Chapter 22 - Nathan
The normalcy of everything was unnerving. Anvi and I kept the same routine as before, albeit with more work for both of us without Bridget’s help. We worked largely in silence now, which was a relief. I was even less prepared for small talk than usual.
On the train, walking into the clinic, buzzing into the lab, I’d been aware of the innocuous USB stick burning in my pocket like sulfuric acid.
“All you have to do is plug it into the computer and install the program,” Soren had said when we’d met up the day before. “We’ll be able to access the files, email, everything.”
It was black and silver, unmarked and unremarkable. “This is illegal, right?”
Soren had shrugged. “Yep. But if someone’s fucking with Maggie’s friend, I’m willing to bend the rules.”
It was a sentiment I recognized. I was prepared to technically break the law for Bridget, too.
After an uneventful morning feeding the cells, I returned to the office to make a cup of coffee. Lisbeth still hadn’t shown up, but that was nothing unusual. I sank into the chair in my office. If she didn’t show up at all, I’d have to just wait until tomorrow.
After a few minutes during which I cleared out my email, she breezed in. Her gray bob was immaculate, and she was wearing a bright purple shirt and a white skirt.
“There you are,” she said, exasperated, as if I was the one who was hours late instead of her. “Give me a second.” She hustled into her office for a few minutes.
I calmed my breathing and pretended to work on my laptop.
She barged into my office without warning. “I have resumés. Candidates to replace Bridget.” She set down a few pieces of paper on my desk.
Don’t react, I told myself. “Sure. I’ll look and see who might be a good fit.”
“Good. I have a meeting to get to, so email me your thoughts,” she said, turning to go. My heart sank. I was going to lose my chance after all.
Inspiration struck. I flicked the back of my hand against my coffee cup, soaking the stack of resumés, and splashing coffee onto the back of Lisbeth’s white skirt.
Lisbeth froze, then turned her upper body until she could see the damage to her clothing. The stain was spreading quickly across the fabric.
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
“Damn it,” Her eyes blazed with annoyance behind her thick black glasses. “I need to go take care of this.”
I did my best to look contrite. “Could I reprint these?” I held up the papers, dripping coffee.
“Yes, fine,” she said, distracted and already bustling out of the room.
I waited until she was gone before I ducked into her office. Her computer was charging, so the screen was still on.
I printed the documents first, then plugged in the USB drive.
The file on the drive was named “autoupdater.exe.” I didn’t know what to expect when I clicked it, but there was just a small window that opened and immediately closed. When nothing else happened, I slipped the drive back into my pocket.
“What are you doing?” Lisbeth asked.
I stood up, my hands behind my back. “Get out of there,” she said, gesturing impatiently for me to move. “I’m running late thanks to you.”
“Sorry,” I said and gratefully left her office. My heart was pounding in my throat.
One down, one to go.
When I’d asked why I needed to install the software directly on Dr. Davis’s computer, too, Soren had huffed impatiently. “I don’t fucking know. Lachlan said something about local access. Just do your best.” His tone implied he had doubts about my best being good enough.
I’d considered a lot of angles, but the one that kept occurring to me was the most unsavory. There was one approach to talk to Dr. Davis alone in his office that I was pretty certain would work.
I’d recruited Anvi to help me, but didn’t tell her why. I just told her to call the main clinic office when I sent her a text.
“Is this about Bridget, Dr. Manalo?” Anvi asked, her eyes wide. “Do you know where she is?”
Anvi’s worry for Bridget was sweet, but more annoying than endearing in the moment.
I told her I’d spoken to Bridget, that she was having a bit of a personal crisis, but no other details. Anvi’s questions were incessant: What had happened? Where was she? Could she see her? Could she talk to her?
I decided to give her a bit more information. “Yes, she’s staying with some friends. There was a… threat. And she needs our help.”
“Which friends though?” Anvi asked, then quailed at my expression. “Right, sorry. Okay. I’ll do it.”
I explained what she needed to say and then walked out into the hallway.
“Is Dr. Davis here today?” I asked the nurse passing by. I thought he was, after looking at the surgery schedule on the whiteboard in the back office, but I wanted to be sure.
“Yeah, unfortunately,” she said conspiratorially. “He’s really on one today.”
I smiled, but it felt stiff on my face. “I’ll stay out of his way, then.”
