July 3rd, 2021
1900 hours
Lynne Ellis was furious; in fact, anger didn't even begin to describe the loathing she harbored for the meddlesome troupe of investigators that were busy poking their overly inquisitive noses in her business.
Her usually tight, slicked bun was now haphazard, hair frizzing out around her livid face like a dark halo, framing her crazy eyes as she glared menacingly at Dr. Urskin.
"I don't think I heard you correctly." She hissed through gritted teeth. "Repeat that, and go slowly this time, so you can explain to me how you allowed such an egregious breach of security."
The doctor was trembling, crouching in the corner of Lynne's office like a frightened rodent. His terrified eyes darted around helplessly, and his tongue flicked out nervously to wet his lips before speaking.
"I told you, the system registered a person entering the secure area behind the main pump room." Urskin spoke lowly, tentatively, afraid of her reaction.
Lynne huffed and blew out an irate breath of air, grinding her teeth in agitation. "You mean, besides yourself?" She clarified, grasping the edges of her desk in attempt to maintain her composure.
"Y-yes," the Doctor stammered, holding up a placating hand, "b-but perhaps it was you?"
Lynne chuckled, a low, ominous sound that echoed in the metal room. "Me?"
"Y-yes."
"Well," Ellis slapped the desk roughly, glaring eyes boring holes into the sniveling, petulant man "when did this happen?"
"The n-night of the b-ball." Urskin piped helpfully, though it only served to enrage her further.
"The night of the-" She struggled to contain her anger, bringing a trembling hand to her aching temples "where was I the night of the banquet, doctor?" A sickly sweet, forced smile crept up the corners of her lips, cheeks pulling in a clownish grin.
His face fell. "Oh..."
"I was at the banquet, you incompetent piece of dog shit!" She bellowed, crossing the room in three strides, heels resounding on the floor. "Who the hell got into my restricted area?"
Her arm whipped out, nails wrapping around his in a vice like grip, his face pinching in pain.
"I-I don't know!" He gasped, his arm twisted uncomfortably in her grasp. "It was too d-dark to see!"
Lynne's face blazed red, eyes flashing dangerously. "You better find out, or it's your sorry ass I'm feeding to them next time!"
Urskin gasped as she released his arm and stormed back to her desk. She noticed he cradled it gingerly with his other hand and scoffed under her breath.
"It looked like a woman's physique." His hopeful tone reached her ears, more like the incessant pinging of a shrill whistle than a human voice. She felt like her verves were raw and exposed, reactive to even the least obnoxious of irritants.
"What woman?" Ellis spat, glaring up at him with narrowed eyes.
"I can answer that." A boyish, smug reply made her whip her head up so quickly it cricked, sending a shooting pain down her back. She winced, observing the intruder as he snuck into the office.
He was young, boyish even, with a roundish, freckled face and lightly tanned skin. His sandy hair stuck up in wayward tufts, like he'd been on the beach all day, and she could tell by his stance as he leaned against her doorframe that he held an air of defiance, a thirst to prove his worth.
"Well, well," she mused, rising from her seat, "you must be our informant. Do come in, since you've already invited yourself." Ellis spoke the last words purposely, coldly, to indicate she was less than pleased with his sudden arrival.
"Alright." The man gulped, tentatively taking a seat in the chair across from her desk.
Lynne forced what she hoped was a welcoming smile, her painted lips turning upward. "I'll ignore the fact that you've entered onto private property without invitation, if you explain to me how you knew to find us here." She began, preventing her foot from tapping in frustration.
"Well, I've been here for days." He grinned and leaned back, resting his hands behind his head in a cocky manner.
"So, one of them is your superior." Lynne observed, a fleeting look of panic crossing the man's features.
"Don't worry," she chuckled coldly, also leaning back in her chair, "I won't rat you out to your boss."
Her guess was accurate: the panicked look fell from his face, replaced with relief. "Thanks, Ma'am."
Ellis narrowed her eyes. "I would say it's nice to finally meet our double agent, but let's get to the chase here, shall we?"
