MC-125 Ch. 01-11

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If it weren't for the fact that John had already schooled himself in college to ignore distractions he would never have gotten any work done the following day. He had a couple of experiments to run that day but the problem was that the machines that did the PCR still took over an hour to work. During those waiting periods he would busy himself with reading articles from other researchers but on occasion his mind would flit to Samantha the other night. Was he willing to trust her with his secret? She had shown herself to be a manipulative person over and over again but there was something about it that made John feel as if it were just some sort of act. John shook his head and forged ahead with his work.

By the end of the workday John was mentally exhausted. When five o'clock rolled around he checked on the progress the research team working under him had accomplished. There were a few holdups from delivery delays on some tissue samples that they ordered but that couldn't be helped. Just as John shut down his computer there was a gentle knocking on his office door.

He looked up from his monitor just as the polished door swung open. Samantha stepped into his office and shut the door behind her. She helped herself to the padded chair across from him and quietly sat there as John collected his thoughts. He had thrown himself so heavily into his research to forget about his personal problems that he truly managed to forget them! Still, he managed to look composed although inside his mind and emotions were now scattered like a spilt jar of marbles. He did however notice that there was something different about the woman sitting across from him. It wasn't anything physically obvious. Her glorious red hair was perched atop her head in the usual business-like bun she wore. Her black dress was still powerfully professional with a touch of softness from the cream silk blouse she wore. A pair of diamond studs glittered at her ear. Everything about her appearance spoke confidence and strength, everything but her eyes. There was a certain distance to them. They seemed almost vulnerable. John wondered if perhaps she would back out. The moment he thought that her eyes hardened in determination. Scratch that last thought. He opened his mouth to say something but she spoke first.

"Let me start out by saying that you were not what I expected." Puzzled, John waited silently for her to continue. "Our first encounter at Allesio's was not a chance thing. You have a certain, shall we say, reputation that precedes you. Do the names Melissa Eldridge and Tracy Havens ring a bell?"

John had to think about it but then a certain brunette from Seattle he had met once on a business meeting and a blonde he met at a bar in Massachusetts came to mind. Both had been very interesting bedmates. "Yes, I believe so." He described what he could remember of them.

"My old college friends would be glad to know that you still remember them." She paused to let her words sink in. Her old college friends? Uh-oh, John thought, he could see where this was going. "So, like I said. Our meeting in Allesio's was arranged, by me. At the time I was new to town, as you remember, and I was somewhat lonely. Both of my friends mentioned you by name and said that I should find something similar. Just plain sex, no strings attached. Your file happened to be on my desk as I was familiarizing myself with the company roster. I couldn't believe my luck and looked up where you frequented. I arranged the encounter and the rest you know. What I didn't expect was someone completely different from what Melissa and Tracy described. You are not the same person that spent the night with them. You are something else." She paused and looked in his eyes, searching for something, possibly an answer.

"I'm sorry you didn't find what you're looking for," John said. "I'm not that person anymore. I left that lifestyle behind."

"That's one thing I'm curious about but I'll leave for another time," she replied. "But to continue with what I was saying. What I found instead of some carefree man ready to spend a good time with a willing woman, I find you. You're complex, caring, and intelligent. God knows you keep me on my toes; something no one has been able to accomplish. You're someone I think I've grown to like.

"So you see, I'm in a bit of dilemma. On the one hand I find you intriguing. On the other hand you are asking for something that I don't give to anyone on faith alone. Trust. I have one question. If I were to decline your secret what would become of us?"

"Nothing," John answered. "Nothing could become of us. I don't think it would be fair to you to further things and then found out later."

John sat and watched Samantha intently. Here was the moment of truth, whether or not what she felt as strongly about him as he did about her. She was a bit unnerved, he could tell. Her usual position of power and control was no longer hers. It wasn't his either. John wouldn't dare to think it as love, not this soon. But in this strong feeling of fondness, that he knew was between them, he knew it would go in whatever direction Fate chose.

