Chapter Eight

Lauren unlocked the Station Management office with a special key that she kept in her breast pocket at all times. The inside was still very neat and tidy, like an office from the world of a 1950s financial bigwig. She scowled in disgust as she strode to the desk and pressed one of a few buttons concealed in the mahogany. A small red light above the button lit up, letting Lauren know that its purpose had been served. She then turned and left the room, being sure to lock the door again behind her.

Lauren walked back down the station hallway to the last door on her right, which she found unlocked. She opened it to find an empty conference room. She flicked on the lights and took her place at the head of the table, facing the door. She checked her watch and clasped her hands on the table in front of her. She practiced her smile. It was a Barbie doll smile, the kind that looked unnatural when on any who was actually alive. The smile worked, though, and she was proud of it. She was proud of many things.

Soon, Daniel entered the room, moving as he always did, in a mechanical way, taking a seat to her right, and soon after, the Seans from sales joined them. After them came a man who looked quite like the local radio host, but somewhat more gruesome. "Ah, Kevin," said Lauren. "I was hoping that you would be able to make it."

"Oh, Lauren," said Kevin, grinning at her with a much creepier smile than her own, "you know I wouldn't miss this for the world. I came over from Desert Bluffs as soon as my shows was over."

"Excellent," Lauren said as Kevin took his seat next to one of the Seas by the end of the table. The Sean, this one named Shawn, edged ever so slightly away from Kevin. The only seat left unoccupied was the seat at the opposite head of the table from Lauren. "We're just waiting for our special guest."

"And who is this woman, anyway?" asked one of the Seans, this one named Shaun. "You didn't give us much warning for this meeting."

"This woman," said a voice from the doorway, "is the key to your company claiming Night Vale as your won." She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. "My name is Ada Wong. I'm sorry if I'm late—this town isn't exactly on any outside maps, you see, and I had one hell of a time finding it."

"That is no problem at all," said Lauren, using her smile on the new coming woman. We're happy to have you with us. I must say, StrexCorp has been very fond of the work that you have done with Neo-Umbrella…"

Ada's smile faltered for a moment, but she regained it. "Thank you," she replied curtly. "And I think that you know about my background in both industrial espionage and bio-organic weapons. I believe that is why you called me here today."

"Exactly," said Lauren. "StrexCorp is a great and powerful company, ready to expand through this town, no matter what it takes. Our only problem is, some people are resistant to the idea of worshipping a smiling god."

Ada knew she had seen the kind of smile that Lauren wore before, but it took her a moment before she could place where exactly from. It was the same corny smile that she had seen on the face of President Svetlana Belikova back in the Eastern Slav Republic a few years earlier, when trying to work her way into the United Nations. That had not gone well for any of the parties involved. "Well," said Ada, not letting her own smile slip, "I am sure that we can come to some sort of agreement."

"Excuse me, hi, hello, my name is Kevin, Ms. Wong, and it is just wonderful to meet you." Kevin held his hand out, but Ada declined to shake it—his eyeless face gave her a chill that reminded her of her time in Raccoon City. "Anyway, I'm just worried about the good people of Night Va—Excuse me, the Desert Bluffs Greater Metropolitan Area. I don't want them to be harmed, I just want them to be more motivated to have fun doing what they were always meant to do." He glanced back and Lauren, and back to Ada. "Work."

A bit of feat shot through Ada. The eyeless man, Kevin, the other men who seemed to be exact clones of each other, bringing memories of Carla Radames back to the front of her mind, a man who seemed to be an android, or at least could have been, and the woman with the cool smile who was the most threatening of them all. Was it really the best idea to sell BOWs to these people? She turned this over in her mind as she continued to speak. "With the newest modification of the Las Plagas parasite, the BOWs should be able to controlled, if the host of the controlling parasite is strong enough. This, mixed with certain manifestations of the T-Virus, should do the trick."

"Excellent," said Lauren. "How long can a host be viable for control of other BOWs?"

Ada began to get the feeling that this Lauren woman might know more about BOWs and the diseases that caused them than she was letting on. "That depends on the host. A healthy, strong host should last a couple of weeks, if they do not strain themselves too much."

"And what can we do to ensure that the people of Night Vale do not themselves get infected? At least, the people who are with us, who we want to protect?" Lauren's red lipstick curled upward in an even more intense grin.

"That should be easy," said Ada. "There are a couple of vaccines to the T-Virus that have been developed, though I personally recommend WilPharma's vaccine. It was the first developed, and it still is an effective one."

"I thought WilPharma went out of business years ago after that biohazard fiasco," said the robotic man, Daniel.

"That is true," said Ada, "but they were bought out by Tricell, and even when they went under, due to their involvement with bioterrorism, their vaccine lives on, because some of the genetic manufacturing done by Tricell was optioned out to private laboratories."

"And how are we going to get our hands on that?" asked Lauren.

"I am already ahead of you on that," said Ada. "I have taken the liberty of contacting your mayor, Pamela Winchell, and as a representative of the World Government, explained to her that bioterrorism is the new fad for warring countries, and that it would behoove her to get the more important citizens of this town vaccinated, just in case."

"You went above our heads?" asked Lauren, pleasantly but very firmly.

"I did what I needed to do, especially before selling you such a volatile thing as I will," said Ada. She glanced at her watch and continued, "I feat that I must go, I have another meeting soon. But, here is the bank account that I would like you to wire the money to. When I find that the agreed upon payment has made its way there tomorrow, I will supply you with the viruses you are looking for, and will tell you how the next part of this operation will work."

Lauren stood as Ada did and kept her smile, but spoke in a chilling voice. "Thank you, Ms. Wong. Just remember who is in charge here."

Ada slid the card with the account number on it across the shined table to Lauren. "Don't worry, I always do."