CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Carl, Nathan, Keith, and Remy pulled the boat alongside the levee. The water was high, the winter snow and ice further north filling the Mississippi to her brim. They all prayed she wouldn’t overflow into the city or crowded communities.
Remy jumped from the boat, grabbing the rope and securing it to an iron ring in the concrete. As they walked up the levee, they could see the faint security lights on the side of the building. It was almost laughable. The lights weren’t enough to offer any form of security.
Although, looking at the building they all agreed that no one would suspect that it held anything of value.
Keith moved so quietly, they often wondered if he’d taken personal lessons from Trak. As a deaf man, you would think he would be louder, unable to hear himself. It was the opposite. Even as big as he was, he walked softly, quietly entering spaces often unseen.
He picked the lock on the door and then looked at the security alarm, nodding at Carl.
Again, they were surprised at how cheap and flimsy the security system was. Once it was off, they were inside without any issues at all.
The door they entered led them into the packaging area where Ginnie Granger had worked. It contained simple work stations where filled bottles were sent down a line, labeled with one of two different labels and then boxed and placed inside a larger box for shipping.
“What are the two different labels for?” asked Nathan.
“I’m not sure,” said Remy. “It’s the same as what they found at the gym. D-173 and D-174. Maybe one is for men and one for women?”
“Could be,” nodded Nathan. “You and Keith get these out to the boat. We’ll get to the actual formulating and manufacturing side and see if we can take something from over there.”
Remy and Keith took the cases of packed product out, three at a time. Both men were more than capable of carrying large loads. It was odd to them that three was no dock door where product could be carried out to boats or trucks.
“Were they just planning on taking all this shit out like we are?” signed Remy to Keith. The other man shrugged, shaking his head.
On the other side of the warehouse, Nathan and Carl couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Vats of raw ingredients littered the manufacturing floor, exposed to dust, foul air, rodents, flies, and other unthinkable hazards.
“Holy shit,” muttered Carl. “This is disgusting.”
“What is all this?” asked Nathan.
“I’m not sure,” said Carl. He tapped his comms device. “I think we need better eyes on this shit. Is Suzette or Erin available?”
“I’m right here, sweetie,” said Erin. “We’re getting a clear picture, I just need you to be low enough to show me the labels.
It looks like raw ingredients in drug manufacturing.
Sometimes they’re used for therapeutic effects, along with inactive ingredients like fillers, binders, coatings, solvents, like that one! ”
“This one?” asked Carl.
“Yes. That’s acetone. Oh, the one next to it is ethanol. Very toxic chemicals at high levels. Do you boys have your masks on?” she asked.
“Yes, we do,” smirked Nathan.
“Good, good. I’m not seeing anything alarming yet. I need to see what their active ingredients are. The things they’re using to make these changes,” said Erin staring at the screen.
“Did you hear that?” asked Carl. Nathan nodded, pulling his weapon as they walked further into the room.
“Oh, shit,” muttered Nathan. “What the hell is that?”
“Lab animals,” said Erin. “Oh, wow. It’s fish. I mean, most of them are fish.”
“What the hell? He’s into fish?” asked Carl.
“No. No, Carl, many animals, primarily fish, can change sex. It’s something called sequential hermaphroditism. It’s a natural, adaptive, and sometimes reversible process driven by social structure, size, or environmental factors.”
“English, Erin,” smirked Nathan.
“What I’m saying is that they can change sex based on their surroundings if needed. If they are female and in an all-male environment that seems hostile, they can transform to male. If they need to reproduce they can turn female.”
“No fucking way,” muttered Carl.
“I promise,” laughed Erin. “Look, there’s a good example. A clownfish. It can go from male to female. And there’s a kobudai, it can go from female to male. There’s a whole tank of wrasse, which switch sex to optimize reproductive success.”
“Is this how they’re doing it? They’re using something extracted from these fish?” asked Carl.
“I suppose it’s possible, although I’ve never heard of anyone ever having success with something so advanced. I can’t fathom how it would be done and I consider myself pretty smart.”
“There are a ton of vials of strange liquids. Do we take the vials but leave the fish?” asked Nathan.
“I’m not sure how you could move the fish at this point. Just take the vials and take photos of every barrel of ingredient in that place. I’ll just have to trust that the label is in fact what’s inside the barrel.”
“Erin, we can bring back the barrels,” said Nathan.
“I’m not sure how you would get them all out of there and on that boat,” she said. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to see them spill into the bayou. All of that would be toxic to our local wildlife and fish.”
“Okay. We’ll find something put the samples in and bring them back for you.”
Erin signed off and the Nathan and Carl began collecting as much materials as they could put their hands on. When Keith and Remy walked in, they knew they had what they needed.
Keith tapped their shoulders and signed rapidly.
“Look at this. These ledgers are showing when experiments have been conducted and what vials they used. It’s very old.”
“Take it,” nodded Carl. “Good job. I passed right by those.”
“Do we take the fish?” asked Remy tapping the tank. Nathan frowned at him, shaking his head.
“No. We’re not taking the fish and stop annoying the poor fish. He’s been through enough already. We’ll explain when we’re on the boat. Let’s go.”
“You’ve gotten cranky as you’ve aged,” smirked Carl. “I used to think Joseph was the cranky one but it’s you. He’s all Zen and shit.”
“He’s Zen and shit because he’s married to a calming presence who speaks to ghost for a living. I’m married to a fiery Latina who kicks my ass every day.”
“You probably deserve it,” smirked Remy.
“Oh, there’s no doubt that I deserve it but damn that woman keeps me on edge twenty-four-seven.” The other men nodded and laughed as they carried the last of the ingredients out the back door.
As Keith stepped back inside to ensure everything was where they left it, he felt the floor depress beneath his feet.
“What’s he doing?” asked Carl.
“I don’t know, let me check,” said Remy. Remy walked up to Keith, tapping his shoulder and shrugged, giving him a question mark sign.
“Something is beneath the floor. Watch.” He stepped up and down on the metal plate and Remy not only saw it moving up and down but heard it.
“There’s no way anything is beneath this floor. We’re at the river. It would be flooded,” he frowned.
“What’s the hold up?” asked Carl. Remy reached for the big iron handle and pulled the trap door back.
“We’re about to find out.”