Megan's Cure (33 page)

“That’s yours,” he said.
 
“I’ve got the original.”

Lee waited until the doors to the elevator closed before he spoke to Novak.

“Well done, Walter,” he said.
 
Novak looked down at his feet.

“I don’t know that we accomplished anything,” the scientist said.
 
“Other than to make them mad.”

“Oh, that was just our warning shot,” said Lee.
 
“I didn’t think it would be enough.
 
But we’ve got a few more cards to play.
 
And these should cause some serious pain.”

Back in Merrick’s office, the CEO was staring out the window but paying no attention to the view.

“Outrageous,” he murmured.
 
Roth noted that the fire the CEO had shown moments before with his adversaries in the room was gone.

“Can I ask you…” Merrick continued.

“Before you do that,” interrupted Roth.
 
“There are a couple things I should point out.”

“First, if anything in that email is true,” continued the lawyer.
 
“And I’m not saying there’s anything there.
 
But the allegations are serious and bring up questions of representation.
 
Currently, I represent the company.”

“You’re politely saying I should lawyer up,” said Merrick, turning away from the window.

“Yes,” said Roth.
 
“You really should even if there is no substance to it.
 
There are potential criminal allegations.
 
You should be careful.

“And the other thing,” the lawyer continued, “is that it sounds great to threaten the press.
 
But it rarely works.
 
Papers as large as the News have been there before.
 
In this country you almost need to find someone who intentionally prints a falsehood.
 
Until they make a clear mistake, they’re hard to fight.

“Finally,” said Roth.
 
“Lee has a reputation.
 
He had trouble in New York before he came back here.
 
A story blew up and he caught most of the flak.
 
But before that he was considered a very good investigative reporter.
 
And relentless.
 
The kind of guy who digs in when he’s under attack.”

“You’re saying this isn’t over,” said Merrick, turning back to gaze out his window.

“No,” said Roth.
 
“Not by a long shot.”

Chapter 62

ENZO LEE’S FIRST fax to the other Big Pharma companies went out just after 1 a.m., ten hours following the meeting in Edwin Merrick’s office.
 
It was addressed to the vice chairman of Wyatt Healthcare and he faxed it to the main company number in London as well as the fax numbers for the public relations and sales departments.
 
Those were the only fax numbers he could find on the Wyatt website.
 
He timed it so the faxes would arrive at the beginning of the work day in England.

It included a copy of the anonymous email about the Macau meeting, the list of attendees with all the names blacked out except for the Wyatt vice chairman’s.
 
Lee’s cover letter identified him as a reporter for the San Francisco News and asked for confirmation that the Wyatt vice chairman had attended the Macau meeting as well as an interview at the executive’s convenience.

He slept a few hours and then sent out the second fax at 5 a.m. to the CEO of Rausch Laboratories in New York, again trying to time it to the beginning of the work day on the East Coast.
 
He sent copies of the fax to the CEO’s office as well as to the fax numbers listed for the general counsel, legislative liaison, human resources and building security.
 
He found more fax numbers but figured those four were enough to ensure it reached the CEO and passed through a few other interested hands on the way there.
 
The fax was similar to the one he had sent to Wyatt Healthcare except the only addressee not inked over was the Rausch Laboratories CEO.
 
Lee hoped it would be the main topic of discussion that morning among the top echelon of executives at Rausch.
 

Lee prepared a third message to go out.
 
This one would be an email rather than a fax and be sent to more than two dozen recipients.
 
He used his scanner to convert the anonymous email into an image file.
 
He did the same with the email he had held back from Edwin Merrick and Henry Roth the previous day.
 

Lee attached both of the image files to an introductory email that explained the significance of the attached documents.
 
Then he prepared the list of recipients who would receive a copy of the electronic documents.
 

When he was finished, Lee pulled his hands away from the keyboard, put them on his knees and stared at the computer screen.
 
He felt as if he had just put the finishing touches on a work of art.
 
It was ready.
 
One click of the mouse and it would go out.
 
The nuclear option.

Lee hoped he wouldn’t have to use it.
 
If he did, he guessed it would be a bit like detonating a bomb.
 
And he didn’t know if he could control the fallout.
 
He couldn’t say if, after the dust settled, his grandmother, Walter Novak or Megan Kim would be better off.
 
But he was running out of other options as well as time.
 
His internal alarm clock was screaming.
 
His grandmother was due her next dose of Roxaten.
 
She needed it today.

* * *

“What the
hell
is he doing?” yelled Edwin Merrick in his 8 a.m. call to Henry Roth.
 
“I got calls at six in the morning from London and New York.”

“Do you have the email there?” said Roth.
 
“The one he gave you yesterday?”

“Yes,” said Merrick.

“Where are they on the list, the ones who called you?” said Roth.

“Let’s see.
 
They’re one and two.”

“Okay,” said Roth.
 
“It’s pretty clear, right?
 
He’s working his way down the list.
 
Top to bottom.”

“Well.
 
Make him stop. Damn it.
 
Make him stop.”

“How?” said Roth.

“What do you mean, ‘How?’” said Merrick.
 
“You’re the goddamn lawyer.
 
I’m paying you enough.”

“If we sue them, it will take two days to get into court,” said Roth.
 
“The lawsuit itself will be headline news.
 
And we’ll lose.
 
