Stasis (Book 1.2): Beta

by Osborne, E. W.

Kristine’s heels clicked along the wooden floor as she continued getting dressed. It wasn’t the first time she’d used her… assets, to get information. But with their relationship strained, it was salt in a puncture wound. Christopher had consoled the little green monster with the knowledge she’d always come home to him. All it took was the tiniest of cuts to let a trickle of doubt begin eroding at even the toughest man.

  “When do you think you’ll be home?”

  “Does it matter? It’s not like you’re going anywhere,” she snapped.

  Even though he was watching the game, he could feel her cringe. That little bit of honesty had fallen without her meaning to. She swiftly tried to cover the biting comment with something more conversational.

  “I mean, it’s not like you have any plans, right? The game is on. Hey!” she chirped. “Maybe you can invite Blake over. You haven’t seen him in forever.”

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  He thought about the engagement ring he had on hold at the jeweler. A little quick mental math and he figured he could probably back out of the arrangement without losing too much. Already, he could feel the walls coming up, the distance growing between them. He hated it, but she wasn’t leaving him much choice.

  “I just…” she sighed. She leaned on the back of the sofa, her hands pulling back the cushion he sat against. She was sincere, not catty. “We only have one income. There’s a big story here and if I can break it…”

  “Yeah,” he mumbled, already numbing himself to the thought of losing her.

  “Baby. The guy knows nothing is going to happen. If I make him feel important for a little bit, then he tells me more. It’s as simple as that.”

  “You make him feel important with your mouth or your hands?”

  “Fuck you,” she whispered with venom.

  “Not recently.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she demanded, slamming her arms across her chest.

  Christopher stood. He felt possessed, as if the words flowing from him were not at all his. He was on the outside watching it all unfold. “I get it. It’s hard to drum up the energy when you’re out there every day, pounding… the sidewalks,” he added with emphasis.

  Kristine licked her tinted lips. “You’re right. I am tired. I’m tired of carrying a lazy-ass liar on my back. I pay all the bills, I pay for all your food, yet when you need something, the money magically appears. I live with you and I don’t even know who the hell you are!”

  “I’m telling you, that guy wants more than to feel important,” he shot back with a pointed finger, sidestepping her point.

  “I hope so! ‘Cause if he does, I might finally make enough money I can get a place of my own.”

  The comment knocked any retort from his mind. He was struck speechless. Her nostrils flared as she refocused her fiery gaze, challenging him to reply. Instead, he crumpled into himself, shutting down physically and emotionally.

  Kristine finished getting ready in silence. He waited for her to slam the door behind. Somehow, the gentle snick of the latch hurt more.

  I’m losing her. Kris doesn’t just say things she hasn’t thought about a dozen times before. If she’s been thinking about getting a place without me, then she might already had a deposit saved up.

  “Fuck,” he snapped, kicking the mattress.

  What if this is why she’s been working so hard? To get away from me?

  The pressure allowed Christopher to channel his anger into finding a quick solution. Even though they fought a lot more frequently, after the tempers cooled, he realized he’d never loved someone as much as her. He’d do anything to keep her happy and safe.

  “Gopher! Is it really you?”

  “Yeah, man. How are ya?”

  “As busy as whore during Fleet Week. How about you? When Nancy told me you called, I…”

  Christopher swallowed back the bile rising in his throat. “I need a job.”

  James stuttered to a stop and cleared his throat. “Well, yeah, of course. Are you in some kind of trouble?”

  “No, it’s nothing like that. I…” He’d never been good at lying. Lying by omission, sure, but he could never keep track of fabrications. “There’s this girl and I want to ask her to marry me.”

  His brother laughed knowingly. “Say no more. I’ll have to take a look at what positions are open, but…”

  “Anything, really. Doesn’t have to be specialized,” said Christopher. He’d been dreading this conversation so much, he didn’t expect such a wave of relief.

  James paused on the other end of the phone, shifting in his chair or standing. Christopher imagined his office looked like something out of a movie. Dark glass, ultra-modern, over-looking a factory. “Dad would be so happy,” he finally said with genuine emotion.

  “I’ll take your word for it,” Christopher replied. He didn’t mean for it to sound so harsh. He and his brother had two very different memories of their father.

  “Great, so. I’m glad you reached out. I’ll definitely find you a place here. When can you start?”

  He stared at the door Kristine had slammed shut only an hour before. “As soon as possible.”

  New York City, NY

  May 29th

  Kristine stormed down the stairs and ignored the friendly greetings from the kitchen. She was on the verge of crying and if she stopped moving, even for a second, the tears would fall. As she stood on the platform waiting for the train that would take her across town, she idly rubbed her stomach.

  This better pan out. I can’t tell him we need to move because of the baby. They won’t let us stay in the unit once I start to show. How can I have a baby like this? With a guy like him? There’s not even a hint of stability.

  Kristine guessed Sammy was about two bad relationships away from referring to himself in the third person. It wasn’t that he was a bad guy, but he was young and saw the world through a lens of hormones and ambition. Getting information from him was less a game of seduction and more just putting in the time. She learned that after the first couple dates.

  Sammy finished his fourth pint of beer and waved for another.

