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  "That seems a very simple answer," the woman sounded overly skeptical.

  "Actually, it is a very simple solution that was, up to now, impossible to achieve given that the technology required to accomplish said solution did not exist. Now it does and, thus, our achievement."

  "But you can't be the only one with this new technology."

  "I certainly am not."

  "So what is to prevent our enemies from creating their own supply of biological weaponry?"

  Dr. Whelan smiled, "so what if they do?"

  "What?"

  The doctor began pacing in front of the three individuals as if he were a professor instructing a class. "As you are all aware, two years ago I developed an anti-microbial, and specifically an anti-viral, vaccination for a company called Pharmanetics. The rather abrupt downfall of the company, which you may have read about in your local or national newspapers at the time, left me searching for the need to find, shall we say, alternative applications for my creation. Due to the limitation of the raw material necessary for me to make additional product, I decided to refine the remaining supply that I had managed to appropriate from the company, and create a vaccination that would extend my short supply. Unfortunately, the ability to synthesize more of the product will be impossible without the acquiring more of the raw materials."

  "So, is there a source for these materials?" Some of the color had returned to the face of the well-dressed man with the thick Balkan accent.

  Dr. Whelan breathed out a heavy breath and his face tightened. "Yes. There is additional material out there in the world, but for the moment let's just assume that, well, it is unattainable." Dr. Whelan considered his words. "Perhaps later we can discuss further acquisition of the raw material, but for now the focus shall be on what we DO have and not what we MAY have in the future."

  "And what is it that you currently have?" The woman spoke up this time and was clearly growing more excited.

  "What I currently have is enough of my vaccine to inoculate approximately ten thousand of your various military men and women. The effectiveness of the aerosol weapon and of the immunity provided by the vaccination, were the main purposes of the demonstration you just witnessed. As you could clearly see, our test subject was able to withstand the ravages of the genetically altered Ebola and Marburg viruses we just misted into the lab."

  The two individuals blanched at the casual mention that the two most deadly and incurable viruses known to man had been what was actually released into the room. The third person stood silently behind the other two and didn't react at all to the news.

  The woman now looked pale and managed to stammer, "W-What?!?"

  Dr. Whelan held up his hands and spoke reassuringly, "Not to worry my friends. You heard the computer inform us that there were no contaminants left in the facility. I assure you our sterilization procedures are beyond the state-of-the-art."

  The Balkan man interjected, "But only two countries in the world could have access to such weaponized virus."

  Dr. Whelan smiled, "That is very true. However, I would recommend that you curtail any further investigative questionings into the matter, as Mr. Pollard demands a certain degree of discretion as to his many allegiances."

  The two individuals looked behind to where "Mr. Pollard" stood stoically, his body language unreadable.

  Dr. Whelan continued in the deep baritone voice he possessed, "If our friend were to feel his identity compromised he might be so inclined as to take certain degrees of action to ensure his anonymity."

  The threat did not go unnoticed by the man and woman and they turned an angry eye to Dr. Whelan, who merely smiled and shrugged his shoulders in return. The pair turned once again to look at Mr. Pollard then seemed to dismiss his presence entirely as they returned their full attention back to the doctor.

  "So what you are saying," the woman began, "is that you are willing to sell off both your cache of aerosol bombs and inventory of inoculations to the highest bidder?"

  Doctor Whelan nodded, "And that..."individual"...will have the ability to immunize an entire regiment of his or her troops against even the deadliest biological weaponry. Imagine the fear that this would instill in your enemies. Imagine the effect this information would have on the world! The ability to utilize nuclear or biological weapons has always been curtailed by the fact that even the victor who wields the weapon could not survive in the aftermath. What I am giving you is the ability to launch a devastating biological attack on your targets and follow it up with multiple regiments of troops right into the "Hot Zone" of the initial biological attack, without concern of cross contamination and, thereby, ensure victory inside that ground zero. There would even be enough antidote to inoculate the specialized technicians who could work unhindered to carry out the clean-up activities and make your ‘now conquered’ lands habitable once again, which could not be done in a nuclear aftermath."

