Influx (Book Four)

Chapter Four

"How long will it last?" Click asks me curiously and I pause to think.

"Less than a week, new water is continuously pushed in and the substance starts to break down after forty-eight, to seventy-two hours," I say confidently.

"We made national news already," Click says and she hands me her phone. There is a very grainy video of us on our boards before the lights go out.

"Fantastic," I say with a smirk.

"They are going to implode when they realize it's just charcoal and dye," Click says and we both burst out laughing thinking of the future newscasts and what the chemists are going to find. My sides start to ache as we continue to laugh at the panicky newscasters. This seems like such a heinous act, but in reality, it most likely won't hurt anyone. It's just enough to scare the pants off people, especially Lyle Caspian.

"Here, eat, I know you have to get to your meeting today," Click says amused and I quickly sit down and eat the plate of eggs before running to get changed. I had steamed my suit a few days ago to get the material to relax and when I get off the subway and walk above ground, I feel more confident in my appearance. Burying my face is my navy-blue scarf, I notice the leaves starting to change and appreciate the fall weather approaching.

"Beta!" A voice calls out to me and I turn around and see none other than Arlington jogging over to me. I can tell her hair hasn't been washed and she looks distressed, but she gives me a big smile.

"Ready for our meeting?" She asks as we walk into the building. Flashing my ID, they don't stop me this time.

"Are you going to be sitting in on all of these development meetings?" I ask her confused. Didn't we buy the ideas from Voyager so that they wouldn't have to worry about the development?

"Well considering Voyager's buying out your company, I've been asked to sit in on certain projects," Arlington says, and I turn to look at her.

"What?" I ask miffed.

"Didn't Nathan tell you?" Arlington asks alarmed and I shake my head no and when the elevator doors slide open, Nathan is waiting for us.

"Did you forget to tell me something, Nathan?" I ask him, forcing a playfulness into my voice, but I want to throttle him.

"I'm guessing Mrs. Arlington just told you about Voyager's acquisition of the company," he says with an awkward smile and I nod.

"I was hoping to tell you this morning before you got to the office, but the whole morning went to shit after the water fiasco," he says frustrated and I smirk behind my scarf.

"My water is unusable too," I say trying to fake sympathy.

"I can't even imagine what the chemists are going to come back. It's probably some horrible cancer-causing chemical," Nathan says shaken and I press my lips together to stifle a laugh. Taking a seat in the conference room, I show them the progress I have made, and Arlington suggests a few things for me to try and I take some notes on what seems relevant. Her presence doesn't seem as irritating as the first time I met her, but I can tell she is distracted by the water crisis and that puts me at ease. I don't need her poking around my physiology and discovering anything.

"I think that is all we needed to cover today," Nathan says, and we all pull out our phones to schedule the next one. I put the date in and see a text from Click. Viewing it in preview mode, she asked if I want to get lunch. Texting her yes, I try to push the meeting to conclude and quickly gather all my papers.

I don't say anything else but shake hands and Arlington and I head out. I can feel her glancing at me occasionally in the elevator and suddenly it screeches to a halt. The noise makes my ears hurt and I knock into the wall.