Carmine (Rage MC: The Prospects #7)

Chapter Five.

Carmine

I ’d prefer being at the command centre at the campground than waiting outside for the seismographs to activate. But here I was. I’d been paired up with a snooty-looking man who kept shoving his glasses up his nose. And worse, I’d hardly seen Molly since yesterday, which really annoyed me. I wasn’t the only single brother left in Rage, and I knew Molly was damn cute, and her cuteness would attract my brothers.

Nope, I’d met Molly first and was staking my claim, but I was stuck here with Mr Doom and Gloom. The asshole had been making fun of Molly’s hypothesis until I asked if he’d read the data. When he admitted he hadn’t, I told him to shut the fuck up until he had, or did he think Dr Jones-White was a gullible fool? He quieted down then.

My mind switched to Molly. She’d been so damn nervous yesterday and yet held her own. Especially against that Dr Flight. No doubt Mr Doom and Gloom was one of his camp. I honestly felt for her and wished I could’ve presented for her, but it had done Molly’s confidence the world of good. This morning, the quick glimpse I’d had of Molly showed her with her shoulders back and head high.

“Jesus, this is so boring,” Mr Doom and Gloom whined as he looked out at the water we were watching. Neither pond nor lake, it was too big to be the former and too small to be the latter.

“What were your expectations of volcanology?” I asked, bewildered.

“Chasing active volcanoes, not unproved theories,” he replied.

“Yeah, you won’t go far in your career. You’ll be a scut boy for life,” I said. Mr Doom and Gloom looked completely insulted.

“Beg your pardon?” he sneered. “You don’t own a college degree, let alone a doctorate.”

“Dude, I play ball and earn more in one month than you do in ten years. I’ve also opened a school for talented, underprivileged kids. Kids who are so fucking clever but overlooked because their parents don’t have money. Don’t judge my lifestyle without seeing what I do. You can sneer because you attended college and university, but you’re a scut boy running round, taking temperatures and nothing else.

“You’ll never amount to anything more because your mind is shut to possibilities. Everyone said conquering space was a fool’s dream until we did. Walking on the moon was a pipe dream until Armstrong. Man could not fly until we did. Closed-minded individuals like yourself hinder progress by failing to actualise ideas or concepts. You’ll never be more than what you are right now.”

“Laccoliths don’t erupt!” Mr Doom and Gloom sneered.

“Yeah, and man couldn’t beat the Mariana Trench, and yet a submersible recently did. Shut up, Scut Boy.” I smirked in return. Mr Doom and Gloom had a new name.

The slight bubbling of the pond drew my attention. Shit, I’d seen that before. I sniffed the air and almost gagged.

“There’s activity,” I said, gazing at the water.

“How the fuck would you know, you dumb jock?”

Ignoring him, I grabbed the radio. “Base, this is team five. We have movement here.”

Before I could depress the button, Scut Boy screamed at me. “You’re a fucking jock. How do you know what to look for? Your brain’s in your pants!”

Finger still on the send button, I immediately retorted, “Because asshole, that pond is starting to produce bubbles, there’s no reason for it to. And if you sniff the air, it’s vile. A sign of hydrochloric acid, the scent I remember from school and oh shit—” I tackled Scut Boy and rolled him away.

Scut Boy shoved me off him as we both sat up and stared at the pond. The water began to bubble more as the radio squawked frantically.

“I’m here, Doc. It’s bubbling like crazy, and the smell is thickening. And there’s a yellowish colour. Crap!” I yelled as a geyser of water shot in the air.

Scut Boy screamed and scrambled to his feet and ran.

Bemused, I glowered after him and moved some distance away.

“The camera is recording, and it has caught two geysers. I’m putting on the breathing gear,” I reported as the smell grew stronger. The hell I was risking my lungs.

One of the doctors replied that they were close and heading towards me. Cautiously, I sat and recorded everything from a safe distance. Scut Boy was long gone. I think his career was now dead. After fifteen minutes, Dr Dune appeared, wearing her own breathing apparatus.

“Please keep yours on while I check the air content,” she ordered and unpacked a case.

“Not a problem.”

“Where did Dr Dickens go?”

“Scut Boy? Idiot saw the first geyser and ran screaming that way,” I answered, pointing. “The camera caught everything.”

Amusement flashed in Dr Dune’s eyes. “Scut Boy? A little rude, don’t you think?”

“Come on, Doc, he wasn’t going to have a stellar career.”

“I can’t disagree. Although in the video’s playback, Dr Dicken’s dereliction of duty will be noted and recorded.” Dr Dune grinned. “What a shame for one of Dr Flight’s most diligent pupils. We’ll fly him home later.”

