Just Another Job (7 page)

“Yes, introductions should be made,” said
Erik. “Our psychologist, Neal Decarlo.”

A slim man with slicked, long black hair
stepped forward smoothly to shake hands with Chris and Frank.

“A pleasure to meet new members. Please do
not allow the title bestowed upon me to interfere with our working
relationships. I promise to be forthright in all observations and
discussions amid our tenure together,” said Neal.

“Thank you, Neal. He likes talking more than
I do,” said Erik.

“I’ve got some work to finish. I’m Alex
Perez, genetics. Nice to meet you. Bye,” said a pale man with a
blank round face as he disappeared to another section of the giant
lab.

“Alex will warm up to you. I think. He
hasn’t warmed up to any of us yet either, but I’m sure he’ll come
around. I’m Carla, Carla Eisner,” said a slight woman with black
hair and an alien like beauty. Her wide-set eyes beamed up at
another scientist almost as tall as Klaus Miller.

This man bent to firmly shake Chris and
Frank’s hands. “Art Eisner. Obviously my wife Carla. I’m sure you
fit that together. She forgot to mention she specializes in cells,
a cytologist. Generally speaking I’m a physicist. Different fields
of study, I know, but we met at graduate school. We see the world
very differently, but that brings us closer. You see what I’m
saying. Kind of an opposite attraction, which is very powerful in
nature –“

“That’s enough, Art,” said Erik. “And the
last of the brilliant minds, Carmen Sienkiewicz.”

With a gentle touch, Carmen shook Chris and
Frank’s hands. Her soft smile brought out the two men’s own genuine
smiles. “Oh, well yes, I’m a biologist. I mean that entails a lot,
but that’s generally what I do.” She shrank away after the brief
greeting.

“We’ll all spend much more time together
than we’re comfortable with, I’m sure,” said Erik. “Chris, Frank,
you two will be over there. You’ll do better together for the time
being.” Erik pointed to a table with two computer monitors back to
back of each other. “Lunch is in two hours. You promised me ‘up and
running’ after that.”

“Consider it done,” said Frank. Erik waved
them off with a doubtful look and sped away.

Chris sat down opposite of Frank and looked
panic stricken. “There’s no way you can program that fast. We’re
going to be fired the first day,” said Chris.

“I already have a program designed.” Frank
pulled out a thumb drive and jammed it into his computer. “Give me
an hour to debug and run some tests. You better start typing up
those notes. We can upload before lunch and shove it in Erik’s
face. What do you think so far of the team?”

Chris relaxed and then tried to process his
impressions of the team. “I don’t know. Okay, I guess.”

“That psychologist bugs me. It’s like he’s
playing a game or something already.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

“Alright, quit bothering me. We have work to
do. I told you we’d get a job.”

The day ran smoothly enough for Chris and
Frank. Erik held back a suspicious attitude long enough to
congratulate them on fulfilling their promise. Chris could tell
Erik liked to get the better of others and not be got himself, but
the work was done and more than satisfactory. The rest of the time
involved watching the team do their jobs while Chris frantically
jotted down notes. By three nothing was left to do so Chris typed
more notes into the new program, and Frank browsed the internet.
While they worked, Erik snuck up behind them.

“Good start, but you’re just wasting time
now,” said Erik. “Pack it up and I’ll see you tomorrow at
eight.”

A quick glance around the giant lab showed
Chris a loss of activity. The only one who looked remotely busy was
the geneticist Alex, hunched over a clipboard scribbling notes.
Frank took off for the door to the main room and Chris hurried to
catch up.

“Bye guys,” said Carla. “I can’t wait to see
you again tomorrow. This place is so exciting. Oh, oh, don’t forget
to wear sunscreen. The sun’s ultraviolet rays are supposed to be
very strong tomorrow. Bye, again.”

“Bye,” said Chris and Frank as they stepped
out of the A1 lab.

At home, Chris surprised his family who
didn’t know if they should have expected him back early or late. It
was just after four.

“This is a time I could get used to,” said
Sadie. “But it would be nice to get at least a text message to let
me know what was going on.”

“It was busy,” said Chris. “We had to jump
right in. You said you would call me.”

“It’s official?” asked Louise.

“For now. Nothing happened much. I’m just a
technical writer. I take notes for everyone and Frank is going to
be a programmer I guess for any software they need. I’m not really
sure,” said Chris.

