Dead Love - By Wells, Linda Page 0,52

must work on a vaccine, and our security is beyond reproach.”

“Your question is acknowledged. Now, let’s get on with it. We need to see the delivery records, now,” he emphasized. His patience was wearing thin.

She asked one of the lab assistants to show the FBI team into the safety portal.

Then Suzy said, “Follow me, gentlemen.”

Suzy remained coolly detached. She took Mark and Hank to the delivery dock, explaining how specific items were received, when the deliveries took place, and then proceeded to the storage room where the records and videos were kept. Hank began unpacking his equipment to search the files and video recordings. He could handle this on his own. Mark wanted to see the rest of the facility, including the vaccine storage area, so Suzy led the way. They entered the lab and walked to the rear of the room where the cold storage for vaccines was located. She opened the door, allowing Mark to enter. She was looking at the various vaccines, labeled and arranged in perfect order, in vacuum-sealed containers. Suzy began explaining about the vaccine storage.

“We store most vaccines between 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit. They are to be used within a certain time frame, specifically during current influenza outbreaks. They have a very limited shelf life.”

She stopped speaking, peering at one of the storage containers. The seal didn’t appear to be secure. That was odd. She mentioned her concerns to Agent Strickland.

“I need to let Dr. Adams know about this immediately,” and she asked Mark if he would join her in reporting this to Dr. Adams.

“Yes, and I better let my team know, also,” said Mark, thinking George and Wally would be interested in this development.

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As they were walking to Adams’s office, Dr. Chen explained to Mark and Wally that the previous fall, she, Adams, and several others from the lab had attended an international scientific conference in Wilmington, Delaware. The topic of the conference was various methods of developing vaccines. Normally, vaccine manufacturing can take up to six months using the standard egg-based method, but six months is a lengthy turnaround when dealing with a pandemic. The new technique involved using various resources. They learned that the plant-based approach offers a substantially shortened production time and cost. If an outbreak is reported and the vaccine is available, the CDC can distribute it on the first day from the SNS, or Strategic National Stockpile. Plus, developing a specific vaccine and having it available for use quickly would greatly impact the response time to life-threatening bioterrorism threats and infectious diseases. This was a major breakthrough. Suzy and the others from Edgewood found it exciting, as did all those in the scientific community.

She didn’t tell him what else had happened at the conference, which was held at the luxurious Tidewater Hotel and Conference Center. The meetings would start in the morning, giving the attendees plenty of free time in the afternoon, for recreation, committee meetings, or relaxation.

Suzy and Eric, as she called him then, had been seeing each other for several months. It was inappropriate for her to be dating her boss, and she knew the dangers. But he was intriguing, handsome, and their work interests gave them a common bond that added more depth to the relationship. This made the attraction even more interesting. Suzy had felt he was a perfect match for her, though he could be restrained and even distant at times. His elusiveness increased her desire. She tried hard to please and captivate him.

They had separate accommodations at the hotel, neither wanting their colleagues to know they were having an affair. But after hours, when they thought the others in their group wouldn’t notice, Eric would slip down to her room on the third floor and find Suzy waiting for him, dressed in a provocative see-through baby doll nightie, or just a satiny silver bustier, panties, garter belt with spiked heels, or nothing at all. It didn’t matter to Eric. Whatever she wore, or didn’t wear, drove him insane and gave him an instant, throbbing hard on. Just thinking of her made him hard. They had uncontrollable sex, and she pleasured him in every way he wanted. They shared exotic tastes and loved sexual exploration. He never got enough of her hot little ass and tits. He was an aggressive, demanding lover, often ripping her clothes off, unable to wait.

She craved his attention and need for her and believed that he meant all of his declarations of love, for her alone. She