A Fated Nexus

Subunit

The chime of the alarm crashed through the sound barrier of my brain. I turned around and sluggishly slapped the “off” button and realized it was already ten minutes past 6:30. I sighed and rubbed my eyes, kicking off the blankets and staggering out of bed in search for some dress pants and a blouse.  Typically, I would present a rather comfortable style at work, but today wasn’t an ordinary day.  A marketing team from Allied Pharmaceuticals was here to review several of Mestopharms products and all FDA meds awaiting approval in hopes of acquiring a contract with us to advertise the fruits of our labour once it is greenlit.

As a team lead, I hated this.  I hated having to “sell” a product that could be a pivotal part of someone’s life expectancy.  I’m a firm believer in creating a place where health is a right and not a privilege, but these marketing groups are like vultures tearing the soul out of exhausted PharmD researchers one drug at a time. Allied is one of the major corporations who patent and capitalize off of many veins in the health industry, with drug marketing being a huge source of their profit.  Allied wasn’t just any corporation either. It was founded by the Maxfield family during the 1912 pandemic of the Swine Flu.  Not only are the Maxfield’s a powerful and unethically rich family, but they also reign over the Blood Moon pack, but that is unbeknownst to many of their human business partners.  If my memory can recall in it’s sober state, Blood Moons Alpha at the time, Pierce, was handling their pharmaceutical empire when I left, but it was soon passed onto their son, Dominic, just after he returned from college.  Thankfully, I would likely be answering to his Gamma today, they love to keep it close knit when it comes to their ranked members.  I couldn’t be bothered to attend the Passage of Alphas ceremony, despite their desperate attempts to invite me.  Last I heard, the Alpha was pushing 32 and still hasn’t found a mate. 

I shoved my personal life to the side for the time being and made my way to the kitchen.  I needed coffee and I needed it now to get rid of this groggy Gravol hangover.  I shoved my cup under the Keurig and set my coffee size. I went to open the fridge to grab the creamer and stepped on the mail that slid off the counter last night.  I was about to ignore it when Grace stepped into my train of thought.

Might be important…

I scoffed at her interjection before my morning caffeine and spouted back at her,

Of course, just as important as last month’s utility.

I’ve given up reasoning with you, Beth, I’m tired of you drowning me out every night and weekend.  You know I’ll only speak to you if it’s something worth your while

Your worth and my worth are two completely different things.  There’s a reason why I cut you off and it’s because I can’t shut you off.  You’ve been really pushing my anxiety the past few days.  What gives?

What you’re standing on is what gives.  I suggest you read it

I let out the longest exasperated sigh, closed the fridge, and swiped up the envelope under my feet.  The return address just was stamped “Blood Moon”, the stationary was textured and customized.  I ran my index finger along the back enclosure and pulled out a letter that bared the pack’s crest.  It read:

“Dearest Beth,

Please join us as we come together and celebrate Beta Christian’s marriage to his loving mate, Diana.  We look forward to your attendance as we share this special day.  Please note you may only bring a date with wolf descent.  We ask that you wear formal attire of a blue or purple variety.  We look forward to seeing you.

Warmest Regards,

Gamma Lillian”

I stared at the letter again, then turned it over in my hands to ensure there was nothing on the back.  I shook my head and clicked my tongue at Grace.

…so? What does this have to do with me or our time?

Grace took a few moments to respond.

This event is something you should pay attention to.  It’s a piece of a whole, perhaps you should start considering the nature of who you are, and not just the work and the d—

I cut her off before she could finish that last word.  I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to deal with her insinuating that I had a drug problem.  I threw the letter on the counter and grabbed the creamer, pouring it haphazardly into my mug.  As I swiped my morning brew from the counter, I glazed over the letter one last time and rolled my eyes. What on earth could possibly require my attention at a wedding?

I finished freshening up for work, grabbed my jacket and shoved a granola bar between my teeth as I pulled my zipper up.  I was thankful Mestopharm was so close to my condo, it was a brisk walk on a spring day, but it piped up the senses enough to get me through the morning rounds.  I made my way up to the glass doors of my work and caught the faintest scent of honey and cinnamon.  It felt comforting in a very odd way, those scents never used to trigger me before.  Maybe I really did need to lay off my nightly routine.  I shook it off and headed up the floating staircase to my team’s floor. 

