by Jan Eira
“We don’t have all the facts yet, Mr. Vaught,” said Chief Cunningham on the phone. “But it sure looks to me like somebody’s trying to destroy your new research drug.”
“You say both Enoxadin dose packets were compromised?” asked Mr. Vaught, straightening up and sitting at the edge of his chair.
“Yes, sir. Four teens stole one of the boxes, which was later found empty in a garbage container. The other was mysteriously found damaged as the doctor was about to give it to a patient having a heart attack. All the stuff dripped out of the IV bag through a hole in the rubber stopper. The hole was created with a jagged-edged instrument, most likely a key.”
“Any idea as to who is behind all this?”
“I’m still investigating over here, but the four kids are nowhere to be found. But because you’re the company’s CEO, I felt you should know what I know as soon as possible.”
“Thank you for doing so,” said Mr. Vaught. “Supreme Pharmaceuticals and I really appreciate it. Please keep me informed of any progress you make.”
He hung up the phone and pushed a button on his desk unit. “Deena, get me the head of security right away.”
Chief Cunningham sat at his desk and pondered the situation.
A man knocked on the office’s open door. “Chief, you won’t believe what I found out.”
The chief gestured. “Come in, Hornsby. What did you find out?”
“One of the four kids—the one who actually stole that drug—was issued an ID badge from us earlier in the day.” Hornsby placed two photos on the chief’s desk. “This picture was taken right here by me when I issued her ID card.” He briefly looked at the chief and then back at the other photo. “This is a snapshot from the video taken from the security camera by the pharmacy counter downstairs.” He looked back at the chief.
“Yup, same girl, all right. Who is she?”
“Valerie Rovine. She’s the daughter of one of our doctors, Dr. Tom Rovine, a cardiologist on staff. She applied to and was given consent to do a shadow with him.”
“That is very interesting. Very interesting, indeed.”
“It gets better, Chief. Dr. Tom Rovine is the main and only investigator for the research drug that was stolen from our pharmacy.”
“Go find this Dr. Rovine and see if he has time to come in here and have a chat with me.” Chief Cunningham got up and smiled. “Nice work, Hornsby.”
CHAPTER 24
The Lexus came to a complete stop. Right behind it, an unmarked police car halted, red lights still flashing. Two plainclothes officers, a man and a woman, approached the luxury car. Valerie sensed they were suspicious.
“Are you Valerie Rovine?” the male officer asked her.
“Yes, I am.”
The female officer looked at the other teens. “And you’re Ellie, Brent, and William, right?”
All nodded but Valerie spoke. “How do you know our names?”
“We’re detectives,” said the woman. “That’s what we do. We find out stuff.”
The male officer nodded then resumed speaking. “I’m Detective Zachary, and this is my partner, Detective Mack. We’re on a special task force. We need to talk to the four of you.”
“The four of us?” said Ellie from the backseat, her window down. “About what?”
“There’s an old man who’s been going around saying he’s a time traveler from the future,” said Detective Mack. “He approaches groups of unsuspecting teenagers, befriends them, steals from them, and then kills them.”
“We have reasons to believe the four of you have been contacted recently,” said Detective Zachary.
“Well, have you?” asked Detective Mack.
Brent shook his head. “No, not yet. We’ll let you know if he does.”
Detective Zachary looked at him. “Are you sure? This guy’s pretty good at convincing people he’s really from the future.”
“He convinces kids by telling them facts he learns about them ahead of time,” said Detective Mack. “He’s pretty clever.”
The teenagers shook their heads.
Detective Zachary handed Valerie a business card. “Here’s my number. Call me if you’re approached by this guy. And be careful. He’s armed and dangerous.”
“And whatever you do, don’t believe a word he says to you,” said Detective Mack. Both cops reentered their vehicle and drove off.
William was the first one to speak. “What the hell just happened?”
“This can’t be true,” said Brent. “Those guys are impostors.”
“Why do you say that?” asked Ellie. “After this conversation, don’t you have a little bit of doubt about the old man who says he’s you?”
“Absolutely not. They’re impostors. Older Brent is who he says he is. He proved it to me beyond any doubt.”
“You were the one with all kinds of doubts before,” said William.
“The old man convinced me he was me from the future. Did you happen to check out the gizmos those two were carrying?”
“No, what?” asked Ellie.
“They were both carrying small, weird-looking thingamajigs in their hands. Probably neural depolarizers or stuff like that. I’m telling you, those guys are from the future, with some type of weird agenda.”
“Are you saying those two are also time travelers?” asked William.
“Yes, I think so.”
“That would explain how they knew our names,” said Valerie.
Ellie nodded. “So, what does all that mean? They don’t want Enoxadin destroyed? They want the world to come unglued?”
Brent shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t figure out what their angle is.”
“Should we call the old man?” asked Ellie.
Valerie shook her head. “No, let’s wait on that for now. Let’s get back on task. Ellie and Brent, you two take my smartphone and do a thorough Google search for neural synapse depolarizers and devices that help cell phone reception, like old Brent did on my phone. See if there’s any way possible those devices can be from the present.”
