Read Online Basilisk by Graham Masterton - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Graham Masterton
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short-sighted reactionary bastard,” that’ll do.’
Nathan slowly and carefully hung up, and then sat back in his chair.
Richard was furiously blinking. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked. ‘Has something gone wrong?’
‘It’s all over,’ Nathan told him. ‘Burnside is closing us down. You might as well toss everything into the incinerator bin, what’s left of it. Then we can all go home.’
Patti said, ‘That’s it? It’s all over? No more dragons? No more gryphons?’
‘No,’ said Nathan. ‘I’ll be lucky if they put me on chimp-sexing duty. That’s if they decide to keep me here at all.’
‘But they can’t do that, can they?’ Patti protested.
‘Oh, they can, and they have. And do you know what the most frustrating thing is? I shall never know how close I came to recreating a mythical creature. Or how far away I was.’
‘Well, I think you were very close,’ said Richard. ‘Very, very close indeed.’
‘Thanks. But we’ll never have any way of knowing it, will we? Not for sure.’
Richard said, ‘Maybe I should put the embryo back in the chiller. You never know.’
‘What’s the point?’
The phone again. This time, it was Dr Burnside himself. His voice was as dry as Saltine crackers.
‘Nathan? I need to see you in my office. As soon as possible, please.’
‘It’s all right, Henry,’ Nathan told him. ‘I’ve heard the news already. You can spare me the crocodile tears.’
‘We need to discuss your future, Nathan, here at the zoo.’
‘So what are you going to offer me? Engineer, on the PZ Express? –’ that was the kiddies’ train ride that circled around the zoo – ‘everybody over forty-eight inches has to be accompanied by a small child.’
‘Come on, Nathan. I know you’re upset about this. I fully appreciate all of the research work you’ve done. You’ve made some outstanding progress in the field of cryptozoology, you know that. It hasn’t all been wasted.’
‘Not what you told The Inquirer .’
‘Come see me. Please. We need to see what we can profitably salvage from your research, and we need to decide which direction you’re going to go in now.’
Nathan took a deep breath. ‘There’s only one direction I’m going in now, Henry, and that’s to Fado’s, for a very large Irish whiskey.’
‘Nathan—’ said Dr Burnside, but Nathan hung up.
He put on his coat, and took a look around his office. ‘You coming?’ he asked Patti. ‘I could do with a shoulder to cry on.’
‘Sure,’ Patti said, and picked up her bag.
‘Richard? How about a drink?’
Richard said, ‘No thanks, Professor. A little too early for me. I’ll stay here and clear everything up.’
Nathan left his laboratory and walked back along the corridor, with Patti hopping and skipping to keep up with him. ‘Maybe you can find somebody else to finance you,’ she suggested. ‘You know, a big corporation like Coca-Cola or Macdonald’s. Or even the Pep Boys.’
‘Don’t you get it?’ said Nathan, as he pushed open the doors. ‘I’ve spent all of that time and all of that money and I’ve failed to come up with the goods. Nobody’s going to throw good money after bad. Especially the amount that I’m going to need.’
He stepped outside, just in time to see a big red tow truck dragging his car around the corner of the maintenance block. The maintenance man in the green coveralls was standing at the bottom of the steps, his arms folded in satisfaction.
He whistled, and ran after the tow truck, and managed to flag down the driver just before he reached the exit gate.
‘You want to unhook my goddamned car, please?’
‘Fifty bucks,’ said the driver, relentlessly chewing gum. He looked like another member of the mandrill family, except that his hair was wiry and gray.
‘Fifty bucks? What the hell are you talking about? I work here. I’m a research professor.’
‘Listen – you could be St Francis of Assisi, for all I care. Fifty bucks. That’s the tow
Nathan slowly and carefully hung up, and then sat back in his chair.
Richard was furiously blinking. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked. ‘Has something gone wrong?’
‘It’s all over,’ Nathan told him. ‘Burnside is closing us down. You might as well toss everything into the incinerator bin, what’s left of it. Then we can all go home.’
Patti said, ‘That’s it? It’s all over? No more dragons? No more gryphons?’
‘No,’ said Nathan. ‘I’ll be lucky if they put me on chimp-sexing duty. That’s if they decide to keep me here at all.’
‘But they can’t do that, can they?’ Patti protested.
‘Oh, they can, and they have. And do you know what the most frustrating thing is? I shall never know how close I came to recreating a mythical creature. Or how far away I was.’
‘Well, I think you were very close,’ said Richard. ‘Very, very close indeed.’
‘Thanks. But we’ll never have any way of knowing it, will we? Not for sure.’
Richard said, ‘Maybe I should put the embryo back in the chiller. You never know.’
‘What’s the point?’
The phone again. This time, it was Dr Burnside himself. His voice was as dry as Saltine crackers.
‘Nathan? I need to see you in my office. As soon as possible, please.’
‘It’s all right, Henry,’ Nathan told him. ‘I’ve heard the news already. You can spare me the crocodile tears.’
‘We need to discuss your future, Nathan, here at the zoo.’
‘So what are you going to offer me? Engineer, on the PZ Express? –’ that was the kiddies’ train ride that circled around the zoo – ‘everybody over forty-eight inches has to be accompanied by a small child.’
‘Come on, Nathan. I know you’re upset about this. I fully appreciate all of the research work you’ve done. You’ve made some outstanding progress in the field of cryptozoology, you know that. It hasn’t all been wasted.’
‘Not what you told The Inquirer .’
‘Come see me. Please. We need to see what we can profitably salvage from your research, and we need to decide which direction you’re going to go in now.’
Nathan took a deep breath. ‘There’s only one direction I’m going in now, Henry, and that’s to Fado’s, for a very large Irish whiskey.’
‘Nathan—’ said Dr Burnside, but Nathan hung up.
He put on his coat, and took a look around his office. ‘You coming?’ he asked Patti. ‘I could do with a shoulder to cry on.’
‘Sure,’ Patti said, and picked up her bag.
‘Richard? How about a drink?’
Richard said, ‘No thanks, Professor. A little too early for me. I’ll stay here and clear everything up.’
Nathan left his laboratory and walked back along the corridor, with Patti hopping and skipping to keep up with him. ‘Maybe you can find somebody else to finance you,’ she suggested. ‘You know, a big corporation like Coca-Cola or Macdonald’s. Or even the Pep Boys.’
‘Don’t you get it?’ said Nathan, as he pushed open the doors. ‘I’ve spent all of that time and all of that money and I’ve failed to come up with the goods. Nobody’s going to throw good money after bad. Especially the amount that I’m going to need.’
He stepped outside, just in time to see a big red tow truck dragging his car around the corner of the maintenance block. The maintenance man in the green coveralls was standing at the bottom of the steps, his arms folded in satisfaction.
He whistled, and ran after the tow truck, and managed to flag down the driver just before he reached the exit gate.
‘You want to unhook my goddamned car, please?’
‘Fifty bucks,’ said the driver, relentlessly chewing gum. He looked like another member of the mandrill family, except that his hair was wiry and gray.
‘Fifty bucks? What the hell are you talking about? I work here. I’m a research professor.’
‘Listen – you could be St Francis of Assisi, for all I care. Fifty bucks. That’s the tow
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