Experiment 103

Prologue

Seven Months Ago...

The Chairman quietly examined his colleagues. Some were desperately trying to cling onto calm demeanors, and others had looks of open terror on their faces. The Chairman's metal limbs made a click as he observed his underlings, counting how many he wasn't going to see after this meeting. Only some of his colleagues were directly responsible for the debacle that had transpired, but all of them stank of fear, their bodies unable to hide their true emotions. 

Well, naturally, Erda stared back at him with steely confidence.

"Anything you want to say, Miss Solheim ?" The Chairman asked, his voice as light and velvety as ever.  She knew what he wanted already, all of this was just playacting. Telling the flies that were entangled in his web that they weren't.  

Erda stood up. "Four thousand of the experiments have escaped, due to a breach in the security system . Levels, three to fifty were severely compromised by an unknown external source. As you know, levels one and two can only be accessed by ten people, and as such, they weren't compromised." Erda Solheim said coolly. 

"So what you're saying is, that this entire issue is the fault of our security department ?" The Chairman asked calmly , waiting for Erda's response. 

Some members of the petrified board shot her pleading looks. Erda smirked. "Yes, that's exactly what happened. Sheer incompetence from the security department." 

"Surely, they must have had some sort of adequate response? They knew what we were creating here, they knew the importance of our projects, didn't they ?" The Chairman frowned slightly, polite bewilderment clouding his tone. 

Erda shrugged innocently. "Maybe they forgot the contracts they signed?"

A silent message passed between the Chairman and Ms.Solheim. In a matter of seconds, Erda had pulled out a hand pistol and shot three people that had sat next to  The Chairman.

Three loud, heart-stopping bangs later, and the three heads of the security department slumped almost simultaneously.  

Nobody on the board moved. They could all be dead, the way they hold their breaths and bodies, The Chairman noted. A woman sitting next to one of the deceased slowly opened her eyes, shuddering when she felt the blood on her face. The silence that had descended on the board was eerie and harsh. 

"There you are, sir. " Erda smiled genially. She put the gun back into its holster and sat down, as though nothing had happened.

Members of the board couldn't look at her. They said nothing, because in all of their time working at Cobalt, never had the Chairman ever reacted like this to a situation. He was a man that despised violence, who chose when he could to find a rational and calm solution to the problems they faced. 

The Chairman smiled pleasantly. "Thank you, dear. Now somebody, find those experiments, maybe there is a way to continue the experiments we had running at Cobalt...in the field. As I was saying before all this mess, remember Lindsey, hire that ex-marines we saw last week, he has two daughters. And everybody, " The Chairman looked at all of the Board members. "Find those experiments, or your children will be the next ones.  Good day to all of you. "