My valuable boys are just the beginning

I spent the next day haunted by thoughts of the machinery and the clinic. The beautiful women on the staff and the two in the strange, overlaid videos. I forked over $300 cash to my landlord, promising the rest of last month and this month's rent in the next two weeks, a promise I hoped I would be able to keep.

My stupid part-time gig was a slog, and though I assumed my full results would be a week of so, having to be sent to some kind of lab and then given back to the clinic, I actually got a text before leaving work that day.

Mr. Henry, you can pick up your remaining $10,800 at the front office anytime, along with your full report.

I almost snorted coffee through my nose. These people were REALLY giving me a full 50x payment of the 225 dollars!?

"Al? Hey...Al." My coworker was zoned in on her terminal, trying to finish a CSR response report. "Alicia!"

"Nate, what?" Alicia's light brown hair fell in her face when she quickly turned to me, and she brushed it back. "I swear to god, if you make me lose my train of thought..." She wrinkled her nose at me. She was cute, but just out of school and a little more mousy than I like my women.

"Cover for me if Sally checks in on us for the last 20 minutes? I've got to go take care of something."

"What? No! What do you have to--" I put my phone in front of her. It didn't say anything about the clinic or my reason for being there, and this seemed like the best way to convince her.

"Yoooo. Ten grand? Is that a real message?" She asked.

"Drinks on me tomorrow after work if you cover for me," I told her.

"Deal," She waved. "Get out of here, and you better not call in tomorrow! You owe me booze."

I headed straight to the clinic's office. When I got out of my car to go into the building, I saw something that caught my eye for some reason. Atop the wing extending from the main 12-story building, only four floors up, there was someone who appeared to be pointing a device at me...like a tablet or something. I'm not sure why I noticed her in the first place. Even from my distance in the parking lot, I could see her lips moving--as if she was talking to someone.

I made it point to slow down and look around, but at the moment, I was the only person approaching this entrance from an angle she could see. She was watching me.

When I entered the lobby, suddenly my fear about going down three floors seemed justified again. If it wasn't for the ten thousand dollar payment--which I suppose could have been a red flag as much as it was a motivation--I would have gotten back in my car and bolted. But I felt silly about my suspicions, and I headed to the elevator.

I waited for an elevator to arrive, and I nearly jumped when the door to the stairwell popped open. A woman in a grey blazer and skirt walked out, carrying a tablet. It was her...from the roof of the wing! She really was watching me. She was a tall redhead...and I'll be damned if she wasn't attractive too.

"I'd like you to come with me," She said.

"Wow, you made good time from the roof," I said. "Did you, uh--kick that door open?" I joked, not sure what else to say.

"Listen, if you think the little windfall they're offering is going to come without strings, I'm here to stop you from doing something you might not want to do," She said. I grinned like an idiot.

"Windf--" I snickered again as the elevator door opened. "You're...not kidding, are you?"

"Nathan Henry, right?" She asked. I narrowed my eyes and nodded. Now I was paying attention.

"Yeah, but..."

"Do you think that they give everyone that shuffles in there ten grand for shooting their load into a jar?" I shrugged.

"They said I might get double for using their, uh...technology, or I might get up to 50 times the payment...but they said that was rare." She nodded.

"Very rare," she said, biting her lip. She seemed stressed about something. "You used the headset, didn't you?" The elevator door started closing again, but I bumped it with my hand, holding it open.

"Yeah...what's this all about?" I was getting impatient. I could really use ten thousand dollars, and now I had yet another attractive woman trying to scare me away from the other attractive women in the sub-basement.

"I can't explain it right now, but..." She looked around, eyeing a camera at the end of the elevator bank corridor. "I just want you to come with me, and I can tell you more. Please. Just...come with me first. Give me an hour."

Ten thousand dollars was three floors away, but she seemed so sincere. I bumped the elevator from trying to close again.

"How do you know my name?" I asked. "How do I know--"

"Because - I - work - there," she said. "I can tell you anything you want to know, but you need to come with me right now." The elevator door buzzer began ringing from me holding it open. I gritted my teeth. I had to either ditch her and get in, or forget my elevator ride for now.