The Life We Lead: Ascending (7 page)

Daen nodded and opened his mouth to speak but
seemed to answer his own question. Then, as if trying to find
something to nitpick, he turned toward James and said, “Identical
hair? His hair is whiter than you, man.”

“Eyebrows.” James said simply, closing the
door completely and getting in a much needed shower.

“Damn man, how the … Whatever it is that
allows you to do that … Well, it’s impressive every time you do it.
But you are a nerd man, no doubt. Like seriously, who notices all
of that detail like that?” said Daen, shaking his head.

The return
trip to the U.S. was uneventful, which is as good as any trip can
be, but James didn’t sleep much on the flight. Any form of motion
travel prevented him from sleeping well, but being in first class
helped tremendously.

When he did sleep, he was plagued by a weird,
semi-cartoonish dream about walking around a corner slowly, hand to
the wall, a red streak following his touch.

The two men split up when they hit Dulles
Airport. James was flying into Pittsburgh on his journey back to
school in Johnstown, while Daen was heading to the University of
Virginia. They were a full day early, but that was all to the
good.

On the first leg of the flight, James had
managed to pen a written version of the trip. Daen agreed it was
accurate and signed off. He and Daen had also agreed that
James would consult with Daen and the rest of the group before
taking any next steps involving the Russians.

Now he just had to follow up with calling
Calum when he could get a secure line. That was priority number one
upon getting to campus, followed immediately by a good night’s
sleep before digging in for finals, which were coming up in three
short weeks.

He also needed to come up with a legitimate
reason for traveling around the world. It was obvious his
medical-physiological interests weren’t going to allow for this,
even though they were handy in circumstances like the one with
Alexander. He needed to be able to travel, have some scheduling
flexibility, and not have to deal with too many co-workers tagging
along.

Problem one is freedom
, he thought,
writing it down on the flight to Pittsburgh.
Freedom requires
trust, and the most immediate form of trust comes from confidence.
Confidence is knowledge that was fairly well assimilated.
That
meant he needed something in science. He preferred physiology, but
biology, chemistry, or physics would do.

He tapped the end of his pen twice against
the paper, thinking. The flight attendant asked if he’d like
something to drink, interrupting his thoughts, and handed him a
tray with fresh fruit and a salad.

“Just water, please,” he said.

Water. Now that was something.

He wrote the word down.

“Thank you,” he said when the attendant
handed him the water. He gave her a smile.

Water is global, and fresh water will be an
issue, but I need something more immediate. Water is the basis of
life and manufacturing, but that isn’t helpful unless applied to
demographics.

He paused to eat the light lunch he was
given. He shook the salad dressing and poured it on the lettuce,
trying to let his mind go blank.

“Draw from the environment, and if you can’t,
change the environment,” he’d told others in training.

Plane, people, seats, sky, first class,
money.

Chew, chew, chew.

Travel, distance, speed, time, fuel.

He took a drink of water, scanning the cabin
for inspiration.

Food, fruit, vegetables, salad, dressing,
oil, and water.

Pause. He wrote down oil.

Oil, expensive, requires those in corporate
global companies to travel. Smaller companies tend to pay
better and their resources are stretched, so duplication in
travel is limited. Sales take too much time to build and have to be
local to start. Marketing and management do not. Degrees get you
there. The science background fits within petrochemicals, which are
carbon based, too, and have a biological connection.

He scratched his head and spoke out loud. “Or
find someone with a science background who’s in marketing and let
them mentor me without having to get the degree now. Adjunct
professors who teach but have a full time career fit this
model.”

He allowed himself a smile and finished the
food in front of him, having found a path forward. While working,
he could do what he needed to advance the cause he’d taken on.

***

Three hours later, James was back on campus
and walking into his place. His housemates, freshly tanned, were
all back too.

“Hey, James, what’s up?” asked Mark, one of
his roommates and his closest friend, looking up. The others were
playing a video game and were oblivious to his entrance.

