Time Salvager (Time Salvager #1)(31)
“Security,” James said. “Private corporate military.”
“Ah, you did it for the money.”
“Isn’t that why we’re all here?” he said, taking a sip of twenty-first-century whiskey, which tasted like fine smoke, dirt, and lemons. Obviously, in this century, the art of whiskey-making was at its peak as well. James couldn’t remember another moment in his life when he was happier than right now, sitting across the table from Elise while holding this fine beverage.
Elise feigned shock. “What? You’re getting paid? Almost all of us here are on stipends.”
“What sort of military city puts their people on stipends?” He laughed.
Her face took a turn for the serious. “Wait, you’re not kidding? You’re actually getting paid? How is it possible that security is getting paid when all the scientists are volunteers?”
James was confused but quickly recovered. “Stipend. Salary. It’s all the same thing to me. It is a pittance, though. Now I know why. Didn’t realize I had signed up for a silly nonprofit.”
He thought to Smitt, “We need to dig deeper on this. Something isn’t right. This isn’t the military installation we thought it was.”
“Checking. Stand by, James.”
He spent the rest of the evening admiring her while being a good listener. Elise was very animated when she talked, her small hands gesturing with each word coming out of her mouth. Her head often joined the dance, bouncing her dark red hair—cut just below the shoulders—whenever she was making a point.
What James liked best of all about Elise, though, were her eyes. They sparkled, and he found himself being drawn back to them over and over. The color of her eyes wasn’t physically bright, actually quite a dark brown, but she had a way of lighting everything up when she looked at him.
Elise was born in a place called Lincoln in the heart of North America on the border of the Confederated United States. She moved west to Portland in the Democratic Union at the age of nine and lived there until she went to Berkeley to study biology.
By the time her life story got to her twenty-second birthday, his AI band had finished copying her badge. That should have been his signal to retire and get some rest. Historical records showed that the explosion occurred sometime in the early morning. He had to be ready. Instead, James stayed and listened to her for another hour until she finished her life story up to about ten minutes ago.
She had begun her career on the hybrid Eco-Kelp Initiative growing mutant kelp that cleaned ocean water, and eventually moved on to the Ozone Terra-Layering Program, where at the ripe old age of twenty-six she became one of the foremost biological technologists in the world. Now, at thirty-one, she was the head biologist for the Nutris Initiative’s Bacterial Assembly Project, and a civilian colonel to boot.
“So what would the military want with bacterial assembly?” he asked, polishing off his sixth glass of whiskey. This stuff was so good he had to drink his fill now before his jump tomorrow, hangover be damned.
She arched her eyebrow. “Are you messing with me? That’s the second time you said that. Why on Gaia do you think this is a military base?”
James didn’t have an answer. Because Smitt told him so wasn’t a good enough reason. Some of the things he’d learned tonight didn’t match the briefing, and while bad information wasn’t uncommon, it was rarely this far off the mark. But then, this was supposed to be a secret installation, so perhaps the real reason behind the platform had been lost in time. Or maybe this was Elise’s cover? James’s mind raced in circles as he thought of the possibilities. He didn’t like not knowing. At the end, though, he reminded himself, it shouldn’t matter. He had a job to do.
It was getting late, though the arctic sun still shone brightly in the sky. A warm orange hue bathed the platform with an eerie luminescent glow that reminded him of a rare pleasant dream. With the way this evening had gone, James doubted his dreams could best its reality.
Elise was a little tipsy, having taken him for his word and drunk her fill, and then some. She wavered a little on her feet, only occasionally leaning on him for support as they walked back to her habitat.
“All right, mister,” she said, pointing at the door. “This is where I get off. Let’s do this again real soon. Tomorrow?”
James couldn’t bring himself to say yes.
She rolled her eyes. “It’s all right. I’m getting used to your modus operandi. Not exactly a silver-tongued operator, huh?”
James wasn’t sure what “silver-tongued” or “modus operandi” meant, but he nodded. “Well,” he said, “tomorrow then.”
He turned to leave when she grabbed him by the shoulder, rose up on her toes, and kissed him. James froze. She reached her hand behind his head and pulled it toward her. He tasted her dirty martini on her lips and felt her press his body against hers. They lingered, and for a moment, James forgot who he was and why he was here. Elise Kim was the only thing important in his world.
Eventually, she pulled back and mussed his hair. “For future reference, that’s what you’re supposed to do.” And then with a wink, she disappeared into the habitat.
“James, your life signs are all over the place. Is there a problem?”
“I’m good, Smitt,” James said. “Real good.”
He strolled back toward his pod, enjoying the cool breeze and the ocean air one last time. Compared to most missions, this one had been magical, and it was all because he had happened to meet Elise. It was just too bad it’d have to end tomorrow. James desperately hoped he wouldn’t run into her. There was no telling how he might react.