The Nightmare Scenario by Gunnar Duvstig Read Free Book Online Page A

beckoning her to bring it on.

SIMULTANEOUSLY, CDC HEADQUARTERS, ATLANTA, GEORGIA
    R ebecca once again checked her phone for new texts, in spite of the fact that there had been no sound from her phone since she checked the last time ten minutes ago. Roger was coming to town and they had talked about meeting up for a drink.
    Since bumping into Roger in Jakarta three weeks earlier, they had spoken on the phone a couple of times. They probably would have talked more if Rebecca hadn’t been so hell-bent on never calling him twice in a row, without him calling her back first. She didn’t want to seem too eager.
    Roger always seemed to be in a good mood when they spoke. He regaled her at length about the documentary that he had just completed. It had earned great praise from his producer. There was apparently a scene with an old Chinese woman, which was particularly gripping. She described how the military lit a firein a circle around their neighborhood, letting it burn inwards.
    Rebecca, for her part, had told him stories about her fieldwork in Africa, and all the bizarre experiences that had come with it, exaggerating them slightly to make them more interesting than they actually were, in the hope of making the conversations last longer.
    She checked her phone again, and as she did so it beeped. The message read: “At the Halo Lounge. Want to meet up?”
    She waited three minutes, counting the seconds passing on her wall clock, before she replied: “Sure, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
    She went to the ladies’ room to put on a light layer of make-up, just some foundation and eyeliner. Anything more than that just made her feel awkward; the same way high-heeled shoes did. She swore as she smudged the eyeliner. She looked at herself in the mirror and shook her head. Really? Here she was, nervous as a teenage girl on her first date. Roger had never cared about her make-up before. Why would he do so now? She splashed her face with water, washed away the make-up and left.
    A cab and an elevator ride later, she entered the Halo Lounge. She spotted Roger sitting in a quiet corner with two drinks in front of him. The music, muted, hip and soft, mixed with the soft ambient voices, provided a tranquil backdrop of sound. She sat down next to him and said hello.
    In front of her was a Grasshopper. “I took the liberty of ordering in advance,” said Roger. “I was hoping you hadn’t changed your habits too much.”
    “No I haven’t, thank you. And I see that neither have you, at least in regards to drinks. Still doing those Manhattans on the rocks with white instead of red vermouth?”
    “Indeed, my dear.”
    They exchanged small talk for a couple of minutes, commenting on people in the crowd, how the place had changed as of late, and how Diet Coke wasn’t the same after Coca-Cola changed the formula to a hundred percent aspartame.
    Rebecca was just considering how to shift the conversation to a more personal tone when Roger said: “Actually, this isn’t
only
a social call. I’m working on a story, and I love to get your view on some things.”
    Rebecca put down her drink and slowly shook her head.
    “Wow, do I feel silly now. Here I thought you wanted to see
me
, and all you want to do is pump me for information for some story? You know, next time, you should just make an appointment with me at the office.”
    Rebecca rose and looked around for her backpack, but before she found it Roger had grabbed her wrist.
    “Twinkie. I’m sorry. I
did
come here to see you. Really. I’ll prove it if you sit back down.”
    After a moment of hesitation Rebecca sat down, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
    “I brought you a gift,” Roger said with one of his disarming smiles.
    “A gift?” asked Rebecca, suspicion still lingering in her voice.
    Roger pulled a large black leather box from his bag, and handed it to Rebecca.
    As she opened it and saw what was inside, her anger subsided. It was a silly gift, but still, the