Throughout the week, security officers repeatedly interview everyone. I get the distinct impression that they don’t believe my and Ryan’s story. Gabriella, Isaac, and Austin pop in and out of the lab throughout the week unescorted, not a good sign for us that they’re allowed unguarded movement while the soldiers keep us confined to the lab. Never mind the fact that Elliot, Jennifer and Cam don’t reappear at all. They’re spending their quarantine time either in the hospital or in Elliot’s lab. I assume it’s voluntary and can only imagine what they’re telling security. I fear my days as a scientist are limited. I just hope I can keep everyone else from sharing my fate.
When we return to the base our meeting with Dr. Brant confirms my suspicions. At first she asks Ryan and I to recount what happened. She bobs her head in affirmation and periodically says “uh-huh,” as we talk, but I have the distinct feeling she doesn’t hear a word we say. Silence lingers when we finish telling our story, but then Dr. Brant stands up, brushes the wrinkles out of her shirt, and refocuses her attention on us. She’s furious.
She blames us for what happened to Elliot and Jennifer and claims our bad influence is the cause for everyone else’s disobedience. If we weren’t involved, none of them would have dared disobey both security and base protocol. Pointing out the fact that our disobedience saved Elliot doesn’t help matters. Dr. Brant announces that she has locked Ryan and me out of all our labs pending a hearing with the council. As I suspected, she wasn’t bluffing about us washing dishes for the rest of our lives. Depending what the council decides, that could be exactly what we end up doing. The only bright side is that she’s focusing her anger on Ryan and me only. Everyone else’s jobs appear safe.
Molly and Jake are consoling us at dinner when Ryan’s eyes go wide. I follow his gaze and see Kelly sauntering her way over to our table. She completely ignores Ryan and slaps my photos down on the table. I quickly pick them up and examine them.
“Don’t worry, there’s not a scratch on them. There are some lines you just don’t cross. By the way, you can tell him—spaghetti, shower and all. I don’t care.” She leans in so her nose almost touches mine, her voice low enough to insure only I hear. “I still hate you, but thanks.” Without any further explanation, Kelly walks off with her signature wiggle back in her walk.
“Do you care explaining what that was all about?” Ryan asks.
“That was Kelly getting over you.” I collect my pictures and tray and leave. I’ve forgiven him, but that doesn’t mean I’m above a little torture. Ryan can wait and wonder a bit before I explain to him everything that happened between Kelly and me.
Two days’ worth of my friends’ good intentions is all I can bear. They must have created a schedule to keep Ryan and me too busy to worry about the hearing. If I’m not rock climbing in the rec hall with Dean, I’m birthing a calf with Troy or upgrading Andi’s robot. Ryan and I haven’t had a minute’s peace.
The next morning I wake up and duck out of the dorm before anyone else is awake. If no one can find me, then they can’t go out of their way to keep me busy. The painful demands of my stomach lead me to the dining hall. At least I’m one of the first people there. If I eat quickly I’ll avoid seeing anyone I know, but I’m not that lucky. As I scoop a pile of eggs onto my plate, Jackson approaches with a tray of pancakes. My nose tells me they’re his delicious apple cinnamon ones. He might not be the right guy for Andi, but he knows how to cook.
“Brett!” He slides the pancake tray into the buffet table and rushes around the counter to smother me with a bacon-scented bear hug.
“A little air,” I plead as I pry his arms from around me.
He releases me but remains too close for my comfort. I have to crane my neck just to see his face. “I was so worried about Andi and you. I heard you were attacked by killer bees out there.”
“Uh, yeah. They weren’t exactly killer bees. We crashed into their hive, but luckily no one died.”
“If anything had happened to her, I don’t know what I would have done.”
“Well, she’s fine, so you don’t need to worry.” I sidestep people trying to get their breakfast. Jackson remains where he is, oblivious to everyone reaching around him to get their food. Finally, I yank on his sleeve to get him to move.
“You gotta help me,” he pleads. “I don’t know what went wrong. Tell me how to fix it. Tell me how I can get her back.”
“I’m sorry Jackson, I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t think the two of you are really meant for each other. You’re just too different?”
