“Yes, yes, Lauren, I’m all right,” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I’m just surprised that you knew about Isabella and what happened and even more surprised to find out your status. It looks like we’ve both experienced some dark times.”
“Yes, we have, but God does not give us more than we can handle,” Lauren said without hesitation. “And as they say in the recovering community, ‘Keep on coming because more will be revealed.’”
“I don’t follow,” Teddy said. “What do you mean, ‘keep on coming because more will be revealed’?”
“I simply mean that whatever we went through, it was and it continues to be part of God’s divine plan. So, if we really want to know His plan for us, we have to continue to seek Him and by doing so, He will reveal the answers we seek.”
Based on the silence, Lauren assumed Teddy was taking in the message. But Teddy had other things on her mind.
“Listen, Lauren, I hate to cut you off, but I really need to get ready for a business meeting later this evening. Can I call you later?”
“Sure,” Lauren said, surprised. “About what time?”
“I should be home around ten, so let’s say ten thirty? Does that work for you?”
“Yes! And Teddy? I’m always here if you need me.”
“I know, girl, and thanks,” Teddy said. “We’ll talk later this evening. I promise.”
Teddy tried to busy herself by getting ready for her meeting with Basil. Her unexpected conversation with Lauren had really taken her by surprise, but there was no time for distractions. By now Basil should have emailed her as to where they would meet. When she finally checked her email, the message was there. In the subject line, it read, “Small film archived ground floor.” After looking at the library’s dir-ectory, Teddy deciphered this to mean she should meet Basil in the microfiche room on the lower level of the library.
Now with some time before the meeting, Teddy would try to relax. What she had to discuss with Basil however, required that she be well prepared, especially if she was going to receive his help. She also knew that if he chose to help her, he would be, as she was, in harm’s way. It was one thing to be disrespected by your colleagues and peers, but another to be possibly hurt, maimed or even murdered for exposing one of the biggest conspiracies in the world.
In many ways, Basil was right. He knew HIV was not the cause of AIDS, a premise he expressed often. He believed it was an act of medical malpractice protected by scientific treason in an effort to support a burgeoning new industry based on pharmaceutical profiteering. He and his team of scientists had written articles asserting that there was no known quantifiable evidence to support the existence of an acquired retrovirus. In their opinion, the HIV antibody test was a fraud and since there was no evidence that HIV caused an immune deficiency, the pharmacological data regarding the drugs used to treat AIDS were influenced by profits. While he had no problems implying it was a fraud, he had fallen short by not saying that AIDS was orchestrated.
Little had he known that the conspiracy was a well-thought-out plan, created and supported in an effort to create a novus ordo: a new world order. It was a bit overwhelming, that in a few short hours, she had her one opportunity to convince Basil of her theory.
To her, it all made sense, but would Basil see what she saw? Growing up in the center of world politics had taught Teddy that people are easily manipulated and controlled. They are taught to believe they live in a democracy when in fact, the real power has been clandestinely changed to favor the person or persons pulling the strings. In this case, Teddy was convinced she knew who was pulling the strings and why, as well as the muscle controlling the outcome.
Chapter 6
TEDDY ARRIVED AT the Harold Washington Library early, in the event she was being followed. If anything felt out of the ordinary, she could warn Basil and abort their plan.
It was her first time at the library since its makeover and she was visibly impressed with the work that had been done to restore the building to its magnificence. In the mid- to late-1980s, she remembered walking in the Loop area with her folks. Then, the entire area surrounding the library had been depressed. Now the neighborhood had several different growth industries, colleges and universities, theaters and businesses. No matter what direction you were coming from, Chicago’s entire metropolitan landscape was simply brilliant. It was clear the current mayor loved his city. Despite what some pundits had to say about him and how he ran Chicago, Chicago had become one of the most beautiful cities in the world, if not the most beautiful.
Teddy peered out a fifth-floor window. She could now see Basil heading toward the library. From her position, she scanned the area to determine if he was being followed or if anything appeared to be unusual. She watched Basil enter the library, but still saw no cause for alarm.
Teddy came down the escalator, but instead of waiting to meet her as planned, Basil greeted her at the bottom and ushered her out a side door.
“Basil, what’s wrong? We were supposed to meet in the microfiche room.”
“I know,” he replied, “but I felt like someone was watching me.”
“Watching you?” Teddy said. “Why do you think that?”
“I don’t know, Teddy. Maybe I’m just suspicious. But, rather than meet in the library as planned, I thought we should talk outside. Plus, what I have to share with you is probably best said outside anyway.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, really,” Basil replied sarcastically. “I may sound paranoid, but after our last discussion, I had to find out for myself whether your theory was plausible.”
“Well, news flash, you do sound paranoid!” Teddy laughed as she grabbed his arm and they began walking down the street. Teddy could see that Basil really did seem a little on edge and she could understand why. When she had first started putting all the pieces together, she had felt paranoid, too. She also knew she had to take the edge off and humor had always worked for her.
