November 01, 2361 AIA

P67

When Jane felt the light tap on her arm, she raised her head. It was Sipos. He only touched her to get her attention, but it’d taken days for her to get used to it. She wasn’t exactly comfortable with it, but at least she wasn’t jumping anymore.

“Moric?”

“I’ve been looking over the data from yesterday,” he said. “I’m sorry to bother you, Jane, but are you sure that Tate did everything correctly?”

Jane’s brows pulled together. As she reached out to take the book, she glanced around the lab. Tate wasn’t there. A part of her felt a flutter of nerves at the thought of being alone with Sipos, but the much greater part of her was glad that he was missing for this conversation. Joseph seemed to be on edge lately.

“What’s the problem?” she asked.

Moric’s answer was to point to the last column of information. As she gazed at the numbers, her breath grew more and more shallow. Sipos stood beside her, saying nothing.

When Tate re-entered the room, the sound of the door drew their eyes to him.

He stopped a few steps in. “Doc? Is something wrong?”

“Joseph, I have to ask you something.”

Sipos had that smug smirk on his face again. Joseph felt himself flush. When he walked over to Jane, he went along the side of the table furthest from Moric Sipos.

Jane had a binder in her hands. It was open to the record of weights for the untransformed xenos.

“Did you do these recordings yesterday?”

“Yes, Dr. Jane.”

“The numbers are wrong. They must be.” She pointed. “They’re at least fifteen grams lighter than they should be.”

Joseph felt another headache creeping toward his temples. “I don’t know what to tell you, Doc. I recorded them exactly how you showed me.”

“You didn’t notice the discrepancy?” Sipos said.

“No.”

The two biologists looked at each other.

Tate’s shoulders tensed. It was going to be another one of those things. Why would he have noticed the discrepancy? How could he know what numbers were reasonable and which weren’t? Oh, right. If he’d been a real biologist he would have—as Dr. Moric Sipos would be sure to remind him.

Tate curled his hands into fists, forcing the edge of his nails into his palms.

Jane stood up suddenly, forcing both men to take a step back.

“There’s an easy way to solve this. Let’s see the samples.” She went over to the shelf and pulled down a tray of containers.

She handed Joseph Tate one of the jars. “Show me how you measured.”

“Dr. Bonumomnes—”

“Joseph! Just show me.”

Tate took the sample and brought it over to the side table where the larger measuring tools were kept. He turned to get a pair of disposable gloves, but Sipos was already holding out a set.

“You shouldn’t forget these,” Sipos said.

Tate felt Jane’s eyes on him and realized that saying “I wasn’t going to” would only sound childish. “Thank you, Doctor.”

He put them on and reset the scale to zero. When the reading was set, he put in an empty sample container primed with the holding solution, set that to the new zero, then transferred in the actual sample. When he instinctively reached for the pen that wasn’t there, he remembered it had already been recorded.

He said, “A-3, yesterday’s sample, 603.2 grams.”

He straightened up and looked at Jane, waiting for the verdict.

She dropped the binder on the table beside him. “That’s correct. No—that’s wrong, but you measured it correctly, and it tallies with what you wrote down yesterday.”

Tate couldn’t help feeling relieved. He kept his eyes on Jane to avoiding seeing Sipos’s expression.

Dr. Bonumomnes checked her gloves, then reached out to take the jar. She examined the swirl of white-silver floating in the solution for a few seconds, then flipped back a few pages in the binder. “Get me D-6 from five days ago.”

Tate moved to get it, but Sipos was closer.

“I’ve got it.” Moric returned with the sample and turned it over to Jane. She held both jars up, side by side.

“Now that’s interesting.” She turned so Tate could see them. “Which one is smaller?”

Joseph motioned to the one Sipos had brought her.

“Visually, you can tell this one is noticeably smaller?” Jane asked.

Tate nodded. Was he imagining things? She’d always been abrupt, but this was the first time he’d ever felt like she was being patronizing.

“According to you, they’re the same size.”

And he was fairly certain that comment was not supposed to sound like an accusation.

