The First

Chapter 74

Alexa rocked Liza in their new recliner. Since the "incident" she'd had an almost complete remodel done on the house. One cannot clean up Trill blood. This required new floors, carpeting, and other amenities. Not to mention her destroyed lawn.

Teagan cooed at her son. "That's a sweet boy. Is Adam a sweet boy? Yes, he is." Adam kicked his legs and flailed his arms.

"Looks like it's about to start, Mom." Teagan sat on the floor in front of them. She'd regained a strong sinus rhythm after Gavin defibrillated her. Without Gavin, Teagan would have died. He'd gotten orders to stick around them for a while. The man literally had won Teagan's heart. When the time came, Gavin had left with Ross.

The president stood at a podium, collected his notes and began his speech. She'd talked to him earlier. He would credit her as 'the leading genetics team' who worked with the FBI to thwart the Trill blight. She only wanted one small favor in return. They happily obliged with the necessary legal papers and upgraded equipment for her home lab.

She hugged and kissed her new adopted daughter. Tiny crinkles of auburn hair tufted from Liza's soft white scalp. Her bulbous florescent-green eyes seemed to change color with her mood. Bright-green meant happy. They dimmed to a darker forest-green when she wanted her bottle or needed to be changed. But when they went black as night, it meant she wasn't in a good mood. So far, she hadn't exhibited any of the destructive behavior the other Trills had. Liza wasn't quite human and not a Trill. Alexa had never seen a DNA sequence like hers.

Nobody had.

Liza had taken to the bottle and loved her formula. The fluorescents in her eyes danced as she drank. A good sign she wasn't a carnivorous creature about ready to tear into someone's chest.

Alexa caught the gist of the president's speech. New beginnings, the lift on martial law and ceasing mandatory termination of pregnancies. Laws regarding immunization and what the governments of the world had in mind for the relocation of any captured Trills. The females showed a certain amount of re-trainability with a possibility of becoming civilized. They even talked about integrating them into mainstream society.

However, the carnivorous, brutal, unrulable nature of the males meant one thing-they had to be put down. Ross now led a team of hunters to a remote area in Africa where a group of male Trills had wiped out several villages.

She missed him and loved the little texts he sent her. Small things. I heart you. Sweet dreams, beautiful. Be back ASAP for a romantic rendezvous. Which meant flowers, dinners, and lots of sex.

Alexa smiled, content with the fact her daughter and grandson had been spared. She'd once again found something in a man, maybe it was love but she'd have to see where it went once he came back. She also wanted to meet the infamous M&M twins.

Her husband stayed in the recesses of her memory where he belonged. The time had come for a new beginning. Her new mission in life was to be a new mother, a grandmother-hopefully, a wife again-and to continue her research with the first pure blood Tri-Allele born on Earth.

Her cell rang. The only people who called her either worked for her or had her heart. The cell showed UNKNOWN CALLER. It probably meant Ross had used one of the team's cell phones. He had most likely lost his phone somewhere on the trail. That man couldn't keep track of his phone to save his life.

"Hello, handsome."

A moment of silence followed.

"Is ... is this Dr. Mason?" a vaguely familiar voice asked. "Do you remember mine name?"

Alexa's mental computer went into hyper drive as she searched folders and files for the voice. A distinctly Asian accent, most likely from India. Ah, yes.