“Won’t be a problem for long. You heard Aquarius upstairs. He’s gonna tell the boys to torch the bodies from now on.”
“Which should work, but just in case, I will run some tests to ensure incineration doesn’t cause other types of issues.”
“Toxic smoke?”
“That, and I do wonder if the ash will retain its ability to regenerate. It seems unlikely, and yet, at the same time, this species is defying usual norms.”
“Gonna barbecue the bugger that bit me?”
“Goodness no,” Leila exclaimed. “I am keeping it for observation. I want to catalogue its rate of growth and whether it shows signs of intelligence. We know nothing about the aliens other than they’re violent. That said, I will excise some tissue from it so I might conduct further tests. I already have an incineration container that feeds into a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer, which can measure the organic compounds of the smoke produced. I might also run it through a diffraction x-ray…”
She spoke quite animatedly about the science, of which Grayson understood nothing, but he did enjoy her passion. The exuberance in her face, the way her hands gestured. Everything about her intrigued.
When she paused for a breath, he said, “Let me know when you’re going to slice off some samples and I’ll give you a hand.”
“Doing what?” She sounded genuinely confused.
“Holding it so it doesn’t eat your face.”
She laughed, a tinkling sound he enjoyed too much. “Oh, I won’t attempt anything while it’s awake. I’ll gas it and make sure it’s asleep first.”
“What if our drugs don’t work or it wakes quicker than expected?”
His query had her chewing her lower lip. “I’ll dose it ahead of time and see how long it takes for it to recover.”
“Which will set you back with your experiment if it takes hours.”
“You sound awfully eager to stick your hand near that thing’s mouth again. I’m surprised.” She glanced at his ripped hands.
“Better me than you.”
“Why?”
Her simple question had him casting about for a reply. “It’s the right thing to do.”
“Because I’m a woman.”
“Because I like you and I don’t want to see you get hurt.” The truth, and yet she stiffened as if he’d said something wrong.
“You barely know me.”
“Not sure why that matters.”
“I don’t need a man doing things for me.” A terse reply.
“I’m not touching any of your science stuff. That’s your domain. I’m just offering muscle backup. You don’t know what this thing is capable of. What if it fakes being asleep? What if it sleeps three hours the first time you dose it, but when you do it the second time and open its cage, it’s developed an immunity and wakes up within five minutes?” He couldn’t have said why he argued so hard.
She sighed. “I hate to admit it, but you make some good points. Very well. You may assist me for the extraction part, but that’s it.”
“Okay.”
The descent didn’t take as long as expected, and they entered the Stardust Room with its array of jars.
She immediately headed to one and pulled it down.
“How do you know that’s the right one?” he asked as he sat on the bed in the middle of the room.
She pointed to the slight etching on the glass. “Your symbol.”
