by Roddy Murray
She seemed very impressed with his tales of army life and tours of Northern Ireland and Bosnia. He'd been in the first Gulf War and Gulf 2, 'The Sequel' as he called it. She laughed at that and moved her hand to hold his. They finished their desserts quickly after that, declined the offer of coffee from the waiter and headed for Frank's room at a trot.
Chapter Six
The next day Blaine slept deep and slept late. Instead of getting up at his customary six o'clock he didn't even wake till nine and then he was groggy and dosed over again till almost ten o'clock. When he did get up he was still a bit hazy from the Zopiclone but he felt rested. It took a minute or two to remember the conversations of the night before and when he did for a moment or two he wondered if they had all been a dream. But slowly he came round to realising that he was in fact dying and Dan was in fact mad. Or more accurately had proposed a mad scheme to him which sounded unlikely to solve problem number one.
After a shower and a coffee made with the room's instant beverages kit, he dressed and went down to breakfast around half ten. Officially breakfast finished at ten but normal rules did not apply to Dan Bartleman so Blaine was not surprised to see Dan and Delores waiting for him at a table in the dining room with a waiter standing by to take any food orders, whatever time they might come. Blaine said good morning to them both and ordered his usual full English.
When the waiter had gone to pass the order to a nodoubt-furious chef, Blaine looked at the other two to gauge the mood of the house. Dan was Dan and was looking back at Blaine to assess his mental state and to see if he had reached a decision. Delores looked as if she could have used one of Old Vic's Zopiclone's but was as beautiful as ever, if slightly dark around the eyes from lack of sleep.
Truth be told, Blaine had been thinking as he showered and dressed. If he treated the situation as he would a problem with the business, without any emotion, then it was really quite straight forward. The choice was simple. Live for a few months in rapidly failing health and then die, leaving behind a wife and kids and never seeing Delores again being the first, rather stark option. The alternative was to go ahead with Dan and young Bobby 'the boffin' Bartleman's hair brained scheme and die much sooner or if they were right and he was the mad one, survive in good health as if nothing had happened, albeit in someone else’s body.
The second option certainly sounded the brighter of the two. Even if he didn't make it and his brain fried in one of Bobby's super-computers he would at least avoid a lingering death. The chance of surviving did appeal to him though. He was essentially a fairly moral individual outside of the boardroom and he had issues to clarify regarding the 'donor' but these, as Dan had said, were details to be worked out.
He looked at Delores who was trying hard to look like a merely concerned PA whose boss was unwell rather than a worried girlfriend whose lover was very unwell. She looked back with a look of concern but a questioning look too, which confirmed that Dan had still kept her out of the full loop.
They made small talk till Blaine’s breakfast arrived, at which point Dan said he had calls to make and would like to speak to Blaine in his room at midday. Blaine recognised this as a meeting where a decision had to be made. Doesn't give folk much time to adjust, he thought to himself before turning to Delores.
"What has Dan told you so far?" he asked in a gentle voice.
"He says you’re very ill and need treatment then rest. He says you can make a complete recovery but it all depends how you approach it. I don't really understand. I could hardly ask him any more without giving the game away. You know his attitude to office affairs."
Blaine did. He knew he would be safe enough while he was making Dan lots of money but Delores would be seen as a potential distraction to the process and would be toast.
"Dr Zelnik thinks I'm dying of cancer. Dan thinks his nephew Bobby can maybe save me with some radical new treatment." It was a very abridged version but Blaine didn't want to go into any more details at the moment. Not until he had a chance to speak to Dan again.
Delores asked lots of questions about the cancer and he told her pretty much all he knew. Fortunately she didn't ask much about the treatment. He'd mentioned after the first question about it that he didn't really understand any details but that Dan had already spoken to his nephew who was on the case. They talked about other shared things for a time after that. Blaine loved the way she accepted whatever he could spare of himself and his time during the busy daily or annual schedule. He was even more convinced that he loved her and almost promised himself, though not her yet, that if he beat this one he would leave Beth and spend the rest of his life with her.
Delores looked round to see if anyone was watching them, but there was no one to be seen and she suddenly rose to her feet and kissed him quickly but firmly on the lips. He smiled at her with a rare gentleness in his face and knew he would do whatever he had to if there was a chance of more time with her. If he had been in any doubt about it before he was in no doubt now. If Dan and Bobby had a way of saving him in any shape or form then he would take it. If it didn't work then he would peg out early but still looking healthy enough to be remembered fondly by all concerned. Especially Delores.
They sat in silence for a while with nothing else really to say. Eventually it was time to head off to Dan's room and sort out a plan of campaign. Blaine kissed Delores as he left without even looking round to see if anyone was watching. He was past caring about such trivia. She smiled and briefly held his hand, letting it trail out of hers as he turned and walked off to the elevator.