“So you think what I said was funny? Well, I don’t,” he said.
“No, Basil, I don’t think what you said is funny. I was just trying to lighten the mood. And trust me, if you and I are going to work together on this, you have to find something to keep yourself together or it’s all a wash.”
“Anyway, so where was I?” Basil brushed off the opportunity to make peace. “Oh, yeah, after we left the park, I was so restless. No matter how I tried to think of something different or do something different to occupy my time, I was drawn to the method behind disease management. You probably don’t know this, but in order to manage a disease, you have to be able to track its natural course. After you understand its natural course, research is conducted to determine the appropriate response regarding how the disease should be controlled and managed. This is called the DNA signature.”
“The disease’s DNA signature? That’s a new one on me,” she said.
“Well, as part of the dissident movement, my team and I have spent a lot of time looking at the government’s response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. And in doing so, we focused on what we considered to be theory questions and their common denominators. We call them, in shorthand, TQ-CD. This is the formula we used to help shape our argument that HIV was not the cause of AIDS.”
“If there’s a formula, Basil, why hasn’t the government used it?”
“Like I said, this was the formula the dissident movement used to shape our argument. Not the government. Trust me Teddy, if the government isn’t willing to do a peer review, they definitely wouldn’t be interested in entertaining our formula.”
“I guess you got a point there,” she said. “TQC … I? So, what does it mean again?”
“It’s TQ-CD,” said Basil, “and it means theory questions and their common denominators.”
“So how does it work?”
“Like this,” Basil said, now standing in the middle of the block holding court as if he were in his own classroom surrounded by students. “In an effort to determine the commo
n denominators, several key questions had to be answered. For example, how swiftly did the government act to control and/or eradicate the disease? What type of research was conducted and how was the research funded? Were human subjects involved and if yes, did the recipients know they were participating in research? What is the genocidal impact, if any? Who would have the power and influence to keep the findings secret? To what lengths would they go to keep it underground? Are there profit margins and if so, would the margins be sustained over time? Depending on the answers to those questions, our next step was to factor the results into a research logic flow chart.”
“Interesting questions, Dr. Rhodes,” she said as she motioned him to keep walking. “Even as a layperson, they make perfect sense to me. I do something like that when I’m putting my cases together, but I call it investigative due diligence.”
“Well, in a way, a research logic flow chart is our due diligence, Agent Alexander,” Basil said as he pushed the long lock of hair that had fallen down his face behind his ear. “The research logic flow chart is used to establish the design, purpose and intent of the research and in this case, disease management. Typically, these charts identify the situation, list the scope of the priorities and analyze assumptions and the external factors that may or may not impede the evaluation process. Collectively, these factors determine the benchmarks that define and measure success.”
“Wow,” Teddy said. “All that just to determine what works?”
“Yes,” Basil replied. “And that’s not all. Science is exact and if authentically conducted, conceptually the logic flow chart will search for truths — truths that help to operationalize the research and investigate a defined problem. When the appropriate scientific methods needed to gather the right evidence are applied, this evidence should, under scrutiny, produce conclusions drawn from logical reasoning without bias. You should know that since we last spoke, all I have been doing is checking out the plausibility of your theory and I am amazed at what I found.”
“Well, I’m amazed now,” Teddy said. “And now that Research 101 is over, connect the dots for me. How does what you just explained have to do with what I shared with you?”
“As a scientist, I know what lengths we must sometimes go to when we are on the verge of discovery and based on my findings, the one thing I am sure of is that our government is capable of creating the necessary propaganda needed to manipulate people into thinking they should be treated for the prevention of a disease, knowing full well that their own eradication efforts could have unintended consequences.”
“Again, Basil, you’re talking above my pay grade. I need for you to break this scientific mumbo jumbo down if you want me to follow you.”
“Teddy, what I am trying to say is yes — your argument is plausible! But I can’t go into details now. I still need to do more research, particularly in relationship to the Future Scientists of America program you mentioned last night. There is something about that program that’s troubling and if my assumptions are correct, everyone we love could be in danger.”
“Funny that you mentioned that, Basil,” Teddy said.
“Mentioned what?”
“The FSA program and people we love.”
“And why is that?” he said.
“I have some additional Intel on that program too, but I haven’t been able to confirm my suspicions.”
“Oh, yeah? Like what?” Basil said.
“Well, over the last decade, close to one hundred scientists, both US- and foreign-born, have died suspiciously worldwide. Many of these scientists specialized in HIV, virulent TB bacteria, Ebola, influenza and other infectious agents and they were all connected somehow to the FSA program. In my opinion, I think all our answers lie with the FSA.”
Teddy added, “Just think about it, Basil. Isabella was connected to that program and she was murdered right after she started questioning the validity of the HIV/AIDS argument.”
