I was having a pleasant stroll by the stasis pods when an employee I didn't recognise tried to get my attention.
"Mr Eckhart, sir?" he said.
Correction, I had been having a pleasant stroll by the stasis pods.
"My name is Calvin Porter, and I was hoping to speak to you about a promotion. I understand a field agent position has just opened up and I'd like to be considered for the job."
It was true. Since the Maggie Conlon and Emma deLauro debacle, I had found myself once again without a lieutenant. But that was not information that the general staff at Genomex should be privy to.
"That information is classified. Whoever told you about that is in serious trouble," I said.
"Actually, I heard from you, sir. I'm a new mutant with genetically enhanced hearing," he said.
"Is that so?" I said, turning away. Was he expecting me to be impressed?
"Yes sir. In fact, the sounds of the world nearly drove me out of my mind, until the Genomex biotech lab created this audio filter," he said, touching what I had presumed to be headphones. "Now I can pinpoint any frequency over many miles. A good advantage in a field agent."
He made a good argument, but nothing could overshadow the fact that he had been listening to my private conversations. That made my skin crawl. It was almost as bad as psionics seeing my innermost thoughts. How long exactly had this been going on? Who else had known about it? There would be serious repercussions for them.
"Well, Mr Porter, with those outstanding abilities, I assume you'll be able to hear this. Don't ever speak to me directly again," I said, looking at him over my glasses.
Suddenly Mr Porter put his hand to his ear.
"What is it?"
"There's a woman named Nicole Carter here to see you. And she's giving your assistant hell," he said.
Nicole Carter. She was my equivalent at the biotechnology company Nexxogen. I had dealt with her before, but what exactly had prompted her to turn up on my doorstep without so much as calling ahead?
I went immediately to meet her. She was flanked by two of my security staff.
"Call off your dogs, Eckhart. We have to talk," she said.
"Of course. Thank you, gentlemen, that'll be all," I said, leading her into my office. "How can I help you, Miss Carter?"
"We've got a problem."
"We?"
"We," she repeated firmly. "A member of my security staff invaded our database and downloaded sensitive information regarding the Martez Incident."
I sat down at my desk. "How awful for you," I said without a shred of sympathy. This was shaping up to be a repeat of the Tricorp situation. I wondered if I was the only competent person in charge of a biotech company in this country. In this sea of ineptitude, it seemed that I was destined to add more and more corporations to my empire.
"I'm not alone out on this limb, Eckhart. Genomex shared responsibility for what happened there," she said.
"It's fascinating. We have entirely different memories of that tragedy. As far as the public is concerned, Genomex saved Nexxogen from bankruptcy. Which I've always regarded as an act of unbelievable generosity, since your company is technically our competition."
"Is that how we're going to play this game?" she said, walking towards my desk. "Well, let me be more clear. A computer disk with information implicating your company in that incident has been stolen. If this information comes to light, the world will learn that Martez was no industrial accident."
"In other words-"
"If I go down, you go down."
I turned away to think for a moment, but there was really no other option. "I'll put my agents at your disposal."
"I thought that might change your tune."
"We need to get that disk back immediately."
"You think?" she said. She was seriously testing my patience. She turned to go, but then she turned back to me. "Oh, and I think one of your new mutants is standing in our way. One of my men wrapped a car around him, but he walked away without a scratch."
Could be Jesse Kilmartin. But how could Mutant X be involved in such an early stage of the game? How did they discover this before I did?
"I'll see if I can help," I said.
From my previous dealings with Nicole Carter, I had thought that she might make a valuable ally. She was doubtlessly a formidable leader. If only she would take a little responsibility. But she seemed intent on completely delegating to me. Yes, this was going to be Dr Harrison all over again.
"You do that," she said, and marched off out of my office.
I turned towards the window. "Mr Porter?" I said. "Since I assume you have been eavesdropping already, I have an assignment for you. Get that disk Nexxogen is chasing, and you might just earn yourself that promotion."
Mr Porter soon reported to my office with news of his failure.
"It's under control, sir," he said. That was what they all said. I was growing tired of repeatedly having this interaction with my staff.
"Since you don't have the disk, I'll have to assume that your definition of control differs wildly from mine."
"The Nexxogen employee who stole the disk is Jesse Kilmartin's father. And with a member of Mutant X involved, the playing field is very different."
So it was Mr Kilmartin. Well, that would explain how Mutant X had gotten themselves involved already. But still, it was not good news. "Are you trying to shirk responsibility for your failure?" I said.
"I'm simply pointing out how complex this situation is," he said.
"Mr Porter, I would like to make this situation crystal clear. If that file gets into the wrong hands, Genomex could be shut down permanently."
"I understand sir, but-" he cut himself off. "No more excuses."
"There'd better not be."
He left my office.
Not long later, I received word that he had succeeded in bringing in Mr Kilmartin.
