“There is no misunderstanding,” Mariel said calmly once everyone had regrouped in relative privacy. “This man is a representative of the Chinese government and a guest of the United States government, and he has expressed his wish to come back to our facility forthwith. These two gentlemen with me are Chinese nationals with diplomatic status who are visiting Nano.” Mariel pointed out the two men in suits, and they both nodded in acknowledgment.

“How about we wait for our translator who will be here very soon?” Paul suggested.

Mariel regarded Paul with a supercilious expression. “We’re not waiting. We would like to get this man into our infirmary.”

As if to underline her point, the patient apparently asked to sit down, and the two men supporting him pulled over a chair from a desk.

“What about hospital charges for the visit?” questioned Noakes.

Paul groaned inwardly. It was typical of Noakes to be consumed by economics at a time like this. ER charges were certainly secondary to the ethics of prematurely removing a potentially vulnerable patient from an ER under armed guard.

“I’m glad you reminded me,” said Mariel, forcing a smile. “I am fully authorized to take care of any charges.”

She pulled a stack of bills out of a bag she was carrying, and Pia could see they were hundred-dollar bills. Mariel made sure Noakes could see, too, and reeled off a stack. There had to be several thousand dollars in her outstretched hand, and more where they came from.

“This should take care of it,” she said.

“This is very unorthodox, we don’t usually accept cash without an invoice . . .” Noakes said, eyeing the money.

“For your inconvenience,” said Mariel, and separated a few more bills from her stash and added them to her offer. When Noakes seemed paralyzed, she reached out and forcibly placed the money in his hand. “That should more than cover it, And we are truly sorry for any inconvenience.”

“Mr. Noakes . . .” began Paul, unhappy with the proffered resolution, but Noakes had stepped aside and the runner’s group quickly made their way out of the room and then out of the ER.

Pia followed, hoping to talk to Mariel. She had a hundred questions, so she trotted alongside Mariel, who was striding quickly toward the second of two black vans idling in the parking lot. The uniformed drivers with dark glasses had the vans conveniently positioned to make a fast exit. The patient was helped into the lead vehicle with the Chinese suits.

“Mariel, what’s going on?”

“Pia.” Mariel stopped and fixed her with a cold stare. “There’s a lot more to Nano than just our little area. The world is full of people who’d love to get their hands on what we’re doing throughout the company. Nanotechnology is one of the most important fields of research, which we are leading, but we’re vulnerable. We have to protect ourselves.”