The Drug (creative Writing)

The Drug

The Daystrom Institute was a government-funded body with the official remit of developing drugs and vaccines, and, in general, to further medical research. The unofficial remit, was the secret development of gasses, drugs and toxins that could be used in armed conflicts throughout the world. Of course this contravened almost every treaty that had been signed since the end of World War II, and therefore the secrecy surrounding this plant was immense.

Martin Timmins had recently been appointed as CEO of this organisation and reported directly to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the White House. He had attended meetings all week with his head scientists to bring him up to speed on their operations and now, on Friday afternoon, he was glad that they were all over.

The intercom buzzed and Jane, his secretary, informed him that his security chief, Ted Watson, and some scientists were waiting for him in the conference room.

"What now?" he muttered, making his way across the passage.

He entered the room to find Ted already sitting at the conference table together with five scientists, that he had never met before. They were all dressed in the typical white coats. Ted made the introductions and Martin had already forgotten most of their names as he sat at the head of the table. The only name that stuck in his memory was that of the only woman in the room. Julia Hunt was 36 years old and a graduate of Harvard. Her 36C - 23 - 34 figure was kept tight by frequent visits to the gym and her long blonde hair was in a high ponytail.

Martin looked her over as he asked, "What's this all about Ted? I thought we had finished all the briefings."

"Yeah, well all except one sir," his security chief replied. "We have one other product under development, code named XXX41. Highest possible security rating. No other person inside these walls even knows of its existence. This," he continued, waving his hand at the five scientists, "Is the development team."

"Ok," he replied slowly nodding his head and sitting back in his chair. "So what's XXX41 all about."

"It's a sex drug," Julia replied calmly. "An airborne gas that once inhaled has an almost instantaneous effect on the bodies nervous system and the part of the brain that reacts to pheromones."

"You mean that you guys are developing some form of aphrodisiac. So why the security rating? What does Uncle Sam get out of this?" he replied sitting up straight in his chair.

"Its hardly just an aphrodisiac," Julia snapped. "TripleX 41 is over a million times more effective than any aphrodisiac known. Once the gas enters your system, you have to have sex. Nothing else matters, and you will continue to want sex until the gas dissipates out your system. What Uncle Sam gets out of this, is a non-lethal way to immobilise an opposing force. It's hard to get your army to fight when they're overcome with lust."

Martin stared at her for a few seconds, and then grinned. "You're joking right? There's no such thing as a sex drug."

"Actually there is sir, and we've got it," she replied.

She lifter her briefcase on to the table and took out a small aerosol spray and an even smaller bottle of pills. "This is XXX41," she said picking up the spray. "And these pills are the antidote. You swallow one of those and the molecules in the gas are neutralised as they enter your body. In effect you become immune to the gas for a short time.

Martin took the spray in his hand and looked around the table. There was no trace of a smile or amusement on any of their faces. They were serious, he realised. This was no joke.

"Have you tested this stuff?" he asked.

A few of the scientists shifted uncomfortably in their 1000 seats and no one would make eye contact with him. "What am I missing here people?" he asked. "Have you tested it or not?"

Julia's face coloured red as she raised her head to look at him. "Well, a couple of days ago we had a problem with one of our containment seals in the lab."

Martin looked at Ted who quickly explained, "Emergency ventilation kicked in within seconds and vented the air in the lab to atmosphere. There was so little of the XXX41 that it dissipated without any problems."

Julia