Good, Not Perfect Lesbian Story

New Skin

05: New Skin

Jane found herself sitting again in front of Agent Foster. He sat reviewing Agent Couch's evaluation, occasionally looking up in thought and consideration.

"Agent Baker," he said, setting down the file. "It seems you have passed your evaluation with flying colors. Agent Couch had a couple of minor concerns but I don't think they will impact you for this assignment." Agent Foster's words hung in the air as if he wanted to impress upon Jane that her responses during the evaluation might impact her future with the Post Office.

Jane returned a confident and steady gaze. "I understand Agent Foster. What are the details of the next operation?"

Agent Foster slid a thick file over to Jane. She opened the cover to review the first few operational pages that would give a broad overview of her assignment. The first page included five different glossy, color photographs of the same woman. Jane studied them closely as Agent Foster spoke.

"You're looking at Fiona Donovan. She's the only child of Dr. Colin Donovan, a Molecular Biologist and founder and CEO of Micropath, a privately held technology and research company specializing in discovering therapeutic products for the treatment of viral infection."

Ms. Donovan had honey brown hair with red highlights that fell into her back. By anyone's measure, she was a beautiful woman. Her soft, muted green eyes looked thoughtful and childlike at the same time. Ms. Donovan was dressed in every photo in classic and elegant clothes that made her look older than 28. Jane thought that she looked like a kid that had to grow up too fast. As Jane's eyes moved from one photo to the next she examined the glossy paper trying to "read" the woman. Jane shifted her eyes up to Agent Foster and concentrated on his debriefing.

"It is estimated that the worldwide market for antiviral drugs could pass $20 billion in the next year. The company currently has several licensed antiviral drugs and many more patents and proprietary licenses pending."

"Ms. Donovan graduated from Duke University in Durham four years ago with degrees in Anthropology and Cultural Sociology. She went to work immediately for the philanthropic branch of her father's company and is now involved in the company's fundraising efforts for their charitable endeavors in developing nations."

"Those include clean water projects, health education, and mobile clinics in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Ms. Donovan takes meetings with donors, helps to organize events, and is the face of Micropath Global Charities."

Jane glanced back down through the pictures but the film had not given her any more insight into the young woman's nature. Jane was pragmatic and skeptical. She wondered how much of this image was shaped for the young woman and carefully planned out in photo opportunities and social media posts.

"In the last month, we have received two important pieces of intelligence. One is there has been chatter on the black markets of a Micropath antiviral treatment for a virus that does not yet exist anywhere in the world. Two there has been an unusual amount of communication regarding both Dr. and Ms. Donovan's movements and itinerary." Jane nodded at Agent Foster as he pushed forward.

"Our analyst's best guess at this point is that a terrorist cell is maneuvering to attain the virus and the antidote and either weaponize it or create a global crisis that will benefit them fiscally in 100s of millions of dollars. As you can imagine, our world is not ready for the economic and social catastrophes of another global pandemic."

"We are unsure what Ms. Donovan's role is in this. She could be involved, but that seems unlikely. She could be in danger but that too is unclear at this point. Right now this is a reconnaissance operation."