Murder by Prescription

by Breakell Richard

  “Not necessary,” said Derek, “but you’re welcome. Remember this is a two-way street. We are receiving just as much as we are giving.”

  Derek walked into Tom’s office with a smile on his face, “If it wasn’t for the importance of this venture, it would be comedic.”

  Tom looked up from his desk, “Everything done?”

  “Yep. He’s on his way to his attorney tomorrow to get the incorporation done and then start dealing with the investors. Are they ready for him?”

  “Well, we are, and the others are on standby to give him the money,” advised Tom, “you’re sure he doesn’t know the source of the funds?”

  “Positive, Tom. He is so high that it didn’t even occur to him to ask who they were. Barry, the lawyer, knows, but it’s all papered over and I cautioned Marty and Barry that I don’t want the attorney to ‘screw around’ with the deal.”

  Tom pursed his lips, “How long do you think before we will see some real results.”

  Derek looked out the window for a few seconds. “Oh… I would think somewhere within the next few weeks.”

  “Good. We should be well into the launch of Sistophan by then. Anything new from the labs?”

  “Nothing that we can’t handle,” bragged Derek.

  “That reminds me,” said Tom, turning from where he had been looking at the skyline, “remember when I said I had to meet our lobbyist the other day?”

  Derek nodded.

  “Well, it seems that a certain congressman, chairing the committee controlling the FDA, has been asking some tough questions about our last success… namely Tamsitor, and has also brought up Sistophan.”

  “Oh, oh,” exclaimed Derek.

  “Yeah,” said Tom, “I mentioned to the lobby group that we are working with a new consultant and perhaps the congressman and the consultant could meet when they both happen to cross paths on the industry Mediterranean cruise in a couple of weeks.”

  "Oh… you mean the all-expense paid ’research cruise?’"1 chuckled Derek.

  “That’s the one,” Tom smiled, “do you think Marty is up to it this soon.”

  Derek stared off into space, “Before I commit, let me have a session with him and I will let you know in the next day or two.”

  “Great, and let’s have Dr. Kenmore on the cruise as well,” Tom turned to look out at the skyline again as Derek left the office, reflecting that with the launch of Sistophan, Chiles, Arken, and Associates would be recognized as one of the senior ‘members’ of Big Pharma.

  He remembered early on, when they were forming their lobbying group, the Safe Drug Council (SDC), the innumerable meetings with competitors wrangling about their share of the spoils, completely missing the total picture. Many had become victims of their short-sighted greed while the majority had shelved their avarice for the long haul.

  One of the biggest hurdles had been the development of the internet. The speed of transference of information had, for a time, looked like it would wield a deathblow to their vision, but thanks to people like Tom, they persevered.

  Tom was continuously surprised at the fundamental greed in human nature. The human ego just needed to be massaged and pampered and inevitably, the thin moral veneer eroded. He smiled as he remembered that these developments with Marty had been fundamentally the same when he discovered Derek.

  Derek’s naïve morality, from his father, had been unfortunately welded with an unquenchable need for acceptance from his mother, which manifested in the schizophrenic character development of a ‘nice guy’ with a terminal case of more.

  When Tom met Derek, he instantly recognized that Derek’s magnetic personality, combined with his drive for material success, would be extremely useful in Tom’s plans. The only additional requirement was a more refined pragmatic approach to drug development. With a ‘carrot and stick’ management technique and the ever-increasing material satisfactions, together with the constant reinforcement of ‘the means justifies the end,’ Derek had developed into the perfect senior pharmaceutical executive.

  Many of Tom’s competitors had attempted to buy Derek, but his sense of loyalty, together with stock options, had assured his allegiance. Tom wondered if Derek realized that his development of Marty was a carbon copy of Derek’s own history with Tom.

  Tom took some pride that Derek had discovered Marty at this early stage and that Derek understood that Marty was dispensable.

  Tom often pondered if Derek realized that he, also, was dispensable. No matter… things were moving forward as planned and that was priority.

