by John Koloen
Boyd watched in disbelief as the creatures pulled the injured bug out from under its hiding place and into the open where they launched into their savagery. Fast-forwarding to the end of the video, he uploaded it into the lab’s network, reformatted the card for reuse and returned to the lab for one last look, taking several photos with his iPhone, which produced clear, high resolution images.
Certain that his boss would want to know about this, he attached the images to an email and sent them. Excited by what he had seen in the male habitat, he overlooked what was happening in the female’s habitat. But it was already noon, his stomach was growling and he made his way to Gruber’s place for wings and pizza.
23
HOWARD DUNCAN’S PHONE, buried in his suitcase, received Boyd’s email in silence. Maggie Cross had set it on airplane mode so that they wouldn’t be disturbed. At the time they were browsing through La Villita Historic Arts Village, a short walk from their hotel. The sky was bright blue and clear, the sun warm and comforting.
“I don’t understand how you can go into so many shops and not buy anything,” Duncan mused as they left what seemed to him an endless collection of galleries.
“I like to browse. See different places, especially places with a history. Besides, there’s nothing like this in Chicago. There’s so much history in San Antonio. So much to see.”
Duncan smiled. Being with Maggie, talking and holding hands had expunged any thoughts he’d had about work. During the drive to San Antonio, he had obsessed over what he thought had been a disrespectful meeting with Gabriel Cox during which Cox basically forced him to turn over one of his specimens to Dr. Nolan Thomas without so much as a thank you. Reliving the conversation, he felt his anger rise, shouting obscenities as he drove the unfamiliar, twisting route, nearly running off the road twice before finally letting go. That’s just the way of the world, he thought. Things are never what you imagine them to be. There’s always somebody somewhere who ruins everything. It had happened to him at the university where all it took was negative publicity to turn him from a highly respected entomologist into an academic pariah. Already, a month into his tenure at Biodynamism, he feared things were headed in the same direction. Gradually, the closer he got to San Antonio, as traffic grew dense, he had stopped obsessing about what had happened and started to focus on what he hoped would be three glorious days and two satisfying nights with the only woman he cared about.
Cross had no idea that Duncan was troubled by his job, but it was fine with her. She didn’t come to San Antonio just to listen to her boyfriend talk about his work. It was one of the ground rules of their rendezvous. He wouldn’t talk about work and she wouldn’t talk about her cats. She liked his fitness and that he was taller than her at six feet. She was enamored of the courage he’d shown in the rainforest, and she even liked his pony tail. What she didn’t like was the intensity with which he approached his work that sometimes made him seem distant.
“You know what we should do next?” she asked coyly as they left La Villita.
“Lunch,” he said.
“That’s not what I was thinking,” she said suggestively, “but we can have lunch first.”
24
PARTY GUESTS WERE not in short supply at Jason Gruber’s apartment. The place teemed with Biodynamism employees. A group of intense young men sat around the kitchenette table playing World of Warcraft on their expensive gaming laptops. They moaned, they groaned, they laughed, they crowed as the game went on. Gruber, the good host, tore himself from the gaming periodically to attend to his guests. Every seat in the living area was occupied. Some watched a basketball game on the flat screen while others engaged in animated conversations. One topic that had gained momentum concerned the company’s male-female ratio. The five women in attendance accounted for all but one of the females working in Thomas’s lab. Each was surrounded by males and had only to gesture for a drink or bite to eat before one or two men swiftly provided it.
Gruber met Boyd enthusiastically, giving him a shoulder hug and pointing out where he could find food and drink. Boyd recognized several people but he felt uncomfortable standing near the entrance surrounded by strangers, some of whom were looking his way. To avoid dwelling on his discomfort, he moved to the nearest cooler with purpose, grabbed a Dos Equis, popped the top, and took a satisfying swig, wiping his lips with his hand.
Bottle in hand, Boyd watched the game players briefly before loading wings and potato salad onto a flimsy paper plate that almost collapsed when he nearly dropped his beer as he reached for a spork.
“Nice catch,” a woman whispered near his ear.
“Thanks,” he said, turning toward her. “Hi. What’s your name?”
“Carolyn McKenzie. I work for Dr. Thomas.”
“I’m Cody Boyd. I work for Howard Duncan. Nice to meet you,” he said as he struggled to balance his plate.
“Oh, I heard about him.”
“Yeah, a lot of people have.”
“I didn’t know he was here.”
“Yep.”
“Here, gimme your beer,” McKenzie said. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to drink it.”
Making their way into the living room, Boyd squeezed onto the end of the sofa, his plate on his lap.
“I hope this doesn’t bleed through.”
McKenzie grabbed several paper plates and slipped them under Boyd’s plate.
“There, that’s better,” she said.
“What about you? Are you gonna have some?”
Standing alongside the sofa, McKenzie looked around the room.
“There’s no place to sit.”
“We could go into the hallway,” Boyd said helpfully.
“Actually, there’s some tables and chairs at the end of the hallway.”
