current locations.”
“Precisely. It mitigates the threat level. The odds of randomly selecting the correct pair of storage facilities would be in the neighborhood of five thousand to one. Then, let’s not forget that each Lucas looked slightly different. BioTex copies would all be identical.”
“Plus, there were almost two hundred of them.”
“Yes, which is more than our supply of BioTex,” Kleezebee said, appreciating his lifelong friend’s insight.
Bruno nodded.
“No, this is something else entirely.”
“I wonder if any of them survived?”
“Doubtful. They were cornered, and no match for the gunships. I don’t know what idiot came up with the idea to send them in unarmed, but it was a complete and utter slaughter. What a waste of men.”
“God rest their souls.”
“You’d better double security tonight in and around the lab. I’m concerned about the timing of this event. It’s no coincidence this happened the day before our most important experiment. We can’t take this lightly. My gut is telling me that everything has changed somehow. I’m sure the general is more than curious about all the lookalikes. If he identifies the insurgents as being related to Lucas Ramsay, he’ll try to shut us down tonight under the guise of national security.”
“Consider it done, Professor.”
Kleezebee pointed at the video screen. “Who do we have in the area where this took place?”
“Transport Unit 12. Hatcher’s men, sir. It’s his team’s first trip to storage site Delta-3. He should be just about finished with today’s exchange.”
“Let’s retask him and see if he can find the exact location of the massacre. The general’s men may have missed something. If nothing else, have him collect blood samples for a DNA comparison. Then we’ll know more. If this incursion is some type of elaborate ruse designed to implicate our young friend down the hall, we need to find out who is behind it.”
“You got it, chief. Anything else?”
Kleezebee tossed the fabric piece to Bruno. “Drop this by Griffith’s lab and have him run a complete analysis. I wanna know exactly what we’re dealing with here. While you’re down there, stop in and make sure Lucas is still Lucas and has a pulse,” the professor said, winking. “You know, just in case.”
“Roger that.”
“And check if the E-121 has been delivered. If not, get on the horn and find out where it is,” Kleezebee said, closing the video window on his computer. “Lastly, when the new lab tech arrives, I’ll need ten minutes with her to bring her up to speed before she meets Lucas and Drew. I don’t want Darby walking in unprepared. Those two can be a handful for the uninitiated.”
“I thought her name was Abby?”
“This is a different gal. The other one changed her mind about the intern position. Called me late last night.”
“Talk about waiting until the last minute.”
“Yep. Kids these days.”
“Why’d she change her mind?”
“Safety concerns, but I really don’t know why she felt that way. She didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t want to pry. So I went with my second choice, Darby Richardson. She’s more than capable.”
5
Randol Larson flipped on the blinker of his 2012 Lexus sedan for a few seconds before moving his car onto the roadway’s shoulder. Clicking the turn signal was a habit he couldn’t break, even though there wasn’t another car around for miles. Hell, he’d do it without thinking when pulling into his driveway at home.
A few seconds later, he put on the brakes, then eased the vehicle into the shade under a seldom-used railway overpass twenty miles outside of Tucson. He turned the car off but left the key in the auxiliary power position, then unbuckled the seatbelt. Larson turned on his portable MP3 player and plugged it into the car’s stereo system, choosing the first classical music selection.
He let the melody cradle him for a full two minutes before turning his attention to the
“Precisely. It mitigates the threat level. The odds of randomly selecting the correct pair of storage facilities would be in the neighborhood of five thousand to one. Then, let’s not forget that each Lucas looked slightly different. BioTex copies would all be identical.”
“Plus, there were almost two hundred of them.”
“Yes, which is more than our supply of BioTex,” Kleezebee said, appreciating his lifelong friend’s insight.
Bruno nodded.
“No, this is something else entirely.”
“I wonder if any of them survived?”
“Doubtful. They were cornered, and no match for the gunships. I don’t know what idiot came up with the idea to send them in unarmed, but it was a complete and utter slaughter. What a waste of men.”
“God rest their souls.”
“You’d better double security tonight in and around the lab. I’m concerned about the timing of this event. It’s no coincidence this happened the day before our most important experiment. We can’t take this lightly. My gut is telling me that everything has changed somehow. I’m sure the general is more than curious about all the lookalikes. If he identifies the insurgents as being related to Lucas Ramsay, he’ll try to shut us down tonight under the guise of national security.”
“Consider it done, Professor.”
Kleezebee pointed at the video screen. “Who do we have in the area where this took place?”
“Transport Unit 12. Hatcher’s men, sir. It’s his team’s first trip to storage site Delta-3. He should be just about finished with today’s exchange.”
“Let’s retask him and see if he can find the exact location of the massacre. The general’s men may have missed something. If nothing else, have him collect blood samples for a DNA comparison. Then we’ll know more. If this incursion is some type of elaborate ruse designed to implicate our young friend down the hall, we need to find out who is behind it.”
“You got it, chief. Anything else?”
Kleezebee tossed the fabric piece to Bruno. “Drop this by Griffith’s lab and have him run a complete analysis. I wanna know exactly what we’re dealing with here. While you’re down there, stop in and make sure Lucas is still Lucas and has a pulse,” the professor said, winking. “You know, just in case.”
“Roger that.”
“And check if the E-121 has been delivered. If not, get on the horn and find out where it is,” Kleezebee said, closing the video window on his computer. “Lastly, when the new lab tech arrives, I’ll need ten minutes with her to bring her up to speed before she meets Lucas and Drew. I don’t want Darby walking in unprepared. Those two can be a handful for the uninitiated.”
“I thought her name was Abby?”
“This is a different gal. The other one changed her mind about the intern position. Called me late last night.”
“Talk about waiting until the last minute.”
“Yep. Kids these days.”
“Why’d she change her mind?”
“Safety concerns, but I really don’t know why she felt that way. She didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t want to pry. So I went with my second choice, Darby Richardson. She’s more than capable.”
5
Randol Larson flipped on the blinker of his 2012 Lexus sedan for a few seconds before moving his car onto the roadway’s shoulder. Clicking the turn signal was a habit he couldn’t break, even though there wasn’t another car around for miles. Hell, he’d do it without thinking when pulling into his driveway at home.
A few seconds later, he put on the brakes, then eased the vehicle into the shade under a seldom-used railway overpass twenty miles outside of Tucson. He turned the car off but left the key in the auxiliary power position, then unbuckled the seatbelt. Larson turned on his portable MP3 player and plugged it into the car’s stereo system, choosing the first classical music selection.
He let the melody cradle him for a full two minutes before turning his attention to the
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