Endemic Rise of the Plague Read Online Free PDF Page B

other slouchy businessmen he interacts with. His face is covered in golden, soft flesh, and large, deep-set wrinkles around his eyes, mouth and forehead that look like a satin sheet gathered into creases.
    “ Come in!” he growled again as he stood from the chair.
    The door whirled open and Mara strode in slinging the door shut behind her. Her quick pace and firm steps, conveyed that this was not the free spirited scientist that usually strolled through the laboratory halls.
    “ Dr. Brandenburg, I didn't expect you. Did we have an appointment?” He leaned over the desk looking at his date book. “Amy took a late lunch. It's really been a zoo today.”
    “ No. We do not have an appointment," her voice, rigid and to the point. "Do you have a moment that you can spare?”
    “ Sure, Mara, what's on your mind?” His face stiffened as he raised an eyebrow.
    This tone she spoke in—caught him off guard. Intrigued at this rare challenge to his authority, he thought he might let this one play out and see where it goes, for now.
    “ Did you come to my lab while I was out, today?” She demanded.
    “ Yes, I did,” he smirked in amusement, leaning against the front of his desk, folding his arms.
    “ Did you take syringes from the refrigerated box in my office that had hold tags on them?”
    “ Yes, I did,” he nodded with a benign grin, feeling somewhat amused by her demeanor.
    Pausing, she swallowed hard and insipidly asked, “Where are the injections now?”
    He burst into laughter. “You’re so serious. What’s going on?”
    She narrowed her eyes at him, raising her voice, “That's because I am serious. Where are the syringes?”
    “ We used them for the clinic today,” keeping his voice low and his words paced, he began feeling slightly offended. “There were several employees from very promising investors. Granted, there were a few that were from small, local businesses as well, but it’s all good publicity for us. As it is, the intern in pharmacy slipped up. That imbecile had some of it mistakenly sent to your lab, causing a panic in the pharmacy,” he sighed with disappointment, taking a seat in his chair.
    “Don't worry,” James continued. “We were able to locate the shots and get them where they belonged. It's really not a problem. I think you handled it well. I have every confidence that you were going to take care of it when you got back from your appointment, but we needed them during that time. Your tech, Angie, took excellent care of me. We found them with relative ease. I know you’re in the basement Mara, but it would be courteous of you to at least take some interest in our calendar. To, at minimum, know when we are having events like the one today. Regardless, you may relax, it's all taken care of now. Will that be all?”
    Mara's eyes hit the floor. She stood before him in silence, but seemed troubled.
    “James,” she murmured, shaking her head, “Did you see that the syringes had hold tags on them?”
    “ Yes, a nice touch, just in case the—“
    “ It wasn't a nice touch,” she interrupted, her voice became rigid again, “They were on hold for a reason.”
    “ Dr. Brandenburg, I respect you as a brilliant scientist,” he spoke unrushed with poise. He stood again from his chair, in disappointment at her conduct. “It may be wise to watch your tone when speaking to the chairman of the organization that employs you. May I also point out, that you did not log the reason for the hold on the product, in neither the hold log nor on the hold tags themselves, leading your technician and myself to believe that they were not really on hold.”
    She stood in silence scowling at James on the brink of tears. As her shoulders dropped, it became obvious that she struggled with an issue of some sort. Mara had never been called into his office under unsavory circumstances and had never been reprimanded in all her time at Angora. James allowed her to run her benign experiments on new vaccines and