Gunn’s stare shifted to me, two vertical lines forming between his brows.
“Doctor.” David’s voice shook the scientist from his thoughts. “You can continue.”
“Right. Yes.”
The doctor moved fast as he drew vial after vial of blood from the small gash. He set a small white lid on the last of the glass tubes, and asked, “Will you be telling me about this thick skin of yours?”
“I was under the impression that this is what we hired you for—to solve the riddle?” David was quick to answer.
“Well, you must know something. I mean—” Gunn let out a forced short laugh “—you had that scalpel ready.”
“Inspect it, if you must, but don’t touch the edges of the blade. It’s sharp.” Galen held out the scalpel to the scientist.
“How sharp?” I asked.
“Let’s find out,” said Gunn.
The doctor raised the blade and looked around, eyeing his target—a steel lab table next to him. He ran the razor diagonally along the corner of the table. The silver triangle that the doctor had shaped out of the angled edge dropped to the floor. Gunn squeaked as he observed the piece of the dissected table at his feet, and then turned to look at us.
“What kind of alloy is this?” he asked.
“It’s not an alloy. It’s a compound of Lutetium and diamonds,” Galen explained.
“Lutetium is used in atomic technology. It’s very rare, Mr. Chios.” Gunn’s eyes were wide with shock. “I need to know why you’ve come here.”
“Because there’s something wrong with me, Doctor,” I said. “Something terribly wrong, and it’s affecting David—and we need your help.”
“Your skin—” Gunn’s head shook rejecting the idea “—it’s normal, Mrs. Chios.” His stare bounced from David to Galen to me. “I’d like to remind you that I may be an idiot, but I’m a scientist, too, and a damn good one, if I do say so myself.” He turned to look at Galen. “You’re paying me to keep my mouth shut, and I understand that, but in order for me to help them, I need you to come clean. Tell me what I’m supposed to be looking for. Otherwise…” He took the check that Galen had given him out his shirt pocket. “You can take this and leave.”
“I doubt you’d like to miss out on the opportunity to discover this on your own, Gunn. I promise it’ll be worth your time.”
Galen took the check from the scientist’s hand and tucked it back into Gunn’s shirt pocket. Gunn inhaled deeply and held his breath. When he started turning a light shade of purple, he exhaled.
“Okay. I’ll proceed in the name of science,” Gunn said.
Gunn took David and Galen aside and spoke with them briefly, and then left us to gather his instruments.
“What was that about?” I asked.
“He was explaining the next procedure, asking us to assist him,” David said.
It wasn’t long before I saw the doctor walking toward the hospital bed where I was sitting, wearing white latex gloves and holding a tray of glass tubes. When he came closer to the table, I saw an extra instrument he was carrying and freaked.
“What that’s supposed to be for?” I stared in terror at a three-inch long needle in Gunn’s hand.
“I’m sorry. You weren’t supposed to see this.” He hid the needle behind his back. “I need to gather some cerebral spinal fluid since we’re trying to rule out any neurological irregularities.”
“You may have worms.” Galen raised his brows and nodded. “In your head.” He tapped his temple with two fingers. “They make you crazy.”
I ignored him, and turned my attention back to the doctor. I bit what was left of my thumbnail.
“Does it hurt?” I asked.
“He’ll apply an anesthetic first. You won’t feel much,” David said.
“Much?”
“It won’t hurt,” Gunn said, blinking. Did he blink when he was lying?
“You can bite on my hand if you have any pain. It won’t hurt me.” David leaned in close to my ear. “I can’t sedate you because he’ll find the remnants of my anesthetic in your lab results.”
“Isis, you mustn’t bite too hard on his hand,” Galen said in a hushed voice. “Creatura have rabies.”
“What?”
“Shut up, Galen.” David frowned.
“It’s the truth,” Galen said.
“Stop it.”
Rabies, Galen mouthed, widening his eyes.
“Ahem,” Gunn interrupted. He was standing behind the bed, at my back. “This will be a little cold, Mrs. Chios. It’s an antiseptic solution to cleanse the area.”
