THE GIFT

Chapter 4

The next morning, with visions of Margarita still doing The Two-step in her head, she thought a nice, hot cup of coffee would help that. She decided to get on her laptop and do some passive research. First, though, she wanted to check in on her friends, Reggie & Irene O’Connor, to see how America’s favorite Grandma & Grandpa were getting along as Internet celebrities. She had grown so fond of them in the short time she had spent with them. Irene was precious and Reggie was simply adorable. She hated having to leave them.

“OH GOD…NO!” she bellowed, as the screen told its grim tale. “NO!” The coffee mug slipped from her hand, crashing to pieces on the travertine floor.

Sharon was in the kitchen when she heard Melanie’s cry and the shattering mug. She bolted into the den, where Melanie was slowly collapsing onto the sofa, her laptop precariously balanced in her hands.

“What’s wrong, Hun?” she asked, as she reached out to catch Melanie.

“No…no…no! This wasn’t supposed to happen!” Melanie sobbed.

“What?” Sharon took the laptop and read the headline that greeted her...

“MIRACLE CURE COUPLE FOUND MURDERED IN THEIR HOME”

“Oh, dear God!”

James had heard Melanie’s cry and was just entering the den when he heard Sharon’s exclamation.

“What is it?” he asked, confused and concerned. Sharon handed him the computer.

“s**t!” he barked angrily, “Goddammit!”

Curtis came in through the kitchen, “What’s all the fuss about?” James handed him the laptop.

“Sonuvabitch!” he exclaimed. “I was afraid something like this might happen.”

“Afraid this might happen?” Melanie nearly yelled. “Why didn’t you say something, then?” she accused.

“What would you have me say? I’m sorry?” he offered. “I am, ya know. From what you said, they were good, decent folks. This really does hurt my feelings, ya know.”

“The problem is…and you’d better get used to this…we aren’t dealing with good, decent people. The evil we are dealing with has no soul…no conscience. It will kill and destroy anything, or anyone that gets in its way. It’s a monster, and monsters eat good, decent people.”

Melanie was inconsolable. Sharon led her out onto the front porch. James and Curtis exchanged looks.

“They screwed up.” Curtis said, after scanning the news story.

“I’ll say they did.” James spouted in anger.

“No…I mean they screwed their operation up. This was a botched kidnapping.” Curtis observed. “Didn’t you say that when you found your friend…err, Dr. Clark, his lab looked like there had been a fight?”

“Yea…it was ransacked, that’s for sure.” James answered.

“As if someone had tried to kidnap him and he resisted, right?” Curtis continued “…which makes sense. They wanted the formula, not necessarily the scientist, but he wasn’t going to give it up, so he fought back. I’m betting he was unintentionally killed in the process. It’s safe to assume they found something that led them to you. Once they connected a few dots and figured out that the doctor had a test subject, you became their most wanted.”

“Anyway, I’m guessing…and it is purely a guess…but I’m guessing that all they really wanted was Irene’s blood. I believe they felt they could intimidate an elderly couple into giving up some blood. But you said Reggie was an old school scrapper, right…Pacific war and all. He wasn’t about to let anyone get near his beloved.’

“No doubt, our brave knight died defending his princess.” He concluded, somberly.

“Yea…yea he was a tough old bird. A Marine. He showed me the government issued pistol he kept as a reminder of the friends he lost on Iwo Jima…and yes, he adored Irene…as much as she adored him.” They had the kind of relationship that James had counted on having with Amelia. It was soul-wrenching to know that he now had the miracle that would have saved her life. But it was much too late for that. But not for Melanie. He has seen the monster. He’ll protect her.

“Oo-rah!” Curtis exclaimed quietly. “God rest his soul.” James thought he detected a spasm of genuine grief from his tough-as-nails cousin. Marines. Ya gotta love ‘em.

“These guys aren’t worth a s**t at what they do…which is good for us.” Curtis reassured. “All the boys in the group have had to deal with these James Bond wannabe mercenary monkeys at one time or another. We call ‘em “mercs”. They tend to think that money is the universal converter. Just wave a few fat stacks at a combat vet and he’ll go anywhere and kill anyone you want. You’d be amazed at how often Senator So-and-so would send in the S.E.A.L.s just to bail out some corporate dickhead buddy, or big contributor of theirs out of the tight spot these kind of toy soldiers would get them into.”