  The doctor inclined his head toward the Balkan, "Can you imagine the price the Palestinians would pay to drop a massive "dirty" bomb inside the borders of Jerusalem? Everyone within Israel would fall to the two diseases, as the Palestinian soldiers marched in, immune to their own bombs, and then kill off any stragglers that might be clinging to life. They could reclaim their lands, with all of the high priced buildings and land developments intact, saving the victor from the need to redevelop the area as they would normally have to do after any major armed conflict."

  The Balkan man seemed to shiver at the thought.

  Dr. Whelan turned to the woman, "Or perhaps the Chinese would put a similar tactic to use inside Taiwan. Eliminating the resistance to the island's re-assimilation and, once and for all, bringing their wayward neighbor back into the fold that is mainland China."

  The doctor turned to Mr. Pollard, "or perhaps something more surgical and precise in nature could be accomplished? Perhaps a specific government agency could be eliminated? Clearing the way for some much needed progress to occur within our own countries of origin."

  The doctor looked away and scanned the trio as he held his hands out to them in a beckoning gesture, "THAT is what I am offering you today and I think you are all aware of the significance of what is being laid on the, metaphorical, table in front of you."

  The trio stood in silence for a moment before shifting nervously from one foot to another.

  "Good," the doctor said as if he had said all he was going to, "I will leave you to contact your respective clients."

  The lights of the lab flickered briefly, distracting the doctor as a man dressed in all black combat fatigues seemed to appear from nowhere and stood next to Dr. Whelan.

  "My associate will show you back to your tents. Take all the time you need, but I will warn you that the first person to present me with the amount I requested will be the winner. There will be no second chances, so sleep well." The doctor turned his back on the trio and went over to a computer console and appeared to begin analyzing the information on the screen.

  The Balkan tried to take one step in his direction but the black clad mercenary blocked his path in an instant.

  Politely he held out one hand and indicated a door that was still open, "This way, if you please."

  The man looked like he wanted to protest but he held his tongue because the mercenary had eased the barrel of his AK-47 at the man's abdomen. The trio walked from the chamber and out of the facility as Dr. Whelan hurriedly opened his cell phone and pressed a single button.

  The line on the other end connected and a voice said, "Yes?"

  "This is Doctor Whelan. Can I deduce from the flickering of the lights that you had to use the tasers? "

  The voice on the other end seemed to growl slightly before answering, "He came out of the sedation early. Killed one of my men as we tried to get him back under control."

  The doctor sighed, "I hope for your sake that the subject is still alive?"

  "Yes..." the voice on the other end spoke with clear disappointment in his voice, "We didn't do any permanent damage to
your precious Guinea Pig. He'll be hurting for a while, but he'll recover."

  "Good. I have plans for him and it would be a tremendous setback to lose my prized possession due to a lack of restraint on your part."

  "Be careful Doctor, my people are worth more to me than to be regarded as expendable."

  The doctor smiled, "Fair enough, but you should know that to me, they are little more than meat for my beast." Silence came from the other end as Dr. Whelan let his words sink in before adding, "and if you wish to maintain your position above them, then I suggest you remember your place in our little pecking order."

  Once again a growl rumbled through the earpiece on the cell phone and the doctor's smile grew wider.

  "I believe I will take that as your understanding, yes?"

  The growl continued for a couple more seconds then the voice, now deeper and raspy, quietly hissed, "Yes."

  Chapter 7

  Las Vegas in October is one of the only times of the year that the weather is pleasant enough for people to actually want to be outdoors in the daytime. Most people know about the famous heat in the summer, but what they forget is how far above sea level the city sits. Las Vegas is a high desert and if it's not too hot in the summer, then it's too cold in the winter and basically the city has way too much wind at every other time of the year. We also don't have the added bonus of seasons as the landscape remains basically unchanged year round. No snow, little rain, no autumn leaves or spring flowers to mark the passage of time; however, there is a small window every April and October that we can practically count on to have absolutely perfect weather.

