Ashes of the Red Heifer Read Online Free Page A

Let me get a half dozen cows and I’ll find another kibbutz. I need those cattle, Dr. Alanberg.”
    He looked at her as he might a mutant cell under the microscope, but said nothing.
    “Please.”
    Hassan spoke quietly. “They won’t let you bring cows into the country now. It’s too risky.”
    Alanberg dusted his hands together. “The project is terminated.”
    Annie threw her pen past Alanberg’s head. “How many more are going to die if we don’t find the cure?”
    Alanberg gave her an icy stare. His voice sounded terse. “Buses will arrive to take you to Jerusalem in two hours. Please be ready to board at that time.”
     

THREE
     
     
           Annie watched Alanberg mince his way out of the wreckage and stifled her inclination to chase after and throttle him. There simply wasn’t time.
    David and Hassan stood silently, as if waiting to see if they should escape while they had the chance.
    Inside Annie, the molten anger that boiled at Alanberg’s rejection solidified to cold steel. He might have told her she was finished but so had her father, and several people since. Annie hadn’t accepted it then, and she didn’t accept it now. The answers to BA 23 were contained in Esther’s blood and the tissue of her calf and Annie needed samples.
    Time was running out; she felt it in every beat of her heart. Annie had figured out the right formula for the cure. She was certain no one else was even close. She couldn’t quit now.
    In his fluttering lab coat, Hassan fretted next to Annie. “We should go pack our things, don’t you think?”
    She turned to the decimated lab. Two hours wasn’t enough time. “Hassan, if I can get that equipment to function how long will blood analysis take with your new program?”
    Hassan stopped in front of her, purpose taking away his nervous energy. “Depends on what you want to know.”
    “I want to know if vaccinating Esther raised the interferon levels in the calf and if the serum antibodies in the calf are elevated. If the brucellosis strain infected the calf, what tissues did it damage?”
    David let out a burst of air. “What are you talking about? The project is scrapped. All that’s left is to pack up and head to Jerusalem.”
    Annie jumped on David. “Why aren’t you fighting Alanberg to let us stay? It’s your company project on the line here.”
    David took a deep breath. “Don’t you think I want PharmCo to win the race to find the cure? But I’m much more interested in keeping PharmCo’s employees alive.”
    Arguing would only waste precious time. “We’ve got two hours until that bus leaves. If I get the tissue and blood samples we’ll run them through Hassan’s new program later. We can recreate the vaccine in another lab.”
    Hassan gave a stutter step and fidgeted. “But we’ve got to get our stuff packed.”
    David looked irritated. “Come on, Annie. It’s time to quit.”
    Quit? Not likely. Her father had taught her better than that. Annie made her way to the wreckage that was the lab, hoping to find a syringe and other instruments she’d need to collect samples. “Go on, Hassan. David, pack your stuff then get mine.”
    Hassan hesitated only a second then bounded for the door.
    David’s expression reminded her of the way her father looked when he discovered ’coons in the grain bin. “Maybe Hassan is used to taking your orders, but I’m not—especially when I don’t see the point of all this.”
    Annie spoke over her shoulder. “Bags are in the closet. Dump everything in and I’ll sort it out later.”
    He balked like a stubborn colt. “I’m not packing for you.”
    She had to get him off the defensive if she wanted him to help. “We’re so close. Thanks to Hassan’s computer programs. He’s brilliant. Thanks for letting me bring him in on this.”
    David’s mouth twitched with humor. “Letting you? As if you gave me a choice. All I did was put him on PharmCo’s payroll and get him a ticket to Israel.”
    She smiled.