“What does it pay?” asked Sadie. Chris
shrugged in response. Gerry ran into the kitchen to join in the
questioning.

“Did you meet the superheroes?”

“Yeah. I actually met him twice. Once on the
way – he saved Frank’s truck – and then at the lab. There was
supposed to be another, but I guess he wasn’t there today because
we didn’t see him. Let me out of the kitchen already. I’ll tell you
more during dinner. I’m starved. What’s for dinner, Sadie?”

“Whatever you’re making,” said Sadie, happy
at the news so far.

Chapter Six

“Welcome to day two. Here are your contracts,
outlining salaries, work schedules, sensitive information
embargoes, and so on and so on,” said Erik, as they entered the A1
lab. “You have till the end of the day to read, sign, and turn them
in to me. If you have any questions keep them to yourself. Just
kidding, but not really.” He walked off with his white lab coat
billowing behind.

Neal popped in front of them, “I would read
that with a particularly keen eye. I haven’t studied much law, but
words can be deceptive. What we thought we saw, might be something
entirely new when brought into a different light by experiences. By
the by, I need to set up an appointment for our first evaluations.
It’s a part of that contract you will inevitably sign. The first
psychological session is relatively long, but the preceding ones
shorten drastically unless I perceive a need to extend said
meetings. Check your email for my invite.”

The next greeting came from Carla and Art.
“You’re back bright and early and – oh – Chris you remembered. I
can smell the sunscreen. I’m so glad you took my advice. Be careful
when you go outside today, Frank. If I don’t see you again, have a
wonderful day,” said Carla.

“She really is excited to have you two on
the team. There are lots of parts to a successful team. Whether
you’re playing basketball with a forward, guard, and center or
experimenting on a new species, which I don’t really know because
that’s Carmen’s field of study, a team of individuals working on a
common goal can achieve great things. You see what I’m saying?”
said Art.

Chris nodded while Frank gave a quick smile
and walked off. Art waited for a more definite response so Chris
said, “Oh, uh-huh. Everyone is a piece to the larger puzzle. Did
you play basketball Art? You’re tall and tall people play
basketball… I think… Sorry.”

“A long time before, but we’ll talk later
about that. I’ll let you get to work,” said Art.

With the way clear, Chris headed for his
desk next to Frank’s. As soon as he sat down, a shadow appeared
over them. Frank took notice first.

“Morning, Alex. Any breakthroughs in the
genetics department today?”

Chris swiveled around to see a cluster of
papers clenched in white fists.

“Possibly,” said Alex, and placed the papers
on Chris’s desk. “Please return those when you’re done. I need the
originals for my research.”

“I’ll get right on it,” said Chris and
switched on the computer. Alex turned away.

“Have a good one,” said Frank. Alex walked
off without any acknowledgment. Frank looked at Chris. “Anything
top secret in there?”

Chris rifled through the papers, trying to
discern anything. “Maybe. But I don’t see ‘Top Secret’ stamped
anywhere to make it easy. Take a look for yourself.”

Frank grabbed them with a confidence that
waned with close reading. “Holy shit, that’s confusing and I was
good in science. Type it up. We’ll figure it out later.” Frank
threw the papers, scattering them across the two desks and
ground.

“You jerk,” said Chris, and crawled over and
under to pick them up. At the same time, Carmen came over.

“Hey guys. Um, Frank… Erik sent me to ask
you if you could check the simulation programs. He doesn’t trust
the data output.”

“Yep. Show me the way,” said Frank.

“And Chris, Erik wants you over to the Fun
Room,” said Carmen.

“The what?” asked Chris.

“It’s in the northeast corner. It’s labeled.
You’ll see it,” said Carmen.

“Sounds fun. Ha, ha. Bring your notepad,”
said Frank, as he walked and talked with Carmen in the opposite
direction.

Just as Carmen described, the ‘Fun Room’ was
painted in bold red letters across a glass door in the northeast
corner. Inside, the meaning behind the name slapped Chris across
the face. Dumbbells of outrageous size, medicine balls with one
thousand stamped across them, running hurdles of increasing height,
and every other training device known but set to exaggerated
proportions filled the large space.

Chris’s eyes widened at the impressive
scene. Then a smile took over as he thought about the jealousy that
would be etched across Frank’s face after hearing about this place.
They hadn’t worked out yet this week and Chris knew it was eating
Frank alive. Chris’s daydreaming hit a wall when a voice echoed
from a speaker, “Chris. The control room is on the other side.
Don’t hurt yourself on the way over, unless you’ve signed your
paperwork already.”

