“Midnight Rambler” by the Rolling Stones, then we did Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” and finished with the Doors’ “Roadhouse Blues.”
When the bell rang, he escorted me outside where my van was waiting. “Dude, I’ll set up another band practice, just promise me—no more hospital stays. We got the makings of a great band. You were actually smiling when we jammed. I’ve never seen you smile before.”
Jesse was right. Playing music seemed to lighten my soul.
Maybe Anya would see me differently as a musician? But how could I play for her without seeming like a dickwad?
An idea popped into my head. Bill arrived and I challenged him to beat the ANGEL van to Miami. My plan was to be casually playing harmonica to the sharks when Anya arrived—that way it’d seem more natural.
Bill came through and we arrived at the lab ahead of the girls. Things were loose—Dr. Becker was away on business in Washington, DC, so I waited for Anya at the shark canal, serenading the circling predators on my harp as I awaited my audience.
Anya and Li-ling arrived while I was playing “Isn’t She Lovely.” It was meant to be a romantic offering—only Li-ling ruined the moment by snatching the harmonica from my lips midverse.
“Shut up with that squawk box, I already have a headache.”
Li-ling was assigned to work with Dr. Kamrowski in one of the two labs on a nocturnal schedule, while Anya worked in the two daylight labs changing out rat feed bowls and refilling water bulbs.
I was given a stack of files and told to enter the data.
I selected an empty computer station adjacent to the observation room. Before me glowed the luminescent-blue aquarium. The tank was empty, Taurus having been returned to the shark canal days earlier. I knew the bull shark’s harvested stem cells—or whatever was left of them—would be held in cold storage in one of the four labs’ walk-in refrigerators.
Timing was everything. I needed to grab as many IV bags as I could stow in my backpack without getting caught.
The staff broke for dinner at six fifteen. I told them I wasn’t hungry and continued to work until seven. With no one around, I hacked into the lab’s security system, bringing up the facility’s video monitors on my laptop. Sixteen black-and-white rectangular images appeared across my screen, each box a live feed taken from somewhere inside the ANGEL facility. I zoomed in on Anya in Lab A, then confirmed Dr. Kamrowski and Li-ling were still working in the darkened confines of BSL3-D. The Aussie was in his trailer—probably watching porn; the rest of the staff were gone for the day.
It was time.
Leaving the observation room, I headed for BSL3-C, one of the two labs on a daylight schedule. Entering through the anteroom, I waited for the door to seal, then entered the lab.
The rats were asleep. Rolling quietly past their cages, I approached the walk-in refrigerator at the end of the room. Gripping the handle, I yanked open the aluminum door and pushed myself inside.
The temperature was set at a chilly forty-two degrees Fahrenheit. Wooden shelves held open file boxes of sealed plastic pouches, each stem cell sample coded by species and date.
It took me a few minutes to locate Taurus’s samples—only nine of them left. I grabbed three pouches. Then I heard the anteroom door open.
A moment later, I rolled out to find Anya pushing a cart holding rodent feed and a twenty gallon container of water. She looked up, startled, as I exited the refrigerator.
“Kwan, what are you doing inside the walk-in? The coolers are off-limits to interns.”
“Sorry. No one told me.”
“What were you doing in there?”
“Getting my dinner.” I unzipped my backpack, retrieving a turkey sub wrapped in plastic and a can of soda. I opened it wide so she could see my school binder and laptop, along with the vinyl bottom of the backpack—the three pouches of stem cells hidden beneath the false interior liner.
“You’re lucky Dr. Becker
When the bell rang, he escorted me outside where my van was waiting. “Dude, I’ll set up another band practice, just promise me—no more hospital stays. We got the makings of a great band. You were actually smiling when we jammed. I’ve never seen you smile before.”
Jesse was right. Playing music seemed to lighten my soul.
Maybe Anya would see me differently as a musician? But how could I play for her without seeming like a dickwad?
An idea popped into my head. Bill arrived and I challenged him to beat the ANGEL van to Miami. My plan was to be casually playing harmonica to the sharks when Anya arrived—that way it’d seem more natural.
Bill came through and we arrived at the lab ahead of the girls. Things were loose—Dr. Becker was away on business in Washington, DC, so I waited for Anya at the shark canal, serenading the circling predators on my harp as I awaited my audience.
Anya and Li-ling arrived while I was playing “Isn’t She Lovely.” It was meant to be a romantic offering—only Li-ling ruined the moment by snatching the harmonica from my lips midverse.
“Shut up with that squawk box, I already have a headache.”
Li-ling was assigned to work with Dr. Kamrowski in one of the two labs on a nocturnal schedule, while Anya worked in the two daylight labs changing out rat feed bowls and refilling water bulbs.
I was given a stack of files and told to enter the data.
I selected an empty computer station adjacent to the observation room. Before me glowed the luminescent-blue aquarium. The tank was empty, Taurus having been returned to the shark canal days earlier. I knew the bull shark’s harvested stem cells—or whatever was left of them—would be held in cold storage in one of the four labs’ walk-in refrigerators.
Timing was everything. I needed to grab as many IV bags as I could stow in my backpack without getting caught.
The staff broke for dinner at six fifteen. I told them I wasn’t hungry and continued to work until seven. With no one around, I hacked into the lab’s security system, bringing up the facility’s video monitors on my laptop. Sixteen black-and-white rectangular images appeared across my screen, each box a live feed taken from somewhere inside the ANGEL facility. I zoomed in on Anya in Lab A, then confirmed Dr. Kamrowski and Li-ling were still working in the darkened confines of BSL3-D. The Aussie was in his trailer—probably watching porn; the rest of the staff were gone for the day.
It was time.
Leaving the observation room, I headed for BSL3-C, one of the two labs on a daylight schedule. Entering through the anteroom, I waited for the door to seal, then entered the lab.
The rats were asleep. Rolling quietly past their cages, I approached the walk-in refrigerator at the end of the room. Gripping the handle, I yanked open the aluminum door and pushed myself inside.
The temperature was set at a chilly forty-two degrees Fahrenheit. Wooden shelves held open file boxes of sealed plastic pouches, each stem cell sample coded by species and date.
It took me a few minutes to locate Taurus’s samples—only nine of them left. I grabbed three pouches. Then I heard the anteroom door open.
A moment later, I rolled out to find Anya pushing a cart holding rodent feed and a twenty gallon container of water. She looked up, startled, as I exited the refrigerator.
“Kwan, what are you doing inside the walk-in? The coolers are off-limits to interns.”
“Sorry. No one told me.”
“What were you doing in there?”
“Getting my dinner.” I unzipped my backpack, retrieving a turkey sub wrapped in plastic and a can of soda. I opened it wide so she could see my school binder and laptop, along with the vinyl bottom of the backpack—the three pouches of stem cells hidden beneath the false interior liner.
“You’re lucky Dr. Becker
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