It was just after lunch time when I heard the doorbell ring. I assumed it was a neighbor, or possibly the UPS man, and was curious when I saw it was an older looking gentleman in a black suit. I opened the door and greeted him. "Can I help you?"
"Hello Miss Peterson. My name is Gordon Wyatt. I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time?"
The professional tone of his voice, and the fact that he seemed to know me, put me on edge. He sounded like a police detective and I was suddenly wary, making no indication that I was inclined to let him in. "What is it I can do for you?"
"I am an attorney." he said. "My firm represents a small genetics research company that is interested in your father's work. I wanted to talk to you about a project he was working on before your parent's death."
I stiffened, worried this had something to do with Achilles. It had been three weeks since I brought him home from my father's lab; he was in the back, sunning himself on the deck, which he had done for a couple of hours every day . Sunlight was the only energy Achilles needed to survive; he hadn't eaten or slept since entering my life. While it was unusual and I was still getting used to his strange physiology, it certainly cut down on grocery costs.
"I'm sorry Mr. Wyatt. I don't know much about the work my father did, I'm not sure I can be of much help to you." The lie came easily.
"Did he ever mention anything called the 'Achilles Project'?"
I tried to keep my cool and did my best to offer a blank expression. "No, he didn't. I'm sorry, I never took much of an interest in father's work."
I could tell by his expression that Mr. Wyatt didn't believe me. "I see. What about his lab, can you give me any indication as to what you'll be doing with it and its contents?"
"It's not for sale, if that's what you mean." I told him. After finding Achilles I had decided not to sell the lab, as I was sure doing so would cause too many questions. I wanted to keep the fact that Achilles was an artificially created human a secret, and was worried that father's lab would hold too much evidence. If the fact that Achilles was the first person ever created and grown in a lab, he would become nothing more than a science experiment. I couldn't have that. Achilles was a person, not a thing. Living with him for almost a month had shown me the truth of that very clearly.
"My clients are willing to make an extremely lucrative offer, Miss Peterson."
"And just who are your clients?" I asked, a slightly annoyed tone to my voice.
"I'm sorry, I can't divulge that to you."
"Then I'm afraid we don't have anything more to talk about, Mr. Wyatt. You'll simply have to tell your clients that my father's lab isn't for sale. His work, and any projects, died with him seven months ago."
"How unfortunate. Very well, Miss Peterson. Have a pleasant afternoon." He turned away from the door, but paused and looked back to me. "By the way, Gloria Miller sends her regards."
I'm sure the color left my face. I quickly shut the door and turned the deadbolt. Gloria Miller. I knew that name. She worked for my father as his lab assistant. She was an intelligent woman, in her thirties, quiet and a little mousey. She had her doctorate in genetics and had worked for my father since her days at university. In his work, Gloria was my father's right hand.
I quickly moved through the house and opened the back door to the large deck, where Achilles was sitting in nothing but a pair of shorts. His tanned skin looked marvelous in the sun, and he smiled to me, though his expression slowly sobered when he saw the look on my face.
"Stacy, is something the matter?" he asked in that melodic deep voice of his.
"Achilles, when we first met you mentioned that you were with one of my father's lab assistants almost every day. What was her name?"
"Gloria."
I leaned back against the doorjamb and pressed a palm to my temple. How stupid I was! Of course Gloria knew about Achilles, and his origins. Gordon Wyatt invoking her name could only mean one thing: she was talking to someone. It would be hard to keep Achilles' secret with her around, as I could only assume Gloria was selling information. Whoever Gordon Wyatt represented obviously knew about Achilles and wanted to get their hands on him. My only consolation was that they probably wanted to keep him a secret as well, for now, until they could study whatever it was that made him special. The fact that an attorney was at my door, and not the media, was partial evidence of that.
"Achilles, we have to go."
He rose from the lounge chair and approached me. "What is wrong Stacy?"
"There was a man here, a lawyer. He said he represents some genetics company, but wouldn't tell me who. They've been talking to Gloria, and I'm worried that she's told them about you. They might be watching us, so we need to get you someplace safe."
"Where will we go?"
"We'll go to the cabin. It's a couple hours north of the city and secluded. Then we can figure out what to do next."
"All right." Achilles agreed easily. "I'll go pack my things we bought at the mall the other day. Should I bring my toothbrush?"
I exhaled a quiet laugh. Achilles was so charmingly naïve at times. I kissed his cheek and said "Yes baby, pack all your things. We'll wait until dark and go tonight."
My parents had owned our cabin ever since I was a little girl. We went there almost every weekend during the summer, and as I drove my Jeep north on 35W I recalled what a wonderful time we always had swimming, fishing, and water skiing. I missed those days. Missed my parents. Dad was always so sure of what to do in a crisis. I remember thinking I could've used his advice, as Achilles and I left Minneapolis.
He was playing with the radio, switching stations around before finally settling on a talk station, when I asked, "Achilles, did anyone other than Gloria and my father know you were genetically engineered?"
He shook his head, "No, I don't believe so. Other people saw me from time to time, though your father and his assistant were the only ones who ever came down to the basement where you found me."
"When I found you, you said he had created you to find a cure for the disease that killed my sister. Do you know how he was trying to do that, exactly?"
"He wasn't trying, Stacy. He did it."
I glanced at him, "What do you mean?"
"The white cells in my bloodstream have the capacity to stimulate rapid healing and regeneration. They even have the ability to alter a person's DNA and correct any abnormalities to a more baseline code. Since your father made my blood type a universal one, it's likely that a simple blood transfusion from me could heal someone from almost any wound or disease."
"My god, Achilles. That's amazing... but why didn't you tell me that earlier?"
"You never seemed very interested in your father's work."
I reached over and squeezed his hand. "Fair enough."
I marveled at him. Yes, sometimes Achilles seemed almost child-like in his inexperience with the world, but then there were moments like that one where he betrayed his incredible intelligence. That dichotomy was one of the reasons I was in love with him. And I /was/ in love with him, body and soul. In the three weeks we had spent together Achilles shared my bed every night, where we would talk and make love. After our sexual activities he would hold me until I fell asleep, even though he didn't need to sleep himself, remaining with me until I woke the next morning. I loved him, and I was terribly afraid he would be taken from me.
It was after midnight when we arrived at the cabin. It was situated on Lake Mille Lacs, a large lake in central Minnesota. There were other cabins nearby, though like mine they were mainly weekend getaways. It was the middle of the week and I didn't see that anyone else was around. The cabin is very nice, big enough to serve as a second home, and a beautiful woodland reserve is just across the gravel road that gave access. I parked the Jeep in the single-car garage and Achilles and I headed in.
While I unpacked some things Achilles was standing in front of a large window that over-looked the lake. I couldn't resist approaching him and putting my arms around him, laying the side of my face against his strong shoulders. "You feel nice." I said, sliding my hands over the contours of his chest and stomach, feeling his tight muscles through the tee he was wearing. After the stress of the day, it felt good to embrace him in the peaceful environs of the quiet cabin.
He laid his hands over my arms, "You do as well, Stacy. I like your cabin, it is very quiet. Will we be able to share a bed here as well?"
I smiled against his back. Typical male, I thought, artificial or not. "Of course. In fact, I should probably get some sleep. It's late and I'll be able to think more clearly in the morning, we can decide then what to do next."
Achilles helped me finish unpacking our things before we retired . I surprised myself by taking us to the room my parents had used, rather than my room, but my bed was only a single and two bodies would have been cramped. I had taken on the habit of sleeping in the nude since Achilles entered my life, which he seemed to prefer. It was easier anyways, as we inevitably engaged in lovemaking every night.
