“I’ll be right down.” Rothman said.
Minutes later Rothman was in Norcott’s lab.
“The two vials, where?” Rothman ordered.
Mac Blocker pointed to on of two freezers.
“And the live specimen?” his tone was more relaxed.
“Well, that’s a bit harder. I found it in Norcott’s office. He had it in a cage, but I think he underestimated just how powerful and tenacious it was. It’s loose in there. Apparently I disturbed it when I turned on the lights, it was sleeping. I’m guessing the Norcott had it on heavy tranquilizers. It looks like he was going to take those vials I found and our stripped friend to the competition.” Blocker said.
Rothman was impressed. Blocker wasn’t quite the stupid oaf he pretended to be. He realized that Blocker probably hid how bright he was to throw people off, but now he’d inadvertently opened the window allowed Rothman to see more. Guys like that were possibly moles in an organization. It was possible that Mac Blocker was working for Transgene and he planted the evidence, after all, if Norcott were dead or missing or couldn’t offer evidence or testimony to the contrary, he’d be the perfect fall guy. Even if Norcott was guilty, it’s possible the Blocker, security chief that he was, was in on it.
“OK, show me this ‘specimen’. What is it anyway?” Rothman asked.
“It looks like a badger-man.” Blocker said.
“I need not tell you that this is an extremely sensitive situation.” Rothman said.
Blocker nodded.
“I’m going to send everyone home except you and two of your men,” Rothman said, “there aren’t too many people on this level working this late anyway, mostly low level stuff anyway. Did anyone without clearance see the anthromorph?”
“No. Norcott’s office is ultra-violet clearance, as you know, just like the other two. The cards that will open his office are x-ray or gamma level cards and you’re the only one with a gamma level card, sir. You’re card would have worked on the lab doors, but I believe the saboteur reprogrammed the system. I had to do a lot of fancy work to circumvent it, it was set to sterilize if improperly accessed.” Blocker said.
“You’re saying Norcott set the system to kill us? If we’d gone in there using my card, the biohazard protocol comp would have sealed the lab and flooded it with gamma radiation? That’s hard to believe, Norcott might be a thief and a saboteur, but I don’t think he’s a murderer.” Rothman said, with astonishment.
“Money can buy many things, sir.” Blocker said. “That mouse-man that escaped, how do you suppose that happened?”
“Good point.” Rothman thought fast. Blocker seemed to have the whole thing all wrapped up in a tidy little package with a neat little bow, his instincts told him that it was all too neat. Blocker was involved, he was sure of it now and it wasn’t just because he believed Norcott wouldn’t hack the system and set the lab on sterilize. “Well, let’s get busy. I’ll order everyone out and you get your men.”
An hour later they were back in Norcotts lab. The two guards Billy Ross and George Harding had managed to capture the badger-man without being contaminated using a noose-pole and a tranquilizer dart. The badger man lay sleeping in a cage.
“Good work, Mac!” Rothman said as he pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Mac’s chest. Ross and Harding moved and Rothman growled, “One flinch and Mac here is going to have a nice big hole in his chest. I think it’s time for answers. I want Billy and George to put their weapons down, nice and slow.”
“Do as he says!” Mac barked.
The two set their guns on the floor. “OK, now slide them on over here with your feet, gently, one at a time.” George slid his gun over and so did Billy. “Good! Now you Mac.” Rothman said.
Mac did as the others had. Bending down carefully, Rothman took the guns an put them in his suit and pants pockets.
“What’s this all about, Rothman?” Mac said.
“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough.” Rothman said as he backed toward the door.
He moved through the door quickly, punched the key pad and slid his card, locking the steel door. The then punched in a code and swiped his card again. Inside Norcott’s lab, gas silently began to fill the room. Mac and the others were pounding on the door. It wasn’t anything lethal, just something to make sure that the three security guards would be out for awhile. It was an anti-espionage measure, if a spy were to access the lab without the proper code or at the wrong time he would succeed in entering and he’d be put to sleep for interrogation later.
After ten minutes, the lab door clicked open. The gas had been evacuated and all three guards were on the floor, by the door.
With a great deal of effort, David Rothman pulled the unconscious bodies onto examination tables. He removed their clothing and strapped them down securely.
