Blood Harvest Page 10

  “Yes.”

  The assistant looked from Steve to the security officer, then back to Steve.

  “Um…My name is Ellen Reece. Mr. Daniels has kindly agreed to meet with…”

  Steve never turned to look at her as he was locked in a contest of wills with the security officer.

  “Is…Johnson, is everything all right?” the assistant asked the security officer.

  The security guard didn’t answer her. He just kept staring straight at Steve.

  “So, it’s Johnson,” Steve finally spoke out loud.

  “So it is,” the security guard answered.

  “I’ll try to remember that,” Steve returned with heavy sarcasm.

  “And I won’t forget.” As he spoke the security guard made a gesture with his right thumb and first finger as if he was shooting Steve with a gun.

  Steve’s temper was about to flare when Ms. Reece stepped in front of him. She had obviously seen the gesture Johnson had made and wanted to stifle any possible outburst by taking control of the situation.

  “Mr. Daniels is a very busy man and he has graciously agreed to accommodate you despite the interruption to his schedule. I would suggest you come with me now or I will ask you to come back another day.”

  Not a bad plan on her part. Unfortunately for her, the goings on of the past couple of days had soured Steve’s patience and his personality to the point that he had been holding it together with the finest of threads. Now he had taken about as much attitude as he was going to take from the staff inside Pharmanetics. Steve spun toward the assistant.

  “Listen to me lady, and you listen good. I am taking time out of MY busy schedule to afford Mr. Daniels the courtesy and opportunity to meet with me in a friendly and casual manner. However, if everyone around here doesn’t start showing the Los Angeles Police Department some serious goddamn consideration, I will be back in an hour with a court order!”

  As Steve finished, the security officer leapt up from his chair. Faster than the eye could follow Steve drew his Glock from his belt holster and placed the end of the barrel to the bridge of the man’s nose.

  “Sit down!”

  Shock was the first thing to register on security officer Johnson’s face, followed quickly with a smoldering anger building to explosive proportions as the man slowly slinked back in his chair. Other security personnel, having seen or heard the disturbance, moved in and stood around Steve with weapons drawn.

  “Now are we going to be civil about this?” Steve asked while keeping the handgun aimed at Johnson, seemingly unaware of all of the men surrounding him.

  Silence flowed through the room for a few seconds before Ms. Reece spoke up.

  “Detective, please follow me.” She held her hand out in the direction of the elevators.

  Steve lowered and holstered his weapon. The mass of security personnel looked to Ms. Reece, who gestured for them all to stand down. Johnson was still fuming, but to his credit he kept his mouth shut.

  Steve turned and nodded in a polite manner to Ellen Reece.

  “After you, Ms. Reece.” The two set off toward the elevator.

  They stood in silence in front of the doors; Steve could feel all of the eyes in the building watching them, especially Johnson, whose anger was practically palpable.

  As the doors opened and Steve walked into the elevator, he raised his hand and gestured to Johnson with the same thumb and first finger he had faced earlier. Steve pressed his thumb down and dropped the hammer on the security man who turned away as the doors to the elevator closed.

  “That was an interesting display in our lobby,” Ellen Reece said as they rode to the top floor. “Johnson is a brutish man, but he is extremely loyal to our company; only doing his job, albeit in his own way.”

  That stung a little bit. Steve realized he had barged in unannounced and, although politely, demanded an audience with one of the top ten most influential men in Los Angeles. He had never been rebuffed, at the worst he had been made to wait, and he had gotten into a pissing contest with a security guard over his turf. He was about to apologize when the elevator doors opened directly into a large penthouse with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the entire valley. The room was incredibly lush with high-end electronics and boardroom furniture. Directly across from the elevator was an enormous mahogany desk with two dozen leather chairs. Standing on the far side of the desk with his back to the elevator, peering out the window stood a man.

  Ellen walked out of the elevator and directly toward the man. Steve followed, but found his attention drawn to various art pieces and plasma televisions. Ellen stopped short of the large table and pulled out a chair for Steve. His attention was so distracted he almost walked into the woman.

  Stopping abruptly, “Whoops, sorry.” Steve smiled as he spoke to Ellen.

  She returned the smile, “Won’t you have a seat?”

  Steve looked to the man, “Mr. Daniels?”

  The man turned. “Please have a seat, Detective. Mr. Daniels will be coming in from his office shortly. My name is Kunnert, but you may call me Kenneth.”

  He looked at Kunnert who extended his hand in a friendly greeting. Steve shook the man’s hand and found his grip to be powerful but not overbearing. Kunnert was well-dressed in a red short sleeve golf shirt and black slacks. He carried an air of authority.

  “Forgive me Mr. Kunnert, but who are you exactly?”

  “I am in charge of security for the Pharmanetics Corporation and I am Mr. Daniels’ partner, although I admit I am a very small partner, in this company.” Kunnert smiled a blatantly obvious false smile and released Steve’s hand. Kunnert’s phone sounded off and he looked to his belt to read the display screen.

  “Ah, I see Mr. Daniels has left his office and is on his way here now.”