Dr. Davis’s office was at the far end of the clinic from the lab. I had never had the misfortune of visiting him, but it wasn’t difficult to find.
I rapped on the door before I could lose my nerve.
“Jesus Christ, I told you people to leave me alone. This is my one break today,” he yelled from inside. I hesitated. “For fuck’s sake, just come in.”
His office was exactly what I expected. Framed photos of him with various professional athletes, including Andrew St. James, lined the walls.
There was also a photo of him next to a vintage, cherry-red Ferrari that I’d heard him refer to as his “special lady” during the gala.
A treadmill took up one corner of the room, tucked behind his adjustable standing desk.
His annoyance was visible, but when he recognized me, his face darkened even more.
“What the fuck do you want?” he asked.
“To apologize,” I said. “You were right about the Omega. She hasn’t bothered to show up in a week.”
He laughed once, an ugly, brutal sound. “These girls can never stop themselves. If she really is going after St. James, though, she’s barking up the wrong tree. I think he prefers something different,” he said with a cruel impression that I guessed was of Andrew’s partner, Gabriel.
I wanted to bark him into a puddle of jelly, but I forced myself to laugh while I pressed send on the message to Anvi. I had to drag this out a little while longer. “Right. I apologize for my… distraction. I wanted to say I am committed to the project, and I hope we can move forward together.”
“Sure, sure, whatever,” he replied. “No hard feelings. It’s hard not to think with your cock sometimes.”
I shook my head in mock embarrassment. “Lisbeth sent over some resumés for new applicants, and I wanted to get your opinion—”
The door opened behind me. The woman who worked at the front desk said breathlessly, “Dr. Davis, someone just called and said that your car is being towed from the parking garage.”
“What the fuck? Towed?” He barreled out of the office, his face as red as his precious car.
I waited just a moment to make sure the woman followed him before darting to his computer. I plugged in the drive, opened the program again, and then left before anyone noticed me.
Adrenaline pumped through my veins. I’d done it. As I made my way back to the lab, I rolled my shoulders to ease the tension that had been building all morning. And along with the relief, I felt a kernel of pride. I’d done what I could to help Bridget.
Anvi looked up anxiously when I arrived at the lab.
“Did it work?” she asked.
“Yes, thank you for your help,” I said. “I need to go make a phone call, but I’ll be back.”
After Soren confirmed they were receiving data on their end, I worked the rest of the day feeling cautiously optimistic and dodging Anvi’s pointed questions about what we’d done. The less she knew about law-breaking behavior, the better.
I also emailed Lisbeth my suggestions on the candidates to interview for the Researcher role, and her reply didn’t indicate that she’d noticed a malicious program on her computer. Dr. Davis didn’t come storming into the lab, either.
The next morning, I made myself arrive a bit later than usual at the clinic.
Being there still felt wrong without Bridget, and now that my espionage was over, I dreaded another day of missing her.
I had hoped she might call me, but I hadn’t heard from her at all, and it felt too pathetic to ask Soren to speak with her again.
For once, Victor left the apartment before me. “Krystal and I are going to happy hour tonight with a couple of people from the department,” he said as he gathered his things. “We’ll probably stop by here first, so let us know if you want to come.”
“Maybe,” I said noncommittally.
“You need to have a life,” he said, clapping me on the shoulder. “I’ll text you.”
I considered his invitation in the elevator up to the clinic. It might be good to get out of the house.
Work was an unmitigated disaster. All the new Omega MSC samples were now causing immune responses in the sample material. I didn’t know how to explain that, and no faith we would do anything to rectify the situation, but I brought it to Lisbeth, anyway.
“It’s not like it’s dangerous,” Lisbeth said, looking at the assays I’d printed. “HLA matches aren’t even necessary for this kind of treatment. Using the Omega cells is what’s really important. As long as we can show positive results, we can overcome the rest of the narrative.”
I had stopped arguing with her.
I was ready to leave as soon as five o’clock rolled around. I hadn’t heard from Victor, so I figured happy hour wasn’t happening after all. Which was a shame because a drink sounded like a decent distraction.
The weather was terrible enough to match my mood. It was raining with such strong winds that the rain seemed to move horizontally. I was relieved to reach our building.
When I went to unlock the front door, it opened at my touch. I swallowed my annoyance. It wasn’t the first time Victor had left it unlocked.
In the apartment's silence, as I trudged to my room shedding my soaking wet coat, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Delayed paranoia?