? Seduce? How long before he just accepted that every
woman not already pregnant would be after his seed? He hoped he could retain at
least some of his values and morals.

Dismissing that train of thought he asked, “Can I get a
quick bite to eat first? I’m ravenous.” Teague nodded and Jack went to the
cabinet and got a bowl, went to the dispenser and poured him a nice glob of
slime. He got some water and sat down. Chin had wandered out and Cat was over
by the doorway talking to Slick. Tiny sat down across from him, his huge hand
gripping what looked like a small cup, but it was the same size cup that Jack
had in front of him. He had seldom seen anyone that size before. “Damn you are
not a little boy are you Gunny?”

“No sir, I guess I’m not. So you were an officer? Are you a
ring knocker or..?” Tiny was obviously used to being called Gunny, being as it
was a common nickname for his rank.

“Nope, I was a mustang; enlisted for almost ten years. I
took advantage of a light bird that was in a tough situation and got nominated
to OCS. I made it back to Korea in time to lead a few good men to their death,
and after that I spent almost ten years digging really big holes.”