Evil Intent (7 page)

“Did you?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“It worked. We had a super conversation in his cafeteria.”

“That’s wonderful, sweetie. See, you had nothing to worry about.”

“But mom, I feel like I’m back at square one again not knowing what to do next. Do I just sit and wait for a call? Forget about it until he makes a move, if ever, or get aggressive and call him? I feel like an idiot not knowing what I’m supposed to do? I’m not some naive school girl. I’m a grown woman, intelligent, with great experience. Why is it so hard for me to talk with a doctor who I previously met?”

“Just be patient. You’ll see him again when the time is right. You said he was a client.”

“But, I never felt this way. In school I could easily talk to boys. Didn’t give it two thoughts! And work? Well, that was easy, too,” Kathryn said sounding more excited and anxious than before.

“What’s his name, dear?”

“Richard. Dr. Richard Marks,” she said softly.

“That’s a nice name.” Mom said as Kathryn gave her a half-hearted smile, still looking somewhat sad and upset.

“When I’m with him, mom, there’s like this lump in my throat. My mind goes blank and I literally can’t think of anything to say.”

“That’s because you care and you just don’t want to say anything bad, or hurtful. Your brain wants him, but your brain also knows you can blow it, lose him or turn him off. I was the same way with your father. I wanted to make him happy.”

“You felt the way I do with daddy?”

“Yes, exactly like you do. I didn’t know what to say. We were in high school, and I thought he was the most handsome boy in the whole school, but he didn’t know I existed.”

“How did you approach daddy?”

“I didn’t. I didn’t have a clue what to say to him. Eventually, thank God, he approached me.”

“What did he say?”

“He asked me if I liked coffee ice cream.”

“What?”

“Yep. I told him I didn’t know. Never had it.”

“What happened?”

“He asked if I’d like to go with him to the Paradise and get some. I guess it was our first date. And it was wonderful!”

“Daddy was wonderful on the first date?”

“No, the coffee ice cream was! Oh, I guess your father was wonderful, too. Now that I think about it.”

“Mom, I just want a conversation, nothing more. No commitments, no coffee ice cream, just a conversation. We’re not even close enough for me to start thinking about how to make him happy. For gosh sakes, I dream about this man and he doesn’t even know me yet!” She said, beginning to get frustrated again over her dilemma.

“Oh sweetie, just trust your mother, patience is a virtue. If it’s meant to be, it will happen. And the next time, you’re at his office make absolutely sure you say something. Even if you tell him his lab coat is cool or his stethoscope looks just like the one Doc McStuffins has on the Disney channel, its ok. Anything to get his attention. If he looks at you strange, tell him you were only playing with him. Remind him that this time you had an employee with you when you stocked the shelves. You did what he wanted! He’ll appreciate that, and probably laugh, too.”

“Great line mom, definitely won’t get me in bed but, that’s ok too! Thanks. I love you, mom!

Chapter 9

T
his morning, Donald Gingrich awoke earlier than usual. He impatiently wanted to be in his office, to research certain information that until now, did not present an opportunity to do so. After showering and getting dressed, he immediately sat down in his kitchen, turned on the laptop, and checked his office email to make sure no unforeseen issues suddenly arose.

Ah ha, no emergencies today! This is great, I’ll have time for my research. Easy day!

“
Mother, would you like a soft boiled egg and a piece of toast? Or, I can cook scrambled eggs and sausage, for you, if you’d like. Ok mom, scrambled it is.”

Donald had a small two bedroom apartment just outside of Little Italy - on Mulberry Street, just south of Canal. Because of her age, and medical situation, his mother recently had moved out of her home in Far Rockaway to stay in the apartment with her son. Every now and then, they would travel to the beach house and spend the weekend just taking it easy. Donald enjoyed spending time in Far Rockaway, especially this time of year when the weather was nice and he could walk on the ocean beach. The old house had been in the family over 100 years and Donald was not about to sell it now.

“I’m leaving mother,” he hollered into the other room, “I’ll try to get home a little early today.” Then, he locked the door, and was on his way to the office.

He walked to the East Side subway, which he took north to Midtown Manhattan, getting off at 57th, in midtown Manhattan. From the subway station, he took a leisurely walk to his office, stopping at a favorite deli to pick up a cup of coffee for the office. It was much better than the coffee the ladies made at work, so he thought.

