Resurrection Hour - Hidden in Ice(Nanowrimo)

Chapter One

Xavier stared at the young woman, who couldn't be more than eighteen, walking towards him on the tarmac. One woman and man followed in her wake, carrying all the luggage, while all she carried was a backpack. She couldn't be who they were expecting, but, for some reason, the description he was given fit her to a T—bright red hair peeked out of her parka.

When she stopped in front of him, his heart did a triple thump as her vibrant green eyes locked with his. There was something otherworldly about them, and he found himself at a loss for words. He couldn't see much else, but it was enough.

"You must be Xavier. Hi, I'm Doctor Hannah Fraser," she said, shoving her gloved hand at him. "And these are my assistants Cheryl Blakely and Flynn Peters."

He stared at it mindless a moment before he cleared his throat, trying to get his mind back on track. The last thing he could afford was getting distracted. Being the head of security it was his duty to keep everyone safe, and get the doctor inside before they froze to death. It was 30 degrees below zero. Far too cold to stand out there and do idle chitchat.

"It's nice to meet you." After shaking her hand, he gestured towards the door a hundred feet behind him. "Right this way." Xavier shivered as a chill blew underneath his hood, ruffling his dark brown hair. It was one of those colors somewhere in between black and brown that could be one or the other. It gave him a hell of a time filling out security applications or driver's licenses.

Punching in the security code at the door and opening the door, he allowed them to enter first. Once the door was closed, he turned to face the newcomers. They were now in a small foyer, not any larger than a small bedroom. There was a desk on one side with a computer. Xavier pulled off his jacket and hung it on a hook in the corner before sitting down.

"I'll need to see your identification." He sat there patiently while they dug in their bags.

Hannah placed her bag on the edge of the table and pulled out a make-up bag, a small bag of medicine, two books-romance by the looks of it, and a bra. He glanced up at her and noted her cheeks turned a pretty hue of pink, making him grin. He couldn't help but wonder if she was wearing a bra under all her clothes.

She chuckled nervously and continued digging through her bag's contents. "I know it's in here somewhere."

In the meantime, her companions handed him their id's. They had flown up from Vancouver, British Columbia. She was well-known in her pathology field, which in a way surprised him. By appearance, he wouldn't have pegged her for a doctor. She was someone who could have had her face splashed on a magazine, or even snagged a rich sucker to pay her way.

A shiver rippled through him and he pushed the thought out of his mind. He wasn't going to go there. He'd transferred up here to get away from the memory of Catherine. Away from her bleeding him dry and ruining his life. What was Hannah trying to escape from?

"Ah ha! Found it. I must have put it in my suitcase when I was trying to find my notes." She handed him her license and he couldn't help but take a peek at her date of birth. He looked between her and the ID. There was no way she was twenty-eight. "I know. I know. I look sixteen, right?"

"I was going to say eighteen, but ya."

After checking everything over, he leaned over and pulled out their access cards from the bottom drawer. With a few clicks on the keyboard, their cards were activated. "Your cards will give you access into your rooms, as well as any medical and research rooms within the facility."

"Funny to have such high security in the middle of nowhere," Flynn, one of Hannah's assistants, commented.

"You can never be too careful, even out here. We have at least two hundred people in this facility and sensitive information." That included his twelve man security team who covered all six floors. Not much has happened since he joined, so it was a nice quiet job.