Asterion by Kenneth Morvant Page B

They try to lure the rabbits and squirrels to eat out of their hand, but they are too skittish.
    Christine looks at Taylor, “I don’t want this to end.”
    “Neither do I.” He gulps, he wants to ask her to marry him, but he thinks, “Don’t be too forward stupid. Don’t scare her off.”
    He smiles and settles for, “I’ve never had a better time in my life than now.”
    Her eyes open wide, “Neither have I.”
    “Okay, impetuousness avoided,” he thinks, smiles and continues to eat.
    Packing up, they stroll through the park talking about their wishes for the future. They did not say it, but they thought it. They would be together some day for the rest of their lives.
    A perfect moment except for the spying eyes peering around the trees and bushes from a distance. The future is catching up fast.
     

CHAPTER 7 - HEADLONG INTO THE UNKNOWN
     
    Morning at the lab is routine. They checked the experiment’s progress, recorded their work and kept watch of the processes. The intercom crackles once again, calling the team to the conference room.
    Devin, Milar and other anonymous officials await them. Devin introduces them” This is the backup team we spoke of earlier. They will gather our information and data. They will make sure it gets to a secure place in case a catastrophe happens.”
    The leader of the team stands up and looks over the team with a cold stern look. “We will try to stay out of your way as much as possible, but we do have to accomplish this task in a short time, so we must have your cooperation. We begin immediately.”
    Taylor recognizes the voice, but cannot remember when and where he has heard it before. In the lab, the backup team is everywhere, gathering data and info under the watchful eye of Milar. The tension is high because the project is valuable and attractive to thieves. The crew finally finishes their work and the team can get back to normal.
    In the lab, Milar addresses the team. “The information destined for outside the lab walls is not safely transmittable in any form or fashion. Not even over encrypted lines. I will be transporting backups personally from now on. If someone wants this information bad enough, they could still plan an ambush, but that would expose them to failure or capture. If we continue to transmit data over the network, they can breach it from anywhere in the world.”
    Later that day, Taylor announces to the team, “We have completed the DNA engineering phase of the project. Now, it is in the incubation stage where it will become a zygote, progress to an embryo and finally a fetus gestating in the artificial uterine chamber. Trent, have we audited the logs and verified the results?”
    Trent glances up from the paperwork at Taylor. “There are no errors. All procedures occurred at the right time, order and correct length of time.”
    “Great,” Taylor turns to Christine. “What about the chemical analysis?”
    “All test results are in spec with no anomalies in the repetition cycles. Test calibrations verified the accuracy of our results.”
    “Fantastic, now we can watch our garden grow,” Taylor smiles with satisfaction.
    He catches Christine in a quiet corner of the lab. “Are we on for tonight?”
    “You bet. I’m too deep into the documentary. I have to see the rest of it.”
    “Me to,” Taylor replied.
    Taylor prepared dinner at his apartment complete with candles and waited for Christine’s knock on the door. However, the knock he heard is much harder than her knock. Answering the door, Milar is standing at his threshold. “How are you doing this evening?”
    “Fine, what brings you around?”
    “I hate to bother you after hours, but I wanted to bring the news as soon as I heard.”
    Taylor notices that Milar is friendlier than she had ever been in the past. It seemed flirtatious, but Taylor is not sure. “What news?”
    “Once the experimental creature is viable outside of the lab, Leader Burnsom wants to meet personally with you.