The interview

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The small silver Prius was having issues keeping traction on the dirt roads of the forest. It kicked up mud from the storm the night before. Martha hated the outdoors, she'd much rather be behind her desk. Sometime around eleven this morning, Her boss began ringing her phone off the hook. He'd just received a call from the CEO of Clintax. The company had begun work three years ago But since then not a single peep of what that work was. This would be the first time they'd opened their doors to the press. She could hardly contain the excitement, This was huge. Yet some part of her felt like there was another story in these woods. The police had blocked off the northern trails, They wouldn't say specifically the area they were protecting, But Martha could map it out in her head. She knew what they were doing, They weren't allowing access to the lake areas. "Something big must've happened out here." Martha said to herself. She pushed those thoughts aside though, And replaced them with the image of a headline. "The Clintax Corporation Investigation, By Martha Carter" And by its side, a shining Pulitzer prize. It was nothing close to a realistic dream, but Martha dreamed it anyway. She was almost to the complex, the massive white building had a glass dome on its roof, though The building itself was only a couple of stories tall. You could hardly see it from the main gate, Which was more suited to a maximum-security prison. It stood at least twenty feet tall, Guards patrolled it's top. Martha pulled up to the wall, it met the road with a large cage, Separating the door from the outside world. She heard a buzzer as one side of the cage opened for her. She felt uneasy driving in, As the first panel slammed shut behind her. A man on top of the wall signaled her to lower her window.  a voice came over the loudspeaker, It echoed through the forest. 

"Name?" he asked in a flat tone. 

"I'm Martha Carter, I-" The buzzer rang over her. 

"State your Business." The voice asked. 

"I Have a meeting with Mister Blanch." Martha replied. 

There was silence for a little while, Before another buzzer rang. The door in front of her slowly began to open. As she drove into the complex, She began to wonder why a medical company needed all this security. She parked her car in the large parking lot, It was populated by no more than thirteen cars. She glanced to her left and saw the wall was being repainted, They were painting over what looked to be massive gashes in the wall. She shut her car door and headed into the building. The inside was gorgeous, with Blue and white tile flooring in a wide-open lobby. Whitestone pillars held up the domed glass roof. She approached the reception desk of the large empty room, Her heels clicked against the tile as she stepped. 

"Hi, Ms. Carter, right?" The receptionist asked. 

"Yes." Martha replied. 

The receptionist gestured to the seating area. "Mister Blanch isn't in just yet, You can have a seat if you'd like." 

 Martha looked over to the row of seats, "Actually do you mind if I take some pictures?" 

The receptionist frowned. 

"I'll be sure to let Mister blanch take a look before leaving." She added.

 The receptionist took a pause, before nodding. That seemed to satisfy her. Martha pulled out her smartphone and began taking photos, she walked to the back of the building. There, in a small lab, worked a team of scientists. They huddled around a clear square, it held nearly forty test tubes filled with a viscous red substance.

 "It's sort of gross, isn't it?" A man's voice spoke behind her. 

Martha had become so entranced she jumped at his voice, dropping her phone. The man bent down and picked it up for her. 

"My apologies, miss, It wasn't my intention to startle you." He said. 

She turned to see the man, He was about her height. His hair was white and balding. He was rather large around his middle, He wore a pink and blue plaid shirt, underneath a lab coat that seemed as old as he was. 

"My name is Hank, Doctor Hank J. Greene." He said, "We hardly get visitors here".  He smiled bright, He didn't seem to be accusing her of anything. It was as though he'd been waiting for someone to come along all day.

"My name's Martha Carter. I'm here for an interview with Mister Blanch, he called my boss. I work for the Sunchaser." Martha said, fumbling to get her badge. 

Doctor Greene held his hand up and chuckled. "There's no need, I Believe you. Nobodies lying about working for the good ol' printed word right?" Doctor Greene said, "At least you aren't Buzzfeed". He said that as if it was a dirty word. 

"Yeah, Prints not dead yet." Martha chuckled. 

Doctor Greene seemed remarkably normal, He stroked his beard as he looked around. "Say, How about I show you some real science? You can get a glance behind the curtain." He asked. 

Martha shook her head excitedly. "Yes." She nearly shouted.

 Doctor Greene walked over to the large metal door, And pressed his thumb against the red panel. A small silver hole opened above it, As hank bent down and looked into it. "Identity confirmed." The machine door chimed as it slid open. They walked into a white lab, The floor was comprised of thousands of LED lights. 

