As the air caught up with her and her lungs stopped heaving, she stood up and power walked. At least she would arrive breathing almost normally.
A few blocks, and she was finally climbing the stairs to her office. Wonderful, so many wonderful crappy stairs.
God, this world had it in for her. She passed a few labs, the science department's main office, and finally got to her door. A man stood in front of of it studying the posted hours. She didn’t have any office hours today, so why was he here?
“Can I help you?”
His lips formed a thin line, and she wasn’t sure if it was meant to be a smile, but a shiver ran up her spine. Creepy guy alert.
“Yes. I believe you can.”
She stood there, waiting. Creepy dude, let’s go, spit it out.
“And?” she asked.
This time she was pretty sure it was a smile, that or gas as a corner of his mouth turned up.
“I believe you have something that belongs to me? A chip?”
Strange request for a chemistry department.
“I, uh. No. Maybe you should try the engineering department?”
He lifted a device.
“Well, I don’t think I will need to. The chip has a tracker, and it suddenly started working again. Leading me here.”
Deo brought her the chip, and he hadn’t mentioned any creepy men. This guy didn’t look like someone Deo would associate with. Everything within her was screaming to run. Only Aisha wasn’t sure she could trust herself lately.
She’d just let Deo leave, thinking she didn’t want him. No, thinking she couldn’t handle him? Really, she just needed time. A few minutes of extreme soul crushing pain helped clear her mind. It wasn’t every day that you suddenly realized you truly, without exception, love someone. Until a few days ago, she wasn’t even sure she could feel again.
“Well, you must have a glitch then. I’m honestly not sure what you are talking about.”
He studied her.
“Do you mind moving so I can get into my office at least?”
The gentleman moved aside, but Aisha wasn’t sure she wanted to pass him. There was something off about him. He was pale, rail thin, and didn’t appear to have any facial expressions.
She didn’t trust people that didn’t like food or people that looked like robots. He was both and that wasn’t boding well for him right now.
Sidestepping him, giving him a quick glance to ensure he stayed put, she slid the key into her door. Aisha had hoped that he would leave, but as she pushed it open, he followed her in.
Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she unlocked it. Was this one of those moments you called emergency services, campus police, or the dragon?
Oh, right? She needed to find his number.
“Sorry. I’ve got some things to do. Could you come back for normal office hours and I will see if I can help track down what you think is here?”
She looked up, her skin crawling. He stood above her.
“Miss. I don’t think you understand. We are willing to pay handsomely to get our property back.”
Standing up slowly, Aisha was listening. Because, money.
“I’m still not sure I know that I have what you want.”
He nodded. “Well, let me be clear we know you not only have our chip, but you also have a creature, an alien, that turns into a dragon that also wanted the chip.”
Aisha froze. This conversation was going south. Was it in her head that the room had just cooled five degrees?
“My client is willing to pay you enough to fund your department for years if you not only return our chip but also the dragon.”
She froze. Who asked for a person, a living being, as if they weren’t something that had feelings? He was talking about Deo, she was sure of that. Who the hell was he, anyway? She needed to find Deo’s number, and now. Something wasn’t right.
“I’m sorry. Who are you?”
His skeletal like face almost appeared to morph into what might have been emotion.
“Who I am is not a concern. What I can do for you is.”
Aisha shook her head.
“I’m sorry. I can’t help you. I don’t know who you are talking about. And this chip? Again, I’ll look. Come back tomorrow.”
He pulled out a card.
“Here is my number. I will do as you ask. But keep this in mind. Is any one creature worth more than a lifetime of work?”
She paused.
“What do you mean?”
God, she needed to shut her mouth and get him to go away.
His thin bony fingers scratched at his nose, such a normal gesture for someone so freakishly not normal.
“What I mean is, what is one alien if we can supply you with enough funding you would never have to apply for another grant.” He pointed at his card. “I’ve taken the liberty of writing the figure we had in mind. If you return the chip, we may consider additional funds.”
Creepy man walked out, leaving a trail of what-the-fuck-had-just-happened.
But really. What had just happened? Opening her desk, she took out a key and turned around to a fridge she kept in her tiny space. She kept the lock on it to keep people out of her yogurt stash, and because sometimes she broke a few rules on handling chemicals. This time it was the chip.
Peeking over her shoulder, she wanted to make sure he’d really gone. Thinking twice, she got up and closed her office door, clicking the lock in place just in case.
She chewed the inside of her cheek. Unlocking the fridge, she reached for a small petri dish.
Pulling out the dish that housed what she thought was a dormant chip, she gently laid it on her desk.
The day this little chip had come into her life brought more than just Deo. The strange signatures of Lilly’s blood was one of them, and the odd residue that was most definitely a poison.
Knowing Lilly,
