“I see,” said Neef weakly. “If it’s any comfort, I’m as shocked as you are. I knew nothing about the story.”
“Klein and Waters are following up on it. I don’t suppose they’ll be too displeased if the public thinks it was them who worked this one out. It’s almost too good for them to pass up really.”
“I don’t understand,” said Neef.
“If they play their cards right, they’re going to come out of this looking like hot shots. They’ve cleared up the mystery within two days of arriving. They spotted something the bumbling local bloke — me, failed to see and Menogen will probably now be sacrificed to the flames of public anger.”
“But Klein and Waters didn’t spot anything!” protested Neef. “And the chances are that nothing has escaped from the Menogen labs at all!”
“You really don’t understand much about human nature, do you Neef?” said Lennon just before he put the phone down.
Neef reflected on what Lennon had said. The man was right. He really didn’t.
Neef’s first post of the day arrived and with it permission to try Menogen’s new vector out on Neil. He read the technical report that came with the official go-ahead and saw that both scientific reviewers had been enthusiastic about Pereira’s vector. One had called the work brilliant, the other highly ingenious. He wondered how Max Pereira was feeling right now. He called the Menogen number but there was no reply, not even an answer phone message.
Neef wanted to start Neil off right away with an injection of the vector. He went in to the duty room to tell Staff Nurse Williams, Kate Morse’s temporary replacement, and found Kate there herself. She was wearing uniform and smiled at him when he came in.
Neef raised his eyes.
Kate said, “I’m all right, Mike. I’d rather be here than sitting at home wondering when they will allow me to bury my husband.”
“I heard,” said Neef.
“Charlie’s gone and I’ve accepted it. I’ve got two kids, a mortgage and a career to pursue so I’m here to get on with it.”
“Good,” said Neef. “We’ve missed you.” He told Kate about the new vector for Neil Benson.
“Sounds good,” said Kate.
Neef suddenly realised that she hadn’t seen the story in the paper. The smile faded from his face. This wasn’t going to be easy. “Kate, there’s something I think you should read. It’s a newspaper story.”
Neef returned to his office and re-appeared with the paper. He handed it to Kate and stood by while she read it.
“Is this true?” asked Kate in a barely audible whisper when she’d finished.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s not,” said Neef. “The only fact in that story is the coincidence of the addresses. It’s a totally irresponsible and highly damaging load of rubbish.”
Kate looked at Neef as if trying to make up her mind. “If I thought that little bastard was responsible for my Charlie’s death...”
“I know Pereira isn’t the most personable character in the world, Kate but I’ve come to trust him in spite of everything.”
“Very well,” said Kate. “Who wrote the story?”
Neef couldn’t reply. He looked away and made a gesture of hopelessness with his hands.
“Not Eve Sayers?” said Kate.
Neef shrugged.
“Oh Mike, I’m so sorry.”
Neef nodded. He smiled wryly and said, “About Neil Benson. Can you get him ready?”
Neef was making some final calculations on how much viral suspension to inject, based on the current volume of Neil’s tumour, when Ann Miles announced that Max Pereira was outside.
“Send him in.”
Pereira had a copy of the morning paper in his hand and was clearly upset. “Have you seen this shit?” he stormed. “The bastards have shut us down! Would you fucking believe it?”
“Calm down, Max,” said Neef. “Tell me what’s happened.”
“The fucking authorities have revoked all our licenses. They’ve closed us down, pending a full inquiry. They’ve padlocked the gates. What killer virus for Christ’s sake?”
“I hate to remind you in the circumstances but you were the one who suggested a virus in the first place,” said Neef.
Pereira put his hands to his head as if he was close to breaking point. “Okay, okay,” he said. “I do think a virus is responsible but there is nothing in the Menogen labs even close to being a candidate and even if there were we have so many safety regulations to comply with that there is no way, NO WAY MAN, that anything could get out of there.”
“I believe you,” said Neef.
“Thank Christ somebody does.”
“Who writes this shit?” Pereira pointed to the paper again.
Once again, Neef couldn’t reply and looked away.
“You’re kidding,” said Pereira. “Not Eve. Shit, I thought she was a friend of mine.”
“Join the club.”
Kate Morse came in to confirm that things were ready for Neil’s injection. She froze when she saw Pereira sitting there but quickly recovered although her face was like a mask. Neef noted that there was no suggestion of guilt or embarrassment about Pereira.
“I was sorry to hear about your husband,” said Pereira.
“Thank you,” said Kate coldly. She turned towards Neef and looked him in the eye, saying, “If you’re quite sure about this, Neil will be ready when you are.”
Neef nodded.
“Neil?” exclaimed Pereira. “Neil Benson? The melanoma kid?”
“Permission came through this morning,” said Neef.
“Then I won’t kill myself just yet,” said Pereira. “That’s good news.” He caught sight of the way Kate Morse was looking at him and the smile faded. He said, “You read the story in the papers this morning, didn’t you? And now you’re wondering if I killed your husband. I didn’t nor did anyone else at Menogen. If you never believe anything else in your life, lady, believe that.”
“I’ll try, Doctor,” said Kate. She turned on her heel and left the room.
Pereira appeared totally preoccupied for a few moments before he turned to Neef and said, “I’d like to be present when you inject the kid, if that’s okay?”
“Of course,” replied Neef. “It’s really your work we’re dealing with here.”
The virus had been brought out from the unit fridge and Neef and Pereira were putting on gowns when Ann Miles came towards them with a memo in her hand. “I think you should read this,” she said to Neef.
Neef read the note and swore. “It’s from Tim Heaton,” he said. “The health authorities have pulled the plug on all Menogen products,” he said. “A total ban.”
Pereira took the note from his hand and read it too. “Looks like we’ve been tried, convicted and sentenced before we even had a chance to say anything,” he said. He started taking off his gown. Neef followed suit but stopped half way through and put it back on again. “We’re going ahead,” he said.
“Are you out of your mind?” exclaimed Pereira. “You can’t do this. You’ll destroy your career, man.”
“I read the expert scientific reports that came with the license this morning,” said Neef. “They were excellent. These are the opinions that really matter, not the half-arsed, reflex action of some government-sponsored clown in response to a bloody newspaper story.”
“Don’t do it, Mike. Half-assed or not, the pen-pushing clerks of this world will destroy you.”
“If Neil lives, it’ll be worth it.”
“Wow,” said Pereira under his breath. “And I thought you guys didn’t really give a shit about your patients.”
“Am I doing this alone or are you with me?”
“Count me in,” said Pereira.
Kate Morse and one other nurse were in the side room with Neil when Neef and Pereira entered. Neil was lying on an examination couch, already sedated and seemingly peaceful. The grossly disfiguring tumour on the side of his face stood out like some horrible parasitic growth from a different world against the surgical sheeting enfolding him.