P-32

Ryan couldn't will himself out of his car. He stared dismayed at the sight of the dingy single story building in front of him. This couldn't possibly be the home base of the company that had sought out his talents, spent months recruiting him before offering an obscene starting salary.

The memory of his father's mocking laughter while calling him a fool socked him in the gut. He frantically checked the address he was given against the faded numbers by the double glass door, and was disappointed for a fifth time when they matched.

"Idiot," he chastised himself. Going back home wasn't an option. He had brought all his possessions under the premise of free room and board along with the other outrageous benefits. From where he sat, there didn't look to be enough space for a break room let alone the modern furnished apartments he had seen photos of in his orientation video.

He crumpled the printed email and threw it on the floor. He couldn't come up with an alternative, so he pried open the car door and pulled himself out into the open air. He hesitated to lock the door, but reconsidered with a look around the vacant parking lot and trudged towards the entrance.

A simple white stencil reading Isis Laboratories imprinted the glass that slid open to admit his entrance. The interior was a surprising contrast to the homely contrast to the outside. Modern and simple, but sophisticated and designed by someone with a tasteful eye. 

The young woman behind the receptionist desk was chosen with the same refined discrimination. Coffee colored hair framed a bronzed complexion set with two rich brown eyes. She was pressed and professional and rose from her desk to meet him halfway.

Extending a well manicured hand his way, Ryan lost his words as she addressed him with a radiant smile. "Mr Dunbar, welcome." She made no mention of his prolonged wait in the parking lot that could clearly be witnessed from her seat.

"Uh, you know who I am?"  Ryan shifted his weight on alternate feet as customary when he was in the presence of an attractive woman.

"Yes, of course. I'll let Dr Stone know you have arrived." She motioned to the leather couches adorning the lobby. "Please make yourself comfortable. Should only be a few moments."

She gracefully crossed the floor and placed a call in a hushed voice.

Ryan eased onto the nearest seat feeling overly self conscious. His khaki pants had creased during the long drive and he could feel the wrinkled back of his once ironed shirt. His college years had been spent inside a lab leaving his personal fashion sense lacking, but he had made his best effort to be presentable only to look as if he had slept in his clothes.

The receptionist returned with a silver tray carrying a coffee spread. "Dr Stone is occupied and sends his apologies. He asked if you wouldn't mind granting him a few more minutes."

"Of course, is it a bad time? I know I'm a little late, but I..."

"No, not at all. Just an unexpected delay. Shouldn't be long, but you can enjoy some refreshments." She set the tray on the side table next to him and cordially poured a cup before returning to her desk.

The delay allowed Ryan more time to process the fine setting around him, and raised more questions each moment that passed.  What was a high tech lab doing in a remote area disguised as an inconspicuous remnant of a strip mall? How could they employ the thousand man team they boasted with no satellite locations? And what was in his coffee that tasted so amazing?

"Excuse me?" He stopped at the realization he did not know the super model in training's name.

Graciously she understood his hesitation. "Eve."

"Sorry?"

"My name? Its Eve. Could I get you something?"

He waved away her hostess duties. "No, no I was just wondering what was in the coffee. Its delicious." And while you're at it, warn me if I'm being lured into a sadistic plot where I'm the subject of a twisted scientific experiment?

"It's butter toffee flavored. One of my favorites. I'm glad you like it."

"You always have coffee ready? Doesn't seem like a lot of traffic going through here."

"I'm always prepared for a new arrival. You were scheduled, remember?"

Ryan dropped his view into his cup, cheeks flushed. "Oh yes. Do you have arrivals often?"

"It can vary," she responded with another polite smile. Ryan understood she wasn't going to volunteer any information so he returned to his coffee.

He noticed a lack of any advertising depicting the lab and its purposes. The walls were adorned by serene pictures of landscapes save for one large vintage portrait depicting a mother and her child hanging as a focal point on the wall across from him.

He was about to question Eve about the origin of the painting when a door clicked open. A stocky form in a white lab coat entered the room.  Ryan rose to his feet, nerves firing off anxiety.

"Mr. Dunbar?" The older man asked raising a white eyebrow.

"Yes, yes I'm him. I mean, that's me." Ryan stammered and fumbled with the coffee cup still in his hand. He passed it back and forth between his hands looking for an appropriate place to set it.

"Just leave it on the table. Eve will handle that." He stepped back to hold the door open, indicating Ryan should follow.

He smiled at Eve before stepping into a sterile,white hallway.  It was a striking contrast to the rich warm colors of the lobby. Several feet down an alcove in the wall housed a stern faced security guard. Ryan took note of the firearm he wore should anyone not think the six foot muscular frame wasn't intimidating enough.

