Робин Кук - Cell

As if reading George’s mind, Thorn continued: “The fencing guarantees security both for people getting in and people getting out. We have a very discreet, well-trained staff who are accustomed to dealing with clients who have been brought here against their will according to dictates of their families or executors.” He nodded at the attendants.

“Okay, okay,” Paula said as she closed her eyes and seemingly counted to ten. “Just how long must we stay here? And why? What’s the emergency?”

George cringed at Paula’s tone. It seemed that he more than she was conscious of their vulnerability.

“All very good questions,” Thorn said. “The answer as to length of time is entirely up to you. We would like to get you home as soon as possible. But your leaving is going to require some assurances from you.”

“Assurances about what?” George blurted.

“In order to understand the current problem, we want to be sure we have your undivided attention.”

George and Paula exchanged a disbelieving glance in response. It didn’t seem real to George. He could tell Paula felt the same way. “Of course you have our undivided attention!” George snapped, despite his attempt to contain his emotion. “After being kidnapped in the middle of the night and terrified out of our minds! Please!”

“I’ll take that as a yes from you both.” Thorn cleared his throat again as he motioned for the attendants to leave the room. He looked at Paula and George and smiled as the attendants headed for the door. It was clear that this had been decided beforehand. Thorn fingered what appeared to George to be a small wireless electronic fob with a button on it. “They’ll be right outside if they are needed.” Thorn placed the fob on the table, to be used if necessary. George got the message.

Once the attendants were gone and the door closed, Thorn began. “I want to emphasize first that the beta test has gone much better than expected and has been an enormous success, thanks to you, Paula, for the idea in the first place, and thanks to Lewis and his team for the consummate programming effort.”

Langley nodded, appreciating the recognition.

“But,” Thorn continued, “we have hit a bump in the road. A glitch has appeared. It was not even noticed at first. In retrospect, we realize that it started several months ago, but that was only after we knew what we were looking for and had looked at it retrospectively. The glitch came to our full attention only during the previous week, and I should add it had nothing to do with iDoc’s functioning in general, nor did it have anything to do with iDoc’s acceptance as the primary-care practitioner of choice of thousands of people. iDoc continues to work far better than our most optimistic predictions. It has been fantastic. iDoc promises to be a win-win situation for patients and the country, and the world, for that matter. It will return some sense to a health care system that has always seen a dearth of primary-care doctors and a lack of emphasis on prevention.”

George’s hands, clasped in front of him, began to rub against each other and his right leg started to bounce under the table. Despite trying to rein in his emotions, he found himself progressively impatient for Thorn to get to the point.

But Thorn didn’t. He went on to say that iDoc was going to have an enormously positive effect on the health of millions and in the process would save countless billions of dollars. It would also eliminate the need for millions of doctor’s office visits and equally important ER visits, which would also save an enormous amount of money over the years. “I am certain both of you understand all this,” Thorn said, as if sensing George’s impatience. “Especially since George here played a role in giving Paula the concept in the first place.” Thorn looked directly at George. “Amalgamated would like to financially recognize your contribution, but more about that later. iDoc is a fantastic opportunity for Amalgamated since we will be billing for iDoc user access—”

Paula interrupted angrily, taking the words right out of George’s mouth. “Enough of this shit! You’re not telling us anything we don’t already know. I think you should just get to the damn point. We don’t need a lecture.”

“Patience, Paula, patience.” Thorn raised a restraining hand. “Here’s something you don’t know: negotiations with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, have progressed to the point where they agreed to do their own beta test with iDoc. They are very excited about our baby. ‘Your baby,’ Paula. Isn’t that how you refer to it?” He managed a smile at her with a patronizing wink. “Which means that unless there is an unforeseen problem, Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries will eventually all have iDoc at their disposal. That’s somewhere around a hundred million people!

“And the negotiations with foreign governments, particularly European, are all going swimmingly. Added to that, we now have commitments from a number of hedge fund managers who will be injecting many hundreds of millions of dollars into Amalgamated, so that iDoc’s general release will all happen quickly and seamlessly.”

Paula interrupted again. “This all sounds well and good, but I don’t understand how it applies to George and me!”

Thorn raised his hands yet again to calm Paula. “I merely wanted to remind the two of you about all the good news on the horizon before getting back to the fly-in-the-ointment: the glitch.”

The word hung in the air.

“It first appeared with a patient at Santa Monica University Hospital. Unfortunately it was a young woman who had serious medical issues. The glitch resulted in this individual’s passing.”

George stiffened, realizing that Thorn might very well be talking about Kasey. He felt a wave of anger at hearing someone characterize Kasey’s death as a glitch. Even Thorn’s use of the laundered term passing irritated him. With effort, George held his tongue.

“The glitch subsequently appeared with patients frequenting the L.A. University Medical Center in Westwood. That’s something that you, George, noticed.”

George nodded, then suddenly added, “Calling it a glitch camouflages what it really is. It is the apparently purposeful killing of iDoc patients. People. Human beings with friends, family... loved ones.”

George’s vehemence silenced Thorn for a moment. There was a brief pause until Thorn nodded solemnly. “I admit that the glitch has been associated with unexpected death, but I wouldn’t use the term purposeful . “How many deaths did you notice at the medical center?”

“You’re asking only about the L.A. University Medical Center?” George asked.

“Yes.”

“Four.” He didn’t even want to mention Kasey’s name. It would be a disservice to her memory under the current circumstances.

Thorn looked toward Langley and Clayton. Both nodded in agreement.

“There were three more at Santa Monica University and three at Harbor University Hospital,” Langley added.

George wondered if the three at Santa Monica included Kasey but didn’t ask.

“What did your investigation of these deaths turn up?” Thorn continued. “What was the cause?”

For a moment George debated what to say. It was hard to organize his thoughts with all the emotion he was feeling.

“Your cooperation is needed, George,” Thorn prompted. “Especially if you are interested in leaving this mental health facility sooner rather than later.”

George felt Paula grip his thigh. He took a deep breath. “If you are asking about confirmed results, I’d have to restrict my impressions to Sal DeAngelis.”

“What were you able to learn? And how?”

George shifted in his chair, debated with himself how up front he should be.