by Frank Perry
inventory. That hadn’t been her job inside, and she’d only been in that particular area a couple times in her brief tenure at 4B. She would be on her own inside the chamber to find the bins and count the vials.
She agreed reluctantly, almost fatalistically. The ambush had left her feeling vulnerable. She could have died and never seen it coming, and they both knew it could happen again. If something was serious enough to risk hiring a contract killer, no matter how inept, then it was serious enough to try again. She couldn’t just leave and disappear. She hadn’t spent all of her life until now, training, just to go hide on a mountain somewhere. She’d need to give her work history and references to get a comparable position anywhere else. Besides, they didn’t have any proof that this involved the Institute at all. It could all be coincidental, only she didn’t really believe in coincidences.
“Okay, I’ll do it.”
The following morning was Monday, and they left for work earlier than normal, just to alter their pattern and avoid unwanted contact with people at the Institute. John had gone out before her to check the parking areas and roadsides nearby. Together, they hurried to his car that was already running. A few minutes later, at the Institute, they signed in and went immediately to Lab 4B, bypassing the cafeteria. None of the executive offices seemed to be occupied yet.
Kelly immediately suited up with John’s help and was through the first airlock before other employees began their morning rituals. They had a plan. She would do a physical inventory of the bins Mary had identified, while he noted any shipments or additions that had occurred after Lorne’s last entry.
It was more complex than he’d expected. There had been a large shipment over the weekend. Much of the inventory was depleted. He’d never experienced a major Ebola outbreak during the year he’d worked there, so reductions in inventory were rare. Now, half of it was gone; maybe more.
While Kelly was inside the inner lab, John could sense the pressure change slightly as the outer door to 4B opened. He turned to see Fred entering from 4A. He smiled at John, “Hey, John. I didn’t see you here over the weekend. We were all working our asses off getting stuff shipped out. It looks like we got us an outbreak in Africa again.”
It was odd; Fred was never sociable. “We stayed home, Fred. After the attack, we decided to stay indoors over the weekend.”
Fred came closer and sat in the chair next to John, appearing to be sociable, in position to see the computer screen. “Yeah, well, we had a real gang-bang here, bosses brought in pizza, and we had a real party. We sent some pallets out in record time. It all came out of your lab.”
John sensed that Fred was looking at the display. “Yeah, I was just checking. I’ve never seen so much stuff leave so quickly.”
Fred said, “Should’ve been here last year about this time, and the year earlier. Same kinda drill. A call comes from the WHO, and we ship out immediately. It’s one reason we’re the new go-to Institute for treatments. GHI has a good record for manufacturing the right cures before they’re actually needed. Where’s Kelly?”
“Oh, you know, she’s inside (gesturing to the airlock) checking on things.”
Fred stood to leave. “Well, just let me know if I can help. I made the data entries at your console, so let me know if there are any questions.”
John just nodded as Fred left. There had been hundreds or even thousands of vials of serum shipped out, according to the shipping manifest John was reading. He continued to note all of the items shipped. Kelly was only going to verify the four bins identified by Mary.
Kelly had been inside the containment area for about an hour when Jules rushed into 4B. He barely acknowledged John, which wasn’t particularly out of character. He went directly to the suit chamber and signaled John to help him get dressed. This was technically Jules’ lab, even if he hadn’t worked with Kelly since assigning her to it. It was an awkwardly silent experience for John, and Jules didn’t even look at him or gesture in any way before closing the airlock. He was inside with Kelly.
John rushed back to his workstation and pressed the intercom button, speaking into the microphone extending from the top of his display console. “Hello, Jules, I hope everything is in order.” It was a feeble and obvious attempt to warn Kelly that the owner was in the chamber with her. It was too late.
She was manipulating a mechanical arm when Jules approached. “What are you doing?”
She nearly dropped the bin when he startled her. It was all she could do to manipulate it back onto the shelf before addressing him. “I’m spot checking some items. A lot moved out over the weekend, and I just want to be sure we caught it all.”
He gestured her away. “Those are not the things we shipped. That is live virus which is never to be touched. Only I or Dr. Bridger can touch that unless you have a specific work order. Now, I want you out of this lab.”
“But Dr. Redinger, Jules, you said that you would be working with me in here, and this is the first time you’ve even come in. I don’t think I need to be ordered around like some janitor!”
“You will do whatever I tell you to do, now get out of here. Consider this research area off limits for now!”
If he wanted to raise suspicion, he’d done a good job. She was scared again, twice in only three days. She didn’t fear him physically; he couldn’t do anything inside the lab with John watching. It was more the tone of his speech and demeanor. She turned abruptly and walked to the decon chamber.
Once outside, she was trembling as John put his hands on her shoulders. “He … he deliberately scared me, John. He could see what I was doing and wanted to frighten me. He wasn’t there to instruct or help; he wanted me away from there. He ordered me to leave.” It scared her. Jules had seemed openly hostile, not like before.
He put his arms around her briefly, then gestured toward the door. “Let’s get out of here.”
As they left, Jules came out of the decon chamber, just missing them. He called the security desk with instruction to stop them and send them to his office. As they got to the lobby, the guard did as ordered. For a brief moment, John thought about ignoring Jules’ order or telling Kelly to leave without him. She seemed to read his mind and she grasped his hand, “Let’s go.” As they walked toward executive row, she said, “What’s he going to do, fire us? What reason would he give that wouldn’t raise suspicion?”
When they entered through the glass doors, Irina Petronova was visible inside Charlie Ritter’s office, clearly upset about something. Her accent and hushed tones prevented any clear reception, but John was able to hear Kelly’s last name, “Egan” clearly enough, just as the door was closed.
They entered the next suite, ignoring the Office Assistant. Jules was already seated behind his massive wooden desk. He glared as they entered with a severe expression then looked down at his desk. “Close the door.”
John did so as Jules continued to command. “Sit down.”
Both did as they were told, but John reacted slowly asking, “What’s this all about, Jules. You seem agitated.”
Jules turned slightly red. “I want to know what you two are up to. You’ve both been acting mysteriously. Last Friday I got interviewed by the police, again involving you two.”
John didn’t appreciate the officious tone. He would normally address him by his formal title, but decided to level things a bit. “Jules, I don’t appreciate your tone of voice. Are you accusing us of something -- either one of us? If you are, then put it out on the table. Otherwise, we deserve more respectful behavior. We’re out of here otherwise.”
Jules pounded the desk. “You can leave when I’m through with you. You pipsqueaks; you work for me, and as long as you’re on the payroll, I’ll talk to you any way I choose!”
John could see Kelly out of the corner of his eye, sitting silently. She had learned that he could react aggressively, if provoked. He raised his voice slightly, not a full yell, but slightly. “Wel
l, guess what, Jules, I can be a free agent in the length of time it takes to walk out the front door. Now, you’re wasting our time, so tell us what you want, or we walk.”
Jules hadn’t been talked to like that in decades. He was momentarily stunned. As a lab technician, John had always been mild and polite, he seemed like the kind of young man that would never do anything to irritate anyone or object to anything. Regaining some of his composure, he said, “Do you really want to joust with me, boy?” He waited a few seconds for the challenge to sink in. “Now, I want the truth. You’ve been acting strange for a couple weeks, and then someone takes a shot at you. That’s not normal. Then today, I catch Dr. Egan here snooping around the storage bins where she doesn’t belong. I know you two are up to something, looking for something, and at GHI that’s my concern. What are you two snooping around for?” He looked straight at John, “Is that plain enough, hot shot?”
John stood to leave, gesturing Kelly to follow. “Bye, Jules, unless you want to fire both of us on the spot, we’re out of here. We might come back in the