Radical Reaction

by Dawn Marsanne

  Nimrod overreacted and ran across shouting, ‘Mate! What are you going in there for?’

  ‘Calm down, fuck, what’s got into you?’ shouted his housemate.

  Although he had the only key he was unnerved by their presence in the garden, he was used to it being his own domain. ‘Sorry, mate, I’ve got a few seedlings in there, didn’t want you to disturb them.’

  ‘You are turning into such an old woman, you ought to get out more. Jeez. Keep your hair on.’

  ‘Look, I’ve said I’m sorry. I’m just a bit tired that’s all!’

  ‘Get yourself a beer and chill out. Fuck’s sake.’

  After a few beers, he started to relax and found himself chatting about general topics such as football, holidays, money and the mood lightened a little. The conversation continued but despite appearing to enjoy himself he could not relax fully. He desperately wanted the party to finish. After he had checked the progress of his reaction he would need to report back to Warrior and find out the plans for the material. The moment where he could make a real contribution was growing ever nearer and he was excited.

  **

  At 7 p.m. Christian and Geraldine were clearing up after the meal. The children had been told they could use their tablets for half an hour before they had to start getting ready for bed.

  ‘That was a lovely meal, darling,’ said Christian.

  ‘I’m glad you enjoyed it. There’s a bit of the sauce left for tomorrow evening.’

  ‘Great. It’s been such a good weekend.’

  ‘Just like the old times before I started behaving like a complete idiot,’ said Geraldine.

  ‘Well, I’ve not exactly been a bundle of laughs either,’ added Christian. He’d not been completely honest with his wife about the changes at ClinTry, nor the fact that he’d contacted a recruitment agency. That was for the future and he didn’t want to ruin two days of their rejuvenated relationship. It would need to be handled very delicately once they had rebuilt their mutual trust.

  The doorbell rang.

  ‘Are you expecting anyone?’ asked Christian.

  ‘No, not me, it’s Sunday evening, no-one calls on a Sunday evening,’ said Geraldine. ‘I’ll go, you finish the washing up.’

  Christian heard some conversation at the door and some nervous laughter. He was curious as to who it was. He was wiping his hands on a towel as Geraldine walked back into the kitchen.

  ‘He’s just here, would you like some coffee or tea. You can use the kitchen table if you need to discuss those documents before you send them off this evening.’

  The towel dropped from Christian’s fingers and his mouth fell open. The blood drained from his face and he held on to the worktop to steady himself.

  ‘Evening, Christian,’ said their visitor. ‘I just need a couple more signatures from you following our meeting on Friday.’

  Chapter 37

  Nick and Polly were getting ready for bed. Their weekend had been uneventful but enjoyable. They had made the most of their free time by trying to start a family.

  ‘So, do you feel any different?’ asked Nick.

  ‘Different, how?’

  ‘Do you think I’ve done the business this time? Do you feel pregnant?’

  ‘Ha, not yet. I feel a bit sore if anything.’

  ‘Well, you ‘ll get a break from my animal passions when I’m in India,’ joked Nick.

  ‘It’s not brilliant timing as I’ll be doing the tests whilst you are away. Seven days might not be diagnostic, they recommend checking again at ten days after ovulation.’

  ‘That’s a pity. I’m off next Saturday evening,’ he paused to count on his fingers. ‘You will let me know as soon as you’ve done the test. Whatever the result?’

  ‘Of course. Now I’m off to bed and that’s to sleep. So you don’t need to worry!’

  ‘OK, I’ll just check my emails and then I’ll join you.’

  Nick sat down and checked his phone. It was such a busy time at the moment. There was the launch of PersCure this week. The clinical trials were scheduled at ClinTry and that would be a crucial time for the front-runner compound. The cloud hanging over the week was Derek Plumpton’s funeral. Nick’s trip to India was fast approaching so he checked his inbox. It was still too early for any emails from India so he switched off his laptop and made his way to bed.

