Michael Palmer - Side Effects

Suddenly he was no. longer even an administrator. He was a lieutenant, a platoon leader in Cyrus Redding's army. It was an army of specialists, held together by coercion, blackmail, and enormous amounts of money-poised to strike at anything or anyone who threatened Cyrus Redding or the corporation he had built. The guard greeted him warmly and performed a perfunctory search of the Mercedes. Paquette had once asked the man exactly what it was he was checking for. His polite, but quite disconcerting, reply was, "Anything Mr. Redding doesn't want to be there."

The executive offices, including Cyrus Redding's, were at the hub of the wagon wheel of six long, low structures that made up the manufacturing and packaging plants. Research and other laboratory facilities occupied an underground annex, joined to the main structure by tunnels, escalators, and moving walkways. Paquette parked in the space marked with his name, stopped at his office to leave his coat, and then headed directly for Redding's suite. He was ushered in immediately. "Arlen, Arlen, " Redding said warmly, "welcome home." He was in his wheelchair behind his desk and was dressed in the only outfit Paquette could remember him wearing at work, a lightweight blue-gray suit, white shirt, and string tie, fastened with a turquoise thunderbird ring. "So,"

Redding said, when they had moved to the sitting area with coffee and a sugary pastry, "you look a bit drawn. This Boston business has not been so easy, has it?"

"You told me it might not be, " Paquette said. "Do you remember when we decided to move the mailing address of the Ashburton Foundation?"

"Of course. A few months after you started working here. Six, no, seven years ago, right? " Paquette nodded. "It was an excellent suggestion and the first time I fully appreciated what a winning decision it was to hire you." Paquette smiled a weak thank you. "Well, " he said, "it was my feeling at that time that with the foundation registered as a tax-exempt philanthropic organization and located in DC, there was no way Redding Pharmaceuticals could ever be connected to it."

"And yet our tenacious friend Dr. Bennett has done so."

"Yes, although as I told you last night, I'm not certain she has put it all together."

"But she will, " the Warlock said with certainty. "She called twice yesterday trying to reach me-that is, trying to reach Dr. Thompson, the foundation director. I couldn't even call her back for fear of having her recognize my voice."

"It was a wise decision not to."

"She's got to hear from someone today."

"She will, " Redding said. He glanced at his watch. "At this moment, our persuasive legislative liaison, Charlie Wilson, is on his way to the foundation office to become Dr. James Thompson."

"Office?"

"Of course. We wouldn't want Dr. Bennett to try and locate the Ashburton Foundation only to find a desk, phone and secretary, would we?"

Paquette shook his head. The man was absolutely incredible, and efficient in a way that he found quite frightening. "By eleven o'clock this morning, the office, its staff, photographic essays describing its good works, testimonial letters, and a decade or so of documented service will be in place, along with Charlie Wilson, who is, I think you'll agree, as smooth and self-confident as they come."

"Amazing, " Paquette said. "Are you feeling a bit more relaxed about things now?"

"Yes, Mr. Redding. Yes, I am."

"Good. You'll be pleased to know that the company will be taking care of that mirror at the Ritz."

Paquette froze. He had gone to great pains to pay for the damage himself and to insure that in no way would Redding find out about what had happened. Instability under fire was hardly the sort of trait the man rewarded in his platoon leaders. "I… I'm sorry about that, sir. I really am."

Redding gestured to the coffee table before them. Sealed under thick glass was the emblem of Redding Pharmaceuticals, a sky-blue background with white hands opening to release a pure, white dove.

Below the dove was the name of the company, above it, in a rainbow arc, the motto, The Greatest Good for the Most People at the Least Cost.

"Arlen, ever since the day I took over this company, I have tried to chart a course that would lead to exactly what this motto says. In this business-in any business-there are always choices to be made, always decisions that cannot be avoided. In the thirty-five years since I first came to Darlington, I've made more gut-wrenching decisions and smashed more glasses and more mirrors in anguish than I care to count. But always, when I needed direction, when I needed advice or council, it was right in front of me." He tapped the motto with his finger.

"The legislators, state and federal, the competition, and especially the goddamn FDA are all doing their best to cloud the issue, but in the end it always boils down to this." Again, he tapped the glass. If the pep talk was meant to buoy Paquette's flagging morale, it failed miserably.

The greatest good for the most people at the highest profit was all he could think of. The shortcuts and the human testing, the clinics in Denver and Boston, the bribery and extortion involving 1? DA officials-all had been tolerable for him because all were abstractions.

Kate Bennett was flesh and blood, a voice, a face, a reality, and worse than that, a reality he was growing to admire. Paquette snapped out of his reverie, wondering how long it had lasted. A second?

A minute? Then he realized that Redding's eyes were fixed on him. "I understand, sir, " he said, clearing away the phlegm in his throat, "and I assure you, you have nothing to worry about." How did the man know about the stinking mirror? Spies in Boston? A bug in the room?

Damn him, Paquette thought viciously. Damn him to hell. "Fine, Arlen,"

Redding said. "Now, you have a flight back to Boston this afternoon?"

"Two o'clock."

"I suspect that our meddlesome pathologist is on the ropes. However, her father-in-law assures me that she is far from out on her feet. Her discovery regarding the Ashburton Foundation suggests that he is quite correct."

"I believe Norton Reese is arranging a surprise for her that may help,"

Paquette said, vividly recalling the glee in Reese's voice as he announced that something was set to fall heavily on Kate Bennett.

"Excellent, " Redding said. "Her father-in-law has promised to do what he can to help us as well. One final thing."

"Yes?"

"Has anything further surfaced on the cause of the ovary and blood problems in those three women? " Paquette shook his head. "Strange,"

Redding said, more to himself than to the other man. "Very strange…"

For several seconds, he remained lost in thought, his eyes closed, his head turning from side to side as if he were internally speedreading a page. "Well, Arlen, " he said suddenly, opening his eyes, "thank you for the excellent job you are doing. I know at times your duties are not easy for you, but continue to carry them out the way you have, and your rewards will be great."

"Yes, sir, " Paquette said. He sat for nearly half a minute before realizing that the Warlock had said all he was going to. Sheepishly, he rose and hurried from the room. Cyrus Redding studied the man as he left. The Boston business seemed to be having some untoward effects on him, particularly in the area of his drinking. As he motored from the sitting area to his desk, Redding made a mental note to arrange a vacation of some sort for Paquette and his wife as soon as Boston was over. That done, he put the issue and the man out of his head. There was more important business needing attention. Stephen Stein, the enigmatic, remarkably resourceful investigator, had made a discovery that he suspected would unlock the mystery of John Ferguson. "Mr. Nunes,"

Redding said through the intercom of his desk, "would you bring that package to me now."