by Rey, Solomon
“What do you suggest we do about this…this…catastrophe?” Mr. Howlind asked. He was a man short of stature, but someone who’s mere presence commanded respect. He was in his sixties with gray thinning hair.
“My recommendation is this—eliminate the serum and anyone who might be privy to its existence,” she said.
“How do you aim to achieve that objective?” Mr. Maynard asked. He was like the others−arrogant with a sense of entitlement, which seems standard issue to people of affluence. He was younger than his other associates, but quite a bit heavier with light hair.
“We will use Professor Saunders to acquire all data and serum, then he’ll ascertain al names of others who might know of Chromosome ‘S’.” Ms. Sinclair answered.
“Saunders…Saunders. Why does that name sound familiar, Ms. Sinclair?” Mr. Howlind asked.
“We had dealings with him years back,” she replied.
“Ah yes…Saunders, now I recall. If I remember correctly, he cost us millions of dollars, because he couldn’t deliver what he promised.” Mr. Howlind said.
“One in the same,” she said.
“Can he be trusted?” Mr. White querried.
“It’s an uncomplicated task, even he can handle it,” she said.
“How much will it cost us?” Mr. White asked.
“He’s asking fifteen million.”
“You don’t intend to agree to his request, do you?” Mr. Maynard asked.
“Of course no, but as far as he’s concerned, he’ll receive the full amount,” she said.
“Ms. Sinclair, I’m going to need you to elaborate; I’m a little confused,” Mr. White asked.
“It will be a ‘ghost’ transaction, not an authentic one. It will appear as though the money has been transferred to his specified account—24 hours later, it will magically disappear without a trace.” She clarified.
“Absolutely none,” Ms. Sinclair assured. “There will be no trail leading back to us?” Mr. Howlind asked.
“What happens when he realizes the funds are gone?” Mr. Maynard questioned.
“He won’t be alive to find out,” Ms. Sinclair said coldly. Her associates didn’t bat an eye at her statement. “As I recommended we must eliminate anyone who might possibly have knowledge of the serum’s existence.”
“How soon can all this be organized?” Mr. White asked.
“Tomorrow at 11:00 am everything will be in place. We’ll send Saunders in to obtain info as to whom Osborn has shared his data. Then when we receive his text, signaling our men, he’ll be the first fatality. We’ll dispatch four of our men to secure the perimeter and set explosives.”
“Are you sure four men will be enough?” Mr. Maynard asked.
“Coos Bay is a small town, we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves by sending a large team, besides, the Osborn’s will not be armed or dangerous. Four will be plenty,” she said confidently.
“Is there anything else we need to know?” Mr. White asked.
“No sir…I just need the go ahead,” Ms. Sinclair said, her eyes falling on the fourth man, who had remained silent.
“Make it happen,” Mr. Rosales ordered, “There better not be any fall out!”
“Mr. Rosales, we have our government friends to ensure there won’t be.”
“Good.” He said.
“Thank you, Gentlemen…consider it done,” Ms. Sinclair said.
* * *
“I’ll take care of it, Honey,” Steve Saunders said, “Yes, Honey, I promise.”
“I can’t handle this anymore,” Linda Saunders complained, “Everytime I pick up the phone it’s a damn creditor. What are we going to do about it?”
“I said I’d take care of it, okay,” he said, gruffly. Steve drove down PCH with the top down. The sun was shining, the ocean breeze was refreshingly cool. It was the typical, beautiful day California. By looking at him, one would assume he had it made; That he didn’t have a care in the world. How wrong they would be.
“Honey, I--,” he stopped in mid-sentence. His phone beeped, indicating an incoming call. “Honey, I have another call, I’ll get right back to you,” he said, accepting it.
“Hello, Professor Saunders speaking.”
“Dr. Saunders,” the chilly voice said, “We will agree to your asking price.”
“Really?” He was astonished, there would be absolutely no negotiations, no haggling, “When will I receive the money?”
“By the end of the day we will transfer the funds, which will be locked, available to you when the job is complete. Is that fair?” Ms. Sinclair asked.
“That’ll be fine, long as I know the money is in my account.”
“There will be a round-trip first-class ticket to Portland International Airport in your name. You will depart at 8:00 AM tomorrow out of San Jose International, are we clear?”
“Yes.”
“Then you will board a connecting flight to Coos Bay. We have rented a room for you at the Red Lion. There will be a pistol taped underneath the table. You will then pay a visit to Dr. Osborn, secure all data, serum and ascertain who else knows of Chromosome ‘S’, at which you will text my men, signaling them to enter. Do not use the gun unless absolutely necessary. It must look like an accident,” she said calmly and coldly, Mr. Saunders—this is your chance to back out.”
“No, I can do this. You don’t need to worry about me,” he said nervously.
Ms. Sinclair had a man in place—in case Saunders decided to back out—he would then end his day wearing a toe tag.
“Then I can depend on you?” Ms. Saunders asked.
“Yes, definitely.”
“Good…as soon as we end this call, text your account number…and Mr. Saunders…”
“Yes?”
