Friday evening
November 5 – 6:07 p.m. MDT
Denver, Colorado
“Wyatt,” Alex said softly.
Sitting on the bed, she put her hand on his shoulder, and he opened his eyes. He closed them for a moment and then opened them again. His eyes moved over her face.
“Max?”
“It’s Alex,” she smiled at him.
“You are not the love of my life,” Wyatt closed his eyes.
“I’m here,” Max said from the other side of the bed.
Wyatt’s head turned toward the sound of Max’s voice. He smiled at Max and patted the bed for him to sit down. Max sat down and took Wyatt’s hand. Wyatt looked back at Alex.
“It is uncanny how much you look alike,” Wyatt said.
Alex smiled.
“Where am I?” Wyatt asked.
“Our basement,” Max said.
“How did I get here?” Wyatt asked.
“What’s the last thing you remember?” Alex asked.
“The phone ringing,” Wyatt said.
“Anything else?” Alex asked.
Wyatt shook his head.
“You were activated,” Alex said.
“I . . . was . . . activated . . .” Wyatt said slowly. “I guess I remember that. Did you lock me in the bathroom?”
“No, I did,” Max said.
“Why?” Wyatt asked.
“You weren’t exactly yourself,” Max said.
“It’s what you agreed to,” Alex said.
“I did?” Wyatt asked.
“When we went over the mental training you’d received,” Alex said.
“I guess I did agree to that,” Wyatt sat up against the headboard.
“How do you feel?” Alex asked.
“Weird,” Wyatt said. “Oddly energized and . . . did you give me sedatives?”
“You’ve been asleep most of the day,” Max said.
“I feel giddy, like too much caffeine, and also down like I’m on sedative,” Wyatt said. “How did I get down here?”
“You agreed to come with me,” Alex said. “You didn’t recognize Max. You knew me from when we met before.”
“When I was a Ranger?” Wyatt asked. “With Jesse?”
“You kept asking me where Jesse was,” Alex said. “You’d lost all sense of your life now.”
“God, how horrifying,” Wyatt said. “I’m so sorry, Max.”
“We’ve been worried about you,” Max said.
“Me? I’m fine,” Wyatt said. “At least I think I’m fine.”
“Except for the giddy feeling,” Alex said. “Have you felt that way before?”
“Sure,” Wyatt said.
“Do you remember when?” Alex asked.
“No,” Wyatt said. “Must have been around the time I met you, Alex, because it’s associated in my mind.”
“Were you in the program then?” Alex asked.
“I . . . well . . . I don’t know,” Wyatt said. “I don’t think so, but I might have been. Have you reached the guys on my team? Were they activated?”
Alex gave Wyatt a small smile.
“I know that look.” Wyatt furrowed his brow and looked at Max. “What?”
Alex shook her head and looked at Max. He returned Alex’s look. In the way of identical twins, a silent conversation flowed back and forth between them.
“Don’t you dare!” Wyatt’s frustrated voice echoed in the small room. Surprised, the twins turned to look at him. “Don’t shut me out. This is not twin time. You don’t get to disappear anytime you want! Tell me what happened!”
“Your team was eliminated,” Ben said from his position near the door. Alex and Max turned to look at Ben. “Earlier this year, in the spring. They appear to be a series of random accidents until you look at the fact that everyone came from the same unit.”
“Why didn’t I know?” Wyatt’s lip curled. His voice held a searing indignation unheard of in the person Alex knew. “I would have at least gone to the funerals, visited their families. God, many of the men had young children. How could you keep this from me?”
“I told the twins not to tell you,” Ben said. “It was hard for them, but we agreed it was in your best interest.”
“We were concerned for your safety,” Max said.
“Why?” Wyatt asked. “Was I on the elimination list?”
“We’re not sure, but your entire team seems to have been,” Ben said. “We wondered if you were saved for a unique purpose. Because you live here, I was confident that we could keep an eye on you.”
Wyatt gave a quick shake of his head. He looked down and then under the sheet. As if a switch flicked, Wyatt’s anger inflamed. A tall, fit man, he looked like he was ready to pounce.
“I’m naked, and your father’s here?” Wyatt asked. “What the hell are you trying to do to me?”
“Wyatt . . . ,” Max started.
