Chapter 6
Mark couldn't believe how quickly his first day of work flew by. It wasn't until Serena cleared her throat, causing Mark to turn in her direction to see that she was standing there, arms folded across her chest.
"Unless you plan on staying here overnight, I suggest you wrap up and we get this over with," Serena wasn't happy at all that she would have to go through the sterilization process with Mark on the way out.
"Why can't I just go through the process myself? It didn't seem that complicated," Mark wanted to get along with Serena, and if this would help create some peace, he'd gladly do things on his own so as not to bother her.
Serena sighed, "You can't, it'd complicated."
"I don't understand, just tell me what to do. As you can see, I'm a quick learner," pointing to the results of his first few trials already. He'd spent the majority of the day learning about the equipment and doing some basic control tests. Nothing special, but it was necessary. Especially considering most of this equipment, he'd never seen before. There was definitely no expense spared in this lab.
"It's not that," Serena's voice rose for a moment, then she took a breath to calm herself. "Look, it's not about you learning the process. You'll..." she paused for a second. "You'll need to discuss it with Dr. Avery."
"Ok, I just don't want to make you uncomfortable by my presence. I'm not exactly comfortable with going through that process with you either," Mark explained.
Serena scoffed, "I didn't hear you complaining when you came in this morning with Aurora. Do I not meet your standards?"
Mark was confused now. First, Serena was complaining that she had to go through this procedure with Mark, now she was upset that Mark didn't want to do it either. "What? No! It's just... I'm happily married, and I don't even know how I'm going to tell my wife about this whole... thing!"
"Well, that's easy, you can't tell her about any of this stuff! Including that!" Serena pointed at the wall where Mark had entered. "Everything including the details of the building are classified, so get used to keeping secrets. We could fuck like rabbits in here every day and you couldn't say a damn word about it," Serena's cheeks blushed slightly as she turned on her heels and made her way toward the exit.
Mark stood up and moved to follow Serena, fearing that she might actually leave him here overnight. He tried to diffuse the situation "Look, did I do something wrong? Ever since I got here this morning, you've been on edge."
Serena's shoulders dropped with a sigh, still facing the wall, "No... it's just..."
"Complicated?" Mark was sure that was what she was going to say. Why were things so complicated though?
"Never mind, let's just get this over with. This isn't about you or me, it is about the importance of what we're doing here. So we'll do what needs to be done. If you can't, you should just tell Aurora before it's too late," Serena said, wiping something from her cheek.
Mark knew that he could not quit. The work they were doing here resonated with him not only on a professional level, but a personal one as well. He'd seen what was being worked on and he was going to make sure they worked whatever crazy kinks out of the nanobots, no matter how long it took. "I am not quitting. I will see this through to the end, no matter what, I promise you that," Mark said resolutely.
Serena turned to face Mark, looking up into his eyes fiercely, "I'll hold you to that promise. If you ever betray Dr. Avery, there is no place in all the universes you could hide from my wraith."
Mark and Serena stepped into the chamber together, the wall behind them sliding closed.
"Oh, and don't get any funny ideas. If you look at me, I'll make sure you do not leave this room alive," Serena said.
Mark squeezed his eyes shut and turned around, removing the lab coat and using his hands to feel along the wall for the container to toss them in. He quickly stood in place like earlier and felt the same wave pass over his body, causing his skin to tingle. Again, there was an even more intense sensation around his scrotum and shaft. He tensed up, trying to think about anything else so he wouldn't get hard. He had no idea where Serena was, but he did not want to further complicate the situation.
When the process was done, Mark waited for Serena to give him a signal before opening his eyes. He heard her shuffling around, and before long she called out, "You can open your eyes now."
Mark quickly opened his eyes. Serena had already stepped into the other laboratory facing away from him to give him privacy. He quickly reached into the compartment containing his clothes and made swift work getting dressed. Turning around, Serena was dressed in simple jeans and a thick hoodie with the hood pulled up over her head.