He then went to the freezers and took a frozen sample vial of what he suspected was the virus. He took out several samples of animal DNA and placed them in a cool bath with the vial of the virus.
An hour or so later, the three naked men awoke and as they did so, David Rothman injected them with a clear liquid.
“Good! You’re awake! Now, I need to know something Mac.” David said.
George and Billy began to protest but Dr. Rothman silenced them with the threat that if they didn’t quiet down, he’d inject them with something unpleasant.
“So, Mac, how much did Transgene pay you?” Rothman said with a very intent look.
“What are you talking about?” Mac said.
“Then I’ll give you all about fifteen minutes for the drugs to take affect and then I’ll ask again. By the way, any of you have a preference as to what kind of animal you’d like to be?” David said with an evil grin.
He left Norcott’s lab to the shouts of obscenities.
When he returned, Mac, George and Billy were much more tractable.
As it turned out, Mac was indeed helping Norcott to steal the data and samples and he couldn’t have done it without George and Billy’s help. He thought as much, George and Billy were just way too loyal to Mac and Mac and made the mistake of showing more brains than he should have. Mac was even responsible for the booby trapped lab, but David had guessed that already, Norcott didn’t have the skills to monkey with the biohazard program without setting it off.
“So gentlemen, I asked you earlier, now I want my answer. What animal do you most identify with?” David asked pleasantly.
“Go to Hell!” Mac said somewhat groggily.
George volunteered, “I like gorillas.”
Billy said, “I like lions.”
Mac slipped into unconsciousness as did the others. The truth drug was also a sedative.
“Well, looks like I get to make the decision for good ol’ Mac!” David said.
He went to the vials. They contained DNA from temperate woodland animals, nothing exotic. George and Billy would be so disappointed, but it was easier to cover up the sighting of something that looked like a deer or a bear than a gorilla or a lion. Well, well, there was a lion after all; a North American puma, commonly known as a mountain lion. Billy would get his wish, though he wouldn’t have that gorgeous mane.
“Now, what’s close to a gorilla on this continent?” David puzzled. “Closest we’ve got is a black bear. It’s mostly the size and color.” He chuckled to himself. He placed samples of the virus into test tubes and added the animal’s semen. He then had a wonderful idea as he was placing the unused portions of the sample and the virus back in the freezer. He wanted to see what a fresh injection of animorph sperm would do to the human subject. There was no way he was going to man-handle that badger-man and possibly get infected. He did inject the badger with more tranquilizers and very carefully collected a semen sample through mild electro stimulation of the balls. He’d seen Random do the procedure and was aware of the contamination protocols.
David Rothman would have his revenge. He would have his pound of flesh. Rothman injected the lion animorph serum into Billy. Billy was a blond and had a nice lion tattoo on his right shoulder.
He then went over to iron-grey bearded George. George was a rather overweight man with hairy shoulders, back and chest and was nicely endowed, unlike billy or Mac who were average. He injected the black bear serum into George. George would like being a black bear on some level; they’d probably all be put in a military ‘breeding’ program for the next three weeks. Breeding with females and transforming males either through electro stimulation or out and out ass fucking. With enough female animal pheromones of the proper species spread on the back of a man’s neck, Billy, Mac and George here would fuck them and the volunteers would take it, as ordered to.
Finally, it was Mac’s turn. Mac was special. He pulled up the stirrups used for examining female specimens and put Mac’s hairy legs in them. He then lubed his ass and took the big syringe, without a needle, and shoved it up his ass. Mac moaned but didn’t wake. David injected 500 cubic centimeters of badger-man sperm up his ass. He withdrew the syringe and threw it in the biohazard bucket as he had done with the other needles. Mac’s reddish stubble and moustache would be replaced by badger fur. His hairy red furred chest would become covered in grayish badger fur. He patted Mac’s cheek. “That’s what you get for crossing a geneticist, you bastard!” David said.
Twenty minutes after, each of the men awoke in a cell. An antidote to the truth drug had been given to each of them before David had left and locked their cell. Attached to their cocks was a ‘milking’ machine and it was pumping as they woke. The machine was used to collect samples from the animorph specimens. Each of the men itched and their balls were tingling.
Mac felt a warmth spreading from his guts.