“If you fail, the consequences will be dire.” He swallowed against a dry throat. The call ended.
CHAPTER XXIII
“So then how are we going to do the tests?” Olivia asked.
“The conditions are not ideal, it wouldn’t be conclusive,” Richard said.
“We can use the SUV for testing her strength,” Derek suggested.
“That’s a good idea, but still too limited. We’ll have to forego testing for now. I really wasn’t prepared for human testing,” he said, “We need to do the testing the systematic, scientific way. I’ll go online and order the equipment necessary. It will take a few days, but I’d prefer an accurate study. Sorry guys.”
“Well, I’m not going anywhere,” Olivia said.
“A proper study requires the logging of every development in the transformation process. I am lagging in obtaining the data required, but it couldn’t be helped, because the testing needs to be done sub rosa.”
“Who’s Rosa?” Derek asked with genuine curiosity. Each looked at Richard with blank expressions.
He laughed, “Not Rosa…sub rosa. It means to do something in secret.”
“I knew that,” Derek said confidently.
“Yeah, you did,” Olivia said jokingly, “Just like I know you dress up in girls clothes,” she chuckled.
“Hey! That was suppose to be sub rosa and I only do it on Saturday nights.” Derek feigned anger.
“You’re stupid.”
“We can go outside and do some more of our own tests,” Derek proposed.
“Sure, that will be fine. It will give your mother and I sometime alone,” he said smiling. Donna smiled back. She liked the idea, since everything happened, they haven’t had any real time alone since the beach.
“Come on Olivia, let’s leave the kids alone,” Derek said facetiously, “Now you kids behave yourselves and if you go into the room I want the door open at all times and both feet on the floor, have I made myself clear?” He stood with one hand on his hip, pointing at them with the other.
Olivia giggled.
“If you don’t get out of here now, Derek Roman,” Donna yelled playfully, “I’m going to start kissing you till you beg me to stop. You know I will!”
“Okay…Okay…if you’re going to resort to torture, I’ll go.” Derek led the way with Olivia following.
“So, where do we start?” Olivia asked.
He looked around, spotting a rock the size of a baseball.
“Pick that rock up and chuck it as far as you can,” he said.
“Okay,” She bent down, picked it up. She bounced it in her hand a couple of times before tossing it. It felt good in her hands; the weight and shape was perfect for throwing. Her arm went back, then shot forward like a Rocket—it flew through the sky, up…up…up. Within seconds it disappeared.
Derek stared in awe. Coming to his sense, he could only find one word to express how he was feeling: “Cool!”
Olivia tittered. “What now?”
Derek thought for a second, snapping his fingers, “I got it!”
He ran to the trash can as she watched curiously. He pulled out six Diet Pepsi two liter bottles. “Help me, we need to fill these up with water.”
“For what?” she asked.
“Trust me, it’s going to be awesome!”
They filled them, placing each one on the four foot stone wall, which surrounded their house. He moved Olivia back about fifty yards.
“Okay its target practice,” he said excitedly. He picked up a handful of small rocks, but bigger than pebbles and handed them to her.
“See if you can hit the bottles.”
“I can’t hit them, they’re too far away, besides I’m a terrible shot,” she said. She still wasn’t cognizant of all the changes, but would be…soon.
“Just try!” He exhorted, “Concentrate!”
“Okay,” she said skeptically.
She focused her attention on the first container on the left. She focused her mind on her sight. Instantaneously, everything slowed, the bottle zoomed in, whipped her arm at the target. It exploded, as the stone passed through the plastic spraying water everywhere.
“Haha,” Derek shouted, “That was friggin’ awesome! He ran over to the bottle, picked it up, bringing it over to Olivia so she could revel over her skill. There was an entry hole the size of the rock on one side, and an exit hole three times bigger on the other.
He was confused, “Why is this hole bigger than this one?” He asked Olivia, “Shouldn’t they be the same?”
“What I could see was, the rock passed through the front of the bottle, but it was travelling so fast, it forced the water out the other side, ripping the opening wider.”
“And you saw that?”
“Yup,” she said smugly. His eyes widened.
She went back to where she was standing: holding her palm flat she aimed.
“What are you doing?” He asked.
“Just playing! I want to see something.”
She held her forefinger back with her thumb, she carefully aimed, then flicked the rock. It sliced through the air at an incredible speed. Once again, the bottle exploded.
“Yahoooo!” He yelled. They laughed uncontrollably. The power she had was staggering.
Derek was having the time of his life. His best friend was a comic book hero in the flesh and he was experiencing the excitement that was part of it. His wildest fantasies had become a reality, causing his mind to travel at light speed. He wanted to see what else she could do, his eyes darted back and forth trying to find something else to test.
“I know what,” he said, “let me throw a rock at you and see if you can dodge it.”
“Okay,” she knew there was no way a stone was going to hurt her, so she agreed.
He stood ten yards away holding a rock the size of a golf ball, “You ready?”
“Yeah, go ahead,” she said confidently.
