Mutation

Several of the guards in the Chimera uniforms were sitting around, entertaining themselves with cards and magazines. VJ

came into the room through the door that Victor had tried to enter on his last visit, wiping his hands on a towel. His eyes had a more intense look than usual.

“Did you come here to the lab last night?” VJ demanded.

“I did—” Victor said.

“I don’t want you to do that,” VJ interrupted sternly.

“Not unless I authorize it. Understand? I need a little respect and privacy.”

Victor regarded his son. For a moment he was speechless.

Victor had planned on being angry about the episode, but suddenly he was on the defensive. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean any harm. I was curious about what other facilities you had down here.”

“You’ll see them soon enough,” VJ said, his voice softening. “First I want you to see the new lab.”

“Fine,” Victor said, relieved to have the ill feelings dissipate so quickly.

They used Victor’s car, left Chimera, and crossed the bridge over the Merrimack. While Victor was driving he brought up the question of Ramirez.

“I inserted a number of security people into the Chimera payroll,” VJ said. “If you are concerned about the expense, just remember the enormous benefit Chimera is about to accrue from such a small investment.”

“I wasn’t concerned about the payroll,” Victor said. It was the ease with which VJ was able to do whatever he wanted that bothered him.

With VJ’s directions, they soon pulled up to one of the old mills across the river from Chimera. VJ was out of the car first, eager to show Victor his creation.

The building was set right on the river. The clock tower building was in clear view on the other bank. But unlike VJ’s previous quarters, the new lab was modern in every respect, including its decor. It had three floors and was the most impressive setup Victor had ever seen. In the basement were animal rooms, operating theaters, huge stainless-steel fermentors, and a cyclotron for making radioactive substances. On the first floor was an NMR scanner, a PET

scanner, and a whole microbiology laboratory. The second floor had most of the general laboratory space and most of the sophisticated equipment necessary for gene manipulation and fabrication. The third and top floor was devoted to computer space, library, and administrative offices.

“What do you think?” VJ asked proudly as they stood in the hall on the third floor. They had to move frequently as there were workmen everywhere, installing the most recently delivered equipment, doing last-minute painting and carpentry.

“Like everything you’ve done, I’m simply astounded,”

Victor said. “But this has cost a fortune. Where did the money come from?”

“One of my side projects was to develop a marketable product from recombinant DNA technology,” VJ said. “Obviously it succeeded.”

“What’s the product?” Victor asked eagerly.

VJ grinned. “It’s a trade secret!”

VJ then went to a closed door, opened it a crack, glanced inside, then turned back to Victor. “I’ve got one more surprise for you. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

VJ threw the door open and gestured for Victor to go inside. A young woman bent over a desk straightened up, saying, “Dr. Frank! What a surprise!”

For a moment Victor didn’t know what to say. He was looking at someone he’d never expected to see again: Mary Millman, the surrogate who’d carried VJ.

VJ reveled in his father’s shock. “I needed a good secretary,” he explained, “so I brought her in from Detroit.

I have to admit I was curious to meet the woman who gave birth to me.”

Victor shook Mary’s hand, which she’d put out to him.

“Nice to see you again,” he said, somewhat dazed.

“Likewise,” Mary said.

“Well,” VJ said with a laugh, “I really should get back to my lab.”

Victor self-consciously looked at his watch. “I’ve got to go myself.”

The meeting with Ronald Beekman was a waste of time.

Victor had tried to be confrontational about the NGF project to find out whether Ronald knew anything about it. But Ronald had said neither yes nor no, cleverly sensing this was an issue that might provide him with some leverage. When Victor had reminded him that at their last meeting Ronald had threatened to get even and make Victor’s life miserable, Ronald had just brushed it off as being a figure of speech.

So Victor left the man’s office not knowing any more than he had when he’d entered.

The only possible potential benefit of the meeting was that Ronald had indicated a sharp interest in the implantation project, and Victor had promised to put something together for him to read.

Leaving Ronald’s office, Victor headed back to his own.

He’d ask Colleen to arrange a meeting with Hurst. Victor wasn’t looking forward to it.

“Robert Grimes called you from your lab,” Colleen said as soon as Victor entered the office. “He said he has something very interesting for you. He wants you to call him immediately.”