The teens resumed their journey. A little while later, Valerie parked right outside Supreme Pharmaceuticals. They got out and walked through the main entrance.
“Hi, Valerie,” said Darren Owen, whom she had met earlier with her father. “Welcome to Supreme Pharmaceuticals.”
Valerie smiled. “These are my friends Fred, Barney, and Wilma.”
“Like The Flintstones?”
“She’s kidding,” said William, shaking his hand. “I’m Joe. This is Ruth and Chris.”
“Well, let me give you the tour,” said Darren. “I’m happy to see such great interest in Supreme Pharmaceuticals and our research efforts. Follow me.”
The teenagers walked behind Darren as he led the tour of the research facility. After approximately twenty minutes, they went to the basement.
“Next, I will show you the place where Enoxadin is manufactured and packaged to be distributed to the hospital.”
Peering down the large hall, the teenagers spied two security guards standing by a door.
“You know, Darren, I’m really thirsty and hungry,” said Valerie. “Is there a place we can go get some food?”
“Our cafeteria is upstairs, but it’s probably closed right now. It’s almost three in the afternoon. We can go check, though.”
“That’s OK,” said Ellie. “I need to get home. Maybe we can come back and finish the tour some other time.”
“Anytime. Just let me know, and I will be here,” said Darren.
He walked them out to the main foyer and said good-bye. The group sauntered to the parking lot in silence.
Ellie shook her head slowly. “Fred, Barney, and Wilma? You’re not too good with making up names quickly, are you?”
Valerie shrugged.
They arrived at t
he parked car. “How will we get access into that lab?” asked Brent.
“Why would they place a security team at the door?” asked Ellie. “At the research lab where my dad works, there is no such security, not even close.”
“Do you think Supreme Pharmaceuticals is on to us?” asked William.
“I think so,” said Brent.
Ellie sighed. “I’m not surprised, after what Valerie pulled at the pharmacy. They’re looking for Enoxadin thieves. Our mission just got a little bit tougher, if not impossible, to carry out successfully.”
“Tough is good,” said Brent. “Isn’t that what you say when I tell you calculus is tough?”
“Exactly,” said Ellie. “Tough is good.”
“We can’t do this, guys,” said William.
“You think you can, or you think you can’t,” said Valerie. “Either way, you’re right. I say we can.”
“Me, too,” said Brent.
“OK, I believe you,” said William. Ellie nodded.
Valerie pressed the remote on her keychain to unlock the car, which beeped an affirmative. “Let’s get something to eat and come back when it gets dark. The building will be empty by then. It’ll be like taking candy from a baby.”
“Can we go to Ellie’s Diner?” asked Brent.
“Sure,” said Ellie. “Go get me some bass from the river. I’ll cook them finger-lickin’ good!”
“Hmm!” said Brent. “Unfortunately, we have a planet to save. No time for fishing. Better go to my favorite Scottish restaurant instead.”
“McDonalds it is!” said Ellie.
William squirmed as he got in the car. “I can’t help it. I have a bad feeling about going into Supreme Pharmaceuticals tonight.”
CHAPTER 25
Equipped with nourishment, the teens were once again on the move. They put Valerie’s smartphone on speaker and called older Brent.
“Do you have any futuristic gadgets that’ll help us get inside Supreme Pharmaceuticals tonight?” asked younger Brent.
“I do. I’ll work on getting schematics of the building and get hooked up to their security and internal communication systems. That’ll help us navigate into the building and into the specific Enoxadin manufacturing laboratory.”
“We’ll see you soon with food,” said Ellie. “Are you feeling any better? Haven’t heard you cough.”
“I am.” A cold shiver invaded his body, and a few more beads of sweat materialized on his forehead.
After the call ended, the group rode in silence.
“Mr. Google isn’t aware of any neural synapse depolarizers or thimbles that improve cell phone reception,” said Ellie.
“I have an idea,” said Valerie looking at the business card she received from the detective. “Interestingly, this card has a cell phone number but not the work number.”
“Yeah, a card from a real police detective would most likely include a work number,” said Ellie. “I know where you’re going with this. I’ll get you the main number for the Zionsville Police Department.”
Within a minute, Ellie dialed a number and handed the cell to Valerie.
“This is Darlene Googal from the New York Times. I’m doing a story about your area and some mysterious older men who claim to be time travelers. May I speak with Detective Zachary?” She listened. “Yeah, is he young? Mid twenties?” She listened some more. “What about Detective Mack?” She listened for a moment and then ended the call. She shook her head.
“It seems you were right, Brent. Detectives Zachary just retired and is in his sixties and there’s no Detective Mack in our police force. I wonder what those two are up to.”
“Come in, Doctor,” said Chief Cunningham. He gestured for Dr. Rovine to sit down and then for Eddie to leave them alone and close the door. The two men were alone in the small office. “I don’t know if you know yet, Doctor, but the two dose packets of the Enoxadin research drug were destroyed today.”
