Terminal Reaction: The Persford Series, #3

Prologue

‘Hi, it’s me, everything OK?’

‘Great, I’ve done what you asked.’

‘Excellent, we are definitely on a roll here. This could be really big.’

‘Hope so, I’m getting a bit worried.’

‘Trust me, we’ve been careful, it should be difficult to unravel, we’ve woven a complex web.’

‘I hope you’re right.’

‘You know I am. Think of this as a springboard to bigger and better things. We’ve shown we can do this, there’s no reason why we can’t repeat it, even select another unsuspecting subject. We just have to identify one.’

‘OK, let’s hope we can remain under the radar.’

‘We will. Now remember, no mistakes and only contact me on this number, not my usual one.’

‘Sure, speak to you soon, bye.’

‘Bye for now.’

Chapter 1

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With Brett Chandler as Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) at the helm, the small biotech company BioQex was doing well, a second successful prototype to treat chronic pain namely, BQ-896 had been presented to the medical and scientific worlds and had been well received. The share price had rocketed as a result and although it had now levelled out somewhat it meant that the company’s market capitalisation was much higher. Financially it seemed in a much more secure place than it had been only a year ago. The main goal now was to build on that success and progress to even loftier heights.

Sadly their Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Frank Stevens had been head-hunted by another company who had no doubt watched how he had steered BioQex through from a risky start-up company to one occupying a much sounder financial footing. They had also decided that his talents at running a tight ship could be used to good effect elsewhere. The offer of a twenty percent increase in salary had proved too tempting and Frank had tendered his notice. He was released with immediate effect and a rapid search was instigated to find a successor. In the interim period the Chief Business Office (CBO), Jonathan Barrow and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Piers Frobisher had shared the vacant role but this was all due to change with the appointment of the new CFO, a Ms Melanie Granger.

Melanie had a Masters Degree in Accountancy and was a Certified Public Accountant, she’d had a couple of previous positions both of them within bigger companies but was looking to move to a top position. They would have preferred someone with more experience at a higher level, but she was an excellent verbal communicator, so the board decided to give her a chance. She also improved their diversity profile at board level. There had been some comments in the press that although BioQex liked to present itself as a young, dynamic and modern company, all its senior positions were held by white males. There was a way to go before they reached a fifty percent split of male and female but they had to start somewhere.

So on a Monday morning in mid-September Brett Chandler was taking a few moments to stretch his legs and give his eyes a break from looking at his laptop screen, waiting for Piers to bring in Melanie Granger. Piers was taking her round to see members of the senior team on her first day. His gaze through his office window was interrupted by a knock at the door followed by its immediate opening.

‘Brett, hi, here’s Melanie to see you,’ and Piers and the new financial officer stepped into Brett’s office. Piers’ guest and new employee, was thirty-two, smartly dressed, naturally tall and even taller due to her towering heels. She was easily a match for Brett’s five feet eleven inches. She oozed confidence and professionalism. She carried a smart expensive looking briefcase although Brett couldn’t immediately place the brand.

‘Melanie, hi, good to see you again, come in, come in,’ said Brett effusively and the two colleagues shook hands warmly.

‘Please, it’s Mel. Good to see you again too.’

‘Mel it is, can I get you a coffee?’

‘Oh, no thanks, I’ve just had one.’

‘Well I’ll leave you two to catch up, perhaps when you’ve finished you could take Mel along to see Jonathan and Bob?’

Jonathan Barrow was mainly concerned with marketing, press releases, the general strategy of the company and all matters not strictly scientific or financial. Bob McKewan, though not an actual board member was Head of Biology and thus held a key position overseeing all the biological science.

‘Sure, no problem, will do. Mel, please have a seat over here.’

Brett and Mel sat at the small table in the corner of Brett’s office rather than sitting either side of his desk thus engendering a more informal atmosphere.

‘So, Mel, good to have you on board, hope you enjoy working with us,’ offered Brett warmly.

‘Thanks, can’t wait to get started, I’ve got some great ideas for the company, I’m sure you’ll like them.’

‘Well that’s great, I’d love to hear them, of course, you’ll need to become familiar with the company finances and so on, so I guess in a week or so we’ll be able to hear your plans.’

