Deadly Phine

by Darrell King

  “Well, Valentino, I can answer that.” Goddard answered between a mouthful of fish and rice. “You see, the government agency that’s responsible for conducting this study is located in Washington, DC, so we need you to be in close proximity in order to keep tabs on your medical progress as you begin your tests.”

  Dr. Goddard finished up his second helping and pushed away from the table. An old Puerto Rican maid took up his empty dinner plate and took it into the kitchen after wiping down the dinner table and pouring both men a full glass of Chablis.

  “I hope you enjoyed your meal and all, Doc, ‘cause I’m ‘bout to take my black ass to bed. I gotta lotta errands I gotta run in the mornin’, like I do every mornin’. So I’ll catch you later, awiight?”

  When Valentino turned to leave, the doctor saw the grip of a semiautomatic handgun protruding from the rear of his jeans, which, along with the AK-47 toting militia men patrolling outside the property’s gates, caused a strong sense of dread to wash over him.

  The sun slowly began peaking just over the rolling green hilltops above the tropical valley, spilling through the windows of the trailer. The Army doctor proceeded into the guestroom down the hall, hoping to complete his stay in Puerto Rico in short order. The doctor emailed information to his U.S. Army superiors back at Fort Detrick right before finally allowing himself a much needed rest.

  After sleeping for several hours, Goddard awoke, showered, dressed and prepared the hypodermic needles and Biomax Officinalis serum to administer to the Valentino, showing him also how to self-administer the unapproved HIV medication. The doctor tapped away on his laptop computer, detailing the particulars of his first day of Biomax-O shots. One by one, Doctor Goddard removed the various tools of his trade from the medical bags lining the floor of his room. As the doctor removed the medical devices from their containers, Valentino walked into the room.

  “S’up, Doc?”

  Dr. Goddard turned and smiled at his host as he entered the room. “Good morning, Valentino. Are you ready for the first day of your new life? A life free from HIV and all the pain and suffering that comes with it?”

  Without an answer, Valentino pulled up a chair, seated himself upon it and began rolling up his left shirtsleeve, revealing his bare forearm. Dr. Goddard removed a fresh syringe from his medical bag and fastened it to a sizable hypodermic needle, tapping the surface of the Biomax-O-filled syringe several times before finally selecting a choice vein on Valentino’s outstretched arm. He then inserted the thin, sharp point of the needle. Valentino looked on calmly as the doctor’s needle sank deep into his vein, releasing the silver, mercury-like substance into his HIV-tainted bloodstream.

  Within a mere matter of a few minutes after Dr. Goddard had removed the needle from Valentino’s forearm, the drug dealer loudly howled out, dropping to the bedroom floor and squirmed around for several seconds groaning in pain. Several of his housekeepers stood in the doorway and lined up along the adjoining wall leading to the guestroom, looking on with concern and confusion as their employer lay tossing and turning on the shaggy carpet.

  After several hellish minutes, Valentino regained his composure and raised himself from off the floor on wobbly and unsteady legs. Beads of perspiration covered his face and he appeared flushed and weak.

  “Are you okay, Valentino? Are you having any trouble breathing?” Dr. Goddard asked as he helped the still woozy drug dealer over to the bed.

  Suddenly, Dr. Goddard felt himself being forced backward onto the bed. Soon he was face-to-face with the barrel of a nine millimeter semiautomatic. “What the hell are you doing, Valentino!?” The terrified doctor exclaimed, shielding his face beneath his hands as the point of the gun pressed down toward him. “Look! I’m really sorry about what just happened, but I assure you that it was simply a reaction from the Biomax Offinalis coming into contact with the HIV viral antibodies within your bloodstream. Once you’ve taken regular injections of the Biomax-O, your natural T-cell plasma count will rise dramatically, therefore ending any further adverse reactions to the drug.”

  Valentino released his grasp on the doctor and lowered the pistol to his side where he slowly tucked it back down into his baggy Bermuda shorts, allowing the doctor to rise from off of the bed. “Well, why didn’t you say so in the first fuckin’ place? Shit! I could’ve peeled your cap back just now! Do you realize that shit, Doc? I thought you’d just poisoned me as sure as my name is Lucien Octavius Valentino”, he replied, slowly lighting up a cigarette as he waved the servants out of the guestroom doorway and back to work. “Good lookin’ out for me, Doc … You saved my life … and from that fact alone, I felt entitled to save yours. But now that we’re even, you gotta watch your back around here, okay? Anything you say or do could get you hurt or killed. Seriously … so be aware of what’s happenin’, awiight?”