“I knew one of them appeared defective. We assumed it arrived that way from the company.”
“No, not at all. The packet you were going to use was destroyed. Someone used a key to puncture the rubber port on the IV bag. The only other dose was stolen from our hospital pharmacy at almost the same time. Do you know anything about that?”
“No, I didn’t know. Who would do that?”
“We don’t know who damaged the packet you were trying to use in the Catheterization Laboratory, but we have a picture of the thieves who stole the other from the pharmacy.”
“Who would want to steal Enoxadin? It’s a research drug with no present value at all.”
“Four teenagers. Here are their pictures.” Chief Cunningham began by placing the boys’ printed images on the table in front of the doctor. “Do you recognize these two boys?”
“No, never saw them before.”
“What about this girl?” The chief placed Ellie’s photo in front of the doctor.
The doctor shook his head. “No. Who are these kids?”
“Now, I know you know this girl very well.” Chief Cunningham placed a fourth picture on the table.
“That’s Valerie, my daughter.” Dr. Rovine sat straight at the edge of his chair. “There’s no way she’d be involved in something like this, no way at all. Who are these other kids? What they did get my Valerie involved with?”
“I’m sorry to tell you, Doctor, but Valerie was actually the one who stole the Enoxadin dose packet from the pharmacy. I know that for a fact. The other kids arrived with her and ran after her when she stole the drug. She did most of the talking. And she did the actual taking.”
“I can’t believe that. Who are these other kids?”
“I don’t know yet. I understand Valerie was in the Cath Lab in the vicinity of the Enoxadin packet before it was found defective. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, but…” Dr. Rovine’s words trailed off.
“Where is Valerie now?”
“She told me she was spending the day with a girlfriend. I don’t know her name.” Dr. Rovine took a deep breath. “Let me call her cell phone.”
“Yes, please. We need to hear her side of all this.”
“Now that I think about it, Chief, Valerie met some kids today in the ER. I’ve been so busy and excited about Enoxadin research that…” He bowed his head. “I didn’t pay any attention to her—or them. Valerie and I exchanged some voice messages earlier today. I gave her permission to spend the day with a girl not really knowing who she was or—”
“Dr. Rovine, I know how kids are. I have two girls of my own.” Chief Cunningham got up from behind his desk. “Go ahead and see if you can get a hold of Valerie, and have her come in to speak with us right now. I’m going to check the ER security cameras and see if the kids who ran from the pharmacy with her are the same she met in the ER.”
“My dad is calling me,” said Valerie. Her cell phone chimed through her purse.
“Are you going to answer it?” asked Ellie.
“Answer the phone when your father calls you? You’re kidding, right? Please tell me you’re kidding.” Valerie pushed a button to silence the ring. “No teenager ever answers her phone when a parental unit calls. It’s teenager rule number one of cell phone etiquette. He’ll leave me a message, and I’ll know what he wants without having to argue or explain. It makes life so much simpler.”
She pulled into the parking lot, and the teens walked into the forest and toward the cave. As they approached, they immediately heard the deep coughing from within.
“The cough seems to have gotten worse,” said Ellie.
“So, is this the virus that’ll cause all his arteries to block and kill him?” asked younger Brent. “Kill me?” He looked at his feet. “What’ll happen to me now if he dies?”
“No one knows, Brent,” said William. “But, presumably, since he’s in your future,
you shouldn’t be affected by his death at this time.”
“But it sure would be nice for me to live longer than my…whatever age he is now. Oh well, at least I’ll know when I die. I can go ahead and do that parachute dive I’ve been thinking about doing but never—”
William shushed him as they entered the cave’s mouth and greeted old Brent.
The four of them sat down, dished out the burgers, and began their meal while listening to the radio in the background.
“Turn it up, the weather is next,” said Ellie.
The announcer came on. “The weather forecast for this weekend shows no signs of rain, with temperatures in the eighties. Scientists discovered that the distance between Earth and our moon increased from an average of three point eight centimeters per year to nine hundred forty-seven centimeters this last year. Scientists had no explanation for this recent observation.”
“I didn’t know the moon was getting farther away each year,” said William.
“Yeah, I was reading about this a few days ago,” said Ellie.
“Of course you were,” said Brent. “Dr. Brainiac!”
Ellie smirked at him. “Who has a pen and paper? I want to make some calculations.”
Older Brent produced a pen and handed it over to her.
“Sorry, I don’t have paper,” he said. “Paper is something I haven’t used in many years. Write on that rock.”
“Will this pen write on rock?” asked Ellie.
“The pen will scan the surface you’re writing on and give you the writing tool you need. If the surface is white, it’ll give you black ink. If the surface is dark, it’ll give you the best contrasting light color. Likewise, if the surface is metal or rock, it’ll change its specifications automatically to allow for best results.”
“Neat,” said Ellie, already writing numbers of the flat rock surface.
“You can also change if you want permanent or erasable—” A sudden coughing spell interrupted him.