The Follower III: Terrorist Groups in Silicon Valley and Boston Are Smashed by the Follower

By John Durbin Husher

When three grisly murders mystify pathologists, Dr. Edward Kim of the United States Science Agency calls on Axel Tressler. By day, Tressler is an ordinary university biology teacher. But, endowed with special capabilities, he also carries out dangerous, top-secret government missions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Inks and Bindings, LLC
• Release date: Sep 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798886150599

John Durbin Husher

JOHN DURBIN HUSHER is an electrical engineer; he received his degree from the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was Vice President and General Manager of Micrel Semiconductor for twenty years before retiring in 2002. He has authored five books and this is his sixth. Mr. Husher lives with his wife of 53 years in Los Altos Hills, California.

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Contents

Prologue

The Follower and the Terrorists in Silicon Valley

Smashing the Terrorists at the Bad Silicon Valley Company

Tori has a Medical Problem

Boston and the

Russian terrorists

Tori Makes Major Contributions against Terrorists

Axel Enters the Russian Den as Yaro

Botox Enters the Picture as a Terrorist Weapon

The Follower Smashes the Boston Terrorist Group

Finding the Texas Supplier of Mexican Arms

Locating the Ship Carrying the Guns into the Country

The Follower Receives New Powerful Communication Capabilities

Axel and Family at Camp David with the President

The Follower Helps to Fight Britain’s Terrorists

The Follower Crushes Terrorist Plans for Bombs on Thames River

The Follower Frees the U.S. Students from Iranian Jail

Axel Returns to the States and Teaching

Axel and Iran’s Nuclear Program

The Follower is Hurt

Kim to the Rescue

Axel Returns Home

from Iran to Tori

Dedicated to Peg, Jay, Karen, David

Prologue

The Follower, Axel Tressler, continues to use his special powers to overcome major problems faced by this country in all parts of the w orld. Axel is born with unique energy capabilities believed to be due to a plane crash endured by his mother before the birth of twin boys. Axel is born several days after his brother Adam and mother are rescued from the crash’s remains. Later in life he is found to have these unique energy capabilities that are at three increasing levels. His original design of a voice actuated, computer chip that is implanted in his body allows him to call up these energy levels to face the different obstacles his missions require as well as providing him as a walking communication center. Later in life, the U.S. Science Agency (USSA) provided Axel with a special transparent and indestructible body covering made of spider web and titanium nanotubes. This allows him, as the Follower, to be fearless as he seeks to uh this country’s enemies around the world; all done in anonymity. These feats are completed without losing his personal identity as a university professor of biology.

The Follower and the Terrorists in Silicon Valley

Dr. Kim, chief scientist for the United States Science Agency (USSA), contacted Axel Tressler, alias, The Follower, over the course of several months about some weird findings the agency had uncovered concerning two dead bodies, one found on the East Coast and the other on the West Coast. In both cases, the pathologists had no explanation for the bodies’ condition. Their internal organs had been torn up, as if piranha fish had been inside their bodies. Blood vessels were shredded, especially in the lungs and the major vessels leading from the heart. The medical people, Kim told Axel, have been mystified.

A couple of months passed before Kim called Axel again. Kim was normally quite calm and detached, but in this case he couldn’t contain himself. Axel had never heard him sound so dramatic or excited.

Axel, we’ve found another dead body in South San Francisco in the same conditions as the other two I told you about. These cases have been lifted to the highest levels of the top people in the government and the medical community. They even have the DEA involved. Last night the head of DEA called me and asked if our agency could help them. We, through you, have been quite successful in the past in resolving issues for them. So I talked to my superiors here about having you take a position at a west coast company that has been working on nanoparticles. There are two companies, one on each coast, that have nanoparticle programs that have been partially financed through our agency. Because of that, we send technical people to these companies with no problems. We believe these deaths might be connected to these companies. Our scientists have theorized that the damage to the bodies could have been caused by improper use of nanoparticles. With your advanced degree in biology, you have the proper background for this kind of work. You are the perfect person for figuring out if there is something strange going on at this company. Besides your obvious technical background, we might be able to use your physical strength and your unique properties if you find any terrorist activities. What do you think?