I gasped and arched my body when I felt the icy liquid on my lower back. The air around us filled with the smell of iodine and other pungent chemicals I couldn’t identify.
“You can’t move when the needles go in. You’ll have to be completely still,” the doctor cautioned. “Lie down on your side. Gentlemen, if you’ll help her fold into a fetal position as I explained, I’ll begin.”
David pulled my knees in until they touched my chest. At the same time, Galen tucked my head into the space between my collarbones. The muscles in my neck and upper back felt like rubber bands ready to snap.
“Steady her, please,” Gunn ordered. The boys applied a slight pressure to my knees and head, adding to the strain in my muscles. “You’ll feel a little sting, but don’t move. Remember, if you move, it’ll hurt. Understood?”
“Mhh,” is all I managed to sound out.
I closed my eyes and drew in air through my teeth as I felt the needle break the first layer of skin, and then slide through, depositing a fluid into my spine. In an instant, the area began to numb.
“One more time,” the doctor announced. I didn’t feel the second needle. Just as my nervousness eased, a heavy and painful pressure deep in my spinal cord rendered me immobile. “Just a few more drops and we’re finished,” Gunn said. “You’re doing very well.”
I felt David’s hand run across the top of my head, stroking me like a domesticated animal. I opened my eyes to glance at him. I wondered if I looked as defenseless as an animal being put to sleep. I must have because just then Galen asked me, “Are you alright?”
“Yeah. Why?”
David opened his mouth to say something, but then covered my eyes with his hand.
“Hey!” I protested, and David quickly hushed me.
“It’s done,” I heard Gunn say. “Now, you said you wanted me to conduct a sonogram. For what purpose?”
“Isis has issues with her menstrual cycle, Doctor. We believe we should take every aspect into consideration,” David said.
“Hmm…” Gunn sighed. “I don’t believe it’s necessary, but it wouldn’t hurt. I’ll be back with the equipment.”
I heard Gunn’s footsteps walking away, and David lifted his hand from my face. He stared at me with widened eyes. I turned to look at Galen, whose stare was also fixed on me. The brothers exchanged a quick glance and shrugged at each other.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
David’s lips pulled apart, struggling to find a way to express what he wanted to say. Galen stepped closer to me.
“Rabies,” Galen said. “I told you.”
I glared at him. Like on many other occasions, I was ready to smack the stupid out of him, but now wasn’t the time.
“David, what is it?”
“Your—your eyes.” David blinked. “They changed.”
The dreams, I thought. Adrenaline rushed through me in currents of dread and horror. I broke into a sweat. Were my nightmares becoming my reality?
“What’s different about them?” I asked.
“The pupil,” David said.
“Describe it.”
“Reptilian.”
“Like a lizard’s or a snake’s eyes?”
“It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Doesn’t mean anything?” I slid off the bed. “Are you kidding me? We have to stop lying to ourselves. Things aren’t getting better—they’re getting wo
rse.”
“We’re here to offset this, Isis,” Galen said. “You’ll both get through this.”
“You don’t know anything about what’s happening to us, and you expect me to believe that it’s all going to be okay?” I shook my head. “In case you hadn’t noticed, things weren’t looking too good for me before. And now, this? My physical appearance is changing, Galen. I’m. Not. Okay.”
“How has it changed?” Gunn asked. “What do you think is wrong with you?” He was rolling a grey, square cart that held a small machine in the direction of the bed. His brow was low on his head when he turned to view me.
“She’s the only one that believes that, Doctor. You know how women are always looking in the mirror, thinking they look fat,” Galen said with the finesse of a con artist.
“My wife does the same,” Gunn said. “You’re not fat, Mrs. Chios. If anything, I’d say you’re underweight. Our last test will be a physical examination. I’ll show you the weight range that’s right for your height and age.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not taking my clothes off in front of you, Dr. Gunn.”
“I’m a doctor. It won’t be the first time I’ve conducted the procedure. Your husband may be present, if it makes you feel more comfortable.”
