Page 15 of Adonis

“You can surf?” Laurence gazed at Connor with a look of awe, and Connor felt a budding fondness for Laurence.

Connor scratched the back of his neck as he fidgeted. “I can teach you that, too.”

Laurence grinned. “Yes, please. Oh! And—”

Laurence devoured his wrap in a few bites as he dug out his phone. “I had to do a lot of digging, but I finally figured out who owns Ben’s lab. I found an old interview talking about it. Here, listen.”

Connor raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”

“It’s called the Infinity Project,” an excited voice crackled through the speaker on Laurence’s phone. “As many people know, my father was obsessed with figuring out the key to immortal life—though, for all his good traits—the man was a dreamer. He dug into the earth seeking chalices and buried unicorns when really that was a misguided notion entirely.”

“He funded hundreds of archaeological digs around the world,” the interviewer said. “The world of archaeology would look very different today if not for—”

“I, however, am approaching the problem with more reason than he did.” The man’s voice rose above hers. “The answer lies, as it always has, in the ocean. I could go into the details—the genetics, the research—but people falter with the science of it, so I will sum it up as this: The Infinity Project seeks to find what it always has; the key to immortality.”

A long pause followed the declaration.

Connor’s attention strayed from his burger to the interview.

“You are cutting funding to archaeological sites worldwide so that you can seek immortality? Am I hearing this right?” The woman sounded aghast.

“It’s within my grasp!”

Laurence clicked away and cast Connor a pleased grin.

“I never realised my dad worked for someone crazy.”

“He’s a little unhinged,” Laurence agreed. “But you need someone crazy to build an underwater lab…” The wistful note in Laurence’s voice was unmistakable.

“Do you want to see it?” Connor asked. “You won’t be allowed inside, but I’m sure from the outside it will be fine.”

“As long as that won’t get you into trouble?” Laurence asked, eager.

“It’ll be fine.”

Connor drove to the lab, but as they approached the checkpoint, Laurence’s curious look turned wary. He sank in his seat and was barely visible above the dash when they stopped by the guards.

Liam—the taller and less scary guard—peered into the Jeep, locking eyes on Laurence. Connor rolled down his window, shifting forward to block Liam’s line-of-sight.

“We’re just going to stay outside and practice driving in the lot,” Connor told him.

For a moment, Connor thought they would turn him back. Liam acknowledged Connor with a slight tilt of his head. “You got the coffee pots?”

“Two.”

Liam grunted. He stepped back and waved Connor through.

As they drove to the lab, Laurence remained hunched down. “They’re scary,” he whispered.

“It’s an expensive lab,” Connor said. “Wait here. I’ll drop these inside and come back out.” He kept his own iffy dislike of the guards to himself. It stemmed from the frustration of being unable to recall where he’d seen them before.

Laurence nervously scanned the area behind them, his eyes coming to rest on the shorter guard, Rick, and his big dogs.

“Laurence.” Connor got his attention. “Here.” He handed him the keys. “Lock it while I’m gone. I’ll be two minutes at most. Okay?”

Laurence relaxed as he took the jangling keys from Connor. “Okay.”

Connor was quick, not bothering to go downstairs to tell his dad he was back. He would find the coffee pot when he went looking for coffee.