THE TITAN EXPERIMENT

CHAPTER 21 - Plan B (Sarah Lawson)

At the TXP Facility, with her elbows on the conference room table, Sarah held her face in her hands, her long hair draped over the shiny wood grains that reflected the dim glow of the wall sconces behind her. An icy shadow crept over her as she considered the implications of the tragedy that befell two of her crew selections. She had felt so confident with her choices that she failed to come up with a list of alternate candidates. Why hadn't she taken the time to do that? After completing the serum, she had been too eager to move forward with her plans to rescue Jake. That's why. But second-guessing herself would not bail her out of this problem. Without a doubt, she could mark them off her list and begin a search for replacements. It was the most obvious thing to do, but Sarah never made a practice of doing the expected thing. She had an idea. One that might work. But she had to run her plan by Admiral Jax first.

Unfortunately, he had yet to join her in the conference room.

Sarah sat in silence, alone, the subtle illumination of the wall sconces leaving her wishing for more light and less trouble. She struggled to find some warmth from her surroundings. Not physical heat. The place wasn't cold temperature wise. What she needed was something to remove the icy feeling of failure from her midst. Oh, she had come up with a revised course of action, but still... what if things refused to come together? What if she couldn't make it happen? What if she couldn't rescue Jake? Her eyes scoured the room, searching for a glimmer of hope, and it didn't take long for her gaze to drift down to the table again.

Normally, the relaxed setting would have calmed her nerves, but it did nothing for her today. And the admiral's penchant for being late didn't help matters, either. She supposed he always kept her waiting on purpose. Anytime she had to give him a mission update, whether it be on the finalities of obtaining the crew, or on the progress of the human trials regarding the serum—he always wanted to meet in the conference room on the third subfloor of the facility—and he always showed up ten minutes late. It must have been his way of showing he still had control.

However, the extra time gave her plenty of opportunity to contemplate what she planned to say, all while her fingertips drummed a nervous rhythm on the dark grains of the mahogany tabletop.

Sarah had connections onboard the U.S.S. Fortitude, namely Admiral Jax himself, because he had recently returned from the mega-carrier after an unannounced visit to check on Commander Drake and Lieutenant Commander Kailani's condition after the shark attack. As a four-star admiral, he was over the Pacific realm, charged with defense of the west coast and the southern border. He could set foot on any boat under his command without notice, and usually with the fear of a supreme commander. Like he was a freaking dark overlord or something.

Without warning, the back door of the conference room sprang open, exactly ten minutes after the meeting was supposed to start.

Right on time, Sarah thought.

Admiral Jax wore a grim look on his face. His dark eyes narrowed into skeptical slits, and his nose wrinkled into a condescending snarl. He was wearing the same expression he typically displayed. Again, the fear factor. His intentions? Intimidation. Why? Because he wanted results, not failure or excuses. He dropped his eBoard onto the table and plopped into his chair. The transparent device bounced, clinking on its corners like a square coin before coming to rest, its hardened edges absorbing the impact with remarkable durability.

"I hope you have something good to tell me," Admiral Jax began, "because I'm not in the mood for another setback."

Sarah sat up straight and thinned her lips into a hard line. She removed her elbows from the table, placed her hands in her lap and stared at the admiral. "Wolf's thirty-day pill expires in fourteen days, then we'll know for sure if the newest version of the serum works."