The Face Transplant

by R Arundel

  Dr. Michael Coulson has a slight build. He has delicate features with a small bird-like mouth. “Nice to see you again. I see you have brought your better half.”

  “Hi, I’m Heather.”

  “Great to meet you.”

  The waiter passes. “Caipirinha for everyone?” They all take a Caipirinha.

  Michael says, “This is Francesca, a visiting professor.”

  Francesca shakes Matthew’s hand with a firm grip. “Nice to meet you.”

  Matthew asks, “How do you know Mike?”

  “I’m a visiting biochemistry prof. Michael gave a great talk at my university a while back. And you are?”

  “Steven Jardine, research fellow of Dr. Rasulov down in New York.”

  Matthew realizes that she did not get a look at him in the operating room; she was in a rush to clean up. In any case it doesn’t matter since he is wearing the face of Steven Jardine.

  “Sure. Dr. MacAulay is in that group.” Francesca studies Steven Jardine very closely as she speaks.

  Sarah says, “He seems to be the one everyone asks for these days.”

  Francesca says, “He certainly is making a name for himself.”

  Francesca abruptly leaves.

  Matthew is amazed. He has no reason to be, but he still is amazed. Michael, a man who knows him well, has no idea who he is. The transplant is seamless. No hint of surgery. He is Steven Jardine.

  Michael says, “I’ve read your resume, We should talk. So tell me about Matthew?”

  “Most of my time was with Dr. Rasulov, so there’s not much to tell.”

  Bryan says, “I’m lucky to have worked with Mike; he’s a great guy to work for.”

  Matthew says, “Bryan has been singing your praises, Dr. Coulson.”

  Michael takes a sip of his Caipirinha. “He better. I got him his job.”

  Matthew says, “I wanted to come by the lab to discuss the research fellowship opportunities.”

  Michael says, “Sounds good. Where are you staying?”

  “The Dalacourt Inn.”

  “That’s a nice place. Rasulov is paying you too much. Why don’t you come by at nine a.m.?”

  Matthew deliberately misleads Michael. They are staying at Thurston Manor, even more expensive than the Dalacourt. The Thurston is one of the most exclusive hotels in the area and the last place Michael will look for a research fellow and his girlfriend.

  “Thank you very much. Bryan mentioned you were starting your holidays soon.”

  “I’ll be away for two weeks.”

  “Where are you going?”

  Bryan says, “He’s going to Canada, the Rocky Mountains. He’s an expert climber.”

  Matthew remembers that Michael is a solid amateur climber.

  Sarah says, “That sounds like fun.” Sarah takes a large gulp of her Caipirinha.

  Michael asks, “You climb?”

  “No, but I have friends who do.”

  “If you ever get the urge or want some lessons, give me a call. I’d love to train you. You never get the feeling anywhere else as you do on a climb high above the clouds.”

  With that Dr. Michael Coulson is gone. Bryan soon departs. Matthew and Sarah sit at the table. They are each served a bowl of stew in little black cauldrons. They look like small versions of a stew pot.

  Matthew says, “Feijoada.”

  “I’ve never had this before.”

  “I backpacked through Brazil; this is the most famous dish. It’s a stew. It’s made with beef, pork, and different smoked meats. All slow-cooked.”

  Sarah tastes her stew. “It’s very good.”

  “It really is; they have brought this recipe right from Brazil. This place is going to do well.”

  They savor the rich stew and listen to the Brazilian music.

  Sarah says, “I think the compound that Tom developed was behind his murder.” She finishes her drink and gets another.

  “Yeah, I’ve been thinking along the same lines. The Steriazol is the key. That’s the real breakthrough.”

  “Where does it come from?”

  “The basic precursor is from a plant, Idolatis Etiensis. The plant is unique to one region of China. All the transplant centers in the world get their supply from one manufacturer.”

  “Raymond Chiang’s company.”

  Matthew looks at her.

  “I did some research while at the library. I had a lot of extra time. You remember that.”

  Matthew says, “I think we need to go to Chiang. If we can convince him to talk to us, he may have some answers. We need to see his list of customers.”

  “Did you ever ask yourself why you’re not in a committed relationship?”

  “It’s something I know I would be no good at.”

  Sarah is about to say something when she notices the sweat on Matthew’s forehead. “Your forehead is sweating.”

  Matthew wipes his forehead. He looks at the sweat, but he doesn’t feel a thing.

  He brings his watch up to his ear. They both can hear the alarm ringing, three short, continuous beeps. The face of the watch has switched the main part of the dial to countdown mode. There is fifteen minutes left. Plenty of time, no need to panic. They leave the restaurant and walk along the street to get a cab.

  Sarah is limping. Matthew is not sure what to make of it; it looks like her leg has fallen asleep. He helps her.

  “I get this way sometimes if I drink too much. Guess I drank too much.”

  In the cool night air, the temperature quickly drops below eighty degrees, and the watch stops beeping. Matthew gets into the cab with Sarah.

  “Steven Jardine is good for you.”

  “He just looks good to you now because you’re a little tipsy.”

  “No. You’re much more fun when you have this new face.”

  “I’m just too tired to fend off your questions.”

