Page 29 of Scorned

Facilities?

I couldn’t help but wonder how many they had, then a thought hit me.

“Wait, I thought the government paid for everything.”

“They give us paychecks, but only fund the research required for their needs. The rest is thanks to our supporters. They cover the cost of all the other items we make.” She closed the cabinet, and the wheels of the cart squeaked as she headed toward me.

With all that research money, they should’ve gotten new carts.

I was always an asshole on purpose, consistently meeting her answers with more questions. “So, these backers, they don’t care to know where the lab is?”

After snapping on a pair of gloves, she picked up a syringe and filled it with a serum. “Of course not. They only care about the products we make.”

Remembering the name of the wound sealant Sage had, I mentioned it to prolong our discussion. “Like the Bondcoat?”

“I mean, we sell plenty of that, but it’s not even a big item. Face creams and skin tightening serums that keep women looking younger are some of the most popular. Next are the sexual enhancing and stamina pills for the old men who still want to feel like a young stud on the golf course.” She rolled her eyes before she continued filling syringes.

“Do they know you’re torturing people for these products to be made?”

She tied a tourniquet around my arm and tapped my skin with her fingers. “Not people. Vampires. And no, but they wouldn’t care as long as they could get their products.”

“That’s kind of fucked up, don’t you think, Doc?”

“When you have as much money as they have, you don’t care about anything other than what you want.” She sighed, wiping the bend of my arm with an alcohol swab before finding a vein. “Little poke.”

“Then why not turn them?”

“Oh, no. There’s no money there, Luka. Once turned into vampires, they wouldn’t need us anymore, and we need them to fund us.” She filled five vials with my blood before releasing the tourniquet.

After wiping my upper arm with another alcohol swab, she injected me with the first of five shots I got every three days. I had no clue what was in them, and honestly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

“But if everyone paid to be turned, you wouldn’t need more money.”

“We would because the research doesn’t ever stop. One day, we hope to cure specific diseases like cancer. The backers fund that too.”

Our conversation had my mind reeling about the billionaire backers and the general population as she gave me two more injections. “And if you ever find a cure for cancer, will it be readily available to the public?”

“Someday, Luka. But not anytime soon. Obviously, our backers will be the ones to get first dibs. Plus, we can’t cure everyone of everything.”

My forehead creased because I assumed that was the whole reason behind the research. “Why not?”

She snickered, injecting me for the fourth time. “It would really piss off big pharma.”

After setting the last syringe down, she pulled a surgical light closer to me. “Only four shots today?” I asked, a blinding pain radiating behind my eyes.

“Yep. You’re now in a different phase. We didn’t find anything during D942.” She picked up a scalpel from the tray before turning toward me. “Are you ready?”

I attempted to stall her as much as possible, and I’d noticed her assistant wasn’t with her today. “Where’s Bill?”

“You won’t see him much for a few weeks because I got him on another project that needs to be finished before the next recognition ceremony. If you ask me, Bill and I both have earned a trophy and a raise for the hard work we’ve done this year. So hopefully, we get them.”

She glared at me, as if she was waiting for me to tell her congratulations.

We had conversations like this frequently, and her willingness to share all of her greatest accomplishments had me wondering if she had a praise kink. Maybe she needed a daddy to tell her how much of a good girl she was. Sadly for her, I wouldn’t be the one praising her horrendous research, but I was curious as to why she was so open.

“Why are you willing to give up secrets? Aren’t you afraid I’ll share them with someone if I ever get out?”

A radiant smile spread across Amy’s face, her eyes fluttering like I was an innocent child. “No one has ever gotten out of here, Luka.”

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