by Frank Perry
credentials, respect and shared values. The moment John described the worksheet that Lorne had developed secretly, Charlie knew Lorne had discovered something … something terribly wrong; he believed it immediately. It took only moments to realize that Hanson was involved, along with Irina and probably Jules. He didn’t care that the Saudi deal would fail; he only wanted the Institute to survive. Even if they couldn’t really predict the next virus, they were doing other important work, and the greed of a few people was threatening the entire creditability of GHI. They could destroy GHI and the reputations of everyone associated with it. Charlie listened patiently, asking very few questions. Jules laid it all out.
Jules finished, then pleaded, “Charlie, you can’t let this get out. It’ll kill us. We’ll get nothing. The Institute will fail, and we’ll all go to jail!”
Charlie stood and grasped the doorknob. “No, Jules; you’re wrong. You and your friends will all go to jail for the rest of your lives. I will do everything in my power to save the Institute, but you are all going to fall; I’ll make sure of it.” He turned to leave.
Jules’ normal confidence and composure was shattered. “Charlie, you can’t do this! I’m not the guilty person here. If you’re not careful the whole place could be lost, we could be broke!”
Charlie turned back, remaining characteristically cool, unfazed by his partner’s words. “Do you think I don’t know this? Don’t even try to play innocent with me. You’re in this up to your earlobes. I don’t know when you got involved, but you’re sure as hell in it. Don’t try to lie about it. You and your conspirators killed my friend, our friend, and you killed Dr. Van Aiker. You killed countless others in Africa! For what, Jules … for money? Hell, we had a good business here. We weren’t going to be millionaires, but the Government paid good money for our R&D … but you couldn’t be happy with that. You had to go for the big bucks! When did you lose sight of the founding principles that we had when we formed GHI?” Charlie was red-faced and could feel his blood pressure rising.
Jules shriveled, slumped in his chair behind the big desk. His eyes pleaded, and his voice was weak. “Charlie, please, don’t do this. I … I didn’t know Irina and Matt were doing this.” It was one last feeble plea.
Charlie felt some sympathy, but not much. “Look Jules, I don’t believe you conspired with anyone in the beginning, but somewhere along the way you got involved. Your scruples failed you. You once took an oath to do no harm. That should have been your guiding principle. Other medical people have fallen from grace; you’re not the first, but there’s no coming back once fallen. Once you abandon your faith, it’s a one-way street.”
Jules was looking at his hands folded in his lap. “We’ll lose it all if you give us up.”
Charlie had his hand on the door knob. “Stop it. Don’t expect me to pity you. You’re a dead man as far as I’m concerned.” He let go of the door and faced Jules for one last statement. “I’ll tell you what, Jules. You will confess everything you know. Your testimony will convict Matt and Irina, who will face capital charges. You’ll go to prison for a long term, maybe the rest of your life. I am going to rebuild our Institute. I may need to start from scratch or even below that with the stigma, but I’ll bring it back. You will sign over all of your shares to treasury stock that I can use to attract and reward good people who join me. You will relinquish all ownership claims. You won’t need it where you’re going.”
The reality of his situation hit him like a train. Jules’ mind hadn’t fully comprehended the finality of it all until Charlie’s ultimatum. “Charlie! What are you talking about? I haven’t been convicted of anything. Hell, there’s no proof!”
He’d never been overt or assertive since forming GHI with his partners, but Charlie was taking command like a field general facing impossible odds. He stepped to the edge of the desk and glared down at his former friend. “Don’t go there, Jules. I’m the proof. I can validate everything. I’ve seen the reports, both Lorne’s and the company’s system; I’ve counted the live virus. I’m the expert who will tip the scales. You can be one hundred percent sure that I can prove it all. Do you really want to confront me in court?” Jules didn’t answer, but remained a shrunken, beaten man. Charlie turned and left for the lobby to wait for the Customs Agents.
