by Chewy Walrus
Dr. Charles Walker:
"Come here, Eddie!" Dr. Zachary Knell coos softly as the toddler giggles and crawles over to him. "Yes, Eddie! Come to daddy!"
A knock sounds at Knell's office door as the small boy with snakes in his hair crawls into the open arms of the man nicknamed Doctor Clone. "Enter," Knell beckons as he holds the babe to his shoulder, patting him on the back.
The door opens, and I see as Dr. Walter Curie enters the room, a clipboard under one arm and a briefcase in the other. "Ah, Dr. Curie!" Knell says excitedly, placing the young boy on the tabletop. From where I sit, I can see two tiny little pointed teeth protruding from his mouth. This boy is a meta, and I just don't like it. "Please, Dr. Curie, sit!" Knell says, gesturing to the chair across the table from me. The table is a small, circular, stainless steel design with large leather chairs placed around it, just like Dr. Knell -- cold, yet comfortable.
"Now, gentlemen," Knell says, sitting calmly into his chair, rubbing the small back of the child before him, "I've invited you all here to see my progress."
"Wh-what is it, Knell?" Curie speaks up, curious.
"Do you remember Edulcore Cicciotto?" Knell asks.
"The Olympic runner from Italy?" I say. "The alleged metahuman. He had to turn in all his medals due to a discovered metagene?"
"Exactly," Knell says, smiling. He shakes a baby's rattle before the child, who giggles fiercely at this as the snakes on his head hiss. "Well, I'd like you to meet Eddie -- the first metahuman clone."
"What?" Curie says, rising suddenly from his seat. "Are you insane? That's not even legal!"
"I don't see why not," Knell says, quietly steepling his fingers as little Eddie plays with the rattle. "Metahumans are not humans. Not at all. The law forbids human cloning, not metahuman cloning. I've consulted my lawyers, and I'm well within my rights on this."
"Uh," I interject, raising my hand timidly, eyeing the baby carefully, "I don't mean to sound snotty or anything, but, as I recall, Cicciotto didn't have snakes for hair."
"Oh, that," Knell says, waving his hand at me dismissingly. "I wanted to see how his DNA would react with a little bit of genetic splicing. Nothing major, just a little bit of cobra DNA thrown in the mix. You know... for variety."
"I see," I say, covering my mouth with my hand.
"Now, may I continue?" Knell says curtly, eyeing Curie and I. Neither of us make any motion, so Knell continues. "Dr. Curie, may I see the contents of your briefcase?"
"Certainly, sir," Curie says, sliding his metallic briefcase across the table to Knell. Eddie smiles, placing a slobbery hand on the case.
"Now, now, Eddie," Knell scolds mockingly. "Let daddy play with his own toys." Pulling the case away from the boy, Knell undoes the locking latches and lifts the lid. The contents of the case bring an incredible smile to his face. "These are the samples I requested?" Knell asks.
"Yes, sir," Curie responds, nodding. "Every member of TriVext Corporation exhibiting metahuman DNA, whether it be dominant or recessive."
"Excellent," Knell says, raising a vial of blood from the satchel, his eyes seeming almost glazed over. "You've tested everyone, then?"
"That's correct, sir," Curie answers again, fidgeting nervously.
"Good," Knell says, placing the vial back into the case and closing it. "This shall prove useful for my scientists as we begin the next phase."
"Next phase?" I ask, leaning forward on my right elbow. "Zach, what is this about?"
"Well, Charles, if you must know," Knell says, obviously resenting my calling him familiarly, "the United States government has requested and funded our metahuman research for reasons that I must keep confidential. However, let me just say that it is in the best interest of TriVext to co-operate."
"All right," I answer, leaning back in my chair, still very skeptical.
"And, so, Charles, let me just let you know why I've asked you in on this meeting."
"I have to admit," I say, smirking, "I was a bit curious."
"Well," Knell begins, petting Eddie's snake-filled head, "according to the research provided us by Dr. Curie's department, we've found that most metahuman outbreaks are occurring in Chicago. We're sending you to our Chicago joint venture facility with the MCCA in order to ascertain the reasons as to the outbreaks there."
"You're... sending me to... Chicago?" I ask, stunned. "Wh-why me?"
"You seem the most likely candidate, what with your success in the mapping of the metahuman genome," Knell states, pulling Eddie into his lap. "An MCCA agent will meet you at headquarters to assist you when you arrive."
Knell reaches into a small compartment behind his section of the tabletop and pulls out an envelope. Sliding it over to me, he continues his diatribe. "In there you will find your plane ticket," he says. "I expect you to be on the 8:30 a.m. flight to O'Hare tomorrow morning."
"Uh, this is a one-way ticket," I say, looking up curiously.
"Exactly, Dr. Walker," Knell replies. "In the event that you will be returning to the main headquarters, TriVext will supply your return fare. Until then, you are to stay in Chicago. Is that understood?"
"Yeah," I answer, rising. "Yeah, I gotcha, Zach."
I quickly exit the room. Knell makes no move to stop me, but rather continues rocking Eddie, who is beginning to fall asleep. I hear footsteps behind me as I continue to my office. Turning sharply on my heels, I see Dr. Walter Curie walking behind me, trying to get my attention. "Is there something I can help you with, Doctor?" I ask, obviously perturbed.
"Yes, Dr. Walker," Curie says nervously, handing me a folded slip of paper. "I expect to see you shortly in my lab."
With that, the small mousey man walks off toward his lab. I raise an eyebrow in confusion as I unfold the paper that he gave me. As my eyes skim over it, I notice my face becoming flushed and my eyes growing wider.
"Oh, my God," I mutter. "No. Not this... anything but this..." Covering my eyes, I find myself leaning against the wall in the metallic corridor. "Damn," I whisper as tears begin to roll down my face. "Damn it all to hell."