The Seraphs Call - Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

 

It was now getting into the steamier days of July and Joshua had to be out in the fields during the day checking the crops, fixing the irrigation, mending fences and other daylong projects around the farm.  To teach the young boy responsibility for something other than himself; Joshua ritualistically took him to help with the morning feedings.  Though larger and stronger than the average nine-year-old, there was only so much the boy could do yet. Once Gabriel finished his chores, he was left to his own interests in the farmhouse, vulnerable to the people intent on recruiting him at any cost. 

The phone rang in the half-dark kitchen. Joshua let his last plate clatter in the kitchen sink as the steaming water started to suds the remains of the morning breakfast. He grumbled as he glanced at the clock on the side of his carved oak dish cabinet--5:37 a.m.  Who in hell would be calling at this hour?  Gabriel had received a blitz of calls lately, which Joshua tried to handle to in the calmest manner possible.  Even as the college scouts became more annoying and persistent, he explained to the ruthless b******s that they could not sign up Gabriel without going through him first. 

The annoying ringer continued.  The fifth ring—this caller was persistent.  Joshua decided to answer before the persistent ring drew Gabriel’s attention from upstairs.  He hung the dishrag on the hook by the sink, and turned the water off tightly on the old cast-iron faucet head, but it still gave an annoying drip in response to his effort.  The phone rang again.  Joshua glared in annoyance at the sink one more time then stalked across the kitchen to answer it.  He did not get within six feet of the annoyance before a tall gangly stream of curly red hair darted past him and intercepted the call.

“Gabriel!” Joshua’s voice boomed in the large kitchen.  “Didn’t I tell you to not answer the phone until these people stop calling!”

“But Grandpa …” Gabriel grumbled.  He had grown extremely tall for a boy his age, now only a head and a half shorter then Joshua’s six foot eight inches.  “You know they can’t sign me.  Any contract made without consent of a guardian to those under the age of eighteen is legally void, and the calls are for me anyway” He finished with defiant glare.

The back of Joshua’s hand met with Gabriel’s face with just enough force to cause the boy to stagger back and drop the phone in amazement.  He stared openmouthed at his grandfather as the older man bent down to retrieve the dangling phone receiver.

“Hello!  Who the hell is this?,” Joshua let his momentary anger seep into his voice and give edges like broken glass and rusted nails to the caller on the other side.

“It’s Damien; please try to keep your temper in check, I have something important to tell you that needs your full attention.”  The dark Cajun’s tone did its best to do the opposite of keeping Joshua’s temper in check.

One of these days, Damien.   “It’s a little early don’t you think?  You do realize that most people are not nocturnal or insomniac like you?”  Joshua growled.

“Oh?”  Joshua could hear Damien chuckling darkly for a moment on the other end.  “By my timepiece and my watcher outside your house, you and Gabriel have been up for more then two hours now.  I trust you’re awake enough to listen.”

Joshua bit his lip until the pain drew him back from wanting to throw the phone through the wall.  “One moment,” Joshua set the receiver down and turned to Gabriel.  “Please go upstairs for a little while son, I’ll be up there in a few minutes.”  He watched the boy stalk off silently up the stairs.

“Alright Damien spit it out. I have work to do today and don’t have patience for your s**t.”

“A very interesting development,” Damien drew out each syllable slowly as if savoring the torture his words inflicted on Joshua.  “Someone has cleared the way for Gabriel’s application for MIT, the one school that the boy wanted”

“Who? 

“A government agency, I’m sure, but I don’t have the details.”

“And how did you find this out?”

“Oh I have my sources.”  Damien sounded cat pleased--the cat that just ate the canary.

“I don’t like this one bit…they said he couldn’t reapply until he was at least fifteen.”  Joshua paused for a moment.  “I don’t trust them, whoever they are, even less that I trust you, and I don’t trust you at all.”

“I somehow knew you would say something like that.  So if you actually decide to let Gabriel go this fall, I will have two of my associates there to add a little more to his protection.”

“How can I not let Gabriel go…?”   Joshua retorted.  “We’ve both known for years that this is what he wanted to do.”

“Very well, I shall try to keep my associates in the background as much as possible so as not to interfere with your little family life, however I will protect the boy.  I’ll call you if anything else develops that you should worry about.”

The line went dead.  If Joshua had not been worried enough before, his brow became more tightly nit with worry lines and he climbed the stairs to Gabriel’s room.

Joshua discovered Gabriel in a pit of sullen fury, locked up in his room. It had come to that; a confrontation of wills was unavoidable between them.  Joshua shook his head and pounded on the door with his huge fist.  To Joshua’s surprise, the door opened quickly and Gabriel shoved past the old man before he could react.  Gabriel darted down the stairs and Joshua did not catch up with him until had almost made it through the library doors downstairs.  The old man had to shove his massive arm into the gap of the door to keep Gabriel from slamming and locking it.  He pushed back the heavy sliding door only barely noticing the welt that was rising on his forearm, barely dodging the fist that came at him from beside the door.