  A few seconds later Alex Daniels entered the room talking on a cell phone.

  “This is the second time your company has let me down and let me assure you it will be the last. I am stopping payment on the check, so come and get your equipment.”

  Alex Daniels looked up from his conversation and nodded to the three people in the room as he hung up the phone. Ms. Reece walked over to her boss and made the introductions.

  “Mr. Daniels, I would like you to meet Detective Steve Jacobs of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Homicide Division. Detective Jacobs, this is Alex Daniels, the founder and CEO of the Pharmanetics Corporation.”

  Mr. Daniels extended his hand, “A pleasure detective.”

  “Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice, sir.” Steve stood and warmly returned the handshake.

  “Oh please, drop the ‘sir’; we are all rather informal here. Now, please sit down with me and tell me the reason for your visit to our humble halls.”

  Steve hoped he could be “p.c.” enough to cut to the chase without causing any offense, at least for the moment.

  “Thank you again. Well, I am investigating the incident which occurred at The Inferno three days ago and I was hoping to gain a little insight into your company’s position regarding the incident.”

  Mr. Daniels tilted his head slightly. “The company’s position? I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “You are aware of what happened at The Inferno?"

  "Of course. Our scientists assisted in the clean-up and are now monitoring the area for any further outbreaks.”

  “Clean-up and outbreaks of what?”

  Smirking as he answered, Mr. Daniels continued, “That’s the sixty four dollar question isn’t it? We still haven’t ascertained what caused the catastrophe; however, our trained professionals are on the lookout for any signs of a bacterial, viral, or chemical agent which might still be lingering in the area.”

  “Forgive my ignorance of such things, but don’t you have to figure out what you are dealing with before you can go in and clean up?”

  “That would be an ideal situation; however, there are also established methods for entering an area to determine exactly that. We used thes
e protocols until we determined each area was free of danger.”

  “So you’re saying you went in and after doing the necessary tests, didn’t find anything?”

  Daniels looked as if he had just said more than he had intended, but he continued, knowing it was too late to change the story now. “Yes, that’s true. I suppose you could say that, in actuality, our teams were ‘clearing’ areas as being safe as opposed to ‘cleaning’ them.”

  “I see. How did your company get involved with the ‘clearing’ of the area?”

  Daniels started to look uncomfortable. “One of the drugs we produce is an antidote for nerve agents used in chemical warfare and we produce it for the government. This gives us certain ties to not only the U.S. government but to worldwide organizations such as the World Heath Organization. When the crisis happened the WHO contacted our company, knowing we had the equipment and trained personnel, with a request for our assistance. Pharmanetics, of course, was willing to help in any way possible.

  “And with what exactly did the WHO say they wanted your help?”

  Daniels started to sound irritated. “We weren’t told what was going on as no one really knew anything. We were only asked to go in expecting the worst and report our findings.”

  “I see. So a worldwide organization asks you and your company for help with some potentially lethal threat they knew nothing about and you expect me to believe you casually sent your people, people for whose well-being you are responsible, into the area without any information?”

  “Well…it was hardly casual. We have procedures for going into ‘hot zones’ of activity, without knowing what we are up against, procedures for safely assessing, stabilizing and containing whatever the dangers.”

  Mr. Daniels was constantly glancing at Kunnert, becoming more ill at ease with each passing moment. Kunnert seemed unfazed and did not react in any way.

  “Very commendable; I’m sure you are very proud of your crew.”

  “Yes, we are indeed.”

  “Just so I understand, why does the corporate headquarters for a company that manufactures medicines and other pharmaceuticals need a Haz-Mat team? Especially, when it turns out that your closest manufacturing plant is in Iowa?”

  “Well, we…I don’t see how any of this has to do with what happened at The Inferno. Who or what are you really investigating Detective?”

  “I checked with the business license department and your company is not licensed to have a lab or research facility on site here in Los Angeles. So I guess my real question is, if you didn’t have a crew of researchers and scientists here, then where did they come from?” So much for the politically correct approach, Steve thought.

  Mr. Daniels looked as if he might have a heart attack, but before he could respond Kunnert stepped forward, “I am sorry Detective, but as head of security for Pharmanetics there are some pieces of information we must keep confidential as a result of our government contracts. If you feel the information is crucial to your case I would suggest you contact members of the federal government for the release of the information. Otherwise, I am afraid there are some questions regarding the company that will have to go unanswered.”

  As Kunnert spoke, Daniels seemed to have a transfusion of authority. “Detective, most of your questions seem to be an investigation into my company as opposed to an investigation into what happened at The Inferno. So, I ask you again, who or what are you here to investigate.”

  Steve knew he had pushed too hard at this point, but there was no going back.

  “If you must know Mr. Daniels, I have my reservations about the presence of a public company doing the work of the federal government. I have worked with the feds and I can tell you from experience they don’t let anyone play in their sandbox without having some serious leverage or need. So that leads me to your company and whatever may be Pharmanetics’ angle in the situation.”

