The Rebel King (All the King's Men Duet #2) - Kennedy Ryan Page 0,7
this.”
“I’m not a CEO like you. I could buy you out several times over, and you know it, which is the only reason you took my call. I asked for the status of these negotiations, and I’d appreciate it if you’d stop bullshitting me.”
“Look, Cade,” he says, his tone hardening into cement. “This is a confidential company matter, and none of your concern.”
“Ms. Hunter is my concern. Do you want to tell me what the hell is so special about this vaccine they’re demanding? Or would you like for my team to start digging? Because if we start digging, there’s no telling what we’ll find, and I won’t hesitate to turn it over to the FBI and the CDC, which I suspect you should have done by now.”
He’s quiet on the other line, silently confirming that my instincts are not misleading me.
“Am I right, Vale? This vaccine must be awfully special, and if you haven’t brought the CDC in yet, which it appears you haven’t, then you’re still trying to keep it off their radar. I promise if you don’t tell me everything, I will blow the whistle so hard on your shit, the FBI will be at your door in the next hour. Am I clear?”
He ahems. “Yes, I hear you.”
“Then talk.”
“There’s an international humanitarian organization that has created certain . . . incentives for pharmaceutical companies who find ways to increase the effectiveness of vaccines in developing nations,” he says. “And, before you ask, I cannot disclose the name of this organization.”
“Go on.”
“Doctor Murrow leads the CamTech team that has spent the last eighteen months focused on the efficacy of a strain of the TB vaccine.”
“And?”
“And he made incredible progress. I urge you that what I’m about to say must stay between us.”
“I have a security specialist who may become involved with the negotiation process for Ms. Hunter’s extraction. He may need to know, but I can guarantee his silence and trustworthiness.”
Vale’s frustrated exhale comes across the line. “If this gets out—”
“Every minute you waste is a minute Ms. Hunter is losing. Tell me what I need to know. Now, and no bullshit.”
“Doctor Murrow developed a super vaccine of sorts. Of course, you know how vaccines work. They contain enough of the disease to trigger our bodies’ defensive process. When we first encounter infection, we have cells that learn how to fight it.” He clears his throat, a sound of hesitation and discomfort. “In trying to create a vaccine for TB that would be stronger and more effective in developing nations, Dr. Murrow inadvertently created something so strong it essentially ‘tricks’ the body’s defensive mechanism into believing it has learned how to counter the infection, but then actually increases the symptoms until you die.”
Shit.
“Die?”
“We haven’t gotten to the stage of human testing,” Vale continues, “but all the animal trials we’ve conducted so far show the markers of something quite groundbreaking.”
“And dangerous. You haven’t alerted the CDC about it yet? Surely there are guidelines that would require you to.”
“Mr. Cade, our plan was to notify the CDC when it became more clear what we actually have and how it might be used. It was top secret. Someone privy to the details must have leaked the project. We’re trying to flush out our rat now.”
“And how does this kidnapper want to use it?”
“I’m speculating, of course, but I believe he has . . . clients who see the potential value of weaponizing the vaccine.”
“In biochemical warfare, you mean.”
“Yes, I would assume so.”
Air hisses through my teeth at the staggering effect this thing could potentially have.
There’s no way in hell CamTech will turn that vaccine over. They can’t.
I draw a calming breath to keep from hurling the phone through my office window. “So your plan is what?”
“We’ve opened negotiations with the kidnapper,” Vale says. “I’m sure you know how this works. The US government doesn’t negotiate with terrorists and rarely engages in private foreign hostage situations. If they find out about the vaccine at this stage, they’ll confiscate it and any pertinent records. If my rat finds out we no longer have the vaccine and tips them off—”
“You’ll have no leverage with the kidnapper.”
“Make no mistake, Cade, we will never turn that vaccine over. Our only hope is to convince the kidnapper to settle for the money. Can you imagine this as a weapon at what would essentially be a black market auction? No way we’d let that be tracked to us. That would be a public relations nightmare.”