Green Kills

by Avi Domoshevizki

  “If something’s bothering you, it’s best that you get it out of your system as soon as possible. Do you want me to Skype you?”

  “Good idea. I’m at the office. I’ll be waiting for your call.”

  A few minutes later, Ronnie saw Jim’s round, troubled face on his monitor.

  “Ronnie, I’m sorry to involve you in personnel issues, but like I told you, in the comprehensive analyses we conducted, we weren’t able to come up with even a theoretical way for someone to tamper with the medicine. Christian was the only one who had the key to the safe, and I can’t believe he’d ever do something to hurt the company. The company was his entire life. The only other man who had access to the medicine is Brian, whom you met at Mount Sinai. The moment the medicine reached his hands, he was the one responsible for it. I’ve raised objections in the past about giving that playboy such a responsible job. He spends all his time flirting with anything wearing a skirt. More than once, he disappeared for hours without providing a reasonable explanation. I don’t trust him, and I’d like to fire him or bring him back from the hospital to the company offices, where I’ll be able to keep a close eye on him,” Jim insisted with unexplained determination.

  “Jim, you surprise me. You’re the one who recommended I speak with Brian just a few days ago. He’s been very helpful. What’s happened since then?”

  “I tried to put my personal feelings about him aside and concentrate on what’s best for the company. But now that I’m convinced that if anything happened it took place after the medicine left the factory, suspicions are gnawing at me again. Maybe I’m wrong, but you can’t be too careful.” Jim’s voice rose. “I’m telling you, Brian’s dangerous.”

  “If you’re right, perhaps it’s better that he doesn’t know we suspect him. I recommend that we keep him in the hospital for now. After all, he can’t do any more damage. Right?”

  “I want him next to me, Ronnie.” There was disappointment mixed with anger in Jim’s voice. “I don’t know what damage he can or can’t do. I don’t trust him.”

  Ronnie was surprised by Jim’s intensity of emotions. “Let me think about it over the weekend, and we’ll reach a decision about it together on Monday.” He tried to calm Jim down.

  “So what you’re saying is, even though I’m CEO now, I’ll need your seal of approval for every decision I make?” Jim erupted.

  “No. You brought up something, and I told you what I think about it. Let’s talk some more about it on Monday. Have a good day and a relaxing weekend.” Ronnie ended the conversation and stared at his computer with a pensive look.

  Could I have been so wrong about Brian? After all, he was the only one who provided me with some sort of breakthrough. On the other hand, perhaps he just did that to draw the fire away from him.

  His cell phone announced a new incoming message. Stop all your investigations. If they find out something was wrong with the medicine, your signature approving the test trial will get you in trouble with the law.

  Ronnie reread the message. Its tone was different than the other ones he’d received. This was the first time he felt the concern of the previous messages had changed into a threat. Has the sender changed his tune? Was it the same person who’d left the message on his refrigerator? And if so, where was he getting his information from?

  Chapter 28

  New York, October 24, 2013, 6:15 PM

  “Hello, Robert.” It was the familiar chilling voice on the other end of the line.

  “I wired you the money, just like you asked,” said Robert in a voice straining to sound determined. “From now on, we have nothing to do with each other. I don’t want you to call me again.”

  “Robert, Robert…I don’t understand why you’re talking to me like that. I thought we were friends,” said the speaker in a mock-friendly manner, then immediately changed his tone of voice. “Go down to the building entrance immediately. In five minutes, a limousine will come to pick you up for an appointment. I give you my word, no harm will come to you, and at the end of the meeting, which I hope will be a brief one, we’ll take you back to your office. Five minutes. Get a move on.”

  “I’m busy at the moment and can’t clear any time for appointments outside the building. Perhaps you could tell me what you’d like over the phone.”

  “Get down and be there in four and a half minutes, otherwise your son won’t be coming back from baseball practice, which is about to end pretty soon. Perhaps your wife, who by the way, has already arrived to pick him up, might accidentally get hurt. And Robert, do us both a favor and don’t call her. Now you’ve got three minutes and fifty-four seconds.”