‘Oh, I hope to tell you much sooner than in a week’s time,’ replied Mel, looking slightly troubled at what she perceived as Brett’s rather pedestrian approach. ‘Piers is getting me all the relevant documents together for my perusal. But it’s the bigger picture I’d like to focus on. Vision, yes?’

‘Vision, well yes, that’s great, I’m sure we will be able to consider your ideas.’ Brett was beginning to think he was the new starter and Mel was his superior. Mel had breezed in with such confidence that he felt he was playing catch up all the time. It sounded very much like she thought she was going to be making sweeping changes in a couple of days. He felt nervous. Had they been too easily persuaded by her slick presentation at interview. Her CV had shown she’d attended the famous Roedean School, then gone on to Oxford University to study Classics, before switching to something far more practical in the shape of accountancy. Brett was of the opinion that Mel was being employed basically as a bean counter. He wondered which lucky senior member of BioQEx was going to have the courage to explain this to her and shatter her illusion of being a female Richard Branson. As far as Brett was concerned she needed to think about balance sheets, profit and loss and expenditure and leave the vision to others. Without a stable financial position, the only vision they would be looking at was the world of bankruptcy. He was conscious of Mel’s steely gaze, perhaps she had detected his muted enthusiasm for her vision.

‘More staff are needed here, I can see that straight away. Lots of underutilised space. Not cost effective, by the end of the week I want hiring notices advertised through all the usual scientific journals and websites,’ explained Mel confidently.

‘Ah, well, yes, but that will be a board decision. As you’ve said you haven’t yet fully examined our finances.’

‘Well that’s true technically but we don’t want to get too focused on figures, do we?’

This was too much thought Brett, things were moving too fast, he needed to put a stop to this now, the woman was a whirlwind, blowing through creating chaos. Perhaps it was nerves, he sincerely hoped so, he’d had enough of this conversation for the moment. He looked at his watch.

‘Goodness, how time has flown. I need to take you to meet the rest of the senior team.’

‘Fab,’ enthused Melanie.

Brett had previously intended to take her to meet Jonathan Barrow but he decided that she should meet Bob McKewan first. Surely a meeting with plain speaking, dour Bob would manage to dispel some of her enthusiasm, albeit temporarily. He would love to be a fly on the wall when those two met, he smiled to himself inwardly. Well she’d brought it on herself, it was time to meet someone who would tell her frankly what he thought of her day one plans.

‘This way, Bob’s a great biologist, I’m sure you’ll enjoy having a proper chat. You met him briefly at interview.’

‘Oh, yes, I remember, Bob, he’s from the north somewhere if I remember.’

‘That’s right, glad you remember him,’ added Brett, hoping she couldn’t see the grin which was spreading across his face.

Chapter 2

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Giles Wentworth, senior Financial Partner at Forteen Bank was having a busy start to the week. In addition to his official job he had some personal business to attend to but he might not have the chance today during working hours, he would need to stay on at work a bit later than normal. He was alerted by a text on his cheap pay as you go mobile which was only used for unofficial business. His friend Jake Marsfield in another large finance house had just been in touch to say that the offshore account was now opened and ready to receive funds. This would be only a temporary home for the money, it would spend a few weeks there and then be rerouted to another offshore account before leaving that account to journey back to the UK whereupon it would be split between Giles’ and Jake’s accounts. Prior to leaving the UK, a small percentage would spend a few weeks in an account bearing the name Brett Chandler. It was this account that Giles was busy setting up now.

To an outsider, it would look like Brett had asked Forteen Bank to set up an account for him as he was friendly with Giles. In truth, Brett was a hundred miles away in Persford and had no inkling whatsoever that he had opened an account in the said bank. Brett and Giles had attended the same university a decade or more ago and had lost touch until Giles became aware that Brett was now CSO at a promising biotech company. The timely meeting at an alumni dinner had started the chain of events which had provided a lucrative opportunity for Giles.

He checked his watch, ‘Shit’, he said to himself. A senior partner meeting was due to start in ten minutes. Picking up his PAYG phone, he sent a quick text.

‘Thanks. Not ready at this end yet. Will text again when all stations go. Not long now.’

