October 10, 2018
Washington, D.C.
Anne welcomed the group to the split level she shared with her husband, Ed, a professor of economics at American University. Ed was in the kitchen preparing a tray of baked goods for the group as Anne took drink orders. They were all energized by the mission that Anne had proposed.
Dave Yardly appeared on the screen as they gathered at the kitchen table. The dark hair and full mustache that Anne remembered had gone grey. He had the same intense eyes that softened when he smiled.
“Man, it’s good to see your faces again! I feel as if I’ve been thrown to the lions out here,” Dave began. “None of you look a day over twenty-nine.”
The group laughed at the corny joke.
“When Anne called me, I thought it might be a set up. I kid you not. I guess I don’t need to tell you what it’s been like,” Dave said.
“No shit! I spend my days writing press releases that make me cry,” said Joann Damian, an assistant director in Communications.
Anne was very happy to have found Joann on the employee roster. They would need someone who could negotiate with the media.
“Y’all better get another drink before I tell you what I’ve been able to learn about our friends at the Gulf National Lab,” said Dave.
The use of the second person plural by the Massachusetts native gave the group another laugh. What Dave went on to describe killed the levity immediately.
“It turns out that the director at Gulf National Laboratory was promoted to the post right after our current director was tapped to lead the EPA. The lab is a research facility that operates under the umbrella of the University of Texas. But this is important, funding is provided for operations by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Stay with me. The NIAID is one of the institutes making up the National Institutes of Health. Naturally, Big Pharma and the hydrocarbon folks have been interested in pushing research dollars in directions that benefit them. Even before the climate deniers took office in 2017, industry had been, let’s call it “incentivizing” scientists to join the administrative ranks of various research facilities, including NIH. The more things went the way the industry wanted, the larger the incentives.”
Phil Tran, a scientist from the Office of Research and Development interjected, “How do you know this stuff, Dave? I mean, we’re going to need to be sure what we’re up against.”
Sarah Corelli, from the General Counsel office, nodded in agreement.
“Because I was offered incentives,” Dave explained. “Simple as that. After the offer, which I declined, of course, I decided to keep my eyes open. I don’t have enough to take anyone down, but I sure have my suspicions. As you know, Region 6 is right in the heart of the oil patch. Our director, Bella Smithers, a Republican fembot if there ever was one, is too clueless to catch on. That’s one of the reasons she got appointed.”
“So, what’s our next step, Dave?” asked Anne.
“We expose Dr. Thatcher, the director at the Gulf National Lab. He’s been shepherded through the ranks by the fossil fuel industry, right along with our esteemed director. We take this mess from Galveston—suppressed research and murder—as far as it can go. We’ll do it the old-fashioned way. We expose them in the public forum. I’m planning to talk to the editor at the Galveston paper tomorrow.”
Anne took control. “Joann, we’ll need your help on how to make these disclosures without sounding like the disgruntled employees that we are. We’ll need someone with appropriate access to follow the money trail. And Sarah needs to be in the loop to keep us out of legal jeopardy. We don’t want anyone labeling this as fake news. And you all know of whom I speak.”
More questions were posed. Assignments were made. The group was energized.