‘Ha, ha, very funny. One of your gorillas was a bit too enthusiastic. He obviously enjoys it too much. He seemed to have forgotten it was meant to be a light slapping.’
‘You’ll recover, I’m sure, stop whining.’
What a cheek thought Zac, but he didn’t want a scene so remained silent.
‘The goods are in the bag. But before I release the strap I’d like to see my payment.’
‘You sound like you don’t trust me,’ chuckled Cole.
‘Well, would you trust yourself if the positions were reversed?’ retorted Zac quickly, then felt worried he had gone a bit far, Cole was not a man to be underestimated.
Cole didn’t reply, but reached into his briefcase, removing a small carrier bag containing an envelope. He handed it to Zac who, leaving the notes inside the bag, rifled through them making a rough calculation. All appeared to be in order, including his bonus for the extra amount of PCP which he’d obtained due to his reaction yielding more than anticipated.
‘Thanks,’ replied Zac and removed the strap of the sports bag from around his body.
‘I’ll be on my way then, I guess it’s best if we leave separately.’
‘Just before you go, what about your little pal who needed sorting out?’
‘Well he survived the attack but I’ve thought about that, I was a bit hasty. I’ve covered myself,’ Cole raised an eyebrow, interested to hear the latest and why Zac had changed his stance. ‘In his eagerness to catch me out he’s dug a hole for himself. All the evidence points to him being the illicit drug synthesiser.’
‘Well I hope you’re right,’ said Cole sounding rather unconvinced.
‘Anyway, I’m finished with this line of work now, I’ll be able to clear my debt, so I’ll be able to have a more relaxed time from now on.’
‘Are you sure about that?’ asked Cole, staring at Zac with a steely look in his eye.
‘Completely. It’s been nice doing business with you,’ and he tucked the carrier bag containing his money inside his jacket and walked away.
Cole waited a few moments then took out his phone.
‘He’s just left,’ he said, ‘blue Nike baseball hat, grey chinos, black casual zip-up jacket, heading towards the town.’
He ended the call and started to walk back towards the town to collect his car which was parked in the multi-storey car park, his business completed for the day.
Chapter 36
Brett took a taxi to work on Friday morning. He was planning to leave work and go straight to the station to get the train to London for his university reunion. He didn’t fancy leaving his car at work overnight on Friday and besides, he’d then have to go and collect it on Saturday. He was dressed smartly in a well-cut suit, light blue shirt and silk tie. He wanted to look the part at his dinner that evening. He’d thought about staying in London overnight but couldn’t really justify charging it to the company and hotel rooms were extortionate so as the trains ran until midnight he would just come home.
He arrived just before 8 a.m. and was greeted by the security guard Mark.
‘Good morning Dr Chandler, not got your car this morning, in the garage is it?’
‘No, I’m going to London straight from work so it’s easier to get a taxi.’ Brett felt slightly annoyed at having to justify how he had arrived in work, and he detected a slight smirk when Mark asked if his car was in the garage, no doubt hoping to hear it had broken down or needed some work doing on it.
Brett continued past reception after this exchange but was halted when Mark called after him.
‘Just one more thing,’ Brett turned round to look at Mark, his face expressionless.
‘I wondered if there’s any more news about Nick, Nick Thomas. Heard that he was mugged, awful. I’ve tried his phone but I guess it was stolen and the SIM card cancelled, that’s why I can’t get through.’
‘I heard yesterday that he’s doing OK, he’s been badly beaten up, but he might be out of hospital by the weekend,’ and Brett continued to head for the stairs.
‘Oh, well thanks, I’ll try his number again over the weekend,’ shouted Mark.
Mark had been shocked to hear about the mugging, he’d heard it first on the local radio before he realised that he was connected to the victim. He couldn’t get his head around it, why had Nick been in that part of town? Nick and he had been out for a drink recently and they’d chosen somewhere in the town centre, he’d got the impression Nick would never entertain going to somewhere as dodgy as that. It just didn’t add up. He’d heard that Zac the newcomer had been with him, that explained his black eye and grazes on his face. Mark had a horrible feeling that it was connected with the suspicions they’d discussed.
He checked his watch and noticed it was just coming up to 8 a.m., and at that moment the receptionist Jenny arrived. So after a short chat, Mark picked up his walkie-talkie and fastened it to his belt and left through the main door of BioQex. As he was leaving a car turned into the car park, it looked like Zac’s. The driver’s window was down and he could see Zac was still sporting a black eye. He put his hand up and waved.
As he walked across the car park to join the footpath which meandered through the science park he noticed a car driving rather slowly. It approached the entrance to the BioQex car park but didn’t turn in. Perhaps someone who was lost. He wandered over to see if the driver needed directions. The science park was a bit confusing in its layout until you got used to it. As he approached the car, the driver gunned the engine and sped off. What was all that about thought Mark? As the car headed into the distance, Mark made a mental note of the registration, then entered it into his phone. He’d also noticed it was a black four by four but not the actual make or model. It was an odd time to be casing the place for a robbery, in broad daylight. It might be something completely innocent but speeding away when a security guard approached was rather suspicious behaviour none the less.