“I can defend myself well enough without your help.”  Gabriel stormed, shoving his fists into the spines of the old books that he held so sacred as a small boy as he missed his grandfather’s jaw.

“Look son...what I did was for your own good.  You don’t know everything about the world despite your ungodly IQ” Joshua’s huge hands clamped on the boy's shirt, and lifted him up; until the old man’s angry eyes could meet the greater storms of Gabriel’s.

“No but I know more than you...let go of me, old man!” Gabriel spat back.  In his struggle to get loose of the older man’s grip he pushed with all his youthful rage, slamming the old man full in the chest.

It was the first time his grandson had ever reacted in that manner, and Joshua did not know how to respond.  His hands fell at his side.  He could not bring himself to strike the boy back.  All he could do was watch as Gabriel stormed from the room. 

 

 

It had taken three weeks for the small town boy to not be awed by the size of the campus that he now attended.  By 2038 the campus at MIT had grown to an estimated fifty thousand students enrolled at any one time.  The sprawling school was the size of Des Moines, the largest city that Gabriel had seen in the last four years.  The day Joshua had brought him to the campus had been during the cold and wet Massachusetts storm season, about as cold as the distance that had been growing between him and his grandfather. 

Even though Gabriel told the old man that he would be fine, and more pointedly he did not want him here, Joshua packed up his personal belongings the week Gabriel was to leave for school.  He begrudgingly hired people to look after the farm in while he was away and moved with his Grandson to the suburban college town.  Gabriel proceeded to do his best to load himself with as many classes as possible to avoid his grandfather and the two story gabled house that the old man set about renovating as soon as they moved in.  The only time Joshua and Gabriel saw each other was in the silence of dinner that they ate in muffled motions over dead tired stares.  The pain deepened and the rift widened.

 

The school had arranged for the now ten year old to test out of  many of his general education classes not only because his college entrance tests showed that he was far beyond the level  that these courses taught to but so they could use him in their more advanced research facilities.  They were particularly interested in the boy’s pursuit of the research into nanotech driven AI.  The first day of his advanced classes, Gabriel found conflict with one of his professors.   

Dr. Charlie Bryce was an average man in his early thirties, rather on the thinnish side, balding, and sported rather thick bifocal lenses that he needed for reading.  Bryce taught Biomechanical Architecture, a dense mixture of theoretical and yet experimental class room applications that many of the most brilliant students had difficulty in grasping. But to take his class was the threshold to pass into the School of Cybernetics and Nanotechnology and those who failed were denied entrance.  This saved him from being relegated to a broom closet sized classroom in some subbasement as those sought entrance to the SCN numbered in the thousands each school year.  His class was fully booked this fall by almost three hundred nervous students all that would soon be trying to curry his favor just to make it through the next two semesters.    The dull stare that he gave the theatre sized class as his sat in his chair strumming his fingers on his desk and watched his students file in to their seats, did not exude an aura that gave Gabriel confidence that the lecture was going to be more then a waste in which the boy would do other work.  Gabriel settled back in a quiet corner and opened his laptop to pursue his own work; his book lay untouched in the old but well cared for leather satchel that his grandfather had given him for school.  He had booted up his computer when Dr. Bryce finally became animated from his seat at the head of his class and slammed and locked the door.

“For those of you who are all prepared to tune me out and try to pass my tests from what you can glean from your textbook, you might as well walk out the door along with the six that I have counted who have not deigned to grace us with their presence and be prepared to fail.”  He made a dramatic flourish and tossed his teacher’s edition to the floor.  “I will be teaching you nothing from this text; it will be your responsibility to read this text the first few weeks of this course so you can understand what I will be teaching you these next two semesters.”

A collective set of groans erupted from almost the entire class except for Gabriel who sat studying the man with renewed interest.  He did not even notice when his laptop finished booting its myriad of programs and the software A.I. came up. 

The entire class jumped in their seats as the voice of a six-year-old boy laughed through the class.  “Good Morning Gabriel.”

Gabriel flushed with embarrassment and tried to shut it down, but he had not worked out all the bugs or behavioral glitches yet.  The AI when it failed to get his attention began to sing in its best Buster Poindexter voice, “Keep on Knocking but You Can’t Come in.”  As the high-pitched grating music began to erupt throughout the classroom, hundreds of angry stares fixed their eyes on the boy in the corner. 

Gabriel’s face had turned to a shade of red just short of purple as he hurriedly opened his code box window and began quickly the involved process of manually shutting the AI down.  He lost focus on the commotion as his eyes read the thousands of lines of code that scrolled across his screen and his fingers began to hurt as he added lines at over one hundred and fifty word bytes a minute.  He did not even notice that Dr. Bryce had come to a halt and stood there looking over his shoulder at the computer screen until the man spoke.