Axel thought for a few seconds and then said, This sounds quite interesting, but what makes you think they would allow me to go to work for them? They are working on proprietary material.

It should be no problem. We’re putting money into the company, and we’ll just tell them we have worked with you before and believe you would bring a lot of talent to the company, said Kim. We will also tell the CEO, in strict confidence, about the ravaged bodies and that we suspect terrorist activity. Your prime responsibility will be to find out if there are any leaks of the work being done by these companies to terrorists out of the company.

Don’t you think they would want to know where I worked before, and the kind of experience I had that would relate to their work? Why would they want to let a stranger in on their proprietary work?

We can get around that, said Kim. "First of all, we would tell them that we’ll pay your salary, so they don’t have any arguments about costs. Then we can provide them, in confidence, some of the data about your past experiences working with us. We wouldn’t tell them about your special physical powers and your special communication skills, but would only rely on your strong capabilities in the field of biology. After that, the load will be on your back. If you go there and provide some help within a short time, they will be excited about you and the rest will be no problem. We believe you are sharp enough that once you see what they have been doing, you will be able to contribute to the operation. Meanwhile, you will be close to the culprit, if there is one there. You have a way of ferreting out problems. This should be right up your alley. Besides, it gives you a fantastic opportunity that very few people get. You get to learn a new technology. A new technology that is far in advance of what you are teaching at the university.

Even better, you get to carry out an agency mission while staying close to your home. You will get to see Tori every day, unlike other times when you were away from your fiancée for long periods of time. We believe this has a lot of advantages for you and for the agency, and hopefully for the country.

I have to admit, that all sounds enticing, Axel said. I will talk to Tori tonight and see if she has any problems with it. I don’t think she will, but you can never tell about women. They are pretty smart and very intuitive, and she might see some bumps in this that we don’t. While we are at it, tell me what you think about the other company on the East Coast. That company could have the same problem. In fact, even though the deaths were on both coasts, they might have been done by only one company. They just completed the experiment in a different part of the country. What are you going to do about the other company?

The other company is in Boston. We thought we would wait to see what you recommend after being at the company in South San Francisco.

That makes sense, agreed Axel. What’s the company’s name?

It’s fairly easy to remember, Kim said. Its name is Aortica. I guess they named it after the aorta, since they felt they would be doing a lot with the nanoparticles that related to the aorta.

Axel told Kim that he felt the assignment suited him well. What you have described is precisely the kind of experience a professional biologist would enjoy, because of the advanced field of work. I don’t believe Tori will have any problems with my engaging in this venture, since I will be remaining home, or at least in proximity to home.

Axel told Kim to start processing what he thought he’d need to clear the way for him at Aortica. I hope you don’t have to make up too much of my resume, but if you do, you better let me take a look at it, so I know what I’m supposed to have done. I am confident that whatever you put in there will be something I know or have experienced. At least with my internal communication capability, I can keep in touch with the scientists at the agency. What I don’t know, they will, and they can phone it to my internal computer,

Kim agreed, and said he would be back in touch.

As Axel had suspected, Tori thought the new assignment was good exposure for him. You can gain some unique experience from this venture, she said. One of these days you might want to start a company of your own, and all of this experience is going to pay off. Besides, I can see you every night and you can bring me up to speed, and I won’t be worrying so much. Axel laughed at that.

As the days passed, he got anxious that he hadn’t heard from Kim. He had prepped his substitute to take over his classes at the university, telling him to start coming to his classes immediately, so he could see where each class was in its studies. He was now excited about this new adventure, and it took every bit of his cool not to call Kim and tell him how eager he was to start.

One afternoon, when Axel had just completed his course teaching for the day, he got a fax from Kim that came by way of his school computer. He read it over to himself.