  After speaking those words of caution to the doctor, Valentino silently walked out the door. The incident was never mentioned again, however, Dr. Goddard was so taken aback by the sudden show of aggression and anger by his thugged out host that he stepped up his workload in an effort to vacate Puerto Rico as soon as he could. La Perla, with its scowling thugs, constant gun battles and heavy drug trade, was only a few miles away beyond the valley to the north, and Valentino’s property was constantly patrolled by tough-looking gunmen looking for trespassers to shoot down. All of this was just far too intense for Dr. Goddard, and he went about his work at a feverish pace.

  During the following week, the doctor spent most of his waking hours compiling medical data and administering shots to Valentino. Dr. Goddard observed that after several consecutive days of Biomax-O injections, the T-cell count in Valentino’s blood increased dramatically, yet the HIV remained even, mutating into a seemingly more lethal strain within his body. Goddard recorded his findings and immediately forwarded this amazing information back to Fort Detrick via email.

  Dr. Goddard concluded within two weeks of constant study and clinical trials out back in a small tool shed, which had been cleared by Valentino’s henchman to be used as a makeshift laboratory, that the Biomax Officinalis had frozen the spread of the virus within Valentino’s body and the virus itself would remain in a perpetual state of suspended animation, not spreading or causing any of the unpleasant physical illnesses suffered by most HIV-positive individuals—just as long as the Biomax-O injections were continued twice every month. However, the clinical trials also revealed a massive viral load building up within Valentino’s bloodstream as well, which had developed into full-blown AIDS.

  The span between the incubation period and the mutation into AIDS had taken only two and a half weeks, yet Valentino’s immune system functioned properly with no ill affects whatsoever. The findings showed that over time, he would be safe from any HIV/AIDS related illnesses. However, anyone coming into contact with him via unprotected sex or blood transfusion would risk infection of a highly aggressive nature, breaking down the host’s immune system and causing death in a very short span of time.

  Dr. Goddard named this mutated strain of HIV “HIV5X” because it proved to be five times more lethal than the common strain of the virus. The U.S. military officials were very pleased with Dr. Goddard’s findings as were elite members of the World Health Organization, who helped fund Operation: Inner City Virus.

  Late one evening toward the end of May, Dr. Goddard sat with Valentino on the broad rear deck of the doublewide trailer drinking margaritas and discussed his host’s military experiences.

  “So you actually fought in the Gulf War back in ’91?” Dr. Goddard asked his host as they enjoyed the gentle late spring breeze drifting over the tropical valley that evening.

  “I saw action in both 1990 and 1991 in the Gulf,” Valentino replied. “I was a gunner aboard the USS New Jersey. We fired shells the size of Volkswagens on Baghdad and the surrounding areas all fuckin’ day and night. The shit was crazy. I also fought briefly in Serbia when Clinton sent us over to Eastern Europe. We did a lot of police work and shit over there
, as well as fightin’. That’s where I got infected with HIV, ‘cause them lil’ hot-n’-the-ass Bosnian hoes was givin’ up the drawers left and right … especially to the brothas. Know what I mean?”

  Valentino leaned back in his lawn chair slightly smiling as he recalled his many sexual conquests while serving abroad in Bosnia.

  “Man,” he continued, “musta fucked a different broad for everyday of the week. And most of ‘em were real young and tender too! Nineteen, twenty-one, twenty-two, a lot of ‘em had never seen black folks before, so most of the cats from my unit was straight turnin’ them young European bitches out. By the time President Clinton pulled us up outta there, niggas done had babies and all kinda shit fuckin’ with them lil’ hot hoes. Some cats, though, fucked around, fell into some bad pussy and tested positive for that shit. Unfortunately, I was one of o’ them niggas.”

