“Just do your work,” she says, stalking out of the room. There are two large guards outside the door, I note. I am sure there are more down the hall. I am under heavy guard. But I’m sure it’s worth it for the perceived gain.
* * *
It takes Veronica approximately three days to work out why holding your workers captive is a bad idea. By this time, I am starting to miss Lydia so much it hurts. I am also starting to very much feel the pull of the moon. It feels as though every cell in my body is being spoken to in a language my conscious mind does not understand. I am part of a conversation I am not allowed to partake in, and soon it will overwhelm me, and then…
“The formula you’ve been producing doesn’t work!” Her eyes flash at me furiously.
“You mean the formulayou’vebeen producing doesn’t work,” I say. “I’ve not been making anything lately.”
“I want the secret ingredients,” she says.
“This isn’t a recipe for fried chicken,” I reply with disdain. “There aren’t secret ingredients. You can’t sprinkle a little thyme in and call it a day. There are processes. Delicate distillations. There’s art to it. And your robots and your robot-like techs won’t be able to reproduce it. This formulation ismine.”
The word ‘mine’ comes out in a feral kind of growl that sounds far more animal than human. Veronica withdraws a step out of instinctual fear.
“If you ever want anything from me to work again, you will let me go.”
“No,” she says. “If you ever want to see daylight again, you will do as I tell you. And if you want to see your girlfriend again, you’ll give me a formula that works.”
“Lydia remains free,” I say. “If she didn’t, then you would already have told me. You don’t have any leverage. You have me in a box, and I am not going to help you under thesecircumstances. Stop acting like a little dictator and come to your senses. You were a decent manager, once.”
“I am still an excellent manager!”
“I said decent,” I drawl, enjoying the feeling of being well and truly under her skin. The frustration and anger really couldn’t be happening to a nicer person.
“If you don’t give me the formula, I will have her killed.”
That threat is delivered in such a cold fashion as to make me believe it. This woman has always been ruthless and driven. I liked it about her. She stayed out of my way. She ensured I had what I needed. She was an ally at one point, or at least felt like one.
But with that threat, she just became my enemy.
“If anything happens to her,” I say. “And I do mean even a fucking paper cut, I will burn this place to the goddamn ground. There will be nothing left. No formula, no patents, no prizes, no fucking revenue. If you harm a hair on her head, it is over.”
“You’re so emotional,” Veronica smirks at me, very much enjoying the turned tables, so it seems.
“I am. Emotional, irrational, and over this place. I’m going.”
“You are not going anywhere until I have the fully documented formula.”
“I am, though.”
She sighs. “I have tried so hard to be civilized about this. Remember that. I gave you many days, and an almost endless number of chances to be helpful here. You’ve chosen to do things the hard way. Men!”
At her call, three big guards come into the room. Their hands are empty, as are their holsters. I don’t like that. That means they’ve come in here to hit something. I can guess what that something is.
“When you’re tired of the beatings, let me know and I will ensure morale improves,” Veronica says.
I put down my pipette carefully, turn, and smile.
“Who would like to go first?”
* * *
Lydia
I have a plan.
The first part of the plan, I’ve already executed. I’ve gotten into Simon’s house. They didn’t trash it the way they trashed mine, because they already had him, I guess. I decided to do the same this time as I did last time, sneaking in at the absolute dead of night to be sure I’m not watched.
