z2012SITEFINFIRMARYCORRUPTION

Infirmary Corruption

It was 10:05 on a Monday night and Lionel Ingram was late for a meeting. This was not going to be just any old meeting, but one that concerned matters of extreme importance. Tonight would be the night that the whole plan would be developed. Tonight would be the most important night yet in the scheme of the infirmary. Lionel was walking swiftly along the sidewalk through the dark and dismal neighborhood, taking the back route to the infirmary to avoid suspicion. He had been given a map with the highlighted path he was supposed to take. There were at least two dozen doctors at this meeting and they had to be discreet.

He knew that the group of doctors with whom he was meeting may not be the most clean-cut guys, but the abundance of potholes and litter decorating the road had somewhat surprised Lionel. This was definitely not the nicest part of town. Beer bottles and broken glass were strewn across the streets and streetlamps were dim and many vandalized. Lionel Ingram generally avoided frequenting places such as these. He was from a better part of the naval base, and was slightly disgusted by the street he was currently walking down. //Don’t notice,// he told himself. He did not have time to notice things today. It would not help him feel any better about what he was doing, and he was already bound to be in big trouble for being late.

Dr. Frei was going to be livid with him. Lionel shuddered with fear of the inevitable embarrassment Dr. Frei was sure to impose onto Lionel. Part of him wanted to turn back now and avoid the whole ordeal, but it was too late for that. Dr. Frei would still find him at some point and the longer he waited the worse it would be. Besides, this scheme was important to Lionel. It would provide him with opportunities like no other. He smiled to himself at the thought of the scheme. He was lucky to be a part of it at all, but just thinking about it made Lionel feel powerful. Lionel was now in front of the part of the infirmary that the meeting would be held in. This was a back entrance known to few, so there was no reason for anyone else to discover them. As he was sprinting up to the door he almost took a moment to examine the small and dark frame of the doorway, the dirty windows, and the ominous broken railing leading up to the entrance, but he caught himself, remembering that he did not have the time to notice. Lionel moved his greasy hair out of his eyes as he flung open the door and walked in, not worrying about knocking or announcing his arrival. He was hoping he could slip in the room without being noticed, for he was not that big of a man and generally was good at creeping into places, but the expression on the faces of his fellow doctors told him that everyone had noticed his arrival. Lionel looked around the small, dirty room and the long table where at least twelve of his fellow doctors were sitting. Even the doctors standing in the corners had put down their beers and were staring at him in surprise, as if wondering why on earth he would dare to come late.

“I’m here. Sorry I--“ he gasped these words out quickly as he could but was interrupted by Dr. Frei.

“Your //excuses// are not necessary Dr. Ingram.” Dr. Frei’s voice was low, intimidating, and sounded like the color of graphite in a pencil. It was as sharp as the largest steak knife Lionel owned and every word was like a slice to Lionel’s back. The sneer in Dr. Frei’s words was painfully obvious, and without looking Lionel knew that Dr. Frei’s face also wore and evil smile that always seemed to suggest that he knew something that you didn’t. Lionel found it creepy, but he tried to look like he wasn’t bothered by it. He knew it would give Dr. Frei pleasure to see him uncomfortable. Dr. Frei decided to continue speaking, choosing to emphasize words just to bother Lionel.

“We were about to discuss the plan before we were so //rudely// interrupted.” The others were looking back at Lionel again. He tried to look like he had not noticed. “I am sure that those of you who //really// care about the plan were here //on time//.”

“I really—“ Lionel began, but he was cut off.

“As you all should know…” Dr. Frei interrupted. “We have encountered a problem. We thought we would be ready to administer the disease to the public later this week, but there has been an information leak. Someone—“ Dr. Frei glared at Dr. Lee who was sitting next to Lionel and now cowering in fright. “—talked too loudly on night duty in the patient rooms last night, and one of the patients, General Stuart Clontz, overheard him. For those of you unfamiliar with Stuart’s case, he broke his leg falling down a flight of stairs while intoxicated, so we aren’t dealing with the greatest amount of brain cells here. As I am sure //all// of you understand, this breach in security could get us all executed.” He stared intently at each member of the group as he spoke, as if he was looking for any more potential weaknesses. “So—how can we be sure Stuart keeps his mouth shut?”

“Shut it for him!” Dr. Cantleworth yelled from the end of the table. Dr. Cantleworth smiled a big goofy grin that told everyone that he had a bit too much to drink. That seemed to be a theme among many of the men tonight actually, for the situation was serious. Most of these men’s families would be in danger if Stuart spilled his knowledge. Dr. Frei was not drinking though, Lionel noticed. Dr. Frei would have to keep his manipulative and observant mind free of intoxication if he wanted to be as threatening as he wanted to be.

“I wouldn’t appreciate that” a low, husky voice with a strong southern accent called from the back of the room as a man closed the door behind him, letting himself in. The man was tall and on crutches. His arm muscles were clearly visible as he gripped his crutches to keep himself upright. There was a collective gasp and Dr. Lee whispered to Lionel that the man was, in fact, Stuart Clontz himself. //Uh oh//. How did he get in? How did he know where they were? Why had he come instead of going straight to the other generals? Stuart started to speak again. “I have a proposal for all of you.”

Silence followed. The lack of noise weighed down upon each of the men in the room, each of them at a loss for what to say. The sound of a fly farting could have been heard in the silence in that room.