Jake had been mega efficient. Giles however, had been hampered by the vagaries of the Royal Mail, or rather the fact that the number of letters being sent was considerably reduced nowadays. Opening bank accounts still needed some official documentation though, proof of address and so on. Having offered Brett the chance to stay over at his flat after the alumni dinner he’d had the opportunity to rifle through his coat in the hallway and happen upon his driving licence. That provided the necessary details to apply for Royal Mail’s redirection service for a month. He had begun to think the service wasn’t working as it took over two weeks for any mail to be sent on from Brett’s address to his own. Finally, he’d received some official documents which he needed to open Brett’s account. He’d had a chuckle at some of the personal letters he’d received. He wondered whether Brett ever wondered why he’d not received three of his birthday cards.

That morning he’d quickly checked BioQex’s share price, it was holding up well. Later this week it should be time to start to liquidate some shares and start the money on its global journey. Keep up the good work Brett my old chum he thought as he grabbed his phone and notes for his important meeting.

Chapter 3

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Nick Thomas had arrived at BioQex eager to make progress with his science. After a serious assault he’d been working shorter days and only doing a small amount of laboratory work but for the past couple of weeks, he’d felt able to get back to doing full days in the lab. Whilst Nick had been recuperating his direct report Kirsty had been supervised by Billie Matheson, Nick’s boss. As Billie had many other responsibilities and another team to direct she hadn’t been able to keep a very close eye on Kirsty’s work and it showed. Nick realised that he would have a substantial task to improve Kirsty’s professional standards. Her work wasn’t exactly sloppy but she did tend to cut corners. She had omitted many safety assessment details in her experimental write-ups. Her data was full of gaps. It was a generally disorganised picture and it bothered Nick. He had high standards and he expected his colleagues to follow the rules. Kirsty was rather a loose cannon and there could be an accident waiting to happen. If that were the case, much of the blame would fall on him and Nick was keen to avoid that at all costs. He had scheduled a meeting for later in the day. His approach would be tactful but he was prepared for Kirsty to be on the defensive, she always tried to shift the blame.  Nick was determined that it was time for her to take responsibility.

Nick was also hoping to get some reassuring texts or emails from his girlfriend Polly. She’d recently moved departments at the University of Persford. Previously she’d worked in the publicity department but had now secured a job in procurement, a section of finance. She’d some previous experience in finance when she’d worked in the accounts department for a small engineering company. Persford University had grown in size dramatically over the last five years. As with all organisations, budgets were tight nowadays, they were constantly under pressure to ensure they were obtaining the best deals on everything they sourced. Polly had applied for a job leading a team in procurement which became vacant upon the sudden departure of her predecessor. As is often the case when someone leaves and doesn’t work their notice tongues start wagging and it is assumed that some misdemeanour has been committed.

Nick had been more intrigued than Polly as to why her predecessor had left and despite his encouragement, she’d shown no interest in trying to find out the background. Polly said it was more important to move forward than dwelling on what had gone on before she’d joined the department. Nick was just concerned for her and wanted to know exactly what standards were operating in her section. He would continue to broach the issue in the evenings, providing she wasn’t too tired.

He headed into his lab, donning his lab coat and gloves and wandered over to his fume hood, passing Kirsty’s work area and pulling down the front of her fume hood.

‘For goodness sake,’ he muttered audibly. How many times had he told her to keep the window sash down below the guideline to ensure safety? He’d lost count. She just didn’t seem to be able to remember things like that.  He looked at his work and decided what to start on first when he was alerted by a spitting sort of sound. Turning around he noticed solvent bubbling out of the top of Kirsty’s reaction. He rushed over to see what was happening.

‘Fuck!’ he shouted, ‘no cooling again in the condenser! What’s the matter with her?’

He quickly lifted the reaction away from the heat source and set the water running to cool the condenser. If he’d not been around there could have been a fire. Where was Kirsty anyway? He’d not noticed her for a while. Their chat later today would have some serious issues to confront. Kirsty was simply not concentrating, she was putting everyone at risk. She needed to sharpen up her act.

