Tripple Chronicles 1: Eternity Rising (20 page)

Lee sat
across the table from Dana and munched on a piece of burnt toast. He scowled
and his foot was tapping in an impatient rhythm, as if eating was an
inconvenience to his workflow. He was normally an impatient eater, unless he
was at the club with Camden, but Dana had noticed him grow more and more
anxious over the past few days. Yesterday, over breakfast, she had asked him if
everything was all right, but was met with a frown and a ‘nothing that concerns
you’ reply. She was beginning to learn that the best way to get a straight and
honest answer out of Lee was to catch him completely off guard. Then he would
just respond before he had time to think about what he was saying. Dana had
planned to ask him again later when he was in the middle of explaining his
embryo life support system. She was excited to see something new. She had been
dropping solution in tubes for over two weeks now and with no success at cell
re-animation. So, anything to make her day more interesting was welcome. Even
if it was a little creepy knowing that these tiny embryos had been frozen in
their third week of life and stored on a shelf in one of Lee’s freezers. Lee
got up as soon as his toast was gone.

“I have to
make a call. Meet me in approximately six and a half minutes in Lab C.”

Dana nodded,
her mouth too full of burnt bread to answer.

Lee picked
up the phone in his office and dialed the club. Enira’s sweet voice answered.

“Hello,
Lee,” she said, recognizing the incoming number.

“Yes. Hello.
Did you set up lunch with the wife yet?”

“Oh, Lee, I
have bad news about that. She is just not ready to be out with people yet.
She’s grieving, with her children.”

“Well, that
is just inconvenient. How long does that usually take?”

“I can try
her again in a couple of weeks if you would like,” Enira said.

“Fine,” Lee
said and hung up. He sat there for a moment scratching his head and planning
how he should proceed in getting Ari’s wife’s tissue sample without Enira’s
help. He couldn’t think of anything just then, so he went on to Lab C to wait
for Dana.

“Lee, what
was in Camden’s case that we took from Ari?” she asked in the middle of Lee’s
rambling about artificial womb environments and the precise balance of
nutrients needed to sustain the embryonic lives. “I know its stolen government
material of some sort, but what is it?”

“What?
Oh…the biomer from Myris. Yes. It has many uses. Excellent material, wonderful
material.” Lee replied automatically.

“Will you
show me sometime?” Dana asked, pleased that she got an answer to her first
question. “I can be trusted, you know.”

“Oh, um, I
suppose. When it serves the lab’s efficiency for you to work with it. But for
now, we need to keep these fetuses alive. They usually all die at a specific point
in development, so with small changes to their environment, we can surpass the
last trial which had the longest survival time from the thaw…six weeks, four
days, eight hours and thirty-two minutes…approximately.”

“So, this
technology will allow more people to have a family, and without implantation.”

“Yes. But
more importantly, when this system of development is proficient, and the
mixture you have been testing shows positive results, the cloning stage can
begin.” Lee explained.

“What will
you clone?” Dana asked.

“You mean. ‘
Who
will
we
clone?’” Lee said in a way that made the hair on Dana’s arms
stand up a little.

“That comes
later. Today we need to keep these embryos alive,” he repeated.

Dana decided
that was enough questioning for now. She looked at the little blobs of moving
cells in their watery glass cases sitting atop the black polished stone
workbench. They had no definable features and were barely visible without a
magnifier, but somehow they looked sad and cold to her.

“Lee?”

“What now?”
He looked up from his work of dripping a nutrient mix into a large clear
cylinder filled with reddish orange liquid. He had a monitoring device in his
hand that he checked every few seconds for chemical ratios and reactions in the
cylinder.

“Do you ever
talk to them?” Dana asked.

“To who?”
Lee wondered if this girl was losing her mind.

“The
embryos. I was just thinking that a true womb environment would be constantly
surrounded by the mother’s voice and squishing sounds,” Dana said.

“Squishing
sounds?”

“Yes, stomach
noises and…and…a heartbeat. If they hear those things, they might feel
comforted and grow healthier and stronger.”

“Yes. Seems
reasonable. You may squish them for as long as they are alive.”

Had Lee made a joke? Not possible.
Dana
thought.

