Michael Palmer - Flashback

"That's it, fella, " she heard Zack cry over the noise. "A little more, a little more, and… now!"

The plane, which had begun a slow roll across the grass, shot forward and then up, climbing at a steep angle toward the treetops at the far end of the meadow. "That's it. You've got it. Now ease off. Ease off.

Terrific! Hold her right there."

Now well above the trees, the model banked smoothly to the south and began a lazy circle of the field. "I did it! I did it!"

It took several seconds for Barbara Nelms to realize that the excited voice she had just heard was her son's. With a joyful fullness in her throat and tears in her eyes, she slipped back out of sight and hurried down the hill. Zack and Toby Nelms lay opposite one another on the warm grass, a few yards from the Fleet, chewing on stalks of wild barley and watching a red-tailed hawk glide in effortless loops atop high, midday thermals. "Now, just who do you suppose is working the radio-control box for that model? " Zack asked. "Whoever it is has sure built one quiet engincl "That's goofy, " Toby Nelms said. "Of course it is. Any one with half a brain could tell that's just a kite. Now, if only I could see the string…"

Once the logjam of silence-of fear and mistrust-had been broken, the boy's words had come with surprising ease, and even occasional spontaneity. Zack had been reluctant to test the progress they had made with any pointed questions, but now, with just a few minutes left in their two hours together, he felt comfortable enough to try. "You know, kiddo, " he began, "a lot of people have been very worried about you these past few months."

"I know."

"But you still won't talk to anyone?"

Toby shook his head. "Not even your parents? " The boy stared vacantly at the crucifix soaring overhead. "They never help me," he said suddenly. "I scream for them, and beg them to stop the… the man from hurting me. But they never come until it's too late. They never stop him."

"What man? " Zack asked, at once repulsed and fearful at the thought of the boy being molested. "Who's been hurting you?"

Toby turned away. "Hey, kiddo, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say anything to upset you or frighten you."

For a few, anxious seconds, Zack feared he had pushed too hard and slammed the door he had, so gingerly, just opened., The man with the mask, " Toby said without turning back. "Mask?"

The boy shifted restlessly, and then drew his knees and elbows in tightly to his body. Zack decided he had gone far enough for one day. He reached in his pocket for a coin. One good thumb palm and they would call it quits. "He… he cuts it off, " Toby said, in almost a whimper.

"And… and then it grows back… and then he cuts it off again."

"Cuts what off, Toby?… Look, I know it's hard for you to talk about, but you've got to try."

He moved to put his hand on the boy's shoulder, but then thought better of it. He felt his heart pounding. Don't stop now, kiddo.

Don't give Up on me now. "My… my peenie. And my balls, too."

"Do you mean he touches you?"

"No, he cuts it off. He promises he won't hurt me. He promises he'll fix my lump, and then he cuts it off. And it hurts. It hurts and I scream at him, and he won't stop. And I scream for my mommy and daddy, and they never come."

The boy began to cry, his shoulders jerking spasmodically with each heavy sob. Again, Zack moved to touch him, but before he could, the child spun and flung his arms around him. "Please, Zack, " he cried softly. "Please don't let him do it anymore."

He promises he'll fix my lump… Suddenly, the child's words registered. "Toby, " Zack whispered, still holding the boy tightly, "the lump you're talking about, is it your hernia? That place here you had fixed?"

The boy nodded, his body still racked with sobs. "And the man with the mask… Is that the doctor? " Again, a nod. Zack eased him away, but continued to hold him by the shoulders. "Toby, look at me. I think you've just been having nightmares. Bad, horrible dreams, but dreams that often go away as soon as you see them for what they are. The operation was perfect. All that's left is a little scar. The lump is gone for good."

"No, " the boy said angrily. "It isn't. It grows back. So does my peenie, and my balls. But then he cuts them off again, and it hurts worse each time."

Inwardly, Zack sighed relief. The boy's profound disturbance was rooted in a nightmare-the expression of pent-up fears surrounding a procedure now nearly a year in the past. Fascinating, but certainly neither difficult to understand nor as bad a situation as he had feared. At least Brookings would have something to work with. "You don't believe me, do you? " Toby said. "It's not a dream. He cuts them off, and they grow back, and then he takes those Metzenbaums and cuts them off again."

Zack felt a sudden, vicious chill. "He takes what? " There was no hiding the incredulity in his voice. "The Metzenbaums. He asks for them from the nurse, and then he sticks them into me right here, and it kills me.

Then he just cuts and cuts."

"Toby, think," Zack said urgently. "Have you ever heard anyone else say that word?"

"What word?"

"Metzenbaums, Toby. Have you ever heard anyone except the doctor in your nightmare say that word?"

Toby Nelms shook his head. Zack released the boy and sank back on his hands. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. Metzenbaum scissors were commonly used in surgery, but rarely, if ever, until after the initial skin incision had been made. Toby Nelms would have been asleep at the time they were called for. Anesthetized. There was no way he could have heard that term, let alone so accurately understood what it meant. No way. But somehow, he had. By THE TIME Zack had finished rounds and headed from the hospital to his office, evening had settled in over the valley. To the southwest, the silhouetted mountains were ebony cutouts against the deepening indigo sky. It was a quiet, awesome evening, perfect for a run by Schroon Lake or for a horseback ride into the foothills to watch the moonrise. It was an evening to celebrate the joy of living. But for Zack, the magic of the evening was lost in reflection on the agonized struggles of an old surgeon and the desperate plea of the nurse who had condemned him, and in concern as to how much to tell the waiting parents of a child who was sinking deeper and deeper into a hell of dreams that were not dreams-dreams that cut and hurt and maimed. As he crossed the parking lot, Zack noticed Frank's Porsche, tucked in its reserved slot. Early mornings, late evenings, weekends-for whatever his shortcomings and the failings of his past, the man had become a demon of a worker. Soon, Zack knew, the two of them would have to talk. There were things Frank needed to learn of and to understand about Ultramed, about Guy Beaulieu… and now, especially, about Toby Nelms. The boy's condition was clearly on a downward spiral, and each passing day was a lost ally in the struggle to uncover the truth. With Frank's help, the odds of finding answers in time to make a difference Would be considerably shorter. But would he listen? Over the years, the two of them had drifted far apart in many ways. The disagreement over Guy Beaulieu had only underscored their differences. Still, Zack reasoned, they were brothers, and they each had a significant stake in Ultramed-Davis and in Sterling. He glanced back at the Porsche. At seven that morning, when he had arrived for work, it was already there. Now, after more than thirteen hours, Frank was still at it. What more testimony did he need? The man had hitched his wagon to the Ultramed-Davis star. If there was a threat to the integrity of the hospital, he would listen. Zack felt sure, at least, of that much. But he also knew that all he had were theories-gut sensations plus a few million questions. His brother was a company man. If there were trouble in his paradise, it would take more than suspicions to enlist his help-much more. Barbara Nelms and her husband were waiting on one of the stone benches that flanked the entrance to the Physicians and Surgeons Clinic. Bob Nelms, clean-cut, fit, and hardy, had clearly borne less of the day-to-day strain of Toby's illness than had his wife. He greeted Zack with a firm hand. "Pleasure to meet you, " he said. "Barbara tells me you made some real progress with our boy. That's excellent.