Page 45 of Perfection
“Puts hair on your chest.”
“Some women don’t like that. They like the smooth, Gen-Fair look,” Shishido teased.
“Guess I don’t want those women.”
Captain Avery burst into the break room. York took another huge gulp, figuring he wasn’t going to get a chance to finish his coffee.
“Shit’s hit,” Avery said. He flicked on a hologram image and positioned it on a table. “Just got this.”
The hologram showed a line of scared-looking parents carrying two-year-olds as they stood in a long trail leading up to the Seville Genetics Center.
“There are more?” York asked. “If these kids are sick, then we have one answer, at least. The regional director wasn’t the main target—just the first, a launch site, perhaps.”
“Maybe they’re only panicking,” Shishido said.
Avery pointed to Shishido. “Assemble a team from our lab. Maybe there’s something we can do to help.” Then he looked at York, who set his cup aside. “Take the tunnel. You’re authorized to take the direct access route to Seville. Get over there and see what we can do to control this.”
“Right.” Steeling his spine, he marched out the door so he could go give Kindra a hand.
* * *
Gina had the table set and dinner ready, just the way he liked it. When he walked through the front door, she stood posed with a hand on her hip and a pout on her sexy lips. “I’ve missed you,” she purred, then trotted to him and planted a big kiss on his mouth.
They made a good pair. And she was smart, too. She kept him apprised of what was going on with the police.
“All I have to do is remove the roast chicken from the InstaCafé and we’re ready to eat.”
She went over, pulled open the silverware drawer and dropped the serving spoon she was getting. When she bent to retrieve it, she dropped the piece again, seeming nervous all of a sudden. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Oh, nothing.”
He didn’t believe her.
“Have a seat,” she said as she carried the food to the table.
He did, then caught hold of her wrist. “Do you have something to share with me?”
Gina twisted her hand and he eventually let go. “We’ll discuss it over dinner.” She sat across from him, drew her napkin and set it in her lap, took a long sip of water. Stalling, he thought. He stared at her.
“Tell me,” he ordered.
“There are two things I need your advice with,” she said. “First, I received a notice from one of my tracers that information had been accessed from it. Then a Detective Lester has been following me.”
“I see. And the second thing is?”
“Detective Lester may have seen me come out of the doll store.”
He cut into his chicken breast, thoughtful. Such carelessness will never do. But he didn’t have time to establish a relationship at this point with someone else. That would have to wait. “It sounds like Detective Lester needs some redirection. After dinner, I’ll go over what you must do.”
“Good. Good. I knew you’d have the answer.” Her lips quivered a little as she shot him a relieved smile.
* * *
The Chicago Transit Authority operated several subway systems below the bustling city. Some were public, others were private, like this one used strictly by emergency personnel. The individualized underground transport system wasn’t used by just anyone. People had to be keyed into the system.
York hopped into the spinner. “Ignition,” he said. The bike’s huge double wheels sparked with light, revolving up to speed until a high-pitched squeal propelled the machine from the docking station and into the tunnel.
The ultramodern, giant-sized recumbent turbo-bike with two side-by-side bucket seats whirred along. Minutes later, York stepped out at the station three floors below Seville. He paused to take a deep breath. His gut tightened. In a flash of self-assessment he rarely allowed himself, he realized his tension wasn’t because of the breakneck speed of the spinner, nor the fact he was about to be nose to nose with anxious parents. Nope. It was the idea of seeing Kindra again. He hadn’t seen her since dropping her off to accept her award, only checked in via communicator to find out how her search for a counter to the virus was going.