**

Bob McKewan was feeling depressed at the start of Monday but after his short meeting with their new Chief Financial Officer Mel, he felt completely despondent. He had barely listened whilst she’d enthused about how she was sure her vision would be able to launch the company into a new era. His silence seemed to go unnoticed. Mel didn’t need to hold a conversation she merely needed to have someone to talk at. He’d nodded from time to time and when she decided to pause he’d stood up and told her he would take her along to meet Jonathan Barrow, their Chief Business Officer. They would be able to talk the same language littered with this week’s corporate jargon. He had no time for that, he was a scientist and that was what BioQex employed him to be. He was now approaching sixty years old and had completed almost forty years in science. It had been extremely rewarding and he wouldn’t have wanted to follow any other career path, but at the moment he felt hollow, it was hard to push himself. Yet, he had to continue, not to do so would be a sign of weakness and that wasn’t his style. He looked at his watch and realised it was time for his meeting with Piers. They were due to discuss timescales for the upcoming clinical trial on their prototype pain candidate BQ-561. Gathering his papers he trod heavily through the office area, avoiding the gaze of his colleagues and up the stairs towards Piers’ office.

**

Kevin Rogers was in his storeroom checking his inventories. This week he was the only member of staff manning the storeroom which consisted of a general store for items ranging from stationery to protective equipment such as gloves and lab coats. As with any organisation, there was also a need for paper towels, tissues, cloths etc. and he also maintained a supply of replacement glassware, vials, and general chemicals including solvents and basic reagents. The company had considered employing an assistant to help share the workload but it was a small company and money was tight. Management had been surprised that when asked, Kevin had maintained that he thought he could manage the workload single-handedly. He suggested that from time to time they could get someone on work experience from the job-centre, that would be sufficient in his opinion.

Despite the senior team praising Kevin for his commitment to the company and his desire to work above and beyond the remit of his job they never matched it with any extra pay. Kevin however, had found a way to supplement his income and it was for this reason that he was quite happy to be the sole occupant of his storeroom. It was his domain, he was in charge and he had nobody to answer to. It hadn’t taken Kevin long to realise that many of the consumables as they were called like gloves, tissues, rolls of disposable cloths were unaccountable in the rate at which they were used. Once they were ordered and came on site they were supplied on request to the labs and no one ever questioned whether they were being used at a realistic or a rather too rapid rate. Thus Kevin had spotted an opportunity. Many of these items were now used in small companies like garages, the mechanics all wore disposable gloves nowadays, used paper towels and disposable cloths.  Post-it notes were another highly saleable item, and his list was growing month on month. As long as he wasn’t too greedy he saw no reason for this to change. At first, he felt a bit guilty but then this dissipated as he felt the company owed him a bit extra. No way could he afford a flash car like some of those in the car park. His was over twelve years old. Without this extra bonus money, he and his wife wouldn’t even be able to afford a summer holiday and it was far from a luxurious one. They usually managed a couple of weeks in Spain in a basic apartment, having to cook cheap meals. The more he thought about it the more he felt he was entitled to this supplementary income and he did not feel guilty in the slightest.

Chapter 4

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Bob knocked on Piers’ door and waited to hear the customary come!

‘Morning,’ said Bob entering the room.

‘Bob, hi, come in, coffee, I was just going to have one?’

‘No ta, I’ve just had a tea,’ he said flatly.

‘Oh, right, I’ll just ask Amanda to make me a coffee if you don’t mind.’

‘Be my guest, no matter to me,’ replied Bob.

Piers popped his head outside his door to ask Amanda for his refreshments and then went over to the small table in his office where Bob was sitting quietly. Normally Bob would be looking at the papers he’d brought with him or making some notes on matters he wished to discuss. Today he seemed unusually detached, in a world of his own.

‘So, Bob, thanks for coming to see me, I wanted to discuss where we are up to with the clinical trial, phase one for our prototype BQ-561?’

‘It’s in hand, should be due to start in about two weeks,’ replied Bob, giving the minimum information to Piers.

‘Well that’s great, remind me which CRO are we using?’ The CRO was the Contract Research Organisation which would be handling the clinical trial. Participants would be selected in collaboration with the contract company in accordance with the design of the study.

‘It’s ClinTry, they have a good reputation. StourMed have used them in the past,’ Bob was again delivering just the required information to satisfy Piers, normally he would have talked expansively about the trial, how many participants it involved, dosing regime and so on. Piers felt like he was having to drag the information out of Bob, it was a real struggle. A brief respite from the tortuous discussion came in the shape of Amanda bearing Piers’ coffee.

‘Oh, thanks, Amanda, just what I need to wake up my brain,’ he joked. Bob remained unsmiling. ‘So how many participants do we have in this first run?’

