"Swept" - Chapter 2

Right on schedule, Jason thought. Michelle was snoring gently in the next room, sprawled across a set of white silk sheets. Come morning, her complete, sudden exhaustion could be written off as yet another thrilling night out, spent painting the town. How about those hangovers, huh? Before stepping away from the bed, he had given her a courtesy shake, just to see if she would stir. But, as expected, Michelle was out like a light. Nothing short of a bomb going off would cause her to awaken before morning. 

Still, he wanted to do one more thing before proceeding as planned. He pulled out his smartphone, and pressed the contact at the top of his list. 

After a few rings, a woman’s voice answered. “Well, Casanova. I trust you had a pleasant evening.”

“Enough so,” Jason softly spoke. “She’s out.”

“How long has it been now?” The voice returned. “Two weeks?”

“Seventeen days since the first date,” Jason deadpanned.

“Sounds like she’s pretty smitten,” the female voice said. 

“What can I say. There is a certain charm about me.”

“Have you performed the procedure?”

“Without consulting you? Banish the thought,” Jason responded, fiddling with a corkscrew in his hand.

“Rattle off the checklist, then,” the sultry voice on the end of the line demanded.

“Michelle Fletcher, 26. Single, never married, no children. Parents both deceased, no brothers or sisters. Friends are scarce, she’s a loner except for a sting of going-nowhere dates. One roommate, Veronica Haversmore, 28. They don’t get along. Works clerical at an engineering firm, hates it.”

“Coworkers?” The voice inquired.

“Nobody close.”

“Criminal record?” 

“Clean as a whistle”

“Outstanding debts?” 

“Nah. Community college, paid off, one credit card with a few thousand taken out.” Jason replaced the corkscrew on the table and began making his way toward an armoire in the living room. “What do the boys in Croatia have to say?”

“Good physiology,” the voice returned, clinically. “DNA has all the appropriate markers. Endocrine system is on point. And she already has a pretty decent pair, doesn’t she?”

“You’re telling me,” Jason said, smirking. “They should work perfectly.”

“And you are certain you’ll be able to… manipulate her, once the process begins?”

“There’s a reason you hired me, isn’t there?”

The voice paused. “Proceed. Update me as necessary.” The line clicked off.

Jason inhaled deeply as he opened a small metal case he pulled from the drawer of the armoire. Opening it, he observed the two identical syringes, each pre-loaded with a small pellet no larger than a grain of rice. Retrieving a small ampule of anesthetic and a pair of rubber gloves, he noted that his kit was complete.

Jason walked back to the bedroom. This would only take a moment.