He stepped out of Jane’s way as she went over to the scale. Sipos slithered up behind his shoulder.

Don’t be stupid, Tate thought to himself. A man can’t slither.

“You didn’t catch that?” Sipos asked.

“No, Doctor,” Joseph said. “I might have noticed if I’d weighed them together, but since they were four days apart, I missed it.”

“That’s reasonable,” Jane said while fidgeting with the scale.

“You really think so?” Sipos asked.

She looked up. “How long was it before you could estimate the weight of a specimen by nothing more than relative density?”

“I’m not sure. A month? Two?”

“Then I guess my sympathy is more with Tate.” Jane offered Moric a straight, subtle smile. “It took me years.”

“Yes, but at least you can do it now.”

Dr. Jane ignored the comment. Instead, she went and grabbed an empty jar. She put it on the scale and let out a brief huff. Tate couldn’t tell if it was triumph or irritation.

“That’s it then.” To Joseph, she said, “Did you set up the equalizing jar?”

“The what?”

Jane saw Sipos roll his eyes as he stepped away from Tate. She held up the sample container that was primed with the holding solution. “The equalizer. The thing we use to equalize the scales to get a reading.”

“I don’t—” Tate paused. “I usually do.”

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“It’s heavy. That’s why the readings are off.”

Sipos let out a sigh of relief. “At least he didn’t mess up an experiment.”

“I didn’t mess up anything!” Tate said.

“Tate!” When her assistant looked at her, Jane said, “It’s not a problem. Please remake the equalizing jar and remeasure the samples.” She moved back toward her stool but turned before she got there. “Use today’s date and make a note about why they’re being remeasured.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

Jane stood by her workstation and leaned on the table. She never should’ve stayed up so late the night before. Moric had called her to ask a question, and they’d wound up talking for hours. He was so charming and confident, and she was infinitely more comfortable dealing with him over the phone, rather than in person. Over the phone she couldn’t see him watching her.

A shiver crawled from her neck to her fingertips. She stood up and went over to the door. “I’m going for some water.”

Tate watched out of the corner of his eye as Sipos followed her into the main house. He fought the urge to go after him and focused back on the work at hand. As Tate measured, he tried to remember if he’d made a new equalizing jar within the last five days. He wasn’t sure, but he didn’t think he had.

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“Why do you keep him around?”

“Tate is a good assistant.”

“He’s completely unqualified!”

“I know he doesn’t have an ideal background, but he knows enough to be useful, and he’s learning fast.”

“If he didn’t have a decent background, why did you hire him in the first place?”

“Moric!” Jane took a breath to calm down, then steeled herself to meet his eyes. “Tate was the best of the few people who applied. He’s worked hard, and I have no complaints.”

“No complaints? You don’t mind that kind of sabotage?”

“It was a mistake. No one is perfect.”

Sipos looked away. “I’ve made you angry. I’m sorry, Jane.” He put a hand up to the back of his head. When it dropped, it slapped his thigh. “I guess I get frustrated. This work is so important! And you’ve had to make do with a lab you built yourself and an unqualified assistant.”

Jane stared down at the counter under her hand and tried to sound light-hearted. “Yeah, well. It’s what I could afford.”

When she looked back up, for a terrible moment, she thought Moric was going to kiss her. He hadn’t leaned in any further, but his expression was so intense it shook her.

The moment broke when Sipos pushed his glasses back up his nose. “Does that statement include Tate?”

“Yes.” Jane let out a huff of laughter. “Everyone who works with me gets the same crappy rate. You get paid nothing. Tate gets paid almost nothing.”

He was staring at her again. “It’s worth every cent I don’t get. It’s an honor to work with you, Jane.”

Jane felt her cheeks grow red. She took a long sip of water to try to hide her reaction.

Sipos leaned back against the counter and folded his arms. “It makes me wonder though—a man Tate’s age? Working for so little? I could understand if he was interested in the science—”

“Maybe he is.”

Moric raised an eyebrow. “Why didn’t he get an education then?”