“Don’t Wyatt me,” he said. “Get him the hell out of here. Whatever the problem is, we can solve it ourselves. We don’t need the dark overlord of mystery here.”
Max glanced at Alex and she nodded.
“There you go again,” Wyatt shifted to get up. “I’ll tell you what. I’m not going to sit here . . .”
“You’re going to sit there,” Ben’s commanding voice boomed in the small room.
Wyatt stopped moving. He gave another quick shake of his head.
“You’ll follow orders,” Ben said.
Wyatt started to move again.
“Soldier!” Ben’s voice rose in a drill sergeant’s threat. “You will follow orders. Is that clear?”
When Wyatt looked at Ben, his eyes held a vague, dreamy quality.
“Why are you here?” Ben’s voice was loud and demanding.
“I’m gay, sir,” Wyatt said. As if he was in a trance, his face was placid. “My father isn’t speaking to me. The Army is my only family.”
Alex and Max took a quick in breath. Alex didn’t dare look at Max for fear she would break down.
“If brass finds out, I’ll lose everything – my career, my job,” Wyatt said. His face flushed with desperation, and fat tears rolled down his cheeks. “My future. I can’t pay for school on my own. I’m almost done. If I’m dismissed, I’ll have to go home. But there is no home.”
“Why are you here?” Ben kept his voice demanding.
“My CO, sir,” Wyatt said. “He knows. He knows. He . . . sent me here to make it better, make sure I could stay in. He knows how bad I need to stay in or . . .”
Wyatt leaned forward. He held himself in a tight hug.
“I can’t help it,” Wyatt whispered. “I don’t date. I don’t have a boyfriend . . . not since I joined. I’m not involved with anyone . . . anyone . . . but I’m still gay. I can’t change that. If I could . . . If I could . . . I would do it, but . . . I can’t.”
Ben snapped his fingers once.
Wyatt blinked.
Ben snapped his fingers twice in rhythmic succession.
“NOW!” Ben said in a loud demanding voice.
Wyatt gave a quick shake of his head.
Ben nodded to Max.
“Wyatt?” Max asked.
“Max!” Wyatt said. “There you are!”
Wyatt held out his arms and Max hugged him.
“You’ve been crying,” Wyatt touched Max’s face. “What happened?”
He looked at Alex and then at Ben.
“What’s going on?” Wyatt asked. “Where am I? And why am I naked?”
“You’re in our basement,” Alex said. “You’re naked because you didn’t get dressed today. You’ve been here since this morning.”
“No wonder I have to pee,” Wyatt smiled. “May I . . . ?”
He pointed to the small bathroom off the side of the room. Ben nodded. Max gave him a pair of boxer briefs. He got out of bed, turned his back to Ben and Alex, and put on the boxers. He gave a slight shrug to Ben and went into the bathroom.
“How did you . . . ?” Max asked Ben.
“I’ve seen it before,” Ben said.
“But . . . what does it mean?” Max asked.
“It means that the program didn’t end in 1973,” Ben said.
“I think he means, ‘Why Wyatt?’” Alex asked.
“I don’t know,” Ben said. “But I’m sure as shit going to find out. We need to debrief him.”
Alex made a sour face.
“It’s the only way we can be certain he won’t kill us in our sleep,” Ben said.
“He won’t,” Max said.
“He won’t want to,” Ben’s voice shifted to that of a kind and caring father. His eyes echoed his love for Max. “He might not have a choice. You heard him. He was manipulated into it.”
“Because he’s gay,” Max said. “Don’t ask, don’t tell.”
“Precisely,” Ben said.
Alex hugged Max.
“Do you want to do it?” Ben pointed to Alex. “It’s either you or Patrick.”
“Why not you?” Alex asked.
“Because I’m going to find out why the hell Wyatt Klaussen, MD, PhD was programmed,” Ben looked furious. “He’s family now, and God damn it if I’m going to . . .”
The toilet flushed inside the bathroom. Wyatt opened the door.
“I’d prefer Alex, if that’s all right,” Wyatt said. “I trust her completely, and I’d rather not do it in front of my fathers-in-law.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Max said.
“Did I split?” Wyatt asked Ben.
“Yes, son,” Ben said.
“You were disorganized at first – some there, some here – and then you switched,” Alex said.
“You brought me back?” Wyatt asked Alex.
“I did,” Ben said. “It looks like you have a complete separate identity. I’m sorry.”
