Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
“That was brave.” Justin winced as he pushed out of the bed and carefully approached the trolley. He lifted the various covers, looking over the assortment of breads, bacon, eggs, and eventually the pot of coffee. A soft cry of joy escaped him as he grabbed the coffeepot and poured himself a mug.
“Why?” Gabriel asked, trying not to be amused by his antics.
“Cincinnati…is not the most tolerant town.”
Gabriel lifted a brow, his fingers tightening around the spoon he’d been using to stir his tea. “But you have gay marriage.”
Justin snorted, snatching up a piece of bacon before dropping onto the edge of the bed with his coffee. “It took a Supreme Court decision to get it.” But then he shrugged as if rethinking his comment. “Well, it’s not all bad. People are coming around. There are a lot worse places in the world.”
It was on the tip of Gabriel’s tongue to ask Justin if he was gay. The question was practically burning through him, but he swallowed it. There was no way in hell he was opening that door. If he asked Justin, there was no doubt that Justin would expect him to answer the same question. No. He wasn’t talking about himself. He wasn’t fucking thinking about it. God, maybe he just needed to get laid. It had been too long, and jerking off in the shower wasn’t cutting it anymore.
Taking his tea over to the desk, Gabriel leaned against the corner and sipped the hot liquid, allowing its warmth to settle his nerves and pull his mind to the problem at hand. “How long do you think it will take you to go through the information on the hard drive?”
Justin crunched a piece of bacon and shrugged. “Assuming it’s not password protected or encrypted? Probably not long. If it’s either, could take a lot longer. Days, even.”
“And there’s no guarantee anything on that hard drive will be helpful,” Gabriel muttered, talking mostly to himself. “Do you have a plan for getting into Iaso’s network?”
“Already started some hacks, but they’ve got a solid firewall. I was going to give it a month, maybe two, while trying a few other avenues for information, but after last night’s fiasco and the two bodies already dropped in the morgue by the professional, we’re gonna need to move faster. My last choice is to go in and actually sit at one of the terminals, but considering the overall security, I suspect it will be our only choice.”
“What if Iaso isn’t the only source of information on this drug?” Justin cocked his head slightly and stared at Gabriel, waiting for him to continue. “It is my understanding that most pharmaceutical companies will work with a local hospital when running drug trials. It means having access to more doctors should something go wrong and additional staff available to take in data.”
Putting his coffee back on the trolley, Justin picked up a piece of wheat toast and took a bite while sorting through the little bottles of jam. He frowned as he continued to munch through the buttered toast without using any of the jam. “The hospital would have records. Lots of records. People coming in, test results, names of doctors involved in the trial. Not a bad lead.”
“Could you hack it?”
Justin lifted both his brows as he looked at Gabriel. “Faster than the hack into Iaso? No fucking way. With all the regulations about protecting patient privacy, that shit is locked up tight. Got to be an inside job. Sneak in, grab a password or two, and then get out. But I’d rather sneak into a hospital right now than into Iaso.”
“Which hospital? This city has a few, correct?”
“Several, but if you’re going to run a trial locally, your first choice is going to be University of Cincinnati Hospital. They’ve got their own research division and have a history of partnerships with Big Pharma.”
“Big Pharma brings with it big money.”
Justin flashed a wicked grin while pointing the last bit of toast at him. “Exactly.”
Gabriel stood and placed his empty teacup and saucer on the trolley before heading over to the closet. Inside, he’d neatly hung several dark suits along with a selection of slacks and long-sleeved shirts.
The tattoos forced him to wear long sleeves at all times. He loved his ink, but it was too easy of an identifier if someone saw them. It was important that he moved through the crowd without the risk of being remembered.
Of course, that was a pain in the ass when it came to the wretched summer heat in this city. After this job, maybe he’d spend a little time up in Canada, where the weather was at least tolerable.
“Then we wait for nightfall and go in. Pose as members of the cleaning crew and—”
“Why wait?” Justin asked between bites of bacon.