“That’s very advanced code Mr. Scott, beyond what they teach at this school.  Where did you learn to do that?”  The man had dispensed with the dramatics of the opening in front of the class and spoke in a low almost kind tone.

Gabriel’s hands did not halt as his hands flew over the keyboard.  “It is not available anywhere else sir.   I made the programming environment myself.  It’s called ANGEL after the technology I hope to learn to integrate it with here—Artificial Nanotech Genome-embedded Life form.”

“Gabriel, I work in the department in which you would be doing the research along with Dr. Stephen Edgar Green III and Dr. Roger Janus.  I would like them to see your work and maybe we can get you integrated into our department as a student adjunct.”

“Well I don’t know…” Gabriel paused to look up at the older man’s eyes. 

Dr. Bryce looked at him straight and steadily with nothing but respect. No deceit or dishonesty shown in the pale thin face and the half-cocked smile formed there.  Gabriel knew instinctively that he could trust this man, though he didn’t know how he knew this.  No similar feelings that Gabriel had in his short life lead him down a wrong path so the boy decided that this was not exactly a leap of faith in trusting this one.

“Ok Dr. Bryce.  I’ll meet with them, when and where?”

“Come by my office after class and we’ll arrange that.” The professor clapped his hand warmly on Gabriel’s shoulder and went back to the head of the class.

Gabriel finished shutting down ANGEL for the time being and paid rapt attention to the rest of the lecture.

Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday’s soon became Gabriel’s favorite days.

 

The young red haired Adonis looked outlandish, with his lean but well muscled height, in the starched white of the lab coat.  Gabriel was never what one could term as a typical bookish sort.  It was something his grandfather had taught him, the only remaining piece of the old man's advise he still held in high regard.  Working the physical body to the limit of its endurance was an excellent way to keep his mind sharp and clear.

Gabriel, stuck in a world of his own, rocked back and forth on his heels in time to the discordant rhythm of his own thoughts.  He worked at some length with Artificial intelligence before this period, improving on the “fuzzy logic” the school’s pet project incorporated.  It all came down to improvements in software, which he could carry so far.  Without a change in hardware, the A. I. would never achieve the sentient thought that M.I.T. directors had hoped to accomplish.  Abstractness, in itself illogical, could never arise from something programmed by logic.  Unless...

He punched the buttons on the intercom phone.  “Yes this is Gabriel Scott in the A. I. lab.  Could you patch me through to Dr. Janus in Medical and Biological Applications?”

“Janus...”  The man’s voice held a raspy, wheezy quality.

Gabriel had worked on the periphery of the projects that involved Doctor Roger Janus at the school.  The man had a sinister quality in what he called friendliness, treating both bad and good with a cheerful malevolence--like a shark’s voraciousness at the first bloodletting.  Judging people by first impressions was a habit that Gabriel tried not to foster, but with Janus, it was unavoidable.  It wasn’t the man’s physical appearance, but the aura that he exuded.  He was a predator in human skin.

“Well what is it...I don’t have all day for your heavy breathing...”  Again the thin layer of faked cheerfulness, which covered the more menacing undercurrents.  The man’s voice, always laced with an “I’ll kill you if you waste my time” tone, deterred Gabriel from frequent contact, but the impasse he had reached in his research left him with no choice.

“Dr. Janus, Gabriel Scott.”

“Yes, Yes, I know.  What is it?”

“Well Doctor, I would like to discuss a problem I’m having with my research with you.”

“What’s wrong, can’t figure it out?”  Gabriel could see the arrogant smile on the man’s face, and hear his own feeble attempt to choke the laugh.

“No, Doctor.  On the contrary, my research is complete.  I can’t continue until you are finished, which is why I called.  Are you finished?” 

The silence from the distant end stretched into minutes before Dr. Janus replied.  “Of course, I’m finished.  Are you questioning my work?” 

“Why would I a student question a renowned scientist such as you?  Sir, I would never dream of it.” 

“When I’m finished with my work, I will inform you.  Until that time, do not contact me.  I don’t have time for this nonsense.”

“I thought you said you “were” finished.  No problem.  I need to brush up on a few things.  The complete works of Socrates would be a good place to start.  Maybe I can make a few scientific breakthroughs meanwhile.”

The project crawled, but after the first month, he started to develop a fondness for the intricacies of AI.  It was amazing to him, how much it related to his research in NNI[1].  He determined that with the right combination of circuitry, he could devise a self-correcting microprocessor that would function, when combined with other chips of its type as an AI interface. 

 

The months took on a whirlwind effect and faded into memory as Gabriel became obsessed with his work.  Despite the initial problems with Doctor Janus the department head, the boy loved working with Dr. Bryce on the intricacies of solving the AI and melding it with the nanotechnology in ways that improved the pace of the ongoing research in the department leaps beyond what anybody thought possible.

