Phoenix: Chapter Ten
Odine arrived back to his lab within twenty minutes, and as requested, the Project Perfect Phoenix files were waiting for him. He pored over the information, looking for any small detail that had been overlooked. Everything seemed to check out: protocols for picking up and delivering the specimen, background checks on the agent, Barclay, even sweeps of the village in the weeks after to make sure there were no suspicions. Nothing was amiss, and Odine grew angrier by the moment. Of all the mistakes to be made, an intimate relationship to the sitting President of Esthar had to be the biggest. Frustrated, Odine tossed the papers in his hand carelessly on his desk and activated his intercom. He pounded his fist on his desk as he barked into the receiver. "Contact Mr. Barclay in Winhill! I vant to speak vith him immediately!"
"Y…yes, Doctor Odine. I'll get right on it," his secretary responded. "Oh, and Doctor Ash has just arrived."
"Send him in, and do not dizturb uz unlezz you get ahold of Winhill."
The intercom went quiet just as Odine's office doors opened, producing Ash. "Cloze the doors before ve speak, Doctor Ash." The younger doctor obeyed and shut the doors behind him.
The younger doctor had a pale face and appeared quite nervous. "Doctor Odine! I think we have a significant breakthrough, but…," Ash hesitated, his brain not quite willing to finish his sentence. "…It may prove to be a very troublesome problem." He stood just feet inside the office, almost as if afraid to approach Odine any further.
"Mizz Raine is Loire's wife," Odine retorted. The small doctor sat, unmoving, behind his desk, with eyes glued to the man trembling at his door.
Ash nearly dropped the files he had brought with him as all the color drained from his face. "I was so afraid of that. But, how did you know?"
Odine rose from his seat and began pacing back and forth along the length of the desk. "I saw her picture on ze Prezident's desk zis morning. He said her name vas Raine Loire, and zat she vas dead." Odine wasvisibly shaking now, revealing a side of him no one ever saw.
Ash seated himself just as he began to feel lightheaded. He saw his career flash before his eyes. Everything he had worked so hard for now teetered on the brink of destruction. Panic was beginning to get the better of him.
"Vait," Odine suddenly interjected, pointing a bony finger at the young man. "How do you know zey vere married?"
Ash turned his head, which had been avoiding Odine's gaze, to see that the doctor was staring him down. "I didn't," he replied softly. "At least, not before now." He blew out a long breath, in an attempt to calm his nerves. "She saw him on television this morning, and came to me right away. She doesn't realize their relationship, but she seemed very hopeful that it was something intimate. She even wondered if he might have been her husband." He put his head in his hands, feeling the sweat start to bead along his hairline. "She wants to meet him," Ash whispered, hands muffling his voice.
"No!" Odine bellowed. "She muzt never come in contact vith him!" Odine's face began to redden, with both anger and fear.
The young doctor stood and moved towards Odine, stopping him in his pacing tracks. "We both agree that Loire must never find out she's alive. Right?" Ash was almost pleading. He wanted to make sure Odine realized the gravity of their situation. "If he finds out that she's alive, he'll put us in prison, or…or…he'll execute us!"
"Of course he muzt never find out, you idiot!" Odine barked. "You must control yourself, young Doctor Ash. Ve need to come up vith a plan, and ve cannot do zat if you are frenzied."
Ash's shoulders slumped as he returned to his seat. He took a few cleansing breaths and swallowed what little saliva he had in his dry mouth. "What do you suggest we do?"
"It is simple, ve need to make her forget all about President Loire."
He shook his head. "There's no way she'd ever forget him now, she's determined to meet him." Terror swept over Ash as began to mumble, "Oh Hyne, what are we going to do?" He rocked back in forth in the chair, like a frightened child.
Odine started his pacing again, his robes swishing against the polished tile floor. Moments of silence passed while Odine pondered their next move as Ash continued to sway in his seat. An evil smirk graced Odine's lips as he finally proclaimed, "Ach! I have it!"
Ash looked up from his position, his face devoid of color. He was on the brink of hyperventilation. "It's no use. Nothing will save us. He's going to find out and, and…and…"
"Shut up, Doctor Ash!" Odine scurried over to the quivering younger man and sat in the adjacent seat. He leaned in closer and addressed Ash. "She can't meet a dead Prezident." His words were very clear and deliberate.
