Absolute Zero

by Anlyn Hansell

  “Right. Yes…” her eyes lifted and scanned the empty lab beyond the glass partition in the office. She slowly lowered the receiver until it clicked into the rest. Her movements were wooden as her mind whirled. Rand. She needed to talk to Rand.

  Her hand picked up the receiver again as voices rang out in the office. She tried to steady her breathing, hoping they would pass by.

  “Hey! You’re back! How are you feeling? You…whoa, you look pale,” Em stated with a look of concern etched on her face.

  “Yeah, you do,” Ryan added as he stood next to her. “You missed it yesterday. McClellan came in here looking for you, right? I thought he left and Em comes up and we’re bitching about him being here and he yells from your desk that he was still in the room! I had a heart attack! I can laugh about it today but holy shit!” he grabbed his chest and his eyes were huge.

  Anne’s eyes darted around nervously before landing on the stack of manila folders. “He was here?” she all but whispered.

  “Yeah, hey!” Em stated as Anne pushed from the desk and quickly ran to the lab, swiping her keycard and heading straight for the freezer. She pulled it open and her eyes scanned for the tray.

  It was gone.

  “Hey, Anne? Are you Ok? What’re you looking for?”

  She ignored Em’s voice as she walked to the other freezer and opened it.

  No tray.

  “Oh my god,” she breathed out.

  “Here, sit. Tell me what’s wrong. Anne?” She could hear Ryan’s voice and felt her body being pushed down onto a stool.

  “Anne?” Em’s voice. “She looks like she’s in shock. Do you want to lie down? Anne? Do you feel like you’re going to pass out? Call somebody,” she heard through a tunnel.

  “No!” she managed to gasp out. “Don’t…I…” Deep breaths. Take deep breaths, she commanded herself mentally.

  “I’m just… It’s Ok. It’s Ok,” she chanted as her eyes squeezed shut.

  “You’re still sick. You shouldn’t be here, Anne. I’ll take you home,” Em stated as she rubbed her back gently.

  “No. I’ll be Ok. I need to talk to Rand,” she mumbled absently.

  “I’ll call him,” Ryan offered. Anne concentrated on getting feeling back in her limbs as well as getting something resembling a half decent breath to enter her lungs.

  “Voice mail,” he stated, pocketing his phone moments later.

  “He wasn’t here yesterday; maybe he’s on a work trip?”

  “Yeah, maybe…” Anne breathed out. “I’m just going to…sit at my desk,” she stated, attempting to stand from the stool. Both of her arms were grasped immediately by Em and Ryan.

  “Here, we’ll help.” She heard as she let them lead her through the lab and into the office. They settled her into her chair.

  “I’ll get you some water,” Em offered.

  “No. Let me just sit here for a bit. I’ll be Ok. I just need a minute,” Anne mumbled as her head rested against the chair back and her eyes closed.

  “All right. I’ll be back to check on you,” she added. Anne could hear her footsteps retreat to somewhere beyond her cubicle wall.

  When. When did he do it? When did he know? Did he…? Oh god, did he sleep with me last night knowing…?

  Her cell phone rang from within her purse causing her torso to spring up from the chair. She rooted through it before snatching the phone.

  Rand. Thank god…

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, ahh…Anne?” his voice sounded breathless.

  “Yes?”

  “He knows. Ian knows. He just called me. He fired me.”

  A loud whoosh of air escaped her lungs. “Rand…”

  “Look. I need your help. There’s a meeting I really need you to sit in on. They want to meet you. If it goes well, they’re going to make an offer to Ian. If he sells to them, we’ll have jobs. They promised. Anne?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Where are you?”

  “In the office,” she stated before her tone lowered to an almost whisper. “It’s gone, Rand. All of it. I think he took it. He was here yesterday and he took it,” she responded in a low tone.

  “Took what?”

  “The solution, all five vials are gone,” she whispered.