  **

  ‘Laura,’ was all Christian could manage to say. His enjoyable weekend had just ended. Laura produced a file of bogus documents and passed them over to him for scrutiny and approval. They sat at the kitchen table whilst Geraldine went to check that Rufus was getting ready for bed. Laura continued to chat away pretending to be pointing out things in the documents but Christian wasn’t listening. Inwardly he was fuming. What sort of person was she? It was unbelievable that anyone could be so audacious. He was afraid to say anything to her lest Laura began arguing and his wife would overhear.

  After what seemed an age Geraldine came back downstairs into the kitchen.

  ‘Have you got the signatures you need?’

  ‘Oh, yes, thanks, I’ll be on my way now.’

  ‘There’s no rush. Why don’t you stay for a drink. We aren’t doing anything this evening.’

  ‘Oh, that would be lovely,’ replied Laura. ‘Thank you.’

  Christian was ready to explode. The agony was being prolonged. It was like some sort of bad dream where you were caught up in an intractable web of problems. He could scarcely believe it was really happening. He had remained silent, merely drinking his wine. Now they were in the lounge and Laura looked as if she were at home, completely at ease.

  ‘So, you work for Cancer Research in the south-east, liaising over clinical trials?’

  ‘Yes, it’s a really interesting job. I met with Christian on Friday but today I realised that there were some details missing and he said I could call around if there was a problem.’ She sounded utterly convincing and smiled sweetly at Geraldine. ‘How about you? Do you work?’

  ‘I do, but it’s not a very high-powered job, I’m a legal secretary at Hardiman and Fellowes. The money comes in useful though.’

  ‘You have a lovely house here, I must say. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to afford anything so grand. How many bedrooms has it got?’

  ‘Thank you. It’s got five bedrooms. Yes, we love it here. It’s a very nice quiet estate. The neighbours are great too.’

  Christian was finding this exchange excruciating. He emptied the last of the wine into his glass as he needed something to calm his nerves. He looked at his watch.

  ‘Goodness, is that the time? I guess you need to get a move along as it’s a work day tomorrow?’

  ‘Christian, don’t be so rude. I’m sure Laura can make her own decisions, she’s not a child!’ said Geraldine.

  No, thought Christian, she’s a liar and must be mentally unhinged. She was clearly enjoying herself immensely.

  ‘No, Christian’s right. I must be on my way.’ She stood to leave. ‘Well, it’s been so great to meet you. Thanks for the wine.’

  ‘Not a problem.’

  ‘Right, I’ll show you out,’ said Christian. ‘Don’t forget your folder.’ He thrust it at her and she took it without meeting his gaze.

  Geraldine took the glasses whilst Christian showed Laura to the door. He stepped outside and pulled the door partially closed.

  ‘What do you think you are playing at?’ he said menacingly as he grabbed her arm and steered her down the driveway.

  ‘Ouch, get off me! I’m just giving you a little push in the right direction,’ she spat with equal menace.

  ‘Well, you’ve just blown it. I never want to see you again after that stunt. I was going to finish with you anyway this evening. After the children were properly asleep I was going to dump you.’ He paced around. ‘God, what a bitch you are. Fuck off and leave me alone.’

  ‘Oh, I will, certainly. But it will cost you.’

  ‘Cost me? In your dreams. Go and find another mug to take a
dvantage of.’

  ‘I will, soon, but first I want what’s due to me.’

  ‘Nothing is due to you. Forget it. You need help. Go and see a psychiatrist.’

  ‘Go on. Why don’t you? But if you do I will have no hesitation telling the devoted Geraldine what her husband has been getting up to. You look lovely when you are sleeping by the way. I took a few snaps of you.’

  Christian knew then that she was serious. ‘What do you want?’

  ‘Well, my car is getting a bit old now. Ten grand should help me get a replacement. I’ll send you my bank details and you can transfer me the money.’

  ‘What? Ten grand? No way! I don’t have that sort of money. We are financially stretched living here. We have a lot of expenses.’

  ‘So do I.’

  ‘Blackmail is a serious crime you know. I could report you.’