When I arrived at the top, I noticed my crew were standing outside of the doors.  Odd, they should all have a key to get in.  I walked past my colleague, Mark, who gave a nod and said “they’re waiting for you in there”.

Shit.  The Gamma is already here.  

I kicked up my step and pushed through the entrance.  When I arrived inside, my boss, Matt, my supervisor, Angela, and several other faces that were unfamiliar to me greeted me as I inched closer. 

“Good morning Beth, Andrew tells me you’re both acquainted,” Matt gestured between both of us and my eyes met with the Gamma. 

And there it was again, that off-putting scent.  Still faint, almost as if the Gamma was around someone who exuded that smell. 

I pulled myself together and sloppily shook Andrew’s hand, careful to omit his rank as I held out my hand.  I gave a half-genuine smile, meeting his handshake with the same force he did.  “Andrew, it’s wonderful to see you again.  It’s been a long time.”

Andrew offered a smile back to me, a different type than the salesman niceties he was providing to Matt and Angela.  It was one that suggested he knew the real me, one that suspected I was running from his pack and his Alpha. “It’s wonderful to see you all grown up, Beth, and it looks like we both took an interest in the same field!”

If by “interest”, you mean “obligatory duties”, then sure you did, Andrew.

“Beth—” I was interrupted by Angela motioning to the personal protective equipment, “Andrew and his team were sent here due to your breakthrough study of an invasive ductal carcinoma inoculation”. I broke my eye contact with Andrew and turned on my heel towards the gloves and goggles.  

“Of course, Angela.  Please gentleman, it’s just through this lab door,” I passed out the remainder of the gloves and goggles for Andrew and his entourage as they entered my workstation. 

I would argue that having a cleanliness inspection done daily is less rage inducing than seeing marketers grunt and ponder the legitimacy of two years worth of chemistry, tears, and hard work.  I watched as Andrew mumbled sweet business nothings into his assistant’s ear while they took notes.  After what felt like forever, the Gamma finally decided to give me the time of day.

“So, Beth, we are quite interested in manufacturing this vaccine once you receive your letter of approval from the FDA.  Can you tell me a little more about the injection?”

I bit my lip.  I’m not the “selling business” conversationalist, if you know what I mean.  I could discuss molecular compatibility forever, but the gift of selling drugs that I created just isn’t in my vocabulary. I watched the Gamma back away and lean against a clean counter on his freshly pressed suit, a serious pet peeve I had in my lab.  I glared at him and began my speech.

“Well,” I grabbed my laptop from the counter, “the MestoIDC inoculation is an intramuscular subunit vaccine that builds the protein in advance before attacking the duct, like this…” I turned my laptop towards them and played back an animated version of how the cell begins this process, after several moments of interest I continued “…um…the T-cells then attach themselves to this aggressive protein and kill it on site before it has a chance to become inflamed or mestastisize.  Patients who are susceptible to hereditary breast cancer will be able to, at the very worst, severely hinder any kind of growth of this carcinoma or spread it to their children”

Andrew nodded his head in approval, flashing that gut churning false smile again. 

“That’s absolutely brilliant,” he clapped his hands together once, “so, let’s talk business. There’s a fundamental need for this product, which ages are you catering this vaccine to?”

Before I could say anything, Angela took mercy on me.  “This particular immunization could see children from 15 years of age all the way up to 65.  Gender is not necessary as there isn’t a hormonal component to the product, plus there’s a need for it as a spectrum.”

Andrew nodded approvingly.  His assistant was promptly inputting notes into a tablet. 

“What kind of profit margin are we looking at for the next five years after this hits offices and injection sites? Are we looking at a long-term scale of students being inoculated, or are there boosters later on in life?” It may have been awhile, but Andrew knew how to speak straight to the point, and I wasn’t ready for it. 

Before Angela could speak, I cut her off.

“I would like to see the healthcare system eventually buy it as an essential immunization for students.  Like so many diseases before this, I feel it’s imperative to place the cost directly into the hands of the government and away from the average household income via privatized vaccinations.  Your profit margin through taxation would be huge, I’m sure.”

Andrew laughed through his nose, “I wish I could take that risk, Beth, but with so many people interrupting the common immunization cycle, and the magnitude of this discovery you’ve developed, it’s important for Allied to receive a substantial portion of compensation through trial and the only way to do that is with direct investors.  I was thinking we could start at a budget of around 600 dollars for the initial vaccine, and then 250 dollars for every booster inoculation thereafter?”

