The Florencia Lozano Homepage - Fan Fiction
Chapter 14
When Tea arrived at Inuvik Airport, a small terminal with a large, metal hangar one and one landing strip, she’d left Winchel Hesse with the understanding that he would come back the following day to return her to Fairbanks. The only transportation available to Tuktoyaktuk was a bus so she was forced to endure the grueling bus ride for two hours and with each passing hour she became more anxious, terrified she’d made a huge mistake in coming here.
Tuktoyaktuk was an Inuit fishing town on the coast of the Beaufort Sea, a cold, dismal place flanked by a prison on one end and rows of track housing on the other. Its only charm was the large, bustling fishing port at its center where life seemed to flourish despite the cold and desolation. The people, with their rounded faces and black, almond eyes, seemed kind and jovial despite the obvious hardship of their existence and their heavy, rugged clothing was decorated with colorful beading that lent a whimsical aspect to their arduous existence. And they all walked around talking on cell phones which gave the place a cultural surrealism.
At the bus terminal Tea approached a few cabdrivers but they didn’t speak English.
“Miss, I speak English,” called out a young man with long, black hair wearing a fur hat with earflaps, leaning on a taxicab nearby.
Tea picked up her bag and crossed the street.
“Do you know where the Drolrotciv Institute is?”
“The Droll? Sure. It’s about a half hour from here...up the coast. I’ll take you there for fifty American dollars, ay,” he said, with a charming Canadian lilt.
“Great,” she said, handing him her bag.
“I’m Taloy,” he said, with a big, toothy smile and bright, pink gums, offering his hand.
“Tea Delgado,” said Tea, shaking his hand warmly.
After settling into the back of the warm, comfortable taxi, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes, exhausted from her journey and wondering what the hell Todd was doing in a place like this.
“Are you a doctor?” asked Taloy, checking Tea out in his rearview mirror.
“No. I’m trying to find a friend and the institute was the last place he was.”
“Well, don’t be surprised if you don’t find your friend. People have a way of disappearing from that place. I have some friends who’ve worked there, but mostly they use inmates from the prison to keep the place running. Nobody cares if those people disappear, ay.”
Tea pulled her parka closely around her. The closer they got to the place the more her uneasiness increased, the more she doubted her instincts. Closing her eyes she tried to get some sleep in this land where the sun never set...and she drifted off for a while.
* * * * *
“Here we are,” called Taloy.
Tea opened her eyes and saw a group of white buildings at the end of a peninsula that jutted sharply out to sea. It was flat and bleak, and the fierce wind from the ocean whipped the tops of the few trees and bushes into brutal submission.
Taloy stopped the cab at a tall, iron gate that connected to a metal fence surrounding the entire facility. Getting out, he walked up to the gate and looked around, then came back to the cab.
“Usually, there’s an armed guard here, but I don’t see anyone around.”
He walked up to the gate, turned the bolt and pushed the doors back to allow for the cab. Getting back in he headed for the institute.
“That’s really strange. That’s an electric gate and I’ve never seen it unguarded.”
Driving up to the main building, Taloy parked and got out, pulling her bag out of the trunk.
“Here you go.”
Tea got out, pulling her furry hood over her head to shield her from the icy wind.
“Thanks so much, Taloy,” she shouted above the deafening wind, counting out the fare and tipping him generously.
“Here...here’s my number,” said Taloy, pulling out a business card that flapped like a butterfly between her fingers and handing it to her. “Call me if you need a ride back...I have a cell phone,” he said proudly.
“I’ll do that. Thanks again,” she said as she watched him get back in the taxi and drive away.
Tea slung her bag over her shoulder and walked up to a set of large, glass doors with a large letter ‘D’ on them. Pulling on the handle she found that it was locked. Reaching over she rang the bell a few times and as she waited, she looked around and noticed only a few SUVs in the lot, the ghostly isolation of the place unsettling.
A young, Inuit woman with blond streaks in her black, shiny hair, peered through the glass, opening the door just a sliver.
“Yes? What do you want here?”
“My name is Tea Delgado, I’m here to see ...uh...Dr. Reese.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No, but I’ve come a long way...and, uh...my taxi’s gone. Please...it’s rather cold out here.”
The young woman opened the door reluctantly and let her in.
Tea walked into a modern office building with a reception desk and a small waiting room. The walls had large, framed abstract pictures of what looked like ladders, with colorful dots.
“Please wait in there while I call Dr. Reese.”
Tea put her bag down and removed her parka as the young woman returned to her desk and made a phone call. She was speaking in Inuit and Tea couldn’t make out what she said except for the words “Tea Delgado” which she repeated three times.
