Point one five rules und.., p.2
Point One Five (Rules Undying Book 4), page 2
“Tell me everything you know about…”
“What was that?” Gail gasped as the cold water snapped her back into the moment.
“Tell me, do you know where the nearest gas station is?” the woman next to her asked.
“Um, yeah, ‘bout a half mile up towards the highway. It’s in front of the Best Buy.”
“You are such a peach. Thanks!”
Gail splashed a bit of water on her face while the sedative began to work its magic. For the briefest of moments, as she glanced in the mirror, a pair of green eyes glared back at her. One blink later and her baby browns returned. She pulled back the collar on her T-shirt to reveal the scar above her clavicle. Unlike most stab wounds, this one showed a double puncture, as if she’d been mauled by a large cocktail fork.
She sighed. “It would be so much sexier if this was the work of a vampire.” One more splash and a finger-comb of her hair and she was finally ready to face the booth again.
Jonathan gave her a nod as she slid across the seat. He raised a brow at her damp skin and flattened hair. “You…OK?” he finally asked.
“I get panic attacks from time to time, if you must know.”
“Damn, that sucks,” Jonathan muttered. “Hey, how about we switch gears and start over? I’ve been a bit of an ass, and I totally judged you wrong.”
“Start over? Like we can just roll it back and I go, ‘Hi, I’m Gail Foster, and it’s nice to meet a new security guard?’”
“Well howdy, Miss Foster,” Jonathan replied without skipping a beat. “My brother and I just rolled into town, and we really appreciate you two showing us a good Friday night.”
“I think your brother and Lori got the better end of the deal.”
“Yeah, they certainly hit it off, and we got stuck with the awkward, heh. It’s kinda nice, though, to be sitting with someone who quickly sees through the bullshit.”
“I don’t know why, but I have most of my attacks in the most innocuous of places – public bathrooms, restaurants, even at home. I was watching The Golden Girls and eating ice cream, and bam! Now do you get why I’m not some hardened, organized-crime shill?”
“Yeah, I get it. If it makes you feel any better, I got my own problems. I think this is the most I’ve talked to someone not related to me in about five years. I mean talking like people, and not me nodding and grunting and acting all scary-like. Freelance work is kinda a quiet business unless, well, there is this other guy we work with, Kevin, and he never ever shuts up. This guy has to tell a story everywhere we go, and have the last word. You ever met anyone who just babbles on and on before?”
“Um, I’m sure I have, but no one springs to mind. I guess Lori can talk, especially after TGIT. You know, I’m just gonna get a ride share home. I hope I’ve convinced you enough that I’m totally boring and not a threat. You can watch me while I’m with my boss’s son on Tuesday, too, if you’re still not convinced. Now I wish I could say this was fun, but, um, yeah. See you around, Mr. Dean.”
“This is more like it,” Gail said, as she kicked up her feet in the Biogenesys breakroom the following Monday. She plopped her book on the table as she finally dared to pull the film off her microwaved mac and cheese. Even her soda can let out a satisfied-sounding “ahh” as she eased it open.
Before she could take a sip, the door burst open and a group of techs came swarming in, babbling about this and that. Gail straightened and slipped her feet out of the chair so they could crowd around the other table.
“Oh, hey Foster, ‘sup?” one asked as he flipped his hair out of his eyes. However, his attempt to be sexy in any way, shape, or form was stymied by his nearly knocking his glasses off.
“Just trying to get another chapter in,” she said, pointing to her novel.
“Did you see Lori run off with that new dude?” Gail overheard.
“Yeah, we don’t stand a chance with Magic-Hair and Supermodel in the house,” another muttered. “And now with another round of tests ordered, it’s overtime without the benefits of a hot single chick to hit on.”
One of the other techs shot a slightly guilty look over at Gail. She made a point to hide behind her novel and try not to eavesdrop. She only perked up when she heard “a full round of titer tests for all staff.”
“Seriously, we have to give blood… again? Aren’t we supposed to be taking it from the clinical trial folks and not from us?” glasses guy whined. “We just got tested last month.”
