Poisoned Interests

Chapter 1

Lucas Wolenczak finished packing his small dufflebag and zipped it up, placing the long strap over his shoulder as he walked to the door of his cabin. He grabbed the briefcase he had placed there with his laptop and made his way to MedBay.

Dr. Kristin Westphalen leaned back in her chair and released a big breath as she dropped the stack of papers she had been reviewing for the last 3 hours. She took another sip of coffee and glanced at her watch. The launch leaves in 15 minutes. She took her glasses of and rubbed her eyes, grateful for the break. I should check on Lucas.

She placed the papers in her briefcase along with her laptop and grabbed the small suitcase she had packed earlier as she walked out of her office. Lucas was just outside with his own duffle bag and briefcase. She smiled when she saw him.

"Hey Lucas, are you ready to get going?"

He eagerly smiled back. "Yeah, Doc. I'm looking forward to it."

"I know what you mean. After a few months it's nice to have a change of scenery. I don't know about you, but I'm especially looking forward to seeing the sun. Plus, I haven't seen Dr. Blackwell in a while. It was a nice coincidence his lab was near the conference hotel. "

"Well, thanks again for pulling strings and taking me. I thought about taking leave this week but my parents, well...they didn't return my calls and...I just..." he drifted off awkwardly, not wanting to really go into much detail about the fact that his parents weren't home and wouldn't make time to be with him.

Kristin sensed his disappointment and gave him a sympathetic hug and smile, putting her hand lovingly on his cheek. "Listen to me, Lucas, I am absolutely thrilled that you are coming with me. There will be a lot of wonderful speakers and possible networking opportunities for you. And Doctor Blackwell was extremely impressed with your resume when I told him you would be coming with me. I didn't have to pull too hard to get you on this. You earned it." She winked at him approvingly and gave him a reassuring hug. "Now, let's go get on that launch."

They walked to Launch bay, where Captain Nathan Bridger was waiting for them, along with Lieutenant Benjamin Krieg.

"Are you guys ready to go?" Nathan wanted to be there to send them off.

Kristin smiled and looked at Lucas before looking back at Nathan and nodding. "Of course, Captain."

"Good. I know both of you will gain a lot out of this conference." He looked straight at Lucas. "And you make sure you listen to what Dr. Westphalen says and be on your best behavior."

Lucas rolled his eyes and Kristin interrupted. "Nathan, it will only be a three-day conference. We have rooms on the same floor at the hotel and Dr. Blackwell is meeting us at the laboratory today to show us around and see if we can sign up for a collaborative project. Lucas will be too busy being a smarty-pants with me to get in any trouble. Isn't that right, Lucas?" She smiled with a wink, and he smiled back.

Nathan appreciated her reassuring statement. "I suppose, of all the adults on this boat, you're odds of stellar behavior are higher with Kristin than with Krieg." He gave a pointed look to Ben who had just stuck his head out of the launch sub's docking collar, oblivious to the conversation.

"MR-5 is ready to go, guys." He looked at the trio smiling at him innocently and, for a split second, he wondered what they had just discussed. Thinking better of it, he cleared his throat and went back into the sub.

Lucas spoke up, wanting to end the discussion and get out as soon as possible. "I guess that's our cue. Don't worry, Captain. I'm just grateful to get a few days of sunshine, even if it is to discuss the life cycle of cephalopods." He smiled and climbed into the sub.

As Kristin started her climb after Lucas, she looked back at Nathan.

"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him."

"Just make sure he doesn't order hundreds of dollars worth of ice cream through room service on the UEO's dime."

She giggled lightly and stopped her descent. "Oh, I don't know if I can promise that...this is the first time in a long while that we'll be all alone in our own spaciousand private rooms, with a chance for a nice, long, hot bubble bath, and the ability to stretch out in a big, fluffy, comfortable hotel bed. Come to think of it, I might even order some whipped cream, chocolate sauce and a cherry to top off all that ice cream, Captain." She winked at him with a smile before she finished her descent into the launch, leaving Nathan staring wide-eyed in shock at the now-closed hatch, wondering if she meant to paint a distracting mental picture for him. He looked at his watch. Perhaps a cold shower before the start of his shift was in order.

MarVista Laboratory:

Kristin, Lucas and Krieg stepped off of the launch and were met by a team of several scientists at the aquarium. One older, heavy-set gentleman in a lab coat and grey-speckled brown hair stood in front of the rest to welcome them.

"Hello, dear Kristin!" Dr. James Blackwell gave her a big bear hug, which she gratefully returned along with a smile. He shifted his glasses as he let her go.

"It's so good to see you, Jim! I'd like for you to meet Lucas Wolenczak." Lucas smiled politely, extending his hand. Dr. Blackwell looked at it for a brief moment before engulfing Lucas in a big bear hug of his own.

"Let's put aside the formalities...any friend of Kristin's is a friend of mine. Besides, I saw your resume and I have a feeling you two are exactly the people we need to help us on this project. Welcome to MarVista." He looked back at Kristin. "I have a driver waiting to take you to your hotel in about an hour but first I wanted to show you a quick look around the lab if that's alright."

"Thank you, Jim. That would be lovely." She turned back to Krieg.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Krieg. I suppose we'll meet back here on Sunday?"

"I'll be here to pick you both up on Sunday at 1500 hours sharp." He nodded courteously and started walking back to the launch.

"Good." She went over to a corner of the room to drop her bag off and proceeded to chat with Blackwell. Just as Lucas was about to follow her, Krieg called him over quietly near the launch as he was going down the hatch. He spoke to Lucas almost in a whisper.

"Hey kid, I know you're going to have a big hotel room to yourself and there will more than likely be some pretty, young females at the conference. Just...be careful okay? You need one of these? You know, in case stupid wins?" He sneakily reached into his pocket and revealed a handful of small square packets. Lucas blushed over thirty different shades of red, looking over at Dr. Westphalen, who was deep in conversation with Blackwell and unaware of his and Krieg's exchange.

"Uh, Krieg...thanks, but...I highly doubt anything will happen. I'm not the one-night stand type. Plus, I'll probably have the Doc looking over me like a hawk." He let out an uncomfortable, heavy sigh. "Besides..." He reached into his pocket for his wallet and pulled two square pockets of his own, secretly showing them to Krieg.

"Atta boy...I taught you well." Krieg retorted with a soft punch on his shoulder and smiled as Lucas walked away with a wave goodbye.

Krieg sighed and kept his trek into the launch. "Ugh...they grow up so fast." He sat at the cockpit and proceeded to return back to SeaQuest.