I picked up on what Dr Dune wasn’t saying. Dr Flight had assigned some of his toadies to disprove what Molly had theorised about. Instead, a toady had been sent running because he wasn’t ready to deal with the truth.

“Dr Flight believes in the textbook and has a closed mind to anything outside his experience. Which isn’t substantial, I’m afraid to say. Dr Balfour-Cherlyn had more field experience in her seven years than he did in thirty,” Dr Dune added.

“Were you there the day they laughed her out?” I asked.

“In the building, but not the room. I was busy preparing for a trip to Hawaii; one of the volcanoes there was having a blip. Dr Bagshaw was, and he’d been appalled at what happened. Dr Bagshaw reported back to Dr Jones-White what occurred, and she tore everyone a new asshole. Disrespect like that isn’t tolerated. Of course, we only had the information they wanted us to see, so it was disregarded as an unstable theory.

“Even with the information from three years ago, I doubt we would have prioritised it. This most recent data is urgent, and we can see something imminent happening. It is hard to remember that everything follows a natural path until a blip occurs. And this is the blip to end all blips. No offence to Dr Balfour-Cherlyn, we would have listened to her, but I doubt we would have acted quickly.”

“Thank you for being honest.”

“Dr Balfour-Cherlyn deserves it. Three years ago, she was ridiculed and her life destroyed. Molly should have crawled into a cave and licked her wounds. Instead, she headed here and worked to prove her theory. And it’s a doozy. I’m sure you’re tired of hearing laccoliths don’t erupt, but it’s true. Should this happen, it will make her career. Molly will be able to pick where she goes and what she does.”

A suspicion came over me. “Is that why Dr Jones-White is so interested?”

“No. Well, yes, I suppose. Susan is an exception; she doesn’t want or need the fame. Susan’s already at the top of the ladder. But she likes to share the spot. We are fortunate to work with her. As a mentor, Susan is fantastic and always shares credentials. Not like Dr Balfour-Cherlyn’s parents. Despite being known and respected, they own a challenging reputation.

“Without gossiping, Dr Jones-White does not like them. Nor is she fond of her ex-husband, who was the one who fired Dr Balfour-Cherlyn. If Dr Jones-White can prove Molly’s theory, she’ll make him look a fool, and there’s nothing she’d love more.” “I don’t want Molly dragged into something petty,” I exclaimed, ready to defend her.

“Oh no, not like that. Dr White is arrogant and would easily have laughed Dr Balfour-Cherlyn out of the building. I saw emails from him detailing her crackpot idea for months. Dr White is mean, and Susan has no time for him. Dr White tried to derail Susan’s career and failed. He often overlooks new ideas or steals them for his own. If proven true, this could be the final blow to his job. Dr White’s failure to act over something that should have been addressed three years ago would end his career.

“Susan doesn’t want to run the GS. She thinks Dr Bagshaw would be better suited, and we all agree. But Dr White has seen him as a threat and therefore kept Dr Bagshaw low on the totem pole. But should Dr White be displaced, then Dr Bagshaw will rise with Susan’s support,” Dr Dune said.

“The stakes are higher than just Rapid City. Politics is playing a huge part,” I replied, grasping what Dr Dune wasn’t saying.

“Doesn’t it always? You can remove your protective gear. Air levels have returned to normal,” she announced.

I removed the helmet and then helped take the water samples and other readings.

“Would you mind, Carmine, running these to basecamp, please? I’ll stay here and phone a student to monitor with me,” Dr Dune asked.

“Call in the student, Doc, I’ll wait till one arrives. Search and rescue ordered that no one be up here alone,” I replied.

“Who’d have thought an MC member would be a stickler for rules,” she teased, sitting down with a rock behind her.

“Have you met my mom? Nobody upsets Phoe Michaelson and walks away unscathed. Believe me, I follow the rules if my mother is involved,” I replied with a laugh.

“She is not what I expected. Phoenix is really down to earth,” Dr Dune mused.

“Yeah, she’ll throw money at something to resolve issues, but she’s not all tea and diamonds. Mom’s happier in the clubhouse than anywhere else,” I agreed.

“You’re lucky to have found her,” Dr Dune responded.

“Oh, believe me, I’m well aware.”

Molly

With every station that I’d set up being monitored twenty hours a day, information flowed in quicker, allowing us to make more accurate guesses. The geysers exploding near Carmine would have been missed before, but now they hadn’t been and had also been recorded.

Having the GS backing me again was a miracle. Everything became easier.