Later that
day, when Dana was busy monitoring nutrient levels on her own, Lee returned to
his office to make another phone call; this time to Bearden Leitner.

“Hello.
Sergeant Leitner here.”

“Yes. Um,
hello, Sergeant.”

Bearden’s
body tensed and his brow wrinkled with trepidation when he heard Lee’s
discernible voice.

“This is Lee
Tripple. I have a new assignment for you. Meet me at the club in an hour.”

“Club? What
club? I have to be at the TRU lab for three more hours anyway,” Bearden
replied.

“Fine,” Lee
grumbled. “Meet me in three hours and fifteen minutes.”

“What club,
sir? I can’t meet you if I don’t know where I’m going.”

“527
Fitzwater. I will be waiting on the street.” With that, Lee hung up and went to
check on Dana.

Bearden took
the lift to Ganesh’s floor, hoping to catch him in his office. He was rarely in
there since his project with Camden began, but he’d check anyway. When he got
off the lift he saw Sergeant Quinn gliding down the corridor without making a
sound.

“Quinn! Hey,
is the colonel in his office?”

“Hi Leitner.
No, he isn’t, but wait five minutes, he’s just down the hall in the officer’s
lounge for his afternoon stale coffee.”

“Great.
Thanks man. How’s the space travel stuff coming along?”

“Between you
and me…disaster. If Professor Riles could get his head on straight it might be
different, but you know, he has his good days and his bad. The Colonel covers
for him pretty well and he is making progress in his head I think, but I
wouldn’t book your ticket off this rock just yet.”

“Got it,”
Bearden laughed.

“Oh look,
here comes the good and noble colonel, now,” Quinn said with a wide smile.

“Sergeant
Leitner. To what do I owe this unexpected visit?” Ganesh asked.

Bearden
glanced at Quinn, feeling a little guilty that he wanted him to leave so he
could talk to Ganesh alone. Quinn didn’t take the hint.

“Sir. It’s a
private matter,” Bearden said.

“Ah, I see.
Quinn, give us a minute will you?” Ganesh saw suspicion flash in Quinn’s
friendly eyes for a split second as he nodded to Bearden and left.

“Quick, Leitner.
What’s up?” Ganesh’s tone changed instantly when they were alone.

“Just wanted
to let you know, sir, that I am meeting Dr. Tripple at some club after work
today. Wondered if there was anything you needed me to pass on,” Bearden
whispered.

“Actually,
there is, Sergeant.” He pulled a small folded note from his inner jacket pocket
and handed it to Bearden.

“No
envelope? Lee will think I’ve read it.”

“Put it in
one if you want, just get it out of sight for now,” Ganesh said. “Have a good
day, Sergeant.”

“Thank you,
sir.”

“Quinn!”
Ganesh called. “You can come back now.”

He was in
the office in a second, and had no doubt been listening outside the door.

“Thanks,
Quinn,” Bearden said as he left, suspecting nothing.

After work,
Bearden ran the thirty-two blocks to get to Fitzwater. He arrived sweaty, out
of breath, and six minutes late. Lee was pacing back and forth in front of the
building with a scowl on his face and staring at his watch.

“You’re
late,” Lee said, “And you smell bad.”

“Sorry. Got
here as fast as I could,” Bearden said, bent over with his hands on the tops of
his thighs and talking between pant legs.

“Let’s go
in.” Lee led the way to the lift, put in his access key and waited.

“What is
this place, sir? Some sort of members only club?”

“Yes. Exactly.
You are my guest today.”

“Don’t
worry, sir, I won’t embarrass you.”

Lee hadn’t
considered that. The doors opened and the host, seeing their most antisocial
guest, stepped out to give him his usual privacy. He looked Bearden up and down
and stopped him by standing between Bearden and the lift when he tried to
follow Lee in. It didn’t occur to him that they were together.

“No. Wait,
I’m with Dr. Tripple,” Bearden said.

The host
looked as though someone shocked him with electricity. Then turned to Lee.

“Dr.
Tripple??” he asked.

“The
sergeant is my guest.”

“My
apologies, sir.” He looked back to Bearden and averted his nose away from the
sweaty soldier and gave him a disapproving look.