  “I’m not kidding. Steven Jardine is good. It must be some type of psychological thing.”

  “Let’s just get back to the hotel. You need some sleep.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  President Middleton asks, “How is the bioweapons program proceeding?”

  “The Freeze is meeting all the criteria.” Quentin loves the nickname, The Freeze. He doesn’t know how people ever remember the proper name.

  Gilbert Lee says, “We’re almost there. WMD238 has high infectivity, high virulence.”

  The president says, “Meaning?”

  Gilbert Lee shifts in his seat. “Meaning it will, within hours, cause death. An effective and efficient delivery system has been tested and works.”

  The Chief of Staff asks, “It doesn’t kill dogs—is that true?”

  “Correct, for some reason it will only infect humans. Other species are unaffected.

  The president says, “So The Freeze will kill me, but my dog is safe?”

  “Correct.”

  “I like it, the ultimate bioweapon.”

  Chief of Staff asks, “How is the vaccine coming?”

  Gilbert says, “There is no availability.”

  “When do you anticipate having the vaccine?”

  “We are close. We will have one soon.”

  The president takes a moment to look at each person in the room. “I don’t have to tell you how important this weapon system is to our defenses. We will have the capability to defend against any nation. Have we decentralized the weapon yet?”

  Quentin says, “I have held off decentralizing the compound across the country.”

  “Why?”

  Gilbert says, “It’s too dangerous at this stage. As soon as we have the vaccine perfected and can create vaccine for each center, only then will we deploy.”

  The Chief of Staff says, “I fully agree.”

  The president says, “These are the weapons of our future, gentlemen. Guns, airplanes are over. Steel and iron useless. Bioweapons, facial transplantation, these are the weapons of our time.”

  Edith Clarke attempts to placate the president.
“We will deploy very soon. No other country is anywhere near us.”

  “Just like no other country has the energy weapon. Then we saw it used against our own man, Dr. Grabowski.”

  Edith Clarke says, “I’ve personally gone over the intelligence on this file. No other country has any capability like The Freeze. No other country is anywhere close to developing it.”

  The president asks, “Are you willing to put your job on the line?”

  Edith Clarke says, “We are the only ones with this technology. I am willing to stake my job on it.”

  “You just have.”

  Gilbert Lee says, “Edith is correct.”

  “I don’t need to remind you that we are in a race. Other countries are working on this too. Our facial transplant advantage may be over, and we need to keep our edge. The ability to deploy the bioweapons from anywhere in the country is a tactical advantage.”

  Quentin says, “Agreed, but at this stage, if anything goes wrong, we have no antidote at the centers. The delay is a few weeks at most. The vaccine will be ready soon.”

  The president says, “It’s my understanding the canisters that hold The Freeze are ready. They will be deployed on missiles throughout the United States.”

  Gilbert Lee says, “Correct. When The Freeze canisters are mounted on these missiles, they can be programmed to go to anywhere in the world and detonated on command to release WMD238.”

  The president says, “Gilbert, use the term The Freeze. That long name makes me nervous.”

  “Sorry, Mr. President. The Freeze, once in position at these locations throughout the USA, will then be operational. Similar to our nuclear arsenal, we will have capability to launch these missiles armed with The Freeze. They can reach anywhere in the world. This is a deadly weapon.”

  Quentin says, “The antidote will be ready soon. The delay in arming the missiles with The Freeze will be short.”

  Gilbert Lee adds, “I think it’s best, Mr. President.”

  “We need our weapon deployed.”

  Chief of Staff says, “I have to agree with the president. We need to press our advantage. If our enemies were to attack our development site now, all would be lost.”

  Gilbert Lee says, “I’d like to hear Edith’s opinion. She was at one time the country’s leading expert on bioweapons when she worked for that company in Palo Alto.”

  Chief of Staff says, “That’s right, you worked for that genetics start up run by Kofi Adebayo.”

  Edith Clarke says, “Gilbert, my work was many moons ago, but thanks for remembering. Kofi sold that company and went on to other things.”

  “You guys made a killing.”

  Edith Clarke says, “Kofi got out at just the right time. We were well-paid for our efforts.”

  Gilbert Lee asks, “What do you think? Should we deploy before the vaccine?”

  “I feel we should wait for the vaccine to be created and even do some tests to make sure the vaccine has no serious side effects. Some people talk of an imminent threat. How likely is that? There are no major tensions between us and any of our rivals. All intel shows we are all at peace. I told you I’m prepared to back that statement up with my job.”

  Chief of Staff asks, “Terrorists?”

  Edith says, “I agree a terrorist can strike at any time, but there’s no chatter right now. How likely is a major strike out of the clear blue sky?”

  The room hushes; Edith’s sarcasm is obvious to everyone. Probably everyone except Edith, who has the career-limiting habit of saying just what she thinks. Not always an asset when dealing with the Commander-in-Chief.

  The president says, “So Edith, I’m a fool to worry about a strike on the US? I’m a fool to make us ready to strike back at any time?”

  Silence.

  “As Commander-in-Chief, I am directing you, Mr. Quentin Taylor, Secretary of Defense, to distribute the WMD238, The Freeze, to all the sites as outlined in our plan as previously approved. That’s an order. Do I make myself clear?” The president closes his briefing book.