Dan was in the biggest room available in the hotel. It was still small by US standards but it was a roomy enough suite compared to Blaine’s room. Dan was sitting in front of his lap-top and was on the phone as well, apparently doing two things at the same time. He looked up and smiled at Blaine as he entered and motioned him to sit on one of the comfortable chairs ranged round the table. Blaine sat down suddenly weary despite his solid night's sleep. For the first time he realised that he was ill and it was affecting his energy levels. He must have been fighting it and working through the fatigue for weeks if not months. Now that he knew the worst he seemed to lack the resolve to fight it in the same way. Maybe it was just the after effects of the sleeping pill, but he suspected it was more than that.
After a long conversation on the phone, Dan turned and faced Blaine with his full attention. Again he was looking to gauge how the younger man was holding up and to look for the resolve that had made him so successful as head of Nebus. He seemed confident there was enough of it to continue without further ado.
"Let's talk turkey," Dan began. "You are the most successful CEO within the Nebus Holdings group and you make the shareholders a lot of money. Our contingency planning around senior figures would regard your loss to the company as a force majeure. We are prepared, therefore to do whatever we can to prevent that happening, whatever that requires. In the circumstances the options are very narrow. We are looking at bringing forward the next stage of testing on our brain mapping programme to include you and therefore give you what Bobby and I believe to be a good chance of a full life."
He moved forward in his chair and in a softer tone added, "I also regard you as a friend and want to help you as such in any way I can. Have you had a chance to consider the options?"
Blaine nodded and took a deep breath. A process which he noticed now hurt a little bit in his guts. "I am sceptical of this process Robert's been working on but it looks like I have no other option. I need to understand the details a bit better and don't understand what happens if it does work. How would my wife and family react? How on earth could you find a donor willing to swap places? My body is not exactly highly desirable real estate. I am in this job by paying attention to the details and these things don't square as far as I can see. Help me here, Dan."
Dan nodded, pleased to see that Blaine was dealing with his current difficulties in broadly similar terms to a business problem. That suggested he was dealing with it better tha
n most would have.
"Okay son, I appreciate what you’re saying and as ever let's take it one thing at a time and work through the problem. I spoke to Bobby earlier and he has been combing through personal records on our data base and the data bases of our associates, including the military and other agencies I am not at liberty to name. I spoke to him this morning and he has found as close to a perfect match as we could hope for from a research project that was carried out here in England some years back. There were four possibles worldwide but this guy looks a lot like you too and has money problems from three exwives and countless children. He's some kind of veteran, airborne or similar who believes he can beat the cancer with a special diet he has developed. I hope he's right, but either way he will sign up for $2 million. One for him and one to square things with his cast-offs. Good news for you is, he is as fit as a fiddle and has no health problems whatsoever. Bobby phoned him this morning and is waiting for dates but we have told him not to hang around."
Blaine stared at Dan looking for any down side but there was none. He couldn't believe how easy that sounded, but then the world was full of strange people and many of them had money problems. He nodded and waited for Dan to continue.
"As for the problem with your wife, I want you to think long and hard about this one. It has not escaped my notice that you and Delores are more than just
colleagues." He put up his hand to make sure Blaine didn't try any pointless denial which might later prove embarrassing to them both. Blaine saved his breath and just nodded. After all they were talking turkey here and time was precious to him now, whatever lay ahead.
Dan went on without pulling punches. "This may be an opportunity to tidy things up a bit. Anyone facing what you're facing would reassess his life at this moment. What was important to him? His children certainly. His wife? Well perhaps for some, but Delores is a little bit out of the ordinary. Wouldn't it be nice to have an opportunity to come clean and be honest with all concerned? You hardly see Beth these days or your kids. If you saw your kids the same amount of time or more and went home to Delores every day without having to go half way round the world to do it; wouldn't that be a welcome outcome?"
Blaine didn't agree but similarly he didn't disagree with what Dan was proposing. Dan took his silence as a cue to continue.
"From the point of view of accepting the "New you", it will be far easier if you're with Delores. After all, she is a company gal and could be in on the whole deal from the outset. Even if she wanted to tell anyone we have her by the short and curlies legally. She tries to blab and we can use the courts to keep her quiet. Not that she would of course. Think long and hard about it Blaine."
Blaine was reeling a bit inside again but there was, within the dizziness, the outline of a firm plan taking shape. If he did nothing he was dead and it wouldn't really matter who he had wanted to be with. If Bobby could pull this off he would have a lifetime to spend with one woman or the other. Dan hadn't said it, but Blaine knew if he tried to continue seeing both his wife and Delores afterwards action would be taken. Dan didn't like conflict
endangering the productivity of his top people and he would show Delores the door. Facing the reality of his health problems was the perfect time for a clean break, a fresh start. Beth might even be more sympathetic in the circumstances. He wasn't quite so sure on that one though; she could be pretty determined when her dander was up. Hell hath no fury and all that. Still the main issue at this point was whether to risk the procedure or not. It sounded too fantastic to be true, but Dan wasn't the joking kind and seemed convinced.
"This airborne guy is definitely okay going along with it? Even that sum of money is little compensation for volunteering to have terminal cancer. I thought everyone in Britain got looked after by the state whether their ex contributed or not. Why the cash for his ex's?"