I was going red in the face with this proposal, I couldn’t believe this liar, this joke of a Gamma would stand here before me, putting his ass on my work bench would undermine my livelihood like this. 

“With all due respect, Andrew,” my voice was flat, my gaze unwavering, “this is still my discovery.  A discovery that is still being put through review.  It’s my life’s work, and it doesn’t have a capped value.  Your competition was quick to pitch the HPV vaccine to mainstream healthcare, what makes my product any different to that? I know that my research has potential beyond any monetary gain, and I hope you can see that as well.”

“With all due respect, Bellamy,” Andrew spewed venom as he hung off of my last name, “your product is only as good as who your company sells it to.  Your success is determined by my hands and our ability to disperse it.  It’s so very optimistic of you to believe that any immunization in today’s age would be accepted with open arms, but new data statistics show people are becoming withdrawn and afraid of getting ‘the poke’.  Even if it is false information, you know and I know that it takes a friendly touch to welcome the masses into a doctor’s office, and it starts with me, not you.”

Andrew turned to face Matt and Angela, “thank you for having us today.  Matt, Angela, it’s been a pleasure speaking and I’m sure we will be in touch again soon.” He nodded to me and gestured to his posse as they headed out the door, leaving me in disarray in my own laboratory. 

After a few moments of us staring at each other, Matt mentioned the very prevalent elephant in the room. 

“Are you out of your mind? Do you enjoy overstepping your boundaries? Don’t forget who makes the calls around here.”

“I’m sorry, Matt, I’m aware.  I just have dev—”

“—No ‘I just’ or ‘but it’s my’s’, Beth.  This is part of your contract, this is why you were asked to lead this team.  You have potential, don’t screw it up.” The way Matt was chastising me, I felt like a pup again, being scolded for playing too close to the pack house gardens. 

“You’re right, I’m sorry for overstepping,” the hell I was, but I needed to appease him somehow.

“Good, I’ll go get the crew” he meant my team.  Angela just stared daggers into me as they both walked off and exchanged the passageway with my team members.

I couldn’t even think straight, I blocked out Grace.  I blocked out everyone.  I was seeing red and needed to find a way to protect this breakthrough until I could work out an agreement on my terms.  I spent the rest of my hours in resentful solitude, researching allergens and reactions associated with chemical components of the vaccine.

When the day was finished, I was the first one out.  I pushed the glass panels of each door aggressively and half-jogged all the way home.

I walked up the stairs to my apartment and slammed the door shut behind me.  I have had enough of this day.  I don’t know what I expected, I grew up knowing that Allied was a cutthroat business, that’s why I wanted to detach from them, to see the humanity that is behind healthcare.  It’s not like they were worried about these diseases, wolf’s blood makes us immune to almost every pandemic and disease that scourged the planet.  I filled up another glass of water to bring to my room, along with the remainder of codeine and some allergy meds I kept on my kitchen counter.  I sat down on the side of my bed, opened the cap and shook six or seven tablets into my mouth while swallowing it down with some of the cough syrup.  My body plopped down, waiting for the drugs to take effect, when I heard my phone buzzing in my pants pocket. 

Unknown number.  Whatever.

I let it go to voicemail.  I shut my eyes, and felt my breathing slow down, and was brought back to reality by the same incessant ringtone.  It was that same unknown number again. 

“f**k, just leave a voicemail!”

Answer it.

God, Grace, not now.  I’ve already been pummeled by wolves today.  

They’re just going to keep calling…

I’m sure they’ll eventually give up.

I don’t think they will this time. 

I made an audible growl and pushed the green button just before the ringing stopped.  I steadied my voice and cleared my throat.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Beth”

It was a man, and his voice was eerily calm and calculated.  He continued,

“It’s Gamma Andrew.  Alpha Dominic has requested your presence tomorrow morning in his office at 8 AM at Allied Pharmaceutical headquarters on 125th St.  It’s imperative that you attend.  It is both business and pack related, you are urged to attend lest you face repercussions.”

I wasn’t allowed a word before he hung up. 

This should be fun!

Like a knife in the chest I mumbled and let the medicine do it’s work.