“Please. I’m begging you. I’m lost without her.” He actually drops to his knees and clasps his hands.
Mortified, I look around at the group of people trickling in. “Please Jackson, get up.”
“Only if you help me.”
Having a sobbing guy kneeling at my feet quickly gathers a crowd of rubberneckers. I wish he continued sleeping upside down in his pod as Andi originally asked him.
“Fine.” I sigh. “You need to show that you’re part of her world. You can start by helping me with my pod research. My short-term study is finished, but you can be part of my long-term one. You need to sleep upside down in your pod for the next six months. If you do that I can put in a good word with Andi.”
“Oh, okay.” He seems disappointed, but then his face brightens. “How about I join you two at dinner tonight? I’m sure I can get someone to cover for me.”
I suppress a frustrated groan and explain, “No Jackson, not tonight. It’s going to take some time and I’m not promising anything. I’m just going to talk to her, okay?”
“Fine.” He mopes as he lumbers back into the kitchen.
Thanks to Jackson, my eggs are cold, and the dining hall is half full by the time I sit down. At least I’m in a far corner in one of the more secluded areas. My seclusion quickly gets old, and my mind wanders to the pending hearing. I am anxious and need to talk to someone, or at least be distracted. I guess my friends had the right idea after all. I quickly scrape my plate and return my tray. Lost in thought, I run straight into Ryan. He catches me by the arm and steadies me.
“Hey, it’s nice to see you without an entourage of our friends keeping you busy.”
I grab him by the waist, but not for balance. “Yeah, they’ve seem intent on killing us with kindness.”
The mischievous glint in his eye brightens his entire face. “How about we sneak away for a bit, just the two of us?”
I curl into his arm, and we walk to the astronomy tower. A morning hidden away sounds perfect. We haven’t had any time alone since before the bees. I like being in his arms and lazily gazing at the stars projected onto the ceiling, but then he brings up the hearing.
“You know, there’s no need for both of us to lose our jobs.”
I prop myself on an elbow and turn toward him. “What are you talking about?”
Ryan lightly runs a hand along my side. “If I take all the blame they’ll have no reason to fire you.”
“No. I can’t let you do that. Besides, you know perfectly well that Dr. Brant’s going to listen to whatever Elliot says. I doubt he’s willing to blame only you.”
He brushes a strand of hair from the side of my face and twirls it around his finger. “He won’t, but I can spin whatever he says to focus the blame on me.”
His pigheaded stubbornness is infuriating. “No. I already told you. We didn’t do anything wrong. We’ll tell the truth and face the consequences together.”
“But you love being a biologist.”
“And you love being a botanist,” I reply. “Well, at least you did before Dr. Brant made us Elliot’s servants. Besides, there’s more to me and you than being scientists.”
He smiles, but his eyes seem sad, defeated. “Yeah, you got a point. Whatever job they reassign us to can’t be as bad as cleaning up after Elliot all the time.”
“No matter what they assign us to, we’ll still have our friends and we’ll still have each other.” I brush a kiss onto his
cheek and his eyes join his smile.
Chapter 19
The morning of the hearing finally arrives. Sitting in front of a group of field managers as they questioned me about the flood was nothing compared to this. The room they lead us to is a large auditorium. Ryan and I sit at a small table at the bottom of the room and stare up at the tiered semicircle of field managers who glare down at us. In the very center of the first tier sits probably the only gray-haired man on the planet. Everyone refers to him as the chairman. To his left and slightly lower sits a podium of sorts. I assume it’s a witness stand. As the chairman peers down with a look of contempt, I wonder if he’s both our judge and jury and has already made up his mind. Perhaps the hearing is merely for show.
Dr. Brant enters with the lead security officer, and the two of them sit at the small table on our right. The rest of the security officers, witnesses and our friends sit directly behind us, also at ground level.
The sound of the chairman’s gavel echoes through the room. Everyone quickly falls silent. “Dr. Brant, please call your first witness,” he says.