Axel, I have sent you an expedited letter that has all the paperwork you will need for this new job. It should be at your house this evening. It’s your resume, which I have conveniently brought up to date and already forwarded to the CEO of Aortica. You should read it over and make sure that you memorize its contents, since they are not exactly your experiences. I added experiences related to your role as The Follower, but described them in a way that makes it look like you got the experience from confidential forays with the agency at other companies; similar to what I expect to gain from this stay with Aortica. I talked to the CEO (Howard Foster) the day before yesterday and told him I was sending you. I assured him that it had nothing to do with any deficiency the agency has found in the company, and the agency will continue to sponsor Aortica. I told him you would arrive next Monday and he said he looked forward to it. He later called me and said that he had read your resume. He was quite impressed and felt you would add some additional technical talent to the company.

Also included in the mail is a complete description of Aortica, and the reports they have issued to us from their start to the present time. This should give you a good feel of what work the company has done to date and where they are going in the future. It also contains their costs, their assets, and their last two Profit and Loss financial reports. They have lost money to date, which we expected, but they should reach a break-even position in about another year. Anytime you feel you need additional information or input from the scientists at the agency, give us a call. Included with the material is a top secret clearance that you previously received from the agency and is considered to be active as of this date.

When he got home, Axel read the resume and was quite impressed with how Kim had worded everything. That makes me look good, he thought. The schooling and experiences were accurate, except where Kim had taken some liberties with his experience as The Follower. When Tori got home, he showed her the paperwork, and she thought it was very well done.

Sounds like someone I should meet, she said with a big grin on her face. It looks like the two guys I know, although I never see one of them around the house. He’s always cavorting around the world. She laughed. She was describing Axel and his role as The Follower.

Axel was happy she found everything acceptable. He gave her a big hug and said, Let’s go out and celebrate my new job and then come home and really celebrate.

Tori immediately agreed.

Before going to his new position in the little company of Aortica, Axel knew he had to brush up on anything that related to nanoparticles. Nanoparticles were particles that were between one and ten nanometers in size in at least one dimension, but preferably in all dimensions. Axel believed the ideal size and shape would be a sphere that was one to ten nanometers in diameter. His studies through the Internet provided him with a significant amount of general information. The one key advantage proposed for these nanoparticles was that they were so small; they could go through blood vessel walls without harming the walls. The one big hope for the nanoparticles was to use them like missiles to carry medicine to selected spots in the body. The scientists working on these particles felt too much damage was done to the body when a person with cancer was treated with chemotherapy. Aside from the side effects, the fact that the chemo was nonselective meant it not only killed the cancer cells or tumors, but all the cells. The scientists believed that if they found a way to control the production of nanoparticles and the method of providing this material to selective areas, such as the cancer cells, the chemo would be much more effective in eliminating the cancer without causing side effects and collateral damage.

The key about a nanoparticle was that it had characteristics that were quite different from the material from which they came. Axel did not know why, but the nanoparticles had their own characteristics. One of the challenges was to bring a material down to this small size and to determine what its new characteristics were. They were so small; their physical size put a great strain on studying them. Everything had to be done using electron microscopes or other equipment. One of the researchers he found on the web talked about copper and gold, and how much their characteristics changed when they got to these small dimensions.

Maybe there was some way of using nanoparticles to carry nitric oxide to Tori’s fingers, Axel thought. He knew the treatment Tori had used that had provided her some relief from her Raynoud’s Syndrome was a salve that contained nitric oxide. Nitric oxide caused blood vessels to dilate, since they produced localized heat. Ninety percent of the time she wasn’t bothered by the Raynoud’s, but that other ten percent was dramatic. Maybe while working at Aortica, he would find a way to have the nanoparticles they produced to contain nitric oxide, which could be shot into Tori’s fingers and relieve or entirely eliminate her problem. That would be a great by-product of his work with Aortica, finding a cure for Tori’s fingers. Those thoughts gave Axel more incentive to go to work with Aortica. It wouldn’t be long now.

Axel arrived at Aortica on Monday and met with Howard Foster. As they shook hands, Foster told him how much he had been looking forward to Axel’s arrival.