‘Eight,’ replied Bob.

‘Eight, right, and what dosing are we using?’

‘Well I’ve got to work it out, but it’s a standard protocol, why, do you want me to go back and find the actual numbers?’ he said aggressively.

‘No, er, no don’t worry for the moment, what’s the safety margin we’ve established, remind me.’

‘We saw no effects up to two hundred milligrams in rat and dog. We are going to be way below those limits.’

‘That all sounds excellent, I just needed to remind myself. It’s been a busy time with recent events here. Frank leaving, Mel starting. Oh, by the way, have you spoken to Mel yet today?’

‘Yes,’ replied Bob, his face betraying no emotion.

‘She’s a lovely girl,’ added Piers forgetting that woman would have been more politically correct. ‘I’m sure she will be marvellous for the company. What are your thoughts, Bob?’

‘Don’t have any, I’m a biologist, not a bean counter.’

‘I think that’s a bit unfair Bob, Mel is far more than a bean counter, she’s full of ideas which could be a game changer for the company. Did she mention her vision to you?’

‘Not sure, I wasn’t really listening, she didn’t ask for my opinion,’ added Bob rather rudely.

Piers started to look decidedly uncomfortable, his face flushed slightly. He sipped his coffee and there was an awkward silence. Bob started to gaze out of the window.

‘Bob, there’s something I need to mention and I hope I won’t upset you but as your employer and I hope friend, there’s something I can’t ignore any longer.’

‘What?’ asked Bob, raising his eyebrows.

‘Well, how can I put this, I’m rather worried about you, well we all are,’ and he paused to play nervously with his drink coaster on the table. Bob continued to stare out of the window. ‘We all have the utmost sympathy for you Bob, what happened was terrible, we had no idea your wife Joan was so ill. If we had known we would have suggested you took some time off before,’ and Piers paused, ‘well you know, before Joan passed away.’

‘Before she died you mean,’ said Bob aggressively.

‘Er, yes, before she died. We can’t imagine how you must be feeling. I’m more than happy for you to take some more time off, after all it’s only a week since, well, you know.’

‘Since she died, yes, eight days exactly. The funeral is on Thursday so I won’t be in.’

‘No, of course, absolutely, and don’t feel you have to come in on Friday either.’

Bob frowned, ‘Friday? Why shouldn’t I be in on Friday, the funeral is on Thursday, we’ve just said that.’

‘Well, I just mean, well, perhaps you might need some time to yourself, with your children, that’s all.’

‘No I don’t think so, I’d rather be at work, carry on as normal.’

Piers felt he wasn’t making any progress with this conversation. Bob was trying to present a stiff upper lip and it was admirable he wanted to get back to normal but it was not good if it was affecting his work. Piers had one last attempt, he felt it had to be said. ‘Bob, I don’t want to upset you any further but do you think you need to speak to someone, I mean someone in a professional capacity who might be able to help you at this time?’

‘What, a shrink you mean?’

‘Bob, no I don’t mean a psychologist necessarily but perhaps a counsellor. There’s no shame in accepting help, no stigma at all. The company would be willing to pay, well the health insurance to be exact would pay. I’d like you to think about it.’

‘Right, yes, well I’ve thought about it and the answer is no. I don’t need it, I’m fine, I want to get on with my work and if there’s nothing else I’d best get on,’ said Bob rising from his seat and gathering his papers.

‘Er, no, nothing else. My door is always open if you reconsider,’ said Piers wearily.

Bob stomped out with his usual heavy gait letting the door swing closed under its own steam. Piers sighed and put his head in his hands. He’d anticipated it would be difficult but that was a complete disaster. Bob was an excellent scientist but they couldn’t afford any mistakes with this clinical trial in the offing.

Chapter 5

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Nick’s meeting with Kirsty had been rather tense. They’d had some difficult issues to address and Kirsty’s immediate reaction had been defensive, then she’d burst into tears and claimed it wasn’t her fault she’d not had adequate supervision. Billie hadn’t time and everyone else was busy, they were still waiting for a replacement for Zac, she felt under pressure, and so it went on. Nick asked her to think about what he’d said and think about the safety aspect and how important that was for everyone. Eventually, they decided they would reconvene the next day when she’d had a