  ‘You could but just think of what you stand to lose. I won’t rush you, don’t worry.’

  ‘You’ve got a nerve!’

  ‘But remember, I know where you live and it’s no trouble to pop around so don’t keep me waiting too long. Have a good week!’

  Christian stood open-mouthed. Had that last exchange really happened? Laura was blackmailing him. It was outrageous. How could a little flirtation have developed into such a nightmare? Surely lots of people had little dalliances and nothing like this happened. He was conscious of Geraldine at the door, speaking to him.

  ‘Sorry, what did you say?’

  ‘I just wondered where you had got to. You were a long time. I thought you’d gone off with Laura!’ she joked.

  Christian merely stared at her.

  ‘Are you OK?’ she asked. ‘I was just joking. I know what you are like once you get talking about work.’

  He walked past her silently. ‘I’m just going to my study to check some emails and documents for tomorrow. Don’t wait up.’

  ‘No, of course. Don’t be too late coming to bed though.’ Geraldine stood frowning as Christian pushed past her. His mood this evening had been very sour.

  ‘I won’t.’

  Christian walked upstairs quietly so as not to disturb the children. He peeped into their rooms and saw that they were fast asleep. Laura would not take all this away from him. He was determined. He would come up with a plan and he would do it soon.

  **

  It was 9 p.m. before Nimrod could creep out to the shed and check how things were progressing. As he opened the shed door his nostrils were overwhelmed by the smell of acetone. It had been quite warm during the day and the fumes from the volatile solvent were noticeable. Fortunately, the ill-fitting door to the wooden shed meant that there hadn’t been a dangerous build-up of vapour. He eased back the lid and peered inside.

  ‘Bingo!’ he said to himself. ‘Haha!,’ he squealed and stamped his foot in triumph. Then he panicked as he remembered the material was shock sensitive. There was a sizeable quantity of white crystals forming and above them sat a reasonable quantity of solvent. It was looking very good indeed. Soon they would be able to filter them off. There was probably more still to form so they could afford to leave it a few more days. Then he would need some help dealing with such large quantities. No way could he lift the metal drum himself.

  Suddenly the side of the shed shook as something hit it. Nimrod was overcome with panic once more. ‘Fuck!’ he exclaimed.

  It took him a few moments to work out what was happening. Fleetingly, he thought that the material had detonated but that was a stupid thought because if that had happened he would no longer be standing there and the shed together with himself would be distributed over a wide area. Then he heard voices outside. He realised it was the boys next door kicking a football about and it had come over the wall and bounced on the shed. Normally this would be just one of those incidents you experience with children playing outside but for Nimrod it was a nightmare. He didn’t know exactly how shock sensitive this material could be. Reports on the Internet suggested you had to be very careful with the dry material and not drop it or bang it but in solution it was more stable. Nevertheless, he didn’t want it to keep happening.

  He went outside and the ball was still being kicked around with force. There was another loud slap as it once again missed its target and made contact with the side of the shed. He used one of the garden chairs to look over the fence.

  ‘Hi, boys!’ he called.

  They stopped and looked up at him. ‘What?’ asked the elder boy in an aggressive tone.

  ‘Hi, I know you are just playing but could you be a bit more careful?’

  ‘Why? It’s only a crappy old shed,’ said one of them petulantly. ‘It’s not even yours.’

  ‘No, but the landlord will be very cross if you damage it. He was only looking at it the other day and he could see that you’ve split one of the panels.’ This was a slight exaggeration but he felt it would have some gravitas with the youngsters. At that moment their father came out and called to them. ‘Henry, George, come in now! It’s time for bed!’

  The father looked towards the fence.

  ‘Oh, sorry, they are a bit of a handful. They are rather too enthusiastic kicking their football around. I’ve told them before.’

  ‘It’s OK, I just don’t want the landlord to think that we’ve damaged his shed,’ said Nimrod.

  ‘Yes, well hopefully they’ll get the message if I stop them using their iPads,’ he said. ‘Right I better go and make sure they are getting ready for bed. They are a pair of rascals.’

