The Rabid Mind Read online

  Slowly, the puzzle was coming together. Dr. Banks was setting the stage for what he wanted most. Soon, he would head the Utah NSA spy network for the entire western Region. He dreamed of the things he could accomplish when he had his hands on all those secrets from the information gathered. The other powerful people would fall at his feet to do his bidding. This nice little incident would get him that coveted job - he was the hero of Denver after all. He smiled just thinking about what his future would be like. Finally, he would have it all. He could even be the next head of the NSA, helping the President with whatever little problems arose and then he really would be the person in charge of this country. He laughed softly. He would know where all the bodies were buried and all the skeletons that were in the closets.

  After getting to Washington, he would have to do something about his family, his wife especially. It was getting quite tiresome dancing to her tune, to do the things that were expected. A tragic accident could be arranged. He would then have more time to devote to his dream and not have to go away every weekend. Should the children be in the accident? It was something to think about. Maybe he could spare the children. They could be sent to boarding school. Yes, that would work. Either way, he would be free to pursue what he wanted and that was what life was all about. Secrets are the key to the country.

  Ayn Rand’s quote is so perfect for today, that it bears repeating.

  ‘The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.’

  Chapter 7

  After Becca left the lab, Dr. Dulling put his helmet back on and went into the isolation room to remove the dead rats from the cage and observe how the bitten ones were behaving. Omega became extremely aggressive and kept attacking him—biting at his gloves. For precautionary reasons, he decided to prepare a sedative to knock out Omega.

  A short while later, he took out the dead rats and incinerated them. As he did this, he scolded the other bitten rats out loud. “Come on, four of you have to survive in order for this experiment to be a success.”

  This was perfect for the military and exactly what the General wanted - a three-day incubation period before the frenzied madness manifested itself. But would it spread like wild fire through the rest of the rats? He was so close to perfecting the vaccine. Hopefully this batch was the right formula. He would have his answers tomorrow. If the rats died, he would have to try again. Tomorrow would be a crucial day for the experiment and he needed to be there.

  Before retiring for the night, he called a professor friend and asked him to help his grad student with the next morning classes. He was trying not to get too excited about the experiment yet, but it was hard to contain his confidence knowing he was likely on the right track.

  The next morning, Dr. Dulling woke up a little later than normal. He was so tired, he had fallen into a deep sleep after last night’s events. The thought that this could be it and the experiment might be a success kept going through his mind as he prepared for the day. “Please, be alive.” He kept urging, as if telepathically encouraging the rats.

  If four rats were alive, the study would be published in several prestigious scientific journals. If all went as planned, the Pentagon would reward him with more contracts. This was his big break, his foot in the door of the private sector to really make some cash. He was literally giddy with anticipation as he went down to the basement.

  When he was almost to the door of the lab, he noticed Becca had arrived too. They entered together. “Good morning, Becca. Did you sleep well?” He asked with a grim look on his face.

  Becca scowled a little at seeing Dr. Dulling, then remembered what Jason had told her about fooling him, so she half-smiled instead. She maintained her half-hearted smile, as if waiting for someone to snap a picture, remembering the horrible nightmares she had experienced last night. There was no way she could share that information with Dr. Dulling, though. She was scarred for life after seeing what that horrible drug did to those helpless creatures. He was a monster.

  “Yes, I slept fine. And you?” She answered.

  “I slept ok.” He replied.

  Becca walked over to one of the tables and placed her bag on top. Dr. Dulling babbled about the weather and a lot of other mundane things. He sounded nervous or excited. Becca looked at him a little strangely. Was she making him nervous?

  Dr. Dulling was excited about the experiment, but Becca found it sickening. She was going to get as much information on him and his little projects as she could, to ensure justice was served. Dr Dulling would get what he deserved. She continued to trail off in thought, when Dr. Dulling asked her a question. Suddenly jerked back to reality, she said. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

  “I asked you if you could keep a secret.”

  Becca dug her hands into her bag, grabbing a bottle of water and taking a short sip as she replied, “Yes, of course I can. What’s this about?” Becca placed the bottle of water back in her bag, turned on the recorder hidden inside and stepped slightly away.

  “What I’m about to share with you is highly classified. As a scientist and colleague, you cannot — for the sake of this project and your future — ever share what I’m about to tell you with anyone. Not even your family, no matter the circumstances. Do you understand me Becca?”

  “Ah, yes I understand.”

  To Becca’s surprise, Dr. Dulling went on to explain the true nature and full scope of the project Becca was assisting on. As a scientist it seemed illogical, incomprehensible and irresponsible to divulge such information with someone who wasn’t ‘part of the plan’, but Dr. Dulling wasn’t thinking straight. Overnight, everything had changed. He was no longer in it on his own. He felt he had a potential partner, one that he had developed an overwhelming obsession for. His desire to have more of Becca was greater than he could have ever imagined, greater even than the secrecy of the project. Although Dr. Dulling cared for his wife, their relationship, once full of love and joy, was now nothing more than a cooperative friendship. He had never felt for her what he suddenly felt for Becca — passion. Becca was young, beautiful, smart, driven and encouraging. The way she had touched him that day made him feel young and vibrant again. He had rediscovered a side of himself he thought was lost forever and he wasn’t about to let that go. He wanted Becca for himself and was willing to stop at nothing to have her. The night before, he had rationalized that if he could convince Becca that together he and she could ‘conquer’ the world of science bringing about fame and fortune, perhaps she could overlook the shameful work he was engaged in. He had to convince her that, no matter what, she would be safe and he would protect her, while providing her with everything she could ever want or need. For reasons even he couldn’t comprehend, Dr. Dulling blindly trusted Becca. The role Becca could now play in assisting with his work was serious to him — he needed her as his partner in every way.

