Part 4: Project "The First Avenger"
Chief Nakamura led the gathered men into a conference room on an upper floor. Todd posted one of his own men outside, insisting that no one even enter the hallway where they were. The door was locked, and the men gathered around a table while the agents set up a projector connected to a laptop.
The first picture was familiar to Jerry. His client, where this had all started. Or, at least, what was left of him. From the picture, it was obvious he had been shot in the head.
Todd stood at the front of the room with a laser pointer in hand. "I don't suppose I have to remind you all that this is highly classified. No word of it is to leave this room, and that includes spouses," he said, staring straight at Jerry.
Jerry returned his look with a stonefaced one of his own. He cared little for Todd's warning, especially when his own family was in the crosshairs.
Fortunately, his boss didn't press the issue. He pointed his laser pointer at the face of the dead man. "This is Zak Lehman. No relation to the finance firm, so no jokes please. He was, in fact, one of our guys. Well, an informant anyway. Not an agent. He was a royal pain in the neck, but he was trying to help us crack this ring, so his loss is not insignificant."
Jerry frowned, feeling anger rise in him. Why had an informant involved him in this? Had they used Sadie and her medicine as bait?
Todd noticed. "Jerry, let me assure you, your involvement, and Sadie's meds, were a fluke. Zak did not know you or anything about your family, or he would have left you alone, I swear it. If he hadn't, I would have shot him myself."
That only eased Jerry's anger slightly. He knew Todd was capable of lying, and he couldn't help wondering if this was a total CYA moment.
"This drug ring, as you have likely all figured out, is different than others we have faced. They are well armed, well informed, and backed by powerful foreign allies. And, most dangerous of all, this has nothing to do with money. They want the drugs, because of what they can do."
Jerry traded puzzled looks with Stephens. The detective leaned forward. "Care to elaborate on that, sir? If you can?"
Todd glanced at the man in the plaid shirt. He nodded. Jerry wondered at that little exchange. He had been under the impression that Todd was in charge. Just who was this other guy?
Todd tapped a few keys and brought up another picture. It showed a partially blurred chemical formula, and two pictures. One was of a soldier, heavily muscled.
The other, oddly enough...was a still shot from the movie Captain America. On the picture was the title "Project The First Avenger".
"Science fiction become reality," Todd said softly. "Jerry, this medicine was not originally intended to help children like Sadie with their muscle atrophy. Far from it. It was a military experiment. Some genius biochemist discovered a formula that not only helped damaged muscles heal, but it also acted like steroids. With more permanent effects. Much faster effects. It stimulates muscles even without bodybuilding, heavy weights, etc."
Jerry found himself nodding. That was one of the traits that had made Sadie a candidate for this medicine. It would help her even without any therapy on her part.
Stephens was still frowning. "If this was a military brainchild, what in the world is it doing on the commercial market?"
Todd grimaced. "Well, it worked. As you can see from this picture, it made the subjects extremely strong and physically resilient. Superhuman, in some cases. This particular man was able to bench press a Volkswagen and still have muscle to spare."
That was impressive, but nothing they hadn't seen on the internet.
The man in the plaid finally spoke up. "Tell them how the program worked."
Todd shrugged. "Well, okay, you might as well have the whole story. Dr. Brandt approached his cousin who worked in the Army. He was a relatively minor functionary, but he knew some upper-ups, so he put a bee in someone's bonnet. Before you could blink, they had Brandt under lockdown and they were running tests on his concoction. After a few months, they decided that he was on to something. But it didn't seem to work well on grown men. They would have to recruit teens."
Jerry felt sick. Using kids as guinea pigs for science experiments?
The man in plaid spoke up again. "It's not as bad as you think. This was all done under strict conditions, with full approval from the parents, with teen boys who were already heavy into bodybuilding and who wanted to join the military. They knew exactly what they were getting into, and in about half the cases, they were already on steroids for various medical conditions. This medicine was actually seen as a safer alternative."
Todd brought up another picture. "Until it wasn't. The whole thing went horribly wrong."
The next thing on the screen was a short video of three of the test subjects attacking each other. They seemed....insane. Out of their heads. Attacking each other like rabid animals.
Jerry watched it with a horrified feeling. This was what they were giving his precious daughter? A chemical that would make her lose her mind and attack people?
Again, Todd noticed the look on his face. "Jerry, relax. Dr. Brandt was very careful when approaching the civilian market with this medicine. It has been very much reduced in potency, so that patients now only experience mild stimulation. Roughly equivalent to a cup of coffee."
