Syndrome

a ghostly half-light. The sounds of televisions emanated from several of the rooms.

The nurse's station at the end of the hall was empty, which added to the sense of a surreptitious undertaking.

He walked quickly to room 213 and tapped lightly on the door. When he heard a bold 'Yes?' from inside, he opened it and entered.

He hadn't seen Nina Hampton in almost two decades, but she looked pretty much the way he remembered her. Her hair was surely dyed now, but her face was as square and strong as ever. She was reading a paperback book with a tide that appeared to be Spanish. She looked up and stared at him for a moment, adjusting her glasses.

'Hello, Stone. That is you, isn't it? You're older but you're still a hell of a looker. How did you get in here? Is Ally here too? I haven't seen her since this morning.'

'Mrs. Hampton, don't tell me you recognize me.'

'Of course I do. When you and Ally were. . going out, I confess I didn't hold out much hope that you'd ever amount to anything, but I've been a fan of your columns for a long time. Though it took me a while to put it together that that newspaper writer I liked so much was you, the man I didn't think was ambitious enough for my daughter.' She appraised him a moment. 'Does this mean you two are together again?'

Good question, he thought.And I don't have a clue about the answer.

'I wish I knew. Why don't you ask her the next time you see her?' He smiled and walked over. 'She wanted me to come up and see how you're doing.'

'Come up? Is she here now? When she came to say goodbye this morning, I got the impression that she wanted both of us just to get out of here. But I told her that was silly. I'm already feeling so much better.'

'Really. Well, she's downstairs now and she'll be happy to hear that.' He walked over and smiled. 'Mrs. Hampton, I came along with her this time to keep an eye on her. Hope you don't mind.'

'Of course not.'

'And there's another reason I'm here. I want to warn you. I'm writing a book about stem cell procedures and anything you say to me about your treatment could well end up in it. So don't tell me anything you don't want everybody to hear about.'

'Are you really writing a book about Dr. Vee?' She beamed. 'That's wonderful! He's a saint. Everyone here says so. He deserves a special place in heaven.'

This is great, Stone thought.I've got my own Deep Throat.

'Then could I ask you what you know about what he did and how you think you've improved.'

'I don't really understand what he's doing, but I do know what is happening to me. It's as though my mind was full of fog a lot of the time, but now there's a wind that's blowing it away.'

'And how-'

A shaft of light from the hallway pierced across the room as the door opened. Stone turned to see the man he'd first noticed in the lobby. The man walked past him and marched over to the bed.

'Hi, how're you feeling?'

'I'm touched.' Her visage immediately hardened 'It's thoughtful of you to finally come by and favor your mother with a visit.'

That'swho he is, Stone finally realized.Ally's kid brother.

In his few dealings with the wiseass brat that Ally used to rant about-what was the kid's name. . right, Grant-he'd found him devious and pompous. He was particularly deft at cutting ethical corners and using other people any way he could

'Stone,' Nina Hampton said gesturing toward Grant, 'this is-'

'I know exactly who he is,' Grant said turning around to face Stone. 'W.B. has put out an all-points alert for you, pal. You've got a hell of a nerve weaseling your way in here. But not to worry. You won't be here long.'

'I won't have you talking that way in my presence, young man,' Nina declared 'Whatever else you may be, I thought I'd raised you to have a civil tongue in your head'

Grant replied without taking his eyes off Stone. 'He lied to the front desk, Nina. He signed in as Ally's cousin. And that twit-brain down there let him get away with it. He got up here by using a lie. Now what does that tell you about him?”

'It tells me he's creative. This man came with your sister. He's helping take care of her, which is more than can be said about her own brother.'

'This creep is a newspaper reporter, Nina. He's here to spy. He’s planning to do a hatchet job on the Gerex Corporation, and Mr. Bartlett has expressly forbidden anyone to speak to him'

'I'm not in your corporation, Son, so I guess it’s all right for me then.'

'You signed a secrecy agreement with Gerex when you entered the clinical trials. Now maybe you don't remember it, but you did' He turned to Stone. 'Nice try, amigo. Now come on, let's go.'

'You know, Grant, I remember you,' Stone said 'Not very nice recollections.'

'And I remember you too, pal. You were that screwed-up journalism student Ally dated for a while. Thank God she got rid of you.'

'Sounds like we were awash in mutual admiration,' Stone said.

“Tell you what. Are we gonna continue this touching reunion outside, or do I have to call for security and take your trespassing ass out of here in handcuffs? It's entirely up to you.'

'Grant, I see no reason why I can't talk to him if I want,' Nina interjected 'Who I talk to or what I say is nobody's business but mine.'

'You wouldn't be here if it weren't for me,' Grant declared. 'So I have a little say-so too.' He turned back. 'Come on, pal. We're gone.'

I'm screwed, Stone told himself.But what about Ally?If I get kicked out, I'll really be leaving her completely defenseless.

'Mrs. Hampton, thank you for letting me check up on you,' he said quietly. 'Alexa is downstairs. I think her procedure is starting whether she's ready for it or not. You seem very alert, and if I were you, I'd try to monitor her. . progress as closely as you can.'

'Don't worry,' Grant said. 'I'llbe keeping close tabs on her. And now let's go.'

With no option short of killing him on the spot, Stone followed along, seething.This little creep obviously works for Winston Bartlett-he wished Ally had warned him about that. Grant was bound to have shown up at some point.

They went down the marble staircase and Grant signaled the security man, who leaped up and opened the front door for them.He probably got a tongue-lashing from Grant, Stone told himself.

As they stepped onto the wide porch, dusk all around them, Grant turned and headed toward the south end and a long wooden bench.

'Want to tell me what the hell's going on?' he said gesturing toward the bench and then sitting down. 'W.B. said you claimed to be writing a book about this project. If that's true, then it's a seriously bad idea. You have no idea what he's capable of if he gets pissed.'

'Oh, I think I'm getting a rough idea, but I'm a little pissed too,' Stone said, remaining standing. 'For example, there's the matter of Kristen Starr. You see, she was terminated from the clinical trials approximately three months back. So I was wondering, when is Van de Vliet planning to report her current condition to the NIH?'

'I don't know what you're talking about.' His startled voice said otherwise.

'Oh, I think you do. I saw her today.' Then he decided to bluff. 'She had an interesting tale to tell. She-'

'Shit, you interviewed Kristy? Aw, man, don't believe anything she. .' He hesitated. 'What did she say about W.B.?'

'Tell you what, we'll play twenty questions. You tell me what you think she said and I'll tell you if you're right or not.'

'Hey,' Grant declared, his eyes intense, 'she wanted to do it man. Nobody put a gun to her head or anything. She was freaking out after she got sacked. She thought Dr. Vee could fix her skin and she couldn't wait to try it.'