  The call was disconnected. Robert slowly got up and opened the closet next to the office door. He took his coat from the hanger, inhaled deeply and went out of his office. “I’m going to run some errands for about an hour,” he explained to his secretary and slowly moved toward the elevator, praying his feet wouldn’t betray him.

  “But you have an appointment with the attorneys about the TDO acquisition in fifteen minutes. What should I tell them?” Sinead was astounded.

  “Just think of something. That’s why I pay you so much,” he answered angrily. Sinead’s eyes followed his wide back, puzzled. He’d never spoken to her like that before.

  When he reached the lobby, he could see the limousine already parked outside, its door open like a black monster’s gaping maw. In a spur-of-the-moment decision, he approached the guard at the entrance.

  “Yes, Mr. Brown, how can I help you?” The guard stepped over, waiting for his instructions.

  “I—”

  “There’s no need, Mr. Brown. The car is already here.” A hand grabbed him from behind and squeezed his left elbow. Robert tried to release himself from the grip but was unable to move his arm. “Your wife is waiting and we’re already late.” The man began to march forward, without easing his grip. Now Robert was able to see him. He was dressed in a casual black suit, wearing a flat cap and dark sunglasses, and motioning with his available hand toward the exit door.

  “Mr. Brown…?” The guard was trying to decide what he should do.

  “Everything is fine, Patrick,” Robert muttered and walked outside.

  When he sat in the car, the doors locked with a foreboding clunk. From that moment on, he was at the mercy of his escort. He wondered if he’d ever get to see the Loop skyscrapers again as the vehicle passed them, a heavy lump in his chest.

  The limo turned from Michigan Boulevard onto Roosevelt Road, then continued toward Chinatown. A few minutes later, it slowed down next to an office building whose walls were covered with graffiti and slid down into an underground parking lot. The driver opened the limousine door and led Robert to an old elevator that creaked and groaned with effort before stopping at the fourth floor. The long corridor reminded him of two-star hotels in Shanghai. Worn-out carpets with curling, unglued edges, faded posters of banal paintings enclosed in dusty frames, and dozens of doors bearing signs in Chinese. The driver stopped next to one of the doors and opened it without knocking. At the center of an empty, dusty room stood a man with oriental features. Robert approached him hesitantly. The man put out a hand clad in a black leather glove and crushed Robert’s with an intense handshake. His eyes were flat and emotionless. The eyes of a shark.

  “We meet at last, Robert. I hope you’ll forgive me for meeting you in such a graceless place, but this is the only office that was available at such a short notice. As soon as you get out of here and go back to your office, we’ll disappear as well. I’m telling you all this just in case you were thinking you’d try to remember where you were taken. Would you like to sit down?” The man gestured theatrically to one of the two plastic chairs, the only furniture in the room, and sat in the other one, waiting.

  “Before we begin to talk about the subject I’ve invited you to discuss, I wanted to calm you down and tell you your son and beautiful wife are safe and sound at home. Here’s a picture to prove it.” The man took out a smartphone an
d showed Robert a close-up image of his wife and son. “My men were very sorry this wasn’t a summer mission. They thought seeing your wife sunbathing in her bikini by the poolside, or if they were lucky enough, fully nude, would have spiced up their assignment a bit.” The Chinese man gave a hollow laugh without taking his dead eyes away from Robert, who felt like he was about to throw up.

  “You must be asking yourself why you’re here.” The man turned serious abruptly. “My boss asked me to tell you it would be really nice of Mentor to forgo the TDO acquisition. I want you to promise me it’s all right as far as you’re concerned, and then my driver will take you back to the office and you’ll never hear from me again.”

  “I don’t understand,” Robert stuttered.

  “I apologize if my English is not clear enough, but I’m asking you to make an effort to understand, so I won’t have to repeat everything I’m saying,” the Chinese man hissed through clenched teeth. “I — want — you — to — assure — me — that — you’ll — pull — out —of — the — acquisition — plans — for — TDO,” he said, spacing out the words. “There, was that any clearer?”

