Stuart and Catherine sat in the college refectory sipping their coffees. They had not said a word to each other since the professor had left them while he and his team went to set up their equipment. There were three other customers scattered around the dining hall. They all looked too old to be students. Catherine felt they were watching her and Stuart, but she dismissed this as paranoia. She was sure she noticed them glancing in their direction every so often though. She felt shattered. Like she hadn’t slept for days. She was still slightly hungover from the previous night. Not to mention feeling awkward about what had happened between them. Despite everything she had just learned she couldn’t ignore the feelings she’d developed toward Stuart. But she sensed for him the moment was now gone. Suddenly, the wife he thought he had lost was back in the frame. She focused her thoughts on the information the professor had bombarded them with. She tried to rationalise the intensity of the implications but whenever she tried to concentrate on one particular point, her mind would take her off at a tangent. The hardest thing to accept was it all made sense. Yet none of it was believable. She glanced at Stuart who sat staring blankly into his coffee. It was probably far easier for him to accept the professor’s claims. In her version of reality, he had lost everything held dear to him. In the professor’s version, there was hope.
Silence ensued for a further ten minutes before Stuart spoke to break it. “Don’t you find it strange Catherine?” He did not take his eyes off his coffee. “I find it all very strange Stuart. In all honesty, I don’t know what to make of any of it.”
“It’s now almost five o’clock and there are no students coming in here to eat!” Catherine looked at her watch. She had to agree it was odd but before she had chance to comment Stuart stood up and walked toward the exit. Before he reached the door, a large man stood up from a table just to the side of it and stepped in front of him. She noticed the other two people occupying the room with them suddenly seemed alert and one of them appeared to be talking to himself. “Please sit down, Mr Milton, the professor will be back shortly,” the man offered. Stuart smiled at him and returned to his seat. “That’s reassuring, Catherine.”
“I’m not sure I follow Stuart. And I’m not sure I like being held here against my will.” She raised her voice.
“No this is good,” Stuart said. “After everything the professor has told us they’re not going to let us walk away freely before they know they can trust us. This just makes it all the more real.”
She considered this for a moment. He had a point, but how long were they going to keep them here and what did they need to do to prove they could be trusted? Moreover, who were they anyway? Before she had chance to consider this further the professor returned and joined them at the table. He helped himself to a coffee and asked them if they would like another. Stuart accepted but Catherine opted for water. As soon as they had their drinks the professor apologised for keeping them confined. He explained that the college had been closed to the students and handed over to them to carry out their research without fear of being compromised. Anyone who entered the site had to be fully vetted before being given access. There were a limited number of people who knew the true purpose of their research. They all knew anything seen or heard within the premises was not to leave its confines. They had been working on the project there for almost a year and until recently security had been excellent. Unfortunately, as is human nature people get complacent and they had recently experienced a serious breach which resulted in one of their team losing his life. “So by sharing this information with us professor, are you endangering our lives?” Catherine asked.
“You were both already in danger. Bringing you in is the best way to protect you. It was our intention to bring Stuart in anyway but we decided your exposure to him made you vulnerable also. Besides, Stuart has been through so much of late having his doctor with him makes good sense.”
“Danger, what kind of danger? So our lives are at risk?” she repeated exchanging a concerned glance with Stuart.
“Very much so doctor, there are agencies out there who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the technology we have developed. Through no fault of his own Stuart is a key part of all this and now by association so are you. The best environment for both of you is with us. We can protect you.”
“You didn’t protect your colleague so well,” Catherine replied but immediately regretted it. For the first time, the professor’s cool facade slipped, revealing a concealed anger. “Jim failed to protect himself. He was weak-willed and vulnerable and the people who killed him knew exactly how to exploit that. I can assure you we will not lose anyone else from our team which, like it or not, you two are now part of.”
The professor’s sudden outburst had a strange effect on Catherine. It was almost as if this show of emotion made him more credible. She had not been taking any of this seriously enough. A man had lost his life as a result of what the team were doing here. His calm delivery of the mind-blowing revelations he was asking them to accept made him seem like a madman, but this outburst made him seem human. This is really happening, she thought to herself. This is all real. There is nothing wrong with Stuart. Oh my God, what have I put him through?
“Stuart, I am so sorry. I got it all wrong. I’ve put you through so much heartache for nothing. I thought I was doing the right thing, there was…” Stuart interrupted her and the sincerity in what he said touched her deeply. He reached across the table and took hold of both her hands. “You were doing your job Catherine and you were doing it well. I would not have gotten this far without your help and support. All the conflicting evidence would still have been there but without you, there would have been no explanation for it. You made the right diagnosis. You just had the wrong person.” He flashed her a smile and let go of her hands. He held her gaze for a moment longer, saying with his eyes what she already knew. That he was glad they had shared their short time of intimacy. He turned to the professor. “Professor, wherever this is leading I’m ready to assist.” The professor looked to Catherine to gauge her reaction to Stuart’s announcement. She just smiled and nodded. “I do believe you are, Stuart,” he said cheerfully, the anger he had demonstrated just minutes before now having left him. “Now, how about I show you what this is all about.”