“Good morning Sherry,” He said to one of the receptionists, as he entered the lobby of the Rockne Pharmaceutical Company.

He was walking down a long hallway on the way to office when he passed the copy room. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Barbara, Kathryn’s secretary at the copy machine. He turned around and slipped into the doorway.

“Good morning Barbara, you look wide eyed and bushy tailed this morning. What brings you in here so early? Kathryn hand you a big project?”

“Hi Donald. No, there’s no big project. Silly me, just completely forgot to do something yesterday that Kathryn needed first thing this morning. Didn’t even remember until after I got home. Now, I’m scrambling! And, I wasn’t even able to get Kathryn her coffee this morning, poor girl.”

“Can I help?”

“Oh no, Donald, I’ll be fine. But thanks for asking.”

“Well, you just take your time and make sure everything is just the way you want it.”

“Thanks Donald. Hope you have a nice day.”

“You as well Barbara, bye.”

Donald started heading toward his office again when he suddenly got an idea. He turned around and headed to the other side of the lobby where Kathryn’s office was located. He made a quick stop before appearing at her door. Kathryn was busy at her desk, working with her head down. She looked up just as he was entering her office.

“Good morning Kathryn. I brought you a present.”

“Donald, what are you doing here?”

“I noticed Barbara was frantically copying something for you and didn’t have time to even get your coffee. I thought I might be able to handle that task! I think you like your coffee with cream and sugar? Or is it you like your sugar with a little cream and coffee? I forgot.”

“Oh, don’t be so silly, but thanks so much for the coffee. You really didn’t have to bother with that.”

“Trust me Kathryn, it’s no bother at all. Have a nice day!”

When Donald finally arrived at his office, he settled in and checked his emails once again. He was trying to get as many of the smaller issues off his desk. He had been working approximately one hour when he spotted a note from one of the Vice Presidents.

Shit, I completely forgot about this. Maybe I can get someone on my staff to handle it.

Donald briefly left his office and walked down the hall.

“Hey, Michael, I need you to do something for me. Massy needs this by 2:00 o’clock today. I want you to get on it right away.”

“Come on Donald. I’m working on the RMMS program. I can’t do that right now. We have a hard stop on the system this week.”

“Michael, I don’t need to hear a bunch of excuses. I’m a busy man, and you need to learn how to delegate. Why don’t you get Cynthia off her lazy ass and get her to do it. Just get it to me by 2:00. Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes sir.”

Donald turned and immediately headed back to his office. Because of Donald’s technology position with the company, he had access to most of the company computer systems. Once back at his desk, he signed on to the network to access the Human Resource System and queried the personnel files of Dr. Anton Andreyushkin. He then pulled a file from his lower desk draw and studied it for quite some time, before picking up the phone and dialing.

“Good afternoon, could I please speak with someone in personnel?”

“Certainly, one moment please.”

“Hello, my Name is Randolph Brennan, with the Department of Intelligence, Washington, DC. We are considering one of your former employees for a position, and wondering if I may verify his employment with your company?”

“Of course, sir. Did you say your name was Brennan?”

“Yes, that is correct, Randolph Brennan.”

“And, could I please have the name of the applicant, Mr. Brennan?”

“It’s Doctor Anton, Andreyushkin. Allow me to spell that for you,” Donald said, proceeding to spell out the name for the woman.

“I don’t see anyone by that name sir.”

“Would it help if I gave you his social security number?”

“Yes, that could help,” the woman said as Donald proceeded to read her the number. “Ah, here it is. Wow, it’s been quite some time ago Mr. Brennan, I show that Mr. Andreyushkin only worked here from Aug 2006 to Dec 2006.”

“Did you say from August 2006? Four months?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“That’s odd, I show that he was employed from December 2001 to December 2006 and that he worked in some kind of security position.”

“It says here he was hired in our Information Architecture Department.”

“I’m not familiar with that department.”

“Well, it’s sort of security. It deals with all the system security for our medical devices.”

“Oh, I see. By any chance can you see where he worked before he came to you folks?”

“I’m afraid not. The screen I’m viewing doesn’t indicate any additional information other than the direct employment and dates. Oh wait a minute. I could check the background report for you. That would show the former employer.”

“The...what kind of report?”

“Our company requires background checks, and that report would indicate the former employer. Hold on for one minute while I bring up the report.”

