by Roddy Murray
David led the way to a shiny people-carrier which was waiting outside. It had blacked out windows and inside was a driver in a blazer who could have been the brother of Bob from the Prestwick private car company. The driver nodded and smiled at Frank who nodded and smiled back. The vehicle pulled off smoothly once they were all in and the seatbelts fastened, heading out of the hotel and away from the airport in the tail-end of the rush-hour traffic round Edinburgh.
Frank was liking the sound of all this more and more. He had been ready for three weeks intensive in the gym but by the sound of it he was going to have a much easier time of it. He would be wired for sound right enough most of the time, but if all he had to do was eat, sleep and shit... well he had managed all of that for years without being paid for it. This David guy seemed to be cool about the whole thing and if he was in charge of most of it then Frank had a pretty leisurely time ahead.
"Although you are booked into the Hilton for three weeks you will have to sleep over at the research centre for some of the testing sessions", said David.
A sudden alarm bell rang in Frank's head thinking of Charlotte from Carshalton. "When would that start?" he asked, sounding as nonchalant as possible.
"Probably the middle of week two, I guess," said David. "Most of the first week will be medicals, and calibrating the instruments. Today is mainly meeting the team and a full medical. Hope you don't mind a slow start. The guys we are working with are a good crowd. You'll like them; two guys from MIT and two from Belfast. One of the Yanks calls himself Irish though."
"Result!" thought Frank. A slow start would be fine for him after his nocturnal activities last night and by the sound of it there would be no interruptions to his plans for the next two nights either.
As they drove round the bypass to avoid Edinburgh itself David kept going with his run-down of the weeks ahead. Frank’s results from before had indicated a very strong determination, which was of particular interest to David. He was researching the link between brain activity and physical health and was hoping to find a correlation between strong will within the brain's function and a resulting process of health improvement. In simple terms, was it possible for the brain to improve physical health by wanting to do so?
Frank had listened to the start of it with interest, but as the child doctor warmed to his subject Frank got left behind. He looked out of the window as they made their way slowly round the bypass in the heavy traffic. They passed a sign for Redford and Dreghorn barracks and Frank recognised the area from years back when he had been involved in The Edinburgh Military Tattoo and had been quartered in Redford Barracks. What a drafty shithole that had been, he remembered. Not a patch on the Hilton.
After what seemed an age but had only been about 40 minutes they arrived at a large and prosperous looking business park on the South side of Edinburgh and pulled up in the car park of a plush unit with a tasteful sign at the entrance which read, Nebus Bioscience. It might as well have said‘money no object’, thought Frank. The unit itself was immaculate with a manicured lawn round the sides which were visible to Frank. There was a water feature in front of the door with a luscious selection of exotic looking plants growing in and around the large pond. A fountain shot up about a metre in the middle and a waterfall babbled quietly in amongst the plants at one end. There were seats dotted here and there around the pond and in the grassy areas to the sides. A footpath snaked its way in and about the whole garden feature, presumably allowing Dr David and his guys thinking space when they needed it.
"I'm impressed," said Frank who was very impressed. "This looks like a high rent district."
"Actually Nebus Bioscience owns it, lock, stock and two smoking barrels. Or Bobby's uncle does, which is the same thing as far as I can make out. You'll meet him while you’re here. He's due in the middle of your third week. He scares the shit out of me to be honest but spends most of the time with Bobby talking about the American defence contracts they run here. It's all in a separate section of the plant which I don't have access to. That's where the money comes from to pay for this, I gather. Certainly doesn't come from any of my work yet."
As they left the people carrier "Bob's brother" nodded a friendly farewell, checked his watch and took a paperback thriller out of the glove compartment. They walked over to the entrance and through the silent automatic doors to reception. A young Scots girl sat behind the desk beside a large man in a uniform which said security on the sleeves. His haircut and broken nose said ex-forces and he eyed Frank up and down with more attention than most visitors got.
