The Beginning of the End (Book 1): Toward the Brink Read Free Page B

traitor, always checking to see if she was being watched or followed. By far, the biggest sigh of relief to be felt in Twin Falls, however, was from the owner of the pesticide company.
    # # #
    “Come in, Paul. You know Langlie of course.”
    Phillip Baer had summoned Paul Dennard, the chemical engineer for Baer Industries, to come to his office in Twin Falls to discuss the recent events plaguing the country which were attributable to the growth hormone developed by Baer and, specifically, Dennard.
    “Thank you, sir.”
    “Good afternoon, Paul. Can I fix you a drink?” Langlie asked.
    “Thank you, Langlie.” No one called him “Mister,” and if Langlie had a first name, no one claimed to know it. “I’ll have a Scotch and soda.”
    Langlie’s reaction to the choice of drink by the man responsible for engineering the growth hormone was one of surprise. Baer himself had learned long ago never to underestimate anyone. Never.
    “So, Paul,” Baer began once everyone got a drink and sat down, “what the hell happened, and what has changed?”
    “It was simply nothing more than the rejection of a new food type.” He took a sip of his drink then pushed his thick-rimmed glasses up before continuing. “That was the cause of the recent affliction.”
    “Affliction?” Langlie interjected. “You call tens of thousands puking up green sludge an affliction? What do you call the deformed children then? A slip-up?”
    “Langlie.” Like a boxing referee, Baer separated the two. “That’s enough now.”
    “Tell us what’s changed, Paul.”
    “Well, as I said, people weren’t used to the new food or the chemical, but,” he looked across at Langlie, “there have been no deformities in almost three months and very few reports of people vomiting green sludge of late.”
    Mimicking Langlie’s description was like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Baer was aware of this and raised his hand toward Langlie, effectively silencing him.
    “I think, sir, that from here on in, we won’t be seeing any more sick people or deformed babies. We can probably assume the worst is over.” Paul sat back in his chair.
    That was the bottom line Baer wanted to hear. He had been concerned that his multi-billion-dollar scheme would soon unravel at the seams.
    “That is good news indeed, Paul. Very good news. I couldn’t bear it if our product continued to be responsible for all the illness and suffering,” he lied. His two employees knew he had, and he knew that they did, but it was all a game.
    He thanked Dennard for being so candid and shook hands as he ushered him from the office. He waited a few moments before he turned to Langlie.
    “Well, the egghead says the worst is over, and considering how much things have quieted down, I’m inclined to agree. What do you think, Langlie?”
    Langlie was nothing more than an educated thug in Baer’s estimation; however, he was well educated, and his opinion in these matters was always appreciated.
    “I do agree somewhat, Phillip,” Langlie said. He was the only employee to call the boss by his first name. “The thing that worries me is that he said, ‘We can probably assume,’ and
that
doesn’t fill me with a lot of confidence.”
    “What do you have in mind?”
    “Let me put a contingency plan in place in case things don’t go as well as our
esteemed
mad scientist believes. You know as well as I that if the public ever sees any pictures of those deformed kids and a link is established with fast food fries and our growth hormone, well … Let’s face it: Baer Industries will be well and truly fucked!”
    “What can we do about those children? The mothers all think they died in childbirth, don’t they?”
    “Precisely.”
    Baer saw the evil glint in his henchman’s eye. He remembered that was exactly why he’d hired this man and why he paid him so well.
    “Just leave those details to me; I’ll take care of it.”

Four
    “Elliot! Hey, Elliot!”
    Elliot Goodwin was