“New people, new exposure. At least that’s what they say. I heard that someone broke protocol and they were worried about some sort of sample leak. You know they have all that weird frozen shit upstairs—”
Gail rolled her eyes and let herself be led blissfully away into a world of cheesy goodness, both of the food and the literary kind. She had just gotten to the point when the ingénue met a tall, pale, and handsome stranger when she looked up to see break time was over.
She spent most of her afternoon blissfully processing samples and crosschecking data in the computer until Lori finally wandered over from her station and gave a pained grin.
“I am so sorry for running out on you Friday, but I hope that led to a double play,” she said apologetically. “Did he end up taking you home?”
“I got myself home, no worries.”
“Ugh, you mean you didn’t—”
“He’s just not my type. He reminds me too much of guys back home, but I’m glad you got lucky.”
“So lucky—”
Lori was cut off by their boss walking in. Dr. Nakano waved everyone over. “Quick staff meeting, since I know how the rumor mill goes. Where are Lewis and Williams?” she asked. “Staying over on break again?”
Gail nodded. Everyone waited a few uncomfortably silent moments until the other two members of their team waltzed in. Floppy-haired Lewis gulped as he saw all eyes on him.
“All right, I just wanted to reassure everyone that while we will have to have another mandatory round of blood tests this week, it is not because of some mysterious sample leak, or a clinical trial with plague victims,” Dr. Nakano said as she looked right at Lewis. “The truth is, Biogenesys Labs is simply guilty of missing paperwork required for the State of Texas, and rather than mess about with who-needs-what during an administration change, everyone is getting tested. Isn’t it exciting? I would open it up for questions, but I really don’t care what you have to say while I’m trying to get the Monday reports done, so why don’t you email me any concerns so I can promptly delete them.”
“Yes, ma’am,” they all said as their diminutive boss turned for the door.
She leaned back in and said ever so sweetly, “Oh, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Williams, do I need to remind you again that lunch is thirty minutes? And Foster, can you help out in collections today? I want to get the fresh meat done first.”
“Of course,” Gail said.
“That’s why you’re my favorite,” Dr. Nakano said with a sly grin around the room.
Gail returned to her Monday with a Cheshire cat grin. She whipped through her own reports with glee until she made her way over to the front part of the lab. She smiled and chit-chatted as she distracted folks from getting their blood drawn. It was only when the last victim entered her lair that her face finally fell. None other than Jonathan Dean waltzed in and rolled up his sleeve.
“We meet again,” he said. “I thought you were a lab monkey, though.”
“In a former life, I was a nurse. You should have found out more about me. Now, sit down please. This will only take a minute.”
He paled slightly as he watched her pull open a new set of sharps and tubes, then gulped as he eased into the chair.
Gail pulled out the rest of her kit and put on her best placid smile. “Are you OK?” she asked.
“I’m not a big fan of blood, particularly my own,” he confessed.
“Like, I said, it will be over in a minute. Just make your hand into a fist and look away.”
“You’re not rusty? Out of practice?” he asked weakly.
“I just practiced on ten people before you, if that helps. Take a deep breath and try to relax.”
Jonathan nodded quickly and grabbed the arms of his chair in a death grip. The moment she poked him with the needle went fine, but the moment he saw the first trace of red wicking up the tube, he turned green and groaned.
“Don’t look. Just take another deep breath and it’ll be over before you know it,” Gail said as she deftly filled the first tube. “Are you feeling lightheaded?”
He gulped. “Yeah,” he finally choked out. “Oh man, I’m gonna—”
Gail slipped in vial two and kicked a trash can next to him in a single fluid motion. As he proceeded to puke his guts out, she got the last vial capped off and lifted the needle out of his skin.
“I am so sorry,” he said as she handed him a tissue. “I really can’t stand… can’t stand the sight of my own blood. Oh, lord—”
She got the samples out of the way and yanked out some more towels. She handed him one and gave her best nurse’s smile. “Don’t worry, I’ve dealt with much worse. I am glad you’re my last patient today, though. You want some water or anything?”
