As Kate trudged back up the stairs and along the hallway to her room, a door opened.
‘Kate!’ It was Annie, peering exaggeratedly up and down the hall to check that nobody was looking. She jerked her head to indicate that Kate should come in.
‘Check out what I’ve got,’ she said in a stage whisper.
Kate smiled, and then laughed out loud when she saw what Annie had been concealing behind her back – a small half-full bottle of Jack Daniel’s.
‘Excellent!’ Kate said, feeling like a schoolgirl rebel; first the cigarette, now an illicit drink.
‘When’s your next shift?’ Annie asked, closing the door behind them and gesturing for Kate to sit down on her bed.
‘Not till eight thirty,’ Kate said, checking her watch. Annie was rinsing out another tooth mug in the en-suite, and Kate lay back on the bed, feeling herself unwind a little in anticipation of a drink and some female company.
‘Here you go,’ Annie said, unscrewing the bottle and pouring a generous measure into the mug. The sharp sweet smell of the liquor in Kate’s nostrils took her back to her student days. She laughed again.
‘I haven’t drunk JD out of a mug in the middle of the afternoon since I was at university,’ she said, accepting it.
‘Desperate times …’ said Annie cheerfully. They clinked mugs, and Kate took a sip.
‘Ah, that’s better. Thanks.’
‘You’re welcome. I could see the terror in your eyes when I said this place was dry.’
‘Ha, you’re making me sound like an alcoholic. I’m not – but it’s a bit of a stressful situation, wouldn’t you say?’
Annie’s expression turned serious. ‘Just a bit. So, how are you finding it here?’
Kate shrugged, not sure how much to admit to. She was glad Annie had asked her the question before she’d finished her drink. ‘Great facilities,’ she said neutrally. ‘Fantastic to be able to work with an unlimited research budget, too – I’m not used to that.’
‘I bet you miss your partner, though,’ Annie fished.
‘Work partner or home partner?’ Kate asked, visualising Paul and Isaac with a pang of longing for each so strong that she almost downed a huge gulp of the JD before thinking better of it. Kolosine would skin her alive if she went drunk to her next shift. This didn’t seem to concern Annie; she was guzzling her liquor as though it was apple juice.
‘Well, both, I guess – but I was thinking of your research partner. I was so sorry to hear about that.’ Annie put a hand on Kate’s forearm and squeezed. ‘You had a lucky escape, didn’t you? How come you weren’t at that conference too?’
Kate frowned. ‘How do you know I was meant to go?’
Annie looked momentarily flustered. ‘Oh, sorry, Kate, I didn’t mean to pry. I just assumed you were meant to be going if Isaac Larter was. Weren’t you?’
‘Yeah, I was, as it happens. My son had chickenpox so I cancelled last minute. Anyway, can we change the subject? How did you end up in this team?’
Annie opened her mouth to speak, and then froze, pushing her blonde curls behind one ear as though this would help her hear better. ‘Wait – what was that?’
‘What?’ Kate hadn’t heard anything.
Annie put her fingers to her lips, placed her mug on the floor, and tiptoed towards the bedroom door. She slowly turned the door handle – and then wrenched the door wide open, dashing out into the hallway. ‘Can I help you?’ she shouted after someone.
Kate got up and followed her out, still clutching her mug. She saw a flash of meaty calf vanish around the corner towards the staircase, and a brief swish and crackle of nylon overalls.
‘It was Adoncia,’ said Annie in disgust. ‘That woman creeps me out. I swear she had her ear pressed against the door. What the hell was she hoping to hear?’
Kate looked down at her drink. ‘Maybe she suspected we had illicit alcohol in here,’ she said.
Annie giggled. ‘Maybe. Quick, let’s go get rid of the rest of the evidence.’
But Kate put her hand over the top of her mug when Annie tried to give her a refill. She’d only had half of the first one, and was already feeling woozy. At this rate I’ll need a nap before my shift, she was thinking, when there was a loud rap at the door.
‘Now what?’ Annie said, hastily concealing her cup again.
Junko stuck her head into the room. ‘Hurry, both of you, we’ve all got to get into the lab – now. Kolosine’s orders. It’s an emergency.’
‘What’s happened?’ Kate jumped to her feet, unspeakably relieved that she hadn’t had another drink. Annie stood up too, and visibly swayed.
‘You’ll see,’ Junko said grimly. ‘Just hurry.’