“Then I have to do this,” Wyatt put his arms on Max’s shoulders. “I want to be able to trust myself with you, with our children, with the family. I can’t do that now.”
“We’ll leave you,” Ben said. He looked at Max and added, “Ten minutes.”
Max gave a sad nod. Alex followed Ben out of the room.
FFFFFF
Saturday, early morning
November 6 – 3:21 a.m. MDT
Denver, Colorado
Raz leaned back against the hot tub in a small window-lined room behind the kitchen of the house next to the rooming house. He gazed up at the stars through the line of windows in the ceiling and let the warm water work on his tight sore body. He felt a nudge and looked up to see his girlfriend, Samantha Hargreaves, holding out a full glass of red wine to him. He smiled and took the glass. She slipped off her silk robe and got in the tub with him.
“How was it?” she asked.
“Awful,” he said. “One of the most painful things I’ve ever been involved with.”
“Can you tell me why it was so bad?” Samantha asked.
“I can always tell you about me,” Raz smiled and put his hand on her thigh.
“Why was it bad for you?” Samantha asked.
“Because I like Wyatt,” Raz said. “And I know Alex likes Wyatt, but she . . .”
He shook his head and emptied his glass. Samantha smiled. She reached over and refilled his glass.
“I brought two bottles,” Samantha said.
He kissed her.
“Alex can be so fierce, so tough,” Samantha said. “And all the while, she seems so incredibly kind.”
“I could hear the kindness, her caring for Wyatt, and she just kept pressing,” Raz said. “I would have let up but . . . I would have been wrong.”
“I watched while she interrogated the senator, you know the guy . . .”
“Last summer,” Raz said.
“She was awesome,” Samantha said.
“She wasn’t very nice to the senator,” Raz said.
“No, she was not,” Samantha said. “I just . . . I know what you mean.”
Raz put his arm around her and closed his eyes.
“Whatcha thinking?” Samantha asked.
“I’m thinking this hot tub was a wonderful idea,” Raz said. “I’m thinking I’m glad you and Colin removed the concrete behind your home. The trees are gorgeous. With the fence down, you can see our little farm and your peaceful forest. I love the privacy of being inside and still being able to see the stars. Colin’s upstairs?
“I think so,” Samantha shrugged. “His entrance is open now, so I don’t see him come and go anymore.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder.
“It was really nice of you to wait up for me,” Raz said.
“I knew it would be hard,” Samantha said. “I wanted to help if I could.”
“Mmm,” he looked at her. “I appreciate it. You put this hot tub in for us. You wait up for me. You don’t feel threatened if I sleep at home.”
“I sometimes want to sleep in my home,” Samantha said. “Sometimes I need my space.”
“I like that about you,” He smiled at her.
“Can I ask how Wyatt is?” Samantha asked. “Were you successful?”
“He’s asleep,” Raz said. “Max is with him. Alex thinks she got most of it out of him – missions, training, when it started, who was involved – and helped him break through the barrier to this other part of himself. He has a few tools to help get him through rough patches. Max will work with him. Alex too. He really loves Max; Wyatt does. He’s so . . . masculine . . .”
“Butch,” Samantha said.
“Tough soldier,” Raz said. “And he loves Max. I hate to admit it, but it’s lovely to see.”
“Why do you hate to admit it?” Samantha asked.
“Because I’m becoming an old softy like Alex,” Raz smiled. “I’m losing my New York cop’s edge.”
“Maybe the New York cop has a little softy in him,” Samantha kissed him.
“Little?” Raz raised his eyebrows at her. “Softy?”
Samantha laughed.
“You want to talk about having a baby,” Raz said. “Can we talk about it tomorrow?”
His eyes looked over her silent face.
“I guess not,” Raz sat up.
“I don’t want it to be a problem,” Samantha’s words came out in a rush. “Don’t be mad. And I know you’re tired. I just want to know.”
“What?” he tried to smile to ease her anxiety.
“What’s the problem?” Samantha asked. “Why can’t we just get pregnant?”
“Because I had a vasectomy,” Raz said.
“You did?” Stunned, Samantha leaned away to look at him.
“All of the guys got them on the same day,” Raz said. “Vince’s wife Emily did them. You can ask her.”
“All of the guys . . . You mean Alex’s old team?”
