The meeting broke up soon after. Eric Zeist was assigned as the team’s personal liaison to the governor, although Derek didn’t buy that excuse. He knew exactly what Zeist’s job was – to babysit them.
The team was taken back to their vehicles. They pulled out, followed closely by the security director and a few of his men. Their first stop was the Burlington campus of Rutgers University. The plan was to assess the lab being loaned to them and make any additional equipment requests if necessary. Once they were set up, Donald Krychech would send over the samples he had collected. Mitchell and Derek would perform the initial analysis – the hope being there was recoverable DNA in the sample. If so, it could be run against the vast species database maintained by the Fish and Wildlife Service, including several species that weren’t publically known.
Of course, that all assumed the sample was viable – a big if.
“We’re being played like grade-A chumps,” Francis complained through the Bluetooth speaker. They were government grade and heavily encrypted. Considering that most of Zeist’s equipment appeared to be over-the-counter, it seemed a safe bet that they weren’t eavesdropping.
“I’d rather be a chump than a piece of meat,” Danni said from the driver’s seat. “That guy Yarlberg is a creep. Felt like he has tentacles for eyes.”
“He lays a finger on you...” Francis warned, but Danni cut him off.
“He lays a finger on me and I’ll rearrange his fat face.”
Derek and the others laughed. Danni had once gone up against an enraged bigfoot alpha male and lived to tell the tale. Yarlberg didn’t stand a chance.
“Watching that would be worth getting fired over,” Derek replied.
“Speak for yourself,” Francis said with a chuckle. “My wife is looking for a bigger house. I need that second paycheck.”
♦ ♦ ♦
“Not bad,” Mitchell said upon their initial tour of the lab. “Is everything networked?”
“Direct fiber connection to our main network. Separated by redundant firewalls, of course,” Dr. Reingold, the chairman of the campus biology department, said. “We normally have full-time VPNs running to our other campuses for data sharing, but those have been disabled for the time being.”
“Good to hear,” Mitchell replied.
“We did some work for DARPA a few years back. At the time, everything was upgraded to government standards. You should be able to connect to whatever systems you need to.”
“Network logs?”
“Disabled as well.”
“And the equipment itself?”
“All of the machines with local memory have been backed up and wiped as per your instructions, Dr. Harkness.”
“Mister,” Mitchell corrected. “And you can call me Mitch.”
“Very well, Mitch. As for the master passwords, I’ll be sending one of our lab techs up with them later. I’ve taken the liberty of freeing up his schedule. Make use of him as you will.”
“That’s very kind of you, doctor. I can definitely use the help. I appreciate your foresight.”
The rest of the team stood back and let Mitchell take charge. Though Derek was every bit at home in the lab as his friend, he knew Mitch really had a knack for it. Though a medic and field researcher, Mitchell’s organizational skills far exceeded his own. Truth be told, Derek was happy to let him run the show. Lab work, though necessary, had always bored him.
As for the rest, Francis’s eyes glazed over the moment they stepped foot into the place, whereas Danni’s interest was marginal at best even though, as junior member of the team, if Mitchell needed help she was first on deck for the job. She was still a student, and as such, a little extra learning wasn’t a bad thing as far as Derek was concerned ... whether she liked it or not.
♦ ♦ ♦
A short while later, one of Zeist’s men arrived with the samples Donald Krychech had promised. By then, Derek and Francis had returned to the vehicles to begin correlating the disappearances with both the recent sightings and historical data, leaving their remaining two teammates in the lab to begin the analysis.
“What the heck is this gunk?” Danni asked, eying the sealed plastic container.
Her question was met with silence.
“I believe my teammate asked you something,” Mitchell said, looking up from where he was preparing slides of the secretions.
“Mr. Krychech told you his thoughts. I have nothing further to add,” Eric replied crisply, ignoring Danni.
She could have gladly slugged the asshole. First Yarlberg had practically mounted her with his eyes. Now this sexist jackass was barely giving her the time of day.
Mitchell seemed to sense the tension as he was quick to add, “If that’s the extent of what you have to offer, you’re free to leave.”
“The governor sent us to make sure the sample isn’t compromised.”
“Compromised?”
“They probably think we’re going to put it up for sale on eBay,” Danni replied, causing Eric to glower at her from behind his mirrored sunglasses. The guy was a major creep, as far as she was concerned.
“Jar of monster snot,” Mitchell said. “I’m sure we could get at least three-hundred for it.”
“At the very least. Is that what it is, by the way?”
“Could be,” he admitted. “Until we’re up and running, your guess is as good as mine. Could be snot. Could be mucus. Could be an anal secretion for all I know.”
Danni backed up a step. “Glad I let you touch it first.”
“Bottom line is I’m not sure.” Mitchell lifted his arms and stretched. “I’ll start prepping the samples for a deeper analysis.” He turned toward the security director. “Under what circumstances were these collected? If they’re contaminated...”
“You’ll have to discuss that with Mr. Krychech,” Eric answered sharply.
