DISCLAIMER: MaiHime and MaiOtome are Sunrise property.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: To my beta…thank you for making sense out of my non-sense.
Final Apocalypse
Beta
The tall woman stood in the doorway of the science convention, having grown bored with the endless droning of the narrow minds; she impatiently waited for an opportunity to leave. The best and brightest minds on the planet had gathered for a convention on recent medical advances. Arguments were being leveled around the room. It seemed half were concerned over the dangers and the other half were concerned about the breach of ethics.
The Searrs Corporation had slinked away from the nasty effects of the end of the Carnival and had quietly entered medical research. It worked well as a cover, since they could easily hide their true intentions behind medical advances benefitting mankind. Over the years following the end of the Carnival, Searrs sent agents deep undercover to follow each former HiME in order to procure blood and tissue samples from each, as well as from each of their most important persons.
Weary of the relentless name calling and the stalled progress of the convention schedule, the woman shook her head, returned the pamphlets and her notepad to her briefcase, and exited the main hall. The roar of the voices died as the double doors closed behind her. She shook her head as she read the lobby poster: 'Welcome to the Searrs Research Facilities 5th Annual Advances in Medicine Convention'.
"What idiots!" the woman said aloud as she headed out to hail a taxi.
As she rode to her hotel, she pondered over the events at the convention.
'It seems the only reason Searrs wanted me to attend was for the press and possible donation. If tonight's meeting is a repeat performance of today's fiasco, I'm heading home in the morning,' the woman thought to herself.
Upon entering her hotel room, the woman tossed her briefcase onto the second unused bed, and stretched out on her bed. She knew the arguing at the convention would end only with the serving of the free dinner. Since she opted to skip the dinner of rubbery chicken, she settled in for a nap. Stripping down to just her panties, she pulled back the covers on her bed and rearranged the pillows, before sliding in. Details from the convention burned through her mind, making it hard for her to close her eyes.
Pulling out the television remote from the top drawer of the nightstand, the woman turned on the television. The white noise from the television usually helped lull her to sleep on most ordinary days; however, today was not an ordinary day. Instead of drifting off to dreamland, she quickly sat up in bed when something on television caught her ears.
"Hospitals all over China and now here in the United States are being overrun with sick and wounded people. They are dying in alarming numbers; some slowly and others within mere hours of infection. All commercial flights in and out of both countries have been grounded, but privately owned planes are still being given clearance. Both countries have asked for any assistance they can get from neighboring allies around the world. They are in desperate need of medical staff and supplies. Now we head over to the International news desk and Shane Patterson for the latest news out of China…Shane."
"Thanks Connie. In the most recent update out of Hong Kong, it seems there has been a complete broadcast blackout from Inner Mongolia. Reports are still slim at this time, but news from Japan and Korea indicates these countries are also showing signs of infection and closing all borders to commercial traffic in and out. It would seem…"
The woman bolted out of bed and retrieved her mobile phone from her jacket. Her first call was to her girlfriend, but all she got was a message stating the customer was not receiving calls. Cursing out of frustration, she called her assistant and had flight arrangements made to return home to Japan. As her assistant became panicked by the news reports, the woman found her inner calm and sternly reminded the younger woman of following orders.
Living out of a suitcase for the past three days, it took barely fifteen minutes for the woman to get ready to meet her assistant in the hotel lobby. Apparently, the word had spread, because the elevators were filled to capacity. Knowing the lazy side of humanity would mean clear stairwell access, the woman made for the stairway and quickly dashed down to the crowded lobby.
The scene in the lobby was sheer pandemonium as hotel guests flooded the front desk, rushing to check-out. Being a well-seasoned traveler, the woman already checked out using the automated system in her room. There were so many people in the lobby; she could barely make her way through without having to apologize for bumping into people. For one brief moment, she paused by the bar entrance and watched the news broadcasting scenes of the overrun hospitals.
Making her way out of the hotel, she met her assistant and as they sped off to the private airstrip, the woman thought to herself, "Jeez, what have these idiots done?"