“ I think I finally figured out what I’m missing here.” Dr. Adam Gaskewitz mumbled out loud.
“ Figured out what?” Dr. Rudy Backus asked as he peered from behind his trio of beakers, one of which was beginning to boil.
“ The grand total of women who have turned you down on those internet dating sites.” Adam replied back with his head down, searching for some of his notes that he was sure on top of his desk somewhere.
“ You will be wishing you were me when I finally catch fire!” Rudy shouted over the bubbling liquid that was starting to overflow the edges of the hottest beaker.
“ Wishing I was you when you finally catch on fire? What the hell are you talking about?” Adam said still looking down while he was smiling. Rudy simply stuck his middle finger high in the air and kept it high until Adam saw it. Shaking his head in disgust, Dr. Gaskewitz gathered what he needed and jammed it all inside the one pocket of his suitcase that wasn’t already filled with other things. Looking around his desk one last time he nodded his head, satisfied with what he packed to bring home.
“ Later dater!” Adam saluted Rudy on his way out the door. Rudy failed to mount a response and let the silence answer for him. Listening for the door to shut completely, Rudy turned off the burners underneath his beakers. Slowly creeping around the lab, he checked all the blinds to make sure that nobody could see inside. Nervously checking one more time, he felt more confident that there was nobody else around.
Quickly shuffling over to Adam’s desk, he immediately began to rifle through all the materials on his desk. After a few minutes of searching, he smiled and held up a few of the papers that he had found.
“ This is what he was looking for, I guarantee it!” Gripping the papers with his sweaty hands, he immediately dropped them on top of the desk. “ What am I doing?” he mumbled to himself as he took out his cell phone. Holding his phone up, he scrolled to the camera. Bending over, he feverishly began to take as many pictures as he possibly could of everything that he felt was relevant to what he was looking for. Pausing for a moment, he took a deep breath.
“ Jesus if this is what I think it is, holy shit!” Rudy said out loud to himself as he put all the papers back where he found them and checked his camera to make sure that he had all the necessary pictures. Stopping again in the middle of what he was doing, he thought long and hard for what seemed like an eternity.
Wasting not another minute, he picked up the phone and died the extension that he was looking for. He waited for what he felt like was forever but in actuality it was only three rings.
“ Hey it’s me! Dr. Backus! Jesus, Rudy!” Dr. Backus rolled his eyes momentarily but smiled when the person on the other end of the phone recognized him. After listening to the other party for a few minutes, Rudy chose to respond.
“ No, I am not wasting your time! I have something really important that you need to see! No it can’t wait! Cancel your goddamn plans! Meet me at the place across the street from where we usually meet. Yeah. Go to the back and I will be waiting for you in the corner. Yes. I am leaving now.” Rudy quickly hung up the phone and frisked himself to make sure that he had his cellphone with him. Satisfied he had everything that he needed, he grabbed his things and ran out the door.
After tossing and turning all night long, enduring nightmares , each one worse than the one before, he woke up covered in sweat. He slowly got up and began his morning ritual to prepare himself for work. For some reason he was very apprehensive about going to work. Shaking off that ridiculous notion, he poured himself another cup of coffee and smiled at the thought that today might finally be the day when he can put all the pieces together. He was so close and he knew it. Draining his coffee, he grabbed his suitcase. Adam left the house so fast he almost forgot to lock the door.
Making it to work in record time, he entered the building equally as fast if not faster. On his way to the elevator, he was tapped on the shoulder. Temporarily putting his suitcase on the ground beside him, he turned around to see who was trying to get his attention.
“ Can I help you?” Adam asked in the most polite voice possible.
“ Yes. Please come with us. Don’t forget your suitcase.” The taller of the two men that were standing in front of him said.
“ Is there a problem?” Adam asked, slightly nervous and appearing somewhat confused.
“ Not if you follow us right now.” The shorter of the two men added, a stern impatient look on his face.
“ Ok then lead the way!” Adam exclaimed, trying to sound confident and hide his anxiety that was building quickly the longer he was with these men.