  ***

  Kelly looked up from her computer to see Marty standing by her desk. “Oh… you startled me. I didn’t see you… Can I help you.”

  “No… No… I just wanted to tell you, ‘Thank you for all your extra efforts.’”

  “My pleasure, Mr. Cooper… And if there is anything I can do for you, just call.”

  The urgent look on Kelly’s face as she spoke was rather baffling to Marty. What was she saying with that look and the previous ‘Be Careful’ comment?

  As she watched Marty walk away, she hoped that she hadn’t shown her worry. She was musing on that thought when Derek called from his office, “Kelly, could you come here, please.” Please, she thought, that wasn’t his usual request, Wonder what’s up?

  “Kelly, I just wanted you to know that I really appreciate the efforts you have put in today. I’m sure you have realized how big a development this is for our company. I think it’s time to review your situation here. I am authorizing a pay raise of $500 per month, effective today.”

  “Mr. Maurrel… I don’t…”

  “It’s done. You’re welcome. That’s all.”

  Kelly was stunned as she turned to walk out.

  “By the way, Kelly, I am sure that we don’t need to talk about Mr. Cooper and our recent meetings. And could you please purge all the files from today’s work as well as previous appointment notations.”

  “Of course, Mr. Maurrel,” she replied knowingly.

  ***

  Marty’s text arrived as Myra was exiting Neiman Marcus: ’Better than expected – home shortly.’ She almost dropped her bags.

  Mary Margaret looked at her, “Are you OK?”

  “Yes,” she choked, “just some good news from Marty.”

  “Well… Give it up, girl.”

  Myra held out her cell as Mary Margaret read the message. “Wow. It sounds like things are moving fast.”

  “Yes… I hope not too fast. It all seems like a dream.”

  Mary Margaret held up her hand, “Wait… Are you looking this gift horse in the mouth?”

  “No… No. It’s just… I don’t know. Marty is suddenly jettisoned up to a whole new level that normally takes years. How does that happen?”

  “Maybe you’re underrating Marty’s talents?”

  Myra nodded, “Yes, I’m sure that’s what it is. I better get home. Thanks for the day and lunch. Say hi to Ric.”

  “Will do. Love ya!”

  ***

  Something was nagging at Myra that she couldn’t place. As she drove home, she tried to identify her feelings. All that kept popping into her mind was, ‘it’s too fast.’ But who was she to question the decisions of a multibillion-dollar company?

  Marty arrived home before Myra and surprised her with ‘takeout.’

  “Oh, thank you. I just didn’t feel like cooking tonight. Is Cara upstairs?”

  “Yes, I just sent the babysitter home. C’mere… give me a hug.” Myra flew into his arms and couldn’t help breaking into tears. Marty panicked, “What is it… what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing… I am just so overwhelmed with… whatever you have to say.”

  Marty started laughing, “How can that be… You don’t even know what’s happened.”

  “…but your text said…”

  “I know and it’s all great.”

  Cara came screaming into the kitchen, “Daddy… Daddy,” and jumped into his arms. Marty rained kisses all over
his daughter and then reached for Myra. “Daddy wants to give Mommy a bunch of these.”

  Myra screeched, scooped up Cara and went running into the living room. “We need to get away from this monster,” screamed Myra. Cara giggled and screamed.

  Marty ran after them, roaring like a bear. They all tumbled onto the sofa. Marty growled into Myra’s ear, “The monster will take care of you later… right now, this little girl needs a good tickling.”

  Cara yelled, “Mommy, help me.” But it was too late as the monster started tickling her and she laughed till she was out of breath.

  “OK,” said Myra, “let’s eat.”

  Dinner was finished, Cara was in bed and Marty and Myra snuggled, sitting on the backyard patio. Myra broke the silence, “Marty, I am so proud for you. I watched you putting your research together and I must admit, I didn’t grasp the vision you had… and now it has catapulted us into our own company, doubled our income, and allowed us to be in control of our own future.”