The girl smiled at Dr David and welcomed Frank to Nebus Bioscience and hoped he would enjoy his stay. She issued him with a badge which said‘visitor’ and had been prepared in advance. In small type the badge read "access areas A, B and C only." As easy as ABC thought Frank absently as he stared down the front of the girl's blouse. Her badge let the world know she was called Fiona and Frank had said, "Thank you Fiona," as he took his badge from her. He had seen no hint of interest from her but then he was here for three weeks. Plenty of time to wear her down.
"What's in A, B and C sections," he asked David.
"Everything but D section. That's the defence stuff. Don't worry about it. You can go anywhere in the plant that your card will open. D section has secure doors and two security guys there at all times. You'll probably never see it. It's nothing to do with why you’re here anyway. Let's go and meet the guys you'll be working with."
Frank was starting to warm to Doc David. He looked like a school kid but had an air of confidence about him which suggested he knew his stuff inside out. The other thing Frank had noticed was David's lack of interest in his army days. Dr Johnson or Boswell, or maybe it had been Paddy, had once said "a man thinks less of himself for never having been a soldier." The upshot of that for Frank was a lot of questions from guys over the years about army life. He had also had to sort out the occasional military fantasist, all of whom seemed to have served in the SAS, when they tried to slag him off. Christ he thought, the SAS would be the biggest regiment in the British Army if they were all being honest. He liked sorting them out.
David had asked him no questions what-so-ever about the Paras, the army, guns, killing people or any of that usual shit. In other words he wasn't interested in it. His enthusiasm was all directed at his work and Frank’s involvement in it, which David was looking forward to. Maybe he was gay, Frank thought, but here too, there had been no obvious interest.
David led the way up a staircase from the reception desk towards an open canteen area above. There, at a table, were four youngsters, two lads and two girls. David made straight for them and they stood up as he approached.
"Meet the guys," he said and introduced them to Frank one at a time.
Frank was relieved that David used the term "guys" to include two girls, one of whom was quite tasty. The other reminded him of Velma from Scooby Doo. The attractive one may not have been Daphne, but she would certainly do on a quiet night as far as Frank was concerned. He noted her name was Bernadette, from Belfast, and wondered what she would think about his two tours of Northern Ireland but, hey, hopefully we were all friends now after all. Frank had grown up telling racist, sexist and sectarian jokes like everyone else he knew in the west of Scotland. Like the rest of the country, though, he had travelled a journey of tolerance and discovery to the point where he would have objected to any jokes against somebody's race or religion. Sexism was work in progress with Frank but he was giving it his best shot. Hopefully he was ready to chat up Bernadette whatever her views on the troubles might be.
Velma turned out to be called Shona and the two boys were Jon without an 'H' and Brian. They both looked like Shaggy but could have looked like Scooby Doo for all Frank cared. They all shook his hand and in fairness Frank didn't try to hurt theirs. They seemed a nice bunch who were looking forward to wiring Frank up to their computers. That was fine by him and Bernadette was a potential bonus after Charlotte legged it back to Carshalton. Maybe even before
, but why be greedy? If he had a few sleep-overs coming up at the research facility, why not spend them with Bernie holding his hand? What was recorded on the computers as a result was not his problem. Maybe David could even use the data to cure people of something.
After a reasonable cup of coffee and some impressive home baking, David said he had stuff to do but asked Jon without an 'H' to show him round. Not fucking Jon, thought Frank. He'd never liked Shaggy and didn't want a grand tour from him now, even if Dr Bartleman turned out to be the Ghost after all. Fortunately Jon wasn't up for it either. Apparently he was behind reprogramming something needed for Frank's visit and needed to head straight back.
Great, one down two other ugly fuckers to go. He smiled at Daphne; sorry, her name was Bernadette, he corrected himself. She looked slightly shy as she returned his gaze but came up trumps by telling David that she was up to date with her analysis of his previous results and could give him the tour. David sounded genuinely grateful as he thanked her and asked Jon to get a move on with his programming.
