by S. C. Davis
He looked at me, confused.
“I don't know why you're so embarrassed by it. No one thought about the lab being locked. But okay, I won't tell them,” he said.
“Thanks,” I said, and I reached over to give his hand a little squeeze. This, I noticed with a quick glance, put a brief but unmistakable smile on his face.
Chapter 23
Dr. Wyatt Improvises
WHEN DR. WYATT REGAINED consciousness, he had no idea how much time had passed. He didn’t recognize his surroundings, and had a very hazy memory of what had even happened.
The back of his head throbbed, and when he touched his fingers to it the stinging sensation surprised him. He could feel dried blood matted into his hair.
Slowly the events leading up to his current state began to become clearer in his memory. He remembered being taken to the strange facility below the old museum, the extravagant ballroom with its many etched wall panels, the conversation with Dr. Rigby, the money, and—yes, the blow from Axel.
With his memory clear, he began to explore his surroundings. He could only assume he was still somewhere beneath the museum, probably in the labyrinth of the old archives. He had been laid out onto what seemed to be a small hospital bed.
The rest of the room was clearly set up to be a laboratory. It was small, but it was full of brand new lab equipment for a variety of scientific disciplines. Some of it Dr. Wyatt had never seen before, and had no idea of its purpose.
In the center of the lab was a large stainless steel table. The bottom shelf was full of unused glass beakers and Erlenmeyer flasks. In fact, nothing in the room appeared to have ever been used. The room was cold and lifeless.
At first Dr. Wyatt could not figure out why the lab existed. Was it built just for him? Was it a gift? A bribe? They would have to do better than this, if it was. He didn't want to spend another second in here.
But perhaps that wasn't it. Perhaps his comfort and pleasure were not of any concern. Perhaps he was expected to work here, and the uncomfortable settings were an incentive to complete his tasks as quickly as possible.
Suddenly the door behind him hissed, as if an air lock had just been released. A few loud clicks, and the door began to swing inward. Axel entered the lab. Seeing him caused Dr. Wyatt's head to throb again with the reminder of the blow.
“Dr. Rigby would like to see you in his office,” Axel said, dryly. Dr. Wyatt was almost surprised to hear that the man could indeed talk.
He followed Axel out of the lab door and entered a bright narrow hallway. There were wood panels etched with scientific images, just like the ones in the grand room, spaced every few feet along the hallway.
The hallway came to an intersection, but the hallway perpendicular to the current one was much darker. Just before the intersection, Dr. Wyatt looked to the left and saw the rusted metal door of a freight elevator tucked back into a nook.
They went left at the intersection into the dark hall, then right into another. More etched panels covered this hallway as well, and about halfway down Axel turned to the right to open one of them.
Dr. Wyatt was surprised when he stepped through the door, and found himself once again in the grand ballroom. It looked the same as it had earlier that day...or was it yesterday? A week ago? Dr. Wyatt had no idea how long he had been knocked out.
When the door closed behind him, he turned again to look out of curiosity. The panel they had just come through was etched with the likeness of Madame Marie Curie. The artist Rudolf Planck had captured every wrinkle and wisp of loose hair. Behind her portrait, the background was etched to look like an X-ray of a human skeleton, signifying the Polish scientist's pioneering work in radioactivity.
“Let's go,” Axel said, sounding irritated with Dr. Wyatt's delay.
They walked toward the opposite wall on the other side of the expansive ballroom, toward the Rosalind Franklin etching, which Dr. Wyatt remembered was the door to Dr. Rigby's office.
He found it interesting how one might never know these panels were doors at all, and wondered about the purpose of the disguise. He also wondered just how many of these panels were doors. There could be hundreds. One could easily get lost trying to navigate through this building.
Axel opened the door to Dr. Rigby's office and ushered Dr. Wyatt inside. Rigby was at his desk as before.
“Please, sit down Dr. Wyatt,” Rigby said, wearing the same smile he had when they first met.
Dr. Wyatt obliged. His head throbbed again at the association of this room with the pain.
