‘I can’t believe it,’ I said, stepping forward to touch the sheet of glass, as Dr. Donna’s assistants hurriedly removed the detritus from the experiment away. I extended a long, thin finger and – very gently – tapped the glass.
‘Slightly warm,’ I whispered. ‘Extraordinary.’
‘Do you see now what I was trying to tell you?’ Donna asked, stepping into the experimental chamber herself. ‘This stuff withstands everything we’ve thrown at it?’
‘Is it bullet proof?’ I asked, innocently.
‘Don’t be absurd,’ she rolled her eyes. ‘You’ll have to settle for it being the best decorative glass in the Melbourne area.’
‘It could probably slow down a stake, at least.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Nothing,’ I shook my head. ‘This is fine work, Doctor. Have your team work with my assistant to purchase as much of this glass as is possible – without raising suspicion.’
‘Yes, sir,’ she nodded. I began to head for the exit, conscious that dawn was approaching. ‘There is one thing?’
I stopped on the stairs and turned back to look at her.
‘Yes?’
‘What do you need all this for? I can’t imagine it’s just part of your options for tinting an office window.’
‘No,’ I smirked. ‘It is not quite that.’
‘So?’ she shrugged. ‘We’ve been testing this stuff for weeks, buying it in secret from the manufacturers to avoid raising any questions. Do we at least get to know why?’
‘Perhaps,’ I shrugged. ‘Perhaps you do not want to know why.’
‘I’m a scientist, sir,’ she said, straightening her lab coat. ‘I pursue all knowledge.’
‘Ah, a scientist indeed,’ I nodded, stepping off the stairs and slowly moving closer to her. ‘Quite a remarkable one, at that.’
‘Thank you,’ she said hesitantly, as I got ever closer.
‘One remarkable enough to perhaps already know the answer to her question.’
‘What?’ she went pale. ‘I don’t know what you—’
‘One who should think carefully,’ I whispered, inches away from her neck, ‘before asking it again.’
I turned and disappeared back into the shadows.