The Black Rose

“Well, good afternoon to you,” I echoed loudly, sauntering down the stairs at a casual one pm. I didn’t end up going to sleep until well after six this morning, but I was surprised to find Damien still here.

“Good afternoon,” Damien mumbled, rubbing his temples. He had a fresh bag of ice on his wrist.

I moved immediately to the cabinet and pulled out two coffee mugs. I quickly programmed my state-of-the-art espresso machine (that I seldom used) to create what I hoped would be two espressos, while Damien stumbled up from the couch.

“I’m surprised to still see you here,” I joked.

“Well, someone has to wrap my wrist, besides, I could barely walk until now,” he stammered.

“That’s what happens when you mix powerful narcotics and half a bottle of whiskey,” I sassed, eyeing my dwindled whiskey collection.

“You’re one to talk,” he retorted attempting to fill his glass with water and ice.

“Allow me,” I grumbled, ignoring his retort.

After filling his glass, I placed it next to him.

“Let me see it.” I blurted.

He reluctantly removed the ice bag. The swelling was down.

“I suppose I can wrap it now,” I followed, “Finish that ice first,” I bossed like a mother hen.

“Yes ma’am,” he mumbled under his breath. “Considering you were the one who did this.”

“I remember,” I smirked icily.

Damien thought better than to continue down that road.

“You look extra presentable today,” he erred, changing the subject. “You feeling better?”

“Why thanks,” I grinned, shrugging my shoulders in a slight curtsy, ignoring his question.

“Alex?” he pressed.

“I’m fine,” I declared. “Everything is under control.”

“How many did you take from my car?”

“Ummm four,” I trailed.

“Four pills?” he continued.

“Bottles…”

“You took all of them?” he sighed exasperated.

“I didn’t swallow all of them. I have the rest in a safe place.”

I glanced at Damien’s good hand. It shook. “Do you need them?” I blurted.

His eyes flit to his hand. “No, I’m fine. Just keep it. At least you behave better that way.”

I rolled my eyes as I handed him a steaming mug of coffee. I couldn’t place it, but I felt a sudden urge of comradery with Damien. I didn’t know if it was hacking into his phone and reading his love texts, or the fact I broke his wrist less than twelve hours ago, and we could casually have coffee the next day. Were we all sociopaths? Monsters?

I sipped my coffee, monitoring Damien’s face. I could tell he had something to spill.

“What is it?” I asked, unable to contain my curiosity.

“What?” he furrowed his brow in mock surprise.

“What do you have to tell me?” I continued.

He paused for a moment. “Why do you think I have something to hide?”

“Because you are terrible at concealing it,” I mocked.

He rolled his eyes, his face growing ever more serious. “Well, I was going to wait until after your meeting with Dr. Semmens, but they want you to get assessed. You will fly out first thing tomorrow morning,” he eyed me suspiciously.

“This your idea?” I blurted angrily any feeling of comradery gone.

“No,” he stated boldly. “It was theirs and after what I saw with the pills and the carnage you left,” he paused.

A glimmer of exultation flashed across my face.

“They want to run a few tests. They aren’t happy with you.”

“Why not? I kill a few extra people and all of a sudden, I’m in the dog house? Who cares?” My anger rose.

“You went against protocol,” Damien continued. “I don’t know what it is about you, but if another operative had done that, I would’ve been asked to terminate you immediately.”

I could tell Damien ached to know what it was about me. Why was I so special? This confirmed, he had no idea who I was or what I was.

“Maybe it’s my charming personality,” I smirked deviously.

He scoffed.

Thin ice, I mulled. After all, I had done for Shadow. I breathed deep. This simply confirmed how thin the ice actually was, or could you even call it ice if you got but one chance to follow orders? Did they even know what it was like to kill? One had to improvise, not that this particular operation was an improvisation. Truth be told, I just wanted it over with. I didn’t want to wait. It was easier to kill them all than to strategize how to get Li Chin alone. Oh, well.

“Listen, Damien, as thrilling as this conversation has been, I need to prepare for today,” I trailed.

“Right,” he added, “Can you just wrap my wrist?”

I nodded, grabbing the Flexicast material. With a bowl of water, I lightly soaked the roll and then wrapped it around Damien’s broken wrist. Soon, the material would harden, making his wrist semi-rigid, or at least stable enough until he could see one of our doctors.

“Thanks,” he muttered. “I’ll be going with you tomorrow. Need to get this properly looked at.”

