The Last Mountain Gorilla(8)

Phil Johnson blew a low whistle. “Holy mother of—”

“Look at this,” Jennifer said. She was already at the stainless steel sink. Flames bubbled out of the sink and Claire could see a pile of compact discs and flash drives burned beyond recognition. It was undoubtedly the backup data from Jenson’s computer.

“Why would he do that?” Jennifer asked. “That’s years of hard work up in flames.”

Claire shook her head. An overwhelming sense of regret made her flush with fear. Why did she have to choose today to press him? He’d been wound so tight for so long. How selfish could she be?

That’s when she spotted the empty syringe wrapper on the lab bench. Next to the wrapper was a small empty vial. The label on the vial read, “Virus K-42.” Her mouth went dry.

Jennifer picked up the vial and inspected it closely. “No,” she whispered. “Not that.”

“What?” Claire said.

Jennifer placed the vial down and looked up at Claire with pity.

“What is it?” Clair repeated.

“Claire,” Phil Johnson called to her. “Over here.”

Jennifer said nothing. She simply stared at the sink and shook her head.

Claire discovered an envelope with her name on it sitting on Brian’s lab bench. It was definitely Brian’s handwriting.

“Claire!” Johnson called again.

Claire picked up the envelope and followed his voice to the west side of the room. It was dark outside and the long expansive window exposed the city lights sparkling in the valley below them. She approached the couch and saw Brian sitting next to his brother. Brian had one arm around Billy while he stroked his face with the back of his free hand.

Claire scrutinized Billy’s appearance, but couldn’t detect any change. She wondered how long it would take for the gene therapy to take hold. That’s when Brian turned his head back to face the dazzling display of the downtown lights. Brian’s expression was light and blissful. His smile was the exact duplicate of his brother’s. He had the same droopy eyes.

Brian raised his arm and pointed to the endless twinkling of lights. “Beautiful,” he said.

“Yeah, beautiful,” mimicked Billy with the same long drawl.

Claire looked down and saw Brian’s sleeve rolled up and an empty syringe on the floor next to his feet. She could feel her eyes fill with moisture. Her lips quivered. Now she understood why he destroyed all of his data. Without him pushing for a cure, no one would ever find the formula that could reverse his condition.

In a state of shock, the envelope slipped from Claire’s hand. Phil Johnson picked it up, saw her name on it and handed it to her. Claire looked at it and realized what it was. With trembling fingers Claire opened the envelope and read the handwritten note from her husband:



Claire, you won’t go away now, will you? Because now I need you more, don’t I?



Brian looked up at her and smiled with pure delight. There was no anxiety on his face, just the unadulterated enchantment of watching the city lights glow below them.

Claire looked out the window and tried desperately to appreciate the same view while teardrops plopped onto the letter in her hands.