  Valentino sighed. “Once the military found out who was HIV positive, they flew or shipped your black ass back to the states. I ended up here in Puerto Rico where I stayed on the naval base for a month and half before I received an honorable discharge for medical reasons. After that, they washed their hands o’ me pretty much, c’ept I couldn’t leave the island for some strange reason or another. The military and Puerto Rican authorities never gave me or any of the other dudes who were flown down here from Bosnia any reason why we couldn’t leave. About twenty-five HIV-positive soldiers were transferred here in ’93; eight of them have since died of full blown AIDS, three are now dying of AIDS and those of us left are just biding our time, scattered all over Puerto Rico, living off of a measly lil’ bullshit military pension. That’s why I choose to live in old San Juan right here on the outskirts of La Perla. Here I ain’t gotta worry ‘bout no cops fuckin’ with me on my grind and I get to use my old school street knowledge to get my hustle on. I got the money to pay for most of the best HIV medicine from the mainland U.S., but still I usually end up feelin’ like some shit most o’ the time even when I’m takin’ the stuff, so I don’t know what kinda game you and the rest o’ them medical types is runnin’, but shit, if y’all done came up with a cure for this shit, at this point, I don’t give a fuck. I’m down for whatever, ‘cause a nigga like me tryin’ to live, know what I’m sayin?”

  After several more hours spent talking about war, politics and AIDS, Dr. Goddard bid Valentino goodnight. Before retiring to bed for the night, Dr. Goddard typed in the details of the day’s medical progress and conversation with Valentino into his laptop computer.

  “May 25, 1997” Medical notes continued ….

  Operation: Inner City Virus

  Patient: Lucien Octavius Valentino

  Race:Black/Hispanic

  Gender:Male

  Ailment:HIV/AIDS

  Treatment: Biochemical Maximum Officinalis (Biomax-O)

  Description:Hastens development of HIV into AIDS. Vet, prevents destruction of host’s immune system. Host will be able to maintain proper physical health and live a normal human life span as long as injections of Biomax-O are continued twice a month for remainder of the patient’s life. If Biomax-O injections are for any reason interrupted for over two consecutive months, patient will immediately develop, and shortly there after, die of full-blown AIDS.

  While patient is receiving Biomax-O, they will enjoy normal health and vitality. Their bodies harbor the antibodies of HIV5X that makes the patient lethal to anyone coming into contact with their bodily fluids such as blood, semen or vaginal secretions causing the victim to develop AIDS within the first sixty days of contact. The patient will be rendered contagious and ill after this two-month period, after exposure and physical wasting, paralysis and finally death within the final month, after exposure to the HIV5X virus is harbored inside the body of a Biomax-O user.

  Dosage:Twenty CC’s at the beginning and end of each month.

  Status:Currently untested beyond the scope of this highly sensitive medical/military probe.

  AIM:Study of the damaging effects of lethal mutated strain of HIV virus on dense and poor and/or minority populations within major U.S. cities.

  Target area:Washington, DC

  Conclusion:To be announced.

  Study status:Successful.

  Sensitivity level: Top Secret.

  Dr. Edward M. Goddard

  U.S. Army

  2400

  Dr. Goddard finished up with his work at around 1:00 a.m., all the while chatting online with a U.S. Army official stationed at Fort Detrick:

  Armybratzrule66: Your clinical trials seem to be quite fruitful, doc. Keep up the good work. Dude, how are you enjoying paradise?

  doctorDC1919: It sucks, Mark, the subject is possibly the biggest drug dealer around these parts, he keeps a cache of guns all over the house and there’s armed guards walking around all the time.

  Armybratzrule66: WTF?! Are you serious? Wow that does suck . . . hopefully you won’t have to stay there for long doc.

  doctorDC19: True that. That’s why I’m going to have to speed up this process so that I can get the fuck out of here.

  Armybratzrule66: Yeah, doc, you do that so you can bring your happy ass back home, because I’ve taken my golf game to another level . . . and you’re going to find out punk! LOL.

  doctorDC19: Yeah, yeah, you said that the last time we played 18 holes down in Hilton Head and what happened then? You lost! Big time! That game set you back what? $300? At least you go to meet Michael Jordan. By the way, did you ever get his autograph?

