AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"This is Rebecca Morgan. She's a reporter, taking a tour of the Institute. I thought she might be interested in your work. Ms. Morgan, this is Doctor Andrew Chen."
Dr. Chen beamed, and waved them over to the microscope.
"Dr. Chen is one of our sharpest researchers," Lacroix murmured to Rebecca as they crossed the lab. "His doctorate is in molecular biology. He's a brilliant scientist, but his interpersonal skills are a little...underdeveloped."
She nodded. Dr. Chen was a nerd.
Oblivious to their exchange, Dr. Chen began showing off his research. She didn't follow all of his technical jargon, even with the background research she'd done, but she grasped enough to understand he was researching DNA structures, trying to understand what the various sections of genetic code were responsible for. At least, that's what he said he was doing. She made notes of things to follow up on, all the while looking for a way to prove he did what he claimed to do.
"So, how would that work?" she asked.
"I'd start with a cell sample. Then I'd trap it on a slide, and inject proteins to flag the antigens I'm looking for. If they show up, I break apart the DNA to get more details. Get it?"
"No, I still don't see how you'd do it."
"I'd take a cell sample." He pronounced each word slowly and carefully, as if talking to an idiot. She saw her chance.
"A blood sample?"
"Maybe."
She stretched out her left hand. "Show me."
The researcher glanced at Lacroix, who shrugged. "If she wants you to poke her with needles, go right ahead."
"Well, okay. But it might hurt." Dr. Chen watched her carefully, as if he expected her to swoon at this revelation.
Her pulse quickened. Had she trapped him into exposing a lie? She kept her left hand steady, waiting for Dr. Chen to make his next move.
He shook his head, and pulled on a pair of latex gloves. Then he took two sealed paper packets from one of the primary-colored drawers. More packets filled the drawer.
He ripped the first packet open, and took out an alcohol wipe. He unfolded it and rubbed it briskly over the tip of her ring finger, then tossed it onto the gray Formica counter. The wetness evaporated immediately, chilling her skin. He opened the second packet and tipped a small metal lancet into his hand.
Glancing away, she found Lacroix studiously examining the far wall. She grinned. He'd certainly chosen an odd job for a man who was squeamish about the sight of blood.
The sharp prick of the lancet pulled her attention back to her hand, in Dr. Chen's tight grip. A bead of bright red blood welled up from the puncture. He wiped her finger again, cleaning the wound. A fresh spot of blood gleamed on the tip of her finger, and he touched it to a slim glass slide. He dropped an even thinner piece of glass on top of the slide, and the droplet of blood spread out between the layers.
She put her finger in her mouth, grimacing at the bitter alcohol residue. Lacroix's sharp intake of breath caught her attention, and she glanced over to see him staring at her, his emerald gaze fixed on her mouth. He swallowed, and she imagined that his sensuous lips imprisoned her finger. Her cheeks heated. Turning away, she focused all of her attention on Dr. Chen.
He fed the slide to the microscope. After taking a moment to adjust the focus, he beckoned her over. She put her eye to the foam rubber eyepiece and saw things that looked like giant soccer balls and tumbleweeds drift past. She backed away, suddenly sharing a little of Lacroix's queasiness.
Dr. Chen added drops of liquid to the edge of the slide.
"These compounds react with the antigens I'm looking for...." His voice faded, and he looked back and forth quickly between the microscope and a multicolored chart tacked above his desk.
"What is it?" Lacroix leaned over the researcher.
"This is very okay." Dr. Chen bounced on his stool. "I need to do another test."
He was already reaching for her hand. She nodded, not quite sure what was happening but sensing its importance to her story. If they really were doing research here, maybe it was the research itself that was such a big secret.
Dr. Chen wiped off her finger again, then forced a slim glass tube, not much wider than a piece of spaghetti, against the wound. It slowly filled with blood. He jabbed the tube into a block of Styrofoam to cork the ends. Pressing a second tube to the puncture, he squeezed her finger. Not enough blood flowed to fill another tube, even such a small one, and he reached into the drawer for a new lancet.
She snatched her hand away and stuffed it in her pocket, backing away in case he still had any ideas about using her as a guinea pig. "That's enough."
Lacroix spared her a brief look, then consulted with his researcher in low tones. They stopped and both glanced back at her, then continued their discussion. Curiosity overrode her self-preservation and she edged closer.
"How long will it take for you to get a result?" Lacroix asked.
