The Cure

Dr. ZAUN HAD BEEN SITTING IN WHAT looked like your typical interrogation room for close to several hours since being transferred to Quantico. The feds were clearly trying to intimidate her, but it wasn’t working. After their history, Xavier Carter was the last person June was ever going to rat out. He had saved her life so the idea of repaying that miracle by ratting him out to the feds was ridiculous. It just wasn’t going to happen. June wasn’t going to give up the man who changed her life, or bring the work he was doing to an end. She would rather rot in jail for the rest of the burrowed time Carter had given her than interfere with his miraculous work. Finally, after waiting for who knows how long, Melissa and Lisa entered the room to interview her.

“Good afternoon.” Melissa started.

“If you say so.” June answered rather snidely. She hadn’t been able to tell what time it was for a while since she got there.

“My name is Dr. Jackson,” Melissa continued, “And this is Special Agent Davis.”

“What time is it?” June inquired.

“It’s just past two o’clock.” Lisa answered. “Sorry to keep you waiting, but we were busy looking for your friend.”

“Sure,” June said, smiling as she sat back into her chair with arms folded. “I’m guessing you’re here because you lost him… again.”

“Is that funny?” Lisa asked as she noticed the smile.

“Probably not to you,” June conceded, “But I’m glad to hear Carter has given your boys the slip.”

“So, you admit to aiding a wanted fugitive?” Lisa asked.

“Of course I do,” June said, as she didn’t care what they thought of her. “I would do anything for Xavier. That also means I’m not going to rat him out either, so don’t even bother asking for my help.”

“You’d rather rot in jail?” Lisa said, eager to know how far her ties went.

“Happily.” June confirmed.

“Why are you helping him?” Melissa asked.

“Because he’s innocent.” June answered, “He didn’t kill those people.”

“Do you know who did?” Melissa asked, probing the source of her loyalty.

“I don’t know exactly,” June replied, “But if I had to guess, I might suspect it’s the same people who are trying to kill him right now.”

“Someone is trying to kill Carter?” Lisa repeated, taking that intel in.

“The same people who are trying to stop his research,” June added, “They’re the ones who killed his boss because he wanted to go public with their findings.”

Lisa was going to say something, but Melissa raised a hand and stopped him.

“Dr. Zaun,” Melissa continued, “Do you know what Dr. Carter is working on?”

“Of course I do,” June quickly answered, “I actually helped him conduct some of his testing.”

“Now you’re confessing to murder?” Lisa said as she stepped back in.

“No,” June said, as she refused to take the bait. “None of the people we worked on are dead. They all survived.”

“How many people has Carter been experimenting on?” Melissa inquired.

“At least a hundred,” June replied, “I don’t have the exact number.”

“You mean like these people?” Lisa said as she tossed the pictures of the people Cater was suspected of killing onto the table. They were quite graphic, and she produced them in an attempt to take Zaun by surprise.

“Oh my,” June said as she looked at the photos. “These are not any of Dr. Carter’s patients. It’s apparent that the people who are after him are not above doing anything to get their hands on him and his work.”

“What makes you say that?” Melissa asked.

“It’s the way the people were... used.” June answered, “What Dr. Carter is testing is a serum, kind of like a vaccine. The only thing you’ll ever find in any of his patients is a needle prick used to deliver the serum directly to their blood stream.”

“He’s testing a vaccine?” Lisa repeated.

“I call it a vaccine,” June explained, “Because it not only takes care of what ails you but prepares you to fight off anything that might come up later in life. It’s more like a serum, and a cure.”

“A cure?” Melissa repeated this time, “A cure to what?”

“At the moment, anything.” June replied, “That’s why he’s testing it. To see how much it can do, trying to find anything that could stump it. So far that hasn’t happened, and he’s cured so many people.”

“That’s fascinating,” Melissa said, as she was quite intrigued. “Is there any chance we can speak with someone that he’s cured?”

“You already are.” June answered.

“He cured you?” Lisa asked.

“Yes,” June confirmed with a smile, “A little over two years ago.”

Melissa opened June’s file that was before her and started to scan through it. Then she came upon her diagnosis.

“You contracted HIV,” Mellissa said as she continued to read it.

“Yes,” June acknowledged, “I contracted it after being stuck by a dirty needle while undressing a homeless man in the emergency room. That turned into AIDs a short time later.”

“When was the last time someone checked your T count?” Melissa inquired.

“That’s no longer necessary.” June answered.

“Why not?” Melissa asked.

June rolled up her sleeve and put her arm on the table.

“Take my blood and test it,” June challenged her, “You’re not going to find a single thing expect perfect health.”

Melissa paused for a moment and looked up at Lisa, who apparently also didn’t know how to respond to that as well. Lisa tapped her partner on the shoulder.

“We’ll consider it,” Lisa said, gesturing to Melissa. “I need to speak with you outside… right now.”

Melissa followed Lisa out of the room, but they proceeded to walk into the room next door where Agent Wilson was watching the entire time, taking notes on what was being said.

“What do you think, Lisa?” Wilson asked as they walked in.

“She’s a loon.” Lisa answered, “Brainwashed by Carter to believe anything he says. It’s almost like he’s running a cult.”

“That might be,” Melissa started, “But she honestly believes what she’s saying. She truly believes Carter cured her of AIDs.”

“It would explain why she’s so loyal to the guy.” Wilson added, as he kept taking notes. “If there are over a hundred people out there who think he’s cured them that would explain how he’s been able to stay under the radar. He’s crashing on everyone’s couch and that’s virtually untraceable.”