"Aye and try to find yourself a fucking H for your name," thought Frank, chuckling to himself.
"Right, Mr Chisholm, do you want a quickie or the full works," asked Bernadette with no sign of irony in her voice.
"Oh, the full works please," said Frank with a wink which he thought might have been lost on young Bernie. "And Mr Chisholm was my father who died some time ago. Call me Frank."
Bernie used the name from then on but said it with reluctance, as if she may well have regarded him as a father figure. If she had been studying his results from the previous study she would know that he wasn't anybody's typical father, but maybe he could work on her as the weeks progressed.
They went from the cafeteria/restaurant back down the stairs to reception and started a grand tour of Nebus Bioscience's Scottish research facility. It was all impressive to Frank, who even took his eyes off Bernie's skinny little arse for some of the time. To the right of reception was a corridor with offices off on both sides. She pointed out her own office which was labeled Dr Bernadette MacGuinness. Well, well thought Frank, so much for his picture of her in the typing pool. As it turned out there was no typing pool. The offices were where the team went to catch up on their own work or analyse results they had worked on together, she had explained. Each had their own specialisation, she continued, and had been head-hunted by Nebus from their respective Universities as being the best in their own field. It turned out that Velma and both Shaggies were Doctors too. You live and learn, Frank thought.
After the offices they headed left at the far end of the corridor into an open space with the type of science desks Frank remembered from school but without the vandalism and graffiti. Science hadn't interested him then and he was not surprised to find nothing had changed. Partly it was clear that none of his new, young friends worked in this section. Secondly nothing exciting appeared to be happening at any of the desks. No testtubes, no Bunsen burners and no water taps. None of the toys Frank had been disciplined for playing with at school.
The tour continued with Bernadette leading him on another left turn and down a corridor with doors on either side. The doors were all windowless and designated as suites. The Penicuik suite turned out to be David's pad and Bernadette opened the door using her card.
"Your card will open this too and any other place you need to get into," she said as she held the door open for him. Inside Brian and David were sitting at computer terminals and Velma (or Shona) was checking over a collection of leads ranged round what looked like a cross between a hospital bed and a mortuary slab. They all looked up, shouted "Hi" and then got back to their own tasks. Bernadette took Frank round the room, explaining each piece of apparatus in turn. When she reached the bed she explained that this was where the calibration of the equipment would be carried out but once that was done he would have a mobile version on his back which he should get used to wearing. This would provide the volume of data they required as he carried out a wide range of activities. The Penicuik suite comprised a range of rooms including a fully equipped gym, changing facilities and a bedroom set up, which Frank was disappointed to note had an enormous one way mirror viewable from an adjoining room. When she had finished the tour of this room she turned to David and asked what else she should cover.
He checked the clock and said: "Shit, Frank's due to meet Doctor Gibson in five minutes. Best get him over there pronto."
"Let's go," she said and led the way the way out of the suite and along the corridor to the end where she opened a door and headed across a broad hallway to another door requiring the use of her card. On the right of the hallway, Frank noticed a large desk with another useful-looking security guard sitting behind it. His badge said Greg but nothing else.
Again Frank was eyed up and assessed with more interest than usual although the guard nodded and smiled a professional smile. If Frank had got this far with that skinny doctor he must be meant to be here. Either way he wasn't trying to get into D section which the man guarded with a well-paid concern. That meant Frank was none of his business. As the skinny doctor passed through the door with the new guy who looked like a boxer, the guard's colleague returned with two coffees in Nebus mugs.
"Did I miss anything?" he asked as he returned and placed one of the mugs in front of his colleague. "New guy getting shown around. Bit of a hard case by the look of him. Guess he isn't a boffin but who knows? That skinny Irish lass with the flat chest is showing him the ropes. Thanks for the coffee, mate."
Chapter Eight
Blaine headed back to his room and phoned Delores on his cell phone.
