I arrived for the ceremony early, but not too much so. I needed to find a good vantage point, but I didn't want to risk Jacobs seeing me. He might not even recognize me, if he even happened to glance at my face amongst the crowd, but I didn't want to take any chances. It'd been over a year since he'd dismissed me from the lab, for insubordination, or more- correctly, grave differences in ideology. I'd left school, he was so influential that nobody else would take me after that. I'd still kept in touch with a couple of the grad students though, and it turned out I hadn't been so out of line with my concerns of ethics and lab safety. If things went like I planned, today might be my chance to get back at him.
As more students and faculty began assembling, I looked down at my watch. Only a few more minutes before the show started. I scanned the crowd and noticed a couple of people from the media were there. The local television station was covering the ground breaking, as well as a few people from the press. There was the usual representation from the university paper as well. I smiled as I kept myself hidden near the outskirts of the growing crowd; the more the merrier.
I was beginning to get a little impatient when the dean finally approached the podium. After a couple of weeks of planning, I was anxious to see how things played out. It seemed like a simple enough idea, but I wasn't sure that it was actually going to work. I'd waited for this chance long enough, and I didn't want to waste it.
"Members of the faculty, student body, and the school of Science and Medicine," the dean began as she spoke into the microphone, "I want to thank you all for coming here today for this momentous occasion." As she continued to speak, telling the crowd all about the new research building they were going to have, I looked around again, feeling nervous as I waited for my accomplices to show up.
Finally, as she was introducing Dr. Jacobs, "the man whose substantial grant helped make this possible," I saw them arrive. Perhaps they were just being timely with their entrance, but more-likely they were as disorganized as usual. It's not like their previous demonstrations had been all that effective. Their posters looked good at least, and I could appreciate their distracting presence today. I smiled again at how excited they must've been when they'd received the anonymous letter I'd mailed them. I knew I could count on them.
Jacobs had thanked the dean and was taking the podium, as the group approached. He smiled in recognition, probably not even bothering to read the signs of protest they were carrying. He'd seen it all before anyway, or so he probably thought. His smile was shrewd and confident, like I'd seen so many times before, and I felt the anger boiling up in me once again as I looked at him. I didn't think he was going to be smiling for too long, at least I hoped so.
Richardson, his partner, and faithful lackey, was standing beside him. He was silent as usual, lending support but never talking very much. He looked a little nervous when he saw the protestors arrive; for the condition he was in, I didn't blame him. I doubted he'd wanted to be in the public light right then. It was required of him, so he'd been obedient as always, maybe a little more so now. As I watched him standing there, I could see him shift his weight slightly from side to side, as he looked out into the crowd.
They didn't wait for Jacobs to begin his speech before they launched into their tirade, chanting "immoral research," in unison.
I suspected he'd waited for them to begin, allowing them to go first. He knew how to let them play their little game, to his benefit. He'd let them look like fools as soon as possible, so he could get back to charming the crowd. "Yes, yes" he said in his usual cool demeanor, "we've heard it all before. I'd like to thank my friends at the hysterical society for showing up." He ran through the act once again, as they challenged him with the use of animal testing and genetic research. He continued to smile as he dismissed them casually.
"What about your grant? We know it's from the government," one of the activists probed further.
"Yes, I do have to admit that," Jacobs replied, working at his theatrics. "Cancer research is just so insidious, isn't it?"
The crowd ate it up, and his grin grew wider as he heard their applause. I smiled to myself too, because he was telling only half of the story. I also knew there was more to follow, something he wouldn't be expecting.
Normally he would've had the upper hand by that point, and their little group would've ended up slinking off into the background. However, the moment I'd been waiting for was coming.
"If that's true," one girl in the group spoke up, "then why don't you tell us about the Chimera Virus?" She pronounced it wrong of course, but I saw the look of recognition flash in his eyes. It was brief, but it was enough that I knew they'd surprised him.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Miss," he replied, the veneer of his composure still holding. I glanced at Richardson and saw he wasn't faring as well, as I caught him nervously looking over at his master.
"Oh you know full well all right," his accuser continued, her voice strong and confident. "We've found out about your research with animal DNA, and the mutagenic results." She stumbled over the last term again, but her delivery was good enough. A stir of murmurs passed through the on- lookers.
"You don't know what you're talking about..." Jacobs forced out, but his voiced cracked slightly.
"We know about the accident, we demand an investigation!" The confusion in the crowd became much louder.
I couldn't help but grin as I watched everyone's growing uncertainty. The protestors continued to stand off against Jacobs, and by all counts it looked like they'd managed to get the upper hand on him. As they pressured him for the details of the accident, he could only counter with faltering defenses.
I loved watching him sweat, but I couldn't savor the moment for too long. I looked at Richardson and saw he was visibly shaking, standing there not knowing what to do. He looked quite excitable, and I felt a little sorry for him, seeing him like that. He'd made his bed long ago by aligning with that bastard though, and I needed to take advantage of him, before he decided to run away.
It was time, and I was ready for it. Stepping forward, I raised the object in my hand and waved it in their direction. "Hey Richardson, look what I've got for you..." His eyes darted around the crowd until he found me, then I saw them widen in recognition, his face going even paler.
"Come on boy, get it..." I yelled as I let the frisbee fly from my hand. I saw people's heads turn to follow the trajectory of the bright green disk, and as it neared the trembling scientist, I held my breath. He reacted as I'd hoped, unable to curb the sudden reflex that came over him. He lunged forward and jumped for the toy, his fingers just missing it. He faltered, tried to correct himself, then stumbled after it as it rolled along the ground.
He caught up with it just as it was spinning down to a stop, and as he jerked forward to grab it, he fell to the ground, sprawling on his hands and knees. It was then, as his lab coat flipped up, that the crowd caught sight of the physical manifestation of his predicament. I heard them gasp as he crouched their amidst them, curled up as tight as he could manage. He clutched the frisbee to his chest as they watched in horrified fascination, and their shock poured out over him.
Of course it was all over the news that night, and I watched it with
great amusement. The cameras had caught it all, the chaos in the crowd, the
aftermath with Jacobs looking horribly broken, and the protestors even
looking shocked themselves. Then of course there was the shining moment of
discovery, which they made sure to replay at length. I felt another
satisfied smile creep across my face as the loop of footage showed the
unmistakable appendage of a canine tail poking out from under Richardson's
lab coat. As I saw it, I couldn't help but chuckle, even if it was at the
poor man's expense. It wasn't until they added the tagline, "scientists
caught trying to play dog," that I really laughed though.
Copyright 2001, Will A. Sanborn - was1@shore.net