I expect Dr. Brant to call on Elliot or Jennifer, but instead she calls a Dr. Nadine to the stand. I’m confused because I have no idea who he or she is, but then the doctor from quarantine, Kevin, walks past me and my jaw drops. I’d assumed the trial would focus on everything that happened with the bees, but she’s clearly dug much deeper than just that. I’m helpless to do anything but listen as the two of them slowly pick apart every bit of my character.
When Dr. Brant finishes, a hush settles back over the room. I wait for the chairman to dismiss Kevin, but instead he looks annoyed and clears his throat.
“Miss Bradbury, Mr. Traven do you plan to question the witness, or are you waiving your right to cross-examine him?” I stare in frozen shock. I’m not prepared to represent myself. I expected to be in a room with Dr. Brant and a few other field managers and I figured all my friends would be suck outside in some hallway as they waited for the outcome, not here to witness my humiliation. My throat tightens in desperation as a phrase about a fool being his own lawyer plays through my mind. I feel the warmth of Ryan’s touch. He lightly squeezes my wrist and stands up.
“If it’s all right with you, Mr. Chairman, may I question the witness for both of us?” I watch with a mix of awe and admiration as Ryan casually approaches the stand. He seems completely composed. “Dr. Nadine, you stated you restrained Miss Bradbury because she had become defiant and refused to allow any more tests, correct?” He sounds so much like a television lawyer that I cover my mouth to stifle a laugh.
Kevin looks nervously from Ryan to the chairman. The chainman gives a curt nod and Kevin answers. “That’s correct.”
Ryan slowly walks across the room and back, making eye contact with every field manager as he paces. “Isn’t it true that before Miss Bradbury refused further testing, she spent the morning asking, pleading for information on both her health status and mine? And, isn’t it also true that her questions went unanswered because you had instructed the doctors to avoid any verbal interaction with her?”
Kevin shakes his head, unwilling or unable to answer.
Ryan continues without waiting for an answer. “It sounds to me as if Miss Bradbury’s behavior was an act of desperation, not defiance. Desperation brought on by your malicious desire for revenge after Miss Bradbury asked to speak to your supervisor when you continued to relentlessly question her for information she couldn’t provide.”
Kevin’s face contorts. “But she was lying,” he blurts. “She blatantly refused to tell me what foods she’d eaten.”
“Oh really?” Ryan smiles at the field managers, really turning up the charm. “So tell me Dr. Nadine, what did you have for lunch three days ago?” When Kevin hesitates Ryan asks, “Two days?” As Kevin chews his lip, obviously thinking, Ryan turns and winks at me. “Okay, then how about breakfast this morning?”
Kevin straightens in his chair. “Eggs. I had scrambled eggs and pancakes this morning.”
“Good for you, you finally got one,” Ryan says somberly. “Did you ever stop and think how hard it is to remember and describe an unknown food you ate three weeks ago, when someone refuses to give you to the time to think?”
“I…I…I—” Kevin stutters than drops his head and falls silent, but I don’t feel bad for him, not the slightest bit.
Ryan finishes his questioning, and Dr. Brant calls more witnesses. Ryan easily tears each one’s testimony apart. I begin to feel hopeful. Because of Ryan, I appear more as a misunderstood victim, and so far, Ryan’s come out looking squeaky clean. Then Dr. Brant calls Chad to the stand. Dr. Brant avoids any questions about my time in quarantine and skips straight to questions about my request for the sleeping pills. Chad wastes no time portraying me as fragile and depressed. I’m hurt with the ease in which he willingly trashes my reputation. Despite what happened with the kiss, I still considered us friends.
Then Chad shifts all of the blame for my mental state onto Ryan. By the time he’s finished testifying, Ryan looks like a two timing womanizer. Ryan’s knuckles have turned white from his grip on the table. He swallows hard and starts to stand, but I push him back down. It’s my turn to defend Ryan.
I’m not nearly as confident as Ryan when I walk to the stand. My voice quivers. “Dr. Lambert, before I begin my questions, I want to clarify our relationship with each other.” I swallow a bubble of laughter. The formalness of my words feels phony. “Is it true that you tried to kiss me?”
Chad does not seem surprised by the question. “I did. You should remember. You kissed back.”
