by Ellie Mack
He shook his head moving on. It had to be something else. Cyberpro Dynamics Corporation manufactured vitamins, supplements, and holistic food products. He landed this job with Cyberpro after winning his division match in MMA. A representative from the company had been at the arena that day, and after watching the match, offered him a sponsorship. When he met with the owner/manager of the business, Wilhelm Reinholz, the secretary had given Luke’s file to him indicating an application for a position on the legal team.
By the end of the day, he not only got the position on the legal representatives team, but he also won the spokesperson gig filming six commercials and short infomercials that were on a loop of ads that rolled on monitors in health food stores across the nation. He landed a guest appearance at a Home and Garden Extravaganza where he did a brief exhibition match to display some of his trademark moves. That had the crowd on their feet cheering, making his transition for marketing the company’s products smooth and seamless.
It made for a busy, stressful semester for Luke, but he couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Every third week, he flew to their headquarters in northern Chicago for training to prepare him to step into his fulltime position in July. He had to become aware of the procedures, learn the products, so that he felt he could represent the company to the best of his ability. It wasn’t in him to just sit in the office and read a stack of legal briefs, he was more hands on. Dr. Kline had been giving him the tour of the facility, walking him through the steps of production but he had to leave early. Luke guaranteed he would finish the walkthrough on his own. It seemed like a better way to spend his time than staring at a computer screen.
He checked the calendar on his tablet. July was only four short months away. Two full months until graduation and another month until he and Roxy would be married and off on their honeymoon to Cancun. After the honeymoon, they would move into his furnished loft apartment with a phenomenal view.
In four months he will have achieved his life dreams! Then he and Roxy could make new goals and dreams together. Life was good!
He took the stairs leading down to the floor below at a jogging pace. He tipped his hard hat towards Tom, a friend he had gone to high school with who had helped him ease into his current position. Tom motioned him over to his station.
“Hear you’re getting hitched,” Tom continued his actions, pulling bins from the assembly line and stacking them into crates.
“Yep,” Luke beamed, his vivid blue eyes sparkling as his grin spread across his face. “June sixteenth I’m marrying the woman of my dreams.”
“Is this that MMA fighter I saw you with?” Tom pushed the crate off onto the rails, pulling the next one forward.
“Yep. Roxanne Winters, aka Foxy Roxy,” Luke stuck his pen in his pocket protector.
“Congrats man. Did she come up with you this time?”
“Nah, she had a test and a photo shoot for her sponsor.”
Tom hit the red button on the cable that hung down in front of his cage. The stacks of crates on the motorized pallet train moved down the line towards the loading docks. He grabbed a towel from his station and swiped at his brow.
“Damn I’m glad that’s done. Boss’ been riding my ass all day to get this shipment to the docks. Been at it solid for three hours now.” He tossed the towel back on the workbench and moved out of the caged area.
Luke stepped back out of the way, careful not to get in the path of the robot pallet trolley. It was a regular symphony of orchestrated beauty when things were in full swing. He followed Tom to the break room, where both men opted for one of the company’s newest sport’s drinks.
“Next time bring her with you and you two can join the Missus and me for some steak on the patio. It will be nice to catch up for more than three minutes on break, you know? Hell, we haven’t had a decent catch up since football season our senior year at Raleigh Central.”
“Sounds like a plan. She is supposed to come up with me next Thursday. I gotta turn in my paperwork and my W2. We will fly back Monday evening. I’m sure Roxy will be excited to meet you and Shae.”
“Hey, as long as they don’t start talking about body clocks and babies for another few years, I’m good.”
The men chuckled together as they finished their drinks and ended their break.
“Just text me the time and address. I’ll pick up the beer. See ya then Tom.” Luke gave a generous nod in Tom’s direction as he headed for the stuffy office that sat at the far west end of the plant.
