***** Vol.4 Chap.48 Headquarters again *****
When JB woke up, she found herself in a familiar room or prison cell with her comfy bed.
Scratching her head, she wondered where she was. The last she remembered, Dr. Rehoton and Dr. Subrahim were taking her to the ‘real’ PPTSB headquarters. Then she fell asleep.
How did I get here? Is this the PPTSB headquarters or the GL headquarters?
She was very confused.
Who did I really work for? Who was Dr. Schmidtiz? Who were Dr. Rehoton and Dr. Subrahim?
Totally confounded, she paced around her room. Without an access card, she had no choice but to pace around her prison, stomping her feet at times at her own stupidity.
The whirlwind that caught her the last few days had left her unsettled, confused, and disoriented. It seemed she had been lied to so much and for so long that she had no idea what was up and what was down; or who was right and who was wrong. At this point, no one could be trusted.
Despair also set in as she saw her dreams dashed, her Nobel Price flew out of reach. Just a few months ago, it seemed she was unstoppable. All her plans were falling into place one by one.
Now she was totally lost. She saw no future in what lay ahead. Presumably, she was now held prisoner in the GL headquarters. Even if she escaped, she would be hunted by the FBI and the real PPTSB.
Total despair!
For once, she felt nothing was under her control, nothing was according to her plan.
Just then, there was a knock on the door and the door opened. She raised her head and found herself looking right into a grinning Johan who was practically beaming.
“You are awake! Perfect. How about some coffee at the lunch room?”
“I am not leaving until you tell me the truth about everything!” She pouted.
Johan came and sat on the bed and motioned for her to sit next to him.
“What do you want to know?”
Unwilling to move an inch, she stood her ground.
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“Is this the GL headquarters?”
“Yes.”
The affirmative sent shivers down her spine.
“Are you with the GL?”
“Yes.”
Again, the simple ‘yes’ seemed to explode in her mind!
“So, everything you told me earlier was a lie?”
“Not exactly.” Johan replied, still grinning further infuriating her.
“Did I help you make the red pill?”
“Not exactly.”
At that JB, not being able to hold her anger any longer, threw into a horrific temper tantrum.
Johan just sat there quietly with a smile and waited patiently for her to calm down.
“JB, we have never wronged you or misled you. Listen. You wanted consulting, we gave you consulting. You wanted datasets, we supplied you with datasets. You wanted discovery, we provided the opportunity. You wanted to be paid, we paid you handsomely over and beyond what you expected.”
He continued, “You wanted better meals; we hired a cook just for you. You wanted a comfy bed; we went through a lot of trouble to transport one here. You wanted professional presentation; we squeezed you into the program.”
Still in his mesmerizing tone, “We had not wronged you in anything. In fact, we treated you like royalty.”
Johan just let the words hanged there.
“You told me you were working on the blue pill, not the red pill. You tricked me into working on the red pill!” JB shouted in anger still.
“The techniques needed was the same. In reality, the red pill is useless without the antidote, the blue pill. We ran out of the ingredients for the red pill. There was no way to test the effectiveness of the blue pill without any red pill. So, the upper management decided to first work on the red pill instead of the blue pill.”
“Now we need you more than ever to finish the blue pill.”
“I am tired of helping you!” JB snorted.
“I understand. But consider this. We can finish the blue pill sooner or later with or without your help. Personally, I feel we would be able to finish the job quicker and more efficiently with your expert help. Do you really want someone else to take the glory of inventing the blue pill?”
That last statement hit home in JB.
“You had no idea how much I fought for your help before the upper management. I put my job and my life on the line for you.”
JB, with a puzzled look on her face, was softening.
“Help us finish the blue pill and we will help you advance beyond your dreams in the professional community. You have seen how we could pull strings in the professional community.”
She cocked her head and was listening.
“We need your expertise to help us hasten the work on the blue pill. Once that is done, tell me what you want and we will do our best for you.”
She was visibly debating within herself.
“You know we had deposited your consulting fee faithfully in all your accounts every week. I have asked the upper management to double your consulting fee till we finish the project.”
The carrot.
“If you desired to go back to the Institute before the project is done, we will gladly oblige and take you back to Washington DC or Pittsburg. But please be aware that both FBI and the real PPTSB are after you. I don’t believe they will be as accommodating as we are.”
The stick.
“You had helped us tremendously. We are indebted to you and we will do whatever it takes to help you realize your plans and your dreams and your goals.”
“I know everything that happened last few days was totally unexpected and came as a real shock to you, so let me leave you for now. Here is your key card back. I will visit you again tomorrow?”
JB nodded her head.
“Very good. You know where the lunch room is.”
JB thought she heard a beep on Johan’s phone.
Johan left rather quickly.