“How do you know that?” Basil said. “How do you know she was murdered because of her interest in the validity of AIDS?”
“After watching what happened to you, she started researching the possibilities. In fact, she began to revisit a theoretical formula she had developed while in the FSA program. She believed her theoretical computations were the road map used to develop a biological weapon that could easily be released and more specifically, released without detection.”
Basil was visibly taken aback. He had no idea Isabella had been so involved in his research and that it may have gotten her killed. Now he appeared even more determined and just like Teddy, he had to know more.
“Well, one thing is for sure, Teddy,” he said as he stopped to face her. “If Isabella had theoretical computations, then she must have had a research logic flow chart and that’s what we need to find.”
Teddy was getting excited about the possibility that things were finally coming together and Basil appeared to be on board. However, from Basil’s expression, something was still wrong.
“What is it, Basil?” she asked. “I would think that what you just said was good news.”
“It is good news, Teddy, if we can find it.”
“So what’s wrong then?”
“I can’t get over the fact that despite how close we were, Isabella never once mentioned her research or her experience in the FSA program. In fact, I didn’t even know she had been connected to the program until now.”
“I can believe it, Basil,” Teddy said pensively as she grabbed his arm and continued walking down State Street. “She was very private. The only reason I know so much is because I was her lover. So try not to take it personally. She was private with everyone.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he said hesitantly. “So what else did she tell you?”
“Well, she said she had been assigned to develop a biological weapon. Afterward she had to document what happened once the weapon entered the body and then transferred to another host through various body fluids. She was then charged with determining any change in the composition of the weapon once it went from host to host.”
“Interesting,” Basil said. “Do you remember whether her research looked at drug use interaction?”
“I don’t know about that,” Teddy said, “but I do recall her telling me about an accelerant. She was interested in what would happen to the weapon if it interacted with an immune-compromising accelerant and how those changes would … damn!” — Teddy snapped her fingers as if the snap would somehow help her remember — “It’s on the tip of my tongue.”
“Let me guess,” Basil said. “How the changes impacted the body’s ability to fight off infection?”
“Yes, that’s it!” Teddy said. “The way she explained it to me was, if you tell a person a story, did the story change once told to someone else? And once the story was told to the final person in the sequence, how much did the story resemble the original story?”
“So, in this case,” Basil said, “Isabella wanted to know whether the composition of the weapon would change over time.”
“Right! She wanted to know about the changes in the weapon’s DNA and if those changes compromised the body’s natural ability to fight back. Or something like that.”
“I get it,” Basil said. “She explained it to you very well. But I can’t help but wonder why Isabella seemed preoccupied with changes in the weapon’s DNA. This intrigues me a lot, especially considering that none of my research has made me think even remotely that the weapon’s structure could be penetrated. Hmm.”
Teddy said, “I wanted to tell you this sooner, but I wasn’t sure where you stood.”
“Well, if I wasn’t hooked before,” Basil answered, “I’m definitely hooked now.”
“Good, but there is something else you should know.”
“What’s that, Teddy?” Basil asked.
“Isabella didn’t work on her assignment alone. She had a partner, Lance St. John. She told me that once she and Lance had realized the impact the weapon had on the ho
st transfer process, they decided to develop a formula that captured the changes in the host DNA and then use that information to develop an antidote. Lance’s role was to develop the antidote — which he did — and as a precautionary measure and to safeguard their discovery, they kept the formula and the antidote separated. They actually believed that one day, they would work together and establish their own private lab specializing in biological weapon deconstruction techniques. And that’s why they separated the formula and antidote. It was for proprietary purposes.”
“So what happened to their plan?” Basil asked.
“Lance changed his mind. He gave up being a biological engineer in order to pursue investigative journalism.”
“Really!” Basil said, surprised. “That had to be an interesting twist for him; to go from an exact science to a manipulative and speculative science.” Basil had complete disdain for anyone who worked with the press, still uncomfortable with the hack job they had done on his reputation. He always felt his treatment had been both unfair and unconscionable and as a result, had cost him more than most people lost in a lifetime.
“You should also know Basil that I don’t have any proof. But I believe all these murders are connected and I think I know who is responsible.”
“And who would that be?”
“The Illuminati, or a group called the Others,” she said. “And they used an outfit called the Velvet Mafia to do their bidding.”
“The Illuminati! The Others! The Velvet Mafia! What a vivid imagination,” Basil said with more than a hint of sarcasm.
“Yes,” Teddy responded, “the Illuminati and all the rest. I’ve spent the last eight years hunting for Isabella’s killers and I know what I’m talking about. So, please, Basil, do not patronize me. It was the Velvet Mafia that killed Isabella and I further believe that the Velvet Mafia is key in the organizational efforts underway to make sure that the real truth about the manufacturing of the biological weapon remains secret.”
Velvet Mafia Page 13