“Probably a good idea, wouldn’t want your wrist permanently damaged,” I jabbed.

Holding his wrist high, Damien rose from the stool. “I’ll be by with the car tomorrow at 3 pm, be ready.”

“Sir, yes, sir,” I saluted.

“Remember Alex, thin ice,” he called as he moved down the hall and out of the loft. I mocked him as he talked rolling my eyes.

With Damien out, I rushed back up the stairs to the concealed safe on the wall. It clicked and opened with my thumb.

Inside, I grabbed several pills and swallowed. I would need more than four bottles if I was to make it through this. I couldn’t afford to snap or lose control.

Next, I reached for a tiny plastic chip, which inserted perfectly into my hand-made watch. This plastic chip would record any conversation as soon as I turned the hand. Closing the safe, I moved to the bathroom and opened the far-right drawer. Inside were several glass frames. I pulled the thick, black square frames and put them on my face. These frames would video record whatever I saw.

I glanced in the mirror, no trace of mass murder on my face. My irises had returned to their normal brilliant green. The sparkle faded and the voices quelled. I gave myself a wink and sauntered down the stairs. I will admit it was a weird transition from bullet holes and sliced throats to lab tours and dinner. What a thrilling weekend.

I grabbed my small black backpack and skipped down the hall, swiping my keys from the table bowl. I would be driving today.

I hit the parking button and watched as the floors ticked down. I almost forgot I had a car with as little as I drove it. Probably for the betterment of society. I shuffled into the leather seat and punched in the address to Mia’s lab. I would arrive exactly at three.

The entire drive it was all I could do to focus on breathing, avoiding road rage, and on the task ahead. Even with the gargantuan amount of pills within my system, I still felt on edge. Mia made me nervous. Physically stepping into her world with recording devices and the goal of recruiting her whether she liked it or not made me nervous.

“You have arrived,” the GPS interrupted robotically. Here goes nothing.

I pulled up to the security gate.

“How may I help you?” the security guard inquired.

“I’m here to see Dr. Mia Semmens,” I said politely.

“Are you Jennifer?” he asked matter-of-factly, glancing down at what must be my photo.

“Yes, I am,” I nodded.

“Can I see your id?” he blurted, staring down at his clipboard not looking up.

I handed him my fake passport. He glanced at it, then back at me. Going back into his little white hut, he came back with a badge. “Please wear this badge on your person at all times. You can return it when you leave. Also, keep this pass on your dash. You can park in any of the guest stalls ahead on your left. I ’ve called Dr. Semmens. You can meet her in the lobby, which if you follow the elevator signs will take you directly there.”

“Thanks,” I muttered, taking the tag and pinning it to my suspender.

I pulled forward and parked. Most of the guest stalls were vacant. Typical for a weekend I suppose.

Stepping out of the car, I followed the signs as directed, making sure my glasses were getting every exit. Upon entering the elevator, I turned the dial on my watch to start recording.

After moving three floors up, which were entirely underground might I add, I stepped into the lobby. The lobby was bigger than expected. The floors were white marble and had two black sectional couches with white oval-shaped modern coffee tables. There was a mini-Starbucks kiosk, and a massive black front desk that was empty.

I moved towards the front desk, careful to peer around it but not look too obvious.

“Jennifer?”

I turned, the sound of her voice like liquid morphine.

“Hi,” I smiled.

“Hi,” she beamed. “Sorry, there’s no one to greet you, we are technically closed today.”

“Not a problem, I prefer it this way,” I countered.

Mia gave me a side glance, unsure how my brash comment landed. Sometimes I could be too forward. Stupid, Alex.

“Well, this is our lobby.” Mia boasted, her arms moving about the room.

“It’s very nice,” I smiled.

“I will take you to the second floor first,” Mia began. “We have three stories above us. On floor two, our scientists are focusing on cures for cancer. On floor three, they are working on multiple ways to combat climate change with genetic manipulation of a certain bacterium, and on floor four, where I spend much of my time, we are working on genetic manipulation of human DNA.”

“Well, I’m all ears today, I’m excited.” I encouraged, ready to put on the greatest faux journalism enthusiasm Shadow had ever seen. I wondered if they were watching right now?

“Good,” Mia grinned as we entered the secure elevator. We rose one floor and as the elevator opened, we were greeted by walls of glass.

“Sorry, but I am going to have to ask you to put your cellphone in here,” Mia began. “It’s protocol...that I devised,” she chuckled.

