Captive Reaction: The Persford Series, #4

Prologue

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‘I’ve come up with a plan, I need you to listen.’

‘Money can’t buy everything you know.’

‘Look, it’s not just money, not this time. I’ve found out something very interesting and it could be just what we need.’

‘Really? Are you sure? It’s not worth taking too many risks. I don’t want to be involved in anything dodgy.’

‘Ha, don’t make me laugh. It’s never stopped you before. You’ve been quite happy to spend my money haven’t you?’

‘Go on, let’s hear what you are proposing.’

‘You have to trust me. I’m not giving up, this is a chance worth taking.’

‘OK, let’s hear it.’

The details were revealed. The listener was wary but had little choice. This was an unequal partnership. Agreement was demanded not requested. The listener remained silent all the while wishing that the strength to disagree could somehow be summoned.

‘It sounds like you’ve already decided.’

‘Is that all you can say?’

‘And if you fail?’

‘I don’t fail. Failing isn’t part of my world.’

The discussion was over. There was no doubt, this was going to happen.

Chapter 1

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Matt Pearson was pacing back and forth, looking at his watch and checking his phone. He was waiting for his business partner Brett Chandler who seemed to be running late and was cutting it fine. They had a meeting at 9 a.m. in the Department of Chemistry at Persford University and that was in ten minutes. They needed to make a successful presentation in order to hopefully secure the contract which would be the second for their new company PerzSolve, a scientific consultancy firm they had set up a few months previously. Having both had scientific and business backgrounds they felt they were ideally placed to use their expertise to advise entrepreneurs wanting to start up a new biotech company. Their aim was to work with the scientists to write a business plan, build on the results they already had and design key experiments. They would also manage their intellectual property and consider assembling a Scientific Advisory Board. So much good research was taking place in universities but it was often not being managed to its full potential. Academic staff were unfamiliar with operating in the commercial world and lacked the focus to exploit opportunities to their full potential. Nowadays with the ever-increasing cost of research for the big pharma companies they were always on the look out to form partnerships and to sponsor the research in academic environments. There was also scope for funding from venture capitalists due to the attractive tax breaks they afforded.  It was a fact that with the pressures of teaching undergraduates and managing the research of PhD students and postdoctoral ones, the senior academic team often needed external assistance to realise their goal of a spin-off company.

Thus, Matt and Brett had realised this offered them new futures as advisers. After consecutive tenures as Chief Scientific Officer at BioQex, a small biotech company on the Innofind Science Park in Persford, they had both studied for a Master of Business Administration qualification at Persford University and during that time had attended an on-site symposium for the different faculties to showcase their most promising developments and research projects. It covered a huge range of exciting ventures from information technology to robotics, to biological screening for rare diseases. During the course of that day they had learnt that the chemistry department was aiming to set up a fledgling company in the field of cancer research. A particular class of compounds had been shown to be effective in killing brain cancer cells, in particular the glioblastoma type of tumours. After a promising start, the scientist in charge of this particular field, namely Professor Plumpton, had suffered from cancer himself and had therefore taken considerable time off sick whilst receiving chemotherapy. During his absence, the research had been overseen by a couple of post-doctoral students who had done a reasonable job but they had lacked focus and expertise. Other senior academics had stepped in but the research had stalled at one point and there was a general fear that a rich seam of opportunity was falling by the wayside.

Thus, Matt and Brett had spotted an opening for their talents and they had made an approach which was received favourably. They had secured a couple of meetings to sign confidentiality agreements and have access to documents citing the progress made so far. This was a month ago and during that time the pair had been working on several aspects of the plan to present today. They hoped that the plan would be accepted, earning them an initial payment with an ongoing contract to provide advice and expertise over the next six months. Securing this contract would be a major stepping stone to endorsing their reputation which in turn would help garner more business.