  Marty smiled contentedly, “To be honest, I didn’t know if anyone else would grasp my vision. I knew a long time ago that with the dramatic advances in medical research and development, there were going to be people who would mistrust and question Big Pharma. It just seemed to me that someone had to be out ahead of the curve and utilize the new tools of Big Data with social media and aggregate all that information with my algorithms to counter adverse publicity. I had no idea that those ideas would dovetail with the vision that Tom and Derek were developing. By making us an independent researcher, and their connections in the industry, they have added a dimension beyond my vision, allowing us to be the leading authority for the pharmaceutical industry. It’s mindboggling.”

  Myra raised her head and gave Marty a kiss, “It seems like everything we ever hoped for.”

  “I just pray that I can live up to expectations.”

  “I don’t think that will be a problem. Now… I have some expectations,” Myra murmured, “come to bed.”

  Marty grabbed her, “Those expectations don’t necessarily have to be reached in the bedroom.”

  ***

  Kelly sat on her balcony watching the moon rise, sipping on her margarita. She was in a jumble of emotions, mainly fear.

  The bravado of her decision to act had been dissipating rapidly. She looked around her condo and thought, I could be putting all this in jeopardy… and for what? Some misguided sense of ‘justice.’ What could one person do in the face of the evil in which she was a participant. ‘Tilting at Windmills’ was the old saying.

  No matter how much they manipulated and ’sugar coated’ the lab results,2 there was no question that there were serious issues that had not and were not being addressed in the launch of not only Sistophan, but of previous generations of drugs. She also knew that this was not isolated to Chiles, Arken, and Associates, but was practiced by the entire pharmaceutical industry.

  The public trusted that the FDA, AMA, and the CDC were protecting their safety and, in many areas, they were. However, with Big Pharma being the largest single lobbying entity in Washington3 and contributing the majority of the FDA budget,4 was it any wonder that some questionable decisions were being enacted.

  But, of course, like almost everything else done in Washington, facts like these never saw the light of day through any of the Mainstream Media (MSM).5 Kelly knew deeply that she was ‘selling out’ her conscience. She thought of the old line about prostitutes… ’we’ve established what you are, we’re just dickering over the price.’

  Watching Derek maneuvering Marty down the same path was making her ill. She knew, from experience, the power of rationalizations through the benefits. She was surrounded by coworkers who had completely swallowed the ’Kool-Aid.’ How she was even able to think these thoughts was a miracle.

  She had just finished watching a documentary regarding the training of doctors.6 It had been difficult for her to even begin to accept that Big Pharma had been influencing medical training since the early 1900’s.7 Talk about a long-term game plan!

  No wonder the public, informed only by the complicit media, blithely accepted whatever their doctor said. Through the decades, the public had made the doctor their God. Whatever he/she said was gospel. As the knowledge load exponentially exploded, together with the development of pharmaceuticals, the teaching institutions and their graduate doctors had no option but to trust the drug companies. Surgery and pills had become ‘healthcare.’ They looked to the FDA as inviolate.

  Through the educational institutions, with the help of Big Pharma, the doctors were reduced to the equivalent of butchers and pharmaceutical ’pez dispensers.’ Adding to this was a continuous degradation of historically proven alternative healing techniques.

  Kelly acknowledged that she was no Joan of Arc, but that didn’t alleviate the guilt. There must be something I could do, she mused… why not anonymously?

  She had access to the files. If she could redact any reference to Chiles, Arken, and Associates then there would be no way to trace back to her.

  “…Hmmmm.”