  “Oh. Are you sure?” he asked after a moment.

  “I don’t know. Who else would have taken it?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t care about that right now. I’ll pick you up at your house. How soon can you get there?”

  She hadn’t even agreed yet, but from the sound of his voice, he sounded absolutely desperate.

  “Ten minutes?” She offered.

  “Ten minutes. I’ll meet you there. Oh! Anne?”

  “Yes?”

  “Don’t tell anyone. If he finds out we have any connection to this company, believe me he won’t sell to them even if they offer more than anyone else. He’s vindictive like that,” Rand stated.

  “Ok,” she ended the call and placed the phone back in her purse.

  She sat and stared at her monitor as her heart thumped in her chest.

  Calm down. Just…be calm.

  “Was that Rand?” Em asked causing Anne to jolt in her seat.

  “I have to go.” She pushed away from the desk and stood, not bothering to answer her question.

  “Are you going home? I’ll drive you,” she offered as Anne stepped around the desk and passed by Em.

  “No! No. I’m fine. I just need to lay down for a bit. I’ll be back in…I don’t know. I’ll be back later,” she called over her shoulder, willing her legs to carry her out the door to her car. She could collapse in it if she had to; she just needed to put on a good show to get there.

  As soon as the engine fired, her cell phone began ringing causing her body to seize up. Her hand cautiously reached for the zipper on her purse before she grabbed her phone and looked at the screen.

  An international number.

  His number.

  Indecision coursed through her mind as her finger hovered over the screen. She tapped the green button instead of the red and took a deep breath before setting the phone against her ear.

  “Hello?” she asked through unmoving lips.

  “Hello, Anne,” he said in a grave tone or at least it sounded that way to her.

  “Aren’t you…flying? Right now?” she asked cautiously.

  “No, Anne. That’s the beauty of chartered flights. You can turn them around when you have to,” he stated.

  “I thought you had to get back,” she stated in as calm a voice as she could muster.

  “I rescheduled. Seems like I have more important things to deal with here in the States,” he responded in a low voice. “How could you do it, Anne? What did I say?” his voice turned condescending.

  “What are we talking about?”

  “Did I tell you and Rand not to work on that project?”

  “Yes,” she responded sheepishly.

  “And what did you do?”

  “I…I worked on it anyway?” she answered.

  “I fired Rand, you know. What should I do with you? Hmm? Such an odd predicament,” he seemed to ponder before continuing, “Did you do it for the money? Why would you go against me?”

  “What did you do with the vials, Ian?” She asked instead of answering, her own anger beginning to boil up.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “They’re gone. You were in the office yesterday. What did you do with them? Did you know this last night? Did you…did you sleep with me knowing this?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about. So you’re telling me that you lost them?”

  “I didn’t lose them. You took them.”

  “You know Anne, there’re two things I can’t abide professionally. Deception and incompetence. You’re excelling at both right now.”

  “You want to talk about deception? Why didn’t you tell me you were selling this place? You could sleep with me but you couldn’t confide that piec
e of information?”

  “It’s not your business…”

  “It is my fucking business. It’s my fucking livelihood! You were going to put me out of a job and you couldn’t think to at least give me a head’s up? Talk about deception! You already fired Rand so I don’t really give a shit that you know. I’ve known for a month, by the way,” she stated through gritted teeth.

  “I had plans for you…” he answered smoothly.

  “Did you have plans for Em, and Ryan, and Carol, and Rand, Don, Harry, Andrea, Paul? Any of them? Or didn’t they fuck you good enough to warrant a job?” she sneered.

  “That’s enough!” he fired back.

  “I’m sick of being stuck between you and Rand and your stupid pissing contest! You want to know why I went against you? To try and save these people’s jobs. It wasn’t about the money. It was about proving to a certain pig-headed, obstinate jackass that this facility could be successful! That’s why, but let’s be honest here, go ahead and say it.”

  “Say what?”