“I did not!” I sound too defensive and hope the council doesn’t take my reaction as a sign of guilt. I take a steadying breath. “I believe my exact response to your kiss was ‘You have a girlfriend’.” I try to glance at the field managers whose expressions only increase my nervousness. “I…Um…I think your feelings for me and my subsequent rejection has jaded your testimony.”
The deep chastising voice of the chairman interjects. “Do you have an actual question for the witness Miss Bradbury?”
I look around the courtroom. I know I’m failing miserably, but then I see someone I hadn’t expected sitting amongst my friends. “Mr. Chairman, can I call a rebuttal witness once I’m finished with Dr. Lambert?”
“Yes, that would be acceptable.”
“Thank you.” I turn my attention back to Chad. “Isn’t it true that when I asked for sleeping pills I said I was having trouble winding down enough to want to go to sleep, and isn’t it true that you immediately jumped to a diagnosis of depression? You didn’t question me further and you didn’t first suggest exercise, yoga, meditation, or avoiding caffeine late in the day?”
Chad hesitates before answering. My drastic change of topic must have thrown him for a loop. “You might have said something like that, but that doesn’t mean that my diagnosis was incorrect.”
“We’ll have to agree to disagree on your diagnosis.” I continue before he has a chance to elaborate. “Isn’t also true that we settled on a one week supply of a sleeping aid, and if that didn’t work, I’d return to the hospital?”
Chad nods. “Yes.”
“Did I return to the hospital?”
“No.”
“So a safe assumption is either I’m still suffering from insomnia, or I’ve dealt with the stress that was disrupting my sleeping pattern.”
Chad squirms in his chair. “I couldn’t answer that without an exam.”
“Of course you can’t.” I gesture to my eyes. “However, I’d like to note that I’m not wearing any makeup. Do you see any circles under my eyes, Dr. Lambert?”
His lips tighten into a thin line. “No,” he answers with some reluctance.
“Thank you.” I turn back to the chairman. “I’m finished with this witness. May I call Ms. Kelly Rand to the stand?” A murmur of laughter runs through the room. I blush at my unintended rhyme.
Kelly looks startled but saunters to the
stand. I pray my plan works. “Ms. Rand, is it true—” I suppress another uncomfortable laugh and apoplectically look at the field managers. “I’m sorry but this formal speak just isn’t me.” I look back over at Kelly. “You don’t like me.”
A rueful snare twists her mouth. “No. I hate you.”
“Why do you hate me?”
Kelly holds her head up high and meets the eyes of everyone in the courtroom. “Because you stole my boyfriend.”
I ignore the soft gasp and disapproving headshakes. “Do you hate Ryan?”
The gleam in Kelly’s eyes and the almost imperceptible nod of her head tells me that Kelly knows where I’m going. “No.” Another murmur makes its way through the crowd. “I tried to hate him, but he was upfront with me when he returned to the base. He told me he needed time and space to figure out his feelings. He didn’t mention you by name, but I easily figured that part out on my own.”
I’m tempted to end my questions right there, but Dr. Brant still has her cross-examination. I need to make sure I tie up all loose ends and that means asking a question to which I may not want to hear the answer.
“Ryan kissed you more than once since returning to the base. You’re telling me you don’t feel cheated or led on by his behavior?”
Kelly’s snide laughter catches me off guard. “You saw us kissing, but that’s only because I knew you were there. You never stuck around long enough to see him pull away.”
My vision blurs with tears.
Kelly’s eyes go wide. “Wait. You took Ryan back thinking he’d been spending all this time with his tongue in my mouth. You’re more pathetic than I thought.”
“I have no further questions,” I quickly say.
Dr. Brant declines to question Kelly and returns to her list of witnesses. For a while there’s not much more cross-examination needed. The witnesses Dr. Brant calls are our friends. She tries her best to twist their testimony against us, but in the end, they say nothing particularly damning. In fact, most of their testimony backfires on Dr. Brant. Our friends fiercely defend us and without prompting, they point out all the research we’ve done on the honey and the work we’ve done on the database. The field managers seem impressed as they scroll through the database on their tablets.
Concisus Page 18
