Mutation

Standing at the tunnel’s edge, Victor inspected the bottom of the sluice. Besides a trickle of water, there was debris mostly made up of broken bottles and empty beer cans. Victor eyed the junction of the sluice and the raging river. Two heavy steel doors had once regulated the water flow. Now the whole unit was horribly corroded with rust. Victor wondered how it could still hold back the horrendous force the water exerted on it. The river was practically at the level of the top of the doors.

Victor skirted the sluice and continued his walk westward.

The rain stopped and he lowered his umbrella. Soon he came to the last building of the Chimera complex. It, too, was cantilevered out over the river. Beyond it was a city street.

Victor turned around and started back.

He didn’t call VJ as he’d done the last time. He just looked around and listened. When he got back to the clock tower building, he headed toward the occupied portion of the complex. Stopping in at his lab, he asked Robert if VJ had appeared, but he hadn’t.

At a loss as to what to do, Victor returned to the cafeteria.

“Hasn’t shown up yet,” the manager said before Victor even asked him.

“I didn’t expect so,” Victor said. “I came over for some coffee.”

Still damp from the rain, Victor had become quite chilled as he’d walked along the river. He could tell that the temperature was dropping again now that the storm was over.

Once he’d finished his coffee and felt sufficiently warm, Victor pulled on his damp coat. He again reminded the manager to call over to the lab if and when VJ showed up. Then he returned to the security office. The warmth in there was welcome even if it was heavy with cigarette smoke. Pedro had been playing solitaire on a small couch in the back of the office. He got up when Victor appeared. Sheldon stood up behind his small desk.

“Anybody seen my son?” Victor asked abruptly.

“I just spoke to Hal not two minutes ago,” Sheldon said.

“I specifically asked him, but he said he hadn’t seen VJ all day.”

“The manager at the cafeteria told me that VJ had lunch with one of you guys today,” Victor said. “How come you didn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t eat with VJ!” Sheldon said, pressing his palm against his chest. “I know Hal didn’t either. He ate with me.

We both brown-bagged it. Hey, Fred!”

Fred stuck his head into the main part of the office from the spot where he operated the entrance and the exit gates.

Sheldon asked him if he ate lunch with VJ.

“Sure didn’t,” he said. “I went off-site for lunch.”

Sheldon shrugged. Then he said to Victor, “There’s only three of us on duty today.”

“But the manager said . . .” Victor started, but he stopped. There was no point getting into an argument over who ate with VJ and who didn’t. The point was, where the hell was he now? Victor was getting curious and a little concerned.

Marsha had wondered, and now he did too, just what did VJ do at Chimera to keep himself occupied. Up until that moment Victor had never given it much thought.

Leaving the security office, Victor went back to his lab.

He was running out of ideas of where to search.

“The manager over at the cafeteria just called,” Robert said as soon as Victor appeared. “VJ’s turned up.”

Victor went to the nearest phone and called the manager.

“He’s here right now,” the manager said.

“Is he alone?” Victor asked.

“Nope. Philip is with him.”

“Did you tell him I was looking for him?” Victor asked.

“No, I didn’t. You just told me to call. You didn’t tell me to say anything to VJ.”

“That’s fine,” Victor said. “Don’t say anything. I’m on my way.”

Crossing to the building that housed both the cafeteria and the library, Victor chose not to enter through the main cafeteria entrance. He went in a side entrance instead, climbed to the second floor, and only then entered the cafeteria on the balcony level. Going to the railing and looking down, he saw VJ and Philip eating ice cream.

Keeping back out of sight, Victor allowed VJ and Philip to finish their afternoon snack. Before long they got up and disposed of their trays. As they were leaving, Victor came down the stairs, staying out of sight close to the wall. He could hear the door close behind them as they left.

Quickening his step, he got to the door in time to see them turn west on the walkway.

“Something wrong?” the manager asked.

“No, nothing is wrong,” Victor said, straightening up and trying to appear nonchalant. The last thing he wanted was office gossip. “Just curious about my son’s whereabouts,” he said. “I’ve told him time and time again not to go near the river when it’s raging like it is now. But I’m afraid he’s not minding me at all.”

“Boys will be boys,” said the manager.