Ada sat in her hotel room, on the edge of her bed, and saw the nighttime lights of the town emerge overhead. This town was interesting, and she would be interested to see what would happen if and when the good people at StrexCorp inevitably decided to use their bioweapons on the townspeople. She didn't like it, but it made sense for her to work with them.

Night Vale was different than any other place she had ever been in. She didn't think that the infection would ever escape—it was remote enough to be easily contained—but the second the payment went through, she was going to be out of there.

Though, she wondered to herself, will I really? The vision of a blond-haired agent drifted into her mind, and she looked away from the window to the suitcase she had placed neatly in the corner. It contained three handguns and a host of ammunition. This went with the two handguns she had strapped to her legs at all time. The case held her grappling-gun, as well as an extra handgun and one that she never used, despite bringing it along.

The final gun was the same gun she had used in 1998, when she had fought her way out of the Raccoon City Police Department in the midst of the most devastating biological crisis since the development of engineered bio-weapons. She wasn't a sentimental person, nor superstitious—this was something she could rely on, because it had proven itself. She hadn't had to fall back on it, but it was there, just in case.

She didn't think that she would ever need it again. She was able to make deals that benefited her well, now. She was good at her job. However, she still brought her old gun—it was still there. Just in case. She pried her eyes from the case and forced herself to think in the now. She stood and exited her room.

"There is no way that we're going to get this done on time," said Simone, leaning back in her chair. "I'm an Earth Scientist, not a Geneticist. Carlos, can't we get your team of scientists in on this?"

"What we're doing isn't exactly legal, I think," said Carlos. "Or, at least, I think so. I'm never really sure. But they are a little bit more loyal to what's going on here than we are."

"You think they'd rat us out?" asked Simone. "You don't seem to have a very high opinion of them."

"I do have a high opinion of my team," said Carlos, grating his teeth, "but I think we need to be careful with who we trust." Simone responded by lifting her hands in resignation, and went back to her microscope.

Carlos began to lean back to his own microscope when he noticed the screen of his cell phone lighting up. He slipped off his rubber glove and snapped it into the trash before picking it up in between the second and third rings. "Hello?" he asked, trying not to sound like he was anxiously waiting for the call.

"Carlos?" asked the voice on the other end of the line. "Oh, thank every one of the various disproven and unknown gods you're alright!"

"What's happened?' asked Carlos. "You sound shaken up."

"Oh, I am," said Cecil. "But I am just so glad—" His voice went off of the phone in a jumble of background noises. Then Cecil's voice, at a distance: "Hey!" and another voice took over.

"Carlos, this is Leon." Carlos let out a breath that he had been holding during the altercation. "Cecil was a little unwilling to release the phone. But we know what's going down."

"And?" asked Carlos. Simone had put down her scientific equipment and moved closer to Carlos, realizing from his reactions to the phone that something big was going down.

"We have conclusive evidence that StrexCorp is going to launch a biological attack on Night Vale tomorrow," said Leon through the phone. "We can prove it. We found our way into an underground Strex base where they had tested their samples of the T-Virus on some of their own employees. They're using the vaccines as a conduit."

"We need to stop them," said Carlos, gaining a worried look from Simone, whom he shooed away.

"You need to stay there and figure out how to make an actual, viable vaccine," said Leon. "Cecil and I will be making our way to the Radio Station to try to make an emergency broadcast. That way, we can warn people against the attack."

"Okay," said Carlos.

"Now, here's Cecil. He's clawing at me. It's—weird. Good luck, Carlos." Leon's voice departed from the phone and was replaced by Cecil's gasping squeals.

"Carlos are you okay? I couldn't get the phone back, I'm—"

"Cecil, it's okay," said Carlos, grinning and turning red, despite himself. "We're going to be okay."

"We're going back to the radio station," said Cecil. "It's my home turf—I will really be able to do something, something to save the town."

"You're doing great," said Carlos, his eyes drifting to the microscopes where slides of the T-Virus sat to be observed, and to the notebooks where observations and quickly mathematically and chemically manipulated. "You're bringing us closer to figuring this whole thing out. You're helping the town, Cecil."

"Carlos," said Cecil, his voice trembling as he spoke. "I am afraid."

"That sounds like something I would say," said Carlos, trying to help his boyfriend laugh off his fears. "Cecil. You are being very brave. And scientifically speaking—that is, there has been scientific research on the topic, and it's pretty conclusive—bravery is an incredibly endearing trait."

"Carlos…"

"Cecil. You can do this. I love you."

"Carlos—you brilliant man—I love you, too. Please be safe."

"Cecil," said Carlos. He sighed by forced a smile even though he knew that Cecil wouldn't see it. "A scientist is always fine." He was saying it more, he realized as his boyfriend disconnected the call, for himself more than anything else.