"Of course not!"
"Good. Then I don't want to hear anymore of this crap, and I'll expect to see you on-site."
Sonny sighed. “Okay, Connell."
"See you in a couple of days.” Connell hung up as he pulled into EarthCore's main research campus.
Four years. Had it been that long since he'd come to the EarthCore lab? That long since he'd stopped by just to see how everyone was doing? There had been a time when he didn't let a week go by without stopping by the company's main lab near Romulus, a Detroit suburb, touching base, talking to the technicians, getting the scoop on the latest research techniques, the latest family news, the latest office gossip. Of course, there was also a time when he gave a shit. He got far more done staying in his office at the Renaissance Center, working the phone and the computer, than he ever had when he took an interest in people's lives.
The nondescript building in a nondescript industrial park in a nondescript part of town had no signage, which was status quo for any EarthCore facility. From the outside, it was just another faceless building in the midst of a dense industrial sprawl.
No one had left the lab in three days. At first Angus ordered everyone to stay, but that order rapidly became unnecessary as the staff pieced the situation together. And when Randy returned from Utah with a laptop full of data, the excitement level soared beyond measure. People slept only in snatches, and Angus's demands pushed everyone's talents beyond natural limits.
Angus mentioned briefly to Patrick O'Doyle that some of the scientists had families. O'Doyle made a quick call and then assured the staff that everyone's family was taken care of. EarthCore staffers baby-sat, cooked, cleaned, and helped shuffle kids to and from school. It didn't stop parents and spouses from feeling guilty, but it did comfort them enough to stay in the lab and keep working around the clock.
When Connell Kirkland arrived that morning, the lab looked as if it were staffed by zombies on crack. Bleary-eyed people scurried everywhere, hair dirty and sticking out in all directions, lab coats wrinkled, eyes adorned with dark bags. The only one who still looked normal was Angus Kool.
It surprised Connell to see how much the labs had changed. New equipment lined the walls of the original lab, which had expanded from the original building to two additional buildings in the industrial park.
As Connell entered the room, work slowly ground to a halt. Technicians stared at him in obvious shock. He recognized most of them. Others, he realized with some surprise, he'd seen only as pictures in personnel files.
An Arabic man approached him, smiling widely. Connell remember the face, but couldn't place the name.
"Connell, it is so good to see you again,” the man said. He seemed to want to extend his hand, but was unsure if that was the right thing to do. “It has been a very long time since I have seen you."
Achmed. His name was Achmed. Connell hadn't seen this man since… since… since the night Cori had died. Achmed had been at that fateful New Year's Eve party. In fact, before the party, he and Cori had gone out to dinner with Achmed and his wife. The four of them had been friends, and Connell hadn't spoken to the man once since that night. Connell remembered calls from Achmed, consolation cards, supporting emails — all of which he'd ignored.
"Achmed,” Connell said. “It has been a long time. How is…” His voice trailed off. He couldn't remember her first name; he couldn't remember their last name, either.
"Rana is fine,” Achmed said with an understanding smile. “We hope you are doing well."
"I'm fine,” Connell said, perhaps a little too quickly.
Achmed nodded. That same understanding smile on his lips couldn't hide the sadness in his eyes. “I'd better get back to work. Angus is very demanding.” Achmed turned and walked back to his station.
O'Doyle spotted Connell, smoothed out his uniform, and quickly walked over. Connell was grateful for the distraction. He hadn't known O'Doyle… before.
"How's everyone doing, O'Doyle?"
"Fine, Mr. Kirkland. People seem to be getting enough sleep, but Mr. Kool is a slave driver. He reminds me of my old drill sergeant."
"Dr. Kool is pushing them hard?"
"Nonstop,” O'Doyle said. “Nothing they do satisfies him. He's tireless; he hasn't slept once in three days. Normally I'd be concerned by that, but look at him."
Angus stood on the other side of the large lab, oblivious to Connell. He moved like he was made of caffeine; fatigue found no purchase on his body.
"You call these results?” Angus said, practically screaming at a small, black-haired woman, a sheaf of computer printouts clutched in his hands. Connell vaguely remembered her name — Katerina something-or-other. He remembered hiring her shortly before Cori's death. Lab workers flinched every time Angus's arrogant, nasal voice exploded at the woman.
"I said, do you call these results, Katerina?"
The woman looked up fiercely, eyes on the point of tears. “I've double-checked the metallurgical analysis,” she said, her tone full of defensive frustration. “It's consistent both times."
Angus threw the report. The pages spread out like a flock of birds, then fluttered to the ground. “Well do it again! That work isn't fit for an undergrad, for God's sake! Do it again! And make it quick — this repetitive work is making you fall behind."
"I'll bet he wins Mr. Congeniality,” Connell said quietly.
"He picks on her the most,” O'Doyle said. “I peeked at her files. She's got a 156 IQ. I wonder how Dr. Kool would treat a dumb old soldier like me if I worked under him?"
"You're not dumb, O'Doyle. And besides, you'd probably strangle him."
"No sir!” O'Doyle said. “I would never strangle him… I'd use a knife."
Connell laughed, and he was a little surprised to hear the sound escape his lips. He laughed so rarely that it sounded strange to him. O'Doyle was a damn good employee, a man who in two brief years had single-handedly turned EarthCore's security force from a joke into a unit that might be mistaken for a platoon of crack commandos. Connell felt confident knowing that O'Doyle would be one of the first at the Wah Wah site.
Connell walked toward Angus. O'Doyle trailed a step behind. Angus saw Connell coming. Surprise, then haughty anger, spread across his face. He straightened his lab coat. Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and Pigpen pins decorated his lapel.
"Well, if it isn't the king himself,” Angus said. “Coming down to watch your lowly serfs toil?"
Connell stared at Angus, and wondered how anyone could work with this man and not punch him in the face.
"Dr. Kool, I hope you've got something for me other than a surly attitude."
Angus nodded, his wild red hair bobbing in time with the motion. “Randy Wright collected fascinating data from the Wah Wah site. We discovered one rather large anomaly of extremely dense material three miles underground. What is odd, however, is that we found none of the usual indicators of a large platinum deposit. With dust on the surface, such as Mr. McGuiness found, I expected to see some biogeochemical evidence of a deposit. The roots of some trees and plants gather elements from the ground and transmit them to the leaves. Juniper bushes, for example, which are common at the Wah Wah site, can send roots as far as a hundred and sixty feet below the surface."
"So you're saying you found nothing there?” Connell asked.
"Nothing,” Angus said. “No biogeochemical evidence of anything but iron, let alone platinum or any other valuable mineral. And that corresponds with our other surveys that show no metallogenic evidence of a deposit."