THE VILLA AT SAITON – 15 MARCH
The Chess Club meeting hadn’t had this much tension in the air since the presentation to its al-Qaeda friends almost a year ago. Once the formal weekly review meeting started, Tsan Yohoto interrupted the chairman to say there was something they must look at.
‘Please proceed, Tsan,’ said the chairman, somewhat surprised. Changes to the running order were almost unheard of.
Tsan Yohoto booted up the shiny laptop in front of him. He pushed it out towards the centre of the table where all four could see it. The lead article on WordOutWorld’s website filled the screen.
ANTIBIOTICS NOW HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT? DRUG COMPANY ADVERTISING HITS A NEW LOW
Damian Nowoski and Alex Pigot
Drugs multinational Yamoura Pharmaceuticals is pushing claims about its cephalosporin antibiotic brand SuperVerve beyond the bounds of belief. Yamoura, aided by slick New York marketing consultants, Dynamic Communications, is claiming new benefits from cephalosporin, including relief from headaches and listlessness. The Japanese multinational is also claiming that it has clinical proof of sustained weight loss being experienced by patients taking SuperVerve. On the strength of these new benefits, the brand is now being heavily marketed in New York. Our sources tell us that prescriptions for SuperVerve have increased by over 500% in a year! Has no one in the drug industry read about the growth of antibiotic resistance? For how long is the FDA going to sit on its hands and let this abuse continue? With global pharmaceutical sales now running at over $1 trillion per annum, this is big business. Come on, FDA, do your job – or is the problem that your guys are also employed by the drugs companies?
There was a silence. Then, ‘Shit,’ said Lumo Kinotoa.
‘Certainly a quicker media reaction than we expected,’ said Kazuhiro Saito.
‘What’s their circulation?’ asked Dr Juro Naga.
‘It’s a web-based publication,’ replied Saito. ‘I read somewhere that they have a distribution list of about one hundred and fifty thousand. Most of the medical journalists subscribe and sometimes they quote WordOutWorld. Problem is, everyone in the FDA downloads it – they like to hear what’s being said about them.’
‘Has Bob Denman in Washington heard anything?’ asked Lumo Kinotoa.
‘Not yet, or he would have been in touch,’ replied Tsan Yohoto, ‘but I’ll give him a call. He’s listed as our company secretary at the Washington office, so any official communication from the FDA will go there.’
‘Could this affect our plan?’ asked Kinotoa.
Tsan Yohoto paused. ‘Let me think. Curse them anyway. At the rate the FDA move, we can hope for another month or so before a query. Then we’ll bury them in a paperwork response and string them out for as long as possible. They’re probably going to look for the clinical trial results. We’ve plenty of data to bog them down. Then it’s up to our Professor Milton and his panel to smokescreen them. Hopefully, one of his pals will be put onto any inquiry. With any luck, we should get another twelve months out of it.’
‘So, we keep going?’ asked Dr Naga.
Tsan Yohoto nodded firmly. ‘We keep going. Gentlemen, this is just a little extra pressure. Lumo, let’s review the numbers.’
‘First, our Islamic friends tell me that their man hasn’t missed one night of van drops in a year,’ said Lumo. ‘So that’s holding steady at about four thousand regular consumers.’
‘And the hospitals?’
‘Very solid,’ said Dr Naga, ‘as expected. We have a rolling hospital population of about two thousand five hundred patients on our cephalosporin. We should soon see some early sporadic cases of cephalosporin antibiotic resistance in the hospitals.’
‘How so?’ asked Kinotoa.
‘Well, I expect some cases soon where people will contract food poisoning from a routine source. They’ll need hospitalisation, where they’ll be prescribed our cephalosporin. Also, there’ll be some other illnesses caused, where other strains of bacteria have increased their numbers, to take up the space left behind by the bacteria killed by the SuperVerve tablets. We’ll get extra sporadic deaths, mostly in elderly people, but it won’t be enough to alert anyone to the bigger picture.’
Lumo Kinotoa wrapped things up. ‘Excellent progress, gentlemen. The only fly in the ointment is WordOutWorld. Let’s hope we can stonewall them and the FDA until our next phase, when we start wiping out New Yorkers en masse.’
*
MANHATTAN – 26 MARCH
‘It’s just awesome,’ Anna was telling Cindy. ‘We’re getting on really well!’
