“Beatrice Thorton worked for Mercile Industries,” Breeze growled.
“Who’s Beatrice Thorton?” Ellie frowned.
“She’s an ex-employee of Mercile Industries. You knew her by the name she’s going by now, Belinda Thomas,” Justice said as he walked to the upended dresser and sat on the edge of it.
“That bitch worked for Mercile Industries?” Shocked, Ellie gawked at Breeze for confirmation.
“I recognized her stench when I walked inside the house.” Anger deepened Breeze’s voice into a near snarl. “I would never forget an enemy. She was the worst. She tortured our people and always pushed needles into us with a big grin. She enjoyed our pain.” Breeze turned to Justice. “You sure you never met her?”
“No. She must have only worked on the female side of the testing facility.”
“You would think she would have been afraid that one of you might recognize her,” Ted speculated.
“Maybe she thought she would be safe since she only worked with women New Species.” Ellie glanced around the room. “I mean, the only woman in Fury’s life is me. They know I’m not going to recognize her. I worked in the testing facility where Fury was held captive and she didn’t work that one. It’s public knowledge that all the New Species women live inside a dorm and there aren’t supposed to be many of them here. I watch the news and they make it sound as though there’s only a handful.”
“You worked for Mercile Industries?” Ted glared at Ellie.
“It’s not what you’re thinking.” Justice shot the doctor a frown. “She worked for Victor Helio. You’ve met him. He approached Ellie when she had a job at Mercile Industries in their corporate offices, not knowing what they really did. He approached her, told her what they suspected, and asked for her help to discover the truth. She smuggled out evidence, risked her life to do it, and gave them enough to get search warrants. Some of the medical and testing reports you’ve read are ones she stole.”
“Oh.” Ted relaxed. “You were brave. What made you do it? Did you always want to be a secret spy or work for a police agency?”
Ellie held back a snort. “No. I’m not that adventurous. It just really got to me when Victor Helio came to me and told me what the rumors were. I had to do anything I could to find out if they were really experimenting on people. I was horrified at the concept.”
“You’re a good person.” Ted spoke to Trisha next. “If they are using drugs to attack New Species we need to be aware of it. We need a lockdown on all incoming products that could be affected.”
“Starting with the food,” Trisha agreed.
“You think it’s possible?” Justice looked wary.
“I’m thinking about what I could do if I wanted to sabotage your people, Justice. Contaminating the food would drive everyone crazy,” Ted stated grimly.
“Wouldn’t it affect humans too?” Justice didn’t look convinced.
Ted shrugged. “Sure but I bet they don’t care. They are being prosecuted for what they did to you and their only defense is claiming you aren’t human. What would hurt New Species more than making at least a good portion of you go nuts enough to turn it into a bloodbath, and the press running with that story?”
“We don’t even know if the plot is that big,” Justice growled. “I don’t want to panic anyone.”
“Right,” Ted snapped. “I’m going to start looking for something that will counteract Freltridontomez. That way if they use it again we can use darts to deliver an antidote to anyone affected before someone gets hurt. That is the safest thing to do. As I said before, if we sedated them while they are in a full-blown, drug-induced rage it would most likely kill them. They could have a stroke or a heart attack.”
Trisha stood. “Do you think we can find something for it? We’ll have to work quickly, Ted. We also should order random testing on the water and food shipped in.”
“They had some research notes included with the file we got about Freltridontomez. They may have been close to finding a drug to counteract it.” Ted collected his bag. “Just because we don’t have the end result on paper doesn’t mean it’s not right there.”
“Let’s go.” Trisha grabbed hers. On her way out she stopped to smile at Ellie. “When Fury wakes up he might have a headache and be sore but he should be fine. If not, give us a call. We’ll be at the medical center.”
“Wow,” Ellie muttered as the couple left. She arched her eyebrows at Justice. “I think my head just spun. Are they like that all the time?”
He nodded. “Ted is what you’d call paranoid but he’s the best at what he does. I don’t think it is a big-scale plot against us. Eat your meals without fear, Ellie. If they were going to attack our food or water they wouldn’t have had to send in a woman to poison Fury with her needles. They would have already attacked us that way.”
“Do you think she came from one of the hate groups or Mercile?”
“Mercile makes more sense to me. Two birds with one stone.”
“Two birds?”
His eyebrow arched. “You brought them down, Ellie. What better revenge than to make the man you risked your life to save become the man who caused your death? Fury could have killed you. The bad publicity would have crushed us in the press. Ted’s right. The only defense they have for their crimes is convincing people we aren’t human and therefore it’s impossible to abuse us. They’re facing criminal charges but we’re suing them for money as well.”