According to Kim at USSA, Foster said, you have a background that is broad and could help here. Our work is very complex, and technical problems keep popping up. Keep in mind that the people I have here are biased toward one goal and biased on how to achieve it. We have been working a couple of years on this issue and have made great progress, but we have not reached our specified goal. Sometimes a team gets stale on an approach and loses its innovation. Innovation is something that all good scientists are looking for. It takes innovation to be creative in one’s thoughts. Sometimes when people are working a long time on the solution to a problem, they run out of ideas and get frustrated from bouncing against a brick wall. They try to overcome this with old techniques, and they don’t work. I need someone to look at the work we are doing and give us a fresh approach. How about just watching and listening for a couple of weeks to see where things stand, and then I will give you a shot at providing me with a review and recommendations? What do you think?

I appreciate your confidence in me, said Axel. I will try to dig into the details and see where the problems lie. It’s not always obvious, but there may be some critical step you’re missing, or maybe some threshold level we must overcome. I will do the best I can. While I believe I will be of some help to you technically, I want you to keep in mind my main reason for being here. I know Dr. Kim has talked to you about one of the things I need to achieve.

Yes, Foster said. Kim told me about the odd deaths and his concern that someone is leaking our research to a terrorist organization. I know you are here to see if that’s true, and I hope you find that we don’t have that problem here.

Axel said, It’s important that you know what I’ll be doing. It may sound counterproductive, but it might smoke out any terrorists in your operation. I would like to start dropping hints about how these nanoparticles could be used as a biological weapon. I believe I can do this in a subtle manner without alarming anyone, and hopefully I can connect with any individual who has aspirations in that direction. From what I know, all of your employees seem quite dedicated to the success of your program. But some people come from cultures that endorse violence, while others are looking for an opportunity to make money. You never know until you get close enough to them to gain their confidence and they begin to talk.

Foster agreed that it was hard to pull the bad apples out of the barrel at times, and he had no problem with Axel’s approach.

Glad to have Foster’s agreement, Axel asked the CEO to give him a summary of where the company was with its research.

We have tried several approaches that give us results in the right direction, said Foster. We have made single nanoparticles, but when we try to collect them, they agglomerate into a ball and we lose the singular nanoparticles. A few months ago, after trying several methods that we thought would reduce the attraction of the particles for each other; we decided to go a different route. We decided to produce the nanoparticles in a liquid suspension in order to reduce the attractive force on the nanoparticles when they are in dry form. This sort of worked, since it did keep the nanoparticles separated, but when we tried to sinter the suspension, the sintering action failed. Our studies of what happened indicate that the uneven heating was such that at one point, there were free dry nanoparticles while many were still in suspension. As added heating was applied, the nanoparticles that were out of the solvent began to agglomerate, and that got us practically back to square one. Keep in mind that we are talking about something you can’t see with a standard light microscope. Because of this we use electron microscopes or force field microscopes throughout the process. We need to use robotic action since the engineers and scientists cannot see or select the individual nanoparticles. Everything is done based on theory and on either controlled chemical actions or robotic actions, with minute robots to handle the nanoparticles. So, the engineers have to be a mix of electronic, mechanical, biology, and chemical engineers. That’s how tough this problem is. When we arrive at the end of the process and have the nanoparticles in suspension, we can’t see them. We know they’re there. The proof, of course, is that when we dry the solution, we end up with clumps of nanoparticles; with thousands of particles in each clump. We can see them better, but can’t use them. This has been very disappointing. That’s how close we came, and yet we failed to complete the mission.

Sounds like your people have come a long way, commented Axel. I have to admit that is frustrating and demoralizing, but it shows you have been close to a resolution. I will watch and see what I come up with. I have good experience in technologies like yours, and hopefully I can come up with some good suggestions for the company. We will see in a few weeks. I won’t string you along. If I am not a good fit for this program, I will tell you.

Foster introduced Axel to the team of engineers and scientists, saying, We have decided to bring in a very experienced engineer and biologist to review our work and see if we are missing something. I expect you all to give Axel Tressler your complete detailed analysis of any step we use to make our product. There shall be no secrets. Axel has done this kind of work under top secret clearance for other companies, and I expect you all to give him your full support.