Dan looked at him without blinking. "It is a lot of money. We'll do it in a way his ex-wives are all off his back for good. Our English legal department are working on it now. We wouldn't have had to pay as much in the States where poor people are also scared people without health care. But we only had four possibles and I didn't think you would fancy waking up Black or Hispanic."
Blaine waited for Dan to chuckle but he didn't. That had obviously been the choice available. Blaine showing up again fitter but white could be explained away after a long absence. A change of ethnicity could not.
"He is all signed up and ready. If you ask me he must have landed on his head a few times, but apparently he is legally sane and thinks he can beat the cancer through diet and exercise. He feels obligated to the ex-wives and the kids, and who are we to argue?"
"I know this is all a shock and has hit you all of a sudden but I need an answer as soon as possible. There is a lot to organise on our side and you'll have to break the news to Beth and the kids one way or another. I have cancelled your scheduled commitments for the next month. I suggest you take the rest of today to think it over. If necessary sleep on it tonight and let me know first thing tomorrow. I wouldn't like it to take any longer to come back to me with an answer."
But there was no need. Blaine had made up his mind. Dying didn't appeal and if some poor sucker was prepared to take over his health problems then more fool him. Who knows; maybe he could beat it with diet and exercise? That would be his problem.
"Let's go for it, Dan. I'll need to let Beth and the kids know I'm ill but can get special treatment here which might save my life. If it works I'll tell her I've reevaluated my life and decided to leave her. If it doesn't work out and I die then she doesn't need to know anything about that. Meanwhile I'll tell Delores the basics and get her on side. You happy with that?"
Dan looked at Blaine, reassured that he was taking the whole thing remarkably well and would come out the other side ready to take the reins again and keep the money flowing.
"Sounds like a plan. I've got the jet here and we can fly back tonight. Delores can stay in England and tie in with Bobby. Don't cover too much with her at the moment. Bobby will brief her when she can see and believe the technology but only if it becomes really necessary. She'll stay with you through the whole shebang. Once you have told Beth and we have a date, you'll fly back and join her. All being well you'll be sorted within a month or so and can run things from our European office while you recuperate and adjust. After six months or so you come back to headquarters, literally a new man. We can shuffle some of your closest staff about so nobody who knows you too well is there at that point. Give me a list of anyone we can dump too."
They both stood and shook hands. The older man held his grip and added, "Good luck son."
Chapter Seven
The next morning Frank woke at half six. Charlotte had headed back to her room about three in the morning but the bed still smelled of her perfume. What a night he thought, and if Nebus didn't keep him too long each day he had the prospect of another two like it to look forward to. Still, work beckoned today and he better make a good first impression. A quick shower followed by a refreshing swim woke him up nicely. He was tired and could have slept a lot more but compared to waking up with one of his old hangovers this was a breeze.
He had a big healthy breakfast majoring in fruit and cereals which would give him energy throughout the day ahead. His previous experience, which was actually with some medical outfit retained by Nebus, involved a lot of time in the gym including days where food was reduced or even missing. The study had been about many things but part of it involved energy storage and retention. Frank had been starving by the end of some of the sessions and was planning ahead this time round. He looked round for Charlotte, but there was no sign. She had mentioned an early start, and he assumed she had either made it or was sound asleep, exhausted in her room upstairs. He smiled thinking it was probably the latter but he really didn't care. Her life; her problem.
After breakfast he changed into a business-like ensemble of smart jeans and his new jacket, packed his sports bag with the tools of his trade and headed
to the foyer to wait for his lift.
At ten past nine a skinny youth in scruffy jeans, tee-shirt and trainers walked through the entrance doors and straight up to Frank.
"Mr. Chisholm?" he inquired, putting out his hand to shake Frank's. Frank stood up and shook the hand, making sure it would hurt for a while afterwards.
"I'm David Simpson." Then after a pause, and with slight embarrassment suggesting the title was a fairly recent acquisition he wasn't quite used to yet, "Dr David Simpson, Nebus Bioscience."
Frank was surprised and didn't manage to hide it. David added, "Don't worry, it throws everyone. I'm 29 but still get ID'd in pubs."
Frank smiled his best friendly smile and added, "No kidding. So what are you a doctor of?" he asked with genuine interest.
"Well I'm a medical doctor first off then I have a PhD in....," he looked at Frank to gauge how technical to be. "Basically using computers in medicine," he précised, hitting the target audience perfectly.
"Like, using computers to analyse me in the gym?"
"Exactly, but taking it further with analysis of all aspects of people’s health and brain functions. Looking for patterns that are measurable and can contribute to early diagnosis and treatment of illnesses being the main area I'm working on. Exercising yes, but also sleeping, eating, walking, reading. Basically recording and analysing the brain in all its activities. That's what you are here for. We like the results of your previous tests and want to take those further. I'll be running the day-to-day stuff with you, under the overall guidance of the center’s Director, Dr Robert Bartleman. I think you spoke to him on the phone?"
"He's the Yank," said Frank.
"Yep, Yank's okay," he confided,” but don't use the term 'septic'. I find them a bit touchy about that nickname. He's okay and everyone calls him Bobby anyway. He is a genuine genius by the way. Even I struggle to keep up with him at times."