Chapter 7

Saturday August 20 2086

BASE, New York

1:15 PM

Nadia Chase paced back and forth in her tiny office, debating. She had less than an hour left to respond to Charlie Liess's offer, and she still had no clue what to do.

"I love my job," she murmured. That much was true; she enjoyed working with her patients and preserving what little wildlife remained on the vastly inhabitable Earth. However, it offered her no financial stability- she had a hundred thousand credits left to pay off of her student loans debt, and with an income of five thousand a month, every spare credit was spent on living expenses. And she was easily replaceable; there were thousands of equally qualified behaviourists waiting to snap up her job.

Nadia sent the deal-breaking question to Charlie: Will I be able to continue my work with wild animals?

Within ten seconds, she had her one-word reply. Yes.

As an afterthought, she asked another looming query. What will my monthly salary be?

After some hesitation, Charlie answered. Let's start off with 20,000.

Nadia rubbed her eyes, sure that she was misreading the numbers. She did some sums; at her current job at BASE, she made a mere 60,000 credits a year. She was barely above the line of a minimum wage worker. But with Charlie's offer, she could make 240,000 a year, four times her current earnings.

Of course, compared to the trillions of dollars Liess Corp raked in each year, a quarter million either way probably didn't matter much to Charlie, who no doubt had never worked hard for her money. The heiress to her parents' fortune, she would forever be perched in the lap of luxury.

Nadia sighed, rubbing her hand over the artificial wood grain of her desk. She had been given the option to purchase a new chrome desk with a MindBubble port, but she liked the feeling of the wood, even if it was just imitation. Of course, only the supremely wealthy could afford anything made of real wood. But the patterns were soothing and comforting; the texture reminded her of a beach vacation when she was nine or ten years old when she found driftwood and begged to keep it. Nadia still had it years later, tucked away into a box of memories somewhere. A lingering scent of salty air remained on it- a small piece of the sea to carry with her.

After a momentary pause, Nadia made her decision. She called Charlie.

"Hello, Nadia," Charlie answered. "Welcome to the team."

Nadia blinked twice. "I hadn't even said anything yet, how did you know?"

A sly grin played over the young heiress's face. "You wouldn't message at all if you were planning on continuing your job."

Nadia's shoulders slumped. "You're right. What do I do now?"

"Quit your job," Charlie ordered. "Right now. Move out. I'll send a hover for you; I own many apartments around where you live, so you can pick and choose, free of rent. You'll begin your work right away- I've got a BCI agent searching for your team right now."

Overwhelmed, Nadia nodded. "Alright. I'll do that."

She moved to shut off the comm link, but Charlie interrupted her. "And, Nadia?"

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Thank you. This wasn't an easy choice to make, and I regret having to make you choose."

Nadia smiled warmly. "No regrets. It was my choice, and I have to live with the consequences. Now, I have to pack, so if you'll excuse me?"

Charlie nodded. "Will one hour suffice?"

Nadia surveyed her small room. She didn't have much in the way of personal possessions; a few books, a holo-tablet, and clothes were the only items she really kept. "Yes," she affirmed.

Nadia turned off the comm link and began to pack.

⦓⦔

Saturday August 20 2086

The Manor, Massachusetts

5:30 PM

Courtney Cruz was in the middle of her dinner when the call came through her wrist comm. "Hello?" she answered.

"It's Green. I found your people."

She danced a mental jig. Her work would be saved, she was sure of it.

"Thank you. Can you arrange a meeting within an hour? I'll take them to Lab Six at The Manor."

"Absolutely," Doug replied. Courtney beamed.

"I will meet you there."

She shut off the comm link and ordered a flight in her new hover plane. As an afterthought, she requested a large dinner for fifteen people. She knew she would need it; excitement made her hungry.

⦓⦔

One hour later on the dot, Courtney strutted into the conference room adjoining to Lab Six. She stopped dead; it was empty. Where are they? she wondered. Then a knock on the door brought her attention to an assortment of people. Liess and Green were standing with a gangly, sickly pale man, a short dark-skinned woman, and-

Her blood froze. She would recognise that olive-toned face anywhere. Nadia Chase? How was she in any way qualified to be on Courtney's team?

Liess entered first, Nadia trailing closely behind her. Green grabbed the tall man by the forearm and shuffled in, and the woman followed them all in, an unimpressed expression on her face.

Courtney cleared her throat. "If you'll all take a seat?" It wasn't a request so much as an order. They all obeyed like a flock of sheep.

"Thank you. Now, the information you were given was probably vague-"

The dark-skinned woman interrupted. "No, actually, Doug told me everything. Save the cloned animals, all that stuff. Can we start now?" She spoke with a slight French accent.

Courtney glared at her. "And you are?"

The woman crossed her arms. "Dr. Anya de Ralez." She pronounced it Ralay.

Anya de Ralez- a world-renowned microbiologist specializing in viruses. Perfect. The smart ones are always the smart-asses, Courtney thought.

"Well, Anya, I'm Courtney Cruz. And you are joining my team, so you'll show respect."

