Page 64 of Perfection

“I understand.”

This time, when they exited the dwelling, they didn’t stop until they were inside the elevator, which opened for them almost immediately. As the doors slid shut with a soft whoosh, Kindra studied her hands.

“My God,” she murmured, “We are totally unprepared for this kind of outbreak. I don’t even have disinfectant in my home. None of the GEIs do. We’re immune to everything. There’s no need.”

“Until now.”

* * *

“You’re beginning to feel like a regular,” Kindra said over her shoulder while she sat at her lab workstation. York still touched and fiddled with everything, but she was too busy to be bothered by it. Either that or she was simply getting used to having him around. When she turned, he was in the process of assembling his own personal workstation out of a chair, desk, and sophisticated computer—one she suspected linked to the police headquarters. “What are you doing?”

“We finally have a lead. We need to work together to trace the virus on these dolls. Plus, we should force a recall.”

She admired his sharp mind for analyzing the case details. He was a man of action, and by the time they returned to Seville, he had contacted his superior and reported the new direction of the case.

At a flash of data on the screen, he mumbled something she didn’t quite catch. He had the annoying tendency of talking through things out loud. She was uncertain if he expected her to answer, but the more he did it, the more she realized it was a mere habit.

Regardless, he was right. They needed to work together now more than ever. “Okay. That makes sense.”

In a matter of minutes, he was settled in and skimming information, documents, and reports. Now it was her turn to look over his shoulder. She watched as he sent out an alert to warn the public the dolls could be defective and they were under recall. He cross-checked the list of children in cryo and ordered parents to bring in any dolls the children owned. He contacted Global Dolls, Inc. to instruct the company to cease distribution. Then he set up three forensic teams, one to work on Brianna’s dolls and any others that were brought in, one to go to the manufacture, and one to investigate the store at Mall Center.

He explained to Kindra, “We need to go to the factory and talk to the head of production and have the dolls tested there. It’s local, so that shouldn’t be a problem. But I don’t want any shipments to go out until we have answers. An investigative team will arrive shortly. I’ve messaged Shishido and Vi to oversee the Mall location. I want to know if the virus on the dolls came from the manufacturing facility or the store selling the dolls.”

She considered what he was suggesting, then asked, “Are you going over there?”

“Yes. It’s imperative to determine the origin of the contamination. Was it at the plant? Or in the stores? Or somewhere in between? Where did this bugger come from? Who is behind it? Was it accidental, a mishap by nature? Or created?”

B-Watson, with a seemingly perpetually stiff back, escorted a Coder into the room. Her breath caught. The tall, muscular man’s resemblance to York was striking. Her gaze shot between the two dark-haired men. “You’re brothers?”

“You know your genes,” the man said, a slight bite to his words.

“Cal, this is Kindra B-Zaika,” York said, tipping back in the chair. “My brother had some spare time, so I thought I’d put his sorry ass to work.” His acerbic tone had Kindra angling her head. She obviously wasn’t used to a family like his. “He works in the Genetic Fraud department.”

“Hey.” Cal waved, then finger-combed his thick locks.

York stood and approached his brother. Both men turned serious as York thrust a small H-Pad into Cal’s hand. “You’re terrific with evidence, Bro, so let’s get to it. I’ll be right behind you.”

Cal tucked the H-pad into his side pocket. “Thanks. And here I thought you never noticed.” He strolled toward the door. “Shall we?” Cal exited. York, waited behind, his gaze lingering on Kindra until the last minute when he slipped out the door.