“Why don’t we meet there with the meat,” Boyd said lamely.
McKenzie grimaced.
“Sorry,” he said. “It came out wrong.”
“That’s what they all say,” she said, smiling.
Boyd pondered whether it was a throwaway line or a double entrendre as he made his way to the end of the hall, taking a seat at a shiny aluminum-topped cafe table. For a second, he wondered whether she was being funny or sarcastic. It didn’t matter, she was attractive, about his age, and she started the conversation. That had to mean something, he thought.
As one moment merged into another he wondered what was holding her up. It couldn’t take that long to fill a plate. Maybe she needed help. Like a child afraid that he was missing out on something, he abandoned his plate and beer and returned to Gruber’s apartment where he saw her talking to another man in the kitchenette. Instantly, he felt deflated and confused. What should he do? Would it be an imposition if he interrupted the conversation she was having? For several moments he’d felt a burst of energy and now, in an instant, he felt anxious. What was she doing?
From across the room, she saw him and waved.
Suddenly, the angst was gone and he felt a burst of joy as he moved quickly to her side.
“Can I help with your plate, Carolyn?”
“Yeah, Cody, I could use some help.”
Breaking off the conversation, she followed him into the hallway.
“Thanks for that,” she said as the door closed behind them. “I think he likes me but I don’t really like him. I mean, I like him as a friend but, you know, nothing more.”
“Does he work in Dr. Thomas’s lab?”
“As far as I can tell, pretty much everybody at the party works for Dr. Thomas. You’re the only who doesn’t.”
As they finished their meals and drinks, their conversation limited to general topics such as the weather, the type of work they did, and how long they’d worked at Biodynamism, Boyd looked at his phone. It was one o’clock.
“Well, I gotta check the lab,” he said rising and tossing his plate into a nearby trash can and finishing off the beer. “You wanna come?”
“What’s in the lab?”
“Some very interestin
g bugs,” Boyd said.
“Well, who could resist that?” she smiled, trashing her plate and leaving her half-full bottle on the table.
25
TRY AS SHE might, Maggie Cross couldn’t keep Howard Duncan’s mind off his work. Shortly after concluding their nooner, which left both of them drained and satisfied, she stepped into the bathroom. No sooner had she done so than Duncan stepped to his unzipped suitcase, which rested on a luggage rack, his back to the bathroom door. Stealthily, he reached into the suitcase when, unexpectedly, Cross emerged from the bathroom.
“Have you seen my—?” she said, stopping in mid-sentence. “Get away from that, Howard. You know the rules. Honestly, I can’t believe…”
Duncan backed away like a child caught shoplifting.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
“Can I trust you?” she said.
“Of course you can,” he said, turning toward her.
“Are you going to do that every time I turn my back?”
“No,” he protested. “It’s just that…”
“It’s just that you thought you could get away with it,” Cross scolded.
“All right, all right,” he stammered. “You caught me. I won’t do it again. I promise.”
“Good,” she said firmly. “Now, can you help me find my earrings?”
26
LEAVING THE RESIDENCE building, Boyd and McKenzie strolled across the campus to Duncan’s laboratory. Although the main entry to the building wasn’t secure, doors leading to the interior required passcodes. On weekdays, a security officer sat at a kiosk in the entry, but not during weekends.
“I’ve never been in this part of the building,” she whispered. “You’re sure it’s OK for me to be here?”
“Why not?”
“Well, I’m not authorized.”
“Aww, forget that. We’re not like Dr. Thomas’s operation. We’re small. I don’t think anyone really cares about us. Hell, we’re still waiting for the custom habitats we ordered a month ago.”
“That wouldn’t happen in Dr. Thomas’s lab.”
“Yeah, I know. You don’t have to rub it in.”
“I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“I know, I’m kidding.”
While the laboratory’s fluorescent ceiling lights were off, the habitats holding the specimens were brightly lit.
“What kind of bug is that?” she asked as they stopped in front of the male habitat.
“That is a dead Reptilus blaberus of the male persuasion.”
“Eww, what happened to it?”
“He was injured and his buds were hungry.”
“That’s disgusting.”
“Oh, you don’t know the half of it, and you don’t wanna know.”
“Are these the things that Dr. Duncan found in the jungle? They look like cockroaches.”
“Yep, that’s them.”
“And you were there too, right?”
“Oh yeah, twice.”
Uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation, Boyd led her to the female habitat. He didn’t like to talk about what had happened. He was still too close to it to talk about to anyone who hadn’t been there. Even then, those who had been involved didn’t like to talk about it. Carolyn stooped to get a closer look at the habitat while Boyd watched her from behind. Nice bod, he thought.
“What are those little things crawling around?” she asked.
“What little things?”
She pressed a finger against the glass, as if pointing.
“Those things?”
Boyd inched closer, stooping.
“Oh, my God!” he exclaimed.
27
“I CAN’T BELIEVE this!” Boyd shouted, startling Carolyn, who had no idea what was happening.
“Can I help?” she said.
