Page 68 of Spasm
“…and with that brief background,” FBI Special Agent Ronald Jeffries continued, “I will now ask my equivalent, Detective Lieutenant Mark Schwarz of the New York Police Department, to introduce himself.”
“Thank you, Special Agent Jeffries,” Mark Schwarz said as he struggled to his feet. He’d been sitting on Laurie’s colorful but low-slung couch with his knees up near his face. He was a tall man, not quite as fit appearing as Jeffries, but reasonably trim and sporting an equally short, martial hairstyle. “My name is Detective Lieutenant Mark Schwarz, and I am the NYPD officer in charge of the NYPD contingent assigned to the NYC JTTF. It’s an honor to be here to acknowledge your superb contribution in this serious affair. And now I’d like to turn the floor over to Dr. Susan Blumenthal.”
“And thank you, Detective,” a smartly dressed, somewhat older woman with stylishly bobbed hair said. She was standing close to Laurie and Lou. “My name is Dr. Susan Blumenthal, and I am a senior Epidemic Intelligence Service officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC. I’ve been assigned to the New York City Joint Terrorism Task Force specifically to help with the Essex Falls investigation. I want to personally commend you for your deduction that a novel prion was being manufactured in a jerry-rigged microbiological recombinant laboratory and then criminally spread into the community by way of the municipal water system. In that regard, we at the CDC have proven by the use of specially engineered transgenic mice that this particular, never-before-seen prion causes very rapid cerebral damage leading to Alzheimer’s-like dementia, of which there have been one hundred and three cases in the town to date. The Essex Falls event is a major terrorism crisis. Of particular interest, we at the CDC have noted that this novel prion causes Alzheimer’s-like dementia but without the deposition of amyloid, suggesting the need for new directions in Alzheimer’s research. So, once again, thank you, Dr. Jack Stapleton, for the work you did in exposing this abominable episode.”
“And thank you, Dr. Blumenthal, for your concise summary of the CDC’s contribution in this regrettable affair,” Special Agent Ronald Jeffries added while stepping into the center of Laurie’s office to be closer to where Jack had stopped just inside the main entrance door. Agent Jeffries was holding a small black box. “I would like to take this opportunity to present a small token of appreciation from the New York City Joint Terrorism Task Force to Dr. Jack Stapleton.” He then opened the black box he was holding and held it up. Nestled on black velvet was a round medal about two inches in diameter embossed with a gold eagle. “This is the FBIMedal for Meritorious Achievement. It’s given to FBI agents as well as other law enforcement personnel for outstanding service in the line of duty. I contacted the Bureau and asked if I could present this token to you, Dr. Stapleton, and received overwhelming support to do so. So, without further ado, I am proud to present to you this small symbol of the JTTF’s appreciation of your service as a medical examiner.”
To enthusiastic applause from everyone present, Agent Jeffries handed the small, open box to Jack. Jack took it and examined it before closing the lid, raising his eyes and glancing around at the expectant faces. He knew he had to say something, but it seemed that his normal ability to retort adeptly had totally abandoned him. All he could think to say was: “Thank you.” When it was apparent to him that wasn’t adequate as everyone in the room continued to stare at him expectantly, he added: “Thank you very much.”
After several uncomfortable beats, someone in the room sensed that Jack had been rendered speechless and began clapping anew. This action unleashed another round of enthusiastic applause from everyone present followed by the suits crowding around Jack to personally shake his hand.
Over the next twenty minutes, Jack was forced to meet everyone who’d attended the impromptu ceremony. Not only did he meet FBI agents, NYPD officers, and CDC members, but also people from the Department of Defense and even the Central Intelligence Agency, all of whom were currently assigned to the NYC JTTF. All this was a surprise for Jack, since prior to that morning he’d never known much about the organization despite learning it had been in existence for over forty years and had been the first of its kind in the country and had stimulated the creation of twenty more in other US cities.
Then abruptly everyone except Laurie and Lou departed en masse as if the group were a single organism. There’d been no announcement. One minute everyone was standing around Jack while individuals talked to him and the next minute everyone was gone.
Feeling mildly disoriented yet suddenly becalmed, Jack responded by walking over to Laurie’s couch and collapsing.
Laurie sensed Jack’s mindset and broke off her conversation with Lou. She was still in front of her desk although now half sitting on it. Lou was still standing right next to her where he’d remained during the presentation.
“My word!” she said with an expression of mild bewilderment. “You look more confused than proud. What’s going on in that brain of yours?”
“I’m depressed,” Jack admitted.
“How can you possibly be depressed?” Laurie questioned with a disbelieving roll of her eyes. “You’ve just been given an impressive award for your service from the FBI. I would have thought you’d be justifiably proud.”
“I’m depressed for two reasons,” Jack said. “First, I’m going to have to face Vinnie Amendola’s well-deserved wrath for once again abandoning him in the middle of a busy morning, which is going to go on for days. Second of all, and most important, I don’t deserve this medal.” He held up the black box and took a deep breath and then let it out noisily like a deflating balloon. “I might have figured out to some degree what was going on in Essex Falls but not enough to keep from blundering into a situation in which I probably should have been killed. I understand now that I was lucky that my showing up unexpectedly like I did apparently put the Russians into such a frenzy that they thankfully were unwilling to take the time to deal with me. I mean, I questioned the origin of the supposedNetherlander militiamen on multiple occasions, but I was stupid enough to uncritically accept someone else’s poor judgment, and I certainly shouldn’t be rewarded for that under any circumstance. I’m afraid this medal is only going to remind me of my folly.”
“Oh, good Lord,” Laurie commented with a shake of her head. “Sometimes I truly don’t understand Jack Stapleton, even though I love him.”
“Hear, hear,” Detective Lieutenant Lou Soldano said. “My feelingsexactly.”