Much was riding on today’s presentation and Matt was beginning to worry that he would have to make the pitch himself. ‘Where the hell has he got to?’ he muttered, straining his eyes to look over towards where he assumed his partner would appear. Once more he tried to phone him but there was no answer.

The two founding directors of PerSolve had much in common, yet at times their similarities had seemed few. Their pasts had been closely entwined for many years. As fellow students whilst studying for their doctorates, their relationship had been beneficial until the strain proved too much resulting in a clean break. Then they had both had the responsibility of directing the science as the Chief Scientific Officer at BioQex. Ten years ago their personalities had been poles apart and their symbiotic relationship which had once benefited them both hugely had been mired with difficulties in recent years. Strangely though they’d come through that time and had both changed immeasurably. Brett’s character had transformed the most and he was now the picture of respectability having thrown off his reckless and immature behaviour. However, there were times when it raised its head and broke through as if for a few minutes it had to remind everyone that, if tempted, it could surface. Matt just hoped that Brett would be able to maintain control of his alter ego, otherwise, their relationship and newly formed partnership would be doomed before it had been given chance to flourish. Nevertheless, he was determined to remain positive. One recent event where Brett had demonstrated extreme bravery was surely enough to demonstrate that he had changed for the better.

Matt rubbed his hand over his thinning hair which he kept short hoping to minimise the appearance of his receding hairline which was particularly noticeable around his temples. He was still handsome and his tall stature meant he could carry his weight well and now that he had a better work-life balance he was making a conscious effort to go to the gym at least once a week. He straightened his tie for the umpteenth time that morning and checked that the zip on his fly was fastened. ‘Thank goodness!’ he said to himself. At that moment he spotted his business partner in the distance, jogging along towards him and he inwardly sighed with relief. Brett cut a more dashing figure of the two men. Even when in a rush he somehow managed to maintain an air of suaveness. His hair was slicked back with gel and he wore a smart black raincoat over his suit to protect himself against the morning chill.

‘Sorry, mate, got held up in traffic. Some lights were out at that big junction near Quayside and of course, the plod were on point duty holding everyone up for miles,’ said Brett, reaching in his pocket for his tie and putting it on whilst holding his briefcase between his knees.

‘I was getting a bit anxious,’ said Matt, ‘I thought I’d be starting the presentation without you.’

‘Well I’m here now, let’s go and find Professor Plum and his crew and blind them with our impressive box of tricks,’ said Brett confidently.

Matt raised his eyes heavenward at his business partner’s bluster. Brett had been unable to resist nicknaming Professor Plumpton as Professor Plum from the well-known board game Cluedoever since their initial meeting. No doubt he wasn’t the first person to latch on to that moniker. He never changed, ever the confident one. He just hoped he didn’t sound too much like a used car salesman when they made their pitch. Too much of a hard sell could be off-putting.

They headed off to the Science Faculty to begin what was hopefully going to be a successful and lucrative day.

Chapter 2

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Nick Thomas was due to be spending another day at home. The initial pleasure of having more time to himself and a break from regular employment was beginning to wear off. He was really hoping that soon he would be able to make a decision about his future. He’d previously worked at BioQex as a chemist synthesising chemical entities for biological testing and before that, he’d worked for a large pharmaceutical company where Matt Pearson had held a senior position. Following the buyout of BioQex by another company he’d been fortunate to receive a financial windfall due to some shares and options he’d been awarded. Thus, combined with the redundancy payment he’d had a financial cushion allowing him time to contemplate his career options. His wife Polly had a well-paid job at the University of Persford in the Department of Governance and Social Responsibility with particular responsibility for public interest disclosure, more commonly known as whistle-blowing. Despite some unfortunate events a year or so ago when she had worked in the Finance Department on a cost-saving initiative her career seemed now to be well established. She had even hinted that she might possibly be in line for a further promotion up the management scale when opportunities arose.

