Page 14 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
Nori peeked down at her watch while marching ahead in quick, short strides. It was okay. She’d made it in time.
The door swung open right as she reached for the handle. Before she could move out of the way, Dr. Hina Mohan’s petite form slammed right into her, and the overwhelming scent of white floral perfume—jasmine—filled her sinuses.
“Argh!” Something small slipped through Hina’s fingers, meeting the epoxy floor with a mutedthunk, before it went rolling down the corridor.
“I’ll get it.” Hina grabbed Nori’s arm, roughly pushing her to the side as she reached for the glass vial. “Sorry, go on in. They’re about to start.” Hina jerked her head towards the door. She hastily stashed the vial into her pocket before sprinting away without waiting for a response.
“That was weird,” Fehim mumbled. “You okay?”
Nori nodded. “Are you coming inside?”
“No, I think I’ll wait downstairs.”
Nori gave him a curt nod, reaching for the door again. As her hand grabbed the handle and turned, she froze.
“She wouldn’t…” She took an unsure step back. “No, she wouldn’t dare.”
“Nori?”
And she was running again.
“What’s wrong?” Fehim called after her.
“She wouldn’t dare!” She ran faster.
Her office was in the adjacent building. By the time she stood in front of her door, wheezing and fumbling with her keys, her lungs burned, trying to suck in enough oxygen while she tried not to pass out.
“Here.” Fehim took the keys from her before swiftly unlocking the door.
The small space looked exactly as Nori had left it in the morning. While nothing seemed out of place, standing in the middle of the tiny room, she knew. The white floral notes of Dr. Hina Mohan’s obnoxious perfume still lingered in the air. How had she gotten into Nori’s office? Nobody had been allowed access, not even a cleaning crew.
She swore, grabbing her keys from Fehim. She reached for the locked storage space in the corner, unlocked the door, and took out the small black box that lay tucked inside. Spilling its contents over her desk, she swore again.
“Nori, what’s wrong?”
Fehim’s concerned expression came into view as she looked up from the neat little vial rolling back and forth on her desk. It was a clever replica, the exact shape, color, and label, but the viscosity of the fluid inside gave it away. As she picked it up, it felt lighter than her serum, too. This was why the vial Hina had dropped earlier had looked suspiciously familiar.
“Hina took my mites.” She sucked in a sharp breath, her fingers curling around the fake piece of trash in her hand. “The vial she dropped in the corridor earlier. I don’t know what she’s replaced it with, but this is a fake.”
“What? How do you—?”
“I know.” She handed Fehim the vial. “The density and viscosity are both wrong. The stench of Hina’s jasmine perfume is all over the room. It’s giving me a headache.”
Fehim opened and closed his mouth, staring blankly at the vial in his hand. “What’s even in this thing?”
“I don’t know. And I don’t want to find out.” Nori bit her lip. “Once the chip is inserted, Vir’s heart will go into failure within hours without the mites. They know this. They’re willing to kill a person, just to—”
“We have to get it back—” Fehim started towards the door.
“No.” Nori grabbed his arm. “She must’ve hidden it by now. Or thrown it away somewhere. She’d just deny everything if we confront her.”
“Are you going to let him die, then?” He jerked her hand away. “How could—?”
“Of course not. I have a backup.” She lowered her voice, her eyes darting to the door. “You think I would come all the way from Calgary with asinglevial of the stuff my career depends on? Be reasonable.”
“Oh.” Fehim blinked, looking mortified at the dumbness of his assumption. “Right. What are you going to do now? If we don’t have proof, reporting them won’t work. They’d probably try other ways to sabotage this. Vir could ask for security but—”
“No. That intern was in on this,” Nori interrupted. “Hina easily got access to my office and to the mites. Clearly, asking for security won’t work. The experiment is at risk as long as Vir stays here.”