**
Brett arrived at his office to see Bob McKewan talking to Amanda.
‘Oh, here he is now,’ he said, getting up and heading straight for Brett. Bob always managed to imply that Brett was a bit of a late starter despite the fact that it was only just 8 a.m.
‘Morning, Bob, how can I help?’ asked Brett, trying not to let Bob get to him.
‘Oh, it’s nothing really, just wanted to check with you that you thought everything was clear in the package of info on compound 896. It’s looking really good don’t you think?’
‘Yes, fantastic, thanks for that.’
‘Well I’ve made a start on the summary we might want to release to the press, I’ve emailed it to you but here’s a paper copy as well. We might be ready to go with this in about a month’s time so I’ve put some projected timescales on it. Happy to add anything else you might like. Also, we might want to schedule another meeting for investors, what do you think?’
‘I’m not sure, leave it with me, we need to get Frank’s input into this from a financial point of view.’
‘Fair enough, we can always meet up again next week.’ Bob turned to go back to his own office then stopped. ‘My word you are looking smart today? What’s the occasion?’
‘Oh, I’ve got a dinner in London this evening, old university get together,’ replied Brett. Once again he felt he was spending this morning justifying his actions.
‘Well enjoy, best get on now,’ said Bob, walking away with his heavy-footed gait. He always managed to finish any conversation with those last few words.
**
Over at the hospital, Nick had just finished his breakfast. The student nurse had just arrived to do his blood pressure and temperature checks. Nick had lost count of the number of times they had been measured.
‘Do you think I’ll be discharged this morning?’ asked Nick.
‘Well it’s not for me to say, the doctor will be doing his rounds and he’s the one who can tell you,’ she said, smiling.
‘What time will that be?’
‘Usually before lunch
but he’s got a lot of wards to go round and it just depends whether there have been any emergencies.’
‘Oh, I see, but if he says it’s OK then I should be OK to go before lunch?’
‘I doubt it, we have to sort out all your discharge paperwork, your painkillers, letter for your GP, and so on, it can take a while.’
‘Oh,’ replied Nick, sounding very depressed.
‘You got a hot date?’ joked the nurse, ‘I think you need to just go home and rest and take it easy,’ she added.
‘Well, thanks anyway,’ added Nick finding it hard to raise a smile.
He was really hoping to get away today. Polly had said she needed to go into work today, she would come in if the hospital were discharging him but if it was at the end of the day there was no point in her just waiting around at the hospital. Her department was a bit understaffed at the best of times so she really needed to put in an appearance. Nick had been secretly hoping that she might accompany him home then go to work in the afternoon and he would take a taxi to work. He was desperate to get his hands on the final pieces of his investigation. He was worried though, what if Zac had found the data and disposed of it. He would just have to find some way of running the samples again, but how could he do that with people fussing about him being in work. The good thing about Friday was that most people left early, perhaps he could go in about 5 p.m. and run his important samples. He would incur the wrath of Polly but once she found out what it was all about she would have to forgive him.
He also hoped that by tomorrow he would have a replacement phone and be able to reactivate his phone number which had been suspended for the moment after Polly had reported it stolen. He’d felt rather cut off from the world although now he had his tablet with him and thankfully the hospital had free Wi-Fi. He kept checking the local news sites for details of his mugging. The mugging was reported without his name specifically being mentioned and the police were still asking for any witnesses who had not yet come forward.
**
Zac planned to pop out of work at lunchtime and pay a few hundred pounds of the cash into his bank account. He was having a relaxing day. Amanda had just been along with news from Polly that Nick had passed a comfortable night and was doing well. There was hope that he would be discharged sometime today but she couldn’t say when. She thanked people for the get well cards which had arrived at the flat this morning, hopefully, Nick would be able to open them at home later today. She said not to expect him back at work for at least a week though as he’d need quite a while to recover.
Zac smiled at this news. He felt that Nick’s days at BioQex might be severely curtailed. It was so pleasant working there without his beady eye on him all the time. Not only that he couldn’t concentrate on his actual job with living a double life. He felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. All the chemicals connected with his “other job” had now been either returned to the storeroom or disposed of. He checked all his samples meticulously and there were none left. All intermediate compounds had been washed into waste solvent containers and sent for incineration. He was clean. Everything was above board and it was a good feeling. Even his brother had noticed a lightening in his mood, so Zac had made up some story about solving a difficult problem at work and how it had removed a lot of pressure on him. Ez was no scientist and seemed happy with the explanation. They were going to go out for a pizza at the weekend to celebrate and Ez was seeing some of his friends on Sunday. An episode closed he thought and not to be repeated. It was a means to an end and he had what he wanted. Time to move on.
Chapter 37
Nick had spent all his time with one eye on the entrance to the ward and was pleased to see the doctor appear and begin to make his rounds. He sat up in bed and hoped he was looking fit enough to leave. It was already after 11 a.m., so he would be here until after lunchtime. Hurry up he said to himself as the doctor continued to examine the charts in great detail at the next bed. Finally, he came over to Nick and asked him how he was feeling.
‘Oh, much better, I’m sure I’m ready to go home now?’ said Nick, hopefully.
