by John Charles
"Are we meeting Shaun before we get to Shelly's house or will he meet us there?" asked Natalie.
"Shaun and two agents will meet us there. He called earlier and said he wanted you and me to talk with her first. If we felt she had real evidence we are to bring him into the conversation."
"He still feels she will open up if he is not in the room?"
"Yeah, he does. Frankly, I think the opposite. If she has real evidence, I'd have thought she would want to speak to Shaun or one of his men, but he feels strongly so we'll do it his way."
Shelly's house was easy to find. She lived in a modest community of attached and semi-attached row houses. "My parents called these cookie cutter homes," said Aaron as they navigated the streets. "One house looks just like the rest. If not for the individual personalization, there would be no difference in any of these houses."
Shaun and two agents sat in a car four houses down from Shelly's. Aaron acknowledged him and then joined Natalie on the front walk. Shelly must have been waiting at the door. She opened it almost as soon as Aaron pressed the doorbell.
She invited them into her living room, asking if they wanted something to drink. Aaron agreed to her offer of coffee for two reasons. He actually wanted some and he read that people felt better if their offer for a drink was accepted.
The house was modest, but inviting. The main living space was an open room with kitchen, dining, and living areas. The walls were painted a smooth cream color that accentuated the furnishings and art hanging from the walls. Several children's toys were scattered around the room. The home looked comfortable and lived in.
Shelley set the coffee, creamer, and a plate of delicious looking pastries on the kitchen island. "Shall we sit here and talk?" she asked. They took seats at the island and enjoyed the coffee she prepared.
"Thank you for talking with us today. We know you are putting yourself in harm's way by giving us information about the trials," said Aaron. "You said you have more than hearsay evidence. Can you elaborate, Shelley?"
"What do you know about the trials?" she asked.
Aaron and Natalie gave her a brief summary of what they had learned to date without identifying names. "What can you add?" asked Natalie.
"I can add a lot," said Shelly. "Taylor and his people wanted the vaccine to work so they could corner a market with no visible competition, as no other nasal spray vaccines were available at that time. If it worked, they planned to patent the delivery system. They thought they had it made. But things went downhill very quickly," she said.
"How did it all go downhill?" asked Aaron while enjoying his second cup for the day.
"The usual method for testing something like this is to start the process on animals. You use a non-lethal serum and look at blood samples to see if the delivery system worked as planned. If it did, you moved it up a notch with something more involved."
"How did those tests work out?" asked Natalie.
"As I said the normal thing is to ramp up the serums used in the trials. If the animal testing worked without issue on each test, you upped it again. Normally this type of testing takes about two or three years before you put it into human trials."
"I gather that didn't happen," said Aaron. "Taylor wanted it faster, didn't he?"
"Yes. After the second set of animal trials, he decided to move directly to humans. We fought him but lost. He said everything looked too good to waste time with further animal testing." Shelly stopped talking for a few minutes as she looked at the liquid in her cup.
In a soft yet strong voice, Aaron asked, "What happened next?"
"The researchers were told if they didn't like what was happening they could leave. Taylor made it clear that the trials would continue with or without us," said Shelly as she looked at both Aaron and Natalie. "I had received a job offer at that time, but was considering turning it down. When Taylor gave us the ultimatum, I accepted and resigned my position."
"What did Taylor do when you resigned?" asked Natalie.
"He was furious and threatened to prevent me from ever working in the industry again. He said I had a non-compete agreement that he would enforce. I was frightened. This is the only field of work I've done since university. My brother works for a rather prestigious solicitor, so I called him for advice. He looked at the document and said Taylor could indeed enforce it. He said he would send a letter on my behalf and see what Taylor would do."
"Did he send the letter?" asked Aaron.
"Yes he did. Taylor forwarded it to his legal team. They responded with one of theirs saying they would make sure that I never worked in the industry again if I left at that time. I had to leave. I couldn't stay there while Taylor moved the testing to humans. I felt it was too dangerous and was proven correct. So I took my chances and went to work at the other company."
"Did you tell them of the impending threat?" asked Natalie.
"Yes I did. My brother sent them a letter with all the details including Taylor's reply to his initial letter. They felt the threat was a scare tactic and said nothing would come of it. They continued the hiring process and I've worked there ever since."
"Did Taylor try to enforce the agreement after you started working at the other firm?" asked Natalie.
"Once. His legal people sent a letter saying I was in violation of the agreement, which made the company I then worked for equal in liability. With my brother's help, their lawyers sent an extremely strongly worded reply. In essence, they said if Taylor wanted to pursue the legal claim it would go public and cause Remedcon considerable damages. Nothing happened after that."
"So you were not compensated for working on the project like the others were," said Aaron. "Did they ever approach you with an additional nondisclosure agreement or money?"
"After the trials failed, they shut down the project and let everyone go. To receive their severance checks Taylor made researchers sign the nondisclosure agreement. I understand the severance was extremely large. They were buying silence. I was just glad to be out of the company. I could have used the money but had no desire to watch Taylor kill innocent people."
"You said you had more than hearsay evidence Shelly. Do you have any solid evidence to support what you just told us?" asked Aaron.