The horrible thing was, the tremors were increasing in frequency and strength from what we were extrapolating. And it was all happening around Buzzard’s Roost. We’d moved four teams there to keep an eye on each side. Whatever was going to happen, Buzzard’s Roost was the focal point.

I looked up from my workspace as Carmine entered, carrying the tests from his pond.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Dr Scut Boy isn’t, though,” Carmine snickered.

“Yes, your partner returned without you. Dr Stevens chastised him and sent him to pack despite his arguments. Dr Stevens wasn’t impressed and has filed a report,” I said.

Carmine looked around. “How are you doing, Doc? Is everyone treating you with respect?”

Amused, I snorted. “No. There are two factions here, which are easy to spot. Dr Flight’s are leaving me alone at the moment.”

“Molly, you have to remember. Without you, Rapid City would have been unprepared for this event. Thanks to you, we have a chance to save lives. Without your warnings, our home might have burned, and the loss of life could have been horrendous,” Carmine said.

“Do you believe that?” I asked, feeling vulnerable.

“Fuck yes!” Carmine exclaimed.

“You’re kind for saying that.”

“You never had a lot of praise did you, Molly?”

“Not really. My parents expected my grades, and if they slipped, I soon heard about it. Admiration isn’t something I’m comfortable with,” I replied.

“What about compliments?”

“Huh?”

“From men. On a date?” Carmine asked with a slight frown.

“Oh, I never dated. I was always working, my mother and father expected me to be self-sufficient and pay back my college and university fees,” I explained.

Carmine’s mouth tightened, and his gaze narrowed, and I guessed I’d said something wrong.

“Repay your education?” Carmine asked through gritted teeth.

“Yeah. They invested in me to be the best, and then I repaid them.”

“They invested in you?” Carmine asked in sheer disbelief.

“Is that bad?” I asked, puzzled.

“Yes, Molly. It’s okay to invest in your child, but to ask them to pay their education back? That’s diabolical and, frankly, bad parenting,” Carmine hissed.

I shrugged. That was what I was used to. My parents had always been distant, and I knew to keep quiet and let them work. The mantra of being quiet and not causing problems was ingrained in my personality. Initially, boarding school was a relief for me. It was somewhere settled and stable. But I soon realised I didn’t fit in with the other girls there. I was ‘different’, and my social anxiety grew from that.

It seemed I was always saying the wrong thing, not understanding a joke, mistaking sarcasm for truth or fact. Those kids loved bullying me, and I withdrew even more into my shell. Graduating early and hitting college at fifteen didn’t help me either. I was lost among older people once again. University at seventeen destroyed what little self-esteem I had.

I began clawing that back when I started work, only to lose my career within seven years. That had done a real number on me, but my stubbornness to fade into the background kicked in from that. I was determined to prove my theory—and that I wasn’t a laughingstock.

“Huh, I’m thirty-one years old, and I don’t think I have lived,” I whispered to Carmine.

Carmine looked at me with surprise and concern.

“Seriously?” he asked.

“Yeah. I’ve never been to a bar and gotten drunk. Never been on a date. Not been to a club or done anything remotely dangerous like ride a motorbike or gone skiing. I don’t know how to apply makeup apart from the basic, and I’ve never been to Victoria’s Secret. My life is safe and boring,” I mused.

Carmine looked upset. “Well, let’s fix that now.”

“What?” I asked, confused.

“Get your coat. We’re going on an impromptu date,” Carmine replied with a wicked twinkle in his eye.

“We are? But work…”

“Look around you, Doc. There’s plenty of people here. One meal isn’t going to hurt.”

“I should check with Dr Jones-White,” I said, scurrying away before Carmine could stop me.

I approached her as she spoke with Dr Bagshaw, and they paused and smiled warmly.

“Dr Jones-White, would it be possible for me to go to dinner with Carmine?” I asked.

Dr Jones-White frowned. “Honey, why are you asking me?” she said, swapping a confused look at Dr Bagshaw.

“Because of the research—”

“Stop right there, Dr Balfour-Cherlyn, you’re entitled to a life. Sadly, I’m aware of your parents’ ethics, and I’m a little disturbed to see how they’ve affected you. There is an existence outside of work. Please discover it, and from now on in, you’re not allowed in here until eight in the morning, and you’ll leave by six each night. Tell your young man I completely encourage his attentions!” Dr Jones-White said loudly and stared at Carmine, who beamed.

“Don’t you want my input?” I asked, worried.