“I don’t know,” Boyd said breathlessly as he stood on a step-stool, peering into the female’s habitat.
“Where is she?” Boyd muttered.
Tiny newborns scurried about the floor of the aquarium, seemingly never stopping or resting. Some tried to climb the glass sides, unsuccessfully. Others ran along the edges as if looking for a way out. They were about the size of a grain of rice but they moved so quickly that it was impossible to track just one. Unlike the male habitat, which contained a shovelful of sticks, leaves, and sand, the female habitat contained much less detritus, most of it piled up in one corner where the female spent much of her time out of view, which is where she was while her offspring jetted across the clear glass bottom.
“Where’s who?”
“The mother. I don’t wanna reach in if I can’t see her. She might jump out.”
“Really. They jump?”
“Oh, yeah. They can hit the ceiling in here.”
“Wow!”
Shaking his head, Boyd dismounted the stool. “Help me find a glove. I gotta get the mother outta there. She might eat the newborns.”
“They do that?”
“We don’t know, and I don’t want to find out. Can you watch for the mother? Let me know if you see her.”
“I thought you wanted me to find a glove,” she said, perplexed. “What’s she look like?”
“I’ll find the glove. You watch. You’ll know when you see it. She’s under those leaves somewhere.”
Boyd felt at once distracted and excited. He had an urge to act quickly but was glad he didn’t. No telling what the female would do if he opened the top before locating her. His strategy was to grab it as quickly and gently as possible and deposit it in a nearby empty aquarium. The trick was to get it firmly in hand without crushing it and then release it in the second aquarium gently. The female had been valuable prior to giving birth, but it was now the most important insect on Earth, as far as he was concerned. Now that it had delivered its young, which had been his boss’ primary goal, the new goal would be to learn blaberus’ gestational period. It had to be at least one month, but was it longer? And if it had been only a month, then he would have a basis to calculate how many of the insects would be produced over a given period. But Boyd wasn’t focused on the future. He had one chance to separate the mother from the offspring and couldn’t afford to get it wrong. His only mistake so far had happened when he agreed to hold the fort while his boss and other assistants took the weekend off.
What seemed like minutes took only seconds as Boyd located a pair of canvas gloves. After opening the top of the second aquarium, he mounted the stool and considered his options.
“Do you see it?”
“No, nothing. What’re you gonna do?”
“I think the only thing I can do is reach in with both hands and grab the leaves and twigs in a bunch and hope that she’s inside and not on the bottom. I’m not sure I can grab her from underneath.”
“Should I move out of the way?”
“No, I need you. When I tell you, can you push back the top so I can reach in? We’ll get only one shot at this. When I’m done, close it.”
“Won’t it jump out?” Carolyn asked nervously.
“I don’t think so. I hope it’ll be in the leaves somewhere and I’ll have my hands wrapped around it.”
“You hope?”
“OK, are you ready?”
“I think so. How far should I push the top?”
“Half way. We don’t want to break it,” Boyd said, taking a deep breath and exhaling.
“OK, go. Open it.”
Carolyn did as she was told and then stepped back as if expecting something to explode. Her eyes were glued to the corner of the aquarium where Boyd reached in, his gloved hands grabbing the female’s leafy home as if he was preparing to make a snowball. Instantly, he could feel blaberus pressing against his hands.
“God, it’s strong,” he said as he leaned toward the second aquarium, opening his hands and letting the ball of leaves and twigs fall.
“Jesus!” he shrieked. “It’s stuck on my glove. Fuck.”
The female had dug her sharp forelimbs into the
canvas glove deeply enough that Boyd couldn’t shake it off. Engulfing it with his free hand, he felt the insect try to spread its wings and at the same time retract her forelimbs from his other hand. When he opened his hand, the specimen dropped to the bottom of the aquarium amidst the leaves and twigs, seemingly stunned. Quickly, Boyd closed the top and sighed with relief. Smiling triumphantly, he looked at McKenzie, who gave him a baffled look, not understanding what had happened.
“We did it,” he said, wanting to hug her, but seeing that she did not share the joy, put up his hand for a high five. She slapped his hand weakly.
“Christ, that was something I don’t want to do again,” he said, looking at the female, which had quickly recovered and immediately started to explore her new home.
“So, what now?” she asked.
“Oh, look at those guys,” he said, pointing to the newborns.
“They’re so tiny. They get big like the mother?”
“Yep. Now we’ll find out how long it takes. My boss is gonna go crazy when I tell him.”
“Is that it, then? This kinda freaked me out.”
“You’re not an entomologist, I guess.”
“Are you kidding? I think cockroaches are disgusting.”
“These aren’t cockroaches.”
“Whatever they are, they look disgusting, and dangerous. Why don’t we go back to the party or something.”
As excited as he was by the newborns and having successfully separated them from their mother, his attention quickly returned to McKenzie. He’d taken a liking to her from the moment they’d met. He liked her voice. He liked her looks. He liked that she was his age and in good shape. He liked that she didn’t run screaming from the lab.