The Cure

SAMANTHA TOOK A SEAT ON ONE OF the stools located in front of the island in the middle of her kitchen. She quietly watched as Xavier worked over her oven and made two very impressive three egg omelets, sided with a few strips of bacon, toast and some orange juice. He also grated some of the cheese that was in the small drawer inside the fridge door to stuff the omelet with, and it softly oozed out when she cut into it. They sat there and ate quietly for what seemed like hours but only a few minutes until Sam finally said something to break the silence.

“How do I know for sure you’re telling the truth?” she inquired.

“Would you like to see my medical license?” her intruder retorted.

Before she could reply, he stopped eating and walked into the living room where a few massive bags were sitting on her couch. He opened one of them and pulled out a small binder. He walked back to the island and placed the binder on the counter and opened it long enough to pull out a small piece of paper. It was a special coded paper with the authentic seal of the university he had graduated from. He handed it over for her to examine.

“Funny thing is,” Carter said, “If you called them up today and asked, they would deny these even exist. They’ve been trying to cut all ties since I went on the run.”

She looked back at him.

“They made your medical license disappear?” she asked.

“Well, it’s not all bad,” Carter said with a chuckle, “The good news is all the student loans I took out to pay for it kind of disappeared too. You can’t explain why a plumber would need to spend that much money to learn how to fix pipes.”

“Oh, that’s good point,” Sam agreed.

Carter took the sensitive document back from her.

“The truth is I probably deserve to have this taken away,” Xavier said, sighing, “I deserve that for what I’ve been doing for the past three years. It doesn’t mean that I deserve to have the hard work I did to earn it disappear along with else.”

“What have you been doing for the past three years?” she asked.

“Running mostly,” Xavier replied, “I’ve been moving from residence to residence, trying to hide out as long as I can, pretty much staying underground. It’s the only reason I’ve been able to stay alive this long. I do some intense research and someone who is fatally ill, like yourself. I offer them a chance to live in exchange for something that I need, which a place to hide.”

“So, that’s why you’re here?” Samantha asked as she was putting it all together. “You want to move in with me?”

“I scouted this area and many other people out,” Carter explained, “And you’re the perfect match, Samantha. You have no family or close friends who are going to drop by out of the blue. This house is yours so there are nosey landlords, and most of all… you’re dying and need my help. I’m not here to take advantage of you, Sam, I’m here to offer you something in return for the inconvenience my presence is going to cause. No one is going to be around to spot me, so that gives me some time to work on my research with minimal exposure. I’m hoping you’ll buy me six months, maybe even a year, of uninterrupted work. You have no idea what kind of progress I could get done with that much time.”

“So, that’s the trade,” Sam said, thinking about it. “Room and board in exchange for the chance to get rid of this pesky tumor in my head.”

Samantha put her fork down and started to mull over the thought of having to board a wanted fugitive in her home. He had picked her for various reasons, except for her job which she left for medical reasons, she was a loner in every sense of the word. She talked to no one and had no family that wanted to speak to her. No one was going to check up on her or would ever care to. To Carter, this was the perfect hideout.

“I’m going to need some time to think it over,” she told him. “Please don’t unpack anything yet.”

“Understood,” Xavier replied, “Take all the time you need. Just know that once you make a decision, then there’s no going back. Do you have any questions at all you’d like to ask?”

Samantha looked back up at him and thought hard about it for a few moments.

“Has anyone died during testing?” she inquired.

“Unfortunately, a few patients have,” Xavier said, putting his fork down as he suddenly began to lose his appetite. “As of right now, I can’t do any testing on anyone over the age of seventy. For some reason their system is too fragile to handle the serum and just shuts down.”

“What about children?” Sam asked, “Would they have similar issues like senior citizens?”

“I haven’t tested the serum on children yet,” Xavier confessed, “Like the elderly, their immune systems are weak because they’re just developing. So, I’ve been quite hesitant to try it on anyone under 21 for obvious reasons.”

“Of course.” Sam said, as she understood his fear.