  “Do you understand Becca? Together we can do this and we can make a fortune!” He continued. “Scientists often wait a lifetime for opportunities like this and still never get it! I know this isn’t the ideal situation, but you have to understand that this is how life works sometimes. We have to sacrifice now for a better future later. Look, I’m much older than you are. I’ve worked hard all my life and strived to achieve a level of success that, sadly, is unattainable playing by the rules. But you can’t possibly understand that yet.”

  Becca could hardly breathe as she stared at him, saying nothing.

  “Unfortunately, life doesn’t happen on its own, Becca. You have to make it happen and you’re in the prime of your life. This is perfect timing for you! Think about it - you’ll soon have your doctorate degree and how better to move up the ladder than working on a project of this caliber. You’ll surely spiral into having overnight success, fame and fortune!”

  Dr. Dulling now stood in front of Becca, cupping h
er face in his hands. “I’ll protect you Becca. No one will ever be aware of your involvement. All you have to do is continue to work with me,” he said, as he slowly ran his hands down her shoulders and arms, gently wrapping them around hers, squeezing softly and encouragingly. He gazed into her eyes, anxiously waiting for her reply.

  Becca was speechless. She turned and took a few steps away from him. Inside, her stomach was raging with disgust. Bile was building so high into her throat, she could hardly hold back the uncontrollable urge to vomit. This wasn’t what Becca envisioned. She never saw it coming, but at that moment she knew she didn’t have a choice. This was an opportunity of mammoth proportions and she couldn’t decline it if she was to bring down Dr. Dulling. That instant, she realized that the sudden turn of events was like being dealt a royal flush in a game of poker.

  She turned to him and with a slight tone of fear said, “I have your word that you’ll protect me?”

  “Yes Becca, you have my word.”

  “Alright, but I do have one important condition.” She said.

  “What’s that,” he said.

  Becca methodically stepped closer and closer towards him, until she could feel his panting breath on her skin, his heart racing. Slowly and delicately, she tucked her hair behind her ear, raised her hand and gently caressed the side of his face and she pulled him towards her and whispered in his ear, “No more secrets, Dr. Dulling.” Pressing his body tightly against hers, she continued, “I’ll do this with you, so long as we have that mutual understanding. Besides, how helpful can I be if I don’t know exactly what’s going on, right?”

  “Absolutely, agreed.”

  Becca smiled at him, “Thank you for this…” she stammered, “for this opportunity. You have no idea how amazing this partnership will prove.”

  A short time later, as Dr. Dulling chattered on, Becca thought gloomily to herself ‘dear God…we’re actually building a biological weapon!’ She had heard rumors of this kind of thing taking place. She was horrified by the images of innocent women and children dying and the infected masses senselessly bludgeoning each other to death. She suddenly tasted the bile creep into her mouth. She was so far away in thought, she barely heard Dr. Dulling calling out to her.

  “Hurry Becca, we must see if this was a success or not, together.”

  They both suited up and entered the experiment lab. It all made perfect sense to her now — the secure area, the locked and sealed doors, the sophisticated laminar flow system, the excessive decontamination process for the suits and cages. She was in a daze as the full implications of their work sank in. ‘Monster’ didn’t even come close to describing Dr. Dulling.

  Dr. Dulling peered into the cage and immediately started swearing.

  “Damn it! Damn it to hell! Only two rats are alive. Shit! Now we’ll have to start over again! We’ll have to back off the dose and run the entire experiment again from the beginning!” He opened a small metal cage, placing the hinged door up to the side of the main cage containing the remaining rats. “Two alive and four dead,” he said, as he angrily shook his head.

  One of the dead rats was Omega. The live rats darted faster than he thought possible, racing to bite him. He called out to Becca to make a notation of the reaction of the two remaining rats. The rats seemed even more aggressive than yesterday. Dr. Dulling walked over to the medical incinerator and placed the small cage in it, closing the door.

  Incredulous, Becca questioned, “You’re going to burn them alive?”

  Dr. Dulling said. “Need I remind you of what this experiment is all about Becca? We can’t chance contaminating ourselves or the lab.”

  “I’m sorry, you’re right.”

  He turned on the compact heat exchanger, which read 1500° Fahrenheit in just a few seconds. Becca tried to filter out the bloodcurdling squeals of the burning rats.

  Dr. Dulling then turned his attention back to the large rat cage. He took the metal tray that held the remaining dead rat carcasses and shredded newspaper litter. Everything had to be incinerated. While he took care of that, Becca cleaned the cage using a DS-2 decontamination solution, which would kill everything except fungal spores.