“Yes, dear girl. But we’re collecting data at the moment. Go and enjoy yourself. As this escalates, you’ll have little free time,” Dr Bagshaw answered and waved me away.

As Carmine led me out, I heard Dr Bagshaw speak.

“That child has no confidence. Honestly, Susan, I’d punch her father straight on the nose for raising her to be a shadow of herself. No doubt Dr Balfour was jealous of Molly’s keen mind and quick thinking. I’m surprised she had the courage to present her theory three years ago and then to do so again…very brave. I hope to see her succeed, Susan,” he said.

“She will because she is more than her parents, and it’s time the girl realised that. Dr Molly Balfour-Cherlyn will have a shining career,” Dr Jones-White replied.

A happy smile crossed my face, and a warm sensation settled in my stomach. Their kind words reassured me.

“Come on Doc, we’re going for dinner,” Carmine said, taking my elbow gently and leading me out of the command centre.

Carmine

I was stunned at hearing Molly’s confession. She’d lived a sheltered life, driven by her parent’s ambition and demands. My heart bled, and I needed to ensure Molly discovered fun. In a short amount of time, I’d become a goner for her, as Mom would say. Molly had snuck into my thoughts, and I was totally head over heels. And I knew Mom and Dad would love her.

“What do you like?” I asked, focusing back on her.

“Oh, I eat anything,” Molly said as we approached her jeep.

“That’s not what I asked. What do you like?” I replied and held my hand out.

Molly looked at it in confusion. “On a date, I drive, and you relax. May I have your car keys?”

Molly smiled softly and my heart tugged as she pulled them out.

“What food do I like?” she murmured as I opened the door, and again, by her hesitation, I guessed this was something nobody had done for her. Molly climbed into the jeep with a shy look.

“Molly?” I asked as she locked her seatbelt.

“Well-done steak and roast potatoes and garlic mushrooms,” she answered firmly. “And chocolate mousse.”

“Then I have the perfect place for you,” I responded. I yanked my phone out and sent Bernard a text, informing him I was coming and letting him know Molly’s favourite food.

“Okay, ready for your first date?” I asked and started the engine.

Molly nodded in a child-like happiness, her smile sweet.

The drive to Bernards was full of conversation, and I slowly got her to open up to me. Once Molly started talking, I discovered she was knowledgeable about a variety of subjects. Molly loved music and movies, and it seemed those got her through her lonely days.

I didn’t pry too much into Molly’s schooling as that dimmed her light but concentrated on making her happy and content. Molly had also studied history and waxed lyrical about the American past and pointed out some things about our state I didn’t know.

Bernard greeted us with his usual flamboyant greeting, fussing over Molly and ensuring she felt special. It was no surprise that Molly didn’t drink much and, therefore, was happy with whatever wine was recommended. I’d picked that up the night we’d spent around her fire pit.

Molly was delighted when Bernard brought her garlic mushrooms as a starter, nestled on a fresh salad. I had my usual stuffed mushrooms, and then we both had steak with roast potatoes and all the trimmings. Molly was so excited she reached out and hugged Bernard. I was amused when I saw him wipe a tear from his eye.

She was even more spellbound when he brought our desserts, a creamy chocolate mousse with whipped cream and real chocolate pieces. Bernard whispered to me he’d prepared a few more bowls so we could take them home. I offered him heartfelt thanks.

We spent a couple of hours talking, and I was delighted to see Molly open up. The only time she went shy was when somebody approached us. Bernard had a very strict rule: no fan-crowding celebs. The rule was in clear sight as you entered the restaurant, and it underscored the promise to kick you out.

It was one place I could relax and eat in peace. But it didn’t stop friends and acquaintances stopping by to say hi. Dylan Hawthorne did with his flavour of the month. His women lasted two months, and then he was done. Dylan made it clear anything over two months meant a relationship, and he wasn’t being trapped.

My brother Micah was eating with several of his friends, and he nodded but refrained from coming over. Ramirez stopped on his way out and said hi to us both, and I was surprised to see Simone and Butch from The Juno Group appear and disappear.

Molly became quiet during these visits, and only spoke when directly spoken to, but I could tell she wasn’t used to be greeted warmly. Once she realised nobody was going to attack her, Molly relaxed and made small talk.

I didn’t want the night to end, but I did not want to push her too hard, either. I got the feeling Molly would rabbit if I did. Bernard snuck me the extra mousses on the way out. When I dropped Molly off at her home, I gave her a gentle kiss and the package and waited till she walked inside.

Molly sent me several looks over her shoulder, which reassured me she, too, was interested. Now, it was a game of patience and courting her. And I intended to win Molly.