Thus Axel started his first week as an observer for this highly technical crew. As he observed, he also thought about how he could lay the groundwork for finding out if any of these people were responsible for the three mysterious deaths. Each day brought him in contact with the various steps of the process. Everything was brought to the almost complete phase of the process several times, and Axel was able to see, with the aid of high magnification equipment, the nanoparticles being hatched. He could watch the single nanoparticles being formed, and then their loss during the remaining steps in the process. The frustration among the scientists was overwhelming. Axel sat with them while they described what they were seeing, each giving his or her hypothesis of why this was occurring. Axel could see that the different approaches the crew was trying brought different intermediate results, but the final results were always the same. They had good technical suggestions, but the product wasn’t buying them. When Axel gave some input, the crew chewed over his suggestions. They said they were good suggestions, but they either had already tried them, or they had some reason why his idea wouldn’t work.

Axel respected their reasoning. He could see that some of his suggestions weren’t employed for good reasons. The scientists were not just being negative; they were giving him the straight scoop. He would have to think more about this.

Meanwhile he talked to the various team members to see if he could find out if anyone had aspirations other than those of the group. He would sit beside one of the engineers or technicians and make comments like, You know, if we can get to a single particle in this process, there are many dramatic products that could be made using the particles. They would be ideal as virus carriers to cause major illnesses, as well as directors for carrying bacteria into animals or humans exactly where one wants them. Sometimes he would make remarks that indicated that whoever got those particles could make a terrific amount of money from them. During the first week, no one rose to his bait. However, when he returned to work on the following Monday and joined a technician at his work station, the other man said, Are you interested in making some big money off of this process?

Axel was shocked at first, since the week before had been so mundane. He spent a moment composing himself, and then turned on his internal phone system, which was tied into USSA.

It would be worth considering, he said. I guess the first thing that has to happen is that we have to get this thing to work. Then it would be a miracle to take advantage of. There must be a thousand uses for this. I have some money problems right now that need to be resolved, or my wife and I are going to have to move.

The technician kept working on the step he was responsible for. My name is Venky, he said quietly. How about we meet somewhere after work today?

Sounds good, said Axel. Is there a place that is not so close to this facility? I don’t want to be caught talking about work anywhere near here.

Yes, responded Venky. There is a place called Bart’s Fish House on the wharf in Redwood City. It’s about fifteen miles south of here. I will meet you there right after leaving work.

Axel nodded and walked on.

When Axel arrived at the Fish House, there was a small line waiting for seats, but Venky already had a table. Axel joined him and they ordered their dinner, and then Axel turned on his internal phone. As they waited for their food, Venky asked Axel how he thought they were doing.

Things are running smoothly, Axel said, but we can’t get over the threshold. I have a few ideas that would probably help.

Like what? Venky asked.

There are things being done that are similar to what I’ve worked on before, Axel said, and I was able to resolve them. I have to keep them private at this time, until I see where the Aortica team goes with what they are trying.

I guess that is the best approach at this time, Venky said. However, if you think you have a solution of how to get a large number of individual particles without their clumping into little balls, I have someone who would pay you quite well for that information.

That’s an interesting point, said Axel. I hadn’t thought about it as a separate step that I get paid for. Would they pay me without seeing the results?

I believe so, said Venky. These are bright people I am connected with, and they would be able to tell if your ideas are valid. They probably would be able to envision the end result before Aortica.

Maybe, Axel said. However, they would need all the equipment that Aortica has and would have to have made something like this. It would take them a year or so to put all that together.

They have the equipment and it isn’t far from here. In fact, we have two lines similar to the line Aortica’s running at this time.

Are you saying you’ve made these particles before and had similar problems to what Aortica has? asked Axel.

Yes. We have had some hiccups, and this product can’t stand hiccups.

What do you mean by hiccups? asked Axel.

They have had the same problems as Aortica, replied Venky, but they were content to see what could be done with a few of the nanoparticles. Aortica hasn’t been satisfied with only a few particles. Their objective is to find a way to generate millions or billions without any major problems. Our team wanted to see what could be made out of the nanoparticles as soon as they had a few. Aortica could have ventured that way also, but they didn’t.

Is this where the hiccups appeared? asked Axel.

Yes, replied Venky. They wanted to see several things. One of them was to place a superbug inside one of the nanoparticles to see if they could direct the superbug to where they wanted it.

