Chapter Ten

New Recruits

Alex knew the meaning of dark as he walked through the corridor. He couldn't see a thing, and was using his arms to navigate around. There was something ahead, but he couldn't see it. He knew it was there, and it was getting closer.

Suddenly, it bit him. There was sharp pain jolting through his body. He didn't know what had bitten him, but it wasn't something he had seen before. It bit him again, and his eyes opened. The paramedics had restarted his heart. He opened his eyes. The doctor in front of him was charging the defibrillators for another shock.

There was the biting pain again, and Alex sat up, and then dropped onto his bed in a deep sleep.

The interview was the next day. Both Vicky and Alex had already studied the possible outcomes, and were linked by radio mike, and so could contact each other if either forgot what to say.

It was Vicky first. She got stuck on a couple of questions, things like: "How do you react to others in the working environment?" or "What skills do you have that could be useful in this sort of work situation?"

For the last one, she had been about to say "Good communicator, friendly, efficient at note taking, good at interviewing," which was what she had said during her interview for her Saturday job, a part time journalist for a local newspaper. They were all fine skills, Alex thought, but not for this working environment.

Two more people followed, then Alex. Alex got a head start, because he knew a lot of the questions that would be asked. He still needed Vicky's help for three questions though.

Eventually, Vicky, Alex, and another boys who looked much older, called Stefan, were given the jobs. There was another slot open, but none of the other five interviewees fitted the role.

They started work three days later.

Their immediate reaction to Dr. John Robert King was one of shock. There was something very wrong with his face. He looked half dead too, like a zombie. If zombies existed, John King was their leader.

He was also the very stereotypical mad scientist. His grey hair stood out at the sides, in very distinct spikes. He was also tall, and wore strange glasses that made his green eyes sparkle a frightening amount.

Vicky once again managed to sum the whole thing up in a single sentence. "He looks like an experiment gone wrong. A cross between Freddy Krueger and Dr. Frankenstein. It's alive!"

Alex had to laugh. But the man cut him off, speaking for the first time in his high-pitched voice.

"Victoria, I would like you to assist me with my experiments until the time is right for you to conduct your own. Stefan, I would like you to sort out my filing, and fill in any paperwork that doesn't require my attention. Make a pile of things that require my signature. Alexander, you can be in charge of the preservation of my equipment. Anything used by Victoria or myself should be washed immediately, and then stored in the correct place. And I must make one thing clear, one rule you hold above all others. You should never, ever touch the tank." He gestured to the tank, and his expression was suddenly serious. "I will know."

He waved his hand, in a gesture telling them to get on with their individual jobs, then walked over to his workbench.

"What a weird guy." Stefan stated, as he and Alex walked together to the next room. There was no dirty equipment to be washed, so Alex was helping Stefan with filing.

"I can't disagree," replied Alex. "What happened to his face?"

"I don't know. No one does. I looked up the name on the Internet, bearing in mind he is a famous scientist, and found one mention of his name. And that was just in passing, and it didn't say anything of value. There's a rumour that a couple of years back, he sent a virus onto the Internet, to destroy anything with a mention of the name Dr. King."

"Why doesn't he want anyone to know what happened to him?"

"I don't know, but another rumour is that anyone connected with him, anyone with any chance of finding out about him is killed."

"But, who could know?"

"I don't know, I suppose the government, the CIA, other people in high places."

Alex was edgy, but not because of the mention of the CIA. It was because of the assassination attempt on Sven Atalay.

"Also," Stefan continued, "In Russia, where I was born, there was a rumour about him doing dangerous, inhuman experiments, like growing a baby's clone inside it. Ever seen the film Alien?" He didn't wait for an answer. "You know where the alien pops out of the guys stomach? Just like that. And there have been rumours recently that will really make you shudder. According to a friend of mine..."

He grimaced, and that was when he was interrupted.

"What are you doing?" asked a voice from the other end of the corridor. Alex turned to see a woman in her late twenties, walking quickly towards them.

Alex suddenly noticed that they had continued walking, past the reception, where the filing cabinets were.

"You shouldn't be here." she continued.

"Sorry ma'am." Alex interrupted before she could carry on. "We were looking for the reception, but we got lost."

"Backtrack until you come to a door, go through and you'll see another door marked reception." Go through."

She was treating them like children, and Alex knew it.

"Thank you." he said, and then followed her directions to the reception. She followed them in, and sat behind the reception desk.

"Hello," she said. "My name is Annika. I am the receptionist here. Which of you is Stefan?"

Stefan raised a hand.

"Then who are you?"

"I am Alex. I haven't been given anything to do, so I'm helping Stefan."

"Well, the doctor is very disorganised. Stefan is going to need all the help he can get."

A couple of hours later, Alex found the most interesting thing of all, and suddenly, even though it was only his first day, everything was starting to come together. And Alex knew what was in the tank.

He had found an order form, for something very illegal from Levine Stockists. Dr. King had tried to have Sven Atalay, who knew what had happened to his face, assassinated. He had bought the most horrible thing imaginable. He was a criminal. But Alex still couldn't find the link to the Businessmen's Club.

Whatever was in the tank, it was too disgusting for Alex to think about. So he wouldn't think about it – he would just go in and find out.

Or better still, perhaps Vicky would help him. She was always in there. But when she found out Alex's suspicions, she would never even go near the tank.

Alex knew it had to be him. He put the last of the invoices into the drawer, then left the room.