The younger man's jaw dropped. "Doctor Odine, you can't be serious. You're talking about…" he quieted his voice to just above a whisper. "…about assassinating the President."
Odine looked at him as if he were insulted by his remark. "I mozt certainly am not, young Doctor Ash. Don't miztake me for such a fool." Odine adjusted his glasses. "But vat iz to stop us from convinzing Mizz Raine zat he haz been killed?"
Ash couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of Odine's plan. He immediately regretted his decision, as Odine abruptly slapped him across the face with a bony hand. "NEVER laugh at me again!"
Shocked at Odine's physical outburst, Ash rubbed his stinging cheek. He contemplated running at that moment; grabbing Raine and taking her directly to Loire. If he produced her, he thought, perhaps the President would show some mercy on him. He could blame it all on Odine.
"Doctor Ash!"
Ash snapped out of his thoughts as the great doctor's harsh tone brought him back to awful reality. He knew he couldn't run. Odine's goons would take him into custody before he even made it to Raine's doorstep.
"And how do you propose we convince her? She'll know we're lying the minute she sees the news."
Odine snorted with disdain. "You vill tell her newz of the assassination tomorrow. Make sure your story is believable. I vill take care of ze rest. I plan on removing all live televizion broadcasts from her cable feed. She vill never vatch anozer newscast again."
"What about the staff here? Surely we can't expect them to play along with the ruse." Ash was glaring at Odine with suspicion.
The sinister look was once again creeping into the doctor's eyes. "You vill sever all ties vith zis lab. You and Mizz Raine vill leave ze premizez. I vill make sure you are compenzated and have a place to live out your dayz."
Ash snapped. The calm and somewhat timid doctor that once inhabited his body was gone, replaced by a raving, furious being. Enraged, he flew up out of his chair and grabbed Odine by his oversized collar, easily lifting the featherweight doctor out of his seat and into the air. His feet dangled a few inches off of the ground.
"You can't do this to me, you slimy rat!"
Despite the fact that he was suspended off of the ground, Odine kept his cool. "Oh, I most certainly can, Doctor Ash. Who vill believe anything you have to say over my word? Now, put me down."
Ash's lips began to curl with anger and he briefly contemplated squeezing his hands around Odine's neck.
"All I have to do is scream, and my assistantz vill rush in, and end your employment," he emphasized, calmly. The doctor's thin lips curled into a venomous smile, waiting for Ash's response.
He ripped his gaze away from Odine's miserable face and it settled on the floor as he let the frail doctor drop to the ground. Ash then fell to his knees in defeat, as he knew he could never win against the legendary doctor. Odine stood in front of him, placing a bony hand on each shoulder, asserting his dominance. Ash kept his head hung.
"Now, young Doctor Ash, you vill return to your office and plan your story to Mizz Raine." Odine kept pushing his shoulders down with surprising strength, keeping Ash from rising. "Know zat by ze time you arrive to your office, your phone lines vill be tapped, so zere iz no use in calling for help. My men vill be vatching you." Odine released Ash's upper body and the young man stood.
"Tomorrow morning, you vill inform Mizz Raine of ze Prezident's… unfortunate demize…and zat you two vill be leaving ze lab later in ze week."
The young man felt the urge to strike Odine across the face, as his hands balled into fists. "What the hell do I tell her about why we're leaving, huh?"
"She trustz you, Doctor Ash. She vill do vatever you say. Tell her zat ve need to make room for new projects and zat you both are moving to a new facility."
Ash gritted his teeth. "And where the hell might that be?" His fury with the doctor was growing by the second and he didn't know how much longer he could contain himself before flying off the handle.
"You vill go to ze old genetics lab near Lunar Gate. It vill be readied for your arrival. Zat vay, you vill be far enough avay from Esthar zat ze President vill have no course to ever look for you. It vill be like you never even existed."
In the course of one day, Ash had gone from an established research physician within Odine Labs to a pariah, cast out into the desert with nothing. "And what if I refuse to play your little game?" He clenched his fists so tight that the nails dug into his palms.
Odine smiled, baring crooked yellowed teeth. "You die, Doctor Ash. Plain and zimple. I vill have you killed."