“Please,
Sergeant,” he said with forced politeness. The host held out his arm welcoming
him into the lift. “Will you require my escort today, Dr. Tripple?”

“No,” Lee
replied and hit the button so the doors closed.

“Man, you
don’t like that guy, huh?” Bearden asked.

Lee did not
respond.

Enira was
waiting by the lift when they arrived wearing a long pink silk dress and a
flower in her black flowing hair. Bearden blushed at the sight of her and
wished he hadn’t had to run thirty-two blocks. He felt repulsive.

“Lee, it’s
so good to see you. I have your table ready and the chef is preparing something
delicious today.” She took his arm, nodded hello to Bearden and they were
seated. She leaned in and whispered something to Lee before she walked away.
Bearden looked all around, taking in this amazing place. He had never been
anywhere this nice. He put his hand on his head and tried to straighten out the
matted wet hair lying on his forehead.

“So this is
how the better half live, I guess,” Bearden said picking up a fork and looking
at his reflection in it.

“I bet it’s
not easy to get a membership here, huh?”

“I don’t
know. I just got one. Camden set it up when they opened,” Lee said.

“Well that
explains why you have the best table in the whole place,” Bearden replied.

This was
something else that Lee had never considered.

Enira
returned with a teapot and cup for Lee,
then
placed a
glass of water in front of Bearden.

“You look
like you need to cool off a little.” She smiled, and then set a dark brown beer
next to his water. “You look like you might need this too, soldier.”

“Thank you,
ma’am.”

“Call me
Enira.”

Bearden
blushed again.

Lee sat in
silence sipping his tea for about five minutes. He appeared to be deep in
thought. Bearden was uncomfortable in this atmosphere, but the beer helped.
Suddenly, Lee looked Bearden right in the eyes.

“I need you
to get a tissue sample from the wife,” he said.

“How am I
supposed to do that sir?”

“I know
where she lives.”

“So you want
me to break in and assault this woman?”

“No, not
exactly. I want you to bump into her on her way in or out of her building.”

“And I
suppose I should have a scalpel in my hand when I ‘bump’ into her.”

“Yes. That
would be most useful. Since I am unaware of her schedule, I will give you until
your next shift in the lab to acquire it.” He pulled another specimen
container, lined with preservatives, out of his pants pocket and gave it to
Bearden. As he reached for the container, Dana’s face caught his eye. It was
being displayed on a monitor behind the bar. Words underneath her picture
scrolled by.

     
Wanted
for the murder of government detective Jodis Armin. Any information regarding
the whereabouts of Dana Hanks should be immediately reported to …

Bearden cut
his eyes away from the monitor and back to Lee. He didn’t even waste his breath
to ask him about it. It was obvious that Lee was behind Dana’s predicament.
This man had no conscience and Bearden had no choice but to do his bidding. And
Dana? A murderer?
Well, she is certainly
mean enough….
Bearden thought for a split second then changed his mind.
But, no way.
This explains her injuries, though.

Bearden
shook his head in disbelief. He did not enjoy being a puppet for everyone. All
of his heroes had crashed and burned in his mind. They had done nothing but
turn him into a liar, a thief, and a traitor…and had done it quickly. And now
his new coworker at his dream job was wanted for murder.

“Dr.
Tripple, I have to go,” Bearden said. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

“There is a
meal being prepared,” Lee said.

“Yeah, well,
wrap mine up and bring it to Dana. I’m sure she hasn’t had a decent meal in
weeks.”

One more thing that Lee had not considered.

“Okay.
Goodbye then,” Lee said.

Bearden
gulped the last of his beer and started to leave.

“Oh, I
almost forgot,” He said and pulled the small folded note from his uniform
jacket and handed it to Lee.

“Wait a
moment, Sergeant,” Lee said and quickly scanned the note. He then opened a
small wooden box that was on the table and pulled out a notepad and pencil. He
scribbled something, folded it and handed it to Bearden for delivery.

After
Bearden left, Lee stayed and ate his lunch alone. Having heard the exchange
between the two men, Enira brought Bearden’s lunch already wrapped up. When Lee
stood to leave, Enira walked over to escort him back to the entrance elevator.
But instead of her usual pleasant goodbye, she nodded to the elevator attendant
to get out and she got in with Lee.