LUCINDA GATES AND AGENT WOLFE strode ahead toward the conference room in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Headquarters in Druid Hill, Georgia — a young intern was tagging behind them — trying to slow them down in the corridor.

The incommode arrival of both the demanding visitors from Washington was stressing out the intern.

"...but, but you cannot interrupt Dr Morris now — she is in an important meeting with the Indian scientists from Delhi."

Lucinda Gates stopped and sternly countered the young woman.

"I don't give a damn if she is having chicken tikka luncheon with them — you now go and get me Tina Martin — and I want to see her now!"

"Who is that, Ma'am? Does she work here in CDC?" The puzzled young intern reacted...

"Yes my dear, she works at The Behavioral and Intelligence Research Department."

The young woman had heard of the newly set-up ancillary division that was added recently. She comprehended...

"Oh, that unit..."

"Yes girl, that nonsensical unit"

Gates turned to Wolfe beside her. "Agent Wolfe, you go get me security now." The older woman instructed further and walked alone towards the conference room...

The intern called out at her from behind to stall her again...

"Wait, Ma'am! Where are you going?"

Agent Wolfe grabbed the young woman's arm hard.

"Hey, Missy — focus! Do you know who she is?" The intern shook her head and Wolfe informed...

"That is the Confidential Assistant of the President of the United States — and now she has just given you an order to find this Tina Martin — so, you get that little skirt of yours moving, pronto!"

Wolfe then walked away towards the Security department while the young intern froze on the spot speechless.

*

Lucinda Gates opened the conference room door and saw six women at a meeting table in a dimly lighted room. Gates switched on the bright lights and called out to them...

"All of you, out of here except for you, Dr Morris — this meeting is over — come on, move it, go now for your chai-break!"

Dr Jane Morris removed her eyeglasses, seeing the confused Indian visitors exiting the door.

"Ms Gates, what is going on?"

Gates took a photo out of her file and slid it on the table towards Dr Morris — it was a mug shot of Marlin in a police precinct.

What happened to him?" the anxious doctor inquired.

"He claims to be your son."

"Yes, the boy is my adopted son — this looks like a mug shot, is he in any trouble?" the puzzled doctor replied instantly.

Her mind was now finding ways to protect the identity of the progeny on the photo. The boy was in propinquity to a member from the covert medical research team who had been secretly working in finding for the Medusa virus cure.

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"Yes Dr Morris, it is a very severe one too. That shemale brat that you adopted has just attacked the son of the Japanese Ambassador with a samurai sword. Do you know what the consequences would have been if that Ambassador's son had died?

It is already all in the news now, and it is a media circus outside this building with this incident — and don't tell me you don't know about it?" The president's Confidential Assistant incriminated her.

"Honestly, I was not aware at all, Ms Gates — and I am also surprised, why his boarding school did not call to notify me about it?"

Gates derided...

"So, did he not call back to inform you — using one of this?"

Gates now slid one of Marlin's cell phone on the table towards Morris. The doctor saw that it was the cell phone she gave Marlin a week ago — this was not good...

The doctor personally owned a few of those highly classified FBI issued phones when she was active as the epidemic advisor to the former Rosewood administration. She had still kept in secret contact using those phones with Sonia Petroff — who was with Yankoff's Three Kings research team — the three last surviving male scientists were now self-funded underground — they were discretely continuing efforts since, in finding a way to end the active Medusa Virus in the atmosphere, ever since Madeline Cory succeeding the presidency.

Instinctively, Morris used her palm to conceal her own similar phone which she had carelessly left out in the open on the meeting table — but, the watchful Gates detected her tarrying move.

The older woman then grilled her aggressively...

"Do you know that this phone is a highly classified property of the US Government — and now you tell me how did civilians like you, and that adopted she-boy of yours can have access to them?"

Dr Morris was lost of words in the leery inquest. She needed to be careful in what she revealed because it could jeopardize many lives and hopes outside in finding for a global cure to the Medusa pandemic.

Dr Jane Morris was sagacious — and she remained silent to the questioning woman from the White House.

"Okay you don't want to cooperate, that is fine — but I know you, and I have read your profile. Yeah, the big hotshot ex-head of W.H.O. — and also on how you and that old hagfish Rosewood had squandered trillions of dollars in all of your imaginary research for the Holy Grail of cures to the Medusa Virus.

"Even our current Cory government has the decency to retain you, Morris— and kept you as head to run the current CDC administration — but now, look what you have done?"

Dr Morris listened to the oratory by the invective woman from the White House. The door opened and Agent Agatha Wolfe and two security guards stride in, the doctor anticipated the chain of dire events to follow — Morris implored...

"Ms Gates, I need to see my son now."

"No!"

Somehow Gates felt it was best not to grant her the permission until further investigation.

"Dr Morris, leave your own phone on the table," she turned to the security...

"Escort her out and hold her — I will deal with her later."

Wolfe followed them out while a confused Tina Martin stepped into the conference room, after seeing security escorting Dr Jane Morris away. The ex-IIRC director was perplexed of what was happening...

"Why's Dr Morris — what is going on, Ms Gates?"

"Ms Martin, how are you? Now, come and take a seat. Dr Morris is no longer in capacity here — and you're going be the temporary Head of CDC right this moment until a suitable replacement arrives.

"If you are found capable — then, the job is yours for keeps."

Gates instructed her while she slipped both the classified issued phones into her pockets.

Martin explicated...

"But, what do I know about Disease Control? I'm just a psychologist heading researcher in..."

Lucinda Gates interrupted — her tone was still in agitation with Dr Morris whom she had just indicted minutes ago...

"Come on here, Tina, management is not rocket science to you —- and you have done a great Pavlovian-control in that shemale school of yours in Ohio. Now, you manage this bunch of microscope-peeping nerds here in the CDC, and keep them on the ball — yes, who knows, the least we will find a cure to the common flu after all those billions of dollars that damned Rosewood woman had dissipated in the past."

She noticed Tina Martin was still astounded by the offer, Gates re-assured. "I know it is such short notice — but I will get the entire CDC administration to back you and get you up to speed. I am confident you will run this place like a pro in no time. Congratulation, Ms Martin."

Gates extended her hand — and the hesitant Martin stood up and shook it — but, still was looking overwhelmed and indeterminacy of the uphill task ahead, after only coming into CDC for two weeks — since the closing of her former IIRC unit at Wesleyan University in Ohio.

Tina's mind was working on the office politics that was about to come from this Washington's sudden supplant of the high-profiled Dr Morris — while, Lucinda Gates was proud of her perfidious decision — that she had just made by replacing one of Rosewood's somebodies with her very own hand-picked malleable candidate.