Chapter 14 - The Flatline
The lead tactical operative took a sharp step forward, his rifle still leveled dead at Dr. Aris Thorne, who stood with his hands raised high in the air.
"Step away from the subject! Put your hands behind your head or we will open fire!" the operative barked, his voice echoing off the sterile tile walls of the laboratory.
Dr. Elena Vance ignored the armed guard entirely. She dropped to her knees beside Clara’s unconscious, rigid form, pressing two fingers firmly against the side of Clara’s neck to check for a carotid pulse. The digital biometric monitor on the central console flashed a flat, solid red line accompanied by a continuous, high-pitched warning tone. One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. Three Mississippi.
"Elena, move away from her now!" Thorne shouted, bracing himself as an operative lunged forward, grabbing his shoulder and slamming him violently against a glass instrument cabinet.
Glass shattered everywhere, but Thorne kept his eyes glued to the monitor. Four Mississippi. Five Mississippi.
The bioluminescent purple geometric pattern beneath Clara’s maroon t-shirt suddenly flared with a blinding, sun-like intensity that forced the tactical operatives to throw their hands up to shield their eyes. The humming sound of the synthetic nano-organisms reached a deafening, harmonic pitch—and then, instantly, it cut out completely. The glow vanished. The purple veins beneath her skin dissolved back into normal human tissue.
Six Mississippi.
A sharp, sudden gasp tore from Clara’s throat as her back arched off the floor. Her eyes flew open, wide and clear, as a strong, rhythmic beat returned to her chest. The digital monitor shifted from a flat red line to a steady, green pulse.
The lead operative lowered his rifle slightly, his visor turning in sheer bewilderment from the monitor to Clara, who lay breathing heavily on the floor, her hands resting softly against her flat, normal stomach.
"What... what just happened?" the operative muttered, lowering his weapon another inch as his tactical headset crackled with static from high command headquarters downtown.
Elena pulled Clara up into a sitting position, her eyes filled with tears of profound relief. "She did it. The human immune system recognized the purge code. She's clean."
Before the bewildered tactical squad could process the command override echoing through their radios from a panicked Bio-Genics executive, Clara slowly stood up on her own two feet, looking the lead operative dead in the eye with a terrifying, unbreakable strength.
"Tell your bosses the recall failed," Clara said, her voice steady and echoing through the silent room.
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And then, the emergency sprinkler system overhead suddenly activated, drenching the entire laboratory in freezing water as a secondary, automated security lockdown began sealing every exit in the building.
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