"I'm afraid I can't show you much, Ms. Carter." Doctor Greene said, "But perhaps you can at least get some photos that aren't through bulletproof glass". 

Martha chuckled, "Thank you, Doctor. But, why is it bulletproof?" She asked. 

Hank stammered for a moment, "Consider it extra protection." he replied, his tone eerily serious. They continued to speak for around thirty minutes, Martha took some photos of the test tubes. The red liquid became black as the flash hit it. 

"Huh, That's odd." Doctor Greene said, furrowing his brow. He put his face down by the small group of beakers and test tubes. "This is an unexpected reaction to be sure." Hank began to trail off in thought, Ignoring martha entirely.

She took another photo. "Thank you again, doctor." She said, Putting her phone away as they left the lab.

 "That's no problem, dear. It's always nice to meet a friendly face." Doctor Greene replied. 

Martha walked back to the lobby. A tall skinny man in a nice gray suit was standing at the reception desk. He held a black briefcase that was handcuffed to his left hand. He wore square, black glasses. 

"You must be Martha." He said as she approached. "I'll be honest, I was beginning to think I'd kept you waiting a bit too long. Glad to see you didn't wander off." He continued, Stretching out his hand. Martha grabbed it to shake, But Mister Blanch bent down and kissed her knuckle. "Enchante, Madam." Such a display disgusted Martha. "Shall we talk in my office?" He asked, Opening the brown door next to the reception desk.

She walked into the room, It was decorated with dozens of skeletons. Various animals, fish, and a single human skeleton to be exact. It looked more like a hunting lodge than it did a medical office. "You'll have to excuse my creatures, I'm a bit of an enthusiast." Blanch said.

Martha sat in the green leather chair, a compliment to the red carpet and dark wooden walls. He sat on the other end of the desk, uncuffing and placing his briefcase on the floor. 

"I won't take up too much of your time, Mister Blanch." Martha said, She took pause. "I'm sorry, Do you have a first name?"

"It's Jay, Jay Blanch. But I actually prefer going solely by my last name, It adds ambiance don't you think?" Mister Blanch replied, a devilish smirk painted across his face. 

"I see." Martha said, rolling her eyes. "Well then, Mister Blanch, The Clintax corporation has been sitting humbly at the bottom of the in the pharmaceutical industry stock trade for a decade, you show up, buy the company for dirt cheap, and suddenly they're one of the top medical companies in the united states. How'd that happen?" 

"Well, that's quite a long story," Blanch said, "But if I had to encompass it, tenacity. I saw what no one else was doing, and I filled the blank space in the market. Not hard to be the best players when you're the only ones playing, right?" 

Martha nodded, and jotted that down. "And where exactly did you come from, what's your story?" She asked. 

"I grew up in new york, you could say I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth." He said.

"Not to offend, but is this a 'daddy's money' story?" Martha asked. 

Mister Blanch smiled, as though he hoped she'd ask. "On the contrary," He said, "I refused my families money, I worked a drive through in my youth. When I did start working for my father, It was because I was the best man for the job, Not because it was handed to me." 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to assume." Martha said, taken aback by the integrity on display.

"Never apologise for being inquisitive, Darling." Blanch said. 

"If you say so." Martha said, "So then what is it you're doing out in the middle of the woods?" 

"Well, I can't go spilling all my secrets now, can I?" Blanch chuckled.

"I guess not," Martha continued, "What're your plans for Clintax in the future?" 

Blanch leaned in, his tone became serious and certain, "I plan on winning the fight." He said.

"What do you mean win the fi-" Martha was interrupted.

A young man in a labcoat swung open the door. "I'm sorry to interrupt sir, But this is urgent." He said, His voice trembling. Mister blanch stood, Raising a finger to Martha. "Pardon me, just for one moment." He said. He wandered over to the man, who whispered in his ear. "Which one was it?!" She heard Mister Blanch ask. "The bugs" The man replied. Mister Blanch walked back to Martha, a sense of urgency in his voice. 

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut our talk short, Another time perhaps." He said as he escorted her out of the building.

 Martha sat in her car. She was searching the photos for anything she could use. The photo's were nothing spectacular, The test tubes were exactly as she'd seen them. The first, they were filled with red liquid, the second, black. The final photo made Martha take a pause. "That's not right" She said to herself. She zoomed into the photo, Thinking her eyes were playing tricks on her. But there was no doubt. She could hardly believe it, The vials were empty.

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