“Dr. Reese will be with you in a few minutes.”
“Thank you,” said Tea. Reaching into her bag she pulled out a mirror and a brush, her hair in knots from the wind and her lips dried out from the frigid temperatures. She brushed her hair out quickly and put some ointment on her parched lips, then sat and waited.
A few minutes turned into a half an hour as the young woman eyed her suspiciously. Tea amused herself by staring at the pictures on the wall. They seemed vaguely familiar and suddenly she smiled, remembering high school biology. They were DNA strands with varying molecular sequences on them.
Finally, she heard footsteps coming from down the hall and an older man with dark hair wearing a white lab coat appeared. She recognized him immediately from the picture...the man with Todd.
“Miss Delgado, I’m Dr. Hymen Reese,” he said in a Scottish brogue, giving her his hand. “I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure. What can I do for you,” he said, in the most genuine and professional tone.
“Hello, Dr. Reese. I’m looking for someone and I was informed that he came here a few weeks ago. His family is worried sick, not having heard a word from him, and I’m trying to locate him.”
“Who is it you’re looking for?”
“Todd Manning.”
Dr. Reese didn’t flinch, in fact, he smiled and nodded his head slowly.
“Yes...yes, he was here, but that was over two weeks ago. Why don’t we go into the cafeteria and get you some coffee...you look positively frozen, though a site for these sore, old eyes I must tell you. It’s wonderful to see such a lovely young woman in this cold, dead place.”
He picked up her bag and Tea followed him down a series of long hallways to a large cafeteria that looked out on the frozen sea. The place was empty except for the two of them and when they entered she noticed a man behind the counter who looked up immediately, a man with a kind face and two long braids wearing a white apron, his dark eyes lingering on her.
“Tukluk,” called Dr. Reese to the other man, “could you bring us some coffee? There’s a good lad.”
Tukluk nodded and watched them sit. The young woman was elegant and beautiful with long, brown hair streaked with gold and lovely dark eyes, surely too sophisticated and well dressed to be a doctor, he thought. Pouring two coffees and placing them on a tray with some cream and sugar, he walked over quietly, trying to listen to their conversation.
“Yes, Mr. Manning came to check out our facility a few weeks back. He was interested in investing in our little institute. You see, we’re developing some anti-aging products using human growth hormones, products with a huge sales potential in the cosmetics industry and he thought it would be a good investment,” he said, taking a sip of his black coffee, his eyes fixated on her face, observing her every reaction.
“Really? I never knew Todd was interested in that sort of thing, I mean, he’s a newspaper publisher. I understood that he was brought here by ambulance.”
Dr. Reese smiled.
“Yes, yes...now that you mention it, he was. You see, he ate some bad fish in Inuvik and he was taken ill...nothing too serious. He recovered pretty quickly and stayed a few days...then he left. I’m afraid he decided it was too risky a venture for him. We were very sorry to see him leave but, we haven’t heard from him since he left.”
“I see,” said Tea, trying to mask her disappointment as she looked into her coffee cup. Tukluk, who was right near by poured her fresh coffee and she smiled up at him. “Thank you.”
Tukluk bowed slightly, noticing her brown eyes were filling with tears, then walked away.
“That’s what I figured,” said Tea, wiping her eyes quickly. “I just thought...well...I was sure he was here. Well, it serves me right for...damn it...oh, well...nevermind. Dr. Reese, Todd didn’t happen to mention where he was going from here, did he?”
“Well, he did say he needed some time away for awhile, said things weren’t right at home and he was going to do some traveling. He seemed rather anxious to get away.”
“Yeah, that sounds like Todd. He’s always been very good at running away from his problems. Oh, well...this was quite the fool’s errand, a colossal waste of my time.”
Dr. Reese stood up.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Sometimes, Ms. Delgado, people just don’t want to be found. Now...why don’t I call you a taxi?”
Tea reached into her bag.
“Could you please call this one for me? He dropped me off a little while ago, maybe he’s still in the area.”
Dr. Reese took the card from her.
“Of course, I’ll be right back,” he said, before walking out.
“God...I’m so stupid! Stupid! Stupid,” she cried. “Why couldn’t I have left this alone? Todd’s probably back in Llanview with Blair,” she whimpered, admonishing herself harshly. “God...I’m such a fool! Todd’s fool...again. What am I doing here? What is wrong with me...”
“Dr. Reese is lying. Todd Manning is here.”
Tea jumped up and looked behind her. Tukluk was there.
*****
2003 Copyright by Trog
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