“But make no mistake…they really are incompetent enough to be dangerous. They can certainly shoot. Most of them are ex-military who couldn’t hack authority. To make themselves feel tough, they play with guns and w***e themselves out to corporate security interests…like Big Pharma. So, they have enough training to know how to pull a trigger, enough greed to do it, but not enough discipline to know when not to. Their motivation…and their loyalty…is money, so they’ll only take it so far. They lose the money…they lose their interest. We used to 28 bribe Uzbeki mercs away from the Taliban…and then the Taliban would bribe them back.”

“Of course, given the magnitude of what you have…what you are…there’s no doubt that million-dollar promises have been made…with a “first come, first served” incentive. But that, too, can work in our favor. You know the old sayings…no honor among thieves and haste makes f**k-ups.

They could hear Melanie crying through the screen door. It had been her idea to make Irene’s “miracle” public, so as to make her and Reggie “untouchable” by Big Pharma…or the government…by virtue of notoriety and public affection. James felt even worse for involving her.

Irene had adoring fans around the world. She became revered as “Grandmother Life” to millions, some deifying her as more than mere mortal. Research scientists from every developed nation offered their open and transparent expertise to help get this amazing blessing out to the world. Several nations offered them a free, secure place to live. Opulent villas or chateaus behind high walls with private security forces, bulletproof limos and private jets were offered. None of which could guarantee that evil couldn’t reach them.

Of course, there was the “hate” factor, always present whenever mankind does something virtuous, ready to blame, condemn and deny the good in anything. Accusations of fraud made their rounds, but since Irene wasn’t selling anything…they turned to accusations of deliberately withholding. But they were decidedly the minority and were viciously refuted with promises to hunt them down and decapitate them for saying such things.

Irene had stayed in touch with Melanie and knew what was being planned. She had promised not to reveal anything or give any samples out until the formula had been gifted to the entire planet. This was a public promise she made to everyone everywhere. Already, hundreds of thousands around the globe were postponing surgery and other medical treatments and procedures in anticipation of her announcing the gift. News of her death was going to be devastating to those who had placed so much hope in her promise.

Already, Melanie’s laptop showed an unbelievable outpouring of grief and near-panic, though little was for the loss of the woman, herself. Many believed that she was the only source for the cure. Citizens from all countries were demanding that the U.S. military track down and execute the despicable animals responsible for the murder of this one woman, which was in fact, murder by proxy of tens of thousands of people globally.

That demand had some resonance. A minor Congressman declared that he would throw the entire might of the government behind finding and prosecuting these hateful gangsters…which gave official lie to what the government was really trying to do…find the formula themselves. The fact that these fumbling privateers had the jump on them rankled the incompetent heads of the various “intelligence” agencies.

The responses to Irene’s death began to get to Melanie. She began to feel a responsibility to these unknown millions. After all, it was her idea to go public…and now the public was in a mortal panic. A cure for everything had been discovered…and seemingly destroyed. Riots were erupting in various third-world nations.

She had to do something. She borrowed Sharon’s Jeep to go into town, ostensibly to get a few things she needed. Instead, she went to the ubiquitous over-priced coffee shop that every town in America has, as a source of Wi-Fi service. Logging on with a bogus identity, she sent messages to as many people as she thought sufficient to spread the word that Irene was not the only “cured” person out there…and that the original formula was still safe and would be revealed very soon.

Just a few hours later, the mood of the Internet had changed from despair, anger and panic, back to hope, though random doubters still shrieked in fear. Many begged for the cure to be released immediately, fearful that those who covet control of the treatment will get their insidious hands on it before it could be released. Irene was dead. Proof enough that evil will go to any length to achieve its goals.

While Melanie’s assurances helped calm the planet, somewhat…it also served to alert big pharma’s computer jockeys. They deduced that only someone close to the target would know what Melanie revealed. It 30 didn’t take long to narrow the source of the messages down to a region...Texas. Where in Texas would take a little longer.