SurvivorZ: Grave Harbor

61

PAIGE

Paige glanced over her shoulder at the lab technician toiling away on the other side of the room. The woman paid her no mind. According to Doctor Bradshaw, Mueller was reportedly quite vocal about her new assistant starting work today. She must have intimidated her worker bees into giving the strange girl free rein to roam about the lab.

Whatever, Paige thought. Going unnoticed only made her job easier. Her real job, that is; not the cover story she used to get in here.

Paige grabbed a couple of filled aerosol canisters from the counter and stuffed them into her coat pockets. She rearranged the other Z-Off containers to help conceal her theft.

The masked technician looked up from her work. Paige turned and leaned against the counter, offering her a disarming smile.

"Hey, this stink spray is pretty cool. What goes into it?" she asked, holding up a can.

"Please don't touch that," the woman uttered, her voice muffled by her protective gear.

Paige smirked and returned the canister to its mismatched place in the now disorganized pile. The lab technician probably wasn't crazy about spending her time mixing the smelly cocktail. She certainly wasn't a fan of babysitting Mueller's new playmate. Good thing for her, Paige would be out of her hair soon. Likely before anyone even thought to attribute the missing spray to theft.

"There she is," a voice said from the door. "You're early."

Paige plastered a broad smile on her face as Doctor Mueller entered the room. Mueller briefly glanced at the technician, who seemed too intimidated to raise her eyes from her work.

"Sorry about that. I was excited to get started," Paige lied.

"No need to apologize. I like go-getters."

Paige's smile widened. "Is there anything you'd like me to do?"

"There is, actually. I was about to head into the lab to continue my examination of the specimen. Perhaps you could head downstairs and fetch me a cup of coffee."

"Sure," Paige chirped. "Happy to."

It wasn't a lie. She was grateful for the opportunity to offload her stolen goods along the way.

Mueller nodded, pleased by her enthusiasm. "I take it with two sugars. Off you go, then."

With that, Mueller left the room, heading in the direction of her office. Paige glanced over at the technician, catching an expression through her visor that she couldn't quite read. It was either satisfaction or pity.

She didn't care either way. She'd be gone soon. Her pack was already loaded with supplies. The only thing left to get was a weapon of some kind. Since the army kept those under armed guard, she knew it'd be the most difficult item to procure. That's why she saved it for last.

She passed the lab containing Mueller's spider mutants. It still gave her chills to watch them climbing over the rotting head decorating their cage. This time, instead of walking by, she poked her head in to address the fat patient lounging in his cot and the soldier standing watch over the creepy crawlies.

"Hey, guys, I'm Paige. I just started working for Doctor Mueller today." She stayed just inside the door. "I'm headed down to grab a cup of coffee for her. Anybody want one?"

The portly man in the stretched gym pants sat up in his bed with some difficulty. He seemed unaccustomed to his ponderous weight, handling the changes to his body much like a woman who suddenly wakes up one morning to discover she's nine months pregnant.