  “You wouldn’t believe some of the weird things I’ve seen,” he slurred.

  She feigned interest and tried to twist the conversation around. “I bet. Like, can you tell me something super weird that’s happened to you recently?”

  Sammy’s lips smacked as he swallowed a gulp of beer before answering. “This one guy got his dick caught between his toilet seat and bowl.”

  Kristine pinned on a smile. “That’s not exactly what I was thinking.”

  “Have you ever seen a uterine prolapse?” he suggested, as if this might be more along the lines of what she was angling for.

  Her lip curled. “No, and please don’t tell me about it.” She noticed Sammy’s phone light up for the third time. “You have somewhere else to be?” Because of her disgust, it came out a lot harsher than she intended. He immediately softened.

  “Naw, baby. It’s just work, but I’m not on call.” He gave her his best seductive look. “They just want me real bad.”

  “Maybe you should go, if it’s important.”

  His eyes were slow to catch up when he shook his head. “No, it’s cool. I told them I’ve had a few, so it’s actually illegal for me to go in.” He grabbed her thigh under the table. “I’m all yours.”

  Kristine’s little white lie to Christopher was becoming an issue. After three dates, Sammy obviously thought he’d put enough time in that he’d earned a little action. She patted his hand and mumbled, “Great.”

  The third time his phone lit up, she couldn’t help but comment. “Something big is happening, huh? Was there an accident?”

  Sammy held with a suddenly sober look. He slide his hand up her bare thigh until she slapped it away. “That’s what I thought,” he grumbled, finishing the rest of his beer in an angry gulp. “For what it’s worth, I figured out what this was a long time ago.”

  She bit her tongue,
not wanting to say anything until he spilled a little more.

  He shook his head sadly, almost as if he was disappointed in himself. “I don’t know why I didn’t say anything earlier. I know who you are,” he said as his eyes rose to meet hers. “I’ve seen you online.”

  “Ah,” she breathed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

  He held up a hand to stop her. “No. Don’t do that shit. You know damn well what you were doing. It’s my fault for getting caught up in it.”

  The pair sat in silence, the din of the bar around them filling in the gap of conversation. His eyes darted around the room as if he didn’t know where to look. The fact he didn’t immediately leave stood out to her, though she knew he had to be the one to get the conversation moving again. When he finally met her gaze, he laughed once.

  “All right. How does this work then?”

  Kristine started slowly, feeling more like a prostitute than before it’d all be laid out. She explained how she maintained a network of contacts all around the city and in parts of the country. If they were able to deliver information that led to a story, she’d pay. If that story garnered a certain amount of attention, and money, they’d get a bigger chunk.

  “Of course, if you ever feed me false information just to earn some money, I’ll drop you and make it my pet project to ruin your career.”

  Sammy’s eyebrows shot up. “Damn. I think I liked you better when you were just cock-blocking me.”

  Kristine tugged at the straps of her top, hiding her cleavage. “Nice.” Another long silence later and she nearly gathered her bag to leave, but he spoke up.

  “You wanna know about the real dolls,” he said. When she didn’t respond, he looked up through his eyebrows and clarified. “It’s what we call the people who come in in that weird… coma, or whatever. We call ‘em real dolls cause they look like the ones guys use to…”

  “Yeah, I get it,” she sneered. “What do you know about them? Do you have a name for the drug?”

  He pushed a little puddle of condensation around the table with his finger. “Don’t know if it’s a drug, but I do know there’s dozens of ‘em upstairs. Drugs leave your system after a while, so I don’t know why they’d been keeping ‘em in there if that was it.”

  Kristine had all but written off this date. Suddenly, she was being flooded with information. She had to keep pushing while Sammy was willing to talk.

  “That is weird,” she said in a friendly tone. “Do you remember the night we met? There was a guy you brought in right before, had blood all over his chin. You said he bit someone.”

  A haunted expression came over him as he sobered up further. “Yeah, that one was bad. But it’s not the blood that makes it bad. We had one, a babysitter held a kid under the water at a park. Right in front of everyone.” When their eyes met, his were swimming with tears. “Wasn’t even the kid she was watching. Just a random one that was there. Who does that?”

  Kristine felt the bile rise up in her throat. She stopped herself short of touching her belly. “So all these people kill someone before they go all, real doll?” she asked, using his term.

  “I guess.”

  She knew she’d break the spell, but she had to get this written down before she forgot any of the details. Under the table, she quickly typed out a shorthand note out on her tablet. Whatever instinct she had for a story, it was lighting up like crazy.

  “Is that what was happening tonight? All those calls?”

  He nodded, still playing with the puddle of water. The look on his face was breaking her heart.

  “Do you purposely drink so you don’t have to go on more of those calls?” she asked as she touched his wrist.

  He opened his mouth to respond and clacked it shut. When he regarded her again, he was all business, the vulnerability erased.

  “How much you think this story could earn me, then?”

  Kristine chewed on the shift in tone, deciding she couldn’t blame him. “It entirely depends on how many views I get.”

  “Okay,” he said as he swiped open a video on his phone. “What about a video like this? Is this what you’re talking about?”