He threw it with all his might. She watched it leave his hand, as she focused on it, causing everything to slow. She saw tiny dust particles fly off the rock as it sailed toward her. It would be too easy to dodge it so she side-stepped and plucked it out of the air in one fluid motion.
“That was so fast!” Derek declared, “I didn’t even see you move.”
Olivia was exhilarated! She was anxious, to find out what else she could do, everything so far was amazing, beyond anything she had ever imagined. She needed to know what else she was capable of.
“Let’s see how high you can jump!” Derek shouted.
She nodded enthusiastically, but was a little nervous about it. What if she jumped so high that when she came down, she hurt herself. She knew she had the power to heal, but what if she hit so hard it killed her? She decided she would start out gradually.
Her first leap was just above Derek’s head.
“Come on jump! Don’t be afraid,” he said impatiently.
“Okay…okay. Keep your panties on!” She jumped again, this time she soared twice as high as her house. She felt no pain in her legs or anywhere else. She decided to stop worrying and just go for it.
“Are you ready? I’m going to jump as high as I can,” she said with a confident smile. He nodded.
She bent her knees and shot straight up with her arms at her side. Derek stared. He didn’t move. He didn’t even breathe. If someone were passing by, they would think he was a mannequin.
She rocketed 90 yards, straight up. She landed with a loud thud, leaving an imprint six inches deep. Her legs were fine. He stood gaping.
She waited for a response but none came, “Hello,” she said waving her hand.
“Oh…sorry,” Derek said, “That was awesome, but—“
“But? What do you mean but?” she asked surprised.
“But…you need to work, on your landing—very boring!”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know…” Derek demonstrated as he spoke, “land like, on your left knee, while simultaneously hitting the ground with your right fist.”
“I’m not Ironman,” she said rolling her eyes at him.
“Fine! Break your best friends heart,” he said playfully.
“I got it! See if you can blow enough air out to lift me off my feet.”
“You mean like when Superman exhales and blows a car down the street?”
“Yeah, exactly!” He said excitedly.
“You’re stupid,” she said laughing.
“What?”
“If Superman existed, he’d never be able to do that,” she said flatly.
“What are you talking about?” He asked confused.
“Think about it…he can only blowout the air in his lungs, so, the only way he could blow the amount he does in the movies, is if his butt were a vacuum.” she laughed.
“Ooooo! That’s pretty gross. Thanks for the visual.”
* * *
“I think we have a serious problem,” Richard said feigning concern. They sat next to each other on the couch.
With everything that had happened in such a short period of time, Donna was confused as to what he was referring to. “What do you mean? What’s wrong?” Donna waited intently.
“Us.”
She didn’t like the sound of this. She waited so long to start a romantic relationship with him, now there was a problem? Did he all of a sudden, change his mind? “I don’t understand,” she was perplexed.
“Well, we’ve known each other for years and recently we confessed our feelings for each other,” he said carefully choosing his words, “Well—“
“Well what?” She asked eagerly. Say you don’t want to be with me, she thought, just say it damn it!
“Well, we’ve never…been…”
“Will you please say it,” she said anxiously, with a bit of annoyance.
“We’ve never been on a date. How about you and I go out tonight. Just you and me?” He said smiling, enjoying the fact that he was able to torment her—pay back for the other night, when she sat seductively across from him—torturing him.
“That’s not very nice!” She exclaimed, playfully slugging his shoulder.
“You haven’t answered me…do you want to?” He asked.
“Of course, I would love a roma
ntic night out.”
“Whoa…I never said anything about Romance,” he said pretending shock.
“Stop it,” she said, “I think you’ve been hanging around Derek way too much. He’s rubbing off.”
“Maybe a little,” he agreed.
“Are you going to show me your moves?”
“Moves? “He considered the question, “I don’ have any. I’m more of a straight-forward kind of guy.”
“Yeah, in a round-about kinda way,” she said facetiously.
“What?”
“It took you years to finally ask me out,” she said with a smirk.
“Yeah, you’re right,” he said humbly.
“That’s okay—better late than never,” she said, “So where are you going to take me?”
“Dairy Queen,” he said flatly.
“What?”
“Oh sorry…I guess that’s really not nice enough is it?” He said feigning ignorance.
“No, it’s not.”
“How about Taco Bell?” He maintained a straight face for as long as he could, but a grin slowly emerged.
“Still not nice”
“Okay…sorry. I’ve got the perfect spot in mind. It’s a surprise, so don’t ask.”
“I can’t wait!” She said smiling. Finally, the Romance begins, she thought. Her mind gravitated to the serum. She had been meaning to talk to him.
“Can I ask you a question about Chromosome ‘S’?” she asked. He sensed the seriousness of her question.
“Sure…it sounds kind of serious.”
“Well…yes, but not about the serum itself.”
“What’s the question?”
“What you have created is a miracle. I’m sure you will agree,” he tilted his head slightly, “I’ve seen enough to know, there are desperate people in the world willing to do desperate things to get what they want.”
“So what are you getting at?”
“Okay, I guess it’s really not a question, more of a suggestion, to protect the serum from falling into the wrong hands.”
