Chained in the Lab

Discussion

Henry held his friend as he sobbed and trembled.

"I'm so sorry," Henry whispered. "I should've..."

Zar looked up at him. "Become suddenly clairvoyant? You came. That's enough."

"Doesn't feel like enough. Are you hurt? Injured, I mean."

Obviously Zar was hurt, hence the tears. But did he need medical attention or just a friend to hold him close?

Zar looked down at his hands. "No. They didn't... they just shoved me around. Couple kicks. I think. I think it startled them when I fought back." He pushed away from Henry, suddenly frantic. "Henry, what about Dr. Taylor? He's alone with them. He doesn't have claws, fangs... he's not as strong as me, they might hurt him..."

"He's not alone," Henry soothed him, "Johann is with him. And he's armed. I can call to check on them if you need me to."

"Please." Zar shuddered. "Those kind... it's never just once, Henry. They always try again. They didn't get what they wanted from me, so they'll look for weaker targets."

"I know. But they're in custody. They won't hurt anyone else."

Henry pulled out his radio. "Johann? It's Henry, requesting a situation report."

"A bit complex right this minute, Henry. Could use you here actually."

"I, uh. Zar needs..."

Zar looked up. "If you're needed to deal with those men, you should go." Zar straightened. "I'll be okay."

He was trembling, bruised, and hurting. He needed not to be alone. But if Johann thought Henry would be useful... had the men tried to escape? Or hurt the doc? What did 'complex' mean, exactly?

Thank the Creator, there was a knock on the door. Annabeth stood there, toolbox in one hand and a duffel bag in another.

"Let's get all this crap off of you and out of here," she said, motioning to the chains anchored to the wall. "Henry, the doc needs you downstairs in the main conference room to corroborate his account."

Why would there be any need for corroboration from Henry? Wouldn't Zauriel be the best person to ask exactly what had happened? Maybe they just didn't want to make Zar face his attackers while he was still shaken.

"Take care of him, please," Henry said, meeting Annabeth's eyes.

The woman nodded resolutely. "I won't leave him alone, promise."

"Thanks."

Henry jogged down to the conference rooms. It was easy to tell which one he needed to go to from all the yelling. He recognized the voice of one of Zar's attackers and to his surprise Dr. Taylor's. He'd never heard the scientist speak over a soft murmur the entire time he'd worked at the lab, so hearing him shout was concerning. Henry opened the door and peered in. The men who'd attacked Zar, all six of the rat bastards, lined up against one wall. No restraints on them that he could see, which was worrisome. Johann and Dr. Taylor stood on one side of a large conference table. Opposite them, standing with his back to the six would-be rapists was that new scientist, what had his name been? Hauge, that's right. At the end of the table stood the head of their department, a gentleman Henry hadn't had cause to meet yet, by the name of Dr. Anderson.

Johann turned as the door opened and subtly motioned for Henry to join them. He did so, keeping a close eye on the men. Why were they here, and not on their way to the nearest justice building? What did they call them here? Courtrooms? Jails? He had no idea. Should probably find out.

Dr. Taylor planted both palms on the conference table and leaned forward, glaring at his friend. Why was Dr. Hauge even here?

"This is utterly ridiculous!" Dr. Taylor seethed. "Zauriel was assaulted, and you want to put him under more restraints? What about these men? They should be in jail for what they've done!"

"They didn't do anything every other security guard in this building hasn't done," Dr. Hauge protested. "Maybe they were more aggressive than was strictly called for, but they were clearly intimidated by the creature's attack."

"Attack?" Henry spoke up. "Zar defended himself."

"He ripped my arm open!" one of the attackers yelled, holding up his carefully bandaged wrist.

"He bit you after you tried to force him," Henry corrected. "It's no more than you deserve!"

"That little slut just went crazy! It should be in a cage!" the man with the bitten wrist declared.

He only avoided being shot because Dr. Taylor still had Henry's gun.

"He's not the one attacking people!" Dr. Taylor shouted back. "What were you thinking?"

"Hold on, hold on. Let's get to the bottom of this mess," Dr. Anderson said. "Dr. Taylor, is this the security guard who witnessed the altercation?"

"He is. This is Henry Cartwell."

"Very good. Mr. Cartwell, tell us what you know about this incident."

Henry frowned. "I imagine Dr. Taylor's already told you. I was at my station and the alarm for one of Zar's manacles went off."

"What does that mean, exactly?" Dr. Anderson asked

"Oh. The manacles sound an alarm if they're broken or forced open," Henry replied. "It's a safeguard. Dr. Taylor and I assumed something was wrong and Zar needed immediate assistance."

"You didn't think it was possible the subject was attempting to escape?" Dr. Anderson asked.

"Zauriel is our guest, not our prisoner," Dr. Taylor interrupted. "He has no reason to break his manacles to escape. He can simply ask if he wants to leave."

Henry nodded. "Besides. It's not like he'd ever go very far from his contractor during his contract year."