Chris followed the voice from the speaker.
Inside the control room were Erik, Klaus, and an unfamiliar woman.
Klaus and the woman wore matching athletic one-pieces that could
have doubled for swimsuits from the thirties. Sensors monitoring
every bit of physiological activity possible clung to their bodies,
which appeared in stunningly perfect shape. Besides being a foot
shorter than Klaus, the woman’s posture gave the impression she
could be just as powerful as her counterpart if not more so.

“Hi. Chris, right? I’m Johnykin Claremont.
The other Super,” said the woman.

“Hi,” said Chris, shaking her hand just a
moment too long. Johnykin was gorgeous with a sharp square face,
auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail, and grey eyes Chris couldn’t
look away from.

“Now that you’ve had your chance to gawk
over her, Chris; Klaus and Johnykin are going to start their
training,” said Erik.

Chris fumbled for words and ended up just
blushing instead. The two Supers strode out of the control room so
Chris could take in the full view of where he was. A large slanting
desk connected to a wall made up almost entirely of glass took up
most of the room. Erik sat down by the desk and motioned Chris to
do the same. They could see the entire Fun Room through the window.
Erik touched the desk and immediately it sprang to life. The desk
was a giant touch screen computer that illuminated the room. Chris
felt like a music producer as he watched Erik deftly maneuver
around the controls.

“Pretty f-ing awesome, huh?” asked Erik.

“F-yeah,” said Chris.

Erik frowned at the response, not fully
knowing Chris’s intentions. Then Erik quickly swept his hand to
different parts of the computer/desk. “Heart rate monitors, lung
capacity, sweat index, muscle density, ligament analysis,
temperature gauges. Plus we have sensors all across the room to
pick up speed, force of impact, and a million other things that may
or may not be useful.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“What you’re supposed to. I’ll start giving
out instructions, you copy it down, and also any visual responses
you feel are important put in writing as well. We can’t have enough
notes.”

“Got it.” Chris scribbled down the date and
time as Erik tapped on a speaker icon for the Fun Room.

“We don’t want to hurt ourselves, so let’s
begin with warm-ups. Slow jog around the track.” Erik tapped a
control and an oval track lit up on the ground of the Fun Room. He
turned to Chris. “Watch their speed.”

Chris looked down at the desk where ‘five
m.p.h.’ pulsated in rhythm with the Supers’ steps around the track.
He jotted it down.

After one lap, Erik spoke into the speaker
again. “Pick it up.” Johnykin bumped her shoulder into Klaus while
they ran to direct his attention to the control room. They both
smiled at Chris and began running faster. The tracker blinked to
seven and then ten M.P.H. Erik looked at Chris. “Do those numbers
look accurate? Write it down.” Chris quickly obeyed and Erik
returned to the speaker. “Alright, the data looks good. Now it’s
time to impress me.”

Johnykin winked back into the control room
at Chris and Erik as the Supers’ feet moved them to a full sprint.
Fifteen flashed on the desk and then twenty. Erik watched Chris as
if that would be more entertaining and said, “Usain Bolt can get up
to twenty-three. Wait till you see their max.” Even without this
information, Chris didn’t dare look away. Johnykin and Klaus looked
like they had barely broken a sweat and moved fluidly and easily
round and round the track.

Erik tapped in a few places across the desk.
“They’ll have to slow down for the turn, but watch them on the
straightaway now.” Erik spoke into the speaker again, “Stop playing
around. Loser buys lunch.” At those words the Supers’ arms and legs
blurred with motion. Thirty, forty-five, fifty. “Last lap.”

Their speeds dipped around the turns like
Erik said, but with a max of fifty it was an awesome sight. With
the announcement of the last lap, Erik pressed another button on
the desk that generated a holographic finish line. The next moment
was hard to discern. Chris tried to keep his eyes on Johnykin and
Klaus, but the blinking desk distracted him. And out of nowhere on
the last turn Klaus dipped his body slightly, which made him
stumble. Johnykin took the lead with ease on the straightaway,
while Klaus continued to try to correct himself but was too late.
His hands braced for the ground. It didn’t matter, because the
momentum sent him skidding and then rolling across the Fun Room. A
set of dumbbells looked like they would end his trip, but he plowed
straight through them. The only thing left to stop him was the wall
on the far side and with the cracking of concrete it did.