“Guys, you gotta see this” Bryce said. “Something’s happening.”
“What is it?” Rusty said.
Bryce made the display on his computer appear on the TV monitor. “Your office building is on fire.”
“What!?” Faith stepped toward the TV. “That’s not possible! All of our research is there.”
“Flames started twenty minutes ago,” Rusty said, scanning the alert on his phone. “Fire crews are on the scene. No reported casualties.” He dialed Colt. “Hey man, you alright? I just saw. Good. Good. Got anything? Alright, come back and we’ll talk.” He hung up. “Everyone was evacuated safely. The fire is raging at the top floors.”
“That’s where our labs are.” Faith said. “My vaccine samples, my guinea pigs!” She sobbed.
“People take priority over animals,” Bryce said. “I don’t think they-”
“Bryce!” Grant said. “Really?”
Bryce noticed Faith crying. “I mean… they’re probably fine.”
Faith gathered her purse. “I have to go.”
“You can’t go down there,” Grant said, taking her wrist. “It’s too risky.”
“Stop telling me what to do,” Faith said, jerking her arm back. “Some of us follow through with our promises.”
Rusty and Bryce stopped and stared.
“Bad breakup?” Bryce said.
“You could say that,” Faith answered, crossing her arms. “He broke up with me in a note.”
Bryce made a hissing sound. “Ouch, man. That’s like a text break up in our time. Bad idea.”
“I’m not that old,” Grant said. “And that’s not the point.”
Rusty stepped forward. “Let’s get back on track here. Faith, do you know other companies developing a vaccine for Chorivirus? Or any entities with interest in a vaccine’s development? Or anyone who would benefit from a lack of vaccine? There’s money to be made on both ends – cure or no cure.”
“There’s hundreds around the world,” Faith said, sitting again. “I used to work for a different company before Flux.”
Rusty leaned forward. “Which one?”
“Inquisitis. They’re headquartered here, too.”
“I’m on it,” Bryce said. He began typing again.
“They tried to hire me back when Chorivirus first broke out.”
Rusty began taking notes. “And you declined?”
“I didn’t feel comfortable there. They were profit driven, not people minded.”
“They make a diabetes drug that costs almost $500 a dose,” Bryce said, reading an article. “That’s insane.”
“That’s Inquisitis for you.”
“Flux isn’t the only company that’s had break ins lately. There’s a few that have had reported robberies, but anything that was stolen has been kept confidential; I guess they don’t want to spook investors. It’s clear they were all working on a Chorivirus vaccine. There’s a company in Switzerland that was close to a breakthrough last month… shut down over an ethics scandal with their CEO. Bought out by… oh, look here,” Bryce said. “It’s your friend, Inquisitis.”
“That must be a coincidence,” Faith said.
“Why?” Bryce asked. “You said they’re profit-driven. Looks like they also just bought out two companies in Africa and one in China, all on the cusp of vaccine development. Breakthroughs that seem to have evaporated after the buyout. Huh.”
