Page 6 of Black Bay Defender
Sitting down at the desk, he booted up his laptop. He had a lot to go through to get up to speed. A lot more than he’d ever wanted to undertake when it came to this project. He’d been involved in Resurrection only to a certain point. He knew what it was and what they were attempting to accomplish, but he hadn’t immersed himself in it. Other than acquiring the cutting-edge technology they had used to manipulate the soldiers’ memories, his focus was the human brain and how the neural implant he’d helped design functioned inside the minds of these augmented soldiers. He hoped that data would lead to one day using something similar to treat patients who had suffered a traumatic brain injury. That was the only data he’d cared to see up to this point. Unfortunately, he was the lead scientist now, expected to get results and report back to the government officials who had given the green-light for the project in the first place.
They’d need to get another bio-robotics engineer on board soon. That wasn’t Tanner’s area of expertise. He’d have no idea how to repair one of the soldiers currently in stasis if one of their enhancements malfunctioned. Nor was he capable of making more of those soldiers – and the government wanted more.
They’d also need a geneticist to replace Doctor Dietrich if she wasn’t found. She was the key to the second phase of the program. Though they had more time before that part of the experiment was underway.
“Good afternoon, Deputy Director.”
Tanner looked up from his screen at the sound of that sultry greeting from the AI to see the middle-aged CIA man strolling toward him, the scent of peppermint from the gum he was always chewing proceeding him. Grant Ridley. Tanner wasn’t a fan. The man was slippery in a way that made Tanner nervous. Though he supposed, if someone dealt in as many secrets as this guy did, they’d kind of have to be slippery.
Ridley was dressed in a gray suit, off the rack judging by the fit, over a pale blue shirt that had what looked like a coffee stain just peeking out from under his lapel. His navy tie had been loosened and the top button of the shirt was undone.
“What can I do for you, Deputy Director?”
Grant leaned a hip against the desk, his jaw working that wad of gum in his mouth almost desperately. A former smoker still fighting his cravings for nicotine Tanner would guess.
“How’s everything going?”
Tanner leaned back in his seat and swiveled around to fully face the other man. “On the face of it, everything’s fine. The Sync monitors the stasis pods and the soldiers’ vitals are all exactly where they should be, their brain activity is excellent, but this isn’t my baby.” He motioned to the monitor and the data on the screen. “This is Craig Jerome’s baby. I know nothing of bio-robotics.”
This wasn’t the first time he’d pointed that out, and yet, here he was.
Grant nodded. “We’re working on that.”
About damn time.“And Doctor Dietrich? Has she been found?” She may be a geneticist rather than a bio-robotics engineer, but at least she’d been involved from the beginning. Unlike Tanner, Doctor Dietrich had insisted on being involved in all aspects of the project.
“We’ve got a lead on her possible whereabouts.”
“Oh?”
Honestly, Tanner wasn’t expecting the man to share, he assumed he’d just nod or move on to another subject, so he was surprised when the guy volunteered, “We believe her last location was Black Bay Penitentiary.”
A prison? Tanner frowned. How odd.
“We know she boarded a flight to Norfolk, Virginia and upon arrival rented a car. GPS tracking on that vehicle puts her at Black Bay. The car was returned to the airport later that same evening, but not by Doctor Dietrich.”
“Okay.” So, she’d what? Turned herself in? That didn’t make any sense. If she’d wanted to do that she would have gone to the authorities, not checked herself into a prison like it was some sort of resort.
“What do you know about Black Bay?”
“This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
“How about Dietrich’s past? Do you know anything about that?”
Tanner frowned again. “I know she’s a geneticist at the top of her field.” But he hadn’t exactly done a background check on the woman.
“Early on in her career, she was the lead scientist on a genetics program, splicing animal DNA with human DNA in an attempt to create stronger, more predatory soldiers.”
Intrigued, Tanner raised his brows. “Did she succeed?”
Grant dipped his chin. “She did. Unfortunately, one of her shareholders got greedy and started putting feelers out to other world powers.” The man shot a pointed look at Tanner. “You understand why the government would have to step in.”
“Of course.”
“Roughly seventeen years ago, Doctor Dietrich’s lab was raided, the majority of her fellow scientists and shareholders were arrested, and her specimens were confiscated. Those specimens were relocated to Black Bay where they’ve been working certain, shall we saysensitive, missions for us.”
In other words, secret off-the-books missions like assassinations and the like. Things they didn’t want the media linking back to them.
Grant bent to pick up the waste paper basket under Tanner’s desk and spat his gum into it. “Out of necessity, Doctor Dietrich was left to assume her soldiers were dead. She was obsessed with them and never would have stopped looking for them if she’d known they were alive and we needed her focused on other things.”