I glanced at David, whose eyes were wider than mine.
“Uhh… No,” David said.
“It’s routine.” Gunn tucked his hands into his lab coat pockets. “I’m sure you’ve had the procedure done by your gynecologist.”
“I…” I shook my head.
Galen scratched the back of his head and raised his brows before he walked away, leaving David and me to deal with the scientist.
“Mr. Chios,” Gunn turned to David, “the final evaluation of her menstrual troubles would be more precise with this test, but it’s her call. I can’t force her.”
David looked at me, waiting for my final say. I knew that the reason I needed both the sonogram and the physical was because it was imperative to verify that my ovaries were releasing millions of ovules at one time as Eryx had said, and Gunn might be able to pinpoint the reason behind it. Nyx’s and Eryx’s empathic skills were good, but until I held concrete evidence of their so-called finding, it was nothing but a lot of hot air. I hoped Gunn liked surprises because he was in for a rather unexpected one if they were correct.
“Okay.” I sighed. “In the name of science, right?”
“That’s right,” Gunn said, turning on the sonogram machine. “Let’s begin.”
David stepped away from the area that Gunn had designated for me. He pulled on a long curtain that hung from a steel rail, enclosing the section. He then instructed me to lie flat on my back. He placed a white paper sheet over the lower half of my body and lifted the hospital gown to my midriff.
“The gel’s cold,” the doctor said.
From a plastic bottle, he squeezed a blue gel over my abdomen. My skin responded to the material’s icy temperature by sprouting hundreds of goose bumps. He reached for a wand in the shape of a half moon and slid it over my stomach.
“Why isn’t David having any more tests run?” I asked.
“I’m undecided on the type of testing that should be done. I’m also running his blood tests one more time because I’m not getting a very good—” Gunn stopped in mid-sentence. The wand in his hand was placed over the lower mid-region of my abdomen. He applied pressure, angling the half-moon in different directions. With quick strokes, he pressed buttons on the machine that made it print photographs of what was displayed on the screen. He dropped the wand on the cart and held the photocopies up. From his lab coat pocket, he pulled out his glasses and put them on.
“What do you see?” I asked.
“Are you taking fertility drugs, Mrs. Chios?”
“No.” I lowered the hospital gown to my lap.
“Hmm…” Gunn’s face twisted. “And you’re not pregnant.”
“No.”
Gunn’s eyelids began to flutter. I felt my own eyes mimic the doctor’s. His tick was starting to rub off on me.
“We need to move on to the physical examination,” he said.
After taking my vital signs, checking my reflexes and inspecting my nose, eyes, and ears, the awkward part came. I crossed my arms over my face to hide the embarrassment that felt like a fire burning through my cheeks.
“Oh, dear,” the doctor said. He pulled the paper sheet down and over my legs. “I can’t continue with this examination.”
“Why not?” I kept my arms crossed over my face. “I’m not going to do this over again, so you better do it now.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Gunn lifted my arms off my face.
“Tell you what?”
“That you’re not sexually active. There was no need to conduct the examination.”
I stared past him, thinking that there wasn’t a lie I could tell him that wouldn’t make me sound ignorant. I didn’t know I was a virgin, was the best excuse I could think of, and I was pretty sure he wouldn’t believe it.
“Sit up, please.” Dr. Gunn pulled on my arm to help me. He took a jar of cotton swabs from a small cart next to the bed. “Open your mouth.” He rubbed the inside of my cheek with one of the swabs, and then dropped the swab in a glass tube. He tugged at the curtain, making the silver rings slide across the steel rod.
Behind the drape, Galen and David stood a few tables away. Gunn gave them a rude stare.
“Is there a problem?” David asked.
“I couldn’t perform one of the examinations,” Gunn said, walking to a set of machines that were lined against the wall. “I’m sure you know why.” His voice was seasoned with a pinch of hostility.
“Really?” Galen cocked his brow at David, and David shot him a glare in return. Galen took two steps back, raising his hands as if in defeat. “It’s a compliment.” Twisting his neck to look at me, Galen gave me a wink and a nod that a coach would have given the team member deemed Most Valuable Player.