“Hey all,” James said, giving a short wave
before heading upstairs.

John, Steve, Dylan, and Edgar each muttered
something. They were in an intense round of 007 Golden Eye, and
James knew distractions like saying hi weren’t worth their
attention.

Mark followed James up the stairs to their
shared room. He’d apparently lost his round, and it would be some
time before he could get back in rotation for the game.

“How was break?” Mark asked, flopping on his
unmade bed.

“Not bad, a lot of work. How was yours?”

James knew Mark’s break had been good just by
looking at him. Typically, Mark was a rather pale man. He stood a
solid six-feet-four-inches and all of 175 pounds soaking wet. Right
now, his skin was a light red that might leave a tan and he seemed
to have gained a few desperately needed pounds that he’d probably
burn off in a few days, given that most of his meals consisted of
breakfast cereal or Hamburger Helper.

“Dude, it was great. Was up at the lake and
the weather was amazing. The mommasitas were out too!” Mark crossed
his legs and put his arms behind his head. “Just what the doctor
ordered.”

“Indeed. Did you use your line, ‘Hey babe,
how about you sit on my lap and we talk about the first thing to
pop up?’ with those mommasitas?” James flashed Mark a grin.

Mark smiled and blushed. “I hate you,” he
said playfully as they always did with each other. “Just because
I’m on a ‘diet’ doesn’t mean I can’t look at the menu and
appreciate it.”

James smiled and nodded his agreement. He
knew Mark would never cheat on Jamie or anyone else for that
matter.

“Only had to help your dad on a well one
day then?” James asked.

“Yup, everything else was pump work,” Mark
replied. He didn’t bother asking how James knew about the well; he
was far too used to it.

“Get back last night?”

“Yeah, a few people came back and Jamie
wanted to go to a party.” Mark looked critically at his roommate.
“You look dead on your feet. Did you work the entire time?”

“Most of it. Didn’t get much sleep,” James
answered, sorting through his laundry. Thankfully, Mark wasn’t
paying attention to the fact that his clothes were dirty, which
they shouldn’t be, if he had just come from spending a week at
home.

Mark sighed. “Yeah, I bet having two younger
siblings in the house and working second and third shifts doesn’t
allow for a lot of restful sleep. But always exams and papers to
look forward to!” He raised his arm in fake celebration. “Speaking
of which, can you read my geology paper for me? And I know Edgar
needs help with some accounting thing, too.”

“Yeah, when’s it due?” James asked, letting
out a long breath through his nose.

“First day back.” Mark got up to get his
paper. Luckily, it was only a few pages, and double
spaced.

James looked at the clock. 3:30 p.m. It was
getting late in England. “I’ll look at it after dinner if that’s
cool. I told Kaleb and Randy I’d be over to review some evolution
stuff, but I won’t be there long,” he told his roommate.

“Sweet, thanks. You coming back here first
before dinner or … ?” Mark asked, setting the paper on James’s
desk.

“Meet ya there at 5:30?” James knew Mark
hated to eat by himself.

“Yup. Okay, time to go teach these bitches
what’s up and get some ‘Look at my screens’ on Dylan and his gay
Siberian warrior.” Mark left the room as James laughed.

Dylan loved to yell “Look at my screen!”
right before sneaking up on someone and using the chop kill in the
game. It was the most humiliating way to die in the matches.

James picked up the phone.

“Hello?” Kaleb answered.

“Hey man, you and Randy want to go over that
evolution stuff at your place for about ninety minutes at 4
o’clock?” James asked.

Kaleb and Randy were in a fraternity. James
spent enough time there that he was sort of a brother who never
pledged. It was a convenient connection to have when you needed to
explain long absences.

“Cool, see ya in a few.” Kaleb hung up the
phone.

That was easy,
James thought. He
gathered his stuff and was out the door. He had one stop first, and
that was to call Calum. The campus lines all ran through a
nondescript switchboard so it was secure enough, as the call would
merely trace to an area. This offered more security than he
probably needed, but since it was there and easy, why not utilize
it?