“I’ll skip the pleasantries,” Rigby said, and Dr. Wyatt was relieved. “I'd like to take this opportunity to give you another chance to reconsider my offer to purchase your formula, Doctor.”
Dr. Wyatt made a few exaggerated 'thinking' gestures, stroking his chin and cocking his head to one side as he stared at the corner of the ceiling. “No,” he said, looking back at Rigby. The fear was still there, but he wasn't going to show it.
Rigby leaned back in his chair and linked his fingers behind his head; a posture of relaxed confidence and power.
“Very well,” he said, apparently not surprised. “There will be no exchange of money, then. What you will do instead is work in the lab I’ve had built for you, replicating your formula and producing enough for my requirements. When you’ve finished, you’ll be released. That’s the new deal.”
“That's too bad, Dr. Rigby,” Dr. Wyatt said. “As it turns out, I never did perfect the formula. I still don't have it right. I'm afraid I don't have anything good to replicate for you.”
“Not a problem,” Rigby said, shrugging indifferently. “Your job will be to continue your research, here, until the formula is perfect. Then you will work to replicate it to meet our needs.”
Dr. Wyatt was beginning to see that Rigby was not going to relent.
“And if I refuse?” he asked, testing the man.
“I’m afraid you don’t have the choice,” Rigby said, and his severe gaze clued Dr. Wyatt in to exactly what he meant by that. His choice was to cooperate, or disappear forever.
Rigby's response came as a surprise. Though Dr. Wyatt knew he was capable of many things, even physical harm as evidenced by his throbbing head, he did not think kidnapping, or possibly even murder, was in Rigby’s arsenal of attacks. Apparently he was wrong.
Dr. Wyatt swallowed hard. He tried to think of a way out. There was no chance of physically escaping. He was too old, Axel was too close, and the building was too much of a mystery. He began to think of something he could do to the formula to sabotage the operation. Make it corrosive? Explosive?
“Your life is not the only one at stake, Doctor,” Rigby interrupted Dr. Wyatt's plotting, as if he knew it was happening. Dr. Wyatt narrowed his eyes and waited for an explanation of the threat.
“You have a certain graduate student who is well-versed in this research, do you not?” Rigby asked. The question was rhetorical.
Kieran. Kieran was like a son to Dr. Wyatt. He began to panic. While he may have considered gambling with his own life, he was not willing to do the same with Kieran's.
“Without your cooperation, and particularly in the event of your death, we may have no choice but to go to the next best thing: your student,” Rigby said.
Dr. Wyatt's face was growing hot with rage. The protective instinct was causing a physiological reaction he was not used to experiencing. His pulse quickened, his fists clenched. He almost felt at that moment that he had the strength to take out both men in one swift move, but he knew better than to give in to the impulse.
“No,” he responded quickly. There was no need to think anymore. He was going to give them what they wanted. He would rather see his life's work used for immoral purposes than see Kieran's life threatened in any way, let alone his own.
“Leave my students alone. I’ll do what you want,” Dr. Wyatt said, willing himself to calm down.
“Good,” Rigby said with a smirk. “I knew you were a smart man. Sometimes we just need a litt
le jog of the senses to bring us back, eh?”
Dr. Wyatt fumed. The threat towards Kieran had brought about an overwhelming wave of affection and concern for the young man. He thought fondly about Kieran sitting in the lab, taking breaks, reading all those mystery novels of his.
Suddenly an idea presented itself. Mystery books. Clues. Might Kieran be able to recognize a set of clues? Could I lead him here to find me without these people knowing what I'm up to?
“I have some conditions,” Dr. Wyatt said suddenly.
Rigby looked up and raised his eyebrows. “You're hardly in a position to set any conditions, Doctor. As we established, the conditions are simply that you work for us, and we leave your young protégé alone.”
Dr. Wyatt shook his head. “It's not a gambling piece I want. There's things I need from my lab that I simply can't create my formula without.”
Rigby tilted his head. “I'm listening. What sorts of things would you require?”