“Selling them snake oil and promises of good health.” Melissa said, as she looked through the mirror at June who was waiting for them to return.

“She bought it hook line and sinker,” Lisa agreed, “Shocking considering she’s a medical professional.”

“Then how do we convince her to turn against him?” Wilson asked.

“That’s the easy part,” Melissa replied, “We test her.”

“That could work,” Wilson agreed, “A positive test will prove to her what Carter is selling is a load of bull.”

“That’s the idea,” Melissa continued, “I’ll take some blood from her and if we can prove to her that she’s still sick, Dr. Zaun might roll on him.”

“Worth a shot,” Lisa conceded, “Let’s poke her and get a sample.”

As Melissa left to get the medical equipment to take June’s blood, Wilson turned back to Lisa who was deep in thought.

“What if it’s true?” Wilson asked.

“What if what’s true?” Lisa asked.

“What if Carter really did find a cure?” Wilson replied with a question of his own. “What if there really are people out there trying to kill him to keep this miracle cure from going public?”

“There is no cure,” Lisa sniped back at him, “So keep your tin foil hat at home for when you’re doing research on the JFK assassination.”

“Hey, Oswald was a patsy!” Wilson called as he took offense to that. “But I’m serious here, Agent Davis. What if Carter really is innocent and is curing one person after another like mother freakin’ Teresa?”

“What makes you think she’s telling the truth?” Lisa countered.

“Well, the Senator did make a full recovery less than ten hours after Carter was seen by security entering the hospital.” Wilson answered with a smirk on his face. “Have you considered the reason Carter might have been there was to cure the Senator and save his life?”

“Do you have any idea what Tony would say if he heard you spreading around the idea that Carter might be innocent?” Lisa inquired with a serious tone.

Wilson paused for a moment.

“Not really,” Wilson answered.

“Well, let me know when you do,” Lisa replied, “Because I intend to be somewhere else when you try to explain it to him.”

“How about we wait to see the blood results first?” Wilson suggested, as the idea of approaching Tony with any theory without any hard evidence back it up the claim was definitely out of the question.

“You actually think she’s going to come back clean?” Lisa asked.

“Twenty bucks says she’s cleaner than an OCD’s bathroom.” Wilson responded with his hand extended.

“Oh, you’re on!” Lisa said with a smile his hand before leaving the room to rejoin Melissa who had walked back into the interrogation room to withdraw June’s blood. She stood back and watched Melissa take a few vials of blood and then leave the room. Once they were left alone, Lisa decided to carry one with the questions.

“Why were you two at that hospital in Florida?” Lisa inquired.

June looked at her and smiled.

“I’d assume that was evident,” June answered, “We were there to help the Senator. He was poisoned.”

“How did you come across that information?” Lisa asked, as the feds were not telling anyone that little detail and sticking to the food poisoning story.

“I had an inside source that reached out for help,” June informed her, “They were getting pretty desperate and were calling for anyone they could find.”

“Is that so?” Lisa asked, as she walked up and sat down across from Dr. Zaun. “And you thought it would be a good idea to invite Carter to come along?”

“Well, that was my idea,” June confessed, “But Carter didn’t take much convincing. I had a feeling if anything could save the Senator, it was his serum.

“And this serum was given to the Senator?” Lisa asked.

“It was,” June replied, “Carter and I brought it to him, and my friend who works at the hospital injected it into him. How is the senator doing?”

Lisa heard all she wanted to hear, as she stood up and left the room. She slammed the door behind her and walked back into the back room where Wilson was on the phone with Tony. She took the cell phone from Wilson and put it on speaker.

“Tony, this is Lisa.” She called out.

“What have you got Agent Davis?” Tony asked.

“Whatever Carter was working on was some sort of super serum,” Lisa said, “According to Zaun, Carter injected this serum into the Senator.”

“I’ll inform the secret service.” Tony replied.

“You’re not going to speak with the senator?” Lisa asked.

“We can’t,” Tony informed her, “He’s off limits right now, and it appears to have made a full recovery. Whatever Carter used on him seems to have done the trick. He went from being at death’s door to jumping around like a jack rabbit in less than half a day. We need to get more intel about what this stuff is.”

“Does this change anything concerning his case?” Wilson asked.

“Wilson!” Lisa exclaimed.

“Not at the moment,” Tony replied. “Our job is to just bring him in, not solve his case regardless of what the truth is.”

Lisa could tell from Tony’s tone that Wilson had already informed Tony about most of what Dr. Zaun had said so far, including the declaration of Dr. Carter’s innocence. It was a detail that wasn’t going to stop Tony’s hunt to get his man.

“We’ll keep talking to her,” Lisa continued, “And see if we can get some intel as to his current location.”

“Do that,” Tony concurred, “We’ll be in touch.”

“Right Boss,” Wilson replied as he took the phone back from Lisa and disconnected the line. Lisa could tell by the look on Wilson’s face that he had doubts. There was a part of him that believed what Dr. Zaun had said.

“Our job is to bring him in,” Lisa reminded him, “so focus on the game at hand.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Wilson replied, as he didn’t want to push his luck any further.

Lisa walked out the door in disgust, as the idea that Zaun had gotten to him had sickened her. She wasn’t going to get to her, Lisa thought to herself as she returned to the interrogation room to grill Dr. Zaun a little more about her story.