The only other way is…well persuasion.
 
Either give him something or find some other reason for him to stop…even if it’s fear.”

“What?”

“Either way will involve a conversation,” said Roth.
 
“If you want, I can invite him in and convey the message that we hope he’ll take a time out from these faxes.
 
That will give us some breathing room.
 
But we better see him today.
 
And you can decide how you want to play this.”

“Okay.
 
Call him,” said Merrick.
 
“Now.”

* * *

This time in Edwin Merrick’s office, the four men remained standing.
 
Lee could see that Merrick was fuming.

“Good,” the reporter thought.
 
He wouldn’t be this upset if the anonymous email wasn’t legitimate.
 
After his many years in the business, Lee thought he could usually spot the true tips from the fakes.
 
Merrick’s attitude was telling.
 
He glanced at Roth who was watching Merrick as well.

“Before we go any farther, let me show you another email that I’ve received,” said Lee handing a page to Merrick and an identical one to Roth.
 
“It’s short.
 
And this one is signed.”

“Dear Mr. Lee,”
read the email.
 
“This is to confirm our conversation today in which I stated that the committee and its subcommittees have the power to subpoena non-citizens of the United States.
 
In the past, our practice has been to invite their attendance and testimony.
 
If they reside in this country or enter it on business or vacation, it is our view that non-citizens can be served and compelled to testify under the threat of contempt and related penalties.

“As I stated, the subcommittee would be interested in any information relating to systemic antitrust or corruption by or within the pharmaceutical industry.
 
The extent of hearings or any Congressional investigation would depend upon the severity of the allegations.”

The email was signed by the chief of staff for the House Commerce Committee’s subcommittee for oversight and investigations.
 
Lee noticed Roth look back at the beginning of the email, probably searching for the date.
 
He’d see that it was dated two days earlier and know that Lee had withheld it at their first meeting.

“And,” said Lee.
 
“Let me show you two more things.
 
First, here is an introductory email I’ve drafted.
 
It will go out with the two other emails attached to it – the one about the Macau meeting and the one from the Commerce Committee.

“I also don’t mind sharing a list of the recipients.”

Lee handed both Merrick and Roth the list.
 
It included the original list of Macau attendees as well as 12 others – key members of committees in Congress, regulatory agencies in Japan, England, Germany and the European Economic Community, and editors at the New York Times, the Guardian in England and Le Monde in France.

Merrick turned slowly to his picture window where no one else in the room could see his face and stared out in silence.
 
The muscles in his neck and jaw were rigid and his face was turning a dark red as Lee watched.

“I will destroy you!” said Merrick, spinning suddenly toward Lee.
 
Flecks of spit sprayed out from his mouth and onto the glossy sheen of the coffee table.
 
“You send that out and I will take your job, your home, every dollar you have.
 
You will spend the rest of your life…pumping gas and selling goddamn Slurpees at Seven Eleven.
 
Do you understand?”

Lee didn’t reply.
 
Instead, he forced himself to wait eight seconds.
 
There was more than anger and indignation in Merrick’s outburst.
 
Lee could feel fear beneath the bluster as well.

“What time is it?” he asked.

“What do you mean what the hell time is it?” shouted Merrick, spitting over the table again.

“It’s 2:40,” said Novak quietly.

“That email goes out automatically at 3 o’clock,” said Lee.
 
“Unless I stop it.
 
And I’ll need a computer and an Internet connection to do that.

“Here is what you need to agree to do before I do that,” he continued.
 
“First, call off the war on Walter.
 
Dismiss the lawsuits.
 
No more press conferences.
 
Stop this nonsense in Louisiana.
 
Get the extradition stopped.

“Then, announce the first Roxaten trials were flawed and start the process again.
 
We’re going to set up a non-profit foundation.
 
Walter will contribute the first $5 million.
 
We want Merrick & Merrick to assign all its rights in Roxaten to that foundation…everything.
 
And your company will contribute another $10 million to it.

“Finally, Walter gets full access to his lab at your research campus immediately,” Lee concluded.

“Fat fucking chance!” said Merrick.
 
“God damned fat fucking chance.”

Lee remained silent for a few seconds.

“We’ll wait outside,” he said.
 
“You probably need a few minutes to think this over.”

Without waiting for an answer, Lee signaled Novak and they walked out of the CEO’s office to the waiting room outside, closing the door after them.

Novak looked shell shocked.

“He’s not going to agree,” the scientist said.
 
“I don’t think he can even make a rational decision.”

“He’s built Merrick & Merrick into what it is today,” said Lee.
 
“He’s probably been in dozens of billion-dollar negotiations.
 
If anyone can flip the switch and make a rational decision with a tight deadline staring him in the face, it’s him.”

Lee could imagine the scenario running through the CEO’s mind.
 
A Congressional committee investigation into the allegations of suppressing Roxaten, price fixing and bribery could run for weeks if not months.
 
Politicians railing on their soap boxes for the heads of Big Pharma.
 
Drug executives hauled before committees to testify.
 
Boards of directors looking for scapegoats, desperate to escape the public scorn.
 
Doing anything to dodge accusations of lining their pockets at the expense of millions of human lives.
 
Multiply that by two or three as the international community piles on.
 
As the Macau ringleader, Edwin Merrick could even be cast out of his company.
 
His legacy would be disgrace.