"Contract year?" Dr. Anderson asked.

"It's all in my study write up," Dr. Taylor explained.

"I'll look into that. All right, so you knew if he broke these manacles there was a reason. And you went to investigate?" Dr. Anderson tried to get back to the main topic of discussion.

"Exactly," Henry agreed. "So we ran down the hall and I keyed the door open. And these men," Henry spat, "were assaulting Zar!"

"Define assaulting. Exactly what did you see?" Dr. Anderson asked.

"They had him on the ground. From his posture, he'd been shoved down. His talons and fangs were visible, both signs he felt threatened. There are bruises on Zar's face, and he's favoring his side, so I assume he was struck in the ribs. He'd injured one of the men. The only time Zar would ever draw blood is if he was defending himself."

"Now, we can't be sure of that," Dr. Hauge protested. "I mean, can we ascribe human emotional responses to a nonhuman entity?"

Henry opened his mouth to point out that Zar's reactions were perfectly understandable, but Dr. Anderson interrupted.

"I understand you felt the need to intercede in the incident, Dr. Taylor. However, why did your specimen attack this man, and why was violence even necessary? It's my understanding that the specimen is... receptive to s****l overtures."

"Overtures, sure," Henry spat. "But these bastards didn't make overtures, they tried to r**e him!"

"You can't r**e something like that," the man with the injured wrist insisted. "It's a damn incubus! They live off s*x. We were doing it a favor!"

"If you force someone after they say no, it's r**e! No matter who or what they might be!" Dr. Taylor yelled.

"Okay, okay, everyone calm down," Dr. Hauge said. "Look, it's obvious there were some misconceptions on everyone's parts here. And it's also obvious that Dr. Taylor is simply too... involved... with the subject's welfare to be impartial. As I stated earlier."

"What?" Henry yelped. "What's that got to do with any damn thing? We should be calling the police."

"Now, Mr. Cartwell be reasonable," Dr. Anderson said. "These men had no idea the specimen would react as it did. Clearly, the rules surrounding it have been far too lax. This incident is certainly unfortunate, but hardly criminal. Although I do agree that these men should be suspended without pay for a time, as they did interfere with an ongoing case study. I do hope they haven't set your testing schedule back too far, Dr. Taylor?"

"My testing schedule? I'm not worried about my schedule, I'm worried about Zauriel's welfare!"

"And that's admirable but hardly practical," Dr. Hauge said. "The specimen is a valuable resource that we only have access to for a limited time. One year and a day, I believe?"

Dr. Taylor nodded mutely.

"I propose that someone else be placed in charge of the project. Of course Dr. Taylor should still be involved, but, is he really capable of making clear-headed, impartial decisions on this matter?" Dr. Hauge asked.

"Darryl? What? How... how could you..." Dr. Taylor's face turned a new level of pale at the other scientist's suggestion.

And worse, Dr. Anderson was nodding.

"That sounds quite reasonable. It's clear we need stricter control of the specimen's activities and interpersonal contact. Dr. Hauge, you aren't currently assigned to any major projects, right?"

"I'm not."

"Perfect. I'll put you in charge of this. You and Dr. Taylor are acquainted, so you'll be able to work well together. I want a plan of action going forward to prevent any further incidents of this nature." He turned to the men. "You gentlemen need not come in to work tomorrow. Formal disciplinary measures can be avoided, though. Kindly leave until you are contacted."

"You... you're just letting them go?" Henry scoffed.

"Of course not. They will be reprimanded and they'll lose two week's pay. That's certainly punishment enough."

"Hardly! If we were Underhill they'd be facing a death sentence!" Henry said.

"Well it's good for them that we are not Underhill, isn't it?" Dr. Anderson said. "Gentlemen, let's try to move forward from this regrettable situation into a more productive direction."

"But sir!" Dr. Taylor protested.

"Don't worry, Ethan. I know this project is important to you. I'll be certain that you receive full accreditation on any published materials in the future."

Dr. Anderson brushed his hands together and moved to the door.

"Zar doesn't require any medical care," Henry said.

"Eh?" Dr. Anderson paused.

"Zauriel. The subject," Henry spat the word out. "He isn't injured badly enough to require medical care." Henry glared at the man. "Not that you cared enough to ask."

Dr. Anderson blinked at him. "That... that's good to know. Of course, the health and safety of our... guest... is paramount. I had assumed that if he were injured, Dr. Taylor would have said so earlier."

"Sure." Henry scoffed. "His health and safety are so important you didn't even suggest asking him for his side of the story."

"I. Well. That is to say." He frowned. "Dr. Hauge, Dr. Taylor, have the... have Zauriel write up an incident report. It... can write, can't it?"

"In more languages than you," Henry sneered. "I'm going to go keep him company. Dr. Taylor, you should visit soon. He's worried about you. He was concerned those men might try to harm you."

"I... I will. Tell him... tell Zar I'm sorry I let this happen."