Free Minions by Garrett Addison

get a little messy, but he left just the
same.”  Angie didn’t wait to be asked to explain.  She laboured a deep breath
and continued.  “I get a number of bags of blood product, expose it to air for
a while, mixing constantly and just as it starts to congeal, I add a little
sodium citrate to stop the clot and then re-bottle it.  Genuine stage blood.”
    “Can I take a sample?  Just in case,” Detective Reymond
asked.  It took him a moment to remember that Angie was not in need of an
alibi.  Weighed against what the hospital had reported when Venn was admitted,
Angie’s story was undeniably plausible, but it wasn’t what he’d expected. 
    “I’ve done nothing wrong, and I’m not even a suspect in
any crime, so why would you need a sample?” replied Angie defensively.
    Reymond changed direction, not wanting to labour the
point.  “I’ll do my part for his discharge.  I’ll pop in for a chat while
you’re in hospital.”
    “Do we have anything to talk about?” Angie asked.
    “My job is hospital liaison, and there’s no way that any
medical practitioner will ignore your current state without getting me
involved.”
    “Just tell Malcolm where I am,” Angie said.
    “ That, I will do, Angie.”
     
     

                                                                                                                                                         Chapter - 15.                  
    There was no work being done when Ikel and Devlin returned
to the building.  The mood was decidedly casual as Lori, David and Glen all
shared a drink, sharing a joke and laughing in the kitchen.  Ikel helped
himself to a beer from the fridge and another for Devlin.   Lori and David gave
sincere welcoming gestures before continuing their conversation.
    “Calmed down a bit?” Glen enquired.  “I’m not a complete
charity, you know.  I pay well because this is a stressful job, but I guess
you’d never have guessed would you?
    “We all get stressed at times.  It’s just something that
you accept.  You also need to understand that it will get worse, not better. 
You’ll read worse than you read today, and you’ll feel just as helpless, if not
more so.”
    “I don’t believe that no-one takes matters into their own
hands.”
    “Just accept that there’s a greater good,” Glen replied. 
“How you believe this greater good comes into being is much less important.”
    “But …” Devlin persisted before being interrupted.
    “Relax and don’t worry about it.”  Glen had a way of
talking that Devlin was beginning to understand.  There was something amazing
in his tone that conveyed what he was thinking.  It was clarity of
communication at its best.  Devlin understood that it was time to leave it
alone, and Ikel and the others knew that it was now time to change the subject.
    “I have a confession to make,” Lori took command of the
conversation.  “I’m terminally curious and I looked in your backpack while you
and Ikel were gone.”  Smiling, her confession was not one of regret, but more
of a statement of fact.
    “You’re unbelievable!” Ikel laughed.  “I should have known
you wouldn’t be able to help yourself.  Sorry Devlin.  I should have expected
it and warned you.  Maybe I was expecting David to keep her honest.”
    “You know how devious women are!” said David as he
wandered off towards the bunker.
    “It’s all right.  There’s nothing in there anyway.”
    “I’m curious, sure, but I’m not a thief.  Your pictures,
change of underwear and a t-shirt are still there,” said Lori a little
defensively.  “Do you know where you’re sleeping tonight?  And no, I’m not
offering.”
    “It’s not a problem.  Really,” Devlin replied, genuinely
not fishing for offers, but receptive to any