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Chapter 5

So they worked around Cindy. She sat in a chair with her arms folded, scowling and refusing to talk. Everyone ignored her and did what they normally did.

Rodrigo was typing away at the supercomputer, reading and sorting files. Zora was nowhere to be seen. Marc was staring at a corkboard covered in illegible notes and string, occasionally moving something, then shaking his head and moving it again. Death honestly looked like she was just playing with test tubes of blood.

Curiosity finally got the better of her. "What are you doing?"

Death jumped. "Oh, sorry, I forgot you were there. Um, I'm testing these blood samples for irregularities."

"Why? What does blood have to do with a number?"

"I don't know. We're not sure they're connected at all. These are blood samples from telekinetic students at the school. If I can figure out why they can move things with their minds, maybe that'll give us a clue to our little puzzle," she said.

"You don't seriously believe in little kids with telekinesis, do you? I mean, come on. You're a scientist," Cindy said.

Death smiled wryly. "You'd be surprised what you can believe in at this job."

Cindy leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands. "How'd you get mixed up in this in the first place? What's your story?"

"Um, Marc. He helped me through a tough time when we were in school, and I'd like to return to favor," she said, eyes fixed firmly on the task at hand.

"What happened?"

She paused and looked at her. "Um, things were bad. I was in a low place, cutting with these razors from the drug store across the street. Wouldn't eat, either. Ate everything in my bedroom, hiding it all in a plastic tub under my bed until there was a chance to sneak it out to the dumpster.

"Then there was Marc. I didn't really have any friends, but he took me in, set me straight. One day, just before graduation when it was really hot out, a man with dark sunglasses and a suit came up to us, saying our profiles had hit their radar and asking if we had ever heard of ICE. The rest is history," she breathed, with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. Across the hall, Rodrigo's ears had perked up when she started talking. The lab he was in wasn't very enclosed, and he had heard every word.

"That's a sweet story," Cindy said. Death relaxed back into her work. "If you ever feel like telling the truth, I'm all ears. Apparently I've got time to kill."

Death dropped the foreceps in her hand. The vial shattered on the ground, spilling blood across the floor.

"Great, now look what you made me do," she got out the cleaning supplies. Cindy knealt down and started picking up broken shards.

"That is definitely not proper lab safety," Death said, returning with a dustpan. "And that story is true."

"Death, your friend Marc wouldn't have brought me in if I wasn't good at what I do. And what I do is read people. You read 'liar' so obviously I'm amazed it isn't written on your forehead. Not that anyone could tell if it was, what with all that hair of yours."

Cindy was usually professional and kind, never voicing judgment on patients. But today she had been tranquilized, kidnapped, ignored and missed two lectures. So today, yeah, she was going to tell it like it is. And Death was a big fat liar.

"You're here to analyze the number, not me," she said with a shaky voice. "If you aren't going to help, then please be quiet so that the rest of us can work."

Cindy sighed and went back to her chair. Great. Now she had hurt Death's feelings.