to—”
“Wait a minute,” Blake said. “Abe? You’re with Abe ?!”
“Yes, but he’s still—”
Blake cut in, “Listen to me, Ellie, Abe’s not to be trusted.”
“What?” That wasn’t true. Abe was about the most trustworthy person Ellis knew. He’d saved her, pulled her from the Animal House. He’d looked after her, kept her safe.
Ellis broke away from Blake, looked at him suspiciously. She found the torch again, shone it in his face.
Blake squinted against the light.
“What’s going on here?” Ellis said.
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. That Lennon guy sniffing around your office. The security shutdown—Johnson reckoned it was your work.”
“Johnson! You trust Johnson over me?!”
“He’s dead, Blake. Everyone in the lab is dead!” Blake went to interrupt, but Ellis raised her free hand, continued, “And Abe, another man you say can’t be trusted, is out there somewhere, looking for me.” Her eyes narrowed, “So you better tell me exactly what the hell you’ve been doing here to cause all of this.”
Blake sighed.
A dim light bathed the room as he switched on a portable lamp.
Ellis switched the torch off, allowed her eyes to adjust to the softer light. It was a standard office she stood in, one that was shared by all the ASOs. There was a storeroom in the corner. A computer by the desk. Some files along the walls.
Blake sat down in a nearby chair, rubbed his bearded face. He looked tired. Beyond tired. Ellis noticed his lab coat was stained in blood, now dry and embedded in the white cotton.
She sat down opposite him. “Please, she said... what was in those samples you had us injecting the animals with? I need to know.”
Blake smiled. “When you first started here,” he said, “I couldn’t believe it. A beautiful, young ASO. Fresh out of college, eager to change the world.” He looked up at her. “Why the hell did they send you here ?”
“Because I showed promise. That’s what you said. Before adding that you couldn’t see it yourself, but as you were stuck with me, I’d better make myself useful.”
Blake allowed himself a faint laugh. “It was a joke.”
“I know.”
Blake looked towards the storeroom. “Flu virus,” he said. “You probably knew that already. I’m sure Johnson told you we were working to find a cure or radical new treatment. Money to be made, yadda, yadda.” He laughed, the laugh giving way to a cough. “But that wasn’t the full picture. No, we were building a virus, Ellie, not curing it. A fast-acting, highly contagious and aggressive virus.”
“What?” Ellis said. “But why?”
“I don’t know,” Blake replied. His voice held none of its former glory. It seemed weak, deflated. “I never saw any of the memos or files on who exactly was funding it,” he continued, “but I know it was a government department of some description.”
He looked away. His face was strained. To Ellis, Dr Blake Farrow had always been the epitome of manliness: forty-something, tall and thickset with a square jaw and the shadow of a beard no matter how closely he shaved. Yet now he looked older to her. His beard was full and grey. His face pale and narrow.
“You hear of things,” she said. “Read things online. About governments working on covert projects. Bio-weaponry, that kind of thing.”
“I don’t think it’s that,” Blake said. “We were on need-to-know, of course, but what was strange was even though this virus we were building was pretty nasty, it wasn’t meant to kill. Not the way you’d expect for the likes of bio-warfare. The brief needed it to go through the system very swiftly and then die. An anti-virus was also ordered, although we were only in the early stages of development with that...”
Blake stopped talking suddenly. His eyes narrowed as he leaned in closer to Ellis.
She backed away.
“You’re hurt,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m okay.”
“No, your arms...” Blake gestured
“Wait a minute,” Blake said. “Abe? You’re with Abe ?!”
“Yes, but he’s still—”
Blake cut in, “Listen to me, Ellie, Abe’s not to be trusted.”
“What?” That wasn’t true. Abe was about the most trustworthy person Ellis knew. He’d saved her, pulled her from the Animal House. He’d looked after her, kept her safe.
Ellis broke away from Blake, looked at him suspiciously. She found the torch again, shone it in his face.
Blake squinted against the light.
“What’s going on here?” Ellis said.
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. That Lennon guy sniffing around your office. The security shutdown—Johnson reckoned it was your work.”
“Johnson! You trust Johnson over me?!”
“He’s dead, Blake. Everyone in the lab is dead!” Blake went to interrupt, but Ellis raised her free hand, continued, “And Abe, another man you say can’t be trusted, is out there somewhere, looking for me.” Her eyes narrowed, “So you better tell me exactly what the hell you’ve been doing here to cause all of this.”
Blake sighed.
A dim light bathed the room as he switched on a portable lamp.
Ellis switched the torch off, allowed her eyes to adjust to the softer light. It was a standard office she stood in, one that was shared by all the ASOs. There was a storeroom in the corner. A computer by the desk. Some files along the walls.
Blake sat down in a nearby chair, rubbed his bearded face. He looked tired. Beyond tired. Ellis noticed his lab coat was stained in blood, now dry and embedded in the white cotton.
She sat down opposite him. “Please, she said... what was in those samples you had us injecting the animals with? I need to know.”
Blake smiled. “When you first started here,” he said, “I couldn’t believe it. A beautiful, young ASO. Fresh out of college, eager to change the world.” He looked up at her. “Why the hell did they send you here ?”
“Because I showed promise. That’s what you said. Before adding that you couldn’t see it yourself, but as you were stuck with me, I’d better make myself useful.”
Blake allowed himself a faint laugh. “It was a joke.”
“I know.”
Blake looked towards the storeroom. “Flu virus,” he said. “You probably knew that already. I’m sure Johnson told you we were working to find a cure or radical new treatment. Money to be made, yadda, yadda.” He laughed, the laugh giving way to a cough. “But that wasn’t the full picture. No, we were building a virus, Ellie, not curing it. A fast-acting, highly contagious and aggressive virus.”
“What?” Ellis said. “But why?”
“I don’t know,” Blake replied. His voice held none of its former glory. It seemed weak, deflated. “I never saw any of the memos or files on who exactly was funding it,” he continued, “but I know it was a government department of some description.”
He looked away. His face was strained. To Ellis, Dr Blake Farrow had always been the epitome of manliness: forty-something, tall and thickset with a square jaw and the shadow of a beard no matter how closely he shaved. Yet now he looked older to her. His beard was full and grey. His face pale and narrow.
“You hear of things,” she said. “Read things online. About governments working on covert projects. Bio-weaponry, that kind of thing.”
“I don’t think it’s that,” Blake said. “We were on need-to-know, of course, but what was strange was even though this virus we were building was pretty nasty, it wasn’t meant to kill. Not the way you’d expect for the likes of bio-warfare. The brief needed it to go through the system very swiftly and then die. An anti-virus was also ordered, although we were only in the early stages of development with that...”
Blake stopped talking suddenly. His eyes narrowed as he leaned in closer to Ellis.
She backed away.
“You’re hurt,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m okay.”
“No, your arms...” Blake gestured
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