  “Yes, Mr. President.”

  ***

  Liam nurses his beer at the bar and watches the news. He is not concentrating. He is just allowing all the information Matthew has given him to sink in.

  Liam says, “We are relatively safe. I wasn’t followed.”

  Matthew says, “No one is going to recognize me with this face.”

  “I tell you, Steven Jardine looks nothing like the real you. It’s a little creepy actually.”

  “Tom could have made a bundle patenting this stuff and bringing it to a drug company.”

  “I know it’s not nice to think that way, but I agree. He could have sold this thing to surgeons around the world. Invisible scars that heal in minutes. This is better than the old snake oil salesmen.”

  “And this is real.”

  “It’s freaky.”

  Matthew says, “Patricia may have some more information about Tom’s death than she let on. Kofi shared some interesting things. I think I may pay her a visit.”

  “What did Kofi say?”

  “Kofi gave her some money in the past to settle a gambling debt. She swore never to gamble again. Kofi told her if she ever did, he would tell Tom about the money he had given her. She had come back to him just recently. She had run up a huge debt. She claimed her life was in danger.”

  “What did Kofi do?”

  “He refused to give her the money and threatened to tell Tom.”

  “Did he?”

  “No, because Tom died a week later.”

  “It’s a stretch from gambling debt to murder and face transplants.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Take Sarah—you two can pose as federal agents.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  Liam looks up at the television. The bar is very noisy and he has to strain to hear the newscast. The lead story is a picture of Matthew. Liam looks over; Matthew is watching as well. The newscaster urges anyone who sees this man or knows of his whereabouts to contact the police. The waitress brings their drinks.

  The waitress speaks to Matthew. “I hope they catch the bastard. He killed a mother.”

  Liam and Matthew sip their drinks. The waitress leaves.

  Liam says, “You’re a hunted man, but no one recognizes you as you are. You’re invisible.”

  “I’m with the waitress. I hope they catch the bastard. Amanda was a great friend, and she endured more than most will ever realize.”

  ***

  Jason reviews the report on the murder of Amanda Soto. He is impressed by her life. Her ex-husband was a violent alcoholic. She stayed with him a long time. Matthew had done a nose job on her to repair a severely broken nose. She got a divorce, rebuilt her life. Jason wondered what finally gave her the courage to leave. She divorced soon after Matthew got to New York. Amanda was a true every day hero. It was a sad loss of life.

  Celerie asks, “Did you pick up your charcoal suit yet?”

  Celerie sits on her sofa. She has her feet on Jason, who is sitting at the other end.

  “In a few weeks.”

  “I want you to be there for my fitting,” says Celerie.

  “No problem.” Jason does not look up from the notes.

  “I want your suit to match. Did you send the swatch like I asked?”

  Jason keeps reading his notes.

  “Are you listening to me?”

  Jason keeps reading. “I’m listening.”

  “No you’re not. You’re always bringing home work lately. Why is it that I can do all my work at the office?”

  “I had my tailor send a swatch of cloth to your dress designer. See, I am listening.”

  “Good. She has a few dresses picked out. It’s going to be a great wedding. The fitting’s next Thursday.”

  “I’m pretty busy. Can I give it a pass?”

  “Jason, what’s up?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve been acting strange.”

  “Strange?”


  “Like now, you can’t look me in the eye.”

  “Nothing’s up.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m fine. I’ll be there. Let me get back to work.”

  Celerie goes to her home office and sits at the desk. She reviews the sketches for an upcoming TV commercial for one of her clients.

  Jason shouts from the other room. “How many surgeons would know where the nurses they work with live?”

  “Not many. My uncle is a neurosurgeon and he can’t even remember the nurses’ names.”

  “You’d have to be involved with them, wouldn’t you?”

  “If you were doing the deed, you’d definitely know where they lived.”

  Jason closes the file. “Matthew killed his scrub nurse.”

  “Really?” says Celerie through the open study door.

  “I’m positive.”

  “I don’t believe it.” Celerie opens her sketch book.

  “We have a witness who saw him go into her place.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  The president sits in the Oval Office, admiring the picture of his wife and their four kids.

  The soldier who brings in the briefcase is medium height, more bookish than marine.

  “Good morning, Mr. President.”

  “Good morning.”

  “I have been assigned to go over the codes for the bioweapon deployment. Everything is in place.”

  “Great, I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks. Let’s get going.”

  “This is a brand new weapon system. We modeled the launch procedure after the codes for the nuclear weapon deployment. So in a sense, you are already familiar with the launch procedure. All the team did is reconfigure launch sequence algorithms for the bioweapons. The procedure will be virtually identical. We have used this as a template for any new weapon system that may be developed in the future.”

  “There will be only one Football?”

  “Yes.”

  The soldier opens the briefcase. “The Football is really a briefcase divided into two sections. The top has a series of documents. The bottom has a laptop.”

  The president says, “Red paper with the black type is the nuclear stuff.”

  “Correct, same as before, but now we have this light green paper with black type. That’s the bioweapons info.”