Page 4 of Kidnapped By the Beast
“And I don’t have to take off my blouse to earn the money?” she probed, raising an eyebrow.
He blew out a breath in frustration but finally he nodded.
“Agreed. You don’t have to show me your equipment unless you agree to my proposal and we make a deal.”
“All right, then.” Lexi nodded. “I’ll stay and listen. But one thing—stop calling my breasts ‘equipment’. That’s creepy and weird—they’re breasts. Or boobs or tits or titties or ta-tas or whatever else you want to call them but not equipment. I’m not a robot—I’m a person!”
“Ta-tas?” Dr. Brandt looked confused. “Never mind,” he said, shaking his head when Lexi opened her mouth again. “Just come sit and listen. Please,” he added, when she hesitated.
Lexi nodded and went back into his office and sat on the chair.
“All right, I’m listening,” she said. Not that she expected anything the big Kindred said to make her willing to take her top off for him.
She had no idea how wrong she was.
2
LEXI
“I’m studying cancer—specifically breast cancer and how to treat it,” Dr. Brandt said, once Lexi was seated and he was leaning against his desk once more.
“Oh, well why didn’t you say so? My grandmother died of breast cancer,” Lexi remarked.
He nodded.
“That could be one reason your chemistry is compatible with the bacteria.”
“The what? What bacteria?” Lexi asked, frowning.
“Please—let me explain.” He cleared his throat. “I am studying a certain beneficial bacteria that lives and thrives on one planet only—Bio-Terius Centra. The Bio-Terians are cancer free because of this bacteria, which is called Bacillus Aurum—or ‘the golden bacteria.’ I wish to run some tests on this bacteria and hopefully to adapt it to live and thrive in other environments so that breast cancer can be completely eradicated.”
“Well, that sounds like a very noble cause,” Lexi admitted.
“It’s very close to my heart—if I could be said to have one,” he admitted and she noticed that his deep voice had grown hoarse. Had he lost someone to the awful disease? She still remembered losing her grandmother, even though she was just a little girl when it happened. It had been awful.
“So where do I come in?” she asked. “Are you wanting to test your experiments on me because I have a family history of breast cancer?”
“No—I wish I was that far advanced in my studies.” He looked regretful. “Right now, what I need is a way to keep the Bacillus Aurum alive so that I can study it more thoroughly. I have imported sample after sample here to the Mother Ship but no matter what I do, it dies within a few hours.”
“That’s too bad,” Lexi said, really meaning it. If he could actually find a cure for breast cancer, it would save so many lives!
“Yes, it is. And extremely frustrating.” His heavy black brows pulled down and a muscle in his jaw tensed.
“Well I’d like to help you, but I don’t see how I can,” Lexi told him.
“Because I haven’t finished explaining.” He frowned. “What I need is a host the Bacillus Aurum can live and thrive in so that I can have an unlimited amount of them to study.”
“A host?” Lexi exclaimed. “I don’t want to be a host to anything!” This interview had changed from being a heart-warming fight against a dreaded disease to a science-fiction horror story in a hot minute!
“No, you don’t understand!” Dr. Brandt protested. “Every man, woman, and child on Bio-Terius Centra has the Bacillus Aurum living within them—it’s part of their biome! It’s the reason they don’t get any form of cancer. It won’t do you any harm—in fact, it might even save your life one day if the Bacillus Aurum you get infected with thrives and grows within you.”
“Well…I mean, that sounds good,” Lexi said cautiously. “But if the, uh, Bio-Terians have all got it in them, why not just bring one of them up here to the Mother Ship?”
“Because they’ll die if their Bacillus Aurum dies and so far it simply cannot live outside the atmosphere of Bio-Terius Centra. Bringing them here would be a death sentence,” he said earnestly. “Which is why I need a human to host it—one who is uniquely compatible with the bacteria and can keep it alive within her body.”
“Okay…so you need a human host that’s compatible with the, uh, golden bacteria to keep it alive so you can study it and create a cure for cancer.” Lexi nodded. “I still don’t understand why you wanted to see my breasts, though.”
“To ascertain if you are able to produce the golden nectar the Bacillus Aurum thrives in.” He crossed his arms over his broad chest and his deep voice took on a lecturing tone. “You see, the bacteria lives mainly in the breast tissue—especially the mammary glands. They cause their female hosts to produce what we call ‘golden nectar’ which is filled with the Bacillus Aurum. If you are able to keep the Bacillus Aurum alive and produce the nectar, I’ll have an unlimited supply of them to study and experiment on until I can perfect a cure that can be given to everyone with breast cancer. I might even be able to develop a vaccine to keep it from occurring at all!” he added, his golden eyes brightening.
