FBI scientist?
Luke's eyebrows drew together.
"Shouldn't you still be out there studying that pile of rotten at? What are you doing here instead?"
Brando lowered his voice.
"Mr. Luke, the public might not know, but we've got your file inside the Bureau. This whole ss clearly involves supernatural stuff, right?"
His eyes were practically glowing with excitent.
Luke gave a short nod, neither confirming nor denying.
Brando's gaze imdiately shifted to Lionel, who was still locked in mortal combat with the giant ham. He flipped open his notebook and started scribbling furiously.
"Even though your report listed this gentleman as just another victim, our investigation shows most of the dead were his relatives—and the outbreak started at his house. Logically speaking, he's tied to the core of this incident. Am I right?"
His tone stayed calm, but every word landed exactly on Lionel's biggest fear.
Lionel froze mid-bite, face going tense again.
The whole grocery store suddenly felt ten degrees colder.
Luke took one step forward, placing himself between Lionel and the scientist.
He didn't say a word. He just stared.
The look made Brando's back prickle. He quickly raised both hands, forcing a friendly smile.
"Hey, guys, easy! I'm just a lab rat, not a field agent."
He tugged at his white coat.
"I'm not here to threaten anyone. I'm a working stiff, sa as you!"
Once the tension eased a little, he let out a breath and kept going.
"Here's the deal. Headquarters sent to an abandoned nuclear test site in Texas to recover so critical data."
"But so colleagues who've been out there told the place might be haunted. I tried to request ard security, but the brass said 'haunted' doesn't qualify for protection detail. They shot down."
He looked genuinely miserable.
"I used to just suck it up and go anyway. But after hearing what you can do with this kind of crap, I figured I'd ask for help."
He paused, then dropped his real bait.
"As a show of good faith, I can tell you why the town's suddenly so popular. Whatever's in that pus can force cells to regenerate at insane speeds. If soone figures out how to weaponize it, the value is off the charts. Right now the big agencies are practically fighting over samples. That information solid enough for you?"
Luke stayed quiet, thinking.
He knew the crowd outside was only distracted by the zombie goo for now. Once they hit a wall—or got greedier—they'd turn their eyes on Lionel, the only living sample left.
When that happened, Lionel wouldn't just be looking at prison. He'd be looking at being dissected alive.
Brando saw the flicker of interest on Luke's face and pushed forward—only for Luke to cut him off.
"If that's the case, what are you actually offering as paynt?"
Brando straightened up like soone had hit his spine with jumper cables. Confidence flooded back into his face.
"I'll be honest. The reason I took this dangerous assignnt is because my project is in its final stage. Once this experint is done, I—Brando Seth—will beco the greatest scientist of the century!"
Everyone in the store perked up at that.
"Care to share what you're working on?"
Brando tucked his notebook away, took a deep breath, and said with total conviction,
"A space-ti teleportation device."
"Put anything—or anyone—on one end, and it instantly appears on the other. Finish this invention and it'll change the entire world!"
The bold declaration was t with dead silence.
Lionel's chewing slowed. Greasy lips twitched as he stared at Brando like he'd grown a second head.
The old woman narrowed her eyes and gave the young scientist a long, skeptical once-over.
Finally Luke broke the quiet.
"A scientist who invented a working teleportation device gets sent to a haunted nuclear graveyard with zero ard protection? That's suspicious as hell."
Brando's face turned bright red. All that earlier swagger vanished in an instant.
"Cough—well… the prototype is still in the lab. It's huge. The experints are extrely complicated. The bureaucrats upstairs don't understand scientific greatness. They only care about reports and budgets!"
He got more worked up with every word, like he'd been personally wronged by the entire federal governnt.
"They think my project is burning too much money, so they're looking for any excuse to kill it. This assignnt is pure sabotage. They're hoping I die out there so they can close the file!"
Watching him lose his cool actually made Luke lean toward believing him. A real con artist wouldn't get this flustered.
"Alright. I believe you. Now tell what's actually waiting at that test site."
At the ntion of real work, Brando's face grew serious. Real fear crept into his voice.
"The place is… wrong. Official records say nothing's there, but I hacked the internal database and found sealed reports."
"Several investigators who went out there disappeared. So said the nuclear tests pissed off local spirits and they got taken. Others claid every living thing killed in the experints turned into vengeful ghosts coming back for payback."
Luke rubbed his chin.
"Sounds more interesting than Crystal Lake."
"Mr. Luke, this isn't a joke!" Brando said urgently. "The data I need is in the main control room at the very center of the site—that's also the most dangerous spot. If you can get in and out safely, my teleportation device will be finished. And when it is, I'll build you your own smaller version!"
Luke glanced at Lionel, who had gone pale again and was now attacking the ham like it had personally offended him.
As long as Lionel stayed in this town, he was a walking liability.
"I'll help you."
Brando's face lit up—until Luke kept talking.
"But I have three conditions."
Luke held up three fingers.
"First, use your FBI connections to completely clear Lionel's na. I want guarantees that no agency will co after him once we leave. Turn him from pri suspect into a protected witness or whatever you have to call it. Make him safe—and get out of this ss too."
Brando blinked, then nodded hard.
"Done. That's well within my reach."
"Second, once your experint succeeds, I want my own working device."
"Of course! That was already part of the deal!"
"Third, you cover every expense for this trip—transportation, food, lodging, gear. I'm not losing another truck on my own di."
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