“Well, he’s not here and I don’t have his phone number.”
“He’s a busy man. I’ll pass your question on to him.”
“Thanks,” Mitchell replied dryly before turning back to Danni. “Let’s get to work. Hopefully, by the time we’re ready, that lab tech will be here.”
“Want me to give Dr. Reingold a call?” Danni asked.
Before Mitchell could reply, though, the door opened. Zeist and his men visibly tensed as a young man entered. He was in his early twenties at the latest and of average height. He had short brown hair, a medium build, and wore glasses. Overall there was nothing overly remarkable about his appearance.
The newcomer stopped just inside the door. He nervously glanced around, taking stock of them all. Danni couldn’t help but notice his eyes momentarily widen with recognition as they settled on her and Mitchell, although he was quick to avert his gaze.
What are the odds he watches the show? Danni pondered, inwardly smirking.
“Mr. Harkness?” the newcomer asked, then quickly added, “Ms. Kent.” Mitchell nodded and he continued, “I’m Arthur Killian. I work with ... for ... Dr. Reingold. I’m here to, well, help you in any way I can.”
“Glad you could make it,” Mitchell replied. “Although we can drop the formality, unless you’d prefer us to call you Mr. Killian, that is.”
“No, sir.”
“Relax, son. I’m Mitch. This is Danni.”
“I know. I watch your show. I just wanted to let you both know that...”
“It’s nice to meet you, Arthur.” Danni offered her hand to him. After a moment, he took it and gave a quick shake with a slightly sweaty palm before pulling back as if she were hot to the touch.
Hopefully he’d get over his nervousness quickly. The show wasn’t that big of a deal, as far as Danni was concerned. It’s not like her and Mitch were Hollywood stars. Besides, it would be nice to talk with someone her own age. Heck, this was a college campus. She wouldn’t have minded being given the tour and maybe checking the local hangouts. The past year had been busy for just about everything except her social life. She could barely remember the last time she’d done something simple like sit down to chill with some friends over a burger.
Of course, this wasn’t a social outing, she reminded herself. They were here to work. Still, it’s not like there wouldn’t be some downtime. Hell, there was a good chance the whole thing was just a crock to begin with, a smokescreen to keep the governor from getting any bad press.
“Here, mister ... err, Mitch,” Arthur said, handing him a printout. “It’s a list of all the master passwords, as well as some instructions for navigating our network. I’d be more than happy to show you how to work anything in here.”
“Thanks. I’m good for now, just stay close,” Mitchell replied, opening the paper and walking over to the nearest terminal. He logged in, then headed over to the centrifuge.
Danni had seen this before. Once Mitchell was on the case, he tended to tune out everyone else. Oftentimes, her assistance came down to little more than reminding him to occasionally take a lunch break. Not that she minded, though. Most of this stuff was of little interest to her. She could always devote the time to her own studies or, at worst, listen to some music on her phone. Of course, with Zeist and his goons around, she wasn’t likely to let her guard down enough to relax.
She noticed Arthur standing there, a look of helplessness on his face, and smirked. If he was waiting for Mitchell’s input, he might be waiting for a while.
“Don’t worry,” she said, stepping alongside him and causing him to jump ever so slightly. “He gets like this.”
“U-um,” Arthur stammered, “is there anything we should be doing to help?”
“Not really. If he needs it, he’ll ask ... and he almost never asks.”
“Oh.”
Almost as if on cue, Mitchell turned to them. “This is going to take a while. I’m afraid there won’t be much for either of you to do until it’s finished. So ... if either of you have somewhere to be, now’s the time.” Just as quickly, he focused on his work again.
As I thought. “I have an idea,” Danni said to Arthur. “He’s going to be busy for a couple of hours, and I doubt the others will want to bother him while he’s working. Why don’t you show me around campus?”
“Well...”
“We won’t go far. I have my cell if he needs us.”
“I guess...”
“Awesome!” she said. “Mitch, we’re gonna go grab some fresh air. Call me if you need anything.”
“Sure thing,” he absentmindedly replied, tuning the electron microscope.
“Come on.” She grabbed Arthur by the hand, noticing how he flinched at her touch.
Danni rolled her eyes. She had almost forgotten how shy some guys could be. Arthur kind of reminded her of Rob, her brother’s old roommate. He’d also been...
She quickly pushed that thought away. She didn’t need to be reminded of that right now. Bonanza Creek could stay buried in the past for at least today.
“Why don’t you show me what passes for the local roach coach?” she said as they approached the door. Eric and one of his men stood flanking it. “Are furloughs allowed, or should I stay in my cell?”
He glowered down at her for a moment, but then shrugged dismissively.
Dickhead. She stepped out the door and Arthur followed a moment later.
“This way, I guess,” he said, taking the lead.
After they had rounded a corner and were out of earshot, he turned and asked, “What’s up with that one guy? He’s kind of creepy.”
“Nothing,” she replied offhandedly. “Just your typical run-of-the-mill asshole.”