Project Venom Read Free Page A

one who actually sent the email?” said Morph. “Couldn’t it have been someone pretending to be him?”
    “Access to the company’s computers, including all email, is heavily encrypted, and securely recorded,” said Queen Bee. “Anyone trying to break into Alva’s account would show up on multiple logs and, according to Sirena’s hacks from last night, nobody did.”
    “Why would the EBLS trust Alva?” said Nero.
    “He used to be a member,” said Queen Bee. “However, he broke off all contact with them after they ditched peaceful protest and turned to violence. Or so he claims.”
    “Do you think he was sent by the EBLS to infiltrate Smith-Neutall? To gain access to dangerous materials?” suggested Professor Miller, adjusting two pens that sat in the top pocket of his spotless white lab coat so they were precisely aligned.
    “We don’t know … yet,” said Queen Bee.“What we do have is a final analysis of the chemical data collected by Sabre on last night’s mission. Simon?”
    Simon Turing cleared his throat and started tapping at a nearby keyboard. A long series of formulae showed on the 3D display that floated above the robots’ workbench.
    “Well, there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that this poison is every bit as lethal as we suspected. Nero’s calculations were correct, a miniscule amount of this stuff can kill an adult human. I’ve never seen anything like it. You’d only have to get it on your skin to be counting your last minutes. It’s an extremely powerful nerve agent, which means it mucks about with the way your body functions, but it also acts like a virus. You could put it into a spray cannister, pump it out into the air, and everyone within range would be dead as a doornail.”
    “What would happen to them?” asked Chopper.
    “Well, if you want the gory details…” shrugged Simon. “First, you’d start bleeding all over, then your eyes would—”
    “Thank you, Simon, we get the idea,” said Queen Bee. “We’ve only just had our breakfast. You said there was good news too?”
    “Ah, yes,” said Simon, raising a finger for emphasis. “This poison has a very complicated chemical structure. It is heavier than air. Which means that, although you could disperse it through the air and kill a lot of people, you can’t spread it all that far. At least, not in one burst.”
    “Only a limited area could be affected by one attack?” said Professor Miller.
    “Exactly,” said Simon. “You could kill, for example, a large building’s worth of people, but it wouldn’t spread much beyond that. An area as big as a football pitch or two, but definitely not an entire city. To kill a large area, you’d have to keep on pumping more into the atmosphere all the time.”
    “But how long does it remain dangerous for?” said Alfred Berners. “Won’t it contaminate an area forever, no matter how large or small?”
    “No. That’s the good news, part two,” said Simon. “Although this stuff isn’t technically alive, it still has what you might call a lifespan.Concentrated inside the phial, it could stay dangerous for years. But let loose, it soon loses its power. Spray it over those football pitches and it’d be safe to kick off after about three days.”
    “So it’s uniquely dangerous, but has limitations,” said Queen Bee.
    “It’s the perfect terrorist weapon,” said Agent J.
    “Exactly,” said Agent K with a shudder. “You can target specific people or areas, without the contamination spreading and the risk to your own life being too high.”
    “Now that this poison has been uncovered,” said Professor Miller. “Isn’t it a matter for the police, rather than SWARM? After all, if this company has developed a secret bioweapon, they’ve probably broken any number of national and international laws.”
    “Unfortunately, that’s part of the mystery,” said Queen Bee. “Smith-Neutall is dedicated to medical research. They develop medicines to fight