Pandora's Succession (10 page)

“Yes,” she replied. “The part where you get to try our new drug. This is the main reason why you’re both here.”

Dewan looked away to the door. “Yeah, yeah. The sooner we get this over with the better.”

“Talking about your experiment, what’s supposed to happen in these chairs?” asked Eva.

Parris walked up beside Eva and touched the headrest of her chair. “The visor attached here will fit over your eyes where you’ll see a variety of images. The electrodes that I’m going to attach to your head and chest will record everything from heart rate to brain activity.”

Parris strapped them both into their seats and then attached the adhesive electrodes to them, one on their temples and one on the left side of their chest.

Parris walked to the table and opened the metal box. She took out a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a small bag of cotton balls, a pair of latex gloves, and two bandages, and she placed them each on the table one by one. There were also two twelve-milliliter graduated disposable syringes with hypodermic needles and caps attached to them that were alongside two small sealed glass vials filled with a clear solution.

She snapped on the latex gloves, removed the cap from the hypodermic needle, and picked up one of the vials with the other hand. She looked over at Dewan. He’d been staring at her for a few seconds and frequently rolled his eyes. She would treat him first. She stood to his side and rubbed the cotton ball in a circle on the back of his upper arm. She then took the syringe, filled it with the drug, and injected him. Not to her surprise, Dewan didn’t flinch. He was in no way like the stereotypical African-American males you’d see on some primetime television networks back home, where they’re portrayed as being obscenely foul-mouthed, low educated, trouble-making individuals. On the other hand, whether he was innocent or not, he was prone to violent outbursts. If only he knew who she really was and what she could do to him, he probably wouldn’t be in the same room with her.

“Ouch, be careful,” said Dewan as she pushed the plunger in a bit too hard.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Parris lied, as she held back a smile.
I could do a lot worse.
She pulled out the syringe, immediately placed the cotton ball on the injection spot and applied pressure for thirty seconds. She reached over to the bio-hazard pail that was beside the table and pushed the syringe through the flap. She then stuck a Band-Aid to Dewan’s arm.

“What’s that supposed to be for?” Eva asked.

“This is a drug we call Clarity. It’ll help you to listen and comprehend things much better,” Parris answered.

Eva smiled. “You mean, make us smarter?”

“Not quite.” Eva looked convinced. Dewan frowned. Parris took another cotton ball and alcohol and did the same thing to Eva.

***

While Dr. Parris continued with the experiment, Hashimoto and two scientists observed from the adjoining room through the one-way see-through window. The sound of a turning door handle caught his attention and Hashimoto turned to see Valerik holding open the door, munching on a sandwich. He left the room with Valerik and walked down the hall to a vacant laboratory where they had more privacy.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Not at all,” Valerik answered. “But I felt more comfortable seeing you in person instead of speaking over the phone.”

“I thought our phone lines were secure. No one’s supposed to be able to crack through.”

Valerik shoved the rest of the sandwich into his mouth. “Nothing’s ever completely secure nowadays.”

“Then why did you call me this morning if you knew of the risks?”

“The conversation was kept brief.” Some crumbs fell from his mouth before Valerik wiped it with the back of his hand. “There was no mention of Pandora, and you did not call me by name either, as I had told you. The Americans have their supercomputers set up to zero in on key words and trace the location of conversations. But they won’t find us as long as you continue to follow my instructions.”

Hashimoto sighed with relief. “You’re right. Now, what’s so important that you had to come here?”

Valerik licked his fingers. “As you know, the Americans are investigating.”

Hashimoto reached over to the counter and handed him the tissue box. “I would think so.”

Valerik snatched a tissue and wiped his hands. “I received word about one of them.”

“Who is he?”

“His name’s Ridley Fox. He’s the one responsible for disrupting our plans in the Chechnyan laboratory. He’s one of their top agents, if not the best.”

“And you’re supposed to be
our
best agent. I assume that you’d know how to handle him if ever he gets too close?”

“I can handle him.” Valerik balled up the tissue, tossed it to the waste paper basket and missed. “Besides, I doubt that neither he nor the Russians know where to start looking for me.”

“If Fox is as good as you say he is, then, I hope not. And with your countrymen on the case—”

“I am a man without a country. The Russians are not my countrymen. My loyalties are and will always be to The Promise.”

“I’m sure that’s what Dr. Marx would want to hear from you. So would I.” Just then, Hashimoto’s cell phone rang. He flipped it open. “Moshi moshi.”

“Sir, you need to come back to the lab,” said one of the scientists from the monitoring room.

“What’s wrong?”

“Maybe you should come and see for yourself. Dr. Parris has gone on with the experiment a bit differently and Dewan’s readings are somewhat awkward.”

“Awkward? In what way?”

“She’s gone off on a tangent. She’s doing things that were not planned and Dewan’s readings are unusual. That’s why I think you should come back and take a look for yourself.”

“I’ll be right there.” He flipped his phone shut and looked back at Valerik. “Wait here. I’ll send for you when I’m done.”

Chapter 10

“I’m curious, Dewan. When you go back home, what are your plans?” Parris lowered the visors over their eyes and pressed the small button over the nose piece to activate them.

Dewan glanced up at the ceiling and then down at the floor as though in deep thought. “I haven’t figured that out yet. Get another job, whoever’ll hire me, and then try to get back into school, unless I find something better. With what I’m supposed to receive from doing this experiment, my rent should be covered for the first few months anyway.”

“I see.” Parris nodded. “And if that doesn’t work out, what then?”

Dewan sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.”

“I’m concerned about what you said before,” said Parris. “That New York is getting too bourgeoisie for you that you can’t handle it. And with a criminal record, it’s going to be hard for you to find a job and possibly pay for your schooling.”

