Phase 2: Learn about the super weapon from an Adder scientist

By this point, you assumed Tschau would be in place, settled in somewhere far above the night's proceedings in the darkness of the rafters. You'd have to trust that she was carrying out her mission to the legendary standard myths held the Goodbye Girls to. In a crowd like this, using the radio would be dangerous, and looking would be pretty pointless. If you could see her moving around, she wouldn't be a very good ninja, after all. Between the three of you, she was the only one who'd come armed with anything more than a smoke bomb, so if things went south, you'd be relying on her to cover you.

Still, the party could almost be called fun, with its delicious hors d'oeuvres and classical music. Plus, there was the benefit of your arm candy; Vaarvel's file said she was older than you were, but her age was as unreadable as the rest of her identity. It was a practical non-factor next to the rest of her wit and beauty... if you could get past that lying habit of hers. Of course, she was the best company you were going to get here: you found yourself mingling with countless Adder operatives wearing black-and-gold versions of what looked like old Nazi uniforms and decorative snake-headed pins. Even those not with Adder were the rough types who looked like they belonged on the CEDIT most-wanted list somewhere.

A tall, lanky woman with frayed, mad-scientist-type hair and black sunglasses (out of place, especially considering it was coming up towards midnight) urged you towards her booth, not seeming to have caught on that you were browsing everywhere but not buying a thing. Her thin body was covered from neck to feet in a long, white lab-coat; her movements were like a ghosts... or a snake's... whatever the case, it was as though she had no feet beneath the coat. Her nails were as long as claws, her eyes shined yellow, and her tongue flickered in and out of her mouth disarmingly past sharpened teeth... She was like something out of a monster movie. Actually, you thought you knew what to make of her odd appearance... genetic modification. This woman was clearly an Adder scientist of some kind that enjoyed testing her own products.

"You there! Look at you, walking around here with no purchases or souvenirs. Need something to do? How would you like a chance to volunteer for one of my experiments? I'll keep you occupied!"

Her name-tag read "Doctor Scylla Schulz." Below that: "ADDER: Genetic Modification." That answered that question.

Keeping her arm locked with yours, Vaarvel spoke up to intercept the woman as she badgered you to look closely at her new lab project. "You'll have to forgive us. Not everyone takes to gene therapy as well as you clearly have. Some of us still have cold feet about it."

The woman grinned wider than it seemed like a human woman ought to be able to, then hastily grabbed up one of the test-tubes covering her table. "He he he heeee... Gene therapy?" The woman tilted her head to what seemed painfully like a near ninety-degree angle, then shook it back and forth. "I love gene therapy, but that's not what I'm offering today. How about... a genetic super-weapon...?"

Vaarvel laughed at the very idea of a super-weapon, playing it as cool as a cucumber. "A genetic weapon? Isn't that how most zombie movies start?"

"Why, yes. I see you're skeptical. Hm hm he he he heee... The important part of living in a zombie apocalypse is to make sure you're on the right side of it with proper preparation! Movies don't like to glamorize the profitable occupation of mad, gene-splicing scientist, but I assure you, it's a very safe and profitable field... if you're with Adder, anyway." Still grinning, showing rows of sharpened teeth, she handed you over a business card. Seemed kind of useless, considering she was wearing a name tag, for one thing, and beyond that, was advertising a genetic super-weapon... who would call up a scientist to inquire about genetic super-weapons out of the blue?

Quickly, you realized why she'd handed you the card. It was a CEDIT agent's card, reading her real name... Doctor Nora Goldstein. How ironic that this snake-like woman was actually a double agent, working for CEDIT! Still, her knowledge of bio-weapons seemed to be no joke... it made you wonder just how deep under-cover she'd really gotten.

Vaarvel seemed to have known the woman's identity already, as evidenced by the fact that Nora didn't bother handing her a card.

"The super weapon Adder's planning to show off today is actually something I had a hand in building." Although her words were proud, you understood the subtext: "and that's why I know better than anyone that you can't afford to let it out into the wild."

"It's good to see that Adder's keeping you busy. Any other clues you can give us before the big reveal, Doctor Schulz?" Vaarvel turned her eyes towards what appeared to be an event stage... though, surely, the weapon would only be announced from there, not actually brought onto the stage... Right?

The snake-like woman grinned, although her eyes were cold. "He he he... This one's especially nasty. The worst part is that you could be a part of a test demonstration and not even realize it. Let's just say, this is one product you're going to want to act fast on."

You still couldn't quite picture what the doctor was trying to warn you of... was it really something that'd turn people into zombies? Probably not, but it could be something just as bad. Science fiction doesn't always stay in the realm of fiction when it comes to international terrorism... You wanted to question Scylla more about the weapon, but before you got the chance, the lights dimmed in the room... It seemed it was time for some sort of demonstration to start. At this point, you realized another consequence of the crowd's gathering that you hadn't anticipated... it suddenly became very hard for you to clearly see everyone in the room. With all of their bodies closer together, you'd lost sight of where the snake-like badges of Adder operatives were lurking. Even Dr. Goldstein had disappeared so suddenly, you half felt like you'd dreamed her up.

Vaarvel stayed by your side, at least. She smiled- for once, this one was a bit more comforting than suspicious- then nodded to the stage, signaling for you to pay attention.

A man in a purple suit, with slicked blond hair, tan skin, and a shit-eating grin on his face, had taken the stage. His bow-tie was garishly red and his hands were clad in equally offensive red gloves. His jaw and his nose seemed nearly pointed enough to poke somebody with, but otherwise, he could be pretty handsome, if he'd just dress a little differently. At any rate, the Adder badge pinned to his lapel told you who he was working for. "Hello, hello, everyone! It's almost time for the main attraction! Before we get to that, though... look, I'm a man who appreciates entertainment. They call me 'The Serpentine Sportsman.' And so far, I have seen very little in the way of booked entertainment for this event! Shameful, very shameful! I apologize on behalf of all of Adder. So I'm offering right now a substantial cash prize for anyone willing to give us all a fucking shoooow!" The man clapped his hands as speakers began to blare behind him, rattling some of the crowd. Judging by the murmurs you heard, it was clear that this was a spontaneous addition; nobody else was aware of this.

Tschau remained quiet over comms for now, but you knew that for this mission, she was the bullet waiting in the chamber. You couldn't afford to take out everybody in this room, but at some point, the best target would become clear and she would strike them down with surgical precision. For now, you had no target to sic her on... but the moment was sure to be right around the corner. As you considered her role, Vaarvel's voice jarred you to attention.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Mister Speck?"

Quietly, you hoped that her comms were off... otherwise, she'd just given Tschau your last name. Anyway, you had a suspicion you knew what she was worried about... You told her that the increased chaos and the show seemed like a great opportunity for somebody to swipe- or worse, use- one of those weapons. There was always a chance someone either criminally insane or otherwise, with some strong ideas of vigilante justice and no ties to CEDIT was hiding in the crowd... if they got a hold of one of those weapons and used it during the distracting stage-show, whatever it turned out to be, everyone here could be killed, including you. You needed a way to get eyes on the whole crowd at once.