  Today is one of those days. It isn't normal for me to close my eyes, but I did and relished the sunshine combined with the cool breeze that swirled around me, as I stepped out of my pickup truck. I don't usually partake in prolonged exposure to the sun, doesn't agree with me for the most part, but I can take it in and enjoy it in small doses. I stretch my arms out to the sides and deliberately bask a bit longer before I shut the door and take a couple steps until my feet are off the asphalt of the street and firmly on the concrete of the sidewalk in front of my office.

  Silver State Investigations and Collections

  Every morning I chuckle at my sign. I can't help it. It's just so damn "official" sounding to me, which is the complete opposite of what is actually happening inside. I hear the passenger door of my truck close and, with a smile still stretched across my face, I turn to my right to see Lei exit the vehicle. The woman is absolute goddamn candy for the male’s eyes...some female eyes as well I suppose, and the pleasant chill in the air hadn't dissuaded her from wearing her usual attire, which always seems to be next to nothing. The cut of her miniskirt, the tightness of her sweater’s midriff, exposing her flat and wonderfully striated belly and the height of the heels on her knee-length leather boots would be perfect stripper attire if they were in fluorescent colors. Instead the grey tweed miniskirt, the white sweater and the grey suede boots were tasteful, but not modest. It was almost as if the clothes had been respectable once but were corrupted as they draped over Lei's body.

  And don't get me started about her body. Just don't. I'll suffice to say that every showgirl, stripper, hooker or any other sex worker would starve if they had to work in her presence. They just wouldn't have a chance.

  Not everyone felt she had the face to match, what with her Asian features altered by the cosmetic surgeon to appear more Caucasian through the widening of her eyes and plumping of her lips. Still, no one ever thought her unattractive as much as slightly artificial. To me, she had the most beautiful face a woman could ever possess: she did before the surgery, when we grew up together and she still does now. Hell, I still get the same butterflies in my gut when I catch her just as she gets out of the shower, or when she's simply sitting in front of the computer working in a sweatshirt (usually mine) and wearing those nerdy eyeglasses of hers...or pretty much any other time. Oh, I know she's overly smart and every bit as skilled at the same deadly crap that I am, but I still find myself lost in prolonged ogling her even after all these years.

  Don't get any ideas. She's mine. I'm hers. That's it.

  "God," Lei sighed as the cool desert breeze blew her straight, jet-black hair that normally extended to the middle of her back, into her face, "I wish it could be like this year round."

  "Not too cold are you?" I ask, knowing full well that it would take a significantly greater drop in temperature before Lei would ever deign to alter her clothing selections.

  Raising one eyebrow wickedly she looked down to what she was wearing, before she turned to fully face me with that sly foxy grin she could wear so well. My eyes couldn't help but drop down to see her enhanced cleavage and the dual erect reactions the cool breeze had elicited as it flowed around her midriff.

  "You disapprove?" she asked using all the practiced allure that had made her the master seductress that she had become.

  I smiled and tried to feign mere amusement at her spectacle, "Not at all, but that attitude you're throwing around is not going to be conducive to my being able to get any work done."

  Lei smiled, her genuine smile this time, "So? Maybe we should take the day off and enjoy this perfect weather, while we have it."

  I started to tell her "no". I really did. But the sight of her was always more than my will power could handle without some extremely important distraction to pull me away.

  "Let's at least check in and see if any of our leads turned up something."

  Lei pouted disingenuously, "They never do."

  My smile widened, it was a really nice day and just the arbitrary thought that my Lei wanted only to spend the day alone with me was too much to resist...and the damn woman knew it.

  "Well then, let's at least check the phone messages and, if we don't have anything new, then maybe we can go to the lake?"

  A glimmer in her eyes told me I had guessed her wishes correctly and an excited tremor coursed through me as thoughts of the lake cruiser's yacht-like amenities ran through the back of my mind. I walked across the sidewalk to the office door and pulled the key from my pocket.