Gabriel didn’t know when it became almost a game to show up Dr. Janus, but he, Dr. Bryce, and even Dr Green as few times as the big Haitian man was not on trips to collect research data, all seemed to have a knack for annoying the feral, dark haired rat faced Doctor as much as possible.  From the feelings he sometimes got from the department head, Gabriel knew he was playing a dangerous game, but he did not realize how dangerous because he had yet to fully comprehend the intricacies of peoples’ minds that lay behind his those stray random emotions he saw in them.  Not until ANGEL inexplicably got out of his containment in Gabriel’s last year at MIT and rampaged through the school’s systems wreaking havoc with thousands of dollars of hardware did Gabriel realize how much he had done to hang himself. When the now thirteen year old boy saw the Bio-Nanotech Department head sitting on the panel smiling evilly at him, he got the sensation that the world and everything he had worked for the past few years was about to be pulled out from under him. 

The board consisted of the six department heads and six of the trustees of the school.  Of the eight men and four women seated on the oak table in front of him, all the faces and voices were a blur except the malevolent smiling face of Dr. Roger Janus. Gabriel could feel the hatred burn in the man’s coal black eyes.  He knew in that instant that if he were not of some value because of his work; this man would want him dead and would probably have no qualms about doing the deed himself.

“I think we all agree that we should not let this child finish and graduate until he has in some way paid the school for the damages done to various systems by his work.”  Gabriel felt every word Dr. Janus said be driven in like a nail into his coffin and the final and most resounding strike came when many of the members of the panel nodded and murmured their agreement.

“I don’t think that will be necessary.”  The vague familiarity of the next man who spoke roused Gabriel from the panic that threatened to overwhelm him.  The slender longhaired man with a thick Cajun accent seemed out of place among the other rich and elite members of the board.  Though his suit was expensively tailored and probably worth twice as much as the others, he was the only one who looked like he showed any sympathy towards the accused’s plight.  “If this school really feels the need to charge this boy with anything despite the advances he has almost been solely responsible for in his department I will gladly pay to have your little computers fixed for your little penny pinching minds just for the promise of this young man’s work alone.”  The man’s voice dripped with thickly barbed sarcasm and he smiled at the angry responses that came in a torrent from the other members.

Despite their offense at the slender man’s words and indignation, they could not find a reason in their whispers among themselves to fixate on Gabriel again.  As the boy looked at the slender man with gratitude, he felt that emotion leak out from behind that otherwise guarded mask of a face and realized that it was exactly what his mysterious benefactor had planned.  The other trustees and the department heads would not argue with that plan and decided almost unanimously with Dr. Janus holding out and refusing to vote.  The boy’s relief hit him so hard he was shaking as Dr. Bryce lead him out of the room with an encouraging hand on his arm.   But despite the decision that the board handed down soon after Gabriel still felt cold at the look of utter hatred that Dr. Janus gave him as the room cleared.

 

Gabriel finished his classes without any more interference from Dr. Janus and graduated after his benefactor paid for the damages done by ANGEL. His ceremony was a major media event not only because of the attention brought by his research and many of the results leaked out because of the school board review, but also because he was the youngest person to ever graduate from the school with a doctorate in the most difficult coursework the most vaunted engineering school had to offer.  Holocameras clicked from the internet newspapers and the major networks made sure his every angle was covered.  It was a dizzying celebrity status for the young teenager as microphones were shoved in his face from every direction. 

It took so long for the Dean to calm the crowd of media down during a press conference that was only supposed to be fifteen minutes long, that they only had time for one question. A young woman from CNN eagerly shoved her mike in Gabriel’s face her eyes alight at being the only one to be able to ask a question of the young genius.  “Now that you’re finished with this part of your life what plans do you have for your future?”

Gabriel’s face so flushed with excitement that it was only a shade of red off his hair and he could hardly breathe as he responded into the microphone.  “I want to become a real doctor now.”

Back behind the bustle of the press, in a secluded viewing point, the Dark Cajun watched.  Damien preferred to be away from this spotlight, but this young man was a product of the DeMoir legacy, and thus as equal a part of him as Joshua could ever claim to be to the boy.  His smile was darkly humorous at the boy’s words. 

“Ah Joshua, the more you attempt to guide him along the right path, the more he becomes like me every day.”

 

 During the weeks that followed, he received offers from prominent schools and many companies, around the country and a few abroad.  None of them sparked any interest in the boy.  The federal government had expressed an interest in the boys work, but he had refused.  The problems after MIT began to discourage him.

  Would they all treat him this way, he wondered. 

Joshua could see the trepidation in the boy's eyes, no longer wanting to be in an environment where he did not feel welcome, and decided that they should get away for a while.  He believed that Leaving MIT would be a relief for them both, traveling to their Iowa home for some reprieve from the ever watchful eye of both the press and the institution.  

