The man in the long white lab coat quietly entered the cell. It was a bare cell lined by plain smooth white walls, save for a large chair in the center of the room. And, of course, the mutant hybrid dinosaur chained to the chair.
The doctor walked up to Heather and examined the medical monitoring equipment attached to her. He recorded a few readings, then began his physical examination.
"Hello, Jeremy. It's good to see you again. I was wondering when you would come by to pay me a visit. And how are you doing this fine afternoon?" said Heather sweetly.
"Quiet, you idiot," hissed Jeremy into her ear. "I disabled the microphones, but the camera is still active. They might be able to read lips."
Jeremy continued to go through the motions of a physical exam until he saw the camera droop down, pointing at the floor. The flashing red dot that normally indicated it was active was dark.
"How many times do I have to tell you? It's Dr. Green now!" said Jeremy.
"Excuse me, Doctor," said Heather sarcastically. "It has been a long time. You are looking well."
"Wish I could say the same for you, " mumbled Jeremy.
"That's not very nice. Don't you like the new look?" asked Heather, raising a clawed hand to her head and primping her nonexistent hair.
"This isn't funny, Heather. What the hell did you do to yourself?" asked Jeremy.
"I didn't have much of a choice. It was this or end up in a Costa Rican prison. I don't know if you have been down there, but it's not very nice," said Heather.
"This isn't why I gave you a sample of the Animalian virus," said Jeremy.
Heather guffawed.
"Gave me? Gave me? More like sold me - for quite a bit of gold if I remember correctly," said Heather.
"It wasn't like that. I thought I was helping a desperate old friend from school. I didn't know you were going to use it to do ... this," said Jeremy, waving his hands towards her changed body.
"What did you think I was going to with it? Uplift a cute little puppy or something? Seriously, Jeremy. Don't act so naïve and innocent. It is insulting to us both," said Heather.
Jeremy stood up to leave. Heather reached out and grabbed his hand, the heavy chains pulling taut on her wrists.
"Wait, don't go, " said Heather.
Jeremy paused.
"I need your help," said Heather.
Jeremy pulled his hand free and crossed his arms.
"I think I have helped you enough," said Jeremy.
"Please, " said Heather sadly. "You don't know what it is like. Being cooped up in here all day, all alone with nothing to do. The boredom is maddening. The only visitors I get are doctors and they don't even talk to me. They just poke and prod me, then go on their merry way without so much as a 'how do you do'. I don't feel like a human anymore. I feel like a caged..."
"Animal?" finished Jeremy.
Heather looked at him coldly. For just a second he saw the monster hiding inside her. Then she looked pitiful again.
"Please, Jeremy. You have to help me get out of here," said Heather.
"Heather, you belong in here. You tried to kill some kids. Kids, Heather! " said Jeremy with exasperation.
"They deserved it! They did this to me! They forced me to become this... this freak!" snarled Heather, foam dripping from her mouth. She saw the look of shock on Jeremy's face and quickly composed herself. "But I have gotten over that. I no longer care about them. I just want to move on with my life. If I get out of here, I swear I will not harm a hair on their heads. They will never see me again. No one will."
Jeremy looked at her skeptically, still not convinced. Heather decided to switch tactics.
"I could make it worth your while, " said Heather, smiling as she crossed and uncrossed her long, muscular legs.
"Sorry, not interested. You are not my type, " said Jeremy, turning back towards the door.
Heather growled.
"You wish, you pervert. You are not exactly my type either. Why would I want to be with a weak loser like you?" said Heather snidely. "No, I was offering you gold, dummy. More than you can imagine . Those fools have no idea how much gold I took out of that mine before my little ruse was uncovered. They only confiscated a fraction of it. I squirreled away tons of it before I was caught. No one knows where it is but me. And I would be willing to split it with you if you help me escape. Think of all the good you could do with all that gold - all the research and testing you could accomplish. You would no longer be required to beg your superiors for funding. Nor be restrained by the rules and regulations of their narrow-minded review boards."