It was a good daily bit of brisk walking to make the rounds through the plant. Scheduling it in the afternoon when he was usually hit with the afternoon drowzies had been a good plan. He now felt invigorated and ready to tackle the rest of the day. His mental countdown to go home to Roxy began as he sat at his assigned desk, checking the next few items on his list.
The next task was of vital importance and extremely boring and tedious. This was what had first prompted him to schedule the walkthrough. Last time he had tried to tackle this; he nearly fell asleep at his desk. Not good for the new guy. Verifying that he understood the products and the company he would represent made for a lot of behind the scenes work, but it was the paperwork that he dreaded the most.
Today however, he was clear-minded and excited to get this completed. He pulled up the files on the computer. It was a simple matter of checking to make sure all the system checks had passed before approval for shipment. He had to give his QC stamp of approval on each step. Since his hire date, he had shadowed employees in each phase of production except for laboratory development. He visually scanned the files checking for errors, notes, or variances that exceeded acceptable tolerances. It was how Mr. Reinholz wanted him to learn, by assuming a position in quality control until he had his bearings. He didn’t mind and wasn’t about to voice any disagreement when he saw the amounts deposited in his account. Whatever Mr. Reinhoz wanted, Luke would do even if it meant jumping through these hoops.
Notes didn’t keep product from being approved; they were mostly for improving the system. Luke opened a note on the first batch of product, indicating that a change to the formula was approved by Reinholz two days prior. At the end of his note were notation markings: SLMA E17. It meant nothing to Luke and as Reinholz had approved it, he figured it was all good so he entered his Quality Control code into the system.
Luke repeated the process, tediously reading through the files for errors, notes, and variances. On the fifth batch, there were additional notes attached. Testing fails for SLMA E17, QE9 added as stabilizer. TST 5.6. He entered his approval code into the system. The attached notes increased, all referencing SLMA E17.
Luke entered his final approval code into the system then hit the ship button. Almost immediately, the reverse alarm at the loading docks began and the sounds of rubber tire loaders drowned out all of the factory noise. He checked his tablet for the time. He had about an hour and a half remaining on his shift before he could leave and his tasks were complete.
He cleaned off the desk, and then filled out his reports, which took all of twelve minutes. Curiosity got the better of him and he pulled up the file for TST 5.6. It was the video that the worker on the floor was watching.
Luke dug out the earbuds from his desk drawer so that he could listen to the audio, then watched the video report in horror as the two young men, test subjects 5 and 6 participated in a twelve week study of Experimental level Synthrolevomethylamphetamine number seventeen, to be referred to as SLMA E17.
Immediate addictive behavior. Second week: produced violent outbursts, heart palpitations, hair loss, loss of appetite, and hallucinations. Fourth week: tremors, confusion, fatigue. Week eight: shortness of breath, involuntary muscle twitches, seizures. Week ten: Subjects exhibited seizures followed by loss of consciousness. Upon regaining consciousness hallucinations and violent outburst, rapid rise in heart rate and death.
Reports pending results of autopsy findings.
Luke swallowed hard, raising his hand to his face, part
ially covering his open mouth. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he realized he had learned more than he had intended to. Maybe he was wrong, maybe there was some other explanation. This additive to the company product, a product that he had been using in his training, a product that was supposed to give him an edge in competition, had caused the deaths of these two young men. He played the video over again. They were healthy young men at the beginning, and in ten weeks, their appearance was so altered that their families wouldn’t have been able to identify their bodies.
Something clicked inside his head. News reports about students missing. Discoveries of homeless on the riverfront that had overdosed on a synthetic drug. Nervously, Luke took the micro sized flash drive from the pocket of his lab coat.
Roxanne had given it to him as a joke because he had lost five flash drives that were three inches long. This one was maybe an inch total. It would hold eight Gig of memory, but it wasn’t much larger than his actual thumbnail. He raked his upper teeth over his lower lip for a few seconds before deciding, then shoved it into the computer. This was too much to process at once. Luke downloaded the files pertaining to test subjects, SLMA E17, and anything else that was mentioned in the notes he’d read. The thought that these weren’t the only subjects rolled through his frontal lobes as he realized there were at least four more individuals prior to these young men.
