Galatea 2 - Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20: FUNDING

News spread fast in the internet age. That was an immutable fact. When there was news of a woman on a college campus flying through the sky, it didn’t matter if there were skeptics or if the government attempted to quell information about the event. There were five different videos of the subject in question, all from different angles, all with context clues and corroborating sounds to confirm their connections.

Social media was ablaze, though news organizations were still a few days behind reporting on it. Needless to say, just two days after Vanessa’s public flight Giles was now in full lockdown mode. Rightfully so, as now the campus was surrounded with snooping government officials, with black helicopters landing in the well-kempt fields, tearing up the landscape with their metal chaos.

From the largest and most legally-black-painted chopper stepped General L’Enfant, his imposing steel-toed boots trampling the helpless flowers in his path as he marched forward in a straight, uninterrupted line until he arrived exactly where he intended to. Despite the overwhelming audio of it all, one could almost make out the sound of metal jingling on his chest like a set of bellhop keys.

“Any sign of that damned scientist!?” he shouted over the droning noise of the spinning blades to an inferior officer.

“Not yet, sir!” the man replied, his voice unable to carry the same bravado as the General above him. “But we’ve locked the campus down on orders from the top! No one leaves until we find Giles!”

“Excellent. Now, find me that girl who was causing havoc in the forest and her ditzy boyfriend. They’re our best lead going forward if we’re to make any actual headway here!” To L’Enfant, that video of supernatural occurrences was merely as useful as the government-issued search warrant it granted. The General wanted tangible proof and he wanted it yesterday.

“Sir! We can have them apprehended as soon as they arrive. They appear to be returning from a trip of sorts. They won’t see us coming at all!”

“I want them in the nearest interrogation room by sundown, understood?”

“Sir, yes sir!”

***

“Thank goodness you finally joined the winning team right and proper, Nessy,” Dr. Kevin Giles remarked to himself, locking the entrance to the elevator on both sides. “We’ll have to lay low for a while after that stunt you pulled up there with the flying and stuff. Luckily for us, I’m prepared for the long haul down here. All my data is backed up on these firewalled-to-all-hell computers and there should be enough canned beans to last the two of us for a few months.”

Vanessa sat in silence, a patient smile resting upon her face as the professor discussed his plans further. If you’ve got nothing nice to say, don’t say it at all! droned intrusive thoughts in her mind like loudspeakers in an 80’s insane asylum. But she happily obeyed what her mind asked of her. After all, she owed the professor! He was the genius that created this stuff! She was just a mere girl going for a fashion degree who wanted a taste of greatness. She was proud to be sculpted by her Pygmalion, why would she ever be disappointed in him?

But there were hints of a metronomic tremble on her perfect lips. A sporadic eyelid twitch that interrupted the deep gully of her vibrant green pupils. An occasional spasm of her toned limbs, the sleek, feminine musculature tightening, which only served to further accentuate cords of ultra-firm muscle that wound around her smooth legs and arms with each random flex. Her sexy stomach became visible, exquisitely etched lines forming around each of her abdominal muscles in brief intervals. With every alternating second that ticked by, they deepened, small bricks of densely packed muscle fiber emerging from a pool of flawless skin and quickly receding like waves.

Something still wasn’t quite right with Vanessa.

Kevin paid little attention to these unusual tremors, he was too busy being lost in his own mind. He knew he had the strength to fight an army—especially when his muscles and brain were paired with his Galatea’s rapidly-growing repertoire of superpowers—but would his destined future be harder to obtain if he was a known target of the US military?

All they knew now was he was a suspect. That was all. They really had nothing to pin against him, that was, if they could even find him. He’d play the long game for as long as he’d have to. Though now that it meant a long haul with his Galatea, he knew cabin fever would be the least of his worries.

Sure, funding would be cut. That would have been terrible had he not found his Galatea. But he had, and now all he needed was a safe place far from any government to tell him what to do.

He had come this far. She was on the verge of being perfect. His toiling with the cruel mistress that was science was nearing its end.

***

“We’ll never tell you anything!” Audrey remarked with venom in her spit. She didn’t much appreciate men pointing weaponry at her and especially at Brian.

Audrey was already dreading returning to the campus, her hands clawing at the seat with anxiety. When a group of soldiers surrounded the car after laying down a spike trap, she was ready to scream. Brian had gone quietly as he was told, Aubrey did not. The metal of the car door crumpled under her grip as her breathing deepened, her eyes shooting daggers into all the fully-armored officers as if they weren’t trained to kill or vastly outnumbered her.

Thankfully, Brian was able to calm her down before anyone did anything drastic.

Sure, they were handcuffed together and tied up to a steel beam now, but it was better that being dead.

“Oh I wouldn’t worry about telling us much.” General L’Enfant responded, cockily shaking the sturdy beam of concrete that connected up to the ceiling. “There isn’t really much you can part with that we can’t already infer. But we can certainly make this process a whole lot less of a headache if we all corporate like civil creatures, yes?”