During the weeks that followed, both fell back into the roles of Grandfather and Grandson, but still the alienation was there, evident in the tone in which Gabriel spoke to him.  Though they had been together for so many years, Gabriel’s studies had always taken precedence, not allowing them to spend much time as a family, Gabriel being the student, Joshua the caretaker.  They were like strangers, Gabriel’s days occupied in his own mind.  Joshua tried and tried to get Gabriel to relax, to put aside the thoughts of school, but he failed.  They seemed so close to establishing a rapport between them, if not the same affections, a mutual respect, but the final link was missing.

Illyana came to the farm on Christmas Eve.  She had learned of Gabriel’s experiences at M.I.T., but did not have a chance to break away from her responsibility at Johns Hopkins.  Her return was more then Joshua could have bargained for.  The old man let them spend their time alone together hoping the young Russian woman could reach Gabriel in a way he could not.  The storm that struck over the farm that night affected more than the weather.

 

“I love the smell of the hay in the winter...”  Illyana inhaled the mustiness of the old barn.  “Nature buries all other smells in the cold...but the snow can’t reach this little place...a least not that much.”  She grinned, the quick smile lighting the space about her.  She gave a yelp and leapt into the great pile of hay.

Gabriel gave her a sidelong glance.  He had never seen this side of her personality.  Of course, it had been five years.  People change.

 Illyana burst up through the hay, snatching Gabriel by the collar and pulling him in.  They rolled about with playful laughter until both found themselves covered with the tiny particles of straw.  They stopped breathless, feeling the adrenaline of something that was more than just play.  They feared what was happening to them. 

Somehow, Illyana managed to land on top of Gabriel, and grinned sheepishly as he lay pinned beneath.  He played as if to struggle but she knew he didn’t want to escape.  Her touch sent tremors through his body, unlike his rough inexperienced caresses.  He groped with his strong hands, reaching for her, his youthful passion taking control of his actions.  The draw became irresistible as they breathed the musky scent of each other’s bodies and the apprehension evaporated.

Illyana grabbed Gabriel by both hands and stared intensely into him, reading every wish in his emerald eyes.  She kissed him passionately, connecting what they both wanted and plunging beyond the forbidden. 

She pushed his hands away and placed a single finger to her lips, whispering for him to be quiet.  Tracing the contours of his face with her fingertips, she pressed his eyes closed.  She ran her nails down his cheeks, and around his lips, causing him to moan from the delight and move upward, grinding his pelvis into hers.  She could feel the heat from his body rising into her, his hardness beckoning to her, the warmth he exuded adding to hers.  Her touch brushed against the skin on his throat, and she felt him relax.  Leaning forward, she blew softly upon his neck, each breath causing a shiver in his spine.  Her lips came in closer, brushing the side of his neck, building the excitement in him. 

Illyana felt the little thrills she created in Gabriel.  Her heart beat rapidly as she fought back the urge to delve into the pleasures with which she was so familiar, slowing herself, wanting this to be as special for Gabriel as it was for her.  He moved his hands to touch her, but she held him at bay.  Although no match for the strength of the boy turned man before her, he allowed her to hold him down.  She moved her hands down his chest, stopping to slowly unbutton his shirt, letting the tips of her fingers caress the smoothness beneath as she opened it, pulling back the material to reveal him even more to her.  She gasped as she revealed the well-developed physique below, the noise causing a furrow to appear on Gabriel’s brow.  As she allowed her hands to wander over his skin, feeling the muscles ripple as she teased him with her touch, his expression changed to one of pure ecstasy, the feelings flooding him like none he’d ever known.  He arched his back as he fought to maintain control, but Illyana was too much for him, and he began to quiver.  Her caresses deepened with each pass as she moved down to his stomach, tracing the fine line of hair that appeared above his waistline.

Gabriel could feel her warmth on him, his manhood growing as she ground against him, pushing against its confines, straining to reach the utopia it sought.  She stopped his every attempt to move, the soft caress, the silent chastising, the whispered words letting him know that she was the one.  She controlled him with her touch, bringing him higher and higher to passion that he never thought possible.

She pulled the belt from the buckle and opened the zipper that restrained him, revealing the opening to what she desired.  She could see his excitement, through the tightness in his pants.  She quivered and she traced the outline of his manhood with her fingers, causing him to push against her, the hardness brushing against her hand.  She felt its length and hardness and knew that he was definitely a man.  She could feel herself getting moist, the desire to abandon all control more than she could handle.  

His pants, loose fitting, were easy for her move.  As she pulled on the waistband, he raised his hips, the look of enchantment appearing on his face, as she neared her quest.  He wore no underwear, and as she slid his pants down further, his member sprang upward, quivering with a life of its own.  She brought her hand close and scraped her fingers along skin beneath, causing him to buck wildly as he fought to retain control of his urges. 

She whispered, “Don’t move” and stood, pulling her shirt over her head, dropping it on his chest. 

He reached for the shirt and brought it to his face, inhaling her scent. 

