Page 2 of Hired for Research
Evelyn’s eyes narrowed, the Director refusing to meet her gaze.
“You mean they want to know if they are dangerous,or not?”
The Director grimaced, looking down at the papers in front of him again.
“The current success of Eden has stirred people to question the mandates. There is talk of pushing to have them overturned. If the mandates end, the Alpha-Camps will be disbanded, and alphas will be free to live amongst the population. Which means they’ll then be free to choose their careers like the rest of us.”
Finally meeting her eyes, he let the pause hang in the air. It didn’t take much for Evelyn to put the pieces together, and her lip curled in disgust.
“They don’t want to lose their cheap workforce.”
Clearing his throat, the Director shuffled the papers he was holding.
“If your findings are consistent with the current beliefs, they will be presented to quiet the unrest.”
“And if they’re not?”
Evelyn was a scientist. She tried to remain unbiased in her research, keeping her personal feelings from influencing the outcome. She’d never particularly thought about the assertions that alphas were dangerous since everyone was taught that from childhood, but if she was supposed to be testing whether it was true or not, she had to be willing to accept the long-held beliefs may be wrong.
“If the findings areinconclusive, I’m afraid the Alpha Project will be abandoned.”
A quiet growl filled the room as she stood.
“I will not falsify my findings to appease a political agenda. No matter who the request comes from, or what the consequences may be. You may want to rethink who you want on this.”
The Director looked up at her, and she was struck by how tired he looked. The lines around his eyes weren’t usually so apparent, and she’d never noticed the grey in his blond locks before.
Lips tipping up in a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, he raised a brow as he used one finger to turn a picture frame on his desk. Letting her growl fade away as her attention drifted to the photo, she saw the director and a woman she presumed to be his wife standing with a boy between them. The chubby roundness of his features made Evelyn think he was still young, but he was almost as tall as his mother, and not much shorter than the director, who was big for a beta.
“Deacon’s birthday is coming up. He’ll be twelve this year. He wanted to visit my brother so they could build a derby car together, but my brother was transferred to a new Camp, and now he’s too far away.”
Evelyn’s eyes widened, returning to the man’s across from her as she sucked in a slow breath. It was too early for the boy to present, but if the Director’s brother was an alpha, she’d be willing to make the conclusion that the Director’s son was too based on his size.
“I think I chose the right person, Doctor Alosbee. The clock is ticking. I’ll help any way I can.”
2. Evelyn
Pushing herself away from the desk, Evelyn groaned as she rolled her neck and took off her glasses. She had to blink to get her eyes to focus on the clock across from her, the late hour explaining why her stomach was gnawing on her spine.
Her first try at standing had her plopping back down in the chair, her back and hips protesting after being locked in one position for so long. Bracing a hand on the desk, she finally managed to lever herself upright, straightening slowly.
“Ugh, when did I get so old?”
Her muttering was the only sound in the lab. When she looked through the window into the hallway, she could see the workspace across from her was dark, everyone having left hours ago as she sat in front of the computer going through Beth’s files. It had been the same for most of the last two months since she’d taken over the Alpha Project.
Growling under her breath at the thought of the files, Evelyn made her way across the lab to where she’d left her things. She shrugged into her coat and grabbed her purse before leaving the lab, locking the door behind her.
On the surface, the Alpha Project seemed like it should be something easily solved. Condensed to the simplest explanation, the goal was the find a way to reduce alpha aggression. Testosterone was the obvious culprit for why alphas were larger, stronger, more hostile, and territorial, so it seemed like reducing it was the obvious answer, but things were never as simple as they seemed.
Reducing testosterone had a number of possible side effects for the alphas. It would cut back muscle mass, but also affected bone density. It could reduce aggression, but caused mood swings which could be just as disruptive. It also essentially chemically castrated them, and while some may believe that was a good thing, an objective person would realize it wasn’t healthy.
Unfortunately, she didn’t think any of those objections would stop a drug from being pushed through if it brought the results that were wanted.
Beth had been following that line of research, trying to determine if a balance could be found, but it seemed like she’d run it into the ground and hadn’t been able to think of an alternative. The level of suppressant each alpha needed would vary, and the cost of monitoring and administering the hormone blocker made it prohibitive. The research had been stagnating for almost eighteen months with no alternatives.
Stomping down the stairs, Evelyn wrapped her coat tighter around herself before pushing through the door into the cold night air. Flurries swirled around her, but so far the snow hadn’t stuck, and she said a silent thanks that she’d pulled herself away from the files before getting trapped by the weather. A late winter storm was coming, but it was Friday night, and the weather was supposed to warm enough to melt anything that stuck before she had to return on Monday.
It was a bit of a drive to get to the little house she’d grown up in. It was on the outskirts of the city, in an older area where most of the residents had owned their houses since before she was born. The drive could be a headache in the mornings, but when her parents had passed, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to sell the place and move. Especially considering the cost of housing closer to the university.
