Linkage: The Narrows of Time Read Online Free PDF

was ten years younger than Griffith and had a stellar,
homegrown body that supermodels would envy. To keep her satisfied,
he assumed Griffith was packing a 10-pound wonder dog or a
plentiful balance sheet. Either way, Lucas was jealous.
    Lucas stood in front of Griffith’s lab door
and planned his actions carefully. Griffith had several close
friends on the Advisory Committee, any one of which could shut his
experiment down with a single phone call. He knocked twice and took
a deep breath to steady his nerves.
    Griffith answered the door, wearing a white
lab coat and cheater glasses. The toupee-wearing 40-year-old was
holding a cordless soldering gun and resin in his hands. On his
left cheek was a streak of red marker ink. Just like last time, it
stretched from just under his eye clear down to his chin. Lucas
coughed to cover up his laugh. It seemed to work.
    “Hey, Lucas!” Griffith said heartily. “It’s
wonderful to see you. Do you need my help with something? Wow, you
look especially handsome today. How is your project coming along? I
hear you’re getting a new lab tech tonight. How’s your mother
feeling? What were those Marines delivering? They sure looked
impressive in their uniforms, didn’t—”
    Lucas was in a rush, but couldn’t afford to
be rude. Keep it simple, he decided. “I’m fine, the project’s fine,
Drew’s fine, we’re all fine. If you’re not using it, can I borrow
your hand truck?”
    “Sure, go right ahead. It’s right by my
desk.”
    He kept a safe distance away from Griffith to
avoid his constant hand touches. The man smelled of cleaning
chemicals; some of them were probably toxic, even fatal. Lucas was
barely inside the door, and already his nasal passages were flooded
with the smell. He minimized his breathing.
    “Do you need me to help? Did you know I work
out regularly and can lift heavy objects? You should be careful
with your back. Be sure to lift with your legs; hernias can happen
easily.”
    Lucas stopped listening as Griffith continued
to ramble, talking aimlessly about something, anything, everything.
Lucas really didn’t care. He just needed to find the hand truck and
get back to Drew. Nothing else mattered. He found it right where
Griffith said it would be, spun it around with one hand to face the
door, and pushed it ahead of him. Focus on the door, nothing else,
he told himself. Just get back to Drew. He kept his head down to
avoid eye contact in fear it might extend the conversation
unnecessarily.
    The hallway wasn’t far now but Griffith was
still right on his heels yapping about something. It was clear
Griffith was going to follow him into the hallway and possibly into
their lab. He needed an excuse. He turned around and held out his
hands while standing near the exit. “Sorry, but this delivery
belongs to Dr. Kleezebee and contains classified material. Nobody
else is allowed within twenty feet of it.”
    “Okay, I understand. Take your time. Just
return the dolly when you’re done. I won’t need it for at least a
week. When you stop by again, we should go to lunch—”
    Lucas rolled his eyes in relief when he heard
Griffith’s lab door close behind him.
    Drew was waiting for him in the hallway,
laughing quietly with the back of his hand covering his mouth.
    Lucas scowled. “Glad you’re enjoying
yourself. Now let’s get this shit inside already.”
    Drew slid his access card through the
security scanner. After a loud buzz and a hollow click, the double
doors swung open automatically. He used his wheelchair as a stop
block to keep them from closing.
    It took all of Lucas’ strength to load and
center the three containers onto the hand-truck. He hauled them
into the center of the lab, being careful not to lose the heavy
load along the way. He slid the stack off and left the boxes
sitting on the floor next to a rectangular worktable.
    The security scanner buzzed again. “Jesus,
what now?” he muttered, wondering if Griffith might be popping in
for an