Chapter Six
The file cabinet held a few employee files but nothing recent, which surprised Bec. “It isn’t like Walter not to have files on previous employees.”
“Maybe he put them on the computer?” Iris asked after she stopped recording. “We didn’t see one for Samuel Gill, so maybe he moved everything to digital files to make space?”
“It’s possible, but he’s not super techy. I can barely get him to work with the programs we use for the labs.”
“This wouldn’t be hard, though,” she said, motioning at the few files on the desk. “With a scanner, he could easily upload them. Even your basic idiot can make a folder on their computer.”
Iris slapped a hand over her mouth, and Bec stopped her before she could apologize. “Don’t say you’re sorry. You’re correct. Walter is good with scanners and does basic tasks with a computer, but we can’t look at his laptop, which hampers us in knowing if that’s where the files are.”
“We have records for the three years before this one, right?” Iris asked, and Bec nodded.
“Let’s send Mina those names. She’ll want to do a deep dive into each person, and we have five people for her to track down besides Samuel.
That will take them a few days, and if nothing turns up, at least we tried.
It seems like an especially high turnover rate, but I could be wrong for a job like this. ”
“It is high,” Bec said, falling into her desk chair after they left Walter’s office. “After working here for five months, I may know why.”
“People are scared of the viruses? I know I am.” Iris bit her lip as her gaze strayed to the labs.
Bec reached out and squeezed her knee. “Don’t let the fear in. If you let the fear in, it makes it impossible to get anything done. Keep your eyes on me and your head in the game.”
“Right,” she said with a nod. “Eyes on you. That’s hard for me, but you make it easier.” She cleared her throat as though to gloss over that admittance. “Why do you think people keep quitting the lab?”
“Fear isn’t one of them,” Bec said with a shake of her head.
“If they accepted a position here, they already knew what kind of work was required. I suspect the reason no one lasts long is twofold. The first is the isolation. It’s lonely out here, and if you aren’t dedicated to the job or took it for a reason that wasn’t your own, you won’t last.”
“You must have a good reason if you’ve lasted long enough to make a vaccine.”
“It’s purely selfish,” Bec admitted. “If I could research and implement a vaccine for something like Ignis Cerebri, it would mean I could write my own ticket to work anywhere in the world.”
“That makes all of this isolation worth it?” Iris asked, the fatigue showing as each minute ticked away.
“Well, before Ace hit, the answer was yes. I hoped to get into a university somewhere, but now I’ll just be happy to get out alive.”
“You and me both,” Iris agreed. “What’s the second reason?”
“The management.”
“Dr. Hoerman isn’t a good manager?”
“Not great,” Bec admitted with a mirthless chuckle. “Super nice guy, but if you need direction or questions answered promptly, you won’t get them from him.”
“Is his job to manage?”
“Indirectly,” Bec said, hoping to explain it better. “He’s the project manager, meaning he finds the projects people need done, organizes, brings them in and implements them.”
“That sounds like a manager to me.”
Bec motioned at her. “Me, too, but he believes that if we’re qualified to get the job as head scientist, we’re his equal. He’s not wrong—however, he knows the project parameters better than we do since he’s the intake guy.”
“So if he doesn’t communicate the parameters well, that leaves you frustrated,” Iris deduced and Bec pointed at her in agreement. “Are there other scientists working here?”
“Since Ignis is here, we only have one lab tech right now. Walter and I decided the fewer people in the lab with this virus, the better.”
“Where is the lab tech now? Did he quit?”
“No, his name is Zafar. He’s on vacation. He’s scheduled to be out for another week. I’d try to call him, but he’s at a wedding in Poland. I’d rather wait and see if we can get a handle on this first.”
“Agreed. Does Mina have his information to do a background check?”
“Yes. I gave her that when we first connected.”
Iris rubbed the bridge of her nose and pushed her tablet toward Bec. “Would you send Mina the information while I get back to work on the system?”
“No,” Bec said, pushing the tablet back toward her. “It’s 3:00 a.m., and we’re both exhausted. Mina is in bed and won’t get the message anyway. We need to rest before we do anything else.”
“No time to rest,” Iris said, shaking her head adamantly. “We don’t know what Ace is going to do next. We must get control of this place.”
Bec squeezed Iris’s shoulder while she ducked her head until she found the woman’s eyes. “I trust you, Iris, with my life, but I also know how working tired can be more dangerous than taking a few hours to rest and then coming back to it.”
“Secure One, Danger.” They both jumped and turned to see Declan standing in the hallway.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, but she’s right.
I was leaving the break room to bed down for a few hours of sleep when I overheard the discussion.
Per Cal’s instructions, you are to get a few hours of sleep each day,” he said, lowering his brow at Iris.
“You’ve been up for twenty hours. It’s time to grab a couple of hours’ rest so you can return refreshed.
Otherwise, you’re just spinning your wheels. ”
Iris sighed heavily. “Fine, but two hours. That’s it.”
Declan nodded once. “I can deal with that. Zac and I will start rotating shifts since Cal sent Mack and Efren over to cover. If you need us, we’re on the loading dock.”
“Got it. Thanks, Declan,” Bec said, standing and holding her hand out for Iris. She wasn’t sure if the woman would take it, but she yearned for that connection again. When Iris’s warm, soft skin slid across her palm, she had to take a deep breath to slow her racing heart.
“Will you show me where the loading dock is?” Iris asked as Bec led her through the cavernous workspace and into the hallway.
“You’re not going to sleep on the loading dock. You’ll sleep in my apartment, where it’s safe and comfortable.”
“But, no. I’m supposed to sleep with the team.”
Bec paused and turned back to the beautiful woman just as Iris pushed her glasses up her adorable pixie nose with her free hand. Rather than argue further, she snapped the walkie-talkie off her belt and pushed the button. “Declan?”