  “But all the paperwork’s been drafted already, and tomorrow I’m supposed to close the deal. I can’t just cancel without a reason.” Robert mustered his courage.

  “Tomorrow is a long time from now. You’ll cancel the deal today.”

  “I can’t do that. The board of directors will simply fire me and replace me with someone who will finish the deal. TDO is up for sale; if I don’t buy it, somebody else will. I don’t get it, what will you gain by this?”

  “You’re right. It’s for sale, and we are the ones who will buy it. By the way, you won’t have any problems with your board of directors because I promise you full cooperation between our companies. We intend to give you exclusive distribution rights for the product in return for your help in stabilizing the production line. I think not only won’t the board of directors fire you, they’ll even praise you for the wonderful deal you were able to close. Now—” the thug cracked his knuckles “—do we have an understanding, or do I need to move on to the next stage of our ‘negotiations,’ which, both of us know, I’ll be the only one to enjoy?”

  “Why are you so interested in a company that developed a deadly medicine? Do you own the knowledge that might fix the problem?”

  “The medicine had no problem before we interfered.” The man sent Robert a poisonous smile. “Perhaps now you understand why you should cooperate with us.” He got up from his chair, lifted Robert to his feet without any visible effort and drew his face close to Brown’s. “This conversation is starting to tire me,” he whispered in his ear. “Do you agree to stay clear of this acquisition?”

  Robert’s head was spinning.

  “So, what’s your answer!?” his captor screamed in his ear.

  Robert recoiled as if he’d just been slapped. “All right. All right,” he whispered and dropped back in his chair.

  The Chinese man took out a thin, black ring binder from a bag that rested near the wall at the edge of the balding carpet and handed it to Robert. “This is the cooperation agreement between our companies as drafted by our attorneys. You’ll find that they’ve been very generous with your company. Please go over it with your advisors. If any questions arise, you’ll be able to get back to our representatives. You have their names in the enclosed letter.” The man extended his hand and pulled Robert from his chair. Then he wrapped his arm around Robert’s shoulders and led him toward the door, where he said, “It’s a pleasure doing business with you. Goodbye, Robert.”

  When he got in the limo, Robert asked the driver to stop at the nearest gas station. The latter obeyed his instruction without saying a word. Robert headed to the restroom and, after locking the door, washed his face then examined his clothes and carefully cleaned them. Finally, he fished out a comb and fixed his hair. Only when he was somewhat pleased by the image reflected in the mirror did he go out of the restroom and walk to the car.

  When he got back to his office, a small army of lawyers was already waiting for him, with Sinead rushing among them, carrying a tray with coffee and refreshments.

  “I’m sorry I’m late,” Robert addressed them. “If you’ll excuse me, I have one more telephone call to make before we get started.” Without waiting for an answer, he dialed and said, as soon as his call was answered, “Mr. Saar, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we’ve decided to cancel the deal. I wish you and TDO all the luck in the world. Goodbye.” He hung up without waiting for an answer, raised his eyes and looked straight at the astonished attorneys.

  “Sinead” — he took a CD out of the black ring binder he brought with him — “please print six copies of the document on this CD and give one to each attorney on his way out.”

  Once he’d handed off the CD, he turned his eyes back to the lawyers and said, “Gentlemen, the rules of the game have changed. I have information about another company that has entered the game and is interested in acquiring TDO. According to the information I have, they were about to offer a price that would make the deal unprofitable for us. I’ve spent the time you were waiting for me in the office to close a deal with them, defining the principles of the strategic cooperation between our companies. You’ll get copies of the contract on your way out. Sinead will reserve a conference room for you to go over the material. We’ll hold our meeting as soon as you’re ready with your comments. The night’s still young. Thank you.”

  He rose to his feet, signaling to them that the meeting was adjourned. Only after the last of the lawyers had closed the door behind him, did he allow himself to drop in his chair, ignoring the phone that wouldn’t stop ringing.