Once completed, he removed the flash drive and stuck it into the key pocket of his trousers, tucking it up under his belt. He went into the browser and deleted his history. He closed the computer down and signed out.
He wouldn’t relax until he was home in Roxanne’s arms. Luke Reed had gotten in way over his head on this one. The small print on his dream job apparently came with expensive strings. Luke nervously combed his fingers through his hair as he moved to the anteroom where the guards sat. He walked through the metal detector after placing his watch in the plastic tub. The second guard patted him down before announcing he was “Clear”. Luke gathered his watch and moved quickly to the locker room to get his phone and backpack.
Meanwhile his mind was racing through a long list of possible scenarios regarding the newly discovered information. He would take every precaution so that he wouldn’t put Roxanne in any danger. Maybe he was over reacting. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe, the accidental deaths of the subjects were resolved and the families received some sort of compensation. His gut told him otherwise, but he did not know all of the facts. Luke started the rental car and drove the few blocks to gather his things from the hotel before catching his flight home.
CHAPTER 3
“Detective Miller, Detective Alvarez.”
Devon Miller nodded in acknowledgement. He hated these calls. He hated seeing people in the homeless shelter. He hated the fact that there were homeless shelters or that people needed to go to one. It never made sense to him. “What have we got?”
“Two males. Looks like meth heads, but we need to find out what’s going on. This is the fourth time this month that homeless guys have shown up dead. I’m putting you two on the case. Check with Dickerson in narcotics, see if he has any leads.” Sergeant Brenner stood from his crouched position next to the bodies, flipping the body bag back over the victim’s face. “I want to know what they are taking, who they are buying from and the cause of death. I want a full tox screen and have Simmons report anything out of the order. Anything! Talk to some of the regulars at the shelter up the street.” He tucked his hands into the pockets of his black leather jacket, eyes downcast to the ground. Hesitating as if he wanted to add something more, but then changing his mind. He added “I want reports on my desk in the morning.”
Devon watched him walk away before bending to examine the body. He reached for a discarded straw in the pile of trash that the first body lay in. Using the straw, he opened the vic’s mouth, checking for missing teeth, foaming, anything. “Still got his teeth. That’s something.”
Alvarez stood with his hands shoved into his jacket. “This kid is too young to be here.” He bent swiping the hair out of the eyes of the second body. “Both of them. I would lay odds that test results are going to be the same as the last guy’s. I think our best bet is going to be Dickerson. See if he knows who’s dealing the designer drugs down here and find out how bums can afford it.”
The men collected as much data as they could before heading back to the station. It was a short ride as they were just a few blocks away. When they arrived, they stepped onto the elevator with the perky new dispatcher. She had been flirting with Alvarez unabashedly. Devon dropped his eyes to his feet, trying to hide his shit-eating grin. It was high time Alvarez got back in the game after his divorce and the dispatcher was attractive and seemed to be his type.
Devon remained quiet as Breanne fumbled over herself trying to ask him out for a drink after work. He ground his heel into Alvarez’ toes when he started to say he wasn’t in the mood.
“He likes Dos Equis. He’ll meet you at O’Grady’s at six, but now I need him to finish his paperwork.” Devon grabbed his partner’s arm and dragged him from the elevator, nodding his head at Breanne, seeing her entire face light up.
“What the hell, man?” Alvarez yanked his arm away as he turned and faced his partner.
Devon crossed his arms over his chest. “You were about to tell her that you weren’t in the mood. I get it man. We just saw two dead guys who look to be the age that would be out in the clubbing scene or hitting the skate park or at least living. I know it’s hard to digest. It’s hard to face something like that and then go about your normal business. That young lady has been flirting with you for weeks and you’ve been divorced for nearly a year. I know you got the short end when Maria left you man, but damn. Live a little. One drink. You were going to hit the bar anyway, right?”
