"How's the arm?"

"Better than it was last week." Hunter stretched his arm to prove his point. "The hospital layered it with NewSkin after some antibody injections. How about you, you feeling better?"

"Not really, The container of samples we saw in the cubicle went missing. We couldn't find them anywhere. All I have is the one from the machine he was going to transition."

"How small is that?

"It's about the size of the end of your thumb."

He looked at his thumb and shrugged. "So it isn't dangerous is it? I mean it would need to go through your machine."

"In theory . . . we've no idea how that mass might react to anything. It's unlikely but there could be a reactive agent in nature or wherever that may affect it."

"But you and Cusack invented the process."

"Still doesn't exclude something natural from doing what we did in the lab. Maybe we only discovered what nature already knew."

"You mean like Horace fertilizing trees?" Her look was withering. "Where is it now?"

"In my bag, it's perfectly safe in there. It's the number that went missing that concerns me."

"Okay, guess we'll just have wait and see."

"Not something I want to see again."

Hunter answered the signal on his data pad and frowned. "Looks like I'm on the hot seat again. Empirium officials want to interview me."

"You can't say anything about the Transition code or Alice." Diane sounded alarmed.

"Doesn't leave me a whole lot of material to work with, Diane. The Vatten engineers have probably spilled what they were doing there already. Maybe it's best to come clean, you might be able to have some control then."

"Only if I never reveal the coding but we both know how easily they could get that from me."

"What if you let Alice have priority over it? They couldn't get from her."

"But then what? I may never be able to get it back."

"I don't know, Diane, it was just a thought. Talk to Frost. I have to get to this interview. Hopefully I'll see you again."

********

"Empirium Council interview number one with DCO Hunter Lewis formerly employed by the Habitat Exploration Evaluation Program."

Hunter was led to a chair in front of the three member council and asked to repeat what was just announced. The balance of the interview went the same way with the Council only asking confirmations to their questions.

When he disagreed they bore down relentlessly, countering his denials with their purported evidence. Interestingly, Hunter learned something he didn't know but it answered a big question for him.

When they finished, his DOQ status was reduced one rank further, which meant some of the privileges he enjoyed were limited and he was on Empirium security monitoring for three months. Now both HEEP and Empirium were watching him.

********

"Hopefully seeing me again, was pretty short-lived, Hunter."

"I know but I found out something you need to know."

They had met again at the bench on the HEEP grounds, He had brought a couple of zip bars to chew on and some power drinks to make the meeting look more innocent to the monitors.

"Diane, Arlen Downs has the missing samples."

"What! How do you know?"

"Please, relax and smile." He explained about the monitors, which were mobile cameras everywhere, programmed for specific tasks and how they were watching him.

They sat, looking natural with their snacks as Hunter told her what had come out during his interview. Arlen had been on the scene during the investigation and had taken the samples from the cubicle with the excuse it was vital that they be stored properly, immediately. Nobody questioned him. Even the Vatten engineers were quiet, they were just happy the whole thing was over.

"So where are they then?"

"With Arlen and I don't know where he is. Diane, I'm going to be restricted from helping in any way while these cameras are watching me but if I can do anything I will. Was the doc any help?"

"It's worse than we thought. He can't go to the lab and work on Alice's coding because she will know and simply stop him. If he tries doing it remotely with the machine she can stop that too. He's trying to contrive a bypass but it's risky."

"He's not in danger though is he?"

"He may be now that Arlen is back in the picture." She finished her drink and stuffed the zip bar wrapper in the cup. "We need to get those samples back for the safety of all of us."

"You know you're scaring the crap out of me."

"With good reason . . . you and I are the only ones left who saw what they could do."

********

Arlen sat staring at the clear, sealed container on the table in front of him wondering how he could profit from its use. Horace said he and Empirium sources had plans to weaponize the samples they had, that it would make millions. Of course Horace was part of the environment now and he didn't have Empirium sources.

What I do have, Arlen reminded himself, is access to a machine that can give my samples life. He sat a while longer figuring the best way to go about getting the machine. I'd have to get it from Dr. Frost of course but I did it once so I can do it again.

********

Diane's words were still playing in his head when he scanned the lock on his quarters and he missed Arlen getting behind him with a weapon jammed in his back.

"I thought I might see you again."

"Really, and why would that be?" He pushed Hunter inside and locked the door behind them

"You didn't like my hospitality last time you were here."

Arlen let out a snort and checked Hunter for a weapon. "Where is it?"

"I had to surrender it as part of my punishment at the hearing along with a couple of other perks I had here."

"That's it? Horace was reduced to fertilizer!"

"Not by me. I got shot by one of his droids."

"What else, they didn't let you go with just the loss of a few perks?"

Hunter started to sit but was dissuaded with the jerk of Arlen's weapon. "Well something that won't make you very happy. I'm on a three month Empirium monitoring program on top of HEEP's so I imagine they saw you greet me at gunpoint."

Arlen's face turned dark and he fought to keep his temper down. "You smug bastard. How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"Ask me if I care. You barge in here with your gun for a reason I don't yet know and you expect a hug?"

"We're leaving. You will get in the cab I have waiting and you are going to act like we are the best of buddies or I'll take my chances with any monitors."

********

Winston Frost groaned when his office door opened and Hunter was pushed in by Arlen waving a gun.

"Hi, Doc. Tried your house first and noticed the lock still isn't fixed."

"What's going on? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to get your little machine again, Doc only this time it's for me."

"I don't have it."

"Well you better get it quick or Hunter here will get toasted." Arlen jammed the gun in Hunter's back. "Where is it?"

"My lab but--"

"Never mind the buts, let's go. Now!"

"You're making a big mistake . . ."

"No, you are if you don't shut up and get moving."

********

Arlen programmed the autocab for a hold and steered the two men to the lab door. Frost tried protesting again and received a hard rap on the head from Arlen's weapon for his trouble. Inside, Hunter was told to sit and while Frost had to get his portable machine calibrated, Arlen put his pouch with the samples on the table.

"Okay. Set this stuff up for the transition and no excuses."

"This is Diane's field. I don't know her coding."

"Don't give me that. That's what this machine did at Vatten."

"You're wrong, I'm trying to tell you. Diane coded the Vatten machine personally. This was just used to monitor the process in case- for safety purposes."

Arlen walked over to Hunter and pressed the weapon against his head. "I'm not just some moron you can jerk around, Frost. Your remote would have the code stored for the very same reason. So, your choice. Fire it up or our friend here gets zapped."

"I have to turn on the lab security or the remote won't work - it isn't independent."

"That's it, you want to play that game!"

"No! Wait! I'll turn it on. I'm not lying." Frost went to the panel on the wall and entered his password then turned Alice on.