to speak to Ms. Marion,” Wagner said. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll hold.”
He tapped his fingers on the desk as he waited. Several minutes went by and Wagner began to get impatient. His annoyance level rose to the point where he almost hung up.
“Mr. Wagner? Is everything alright?” a woman’s smooth, almost soothing voice asked on the other end of the phone. “I wasn’t expecting a call from you so soon.”
“I think we have a problem with Dr. Glouster,” Wagner said.
“No hello?” the woman asked.
“What? Oh, right, sorry. Hello, Ms. Marion,” Wagner said.
“I thought you had handled the issue of Dr. Glouster by allowing him to think you spared his life in exchange for his help,” Ms. Marion said. “Is he not helping?”
“He is, but I don’t trust the guy,” Wagner said. “We’ve had a couple of hiccups already. How close are your lab people to learning the process for making another creature like this?”
“Close, but not close enough,” Ms. Marion said. “I would prefer you keep Dr. Glouster alive long enough for us to interrogate him and make sure we have all the nuances of the process in hand. Can you do that for me, Mr. Wagner? Can you use your skills to keep one man alive? I know you prefer to kill, and you will get to kill Dr. Glouster, but for now I need you to do the opposite.”
“Yeah, I can keep the guy alive,” Wagner said. “But if I catch a sniff of him trying something, I will not hesitate to feed him to his own creation.”
“Try something? Such as?” Ms. Marion asked.
“I don’t know,” Wagner said. “But I think the project advanced further than I thought. Those hiccups we had today looked like accidents, but I’m not so sure anymore.”
“You think the doctor has control of the creature?” Ms. Marion asked.
“I think the two of them have a relationship of some kind,” Wagner said. He laughed at his words. “I know how that sounds, but think of it like a dog and his master.”
“That is how I think of most things, Mr. Wagner,” Ms. Marion said. “And like a good dog, I expect you to protect the project and make sure it is not compromised.” There was silence for a couple of seconds. “If you know for sure that Dr. Glouster will prevent you from accomplishing those goals then I authorize his sacrifice. It will put us behind, since I am not confident we have all of his files, but it is better than him sabotaging the work.”
“That’s all I needed to hear,” Wagner said. “I will do everything I can to keep things under control and exactly as planned. But it makes me rest easy knowing I have the option of removing Dr. Glouster from the equation.”
“Is there anything else, Mr. Wagner?” Ms. Marion asked.
“No, ma’am,” Wagner replied. “Next time you hear from me we will be about to arrive at the NCDC facility.”
“And that is al lI needed to hear, Mr. Wagner. Goodbye.”
“Yeah, good—” Wagner started to respond, but the line was dead in his hand before he got the first word out. “Bitch.”
10.
“Holy son of a…” Maggie trailed off as she stared at the size of their cabin.
Ben wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck.
“I hope you’re talking about that bed,” Ben said. “Because we could do some serious damage in that bed. It’s like a super king or something.”
“It’s a normal king,” Maggie said, turning herself in his arms and giving him a long kiss. “But, Mr. Horny, I was talking about the whole room. Did you notice the wet bar?”
“I did,” Ben said. “Want me to fix you a drink?”
“Yes,” Maggie said as she started to slip out of her clothes. “Bring it to me in the bathroom. I’m going to shower, change, and get ready for dinner.”
“I like the sound of that,” Ben said.
“It’s just a shower,” Maggie said as she unhooked her bra and tossed it at him. “We’ll have plenty of time for fun later.”
“Want me to bring you your clothes?” Ben
He tapped his fingers on the desk as he waited. Several minutes went by and Wagner began to get impatient. His annoyance level rose to the point where he almost hung up.
“Mr. Wagner? Is everything alright?” a woman’s smooth, almost soothing voice asked on the other end of the phone. “I wasn’t expecting a call from you so soon.”
“I think we have a problem with Dr. Glouster,” Wagner said.
“No hello?” the woman asked.
“What? Oh, right, sorry. Hello, Ms. Marion,” Wagner said.
“I thought you had handled the issue of Dr. Glouster by allowing him to think you spared his life in exchange for his help,” Ms. Marion said. “Is he not helping?”
“He is, but I don’t trust the guy,” Wagner said. “We’ve had a couple of hiccups already. How close are your lab people to learning the process for making another creature like this?”
“Close, but not close enough,” Ms. Marion said. “I would prefer you keep Dr. Glouster alive long enough for us to interrogate him and make sure we have all the nuances of the process in hand. Can you do that for me, Mr. Wagner? Can you use your skills to keep one man alive? I know you prefer to kill, and you will get to kill Dr. Glouster, but for now I need you to do the opposite.”
“Yeah, I can keep the guy alive,” Wagner said. “But if I catch a sniff of him trying something, I will not hesitate to feed him to his own creation.”
“Try something? Such as?” Ms. Marion asked.
“I don’t know,” Wagner said. “But I think the project advanced further than I thought. Those hiccups we had today looked like accidents, but I’m not so sure anymore.”
“You think the doctor has control of the creature?” Ms. Marion asked.
“I think the two of them have a relationship of some kind,” Wagner said. He laughed at his words. “I know how that sounds, but think of it like a dog and his master.”
“That is how I think of most things, Mr. Wagner,” Ms. Marion said. “And like a good dog, I expect you to protect the project and make sure it is not compromised.” There was silence for a couple of seconds. “If you know for sure that Dr. Glouster will prevent you from accomplishing those goals then I authorize his sacrifice. It will put us behind, since I am not confident we have all of his files, but it is better than him sabotaging the work.”
“That’s all I needed to hear,” Wagner said. “I will do everything I can to keep things under control and exactly as planned. But it makes me rest easy knowing I have the option of removing Dr. Glouster from the equation.”
“Is there anything else, Mr. Wagner?” Ms. Marion asked.
“No, ma’am,” Wagner replied. “Next time you hear from me we will be about to arrive at the NCDC facility.”
“And that is al lI needed to hear, Mr. Wagner. Goodbye.”
“Yeah, good—” Wagner started to respond, but the line was dead in his hand before he got the first word out. “Bitch.”
10.
“Holy son of a…” Maggie trailed off as she stared at the size of their cabin.
Ben wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck.
“I hope you’re talking about that bed,” Ben said. “Because we could do some serious damage in that bed. It’s like a super king or something.”
“It’s a normal king,” Maggie said, turning herself in his arms and giving him a long kiss. “But, Mr. Horny, I was talking about the whole room. Did you notice the wet bar?”
“I did,” Ben said. “Want me to fix you a drink?”
“Yes,” Maggie said as she started to slip out of her clothes. “Bring it to me in the bathroom. I’m going to shower, change, and get ready for dinner.”
“I like the sound of that,” Ben said.
“It’s just a shower,” Maggie said as she unhooked her bra and tossed it at him. “We’ll have plenty of time for fun later.”
“Want me to bring you your clothes?” Ben
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