InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Passion Flowers and the Moonlight Path ❯ Enter: Torie Cronkhite ( Chapter 2 )

"What the hell are you trying to pull, Ludlow?"

Peter looked up at the fiery blonde-haired woman standing before him. His face lit up in amusement. He had decided long ago, when she first started working for InGen, that she was beautiful. Married but beautiful. That had been five years ago.

'And she won't give anyone a second glance, even though she's a widow,' he thought morosely as he stood up.

"My dear, dear Torie," he began. "I have no idea as to what you're talking about."

Her brown eyes flashed then narrowed. She had that edge about her, the one that said, 'Don't fuck with me, Peter, or I'll rip your goddamn head off.'

"You know damn well what I'm talking about," Torie hissed. "I'm talking about you're latest 'test' subject, asswipe. You do know that it is illegal to do any genetic testing on humans, right?"

"Only if the government finds out," he replied smugly.

"This isn't something you can keep hidden forever, Ludlow. Things have a way of coming to light, whether you like it or not," she spat. "All it takes is one word to the Feds and it's over."

"Well then, we'll just have to make sure that the Feds don't find out now don't we?" he purred. "We do have ways of silencing those who oppose us."

"Are you threatening me, Ludlow?"

"Threaten you?" he smirked. "Now would I want to do something like that?"

"Because you're an asswipe, that's why," she snapped. "And don't worry, Peter. I wouldn't dream of telling the Feds. I'd leave that up to your uncle."

His eyes widened at that and he silently cursed himself. He had forgotten how close his uncle had gotten to the woman in the last four years. John had felt particularly guilty after she and her husband had been in a car wreck that had ended her beau's life and caused her to miscarry. That link to his uncle was always her trump card and she never failed to play it.

"You wouldn't dare," he hissed.

"Try me, Peter. You have twenty four hours to release him or I'm talking to John." She turned on her heels and stalked out of his office without another word.

'She sure knows how to play dirty,' he thought disgustedly, wiping his brow with his tie. 'Probably has already threatened the geneticists not to touch him and they'd listen to her quicker than what they will me. For some reason, they fear her and I can't figure out why.'

* * *

Torie slammed the door behind her. Of all the idiotic things that Peter Ludlow had to do . . . taking someone from his home to use him as a test subject had to be the icing on the cake. But she did have the upper hand, had always had the upper hand when it came to the genetics lab. She was the head of the department, had been since John Hammond had contacted her about his dinosaur cloning project. Granted, she had very little experience in genetics - her major had been English with a minor in history. John had already guaranteed her that she'd be the one making the decisions regarding the lab. No one else could. Not him, not Peter . . . just her.

"Mrs. O'Connell . . ."

"What is it, Henry?" she sighed, rubbing her eyes, reigning her irritation in. Dr. Woo did not deserve to be on the receiving end of her temper. Another confrontation with Peter Ludlow would be inevitable and it was best that she save it for him and him alone.

"Confrontation with Peter again?" he inquired lightly.

"What else?" Torie grinned dryly. "You need to see me about something?"

"Yes," the oriental man nodded. "The hanyou. He's awake now. Again."

"Hanyou?" she frowned. "Did you just say hanyou?"

"Hai," he nodded. "Hanyou. Inu-hanyou, to be precise."

"I thought that youkai were only a part of Japanese mythology," Torie stated, her pace quickening. Henry Woo immediately fell into step with her.

"That is the main belief. There are some, though, that believe that the youkai and hanyous still exist."

"Let me guess . . . They've managed to disguise themselves, right?"

"Or they've possibly evolved to look like humans, just changing their names when the time calls for it. Desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Interesting theories, huh?"

"Very," he agreed. "But there's something different about this one. As you know, when he came, he had very outdated clothing and a rusty old sword. He also wears that beaded necklace."

"I recall seeing the red haori and the necklace," she mused. "But not the sword."

"When he first came to . . . his eyes were red and he had a purple stripe on each cheek, Torie. We placed the sword next to him and he fell unconscious once more. The necklace, though, has been the biggest trick. We can't remove it."

"Can't remove it?" she raised an eyebrow at that.

"Hai. Every time we try, it glows. It's like it has a life of its own and refuses to leave its owner. I thought you might be interested in that, considering some of your other specialties," Henry winked.

"Very interesting indeed," she murmured. "Do you know if he's said anything since he woke up?"

"No. He hasn't. He was staring at everyone with a mild curiosity as I left the room. Mrs. O'Connell, I don't think he even knows what time or place he's in."

To that, she said nothing, just kept moving. She hadn't seen this young man. All she'd been told by the geneticists was that he was there and that Peter had wanted to start running all sorts of tests on him. Fortunately, their fear of her was far greater than their fear of Peter. Peter may have signed their paychecks but she determined whether or not they kept their jobs or their stations. John had put those conditions in her contract and she had only negotiated with him when it came time to renew it. Her mind raced as they walked to where the young man had been housed.

"Henry . . ."

"Yes, Mrs. O'Connell?"

"First of all, call me Torie. I'm not just your boss, I'm your colleague. Second, refresh my memory on something. Hanyou means half-youkai, half- human, correct?"

"Hai," he nodded.

"So it's entirely possible for his youkai half to override his human half, right?"

"Hai. Extremely possible," he nodded again.

"What about his human half? Isn't it the belief that hanyous, at least once a month or during a given time, become human for a short period? Or am I recalling that incorrectly?"

"No. You are recalling it very correctly. What are you thinking?"

"Nothing," she smiled sweetly, opening a door. "Nothing at all."