“This is Zac,” the voice said, and Iris huffed but didn’t say anything.
“Iris insists she should sleep with the team on the loading dock. I think she should be squirreled away safely in my apartment. What’s your opinion?
” She released the button and raised a brow at the woman across from her, who now had her hand on her hip even if she was staring over her shoulder at the wall beyond them.
Bec couldn’t decide if it made her look sassy, sexy or angry.
“If she can sleep in your apartment, that would be ideal,” Zac responded. “I’d rather she wasn’t this close to the action if something goes down outside.”
“You got it,” Bec said, releasing the button with a satisfied smile.
“Okay,” Iris said with a huff. “But I’d be fine on the loading dock.”
“Maybe, but this way, I can keep an eye on you. Something tells me if I let my guard down, you’ll be back at that computer typing away.”
When they stepped onto the elevator, Iris’s smirk told her that was her plan to a T.
* * *
IRIS GLANCED AROUND the small apartment while Bec was in the shower.
Using the word apartment was a stretch, if she was honest. It was the size of a hotel room with a queen-size bed, a small kitchenette, a two-person table and a nightstand.
The bathroom off the main space was small but functional.
Iris still couldn’t imagine working and living here day after day without a change of scenery.
Her room at Secure Inc. was small, but she had the entire building and grounds to roam whenever she needed a break.
Bec walked into the room wearing lounge clothes that in no way showed off her physique but were still far more alluring than her white lab coat.
Iris dropped her gaze rather than continue to stare.
“Oh good, you got the bed turned down,” Bec said, rubbing lotion into her hands.
“I was hoping you’d make yourself at home. ”
“I made tea,” Iris said, pointing at the two mugs on the table. “It’s not my favorite, but coffee before bed won’t work so well.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Bec offered her a tired smile.
Iris walked to her and pushed her hair back off her face to check the cuts that peppered her skin from the attack. “I’m so sorry you went through that this morning. Are you sure you don’t need a doctor? Are you having any symptoms of a concussion?”
“I’m fine,” Bec promised, taking her hand. “The glass cut my face, but I never hit my head.”
Her sleeve slipped down from her wrist when she grasped Iris’s hand and revealed what she’d been hiding under the lab coat. Iris’s gasp was loud in the room. “You’re not fine, Bec. Why didn’t you show this to someone? What happened?”
Iris inspected her arm. It was red, blistered and covered in gashes of different depths.
“I don’t know what happened, if I’m honest. I think I threw my arm up to protect my face and it got hit with hot shrapnel. When I wrapped it earlier while waiting for you guys to arrive, it wasn’t red and blistered yet. I thought I’d let it breathe while we were sleeping.”
Iris bit her lip as she stared at the wounded flesh.
“That’s probably not smart. You could get an infection, or what about tetanus or something?
You should probably go to the hospital. I need to call Cal to take you to the hospital.
This isn’t good. This is really not good.
” Her breathing was at a fever pitch now, and her vision had gone tunnel as she stared at the damaged skin.
The next thing she knew, she was sitting on the bed, and Bec was kneeling before her. “Take some deep breaths, Iris.” She coached her by breathing with her until Iris stopped shaking and sound filtered back into her ears.
“That was embarrassing,” she said, staring at the floor. “I’m sorry for freaking out. It happens more than usual when I’m stressed out.”
Bec tipped her chin up to face her. She didn’t force her to hold her gaze and didn’t say anything when Iris couldn’t.
“Don’t apologize for caring, Iris. I don’t know who made you feel like you have to stare at the floor rather than hold your head high, but here in my apartment, you can be unapologetically you without hanging your head in shame, okay? ”
“That’s not why,” she said, staring over her shoulder at the wall. “It’s easier to talk to people when I don’t have to look at them. My brain works better that way.”
“To a degree, I believe that,” Bec said. “But I think you started doing it when you realized that your bluntness, as you put it, can embarrass you or others, so staring at the floor means you don’t have to see the judgment on others’ faces.”
Iris didn’t want to admit she was right, so she didn’t answer.
“I think you should cover your arm with something before sleeping. It would be bad if you scratched it accidentally in your sleep. I know you’re like a doctor and everything, so it’s fine if you don’t want to do that.
As my mama always said, I see things very literally and with too much common sense, so I’m probably wrong. ”
“I am a doctor, but not a medical one. I hadn’t thought of your point about scratching it in my sleep. Getting an infection wouldn’t be convenient right now, so I’ll wrap it in gauze.”
Iris nodded just as a yawn overtook her. She covered her mouth with her hand, apologizing for being rude.
“Don’t apologize. We’ve had one hell of a day. Go ahead and get comfortable while I wrap my arm, and then we can shut down the lights for a few hours.”
“If you tell me where to find a sleeping bag or extra blankets, I’ll make my bed.”
“What do you want those for?”
Iris glanced down at the floor and back to her momentarily. “It’s no problem. I can sleep on the floor without a bag. Do you have an extra pillow?”
“You’re not sleeping on the floor,” Bec said with a chuckle as she motioned her to the head of the bed. “You have the most important job in the place now. That means you’re sleeping in the bed.”
Bec pulled the blankets around Iris and then grasped the bows of her glasses to slide them off.
There was something evocative about the sensation of the metal leaving her face when it wasn’t of her own volition.
She was used to doing everything for herself, and having someone care for her was a foreign sensation. “Where are you going to sleep?”
Bec turned back to her, wearing a nervous smile. “Right next to you. I’ll keep you safe, Iris.”
Then she disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Iris to decide if sharing a bed with the beautiful scientist was more dangerous to her health than the unchecked pathogens in the lab above their heads.