"He doesn't have the disk and refuses to tell us where it is," Mr Porter informed me as we walked into the room where he was being held.
"So, Mr Kilmartin, you're as big a pain as your son?" I said, walking over to where he was strapped to a chair. "I should turn you over to Miss Carter. She lacks my tolerance and patience."
"Don't threaten me," Mr Kilmartin said. "I know full well that Nexxogen is just a puppet of Genomex."
"That's impossible to prove."
He laughed. "Don't bet on it," he said. "How do you think the world would react if they found out what happened at Martez?"
"It was an industrial accident," I said, turning away from him.
"It was new mutants. And because of the experiments Nexxogen performed at your behest, their genes replicated out of control until their bodies simply exploded."
I turned back to face him.
"Of course, the file goes into more graphic detail," he added. That sort of information would not exactly be good for public relations.
I turned to Mr Porter and dismissed him, leaving me alone with Mr Kilmartin. It was time to try another course of action.
"My apologies at your rude reception, Mr Kilmartin," I said, releasing him from his restraints.
He stood, and we left the room and walked to my office, where I opened a line to Nicole Carter. One thing I liked about her is that she never insisted on going through social pleasantries, and cut to the chase.
"Mason, there's been another security breach at Nexxogen," she said, without a trace of embarrassment.
"Yes, I'd heard they'd installed a revolving door at your facility."
"Don't try to pin the blame on me. It was your new mutants, and your GS agents were of no help whatsoever."
"They'll be disciplined," I said, pacing my office. "Are you any closer to retrieving the disk?"
"I'm going to pay him off."
"Really?"
"I'm putting the funds together now."
"Well, I hate to disappoint you, Miss Carter, but you're a day late and a dollar short."
Mr Kilmartin stood up. "The deal's off," he said. "Thanks so much for helping to drive the price up."
"Eckhart, that disk is mine," she said. I could just imagine the look of fury on her face.
"It was. But perhaps it will be a tad safer in my possession," I said, ending the call.
"So, Mr Kilmartin. Where exactly is the disk?" I asked, as he lowered himself into a chair opposite my desk.
"You'll have it soon enough," he said, interlacing his fingers.
"How do you propose we conclude our transaction?" I asked him.
"I've thought that through."
"Somehow I had a feeling you might."
It wasn't long before Mr Kilmartin received a phone call. "Thank God, Jess," he said. "A pack of GS agents tracked me down, I had to get away."
I couldn't help but smile at the way he lied to his own son so easily.
"For now. I want you to listen carefully to me Jesse, I need you to take the disk back to the safe house. I want you to leave it in the first aid kit and get out of there," he said. "Because I don't want anything to happen to you. Do as I say, Jess. My life is at stake."
He shut his clamshell cell phone, ending the call, and looked at me.
"You lie beautifully, Mr Kilmartin," I said.
"Well, I'm not lying about this. If anything happens to my son, the deal's off."
I smirked. "Your loyalty is something to behold."
The doors to my office opened, and Mr Porter stepped inside. "Mr Kilmartin will take you to the disk," I said to him. "Once you have it, I'll wire the money we agreed on."
They both left. I watched through the window as they walked towards the exit. "Mr Porter," I said, knowing only he would hear me. "Once you have that disk, kill him."
Not long after a rather interesting teleconference with Washington, Nicole Carter marched into my office flanked by my security staff. "Your GS agents have blocked me from entering my own facility," she said.
"It is not your facility any more. I've convinced the federal government to let Genomex take over Nexxogen."
"What?" She looked horrified.
"Well, I certainly couldn't keep letting people run in there and take anything they wanted. I've ordered a complete overhaul of the database, and as far as the disk is concerned, you'll be happy to know it's been destroyed."
She strode towards me. "What am I going to do?"
"Well, we have some wonderful job opportunities on the Genomex website. But of course, we require excellent references."
From the look on her face, I gathered that she was not interested in working for me anyway. Shame. I could have put her to use in a low-level management position. She turned and pushed her way past the security guards who were standing behind her.
"And as for you, Mr Porter, you'll be listening to me for a long time," I said, turning to look through the window to the stasis pods below.
I smiled to myself. For once, I had succeeded. This disk was gone, but I didn't need it. I knew exactly what had happened at Martez. This saved me spending company funds on keeping it out of the wrong hands.
Mr Kilmartin, Mr Porter and Miss Carter had had their uses, although my relationship with all of them had now come to an end. What I was left with was far more valuable, I now had full control of yet another biotech company. It would be more responsibility, yes, but much time and effort would be saved on not needing to keep an eye on the competition. Or bail them out of whatever disaster their previous heads got them into.
If only I could do the same with Adam and his people. I idly thought about it, wondering which of his new mutants I might be able to turn to my side, and which I would have to send to join Mr Porter in stasis.