Free Blood Mate: The Project Rebellion, Book 2 by Mina Carter Page B

with respect and deference.
    But Toni didn’t give a shit about deference. And respect? It was this man and those like him who had developed the three viruses. If it were up to her, they’d have been locked up months ago for crimes against humanity.
    Sliding out of her hiding place, she blocked his path. Her sudden movement from unnoticeable statue to living, breathing being didn’t get a reaction because he didn’t look up, his attention focused on the notes in his hand as he muttered to himself.
    “Uptake is slow… It has to be linked to the cellular regen—”
    “Doctor Jacobs, do you have a moment?”
    “Huh?” The doctor’s head snapped up and he blinked at her. The round glasses he wore gave him the look of a confused owl. “Oh, yes…Subj…err, Major Fielding, isn’t it? What can I do for you?”
    Anger welled at the fact he had to stop himself calling her a subject, or using her case number, but she ignored it. She needed information from the guy, so pissing him off or threatening to rip his throat out wasn’t going to help her cause.
    “It is.” Plastering a smile she didn’t feel on her face, she nodded. “I wanted to talk to you about the RAs we’ve been using on the cleanup operations.”
    The doctor’s attention, which had been wandering back to his notes, transferred completely, the pale eyes behind the glasses fixed on her. She suppressed a shudder. Now she knew what a bug under a microscope felt like. It wasn’t a pleasant sensation at all.
    “What about them?”
    “Well…” She paused for a moment and considered how to phrase her request. “Have you ever noticed anything strange about the latest batches? Say…intelligence?”
    “Hmm…” Jacobs pressed his lips together, his long white beard wiggling as he did. She wondered if he had to wear a hair and beard net in the sterile areas. “You mean traces of, or full-on intelligence? Sometimes we have one or two with vestigial traces of intelligence but it seems to be more of a knee-jerk reaction. Once advanced decay sets in, those traces disappear. We think it might have something to do with medication the subjects took in the months beforehand. We’ve never noticed any traces in known drug-users for example, yet those on certain brands of SSRIs…” He paused at her blank look and elaborated. “They’re a type of anti-depressant.”
    “Ah, okay. Thank you,” she said but he had started talking again, enthusiasm written into every line of his expression.
    “So those on SSRIs seem to display the most vestigial intelligence, which is perhaps something to do with the action of the medication within the brain. We definitely need further study on the subject…” He stopped and blinked. “I’m sorry. Did that answer your question, Major?”
    She frowned and shook her head. “Yes and no. Have you ever had a subject display real intelligence and show evidence of retention of memory?”
    Another blink, but she didn’t miss the sudden flash of interest. The notes hung ignored in his hand.
    “Memory? Why?” His voice was sharp. “Have you seen any with intelligence? Out in the field? Oh my lord, naturally occurring self-awareness. We’d theorized it was possible…we need tox tests, dissection of the brain to isolate any structural abnormalities. For this to happen with the standard—” He stopped, visibly reining in his excitement. “Did you bring the body back?”
    “The standard what?” Toni’s eyes narrowed. “No, we didn’t bring it back. You know the operating procedures, Doctor. All RAs are terminated on site.”
    Jacobs tutted, annoyance and frustration washing over his face. “Yes, yes…I know. But when one of them exhibits unusual behavior, you should bring them back to me for further study. You shouldn’t destroy important scientific evidence. I can’t stress the importance of that enough.”
    She shrugged. “Tell it to the Colonel, Doctor. You want ’em back, I’ll bring ’em back.”
    “Hmmm,