  Chapter 29

  New York, October 25, 2013, 6:50 AM

  The telephone call he’d received from Robert had surprised Ronnie, and Brown’s terse message didn’t leave his mind for hours. He spent the night on the sofa, in front of the television. Even the last few drops of whiskey he’d found buried in the liquor cabinet couldn’t help him fall asleep, and the light of dawn found him drained and despondent.

  Liah threw a quick “Good morning” in his direction on her way to the kitchen.

  Ronnie stood, stretched his aching limbs and followed her. “Liah, what are you doing? You were discharged from the hospital only yesterday. You need to rest. And besides, we need to talk about what stressed you out so much. If it was the wedding, I…” He sought her eyes with his own.

  “Not now. I’m late for class.” She rubbed herself against him in an official affectionate gesture on her way back to the bedroom.

  “Liah!” he called after her. He waited a moment, and when no answer came, he left the apartment and slammed the door angrily behind him.

  Wearing only a thin shirt, he was not prepared for the morning chill. He crossed the street running and rushed into the coffee shop on the other side. The warm coffee and the lively morning atmosphere helped him regain his spirits. He sat in front of the large store window and looked at the entrance to his building. A disheartening sense of loneliness engulfed him. Liah, the woman he loved, had become a stranger. Suddenly, he saw her emerging from the building, hurrying toward the subway station. She didn’t even try to look for me, he noted sadly.

  He left his coffee mug on the table and went back home. An hour later, he was at the office, shaved and showered. Evelyn wasn’t at her station, and Ronnie went into David’s office without knocking.

  “Good thing I was supposed to be on the nine fifty-five PM Spirit flight from LaGuardia and didn’t schedule an earlier flight,” he said, eyes blazing. “Your son of a bitch friend didn’t even ask me where I was when he cancelled the acquisition offer without offering any explanations.”

  “I really don’t understand what happened,” David admitted in a gloomy voice. “I’ve been trying since yesterday to get him to tell me what caused him to cancel the deal at the last moment, but the explanations he’s been giving me sound far-fetched. They didn�
��t contain even a hint about the new information that made him change his mind so drastically.”

  “At least he gave you the courtesy of answering. He’s been avoiding my calls. The arrogant son of a bitch doesn’t even have the decency to conduct a civilized conversation about the subject. Now, after wasting a few valuable days, I need to start looking for investors again. I hope that’s acceptable to you and to the rest of the company investors you’ve convinced to vote for selling TDO at any cost.”

  “What’s important now is saving the company. Do you have any ideas as to what we should do?” David lowered his voice in an attempt to calm things down.

  “Same ideas I’ve always had. Ideas you and Henry constantly shot down. Before I get back to speaking with the funds about investment, I just wanted to know if you two will back me up and stop acting like Statler and Waldorf from the Muppet Show. Your demeaning remarks are of no help.”

  “I’m afraid sharp-eyed bankers will swoop down on the company like vultures,” David remarked with an appeasing tone. “There are no secrets in the industry. As far as they’re concerned, TDO is a wounded animal, so it’s the right time to go for the kill. We can only hope we’ll be able to create some competition among several potential buyers, so we’re still able to get a reasonable price. I think we’ll end up fondly reminiscing about the price Mentor Pharmaceuticals offered us. You can keep looking for investors. I don’t want to discourage you, but I’m afraid the chances one of the funds will want to jump on the bandwagon now are close to zero. I wouldn’t do it, and that’s the answer I’ve been getting from friends in the industry I spoke with overnight.”

  Ronnie couldn’t restrain his skepticism, “You’ve tried to convince funds to invest in TDO?”

  “Tried and failed.”

  “I really appreciate it.” Ronnie regretted his outburst. “Now, in another matter: I’ve appointed Jim to serve as temporary CEO and invited him for a meeting on Monday. I thought by then I’d be able to tell him about the acquisition of the company, but it appears I need him now more than ever. Regarding possible plans for saving the company, give me a few hours to think about it, and if I need your help, I won’t hesitate to ask.” Ronnie prepared to leave the room.