Ava rubbed his back quickly, an excited grin on her face. “Send it to Sierra. Tell her to go public as quick as she can.”
Alex bobbed his head, quickly creating a screenshot of the email and attached it to a message before he followed the trail through the system, finding more emails on the subject. He grabbed them all, sure to include the sender and all recipients.
They would leave no doubt that every executive at PharmaTech was aware of what was happening, of how they were about to send a deadly virus designed to kill seventy percent of the population it came into contact with to a small Vermont town.
Ava rubbed his arm as he sent the message on its way to Sierra. She replied almost immediately.Finally.
“How long do you think it’ll take for the media to get a hold of this?” Ava asked.
Alex set his laptop on the coffee table. “Long enough for us to do a quick round of gaming?”
“You’re on. I’d really like to kick your butt again.”
Alex grabbed his controller, a mischievous grin spreading across his face as he toggled on the game. “Oh, it’s like that, huh?”
“Yep, it’s like that,” she said with a grin as the timer counted down and their cars sped off.
With a giggle, she elbowed him.
“Hey, Sparky, no cheating,” he said, his laughter bubbling up from his chest.
“This isn’t cheating. This is doing what it takes to win.”
“Oh, yeah? Playing dirty, huh?” He grinned, his eyes fixed on the screen.
She raised her eyebrows as she cut him off around the curve. “Ouch, watch those tires, Ace. You’re going to have a blowout.”
“Ohhh, is that a threat?”
“Maybe just have some nails in my car that I’m planning to toss out.”
“Ouch! You’re mean, Avs.”
She crossed the finish line and raised her hands overhead. “I win!”
Alex’s car came in a distant second, and his on-screen avatar frowned. “Good job, babe. You win again.”
His phone chimed, and he grabbed it, checking his message. “Sierra says it’s out and should be hitting the news any second.”
Alex switched the television from their game back to the news feed. Reports continued on the outbreak in the small town of Hemlock Falls.
As the newscaster read the same report they’d heard adozen times, her eyes went wide. She pressed a finger to her ear, glancing down before she centered her eyes on the camera again.
“We are getting breaking news in now. Emails from PharmaTech executives showing not only explicit knowledge of the outbreak, but the order to unleash the virus on the small population as a test. This is incredible news considering that it directly contradicts the statement released by the company earlier in which they placed blame on a disgruntled employee.”
The newscaster shook her head, her perfectly coifed hair barely moving. “This is quite the leak, everyone. Again, if you are just joining us, we have just received definitive proof that PharmaTech executives were not only aware of the outbreak but had ordered it. And now–”
She pressed a hand to her ear again. “We’re now getting word that police are raiding the PharmaTech headquarters as we speak. We go live to the team on scene. Bryan, what are you seeing?”
The screen shifted from the news desk to the PharmaTech sign and building. “This is absolutely incredible, Aimee, we’re seeing a massive police force on scene at this point. The media has been pushed back while this raid is conducted, and now…oh, get on this, get on this!” The man yelled, poking a finger toward the building.
The camera shifted and zoomed in on men in expensive suits being led from the building, their hands cuffed behind their back.
“Aimee, it appears that these are the executives that are being led away to the police cruisers. It looks like they are under arrest for what will likely be one of the biggest cases in this country’s history. We haven’t seen anything like this before where a company has turned on its own people.”
“It is absolutely incredible, Bryan. These people werecharged with saving lives and instead, they have destroyed them. You saw it here first, folks. Again, PharmaTech executives have now been arrested in conjunction with the deadly genetically modified flu outbreak that hit the small town of Hemlock Falls. Absolutely incredible. We will be right back with more after a short break.”
Ava sucked in a deep breath as she laid her head against Alex’s shoulder. “Wow. She did it.”