  Daniels was now completely composed and under control. He stood and slowly walked over to where Steve was sitting. “I appreciate your candor Detective; however, in light of what you just told me, I believe any information you need regarding Pharmanetics is a matter of public record. Any other information Pharmanetics or its employees may or may not have should be requested through the proper channels. At the very least I would expect the company’s attorneys to be present during the meeting. Now, please forgive us as we have no more time to spend with you today.”

  Astonished by the blatant stonewalling, Steve could only think to say, “Mr. Daniels, do you really want me to get the court orders? After all I was under the impression the city and the LAPD were at your disposal.”

  “Pharmanetics will happily provide anything it can to help the LAPD and the city, but we would appreciate the consideration of not being hounded as we perform our charity work. That’s all the time I have for you Detective. Mr. Kunnert will show you to the door.”

  Steve stood up from his chair. “Thank you, but I can find my way out.” He turned and walked to the elevator where he pushed the down button. Looking back into the room, Steve saw the two men watching him leave as Ms. Reece walked toward him.

  “I appreciate what time you were able to give me Mr. Daniels. I’ll be in touch.” A threat was audible in Steve’s voice.

  “I look forward to it, Detective,” came the unfazed response from Daniels.

  The elevator doors opened and Steve stepped inside, followed by Ms. Reece. Steve never saw Kunnert nod ever so slightly to Ms. Reece as the doors of the elevator closed. The room was silent for a moment before Daniels turned to Kunnert, “What did you make of that?”

  “He’s fishing. You were right to cut the meeting short when you did,” Kunnert responded.

  “What did you think of the court order he brought up?”

  “I think he’s bluffing. He has nothing to go on and getting a court order against this company would not be easy under the best of circumstances. The Detective is operating solely on conjecture.”

  “I agree. He’s off the mark, but not far off enough for me to be comfortable.”

  “Do we make an example of him?”

  Daniels thought for a moment, “No, I don’t think so. Not yet anyway. However, it may be prudent to keep an eye on him, just in case.”

  Chapter 14

  In the elevator Steve paced like a caged leopard, his head starting to throb. The residual effects of his concussion manifested when he was in any heightened state of emotion. This physical problem put him in an even worse mood than he would normally have been in after such a meeting. He definitely considered the Pharmanetics group, or at least its executives, suspects in this case. The problem was the motive. Why would a multi-billion dollar company risk something as public as what happened at The Inferno? Steve thought it more likely they had some kind of “bug-or-drug” that had gotten away from them and the whole clean-up they “volunteered” for was, in reality, a cover for something else.

  Steve stopped in his tracks and looked at the woman sharing the elevator space with him. Her whole disposition had changed. She seemed smug and patronizing as she looked at him from where she leaned against the elevator wall.

  “I guess you didn’t get what you wanted, did you?” she chided.

  Steve didn’t answer; instead he looked away and tried to focus his thoughts.

  “Aw, what’s the matter Quickdraw? Having a hard day?”

  Steve couldn’t believe this. She was actually goading him. Oh, he so did not need this.

  “Careful lady. I’m not in the mood,” Steve warned.

  “Well, I am always careful and in the mood. I suppose I should tell you I wasn’t impressed by your little display in the lobby earlier and if you ever try something like that with me I’ll make you eat that gun.”

  Steve chuckled at the remark, “Is that so?”

  “Yes, that is so.” All humor had left her voice. “Johnson is a friend and believe me when I tell you I will be taking the issue of your threatening him at gunpoint to your superiors.”
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br />   “Go ahead,” Steve said without interest.

  “I intend to have you suspended.” Ellen was getting riled.

  Exasperated with the woman, Steve rubbed his eyes. “Lady, do whatever you want or feel you need to do, but in the meantime would you be so kind as to shut the fuck up.”

  This had the opposite effect as Ellen started screaming at him.

  “Who do you think you are? And who the hell do you think you are talking to?”

  As the car continued it’s descent, Steve turned to Ellen and pointed an accusatory finger at her face.

  “What are you doing here? I said I could find my own way out.”

  Ellen moved past the finger and stood nose to nose with Steve without flinching.

  “Frankly Detective, this is my job and I don’t give a rat’s ass what you do or do not appreciate.”

  Slack jawed and beside himself, Steve was unable to respond.

  “The fact that the CEO has asked you to leave the building means I don’t have to be polite anymore, so let me tell you what is going to happen from this point forward.”

  Steve noted Ellen was talking with the command of a basic training drill instructor, which was actually quite disconcerting.

  Ellen continued, “You are going to walk out of this elevator and I am going to walk out next to you. We shall pass through the lobby and exit the building where we will shake hands and you will then proceed to get the hell off the property!”

  Ellen let the force of her words sink in, as Steve remained too stunned to speak.

  “If you decide to stray in any way from this plan I will see to it that badge or not, Johnson and his thugs will get you off property by force. Do we understand each other?”

  Steve regained his composure and began to respond, “Lady, I don’t know who…”

  Ellen cut off what he was saying by punching him with a right hook that rattled his teeth. Steve gripped his chin and spat blood into his hand. The inside of his lip had been cut on his teeth from the blow.