“He was born and raised on a free-plane.” Jane rubbed her forehead. “He probably didn’t get the chance.”

“So you do know his history?”

“A little bit. He doesn’t talk about it much.”

“Is he hiding something?”

“No, I’m too busy bossing him around to ask him anything.”

They were interrupted by Cuss’s arrival. They hadn’t notice her enter the room, so her sudden leap onto the counter made it seem as though she appeared out of nowhere. Jane scooped Cuss up into her arms and kissed her head. The cat normally fussed and hissed at such abuse (which was why Jane did it), but this time, she didn’t make a sound. She was more than willing to become a fluffy barrier between Jane and the conversation. Dr. Jane had never loved her more.

“That’s the ugliest cat I’ve ever seen,” Sipos noted.

Jane smiled. “I know. Isn’t she perfect? Her name is Cuss.”

Moric reached out to pet the animal, but Cuss let out a loud hiss, then groaned threateningly in case he hadn’t gotten the message.

“Friendly creature,” Sipos said.

“We’re soulmates.” When Jane saw the way Sipos was eying her beloved pet, she said, “Don’t worry. It’s not you. She hates everyone.”

“Soulmates?” Sipos shook his head. “The company you keep, Jane.”

Jane allowed Cuss to escape. The doctor was about to excuse herself to go back to the lab, but then she heard a quiet two-tone noise. She almost laughed when she realized why it sounded so familiar.

It was her doorbell.

Jane was much too obsessive to hear it while she was working in the lab, so Tate had taken over the chore of answering the door. He did it without complaint, despite the fact it was one of those things that hadn’t been listed in the job description.

He was already on his way to the front door when he ran into Jane and Sipos heading to the entrance.

Jane waved him away. “I’ve got it, Tate. You can go finish remeasuring.”

Tate ignored her. He stood by as she opened the door. It revealed a small woman with short-cut blond hair.

“Hello,” Jane said as she tried to place the woman. “Can I help you?”

There was a long pause. Then the woman said, “You’re Jane. Jane Bonumomnes?”

“Yes.”

The smaller woman’s eyes flickered from Sipos to Tate. Joseph tensed and took a step forward.

“Could—could I speak to you alone?” the woman asked.

Jane’s hand slid halfway down the door. “What’s this about? Who are you?”

The woman put her hands in the back pockets of her pants. “Right. Sorry. My name is Lia Wauters.” She hesitated again. “I need to speak with you about the xenos.”

Moric Sipos moved to stand behind Dr. Jane’s shoulder. It happened to push Joseph back a step, away from the door and the doctor. Tate would have gladly strangled the man.

“Are you a biologist? A student?” Sipos asked.

Wauters’ fragile smile kept slipping on and off her face. “No. And yes. I’m not in a university, but the xenos are important to me…personally.” She looked at Jane again. “May I talk to you, Dr. Bonumomnes? In private?”

Tate closed his eyes and waited.

“I think I can do that,” Jane said.

Joseph held back his grunt of frustration. He opened his eyes to size up Lia Wauters. She was slightly larger than Dr. Jane, but Jane had the advantage of a wrath-based personality. On the other hand, the good doctor also seemed to have the self-preservation instinct of a noodle.

Dr. Bonumomnes stepped away from the door so Wauters could enter. “You’ll have to be checked out, but—”

“Checked out?” Wauters’ eyes were wide. “What do you mean, checked out?”

Tate stepped toward the newcomer. “You want to talk to her about the xenos, right? So you know something about them?”

“Something, yes.”

“We’re going to run a blood test to prove you aren’t one of them.”

Lia didn’t move.

“That’s not a problem, is it?” Tate asked.

When Wauters lunged for Jane, Tate was ready. He slammed his shoulder against her small frame, and they tumbled to the ground. Sipos grabbed Jane and pulled her back from the fray. When Tate and Wauters got to their feet, they both had e-pistols out.

“Get back to the lab!” Tate shouted. “Get the notes!”

Tate was a half-second too late. Wauters was going to outdraw him. He fired off his hip, knowing it would go wide. She still flinched away from the blast which kept her from returning the shot. She jumped toward him.

