Page 55 of Todd
They approached Dr. Selinski’s office first, the nameplate gleaming in the hall lighting. Todd made quick work of the door, and they slipped into his large office. A wooden desk was placed in front of a large window, with the blinds drawn. His desk was neat, with papers stacked, and his laptop sat perfectly aligned in the middle of the space.
A matching credenza sat behind the desk, underneath the window. The walls were covered with framed desert scene prints and his medical university diploma. The top of the credenza was covered in standing framed photographs of him with numerous others, smiling photo ops at conferences, and accepting awards.
But what caught Sadie’s attention was the door connecting to the adjacent office. It was a modification that hadn’t appeared on any building plans they’d studied. “That’s new,” she observed, pointing toward the connecting entrance. “Dr. Patel’s office. They must have added the door after the original construction.”
The implications were significant. Shared access suggested collaboration that went beyond professional courtesy—a level of coordination that indicated both of them knew exactly what was going on in the clinic, and it wasn’t an individual endeavor.
“I’ll check Patel’s systems while you handle Selinski’s,” Sadie said, already moving toward the connecting door. This way, they could work faster while not being separated from eachother. Her cyber skills remained functional despite the fog, and accessing multiple computer systems simultaneously would maximize intelligence gathering.
Todd’s hand caught her arm, his grip gentle but insistent. “Sadie, if you start to lose your ability to?—”
“I’ll call for you immediately,” she promised, understanding his fears even as she chafed against the protective restrictions. “I can still function, Todd. I promise I won’t fuck this up.”
He held her gaze, then nodded. His lips, while still tight, quirked upward slightly. “I know… You never fuck anything up.”
“Neither do you,” she said, drowning in his eyes.
“I did once, but that fuckup is over now.”
She smiled, desperately hoping she knew what that meant for them, but with no time to explore the declaration further, she simply nodded.
Turning, she moved through the connecting door into Dr. Patel’s domain, which was decorated similarly, with desert-scene paintings and diplomas. Sadie settled into the expensive chair behind the desk and opened the laptop.Breathe. Focus.
The computer’s security was sophisticated but not impenetrable, particularly for someone with her background. Her fingers moved across the keys with muscle memory that overpowered her current state, each keystroke seeming to sharpen her mind.
The first encrypted folder contained what appeared to be guest profiles, but the clinical language and numerical designations revealed their true nature. These weren’t just spa clients… they were test subjects, cataloged and monitored like laboratory animals.
Subject 15 - Baseline established. Dosage increased to Level 3.
Subject 23 - Optimal response to transdermal delivery. Recommend continuation.
Subject 28 - Adverse reaction to compound mixture. Consider alternative protocols.
She exhaled slowly as she stared at the way the clinic reduced wealthy women seeking rejuvenation to an unauthorized pharmaceutical experiment. But it was the next file that made her blood turn to ice water.
Subject 32 - Adverse Response - Recommend Rebalancing Transfer.
The clinical notes beneath it described someone with severe nausea, disorientation, and cognitive impairment.
Recommend Rebalancing Transfer?The euphemistic language couldn’t disguise that someone had become a liability that needed to be eliminated.
Sadie’s hands shook as she scrolled through additional files, each one representing a woman who’d trusted Serenity Dunes with her health and safety. Most showed “successful” completion of experimental protocols, their departures carefully orchestrated to appear normal. But a few, dating back over a year, carried the same ominous designation of Rebalancing Transfer.
Was one of these Melinda? Or possibly Natalia? Or me?
Working with desperate efficiency, Sadie installed a backdoor program that would allow LSIMT to remotely access Dr. Patel’s entire system. The files were too extensive to download in the time they had available, but creating a permanent link would ensure that federal investigators could retrieve every piece of evidence once the operation was exposed.
After completing Dr. Patel’s office, she returned to Dr. Selinski’s office to confirm that Todd was finishing the same backdoor program, having been given step-by-step instructions by Casper. She quickly checked and breathed another sigh of relief. “Good work,” she said, leaning close to him.
Todd looked up at her and nodded. “Almost done. Just hold on a little longer.”
Hearing his voice helped to steady her, grounding her in a way that she hadn’t felt safe in days. She was grateful that while focused on the mission, his protective awareness never wavered. “What else did you find?” she asked, peering over his shoulder at the monitor displaying what appeared to be financial records.
“Partnership agreements with something called Regenerative Biosolutions,” Todd replied. “I wonder how many of the others here are involved?”
Sadie struggled to focus on the intelligence they still needed to gather. “I’ll check the other offices. If this operation is as extensive as it appears, there will be evidence on multiple systems.”
“You good?”
