The Cure

SHE STOOD AT THE BACK of the room off to the right side of the large office, near the massive window that overlooked the river and park. She was taking a rare moment to appreciate the view, as most of the time she was too involved in her work to give a crap about silly shit like that. This was one of those rare moments when it was hard to concentrate on business, and what was expected of her. She had shareholders to answer to and profits to maintain, but she couldn't help but not be involved this morning as she was distracted, and for good reason. In her hand was a small glass that contained a decent helping of scotch, served straight. It was something she didn't hesitate to indulge herself with, especially when she was about to conduct business that no one would particularly relish or look forward to conducting. She hated this man and the mere sight of him repulsed her, but the man was very good at what he did. He was also highly recommended by someone she admired and trusted a great deal. Thus far his work hadn't lived up to their recommendations, but she had to admit the assignment given might have been a bit too much for him to handle. Xavier Carter was no ordinary hit, as both she and her people had underestimated the intelligence of the young doctor. This led him to elude both them and the authorities for well over three years. As she thought about what had been going on during those three frustrating years, the phone on her desk beeped at her. She walked over and hit the intercom button.

“Is he here?” she asked.

“Yes, Ms. Black.” the voice on speaker replied, “He's waiting in the lobby.”

Ms. Black drained what was left of her glass with one hefty gulp, and then hit the button on the phone again.

“Let him in.” she ordered.

Ms. Black polished off her drink as she walked away from the desk and back to where the liquor was located and put her glass away. She was caught putting it back as her visitor came in just as it was being returned.

“Audrey Black,” the man started, as he casually strutted into the lavished office. “Isn't it a tad early in the morning to be breaking out the scotch?”

“Depends on the agenda of the day,” Audrey answered.

“I couldn't agree more.” Her guest replied, “I'll take mine on the rocks.”

He slowly strolled over to where she was and took his own glass once she finished pouring it and made a sincere gesture of thanks.

“Cheers,” he said before taking a small ship. He let it linger in his mouth for a moment to relish the taste before letting it down his gullet. “My goodness, that's quite brilliant.”

“When you're a person in my position,” Ms. Black replied, “Only the best will do. I assume you're here to give me the latest report?”

“I am,” he replied, taking another short sip before taking a seat in one of the comfortable chairs in front of her desks. “He's gone underground again. I lost the trail somewhere in Philadelphia.”

“Son of a bitch,” Ms. Black cussed, resisting an urge to throw her glass.

“To make things worse,” her guest continued, “All the money he made while playing mob doctor is going to make him that much harder to locate this time out. Those friggin' goons paid him for everything in cash.”

“That’s just lovely,” Ms. Black replied, “Exactly much money do you think he's running around with right now?”

“Considering how many bullet wounds, stitches and other crap he dug out of hitmen and other thugs for almost a year,” the man said, thinking about it. “It could be anywhere between twenty to fifty grand. Those guys also provided him with all the equipment he wanted, free of charge, which is why he was able to stay there for so long undetected. They also covered his escape, which allowed him to take his lab equipment with him. This means wherever he sets up his next shop is going to be good to go right away. We won't be able to trace purchases to get to him this time; he's got everything he needs to start over.”

“And all this money he earned means he won't be looking for work this time either.” Audrey said, as didn't she like this sound of this.

“That is correct,” her man confirmed, “This time he can go completely underground for some time and might not stick his head out for a while. He’s got the advantage this time, but that just means we’ll have to work harder and come up with some outside of the box ideas. I didn’t get to where I am now by quitting when the going got tough. We’ll keep looking, and hopefully we’ll catch a break.”

“When I heard he was working for the mob, I anticipated this might occur.” Audrey said, walking back to the small bar at the corner of her office. “I took it upon myself to pull a few strings and call in some big favors. I even extorted some people with some dirt I had dug up to get things rolling. This plan I’ve put into motion should help drag Dr. Carter out of whatever hole he’s hiding in and flush him out.”

The man sat up in his chair. “What the hell have you done?”

Ms. Black walked over to her desk and opened the top drawer and pulled out a single piece of paper. She strolled over to her guest and handed it over to him to examine.

“Will this aid in your apprehension of our target, Mr. Jones?” she asked him.

Mr. Jones took a quick glance at the sheet and looked back up at Audrey, as he was holding the updated top ten wanted list for the FBI.

“Wow,” he replied, “I can't believe you managed to pull this off.”

“Like I said, it took a lot of arm twisting.” She reminded him.

