The Dolos Conspiracy

by Frank Perry

“Yes, Kelly told me. I thought of him as my friend, not just my boss, Charlie. He taught me so much. I just … I just can’t believe he’s gone. He knew what he was doing, going to Africa. Heck, any of us that have been in dangerous situations know how to take precautions. Lorne was a pro doc and shouldn’t have gotten sick. It’s not like he went into a hot zone. What happened?”

  Charlie shrugged, “We don’t know. Like you said, he knew how to protect himself. But, something got him. We don’t know for sure, but it could be another Ebola-type outbreak. We just don’t know yet.”

  John responded, “Sorry, Charlie. I know you were friends for a long time. I knew him for a year, so I only know a little about how you feel. He was a great guy, a mentor and friend.” Kelly nodded in agreement.

  They couldn’t tell as Charlie turned away, maybe he was crying, saying kindly, “Okay, you two, get to work!”

  They walked away glancing briefly at each other. Okay, that lie seemed to work.

  Inside the lab, they didn’t speak much. John, on the way to the Institute, told Kelly about his fear that they might be recording audio and video, so all discussions inside the lab were kept on lab functions. He didn’t know why he felt that way except Lorne had known that John hacked the files almost immediately. At least some sort of surveillance was being used. It could have just been Lorne, or maybe it was bigger and broader, involving the entire Institute. They had a very strict proprietary protection program and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if there was covert surveillance. All employees had to sign an agreement as a condition of working there. The Institute policies included the right to search anything carried out of the building, and someone might also be tracking emails. In theory, they were not allowed to bring cameras or any kind of computer recording devices into the Institute.

  In the lab, John helped Kelly suit up and ran through the data from her first day, giving her some specific things to check today. Overall, it went off as a normal work day. He didn’t go near the secure database as before, just in case someone was watching remotely via computer or video. They would be careful from now on.

  Suspicion

  “We both know the kid was in the files and then disappeared. She’s in it, too, since she supports his flimsy story and they’re living together. She’s got to know whatever he’s up to.” Jules waited for Charlie to process then continued. “We need to stop this before it gets out of control.” He’d come into Charlie’s office and slammed the door after seeing John and Kelly come in together.

  Charlie couldn’t resist the sarcasm. “You want me to fire them?”

  “No … yeah, fire them both. That kid is up to something. He’s got access to all our production information. Hell, he could be selling it to our competitors.”

  “Jules, are you nuts! You’re over-reacting. You want to fire our top lab tech and our new research scientist. What do you plan to do? You and me back inside? This is insane. Just talk to him and tell him to remember our policies and that we’ll sue his ass into oblivion if you think he’s stealing information. Hell, I don’t care, just tell him to keep away from the data files and he’ll do it. I don’t know why he left. Do you? You’re acting like a paranoid maniac. You don’t know why he was gone. I don’t know either, but I believe him … it was personal, nothing to do with GHI.”

  Jules didn’t buy it. “You think he was gone when Lorne died, and it was just a coincidence? I don’t think so. This is serious, Charlie. He could be stealing information, and Lorne caught him.”

  Charlie pondered a moment. “Why would he do that, Jules? Is there something that I should know about? You’re acting nuts. There’s no reason to think any of this.”

  “No. You think about it. We’re producing more vaccine than we’re allowed.”

  “So, you’re worried an audit could hurt us? Come on, Jules. We’d get a hand-slap. That’s all.”

  Jules was incredulous. “A hand-slap! Are you serious? This would stop the investors cold in their tracks. We can’t risk it.”

  “Why? Why not? So, we explain that we’re gearing up for the next outbreak. Hell, how do they think we were able to respond the last time, and the time before? We should get a medal.”

  “Charlie; I want them gone. Simple; just get rid of them.”