  “You called me for a reason. Go ahead and let me have it,” she snarled into the phone.

  Her chest heaved and her eyes were watering which she could marvel at later. She was actually on the verge of tears.

  “You’re fired,” he stated forcefully.

  “Fuck you. I quit.”

  “I’ll be at the house in twenty minutes. Stay there.”

  “For what? You want to say it to my face? No thank you. I won’t be there.”

  “Anne, so help me god. You will be at that house. Don’t even think about running. You have no money. Ya can’t go anywhere that I won’t find you.”

  A bitter laugh bubbled up from the back of her throat and she let it loose.

  “There is nothing left to say. Trust me,” she laughed out.

  “Trust you? That’s funny. I would be willing to make certain concessions, though,” he stated in a somewhat calmer voice.

  “Why? Why Ian? I think it’s safe to say that severing our professional relationship pretty much puts an end to the personal one as well. Don’t delude yourself into thinking we have anything to talk about now.”

  “There’s plenty left to talk about…”

  “Right. You want to make concessions for poor Anne? Poor fucked-up-in-the-head, Anne? I don’t want your concessions. You can shove your concessions.” She quickly pulled the phone away from her ear and practically smashed the end call button with her finger before tossing the phone on the seat next to her. She backed up the Porsche without looking behind her and took off like a shot through the parking lot.

  *****

  “Are you Ok?”

  “Fine.”

  “You don’t look fine. You look pissed off.”

  “I just got fired, Rand. How am I supposed to look?” she shot back without looking at him. She concentrated on the road before them instead.

  “Hey! Me too, right? Just…could you just be pleasant, to get through this meeting? Please?” his calm voice was so damned soothing. He was so good at that…

  “Yes,” she stated on a blown out breath.

  “Good.”

  “You didn’t tell Ian about this, did you?” he asked after a few moments.

  “Are you asking if I sold you out?” she asked as she turned to face him.

  “I guess so,” he answered meekly.

  “No,” she answered.

  He blew out a relieved breath.

  A few minutes passed in silence as he slowed the car and drove through the EZ Pass lane on the Turnpike.

  “So, tell me about this company. What’s the name?” she asked.

  “It’s small. Really small. They’re pretty innovative though. You’ll like the facility. Very state of the art.”

  “Great. What’s the company name?” she asked without looking at him.

  “Bryer Med-Tech.”

  “Never heard of them,” she commented.

  “Like I said, they’re small…”

  “If they’re that small how are they funding this? Dunmed is probably huge compared to them,” she stated without really caring what the answer was. She was making small talk to overcompensate for the huge thoughts swirling around in her brain. None of them concerned work. All of them centered on Ian.

  “Investors. They have strong backing,” he stated.

  “I’m not staying.”

  “What?” he looked over at her profile. Her jaw was clenched so tight, she could probably crack a tooth.

  “I said…I’m not staying. Pharmaceuticals are nothing but trouble for me. I’m going back to neurosurgery,” she stated resolutely.

  “Come again? Wait? What?”

  “You heard me. I’ll get you through this meeting and I’ll dazzle the ever-living shit out of these people, but I’m not staying once this deal is done. St. Luke’s told me they would always have a spot for me, and you know what? I’m ready. Look at these hands,” she splayed them out in front of her.

  “Steady as they ever were. I had to quit because…well, the hands were always good, the brain wasn’t. I had cancer. I didn’t tell you that. I don’t tell anyone that. It wasn’t the cancer that did me in, it was the chemo. It fogged me. I tried to go back but who the hell wants a brain surgeon that can’t think straight? I’m thinking straight now, though. It’s time to go back.” She placed her hands on her lap. “I think he did me a favor,” she added with narrowed eyes.

  “Who?”

  “Ian.” She stated in a venomous voice.

  The rest of the ride was silent other than Rand flipping through the channels on the radio. He skipped past Run Like Hell. Run Like Hell, for cryin’ out loud! One of the best Pink Floyd songs EVER.