‘Well you certainly look a lot brighter today, much calmer too,’ he added. Nick felt himself reddening at this last comment. Thinking back, it was so embarrassing that he’d had to be sedated like some spooked horse or wild animal. ‘I’ve been discussing your case with the consultant, Dr Brakeshire.’
‘Oh, well that’s good I guess,’ replied Nick beginning to get a bad feeling about what might be coming next.
‘He wants you to have an MRI scan on your abdomen where you sustained those really severe kicks.’
‘Yes of course, so can I come back next week for that?’ asked Nick.
‘Absolutely not, we need to know there’s no damage before you leave. Some of the injuries are in the region of your spleen and that can be very nasty. If that has happened then you will be in here for a good few days yet.’
‘Really? But I want to go home,’ Nick heard himself and he sounded like a small child, whining that he was tired and wanted to go home.
‘Of course you do but we can’t take any chances. You should get the scan done today but if not it will be tomorrow, we run them at the weekends now. Take care and get some rest,’ and he moved on to the next patient.
Nick cursed under his breath, would he ever get out of here. He put his head back on his pillow. There was now very little chance he would get to work this week and the weekend was out of the question, the company would be all closed up. Feeling completely fed up he reached for his tablet to email Polly with the doctor’s update.
**
Brett was eating his prepared salad and bagel which he’d brought in with him, having bought it the night before at the Tesco Metro shop near his flat. He had a busy weekend ahead. Firstly his alumni dinner, then Saturday to recover, then a barbecue at Piers’ house. The senior team were all invited to that, it was an annual thing apparently. He invited some of the top people from other companies and also his neighbours. Perhaps there will be a nice young lady there for me to meet he mused. He checked the trains times and live departures from Persford but it was too early to see his train yet. All seemed to be running OK apart from the usual delays of a few minutes. It was a while since he’d been into London, he was quite excited about it. He checked his Facebook account and a couple of people he knew had posted about going this evening, he vaguely remembered them. He hoped it was going to be worth the money he’d forked out, the food should be good for that price. The Hurlingham club was quite famous, he would need to get the tube out of London to Putney but he should have plenty of time. He had a meeting with Frank Stevens the finance head this afternoon and so with Frank’s input he would be able to think about the press release they were preparing for about a month’s time. He could re-read the notes Bob had given him on the train and add any thoughts or amendments.
**
By 4 p.m. there was still no sign of anyone coming to collect Nick for his MRI scan, waiting around was so boring and in his case frustrating. Every time an orderly appeared he hoped the wheelchair was for him but no luck so far. He’d been reading about the MRI scans on his tablet. He hoped he didn’t feel claustrophobic, he’d fortunately never had to have anything like that before. Presumably, they would look at the scans fairly quickly and come to a decision as to whether he could go or have to stay longer. Then there would be the dreaded discharge process to get through. It was absolutely soul destroying, he would be being treated for depression as well after all this. He wondered how things were at work. He felt so aggrieved that Zac was able to have free reign whilst he was laid up here, all the pressure was off him. He was certainly a cool customer, how brazen to carry out an illicit synthesis whilst in employment. Had he done this before Nick wondered? Perhaps that was the reason for leaving his previous company, he couldn’t remember what it was called. As he recalled Zac just said something about lack of career progression or something had made him look for an alternative job and it just
coincided with BioQex expanding. Well, I wonder if that was the real reason thought Nick or was someone getting a bit too close to your coat tails.
He wished he had his mobile phone. He’d like to chat to Mark about things at work. Mark was aware of Nick’s suspicions and had pleaded with him to be careful. Surely he might suspect that Zac was involved in Nick’s beating. He didn’t want to ask Polly to contact him as she would think it odd that he was so friendly with the security guard, they’d only been out for drinks on a couple of occasions. He would contact him over the weekend once he had his mobile up and running again. Mark would listen to him he was sure, he wouldn’t be dismissive.
Nick felt tired and depressed. He picked up the magazines which Polly had brought in last night, he started to flick through them but they held no interest for him. He put them to one side, put his head back on to his pillows and closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would consume him and make the time pass more quickly.
**
Brett closed down his laptop, locked it away for the weekend and left his office. His taxi had arrived, reception had just phoned. Hello London and hello weekend he said to himself. Waving goodbye to Amanda he jogged down the stairs and into the waiting taxi. The trains were still running on time so by a few minutes after 6.30 p.m. he would be in the metropolis and cramming on to a tube with thousands of others towards Putney and the Hurlingham Club. He relished the opportunity to tell people about his position in BioQex, he was sure the city types would have heard of it after the recent successful placing of shares. Of course, he needed to be careful what he said, only things which were in the public domain could be discussed. But he would do his best to present the company in a good light, there was no harm in hinting about further expansion, after all, that could well be on the cards if this next compound progressed or even better was snapped up by big pharma. He hoped that Giles Wentworth would be there. He was an annoying public school type, with a top position at some bank or other, who had looked down on him before and made some derogatory comment about scientists. He would enjoy telling him about BioQex’s success particularly as a Google search had revealed that his bank’s recent results were not as rosy as the previous year’s.
Lethal Reaction Page 15