Read Online A Shot of Red by Tracy March - Free Book Online
Authors: Tracy March
Tags: Fiction, General, Suspense, Romance, Medical, Thrillers, Political, romantic suspense, Switzerland, allison brennan, Heather Graham, Epidemic, Lucy Kincaid, outbreak
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them. It was obvious before he even spoke a word. “Mia,” he said. “I miss you.” He cleared his throat and bowed his head, his light-brown hair looking as if he’d been out in the wind. “But that’s not what this is about.”
Pressure built in her throat, and she worried she’d never make it through this without crying.
He raised his head and looked into the camera. “If you’re watching this, then something has happened to me. God knows, I hope it doesn’t come to that, but I have to keep pushing for answers, and I can tell they’re pushing back.”
They who?
“I don’t have a lot of time here in Lucerne because I’ve got to get back to work. But if I don’t make it, I’m leaving what I find for you. I can’t say too much in case this video makes it into the wrong hands. Hopefully someone I trust has given you a few more details. I hate to put anyone in danger—especially you—and that’s why I’m chasing this myself. But if anything happens to me, please don’t let it lie.
“Something is going on with the vaccine, and it’s scaring the hell out of me. Since you’re watching this, I probably never got the chance to figure it all out, or reveal what it is. So now it’s up to you. As strange as this is to say, I hope I haven’t risked my life for nothing. I’m counting on you. If you can’t bring yourself to get to the bottom of this for me, do it for you.”
Mia stared at the computer, wide-eyed.
“You probably know this already,” Brent said, “but I feel like I need to say it.” He shrugged. “I still love you, Mia. Moncure Therapeutics is your future. Don’t let them steal it from you.”
…
“We’ll do several days of appearances in New York City,” Ellen Sloane said to Mia. They sat in the executive conference room at Moncure Therapeutics the next morning, its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the company’s rolling Northern Virginia campus. Beneath the gray November sky, a few leaves still clung to mostly barren trees, and others randomly wafted to the ground.
Being in bustling DC was one thing, but New York City was something else entirely. Mia had visions of sensory overload after the sparse landscape and meager infrastructure in Haiti.
“We’ve got a heavy rotation of public service announcements going for One Shot right now, and a perpetual social media campaign. Then we’ll supplement with your appearances on popular shows.”
Mia was barely able to concentrate on anything Ellen said. After seeing Brent’s video, she’d been awake most of the night, wondering what to do with the quandary he’d put her in. If he was telling the truth, he’d been eaten by the lions, and left her alone in the den. She didn’t know whom to trust. And the only way to find out what was really going on was to go to Switzerland and find out. It was her only choice, really. How could she possibly promote the vaccine knowing something could be wrong with it?
Because no one else seems concerned. No. One.
Maybe there’d been a production glitch along the way, or a change in formulation, but everything seemed on track now. This was no time for Mia to be raising her hand and asking questions.
“Over the next two weeks, we’re scheduled on Good Morning America, Today, Fox and Friends , and even on Live With Kelly and Michael. ” Ellen gave Mia a sympathetic look. She was a consummate professional, always impeccably dressed, well-spoken, and thoroughly prepared. “We’ll be in L.A. intermittently to do The Tonight Show and a couple of others. Our three-pronged strategy is to reach out to the public through announcements, entertainment, and social media. We’re more likely to get the message out that way than with stuffy press conferences.” She winked. Both Ellen and Mia agreed that those were more for politics than public good, considering her family’s connections, but they were necessary just the same. Especially when the threat of an epidemic was so real.
“So
Pressure built in her throat, and she worried she’d never make it through this without crying.
He raised his head and looked into the camera. “If you’re watching this, then something has happened to me. God knows, I hope it doesn’t come to that, but I have to keep pushing for answers, and I can tell they’re pushing back.”
They who?
“I don’t have a lot of time here in Lucerne because I’ve got to get back to work. But if I don’t make it, I’m leaving what I find for you. I can’t say too much in case this video makes it into the wrong hands. Hopefully someone I trust has given you a few more details. I hate to put anyone in danger—especially you—and that’s why I’m chasing this myself. But if anything happens to me, please don’t let it lie.
“Something is going on with the vaccine, and it’s scaring the hell out of me. Since you’re watching this, I probably never got the chance to figure it all out, or reveal what it is. So now it’s up to you. As strange as this is to say, I hope I haven’t risked my life for nothing. I’m counting on you. If you can’t bring yourself to get to the bottom of this for me, do it for you.”
Mia stared at the computer, wide-eyed.
“You probably know this already,” Brent said, “but I feel like I need to say it.” He shrugged. “I still love you, Mia. Moncure Therapeutics is your future. Don’t let them steal it from you.”
…
“We’ll do several days of appearances in New York City,” Ellen Sloane said to Mia. They sat in the executive conference room at Moncure Therapeutics the next morning, its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the company’s rolling Northern Virginia campus. Beneath the gray November sky, a few leaves still clung to mostly barren trees, and others randomly wafted to the ground.
Being in bustling DC was one thing, but New York City was something else entirely. Mia had visions of sensory overload after the sparse landscape and meager infrastructure in Haiti.
“We’ve got a heavy rotation of public service announcements going for One Shot right now, and a perpetual social media campaign. Then we’ll supplement with your appearances on popular shows.”
Mia was barely able to concentrate on anything Ellen said. After seeing Brent’s video, she’d been awake most of the night, wondering what to do with the quandary he’d put her in. If he was telling the truth, he’d been eaten by the lions, and left her alone in the den. She didn’t know whom to trust. And the only way to find out what was really going on was to go to Switzerland and find out. It was her only choice, really. How could she possibly promote the vaccine knowing something could be wrong with it?
Because no one else seems concerned. No. One.
Maybe there’d been a production glitch along the way, or a change in formulation, but everything seemed on track now. This was no time for Mia to be raising her hand and asking questions.
“Over the next two weeks, we’re scheduled on Good Morning America, Today, Fox and Friends , and even on Live With Kelly and Michael. ” Ellen gave Mia a sympathetic look. She was a consummate professional, always impeccably dressed, well-spoken, and thoroughly prepared. “We’ll be in L.A. intermittently to do The Tonight Show and a couple of others. Our three-pronged strategy is to reach out to the public through announcements, entertainment, and social media. We’re more likely to get the message out that way than with stuffy press conferences.” She winked. Both Ellen and Mia agreed that those were more for politics than public good, considering her family’s connections, but they were necessary just the same. Especially when the threat of an epidemic was so real.
“So
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