Dewan rubbed his right eye. “So what are you saying—that I should just give up?”

Parris placed the alcohol and the plastic bag of cotton balls back into the metal box and closed the lid. “Not at all, I was just curious. You’re so anxious to leave this place and go home. I just wanted to know what you have left to go home to.”

Dewan didn’t say anything as she placed her hands in her lab coat pockets and paced in front of the table. She then turned to Dewan. “Tell me more about your parents, Dewan. Your mother’s a nurse and your father’s a truck driver. When’s the last time you spoke to them?”

“About a couple of weeks ago,” he answered. “They don’t even know I’m here.”

Parris tilted her head to the side. “Why’s that?”

He sighed. “’Cause they’d get mad at me.”

Parris nodded. “So you feel comfortable lying to them.”

“I don’t want to,” Dewan answered. “But I had no choice this time.”

“Did they believe you when you told them you were innocent of the drug charge?” she asked

“I don’t know. Things have been different between us since that time. But they’ll be fine. It’ll blow over. I know I’m innocent.”

Parris walked back to the table, opened her tote, took out a file folder and placed it on the table. From inside the folder she took out a copy of a newspaper clipping from the
New York Times
, held it up and looked at it. “Edwin Douglas. Does that name mean something to you?”

“Yeah, that’s my dad. What about him?”

Parris didn’t answer him right away as she watched Dewan’s frustrated expression fade to worry.

“What’s wrong? Why’s he in the paper?”

Parris took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was the only way she knew how to prepare herself to give him the bad news.

“I was doing some research on you. I took a look at some of the newspapers back home on the Internet and ran a search on your name. Your father’s name came up in the obituaries section from a newspaper that was published two days ago. This is just a printout of the newspaper’s online website. I believe you should look at it.” Parris walked over to him and lifted his visor and held the folded newspaper article out in front for him to read. Parris watched him carefully as she prepared herself for the inevitable.

“No!” He screamed as he tried to force himself up out of the chair. “How do I get out of this chair? Let me out!”

“I’m sorry, Dewan. You’re here among friends.”

“I told you to get me out of this stupid chair,” he yelled.

“Okay, give me a second.” She removed the electrodes from his chest and face, then the straps.

He got out of the chair, walked beside the table where he slammed his fists. “Not my dad. Hell no!”

“I’m sorry, Dewan.” She had to calm him down and restrain him. It was the only way to continue. At least let Hashimoto and the others think that the experiment was still her primary objective. The pain that this young man felt, it was inhuman for her to still treat this as an experiment. She was not even supposed to have shown him that article and she knew she’d be in Hashimoto’s office afterwards trying to explain herself.

Parris glanced briefly at Eva—who could not hide her concern.

“Don’t worry,” she mouthed without speaking. It was only then that Eva appeared to relax.

***

Hashimoto walked back into the observation room just in time to see Dewan get out of the chair and slam his fists on the table. Dewan then walked over to the wall where he put his back to it and let himself slide down to the floor, landing on his rear end.

Parris walked over, knelt down beside him and put her arm around him, pulling him closer to her. As tall as he was, he still went to her willingly as he cried. She sat with him in her arms, cradling his head close to her as though he was her little brother. Instinctively, she stroked his shaved head as the tears poured onto her lab coat.

“The experiment’s ruined. We need to stop,” said one of the scientists.

Hashimoto turned to him. “What do you mean ruined? What’s going on?”

“Dewan’s out of the chair. Dr. Parris has gone on a tangent, and I doubt he wants to take part in the experiment any longer. We should terminate this and replace him with someone else.”

Hashimoto watched as Parris continued to talk to Dewan.
Why didn’t she follow the procedure? She knew that keeping him in the chair was essential. She was up to something. He’d know soon enough exactly what it was
. “No, not yet. I believe Dr. Parris knows exactly what she’s doing. She’s just using a different approach.”

“But, sir, didn’t you see his readings—”

“Wait. I want to see where she’s going with this.”

***

It was all a part of the act on her behalf, anything to get him to calm down. At first anyone would’ve thought that Dewan was hot-tempered, but the way Dewan gripped Nita’s upper forearm said otherwise.
This didn’t feel right.

“I’m...I’m here for you, Dewan. We’re all here for you. I can only imagine the thoughts that must be going on in your head right now, but you’ve got to listen to me. Is it all right if we still talk? We can stay right here or we can sit back down at the table, whichever you prefer.”

Dewan kept clinging to Parris, but he stopped bawling.

“I’m assuming you want to stay here. That’s all right. We can talk right here,” said Parris as she stroked the top of his head. It was so smooth that she couldn’t resist continuing. “Your father had a weak heart. He’d already suffered a heart attack five years ago. It could’ve happened to anyone.”

Parris glanced over at Eva. She stared blankly back at her, as though she was beginning to get bored.

Dewan started to sniff as he tried to utter a few words. “It happened because of me. My arrest, that was too much for him to handle. And I was innocent and still am.”

Dewan sat up and wiped the tears with the sleeve of his shirt. Parris kept one hand on his shoulder.

“There are few people for you to go back home to, Dewan. It’s going to even be more difficult for you when you go back.” Parris turned to Dewan and crouched beside him. “Back home, all you’ve experienced is a half-rate justice system that lets the guilty walk, and hard-working individuals like yourself fall to the bottom of the barrel. The people you met yesterday, maybe they don’t mean much to you, but they are good people. They’ve all suffered at the hands of injustice like you have. And one way or another, they’ve all come from similar backgrounds like you, and even Eva.” Parris held his hand as she continued to speak to him.