So, they had a problem with the directing, or a problem with establishing the superbug in the nanoparticles?

Yes, Venky answered. They didn’t appreciate that the nanoparticles weren’t like the bulk material from which they were derived. They thought that injecting the superbug into the nanoparticles would be straightforward. But it isn’t.

Axel asked what were the problems they had found when they tried to combine the two materials. Venky said he didn’t think he could tell Axel that.

That’s bullshit, Axel said. You must tell me this, so I can understand the problem and figure out whether my approach would work. You wouldn’t want me to be working in the blind, would you?

Venky was silent. He looked like he wanted to tell Axel, but he obviously felt it would betray the trust of the group he was involved with. Stopping just short of talking, he told Axel that he would check with the man running the other program and see if he is willing to provide the information. Axel agreed to that. He had felt this was going too fast anyhow, and he wanted to meet the people Venky was talking about. They ate their dinner, and then Axel drove home, thinking about this contact. This was the hit he had been sent there to find. Now if he could carry this further and find the people heading up this deadly line, it would be the culmination of a major find.

Axel felt this was too important to keep a secret, even though he only had hearsay from Venky. Venky might just have been stringing him along, hoping to get more information from him that he could sell to a third party. Regardless, Axel decided to call Kim as soon as he got home.

When Kim answered, Axel started right off by saying he felt he had found the right person. Kim agreed, saying he had heard some of the details on the phone contact Axel had made while he was talking to Venky. Axel covered everything that had gone on that day, adding that he might eventually find the location of the line that Venky had mentioned. That would be a real hit. He told Kim he wanted to find out first what problems they had run into. If it was something like the three dead bodies that had turned up, it would be a real win.

Kim told Axel that he should talk to Howard Foster, but to make sure Foster kept the information confidential. He should also make sure that Venky didn’t get involved in anything new at Aortica. Sounds like you are getting close to what may have happened in the past, Kim said. That’s exciting. Let’s keep close to this guy, and hopefully Foster will be able to keep Venky from learning anything new.

Axel kept up with his job at Aortica, and each day he expected to get closer to solving the problem. Venky didn’t talk to him, though, and after a few days Axel thought this had been a wild hair, so to speak. Then, just before they were ready to break for the weekend, Venky gave him a signal. He started across the hall to the men’s room, indicating Axel should follow him. Axel continued with what he was doing for a few minutes, and then went into the men’s room. It was empty, but soon Venky entered the room. He went to relieve himself and whispered to Axel, See you right after work. Axel went back to the processing line. When he was leaving work and walking toward his automobile, Venky walked by him and said, See you at the Fish House. Axel waited till he saw Venky pulling out of the parking lot, and then he took off for the restaurant. I think we have a winner here, he thought.

Once in the restaurant Axel turned on his internal phone so the agency would be able to hear everything that was said. Venky wasn’t there, so Axel went to the table they had sat at before. Venky joined him a few minutes later.

Are we eating or are we talking? asked Axel.

We are doing both, replied Venky. I am hungry and need some energy before we talk.

Axel didn’t mind, since he was hungry too. He hadn’t eaten even a candy bar all afternoon. They ordered, and then Venky began to talk, not bothering to wait for the food.

I got an okay for you to meet with the top man. He will discuss the issues with you. He wants to find out what you know and what you are looking for in the way of compensation.

This made Axel’s energy level go up almost to his Axelvation levels, but he remained cool with Venky. So, when will we meet and discuss things? he asked.

He said he would meet us here. He probably won’t be here till about six-thirty. The man hadn’t arrived by the time they had completed their meal, so Axel decided to have a dish of ice cream to while away the time. He had no sooner started eating the ice cream, when Venky said, Here he is. This is the top man that wants to meet you. Just sit still until he comes over to the table and sits down. We don’t want to make an obvious commotion.

Axel continued eating his ice cream, and then heard a man behind him say, Good evening Venky. Nice seeing you here. I didn’t know you came to this restaurant to eat. With that acknowledgement, he sat down next to Axel. Who’s your friend? he asked.

