Falcon led Bosak, trailing behind grudgingly, down the corridor to the temporary barracks.

“The key to the future, sir, the key to the future.” Falcon rambled. “I think you will be more than pleased when you see the results. Do you remember the two employees I showed you on the screen during our little tête-à-tête?”

The CEO nodded, studying the state of his manicure. “The ones that looked like a pack of madmen? Clause and Kringel, right?”

“Oh, so close!” Falcon turned around, walking backwards as they trudged along, talking enthusiastically with his hands. “Doctors Klaus and Klingel. They are eccentrics, I’ll grant you that, but they have spearheaded the project. Klaus came to us from a certain notorious French conglomerate when we bought them out ten years ago. He single-handedly mastered the technique for the controlled replication of DNA. Klingel came on board a few years later. He was working in restorative gene therapy for a Southern Californian company we also acquired for a song. The two hit it off famously.”

“I see, so these two are the geniuses behind your little plan?”

“Oh please sir. The idea was mine alone, I merely tapped their skill set to get the job done. Technical people lack vision. I supply the vision, they supply the results. I think you will be pleased.”

“Get off your high horse. There is no ‘I’ in team, Oliver.”

“But there is an ‘M’ and an ‘E’,” Falcon snickered as he turned back forward. “But I digress. Ah, there they are.” Up ahead, a dozen meters down the hall, the rotund scientist and his lanky counterpart waited outside the entrance. Falcon waved to them. Klaus beamed a smile, but Klingel seemed to be distracted with the time.

“Gentlemen!” Klaus greeted each man with a firm handshake and a clap on the back. “So glad you could stop by. Mister President, sir! I am Doctor Gustav Klaus and this is my associate Doctor Arnold Klingel.” Klingel tried to smile, but the awkwardness of it made the CEO take a step backward. Klaus pressed on. “We are truly honored by your presence here today. I hope you will be pleased with what you see.”

Before Bosak could get a word in, Falcon butted in. “We are very glad to be here.” He smiled his predatory smile. “I trust everything is going according to schedule?”

“Absolutely, Mister Falcon. Things are actually proceeding better than we imagined, with considerable help from the skills and training regimen designed by Fraulein Omega, of course.”

Bosak smiled at that, and shot a rebuking glance at Falcon. “See, Oliver? Even the esteemed Doctor here knows how to share the credit.” Falcon scowled.

“But I need not bore you with the details, Mister President! Please, follow me. Come along, Arn.” Klingel was lost in space, still staring at the CEO with his inane smile. Klaus punched him in the shoulder and he snapped out of it, trailing along after the group.