Page 52 of Logan

“I’m sorry, Viv,” he began, “we’re having an important discussion and get interrupted.”

Smiling, she nodded as she patted his leg. Standing to walk over to the computers, she stopped and looked over her shoulder, grinning. “For the record, Logan, when this is over… I’d really like to meet your family. I still think I was just waiting to meet you. There’s nothing you’ve told me that’s changed that.”

He watched her sit down at the table, open the laptops and begin searching the views as she picked up a pen and scribbled notes. Scrubbing his hand over his face, his heart lurched, knowing the full mission. He wondered if she would feel thesame if she knew what he was tasked to do once her part of the job was complete and he was left to eliminate the threat.

29

“Okay, something’s changed today.”

Logan looked up from his computer to Vivan’s scrunched face as she fiddled with the camera angle on her laptop. “What’s happening?”

“Up until now, they’ve been cautious in the lab, but I’d determined that what they had was not highly contagious. They wore masks, but only after they had walked into the room without them. They put on their gloves in there as well. From the chemicals I’ve seen, my guess is they’ve been working with growing bacteria, but nothing airborne and certainly not lethal. Maybe they've been practicing. Maybe they're looking for the best solution to increase growth productivity.”

“And today?”

“Overnight, someone sealed the outside of the closed doorway with plastic. The three donned gloves, booties, lab suits, and masks before entering. They worked for about thirty minutes, then left again. See?”

She turned the laptop toward Logan and he observed Malik, Rashad, and Nafisa pulling off their protective lab garb and equipment and placing it in a plastic bag. Sealing the plasticcovering around the door again, Malik took the bag and walked down the hall toward Akram, handing it off to him.

“Fuck,” Vivian breathed. “I wish I could get ahold of that bag.”

“Let me see what I can do,” Logan said. He quickly stepped out the front door and moved to Vivian’s car sitting in the driveway. Popping the hood, he puttered around inside for a few minutes. Soon, Akram walked outside carrying the garbage bag, and Logan waved before turning his attention back to Vivian’s car. Planning on following Akram, he growled as he watched the man place it in a metal drum and toss a match onto the contents.Fuckin’ hell!

Slamming the hood down, he turned as Vivian walked out onto the small porch. He was pissed about not being able to get to the bag, but seeing her put a smile on his face. He stalked over, stopping at the bottom step as she moved to the top.

Placing her hands on his shoulders, she gave a little hop, wrapping her legs around his waist. Heedless of anything else going on, he kissed her hard and wet. His tongue dove in, tangling with hers as their noses bumped.

She pulled away, giggling, as she encircled his neck with her arms. “I was going to come tell you I saw something else, but you looked like a man who needed a kiss.”

“You got that right,” he replied. “As long as I’m the only one you kiss like that.”

Shrugging, she said glibly, “Well, I don’t know about anyone else. I guess we’ll have to see who else I’m with on my next crazy assignment?—”

With a growl, he kissed her again as his hand smacked her ass. Climbing the steps, he carried her back through the house. Before he could get too far, she reached up and placed her hand over his lips as they moved in for another kiss.

“Hate to interrupt this, but I need to tell you what I saw when Akram went outside with the bag.”

“Right,” he agreed, setting her feet on the floor, steadying her as she regained her balance. He followed her to the table again, where he sat next to her, looking at where she pointed on the screen.

“Look there. They take off their compromised lab suits and give them to Akram. Now watch.”

He stared at the screen as Malik, Rashad, and Nafisa went into the kitchen. Taking two bottles out of one of the kitchen cabinets, Malik shook out several pills. Handing them to Rashad and Nafisa, he took two and then placed the bottle back into the kitchen cabinet. Farrah was standing to the side, pouring glasses of water for each of them. All three swallowed the pills before handing the glasses back to Farrah.

Hearing a car door slam, he and Vivian shared a look before he checked the outside camera, seeing the three climb back into their cars and drive down the road.

Shifting his gaze back to her, he said, “Viv, you’ve gotta break this down for me. What’s happening?”

“I can’t see what’s in those bottles, but my guess is that they’re some kind of antibiotic taken as a prophylaxis—as a preventive. If they were dealing with a virus, there would be no need. So my guess, at this time, is they are working with bacteria. Now, which one, I have no clue.”

“If you knew what antibiotic they were taking, would that narrow it down?”

Scrunching her face, she nodded slowly. “Yeah, but you’ve got to understand that it won’t tell me what it is, just maybe tell me what it isn’t.”

“Tomorrow, they don’t work since it’s Friday. But today, Akram and Farrah usually go to the grocery store. I can get in and find out for you.”

“Logan,” she said, her eyes wide with fear. “You can’t go in that sealed room. Not now?—”

“No, no,” he assured, “I mean, find out what pills they are taking.”

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