  Armybratzrule66: Yes I did get MJ’s autograph on my golf bag, thank you and fuck you very much. But there’s no way Im losing to you again . . . trust me.

  doctorDC19: Dream big, Mark. LOL! Good night, I got a lotta work to do.

  Armybratzrule66: Got it, later doc.

  Telephone calls and/or conversations were officially unauthorized due to the sensitivity of this most covert of government operations, so Dr. Goddard spent many long hours discussing the progress of the study with military and medical leaders online.

  By early June, Don Lucien Valentino took three separate trips to nearby Colombia, South America; twice by speedboat and once on a twin-engine plane. He traveled to the country’s capitol city of Bogota in order to purchase high-grade cocaine from the infamously ruthless Medellin Cartel, from whose ranks the powerful Pablo Escobar sprang. During these trips, the doctor took time to explore and enjoy the wild, beauty of the tropical wilderness surrounding Valentino’s property. Upon Valentino’s return to La Perla, the two men would continue their lengthy discussions about the military, AIDS and life in general, in addition to the Biomax-O treatments and frequent blood screening.

  By June 10, 1997, Lucien Valentino had successfully shipped over three hundred pounds of cocaine into both Washington, DC and Baltimore, Maryland by commercial flight. He’d hired a group of local men and women numbering somewhere between eight and nine who were fluent in English as well as Spanish to smuggle the blow into the mainland and return back shortly after the drop off on a round trip flight back to Puerto Rico. Valentino used a different individual each time in order to avoid suspicion. Most of the local custom agents checking packages at the Puerto Rican checkpoints were extremely crooked and therefore easily bribed by Valentino’s cash-laden smugglers. Valentino was now used to living the flashy, fast life of a hustler and saw no reason or need to change his lifestyle once he relocated to the Washington, DC, area. He had wanted to set up a solid narcotic operation in his new residence prior to his arrival so that his success would be assured once he got there.

  Along with the usual notes that Goddard complied upon his computer files daily, were a few other situations which he’d observed concerning Valentino’s behavior that prompted him to record on a digital voice recorder. This was for his own personal archives, because it was fascinating to the doctor to be a part of something gso dangerous, yet so intriquing all at the same time. He had to preserve these moments to relive in the future. detailed verbally via the recording device every detail of the corrupt world o
f Don Lucien Octavius Valentino. The Don maintained a lively nightlife and traveled far and wide through various regions of the island in search of entertainment. Puerto Ricans knew how to have a good time, and once night fell on the tropical island, festive Latin parties featuring strong drinks, energetic reggaeton music, and lovely young Boriquas, the native women, could be found in any of the cities or small towns throughout Puerto Rico.

  Valentino would shower, dress and leave his home three or four times a week returning in the wee hours of the morning, if at all. Many times when he did return he’d be accompanied by a sizable group of young, attractive Latinas who accompanied him and his henchmen over to the blue and white trailer out back where they’d always end up engaging in a wild orgy of uninhibited sex, drugs and dancing. Occasionally, a few of Valentino’s female guests would remain behind for good, serving as servants and sex workers in his whorehouse. Few chose to stay by choice. Most were kept as captives against their will as the Don held the threat of violence over their heads and constantly plied them with heroin and cocaine, thus keeping them addicted and dependant on him for their basic survival.

  Early in the morning on June 19, 1997, Dr. Goddard was alone in his bedroom after leaving the kitchen from an early morning breakfast of Spanish omelet, hash browns and black coffee. Three unfamiliar maids had been cleaning and cooking the meals for the past week. Theywere more attractive and much younger than most of the other solemn, poker-faced señoras who’d tended to Valentino’s home when Dr. Goddard first arrived.

  The pretty, young Latinas made no attempt to hide their interest in the handsome, young Army doctor from Washington, DC, even when they were casually going about their business of tidying up the place; dusting, sweeping, mopping. Dr. Goddard could always feel their gaze resting on him whenever he’d cross paths with any of them during his travels throughout the house or the surrounding gardens out in the yard. They’d quickly look away blushing red and giggling whenever he’d make direct eye contact with any of them. When he’d tried to engage them in a conversation in either English or Spanish, they’d only smile and go about their daily chores as usual. Goddard knew their fear of Valentino was great and it superseded their infatuation with him. However, on this particular morning, Valentino was not at home.