He shook his head. “What I want is to not be such a god damn wimp! This is ridiculous. I mean, I can imagine other people’s blood is just corn syrup and food dye, but that trick don’t work when I’m looking at my own skin.”
“Fear of blood is kinda common. I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Mr. Dean—”
“It makes for bad days at work, though.”
“It would be worse if you had my job. Now, how are you feeling? Better? If you need a minute—”
He moaned and rubbed his temples again. “So, are we done?” he asked between groans.
Gail nodded. “Just sit for a minute more. I don’t want you passing out on me.”
Jonathan remained slumped in the seat as she cleaned up. It was only when his phone buzzed in his pocket that he finally gave an apologetic smile and stumbled for the door. Gail could just hear, “Yeah, I’ll take care of it tonight. What do you mean two more showed up downtown?” as he slipped into the hall.
“And goodbye to you too,” she muttered while she disposed of various biohazards. As she was taking her samples to the drop off, Lori rushed down the hall.
“Oh… my… god!” she gasped as she saw Gail. “You have got to drop those off and hurry to see this.”
“What is it?” She barely managed to shut the door on the fridge as her friend tugged her sleeve.
“I wish we had popcorn. The rep arrived from MedCentric about thirty minutes ago and Dr. Nakano lit into him. Like, seriously, you could hear her cursing through the walls,” Lori gushed.
“You’re dragging me off because Dr. Nakano is yelling at someone? We get that once a week, twice if Lewis runs off to get a long lunch at the Smokehouse—”
“She was not just yelling, she was swearing in three languages. At least I think it was three. Not only that, but the guy is like a giant, a serious movie villain sidekick—”
“Lori, I’m tired, and I nearly got puked on,” Gail started. She trailed off as she saw a very tall, very blond man in black cargo pants and a T-shirt backing down the hall. He finally turned to reveal a decidedly Asian face under the severe platinum buzz cut.
Gail’s pulse quickened as her head swooned. She flopped against the wall as a sweat broke out on her brow. Lori was too busy pointedly not staring to notice her friend freaking out.
The giant stopped mid stride. “What are you looking at?” he asked in a faintly European-accented voice.
“You, get out of my lab!” Dr. Nakano barked as she came barreling out of her office. “Ivan—” She stopped to stare at Lori and Gail. “Don’t you two have somewhere to be?” she asked in a tone that left no room for argument.
Gail made a beeline for the bathroom, but her heart only raced faster and faster as she stared at her shivering reflection. Her friend followed her a few seconds later.
“Wow, that was awkward,” Lori said. “Yo, you OK?”
“This has been a surprisingly rough week,” Gail muttered before splashing water on her face. Next to her, Lori offered a weak smile.
“My week has been pretty awesome. Come on, don’t let the good doc get you down. I’m sure there is some amazing story behind why she hates the scary MedCentric rep, and hey, maybe we could double for margaritas again—”
“With the other half of the Dean Brothers?” Gail asked. “Thanks, but no thanks.”
“You have got to be kidding me. He’s gorgeous—”
“Just no spark. We didn’t hit it off, you know,” Gail said as she pulled her hair back into a fresh ponytail. “I’m super happy for you and Stan, though. He seems a bit more chipper, and I only like broody and bad boy on the page. In real life…. Eh, not so much. He gives me the same vibe as my cousins and their buddies back home.”
“Well, different strokes for different folks. Come on, though, wouldn’t you love to see him shirtless… just once? Eh… come on, I see that smile, Gail—”
She rolled her eyes and gave Lori a little nudge. “Seriously, his butt was better than his chest. Screw shirtless, I want to see him in skinny jeans, walking away,” she said with a little giggle before finally exiting the sanctuary of the ladies’ room.
Gail tried her best to get lost in the humdrum of her late Monday afternoon. She blissfully separated and labeled, cleaned and documented, until a familiar short woman with dark hair and glasses peeked into the lab.
“Foster, come on down,” Dr. Nakano said before immediately shutting the door again.
