Fatal Reaction

when was the last time you spent a weekend in the lab—or better yet, a full week? Let me see, last week it was a site visit at Johns Hopkins, the week before it was the small-molecules conference in Brussels....”
    “Enough,” announced Stephen, evidently deciding he had let things go too far. “As the saying goes, as of today all shore leave is canceled. That goes for you, too, Michael. Our friends the Japanese are coming. Takisawa is sending a dozen of their people to visit our labs a week from Monday. That gives us nine days to prepare for a full-blown site visit.”
    The scientists of the ZK-501 project received this news in stunned silence. Dave Borland, the protein chemist, looked like he’d just been punched in the stomach and I saw a flicker of something very close to panic cross Michelle Goodwin’s face. Only Michael Childress seemed unperturbed by the news. Sitting by himself, buffered by empty chairs, he stroked his chin with mandarin-like indifference.
    “What I want to know is why, when we have Mikos breathing down our necks, are we wasting time on some damn dog and pony show for the Japanese?” demanded Remminger.
    “Because before we make a drug we have to make a deal,” replied Stephen impatiently. “Right now this project, which is at least two years away from having a drug to sell, is burning through money at the rate of sixty-five thousand dollars a day. There’s no way that this company can continue to absorb those costs without some kind of outside revenue. If anyone here knows someone who has forty million dollars they’d like to gamble on this molecule, speak up now. If not, I suggest we think seriously about how we’re going to impress our visitors from Tokyo.” He looked hard around the room and waited for a reply before he continued.
    “During the next several days each lab head will be meeting with Kate Millholland to go over the information and cost projections. Some of you may have already met Kate in her role as outside counsel and member of the company’s board of directors. She has graciously agreed to help us through this negotiation, filling in for the unfortunate vacancy left by Danny Wohl.” While Stephen’s voice had faltered as he’d uttered his dead friend’s name, the other scientists in the room seemed curiously unmoved.
    I nodded to the room at large to acknowledge Stephen’s introduction, but no one took any notice. Attorneys, I was forced to conclude, were definitely not part of the tribe. From the scientist’s perspective, lawyers as a category were a necessary evil—and as such, interchangeable.
    “That’s all very well,” piped a heavily accented German voice from the back, “but while we’re busy showing off to our Oriental friends, aren’t we in danger of giving ourselves away? I mean, what’s to stop Takisawa from taking a peek at what we have so far and going back home and deciding to try their hand on making a new drag themselves?”
    “They won’t do it because the only people who can make this drag are sitting in this room,” pronounced Stephen with more certainty than I knew he felt. From the beginning the negotiation with Takisawa had been one long calculated risk, an elaborate dance of veils with each side seeking to gain the upper hand while revealing tantalizing glimpses of what it wanted and what it was willing to give up to get it.
    “Not meaning to sound like a nervous virgin embarking on a date with a drunken sailor,” ventured Borland, from beneath his walruslike mustache, “but how far do you think it’s safe to go with these guys? I mean, up until now we’ve been signing lab books every day and having our bags searched every time we leave the building. Are you telling us that now you expect us to just lie back and let them lift up our skirts?”
    “Let’s put it this way,” replied Stephen. “We have to do whatever it takes to make them want us. That means clean white lab coats will be required for all personnel.” He stuck his hands deep into his pockets and grinned. “Fishnet stockings will be optional.”
     
    I had hoped to catch a word with Stephen after the meeting, but the minute it was over he was immediately surrounded by scientists all jockeying for his attention. I decided to try to catch him later and headed back to Danny’s office. It was still so disgustingly early that I figured I’d spend an hour or two getting my bearings. That way by the time I headed back into the city I would have