“Who’s Beatrice Thorton?” Ellie frowned.
“She’s an ex-employee of Mercile Industries. You knew her by the name she’s going by now, Belinda Thomas,” Justice said as he walked to the upended dresser and sat on the edge of it.
“That bitch worked for Mercile Industries?” Shocked, Ellie gawked at Breeze for confirmation.
“I recognized her stench when I walked inside the house.” Anger deepened Breeze’s voice into a near snarl. “I would never forget an enemy. She was the worst. She tortured our people and always pushed needles into us with a big grin. She enjoyed our pain.” Breeze turned to Justice. “You sure you never met her?”
“No. She must have only worked on the female side of the testing facility.”
“You would think she would have been afraid that one of you might recognize her,” Ted speculated.
“Maybe she thought she would be safe since she only worked with women New Species.” Ellie glanced around the room. “I mean, the only woman in Fury’s life is me. They know I’m not going to recognize her. I worked in the testing facility where Fury was held captive and she didn’t work that one. It’s public knowledge that all the New Species women live inside a dorm and there aren’t supposed to be many of them here. I watch the news and they make it sound as though there’s only a handful.”
“You worked for Mercile Industries?” Ted glared at Ellie.
“It’s not what you’re thinking.” Justice shot the doctor a frown. “She worked for Victor Helio. You’ve met him. He approached Ellie when she had a job at Mercile Industries in their corporate offices, not knowing what they really did. He approached her, told her what they suspected, and asked for her help to discover the truth. She smuggled out evidence, risked her life to do it, and gave them enough to get search warrants. Some of the medical and testing reports you’ve read are ones she stole.”
“Oh.” Ted relaxed. “You were brave. What made you do it? Did you always want to be a secret spy or work for a police agency?”
Ellie held back a snort. “No. I’m not that adventurous. It just really got to me when Victor Helio came to me and told me what the rumors were. I had to do anything I could to find out if they were really experimenting on people. I was horrified at the concept.”
“You’re a good person.” Ted spoke to Trisha next. “If they are using drugs to attack New Species we need to be aware of it. We need a lockdown on all incoming products that could be affected.”
“Starting with the food,” Trisha agreed.
“You think it’s possible?” Justice looked wary.
“I’m thinking about what I could do if I wanted to sabotage your people, Justice. Contaminating the food would drive everyone crazy,” Ted stated grimly.
“Wouldn’t it affect humans too?” Justice didn’t look convinced.
Ted shrugged. “Sure but I bet they don’t care. They are being prosecuted for what they did to you and their only defense is claiming you aren’t human. What would hurt New Species more than making at least a good portion of you go nuts enough to turn it into a bloodbath, and the press running with that story?”
“We don’t even know if the plot is that big,” Justice growled. “I don’t want to panic anyone.”
“Right,” Ted snapped. “I’m going to start looking for something that will counteract Freltridontomez. That way if they use it again we can use darts to deliver an antidote to anyone affected before someone gets hurt. That is the safest thing to do. As I said before, if we sedated them while they are in a full-blown, drug-induced rage it would most likely kill them. They could have a stroke or a heart attack.”
Trisha stood. “Do you think we can find something for it? We’ll have to work quickly, Ted. We also should order random testing on the water and food shipped in.”
“They had some research notes included with the file we got about Freltridontomez. They may have been close to finding a drug to counteract it.” Ted collected his bag. “Just because we don’t have the end result on paper doesn’t mean it’s not right there.”
“Let’s go.” Trisha grabbed hers. On her way out she stopped to smile at Ellie. “When Fury wakes up he might have a headache and be sore but he should be fine. If not, give us a call. We’ll be at the medical center.”
“Wow,” Ellie muttered as the couple left. She arched her eyebrows at Justice. “I think my head just spun. Are they like that all the time?”
He nodded. “Ted is what you’d call paranoid but he’s the best at what he does. I don’t think it is a big-scale plot against us. Eat your meals without fear, Ellie. If they were going to attack our food or water they wouldn’t have had to send in a woman to poison Fury with her needles. They would have already attacked us that way.”
“Do you think she came from one of the hate groups or Mercile?”
“Mercile makes more sense to me. Two birds with one stone.”
“Two birds?”
His eyebrow arched. “You brought them down, Ellie. What better revenge than to make the man you risked your life to save become the man who caused your death? Fury could have killed you. The bad publicity would have crushed us in the press. Ted’s right. The only defense they have for their crimes is convincing people we aren’t human and therefore it’s impossible to abuse us. They’re facing criminal charges but we’re suing them for money as well.”
