Nevada Confidential

A Solution

The room was a decent size, and it was the homiest place Brinley had seen since she'd been there. Framed pictures of goldfish lined the walls- unusual, but oddly welcoming. There was a mini- kitchen with a microwave, fridge and counters, as well as a coffeepot which- of course- was Brinley's next stop.

Natalie followed her into the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator. "The good thing about meetings is the food. They want people to be quiet, and they know eating will enforce silence."

Brinley laughed, and poured some coffee into her cup. She usually had two cups of coffee a day back at home, and she found relief in continuing the little tradition. Surprisingly, it hadn't stunted her growth at all. She was 5'6- a half inch shorter than her mom.

"How many people work here, anyway?" Brinley asked. "It seems like there aren't enough people here for such a large operation."

"Well, I don't know the exact number... but I do know that they need to keep the workers to a minimum. They can't risk having a large amount of people with the whole 'nothing you see here leaves here' thing. Well, it was something like that. More professional sounding, though."

Brinley nodded as if she knew what Natalie was talking about. Pieces were starting to fit together- slowly, maybe, but they were. She recounted what she'd learned so far- wishing that she could write it down, but knowing that it would be questioned if discovered.

. This project had something to do with the preservation of dead bodies, obviously.

. Most of these people weren't very professional, or especially skilled when it came to their jobs. Wouldn't the government hire people who were better suited to run this operation?

. Some of them had said that they only worked here 'because of the money'. That must have meant that the pay was good- or that the employees came from low income families.

. For such a highly confidential project, there weren't many security regulations. Couldn't more precautions be made?

Brinley drank down some more of her coffee. She could solve this- but she would need to do it quickly. Simon was at risk, hiding. She had forgotten to bring him food- she made a mental note to sneak him something after the meeting.

Suddenly she had a horrible realization. She would need to stay somewhere that night- and surely she couldn't remain in the building. Security would at least be better provided at night, wouldn't it?

What if, Brinley thought with excitement, I were to sneak Simon out when I left at the end of the day? He could just wear a lab coat, and he wouldn't need to talk to anybody... then again, two extra scientists may be a bit suspicious...

"Hey, Natalie?" Brinley asked carefully.

Natalie closed the fridge, having found a root beer. "Yeah?"

Brinley looked down into her coffee, hoping to come off as casual. "How exactly do we get out of here at the end of the day? Choppers?" She smiled apologetically. "I don't want to come off as stupid, or seem like I didn't pay attention when I was hired... but I've just had so much to think about today..."

"It's fine, it's fine," Natalie assured her. "It was confusing when I first got here, too. I've only been here for a month, and I'm still learning." She opened her root beer, and continued. "It depends what kind of contract you got when you were recruited. I got a Base- Living contract, so I have a two year term here, and I can't go home until it's over. If you got a Home-Visit contract, you stay here except for on the weekends- when you can go back home. Those are for people with higher ranks. The leaders have the Home-Living contract, and they can leave whenever they want."