Brooks stepped aside as two more agents climbed up from the hidden room, peeling off their gloves and masks. One of them carried a sealed container packed with severed fungal samples; another held a clipboard covered in hurried notes.
“The good news,” Halpern said as he emerged behind them, “is that the spores weren’t toxic — not in the immediate, life-threatening sense.” He gave a pointed look toward the hole. “But they were mutating. Without ventilation, without maintenance… that room was turning into a biological pressure cooker.” Megan swallowed. “So the smell… it was this? The fungus?”