Collateral

“Sidney Kelly?”

“Yes, that is my name,” Rose says.

“Who do you have a meeting with?”

“I don’t remember. Mark something, I think.”

“Mark Roberts?”

“Sounds about right. Not sure tho.”

“I’ll make a call.”

A whole series of beeping noises emerge from the headset. The woman speaks muted.

“Hi Mark, there is a woman here to see you. Her name is Sydney Kelly, and she-”

Rose hears Mark’s screaming voice from the headset.

“Oh my God, she arrived. Hell yes. I was afraid she got cold feet. Tell her I will be right there. Guess I won’t be fired today after all. Make sure she doesn’t leave.”

The girl grimaces at the loud voice and then forces a smile at Rose. “Mr Roberts will be with you as soon as possible. Please take a seat.”

Rose takes a seat on one of the many couches. The hall is empty, except for her and the receptionists. She luckily doesn’t have to wait long. Less than a minute.

The elevator touches down and opens. A guy in a white coat, the same person she saw arguing before, comes running from the elevator. He is out of breath. If Rose didn’t know any better, she would have assumed he took the stairs. He runs towards Rose. “Hello, my name is Mark Roberts. Are you Sydney?”

“Yes, that is me.”

“Follow me.”

Rose follows the man into the elevator. He puts a key into the lock above the elevator buttons. The elevator doors close, and the elevator starts rising.

“So, Sydney, are you excited? Scared? Curious?”

“Kinda scared. I had some very bad experiences with experimental implants.”

“Don’t worry Sidney. You are in good hands.”

The elevator stopped, and the doors opened. In front of them was a hallway with two security guards and a metal detector. The first guard walked towards her.

“Ma’am, can you please remove any metal objects you are carrying? You can store them in one of the lockers there.” He gestures over at a line of lockers lining the side of the hallways.

“No metal devices are allowed in the lab. The electronics might interfere with our machines and catch fire.”

Rose raises an eyebrow. “Are those locks not electronic?”

“No, they are not. They are analogue locks with analogue keys. Just pick one, put in out stuff, close it, and take the key with you.”

Rose walks to the row of lockers. She puts her fake id-card and phone in the locker, and when the guard isn’t looking, she also stores her gun. She feels strangely naked without her gun. Maybe that is incredibly sad, the fact that her gun is the main thing that keeps her safe. She closes the locker and takes out the key. The key is surprisingly light as if it is made from plastic.

The walks through the metal detector and a green light shines from the top.

“You are good to go, Ma’am, please follow me to the office.”

The guard walks with her to a big office. It hasn’t got any windows, and the walks are covered with medical posters and drawings. In the centre stands a metal desk with two metal chairs. The desk is filled with papers and letters and other stuff. Behind the desks sits an older man, the other man Rose saw arguing in the break room.

“Nice to meet you, Sydney. I am Doctor Hall. I am afraid we are on a tight schedule, so I’ll make this quick.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

“I have a contract in my hands. It states that you agree to stay with us for three days, under observation, after we implant the new device. After this three-day period, we will remove the device. Cortex-Tech Research Solutions is not responsible for any side effects caused by the implant, up to and including death. But we will make a good faith effort to prevent that, of course.” He laughs uncomfortably.

“You agree to this in exchange for five thousand eurodollars, to be paid out at the end of the three-day period. If you don’t survive until then, your heirs will receive the money instead. Do you understand these terms?”

Rose looks at the tablet. “I can’t sign this. I just put my id-card in my locker.”

“That is okay. You can sign with a fingerprint. Is everything clear? Please sign. We are on a tight schedule.”

“I do have a question. How long did the contract say I had to stay here?”

The doctor sighs. “Didn’t Mr Roberts explain that to you? I am sorry, my co-worker really didn’t do his job correctly.”

“He didn’t no.”

The doctor sighs. “You stay in our lab for three days without contact with the outside world.”

“Without contact?”

“Yes.”

“I have to notify some people I will be unreachable during that time. Is it okay to quickly return to my phone and let them know?”

“That’s fine, but make it quick. We are already behind schedule.”

Rose stands up and runs outside Dr Hall walks after her, watching her. She opens her locker and grabs her cell phone. She texts Ellie.

“Might not come home for three days. There are soy meals in the freezer you can heat up. Please rest, your arm needs healing.”

Ellie immediately texts back.

“K, Mom. I will miss you. Will you miss me too?”

“Of course, little angel. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Does your arm still hurt?”

“A bit. It is better than yesterday.”

“If the pain is too much, take some painkillers.”

“I don’t like painkillers, Mom. They make me feel groggy.”

“I just don’t want you to be in pain.”

Rose sees Dr Hall tapping his foot and quickly puts her phone back.

She looks back at Dr Hall. Can she take her gun without him noticing? She is sure she can. With a sweet movement, she takes the gun from her locker and tucks it under her belt. She suddenly feels way safer, as if a weight falls off her shoulders.

Dr Hall calls out to her. “Hurry up, Sydney. We haven’t got all day.”

Rose closes her locker again and walks back.