  Nimrod climbed down from the chair and after one last check in the shed he secured the padlock. He would send a message to Warrior to say that things were looking good.’

  Chapter 38

  The working week in the laboratory began as usual with conversation was about various weekend activities. There was no sign of Joe which was unusual as he had normally arrived by 8 a.m. Adam was hoping he wouldn’t be off sick as he had agreed to help him with a scale-up of one of the reactions. It would be tough to get it all done in the course of the day if he didn’t have any help.

  Adam was stirring something to make it dissolve when he looked over towards the office area and spotted Joe rushing in. He looked flustered and not very happy. Joe could be a bit moody and he hoped it didn’t signal a tense day ahead as there were no meetings or other distractions to break up the laboratory work. He could see Joe switch on his laptop and then he hurried in to join the rest of the team.’

  ‘Hi, Joe, everything OK?’

  ‘Oh, hi, Adam, Seth, no it’s not been the best of starts to the week. My fucking car wouldn’t start this morning.’

  ‘Oh, that’s a pain. Did you try jump starting it?’

  ‘We did but it’s as dead as a doornail,’ he sighed. ‘So I had to walk twenty minutes to the bus stop and I had no idea of the times. I was in such a rush so I’d just missed one. Anyway, once I’ve done this clinical trial I’ll either be able to get it fixed or scrap it and put the money I get towards a new one. Not a new one but hopefully a reliable second hand one.’

  ‘There’s a Polo advertised on the board. Did you see it? It’s low mileage and if it’s someone here who you know they aren’t likely to rip you off, it might be worth looking into.’

  ‘Yes, I saw that. You might be right, better to cut my losses and go for something which might last a bit longer.’

  Adam was relieved he didn’t get any comments about other people having nearly new cars but Joe seemed too preoccupied to make jibes towards him.

  ‘So, Adam. Can I just run these samples and then we can make a start on the scale-up?’

  ‘Yes, that’s great. I’ve got all the bits and pieces ready.’

  ‘OK, give me ten minutes then we’ll get that baby started.’

  **

  Christian was at work and feeling like death. After Laura had left, he’d gone to his study with a bottle of whisky. He had occupied himself on his laptop and then he had slumped in the easy chair in his study as he couldn’t face any questio
ns from Geraldine. At 2 a.m. he’d woken with a painful neck, confused as to where he was but then the full horror of the evening came back to him and his stomach lurched. He managed to swallow down the bile in his throat and tiptoed down to the kitchen to hide the evidence of his late night binge and to get some water.

  Now, six hours later, he regretted the temporary solace from the spirit and was trying to rehydrate himself and willing the painkillers to take effect. His first job that morning was to contact the list of healthy volunteers recruited by Judith and to tell them that sadly they would not be required due to an administrative mistake.

  He made a start and felt guilty when he heard the disappointment in their voices. Many were clearly driven by financial necessity and there were few other occupations which were so lucrative in a short space of time. It was a relief when he reached the participant’s voicemail as he could avoid talking to a human being. He was now half-way down the list but he had to take a break for a few minutes. The pills seemed to be starting to work so he felt he could risk a coffee.

  He returned to his desk and his mobile pinged with an incoming text. He saw that he’d had a missed call from his wife whilst he was making his coffee. He opened up the text and nausea returned. His hand began to shake and he put his drink down on his desk to avoid spilling it.

  The text read: Hi darling. Hope your day going well. Had a nice surprise from Laura. She called the reception at work and suggested we go together to do a bit of shopping one Saturday. Weekend after next probably. We’ve exchanged mobile numbers so she won’t have to phone my office. She said again how much she’d enjoyed our chat yesterday evening. Xx

  Christian stared at the message with incredulity. What a bitch Laura was. If he told Geraldine to cancel she would want to know why he had a problem with her making some friends. The thought of coffee made him feel sick. He had to sort out this nightmare and he had to do it quickly. Otherwise, his future with his family could hang in the balance.