“Civil creatures don’t lock each other up to poles,” Audrey shot back through gritted teeth.

The General shrugged. “To each his or her own.”

“What do you want from us?” Brian asked, desperate to say anything that would keep him and Audrey safe.

“That’s better,” the General replied with a shit-eating grin, chuckling to himself. “Now let me tell you what we know and don’t know—First thing’s first, we know your little girlfriend here has been afflicted with Giles’ modified virus, hence the noticeable strength and, ahem, additional assets that she possesses. His investors were quick to confess about his secrets.”

A low growl left Audrey’s lips. She knew if she just tried hard enough, she could rip the cuffs from her hands, then rip the guts from this asshole’s stomach. But she needed these bureaucratic bastards to believe that she was down for the count, otherwise, they might just hurt Brian.

“We also know that at least one other girl has been affected by this virus, recently identified as one Vanessa Simpson. Security footage shows that Giles could have also afflicted himself with the virus, given his evolving musculature.”

“That’s correct,” Brian confirmed.

“Good, very good. I assume by the confidence in your voice that you, Brian Lee, are the man who was assisting Dr. Giles in this radical, unchecked virology?”

“That’s correct. Though I mostly kept him from drinking himself to death. Audrey’s infection was an accident and I had no involvement with Vanessa’s injection.”

“Do you really expect us to believe that, Brian?” The General responded, incredulous. “Even if that’s somehow true, we could still hit you with a conspiracy charge.”

Brian’s lip quivered. Vanessa’s warning in the restaurant had come frighteningly true. He was going to prison no matter how good his chances were. Unless…

“What about a plea deal!?” he exclaimed, a bit of fight still left within him.

The General chuckled. “Well, what about it?”

“I-I think you mean a plea bargain, Brian. Like, where you give the prosecutor information in exchange for a lesser sentence.” Audrey clarified, recalling something from long ago.

“Oh, yeah, that’s what I want. What did I say?”

“You almost agreed to admitting the accusations were true for a lesser sentence!”

The whisper routine between Audrey and Brian continued for a moment afterwards, that was, until the general had enough. “Look, you’re both technically wrong, but I don’t expect a couple a’ college-aged kids to understand anything about law. But if there’s some sort of information you could give me, I’d be happy to reduce your sentence significantly.”

“Well, I’m guessing you haven’t found Giles or Vanessa yet, otherwise they’d be tied up here with us.”

“Quire astute. What’s your point?”

“I know where they’re hiding.”

That turned several heads. L’Enfant adjusted his collar in a satisfied manner. “Well, now that would be a most helpful piece of information. We’ve been combing the school all day and we haven’t seen eye or ear of him. We’re beginning to suspect he’s not here anymore, only he hasn’t been spotted on any cameras since he showed up here two days ago, nor has Vanessa.”

“Oh they’re both still here alright. I’m willing to bet in the same place.”

“Well, if that’s true… that might reduce your sentence down to just a day or so! And with good behavior, who knows?” the General chuckled to himself.

I’ll tell you, hell, I’ll lead you right to it and take you down myself, but you have to promise me that if I do, you’ll let Audrey go. She never had anything to do with this mess at all.” He turned to look at Audrey, his eyes watery with regret, an action which Audrey reciprocated. “It’s… my fault she even got roped up in this whole thing. If anyone deserves a normal life after this is all over, it’s her.”

“Oh, Brian, I…” Audrey found herself choked by all the words she wanted to say, her lip quivering at the tragedy of it all. But Brian wasn’t done.

“I have but one additional request, however.”

“Is it reasonable?”

“I find it to be.”

“Very well then, spit it out.”

“Give me and Audrey a chance to talk Vanessa out of all this. Alone.”

Now Audrey was the one to interject. “Brian!? What the hell are you talking about!? Don’t make this any more complicated than it has to be!”

First, Brian directed his attention to the men around them, the nebulous stenographer that might be archiving his words into a written ledger. “Once I take you to where the hidden lab resides, you are to send me and Audrey down there alone. We will talk Vanessa out of doing anything drastic and then you may send a team down to arrest the Professor. I’ve been down there, he only has one exit to the lab, and that’s the entrance. Not great for a fire, but I’m pretty sure the university doesn’t even know of this place’s existence. No matter what, you’ll have him cornered.”

That seemed to resonate with the military men, but this was no time to revel in successful negotiations. Brian turned his attention back towards Audrey. “Look, I know you have your doubts because of how much of a bitch she’s been, but there’s quite a palpable internal conflict brewing within her. I know it.”

Audrey seemed unsure, though that was far preferable to the confused anger she was displaying earlier.  “This might be our last chance to reach her. Ever. The military guys won’t believe in all this mind control nonsense. It’s up to us to make this work.”

Audrey let out a deep sigh, one simultaneously of disgust at the thought of Vanessa and to steel herself for the coming conflict. Whatever happened next would change everything.

“Very well,” L’Enfant replied, proudly puffing his chest out. “No time to wait. Take us to this lab at once!”