When Paul stopped at the security gate to be let out onto the state road, he glanced in his rearview mirror. He could still see Pia standing where he’d left her. Once the security gate had been raised, Paul accelerated toward Boulder.

A few minutes later he found himself whistling. He was happy despite the run-in with Noakes over the Chinese runner. Paul was not currently in a serious relationship, thanks to a recent breakup, and he thought that meeting Pia was just what the doctor ordered to take his mind off negative thoughts. He was definitely looking forward to getting to know her. She was the most interesting and intelligent woman he’d met in a long time. He was also looking forward to seeing what the Chinese runner’s blood chemistries might show, if anything.

Chapter 15

15.

NANO, LLC, BOULDER, COLORADO

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2013, 3:15 P.M.

After watching Paul’s Subaru until it disappeared from sight, Pia stood in the parking lot for a few moments, taking in the expanse of the Nano, LLC, buildings and grounds. The sensation of unease she’d felt when she and Paul had driven into the complex a few minutes earlier had only increased, and Pia’s analytical mind clicked into gear. What did she know about Nano now that she hadn’t known less than two hours previously? She knew that there was a Chinese man somewhere in one of the many buildings who had a strange medical condition, and that Nano security was very protective of him. She also knew that Nano had its own medical staff and operated its own medical infirmary on-site. And she knew that there was a lot she didn’t know about her immediate boss, Mariel Spallek.

For Pia, Mariel’s role in the removal of the Chinese runner from the hospital was the most perplexing aspect of the whole affair. It was obvious that Mariel was familiar with the runner, or at least familiar with what might possibly cause his collapse and apparent cardiac arrest. Mariel had been extremely confident that Nano’s medics could treat the man when Paul, as a board-certified emergency medicine specialist, had little idea what was ailing him. What this told Pia was that Spallek was clearly a higher-level Nano operative than Pia had previously thought, and she wondered what this implied for her. How would the fact that it was Pia who happened upon the man affect her status at the company?

This last concern was fleeting for Pia. What was more insistent and urgent for her was her instinctive drive to find out what was going on. Unlike most people, Pia was the kind of person who, sensing danger, would seek its source rather than run away from it. Early in life she’d learned that no one was going to suddenly appear and rescue her. She had to go for the jugular when threatened or cornered.