Once Bitten, Twice Dead - By Bianca D'Arc Page 0,9
giggle. He was nuts if he thought she was buying any of his bull.
The captain straightened and rested his hands on his utility belt. “We’ve traced the outbreaks to members of the scientific team. They apparently broke their agreement with the government to drop this line of research and have been working independently. The creatures you saw were very real, Officer Petit, and very deadly. Like you, I survived being bitten. The substance actually did what it was supposed to and gave me quick healing abilities. I’m here to contain this outbreak and eradicate the threat.”
Yeah, right. Next he’d be telling her martians were about to land on the hospital roof. She stared him down, waiting for the truth.
Chapter Two
“What?” He didn’t like the way she was staring at him.
“I’m trying to figure out which one of the X-Men you think you are.”
He couldn’t believe it. This woman refused to take anything he said seriously.
“I mean, the one with superhealing ability is supposed to be the guy with the blades in his hands, but the Cajun-accent guy is the hottie with the playing cards. And then you said your name is Xavier, and I figure you’re the head honcho. So which is it?”
He gave her a long, disgusted sigh. This woman was a hard case. “None of the above. Like I said, I’m Captain Xavier Beauvoir, with the U.S. Army Green Berets. I was sent up here to check on reports of a possible zombie problem.”
She burst out laughing, clearly mocking him.
“Are you one of those science fiction guys from the university? I know I gave some of your conventioneers a hard time last year, but they really were disturbing the peace. Lightsaber battles on Main Street at four a.m. aren’t something we ignore around here.”
“For the last time, this is no joke. You were bitten—do you know what that means?” His voice rose along with his anger.
“What? Did the guys have rabies?”
Her smart mouth was just begging to be kissed.
Now, where the hell did that thought come from? Xavier pushed it aside. He had to stop thinking about how gorgeous she was and concentrate on how annoying she was.
“Not rabies.” He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “A contagion designed and developed under auspices of the U.S. Navy. It was meant to boost natural healing, but in ninety-nine percent of those who’ve been infected, the test agent is lethal. You’re one of the very lucky few to have survived, Officer Petit. If you hadn’t had natural immunity working for you, you’d have died. Then your corpse would have been reanimated by the contagion. You’d have been just like that poor soul who attacked you.”
“So, worse than rabies.”
Clearly she still didn’t believe him.
“What will it take to convince you I’m on the level?”
She pretended to think. “I doubt there’s anything you can say that will make me believe some cockamamie story about zombies running around on Long Island.”
“How about the fact that if the contagion did what it was supposed to do in your system, you will heal just as fast as me?” He rolled up the sleeve of his camo shirt and pulled a knife out of his boot. She scooted back in the bed, her eyes wide.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Watch and learn, sweetheart.” He didn’t even flinch as he ran the tip of the sharp blade over his forearm. Blood welled in the shallow cut, but then something miraculous happened. His skin started to knit together right before her eyes.
“Holy cow,” she breathed, looking from the healing cut to his face and back again. In a matter of seconds, the shallow cut was only a thin red line. He used one big thumb to wipe away some of the blood and she saw even the red line begin to fade.
“Seeing is believing, isn’t it?”
She wasn’t prepared to go that far just yet. “Was that some kind of trick? You got a latex prop on your arm or something? Special effects?”
“Sorry, darling. Just my flesh and bones. No titanium on my skeleton, either, in case you were wondering.”
He winked at her and she caught the teasing reference to her earlier crack about the X-Men.
“Let me see your arm, then,” she dared him. But he moved closer, holding out his arm for her inspection.
“Careful of the blood. I’m clean as a whistle—the docs monitor me closely since the bite—but it’s still frowned on nowadays to be touching other people’s blood without a mask and gloves.”