Nanobots

THE BEGINNING

A SECRET GOVERNMENT RESEARCH FACILITY EXPERIMENTING ON NANO ROBOTICS, HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT.

"Please come to my office Miss Wright. I want to hear what progress you have made." The booming voice of the C.E.O. of the robotics laboratory came over the tannoy. The whole staff looked up at Ellen Wright in fear for her. Mr Banham wasn't particularly known for his good mood and this morning he seemed exceptionally angry. Ellen, for her part, was quite confident of her position and proceeded to make the short journey to C.E.O. Banham's office with a quick but headstrong pace.

"He won't get the better of me today." She quietly muttered under her breath.

Ellen is not the stereotypical young blonde that most people on the outside mistake her for.

Blessed with the body of a supermodel and the brains of an academic. 5' 6" tall, bright blue eyes and always on the receiving end of unwanted attention from guys she wants nothing to do with. Foregoing relationships to concentrate on her career.

"You wished to see me Mr Banham?"

"Yes, I do. Sit and tell me what you have done since our last meeting." Mr Banham's voice was stern, but quiet. And to most, would be quite intimidating in the circumstances. That very meeting was only a week ago, and it was made very clear that if progress was not made, consequences could ensue.

"Not much to be honest sir. Staff shortages haven't helped much. Plus being a new field of robotics it has been one failure after another. But, we think we may be close...." He cut her off.

"Stop. You do remember what I told you last week, Don't you?

"Yes sir, I do." Ellen started to sweat. Her nerves now starting to rise.

"Good. Then you know that I may consider finding someone else more capable of doing the job than you are. Now tell me. Do you like you job here."

"With all due respect sir. There is a procedure to follow when it comes to disciplinary hearings if that is what you are implying, but yes, I do" Trying her best to hide any fear in her voice and meet the bull head on. Mr Banham was quite taken back at the response. Which only angered him further.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP. I don't want to hear any excuses. Now you either tell me you will have this nanotech up and running by next week, or I will ruin your life. Spending the rest of your working life pulling pints, or worse. You have no idea..." The buzzer on Mr Banham's monitor came to life. "What? I told you I do not want to be disturbed. So you better have a damn good excuse for buzzing me or you'll be down the road with the bimbo here."

Ellen felt her cheeks redden. No longer nervous. She felt the anger building at the insult to her looks. Not caring to listen to the receptionist on the other end. Just starring at her superior with hatred.

"Yes sir. I do. You have a visitor who..."

"Tell them to fuck off. I'm busy." Just as he said this, the door opened to reveal the one person Mr Banham feared the most. The man in charge of the whole operation.

"Oh, hello minister. How..." The C.E.O. tried to compose himself. "How can I help you?"

"By clearing you desk I think." The minister wasn't in the mood himself it seemed. "Every word of your meeting with this lovely young lady here, I have heard. You are not fit to be in a position of authority. Your attitude is, at best, disgusting. So, you leave me with little choice but to remove you and your toxicity from here and replace you with someone more, shall we say, calmer."

"But. You can't. There is.." The minister holds his hand up silencing Mr Banham.

"The matter is closed. You have one hour. Then I do not want to see your face here again. Is that clear." The now former C.E.O. nods his head.

The minister then turns to Ellen. "Come with me Miss." And they exit the room. "I must apologise for the unexpected visit. But I think you're glad it happened."

"Very much minister. He was not a nice person to work for." The relief was clear for all to see. Tears forming in her eyes at the realisation that she no longer had to deal with Mr Banham and his aggressive iron fist.

"Pull yourself together Miss Wright. I have decided to take charge personally. I know how new this field is and as such, know that it could take years before we see anything worth while. So please carry on with your work and call me when you get something worth while."

The minister grabs her hand and places his card in her hand. "This is my mobile number, it will be easier for you let me know what you find. Also, you are now in charge of the running of this lab. No C.E.O. to make things easier and allow you to concentrate on the task at hand. I shall now leave you to carry on. Good day to you Miss Wright and good luck."

With that. The minister turned and left Ellen standing there completely stunned. When she turned, her colleagues clapped her good fortune, congratulated her and then proceeded to get on with their work knowing conditions are going to be far less stressful.