This meant that Nick had not needed to rush into finding another job once BioQex closed. The last few years had been so eventful and at times traumatic that he felt he needed a breathing space to evaluate his options. Polly had reassured him that they could manage for a while on her now generous salary and she had also had a sizeable bequest from her grandmother who had sadly died recently. This had given them the deposit for a small house towards the outskirts of the town and with mortgage rates still low they were managing the payments easily, although Nick would need to decide on a career soon.

The property was a small, two bedroom semi-detached bungalow with a compact garden front and back. It would need quite a bit of refurbishment in the next few years but it was perfectly adequate to live in at the moment. Nick had already made a start on the decorating and had stripped off the wallpaper in the two reception rooms downstairs. They planned to have a new kitchen and bathroom at some point but that would only be when Nick had decided on and secured some regular employment. They had been attracted to the bungalow by the fact it had off-street parking. There was a driveway which could accommodate at least two cars and they saw this as a real advantage. Some properties down the road had no driveway and thus parking could sometimes be difficult. Nick felt much happier here than in their flat which had begun to feel claustrophobic and limiting, having no garden and shared communal areas. It was so much nicer to feel in control of his own domain.

In order to make himself more employable, he’d recently completed a Master of Science degree at the university and had found it both challenging and rewarding. It had been completely different from his time in pharmaceutical research. He’d been fortunate enough to secure a grant for the fees and so had only his ongoing expenses to fund from his severance pay. However, despite having gained additional qualifications he wasn’t sure about continuing in research. He no longer felt he had the drive or enthusiasm for it. Some commercial aspects of the drug discovery process dismayed him. It took so long from the conception of an idea to commercialisation that it was soul destroying. Hardly anyone ever managed to be associated with a successful drug launch and he began to find it a depressing scenario. Following a couple of accidents which had resulted in some head trauma, he seemed more prone to depression although there was no proof the two were linked. Perhaps it was just due to getting older but one thing was certain, he needed a challenge and he wanted to do something which he felt would be more rewarding.

He was seriously considering a move into teaching. There was a dearth of science teachers and he’d been told he could do his training on the job, known as INSET training. The more he thought about it, the more exciting it seemed. The only trouble was he’d missed this year’s intake and so it would be next September before he could start. Polly said she didn’t mind but he didn’t want her to feel he was sponging off her, so he intended to take some part-time work to supplement their income. What exactly that was, had yet to be determined but he would find something he was sure.

He needed to get out of the house as he was finding their new neighbours a depressing influence. When Nick and Polly had bought the bungalow there had been an elderly lady living next door but she’d sadly died within a few months of them moving in. Her son had decided to rent out the property for a year as the market seemed rather stagnant and he also wanted to get a reasonable return on his money. That was when the problems started but at least they should be short-lived. The couple who had moved in were not exactly rough but rather inconsiderate and it was starting to get to Nick. He felt he was becoming rather focused on them and that was contributing to his depression. If he had a distraction and something to work towards it would make them more bearable and push their presence more into the background.

He took his coffee cup through to the kitchen and was conscious of a shadow outside the door. The doorbell rang three times which meant it was sure to be his next-door neighbour Ryan. His characteristic ring sent Nick’s heart sinking but this time there was no option but to answer the door as Ryan would have been sure to have spotted his movement through the door.

‘Morning, Ryan,’ said Nick reluctantly answering the door.

‘Oh, morning, mate,’ replied Ryan, simultaneously answering his phone.

‘Yes, hi, mate, good to hear you! Ha, ha, you old bugger....’ and Ryan moved away, laughing, leaving Nick standing at his door feeling completely redundant. He was tempted to close it and leave Ryan to his conversation, however, his neighbour put up his hand to Nick and said his goodbyes into his mobile. ‘Sorry, about that, I need a large spanner, don’t suppose you’ve got one? I seem to have lost mine. One of those adjustable ones would be best?’

‘Well, yes, I think I’ve got one,’ replied Nick with reservation. Considering his neighbour had a manual job he seemed to need to borrow a huge number of tools thought Nick. He just hoped he hadn’t lost the things he’d borrowed as he seemed to keep mislaying his own possessions.