She snatched the shirt from him and held his chin with the tip of her finger, removing her bra and tossed it to the side.  The soft curves of her body transfixed his gaze, as she cloyingly stripped for him.  As she pushed her last garment to the ground, she picked them up, and placed them beneath Gabriel’s nose, letting him inhale her scent, driving him to the point of erotic insanity.

She watched as he removed his pants, his eyes still closed from before, revealing his powerful legs, accentuating his hardness, which beckoned to her.  She lowered herself to lie beside him, touching his chest, bringing her lips to his. 

He reached for her and she did not resist, directing his hand to her moistness that was now blossoming from between her legs.  He kissed her clumsily, but her passion soon became a quick teacher as her tongue intertwined with his, showing him how to caress hers. 

She moved his other hand to her breast, showing him how to touch her there, her n*****s hardening more and more, almost painfully so as his rough hewn hands sent little tendrils of electricity through her.  She was losing control to him, feeling the passion dam about to break under his caresses. 

He was learning, his touch now softer than before as he felt her respond, moving against his hand as he worked the little button between her legs.  She tensed, the throes of her first orgasm with him approaching.  As he moved his finger faster and faster, she bucked against him.  The low moan now increased in pitch as he pushed her over the top, the wave of pleasure starting like a tidal wave, washing over and enveloping her. 

Their love came without a word, stealing its way with each touch.  She pushed herself down on him, feeling the fire from his member penetrate her, stripping away all barriers.  Gabriel moved into her until their bodies met, neither moving as they enjoyed the feeling, his newfound, hers of pure unbridled passion.  Neither was sure who was now in control as their minds let go of the inhibitions, no longer able to stop themselves.  She brought her lips to his, her hips now moving quickly as he fought hard to hold back what she desired from him.  She too was reaching the peak as his kisses drove her to a new level, his strong arms encircling her, as his hips bucked against hers.  His stamina surprised her, as they moved faster and faster. 

They both crested the brink, the storm of passion enveloping them both as their releases came, the volcano of their passion erupting until exhausted.  She looked into his eyes and smiled, the sheepish grin now gone, wantonness fading, love showing through.  The fervor had faded, but the fires still burned within them, the layers that had lain between them now stripped away, revealed in the ardor that prevailed, oblivious to the frigid December outside the musty barn.

They lay in each other’s arms for more than an hour after, listening to the strong thumping heartbeat that seemed shared between them.  They held each other until the wind began to blow and the barns door swung open, admitting a frigid blast of air into their sanctuary.

They retrieved their clothes and dressed quickly, shivering both from the cold and from the excitement that had not yet left them.  They ran to the warmth of the house laughing as each frigid buffet of the winter storm hit them.

 

Waking early as he had done for so many years in the past, Joshua made his morning trek to the bathroom.  His eyes were so dim with sleep, that he did not notice the door to Illyana’s room still wide open as he had left it when he had prepared her bed the night before.  She had not slept there, the covers of the bed unrumpled.

Spending that Christmas at the family farm had allowed Gabriel to examine his desires with more clarity.  He had stated that he wanted to be a real doctor jokingly, but as the days passed, he realized that he would have to learn more about neural synapse communication, and the way to do that was through medical school.  After the first of the year, Gabriel started filling out application for all the top medical schools.  Days turned into weeks, the responses being rejections.  None of them expressed any interest in the child prodigy, knowing of the troubles he had caused at MIT. 

Soon afterward, the depression set in for Gabriel, having achieved such monumental success in the work he had started, but with no way to complete it.  His course of action was to find someone willing to sponsor him. 

While performing his research, the federal government had expressed interest in his work, but he had refused them time after time, stating he didn’t want to give up his creativeness for some bureaucratic nonsense.  They were his last chance to continue his research.  Pulling the card from the folder containing dozen of cards of other prospective sources exhausted, he made the call.

A man answered the phone.  “Hello, Gabriel.  I see that you have decided to call” the voice echoed.

“Well, yes, I feel that it would be in my best interest in pursue this avenue.”

“One, Gabriel, never try to bullshit me, because I know everyone else has turned you down, and two, yes, we want to help you as much as we want you to help us.  We have determined that your research could be valuable to United States’ interests.  What did you have in mind?”

“To go to medical school so that I can take my research to where it should be, but I have run into roadblocks from every single medical school in the country.”

“What did you expect?  That everyone would be willing to welcome you?  You embarrassed one of the top engineering schools in the U.S. and you expect to go where you want?  You need to open your eyes.  This isn’t grade school anymore, Gabriel.  The United States Government wants to invest in your projects, but under a couple of conditions.  Those conditions we will cover if you are willing to meet with us.’  Just to let you know, any discussion with anyone concerning contact with me will be denied.  Do you understand?”

“Yes”

“Good, I have your attention.  This is how it’s going to work.  We will contact you when ready, and remove your obstacles to get into Johns Hopkins.  Remember, we give you the training you need--you work for us.”

