Darren's Ark
1036 Words
Darren Ark stepped into the Ark Research Laboratory. It was a rather large building. He obviously spared no expense in creating the magnificent laboratory which was appropriately named after him. Darren Ark was a tall dark haired man with an unsmiling face. He exuded arrogance and had an intimidating appearance. He was in his early thirties, yet he had accomplished so much. He had little time for regular activities as he spent most of his time working on his several experiments which were currently being funded by the government. He walked past his employees without acknowledging their presence. He walked into his large office and sat down behind his desk. Few minutes after Dark had settled in, his secretary informed him of the arrival of Gordon Roberts from the government agency.
Dark looked at his watch and said "Send him in."
Few seconds later, Gordon Roberts walked in. He had a tensed look on his face. Darren Ark stood up and shook Gordon's hand.
"Gordon! Always a pleasure to see you." Dark said dryly.
"It's good to see you too Darren." Gordon said, still tensed. Dark noticed immediately.
"You look a little uneasy. " Dark said.
"Um... I've got some...er... bad news. " Gordon managed to reply.
Dark looked furious. He walked back to his chair and sat down, then he picked up a random document and looked at it briefly. Then he looked up and said "Sit down Gordon. Tell me what's on your mind. "
Gordon cleared his throat and said, "Darren... um... unfortunately i have to tell you that we can no longer fund your project. "
"What!" Dark stood up outraged. "What do you mean? "
"We have to reduce our expenses. And as promising as your experiment is, we've decided to pull the plug."
"No! You can't do that. This is important. You know how important it is. "
"Um... i know... but we have to focus on another project. I believe you've heard of Max Henderson. He's an amazing young scientist. His project has a lot of potential so we decided to focus on him for now. Besides my superiors believe you have the ability to fund your own projects from now on. " Gordon finished speaking. He watched Dark carefully expecting some kind of reaction but Dark remained indifferent.
"What did you say the scientist's name is? " He asked.
"Max Henderson. "
"I'd love to talk to him soon and see what he's working on. Maybe i can even give him some advice. " Dark said forcing a smile.
"That would be amazing Darren. "
Gordon hurried out of Dark's office. Dark watched with pleasure. He waited till he was sure Gordon was completely gone, then he got up and walked out of his office, towards his secretary's desk.
"Call Klaasen, tell him to find out everything he can about Max Henderson." He ordered.
"Oh, and if anyone but Klaasen shows up ask them to get lost. I won't be around for a while." He added as he walked away.
Dark stepped into his private elevator. He went over his plans again, then he smiled broadly to himself. Dark arrived at the top floor. He stepped out of his elevator and walked to a door with the numbers '314' written on top of it. He input the required password and the door opened immediately.
The room was restricted. Dark was the only one that had access to it, along with his top scientist, Schmidt. Schmidt was a man in his late fifties. He had gathered lots of experience over the years. He was was one of the best scientists Dark knew and the only one he could almost completely trust. Schmidt looked a lot older than his age because of countless sleepless nights. Like Dark he barely had a personal life, he focused more on his work.
"Mr Ark"
"Schmidt. How's the experiment going. Please tell me there have been some improvements. "
"Well, as a matter of fact there have been little improvements. But it doesn't really matter. The subjects aren't strong enough. "
"We'll find someone who is strong enough. "
"With all due respect Mr Dark, i don't think we should keep doing this. Human experiments are dangerous. So far no one has survived. Perhaps we should stop. We can't keep destroying innocent people's lives. "
Dark gave a deep sigh. Then he said "The loss of a few lives is a small price to pay for making the world a better place. You more than anyone should understand that. "
"I... i do but..." Schmidt stopped mid sentence. "You're right Mr Dark, but the current subject is er.... well, he's dead. We'll need someone else as soon as possible. " Schmidt said.
"Obviously." Dark returned dryly. "I'll find a willing participant by tomorrow. "
Schmidt looked flustered. "A willing participant? "
Dark forced a crooked smile, "You know what i mean." He said as he walked out of the room.
When Dark walked into his office, a young man named Klassen was there waiting for him. Klassen was a private investigator from Netherlands until he was hired by Dark.
"Ha, Klassen, i didn't expect you to be here so soon. "
"Well, i was able to find out everything you need to know about Max Henderson. "
"Really, what exactly did you find out. "
"Like i said, everything you need to know. " Klassen pulled some documents out of his bag. "I've got information about his background, his parents, his high school, college, scientific experiments, and of course his current address. "
"That's great. " Dark said. "Give me everything you have on him. I'll go through them later, but i just need to know one thing about him."
"What would you like to know. "
Dark stood up and gave Klassen a slow grin. "His phone number." Said dark quietly, "I need to speak to him urgently."
- Writer