Failings
A large white van pulled into the parking lot half an hour later. It had a wide green stripe and logo from the Department of Homeland Security. Charlie watched as four agents, three men and one woman all dressed in business suits, walked toward the entrance. He greeted them at the door. They displayed their credentials and signed the register before following Charlie toward the Executive wing. They had only progressed halfway when Marie came screaming down the hall toward them, collapsing in Charlie’s arms. “He’s … Jules … he’s …” she could only point and the Agents ran with Charlie to Jules’ office. It was a ghastly scene.
Jules was hanging from the ceiling fixture with his calves brushing the desktop. His shoes twitched above the ground. His necktie was a noose. Marie had heard a crash as he stepped off the desk. He twitched and flailed, gasping involuntarily, fighting for breath. His neck didn’t break, and he was strangling to death. His face was swollen and dark red.
Two Agents grabbed Jules’ legs and held him up while Charlie climbed up to untie him. It took several seconds to loosen the knot from the ceiling and several more seconds to loosen the tie around his windpipe. Jules’ face was getting darker and his lips were blue. He had no detectable pulse. Two agents began CPR while Marie called 911.
By the time the EMTs arrived, Jules had experienced agony to no avail. He had been wheeled to the ambulance, handcuffed to a gurney.
Hanson, Petronova and Cooper were absent from the Institute but captured that same day. Hanson surrendered at home and Cooper was found at home in bed recovering from injuries after “falling down stairs.” Petronova was arrested as she tried to board a plane for Argentina.
Jules had survived only to be ulimately convicted of conspiring to provide biologic agents to terrorists and mass killings of African civilians. He would serve twenty-five-to-life, only because he cooperated with the prosecutor.
Hanson and Petronova were both convicted of attempted murder and crimes against humanity. They were both incarcerated for life without possibility of parole. Cooper testified against the other two and got a fifteen-year sentence for attempted murder. No one was convicted for Lorne Bridger’s death.
The Institute’s reputation was blemished but not destroyed. Charlie made it his mission to rebuild.
Reconciled
Charlie tried calling John Hollis after Jules was arrested and removed from the building, but there was no answer, so he drove to his apartment. The vision of Jules hanging himself haunted Charlie, and he knew John was depressed. Charlie pounded on the door. At first, it seemed like a dull rhythm far away to John, but it grew louder and more persistent.
John wore jeans with no shirt. He rolled off of the couch, kicking an empty bottle as he attempted to stand. Pressure behind his eyes narrowed his vision and his equilibrium was shot. That damn knocking hurt his ears. “All right! Stop banging on the door. I’m coming.”
He rested his head on his forearm braced against the door frame. Maybe he’d imagined the door pounding. He reached down for the knob which wasn’t locked and opened the door a crack. “Yeah?” He was shocked to see Charlie Ritter outside and fumbled to open the door further.
Charlie stepped back a half step. John smelled bad and had the breath of a corpse. “Ah, John, have you been drinking?”
The younger man stared dumbfounded before nodding, “Yeah … yes, I guess I had one too many last night; this morning … What time is it?”
“It’s afternoon, John. Look, get dressed and I’ll take you to breakfast.”
John looked at his boss momentarily then closed the door without comment. After several min
utes, Charlie was going to knock again when the door opened. At least John was going to listen to what he was about to tell him.
Resurrection
Jules confessed after being arrested and the others all hired lawyers and invented cases against each other. Following Jules’ conviction, the others fought through several trials and appeals, but ultimately lost on all counts.
The damage to GHI was severe and the stigma might never be completely erased. In reality, it served as an example to the world of the thin protections that exist over potentially catastrophic weapons. Charlie remained as the only active owner at GHI, and Carol Bridger had equal voting rights. She agreed with his vision for the Institute. They no longer claimed ability to forecast Ebola outbreaks, but developed vaccines for other diseases. BSL 4 was eliminated at the Institute and the floor space used as a storage area.
Charlie wanted to reward John. The kid had stuck his neck out a mile and nearly been killed doing it. He’d also lost the person he loved when Kelly left. John didn’t know his status when the
