Read Online The Target by L.J. Sellers - Free Book Online

for information.
“Thanks. I think I’ll need them.” She gave him a look of mock distress, followed by a smile. “Unless my boss has other plans for me, I’ll meet you in the lobby at noon.”
    In the hallway, Decker grabbed her elbow. “Walk upstairs with me and we’ll get started.”
    On the climb, her boss laid out her training philosophy. “I’ll show you how to open the software I use and sort the data I’ve collected, but I’m not going to explain how our server works or where to find everything.” Decker looked back to check her expression, then continued, “Your one reference that I could reach said you were smart and competent, so I assume you’ll figure it out. The product I’m working on will be a blockbuster, so I can’t waste time on anything else.”
    “That sounds exciting. What is it?”
    Decker stopped on the landing and locked eyes with her. “This is strictly confidential, and I’m only telling you because you’ll see it once you start working with the data. It’s called Slimbiotic, and it’s a device that you swallow. Once it reaches the intestines, the case dissolves and releases special microbiota that begin to change the patient’s metabolism and response to inflammation. The molecular chemistry is more complex than that, but no one will care. The product is incredibly effective and safe, and every overweight person in the developed world will want it.”
    The holy grail of pharmaceutical research?
“What a breakthrough.” Dallas wanted to know more. “What exactly are special microbiota?”
    “You don’t want to know.”
    “I really do.”
    “They’re living organisms that originally came from the intestines of healthy, naturally slim people. But they’ve been produced in large quantities through recombinant processes.”
    “You mean like a fecal transplant?”
    Decker scowled and shook her head. “We never use that term. Our product is an advanced, patient-friendly form of that medical procedure.”
    Bacteria.
Slimbiotic was the intestinal transfer of healthy bacteria without surgery. The concept was brilliant. But it also meant TecLife could have produced the bacteria that killed Agent Palmer. Was Decker, or maybe Santera, a killer, or had it been accidental? The product could be more dangerous than anyone realized.
    “What are you thinking?” her boss demanded. “Are you bothered by it? We know we have a public relations challenge, but most people won’t even question the device if it works.”
    “I think it’s brilliant. And by calling it Slimbiotic, people will think it’s like the good stuff in yogurt.”
    “Exactly.”
    “How did you get interested in this line of research?”
    Decker paused, a flash of something in her eyes.
Pain?
“We’ve known for ages that antibiotics help fatten farm animals, so it seemed logical that certain gut bacteria kept us from getting fat and that killing them led to weight gain. Following that line of thinking, I hypothesized that overweight people don’t have enough of the right microbiota.”
    Could it be that simple?
    “Obesity is more complex than that,” Decker continued, “And for some people, food is an addiction, but many scientists and doctors have come to believe that gut bacteria is the primary determination of our overall health.”
    “Where is it in development?”
    “We’ve completed Phase Three trials and submitted to the FDA, but they want more data.” She pushed through the door into the hall and kept talking. “We did the clinicals in Costa Rica to help keep the device confidential. Our competitors would love to get their hands on this one. So you must never talk about it outside these walls.”
    Yet TecLife was the company suspected of sabotage. Was there more going on? Was the whole industry cutthroat? “Is the research being done here in one of the other buildings?”
    “Mostly.”
    “You must be excited.”
    “You have no idea how personal this is for me.” Her eyes misted. “Eight