“Yes, all of it. And until you fill it out, all I can tell you is it has to do with the issues we’ve had with your algorithm finding itself in places it shouldn’t be. And that you’re going to be working with the FBI.”

Juan felt a tightness in his chest. “But what about my research? I need to talk to Dr. Winslow—”

“I’ve talked to Winslow already. You probably already have an email in your inbox from him about this. Anyway…” The security director pointed at the forms in Juan’s hand and said, “Go ahead and fill that out right now. This isn’t something that can be put off. Hell, getting temporary clearances usually takes a month or more, but I was given the impression that they’re literally waiting on the filled-out form. It wouldn’t shock me if you end up getting a response almost right away.”

Hutchison leaned across his desk and offered Juan a pen.

Juan took it. And as he began filling in his responses, he wondered what he’d gotten himself into.

###

Just hours after filling out the SF86 paperwork, Juan received a call from someone at the Office of Personnel Management, who had a ton of questions about his responses. A short while after that, he received another call—this one confirming that he’d been given access to a compartmented program he couldn’t even remember the code name for.

Now he found himself at the FBI’s Academy, being handed a freshly printed FBI consultant’s picture ID.

“Dr. Gutierrez?”

Juan turned to find himself facing Special Agent Nate Carrington. The same agent he’d been questioned by at AgriMed. They shook hands, and Carrington motioned for Juan to follow him.

Juan looped the carrying strap to his laptop over his shoulder and as they walked out of the building, Nate explained, “We don’t have a badge office in the laboratory building, so now that you’re all set with a contractor badge and proper access, I’ll brief you on what the mystery is all about as we walk to the lab building.”

They stepped outside, and their breath formed jets of cold mist as they quickly walked toward a large multi-story building.

“Well,” said Carrington, “Over the last couple years, I’ve been involved in a few unresolved cases with a common thread—one that I think you’ll be able to help with.

“Each of these cases has presented DNA evidence that my lab techs have best been able to describe as ‘unique.’ Analysis has suggested that these DNA samples are not from any known species. The biological material certainly looked normal enough—a feather from a bird, fur from a dog, muscle from a cow—but the DNA told a very different story. And that’s where you come in.”