Alvarez shrugged slightly, indicating that was his plan, but his plan didn’t include a date with someone new.
“Why not share your beer with an attractive lady, forget the events of the day, and, if nothing else, make a friend. One beer. Don’t bring up Maria. Don’t talk about the divorce or child custody battles. Listen. Compliment her on her hair or her outfit. Just be a decent person. I can’t be your drinking buddy today man; I got a hot date with Tara. You’re welcome. Now get Dickerson on the line and get busy on the paperwork.” He turned abruptly, heading for the break room. This day couldn’t get over soon enough for his liking. He grabbed one of the large cups and stuck it under the coffee pot.
As he was popping the plastic lid onto it, Jones popped his head into the break room. “Miller! You’ve got a call on Line Three.”
He walked briskly to his desk, taking his jacket off, hanging it over the back of his chair, then sat while hitting line three. “Miller” His face instantly blanched.
“Devon. Hi. This is Roxanne, Tara’s sister. I don’t know if you remember me, we went to high school together. Anyway, Tara will be staying with me for a while. For now, we are at Mom’s house until after the funeral. Our mother passed away this morning. Tara’s sleeping now, but I wanted you to know what was going on and I got your number from her phone.”
“Is she OK? Yeah, I remember you Roxy, we used to date.”
Roxy hesitated before responding. “Yeah, I didn’t know if you remembered or not. She’s fine. Sort of. This is difficult on both of us, but Tara is taking it extremely hard. She’s exhausted. The nurses called her in at three this morning. She called me close to eight and I drove up as fast as I could.”
“I’ll be off work in an hour. I’ll pick up some dinner and come over and help with whatever I can.” He scribbled some notes down before adding “And Roxy, it’s good to hear your voice again.”
He knew it was only a matter of time before he’d have to face her again. He had hoped to avoid it a little longer, though, and certainly hadn’t counted on it being over a funeral.
CHAPTER 4
I stared at my phone as if it were poisoned. I had managed to avoid Devon since our nasty break-up bef
ore graduation. When Tara told me she had started dating Devon, I made a point not to be around when he was. I had no desire to see him again for the rest of my life. However, since Tara was dating him, I suppose that I could handle his presence in limited doses. I could play nice if he wasn’t a permanent fixture. Chances were he would dump her too, then I would be left consoling her and wishing him a cruel death.
Sighing in resolution, I moved to the back patio, closing the sliding glass doors just in case Tara awoke. It was the fourth time I tried to reach Luke. Surely, he would be home or very close to it by now. I mentally went over what the schedule that he shared before leaving the day before. The voicemail picked up. “Luke, it’s me. Please call me as soon as you get this.”
It wasn’t nearly as calm as the last few I left.
I set the phone on the patio table and practically collapsed into the padded chair beside it. Leaning forward, resting my head in my hands as my fingers embraced my weary head, my hair fell over my face and I didn’t even have the energy to care. If I could manage a nap it would work wonders, but that wasn’t going to happen. I had way too much to do.
Tara and I had gone to the funeral home, selected a casket, and made the obituary for the local paper. Both of us drew a blank on so many things that we ended up calling Aunt Carol for dates and names. Aunt Carol agreed to inform the rest of the family.
I debated whether to call Dad since I knew that Carol would rather kill him than call him. Anger rose inside even thinking about him. After several minutes of internal debate, I decided that after I got in contact with Luke, then I would call Mr. Daniel Winters aka dear old Dad and inform him of Mom’s death.
CHAPTER 5
How? Why? It wasn’t fair!
Lynn Winters was a good woman! She worked hard and never seemed to catch a break. I sat dumbfounded in the house that had always been our home. Without her, it was an empty shell. I hadn’t bothered to wake Tara.