At this moment, Dr. Wyatt was hoping with all his might that Rigby had no knowledge of the ins and outs of his type of lab work. His plan hinged on the ignorance he hoped Rigby had, and his own ability to convince him of the critical importance of these “items” he needed.
“I can make a list. There's a few items in my lab I simply can't work without. I can't purchase new ones because they’re out of production. Believe me, I've checked. In addition, I need my oils and my notebook with the formulas. Otherwise I’ll be starting from square one, and that will only delay your own goals.”
As Dr. Wyatt spoke, he tried to keep his voice sounding natural and level. He wasn't going to win any Academy Awards, but in a matter of life or death, he could certainly try.
Rigby considered his request for a moment. He glanced at Axel. Finally, he sat forward again. “Very well,” he said. “Make your list, and I’ll have Axel go into your lab at night to get the items you need.”
Dr. Wyatt hadn't expected to be allowed to go and get the items himself, but that wasn’t what he had in mind anyway. He pulled his key ring from his pocket and handed Axel the keys to the science building and to his lab.
Rigby presented him with a piece of paper to make his list, and Dr. Wyatt jotted down a few random items that came to mind. None of them, of course, were actually needed for his work. But that wasn't the point. When he was finished with his list, he tapped the pen to his forehead as if he had just thought of something.
“There's only one problem with this,” he said. Rigby leaned forward.
“Like I said, these supplies are critical to our work,” Dr. Wyatt said. “When they’re gone, Kieran is going to be suspicious. He might start digging around. He might start thinking my absence is not a holiday. He might even go to the police.”
Rigby considered the possibility. “He has nothing to trace to us. What does it matter?”
“Actually, he does,” Dr. Wyatt stated. Rigby crinkled his forehead in suspicion.
“Well for one thing, he’s met Axel here, and Miss Pritchard as well,” Dr. Wyatt explained.
Rigby laughed. “I assure you they’re not in any 'wanted' databases anywhere. He would have no more luck tracing them based on their looks than he would finding a needle in a haystack.”
“That's not all,” Dr. Wyatt continued. Rigby stopped laughing, and was clearly growing impatient. Dr. Wyatt took a measured breath, and fabricated a simple lie on the spot.
“Kieran followed us here.”
Rigby shot a look at Axel, whose expression changed for the first time from one of stone to shock and even shame.
“He must have thought something was odd about these two,” Dr. Wyatt said, gesturing at Axel. “I saw him creep out of the building into his own car, and I could see him in the rearview mirror at a distance the whole way.”
Rigby was silent, but his face was growing red. Dr. Wyatt could only imagine what was going through his head. No doubt Rigby prided himself on keeping all loose ends tied, and on his ability to keep himself and his staff anonymous.
Dr. Wyatt realized this lie was a great risk too. It was possible that Rigby could have flipped and sent his goons to collect Kieran out of fear of being exposed. But he also knew that Rigby was smart. Two scientists missing from the same lab could bring unwanted attention quickly. Dr. Wyatt still felt he had the upper hand, but he had to get Rigby to simmer down first.
“Now, at this point, I'm guessing Kieran thinks I'm here working on a special project in the museum archives or something,” Dr. Wyatt lied, but still felt badly for insulting Kieran's intelligence.
“I wouldn't expect he’s ready to raise any alarms at this point. But, like I said, if important things go missing from the lab, you will have his attention,” he said.
“Why should I believe you? What motive would you have for making sure Kieran doesn't find us?” Rigby said suspiciously.
“Trust me, my motive isn't for your sake. It's for Kieran's. I think it's pretty obvious that I’ll take any measure to make sure he doesn’t get involved, and doesn't get hurt. The last thing I want is for him to get in the middle, only to get hurt by you...by your staff, I mean,” Dr. Wyatt said, trying to allow some desperation into his voice.
“So what are you suggesting, Doctor?” Rigby said, seeming to have calmed a bit.
“Let me send a note for Axel to leave for Kieran,” Dr. Wyatt said.
Rigby laughed. “And explain everything he needs to know to get us caught? Absolutely not.”