Her green eyes flashed up at him, fixed with determination. "Fine, tell me."

Chapter 8

John sat back and looked at the determined expression in her fiery green eyes. A mixture of trepidation and elation whirled within him. She cared about him like he did her! But how would she take it when he explained to her what MC-125 was? He let out a tense breath he did not know he had been holding. He stood up and circled about the oak desk. He kneeled before her and tugged off his brown leather gloves.

"What are you doing?" a curious, yet slightly frightened, Samantha asked.

John looked up at her and answered with a slight quaver in his voice as he lifted his hands to her face. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you. I'm going to have to show you." Gently, he cupped her face and was astounded by the softness of her skin. He told himself to focus and looked deeply into those sparkling emerald eyes and worked a simple command into her mind. John rocked back and placed more of his balance on his heels as he watched.

"What did you do?" Samantha said as her hands lifted and loosed her hair from its coif. Her hands shifted and removed the diamond studs twinkling at her ears.

"Why are you removing your earrings, Samantha?" John asked, already knowing how she would answer.

"Because I feel like it."

"And your hair?"

"I'm more comfortable this way."

John smiled to himself. "No, Samantha. You are doing those things because I told you to."

"You didn't say anything of the sort," she snorted and placed the diamonds in John's outstretched hand.

"No, I commanded it through my skin."

"What?" she paused.

"Look," John explained as he lifted a bare hand. "Remember the ball last month and we bumped into the GenenCorp VP, Edwards?" She nodded. "Remember how the night ended for him? How he drunk himself senseless and made a total ass of himself?"

"You?"

"Do you think he would of done something like that, regardless of how weak-minded he obviously is?"

"Yes, but..."

John reached out and held her hand. "Let me demonstrate." He let loose his mind and sent out a complex string of commands that was now as easy as breathing. Instantly, he saw Samantha flush as her breathing became labored. She closed her eyes and her head tilted back as she moaned out behind clenched teeth. John's focus snapped as Samantha tore her hand out of his grip. She stood with her back to the door, her face flush with confusion as her chest heaved.

"What...what did you just do?"

John waited patiently for her to catch her breath. He was surprised that she would be able to pull away from him. He had tried that very tactic on some women but never had any of them ever manage to escape his grip when he was commanding. "I tried to induce an orgasm."

Samantha stared wide-eyed at his reply. "What?" John again waited for the bewildered woman to gather her thoughts. "No, that's impossible."

"No, it isn't," John replied calmly. He had by now slipped into his Command mentality. He knew that he was on pins and needles now. Samantha was like a cornered animal; she could bolt at any moment or simply stand still in fear. Not that he could blame her. When it took hold on Cassandra what he could do she was stark terrified of him. Slowly, he watched Samantha bring her breathing under control and then her calm composure slid back into place. Remarkable, John thought.

"Explain," she managed under a steady voice.

John stood up and made his way back to his desk and sat down. Samantha did likewise and sat in her seat. "Remember that conversation with Edwards? About how I was dismissed from GenenCorp because I lacked notes and my slow progress?"

"Yes."

"There was a reason for all that," John said. "You've seen my research and are familiar with my work."

"None of which supports Edwards' claims."

"Right, but in the case with MC-125 I did hold back."

"MC-125? You're project."

"A compound that I was working on for GenenCorp concerning chemo-suggestion. You are aware of GenenCorp's skyrocketing in the stock market a little over a year ago?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with this? They created 'No-Cold' and brought about a new generation of cold medicine."

"Yes and no," John answered. "They did discover 'No-Cold' but that wouldn't explain the robust financial status that they found themselves in. While 'No-Cold' was in research I was working on MC-125. I succeeded. But I exceeded anyone's expectations. I created what was essentially a total mind control drug. So I dumbed it down and extracted key components from it. Edwards saw I was done and moved in. I was discharged and the MC-125 was taken and sold secretly to major food distributors. Their advertising campaigns worked in tandem with the drug and if you look, you'll find also that certain food corporations had a very good year as well."

"And what about the key to MC-125?"

