Brave New World
Chapter 9: Good Intentions
Cosima and Delphine leaned against opposite sides of the wall that separated their cells and talked through the hollow metal vent that connected them.
Cosima's chest felt concave as she placed a hand over her shuddering lungs. Her mind seemed to slow to a crawl as she processed all of the information she'd been faced with.
Delphine was responsible for her kidnapping - at least partially so. That much she knew. But Delphine had also been locked up by the very people she'd betrayed Cosima to. Cosima didn't know what to think about that. For all of the things that made distrusting Delphine the most reasonable choice, there was something still drew her in. Something that, despite her better judgement, kept Cosima craving her; something that, even locked away in a cell, allowed Cosim to feel safer knowing that Delphine was nearby.
Her brain throbbed. Trust mingled in her heart with suspicion.
Cosima cleared her throat and tasted iron. She suppressed a full-body cough long enough to verbalize a question she hoped might clear some of the murkiness in her mind.
"So, can you just, like… tell me what happened?"
Delphine had been entranced by the science. That was the only word for it, "entranced". She was, admittedly, an excitable person to begin with, but the opportunities that were dangled before her were more than she could have imagined.
Her first tour of the DYAD facilities was like a dream. Everything was bright and shiny and scientific. To the point that she began temporarily thinking in romanticized clichés.
She followed Dr. Leekie through the fluorescent hallways over polished floors, eyes even wider than usual. Her head swung emphatically side to side as she strained to take as much of it in as she possibly could. They passed through a lab, and Delphine positively gleamed with joy at the sight of the pristine test tubes, microscopes, and centrifuges. She felt her hand physically twitched as she yearned for a peek at the research being done. There were cultures growing in petri dishes, blood samples being tested. She felt light headed over all of the incredible work she would be able to do with this corporation.
As they strode around the expanses of the buildings, Dr. Leekie (Aldous, he'd told her with a wink to call him Aldous) told her of DYAD's plan to expand their immunology and disease prevention departments, which suited Delphine perfectly. It was as if they'd catered their funding specifically to Delphine's professional passions.
Delphine was ready to sign a contract and begin work by the time Dr. Leekie brought her back around to the institute's main entrance and notified her that they had reached the end of the tour. When she told him of her eagerness, Dr. Leekie gave a gruff chuckle, the wrinkles around his eyes scrunching to show his age, and waved her off. He told her to take a few days, to "Make sure you're ready to commit to the project."
Delphine figured she had nothing to think about.
"I swear, Cosima, I was only interested in the offer because the scientific opportunities were so merveilleux. Your name never even came up until weeks after I had signed my contract."
"So," Dr. Leekie's gravelly voice found Delphine's ears with a tone of interest, "I understand you're in a relationship with a young woman by the name of… Niehaus."
Delphine lifter her head from the intensive notes she'd been taking on the bacteria under her microscope. She didn't recall ever discussing her personal life with anyone at work, let alone divulging details of her relationship and especially not to her boss. "Um, how did you…?"
Dr. Leekie's thin lips all but disappeared as they stretched into a strange sort of grin. One of his spindly hands squeezed her shoulder, and she forced her lips into a small returning smile. Her breath tumbled from her mouth in a pseudo-laugh when he jokingly assured her, "Oh, don't worry, our background checks here are just very… thorough."
He didn't continue, so, unsure of how to answer, Delphine gave him a half hearted nod and attempted to be as conspicuous as possible when she turned back to her work.
He didn't appear to catch the signal.
He was still there, perched on the edge of her lab counter, when Delphine lifted her gaze from her microscope once again. She glanced around the lab, but all of the other occupants were hunched deliberately over their respective stations. She tapped her pen twice on the table and then tucked it neatly behind her ear. "I'm sorry, Dr. Leekie, was there something specific you wanted to talk to me about?"
He shifted on her desk. The look he gave her was uncomfortably serious. "Yes, actually. We believe that your… significant other… qualifies for a, uh, clinical trial we'll be conducting shortly. It's a somewhat… sensitive situation, which is why we need your help."
Delphine's eyebrows pushed together in an evaluating expression. "I… I'm not sure that I am understanding what you're asking of me."
Dr. Leekie folded his hands on his lap and tilted his head as if he was trying to explain something simple to a small child. "All of the… legalities… are already taken care of. We just feel that, based on past experience, some subjects are not always the most willing right away, and it takes a bit of convincing to get their cooperation." He paused, as if to gather his thoughts. "In this particular case, we believe that there will be difficulty getting Cosima to volunteer for treatment, because she won't have… recognized any symptoms of the illness we hope to cure her of."
Delphine leaned back in her chair. She knew when she signed on to be a part of the DYAD team that some of their methods were a bit unorthodox, but the vibes she was getting from the tone of this proposal were causing her to hesitate.
As if hearing her thoughts, Dr. Leekie leaned in close to Delphine's face and uttered with intimidating finality, "I'll ask you to remember, Dr. Cormier, that you signed a contract."
Delphine's mouth dropped open just slightly.
Dr. Leekie sat up straight again, replacing the smile on his face and raising his hands non-threateningly. "Our main goal here, Delphine, is to help people. Ms. Niehaus is one of those people. What I need you to understand is that she will be needing that help. I can guarantee you that."
Delphine sniffed audibly, and Cosima felt her heart constrict in response.
"I swear to you, Cosima, I promise with all of my heart, that I only ever tried to do what was right. Dr. Leekie, he can be so very persuasive. I thought that they meant to help you. It wasn't until they had already taken you here that I learned you were not sick."
Cosima couldn't stop the incredulous laugh that forced its way from her body. It flowed seamlessly into a new bout of coughing that sprayed the white tiles in front of her with red speckles. "I'm not sure if you've been listening to all of the totally gnarly coughing I've been doing, but I think it's probably pretty safe to say I'm sick."
Delphine sniffed again, louder this time, and Cosima frowned as she wiped some of the red from her mouth.
"No, chérie, that is not what I mean. You are sick now, I know, but you were not when you got here. They did this to you to gain leverage against you. They put me away as well when I made an attempt to stop them."
Cosima felt the tears welling in her eyes. She couldn't find the words to express the things she felt. She tried to croak out a reply, but no noise made its way from her lips.
Delphine spoke again, her voice thick and watery, and the weight of her words electrified Cosima as much as they had the first time.
"Je t'aime, Cosima. I love you."
Delphine's voice echoed as the phrase rolled around the confines of both of their cells.
Cosima whispered inaudibly, but the words were tangible enough in her mouth that there was no doubt she'd said them.
"I love you too."