Free Zombie Fever: Origins by B.M. Hodges Page A

chose the wrong assignment, Buddy. We knew all along that Dr. Greer would try to sabotage our work once we found out she’d defected from our organization. My hat’s off to you. You almost did it. I don’t know how, but you managed to hone in on the heart of our project. If Dr. Taverna hadn’t stayed behind to secure his work and warned us when he discovered your intrusion, your little operation could have set us back years . But you’ve accomplished nothing except to make this evening a little less mundane for our nightshift employees. Are you in contact with Dr. Greer now? Dr. Greer! Can you hear me?”
    The guards turned Tomas around to face Supervisor Bertrand.
    Bertrand had the smirk of ‘gotcha’ on his face but that quickly turned to bewilderment when he recognized this would-be saboteur who was now his captive. “Tomas Overstreet?” It couldn’t be. The shiftless, heavily sedated young man he’d met earlier in the week didn’t seem capable of holding a minimum wage job, let alone pull off a stunt like this. He shook off his surprise and let out a hearty laugh, “Oh God, please don’t tell me you’re here to save your father!” He looked up at Andy’s blank face behind the oxygen mask, “You didn’t risk your life for this piece of meat, did you? Damn it, boy. I told you your father was dead.” He pointed at Andy, “That isn’t your father. That is a Petri dish.”
    One of the guards handed Bertrand Tomas’s phone.
    “Is this how you’re keeping in contact with Judith?” he asked, referring to Dr. Greer by her first name. “Let me guess. She buttered you up with complements and used the last of her aging feminine wiles to connive you into doing her dirty work. Did she make it sound as if she had changed as a person? Did she tell you she’s the matriarch of this program?” He nodded at the stasis chamber. “Boy, you’ve been sold a bill of goods. Judith is out for Judith. You’re here to eliminate her competition . This,” he waved up at Andy, “was a carrot; an incentive to manipulate an impressionable kid.”
    Tomas remained silent. Bertrand and the guards hadn’t noticed his discarded duffel bag leaning against one of the vivisection machines behind them. His mind raced. Time to improvise.
    “You’re right,” he cried and hung his head against his chest. “Please, don’t hurt me. I was only trying to free my dad. Sir, I can get you Dr. Greer. Give me the phone and I’ll tell her I was successful and got Andy out. If you give me the phone, I can get her to tell me her location and you can let me go. Please, sir. I don’t know what I’m doing here. Maybe if it were your father you’d have done the same,” he sniffled.
    Supervisor Bertrand was an exquisitely intelligent man. He’d gone to the finest European schools and was bred for power and success. But like all men, he had a weakness. And his weakness was Dr. Greer. He’d fallen for her the day he’d recruited her from the Ivy Towers of Cambridge. She was brilliant in her field and had an unwavering scientific mind. Nothing got in the way of her research. That is until Andy was hired on as a security guard. He’d known about their affair for years, but couldn’t bring himself to interfere. His weakness had allowed her to become too valuable to the San Diego campus’ operations. Instead of rotating in other young budding intellects into her position as was standard practice at Vitura, he’d allowed her to remain well beyond the typical two year contract, stretching her tenure beyond a decade. And he’d done the same for Andy because he knew it kept her happy and loyal.
    To say that Judith’s sudden defection after Andy’s death was a shock to Bertrand was an understatement. He’d always thought they had a personal connection, albeit platonic on her part, which went beyond the professional. He had to get her under his control again; if not to limit damage to the zombie fever project, then at least to keep her