  Dr. Dulling cautioned, “Make sure you scrub it thoroughly. Not a speck of blood can remain. It must be fully decontaminated and perfectly clean before we can start the experiment again.”

  Becca put on her professional face again. Sadly, she didn’t have the opportunity to set up her camera in order to record the horror that was occurring but, after today, she would correct that oversight.

  Dr. Dulling picked the next group of rats for the test. One of them was Becca’s favorite — Einstein. Becca appeared detached as she watched Dr. Dulling out of the corner of her eye. She seemed to be uninterested, but inside she was enraged. She finished the decontamination protocols and set up the cage for the next test. Dr. Dulling injected the vaccine into Einstein, making him the new Omega rat. The rest of the day was a hazy blur for Becca. All she kept thinking about was how awful it was going to be watching Einstein killing the other rats. She wasn’t sure how much more of this she could take before she snapped.

  That evening, Becca told Jason everything that happened that day. Jason sat down as he listened to the recording of Becca’s conversation with Dr. Dulling. Disbelief consumed him as he considered the implications of what Dr. Dulling revealed. “Becca, we need to get in the lab tonight and install those cameras. We’ve got to get this on video!”

  “Tonight?” Becca responded.

  “Yes, tonight. Any idea what the doc is up to tonight?” Jason questioned her, eager for a response.

  “Ah, yeah. He mentioned something about having dinner with a colleague. I’m sure he’ll be back home by 10.”

  “Damn it, there’s no time to waste then! Grab the bag by the stairs and start heading out. I’ve got to get some equipment downstairs. Wait for me in the car; I’ll be right out!”

  Becca grabbed the bag and walked out the door as Jason raced downstairs. He pulled his cell phone out and initiated a call.

  “Hey, I’m on my way with Becca to the lab to install the hidden cameras. Once I get the access code, I’ll call you back. Don’t call me. I don’t want Becca to know what’s going on.” Jason ended the call and slipped the phone back in his pocket. He grabbed the equipment and exited the house. Jason smiled, thinking about how the media and the general public would react to the news. It was going to be a glorious day and he could hardly wait.

  At the outset of the next testing phase, Dr. Dulling and Becca proceeded with the modifications Dr. Dulling laid out. Einstein was closely monitored over the course of several days. After the second day, Einstein began exhibiting odd behavior, until he finally attacked some of the other rats. Dr. Dulling separated Einstein and the bitten rats from the others. Another day later, the results of the first phase were clear. Four rats survived – a 40% survival rate. It was imperative Dr. Dulling study their behavior further, to see if this particular batch became as violent as he predicted. Each bitten rat was placed in a separate cage with a healthy rat. Einstein was given two.

  “Becca, I’m sorry to do this to you, but I need you to watch over the lab and experiments next weekend. This work is moving faster than I anticipated. It’s necessary I travel to Hawaii sooner and schedule a few meetings with several people there, before I have to meet with my wife. I hope you understand — I really need you here.”

  “Yes, of course I will,” said Becca.

  “Thank you,” he said appreciatively.

  Becca arrived home at her usual time that evening to find Jason reading on the couch. She informed him that Dr. Dulling would be away the coming weekend and had requested she keep an eye on things at the lab. Becca wasn’t pleased about the arrangement, but at least she didn’t have to put up with Dr. Dulling for those days.

  Jason considered the timing of Dr. Dulling’s trip. As soon as Becca left the room, he scrambled through his personal contact book and began dialing a number.

&n
bsp; “Hello.”

  “Sanjay?”

  “Yeah, who’s this?”

  “It’s Jason.”

  “Jason, my friend, what’s going on?”

  “It’s time, Sanjay. I need you to finish up the project without me, but I have a slight modification and I need it done by tomorrow night.” The two of them spoke for nearly an hour. Sanjay, a fellow grad student who had been conducting research into nanostructured materials, was nearing completion on a briefcase he and Jason had begun fabrication on several months previously. The briefcase was constructed out of a polyethylene-boron composite ceramic and was designed to be impervious to scanners such as x-rays.

  Jason requested a series of finishing touches, to include image traces of clips, pens, calculator, cell phone and folders, embedded into the surface content of the briefcase, as well as trapping air inside a concealed, framed compartment within the briefcase.

  Later that evening, Jason contacted his ALF team and laid out his plan.

  Chapter 8

  Debbie was scared out of her mind. She was being treated like a common criminal. She was questioned for hours on end. When she demanded to see her attorney, the request was repeatedly denied under the National Defense Bill, which dictates that domestic terrorist have no rights.

  “What are you talking about?” Debbie exclaimed. “We were on vacation when you, not me, killed my husband! We knew nothing of a raid, except for what you have told me!”

  “Did your husband own guns?”

  Debbie screamed, “My husband was a police officer! Of course he owned guns!” Recalling the images of her husband’s bloody corpse lying on the ground as she was hauled away triggered a sudden emotional breakdown.

  “Why did your husband train the terrorists?”

  “Terrorists? What terrorists?” She was genuinely confused. “My husband taught gun safety to our friends! How is that training terrorists?”