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Miller did not like the feeling in the pit of his stomach. These two were doing something on the side after hours. And what the fuck happened to all the people who left the facility. Where were they?
“Here you are,” smiled Alex. “Everything you need to know is in the folder at the workstation. We expect to start seeing results from your work within a few days.”
“That’s not a lot of time,” said Suzette. “It will take us a few days just to get caught up on the work that was left behind, read all the papers and research, and then get familiar with the equipment that you have here. It may take longer.”
Alex took a step toward Suzette, and it was all Miller could do to not stand between them. But she gave him a look that said to step back.
“Then I suggest you get caught up quickly. We’ll be checking in on you regularly.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“Anything new?” asked Gaspar, staring at the team later that night.
“It’s not new, but I’m telling you, there’s some strange shit happening in that place. No pun intended,” said Miller.
“It’s not unusual to use manure for other products,” said Suzette, “but to use it for consumable food goods seems a wild stretch to me. Also, in the data I was given, I don’t find any particular components of manure.”
“I can’t believe we’re talking about shit,” frowned Nine. “Literally, we’re talking about shit.”
“Listen, for years, manure from livestock and poultry has been used for fertilizer, to build soil, even for energy to start fires or for construction material. The problem with using manure in produce is that there is a risk of passing on disease-causing contaminates. Especially when we start talking about things like leafy vegetables or root vegetables where the manure might touch the food.
“But this is different. They’re not using the manureonthe crops. They’re using itinthe product itself, which I find heinous. I don’t know how they expect to get government approval for this. It just doesn’t seem possible.”
“Any signs of what we found in the crates? The small discs?” asked Gabe.
“Nothing yet, but we’ve only been there one day,” said Miller. George and Teddy came into the room, both looking exhausted. “Did they keep you guys late?”
“No. We stayed late. Pretended we got lost,” smirked George.
“Lost? But it’s not that big,” said Suzette.
“It’s bigger than you think, little bit,” smirked George. “We found an entire underground section. Huge doors that opened into a tunnel system leading to another laboratory. We just got there when they intercepted us. Teddy and me just pretended we were stupid and got lost. I think they bought it.”
“Not too stupid,” smiled Teddy. “We got some photos of a few things that were tossed. Sent them to Code and the boys to take a look at. It looked like chicken scratch to me, but it might be something important. He said he’d print it for you and have it ready this evening.”
“It’s ready,” said Code, walking into the room. “I have no fucking clue what it says, but it’s ready. I think they’re chemical formulations.” He handed the stacks of paper to Miller, Suzette, and Riley, then stepped back to allow them to review.
The three leaned toward one another, whispering and pointing to the photos of the trashed data.
“This can’t be right,” said Suzette.
“What can’t be right?” asked Gaspar.
“It’s not possible,” said Riley.
“What the fuck isn’t possible?” growled Nine.
“This.” Miller pushed the paperwork forward, Ian, Ghost, Nine, and Gaspar looking at the sheet of paper.
“FoxP2?” frowned Ghost. “Isn’t that what allows humans to process complex languages? How is a human gene getting into food? I don’t understand.”
“Yes, it’s what allows us to process complex language and sound. And yes, it’s in this product.”
“Okay, I’m slow,” said Nine. “Explain this to me.”
“I’m not sure I can, yet,” said Riley. “This data was thrown out either because it was contaminated with human DNA, or…”
“Or,” started Suzette, “it intentionally has human DNA in it.”
