“Dr. May, let me introduce my daughter, Dr. Theena Boone.”

Dr. Nikos winked at Theena, a signal for her to turn on the charm. It was one of the few things she was good at.

“A pleasure, Dr. May.”

Bill shook Theena’s hand, returning the greeting.

“Please sit, Dr. May.” He pulled out a chair for Bill. “I have to be social for a little bit.”

Bill was in good hands, Nikos knew. She was a much better whore than her mother was.

The speech had gone as expected, the audience eating it up. He looked around for Manny, and found him shaking hands with one of the Governor’s aides.

“Can I speak to you a moment?”

Manny nodded. “Sure, Dr. Nikos. If you’ll excuse me.”

They walked through the banquet hall, smiling and waving at people. So many wanted their ear, it became obvious that privacy was impossible. Luckily, the washroom was empty.

“Did I do okay?” Manny was nervous, agitated.

Nikos looked at himself in the mirror and fingered his beard, smoothing it out.

“You did fine. But I need you to do something else.”

Manny tugged at his collar.

“I just want to get out of here. I don’t know how much of this I can take. I feel the walls closing in.”

“Take it easy. It will be over soon.”

“I need something, Dr. Nikos.” As if cued, sweat broke out on his forehead. “I’m about ready to tear my face off.”

“All I have on me is Compazine. You take one of those, you’ll act like a drooling idiot. I need you sharp. Did you see the back table? With all the military men?”

Manny nodded. Nikos had to admit, the guy looked close to cracking.

“I need you to go impress them. They’re the ones offering the defense contract.”

“I don’t know. I… I can try.”

Manny went into a toilet stall and closed the door behind him. Nikos frowned. Their prize pony wasn’t doing so hot. Trotting him out for the buyers might not be the smartest move.

Unfortunately, Rothchilde had insisted. Everything hinged on the military money. With unlimited funds, Nikos was sure he’d be able to develop a synthetic version of N-Som. He was morally compelled to. The experiments with fetuses were promising, but Rothchilde was already making deals with several South American countries…

The president of American Products wanted to finance baby factories; paying scores of impoverished women to get pregnant and abort. The whole thing left a bad taste in Nikos’s mouth.

A moan, from Manny’s stall.

“Manny? Are you okay?”

Nikos knocked on the stall. There was another moan, louder.

“Manny?” The door was locked. “Let me in.”

A scream, so shrill it pierced Nikos like glass. He took a step back and kicked the door in.

Manny sat on the toilet. His tuxedo was in shreds, and there was so much blood he looked like an autopsy in progress.

In his left hand was a scalpel.

“Manny!”

Manny fixed his eyes on Dr. Nikos. His gaze was malevolent.

“No. Not Manny. I’m his brother, David.”

Nikos took a step back. Manny’s voice, his posture, his demeanor—all had become threatening. He wasn’t acting like Manny at all. Nikos recalled the monkey experiments, and what long term N-Som use had done to their brains. He’d been deceiving himself about the drug’s safety, turning a blind eye to the truth, and now the awful realization of what he’d done was staring at him like a hungry animal.

“Manny, get a hold of yourself. You aren’t David. David died when you were kids.”

Manny stood up. His lips peeled back, revealing bloody teeth.

“I didn’t die.” He tapped his temple with the scalpel handle. “I’ve been up here all the time.”

“We need to get you to a doctor, Manny. I had no idea you were this bad.”

Manny took a step forward. “The name is David.”

Nikos felt fear. He was a big man, robust, but he’d seen what Manny was capable of. Manny could bench press three hundred and fifty pounds. Manny could punch through safety glass with his bare hands. And now, some internal switch had been flipped, and this unstoppable machine had become a full blown psychotic.

Nikos raised his hands in supplication.

“David is dead, Emmanuel. He committed suicide in juvenile hall. Don’t you remember? You told me yourself. Please, Manny…”

“Stop calling me Manny!”

The move was so quick, Nikos couldn’t even lift an arm to defend himself. All he saw was a blur, and then there was a waterfall of blood cascading down his chest.

Nikos clutched his neck, felt his fingers sink in to the trachea. He fell over.

“You killed him! You killed him!”

Nikos watched as Manny screamed at himself, turning the scalpel inwards and jabbing it over and over into his own chest. Eventually he collapsed as well.

“Dr. Nikos… I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop him.”

Nikos barely heard. He stared at the bathroom ceiling, knowing it was the last thing he’d ever see.

Theena’s mother was right. She’d always told him that all of his hard work would kill him.

He almost laughed at the irony.

I never should have left her, he thought. One of many mistakes he’d never have a chance to fix.

And then he died.