“Who the hell are you?” Dick asked her in surprise. “And what are you doing here?”
“I’m the investigative journalist who broke open the Vision Zone Technology story twenty years ago,” she replied. “It’s starting to look to me like that animal research never really went away, did it?”
“Interesting as all that may be, ma’am, why are you here at three o’clock in the morning?” the lead officer interrupted.
Barbie lifted her hands. “I received an anonymous text message tip to show up here at 3:00 because there was a story unfolding that I’d want to see. And being the curious investigative reporter that I am, I showed.”
“Another anonymous text?” the lead officer repeated, frowning.
“Yes, sir. It said there were animals in danger because the lab is an uncertified, unregistered biomedical research facility. The lab was allegedly undergoing unapproved testing and life-threatening procedures that violate numerous laws and animal welfare regulations in the state of New Jersey and the United States. I even received pictures of animals being operated on in this very lab, which would be in serious violation of many statutes. See?”
Barbie expanded a couple of the gruesome photos she’d taken earlier and showed the policeman. Those who saw the photos gasped and covered their mouths in shock.
The policeman slowly lifted his eyes from the photo to Dick. “Sir, does this lab conduct experiments like this on animals?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” he exclaimed, obviously very flustered. “I don’t know where she got those photos. That’s not our lab.”
“You can corroborate these photos by the background,” Barbie said. “You can even check it yourself. Right now.”
“You wouldn’t be lying about this, would you?” the officer asked Dick again. “If so, that would be considered impeding this investigation.”
“I—I don’t know,” Dick stammered.
“Officer, I got the same anonymous text tip,” Mandy said, stepping forward. “It’s interesting, because this lab was already on my radar. So I was quite intrigued to get a tip about it.”
“Who are you?” Dick asked, his face heating up again. “Is all of New Jersey here tonight?”
“My name is Mandy Persimmon, and I head up the Department of Investigations at PETA in Washington, DC.”
There was a collective gasp, but none louder than Dick’s as he staggered backward into the wall. His face had gone from dark red to sheet white.
“What’s PETA?” the lead officer asked, scratching his head.
“It’s a nonprofit organization, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals,” Mandy explained. “We’ve been investigating Tango Bio Research Solutions for over a year for animal abuse, improper research, and lack of required certifications and oversight. As part of the final investigation, we have an undercover agent currently employed here.”
“Undercover?” Dick screeched. “In my lab?”
“There seems to be a lot going on in your lab that you don’t know about,” the officer said to Dick. “Ma’am, is it legal to have an undercover agent in a lab?” he asked Mandy.
“Absolutely,” she answered. “Undercover investigations for news gathering have been judged numerous times to be protected speech. Courts, including the Supreme Court, have upheld that ruling.”
“This is corporate espionage,” Dick screeched. “Arrest her at once. I insist.”
I heard someone shuffling through the crowd at the doorway as Devon, the young man Barbie ran into the hallway twice, stepped forward. He met Barbie’s eyes for half a second and then looked away.
I swore inwardly. Their encounters would not be on video and there would be no proof of them, but it was still an unknown and we didn’t need the distraction right now.
I held my breath and glanced at Barbie, but for some reason she remained relaxed.
“I’m the PETA undercover investigator,” Devon said, and I relaxed in relief, catching Mandy’s eye. She gave me a quick wink.
“And just so we’re clear, I did not open the lab to release the animals,” Devon said. “I don’t have the clearance, the badge, or the capability to do that. Other than one trip to the bathroom that took about two minutes, my lab partner tonight can testify I never left my office before the animals starting running loose. But I can confirm this lab is operating illegally and I’ve been collecting evidence for over a year to that effect.”
Quietly, efficiently, he began detailing devastating examples of abuse.
“He’s lying,” Dick shouted, but he was quickly running out of steam, and we all knew it. I could already see he was trying to figure out a way to spin all this.
Another man spoke from the doorway. He wore green pants, a tactical jacket with a patch on the side I couldn’t read, and black boots. “Sir, I’m Adam Berliner from the Washington Township Animal Control. I also received an anonymous tip about this lab operating illegally. We don’t normally check out things like this at night, and certainly not this quickly, but the tipster said there were animals in immediate and grave danger. Since it was a slow night and I happened to be in the area, I decided to swing by and check out the building. Then all this went down right in front of me.”