The young man gulped visibly, shifting uncomfortably under her sharp gaze. "Yes, Ma'am."
"Tell me what they know." She demanded, sipping on a cup of coffee. The scalding liquid slid comfortingly down her throat, a welcome taste in the late hour. Her quick eyes caught his longing stare and she laughed; a tinkling, fairytale sound that seemed unnatural for the current situation.
"Pour our guest a cup, Urskin."
"Y-yes." He jumped to attention, hands quaking as he poured the dark liquid into a mug, splattering the drink from the nervous jostling of his fingers. Lynne sighed and rolled her eyes, watching the doctor with distaste as he clumsily placed the cup on her desk, steam billowing from the rim.
The only reason she put up with his insipid, ridiculous existence was simple: he was the only scientist who could retrieve the substances she needed from the creatures. Thus, the epitome of a semi-tolerant, symbiotic relationship was born. Still, she longed to be in the company of someone with a little more clout, and quite a lot more intelligence.
"Better?" Ellis turned her attention back to the informant, gesturing to the coffee.
He took a cautious sip. "Wonderful brew." He grinned placatingly.
"Don't butter me up. I don't do well with ass-kissers." Lynne warned, glaring coolly as she stared into his eyes.
"Ok..." He trailed off, clearing his throat.
"What do they think they know?" Ellis asked, purposely choosing her words. The last thing she wanted was to confirm any of their allegations, in the event that their mole renegotiated for the other side.
"They know you donate to Saint Agnus," the man began, his tone growing more confident as he spoke, "presumably to keep the staff quiet about your former employees, and why they're incarcerated there." He smirked, like the information he was gleaning gave him an edge.
"That's trivial." His overconfidence was met with an evil laugh as Lynne eyed him reflectively. "Give me something of importance, or get the hell out." She snapped.
He swallowed, face growing pink with embarrassment. "Well, they pretty much determined the cause of death for those people-"
This caught her attention, because if they had gotten far enough to determine the deaths were neither accidental, nor homicidal in nature, they had enough to close the facility indefinitely until they could prove there was no other evidence of foul play.
"-and they know they weren't murdered by a person." The guy finished, frowning slightly.
Her heart squeezed with chilly dread: they couldn't find out about her secret. If they did, not only would she lose the rig, she would lose her very life. Stan wasn't the first, and surely, if she continued along her chosen path, wouldn't be the last. Lynne knew if they put together the last pieces of the puzzle, she would end up in the electric chair.
She fought to contain her fear, though, determinedly not wanting to tip off her mole. Maybe they didn't have enough proof, she thought, planning an imminent counter attack. Hopefully that was the case.
"What else?" Ellis hissed, swirling her coffee impatiently, though her hand shook, sloshing the coffee over the rim. "What about this intruder? You said you could tell us who she is."
The man smiled, a plotting gleam in his eyes. "What will you give me?"
Lynne pursed her lips. She had no intention of paying up until she got the information she needed. "Give me the goods first, boy," she snarled, pounding a palm on the desk.
"Alright, no need to get touchy."
"Spit it out, or get out." Ellis was done playing games. Her cold eyes were hard and harsh, any trace of amicable pretense gone from her face.
"It was the marine biologist," he blurted, scooting back in his chair.
"What marine biologist?" Her eyes narrowed, peering at Dr. Urskin with suspicion. "Why haven't I been told about this?"
Urskin blanched, pulling away several feet, as if distance would save him from her wrath. "I forgot to mention it, my sweet, I-"
"You forgot?" Lynne whispered murderously, face alight with anger. "How could you forget to mention something so important?"
"I didn't think-"
"No, obviously you didn't," she began, raising her quivering body from her chair. She was so upset she was shaking. "You didn't realize what that could mean for us? What she could prove?"
"I-"
"Does she know about-" Lynne stopped abruptly, air whooshing out of her lungs as she attempted to cut off her tirade: the mole was watching her with great interest, and she felt idiotic for almost blurting out their secret. Inhaling sharply, she forced a smile at them both and gritted out "What did she see?"
