“That’s not suspicious at all.” Grant said.
“They tried to merge with Flux not too long ago. Got shot down.”
“I never heard about that,” Faith said.
“These things aren’t typically made public if they don’t move forward,” Bryce said.
“Then how do you know?”
Bryce chuckled. “I’m an expert on digging up dirt.”
“Are they developing a vaccine?” Rusty asked.
“They’re coming up with something,” Faith said. “Not necessarily a vaccine. Could be a treatment.”
“Makes sense if you want to make billions quickly. Instead of a vaccine, just put people on a one-a-day pill,” Bryce said.
“They could really corner the market if they had both,” Rusty added.
“Even with a vaccine out in the market, some people will still get sick,” Faith said. “And not everyone gets vaccinated. In fact, a lot of people think that vaccines do more harm than good, and it’s all a big conspiracy control us and make us sicker over time.”
“Someone might have stolen your vaccine samples, then lit the fire to cover their tracks,” Grant said.
Faith nodded. “It’s possible. These days, reverse engineering is easier than ever.”
“Do you have the formula on your personal laptop?” Bryce said.
“Yes, I have notes on it. I work at home, sometimes…”
“Against company policy?” Bryce leaned forward.
“The company has good security,” Faith said. “But when you’re nearing a breakthrough, you just wanna keep working to it, even from home.”
“Did you do that at Inquisitis?” Rusty asked. “Work from home?”
Faith nodded.
“So they’d know you probably have what they need on you right now,” Grant said. “They probably assumed Courtney worked from home too. You were lucky not to get hit first.”
“At this point, we can’t rule anything out,” Rusty said. “But Inquisitis is ranking high on the suspect list.”
“With good reason,” Bryce said. “I mean, look at all of this. If they’re responsible for these incidents, it’s safe to assume they will strike again.”
A chill went down Faith’s spine. She wrapped her arms around her waist.
Grant took notice of her discomfort. “Don’t worry, Faith. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Grant’s right about that. We have experience in these type of situations. And we’ve never lost a client,” Rusty said. “You need to lay low for now. I know this will be hard for you. Stay at the safe house. If Inquisitis is behind this, they know you have the data, and we know they will kill to get it. Bryce, keep digging.”
“Roger that, boss.”
“You two head back to the safe house. And try to get along. This isn’t a joke.”
Faith stared at Grant. She couldn’t really accept or deny him as her bodyguard. Despite her wants and her anger, she couldn’t do anything but sit, frozen and stoic with indecision and fear.
“We’ll be fine. I know what to do,” Grant said.
“Of course you do,” Faith muttered. She shot Grant a look. “You always know what’s best for me, don’t you?”
Grant felt like he got sucker punched as he remembered Faith’s words to be the ones he’d written in his farewell note.
Rusty cleared his throat. “Ms. Williams, any objections?”
Faith looked him in the eyes and shook her head. Maybe another day in the safe house with Grant would finally give her the closure she always wanted.
