“And Mr. Berman and I are pleased that you are attending to the flagella problem. That needs to be solved. Is there any way I can help in that regard?”

Finally Mariel stopped talking.

“You can get the microbivores programmers to give me some time.”

“Consider it done,” Mariel said agreeably. “I’ll be handing this paperwork to the purchasing department, and I’ll make sure it’s processed at once. But I do want you to sign the requisition form, which you haven’t done. Anything else?” Mariel handed Pia the form.

“So we’re really not going to talk about it?” said Pia, taking the paper.

“Talk about what?”

“Come on, Mariel, the runner, the hospital, the armed guards! I bring a man into an ER, and the next thing I know, you show up with the U.S. Cavalry and forcibly remove him, which doesn’t make a lot of sense. He needed a diagnosis and needed to be monitored, at least in the short term. He’d had an apparent cardiac arrest, a life-threatening condition if ever there was one. A mysterious life-threatening condition that you seemed extremely confident you could take care of here.”

Mariel looked at Pia. A patina of irritation penetrated her haughtiness.

“Furthermore,” Pia added, “I wasn’t even aware that Nano had the kind of medical facilities that could deal with that kind of thing. I called the operator to be connected to the infirmary to find out if the man is doing okay, but she said there is no infirmary.”

Mariel said nothing for a couple of seconds, the expression on her face not changing at all.

“The man wasn’t forcibly removed,” Mariel said finally.

“I’m sorry?” Pia said, rolling her eyes. Mariel was clearly avoiding the issue of who this man was, and Nano’s role in his treatment. Whether he was taken against his will was significant, of course, but the fact that Mariel had arrived there at all with her goon squad was a more pressing concern.

“You said we forcibly removed a man from the Boulder Memorial ER department, and I’m telling you that the man consented to have treatment at our facilities. If you believe you saw anything to the contrary, then you’re mistaken.”

“Okay, I’ll believe it if you say so. But tell me this: how is he doing in Nano’s medical facility? Wherever that may be.”

“I’m sure he is being well taken care of.”

“You’re sure, but you don’t know? You haven’t checked on him?”

“My expertise is in the bio labs, the same as you. This is where you need to concentrate your mind. We have important work to do here. The microbivore project is the most important one here. Everything else is designed to support it. I assure you the man is being well looked after, by a team of highly skilled staff.”