“A you can see this kind of running has been straining on myself and my work.” Xavier said, pushing his plate aside. “On and off testing is a lousy way to conduct a study. I’ve managed to shake my pursers for the time being and if I can find a remote location with a cover that will prevent someone from just walking in on my work, then I can finally make some real progress.”

“And in return,” Sam added, “I get a new lease on life.”

“Doesn’t that seem worth the risk?” Xavier asked.

“What kind of risk are we talking here?” She inquired.

“I’m not going to sugar coat it,” Carter replied, “This isn’t going to be an easy treatment, because the serum is going to be attacking something that’s inside your head. I’ve never tried that before, so this is new territory.”

“How long will it take to administer the serum?” Sam asked, obviously considering it more than she ever had during their conversation.

“I don’t want to overwhelm your system,” Carter explained, “Especially since the tumor is in your head. I would prefer to administer the bare minimum and treat it slowly over a few weeks rather than days. I’m afraid if I give you too much, the serum could damage your brain while assaulting the tumor too fiercely. We need to go slowly with your treatment, so we don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

“So, you’d prefer to take it slow.” Sam repeated.

“Correct,” Carter confirmed, “I’m not sure how your head or the tumor for that matter will respond to the serum. There is a chance the tumor might not respond at all, or it could make things worse. I’m not trying to scare you off. I want your decision to be fully informed before we try anything.”

“I understand and appreciate that,” Sam said, feeling the urge to break open something stronger to drink. The feeling eventually passed. “How do you plan to finance your research while you’re here? I’ve got to be honest with you, I planned to sell this house and eventually move into an apartment, and then eventually in a hospice when things started to get real bad.”

“I managed to make a little money while I was on the run,” Carter informed her, “One of the stops I made in a big city scored me a lot of cash.”

Xavier walked over to the couch and grabbed another of his bags and opened it up. He pulled out a big beige envelope. He held it up for her to see, “There is more than enough to finance my work and support your treatment here. More than enough to last a year or so if needed.”

“Where did you get that?” She asked.

“Do you really want to know?” he countered.

“Not very legal, was it?” Sam asked.

Xavier shook his head. “I’ve pretty much tossed the rule book out the window when I went on the run. The stakes are too high to play it nicely. Millions of lives are at stake, even the future of our species.”

Sam sighed. “Please tell me you didn’t do anything involving drugs.”

“No, never.” Carter said, tossing his money back into the bag, “Since I have an MD, I was able to pimp myself out to the mob as their own personal surgeon. They got someone to remove bullets or care for their wounded without having to send their men to a hospital. Unethical, yes… but it was very profitable, and I had a secure place to conduct my research for over a year.”

“Is there something out there you won’t do to save your research?” she asked, curious to see if the line was redrawn or completely erased.

“I hope so,” Carter replied, “but I have reached that point just yet.”

“This whole ordeal has really pushed you to the limit, hasn’t it?” Sam asked.

“The people who want to silence my work have gone beyond the limit.” Carter continued, “They’ve murdered people, fabricated those murders to frame me for things I didn’t do. Then used others to stop me from doing something that would benefit the world. All because in the long run my work will likely hurt their bottom line. They don’t want that to happen as their profits are more important than saving lives.”

“That’s disgusting,” Sam spat out, her contempt visible a mile away.

“I agree,” Carter concurred, “Those people are truly evil. Wealth is convenient, but sometimes you’ve got to step back and realize that our soul is too high a price to pay for it. The fact that these monsters would rather let people die by the millions than give up their edge on the marketplace is despicable. What one person might call being competitive, others would refer to it as genocide. Doing nothing when you have the all the means to alleviate pain and suffering is no different than walking up to someone and pulling the trigger yourself. It’s cruel and inhumane.”

“And those are the people out there trying to stop you?” Sam asked.

“I’m afraid so,” Xavier confirmed. “These are the people who put profits and their place in the world as a higher priority than human life. Their malevolence knows no bounds, and they even consider themselves above the law. Worst of all, they’re capable and willing to do anything if it stops me from going public with my cure.”