Page 21 of The Sterling Acquisition
The casual dehumanization made Dante’s vision narrow with rage, but he maintained his corporate mask. “Of course. Optimization protocols. Very sensible.”
“So I wanted to thank you for offering to help, but I don’t think we’ll need the ongoing assessment sessions anymore. Dr. Morrison’s approach should resolve the situation definitively.”
Definitively.As in permanently destroying whatever made Orion who he was, replacing his magnificent defiance with some crude SVI chemically induced compliance.
“Actually,” Dante said, “I think continued psychological preparation might be beneficial. Medical interventions often work better when the subject has been conditioned to accept the treatment.”
Leo’s eyes brightened with interest. “You think so?”
“Absolutely. Gensyn’s protocols always include psychological preparation phases. It reduces subject trauma, improves treatment efficacy, and minimizes resistance during the procedure itself.” The lies flowed easily. “I’d be happy to switch my assessment angle to psychological preparation sessions to ensure optimal treatment readiness.”
“That... that makes a lot of sense. Medical and psychological preparation working together.” Leo nodded. “Dr. Morrison would probably appreciatethe thorough approach.”This man is so desperate, it’s making him stupid.
“So these preparation sessions—how frequently would you recommend them?” Leo asked.
“Daily would be optimal. Thirty to forty-five minutes, uninterrupted. Psychological preparation requires consistency and privacy—any surveillance would contaminate the conditioning process.”
Leo frowned. “You want me to leave him alone with you again? Didn’t he hit you last time? I should be there in case he gets out of hand.”
“Trust in the process, Leo. Gensyn’s preparation protocols are proprietary for a reason—they work. You want optimal results when Dr. Morrison performs the procedure, don’t you? When is the intervention scheduled? I need to know how quickly we need to move.”
“That’s complicated. His cycles are unpredictable—sometimes pre-heat lasts hours, sometimes over a week. Dr. Morrison says we need to move fast once the next full heat starts, but we can’t plan when that’ll be.” Leo’s sighed.
Dante analyzed the implications. No set timeline. Orion could go into full heat tomorrow, or it could be weeks. And when it happened, Dr. Morrison would move. Dante might have days or hours to prevent it, with no warning beyond biological signs that even Leo couldn’t predict reliably.
“Then we should begin intensive preparation immediately,” Dante said. “Daily sessions to establish proper psychological baselines and reduce pre-treatment anxiety.”
Leo nodded vigorously. “Of course. Whatever you think is best. You’re the expert on Gensyn protocols.”
After Leo left for another meeting with Dr. Morrison, Dante sat in his apartment and tried to process the magnitudeof what he’d just learned. SVI wasn’t just developing Project Tether—they were planning to use Orion as their first human test subject. And it could happen at any moment.
He now had an unknown amount of time to save the most remarkable Omega he’d ever met from being turned into a corporate science experiment. All while maintaining his cover and knowing that if Amalie discovered his true motivations, she’d have him recalled for psychological recalibration
And absolutely no way to predict when that time would run out.
Chapter seven
Lines Crossed
Dante
Dantestoodinthevaccine production lab at 4:17 PM, holding a wrench and contemplating the fine art of corporate sabotage disguised as helpful consultation.
The centrifuge that processed SVI’s influenza cultures was a temperamental beast from before the Adjustment—the kind of equipment that Gensyn would have replaced with something efficient and reliable decades ago. Here, it wheezed and groaned through its cycles like an asthmatic chain smoker, held together by duct tape, prayer, and what Dante suspected was sheer bloody-mindedness.
It was also, conveniently, the exact piece of equipment Leo would need to run tonight’s culture processing. And if something were to go wrong with it around, say, 6 PM—just as Leo was planning to leave for his evening routine with Orion—well, that would be terribly unfortunate timing.
All that Gensyn trainingand you’re reduced to playing with wrenches like a common vandal. How the mighty have fallen.
“Mr. Ashford?” Duckie Chang’s voice made Dante look up from his very professional assessment of the centrifuge’s structural integrity. “Something wrong with the old girl?”
“Just observing the maintenance protocols,” Dante said, tapping the wrench thoughtfully against his palm. “In Gensyn, we’ve found that predictive maintenance prevents costly downtime.”
“Predictive maintenance,” Duckie repeated with obvious amusement. “Sure. Here we call it ‘hitting it with things until it works again.’”
Dante smiled. Chang was proving to be the kind of asset every good operative needed—observant, cynical, and possessed of flexible morals that could be leveraged for mutual benefit. “Your approach has a certain... rustic charm.”
“Rustic.” Duckie snorted. “That’s one way to put it. You want to know the truth about this place? Half our equipment is held together by spite and caffeine. The other half runs on hope and delusion.”
