Paterson, New Jersey, Tuesday…

Paul Church looked around the conference room. Dalton Biomedicine's CEO was a little uncomfortable with his present situation. Unlike Senator Preston, he was a member of the ad hoc committee that oversaw the Center's activities from the beginning. Together with Stephanie Williams and Hank Johnson, he had been instrumental in setting up the lucrative payoffs to Wolfgang Richter. Only one other person in the room was privy to that information. Linda Adams, his CFO, was staring at her notebook, not meeting his eyes.

Brian Wilson, Kalidas' immediate superior, was looking rather bored. Even though he was much more a bureaucrat than a scientist, he hated these meetings, as they rarely were about anything that might interest him. Rumor was, however, that this one might be different.

"I've called this meeting to make an announcement. I've been thinking about it for some time, and I finally decided to bite the bullet. As much as I enjoy your company every Tuesday within these soundproof walls, I've decided to retire." At this point, Linda looked up from her notebook, an incredulous expression on her face. "I'm not sure who the board will name to take my place. I really have no preferences. You are all candidates and very capable. It's possible, however, that they will bring in someone from outside."

"When is this happening?" asked Linda.

"My resignation letter is already at the board. They will probably meet tonight to name a successor, if it's one of you. Or they might take longer if they go outside. In any case, I'll stay on 'til they have named someone."