Venky introduced the man as Mr. Gordon Strong. You can call me Gordy, the man said. Axel was a little surprised, since he had expected the top man to be a foreigner like Venky, who appeared to be from the Middle East. Gordy, however, was white and dressed like a prosperous businessman. Axel guessed he was in his late forties or early fifties. He looked like he ran a business. In fact, he looked like he owned a business. And it didn’t take him long for them to start talking about nanoparticles and their application.

Before we discuss any details related to my operation, he said, why should I expect you to know something that Aortica or my group doesn’t know? What kind of experience do you have that provides you an insight that Aortica and my team are missing?

Axel put down his spoon and looked at the man. With a sort of arrogance, he answered, I have a doctor’s degree in biology and I have experience with microbiology. He went on to say that he had put in a stem cell line and was now running one at the university. He talked in generalities, making sure he stayed away from any details. He told Gordy he had taken off some time from the university to provide consulting duties with Aortica. At this point he was well versed on how Aortica’s process worked, and he believed it could be improved.

How? Gordy asked. How would you know how to correct the process that is being run by Aortica?

I am an experienced scientist. replied Axel.

Their waitress came by and asked if anyone wanted anything more to eat. Gordy ordered dinner while Venky ordered a dish of ice cream. Axel asked for an iced tea. He also opened up his internal phone system and called Kim’s home phone in Virginia. Soon Gordy brought them back to the subject of the nanoparticles.

So, what do you have to give us? asked Gordy.

I won’t give you anything until I know you’re in a position to use it, Axel said. I understand you have a facility that would be able to put this into motion.

Gordy said he had an operation that was probably more advanced than Aortica’s.

I have a hard time believing that, said Axel. There are a few companies involved in nanoparticles around the world, and I know who they are. I haven’t heard you mention the name of your company, but I don’t believe it exists.

Oh, it exists all right, said Gordy. When we get a little further downstream on discussing your qualifications, I will take you there.

Let’s change the subject a little, Axel said. According to Venky, you’ve had some problems with the use of the nanoparticles. Axel saw that this comment shocked Gordy. He was visibly upset, but cooled down to keep his annoyance from being too obvious. He sipped his coffee while glaring at Venky.

Oh, has Venky told you about our problems? asked Gordy.

No, he hasn’t told me anything in detail. He said you had some problems, but didn’t go beyond that. I can assume he was telling the truth, or we wouldn’t be having this meeting tonight. Let’s be candid about this. If you had some problems with the application, I wouldn’t be surprised at all. This is a difficult problem to resolve. Any new application of nanoparticles in any way is difficult.

Gordy waited while the waitress brought him more coffee. Yes, we have had some problems, he said as she moved away. "I would like to keep them confidential. We tried to take a nanoparticle and add a virus to it, to see what it did when we injected it into a mouse. We had no immediate reaction from the mouse, but in a few days it died. We couldn’t determine the reason. Then we took a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacterium, attached it to a nanoparticle, and injected it into a mouse. It died within an hour, and its insides were completely torn up. We experimented with these two methods to try to find a way around our problems. In the meantime, two technicians got contaminated and died terrible deaths."

What did you do with the bodies? asked Axel.

We found a way to discard them without notice, answered Gordy.

Have you stopped your work on this?

Yes, we stopped trying to use the nanoparticle in these types of applications, but we tried to make nanoparticles in a way that is similar to how Aortica has been preceding. We have had no real success in achieving a complete method of generating the particles without the clumping of over 99 percent of the output. I understand from Venky that this is where Aortica is stalled also.

Axel agreed, and Gordy asked him why he didn’t provide them with the answer to their problem.

It won’t make me rich, will it? replied Axel.

It was quiet for a while as Gordy took out a cigar, cut off the end, and didn’t light it because of the no smoking restrictions. He offered one to both Axel and Venky, but they shook their heads. Gordy took a couple of puffs, and then he looked at Axel.

How sure are you that you have an answer to the problem? he asked.

I am positive, replied Axel. You see, the nanoparticle is not like the bulk material it is derived from. It is a unique material with unique properties. You cannot use it in this condition. You have to bond the material in a manner that provides certain stability. It is like material was when the earth was first formed, looking for a closure. You will not be able to use it in that condition.

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