“Ooh, Gail’s in trouble,” Lewis said in a sing-song voice as she hustled out into the hall.
She stepped gingerly into Dr. Nakano’s office. Her boss motioned to the chair across from her without looking up from her report.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Did you enjoy the show earlier?” Dr. Nakano asked, finally looking up.
“It’s really none of my business,” Gail said quickly as she sat down.
“Well, it’s a small town, small lab. I know that people talk.” Dr. Nakano sighed. “This is nothing like my office back in LA. There you could show up with three hookers and a case of beer, and as long as you got your work done, no one would bat an eye. This is a little more, what’s the word, nosey. You get what I’m saying, don’t you, Foster?”
“It is, um, nice?” she offered.
“Yeah, very nice.”
Gail sat in silence as her boss pulled out another file. Dr. Nakano pointed to the name – Nakano, R. “Is this the information for tomorrow’s infusion?” Gail asked. “I thought I had everything on my computer—”
“I keep a few old records on paper still,” Dr. Nakano confessed. “He’s had a long history of reactions, and I don’t think discrete fields in an EMR capture all the nuances of a doctor’s notes, especially when they’ve been transcribed a few times.”
Gail skimmed them over and her eyes locked on a referring physician’s note. “Dr. F. Pang?” she mouthed.
“Something familiar?” Dr. Nakano asked.
“I’m familiar with IVIg treatment. I did them a few times back home. It’s just, this kind of treatment can be done at home, and it really should have a Texas licensed and accredited nurse per—”
“You’ve been here what, a year, Foster?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And you know why you’re here? Why you have this nice job in a secure facility?”
Gail nodded.
“My son is moved from place to place just like this. I’d rather he spend the day with someone he can relate to. This past year has been… look, I’ll just be blunt here. Do you know why I had to take a week off in May? It was to… It was to not go to my other son’s funeral because I had to help Rikuto. He is a very brilliant, very troubled young man, and without… without—”
Gail sat in silence while her boss did her best to collect her thoughts. Dr. Nakano stared at the picture on her desk – two young boys flanking her in a traditional Japanese dress. Her gaze lingered on the taller boy who stared wistfully with big brown eyes that seemed way too dark to be natural.
“I’m sorry,” Gail said softly.
“My son, Ren, had the same illness, but he, he wasn’t as lucky as Rikuto—”
“Ren,” Gail said, blinking a few times. “Where have I heard that before?”
“Did you say something?” Dr. Nakano asked.
Gail shook her head a little too quickly. She gnawed on her lip as her boss continued to stare at the picture.
“I don’t think that Rikuto quite knows how to handle Ren… being gone. He tries to avoid his treatments. I don’t think he quite knows how to process everything that happened, and I would feel better if his treatment was here, in my lab. He may not be speaking to me yet, but maybe, just maybe, it will be better this time. Miss Foster, I think you of all people can understand how complicated families can be.”
She nodded.
“I guess what I’m dancing around, is that my son can be rather strange. He may say some unusual things to you, and I suppose I want you to be prepared.”
“Strange things?”
“He’s always had an overactive imagination, but since Ren has been gone, let’s just say he can be quite lost in a fantasy land. He is paranoid, but don’t worry, he is never, ever violent. Now do you see why I want someone I know and can trust looking out for him? I’m always afraid if he talks too much that someone might misunderstand him, and that could be disastrous to a family like mine. Who knows? Sometimes he goes days without talking. I might be worrying you over nothing—”
“I’m sure it will be fine,” Gail said. “Just let me know if there is anything I should avoid doing or saying. I don’t want to upset him.”
“Just, whatever you do, don’t bring up his brother, OK?”
2
“Family sure can be… complicated,” Gail said softly as she rubbed the scar on her collar. She took a moment to rub moisturizer over her cheeks and blot at a few spots that still creeped along the sides of her nose. She unwrapped her hair and tossed the towel on the hamper, nearly sending the leaning tower of laundry toppling to the tile. One by one, she twirled locks of hair around her fingers until she had twisted every brown wave into a pin curl.
