Page 35 of The Sterling Acquisition
And shells don’t bite back when you pin them against walls.
The facility was buzzing with the kind of controlled panic that came from compressed deadlines and executive pressure. Staff moved with purpose rather than their usual corporate shuffle, and Dante noted the increased security presence with professional interest.
Perfect environment for intelligence gathering. Nothing made people sloppy about information security quite like deadline stress.
Leo was waiting in the lobby, his usual desperate optimism had been replaced by something closer to barely contained hysteria.
“Dante, thank God you’re here. We’ve got efficiency problems with the vaccine production scaling, and Morrison’s breathing down my neck about resource allocation.” Leo’s voice carried the particular strain of someone whose career was hanging by a thread. “Plus there’s this whole situation with my... domestic arrangements... that’s affecting my productivity.”
Domestic arrangements. What a delicate way to describe having an Omega who treats his Alpha like a particularly annoying pest.
“That’s unfortunate timing,” Dante observed, letting appropriate concern color his voice. “Are the production issues technical or logistical?”
“Both. The scaling protocols aren’t working the way they’re supposed to, and there’s talk about transferring the whole program to a different department if we can’t show results.” Leo gestured toward the elevator with nervous energy.
As they entered the elevator, Leo’s demeanor shifted subtly. For a moment, the desperate middle manager disappeared. Leo pulledup molecular diagrams with unexpected precision, fingers moving through complex biochemical structures with genuine expertise.
“We’ve improved stability by 47%, but production yield drops exponentially at scale,” he explained, highlighting problem areas with sophisticated analysis that suggested his professional reputation wasn’t undeserved.
Legitimate talent buried beneath layers of personal incompetence.
The elevator made concerning grinding noises as it climbed, and Dante noticed Leo didn’t even flinch at the mechanical distress. Just another day in SVI territory, where equipment failures were treated as background noise rather than problems requiring solutions.
Much like Leo’s approach to everything else, really. Accept the dysfunction and hope it doesn’t get worse.
“Tell me about these resource allocation concerns,” Dante said as they emerged onto the research level.
“Corporate politics. There’s been some interest from other departments about whether our vaccine development is producing measurable results.” Leo made air quotes around the corporate speak. “Morrison’s convinced that if we don’t show concrete progress soon, the whole program gets transferred elsewhere.”
The research level was a maze of laboratories and production areas that managed to be both functional and somehow chaotic. Security cameras were positioned at irregular intervals, with obvious blind spots near emergency exits.
Most concerning from a security perspective: the complete absence of scent-monitoring systems that would be standard in any Gensyn facility. Here, anyone with a strong enough suppressant could potentially mask their designation, moving through restricted areas without triggering biological authentication protocols.
All useful intelligence about SVI’s operations, though nothing relevant to Project Tether. But every piece of information about their security vulnerabilities was potentially valuable.
“The main production lab is through here,” Leo said, leading him past a series of rooms with standard laboratory setups. “This is where we’re trying to scale the vaccine manufacturing processes you helped us optimize.”
Dante peered through the windows at the equipment and saw several inefficiencies that would make any Gensyn supervisor cringe. The workflow was disorganized, the quality control seemed minimal, and the staff looked like they were making things up as they went along.
No wonder they’re having scaling problems. This looks like a university lab project, not a corporate manufacturing operation.
“I can see some obvious bottlenecks,” he said diplomatically. “Very solvable with proper process optimization.”
“Really? That’s what I was hoping you’d say.” Leo’s relief was palpable. “Morrison’s been pressuring me to show concrete improvements, and if the vaccine program fails, it reflects badly on my overall performance evaluation.”
Which presumably includes how well you manage your expensive Omega acquisition.
“I’m sure we can address the technical issues,” Dante said. “Though it sounds like there might be some broader workplace stress factors affecting your focus.”
“Exactly. That’s why I really need you to continue assisting with my domestic situation. If I could just get that under control, I’d be able to concentrate on the work problems. And last night, Orion didn’t say anything nasty or cruel to me. I think what you’re doing is working.”
“Really?” Dante practically had to scream at his face muscles to remain neutral instead of breaking into a smug smirk. They continued their walk through the wing, but Dante’s attention was split between the legitimate intelligence he was gathering and the growing awareness that Leo’s failures were cascading across multiple areas of his life.
All of which created opportunities. A man failing at everything would be desperate for any kind of success.
“I’d like to schedule another session for this afternoon,” Dante said as they concluded the tour. “Better domestic efficiency should improve your overall work performance.”
“Of course. Whatever you think is best.” Leo was already nodding eagerly, desperate for any expert opinion that might help him avoid complete professional failure. “Same protocols?”
