falters. “I wish I had better news for you.”
My hands clench into fists even as my jaw tightens. “Tell me,” I order through gritted teeth.
“The codes and images?”
I nod.
“They’re of a prehistoric virus that Dr. Clark and I managed to bring back to life last year using a single-cell host.”
“A virus?”
“Yes.”
“What the bloody hell does PharmGen need with a prehistoric virus?”
Tansy arches a brow, her displeasure with me loud and clear. “At the time, we thought it was to find a cure for common cold.”
“But?”
“The cure is worse than the illness. No matter which type of counter virus we introduced, PhV-1 destroyed everything. Simulation models concluded that should this be introduced into a human host, the host would die in less than ten hours.”
Blowing out a curse, I rub my hand across my jaw. “Please tell me there is a cure to the cure.”
“There is. If we harvest the waste left behind by PhV-1 and inject it into the bloodstream… it can render the PhV-1 harmless. However, the vaccine must be administered within the ten hour period.”
My mind races at the possibilities. “How would anyone know if they are infected?”
She gestures to my laptop. “May I?”
“Of course.”
While Tansy types, I scan the room. No one seems to be paying the slightest attention to either of us.
“This is what happens to in a human host,” she says quietly.
I focus on the screen, horror dawning as I realize the simulation is actually a real person. “Who is that?”
“Volunteer.” Tansy’s face pales a little beneath her light brown skin. “He was… a homeless man. Pinter insisted he’d volunteered. We were so damned arrogant.”
The look of regret on her face is enough to convince me that she’s truly sorry, but none of that helps anyone. “Is that why the press was contacted?”
Slowly, she shakes her head. “No. A buyer interested in acquiring the virus contacted him directly months ago. Clark had massive gambling debts. Loved to take his holidays in Las Vegas, so he considered the offer.”
“That fucker wants to sell a virus to pay off his bloody debts?”
“David Pinter got wind of it through one of your brilliant spying programs and decided to sell it himself,” She takes a deep breath. “Clark went mad when found out, even made his lover, Olivia jump ship. She attempted to send the flash drive to the media as well as our competitors before disappearing. As best as I can figure, Clark had found a buyer willing to pay more, which is putting Pinter in a very bad position.”
“How in the hell did it get back to PharmGen?” And into Morgan’s hands.
“Clark had it send back. Paid a guy off to kill Olivia in retaliation. The assassin wasn’t supposed to kill her until after the package was delivered to the lab. Only… Olivia had already disappeared.”
And the killer mistook Morgan for her instead. I don’t have to say this. We both know what happened.
“This find was supposed to put Clark on the map but when you fired him… The pandemic is set to happen in approximately four weeks. PharmGen stands to profit billions upon billions should this come to fruition, now that Clark is out of the picture,” she adds.
I draw up short. “As in dead?”
“As in the man who recently turned up in the Thames with a single shot to the head.”
“Fuck me.” I rub my thumb across my bottom lip. “What is your part in all this?”
Ever so discreetly, she pulls at her watch and shows me what’s in her hand—a second flash drive.
My eyes fly to her face. “There are two?”
“No. I only have the other half of the information. That’s why none of it made sense when you tried a search. Only parts and pieces were saved to that one. The rest, including the vaccine, is on here. Once I discovered what Clark and Pinter were planning, I sent rest of the lab specialists on holiday and left the country.” She briefly scans the room. “This is the first time
My hands clench into fists even as my jaw tightens. “Tell me,” I order through gritted teeth.
“The codes and images?”
I nod.
“They’re of a prehistoric virus that Dr. Clark and I managed to bring back to life last year using a single-cell host.”
“A virus?”
“Yes.”
“What the bloody hell does PharmGen need with a prehistoric virus?”
Tansy arches a brow, her displeasure with me loud and clear. “At the time, we thought it was to find a cure for common cold.”
“But?”
“The cure is worse than the illness. No matter which type of counter virus we introduced, PhV-1 destroyed everything. Simulation models concluded that should this be introduced into a human host, the host would die in less than ten hours.”
Blowing out a curse, I rub my hand across my jaw. “Please tell me there is a cure to the cure.”
“There is. If we harvest the waste left behind by PhV-1 and inject it into the bloodstream… it can render the PhV-1 harmless. However, the vaccine must be administered within the ten hour period.”
My mind races at the possibilities. “How would anyone know if they are infected?”
She gestures to my laptop. “May I?”
“Of course.”
While Tansy types, I scan the room. No one seems to be paying the slightest attention to either of us.
“This is what happens to in a human host,” she says quietly.
I focus on the screen, horror dawning as I realize the simulation is actually a real person. “Who is that?”
“Volunteer.” Tansy’s face pales a little beneath her light brown skin. “He was… a homeless man. Pinter insisted he’d volunteered. We were so damned arrogant.”
The look of regret on her face is enough to convince me that she’s truly sorry, but none of that helps anyone. “Is that why the press was contacted?”
Slowly, she shakes her head. “No. A buyer interested in acquiring the virus contacted him directly months ago. Clark had massive gambling debts. Loved to take his holidays in Las Vegas, so he considered the offer.”
“That fucker wants to sell a virus to pay off his bloody debts?”
“David Pinter got wind of it through one of your brilliant spying programs and decided to sell it himself,” She takes a deep breath. “Clark went mad when found out, even made his lover, Olivia jump ship. She attempted to send the flash drive to the media as well as our competitors before disappearing. As best as I can figure, Clark had found a buyer willing to pay more, which is putting Pinter in a very bad position.”
“How in the hell did it get back to PharmGen?” And into Morgan’s hands.
“Clark had it send back. Paid a guy off to kill Olivia in retaliation. The assassin wasn’t supposed to kill her until after the package was delivered to the lab. Only… Olivia had already disappeared.”
And the killer mistook Morgan for her instead. I don’t have to say this. We both know what happened.
“This find was supposed to put Clark on the map but when you fired him… The pandemic is set to happen in approximately four weeks. PharmGen stands to profit billions upon billions should this come to fruition, now that Clark is out of the picture,” she adds.
I draw up short. “As in dead?”
“As in the man who recently turned up in the Thames with a single shot to the head.”
“Fuck me.” I rub my thumb across my bottom lip. “What is your part in all this?”
Ever so discreetly, she pulls at her watch and shows me what’s in her hand—a second flash drive.
My eyes fly to her face. “There are two?”
“No. I only have the other half of the information. That’s why none of it made sense when you tried a search. Only parts and pieces were saved to that one. The rest, including the vaccine, is on here. Once I discovered what Clark and Pinter were planning, I sent rest of the lab specialists on holiday and left the country.” She briefly scans the room. “This is the first time
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