"One of the researchers was terrified that she would be accused of murdering those people so she gave me copies of all the internal memos on the trials. They include letters to the government regarding the tests, memos to the staff about the initial failure, angry memos stating that each researcher would share in the blame if they didn't find a solution, and more. I even have copies of legal documents they made everyone sign after the project was shut down."
"Would your friend be willing to testify if this went to court?" asked Natalie.
"No! She took the severance money and found another job at a competing company, which since then has perfected the delivery system that Taylor was so intent on owning." Shelly left the room for several minutes. When she returned, she had a box filled with documents. "These are copies of everything I have. You said if I produced real evidence you could make arrangements to protect my children and me."
Aaron excused himself, walked outside and met Shaun near his car. After hearing about the conversation and the box of documents, he agreed to meet with Shelly. As requested, Shelly and her two children received protection.
"It looks like Taylor has some explaining to do," said Natalie as they returned to Andrews after meeting with Shelly. "Did you see the look on Shaun's face as he reviewed some of those documents? If looks alone could kill, Taylor would be dead and buried by now."
"This is powerful information, but doesn't bring us closer to solving our mystery," said Aaron as he looked at the darkening sky.
When they arrived at Andrews, Aaron was given a telephone message. It was from Ian Fachan requesting a meeting. He showed it to Natalie and said, "I wonder if he is also turning against Taylor."
Chapter 19
Aaron and Natalie walked into Aaron's lab. He dialed
the number on the message and waited with the phone on speaker so Natalie could hear the conversation. Ian Fachan was brief and direct to the point. "As you probably know by now, I resigned from Remedcon and I want to talk with you about what is going on. My wife has spoken with Darcey Taylor and she may want to join us."
"Mr. Fachan, do you and your wife want to come here or should we meet someplace more discrete?"
They could hear bits of the conversation at the other side of the phone. "At this point it doesn’t really matter where we meet. Taylor is looking for a piece of my hide and will probably find out that I spoke to you no matter where that happens."
"Can you come here tomorrow morning? I must also ask if you would be okay with MI5 being included in our meeting."
Once again, there was chatter on the other side then Fachan said, "We can be there tomorrow at ten if that works for you. And no, I don't mind if MI5 is present."
After closing the call, Aaron called Shaun to inform him of Ian's desire to meet the following morning "How do I handle this?"
"You let them talk. They asked to speak with you so you let them. Ask why they are here and shut up. I'll be there to help if you need it"
Natalie called it a night, "I'll be in around nine tomorrow. You have plans for tonight?"
"Not sure yet," said Aaron as he fumbled with his mobile. "I may see if a friend wants to join me for dinner."
"Have a good night," she said as Natalie left his lab.
It had been a long week. He was physically tired and emotionally drained. Closing his eyes and resting his head on the back of his chair, Aaron thought through the events of the past four days. Everything pointed to Taylor as the key target and now he knew why. But who was responsible for the bombings? He worried that whoever was doing this would escalate the attacks. His mind played pictures as if he were in a movie theater. He could hear the sounds and clearly see the images and faces.
"You look like you are contemplating the woes of the world, my friend," said Akerheart as he came into the lab.
With his eyes still closed, Aaron said, "It sure seems like that at times. What has you here so late on a Friday night? Shouldn't you be home with that lovely wife of yours, or are you in the dog house for some reason?" He opened his eyes and turned his chair to face his friend and coworker.
"Came in to check a few things. Being on babysitting detail for the Remedcon directors is getting old very fast." Akerheart could see the distress on Aaron's face and said, "I saw your door open and wondered if you were okay." He leaned against the worktable facing Aaron. "Want to talk about it yet?"
Aaron knew he was not asking about the case, but about Aaron's personal life. "I knew I made the right decision as soon as I arrived here. I've been shy and somewhat introverted my whole life, initially due to my brains, and then due to being a nerdy gay teen." Akerheart listened as Aaron opened up.
"When I was thrust into the Tameron kidnapping, I felt totally out of place. I was like a fish out of water, but I knew I had to do what was necessary to get Ethan back. So I did things I never thought I could do. Now I realize that those things were not really out of my comfort zone. I learned that I enjoy clubbing. I really enjoy the loud, heart stopping music. I find myself getting lost in the rhythm, the heady beat, the smells, the alcohol, and the hot guys."
Akerheart sat in Aaron's side chair, relaxed with his arm on the table and said, "So what has you so bothered?"
"I'm not really bothered. I feel lost, as if I have come to a crossroad of sorts and I don't know which way to turn. I know I don't want what Barry wants, but what do I really want? That is my dilemma. Does this make sense to you?"
"It most definitely does, Aaron. You came here as a techie with the idea that you would grow into the role at Andrews and learn about yourself outside the firm. Then, through no choice of your own, you were thrust into finding Ethan. And you know what?" asked Akerheart as he looked at his friend. Aaron said nothing, he waited for the words he knew were coming.
