Holes in the Ground by J.A. Konrath, Iain Rob Wright

out. In Andy’s experience, personal growth and reward were driving forces. When those were removed, people became lazy.
    Kane continued.
    “There are four fully-equipped labs down here, to which everyone has access, under the supervision of Dr. Gornman. I am in charge here, but beyond that everybody has their own autonomy within their own specific area of research. You take orders from me and no one else. That needs to be very clear.”
    Andy and Sun said nothing, but both nodded.
    Kane leaned forward to reach an intercom unit set into the middle of the desk. He pressed a button and said, “Can I have everyone in the conference room, please, to meet our newest additions?”
    They sat in silence for a few moments while people started to funnel out of the adjacent offices. Each of the newcomers pulled up a chair at the large desk. It began to resemble a meeting of the joint-chiefs.
    “Okay,” Kane said. “We have over fifty people in this facility, but this is the main team. Allow me to start the introductions. Everyone, this is Andrew and Sun Dennison-Jones. Andrew knows several dozen languages, and was summoned by the President himself to communicate with the Manx man. Sun is a veterinarian. They were both assigned to Project Samhain, and were there when it…
ended
.”
    Andy stared at the blank faces regarding him, and decided smiling and waving was the wrong way to go. Instead he nodded curtly.
    Kane indicated a large man in one of the black ops suit. The guard had a long raggedy Rasputin beard and biceps the size of melons. On his belt was a huge sidearm, a pager, a knife, a leather pouch, and a police baton. Two equally-large black men flanked him on either side.
    “This is Sergeant Steve Rimmer, head of Spiral security. Either side of him are his team leaders, Mike Handler and Tyler West. Any security breaches, or personnel conflicts, will be dealt with by Rimmer and his team.
    Rimmer nodded but didn’t speak. Handler and West both said hello and smiled.
    “Next we have Dr. Larry Chandelling, who is our lead scientist and head of information technology. Any tissue samples you need analysing will go through him and his team of assistants. Likewise, any questions about our computer systems here should be directed his way.”
    “Glad to be working with you,” the doctor warmly said. He was a skinny, middle-aged, weasel-featured man, but wore a friendly smile. “I’d be very interested in hearing about Samhain, and sharing notes.”
    Kane waved a hand. “We can get to that later, Dr. Chandelling.” He moved on. “Our Head of Medicine is Dr. Thandi Gornman. She holds doctorates in Medicine and Psychiatry and has overall control of the labs. Dr. Gornman will dispense any drugs that you may need for personal use or for the care of the various guests we contain. She is also quite the expert with our IT systems here, but try not to bother her unless absolutely necessary. She runs a tight ship.”
    Dr. Gornman had short, straight black hair and sharp features. She appraised them from behind horn-rim spectacles and seemed to frown at what she saw. “Do any of you have any medical conditions I need to know about? Diabetes, for instance. Or depression. Speak now or forever hold your peace.”
    Sun shook her head. Andy considered his hemorrhoids, and decided to stay quiet.
    “Then I don’t expect to see very much of you, except for mandatory weekly sessions. We can schedule them soon.”
    “What is that?” Sun asked.
    Kane answered. “The stress of working in a secret underground facility, surrounded by monsters, tends to accumulate. The powers that be deemed it wise to have a full-time psychiatrist available to the staff. Everyone meets with Dr. Gornman once a week to chat.”
    “Does that chat include a psych eval?” Sun asked.
    Gornman smiled placidly, like the head shrink she was. “No one judges, here. But if I feel someone is unfit for duty, they are removed from the facility.”
    Kane clasped his hands