David Dun - At The Edge

"Something is going on here that doesn't look like Taxol."

"OK."

''I've got to go in there. And we've got to see our chemist. Maybe some of this would make sense."

"Seeing the chemist seems fine, but going back in is nuts."

"We can talk about it. Let's just find out everything we can for now."

"No, I mean it, Dan. If you don't control yourself, I'm going to the sheriff and fink on you. He knows how to be a real jerk. I speak from experience."

His jaw dropped.

"This can become an obsession. You aren't a cop. This has gone far enough. Sometimes breaking a bad law is justified. But this is just dangerous shit. You've got a boy."

Dan sighed.

"If we are going to do this together, promise me you won't sneak around without telling me. We're using our contacts at the university," she added. Dan frowned. ''Please promise me, no secrets on this."

"All right. You know I'm growing to like you."

She studied him, curious about his meaning.

"In a friendship sort of way."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Maria said.

Part of Kenji's face was going numb. The doctor said it was stress. He was also having nightmares. Dan Young standing in the fog watching him on a rickety footbridge, the bridge starting to unravel under his feet. He woke before the bridge disintegrated but not before his heart rate elevated to more than one hundred beats per minute.

The chemists were making some progress. They could now neutralize the effluent in small quantities, using a process suitable for mass-production efforts, but the cost was still too high. Ominously, a spring near the mine was coming up with trace amounts of the effluent-enough to kill wildlife that came to drink. That scared Kenji. If it ever got out that it was seeping into aquifers, he was finished. On the other hand, the only chemist who knew said if it traveled far enough-particularly far enough to get off Amada land-the earth would do the cleansing.

Even more worrisome, Dan Young was not giving up. Tired of palpating his numb upper cheek, Kenji rose from his desk and took the elevator to Groiter's office one floor below. It was late but he figured Groiter would be there. Groiter was dedicated if nothing else. It was locked. He knocked.

Groiter opened the door. "I've got a live feed to the recorder. When I'm listening, I keep the door closed."

"Can this be traced to us?"

"Not with all the relays. Not the way it's set up. If somebody tried to tamper with it, the network would self-destruct."

"Well, don't feed it in here. I don't give a shit how foolproof you think it is. Nothing is going right."

"They're intimidated. Or she is. She's stopped him from going back out to the compound."

"What about the pictures?"

"You've told us not to break into Young's house again. They won't learn anything critical."

David Dun

At The Edge

"And Schneider?"

"Even if they figured her out, she doesn't know who we are."

"She saw a helicopter. We're not some petty criminals. She knows that."

"She has alibis for everything. Good ones. So I don't think they can squeeze her."

"You seem awfully sure of yourself for someone who hasn't succeeded at much in this mess. Why the fuck aren't those two lawyers dead?''

"Fluke. But they're contained. Maria Fischer is nervous for the boy."

"Make her more nervous."

"It could backfire."

"Don't use Schneider, just hire some thug who'd like to fuck her. I don't care how you do it. Just deliver a strong message. Got it? Don't you have someone just sitting on his ass up in Palmer?"

Groiter nodded.

"Call him. Now."

"I want to talk about something more personal," Maria said.

"Have at it."

"You're not doing well, are you?"

''What do you mean?''

"I think after your wife died you started drinking a lot."

Dan shrugged. "I hoist a few."

"A lot, they say."

"Who says?"

"Just people. It doesn't matter who says. Just tell me to mind my own business if you want to. Choice is yours."

"Go on."

''You figure you're tough. People die. People get over it. You'll handle it." When she spoke again, her voice was much softer, much more understanding. "Well, am I right?"

"I suppose."

"You're in control of your life? You don't notice any depression, lack of energy, or mood swings-nothing like that? The drinking and the isolation are by your choice?"

"I can deal with it."

"As good a father as you are, can you see this is affecting Nathaniel?'' She locked eyes with him.

"Yeah."

"You can trust me and yourself on that."

Dan knew she was right.

"So," she said, staring at him. "How do your friends see you?"

Dan smiled. "Oh, they probably say I'm not quite my old self, drink more."

"What does Lynette think?"

"We're really close. She helps me."

She put a hand over his. "Am I intruding too much for someone from the enemy camp?"

"Of course," he said. "But we've gone this far, we might as well get all your theories out on the table. Lynette arranged a counselor, nagged me into going. I went a couple of times, but I'm not the counseling type."

"What we really need here is a temporary truce. This isn't the timber wars. This is just two colleagues talking. Tell me about how Nate has coped with his mother's death."

Dan sat forward. "The other day, right out of the blue, Nate asked if his mother used to fold his socks. After explaining how she did it, I followed him back to his room and peeked in at him. On the floor there was a box full of old clothes. He'd taken out a pair of socks that were all turned in and rolled up with the toes sticking out, the way she used to do it. And he was just sitting there gently rolling those socks around on the bed. I wanted to talk to him. About her."

For a moment she didn't say anything.

"How about a change of scenery? Let's go down to Mazzotti's and have a tiramisu."

Dan leaned back, dubious.

"You have a couple bites," Maria said. "I'll eat the rest and work it off at aerobics in the morning."

"What's wrong?" Maria asked, touching his forearm.

"Nothing." Dan reached to pour her more wine.

The Italian place was run by a short, pudgy fellow who made the best minestrone Dan had ever tasted. That, and Italian desserts.

"We'll call the science guys tomorrow, OK?"

"Great." He took a sip. "Do they know anything? I mean, why all the suspense? Why didn't they just tell you?"

"I've dealt only with their department secretaries. I get the feeling that they figure they're doing us a favor and we should come and appreciate their help in person. I might be able to set up a conference call, but I'd like to go down there."

"You're right. You can't smile over the phone."

"What does that mean?"

"Your warm-up-the-audience smile." He leaned back. "Best I've ever seen."

The waiter brought the tab with some coffee. For the first time she noticed that one of his blue eyes had a spot of hazel in the cornea. He'd probably shaved early in the morning and his beard, with its late-night shadow, was now rough and blond with a hint of red. She liked it.

"Now you're making me nervous. Are your friends doing more evil deeds that you haven't told me about?"

"It's like your boyfriend. We don't talk about him. We don't discuss my friends' upcoming evil deeds."

"You seem to have a thing about my boyfriend."

''One of us has to.''

"I've got to excuse myself to the ladies' room."

After getting directions from a waiter, Maria moved down a shadowy hall. She forced herself to shrug off what seemed to be an irrational sense of alarm. She locked the bathroom door behind her.

On her way back to the dining area, her uneasiness turned to fear. Silhouetted by a light at the end of the hall, a large figure stepped out of the men's room in front of her. A shiver ran up her spine. He was a big man. Don't be silly, she told herself as she approached him. What can happen in a restaurant? She tried to make out his face, but couldn't see much in the silhouette he formed. As she turned to edge past him, she felt herself lifted and thrown head first against the wall-so hard it knocked the wind out of her and made her see stars. There she was held, engulfed in a sea of flesh, pressed flat, unable to move. A large hand clamped over her mouth, and she began getting dizzy.