Jeremy paused. He was tempted. That was why he had accepted Heather's offer in the first place. The gold allowed him to work on his own projects with the Animalian virus, without the oversight of Horizon Labs.
But Heather was the result of science gone amuck. It showed what could happen when protocols and safety procedures were ignored. He couldn't risk allowing another abomination like her to be created.
"Sorry, Heather. But I just can't. Not again," said Jeremy sadly as he moved towards the door.
Heather sighed loudly.
"That's a shame. I guess you leave me no choice. I will just have to tell them who supplied me with the sample of the Animalian virus," said Heather.
Jeremy turned pale. He whirled around to face her.
"You wouldn't .... it's your only bargaining chip! The only reason you are still above ground is because they need you to find the traitor! They'll lock you away in a deep, dark dungeon that makes this one look like paradise when they get what they want. Or worse - they'll just kill you and use your remains for research," said Jeremy.
"Maybe, " said Heather. "Or maybe not. I am pretty famous now. It would be hard to explain my sudden death. And they have so many, many questions. Not just who gave me the virus, but how I accomplished this miracle of science," said Heather, running a hand across her body. "Even a monster like me has rights, Jeremy. With the help of a good lawyer I could probably cut a pretty sweet deal. I doubt I will ever be set free, but I could probably get better accommodations. Some place where I can see the sun, maybe even with a little space to stretch my legs. Whatever the case, it'll be nicer than wherever they send you."
Jeremy rushed up to Heather, gripping the armrests of the her chair tightly.
"What do you want?" said Jeremy angrily.
"Jeremy, my dear old friend, for such a smart guy you can be so dense sometimes, " said Heather calmly, patting his face gently. "I already told you what I want - my freedom. Get me out of here and my lips will remain sealed. I'll even sweeten the deal with some of the gold, not that you deserve it."
"And I told you - I can't do that! You have no idea how tight the security is around here. Just arranging this private meeting was practically impossible. What you are asking for IS impossible," said Jeremy.
"Not my problem, Jeremy, " said Heather dismissively. "But you are a bright boy. I am sure you will figure something out. You have one week - if I am still in here after that, I tell them everything...."
The door to the cell suddenly popped open. A large member of the Rhino Squad leaned in through the door.
"Everything all right in here, Doc?" asked the guard.
Jeremy quickly regained his composure, brushing back his wild hair. He turned to face the guard, smiling.
"Why yes, officer. Everything is fine. Just taking a few readings. Why do you ask?" said Jeremy politely.
"Well, all the cameras are down. Microphones, too. Engineers are working on it. Think it is some kind of programming error or something," said the Rhino guard.
"Oh dear, " said Heather mockingly. "If I had known we were alone, I would have taken advantage of our privacy."
Heather grabbed onto Jeremy's wrist tightly. The Rhino guard advanced.
"Back off, convict!" he said gruffly, raising his stun baton.
"Sorry, officer. Just trying to be friendly. No need for violence, " said Heather.
Heather released Jeremy from her grip. He stumbled away from her towards the door.
"Come again, Doctor. I do so love company. Anytime you like, but preferably before the end of the week," said Heather, smiling wickedly and waving to him.
As the cell door closed behind him, Jeremy rubbed his sore wrist.
"You okay, Doc? I don't mean to sound rude, but you look terrible," said the Rhino guard.
Jeremy waved the guard away. "I'm fine, just a little shook up."
The guard nodded.
"I understand. She can have that affect on people. Even I get a little freaked out sometimes. Can't stand to be in the room with her. I mean, she is really nuts, krazy with a capital K. Some of us think her screwy serum messed up her head, but others think she was always a loon. What do you think, Doc?" asked the guard.
"I don't know, " mumbled Jeremy as he walked down the hallway and back to his own lab on the upper floor of Horizon Labs.
And for the first time in a long while he was actually telling the truth.