Ash realized he had not options left. If he were to revolt, he would die, and who knows what would happen to Raine then. He knew it wouldn't end well for her.
Ash stood and made his way towards the massive wall of windows behind Odine's desk, and prepared himself to make some demands. If he was going to be ousted, he would make sure that both he and Raine were taken care of. "I want to be compensated, Doctor Odine. Think of it as…hush money." He turned to face the doctor as he spoke, staring him down with confidence he hadn't felt in a long time.
Odine smiled slightly, knowing that he had Ash right where he wanted him. Odine nodded. "You and Mizz Raine vill have enough Gil to live out ze rest of your lives in comfort. You vill be given everything you need to continue your research." Odine approached, staying just out of reach should Ash lash out again. "In return, you understand, zat you vill never return here, nor vill you speak of your tenure vith zis lab. It vill be like it never happened, and all record of your employment vill be erased from our recordz." Odine clasped his hands behind his back. "And if you ever try to return or contact me, or if I ever catch vind zat you have releazed Mizz Raine…" Odine closed the gap between him and Ash and grabbed the man's shoulder with bony fingers, curling them into Ash's flesh. "…I vill make sure zat you vill vish you had never been born. You vill suffer beyond belief and you vill certainly beg for death."
Ash narrowed his eyes growled, "If you go back on your word, old man, and I don't get my lab or my money…"
Odine simply sat at his desk and began collecting every piece of information pertaining to Project Perfect Phoenix into a pile in front of him. He never turned to face Ash as he spoke. "You vill get your compenzation. Do not speak to Mizz Raine again today. Now, get out."
With no retort available in his mind, Ash silently shuffled towards the door. Odine watched as he slipped out into the darkness of the hallway. Satisfied that the situation was coming under control, he busied himself with the task of destroying any trace of Project Perfect Phoenix.
He pressed a button labeled "SECURITY" on his intercom. It buzzed as the connection was made, and Doctor Odine did not wait for acknowledgement before starting to speak. "Have Doctor Ash followed back to hiz office, zen his apartment. Never let him out of your sight. Tell your communicationz agent to tap hiz phones and remove all live newz channels from Mizz Raine's cable immediately."
The man on the other end acknowledged his orders as Odine began to methodically to shred all evidence of his secret project. He continued with his instructions as the machine whirred to life.
"Send a crew to ze genetics lab near ze Lunar Gate at once, to ensure zat it haz not been infested vith fiends. If zey find any, remove ze threat and begin to clean. It muzt be habitable in three days. You have my permizzion to furnish it az you see fit."
Satisfied that he had given his employee enough guidance, he switched the intercom off. Then he continued to shred every last piece of evidence that could ever tie him or his lab to Raine Leonhart-Loire.
XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX
Darkness blanketed the desert just outside of Esthar. The lab complex was quiet, save for the buzzing of a paper shredder. The phone rang, startling Doctor Odine.
"Yes?"
"Winhill has…contacted us, Doctor Odine." He could sense the apprehension in the young man's voice on the other end.
"And?"
"And…Barclay is dead, sir."
Odine sighed and rolled his eyes, annoyed at this new news. "Continue."
The young man on the other end read the information he had received from Barclay's sister back to the annoyed doctor. "He committed suicide four months after his last delivery. His sister said he left a note that simply read: 'I don't deserve forgiveness for what I've done.' She didn't know what that meant."
Odine hung up the phone without warning. He started to feel that panicked feeling again, the same one he felt in the President's office that morning. He mulled over the words of the suicide note in his head. "I don't deserve forgiveness for what I've done." Odine began to run scenarios in his mind, trying to figure out what the dead man's words meant. Although he didn't want to admit it to himself, he knew that it had something to do with Raine. Whatever Barclay had done, he was glad to be ridding himself of the burden of Project Perfect Phoenix and the woman now known as Raine Loire.
Author's note: Special shout-out to my beta, QuietRaine. Your red pen got a workout these last few chapters, and I just wanted to let you know how important your feedback and your friendship is to me. Big, big hugs.
Also, thanks to everyone who has been reading. Even if you don't leave a review, I want you all to know that I appreciate all the hits and views. We broke 500 last week! Thanks to everyone, and I hope I continue to entertain.
-Bebedora