  He slid the phone across the table, ignoring the wetness. “What is this?” She tried to make sense of the three shaky videos playing simultaneously. Sammy didn’t explain. He also didn’t watch with her, deciding to wave the waitress down for another beer.

  Like a horrible accident, Kristine didn’t want to watch and couldn’t bring herself to look away. It was difficult to tell what was happening at first since all the action took place in the background. Well, at least until it didn’t. When the bottom video panned down to show the man dead on the floor below, she gasped loud enough to draw the attention of a few people close by.

  “What the fuck, Sammy? Why are you…” she cursed, her hands covering her mouth in horror.

  He tapped the screen without looking. “Keep watching. Watch the kids.”

  Sure she was about to see them thrown over the railing too, Kristine squinted at the video, ready to shut them at a moment’s notice. But instead of another scene of carnage, the children, and the other woman, calmly sat down. The last frame froze showing all three sitting straight-legged and placid.

  “Where did this happen?”

  Sammy shrugged as he pocketed the phone. “I don’t know. West coast somewhere.”

  “Jesus…” Kristine cradled her head. “You have to get me in touch with someone who knows more. I need to break this story. We need to. I can tell this bothers you.”

  “Of course it does,” he snapped. “But I’m not risking my job unless it’s worth it.”

  “You put me in front of a doctor who will talk and it’ll be worth it, I promise you,” she said. “Can you do it tonight?”

  Sammy rolled his head back with a loud groan. “Ugh, I guess. He’s probably still there,” he complained, checking the time. “If they had a busy night, Dr. Lal will be there.”

  Things didn’t sound promising when Sammy called the doctor. He was coming off a ten hour shift, it was past midnight, and she could tell by the way Sammy talked about him he wasn’t exactly the warmest person.

  “If she gets here before I leave, fine,” she’d heard the doctor say through Sammy’s phone.

  Kristine’s luck was holding out. By the time she jogged into the ward, sweaty and out of breath, Dr. Sanjay Lal hadn’t even finished yet. She spotted him from afar, Sammy’s description accurate.

  “You’re Sam’s friend?” he asked without taking his eyes off the tablet in his hands.

  She nodded, sucking air into her lungs. “Yes. I’m… Kristine Mc… McKay,” she said, thrusting out her hand.

  He looked at it, then her, and gave her a single shake. “Pleasure. What is it you wanted to talk to me about then?” he asked as he signed a stack of papers, handing each one to a waiting nurse.

  Now that she was there, Kristine wasn’t sure how to broach the subject in a way that wouldn’t raise his guard. “Sammy didn’t tell me you were British,” she said for lack of anything better.

  “Was and still am,” he retorted dryly. “I come up in your and Sam’s conversations a lot then?”

  Kristine laughed nervously. “Well, no, but he uh… he told me you had a busy night?”

  Dr. Lal sharply blew air from his nose. “It’s easier to note the nights that aren’t.”

  “Yes, but,” she continued, trying to remain coy, “you’ve been busy a lot recently, haven’t you? With a certain kind of patient?”

  He idly turned his attention to her, his stony expression unmoving. To Kristine he was the very stereotype of an emergency room doctor; confident verging on cocky, powerful, unyielding. “If you’re talking about patients who are looking for urgent care…”

  She held his dark eyes. “I’m talking about patients who are very… calm, about their trip to the ER. People who don’t seem to know where they are.”

  The doctor continued to look at her in a way that made her feel like
he was gleaning information with only his mind. It was unnerving and intense, but blissfully fast. He was apparently a quick judge of character.

  “I don’t want my name or this hospital associated in any way.”

  “Absolutely,” she nodded vigorously.

  “I won’t accept money either. I’m sure that won’t be a problem.”

  Trying to temper her excitement, Kristine agreed. “Whatever you want. Can you take me to the patients?”

  His genuine laugh startled her. “You are a hungry one, aren’t you?”

  She couldn’t deny that. She also couldn’t explain how deeply she believed this was more than a payday. In her gut, she knew this was hugely important.

  “Have you seen this video? Is this what’s happening here?”

  Dr. Lal watched the horrible video with the air of a man who has seen much worse.

  “It happened a couple hours ago,” she said.

  He returned it while confirming her suspicions. “Obviously I can’t know for sure, but that looks like the condition we’re dealing with. Where did you say this happened?”

  “Um, San Francisco, one of the shopping centers in the middle of the city.”

  Kristine thought she saw his lip twitch slightly, but his poker face remained intact. “When exactly?”

  She frowned as the screen went dark. “I’m not sure, but I could try and find out. Why? Is that important?”

  The doctor stared into the distance as the wheels of his brain churned, ultimately deciding not to elaborate further. He deliberately blinked once and walked away, not really caring if she followed or not. “I can’t get you to the patients tonight, but we can arrange some other time. I’d be happy to sit down and talk to you, but I’ve had a fuck of a night and need to rest before the next wave.”

  Kristine had to hop every third step to keep up with his long stride. “Wave?”

  “Here’s your first big scoop,” he said, looking at her from the corner of his eye. “These aren’t random events. We can predict them… to a point.”

  She stopped dead. “What? How? Why would it be…”