by Eliza Master
The two men turned to Renata. Claussen’s eyes went wide as he recognized the teacher from the previous week’s visit. Tim rushed over and grabbed Renata’s hands, pinning them behind her back. He snarled at her. There was no time to grab her gun or fight back. The man held her wrists tight. He must be trained, to have got her under control so fast. Usually Renata was able to use her skills to get the upper hand.
“Why are you here? I know who you are!” Tim shouted at Renata.
“Why are you here? Let go of me!” she shot back.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Tim said dismissively. He pushed Renata into the walk-in freezer at the far end of the lab and latched the door from the outside. Claussen stood paralyzed, watching the man attack and force Renata into the freezer.
“No! Stop, stop!” Renata cried as he was closing the door.
As the latch clicked, the freezer went silent and pitch dark. Renata sat on a frozen box and tried to calm down. She racked her brain, but she couldn’t figure out why Tim would want to harm her. The whole thing seemed unreal.
There was a frosted peephole in the freezer door. Renata used her hot breath to clear a view. A third man had arrived. Tim was leaning on a desk casually. The scientist stood to the side awkwardly, staying a step out of their conversation. Renata saw Tim smile as if nothing was strange, like he had not just imprisoned her in the fucking freezer. The other man looked up, and Renata saw that it was Robert Johnson. Her heart raced – she knew she was in trouble now. As the conversation ended, Robert shook hands with both of the men and left. He didn’t glance at the freezer once. He apparently didn’t know she was there.
The freezer fan went back on. Frozen air from a vent blew onto Renata’s face, and she tightened the hoodie around her face. Why did it feel so thin? Renata knew her body couldn’t retain its heat for much longer. She pulled out her phone and texted Adam. A quick whistle back told her that there was no service. Renata berated herself for not sharing her plans. No one knew where she was except the two men in the lab, and they weren’t letting her out. Why had she not allowed Adam to help her? She knew he would’ve wanted to. She should have told someone, anyone. Was she going to die in here? She tried not to lick her lips despite the fact that they felt like they were about to crack. It was the weekend. No one would come back to the lab for days, and Renata knew she wouldn’t survive this cold for more than a few hours. “
Okay, enough! Chin up Renata! she yelled to herself. The light from her phone illuminated the chamber, and she used a flashlight app to look around. The freezer was packed with cardboard boxes all labeled “Perishable.”
The top box was open, so Renata peered in. It contained twelve stacks of petri dishes, four high. Each one had the letters REN printed on top. No way! I’m trapped here with my own stolen DNA? Would she freeze with it? Let them use her material at will? Scrape her away, bit by bit? That was a horror film, for sure. She shivered at the thought, and the cold crept inside her clothes. She tried the door again, to no avail. Resigning herself, she leaned against the boxes. The cold numbed her thoughts.
Outside the freezer, Dr. Claussen was shocked. He had no idea why Tim had put the cute teacher in the freezer. He was confounded, trying to make sense of the last five minutes.
“She’s just looking for something she can steal and sell,” Tim told Claussen. “I’m going to call the cops.” He turned away and spoke into his phone, “I have a burglar here. She’s in her late twenties, wearing black. Yeah. I’ll hold her till you show up, thanks.” Tim turned back to Claussen and said in a friendly tone, “I’ll get her out of the freezer and give her to the cops. It’s probably better if you’re not here. I’ll have my office hire a security guard for this place starting tomorrow.”
“Uh, okay, sure.” Claussen wanted to be gone. He was afraid of losing his job and investments, but Tim’s brutality had taken the cake. He had thrown her into the freezer like it was nothing. Even if she was a robber, that was a weird move. He wondered what would have happened if he had fought back instead of acquiescing to Tim’s demands. Would he be the one in the freezer? On the other hand, maybe things weren’t as dramatic as he imagined. After all, the cops were on their way, and surely the girl would be in a warm police station soon.
