It's a Man's World (Part B)

TransBiotics might get featured in a longer-form caption or story sometime in the future.

Part A: fav.me/de4b6vf
Part C: fav.me/de4b78u

“I have to say, Dr. Belardo – the board was dead wrong about you.” The Director said without looking up from the research she’d presented.

She ran her fingers through her hair, smiling as his discomfort. “I tried to tell you all, but you dismissed me out of turn.”

The Director shook his head. “In point of fact, Doctor, that was the board, headed by my predecessor.”

Dr. Bethany Belardo snorted. “Are you saying you would have taken me any more seriously?”

The Director shrugged. “I would have at least reviewed your research before shutting you down. And in any event, you’ve made good here. Good enough that we’d be willing to discuss bringing you back into the fold. I won’t lie – we’ve kept tabs on you and your little rogue operation. At first, when we thought you were just looking to profit off of our business model, L&C suggested we ‘acquire’ you as a subject. But once we realized you were funneling your profits into your own freelance R&D, we decided to hold off until you proved your theories correct… or until you became a threat.”

Bethany rolled her eyes. “Do you imagine I would be much of a threat to you?”

The Director raised his eyebrow. “Me personally? No. But while your expertise in physical metamorphosis is beyond compare, your mental conditioning was crude and sloppy at best. If any of these new girls were in a position to talk where someone would listen? It may have eventually led back to us.”

Bethany sneered. “I didn’t have your resources to destroy their egos and sense of self, much less set up new paperwork and identities for them. Besides, not a one of them is in a position to speak about anything that anyone in authority would take heed to.”

The Director sighed. “Yes, sex slaves, strippers, and prostitutes all. Their brains addled by narcotics and dime-store hypnosis, it’s unlikely that they can tell anyone what, deep down, they know to be the truth.” The Director closed the file in front of him, handing it wordlessly to his redheaded assistant, who teetered out of the room on five-inch heels. “But, they do remember.”

Bethany waved off the accusation. “Suppose they do? Send L&C out to collect them and give them a full wipe. Set them up however or as whomever you want – they served their purpose to me.”

“It may come to that.” The Director said flatly. “But in the meantime, let’s discuss the twins. I’ll be frank – we’re impressed. Sure, we can copy a template or design without issue. My assistant, Natasha, who just left? She’s the fourth copy of that exact same model, one of whom was sold to a client, and the other three of which have all served as my assistant.”

Bethany raised an eyebrow. “What happened to the other two?”

“Well, Theresa – the former Director Matthews, whom I believe you knew – wound up falling in love with a member of the L&C team. When she became pregnant, she quit to raise her family, so I replaced her with one of our Class-6 subjects.”

“And the other one?” Bethany asked.

The Director smiled. “Vanessa actually became quite infatuated with me. Theresa was too, as is Natasha – it’s by design, you see? But only Vanessa managed to sink her hooks into me, and my daughter, Rebekah? She adores her. We were married last fall, and I do quite well enough that we don’t need her working to support a comfortable lifestyle.”

Bethany smiled back, mirthlessly. “And does she know about Natasha? Or Theresa, for that matter?”

The Director’s smile vanished. “I can assure you, I’ve been a faithful husband. As for what she knows? I don’t burden her with the intricacies of my work. And what she knew as my assistant was wiped away by our psych department.”

Bethany nodded. “Of course it was.”

“But that’s beside the point.” the Director continued. “In each case, we were forced to use a new subject. You’ve managed to create two products from one subject in a fraction of the time, and you claim you can replicate the process as many times as deemed necessary. How?”

Bethany smiled again, this time with pride. “The oldest trick in the biological playbook – cell division.”

“But on this scale?” The Director asked. “Single cells, sure, but a whole organism? In clinical tests, our test animals always died – gruesomely, I might add. What did you find that we didn’t?”

Bethany clucked her tongue and waved her finger. “That’s going to cost you.”

The Director grunted. “What is it, exactly, you want?”

“My old position in R&D. A substantial pay raise. And a seat on the Board of Directors.”