“No, I completely understand,” I nodded placing my phone in the box. I felt a little guilty for the watch and glasses.

“With that out of the way,” she continued, “We have five labs on this floor. Every lab has its own access code and clearance level. Only the doctors and scientists working on those projects can access that lab, except me of course.”

“Fancy,” I muttered.

“I like to call it efficiency,” she grinned. “Also, in these labs, we have many post-doc or doctorate students. We work closely with UCLA.”

“How generous of you. So, do you get grant money or funding for doing so?”

“We do,” Mia nodded, “Which helps further our research and ability to secure the devices we need.”

We walked the length of the hallway. I could see a couple of scientists with sparkling white lab coats sitting on lab chairs staring into vast complicated microscopes or holding pipettes high in the air with clear plastic safety glasses. I was instantly transported to Shadow’s lab where I was the lab rat.

“They all look the same,” I muttered, taking it all in.

“Normally there would be twice this many people here during the week, but some doctors just can’t seem to call it quits,” she joked.

“I can see why, it’s very fancy,” I pretended.

“It looks fancy, but in a way, all this equipment dumbs everything down so the human eye or brain can decipher and interpret the material. It makes it easier.”

I pursed my lip. I had never thought about it like that.

“Shall we move to the next floor?” she mused.

I nodded eagerly. I wanted to see the top floor. We took the elevator to the next floor, and it took all the restraint I possessed to not gaze at her. Shadow would catch on if the camera was constantly pointed at Mia’s body, plus, the chip implanted monitored my heart rate and vitals. Not hard to put two and two together.

“This floor I would call my side project incubator. This is where scientists are working with certain species of bacteria and algae that could help absorb the excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as well as biofuels and increased efficiency for harnessing solar energy.”

I marveled at this floor. The labs were still enclosed in thick clear glass that reminded me of shadow boxes, but each lab was like its own microcosm. One lab had hundreds of tiny plants in tower-like incubators, another had immense black vats full of God knows what. Another looked like a jungle oasis. I had to admit, it was freaking cool, at the same time, it made me feel as if I was wasting my potential.

“This is awesome,” I doted.

“This floor is also filled with post-doc and doctorate students, some of the brightest minds in the field.”

We walked the long hallway again. “In this lab, they are working with manufacturers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google on packing materials produced from plants. They are also working on new forms of plastic that are completely biodegradable and recyclable.”

This floor looked like a geek’s playground. “This is the floor I would want to be on,” I blurted.

“I don’t blame you,” Mia chuckled. My eyes met hers and I broke into a smile. Why was her smile so contagious?

“How did your lab start?” I asked out of curiosity and due diligence.

“Funny enough, it began in my basement. Not where I currently live now though. I couldn’t afford a house like that in the beginning. I lived in this old home that could’ve easily been a teardown, but it was perfect for me, cheap enough, it had a spacious basement, and I could focus on my work. Within a year I had secured enough funding to move from my basement and rent a small part of an office building with one lab. After two years, I could rent the floor, and after three, well this.”

“Do you still own that home?” I asked connecting the tiny dots.

“Why do you ask?” she turned, her body language suggestive enough to answer my question.

“Oh, I would just think your first home, your first lab, would hold significance. Just wondering if you sold it or kept it is all. I would’ve kept it.”

“In hindsight, I probably should’ve,” she shrugged, “But no, I sold it.”

What are you hiding? I found the mystery sexy. Maybe there was more to her than meets the eye.

“Shall we move on to my home?” she asked hurriedly.

I nodded again, most eager for this floor.

We rose again in the elevator for which Mia had to override. It appeared the elevator only went to this floor if you had an extra special clearance. I gulped slightly. The doors opened and I got the immediate sense this floor was different. The labs weren’t divided or segregated by glass, this whole top floor was one lab.

“Wow,” I breathed.

There was a latticework of lab tables, fancy high-tech equipment that I could only imagine the cost. There was even a miniature surgical table and equipment in the corner surrounded by a climate-controlled glass box. While all the other laboratories had loads of people, there was no one else in this one.

“How many people work up here?” I asked bemused.

“Me and two others. I have trust issues,” she frowned.

I looked at everything in scrupulous detail, making sure the glasses had plenty of air time.

“I can understand why you spend much of your time here,” I scoffed.

“What’s the surgical area for?”

“That is for when we are ready for human trials,” she trailed.

I nodded. We slowly began strolling around the room. All the monitors were off, and no files or data were on the tables. She was proficient.

