Evolution # 5

The Inspectors Arrive

The Inspectors Arrive

XVII

Dr. Slezak knew that he made the only decision he could by ordering Lily to be transferred to facility #4. Although she had not been able to volunteer herself as he would have preferred, he knew it was not only the best case scenario that would be ordered by the inspectors but would also give her the best chance to make a full recovery. And although at first, she may not like all of the side effects from the treatment at least she would still be mostly the same as she was before the explosions.

His facility, the fifth site ordered built by Bellamy and CLS (simply referred to as #5 in official internal company communication) wasn't equipped for the best outcome for a female human subject.

The inspectors were due to arrive at 8am today.  He knew they would not be late. They were always exactly on time. They were always clinical, almost ruthless, in the execution of their inspections. As the facility director, there were only a few occasions when he ever felt that his position might be in jeopardy and it was always when the inspectors were onsite that he felt the most vulnerable, the most detached from a company that he felt had started to lose its soul. Dr. Slezak would openly admit that he was completely enamored with the scientific possibilities of Project 23 at first, but it was now becoming more apparent to him that CLS intended to use the scientific gains for a more nefarious, questionable purpose. He didn't know it for sure, he hadn't overheard a conversation or been cc'd on an email that was not meant for him- but he could feel it in his bones and never more so then when the inspectors were around. He laughed to himself about the fact that the company referred to them as "inspectors" at all, they certainly were no Clousseau or Holmes, they had no intent to ask questions that they did not already know the answers to themselves.

The phone at his desk rang at 7:59am. His hand trembled a bit as he reached over to pick up the receiver.

'Good Morning, Rudy. Yes? "

"Wes, the inspectors have arrived. They want to see the male immediately."

"Ok, stall them for a minute. I need to go speak to him. If he mentions the female, they will turn this place upside down or worse for chrissakes."

"Yeah, good idea. He was asking about her last night when I visited. He's quite distraught. He believes her to be a soulmate, I suppose. He was really distraught. Make it fast though, you know what they did last time when we had them waiting."
"Yes, I certainly did not forget. I just need a minute with him.........hopefully."

"OK, I'll walk them around the long way. Perhaps Mercurio will be singing in the hallways and they will be interested in listening for a minute," he responded only half joking.

"We both know that won't happen. I'll see you in two minutes, then."

Dr. Slezak hurriedly hung up the phone and rushed out of his office to go to see Evan. Hopefully, he could convince the young man to trust him quickly or they both would be sorry.

XVIII

Evan had not slept through the night. His mind was racing between the agony of believing she was gone and the agony of believing she wasn't, couldn't be gone. Evan knew that he felt her still alive in him. And he believed in God. And he believed that his God would not take his sisters from him and then take Lily from him. This was too much for anyone to bear he told himself. She must still be alive, but did she get back up to the surface he wondered. If she did, would she have had the strength to get back to the shoreline? No, they were underwater for too long, at least that's what he thought he remembered but everything was such a blur for him from those minutes right now. Evan was startled out of his thoughts by his door opening and a man rushing to his bedside.

"Good Morning Evan. I'm Dr. Slezak and I'm the director for this facility. I know we don't know each other very well yet but I need you to hear me, we don't have much time to get on the same page here and if we don't, neither of us will like the outcome," he stated excitedly. He grabbed Evan's wrist after he did not immediately respond. 'Evan are you with me? Do you hear me?" he frantically asked.

"I'm here. I hear you," replied Evan. "And I say 'fuck you! And I say fuck this place. Where is Lily? Why won't anyone tell me? I know she is not dead. Those people, uhh, err, those fish people who saved me- I know they saved her too. And that's a whole 'nother set of questions, I need answered. What the fuck were those fish people anyway?" Evan continued to shout as he glanced down at his arms and legs that were strapped to the bed. He finished, "And why the goddamn fuck am I tied up like some kind of a prisoner? Isn't this a hospital?"

Dr. Slezak tried to calm himself down first. The inspectors would be in the room in seconds, he had to get Evan settled and make him understand the urgency. He went straight to the point.

"Evan, I know you don't know me but I need you to listen to me. Your life and Lily's life will certainly depend on it. "

Evan blurted, "I knew she was alive!"

"Evan listen to me," Dr Slezak continued, "she is still alive but she's in bad shape. But most importantly, there are some men who are going to come in to your room and ask you a lot of questions and most likely a lot of questions about if anyone else was with you in the channel. For your sake, for Lily's sake, you need to say you were alone in the channel. You have to trust me on this. I know you have no reason to trust me, but look me in the eyes right now."

Evan lifted his eyes to meet the eyes of Dr. Slezak.

"Evan, you cannot mention Lily to these men. You have to tell them you were alone. When they are gone, I'll come back when I can and get you an update on LIly. Now, do you trust me? Do you understand?" Dr. Slezak pleaded.

"What other choice do I have? I have no idea where I am, what the hell is going on, why I'm strapped to a hospital bed and most importantly where my Lily is right now. But at least you told me the truth about her being alive. I'll trust you......." he trailed off for a second and then continued, "I'll trust you for now."