Pulling himself out of his frantic thoughts, Claussen answered, “All right, sounds good. Like I said, I should have some results for you by the end of next week. The door is self-locking; just pull it shut on your way out.” He spoke to the Tim like there had been no interruption, no woman trapped in the freezer. If he just went home, it would be like nothing happened. Starting his car, the scientist glanced back at the sleepy building. He shivered in his seat. Something was definitely wrong.
Tim knew he didn’t need Renata anymore, and if she were dead, she wouldn’t be able to squeal. The scientists had no problem reproducing her bio-matter, though they couldn’t recreate it without a parent. There were plenty of samples in storage, however, and more to be made whenever it was needed. If only the morons like Claussen would come up with something tangible. Getting rid of Renata would be convenient. It would prevent any legal troubles. Perhaps they should even change the name of REN.
He sat on a desk covered with papers as he tried to figure out what to do. Why hang out and be here when the girl froze? He had noticed that she was pretty, and the skin on her wrists was soft. Imagining her freezing was no fun. That was way more morbid than he had in mind for tonight. Anyhow, he was hungry. He remembered the cheesesteaks at Leo’s. If he left now, he could get one before they closed. Things here would take a natural course, so out he went, leaving Renata in a cold grave.
Renata knew she was getting sluggish and needed to act. She took her gun out from her pants and held it in her hand. The safety was frozen, but after a few tries, it snapped open. She wrapped her finger around the trigger.
At home, Claussen put in a frozen dinner and played some Baroque music, but he couldn’t eat. He felt guilty about the woman in the freezer, and he was scared for her safety. What’s one more trip to work and back? he figured. In less than 20 minutes, he was back at the lab. Before parking, he checked the lot and street for other cars. There were none. He was alone. Letting himself back in, he rushed to the freezer. It was still locked and closed. The girl was probably with the police, but he’d just make sure.
Renata heard the door latch clunk. She was suddenly very awake, and the cold pierced her all over. Her nose had been running and the liquid had frozen on her upper lip. She was seated in an upright fetal position against the frosty cardboard stack. The gun was stuck and frozen to her hand, but she was somehow still able to move her trigger finger. She stood and faced the heavy door.
Bright light flooded the cold room and Renata’s eyes.
“Hello…?” Claussen called tentatively as he looked at the pretty lady holding the gun.
It wasn’t who she was expecting. Renata drew in a deep, cold breath. As she stepped toward Claussen, the only thought in her mind was warmth. The gun hung listlessly in her grasp by her side. Her feet were leaden, and the three paces out felt like a marathon. The scientist dragged her out of the arctic prison into the warm laboratory. Walking her to the water cooler, Claussen laid Renata down on the staff sofa and covered her with his own coat. After taking a moment to re-latch the freezer, he returned with hot tea from the dispenser.
Renata had a pounding headache, and she was shivering uncontrollably.
“Should I take you to the hospital?” Claussen asked.
“No, I’m okay. Is there any ibuprofen?”
Claussen dug some out of a cabinet and he handed Renata four pills. They felt like pebbles as Renata swallowed them.
“Are you okay?” Claussen held Renata’s hands between his, warming her in a fatherly way. Renata drank the tea and rested. Meanwhile, Claussen asked her what her name was and why she had been in the lab. He spoke in a kindly fashion, and it was obvious he didn’t know anything outside of the specific research he was doing for Fitze
r. Renata’s headache subsided, and she took the risk of confiding in the man who had just saved her life. Claussen explained that the REN proteins were unique and rare. He had never seen anything like them until now.
“Why do I have them?” Renata asked.
“That I don’t know, but I’d be happy to look into it for you.”
Then Renata told Claussen about Adam’s theories and her suspicions. Dr. Claussen listened carefully. Resting his head on his open palm, he said, “I am so sorry! I swear I had no idea where the REN came from. I’m an idiot, really. I’m just glad you’re okay, Renata, and please call me Howard. Is there anything else I can do for you? I can give you a ride home or I can call someone.”
“There is one thing you can do for me,” Renata answered.