  * * *

  http://theinfluence.org/you-wont-believe-the-outrageous-ways-big-pharma-has-bribed-doctors-to-shill-drugs/↩︎

  https://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/science-free-web-saddoes/↩︎

  http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/fda-now-officially-belongs-big-pharma

  https://therefusers.com/how-big-pharma-controls-the-fda↩︎

  https://therefusers.com/how-big-pharma-controls-the-fda/↩︎

  http://www.mintpressnews.com/fda-found-manipulating-the-media-in-favor-of-big-pharma/221825/↩︎

  http://in-training.org/drugged-greed-pharmaceutical-industrys-role-us-medical-education-10639↩︎

  https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/01/15/is-donald-trump-big-pharmas-worst-nightmare.aspx↩︎

  Chapter 3

  The last few days had been chaos for Marty. As predicted, his old firm did not want him around once he had submitted his resignation.

  The formation of the company and the consulting agreement had gone flawlessly. Marty’s new lawyer, Andrew Carson, from Johnson, Lavin, and Bales, was extremely helpful in educating Marty on things that could arise as he moved forward.

  The subsequent meetings with the investors’ law firm had been interesting. He was informed that they preferred to remain anonymous because of their status and all arrangements would be done ’in trust.’ That arrangement was a little disquieting, but the urgency of moving forward overrode any prudent deliberation.

  So… here he sat at his new desk, in his new office, at his new company… prepared to do… what? He laughed to himself. Well, a staff would be helpful! Before I go to an agency, I wonder if Kelly may know someone with industry experience that she could recommend?

  “Hey, Kelly… It’s Marty Cooper.”

  “Hello, Mr. Cooper. How are things going?”

  “Very fast, thank you.”

  Kelly laughed, “I’ll bet. What can I do for you?”

  Marty sighed. “I realize this is ‘off the wall,’ but before I go to an agency for an executive assistant, it occurred to me that you may know someone in the industry that would be a fit for my needs. It would help to not have to educate someone.”

  There was silence!

  “I hope I haven’t put you in a bad position.”

  “No… No,” replied Kelly, “I’m sorry, my mind immediately started searching. If you could give me a couple of hours, I am sure I could come up with something.”

  “That would be wonderful, Kelly. I will wait to hear from you… and thank you.”

  “Mr. Cooper…? um… I would suggest this just be between you and me. Not that there’s anything wrong, but perhaps it could be misconstrued.”

  “Of course, Kelly… and thanks for your forethought.”

  Kelly hung up the phone both elated and frightened. If her previous thinking were going to develop, this could be a boon, but there could be complications. She would have to be c
areful.

  Circulating in the industry all these years, she, of course, had come to know several women who were very knowledgeable and resourceful. Some had opined that they were open to a new situation. One, in particular, came to mind. Her name was Nancy and she had worked her way up from just another ‘backroom body’ to the personal assistant to the CEO and Founder of a medium-sized pharmaceutical company. Word had it that he verbally abused her while she did all the work and he took the glory. She and Kelly had struck up a bit of a personal relationship and Kelly felt like she would be perfect.

  She looked through her old notes and found her name and number: Nancy Stone. She dialed the cell number and immediately a woman answered “This is Nancy Stone”

  “Hello, Nancy. This is Kelly Freeman. I don’t know if you remember me…”

  “Of Course, how are you, Kelly?”

  “Great. It’s been a long time.”

  “Yes… let’s see… about two years?” queried Nancy.

  “Something like that. Am I interrupting anything?”

  “No. I’m just cleaning out my desk.”

  “What?” blurted Kelly.

  “Yes… I am leaving Levin and Jones.”

  “Wow. May I ask, why?”

  “Thank you. You are being kind, but I know you know what I have been living with and I’ve had enough… so I gave my notice this morning and he said, ‘You’re ’outa here, now.’”

  “I don’t know whether to say I’m sorry or congratulations.”

  Nancy laughed, “It’s the latter.”

  “Well, you are not going to believe why I am calling. This is too freaky! I have a contact who has just opened an office, is very well funded and is about to make big waves in the industry. He has just acquired offices and needs a, …what shall I say… an ‘everything person’ to help start and grow the company.”

  It was Nancy’s turn to screech, “You’re kidding!”