Stone’s assistant answered the door.
“Hi, how can I help you?” he asked, smiling.
“I’d like to talk to Dr. Stone,” said Jon. He glanced over the assistant’s shoulder, and saw Stone at his workstation. Stone looked over his own shoulder and glanced at Jon before looking back at his work.
“Ah, Dr. Stone is in the middle of something right now, so if you could come back—”
“Let him in, Andrew,” said Stone. “I’m curious why the Chosen One would appear at my doorstep.”
Andrew stepped aside and let Jon through. Jon walked in, Stone’s lab noticeably smaller than his, although set up similarly. Stone continued to look at his work on his screen even as Jon approached him, standing next to him as Stone sat.
“Pull up a chair, Jon,” said Stone, still not looking at him. Jon looked around and grabbed one, pulling it near Stone. Stone let him sit there for a solid thirty seconds before he finally looked away from the monitor, his same cold eyes analyzing Jon now.
“Why are you here?” asked Stone.
Jon took a deep breath. He had a strategy, and he would stick to it, no matter how much it irked him. “I need your help.”
Stone smiled, a genuine smile, a shark’s smile, revealing all his white teeth. “You need my help? Really?”
“Yes,” said Jon. “I think your research is the key to unlocking results from mine. If we combine—”
“Why on Earth would I help you cannibalize my work?” asked Stone, cutting him off.
“It wouldn’t be cannibalizing your work,” said Jon. “We would combine our research, so both of us could reach our goals. Together. Shaw—”
“Less than a minute in and you’re already throwing his name around,” said Stone. “I thought it would take longer, but you’re already proving my point. I’m not trying to chase vanity projects, I’m looking for—”
“Would you let me finish?” asked Jon. “I’m trying to help—”
“I don’t need your help,” said Stone, raising his voice, his deep bellow filling the room.
“You don’t?” asked Jon. “Are you sure? You went on and on about how I haven’t gotten any results, but I know you’ve noticed, just like I’ve noticed, that there are more and more empty labs around here. More and more of our colleagues are being called up to the big leagues while both of us are still putzing around in the minors. I know you want to be down there, just like I do. Because as much as Shaw doesn’t say, the threat of getting kicked out of here is real, even for me.”
Stone looked at him, and Jon saw that he actually was considering him now. “Go on.”
“Shaw told me to approach you, to ask you to partner with me, and I don’t think he did it for no reason at all. Shaw does everything for a reason, and you and I both know that he’s personally invested in my success. He desperately wants me to succeed, and you’re a card he hasn’t played yet to ensure it. And I realize you don’t like me, but I don’t care. I want my research to work, and I want to be in the special projects lab, because I want to stay down here where it’s safe, and I want my son down here where it’s safe. And you do, too. And I think you can help me, and I think I can help you. I’ll acknowledge that Shaw wants me here for no damn good reason except he wants his arm back, but that’s the very reason you should be my partner. Because if you do, and we succeed, you and your research comes to the special projects lab with me. You become a Chosen One as well.”
Stone looked at him a moment longer. “Two conditions. First, I get equal credit, for whatever we do. Two, you ensure I get into the dark lab, no matter what Shaw says. You make sure I get in. You do that, I’m game.”
“Done,” said Jon, meeting Stone’s eyes.
“Okay,” said Stone, nodding. “Let’s get to work.”
“And it was like a switch flipped in him or something,” said Jon. He laid next to Tabby in her bedroom. “Openly antagonistic toward me, and then, as soon as he agrees to help, he’s Mr. Helpful. Sure, still a little curt, but like a totally different guy.”
“He sees you as an asset now,” said Tabby. “I’ve known plenty of people like that. As soon as they either see you as someone they can use, or something that benefits them, they turn, really quick. He’s hitching his wagon to you. He knows that insulting you now won’t get him anywhere. He probably still doesn’t like you, if that makes you feel any better.”
“It doesn’t, really, but thanks anyway,” said Jon.
He hadn’t seen her alone in weeks, but she had invited him over tonight, and he had leapt at the chance. Spending time with her now, he realized how much he had missed her. They had barely finished dinner before they had moved into the bedroom.
“Make any progress with him today?” she asked.
“No, nothing yet,” said Jon. “But we spent most of the time organizing our data. Mel took charge on it. We’re moving to a shared lab space tomorrow. I’m hoping we’ll start seeing results soon. I’m worried if we don’t.”
“You’ll get results. You both are very smart. You’ll crack it, especially with Stone’s help.”
“I don’t want Tommy to be left out in the cold,” said Jon.
“I don’t think Shaw would kick you out, regardless,” said Tabby.
“I’m not sure,” said Jon. “I still think about what you said about Armitage.”
“Armitage is the exception,” said Tabby. “Nothing else has happened since, and I think Shaw has settled down. The attack really flustered him.”
“We need results soon if we want to get into the special projects lab,” said Jon. Tabby said nothing, her eyes suddenly looking everywhere but him.
“What’s wrong?” asked Jon. He’d seen her enough to know when something was up.
Tabby looked at him, meeting his eyes. “Well, part of the reason I invited you over is because I finally broke through on my research. We got a working prototype of the battery pack.”
“That’s great!” said Jon. “Congratulations!”
“Thanks,” said Tabby. “But I talked to Shaw, one-on-one. I see what you mean, about him, now. He invited me to the special projects lab. I wanted to tell you.”
“Well, that’s fantastic,” said Jon. “I’m proud of you.”
“I just—I just don’t know how much I’ll see of you,” said Tabby. “I’ve—I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you, being with you. Whatever we are—I like it a lot. But—but I don’t know—”
“Hey,” he said, softly caressing her face. “It’s okay. I understand.”
“I don’t want to break up with you—I mean, I’m not even your girlfriend, technically, but you know—I’m just worried—”
“We don’t have to label this,” said Jon. “But if it’s what you want, I’d like to still see you, when we can wrangle it, while we’re down here. And if we can manage it, when we’re back up top. How does that sound?”
“That sounds reasonable,” said Tabby. “Christ, I don’t usually get butterflies in my stomach, but Jesus, trying to tell you—”
Jon laughed. “Are you excited to move to the other lab?”
“Sort of,” she said. “I’ve heard rumors about it. I’m sure you have too. About how projects escalate when they get there.”
“What do you mean?” asked Jon.
“I know someone in Systems who went down there,” said Tabby. “I’ve only talked to him one time since he transferred, and he said it’s way less about proof of concept anymore. It’s not proving a hypothesis. It’s about real world applications. It gets way more serious. It’s prepping the tech for people to use.”
“Well, I assumed that would happen at some point along the line,” said Jon.