Ten minutes later, James was in the science
building, having gotten past the rather weak locking mechanism the
campus used.

“Seriously, this is child’s play,” he said
softly to himself. “It’d be so easy to set up a drug lab and have
all the tools we need, and these fools would never even
notice.”

He dialed into the calling card he’d bought
at the airport in Washington during his connecting flight and then
the number he’d gotten from Petior. It seemed to ring a long time.
Just as he was about to give up, there was an answer.

“Who the bloody hell is this? And whatcha
calling me so late for?” came a man’s voice.

“Sorry for the hour ...” James started.

“Who is this? I don’t know this voice!”
shouted the man.

“I was given this number by a friend of mine
named Petior. Is this Calum?” James asked.

“You deaf or just an idiot? Asked
who you are, and you turn and ask who I am. Well, isn’t that a
treat. I suppose this is Stephen then, aye? Yeah, my friend said
you might call. He also said to tell you good luck and he’s sorry
you didn’t take his advice. More like God’s luck,” the man
muttered. “So what you want, lad?” he half shouted.

“I was wondering if you’d be able to help me
with a situation?” James started.

“Say one more word and this conversation ends
now, lad. He said you had brains; he was probably soaking up too
much vodka. You want to talk? Meet me here in Aberdeen, plain and
simple.”

“Done,” James replied, his brain working
overtime.
Scotland
. Now he really needed a reason to
travel.

“Now that’s more like it. Take this down,”
Calum said in a normal voice. He gave James directions and agreed
to meet on James’s timeframe, in a couple of months. He didn’t
question the delay, and James didn’t offer to explain it.

“Thanks for the help. See ya soon,” James
said.

“Aye.” With a click, Calum hung up.

Right. Now it was just sorting out the
trip, getting through exams, and securing a good cover while
getting into a new line of work. Well, some of that was just a
phone call, so time to focus on school.
Almost a
mini-vacation,
James thought wryly.

Later that night, when he finally got into
bed, James wondered if it was all worth it. He could just leave
this behind and get a job and move on. At least he’d be paid more
and live a slightly easier life. Having access to money and not
being able to use it because of the need to keep up appearances was
as wearing as anything else, not to mention what a drag it was
hiding a large part of his time and life.

But this was the life you had to lead to be
in the group. Or at least the life he led, as he held himself to an
extreme rigid standard of discipline. He could use funds he had
access to any way he wanted, but it would raise questions, given
his family situation.

He was in the group mainly for the challenge
of being the best, helping other people, and knowing that at a
moment’s whim, he could do literally anything he wanted. To him,
that was real power, and the truest of freedoms. Most people
couldn’t handle that reality, but James craved it.

“Hey, my mom said she thought she saw you at
work during break. She tried to say hi, but you didn’t answer her,”
Mark said into the dark.

“Oh, sorry. I must not have seen or heard
her,” James said quickly from his bed.

“That’s what she said. She said to say
hi, so hi. But you don’t miss much,” Mark said reflectively.

“I don’t know, it was a long week. I was
running on little sleep and must have just missed her, sorry.
Please tell her hello back,” James said.

“Yeah, no prob.” Mark rolled over at a burst
from downstairs. “Odd Job!”

Both James and Mark snickered, knowing what
had just happened without seeing it. The guys were playing the game
again.

***

The next few weeks progressed as normally as
they ever could for James, mostly work and school until the week
before finals. The group had an opportunity to get together, and
James, with Daen’s help, reviewed the Russian trip as a training
tool for others.

Throughout the session, through their body
language, two individuals in the group kept signaling their
skepticism. It went unnoticed by others, but James and Daen saw
it.

“Tariq and Vic, how would you have handled
this?” James finally asked, having just explained the incident at
the hotel and the capture of Nikolias.

James knew Vic would clam up if directly
called out; he’d actually been fairly bored by the story. Tariq, on
the other hand, always had something to say.