BLIND TRIAL by Brian Deer (good books to read for adults .txt) 📕

Haven’t got it all straight yet myself. I need to think here. And get more information. But what we’re gonna do here is… We’re gonna meet with the old girl… Meet with the both of you. And talk this situation out.”

“Be back in three hours. Could meet at the Hyatt.”

“No. Don’t do that. Don’t come back into Frisco. We don’t want the old girl running a lap of Civic Center like some decapitated chicken. I’ll come meet you halfway. Someplace more convenient, and quicker than getting back into the city.”

Ben reached for the glove box and grabbed a rental map. “There’s a town called Ukiah, north of San Fran. Right up against the freeway. Ukiah. U-k-i-a-h.”

“That’s good. U-k-i-a-h. You head on there and you Whatsapp me when you found a spot. Someplace discrete. Maybe a parking lot, off-street. Now don’t go crazy on us. We’re only talking, hearing her concerns.”

“Sure.”

“And remember, cool and calm. Under control. We’ll make Henry proud of you yet.”

Thirty-eight

TWO CANS of Diet Coke nearly slid off the pizza box as Luke Ronson sprang up the stairs. He was stoked, on a roll, and only ten minutes late getting to Mario’s place at Irving Park. They agreed on nine thirty, and he almost made it. He kicked on the door. “Open up.”

Mario yanked the latch and let him pass. “What’s going on? You high?”

“Been thinking. Got an idea.”

He stepped over a big bag of gardeners’ potting soil and dumped the pizza box on Mario’s bed. The apartment was so small there was no place to sit except the floor or a straw-backed chair. Luke settled for the floor, kicked his shoes into a corner, and pulled off his tie and shirt. A pushed-up window admitted the moan of traffic and yells from kids on the street.

“Think maybe I’ve come up with something on what you were saying. Like maybe a way to screw some compensation.”

Mario lifted a schefflera umbrella plant. “Mr. Ronson’s been thinking. Opinion pending. Hey, bill the client five hundred bucks.”

“I’m serious, man. Been thinking about that vaccine. Went and talked with Ken DePaul this afternoon.”

Mario wrestled the plant into a clay flowerpot. “I’m listening.”

“So, tell me this. You keep any shit on that trial? You know, handouts they gave you, or anything?”

Mario grabbed a handful of soil from the bag and pressed it around the edges of the pot. “Only the thing I signed up front.”

“The informed consent?”

“Yeah. You want it?”

“It’s only an idea. Pretty speculative. Nothing definite, or anything. Don’t get carried away. But thought maybe we could threaten to sue them over you getting HIV. You never know.”

“Sue who?”

“The clinic you went to, Howard Brown. Or the company. Or the doctors. Or all of them. Product liability’s Ken’s bag, and he reckons you never know till you give it a spin.”

Luke opened the pizza box and detached a triangle of cheese, tomato, mushrooms, and pepperoni.

Mario wiped his hands, climbed onto the chair, and pulled papers from a bag on a closet. “Want to apply your forensic skills?”

Luke scooped up a mushroom and skimmed through the consent document: twenty-two pages, with Q&As.

Name… Date of birth… Address… Participant Signature… Witness Signature…

All the usual formalities.

The document was signed “Mario Bianchi” and witnessed by one Ross Barbarossa.

Luke flicked to the front.

Your participation is voluntary… The purpose of this study… The vaccine… Trial methodology…

“Here we are, ‘Risks and warnings.’”

Side effects may include tenderness, pain, hardness, redness, thickening or a lump at the site of injection, limitation in arm movement, fever, rash, headache, fatigue, malaise, muscle aches, or allergic reaction. It is possible that other potential adverse events have yet to be identified.

“So, do you know when they’re gonna tell people whether they got the placebo or the vaccine?”

Mario popped a ring-pull. “Said next month. Just in case anyone’s left who hasn’t worked it out for themselves. You want to go to Charlies, or Fusion?”

Although it has not been seen previously, by developing immunological responses to WernerVac it is theoretically possible you might become more sensitive to HIV-1 if you are exposed to it later.

“Shit, man, it’s got some heavy warnings.”

“Yeah, but that’s how they cover themselves. When you go to the clinic, they explain all that in the counseling. It’s all technicalities to keep guys like Ken DePaul off their asses. Like drug commercials.”

“Doesn’t work that way. Ken was saying these things are always full of shit like, ‘I understand I may be hit by a meteor whilst renting the vehicle,’ but that doesn’t protect them if they don’t do the thing with appropriate caution. They still have a duty of care.”

Mario took a slice from the box. “You’d like to think so.”

“Right. Here’s the stuff for you, ‘Becoming pregnant.’”

If you become pregnant during the study, you should tell the study doctor or nurse as soon as possible.

Mario sat on the floor and chewed.

“‘Risks from engaging in unsafe behavior.’ Right on time. Here we are.”

You have been told the effectiveness of WernerVac is not known. You indicated at enrollment that you have not commenced pre-exposure prophylaxis (PREP), and that you will notify us if you change that decision. You should avoid behaviors that may expose you to HIV-1, such as unsafe sex or sharing needles. You will be counseled during the study about avoiding HIV-1 infection.

“So, you did get counseling about PREP, rubbers, and stuff then?”

“Yeah, well, they counsel you, but what do you hear? Because they want people to go and get the virus, don’t they? They want you to ignore the counseling and stay off PREP. They want you to get fucked, or do needles, or whatever. How else will they find out if their vaccine works?”

Luke tossed the document. “And what did you hear? What did they tell you about the vaccine working or not?”

“What you hear is how the CDC, the NIH, the Surgeon General, and the President of the United States are all behind it. And how the company’s stock price is up on expectations. How experts hope it’s gonna