Howard Claussen pulled the fuse from the electric panel, and the freezer went quiet. Relief coursed through Renata.
“Once the solution thaws, the REN will be spoiled,” Howard told Renata. With the door propped open, they removed all the boxes of REN. Howard sliced them open with a utility knife while Renata dumped the petri dishes on the floor. The fragile glass shattered at her feet. The frozen liquid in the dishes turned clear and puddled on the floor as it thawed.
Renata sighed. All of the REN would be spoiled. Furthermore, Howard promised to close the lab on Monday to keep Fitzer out for an extra day. He planned to spend the rest of the night here, hoarding and centralizing all the data his team had amassed. He would move it all to his own personal laptop at home and figure out what to do with it later.
“Renata?”
“Yeah?”
“There is one thing more. Like I said, I feel like a stupid jerk not to have questioned the source of the base compound, and I’m appalled at the company I’m doing this job for. I mean, they locked you in a freezer to die, for Christ’s sake. In any case, the thing is that I was almost there in creating the drug for Fitzer. It’s my work and the work of my team, and well, you see, I invested some capital in the research. Maybe when this all blows over, you might consider becoming a partner in the research? We would never steal your bio-matter, of course. Perhaps you would consider selling it?”
It didn’t seem like the right moment for a business proposal, considering she had almost become a corpse an hour ago. Then again, maybe it could be used to her advantage. “I’ll consider your proposal as long as you promise to destroy all the REN DNA that was stolen from me, and you don’t share the research without my permission. Sound like a deal?”
Howard shook Renata’s hand and said, “Of course!”
31
Plane Tickets
Renata was dead tired. Kamber desperately needed a walk, so she took her around the block. It was dark and foggy out, just like Renata’s mind. Once she was back upstairs, she retreated to her bed and lifted the bulky animal up in beside her. With her head in the dog’s warm fur, Renata slept safe and sound.
When she finally awoke and got up, it was a full day later. She worried that losing a whole day for recovery would cost her. Renata reviewed what had happened at the lab and the serious peril she could still be in. Would the man have already returned to the freezer and discovered she was missing? Would they come after her? Surly they knew where she lived.
The Lindahl Gage lab was closed, so Renata left a brief message on Dr. Claussen’s voicemail. She also sent him an email reading, “Everything ok? -R.” She was worried his email might not be secure. Should she go back to the lab and check on things? A chill went through her body, and she shook away the memory of her brush with death. Going there was the last thing she wanted to do. She needed to go somewhere safe: a place almost no one knew of.
Renata emailed Erik: “My dad is sick. Headed back east for a week. I will work from there, let me know if anything comes up. Miss you! -Renata.” It was for the better that she’d never mentioned her family to Erik, or to anyone, really. Then she booked tickets for São Paolo. Tomorrow she would sleep in her own private paradise.
32
A Safe Place
The whole freezer debacle felt very far away as Renata sat on the bluff overlooking the fertile valley in Brazil. The overlook was the only place she could get email and phone service. The humming of cicadas filled the air. It was so much better than her office. From this vantage point, she could see the circle of soft hills in the valley.
Her email contained lots of junk and updates from Darwin. There was also a response from Erik: “Ok, have fun!” She hadn’t heard back from Dr. Claussen. That was odd; he seemed like the type to be on top of his emails. Renata checked the sent folder, and her message was there. She wondered why he hadn’t replied. Perhaps this was not an email address he checked every day. She typed in Howard Claussen, hoping to find another contact point.
“Scientist commits suicide” read the top Internet blurb. Renata took in the details. He’d been found in his apartment hanging from the ceiling fan. Renata felt sick. She put down her laptop, walked a few steps, and threw up the scrambled eggs she had enjoyed in her little chateau. That came on fast, she thought to herself, holding her stomach. Sitting back down on the ground, she read the rest of the article. Her throat was strained from vomiting. The article said one daughter survived him. Apparently, he’d lived alone and suffered from depression. Could that be true? He hadn’t seemed like that type at all. Renata didn’t know Howard, but he certainly hadn’t seemed suicidal when they’d parted company. In fact, he’d seemed excited about their business deal.
