Chapter 8 - The experiment

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Mary was stunned when the door opened and Peter came through the door. 

"How did you find me?"

Peter smiled and then took a seat in the chair opposite her. 

"You didn't think you could outsmart me did you?" he said a bit sarcastically and she physically felt her heart break in two. 

She put on her brave face and looked him straight in the eyes. "What do you want from me Peter?"

He leaned back in his chair and with a bit of an attitude replied:  

"It is not what we want from you...it is what we don't want you to do..."

"You mean my formula...the formula that would save hundreds and thousands of people from dying of hunger?"

"Exactly that. Why do you think I was put on this project with you? The Government is going to lose millions or even billions if you succeed. Why do you think I sabotaged every single attempt?"

Mary felt outraged and utterly frustrated. 

"So that is the reason why my experiment never worked out. I can't believe this!  I can't believe that I ever trusted you with anything!" 

"You can't trust anyone" a very familiar voice said behind them.  

None of them heard the door open, so they both turned when they heard the voice. 

"Dr Bronson? What are you doing here?" Mary asked and looked utterly surprised. 

"Just because I'm old, doesn't mean I'm stupid. I've known for a long time that Peter had been manipulating the numbers in the reports. Your invention will literally bring in millions of dollars and it is time for me to cash in."

"How can you do this? The whole project was never about money....it was about saving all those starving kids in third world countries..."

"Everything is always about the money Mary. The pharmaceutical companies make millions by developing products that could save the human race."  Dr Bronson said. 

Mary felt as if she could burst out in tears. She felt utterly hopeless, and she had no one to turn to but Peter, to help her save her life's work. 

She looked at him and said : "If my formula falls into the wrong hands, it will be disastrous to the world, you can't let him get away with this Peter...you just can't....."

"Finally something that we agree upon. Don't worry, the formula is not going to land in the wrong hands. For all purposes the formula had been destroyed. I had the only copy and my laptop is already in possession of the agency."

Mary felt as if her world was crumbling. She worked so hard on this formula, and now it was all for nothing. 

"Why did you even let me continue my research, if you just wanted to stop me Peter?"

"We had to see if it could be done. You have been under the radar for quite some time now. The agency would like to offer you a job Mary. A real job where you will actually mean something." 

Peter called the guards to take away Dr Bronson. 

"I can't believe that you expect me to go and work for you after all that has happened in the last twenty four hours.  How could you betray me like this Peter...how could you?" she started crying. 

"It was never supposed to work out like this. I wasn't supposed to stay this long, but I couldn't stay away from you?"

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.  "I loved you Peter...I really did..."

"I'm sorry Mary. I really am, but there's no turning back now. You messed up my whole plan."

"I messed up your whole plan? How can you even say that after...after everything?"

"I wanted to ask you to marry me this weekend. I bought the ring and the jeweler dropped it off yesterday afternoon at the hotel. If you didn't start snitching around, everything would have worked out fine."

"You mean that the man I saw you with yesterday, was a jeweler?"

"Is that the reason why you started snooping around? Did you think that it had something to do with your formula?"

"Well, what would you have done? After the man in the car came to warn me that I shouldn't trust anyone I became suspicious."

"It was only supposed to make you suspicious. Not make you distrust me...."

"But I felt betrayed and hurt and sad..." she started crying again. 

"Come here you poor baby. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but.... will you still marry me? I love you too you know?"

Mary smiled at him and nodded. "Of course I will marry you. I thought I had lost you...."

He took the ring from his pocket and handed it to her...