“What about my grandfather?”

“Not even your grandfather can know about this.  We will arrange everything and make sure that all your needs are taken care of.  If anyone finds out about our little discussion, all bets are off.  Until then Gabriel, enjoy your vacation.”

The sound of the line going dead made Gabriel feel a little eerie.  What had he gotten himself into?

 

It was the first time that Gabriel was not totally honest with his grandfather, the day he left in the old primered Chevy, to speak to the government man.  The boy felt terrible at telling Joshua that he was going to Des Moines to spend time with Petri for the day, but he new the old farmer would have absolutely forbid him from this enterprise if his new the truth.

Gabriel pulled up in the truck stop outside of town on highway 80 and immediately saw the black hummer, distinct, and out of place as it was among the old trucks, boat like cars and semi tractors that lined the immense parking lot.  The diner was crowded but the teenager was able to easily enough pick out the man he was supposed to meet from the crowd of plaid, leather and jean wearing truckers and farmers crowding both the counter areas and the booths under the glaring phosphorescent lights.

The man who sat in a booth, back in the far corner of the building alone, was dressed in a black jumpsuit that looked like it had been custom made and carefully picked clean of any identifying marks.  He was not very tall but Gabriel guessed he must be over two hundred pounds of heavy muscle and somewhere in his mid forties.  His hair was closed cropped and military cut was a shade of blonde so pale that Gabriel was not sure whether it was not mostly white under the glaring light of the diner.  His eyes were a pale grey and studied the boy intently as he approached the booth.

“Sit down Mr. Scott, we have much to discuss and I am too busy to take all day with you.”  The man was bulldog abrupt in his speech as he motioned to the seat on the opposite side of the table.

Gabriel felt like saying ‘Yes sir sorry sir,’ as he read the authority behind the man’s eyes, but he only nodded and sat down silently waiting for the man to speak.

“Okay down to business Mr. Scott.  We know what you are trying to do with your work.  It is something that my branch of government has been trying to do for years and has yet been unsuccessful in.  We want you to continue this work to its ultimate culmination and succeed.”

“You want me to give you my work for something military, right sir.”  The boy responded.

The man’s mask slipped and he looked vaguely startled for a moment.  “It doesn’t matter what we want your work for, as we already have it.  The government has been funding this research through MIT for years and your department has already turned it over to us.  What we want is the continuation of your work and I am willing to smooth your way into Johns Hopkins to get this and provide what funding you need for your other research interests as well.”

“Was Doctor Janus one of yours then, sir?”

This time the man assumed an irritated look and Gabriel wondered for a moment if he had pushed too far. “I cannot tell you what operatives we have watching your research and I think you know that.” The statement coupled with the evasive response was enough to confirm Gabriel’s suspicions. “But I am willing to push past any resistance even from my own department to help you.”

Gabriel read this as the man knew of Janus and really did not like him.  “OK then we are on the same page and I can trust you then sir.”

The man almost smiled but caught himself at the boy’s remark.  “Then it’s a deal.”

“For now sir, for now.”

 

Gabriel made it to medical school, the unknown man pushing through his application to Johns Hopkins.  He knew the government would demand that he pay the price, but he didn’t care.  There would be time to figure out a way to bend the contract later.

It was up to him to pretend nothing whatsoever had changed in his life.  He loved his grandfather, but the elder Scott would not understand the need to make a deal with the devil to reach a higher goal.  When he reached that goal...well, there are ways to exorcise demons.

He started in medical school without a hitch, his mind absorbing with careless speed everything, every fact, and every problem, everything that his instructors could think of to throw at him.  The professors where astounded with Gabriel, and some came to resent his attitude, seeing his manner as claiming he was superior to them.  He meant no insult, but they still brooked him no quarter, riding him.  They had no comprehension of how much he thrived under this.  Instead, the befuddled where left looking like fools and Gabriel emerged a champion unscathed.

Gabriel’s relentless drive had kept him through this, pushing him beyond in mind what any human could endure, and pushing his body to a point of fatigue that he could not.  He propelled himself to the point of collapse, not eating, not sleeping, and not caring about anything but his work.

Joshua worried about Gabriel’s health, ignoring the warning signs from his own body.  Gabriel hadn’t noticed his grandfather’s deteriorating health, intent on becoming the best scientist and doctor he could. 

His determination and dedication to his work were so strong that he didn’t notice when Joshua didn’t show up to the hospital for three days.  If it hadn’t been for the night nurses asking him where his grandfather was, he wouldn’t have realized something was wrong.  It was so unlike his grandfather to miss one day, and he hadn’t been there for what, three days?  For two years, Joshua had ensured that he visited Gabriel in the morning and evening, bringing the much-needed nourishment he knew the boy wouldn’t get if he didn’t force him. 

