Xenofreak Nation, Book Three: XIA Read Online Free PDF Page B

a good look at the man’s high forehead and heavy-lidded eyes, he revised his assumption that Savvy’s nickname came from his smarts. Savvy was thin, middle-aged, and stood before them with shoulders hunched, head hanging so low his chin nearly touched his concave chest. Even with the scraggly beard hiding his lower face, he was familiar to Scott because he’d recently described Savvy’s face to an XIA agent trained in recovering latent memories. Scott had met Savvy once, only briefly, but he hadn’t been given his name – just that he was a ‘savant’ and a valued member of Dr. Fournier’s team.
    Scott and Lo had just stumbled upon one of the XIA’s most wanted criminals.

Chapter Seven
     
    Bryn didn’t often find herself overwhelmed by a personality, but Mrs. Padilla, from her perfume to her opinions, could only be described as ‘strong.’ Mia indulged her mother for maybe ten minutes as the older woman prattled on, bouncing from one inane subject to another with hardly a segue, and then Mia said baldly, “I need money.”
    “Oh.” Mrs. Padilla looked affronted. “For goodness sake, Mia, what a crass thing to interrupt me with. And in front of our guest, too.”
    “Well, I apologize, Mother. I realize you’ve insulated yourself from the world, but even you couldn’t have failed to notice the riots.”
    “Of course I noticed. You don’t need to be insulting. However, I’m at a loss as to what the state of the world has to do with your needing money.”
    Mia inhaled deeply and let it out in a slow sigh. Bryn knew that tactic well; it was always best to pause and regroup after a parent pushed your buttons, especially if you wanted something from them.
    “You’ve heard about the super typhoid?” Mia asked.
    Mrs. Padilla’s head went back. “That’s why you’re here. I should have known you wouldn’t come to New York just to see me.”
    Mia flinched a little, but let her mother’s dig slide. “Yes, my team was called in to identify the pathogen, which we have, but my job isn’t done. We need to find a way to stop it, and until we do, I have to protect myself. That’s why I need the money.”
    “Protect yourself how?”
    “Xenos are immune.”
    “Xenos..? You’re not thinking about getting a xenograft, are you? Because that’s out of the question.”
    Mia clasped her hands together, bowed her head, and pressed her knuckles to her lips. In a tightly controlled voice, she said, “Mom. Every single solitary non-xeno who gets this thing dies, but not xenos. Whatever it is that affords them immunity has got to come from their grafts. Getting a graft after you catch it doesn’t help – I know, because I watched a man who’d gotten it done die.”
    She lifted her head. “This is not just for me. You and Dad need to do it, too, and you need to do it fast. There aren’t enough bioengineered animals for everyone in the world to get grafted. Demand is high right now, and as far as the public knows, the super typhoid is still only just a rumor. Imagine what will happen when the government is forced to admit the truth.”
    Mrs. Padilla didn’t respond right away. Bryn watched her face as she processed Mia’s words. A wrinkle of worry between her eyebrows smoothed out as doubt gave way to stubbornness in a brief thinning of the lips.
    “I suppose you can confirm which rumors are true, then, right?” Mrs. Padilla asked. “For instance, the news reported that a xenofreak knew he had it and was spreading it on purpose, but that he was dead now, and the likelihood of getting infected was really low.”
    “The risk is low now,” Mia said, “because not all xenos are infected and the majority who are, aren’t contagious. But like I said, everyone’s rushing out to get grafted. That may reduce their risk, but it increases the xeno population in general as well as the odds that someone you pass on the street might be a carrier.”
    Mrs. Padilla sighed dramatically. “I don’t speak for your