"Well, she's bat shit crazy." The guy shook his head in disbelief. "She spouted a load of crap about some sort of creature." He laughed lowly under his breath. "Look, I think you're safe. I don't think for one second anyone would really believe you've got some sort of animal locked up in here."
Ellis' heart grew icy with fear. She had underestimated that insufferable Quinn and his ragtag group of mismatched do-gooders. Now she was facing the consequences.
"Thank you," she managed with the most grace she could muster. Her mind was whirring with solutions, countermeasures to keep the authorities at bay. It was only a matter of time before those ingrates realized what she was really doing, once they uncovered the truth about her business dealings. Hopefully, they hadn't actually seen what she was hiding in that tank.
"Uh, can I get the other half of my payment?" The guy shoved out a baby-smooth hand. Lynne looked down her nose at it, grimacing in disgust.
"Urskin, get this child his money." She stood on shaky legs, turning away from the pair. Her eyes closed and she breathed in deeply, the air doing little to calm her frazzled nerves. She heard the rustling of bills as they exchanged hands, and she clenched her lids tighter, hoping like hell her stoolpigeon wouldn't run off and report to the enemy.
"Oh, there's one other thing I forgot to mention." The mole paused, turning back to face Lynne, holding out several files, cocking a brow as he did so. "I managed to steal these, if you're interested."
Lynne's heart nearly fell out of her butt. "What do you want for those?"
"Nothing." He grinned, tossing them thoughtlessly on her desk. "I'm just waiting to see how this goes."
"Fine" she hissed "but don't change your mind later."
"I won't." The boy smirked, winking at her roguishly, as though he still knew something she didn't.
"Now get out!" She barked, pointing her arm behind her toward the door.
The shuffling of two sets of feet faded, and the door closed with a clang that reverberated in her core. She slumped in her chair, a building determination coursing through her as she vowed to come out on top in this stormy confrontation. Groaning, she slipped off her heels, her feet aching terribly.
The files on the desk seemed illuminated, as if they were radiating an ominousness from their pages. She hesitantly flipped one open, expecting to see a discombobulated mess of notes. What met her eyes, however, nearly stopped her heart: the investigators were aware of more than she'd predicted, so much that she felt it would be moments until Agent Jones burst in, clapping her in irons.
She wished she could blow him, and his crew, away. The jig was very nearly up, and now, she would have to do damage control. How, she didn't know, but her mind traveled to the most incredulous scenarios in attempt to predict their next move, and have her pawns perfectly placed.
Needing to feel comfort, her hand wandered to the space under her desk, expecting to feel the smooth leather side of her briefcase. Instead, her fingers felt nothing but air, and she startled. Confused, she bent down to look underneath, but upon not finding it, resigned herself to wildly scan her office. It wasn't there.
A frown wrinkled her brow as her mind spun, trying to jog her memory. She always carried the case with her: it held all the contracts between ElI-X and Gru pharmaceuticals, in addition to the formulas Dr. Urskin was experimenting with and his extensive, very incriminating notes.
A choking fear clenched around her like a vise. The last place she recalled having it with her was at the banquet. An image of her setting it down near the refreshment table flitted through her mind, after which she knew it hadn't left her side. She remembered carrying it up the grand staircase, and once she was in her suite, the hidden compartment on the bed frame had served its purpose well.
She reached to retrieve her cell from her purse, desperate to call the hotel, but as her brain recalled the events of that evening, the handbag fell to the floor, her body frozen with shock and fear.
A handsome, devilishly charming agent had sweet talked his way into her dress, and her room. Lynne knew exactly where that briefcase had gone.
"That son of a bitch!" She growled, frantically scrambling to gather her shoes. Ignoring the blistering on her toes, she crammed her feet into the impractical footwear. Rising, her anger grew with each stride across her office, until it consumed her entirely.
What would she do, when they figured everything out? What would become of the rig?
The rig, she thought, brows hitched, wrinkling her botox injected forehead. The rig!
A manic grin formed on her tight cheeks as a glorious plan brewed in her mind. Lynne Ellis would win, because she always won.