Hem.”
, they should give me a better sense of how this fired,” Oh said. “The material’s out to Stanford ; hour, I’ll drive down to personally sign for it eking.”
: you mentioned you were taking Cindy out i dinner tonight.” K got used to losing me to an electron microscope plates the day our honeymoon ended, Eli.”
plate afternoon when Pete Nimec stepped out of to find Gordian’s admin staring at his office i behind her desk.
aa,” he said. “How you holding up?” t turned to him slowly as he approached. I best I can, Pete,” she said. “Has Mrs. Gordian | in touch with you again?” j shook his head. “We assume she will after that : epidemiologist has a look at things.”
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Norma was quiet.
“I don’t want to think about him not being in there.” She indicated Gordian’s office with her cheerless eyes. “And somehow I can’t think about anything else.”
Nimec looked at her.
“I know,” he said.
“Nothing seems right,” she said. “It’s so strange. He’s one of those people I’ve taken for granted will always be with us. I can’t imagine him being seriously ill. He’s so much larger than most…” She paused. “I’m sorry. Of course it doesn’t make sense.”
He reached across the desk and touched her shoulder.
“Maybe not,” he said. “But you aren’t alone. Everybody who cares about him feels that way a little.”
She put her hand on his and let it rest mere a moment.
“Thank you.”
He nodded in silence.
“It’s incredible how much Mr. Gordian is able to manage,” she said then. “I’ve spent the past two afternoons canceling his appointments. That luncheon with senators Richard and Bruford from the Armed Services Committee. Meetings with senior executive board members. With a representative from the Silicon Valley Business Alliance. I can’t tell you how many others.”
“You have to field a lot of questions from the press since that stroke story appeared?”
“Enough,” she said. “I’ve stayed with Megan’s official explanation to the letter. Dizziness, maybe too much yard work, routine tests.”
“That’ll hold a while,” he Said.
“And hopefully we won’t have any reason to go beyond it”
“Hopefully.” He paused. “Norma, while we’re on the
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of Cord’s schedule, I need a favor. Something Scull thinks might be important to the doctors, you be able to provide a list of his verifiable over the past couple, three weeks? The ones i he physically connected, that is.”
: at him.
I log all his engagements into an electronic she said. “The calendar automatically apI turn on my computer every morning. I the date is kept, missed, or reshuffled, illy, Mr. Gordian will have me enter a list of points beforehand. Or his handwritten impresf how the meeting went.” n’t ask for Cord’s private notes. Just the names i he met and who they work for. Maybe where ngs took place. Can you swing that for me
”
I’ll do anything to help. Now, later, don’t hes- check with me for whatever information you forma said. The thought that she could be of use her a kind of animation. “Would you like a : or disk?”
py of each sounds good to me.” I’ve got them,” she said, then slipped a rewritable ( her drive and began tapping on her keyboard.
f sorry, truly sorry, but I can’t help you with that said Carl VanDerwerf from behind his j,;His job title at UpLink was Managing Director of i Resources. I’m tellin’ you I got to have it,” said Rollie au from the seat opposite him.
265
Tom Clancy’s Power Plays .
The two men stared at one another, clearly at an impasse.
“We have to be sensitive to the privacy of our employees,” VanDerwerf persisted. “Moreover, there are state and federal laws. You may not be aware of the penalties we could incur. The liabilities were someone to press a suit about your prying into their personnel records for confidential details-”
Thibodeau held a hand in the air to interrupt him.
“Never mind these people’s ages, work experience, or whether they like to pole vault or pole dance in their rec time. Doesn’t matter to me if somebody’s a kleptomaniac, nymphomaniac, single, married, divorced, a bigamist, or takin’ care of his or her shut-in Aunt Emma,” he said. “Just give me the names of employees in this building who took sick days the past couple weeks, and the departments where they work. You got to have that on file.”
VanDerwerf produced an exasperated sigh. “Certainly we do. For payroll and insurance purposes. But if you’d allowed me to finish my sentence a moment ago, you would know the law requires that we keep an individual’s medical background confidential.”
“Nobody’s talkin’ background.” Thibodeau said. “What you got your neck poked out for? Just let me know who’s called in sick lately. An employee does or doesn’t choose to get into the reason why, it be up to him.”
VanDerwerf sighed again.
“Sir, just as you are responsible for our corporate security operations, I supervise all phases of personnel function. At all levels from senior executive to mail room clerk. My decisions must be guided by UpLink’s
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policies and procedures and by applicable nt regulations.” He pursed his lips, ran a finger his neatly trimmed salt-and-pepper mustache, f, I’m not denying that unanticipated situations will i arise that demand judgment calls. Should you f explain the basis of your request… address my to know if it is associated with rumors cir; about Mr. Gordian’s condition … I’m sure we cile our differences in a mutually amenable, ense manner.”
au glowered. “You sayin’ it ain’t okay for me a fella straight on whether he had a cold or a ankle last week, but it’s fine for you to stick I into the boss’s affairs through a third party?” is an oversimplification rendered in insulting rJMy capacities include oversight of UpLink’s costs, and Mr. Gordian is covered by our policy. The wall of silence surrounding his : stands to put me in a difficult position with our I merely suggest we trade off-” I enough, you officious little prick.” Thibodeau I off his chair and stood over the desk. “Talk about what do you call wastin’ my tune, pretendin’ to ved up over employees’ rights when you only to talk trash-?” : was not my intention-”
see!” Thibodeau boomed, thrusting a finger at ?**You don’t commence to turn over what I gotta you’ll know how a bug feels when it’s been I on with a hikin’ boot.”
blinked, rapidly stroking his mustache, t of color on his cheeks and forehead.
t he released his third and longest sigh yet.
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“Okay,” he said in raffled capitulation. “My staff’s ready to leave for the day. I’ll have them get the names to your office first thing tomorrow rooming.”
Thibodeau shook his head and sat.
“Best make that your office in fifteen minutes,” he said and glanced at his wristwatch. “Meanwhile, I’ll just make myself comfortable an’ wait for them right here.”
True to his promise, Eric Oh was at the Stanford lab in time to receive the radiographs and diagnostic specimen from Lieberman.
They arrived via special courier a little after five o’clock, the serum packed separately in accordance with international requirements for transport of fluid, tissue, cultures, and other substances believed to contain etiologic agents-live microbial organisms that were potential causes of infectious disease in human beings.
Or, as they were broadly categorized in the rule books: Dangerous Goods.
Its seal wrapped in waterproof tape, the labeled vial had been placed in a tubular plastic container, the spaces around it filled with sufficient wadding to absorb every drop of sera within should an accidental leak or breakage occur in handling. The secondary receptacle was then capped, taped for watertightness, labeled with the name, address, and phone number of the sender at San Jose Mercy, and encased in an outer shipping canister. Besides a duplicate of die sender’s identification and contact information label, this third canister bore the standard tag for biomedical etiologic materials prescribed by the federal Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, highlighted by a bright red biohazard trefoil against a white background and bearing the appro-
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j phone number for notification of the CDC should
: become damaged.
same procedures had been followed for the of the sample to Berkeley, as well as for the ent of the sample to Atlanta, with additional ad-white stickers mandated by the International nsport Association for containers of dry ice and substances.
putting on his protective attire and bringing ckage into the virology lab’s biosafety cabinet, he planned to spend perhaps an hour or two its contents, Eric rang Lieberman to let him lit had reached him safe and sound. He then went pt a nearby fast-food restaurant, ordered a couple of ; to go, and ate them drowned in ketchup, [to imagine it was the tomato sauce he’d so looked