  My name is Steve Jacobs and Silver State Investigations and Collections is the business that I run with Lei these days. We both have our Private Investigator licenses, which I suggested we apply for about six months after I resigned from the Los Angeles Police Department, two years ago.

  Don't be fooled, though. We don't take on any clients for "collections" as the sign on the door might indicate, and we only do enough investigative work to keep our otherwise dubious reputations intact. In reality, our entire facility and occupation is more of a front that allows us to work within the boundaries of respectability and legitimacy as we do our real work. Why do we need the public relations veil? Well, it's because our real work is...complicated. I could go into it at length but I'll sum it up by saying that Lei and I spend the majority of our time attempting to track down one single individual, who after years of our searching, is still no closer to being found.

  Oh... and there's also the part about Lei and me being vampires. Yes, really. Vampires.

  Anyway, the thought of going to the lake would be a welcome respite from all the fruitless searching we had been doing as of late. Maybe it was time to take a break? Just get in the boat, enjoy being surrounded by nature, and luxuriate in the shade that the custom design of the bulkhead would provide. It would be perfectly peaceful, relaxing, and with Lei in a bikini, rather an intensely exotic and erotic experience for me. I suppose Lei has a similar experience, but I don’t consider myself on her level, from a physically attractive point. Then again, who could? I don't want to be too self-depreciative, but I have been told that I am handsome and I do manage to possess the genetic predisposition to have low body fat and above average muscularity but, compared to Lei, I think I look like a mangy rat. They say women aren't as visually centric on their men the way men are on their women...and I thank God for that.

  I pushed the key into the lock and all the attent
ion I had been putting into Lei suddenly vanished. I didn't feel the expected resistance from the bolt as the key turned effortlessly in the latch.

  Lei must have noticed my mood change, "What?"

  "Door's unlocked." I said quietly, "You didn't come back for anything after we left last night did you?"

  Lei was already on the move to my side, drawing her Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum snub nosed revolver from the thigh holster she barely managed to conceal under her miniskirt. "No! Any chance you forgot to lock it?"

  I looked at her, raised one eyebrow in a smirk and shook my head, NO.

  Lei smiled back and rolling her eyes heavenward said, "No, I suppose you wouldn't."

  I pulled my key out of the latch and drew my own weapon, chambering a round from the magazine of my 9mm Glock 19 with its Crimson Trace laser sight in addition to the standard accessories.

  "How do you want to do this?" Lei asked in a whisper.

  I was about to answer her, when the doorknob suddenly turned and the door swung wide open. I never saw the person who opened the door as my entire field of vision was obscured by the business end of the 12-gauge shotgun pointed directly at my face.

  Chapter 8

  I could smell the solvent that the gunman had used to clean the weapon earlier in the day, but I only vaguely heard the voice that seemed to come from further within my office.

  "Mikhail! We are not here to..."

  Before the voice could finish the sentence, Lei had moved in and pushed the shotgun away from my face as the gunman pulled the trigger. Buckshot flew harmlessly into the air and headed skyward as Lei wrenched and twisted the shotgun around while pinning the gunman's hand to the weapon. She quickly reversed her momentum and sent the man spinning to the ground as his trapped wrist remained immobile and snapped under the force of her takedown.

  My hearing was reduced to only a low whining whistle, but I did my best to ignore it and managed to step forward over the fallen man and headed to my office. I knew the man hadn't been alone and, since Lei needed time to secure the man she had just downed, it fell to me to take the lead and clear the office. I rounded the corner of the waiting room and visually checking the hallway that led into the large studio that Lei and I had converted into our shared office space. Seeing no one, I crept forward as my hearing slowly came back to me. I still couldn't hear well, but the miserable sounds that the man Lei had taken down made had started to cut through the shrill ringing that was fading from my ears. By the time I was at the door to the office my hearing had fully returned and the gunman had stopped screaming. I didn't know if Lei had killed him or he had simply passed out from the pain, but that didn't matter at the moment. The important thing was he was no longer a threat and Lei would be coming to back me up.