"I didn't have access to a proper Environmental Hazard disposal unit on hand so I did the only logical thing I could think of."

"You drank it."

"Yes."

"And now you have the ability..."

"To command anyone on a whim with my touch," John concluded.

They sat quietly for the next couple of minutes as Samantha digested the information. "And that was how you climbed through ranks so quickly here in Pharmtech," she finally said. It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes," John said simply. "But, I only nudged the people up top to notice me. You can see for yourself that all of my advancement was based on hard work. I have a good track history with the company. I'm not looking for more money or a higher position than what I've got right now. I have all that I need. A secure source of income and a respectable position in a large biotech corporation."

Samantha's eyes hardened. "What you did was cheat the system," she said crisply. "You cheated the system and pretty much got away with it. You aren't the one who decides what kind of job you deserve."

"Then tell me I don't deserve it," John threw back at her. "Tell me I haven't worked hard to earn what I have right now. Tell me that eventually you corporate types would get your heads out of your asses and actually look at the workers under you. Aside from you, every single corporate person I've run into has been another 'Edwards' if only a milder version of him. Tell me that your first month as president here everyone wasn't more concerned about their jobs than on what the company actually accomplished."

Samantha sat quietly while John ranted until he finally calmed down. "Are you done now?"

"Yes," John smiled. "God, that felt good to get out of the system."

Samantha shook her head and smiled at him. "You're right, you know. I was up to my eyes in brown-nosers that first month. And yes, you do deserve your position here. I've read a good chunk of what you've done so far with lung cancer and it does show promise. But that isn't the point. You still cheated."

John sighed. "Yes, I suppose you're right. But was there really some other way to go about it?"

"No," Samantha answered. "You forget that I live in the corporate world. Cheating and lying go with the territory. Lawyers and politicians don't hold a monopoly on it. Some of us just know how to do it better than others. You take a big risk showing me the ace up your sleeve."

"More like a pack of aces," John derided.

Samantha sat forward in her chair. "Question is, what do you expect me to do now?"

John sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers. "I honestly don't know. You wanted a straight reply as to what I was researching. Well, now you do." John swiveled about and fired up his computer.

"I'm still unclear as to what you're doing with your free time and company property."

John punched up a program that showed a complex molecule on the screen and turned it so that it faced Samantha. "I'm working on a cure for myself."

Samantha lifted her chair and shuffled forward. "A cure? But why? Is the MC-125 toxic?"

"Toxic? Hardly," John answered. "There are no adverse affects as far as I know, in the biological sense at least. But, you see how I live." John lifted a glove to advertise his point.

"But what you have..."

"Is as much a curse as it is a miracle," John stated flatly.

"Will you please stop finishing my sentences?"

John couldn't help but smile at her irritation. "Sorry, it's a bad habit I have."

"So, you're basically a living example of 'Bubble boy'."

"Roughly speaking, yes."

"But your time with GenenCorp was nearly two years ago and Melissa and Tracy met you only last year."

"How do you think I grabbed their interest so quickly?"

Samantha sat back, startled by his words. "You didn't seduce them. You mind tricked them into joining you in bed."

John could only shrug. "I know what I did wasn't exactly by the book but your friends and countless other women were out looking for the same thing I was." John leaned forward and looked pointedly at Samantha. "The same thing you just admitted to looking for when you met me for the first time at Allesio's." John knew he had her there. Samantha only looked at him irritatedly. "So all I really did was cut to the chase," John concluded.

"You're not a very patient person," Samantha spat out a bit acidly.

"Neither are you." Again, she glared at him. "Let's put it this way. Your friends enjoyed themselves enough to recommend me to you." John couldn't help but grin when her glare deepened.

"You...you..." she sputtered. Samantha took her time to compose herself. "Then how come you ran off the moment I kissed you?"

There it was, out in the open. John took a breath and was about to recite the prepared speech he had then thought better of it. No, she deserved his honesty. "Would you believe you terrify me?"

"You already mentioned that on our date."

