Chapter 6
Transcript of conversation between XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX and XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. August, XX, XXXX.
> I’m sorry for your loss, XXXXXXXXX. Do we know what happened?
>
> Not yet, XXXX. I’m sure you read our memo about the car bomb, but we don’t know much more than that. She died suddenly, which I suppose was good. But there seem to be some discrepancies.
>
> Such as?
>
> There was an explosion, a small one, in one of the labs a few hours before she was killed. Three bottles of super pills are missing and XXXXXXX was there at the time.
>
> How many pills?
>
> Thirty-six.
>
> And you think she took them?
>
> We don’t know. It doesn’t make sense that she would have, but everyone who was there looks clean. It doesn’t make sense that someone would blow her up, either. The SSA will be running the external investigation, with FBI support, and we’ll be monitoring them very closely. Our own folks are working the internal investigation.
>
> How will this affect project Heat Pump?
>
> Unknown, XXXX. She was an instrumental part of the design phase, but we’re well past that now. If anything goes wrong downstream, her absence will likely affect the timeline.
>
> Understood. How is our lucky candidate?
>
> Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
>
> Everything is on track, XXXX. He interviewed for a position at the factory yesterday, and will start as the night shift manager in a couple of weeks. Eventually, he’ll be tasked to work on the experimental process. We should be able to execute in about two months.
>
> You realize two months is well over our original timeline. How much will that extra time cost us?
>
> XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.
>
> I know that. But it still feels like we shouldn’t be able to afford it.
>
> Yes, XXXX.
- Aiden -
NOVEMBER
Ed came by to see me today and even brought lunch. Real food from his restaurant. It was heavenly.
He’s been looking after my place since I’ve been gone and assures me that everything is “Jim Dandy”. My mail has been collected, bills paid, and my tropical fish are thriving.
Not that he’s been paying my bills. Apparently Alex, or someone else in the company, sent a team of lawyers to make sure all of my affairs were in order. It sounds like they started before anyone even suspected I would recover, but I’m not sure what to make of that.
I’ve known Ed since last June. I was walking home from work--this was about a month before I lost my job from the transportation company--when I saw these three young punks mugging an older man a couple of blocks from my apartment. I later learned that Ed was army and like any good soldier he was standing his ground, but it didn’t look good. One to three is generally considered bad odds, especially if the three were in their prime and the one was well past it. I invited myself to the party and said something pithy, but I no longer remember what it was. So then it was two to three and a moment later, one of the punks tried to make a move and then it was two to two and shortly after that it was just Ed and I.
As a precaution I followed him home and was pleased and surprised to find he lived in my building; two floors above mine. He was very grateful for my help and still is. Over the next week or two we would chat in the lobby if we happened to pass each other coming and going and then one day one of us, probably him, invited the other to lunch and we’ve been lunching together every Monday ever since. Well, not counting the last couple of Mondays.
Today, when he came into my hospital room, he said he couldn’t stay long and he didn’t. I’m pretty sure he doesn't like hospitals, but if there’s a reason, I don’t know what it is.
My hands have stopped itching, which is nice, and they’ve reduced my meds, which is even nicer. I’m still unable to use pens and if I hold a glass of water too long it starts to ice up, which is a rather strange thing when you’re not used to it. No one seems to know why, but they’ll start running some tests on my hands in a day or two.
No update on my feelings.