Hello, World

Chapter 8

On a Friday night at 8:00 p.m., hours after the lab was emptied of everyone but two men and a chimpanzee, Jackson stepped over the jagged glass fragments splayed across the linoleum as he paced back and forth. Tyler sat on a stool next to the rack of test tubes, one of which Jackson had shattered in the ground in rage moments before.

"I don't know why you're yelling at me," Tyler said. "I'm just telling you how it is. This problem is intractable. We've all known it for weeks now but everyone else has been too afraid to tell you."

Jackson wheeled around to face Tyler. The bags under Tyler's eyes seemed to darken with each passing minute. "Why would they be afraid of me? That's not the culture I've fostered here."

Tyler glanced at the broken glass. "Maybe not at first, Jackson, but you've changed. Ever since Fred showed up there's been a change. We can all see it. You sleep at the lab half the time, your clothes are always disheveled. You're not yourself, man. When was the last time you took your wife out to dinner, or played with your son? Weeks? Months?"

Months, Jackson thought. Several months.

"Sara understands what I'm doing here," Jackson shouted. "Do you think I could enjoy going out to dinner when I have this project hanging over my head? The answer is no, Tyler, I could not."

"And that right there is the problem," Tyler said. "You never take a break and it's killing you. You need a vacation."

Jackson's face flushed. He unballed his fists and took his eyes away from the rack of vials calling to be broken. "A vacation is the last thing I need. I need to be here. Solving this."

"No. You don't. You need to take your wife and your son and go drive down to L.A. and sit on a beach until you can see reason. The rest of the team and I need it too, man. This lab has been open a year and no one has even taken a week off in that time. They're burned out and if you don't give them a break they're going to quit."

Let them quit. If they couldn't handle the pressure when things got difficult, when they got pushed past what they thought their breaking point was, then they didn't deserve to stand by his side and revel in the glory when they gave Homo Sapiens the gentle shove into its next evolutionary step.

"No vacations until we have Fred's Imprint."

Tyler sighed and punched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, boss, I didn't want to have to do it this way but you've forced my hand."

"Do what?"

"We're taking the vacation. Me, the staff, everyone. I can't make you go relax, but the rest of us will be gone for the next two weeks. Fred, too. Dr. M will be here tomorrow to take him to the sanctuary while we're gone."

"No you're not. Request denied."

"It's not a request, boss. I went to the board. I already got approval. Two weeks off, paid, with..."

Tyler kept talking but Jackson was no longer hearing. Tyler went over his head, went directly to the board? Did he understand how bad that made Jackson look? If he understood, did he care?

No. He didn't care. Not about the project. He cared about himself. He jeopardized everything because he was tired. So be it. Jackson didn't need him. He didn't need any of them.

"Go," Jackson whispered.

Tyler put his winter coat on and stopped to place a hand on Jackson's shoulder on the way out. "Take a break. Go be with your family."

Jackson jerked his shoulder to shake Tyler's hand off and didn't watch him as his shoes squeaked on the way to the door.

Jackson stood, staring at nothing, unblinking. He didn't know how long, but by the time he left the lab half of the traffic lights had switched to flashing red or yellow. He cracked his windows to hear the roar of the Mercedes and took the long way home. This time, doubling the speed limit didn't make him feel any better.

Could anything make him feel better? Not likely. Not until he had a working Imprint.

As he turned the key to kill the engine in the driveway, he noticed the lights in the kitchen were still on. Strange. Sara never left the nights on when she went to bed. Something about saving the environment. As if that would make a difference. What TML was doing, however? That could actually save the planet.

He got out of the car and went inside. The security system made its signature double beep as Jackson went in. The entrance foyer was dark but the lights in the kitchen bled out into the hall to light his way. A sense of foreboding overcame him as he rounded the corner and saw his teary-eyed wife leaning against the white marble countertop.

"Sara, what's wrong?" Jackson asked.

"I don't know, Jackson, you tell me."

Great. So this was how it was going to be. "Why are you crying?" "Who is she?"

"Who is who?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Sara said. "I'm done turning a blind eye. I'm done sitting up on Friday nights wondering what time my husband is going to come home. Where he's been. It's not fair."

Jackson laughed as understanding dawned on him.

"Is this — is this funny to you?" Her voice broke halfway through.

"The fact you think I'm cheating on you? Yes, it's mildly funny." He set his briefcase on the counter and pulled out a glass to get some water. "You should know better than anybody that the only thing I care about is TML." He chugged the full glass and smacked his lips. When he looked back as Sara she was crying even harder than before.

Oops.

"So me?" Sara said. "And our son sleeping upstairs?"

"Of course I care about you, my point is there's no other woman I'm out seeing at night. You know I've hit a roadblock I'm trying to navigate around. If I don't, this life you seem to enjoy so much, the house, your new Beamer, that ridiculous diamond hanging from your neck? All gone. Poof. Just like that. So I'd appreciate if while I'm out saving this life we've built you could show the slightest bit of trust and not accuse me of being unfaithful."

Sara shook her head and walked to the stairs. "I'm going to bed."

When Jackson crawled in beside her they did not speak and they did not touch. When the sun lit the room through the curtains, Jackson got up and left for the lab without a word.