‘That’s great. I’m so happy for you.’
‘Tell me more about this guy José you’ve been seeing.’
‘Oh, he’s cute. Fit, too – I met him at the gym.’
‘Hey! How about a double date? We’re going to the U2 gig on Friday. There was a mix-up with tickets and I’ve got two spare. Why don’t you come with us?’
‘Wow,’ said Cindy. ‘Fantastic. I’ll check with José. Shouldn’t be a problem.’ This is gonna be funny.
*
‘It’s a beautiful day.’ Bono held the swaying crowd in the palm of his hand for U2’s encore. Anna was jumping up and down and singing her heart out. John Wyse was torn between looking at the stage and looking at his girlfriend. She was wearing what she called her ‘rock chick’ look: tight black leather trousers, black T-shirt, black leather jacket, black knee-high boots. She looked sensational. They had been back dating now for over a month and had grown increasingly intimate. He wanted and needed her, more and more.
He’d been taken aback when Anna, so enthusiastically, told him that she’d invited Cindy and some guy to come to the concert with them. Nothin’ much he could do about it but keep shtum and hope it all went off okay. He was pretty sure that Cindy would be keeping shtum too.
The crowd streamed out of Madison Square Garden into a cold March night. The clamour of giant electronic screens promoting Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Nike, SuperVerve and upcoming concerts at the famous venue illuminated the bustling pavements.
‘Oh. My. God,’ said Anna, hugging Cindy. ‘That was unbelievable! It was amazing having you guys with us.’
‘Awesome. Thanks for the invite,’ said Cindy, returning the hug. ‘Okay, guys, where to? I’m starving,’ she said.
‘And I’m parched,’ said José. ‘Let’s buy you guys a drink.’
‘How about both?’ said Cindy. ‘Come on, food first,’ and she pointed up the street to a brightly lit BurgerFantastic, near Macy’s.
The two couples began walking towards the restaurant. As they waited at the lights outside Pennsylvania Station, José lit a cigarette, and Anna and Cindy found their attention grabbed by galloping horses on a screen in Macy’s window. It was a Budweiser advert. As they watched, the camera on top of the Quivada screen calculated the distances between their eyes, noses and cheekbones. The computer decided they were both female, white and aged about thirty, and changed the screen to a SuperVerve advert – Putting the verve back into your life.
‘Wa-hey, go SuperVerve!’ cheered Anna, laughing with Cindy.
Not surprisingly, the BurgerFantastic restaurant was packed with U2 fans. John Wyse joined a line. ‘BurgerFantastics, fries and coffees all round? Anna, your usual salad?’
‘Yes please, we’ll grab a table.’
‘I’m paying,’ said José, joining Wyse in the line.
Killian Desmond, the restaurant manager, thinking on his feet, had U2’s ‘City of Blinding Lights’ blaring out over the sound system. Wyse made his way over to their table, struggling with a large tray.
‘There you go, you said you were hungry!’
‘Jeez, John, we’ll never eat all that,’ laughed Cindy.
‘Hey, it was only fifty cents more to supersize the burgers – so I decided to treat you.’
Sitting opposite him, Cindy caught his eye and winked, as she slowly sucked on a straw. Wyse felt her foot touching his ankle. He moved his leg away and held Anna’s hand on the table for a moment. Jesus, Cindy, please don’t cause a scene. Hopefully she can keep her mouth shut. Well, not always! She’s enjoying playing with me here. He put his arm around Anna.
In the background, Bono sang about not letting beautiful days get away. John winked playfully at Anna. Don’t worry, Bono, I won’t.
*
Over the years, John Wyse had learned that sex with a woman you felt a real connection with took you to a different place. And making love with Anna ranked as the most incredible experience of his life. After BurgerFantastic, they’d gone for a few drinks at Fitzy’s, an Irish bar on 49th Street. ‘May as well keep the theme going,’ Wyse had said.
Fitzy’s was also playing footage of a U2 concert on the screens around the bar. After a couple of drinks, Cindy and José had left. John took Anna’s hand and squeezed it gently.
‘Hey, baby, I’d love to bring you back to my place?’
Anna leaned over and kissed him on the lips. ‘Sure, chuck.’ They caught a cab back to his apartment on Eldridge Street. He made coffee in the small kitchen while Anna connected her phone to the sound system.