I raised my hands to my face, covering the awkwardness and dread of having Galen—of all people—cheer me on, in one of the most intimate aspects of my life. But most of all, I understood that until that moment, Galen thought that David and I had had sex. Did the rest of their family think the same? No wonder Nyx was so fixed on the idea that I might’ve been pregnant.
“I’ll continue with this charade of yours—the fake names, the unwillingness to reveal more details about yourselves…” Gunn pointed to me. “But submitting this girl to a test she didn’t need by lying about marriage, well that’s morally wrong.”
“Hmph,” Galen huffed. “I doubt you’re qualified to tell anyone what’s right or wrong.”
“I beg your pardon?” Gunn furrowed his brow, his hands crossed over his chest.
“If morality is the issue, then I’m sure you won’t have a problem with a small error of judgment on our part, Doctor. You have quite the track record yourself.” Galen stepped toward the scientist. “Or am I wrong?”
Gunn’s blinks seemed to be permanent at that moment. His lids would have flown away from his eyes had they not been fixed to his face. The tension in the room rose, and David stepped closer to the doctor and his brother.
“You’re wrong.” Gunn’s eyelids flapped. “You’re very wrong.”
“Deny it all you want, but I know about your dirty ties with Gío Carboné,” said Galen.
The scientist responded to the accusation with silence. Galen stared him down until Gunn’s evident discomfort made him turn away.
“That’s the man that was here when we arrived—the collector,” David said to Gunn. “What’s your association with him?”
“Why?” Gunn asked. “Are you here to arrest me? Are you Interpol? Tell me now, because I’ll have to call my wife if you’re taking me to prison. I’m allowed one phone call, aren’t I?”
What was this man involved in that had him thinking we were the police? Whatever it was, it was serious. Very serious.
“What’s he ta
lking about?” David turned to Galen.
“Did you even bother to look at the information on the flash drive I gave you last night?” Galen’s light green eyes blinked once in frustration.
“I was—uh—preoccupied.”
“You didn’t tell me about that.” I tugged at David’s sleeve. “What was on the flash drive?”
“Doctor,” Galen said, “would you like to tell them about your business ventures, or will you grant me the honor?”
“I’m not talking. Are you Interpol or not?” Gunn demanded.
“And if we are?” David played with the scientist’s uncertainty.
“I’m calling my lawyer.” Gunn pulled a cell phone from his pants pocket. “No, I’m calling my wife first, and then my lawyer.” He scratched his head. “Or maybe I should call my lawyer first? Yes. A lawyer would be more helpful than my wife right now.” He held the phone up with a trembling hand and looked at it, his eyelids blinking at full speed. “Son of a bastard banshee! I don’t have a lawyer!” He slammed the phone down on the counter. “Why don’t I have a lawyer?”
“Calm down.” Galen placed a hand on Gunn’s shoulder. “It’ll be days before Interpol catches up to you.”
Gunn squealed.
“Are the police really looking for you?” I asked.
“I assumed—” Gunn said.
“No,” Galen interrupted. For once, his evil smirk mollified me. He was just teasing the poor man.
“Well, not him, specifically, but they are looking for someone tied to a theft.” Galen placed his index finger on his chin. “Or is it thefts?”
“Tell me how you know about that!” Gunn demanded.
“I’d like to know, as well,” said David.
“Mhh… No.” Galen wrinkled his nose. “But I can tell you that Einstein’s genius brain is missing from the Smithsonian. And guess who has it?”
“Carboné,” Gunn admitted, leaning over the sink. He turned on the faucet and splashed water on his face and neck. “He replaced it with another.”
“Tsk, tsk, Gunn.” Galen shook his finger at the geneticist. “Be honest, now. Who stole that one-of-a-kind specimen?”
“I did.” The doctor sighed. “I was granted access—to study it. I needed funds for my research and Carboné was willing to finance me in exchange for leads. I didn’t think I’d be the one to carry out his plans.”