Claussen’s death felt like murder. Her stomach seized again. She hoped Howard had secured all the REN project information and that all of the lab’s REN supply was ruined. Unfortunately, the article didn’t say anything about his work at all. Renata checked around online and couldn’t find any more. It was a mystery, and a scary one. Renata was grateful to be safe, far away. She’d stay put as long as necessary.
Renata texted Adam. Hey. Her phone still had service down the hill, so she started down the slope back to the cottage.
Adam texted back, Hey you. How are you holding up?
Renata considered telling him everything. She hadn’t told him about the freezer because she was afraid he would get hurt trying to protect her. She was a strong woman and didn’t need that. Besides, Adam was looking more fragile every time she saw him.
Parked next to her rental car she spied Miguel and his assistant unloading crates from their truck. She hadn’t told him she was coming, but she was thrilled to see him. Running into his arms, she shrieked with joy. Miguel picked her up and swung her in circles as Renata wrapped her arms and legs around him. A smile played across the face of the other Brazilian as he watched the reunion. Renata helped the guys unload and waved goodbye to Miguel’s assistant as he drove back to the city.
They were alone in a secret oasis of their own creation. The casita had exceeded Renata’s dreams in design and comfort. Finally, Renata had someone to confide in. Miguel prepared a fresh caprese salad while he listened to her story. Renata let down her guard and told him how scared she was – how she thought she might die.
The mozzarella was like clouds on the succulent tomatoes topped with the spicy herbal flavor of the basil. The afternoon faded into evening as the sunset greeted the family of two. Talked out and fed, Renata spread out on the daybed and closed her eyes. She wouldn’t open them until morning when she smelled the coffee and omelets Miguel prepared in their kitchen.
After two days of pampering, Renata felt rambunctious and restless. Miguel had made berry muffins. Renata ate one, balled up the wrapper and tossed it at his back. “Hey!” He grabbed a whole muffin and threw it at her. It hit her right in the chest, leaving a small blueberry impact mark. She got up to grab another for ammo, but Miguel grabbed her wrist just above the muffin plate.
“Oh, really?” She pushed his shoulder hard, and he fell against the counter without letting go of her wrists. “Is that all you got?” Renata teased.
Miguel pushed her again, harder this time. Memories flooded Ren
ata’s head – how he would hide, and she would have to find him, dress him, and feed him. She used to drag his little arm wherever she wanted him to go.
Renata jerked her wrist out of his grasp and punched him lightly on the shoulder. It was meant to be playful, at least sort of. He pinned her arms to her sides and changed positions. Renata’s back was against the counter now.
Could he really be stronger than me? Renata asked herself with disbelief. He had been such a scrawny wisp of a boy. He didn’t look very strong, and he still had all those scars up his forearm.
Renata tried to push him off but couldn’t. Then Miguel kissed her, hard, and she kissed him back. It was a good tactic to get her hands free. With a strong shove, Miguel fell back.
He caught himself and grinned. “I got you now,” he said playfully, and he picked Renata up and seated her on the counter. He pressed close against her and captured her in his arms. She was pinned. Renata burrowed and bit through his cotton T-shirt. Then she sank her teeth into the meat between his shoulder and nipple. It was a slow bite, but it was enough to make Miguel release her.
“Oh, meu Deus!” He had a boner pressing against her nighty. She kept her mouth in position, but she didn’t bite any harder. Miguel lifted Renata’s negligee and pushed her further back on the counter. His dick was touching her, but with just the tip. Renata released her bite, and Miguel kissed her aggressively. She kissed back and then broke free. She then bit his neck. Oh, yum. He tasted like cocoa, and Renata wanted more. Bowing her head, she bit him again on the other side. Miguel moaned and entered her. The cabinet doors banged against Renata’s back as Miguel thrust inside her.