‘Hey, John,’ she called, ‘you think U2 are good, you wanna hear this guy, Hozier.’
‘Cool, go for it,’ he said.
Anna chose Hozier’s ‘Better Love’ and stroked Glenda’s head as she snored in her bed.
John felt the butterflies in his stomach as he took her coffee mug from her and put it with his own on the floor. He leaned forward, put his arm around her and pulled her close. They kissed, deeply and longingly, feeling the desire build. Suddenly, Anna pulled away.
‘Phew, it’s hot in here,’ she said.
For a moment, John was worried. He needn’t have been. Anna reached down and began pulling her T-shirt out of her leather trousers. She slowly lifted the T-shirt over her head, revealing a very sexy, black lace bra. Wyse stood up and scooped her into his arms. Hozier’s honeyed voice followed them through the open door as he carried her to his bedroom.
Some better love, but there’s no better love . . .
Anna locked her arms around John’s neck and kissed him as he laid her on the bed. Lying beside her, Wyse cupped her ass and pulled her tighter against him. Anna moaned, rolling over onto him.
Wyse had dreamed of this moment, many times, and had thought about how he would make their lovemaking slow and gentle. Those thoughts exploded as Anna swiftly unbuckled his belt, pulled his jeans down and took his cock in her hand. Hozier added a pulsing drum, like a heartbeat.
That ever has loved me, there’s no better love . . .
She slipped out of her underwear as he flung his shirt away and struggled out of his jeans. Naked, she took his breath away.
‘Quick, John, I want you,’ she whispered in his ear. She wrapped her long legs around his hips and pulled him closer. Wyse’s head spun in a whirlpool of desire, intense like he had never felt before. He flipped her over onto her back and Anna moaned and arched as he entered her.
Darling, feel better love, feel better love . . .
Their intensity built, faster and faster. She was biting her lip, her eyes closed, thrusting against him, deeper and deeper as she began to come. Wyse was transfixed. Her beautiful face. Her passion.
‘Baby, baby,’ he moaned. ‘Look at me.’
Anna’s eyes fluttered open and they looked deep into each other’s souls as he exploded inside her.
Feel better love . . .
*
About fifty yards down the street, Ibrahim Fallah had just pulled in to watch Wyse’s apartment from his brown Nissan. He could see that there were two people in the apartment from the shadows moving around behind the net curtains, but not enough to identify them. Then the lights went out.
Looks like he’s got company. Probably some girl staying the night. Maybe I’ll kill her, too. Confuse things a little. Make it look like a double mugging gone wrong.
He tensed as a police car drove down the street. On the side of the car he read 1800-COPSHOT–$10,000 Reward. It was the free phone reward line for information about any shooting of a police officer. If there was one thing the police department would throw all resources at, it was the murder of one of their own. He would have to be very careful.
*
WASHINGTON – 12 MAY
Click. The trunk of Bob Denman’s 7 Series BMW closed gently after the porter had lifted in his clubs.
‘See ya, Tim,’ he waved, as his golfing companion, Senator Tim Willis, reversed out of the space beside him at the Army and Navy Country Club near Arlington National Cemetery. His cell phone rang as he opened the car door.
‘Bob Denman.’
‘Hullo, Bob, Maurice Chadwick at the FDA.’
‘Hey, Maurice, how are ya?’
‘Good, thanks. Hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time?’
‘No, no worries, I just made sure I lost on the eighteenth to one of your bosses.’
‘I won’t ask.’
‘What can I do for you, Maurice?’
‘Just thought I’d give you a heads-up, Bob. There’s a bit of a stink kicking up here over one of your products.’
‘Oh, what’s that?’
‘SuperVerve, this cephalosporin brand that you’re marketing in New York.’
‘And what’s the problem?’ said Bob Denman cautiously.
‘WordOutWorld have been questioning the claims you’re making in your advertising. You must have seen it?’
‘No,’ said Bob, playing dumb. In fact, he received weekly briefings on every media mention of Yamoura or one of its products. He’d been expecting a call.
‘Well, it’s on their website. Anyway, I’ve been told here to make some enquiries with you guys. Just thought I’d let you know there’s a letter on the way – you know the routine.’
‘Yeah, sure, Maurice, I appreciate that. I’ll give you a call when I’ve seen it.’
‘Okay, Bob, keep it on the short grass.’
‘You betcha.’