A look inside. In blood and honor sample

Project Zion; Alpha lab, Lexington Ky

October 16 2019

Hillary Allen walked briskly down the hallway of the R&D Department or Alpha Lab. She was by her own labored success, one of the leading minds behind the development of the nanotechnology. It would revolutionize cancer treatment in the United States. STEM, the trademark name of the new technology. Was only days away from release outside of trials, and it would forever change the world. How it would change the world was unknown to her employers. As well as the many recipients already lined up for treatment around the country.

STEM would be the turning of the tide against disease. It would enable the human body to build an even more advanced immune system. Stronger than ever thought possible. The parameters set up for STEM involved cancer mutations. Yet if left without restrictions; the possibilities of its application were endless. Each application took years or testing and programming. Then it could move to human trials. So far its use in the war against cancer had proved 100% remission in days. A feat never thought possible with radiation and chemo therapy treatments alone.

The potential down side of this new treatment was what landed her in her current situation. Cancer was a big money game. Pharmaceutical companies made billions off the drugs used to treat it every year. The possibility of a cure that only required one treatment and minimal follow up. Well lets say it had caused a stir. It had took AXIS Medical years to get there rights to do human trials. Big Pharma, as well as the competition, had lobbyist that had worked every angle. Anything to keep them from moving to human trials. Employees of the company were watched day and night for sabotage and theft. Hillary was not one of those employees. STEM was her baby by any margin. If it failed then so did her career in medicine.

Hillary took the key card out of her pocket and slid it through the lock outside of the door to Laboratory 2A. The indicator light on the device turned from red to green and the doorway slid to the side in a loud “woosh.” Hillary fear spiked as she saw Frank Sills sitting at the computer terminal. The man busy rubbing his blood shot eyes. She had been under the assumption the lab would be empty. She should have taken into consideration Frank had been working long hours. Always double checking numbers and vectors before the launch. Hillary forced a smile on her face as the tired man looked from the screen to the woman entering the door.

“Didn’t expect to see you down here this late.” Frank said as he slid the dark rimmed glasses back up on his nose.

Hillary kept the smile on her face as she shrugged. Frank has been one of her assistants on the project since its conception. They had both worked hard to make sure that STEM would be perfect. It would have been perfect. The dark plan that Hillary was to set in motion would turn one of the crowing achievements of medicine in to a monster. Her heart sank in her chest as she gingerly replaced the key card in her pocket. When her fingers touched the thumb drive in her pocket she felt like a knife had been stabbed in her gut.

“I had a few simulations I wanted to run and thought the lab would be free.” She lied to her close friend.

Frank shook his head and chuckled. He had no reason to suspect Hillary of the traitorous actions she was about to preform. After all STEM was her brain child. She had poured the last 14 years of her life into the project. Her husband had left her 5 years ago. Hillary’s daughter Nichole has become a rebellious teen that fought her at every turn. So much so in fact that it wasn’t uncommon for her to leave work to pick her up at the police station. Hillary had tried to get her daughter to see reason, but there was no getting through to her.

“Well I’m about to head out anyways.” Frank said snapping Hillary from her thoughts. “So it will be all yours Doc.”

Hillary continued to smile at the man as she took a seat at one of the computer consoles. Her fingers danced across the keyboard. She dove into the simulation programs to keep Frank from catching on to her rouse. Frank had been one of her closest friends over the last few years. The thought of what she was about to do their work made the sick feeling in her stomach grow worse. She could almost taste the bile as it crept up her throat. Hillary was so focused on not throwing up that she didn’t hear Frank move until the lab door opened behind her.

“Don’t be in here all night we got a big day tomorrow.” Frank chided her.

“I don’t plan on it but you know me.” She answered quickly.

Hillary let out a long sigh as the door closed behind her. There was a part of her that would have rather died than even think of doing this. She reached into her pocket and touched the the thumb drive again. The small black hunk of plastic felt like it weighed a hundred pounds in her tiny fingers. She dug down deep and pulled the thumb drive from her pocket. She stared down at it as if it she was holding some evil monster between her fingers. Could she really go through with this? Would she be able to look anyone in the face when this was over? They would know if was her. How could they not? She was the only one that knew how to change the subroutines on the nanites.

“You can do this Hillary.” She whispered and clicked the drive open with her finger.

Hillary plugged the drive in the USB port on the front of the console. She watched with dread as the window popped up on the screen. With the weight of the world firmly placed on her shoulders. She stared at the file name that stood out from the other text on the screen. She moved the cursor of the mouse over top of the text inside the box.

“For Nicky.” Hillary said as she clicked the filename Hollow.Exe.

Hillary watched as the file uploaded to the STEM programming subroutines. The weigh on her chest was almost without description. If she hadn’t been in the best health of her life she would have thought she was having a heart attack. Yet she knew that she was in the best possible heath that anyone could have. She had been one of the first people that received a complimentary dose of STEM. It has been a gift from AXIS medical for her tireless work effort. A rewards for bringing the revolutionary super immune system to life. Hillary knew that when the file finished uploading she was just as doomed at the rest of the world.

Without another word she pulled the thumb drive from the console. The virus she had upload would erase any files linking her to the sabotage. STEM would go online and its hosts would pay the price. To what end she did not know herself. Yet she had her assumptions that she didn’t want to be in the city when it happened, or any city for that matter. The lists that AXIS medical had for first round administrations were in the tens of millions. It would be chaos on a scale the likes the free world have never seen before.

Hillary replaced the thumb drive in her pocket and made her way out of the lab. She had to get home and get Nichole as far away as she could. Her father lived in Montana. Richard had been scheduled to get her for Fall break. Hillary would simply take her daughter there early and tell him it was work related. He would never ask any questions. Richard hated her with a passion that she couldn’t understand. Hillary still loved the man, or as much as she could love anyone. If she would only have tried more to make their marriage work. Maybe this would have never happened to begin with.

Hillary opened the door to her car. The parking lot was dark and empty. As well as it should be for the time of night. She took one last glance around at her surroundings and climbed inside the car. She had one last thing to do before this dark task would be done. She had to call the number on the cheap cell phone given to her. Hillary would tell them this dark mess would be over and they would leave her home and her daughter alone. She pulled the phone from her purse in the passenger seat and pushes the speed dial button. The phone only rang one time when she heard what sounded like breathing coming from the other side of the call.

“It’s done.” She said in a clipped tone.

“We know.” came a voice from the darkness behind her.

Hillary almost had time to scream when a hand clamped over her mouth. She struggled but it was pointless. The person behind her was too strong.