many doors labelled staff only.
"You really think Tomlinson will authorise a team to come out here?” Barker said. “He's already pissed at how much money this is costing the government. Do you know what he called it? He said it was a-"
"A financial black hole, I know," Andrews said, interrupting the scientist.
They arrived at another door, this one without a handle. To the right was a keypad. Andrews punched in his five digit code and he was granted access, the door opening with a pneumatic hiss. Beyond were more laboratories, stark white rooms filled with scientists hard at work.
"Look, Martin, I'm not against you here, it's just... I worry about the future of the project," Barker said, nervously twisting his wedding ring around his finger.
"I worry too. The fact is, Tomlinson is right. This is a financial black hole. We have spent hundreds of millions of dollars over the last five years and without a shred of progress to show for it. To be honest, I'm surprised we've lasted this long."
"We're trying, Martin. This isn’t just a simple case of cloning a sheep. This is a unique species, a one of a kind, which is new in every way. We're breaking new ground as we go, learning every day. Plus, I don’t need to remind you the sheer size of the subject makes taking fresh blood and tissue samples incredibly difficult."
Andrews stopped and smiled at the scientist, the expression without humour. "Size?" He said as the smile faded. "How big is our girl these days?"
"A little over eighty two feet."
"Eighty two," Andrews said with a smile. "You know, her mother was quite the spectacle. Well over three hundred feet. Closer to four, now I think about it."
"This one would be the same if it got out into the open. It's only size limited by its environment."
"I know. What I want to hear from you, Neil, is that there is some progress with the cloning."
"We're making steady steps," the scientist mumbled.
"Tomlinson will want something more concrete than that."
"Jesus, Martin, give me a break. I’m working my ass off here, we all are. I need more time."
"Don’t shoot the messenger. I’m on your side," Andrews said. "In a way, it’s a good thing the government has invested so much money in this already."
"Why?"
"Because it means they'll be reluctant to pull the plug with no return for their investment. That said, they would only do that for a certain length of time. We really need results and fast."
"I don’t know what you want from me, Martin. It's not as if we haven’t been trying. It's all hands on deck as it is. You saw the results of those early clone attempts. Is that what you want to present to Tomlinson?"
"No, of course not."
"Then please, let me work. As soon as I have something, I'll be in touch."
"I know you will. I don’t mean to press you on this, but if you only knew the sacrifices it took to get that creature here..." Andrews trailed off, his mind drifting back to a time he had tried so hard to forget. "Anyway," he said, blinking away the memories, "I have to go. I'll try to buy you some more time."
“That’s all it’s a case of. They have to understand the uniqueness of the situation. I’m doing everything I can to perfect this. You have my word.”
“I know that, believe me, I hate having to be the bastard who delivers the news. Chain of command and all that shit,” Andrews said with a shrug.
“You don’t have to apologise, just keep Tomlinson and his people off my back and let me and my team do our job.”
“Alright, leave it with me. I’ll do what I can.”
The two men shook hands and went their separate ways. Barker went straight to his office and closed the door. He sat at his desk and sighed, then took the bottle of scotch out of his desk drawer along with the glass he kept in there. He poured himself a single, then changed his mind and made it a double, taking a sip as he picked the throwaway mobile phone out of the back of the drawer and switched it on. He took another drink as