"Hi D, fancy coming over to my place? I've ordered some champagne on the company's tab and don't fancy drinking it alone. We need to talk."
"What about Dan?" asked Delores.
"Forget about Dan. He's busy in his room and will be all afternoon." He would tell her when she had arrived that Dan knew about them and didn't give a monkey's at the moment. If he told her any earlier she would be worried for her job and he had other bombshells to drop.
The Estonian waiter arrived with the champagne and two glasses at the exact moment that Delores arrived at Blaine’s door. The waiter didn't bat an eyelid. He'd seen it all before with bosses and their secretaries. He hadn't seen it packaged quite as well as this secretary but he was professionally trained in his home country and kept a friendly air about his delivery without any winking or nudging in his comments or actions.
"Thanks bud," said Blaine, handing him a twenty pound note in his haste to get Delores alone.
The waiter took it with genuine thanks. Tips were pooled for all staff to share, but not this one, he thought. With a last sneaky look at Delores as he headed for the door he thought to himself, "lucky old bastard."
Delores rose to her feet once the waiter had left and kissed Blaine passionately on the lips. She looked worried and he was touched to note from her manner that it had nothing to do with the possibility of losing her job.
"Tell me what's happening, Blaine," she pleaded. "We shouldn't risk meeting like this while Dan is still here." Blaine handed her a glass of champagne which she took with a look of confusion.
"Dan knows," he said gently, "and probably has done for some time. It is not important to him at the moment for a number of reasons. He is more concerned about losing me and my money making ability because I'm ill."
"How ill are you?" asked Delores with real concern in her voice.
"I have cancer and it is pretty well established," Blaine replied after a brief pause. "The only chance I have is an experimental procedure available here in Scotland. Dan's nephew Dr Robert Bartleman is the leading man in this field and is primed and ready to go. It is risky but he and Dan are convinced it will be successful. Either way I don't have much choice. Dan has set everything up and it can happen within a week or two."
Blaine stopped Delores from saying anything, as he knew what he wanted to say and didn't want his flow interrupted. He was tired and knew he only
had enough energy to go through this once. Then he would need to get his strength back to go through similar with Beth and the kids.
"Dan knows about us. I told him I wanted to come clean with all concerned, and if things go well to set up a new home life with you. I need to know if that is what you want too."
Delores looked at him, taken aback by everything he had said.
"I want to be with you for good. Yes," she said. "If you want that I want it too. What about your wife? What about the children?"
"I'll tell Beth and the children. It's over with her and I'll see the children as often as I can, which should be more often than at the moment, especially if we aren't touring the world half the year."
"Are you sure about what you are saying? You might get bored if we are together openly. Maybe it won't be as exciting. We both need to be 100% sure before breaking up your family."
"I will never be bored with you. No man could be but I want to get well again and spend a lifetime with you." Blaine meant it as he said it. "Dan won't be keen to have us working together. Too cosy he would say."
"I know, but if we are going ahead with this I am going to choose your next PA and she will be old or ugly or preferably both."
Blaine laughed and gave her a long, lingering kiss on the lips. More champagne was needed and poured and they laughed and joked for a while, all tension released for the moment.
Then they made love. Not the greatest ever they agreed but Blaine was tired and Delores knew it. The act had been a necessary sealing of their bargain if nothing else. Afterwards Blaine laid out the plans for the next few weeks and Delores, although disappointed at not being with Blaine initially, was pleased it would be her who nursed him through what lay ahead. All of it with Dan's blessing it seemed.
Blaine fell asleep after that and Delores tucked him up in bed, realising he needed his rest now. She kissed him gently on the forehead and went back to her room to think through everything she had just learned. Blaine’s illness was a blow it was true but she had known for some time that something wasn't right. Now she had the details, bad as they were, she could plan and help him now as never before. The prize was there too of being with him for good, without having to skulk about all the time fearful of discovery and the ten o'clock walk when Dan found out.