He had noticed that with his daughter. She had been much more active, even to the point that it was hard to sleep at night. He had just put it down to the fact that she was feeling much better. He had no idea that the medicine was making her hyper.
"Are those boys okay now?" Stephens asked, aghast.
"Yes. They went through severe withdrawal for a few weeks, but they were able to detox them and help them recover. Their muscle growth seems to be permanent, but now, because they are far larger than their frames were intended for, they fatigue easily. They are all still in the military, in various engineering positions. It seemed...safest."
Burying their mistakes without actually killing anyone. Jerry was disgusted, and he could tell the others felt the same.
Nakamura raised a hand. "So now, the question is...who are these men, and what do they want with this medication?"
Todd glanced at the plaid man again. This time, he shook his head. "I'm sorry, but that is something we can't really share. All I can say is that they want the medicine for its effects. From what Zak was able to tell us, this is an existing gang that shifted tactics when this new opportunity came up. They already had a network of contacts in the pharma industry, doctors offices, etc."
"Jerry, in your case, the janitor in the doctor's office was the culprit. He was cozying up to the secretary so he could watch her and learn her passwords into the computer. He gave Zak the info, Zak did the dirty deed. We've got the janitor under lock and key, trying to find out who hired him. It may be a dead end, though, it sounds like Zak was the only contact that he had any information for. Everyone else he talked to in dark alleys at night, where he couldn't see anything."
Nakamura shrugged. "Okay, so your contact is dead, and Jerry's family could be in mortal danger. What do we do now? Just wait for them to make another move?"
"Yes and no. This gang isn't one of those vengeful groups. They're too smart for that. They know full well that Jerry went to the police, and they probably also know his family is under lock and key. They have contacts all over the country, they'll just pull up stakes and go elsewhere."
He clicked another key and another screen came up. "In fact, that's how we cottoned on to this operation in the first place. They started this whole gig in Cincinnati. There's a specialist there with five patients. One of them swore up and down that her medicine had to have been stolen, because she keeps it in a locked drawer and never removes it except to take a pill."
"The doctor dismissed that, but then another patient came in with a similar story. Medicine like that is expensive; there is no way these patients were just being careless. The doctor called the police, and they thought it was just a local narc gang out for big ticket items. They set up a sting with the remaining 3 patients, and managed to get footage of the thieves."
"These guys operated with the precision of a cat burglar. They took the medicine, and only the medicine, even though there was diamond jewelry in the same lockbox. That right there told us these were not normal thieves."
"We started working our contacts, and found out that a disaffected nurse from Dr. Brandt's office had leaked footage and documents about this to...well, the foreign friends of our drug ring. That blew this case up, and now just about every agency is involved in one way or another."
Plaid Shirt came to the front of the room. "There is little reason for all of you to be involved in this now. Sadie is the only patient left in this town that needs this medication, and our pill-stealing friends know we are watching her. I'm guessing in a week or two, everything will die down and go back to normal. Jerry, to ensure this, we are going to install a safe in your home. We've seen, from footage from stings, that they don't bother with safes. Too much risk of triggering an alarm. They've tried very, very hard to keep this quiet."
The other men whispered quietly while Todd and Plaid Shirt held a quick conference at the front of the room. Jerry was silent, leaned back in his chair, fighting the old itch that was starting to hit him.
He wanted to get involved. He wanted it so badly. But...his wife and his children needed him. What if Todd was wrong? What if they continued to target his family? He couldn't live with the possibility that his family would die because of these guys.
Stephens put a hand on his shoulder. "Jerry? Are you okay?"
He shook himself a little, nodding. "I'm fine. But...I don't know. Todd, what do you want us to do?"
Todd noticed his use of the word "us", but didn't address it. "For now, not much, besides keeping your family out at the farm, and out of trouble. They've had enough stress, you need to do everything you can to assure them that this was just a big mistake, and they will be fine."
"Will they?" Jerry muttered, as the meeting broke up.
He grabbed his bag and got ready to leave. Stephens was going to take him out to the farm.
Todd appeared at his shoulder. "You know, ordinarily I wouldn't be allowed to even talk to you about this, given your family's involvement. But...this would be right up your alley, Jerry. We could use your help. You have no idea how stretched thin we are on this."
Jerry didn't know how to answer. He had the itch, and Todd knew him well enough, he could probably see it.
But he wouldn't do anything without talking to Lila. And she would probably say no.
And they both knew it.
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