“How much of your funding goes into this floor?” I asked.

“Good question,” she grinned, “The vast majority. I have grants from the government as well as the military. Everyone seems to want me to succeed in human manipulation,” her voice soured at the end.

“And what do you want?” my brows rose.

“I want to succeed obviously, but I don’t want what I accomplish to fall in the wrong hands, which is inevitably the government and military.”

“Then why take their money?” I unloaded before thinking it through.

“I... I need it to succeed, I guess. Without their funds, I wouldn’t have been able to advance as quickly. Hypocritical, I know.” Mia paused the worry lines in her face deep.

“Do you think that makes me a bad person?”

Oh, lord, was I the wrong person to ask.

“Not at all, we all concede to people more powerful than us to better ourselves or the world.” Now look who was sounding hypocritical.

“Would you do it?”

Ugh, who was interviewing who here? I had to be careful. I wanted to answer honestly. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, “No, there is another way!”

“I would,” I smiled. “Sometimes you take the gifts you are given but mold them into something only you could create. With that, you’re always needed and in control.”

Mia nodded and I could see my words resonated. I also knew her questioning her morality did not bode well for Shadow. She wouldn’t accept their “generous” offer, and she would perish because of it. Suddenly I wanted to get out of here. I didn’t want to record anymore, or any of it for that matter. I felt dirty, the same feeling rose within my throat from the car.

“Should we go?” I asked. It was now almost four-thirty.

Mia gazed off in the distance deep in thought, “Sure,” she mumbled.

I started walking towards the elevator, and I dialed the hand on my watch. I also took the glasses off my face and shoved them in my pocket. Enough was enough. For the first time in my time on this earth, I felt as if I was violating someone’s privacy.

“What’s for dinner?” I pressed, changing the subject.

“Well, only the finest food that French restaurant I first met you and your boyfriend has to offer,” she grinned. “Sorry if you were expecting me to cook.”

A smile spread across my face like a rampant wildfire. “That sounds perfect...and he wasn’t my boyfriend.”

“Oh,” Mia trailed.

“Was one of the men you were with your boyfriend?”

Mia lowered her head, her cheeks flushed slightly, “Oh, no, Theo is gay and Bob is well, my best friend.”

“Aren’t best friends who you’re supposed to end up with?” I probed.

“Maybe, but it’s not like that with him and me. There’s no spark, I guess, at least for me.”

“Ah, so Bob likes you. Wait, I bet Bob loves you,” I smirked.

“Mia shook her head and rolled her eyes playfully, “It doesn’t matter, I don’t feel the same.”

“Mm Dr. Mia Semmens, the heart breaker,” I teased.

“Quite the opposite,” she frowned. “I bet you are the heartbreaker,” she finished with a questioning tone.

“Can one be a heartbreaker if she has never been in an official relationship?” my brow rose curiously.

“You’ve never been in a relationship?” she retorted in shock. “I mean...you’re so beautiful.”

It was my turn to blush, for real this time, “Thank you, but it’s true. I feel as if I’m more of the independent type.”

“I know what you mean,” Mia agreed.

“So, you have never been in a relationship either?” I asked.

“Oh, I have, three to be exact, but I was never in love. I just did it to be cool, and the one time I thought I was in love, turned out I was merely in love with his brain.”

We hit the bottom floor to the lobby.

“Well, I need to go do a couple of last-minute things, it won’t take but a few minutes. Can I give you my address, and we can meet there?”

“Not a problem,” I exhaled, even though I knew exactly where she lived.

Mia jotted down her address as if I couldn’t remember it and gave my phone back.

“See you soon,” I smiled, even though the last thing I wanted to do was leave her. I wanted to tell her in the elevator. I wanted to unleash it all. What had come over me? Why was I Mother Theresa all of a sudden?

I made my way to the car, in a bit of a panic. What excuse could I have for both the microphone and lens to stop at the same time? I guess I could say I only thought they were interested in the laboratory? Or I could have accidentally stepped on the glasses? Screw it, it didn’t matter right now.

I got in my car and made my way out of the parking garage. I returned the badge and pass to the unfriendly security guard and made my way to Mia’s place. The hair on my skin stood erect. I was about to see Mia’s home, the place where she slept, sometimes. The day was getting increasingly more intimate, and I wondered if she would have the guts to kiss me. Probably not. Could I refrain from kissing her? Probably not.

I guess we would find out.