Page 69 of Convergence

“Miss Reid, I’m Agent Allen. I’ll be talking with you today,” he said. His voice was friendly but assertive as he sat at the table. “Please, come sit.”

“Thank you for the coffee,” I said and cleared my throat after hearing how hoarse it sounded. I sat at the table and sipped the coffee. It was surprisingly fresh but had clumps of powdered creamer still in it. I sipped slowly, warming my throat. It was quiet as the agent watched me. “Um Agent, as in FBI?”

“Correct,” he said. He steepled his dark hands in front of him on the table after showing me his badge.

“Oh,” I whispered. “Wow.”

“Did you have any plans for the Christmas holiday?” he asked me, his eyes roving over my face and hands. His voice was smooth as he eased into our interrogation with small talk.

I shook my head. “Not really. The project was supposed to still be happening, so I could not go home. I- I’m sorry to keep you from your family.”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “Dinner will wait for me. Speaking of family, tell me what Christmas was like with your family.”

I sighed and then swallowed some air. “Well, it’s only me and my dad since my mom died. We haven’t done much to celebrate anything after she passed. We might pick up one of those pre-made dinners at the grocery and eat together. No gifts or anything like that. Not since I graduated high school,” I explained with a shrug.

“That sounds sad,” he said, clearly baiting me. “It might change someone’s outlook on life.”

“It did. I’m not going to lie and say I was the happiest person. But my schooling was going to get me somewhere,” I said with all honesty.

“I heard you were mute,” Agent Allen said after a moment.

“Not mute. I’ve had speech anxiety since my recovery from the car accident that killed my mom,” I replied.

“You seem able to speak right now,” he pointed out.

“This is not easy for me. At all.” I took another sip of coffee. “I’m… sucking it up.”

His mouth lifted into a smirk again. “So, tell me how science was going to get you out of a sad home life?”

“I always liked science growing up. The experiments, finding the unknown, and learning about the world around me. I found the medical world very interesting and inspiring after being in the hospital for a long time and wanted to contribute in a way that I felt comfortable doing. And that was working in labs and creating medicine,” I explained, my voice becoming hoarse as I went on.

“How’d you get involved in all this, then?” He asked and gestured around us with a long-fingered hand.

“One of my grad school teachers, Mr. Harris, recommended me for the program. He had sent them some of my work,” I replied.

“Who did he send it to?”

“I’m assuming Hoffmann. He told us he was the Professor who oversaw the science PhD students. And he referenced specific parts of my research, so he had read it,” I said and then swallowed before continuing. “He’s the only person I spoke to from Truman College.”

“He’s not from the college,” Agent Allen said and watched my reaction.

“Oh, I know that now,” I said with a slow nod. “I know he wasn’t a professor, Daisy wasn’t a student, and neither were we. It was all fake.” Tears rose to my eyes, and I blinked fiercely. This was the single most important conversation I would ever have in my entire life. I needed to get it together.

“Let’s start at the beginning. Tell me how you got involved with the project,” Agent Allen said and sat back in his chair.

I told him the story of getting an email from Hoffmann, the interview, and the information that was sent to me. My heart raced when I realized I still had a packet of school and program information at my dad’s house. It wasn’t the stuff we signed NDAs for, but it wassomethingto show that we were unaware and innocent. I told Agent Allen where I had left that packet and he didn’t look impressed or interested and I wondered if my dad had already given them that information. I also told the agent about meeting at the school, the NDA paperwork, the promises to pay for our education and degrees, cost of living, stipend, the credit card, Marie Curie, and the lab. My voice was rasping, and I finished my coffee.

“None of that sounded suspicious to you?” Agent Allen asked me, his eyebrows raised.

I smiled at him. “Yes. It sounded too good to be true. A phrase my dad used to say kept popping into my head. He said something like ‘If something is free, then you are the real product.’ I guess I should have listened to that advice, but I was so excited to have a chance.”

He nodded in understanding. “Tell me about your relationship with Daisy.”

“She was my friend. Or… Ithoughtshe was my friend. I’ve not had many friends in my life on account of not talking much. She was outgoing and outspoken, and I admired that about her. She was good to me for a while until she thought I was romantically involved with Nate, and then she got mad and said some terrible things. And the fact that there were cameras in our house, and I think she was watching us,” I said and looked down at my hands.

“Was she involved with Nate?” he asked. “Was she jealous?”

“No, she wasn’t involved with Nate. And I don’tknowif she was jealous, but I think she was.”

---