Donald patiently waited until the woman came back on the line.

“Oh dear, Mr. Brennan. This is strange. He was involuntarily terminated December 2001 because we could not obtain a background check.”

“Oh, I see. So you can’t tell where he came from?”

“Yes, I can see that. He was from out of the country. He came here in July 2006 from Moscow.”

“Moscow? Like Russia?”

“Yes sir, the Soviet Union. It says he worked for intelligence at the KGB. But, no one ever responded to our inquiry. We even asked Dr. Andreyushkin for a contact name which he gave us, but no reply was received from that gentleman either. We had no choice but to retract the offer of employment. He was terminated December 14, 2001.”

“Do you happen to have that contact name and address?”

The woman shared the information, then they ended the call.

Donald had taken notes during the call and needed to spend a few minutes cleaning up his notes. When he finished he placed the paper in the file he had removed from his desk. He placed it in his attaché case, then picked up the phone again. This time he called Eric, a fellow employee of the company.

“Eric, its Gingrich. Do you know anything about what Dr. Andreyushkin did a John Hopkins?”

“Not a clue, and don’t give a shit either, regardless of what he did or didn’t do there.”

“Ok, why don’t you tell me how you really feel?”

“Come on Donald. Of all people, you have more reason to dislike the guy than any of us!”

“Why do you say that?”

“Everyone knows you expected that job. Ted Duncan just pulled the rug right out from under your feet. That sucks.”

Yeah, I guess you’re right. Say, on another note, do you happen to have a copy of the operating manual for the 003 pump that I could borrow?”

“Sure, I probably have a couple. You can have one if you want.”

“Thanks, I’ll come by in a few minutes. See you then.”

Donald hung up, locked his PC, and walked over to Eric’s area. Eric found the other copy and handed it to Donald as he stepped into Eric’s office.

“Thanks Buddy. Much appreciated.”

“Yeah, sure Donald. No problem. Say, just out of curiosity, why were you asking about John Hopkins.

“Nothing really important, just confused over when he worked there, I guess. Someone said to me, he worked for the KGB in Moscow and the dates didn’t make sense, so I was trying to look into it further.”

“Man, can you imagine if that SOB worked for the KGB? That means he could easily kill people, whoa man, that’s spooky.”

“Either way, he already can, Eric.”

“What do you mean?”

“Whether he’s KGB or not he can kill people.”

“Why do you say that, Donald?”

“He invented and built a frigging diabetic insulin pump! One simple change of code, and poof! Patient’s dead!

“Holy shit! I never thought of it that way. Damn!”

“Gotta go, Eric. Thanks for the manual. See you later.”

When Donald returned to his office he noticed that Michael had placed on his desk the report that Vice President Massy needed. He immediately sat down and reviewed the report. All looked fine to Donald, so he jotted a quick note, attached it to the report, and walked it over to Massy’s office. Donald was extremely pleased that it was completed and off his desk.

The next few hours were spent reviewing and responding to his emails. Finally, he was far enough along that he figured it was safe to leave the office early. He packed up the files, and work he did today and marched out the door.

“Goodnight Sherry,” he said as he walked through the lobby on the way to the elevators. “I need to leave early today, Sherry. If anyone calls, please just tell them I’ll be in first thing tomorrow.”

“Alright, Donald. Have a good evening.”

Once home, Donald greeted his mother, fixed her a cup of tea, and retired to his bedroom, saying he had to work a few hours and did not want to be disturbed. He pulled out the papers and file from his office, and sat down at his desk.

Where is the manual? Ah, thank you Eric. This is exactly what I needed.

He flipped through the manual until he came to a schematic showing the component parts and construction of the AU003 pump.

Insulin reservoir? I don’t think I need to worry about this just yet. And I think the needle assembly and sensor on this puppy is fine.

Turning a few pages, Donald found what he wanted.

Here it is. The complete schematic. What’s this sensor? Oh, real time glucose monitoring. Don’t need that either. Pressure sensors, interesting, but do they have anything to do with drug delivery? Not sure. Better make a note to follow up. I assume its regulating the operating system. Well, I’ll find out later. Temperature sensor. This may be the little baby Eric was complaining about. Need to check this out too.

After several hours, he emerged from his room and went to discuss dinner with mother. His work for the day was finally done.