Dr. de Ralez scoffed. "Mademoiselle Cruz, I am ten years older than you and I have been doing this for much longer. I think I also deserve this respect you speak of, yes?"

Courtney rolled her eyes. "We'll discuss this later. Everyone, Dr. Anya de Ralez, microbiologist with a focus on viruses. Next?"

The tall, loose-limbed man opened his mouth but was interrupted by Doug. "I'm Doug Green, BCI agent. My job is to make sure this stays under the radar, and to, um, aid the investigation and get us through any legal… things."

He ended rather unprofessionally, Courtney noted critically. She would have to keep an eye on him.

The man who was interrupted before began to speak again. "I'm Asher Jones- well, actually, I'm Cam, hacker extraordinaire, but that's only my pen name. I find people and information for a living, and, um, if anyone needs to get access from a secure company I can get it. I've got a perfect memory, and I've hacked into every major biocorp at least once, including the HCBA-"

He stopped abruptly, then glanced at Courtney. "Sorry, I probably shouldn't have said that-"

She silenced him with a pointing finger. "When all of this is over, I want you to work for me."

He sat in stunned silence, as did the rest of the team. None of them had counted on future opportunities; they were told that this was a temporary arrangement, with the exception of Nadia Chase, who was told only that Liess wanted her to work with a virus.

Liess spoke up. "I suppose it's my turn now. I am Charlie Liess, daughter of Angelica and Damien Liess, heiress to Liess Biocorp. I'm funding this operation and, while I'm normally against cloning, I think that much more is at stake. Therefore, I'm the genius mastermind behind this and I will not stand to be ridiculed or dismissed because of my age."

Nadia Chase sighed. "I suppose it's my turn. I'm Nadia Chase, and until this afternoon I was a wild cat behaviourist with the BASE. I have Hale degrees in animal behavior, biology, and," she gulped," artificially created viruses."

Courtney furrowed her brow. "That program was cancelled after nine months, how did you-"

Nadia shook her head. "I was in my third year and I devoted so much time to it that I was awarded the degree regardless. I'm the only person with that degree, and that's why I'm here, I suppose."

Charlie Liess was watching Nadia intently the entire time she talked, and Courtney had the feeling that the heiress's interest wasn't just in what the scientist brought to the team.

She briskly stood up; it was time for the tour. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you your laboratory."

The team had varied responses to the request: Nadia quickened her pace slightly; Cam nearly stumbled over his feet in his haste to see his new environment; Anya folded her arms over her chest and dragged her feet; Charlie kept an apprehensive eye on Courtney; and Doug trailed behind the rest.

Each one of them honed in on one aspect of the well-furnished lab. Cam raced to the MindBubble and began tinkering with it; it was stocked with every toy a hacker could ever want. Anya grudgingly became interested in the cloning equipment in one corner. Nadia discovered the cloned quail chicks in their pen and began to examine them, while Charlie developed a sudden interest in the large microscope installed not two feet from Nadia. Doug reluctantly browsed the data files and kept a watchful eye over the others, and Courtney snuck upstairs to her private laboratory when she thought no one was watching.

"Where are you going?"

Courtney whirled around. Anya de Ralez was glaring up at her, hands firmly planted on her hips.

"My private laboratory," Courtney replied.

"I'm coming with you." Anya insisted.

"No, there are many top-secret projects…"

Anya frowned. "So you are keeping secrets from us?"

"Yes- no- that's none of your business!" Courtney pursed her lips, irritated.

"I have a proposition. Allow me to follow you, and I will not tell the others." Anya shrugged. "It is quite simple, really."

Courtney grudgingly turned to unlock the door. "Fine. But not one word about this, you hear me?"

Anya grinned smugly. "Then we have ourselves a deal."

The two walked into Courtney's top-secret laboratory. At first glance, it didn't appear to be particularly impressive, but careful scrutiny would reveal the sophisticated machines that hummed busily, the subtle glow of holographic tablets equipped with the highest quality programs, and the back panel that flickered with data from the HCBA bases in New Providence and Tokyo. Anya's eyes darted around the room, inspecting it.

"So? Are you happy now?" Courtney asked her. Anya gave a grudging nod.

"It is… passable," she replied.

Courtney briskly brushed past Anya and strided to a cylindrical pillar installed in a corner. Its gleaming chrome quivered as if with anticipation. Courtney walked behind it and pulled a steel privacy curtain around herself, entering the 38-digit passcode. It whirred as a panel slid open, revealing a throbbing artificial womb. The clusters of cells it contained were nurtured by the glowing blue mass. A membrane of pulsating veins protected each fragile cluster of life.

Courtney was momentarily stunned; her project was going just as she had planned, which was no surprise, but the embryos were developing at an alarming rate. With only five months of development left, she didn't have much time to clear the project with the HCBA board before she had four new lives to establish.

After a few seconds of observation, Courtney closed the chrome column and exited the security of the curtain. Anya de Ralez leveled her with a piercing stare. "What is in there?" she demanded.

Courtney shrugged off her intense gaze. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with," she replied. "Now, let's return to the others, shall we?"

**Remember to like this chapter and add this to your stories if you want to keep up with Nadia and the gang!