Page 104 of Cabin Fever

Olivia

"DON'T LET ME INTERRUPTyou. I believe you were about to tell Carter about my letter," President Higgins said as he closed the door behind him and then locked it.

My mind raced with possible exits. Downstairs through the door next to the bathroom. If I had to, I could lead everyone upstairs and out to the small terrace. There would be no easy way down, but if we had to, we could jump.

I wouldn't let President Higgins hurt us. How could he? The man was outnumbered. We were younger and stronger than him. There must be more he was hiding. And as my eyes scanned his body, I saw what he had—a gun in a holster under his dinner jacket.

"I need to use the restroom. Bea, Carter, would you please come help me?"

Bea grabbed my hand and pulled me back, but Carter stood there, staring at the President. Why wasn't he moving?

"What sort of bladder problems do you have, Olivia, that you need two people to help you?" Kiki asked like a moron.

"I believe she wished to escape with her friends. Ms. Love must have seen the gun I have." He reached inside his dinner jacket and pulled it out, waving it in the air like it was a prize. "She wanted to save her friends. I guess you two aren't her friends. That's good to know." The President pointed the gun at Kiki and Derrick.

"Whoa, Mr. President, we won't hurt you. This is about Olivia's dad . . . it doesn't involve you," Derrick added, and I wanted to strangle him. Since he first walked into this room, I've wanted to strangle him but more so now. Maybe with added slapping just to make him cry.

"Yes, Mr. Love, that greedy idiot could easily be bought. I remember when I asked him to teach me about shooting guns since I heard at a party back when I was president that he collected guns and knew how to shoot. He was almost salivating to do whatever I wanted. I told him about a plan that could make him lots of money. A special drug I was working on, actually, it was a bunch of scientists I paid a good deal of money to who were really working on the drug. It would be released with a company I wanted to create in the future."

It was like something from a movie where the villain does a long-winded speech which gives the hero or heroine enough time to escape. But Carter hadn't moved and every time I inched closer to grab his hand, President Higgins pointed the gun at me.

I had to stand there and listen to how it took at least a decade for a new drug to come to market and billions of dollars. His goal in life was never to be president—that was only a means to an end—but to be the most powerful drug manufacturer.

"Funny thing I learned as president, no one touches the drug manufacturers. Sure, the people can cry foul and they can get the occasional lawsuit, but lawmakers won't touch them. They can get large swaths of the population hooked on drugs and still be allowed to sell those drugs. People get angry at terrorists, but the real threats are the legal companies making a profit on people's health."

"That's terrible." Kiki developed a conscious for a split-second.

"Not terrible but smart. The health insurance industry is terrible, but drug manufacturers are smart."

"But how would being president help you create your drug?"

I was surprised to hear Carter speak. Why would he care? The man was a monster. We needed to leave and luckily, the question distracted President Higgins enough that I could slide my fingers into Carter's.

When I pulled, he didn't budge. Did Carter have a plan? I hoped so because, from everything I learned in those letters, the former president was the reason for his mother and sister's death. And based on the gun he was holding, might be the reason for his death, too.

"I'm the president. Actually, former president, but who says no to a president? Do you have any idea how many people want to do business with me? Growing up, my father had a terrible time finding funding for drug research and development. The government agencies turned down more of his drug concepts than approved them. I noticed when I went to a gathering in my early twenties where former President Thompkins attended, everyone wanted to talk to him. From the lowliest waiter to the heads of powerful companies. And if he showed interest in what the CEOs and executives discussed, then they would always ask him to be a part of whatever project they were discussing."

The president smiled while Carter frowned. Bea was tugging me back but I couldn't leave Carter, so I remained listening to the insane man babble.

"Anyone I asked wanted in on my little drug because I was a president. I got so much funding I could avoid the usual government agencies in the early stages. Only coming to them when the testing was near." He sighed as if thinking of a great memory. "I came up with a perfect idea for a drug. One that would cause people to become addicted so they would always want more, but wouldn't give them a high. Because they didn't have the usual bad behaviors tied to addiction, no one would realize the drug was addictive. I made it an anti-depressive, so people felt better on it. It was a win-win. They got a mood boost, and I got a lifelong customer willing to pay me for it."

"You're basically a drug dealer," Bea said in a dry tone.

President Higgins didn't like what my sister had to say. His face darkened and he turned toward her, lifting his gun.

"No, not at all like a common dealer. I wanted to help people, but in a way that made me money. The only way to do that was to make sure I had lifelong customers. I wasn't harming them. Zarozole was perfect."

"Isn't that the drug that one celebrity took who claimed he saw demons and ended up strangling his girlfriend? He blamed the drug for causing him to see things and have hallucinations?" Kiki said.

Higgins groaned. "It had some side effects, but we're working on that."

"My father knew what you were doing was dangerous. He was going to the FDA to let them know what your plans were. That's why you tried to kill him, didn't you?" Carter's voice was like ice as a shiver ran down my neck.

The former president turned to Carter and put his hands on his shoulders. "I never wanted to hurt him or have your mother and sister killed. That was the fault of that stupid shooter we found, Jason Loch. The man didn't know how to shoot a gun. When I placed it in his hands and told him that your father wanted to create a listening device to implement in all households and that his country needed him to stop it, I thought he knew how to aim a gun. I was wrong."

"But my father never wanted to create a listening device."

"Of course not, but I had to feed into his distrust of the government and his hatred. How do you think I was going to accomplish that? By just asking nicely?" Higgins chuckled. "I asked your father if he wanted in on the project. With all the money he had, he could easily be a leading partner. But he not only turned me down but threatened to inform the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration. He'd ruin everything."

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