February 2002
Her high heels where clapping against the pavement as she moves towards Mr Alpert's office. He had asked for a meeting with her a few months ago about an interview for a job he may have for her.
Clémence was stressed, she didn't know anything about him but the address he had given her.
Has she arrived, she checked for the address she had written on a piece of paper one more time before putting it back in the pocket of her trench coat, then looked up. She was in front of the society Mittelos Bioscience's headquarters. She hesitated for a few seconds as she walked by the big glass window.
She didn't really know why she was asked to work here, as she didn't work into the science field. What she loves was History, knowing and understanding the past and that's why, when she had finished her archeology's studies, she started working in an excavation site.
She finally took a deep breath and opened the door. In the room was a large wooden desk with the name of the society written in big shinny letters. She moves towards it shyly then asked to the blond and smiling secretary.
- Hello, I'm here to see Mr Alpert.
- For a meeting?
- Yes.
- What's your name, please?
- Hartwin, Clémence Hartwin
- Well, Mrs Hartwin, if you will wait for a few minutes, Mr Alpert wont be long.
Clémence smiled and went to sit in one of the many chairs of the waiting room. The secretary took a phone call, then nodded at Clémence, showing the corridor at the end of the room. The young lady rose to her feet and slowly walked to the corridor, thanking the secretary as she passed by.
The corridor was rather long and totally empty, except for a few black and white picture of groups of people at the beach on the wall. At the end of it was an open door and, as Clémence was about to walk in, an man opened it wider from the inside and welcomed her.
- Hello Mrs Hartwin, let me introduce myself. I'm Richard Alpert, you know from the phone call a month ago. I'm really pleased to meet you, I was looking forward to it.
- Hello Mr Alpert
She was queasy with the quick familiarity he has initiate between them. She stared at him before sitting in the empty chair he showed her. Clémence took a few seconds to look at him carefully as he was about to speak again. He had hollow cheeks and eyes as dark as his hair.
- Mrs Hartwin, don't be on the defensive, I just want to have a few word with you about a job we would like you to do for us.
- What do you want from me? She asked in an impulsive way.
He started sneering.
- Well, that's what I was about to say. Our society is active all around the world, a lot of different and exotic places, and I call you a few month ago because one of this place is giving us some serious problem.
- Come to the point Mr Alpert please..
- The truth is that we want to establish a new excavations site there, we really think there are antic Egyptian vestige, but we need an archeologist approval to open this site, and then, built our complex around it, he says, coldly.
Clem could feel he was beginning to loose his cool, and so was she. She didn't understand why she was here and she was still confused, so she added :
- But why do you need me, Mittelos is a scientific society.
- Isn't it what you are?
- I did not work in a laboratory, I dont do scientific research and that kind of thing.
- Don't worry about that, Mrs Hartwin, we have everything you need in our complex. The only thing missing, is you.
He lean on the desk to catch a file, and opened it to take out a piece of paper. He put it in front of her with a black ink pen. He was looking right at her all along. In a calm and reassuring voice, he started to speak again :
- Here, Mrs Hartwin, is the contract, stating how long you'll be a member of our society, along with your salary, and all the answers to the questions you've been asking. You have to know that if you choose to work with us, you'll have to stop every communication with the outside world as long as you work for us. Even your closest friends and family mustn't know what you are working on, everything must stay secret. Could you do this for three months ?
As surprised as she was by what she just heard, Clem took the pen and signed the contract anyhow. She needed a job as fast as possible. Indeed, her recent excavation in Egypt were going nowhere, the money was lacking and the two other archeologist she has been working with had given up a few weeks ago. She had thought for a while that some time will bring everything okay but the site was close now, and nowhere near to open again.
Richard Alpert didn't seem so bad and she decided to let herself go, she had to trust him if they were to spend three months together. She dropped the pen close to his hands and rose, smiling shyly : she was his colleague now. Her smile grew wider as he smile back :
- I'm truly happy that you're one of us now, Mrs Hartwin, I truly am. Never forget why you're doing this : for History, ain't it what you want? Tomorrow morning, one of our agent called Ethan will come to pick you at your apartment. He'll bring you to our complex and to the excavation site. Don't worry, you can trust him, he added, whispering in her hear while gently catching her arm.
She opened her suitcase and dropped all the clothe she needed while looking around for the things she might have forget. She was really well organized, and she had started to pack the day before, choosing the perfect outfit for these three months.
She had tried everything, from the t-shirts to the pull-overs, from the short heels to the big hiking boots. She finally pick up dress she had put on her office chair the day before. It was a simple, white dress with tiny red sport. It made her smile remembering last night. She had feast upon pizza and white wine while watching a romantic movie. The day had been tough for her, but she couldn't help herself from thinking about the cute Richard whom she was really getting fond of. Therefore, she may need a cute dress, who knows?
She had never been lucky in love : her first boyfriend had left her for her bestfriend while the last in date had run away when she had started to speak about having a baby after their three years long relationship. Since then, she had been with two other men, but nothing serious, and she had sworn to be more cautious with love.
She finally took the dress, put it in her suitcase and closed it with a sight of relief. A ring from the doorbell of her apartment made her jump. She came to open the door, and felt shivering while opening the door to a tall, slim and smiling man :
- Hi ! My name's Ethan. I'm here to pick you up.. I hope Richard didn't forget to mention me right? He is waiting for us.
- Very well, she answered, destabilized by his familiarity.
She went up with him to take her suitcase, closed her house and then they were together, walking down the street to a big, black, shinny car. He opened the door for her, and she came in. Ethan get behind the wheel and without an other word they were gone. He drove quickly and it took about fifteen minutes of pure silence to take them to a little marina, just outside the city.
Ethan got out of the car, opened the door for Clem and asked her if she was thirsty, showing an orange juice bottle he had in the hand.
- Where is Richard ? She asked.
- He'll join us soon, don't worry. Come on, drink. Aren't you thirsty? It's gonna be a long, long trip. I have my own bottle, I didn't drink in this one, don't worry.
After some sips, she suddenly felt dizzy and numb, and before she could even speak she collapsed. Ethan picked up the bottle, put it back in the car before lifting the young woman to her feet; dragging her to the submarine which was waiting for them.