Gabriel, is his emotional blindness, had not missed him and he felt the guilt well up inside himself.  Running from the hospital, he managed to wave down one of the nurses that was leaving after her late shift and caught a ride to his home.  Arriving at the house, Gabriel burst through the door, calling out to his grandfather.

“Grandpa, Grandpa, where are you?”  The old house was silent; the only sound the creaking of his footsteps on the floorboards.  Not hearing any response, he ran up the stairs to his grandfather’s bedroom.  He did not bother with a light, stumbling down the upper hallway.

The door was ajar, but screeched with the protest of a much needed oiling as he burst through into his grandfather’s bedroom.  His lanky frame managed to tangle him in the rug by his grandfather’s bed.  Twisting free from it with a yank, he still was able to break his fall by grabbing the edge of the giant four-poster, sending the box springs into a shivering, rattling fit.

“What’s all the racket, boy?  I was trying to sleep.  Can’t a man get any rest without somebody waking the dead?”  His grandfather muttered rolling over to the side of the bed.

“Grandpa, where have you been?  I’m so sorry.  I’ve been so involved in my work and I didn’t notice that you hadn’t come to the hospital.  If it hadn’t been for Nurse Crenshaw, I don’t know.  I don’t know.”

“Oh, stop your worrying, son.  I’m all right, been feeling a little under the weather for the last couple of days, and decided to get some rest.  I knew you were busy and I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Grandpa, are you sure you’re all right?”

“Yes, I’m sure--a few pains.  You know how it is.  You get old and the old body doesn’t work the same way it used to.”  The old man ran his fingers through his sleep rumbled hair.

“Maybe grandfather, maybe.  I still want you to see Dr. Martinson tomorrow and be checked out.  Promise me...”

“Gabriel, you know how much I don’t like going to the doctor’s.  It makes me nervous going into that hospital where you work with all those doctors around,” he chuckled. 

The young man’s tone became stern.  “If I have to drag you down to the medical center myself you will come in tomorrow.  Choose...on your own volition or carried.” 

His grandfather snorted a surprised laugh.  “Well you put it that way...I’d guess I’d better doctor sir.  You have grown into a man, son.”

“I’m not so grown that I don’t need you anymore.”  Gabriel embraced the burley old man, holding on for dear life.

Gabriel’s face was ashen when he returned to the ward, his eyes staring, his movements reflexive.  It had to be a nightmare.  The person he loved most in the world, his grandfather, was dying.  What justice would it be if God or the world left him with anything?  Why hadn’t he seen the signs?  Wasn’t he supposed to be a doctor?  There had to be a way to cheat fate, damn it.  I won’t take anymore.  No more!

“Gabriel what’s the matter.”  Illyana stood in front of him, and he still didn’t see her.  Her golden hair hung in curls down to her neck, graceful and long as a gazelle’s.  She held him and her eyes bored into his, the pale blue of their whispering depths offering their support. 

“Not now...Illyana.  I can’t deal with this.  I’m fine...” He muttered.  He shrugged off her grip and pushed her aside.

Illyana’s velvet touch became iron in a moment.  Her eyes flashed as she spun him around.  “Don’t do this Gabe...you can’t take care of the entire world alone.”

“Look I don’t need your help, I don’t need your comfort, I’m a big boy, and I can take care of my own god damned problems.”  In his tone was a warning, a pleading for her to back off.

“Are you ready to give in?  Are you a big dog rolling over and whimpering to your grave?”  Illyana felt the tension rising in him, but she did not care.  If he handled this as he handled every problem in his life, the pressure would be too much--a self-destruct.  “I love you Gab...please.”

“He’s all I have...I don’t have any time left...no time for your love.”

“Cutting yourself to bits won’t summon up a miracle from the air.  You’ve got to have your guts intact to do Joshua any good.”  The tips of her fingers brushed on his lips.  “Let it out...if you can’t take it alone give it to me.”

“Let me go...”

“Not until you let me help you”

“Illyana...”  Menacing feelings stirred in him.  A rage flushed his face, a rage against himself, yet her physical presence made her the most convenient outlet.  His arm tensed against her grip.

“No Gabe...I won’t...”

His hand flew before he knew it, catching her full on her face.  He regretted it the moment it landed, seeing the shock cloud her eyes.  He stumbled back from Illyana; his fervent apology lost to her, as he hurried down the hall.  “I’m sorry...  I didn’t...”

Illyana managed not to let her eyes mist with tears until he had left the hall.  She had lost him, but managed to spark some working semblance of life through his numbness.  Like a requiem, she whispered at his absent presence.  “But you’ve got to Gabe.  You have to mean it all!  Without your strength, your drive...nothing you do will matter.  If anger gives that back, use it to work your miracle.”

---

[1] Neural Network Interfacing

 

Reviews

[Hans von Lieven]

Still good writing, still the same pace. The part where Gabriel realises his grandfather is dying needs perhaps looking at. In my view there should be a little more of a lead up to it.

Hans von Lieven