“You actually had him elevated to the FBI's most wanted list?” Mr. Jones said, handing the paper back to her. “This will make him a marked man all over the nation. Every cop that shows up for work will see his mug shot every day on the billboard right above where the coffee and the donuts are. If they so much as pull him over for a speeding ticket, they could recognize him and its game over.”

“So, I take it you approve of our plan?” Ms. Black asked.

“Damn right I do.” Jones confirmed, “Carter won't be able to go out for Taco Tuesday without people noticing him. People will be tripping over one another to make a call to the feds to cash in on this massive reward. I assume you tossed in that amount from your own personal piggy bank?”

“I most certainly did,” Audrey replied, “The FBI loves posting rewards, especially when someone else is willing to foot the bill. I also know that people are more active when they are capable of cashing a lottery sized payday. Five million dollars will get a lot of people and a crap load of bounty hunters involved.”

“No shit.” Jones said, as the number had a fair number of zeros. “Right now, only terrorists and pedophiles have prices on their head than bigger than that poor bugger. I must admit whether or not this works will clearly depend on where he’s hiding out. If he's in the city, we'll get a lot of quick responses. If he's in a small town or even in a remote location, I can't make any promises.”

“The point is to shake the tree,” Audrey said, “I’m just hoping if we shake it well enough, something will fall out. I don't want Xavier Carter’s work to progress, let alone conclude anytime soon. We want that man and our property back here as soon as possible.”

“I know what my job is.” Jones said, standing up. “I haven't failed at catching my man yet, and I don’t intend to start now. While this one has taken up a lot more time than I would prefer, it will still end this on my terms. I’ll be the first to admit this Carter fellow has been one of the toughest assignments I have ever been given, but the chase is still on."

"That’s good to hear," Audrey concurred.

“Do you have a plan if the FBI gets to him before I do?” Jones asked.

“We do,” Audrey answered, sitting down behind her desk. “If he is apprehended by the authorities, there are people in the system that will make sure he is silenced before he is able to spill his story to those who might want to believe him.”

“And what if this plan fails?” Jones inquired, “What if he is too deep and no one can find him?”

“I have another plan,” Ms. Black admitted, “But it’s a plan I really hope we don't have to use unless it's absolutely necessary.”

“Fair enough,” Jones said, as he understood. “That’s your nuclear option.”

“Close enough,” Ms. Black confirmed as she opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a small lock box and put it on top of her desk. “I don't want to use it, but I will if all other efforts fail. If this is exposed to the public, Xavier will have no choice but come out and do what he can to save the day.”

Jones looked at the box. “Do I even want to know what that is?”

“No.” Audrey quickly responded, “You don't.”

“How sure are you that this will flush Carter into the open?” Jones asked, taking a few steps back from the mystery box.

“He's a doctor first, research is secondary to him.” Audrey said as she put the lockbox back into her desk. “He'll risk everything to save the lives of others, especially if he believes that what he has is the only thing that will save the day.”

“How many could potentially be at risk if you release this?” Jones asked, trying to get an idea of what kind of plan she had up her sleeve.

“Millions,” Ms. Black answered, “Carter must believe that the world itself could be at risk if he doesn't act. We’ll have safeguards in place to prevent that from getting out of hand, but the panic itself will cause riots.”

“Jesus.” Jones said, starting to get the big picture. “Remind me never to get on your bad side. You’re one evil cunt.”

“Yes, I am.” She confirmed, “If you don't like my back up plan, then I suggest you don’t put me in this position where I must release it. The FBI and cops around the country will be tracking him now, and I suggest you use them to aid your search. Nothing would make me happier than to put this box back from whence it came and cut you a very fat bonus for a job well done. Do we have an understanding, Mr. Jones?”

“I do,” Jones said as he straightened his tie. “I can tell you’re getting very desperate. The pressure is on, and I'll do what I can to expedite my work and resolve this as soon as possible.”

“Talk is cheap.” Ms. Black countered, “I want results.”

“Very well.” Mr. Jones said, putting his glass down on her desk. “Then I had better get back to work.”

Audrey Black watched as Jones slowly strode out of the office like a general who had just given his marching orders. He was a man on a mission, and he knew that he had to get the job done or else she was going to have to take matters into her own hands and do the unthinkable. She didn't want to take things to extremes, but Xavier Carter was bringing her company's existence to the brink of oblivion. Under the circumstances, she was going to do whatever it took to protect her company from going under. Xavier Carter and his work were never going to see the light of day; not if she had anything to do about it.