Superhero Nobody

Five: Tetra

Mr Crawford fixed Aden with a steely stare. "Mr Collins, I'm asking you one question and one question only – can you do it?"

Aden swallowed. He hated these meetings. Mr Crawford, CEO of Tetra Chemicals and Engineering was a formidable force. Potbellied, with sloping shoulders and snow-white hair, his face seemed chiselled from stone. Hard lines, harsh stares, cold and unforgiving. Two icy pools of blue lost in the worn lines of his expression carried the only truth to be gleamed from his face. He could smile, laugh cry, yell, but at the end of the day his eyes remained cold and unfeeling and that was how Mr Crawford truly was. Cold and unfeeling. A man cast from granite and ice, brought to life.

"Of course I can do it. I mean... I could try, but I'd need..." he furrowed his brow. "Accessing the right chemical compounds. It might take me a while, but sure, I should find the right ratio".

Mr Crawford thrummed his fingers on his mahogany desk. "You do realise what this could mean for us?"

Aden forced himself to stay focused on Crawford's cold stare. It was too easy to cower away from his harshness, to look beyond him to the city lights twinkling in the giant panes of glass behind him, or to the rich patterns of the red and gold carpet beneath their feet. "I could imagine sir."

Mr Crawford grinned a toothy, hungry grin. "It would mean an army. A specialized weapons unit. All the top powers will be grappling for it. It will make us billions in revenue. And you will be at the heart of it. Chief engineer, you will be our god, the creator".

Aden had the decency not to blush, but he imagined all colour was draining from his cheeks. Mr Crawford leaned forward and shoved a pile of sheets in Aden's direction. Aden looked to his boss and on his nod gathered up the papers marked confidential. This was all Luca's damn fault, he thought, but he couldn't allow his expression to betray his exasperation.

"I'll get started right away," Aden nodded, standing up and clutching the papers to his chest.

"You're the best we've got, Mr Collins. I expect you won't let us down?"

"I couldn't, even if I wanted to," he said with a forced smile.

"There's a good lad. Always willing to strive towards the future".

"Always, sir," Aden said, opening the door.

"And Mr Collins, I hear you were thinking of heading back to Beaufort this weekend?" Aden stilled as he met Mr Crawford's cold blue eyes. Of course he would know. He always seemed one step ahead of him. Had Aden not learned that by now?

"Perhaps sir. I'll see how much work I can get done before Friday".

"Nonsense, Collins! Take the rest of the week. As long as you need," Mr Crawford smiled. "This part of the work can surely be done from home. You head along now. Catch up with your family. Your friends".

Aden pressed his lips together and forced a tight smile. "Thank you, sir".

Mr Crawford beamed triumphantly, or so it seemed to Aden, reclining in his leather swivel chair. "Say hi to your parents for me".

Aden nodded once and left the room, his heart pounding. He glanced at the papers in his hands. It was ludicrous what Crawford was trying to do. Beyond ludicrous. And even Aden knew that the likelihood of getting the formula right the first time would be one-in-a-million. It only worried him what would be the result of the wrong formula. Yet he didn't have a choice. That too was made clear. It was always made clear.

He turned down the next corridor, his footsteps muffled by the thick carpets that lined the executive floors of the Tetra Chemicals and Engineering high-rise building. Say hi to your parents for me. Crawford's words played over and over again in his head. He cracked his neck and stabbed the button for the elevator.