Read Online Genesis by Michael McCarthy - Free Book Online

Astronomical if you think of it. If
you will excuse me for a moment, I need to get the door. There are quite a few
of those things out there, and more keep arriving each hour. I would hate to
keep a lady waiting.”
    “Who is it?”
    Cooper said nothing, just patted his
revolver in his holster and motioned for William to keep quiet. Then he left
the room to answer the door. From where he was chained to the fireplace,
William could not see into the foyer, but he could hear what was happening.
    “Hurry, come in. Wow, you look amazing.”
    “Holy shit, it’s crazy out there. I’ve
never seen anything like it before,” a woman’s voice replied. William tried to
match the voice against any of the possible women Cooper was known to associate
with at the time, according to the file, but came up blank. It almost sounded
like….but that was impossible. He would know in a minute anyway, as they were
coming his way.
    “You followed my instructions to the letter,
I hope?” Cooper asked.
    “Yes, of course, I always do honey…” he
could hear the woman reply. William thought he noticed her words slur just
slightly, but couldn’t be sure. It could be a regional dialect. It was familiar
in a haunting way. But there was no way that was possible…
    Cooper entered the room followed by *Ilsa,
a woman William did not need to be introduced to. She was trying to disguise
her voice, but it was her. He was familiar with her file as well although it
had been years since he last even gave her a thought. Why was she here? What
was she doing? She was dressed like some sort of high-class prostitute from the
1940s. Maybe she was finally living up to her full potential, he thought.
    “Allow me to introduce you two.” Cooper
said as he ushered Ilsa into the center of the room.
    “Hello,” William said, looking Ilsa in the
eye.
    “Handcuffs. Kinky. I like it.” Isla either
did not recognize William after all of these years, or she did not want Cooper
to know that they knew each other. William was unsure, but played along. He had
walked into the middle of something; it would be best to see how it played out.
Besides, he was chained to the fireplace. What option did he really have?
    Cooper ignored Ilsa’s remark and introduced
her to William.
    “Ilsa, this person claims to be one of the
United States Marshals that are assigned to protect me. If that’s true, then as
you can see, he is not very good at his job.”
    “You have U.S. Marshals assigned to protect
you? Ilsa asked, a look of concern suddenly crossing her face.
    “Yes, I do. I have had them for some time. For
protection. Does that surprise you, Ilsa?”
    “To be honest, a little. I never noticed
them, and you never seemed to want to use protection before.” Cooper and Ilsa
shared a private laugh. “But if he’s going to join us, it’s going to cost you
extra.”
    The Ilsa that William knew was a whore, but
not a prostitute. Interesting twist, William thought to himself.
    “No, he won’t be joining us. But please,
before we go upstairs, do sit down. I made us some tea.” Cooper handed the
poisoned cup of tea to Ilsa.
    “There is nothing like a good cup of tea. In
fact, I can get a little crazy without my caffeine.”
    “Perfect. Thank you,” said Ilsa. She
paused.
    “So, can I ask why he’s in handcuffs if he
is not going to be joining us?” A coy smile played across her lips.
    “Well, that’s sort of complicated. In
short, suffice to say, he is in handcuffs because he is not who he says he is,”
replied Cooper.
    “I am a United States Marshal, Protective
Services Division, Special Operations.” The handcuffs rattled against the chair
as William struggled to sit up straighter.
    “So he says,”
    “Are you in the Witness Protection
Program?” Ilsa asked.
    “Something like that.” Cooper playfully added,
“Although as you can clearly see, I can handle the protection department just
fine on my own.”
    Ilsa set her teacup down and began digging
through her