“ Let’s go!” The taller man said as he led Adam to the elevator which happened to be open and waiting for them. They all entered and they exited when they arrived at the floor where Dr. Gaskewitz’s office was located. As they walked down the hallway, they happened to walk right by his office. Glancing over from the corner of his eye, he caught a very quick glimpse of Rudy who seemed as if he was hiding behind the blinds. Turning his head back to see if he really did see Rudy trying to watch him through the office window, he was quickly jerked back into line by the taller man in the group.
“ Uh could you guys maybe tell me where we are going?” Adam asked nervously, uncertain as to exactly what answer and reaction he was going to receive.
“ Shut the fuck up!” the shorter man barked while the taller one was concentrating on leading them to their destination. Adam wisely chose not to open his mouth and ask any more questions. After a few twists and turns through a maze of hallways, they finally arrived at a double wide door. The taller man took his lanyard from around his neck and scanned his card by the scanner. The doors opened quickly, revealing a room with several doors. The taller man pushed Adam into the room, knocking him to the ground. In the process, he dropped his suitcase which slid almost out of his reach. Before he could attempt to grab it, he was dragged by the back of his neck and shirt down the hallway. The shorter man jumped ahead of his partner and produced the key that was necessary to open the door.
Throwing Adam inside the room, he slid all the way across the floor to the other side of the room. Both men entered after him and stood by the door with their arms folded.
“ So you are Dr. Gaskewitz?” the taller man asked, although it certainly did appear that he was already well aware of the answer.
“ Yes. I am. What is this about exactly?” Dr. Gaskewitz asked with a newfound burst of confidence which enabled him to summon enough energy to stand on his feet.
“ Sit the fuck down! You don’t get up until I say you do!” The taller man growled as he delivered a swift kick which sent Adam reeling back to the floor once again. He grunted as his buttocks slammed against the wall which inadvertently sent him all the way to the floor.
“ Now, it has been brought to our attention that you have made a very important discovery. When were you planning to tell us?” The shorter man asked, his face slowly turning redder and redder with each passing moment.
“ I have no idea what the fuck you are talking about!” Adam said defiantly, not fully grasping the fact that the longer that he refused to cooperate the more chance he had to get hurt.
“ Don’t waste my fucking time!” The taller man barked as he lifted his foot back and delivered a sharp kick which came dangerously close to caving in his sternum. Adam landed back on the floor one more time, however this trip to the floor was accompanied by a fit of coughing and gasping as a result of the kick that he had just received.
The shorter man raised his hand, about to deliver a shot to Adam’s face when he all of a sudden held up his hands.” Okay I will tell you whatever you want to know!” he said nervously while he began to tremble. The sound of trickling urine caught both of their attention as their eyes shifted to his now wet pant leg. Both men chuckled when they noticed this.
“ Dr., We understand that you have discovered a cure for cancer.” The taller man said as he stared into Adam’s tear stained face.
“ You are well aware that if are scientists are discovering cures for diseases , especially cancer, it would be very bad for business.”
“ And that it turn would affect your salary as well as ours.” The taller man said as he shot Adam a foul glance that was also shared by his shorter partner.
“ Well. I haven’t exactly perfected the cure yet. And I was absolutely going to tell everyone when I managed to get it right.’ Dr. Gaskewitz said nervously as he looked back and forth between the two men unfortunately experiencing the same hostile reaction.
“ We believe that you are just be humble and you have finished it.” The shorter man said.
“ There is really only one way to find out if it works or not.” The taller man said as he produced a needle from his pocket. His comrade quickly held Adam down as he was injected with the needle. Adam shrieked and grabbed his arm where he got the shot.
“ There has been other research here as well. That was a genetically designed aggressive form of cancer we could produce.” The shorter man said. Adam’ s eyes grew as large as doughnuts as he turned and stared at his arm where he had just received the unwanted shot.
“ So here is the medicine that you have been working on. We will see for sure if it works.” The taller man said as he opened the door. Adam looked up from his arm and stared at the two men. Smiling, the taller one tossed the vial of Adam’s medicine in his general direction. Reaching up in the air in anticipation of possibly catching the vial, Adam ended up falling flat on his face. The small vial collided with the cement wall and smashed into what seemed like a million pieces. A look of horror crossed Adam’s face as the two men simply began to laugh uncontrollably as they locked the door behind Dr. Gaskewitz.