Lois thought she must be going mad. “That’s impossible.” “Not really, Dr. Mitchell. All we had to do was hitch the lab to a tow truck, so to speak.”

“What happened to our support ship?”

“It’s out of action,” Phelps said. He issued an order to the gunmen: “Take these folks to their quarters.”

The gunmen stepped aside to allow the scientists to pass.

“Thank you for allowing my staff to leave,” Lois said. She went to follow her colleagues through the door, but Phelps reached out and held her arm. He shut the door, pulled up a chair, and asked Lois to sit down. Then he sat in another chair and leaned on the backrest.

“I’ve been looking at your bio, Dr. Mitchell. Pretty impressive background. Bachelor’s degree in marine biology from the University of Florida, master’s from Virginia Institute of Marine Science, topped off with a Ph.D. in marine biotechnology and biomedicine from Scripps.”

“Is this a job interview?” Lois said in an icy voice.

“I guess you could call it that,” Phelps said. “You’ve been doing some work that my bosses are interested in.”

“Who are your bosses?”

“They’re kinda shy. Just think of them as the folks that sign my paycheck.”

“Did they pay you to kill Dr. Logan?”

He frowned. “That wasn’t in the plans, Dr. Mitchell. That was an accident, pure and simple.”

“An accident like hijacking the lab, I suppose.”

“Guess you could say that. Look, Dr. Mitchell, you may not like me, probably hate my guts, and I don’t blame you, but it’s best for you and your staff if we try to get along because we’re going to be working together.”

“What do you mean?”

“My bosses didn’t tell me exactly what you’re doing here in the lab, but I heard it’s got something to do with jellyfish.”

Lois saw no reason to hold back. “That’s right. We’re using a chemical found in a rare species of jellyfish to develop a vaccine for an influenza-type virus that has a lot of people worried.”

“My bosses said that you’re about ready to wrap things up here.”

So much for secrecy, Lois thought.

“That’s correct,” she said. “We’re within days of synthesizing the chemical used as the basis of the vaccine. You still haven’t answered my question about working together.”

“When we get to the new location, you’ll continue your research. You’ll have free run of the lab except for the control room. You’ll report your results to me on a regular basis. I’ll pass the reports along to my bosses. Otherwise, it’s business as usual.”

“And if we refuse to work for you?”