Tesser: A Dragon Among Us (A Reemergence Novel) (23 page)

Matty rounded the corner and was taken by surprise by the sight of three people standing in the hall. Alec, a lab technician, and one of the more high-ranking security officers stood outside her office door. They looked at her, and as soon as she saw their faces, she knew they were specifically waiting for her. The security guy gave her the creeps with his chrome pistol bulging from the holster at his hip.

"Matty. So nice to see you this morning," Alec said.

I don't like the way he said that
. "Hi, Alec. What can I help you with this morning?" Matty tried a smile.

"Let's step into your office for a second and chat. There's something we need your help with." Alec gestured at her doorway and Matty went through it. All three of the others followed her in.
 

I'm nervous. Like, really nervous.

Alec sat down. "Matty, there's something that's been going on lately and it has a few of us just a little confused and a lot concerned."

"Okay. I'm to assume it has something to do with me?" Matty powered on her desktop machine and sat down her brown bag lunch as the computer started to hum to life. She gauged the odd lab technician standing in the corner. Matty noticed the ends of a stethoscope sticking out of a deep pocket in his white lab coat.

He isn't a lab nerd. He's a fucking doctor.

"Well we think so, but it's complicated. One of the things about the Amethyst building Matty is the security. We check everything going in, as well as out, right?"

Matty was instantly defiant. "Do you think I've stolen something? Because I haven't."
 

Alec put on a charming face that she immediately knew was designed to disarm her. "Well, at first we thought you'd stolen something, but we've been keeping an eye on the security data for about three weeks, and we're confident now that you're not a thief. In fact, the sniffers are indicating that you might be bringing in something new to the facility. An anomaly. Something next-gen we need to investigate further. Something that we need to rule out quickly."

"Next-gen? Sniffers?" Matty felt turmoil in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't a new feeling. She'd had the bubble guts since she saw Tesser.

"We've got security devices that can smell the air placed all over the building. If someone tries to bring out a piece of miss purple downstairs, the sniffers will alarm, and we'll know about it. Matty you're triggering the sniffers on the way in, not on the way out. This is very, very interesting to us. Even more eyebrow-raising, Miss Rindahl, is that the sniffers are reporting a larger trigger from you as time goes on. A percent or so more powerful every other day, give or take. We think there might be something wrong with you. Some kind of reaction to the presence of the dragon. Perhaps, some kind of growth. Or, at the very least, something interesting happening with your biology. We'd like to run some basic medical screens on you to make sure everything is alright."

Matty was worried.
What could be wrong with me?
"Growth? You mean like a tumor?"

"It's hard to say, Matty. We've never seen this kind of thing outside of testing with direct applications, infusions of dragon tissues, or derivatives of dragon tissues. It doesn't make sense that you're sick, but all the signs point to you being in a very precarious situation. I don't think I need to remind you that your employment contract requires you to submit to a medical examination in the event of a contamination event?"

Matty felt sick. Really sick. "Of course, I guess. When? Now?"

Alec nodded. "Time is a factor, yes. Ron here. Sorry. Doctor Wooster is a company Doctor that we keep in our employ for internal medical issues just like this. He takes care of my personal needs and I trust him implicitly. He's got an office on the third floor, and if you're okay with it, I'd like for you and Ron – Sorry, Ron. Doctor Wooster – to spend some time together trying to get to the bottom of this. For your safety and for everyone else's safety."

Matty stood without even thinking about it. Bile churned in the pit of her stomach. It hurt.

"Matty, if you will please come with me," the Doctor said.

She let him lead her out of the office, leaving the security officer behind.
 

I wonder what would've happened if I said I only wanted to see an outside doctor? I bet that's why that creepy fuck with the shiny pistol was there.

*****

The medical exam had been extensive, but Dr. Ron Wooster had been great. That almost made it worse. He was gentle, caring, and clearly genuinely concerned for her well-being. He even made some jokes that were well timed and helped to break the tension of the moment. There were x-rays, blood draws, mouth swabs, and more. Near lunchtime, Matty was able to return to her office.
 

She didn't even bother to sit down at her desk; she just scooped up her purse and went out for a sandwich. She'd forgotten to put the lunch she'd brought that morning in the refrigerator in the break room and it had gone bad. At the sandwich shop down the street, she ordered a turkey with muenster, topped with romaine lettuce and honey mustard. It was her favorite sandwich.

She ate it emotionlessly at her desk. The normally bright flavors felt numb in her mouth and made her stomach churn again. There was no escape from the anxiety. When she finished, she spun her chair to face her monitor and keyboard and fired up her actual work.
 

If I look at the bright side of this, I haven't thought of Tesser at all today.

Her phone rang, jolting her. She answered it.

"Hey Matty, this is Ron upstairs. How are you doing?"
 

He sounded pleasant. Matty was starting to be thankful he'd made the whole exam process easy. "I'm okay, all things considered. You have more questions for me, Doctor?"

"Yeah, actually. I wanted you to know your blood work looks great, so do the numbers from your urine sample. Great news: if we did random drug testing, you'd ace it," he said with a laugh.

Matty knew he was trying and forced a small laugh. "Thanks. I think all that proves is that I lead a boring life. What question do you have?"

"Not that boring a life, Miss Rindahl. I was wondering when your next OB/GYN appointment was? And are you taking prenatal vitamins yet?"

Matty nearly dropped her phone.
The fuck?
"What? I'm sorry?"

There was an awkward pause. "I uh... Were you aware that you're probably pregnant? I say probably and mean definitely. All your screens are showing positive. Have you had an ultrasound yet? Gosh. I'm sorry, Matty; I thought you might've known and just were keeping it quiet."

