“Applied neuro medicine,” Barbie said without missing a beat. “Mostly synaptic response modeling. Lots of graphs. Very little sleep.”
I nodded, impressed by her quick comebacks. We hadn’t even practiced that.
“Oh, wow,” he said. “That sounds impressive.”
“That’s debatable,” she said with a forced laugh. “Hey, do you happen to know what all the fuss is about tomorrow? I heard something about bigwig visitors.”
My breath caught in my throat. Had she gone too far?
Thankfully, he answered right away. “Yeah,” he said, lowering his voice. “It’s apparently a big deal. Saudis. Very high-level. They’re coming to see the progress.”
“Progress on what?” Barbie asked.
“The canine project. They’re really excited about it. Apparently, they’ve been funding a lot of the advance work. Aren’t you working on it?”
“Ah, not yet. Soon, probably. So, they’re here to see what, exactly?” she asked, keeping her tone casual.
He hesitated. “I’m probably not supposed to say much.”
“I won’t tell anyone,” she said. “I don’t even know anyone yet.”
That earned a small, nervous laugh. “Well, from what little I’ve gleaned, it’s some kind of bioengineering initiative. Animals. Enhanced cognition. Behavior modification. Dogs, although they’ve also worked with other animals. They’ve apparently had some kind of breakthrough with the dogs…or at least a certain dog.”
“Breakthrough in what sense?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Problem-solving. Responsiveness. Intelligence markers way above baseline. The kind of stuff that looks great on a presentation slide, I guess. I really don’t know much. It’s not my area.”
“Of course,” she said. “I expect to be briefed on it shortly.”
“Yeah, well, I heard one of the dogs escaped,” he said. “Caused this place a whole lot of panic. But they got it back. If it performs well for the Saudis tomorrow…this place is going to change.”
“Change how?”
“Probably a lot more money for research. Maybe a big raise for us, right?”
“Who knows? I’d be happy just to keep doing my work,” she replied. “Well, nice to meet you, Devon. Welcome to the night shift.”
“You, too,” he replied, already retreating into his tablet and heading toward the bathroom. “See you around.”
I waited until his footsteps faded. “You okay, Barbie?”
“Yeah, that was unexpected,” she replied. “Hope it doesn’t change the plan.”
“We’ll adapt as necessary,” I said calmly. “Quick thinking on your part.”
“Thanks.”
“Sorry about that, Barbie,” Angel broke in. “He got out of the elevator just as you ran into him. I had no advance warning.”
“It’s okay,” Barbie whispered. “Did you hear what he said?”
“Every word,” I said tightly. “If it’s safe, give me the camera view again.”
“Oh, sorry.”
Suddenly, I saw another hallway as Barbie hurried forward. It took me a moment to reorient myself. “Okay. Go down this corridor and to the left. The animal area should be at the end of the corridor.”
As Barbie strode forward and then left, my chest tightened. A heavy door came into view. No window, reinforced steel, keypad, and badge reader mounted beside it. A small placard read AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.