“The Fey Special Forces Team,” Raz said. “Everyone except Paul. He wanted to wait until he’d had at least one child.”
“Why?” Samantha asked. “I always thought that was weird, you know, that everyone banked sperm. The Fey wives said it was Alex’s idea, but . . . It’s pretty weird.”
“It was a couple of things,” Raz said. “The guys had rescued a couple of hostages whose testicles were destroyed in one way or another.”
“Yuck,” Samantha said.
“At the very least,” Raz said. “The guys wanted to be sure they could have kids, so they banked sperm.”
“That makes sense, I guess,” Samantha said. “And the vasectomies?”
“Since Vicki and . . . everything, I’d wanted a vasectomy,” Raz said. “I just never got around to it. Then Alex and I worked this weird case where this government official was hit with ten paternity suits from women he’d never slept with. We could prove that he was in other cities, countries, or states at the time the women got pregnant, but the DNA tests proved they were his children.”
“How . . . ?” Samantha shook her head.
“His ex-girlfriend. Right before she broke up with him, she started passing his sperm out to her friends who wanted kids,” Raz said. “The crazed soon-to-be ex read an article on the Internet that taught her how to use non-spermicidal condoms and how to flash freeze it so that it was still viable. That was enough to convince the guys to get snipped.”
“I thought it was because they were screwing around and didn’t want to get caught,” Samantha said.
“The Fey Special Forces Team?” Raz shook his head. “No way. They had the same policy we do.”
“What about the whole sex in the bathroom thing?” Samantha asked.
“You’re right,” Raz smiled at the memory. “Mike used to egg Alex and Jesse on with his ‘sex with redheads in the loo’ stories, but he was mostly full of it. The rest of the married guys? No way.”
Samantha nodded and leaned back against the hot tub. After a few minutes, she leaned forward again.
“Did you bank sperm?” she asked.
“Alex talked me into it,” Raz nodded. “She said that I never knew. I could meet a smart, pretty woman who liked her own life and space just like I like my own life and space. I wouldn’t want to regret it in the future.”
“I wonder if she was talking about me,” Samantha said.
“I’ve wondered that myself,” Raz said. “What about getting married?”
“What about it?”
“Do you want to be married?” Raz asked.
“No, I think you’re right,” Samantha said.
“About what?”
“You can’t give the kind of love a wife needs. I don’t want to expect it,” Samantha said. “Plus, I can’t really give the kind of love a husband needs either. No, I like us exactly as we are. You have your carriage house; I have my flat. We see each other when we want to, keep separate bank accounts, and stuff like that.”
“And if you change your mind?” Raz asked. “There’s a rumor floating around that Erin’s changed her mind.”
“Is that a big surprise?” Samantha asked.
“Not really,” Raz smiled.
“I’ll tell you if I change my mind,” Samantha said. “But I don’t think I will. I like that we live really close, but not together. I like that I have my own space . . .”
“And closets,” Raz said.
“I’d hate to share closets,” Samantha said. “But I’d like to have at least one biological child.”
Raz took a sip of his wine.
“What do you think about that?” Samantha bit her lip.
“We should practice,” he smiled, and she laughed.
“No, really, what do you think?”
“What’s it to me if you have a child?” Raz shrugged.
Shocked and hurt, Samantha looked away from him. She was working on a biting reply when she realized he was teasing. She grinned and he raised his glass to her.
“We’ll share custody?” Raz asked.
“Of course,” Samantha said.
“You’ll work out the legal stuff before we try?” Raz asked.
“Of course,” Samantha said.
“You promise not to get all crazy and use the baby to steal government secrets?”
“I signed a non-disclosure agreement when we started dating,” Samantha said. “I can’t tell anyone anything about you. Period.”
“So no ‘Who’s the baby daddy’ talk shows? No WikiLeaks?”
Samantha laughed.
“I’m in,” Raz said. “We’ll see the doctor . . .”
“Tomorrow?”
“How about when this action settles down?” Raz asked. “I don’t have any idea where this is going. I don’t want to disappoint you.”
“But you promise we’ll go?”
“We’ll go when this project is resolved,” Raz said.
Samantha gave him a bright smile.
“And tonight?” he asked.
“We should practice,” Samantha moved to sit on his lap.
“I am so glad you made this room,” he said.
“Me too,” she said.
F