  Charlie didn’t like being ordered around like some rookie. “Now, wait a minute! You can’t order me to do anything here. If you want them fired, then do it yourself. Oh, and by the way, you can run 4B and 4A on your own. You’ll have one lab tech for both level-4s, assuming that Fred sticks around after firing his boss. And good luck if we get a surprise security audit.” The lab certifications for certain lethal germs received tight Government oversight. Insufficient manpower would be cause to shut them down.

  Jules glared back. “I’ll bring in some people from the other labs; they can do double duty until we get some new ones.”

  “Brilliant! Think, will you? It would take weeks before anyone is certified at the 4 level. You want to be talking to investors between running the lab and training people? Or worse, do you want a government shutdown? I’m not doing it. Frankly, I’m tired of your tyrannical behavior. Ever since Nancy died, you’ve been on fire. I don’t get it, Jules. What’s changed?” Charlie was having a rare moment of outrage.

  Jules didn’t back down, looking harder at his partner. “I’ll tell you what changed. We’re at the top of every acquisition list in the world. Everybody wants GHI. That’s what changed. We have a chance to make more money than we ever dreamed. Hell, we could be billionaires, Charlie. That’s with a B.”

  “Great! So, let’s do it. Let’s get out now, Jules. Why are we waiting? There’s only so much you or I can spend for the rest of our lives. Let’s do it, but let’s not take some knee-jerk action that could set us back. Don’t forget that Lorne is dead!”

  Jules’ exasperation was showing. “You really don’t get it do you? We’ve got more than a thousand units of the most deadly virus known to mankind incubating in our lab right now. Our license wouldn’t allow one percent of that.

  “We all discussed this and agreed. With our reputation and estimating tools, no one would blame us for a little excess. You can’t make a vaccine without cultivating the pathogen. Everyone knows that. They know we’ve done it before. I don’t get the big deal.”

  Both stared at each other without speaking for several seconds. Jules recognized the stone wall. He’d seen it before in Charlie. He wasn’t going to do anything. Nothing would convince him. Jules would have to take action against John and Kelly himself. Charlie would be powerless to stop him. But first, Charlie was right; Jules would need to figure out how to operate all of their labs and how to get new people trained for BSL-4 work.

  In the lab, the day went by routinely for Kelly and John; almost too routinely. When Kelly emerged from the last airlock, she asked, “John, have you seen Jules?”

  He shook his head, “No,” then he went back to formatting the data she had entered from the interior keypads.

  She wondered if something had changed. “He said that he would come in and help me understand the work in process. I’ve been in here for three days and he’s never been back.”

  John understood her concern, but didn’t want to alarm her or say anything that would raise further speculation. “I don’t know, Kelly. He’s pretty busy with investors, I think. Is there anything I can help with?”

  “Yeah, well, you tell me what’s going on in all the cells? There are hundreds of them, and I’m just entering data from instruments. I don’t even know what’s inside there.” She gestured toward the chamber.

  He only had a vague idea but wasn’t going to cause more concern in case they were being recorded. He’d worked with Lorne for a year and heard enough and seen enough to have a good idea, but he wasn’t going to say anything to her at work. “I don’t know Kelly. Jules will need to fill you in.” He went
back to entering the data, but his mind was working overtime. There was something about being back at the Institute that raised his level of consciousness. He’d had questions during his getaway to the Island, but there were no clear answers, just the reverberating warning from Lorne. What was it? What’s right in front of us and we can’t see it?

  They left at the end of a normal shift without talking further. They had been left alone. Jules hadn’t come in to see how she was doing. His absence may have been reason for concern. John couldn’t put a finger on it, but the bland routine nature of the day was, by itself, worrying him. Someone, Charlie or Jules, should have been around their lab at least once, but they hadn’t come.

  They were driving to Kelly’s apartment. His anxiety had been building for several days, ever since Lorne’s warning. His first day back at the Institute hadn’t provided any clarity. His mustang had been modified with 385 horses on tap and John was having trouble keeping the speed down, as his mind whirled with mixed signals. His thoughts were drifting, and this car needed his full attention in the