“No, nothing like that. Aren't you listening? I don't want Kieran to know anything. I simply want to explain the reason for the missing objects, so that he won't get suspicious and come looking for me,” Dr. Wyatt said. “You can even read the note. I’ll simply give reasons that would make sense to Kieran for the missing items.”
Rigby thought for several minutes, and eventually seemed to resign himself to the viability of Dr. Wyatt’s reasoning.
“All right,” he said, and he pushed another piece of paper toward Dr. Wyatt.
“Thank you,” Dr. Wyatt said. He picked up the pen and began to write slowly and neatly, in order to give himself time to think of what to say while he wrote it. He had never come up with so many well-crafted lies at once, and he hoped to keep his momentum through the writing of this letter.
Thinking about the mystery novels Kieran liked, Dr. Wyatt tried to imagine a simple way he could send a message embedded in clues that he hoped Kieran would understand. What he chose was simple, but he feared it was so simple that Rigby would figure it out before he could even send it.
He finished writing the letter, and sat back to examine it. The message was embedded in the first few sentences, which also served as clues. He wanted to make sure Kieran recognized where the message had ended, but he had a few more clues to give. He decided to add them in a post-script.
Finally, he slid the paper over to Rigby, hoping he wouldn't decipher the message or the clues, and also hoping he wouldn't notice the abrupt change in writing style between the body of the letter and the post-script.
Rigby put on a pair of glasses and scanned the letter. He turned it around and pointed to the line at the bottom of the page, and said, “What's this for?”
“The busier Kieran is, the less likely he'll try to look for me. Those are just some colleagues of mine that he can go to for help with his research, so he can keep working,” Dr. Wyatt lied.
Rigby considered the note for a few more minutes. Finally, he turned to Axel. “Go and get Olivia. I want her to look it over before I agree to it.”
Axel left the room and the two men sat in silence, staring at one another while he was gone. When he returned with Olivia a few minutes later, she immediately reached for the note, apparently having been briefed by Axel on the way.
“Good gracious, Doctor, your handwriting is atrocious,” was the first thing Olivia said after scanning the note. “But I don't see anything suspicious about the content. It's your call, Nigel.”
Rigby nodded and handed the letter back to Ax
el.
“Very well, we’ll make all the arrangements. Axel, please escort the doctor back to his laboratory. Then I want you and Miss Pritchard to come back here immediately. I’d like to speak with you.”
Dr. Wyatt couldn't help but smile to himself as he walked back toward the Marie Curie panel. He would have loved to be a fly on the wall during the reprimand of Olivia and Axel that was sure to follow.
Chapter 24
The Strange Note
AFTER I RETURNED HOME from the failed attempt to get into Dr. Wyatt's lab, I lay awake for a while, feeling disappointed in my failure. Wes had said we could try again the next night, but I knew it wouldn't work. How would we get our hands on a key? I was sure Mom didn’t have one.
Time was of the essence, so I decided I just had to risk going during the day and waiting for an opportunity to get in when Kieran was not around. I decided on a plan of action.
In the morning I pulled out all the stops for faking sick. Really, it was just one stop. My master trick. I woke up early and spent about fifteen minutes forcing myself to cry. That's all there is to it. It leaves my face red and puffy, my eyes watery, my nose stuffy and runny, and a weakness in my voice.
It's the perfect sick look, but it must be done in just the right amount. Not enough crying, and I simply look like I'm not awake yet. Too much crying, and it looks way too obvious that I was crying, which would of course lead to questions that I would have no answer to, and therefore more lies.
Forcing sad thoughts into my head to make me cry didn't make for a great start to my day emotionally, but it worked. Recalling the most heartbreaking of movie scenes, thinking about losing my first dog Basil, dwelling on the tension between me and Alma lately, and playing mournful music in my headphones to set the mood sure did the trick.
Mom was convinced my fall allergies had manifested into a wicked cold, so she ordered me to stay in bed and rest while she called the school. After she set me up with tissues, juice, and Netflix, she headed off to work and promised to come home and check on me at lunch. I couldn't very well protest that, but it did put a damper on my plans.