Jane felt Sipos pulling on her shoulder, but she didn’t move. She stared at Lia’s disfigured hand. The woman’s fingers had elongated, becoming the straight white claws the xenos shoved into their victims’ brains.

Tate kicked Wauters away and shot again—three direct blasts to the chest.

Lia held her alien hand to where the wounds should’ve been, then launched herself back at Joseph.

Tate’s adrenaline addled brain barely had time to note that the xeno was wearing armor before she knocked his weapon out of his hand. When he saw she was still gripping hers with the only hand that looked remotely human, he dodged away from her claws and tore the gun away, wrenching her wrist. Wauters let out a shout of pain. Tate threw the e-pistol across the room. When he turned back, to his horror, he saw she was no longer focusing on him.

She’d turned to Dr. Jane.

Tate drew his knife from the scabbard at the small of his back and tried to kick out her feet. She stumbled but didn’t fall.

“Go!” Joseph yelled.

Jane was in shock. Tate grabbed her by the shirt and made her look at him.

“Get to the lab,” he said. “Get the notes. Wait there for me.”

He shoved her shoulder, hard, then turned to Wauters, impaling himself on her claws. Three of the white digits were buried in his stomach. He drove his knife so far into the back of her hand, the hilt crashed into it.

She screamed and fell back, pulling her claws from his wounds. She stared at the blade sticking out of her palm.

Tate held one arm over his bleeding stomach and used his other to hit her again and again, across the face, until she dropped to the floor.

He waited to see if she would get up. When she didn’t, he stumbled toward the lab. Jane was waiting at the back door. Sipos was beside her. Three black binders and two notebooks were in her arms.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Tate went around the room, stopping at every console to enter a line of command. “You know what’s going on. The xenos have found you.”

“They’re all dead!”

“We hoped they were all dead. We were wrong.” He left the computers and walked over to her and Sipos.

“Who are you?”

Tate opened the utilities box—the one that he’d set up for the lab. The gray box was a total mystery to Jane, and his proficiency with hardware was most of the reason why she’d been glad to hire him. He flipped a few switches, then turned to smile at her.

“What are you talking about, Doc? I’m your assistant.”

He pulled down a large switch. A low humming filled the room.

“What did you do?” Jane whispered.

“Sorry, Dr. Jane,” Tate said. “We have to get out of here. I’m blowing the lab.”

Sipos yelled, “You’re blowing the lab?!”

“We don’t know how many there are or who they are. We’re leaving, and we can’t leave anything behind.”

“But the xeno matter!”

“Especially the xeno matter,” Tate shouted. “We’re not letting it fall into their hands.”

Jane grabbed onto his sleeve. When he turned to her, he saw the ill fear on her face. “Cuss.”

He rolled his eyes so hard it pulled his head back. “You’re fucking joking.”

She wasn’t.

He pointed at Jane. “I’m getting a raise. You understand?” He reached up to a nearby shelf, pulled out an e-pistol, and handed it to her. “This is yours. No one takes it from you. No one. You walk out that back door, go down the alley, go south two blocks. Wait outside the small tavern, Odyssey. If I’m not there in fifteen minutes, go somewhere safe.” He pulled a nan-card out of his pocket and held it up in front of her. “If you do leave me, use this.”

Only after he staggered away did she notice the blood on his back of his shirt.

“Is this why you hired him?” Sipos asked.

Dr. Bonumomnes inspected the shelf Tate had pulled the e-pistol from. She had no idea where he’d hidden it. It couldn’t have been more impressive if he’d pulled a rabbit out of a hat. “I wonder how many of these things are around,” she muttered.

“Do you want to me to take it?” Sipos asked.

Jane turned to face him. “Take what?” Her voice was low, and, as Tate could have warned Dr. Sipos, it was edging toward menacing.

“The gun.”

Jane jerked back the slide, glanced at the power source, and clicked off the safety. “Why would I?” She tucked the books under her arm and pushed open the door. “Come on.”