A secret lab somewhere...
Dr. McDermott stared at the screen intently, taking in the numerical readings that had just appeared upon it. He looked over at the stoppered test tube connected to the machine beside the screen and scratched his bearded jaw. Looking back at the screen, a face had appeared where there was none before. A familiar face, and it wasn't happy.
"Doctor," Elizabeth Nelson said through her scowl, a scowl that appeared more often now that she was an assistant for Linda Walsh. Nelson was getting almost as difficult to deal with as Walsh these days. "You said your serum was ready for testing."
"Oh, uh hello, Ms. Nelson," McDermott responded, pushing up his glasses. "What do you mean? It is ready for testing."
"I'm not so sure of that," she says. The screen splits to reveal news footage of the chaos in Baltimore.
McDermott's eyes grow wide as he witnesses the carnage. "Good lord, what the hell happened?"
"Your serum happened, doctor."
"What, you're blaming me for this? Can you please explain?"
Nelson's scowl deepens. "You told us the serum affected the same dormant gene in humans that the virus does. We tested the sample you supplied on eight different baseline subjects, all of differing age, blood type and gender. Nothing has thus far happened with them."
"It may take some time to work, I haven't been able to test it on a live subject, myself."
"We've gone over this, doctor. It is difficult enough keeping you supplied in your current location. Live subjects are out of the question, especially after how you handled the last group of live subjects under your care."
McDermott frowns. "That was hardly my fault. And anyway, that doesn't explain the destruction in Baltimore."
"Nothing was happening, so a new test was devised. The serum was injected into an elite test subject."
"What!? That's not what it was designed for! Whatever monkeys you have working with my serum decide to screw around with it, and I'm the one to blame?"
"It was your serum, you should have warned us not to use it on an elite," Nelson replies, matter-of-factly.
"I thought that has painfully obvious! Who do you have working for you in Baltimore, college students?" the doctor yells, getting quite ruffled.
"The fact is, no one truly understand what you have created aside from yourself, doctor. When you can't apply the test yourself, you really should supply explicit instructions." Nelson composes herself somewhat before continuing. "The bottom line is, your serum certainly had an effect on the elite, but negligible, if any, effect on baselines. I'll allow the current tests to continue for two more days, but if no progress comes with that, you'll need to look into it yourself."
"I'm making some ground on the neutralization drug, is that not still top priority?"
"Of course. But you were hired to create both, which is what is still expected from you."
McDermott removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "It's amazing I'm getting anywhere at all, considering the circumstances. I was told I'd have another of my old subjects to work with. When can I expect that?"
"I believe we should have him for you within the next day or so, doctor. Until then, try to make due with what you have. I will notify you in two days of any progress in our tests. Goodbye, doctor." With that, her image disappears from the monitor, leaving only the experimental data behind.
McDermott huffs and decides it's time for a coffee break.