"Alright Mr Dunbar," Dr Stone stopped at the desk. "If you could remove any personal items such as a wallet, cell phone, keys and put them here." The guard offered a small plastic bin which Ryan filled with the contents of his pockets. In exchange, Dr Stone handed him an ID badge and his own lab coat, noting it was blue not the starched white of his employer.

The security guard snapped a lid on the box of Ryan's possessions and placed it in a small hatch in the wall. As he pressed a combination of numbers on a keypad next to the small door, Dr Stone explained the items would be in his personal room at the end of his shift.

"If you could please face this wall and be still for just a moment." He motioned to a translucent panel on the wall and Ryan stepped forward. The screen illuminated with his image and he was directed to turn to his right then left.

Formalities completed they walked to the end of the hall to the only exit option of an elevator. The doors slid open to admit the two men and Ryan struggled to put on his coat in the tight space. Dr Stone pressed a button illuminating a down arrow, the only option other than an up arrow.

"I apologize, but things will be slightly out of order for you today. The post you have been assigned to has been unmanned for nearly twenty four hours so I will take you straight there. Your orientation will have to wait, possibly as late as tomorrow. He tapped away on a tablet while making disapproving faces. "Yes, I think that's the best option at this time."

Ryan cleared his throat trying to determine which question to ask first, but his hesitation cost him the opportunity again as the elevator shuddered to a stop and the door opened.

Dr Stone pressed forward not affording Ryan the chance to take in the surreal room around him. The natural subterranean setting was exposed and adorned with glass water features. The floor was smooth and polished glinting veins of quartz. The serenity of the room was maintained by two more armed guards standing watch at a station of monitors. Dr Stone steered their direction right to an opening in the stone wall. Ryan struggled to keep pace despite his legs being twice the length of Dr Stone's.

They approached a large set of steel doors inside the archway of stone. Dr Stone walked up to a panel similar to the one at the first guard station. The screen illuminated with his face, name and "plus 1".

"Alright, now to make sure the system set you up properly." He motioned at the panel and Ryan stepped in front of it. Again the image of his face appeared this time acknowledging his name. The doors pulled open with a groan contesting their weight.

Ryan ignored the sense of trepidation creeping up the back of his neck. He did his best not to consider what needed to be contained by steel doors and stone. It didn't occur to him at the time that they were just as necessary to keep unauthorized persons out as much as appropriate parties in.

Dr Stone led him through a labyrinth of stone turns with the occasional door tucked into the walls. Ryan soon realized he could never find his way around if left alone.

"You will have an escort for some time to help you find your way. It can be quite daunting at first, but you pick it up faster than you think. Here we are." He stopped at the next door they came to, another steel presence with "P-32" etched into the metal at eye level. He plucked Ryan's badge off his jacket and slipped it into the door handle setting off a click and the door swung open.

A small service lift was on the other side. It was clearly meant to accommodate a single passenger, but Dr Stone took a deep breath and fit himself  in next to Ryan's lean frame. The lift pulled them upward into the stone and Ryan was silently grateful he didn't have claustrophobic issues.

The lift birthed them into Ryan's new post. The room offered a three hundred and sixty degree view of a grass field leading down hill to various clumps of trees. Several monitors around the room were powered off and Dr Stone set to the task of bringing the room back to life.

"Now where could your subjects be hiding?" Various boards and screens lit up and hummed, but no other signs of life appeared. "Lets draw them out." Dr Stone grinned at Ryan as he pressed a small blue button. A marble fountain in the grass bubbled up and trickled water into it's surrounding pool.

"They will hear the water and come to investigate. They know an offering of some sort will be available for them." Another button push and the ground near the fountain opened. A pedestal with a tray of fresh peaches rose from the ground and warmed in the sun.

"Ah, I told you that would work."

Ryan turned his view to the direction of Dr Stone's and stifled a shocked gasp.

Coming into view as she climbed the hill was a young woman in a red shift cinched at the waist with an elaborate beaded belt. She moved towards the peaches and called over her shoulder. 

"You will start with only recorded observations. You will need to keep specifics to each subject who you will learn to identify as individuals. I'm not as familiar with this lot so you will need to rely on the last observers notes. You can access them here," he tapped on a keyboard bringing up a roster on the adjacent screen.

Ryan's jaw fell open as more women ranging in age from young girls to middle aged women crested over the hill heading towards the peaches.

"These are my subjects?" His voice could only manage a whisper as he tried to process what was happening.

"Lovely aren't they?" Dr Stone watched the group with a cold scientific eye.

Dr Stone's reaction was nearly as chilling as Ryan's first official observation. They women were all so similar, they had to be related. They each shared the same hair color, skin tone and warm brown eyes. The same shades and features as the stunning receptionist he had met upon his arrival.

He was certain Eve was a close relative to his new subjects.