"And it still holds true," John said. "I respect you, Samantha. You are different from the other women that I've met. And I've met a lot. You're strong, self-assured, smart, and attractive. The list goes on and on. You wonder why I always have to be in control. Well now you know. If I lose control then people get hurt. You make me want to lose control in the worst possible way." He took a deep cleansing breath, relieved that he finally let his feelings out in the open.

Samantha looked at him, her emotions masked behind a calm veneer. "Explain what you mean by 'people getting hurt'."

"Samantha, think about what I can do," John tried to explain. "Think about the amount of control I have over people. My slightest whim while touching someone is exacted. If you and I got physical then my will would dominate you. I might not even consciously do it. A passing thought, an impulsive idea, and you would become, quite literally, my slave." John sighed. "I can't do that. Not to you."

"And other women?"

"Forget the other women," John snapped. "I've left that behind me. I've learned my lesson about taking advantage of them." He waved his gloved left hand in her face. "Why do you think I've wrapped myself up like a mummy?" John was beginning to regret his wild past but in the end he didn't. There was a price for everything and he was paying it now.

"Again, what do you want me to do about all this? What do you want from me?"

"I...I don't know," John sat back, deflated. "I was hoping I could find someone I could trust. Someone to talk to."

"Then why me? I'm sure you could find plenty of people to confide in and then command them not to tell anyone."

"I can't do that. I can't command someone after they know what I can do. Their mind rebels and eventually their psyche tears them apart. No one willingly submits after they find out there's a collar about their neck. And why you? I trust you because I know that you are able to hold secrets. I know that you do hold things back. You have your own ghosts in the closet." John spotted the glint of fear flit across her eyes. "None of which are of my concern."

"But since you just told me what you could do then I'm free of whatever you could do to me."

"Not quite. If I work on you eventually you will submit, but it's the struggle that eventually drives a person mad," John replied, the guilt of what he did to Cassandra writhed in the pit of his belly.

"So now I have to submit or go mad?"

John beckoned for her to sit back down. "Only if I try anything on you that you don't want me to do."

Samantha eyed John cautiously as if he were a deadly animal and slowly sat back down in her seat. A cool hiss of air from the vent above sent a chilling breeze through the room and John watched as she shivered. "And what's to stop you from doing so? You could very well just threaten to touch me and then I would have to obey for fear of my sanity."

The comment gave John pause. "I hadn't thought of that." He mulled over the words carefully. "Well, to be honest, you are the first person I've ever told whom I haven't influenced."

"I'm flattered that I'm making history," Samantha spat out.

"No need to be cross," John replied. "I honestly hadn't thought of taking your mind as hostage. Would you believe me if I said that I promise not to intentionally affect you without your consent?"

"It doesn't seem I have much choice in the matter."

"On the contrary," John answered, somewhat sadly. "You can always choose to not be with me."

"And would you leave me be?" Samantha stopped and stared intently at him, searching. "You are drawn to me. Why else would you expose yourself to me? What is it you want from me?"

John looked at her and sighed. "I was hoping for a bit of companionship."

Samantha stood up and paced back and forth across the room. "I don't know. I just don't know. I..."

"...don't trust anyone." Samantha fired another annoyed glance at him. "Sorry."

"I can't up and trust someone I hardly know with my life."

"I can understand that."

"No, you couldn't possibly understand that," she retorted. "The last time I trusted someone..."

"You don't have to finish that," John cut her off.

"Or perhaps I do if I'm willing to trust you. Because...because I think, just maybe, I can."

Chapter 9

John listened as the clock on the wall ticked away. Samantha stood across the room in a dark blue power suit and stared at the wall. The ticking stretched on as John waited patiently for her. He noticed how her hands tensed into claws and relaxed repeatedly. John didn't know what it was that Samantha had hidden away but he was willing to listen to her and help if he could. As a friend, of course. He wouldn't dare think of it as anything more at this point.

"Have you ever done anything truly stupid?"

"Other than drinking the MC-125? Yes, I have."