  It was a good thing they wouldn’t be working together anymore. They obviously were not compatible.

  *****

  He drove down what seemed like a deserted road at least a half hour later after they exited the Turnpike. A country road. What kind of company is located out in the middle of nowhere?

  “Where are we? Where the hell is this place?” she muttered.

  Rand’s response was a low chuckle.

  “I gotta show you something. Don’t tell Shay though, it’s a surprise,” he added as he turned onto a back road swallowed up on both sides by trees.

  “It’s at my Grandpa’s old place. I’m storing it here for now. We happen to be in the neighborhood, so…”

  A small house came into view, nestled in among the woods. He parked the car and opened the door.

  “Come on. It’s in here,” he stated as he slammed the door and walked toward a large pole barn located near the rear of the house.

  She let out a sigh before opening her own door and stepping out, careful not to trip on the overgrown roots jutting out from the graveled driveway.

  “She’s gonna freak out. Now, all I have to do is make sure I have a JOB so I can pay for this sucker,” he stated as he wandered toward the side door of the building.

  She walked carefully toward him, shaking her head at her own awkwardness.

  “This better be worth it,” she muttered as he opened the door and waited for her patiently.

  “Oh, it is,” he commented with a broad smile as she stepped into the dark building. Her eyes tried to pick out a shape in the darkness that lay beyond. There was nothing there.

  “Where’s the boat?” she asked right before something sharp and hot stung her neck causing her knees to buckle immediately. Something clamped around her waist as she sunk into darkness.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Breathing. She could hear breathing.

  That’s me.

  My head hurts. Why does my head hurt?

  Where’s the boat?

  The what?

  What the hell? She opened her eyes, blinking them rapidly, trying to dislodge the sand from them, reaching up but not able to touch them because her hands…they were…constrained by something.

  “She’s awake.”

  She heard a woman’s voice. She coul
d make out two sneaker clad feet stepping toward her. Her eyes blinked in rapid succession to try and focus. She was lying on the floor in a darkened room, bound to something. Her cheek was resting against something hard and sharp. She attempted to lift her head.

  “Rand?” she whispered.

  “Yes?” she could hear somewhere beyond her field of vision.

  “Did they get you too?”

  That caused a laugh to erupt. It was almost painful to her suddenly sensitive ears.

  She groaned in response; maybe from the pain in her ears or maybe from the confusion surrounding her.

  Something groaned in response. A low rasping moan, followed by a clank of metal sounding from somewhere in the room.

  “Please tell me…” she started through parched lips. Her tongue felt as sandy as her eyes.

  “Get her some water,” Rand’s voice ordered.

  Moments later the shoes walked right up to her and a slight figure crouched before her.

  “Get up,” the female voice ordered.

  “I can’t,” Anne croaked out. Even lifting her head was difficult. Something clamped around both of her shoulders and squeezed painfully as her torso was hefted up and placed in a seated position. Her back was jammed against something solid and painfully jagged. She fought to keep her head from sagging to the side as she focused on Rand’s face in front of her.

  “Why?” she whispered.

  A cup was placed to her lips and tilted, the water trickling from both sides of her mouth as she tried desperately to get at least some on her tongue. Her eyes tried to focus on the woman’s face next to Rand in the dim light of the room. She was young, and yet her face was drawn, pale. Dark rings circled her dull eyes.

  “That’s enough,” she heard Rand’s voice before her head started to loll to one side and her eyes lost the battle to stay open. A hand shot up and righted it and a slight tap to her cheek caused her scratchy eyes to open again.

  “Why are you doing this? Please tell me what the hell is going on,” she stated on a shaky breath.

  “I need you,” he stated simply.

  A loud moan and the distinct sound of metal rustling caused her eyes to try and focus on the other side of the room.

  “What is that?” she breathed out.

  “That’s why I need you.”

  More moaning, a grunt, metal screeching…