Matty's heart started to race. "I can't be pregnant. I had a miscarriage. A bad one. My doctors told me that I'd never be able to have a baby again. I can't be. I can't be pregnant."

"Have you had some stomach issues the past few weeks?"

That's nerves. And I'm not eating well.
"A little."

"Mostly in the morning?"

Fuck. Shit.
"Sometimes."

"Are you late for Aunt Flo?"
 

"I'm frequently late. I used to take birth control just to regulate when my period came. I think I'm okay though. Not too late."
Dr. Ron is starting to piss me off.

"Well, Matty, I highly suggest you avoid alcohol and smoking and get yourself an appointment to get it checked out by a specialist. I'm wondering if Mr. Fitzgerald's equipment is getting a false flag because your hormones have changed noticeably."

"Yeah, maybe," Matty said lifelessly.

"Well, hey! Exciting, right? Turn that frown upside down! Go call your boyfriend and have a large glass of grape juice tonight and figure out the next step. If anything else comes up, I'll give you a call."

Matty nodded and realized she had to say something for him to go, "Okay. Thanks."

Later in her office Matty looked at the inanimate phone on her desk as if it were a cobra coiled and ready for the kill. Touching it or even moving an inch from her position could be lethal. But now, it needed to be done. She picked it up, and dialed a specific number at the Boston office. Alexis answered.

"Alexis here." She was chewing on some food. She was eating her lunch. Matty wondered if it was take-out.

"Hi, Alexis. It's Matty." Matty couldn't hide the anxiety in her voice.

"What's wrong? Did a man treat you wrong? You sound pissed." Matty imagined Alexis sitting forward in her office chair, ready to bite someone's head off.

"No, not really. Do you have Abe's number? I need to get in touch with Tesser." Matty grabbed her small Hello Kitty notepad and a pen.

"Yeah, baby, hold on." Alexis put her on hold for nearly a minute and returned. "Got a pen?"

Matty said yes and Alexis gave her a local Boston number. "Thanks, Alexis. I really appreciate it."

"Did he hurt you? Do I need to talk to Abe? You know, Abe says Tesser still wants to see you. Talks about you all the time."

I don't know what to make of that.
"Well good, because I'm calling him."

"Alright, babe. Keep me in the loop? Work going okay over there in Area 51?"

"Of course, I will. Work is fine, thanks. Sorry I haven't been in touch much lately. I've been sort of scared to take the next step."

"I figured. Good luck, hun. He's a catch. I think."

"Yeah, he seems that way."

They ended the call with a pair of goodbyes.

Matty dialed the number that would put her in touch with Abe.

Far down below her office, in the bowels of the underground facility that surrounded the vault containing the purple dragon, Mr. Host sat in his own office. It was the nerve center of the entire security complex.
 

He'd heard the entire conversation. He smiled.

Something else in the room smiled with him.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Tesser

Matty wanted to meet Tesser again. This made Tesser quite happy.

That is such good news.

They had very briefly chatted on the phone a few nights before and agreed on a neutral location during the day. Both drank coffee, so they met at a Starbucks in Medford, just off the Orange Line.
 

Tesser was late to the meeting. Matty was already sitting, both hands wrapped around a latte. The shop smelled of roasted coffee and baked goods. It was slightly cool outside, and she was wearing a thin sweater under a fleece jacket.

She looks pretty.
 

"I'm going to get a coffee; can I get you anything?" Tesser asked her when he entered the franchise and walked to her table.
Now she looks irritated.

Tesser waited patiently in line and bought his own coffee.
I'm surprisingly nervous right now. I can’t recall the last time I befriended a woman I was this interested in. Humans are much more complex than I ever imagined them to be. Matty also. She's special. That scent. And there's just something about her. I wonder where this will go?

Tesser sat down. "I'm glad you called."

Matty didn't look up from the lid of her coffee. "There's something serious we need to talk about."

Tesser frowned. "Serious good or serious bad?"

"Depends on how you look at it." Matty sipped her latte and then set it down. "I'm not entirely sure myself."

She looks like she's unsure if she should be drinking it.

"I don't know how to say this without being super blunt, so I'll cough it out and we can cut to the quick. Tesser, when we had sex the other night, you got me pregnant."

Tesser beamed instantly. "That's terrific!" He said in an exuberant tone. Several people in the coffee shop looked over and smiled. Tesser's mood was infectious.

"Yeah, here's the thing, Tesser. We used a condom, and I've been unable to have a baby for some time now. I don't know how this happened."

She looks unhappy. Does she not want my bab
y? "Well, I had an orgasm inside you, Matty. It's pretty basic mammalian biology."

Matty looked up, anger flaring in her face. "I know that, you jackass," she whispered. "But the condom is like 99.9% effective at catching sperm, and if you didn't hear me, l am INFERTILE."

Tesser sat back, unsure of how to handle the situation. Human woman experienced incredible swings in hormones during pregnancy. Perhaps that was the cause. "Well, Matty, I can't be certain, but when I discarded the rubber thing you put on my penis, I think it might've been broken. In fact, I'm fairly certain of it."

Matty's face retained all the anger, and added a flush red color that looked unhealthy. "And you didn't think to tell me the condom broke? You're fucking with my LIFE, Tesser. This shit isn't funny."

Tesser shook his hands apologetically. "I'm sorry, Matty, I didn't think anything of it. I've never used one before, and I wasn't aware that they weren't supposed to break. I didn't know anything was wrong, and in my own defense, you didn’t speak up either. And I'm sorry, very sorry, but you are at no risk of anything from me. Well, save pregnancy."