The Last Mountain Gorilla(7)
Jenson opened his mouth to speak, then faltered. He stared down at the sheet of paper as if it were a gravestone. It seemed he needed to be alone, but the reporters were relentless, barking questions at him until finally he looked up into the glare of the lights with moist eyes.
“Apparently,” Jenson said, “the FDA found our research lacking in quantity of trials. They’ve denied approval for the OTC project.”
Claire gasped. She held her hand to her mouth and watched as her husband’s eyes turned dull with shock.
“Dr. Jenson, do you have a comment?” the reporter said.
“It hardly seems possible,” he murmured.
“How many years have you been working on this project?” a reporter shouted.
“Too long,” Jenson said. His eyes roamed the crowd. “It’s cost me a great deal of my personal life. Maybe too much.”
“Does this mean you won’t be able to move toward human testing?” a reporter asked.
Jenson licked his lips and searched desperately for the one understanding face in the room. Claire tried to maneuver herself into the open, but Jenson couldn’t find her.
“Has this ever been tested on a human being?” the reporter rephrased the question.
“N-n-o,” Jenson stammered. “That’s what the FDA approval was for.”
Claire tried elbowing her way to the front, but the crowd was experienced at the art of pinching their competition back. Jenson appeared shell-shocked.
“What will you do now?” another reporter asked.
Jenson was deteriorating right in front of her eyes. Claire raised her hand to get his attention, but it was lost in a sea of raised hands.
“Was there anyone in particular awaiting this ruling?” a reporter raised her voice.
Jenson’s shoulder’s slumped and Claire could see him thinking of only one thing. Billy. His eyes glossed over as he gave one last attempt to find his wife.
When it appeared he’d lost all hope, he leaned into the microphone, and with a small voice, he said, “That’s enough for today.”
Jenson looked down, stepped away from the podium, then turned to leave the stage.
Claire screamed, “Brian!” But it was too late, he was already behind the curtains and gone before he could ever know she was there all along.
Claire ran back to the exit and hurried through the halls leading back to the lab. She didn’t know what she would see, but she needed to be there for him. For the first time in years, she knew that he needed her. She navigated her way between students and faculty members who appeared completely oblivious to the disaster that had taken place in the auditorium. When she rounded the final turn she saw three lab techs milling around the entrance to the lab. They seemed confused and spoke with shoulder shrugs and open palms.
“What is it?” Claire said as she approached.
Jennifer, the lab tech with the most tenure said, “Dr. Jenson kicked us out.”
The sound of a solid object crashing into lab equipment came spilling through the thick oak door. Claire tried the doorknob and found it locked. She turned to Jennifer. “Get Phil Johnson over here with the security keys.”
When Jennifer hesitated, she added, “Brian’s in trouble. He didn’t get FDA approval for the OTC project and if we don’t get in there right away he’s going to give Billy the trial formula.”
Jennifer’s eyes widened and she turned and ran down the hallway.
Claire futilely fought with the locked door. “Brian!” she yelled. “Please open up!”
The cacophony of clanging metal continued unabated.
“Brian.” Claire jimmied the lock and pressed her ear to the door. “Brian.”
Suddenly, it became quiet.
“Honey,” Claire said. “Please let me in.”
Silence.
Claire sniffed something in the air.
“I smell smoke,” one of the lab techs said.
She was right. There was a definite aroma coming from the lab. Something was burning.
“What’s he doing in there?” the lab tech asked.
“I’m not sure,” Claire said. Her stomach twisted, while her fingers trembled around the doorknob.
Phil Johnson and Jennifer came rushing down the hall. Johnson had his large set of keys extended out from his right hand.
“Back away, Claire,” he said.
Johnson fumbled the key into the lock. A click sounded as he turned open the deadbolt, then he pushed the door open.
The sight was enough to make Claire suck in a breath. Jenson’s main lab bench stood undamaged, but every piece of equipment on top of the bench was demolished. The most striking item was his computer. The hard drive had been pulled out of the tower and then crushed to bits. Little splinters of metal were sprayed all over the desktop.