"You did extremely well in the most amazing way possible. You threw yourself into the case, took on the role of a master with a sub, and got Ethan and six other young people back to their families. You grew up in a matter of weeks, not years. Now you are wondering what's next in your life, right?"
Aaron remained quiet for a few minutes. He thought about Akerheart's words and the question he asked. "Part of what you say is right. I found myself thrust into being someone I was not. It was role-playing and I acted my part well. I've done that in school lots of times. I had to pretend I was not the nerdy genius, the smartest person in my school, the one who received a perfect score on the college entrance exams, the guy who didn't date, but pretended to enjoy the company of girls. It was all playacting and I did it well. I had no choice. If I didn't, my life would have been hell. This is different. I'm not acting out a role in a play. This is my life and I just don't know what I want."
"So you're saying that you are normal. Everyone goes through what you are experiencing at some time in their lives. Some people do it in their forties. That's why it's called a mid life crisis. Others never do, they know exactly what they want in their lives and go for it with gusto. You, my friend, are normal. How does it feel to be normal, not different for a change?"
Aaron looked at his coworker with awe. Never in his life did he feel normal. He was always different and always had a plan to overcome the emotions of that difference. "Normal; I don't know what that is."
"Well get used to it. In this, Aaron, you are perfectly normal. Yes, you are a genius, with an amazingly hot body to add to your amazingly hot brain. You awe me most of the time and I know you do that to others as well. Why do you think Hank made you the focal point in this case? What you need to do right now is approach this situation as if it were a calculus problem. Think it through, find the clues, and solve it. If you think you made the wrong decision, change it. Enjoy what you have in front of you. Live, Aaron. Are you going to talk with Barry about this? Are you going to tell him you don't want what he wants?"
"I'm meeting him in an hour for dinner. I'd like to know what he really wants and hopefully we can agree that I am not what he thinks he wants."
"Then what? Are you going to one of your loud, heady beat, hot boy clubs?"
Aaron laughed at Akerheart's description of the clubbing scene, but knew it was what he had said earlier. "I might just do that. It all depends on how dinner goes with Barry. One thing I know for sure is that he is not coming home with me."
"Good. It seems to me, that you have made an important decision." Akerheart stood, walked to the door, and then said, "Aaron, you are a remarkable young man with an amazing life in front of you. Take your time to enjoy it. And by the way, my door is always open."
The two coworkers left Andrews, each with his own evening in mind.
Aaron walked into one of Barry's favorite pubs and saw him in conversation with a hot looking older guy. He had no intention of humiliating or embarrassing him, especially in a pub he frequented. He surprised Barry with a hug before he could react to his presence. Whispering into his ear, Aaron said, "Tonight I am not sir or master. I'm just a friend who is having dinner with you." Releasing his date and turning to the other man at the bar he said, "Hi, I'm Aaron," and stuck out his hand for a shake.
After a few minutes of general conversation, Aaron signaled the server that they were ready for a table. Barry walked slightly behind Aaron and remained submissive even after he was told to relax. At the table, Aaron turned to Barry and said, "Listen, tonight we are just two friends enjoying each other's company at dinner. No dom / sub, no master / slave, just two friends enjoying dinner together, so stop being submissive to me or I'll leave."
Once seated and appetizers ordered, Aaron asked Barry to tell him how he felt about the initiation. "At first I was nervous. Tom said he would make all the arrangements and all I had to do was show up. No one explained the ritual until I was spread eagle in the room. When they put the blindfold on me, I freaked knowin
g what that does to people we interrogate. When they added the earmuffs, I almost pissed myself. But I was determined to go through with it, no matter what happened."
"I watched it all and I must say I'm not sure I could have gone through with it. I guess that's one of the differences between you and me," said Aaron as the server brought their first course. "You held onto that orange ball as if your life depended on doing so. Did the flogging hurt?"
"Oh my god did it hurt. At one point when Clint was thrashing my balls, I thought I'd pass out, but all of a sudden the pain changed. Clint later explained that pain becomes euphoric when the brain sends signals to the body to release some type of endorphins. I'm not sure of the technical terms for what I felt, but it actually felt good after a while."
Aaron watched as Barry explained how he felt. Barry enjoyed telling him what was going on in his head during the ritual. "What happened when you went to Clint's house afterward?"
"Clint had me drink several bottles of water. He said my body had gone through a traumatic event and needed the water to help recover. He explained that I only went through about half of what the other two guys received. Then he and his boy took me to his dungeon, strapped me into a sling and Clint showed me what real cock and ball torture was like."
Aaron stopped with his fork half way to his mouth. "You took more torture?"
Barry smiled, lowered his head in what appeared to be self-assessment and said, "I let them do whatever they wanted to do to me. Once again I fell into what Clint called 'the zone' and my body relaxed. In fact it really started to feel good."
Aaron had heard about prisoners who endured levels of torture that no one could have imagined enduring. Studies later showed that the brain causes the body to go into a zone of acceptance by sending endorphins and other chemicals into the blood stream. The prisoners were able to endure the torture and didn't reveal the information their torturers wanted. Years later, new types of torture were developed that caused psychological harm if the victim didn't yield. Water-boarding immediately came to mind.