“We are listening.” Dr. Frei eventually said.

“Ya’ll realize that I could go out right now and tell the public of your evil plans. How their own doctors are plotting to infect them and use them for experiments. How the leaders of the infirmary are dreaming of creating their own perfect race. Don’t look surprised. I done my research when I overheard Dr. Lee. I am not as much of an idiot as all of you seem to believe I am.”

He shifted his crutches as he spoke.

“So I could go out and ruin your lives, get you arrested, the whole nine yards. Or ya’ll could help me out. There are some families in this town who like to cause trouble. They like power too much. They cause problems. I, and many other naval officers, would be better off if these people cease to exist. Now, I done my research, like I said. I know ya’ll want to take people and do stuff to them. All I ask is that you make sure to infect the people that I ask you too, and I will be sure the naval officers turn a blind eye to ya’lls actions and put out the idea that the infirmary has the sweetest, most trustworthy staff. Do you accept my proposal?” Stuart finished dramatically.

Was this really happening? There had to be a trick. Why on earth would the navy let them get away with this plan? Did they really just get permission to carry out their corrupted plan? FROM A NAVAL OFFICER NO LESS? It might not be the wisest naval officer of them all, but Stuart was a naval officer just the same, and this was a big deal. Suddenly many of the men were looking up and listening hopefully. This would mean that they would all be safe and that their families were safe. Lionel was still slightly suspicious, however, for it certainly seemed too good to be true.

<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style',serif;">“I think that could be arranged.” Dr. Frei said, smiling wryly. "Are you sure that all the officers will agree? How do we know that you are not lying to us?"

<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style',serif;">“I give you me word that we will keep quiet. Some of these southern families are a real pain. We are okay with ya’ll doing your “research.” And those who wouldn’t agree don’t have to know. I assume there are plenty of doctors that don’t know about your little scheme. It will be the same with the officers.” Stuart spoke carefully, clearly thinking hard about what he was saying and trying to sound more intelligent than he really was. Lionel wasn’t sure that it was really working. “There are enough of us willing to go along with the plan to create the majority. I will have the list for you by Thursday when I come to get me stitches out. I gotta go now, stuff to do, people to see…” Stuart’s sentence trailed off and he turned back out the door to leave again.

<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style',serif;">“Thank you for your message. We accept your deal, but if we sense any hostility from your side—you know our form of weaponry. Do not think you can mess with us Stuart.” Dr. Frei said sternly.

<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style',serif;">“I understand.” Stuart said with a slightest tremor in his voice. Dr. Frei had that effect on many people it would appear.

<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style',serif;">When Stuart had left, the men were all excited. Now everyone had abandoned their alcohol and was standing around the crowded table to hear the rest of the agenda for the night. The enthusiasm had been restored with Stuart’s proposal and everyone was once again looking forward to their grand scheme.

<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style',serif;">“Now men,” Dr. Frei began. “This could still be a trick on the part of the navy, but I doubt it. For one, they would not have sent Stuart if it was official business, and they wouldn’t mess around. I have other reasons but do not expect me to share them with you. Now we must continue onto other matters. What date to we want to administer the disease, and how may we best succeed?”

<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style',serif;">The discussion went on and on. They discussed possible host animals, contemplated easiest ways to let them loose, and thought up every possible problem and how to fix it. They organized everything from the varying degrees of the disease to how they could pretend to treat it. They reviewed the different drugs for causing hallucination, eliminating confusion, and quieting screams. Dr. Frei explained the plan over and over again until everyone would have been able to recite it word for word. They knew the symptoms of the infection they had created perfectly and how they would explain it to the public. They even knew what they were going to call it—the frei fever—because of how Dr. Frei was going to introduce his research on the disease to the public. They were going to meet again Thursday night after Stuart had given them the list of the people to target, and they would begin to release the disease the very next day. They had the disease in multiple forms in their laboratory in the infirmary, and a few of the doctors had their strands of it locked away in their houses. The doctors were assigned different jobs and roles to play in society.

<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style',serif;">Not for the first time, Lionel was getting nervous about the scheme. These were the times that he would remember the goal ahead. He would think about what it was going to be like with the people in uproar, with patients pouring into the infirmary, and everything in between. He could not wait to selectively choose his patients for his own ward. Each doctor would get their own ward to take the patients they wanted, and they could conduct whatever research they wished. Dr. Lionel Ingram could not wait to try out his new theories on developmental growth. He was going to be able to grow babies with three eyes and four arms if he wanted to. Each doctor had their own plans, and Lionel didn’t even begin to guess what each of the others planned to do. What mattered was that each of them was united in the overall goal—the control of the naval base and experimentation. What mattered even more was that they were going to succeed.

<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style',serif;">The meeting didn’t last much longer after they assigned jobs and debated over a few more small details, such as they types of people they desired most for their experiments. The men drank beer until they were no longer worried about their success. Everything was finally in place. Very soon the infirmary would be flooded with patients but the hundreds claiming to have the “frei fever,” which didn’t even really exist, and the doctors would be experimenting on however many they wanted. The patients would never know what happened to them, and their family would never know to question the very people they were trusting with their loved one’s lives. The town would be in chaos, lives ruined, but it didn’t matter, because the men in the room in the little dark house would be safe and in control. The destruction of the town was approaching, and the public would never know who was to blame.