‘Thanks, mate, that’s great.’

‘By the way, could you bring back those wire strippers and that soft hammer you borrowed recently? I’m going to need them again soon.’

‘Oh, yes, I’ll drop them round later,’ replied Ryan casually.

Nick went off to get the tools for Ryan silently cursing him. He was always coming round to borrow things and never bringing them back. He’d also noticed that Ryan’s car was parked slightly across Nick’s driveway, not for the first time. He would probably just be able to get his car past but it would be a bit tight. Ryan just didn’t care. Both he and his girlfriend Kylie had a car and he also had a van which he used for his work for a franchised drain unblocking company. When they had their friends round at the weekend it was a complete nightmare, often half the road was taken up with their vehicles. Nick just hoped that at the end of their twelve months there the landlord would decide to sell the property, hopefully to people who were a bit less selfish.

He handed over the tools to his neighbour and closed the door. He suddenly felt very down. He found it difficult being at home all day particularly when it was a day when Ryan wasn’t working. Today he was conscious of a long day stretching ahead. Some exercise was the best therapy he decided. He ran upstairs to get changed into his running gear. Hopefully, this would help to dispel his annoyance, then later he could continue to look into his future career prospects. He planned to contact some schools to get information and ask whether he could go in for some lesson observations and speak to the staff. He also needed to see what sort of short-term or temporary work he might be able to apply for. The best thing was to keep busy, physically and mentally. He felt his mood lift slightly as he collected his phone and keys and headed out into the sunshine.

Chapter 3

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In one of the chemistry laboratories at Persford University, Daniel Lythgoe or Dan as most people called him, was checking over his reactions. He was now in the second year of his postdoctoral research and he hoped that he might be able to stay on longer should he receive the necessary funding. He was a bit worried about one of his reactions as it didn’t seem to have gone so well. The result being he might not have enough material to carry on to the next stage and so he would have to go back to the beginning and repeat the previous four steps. What a nuisance, research was often like that, many setbacks along the way and tedious repetition. However, if you embarked on a career in research you had to expect that it wouldn’t be plain sailing. However, he had been lucky to find himself on a project which really seemed to be going places. Professor Plumpton had been really clever to design this class of tyrosine kinase inhibitors which had started to show such promise in the field of cancer therapy. He didn’t understand all the complex biology, that wasn’t his job but there was no doubt it was breaking new ground.

It was ironic that the professor had fallen ill with bowel cancer himself and had been away for much of the previous four months receiving treatment. His appearance a few weeks ago had shocked Dan, what little hair he had previously possessed had fallen out leaving him completely bald. His face showed a sickly grey pallor and he had clearly lost weight. His gait was odd, he walked slowly and slightly twisted to one side. Although only aged sixty-two he could pass for someone much older and it was a distressing sight to behold. Dan just hoped that his treatment had been successful and would lengthen his life sufficiently to enable him to see his project achieve even greater success.

Another postdoctoral researcher, Patrick Dunford had completed two years and had just had his contract extended for a further year. In the prof’s absence he had directed much of the research and along with Dan, there were also two PhD students, Hannah Gregson and Seth Richards who were in their first and second years of research respectively. Obviously, Patrick had considerable responsibility whilst his professor was absent and from time to time other academics had stepped into the breach to make suggestions or problem solve. Their other postdoctoral chemist Thierry Du Bois had less than a week to go before he finished his contract and headed back to Europe. The university had desperately tried to persuade him to stay but with the ongoing uncertainty over Brexit, he had decided to take up a research position at the University Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris. It was a sad fact that the science faculty had seen a decrease of around twelve percent in its European students over the last year since the referendum. Once their studies had come to an end they had decided to return to their home countries rather than live with the uncertainty concerning their right to remain in the UK. There had been much in the press regarding the possible reduction of funding from the EU and so many students had decided not to take the risk and stay on in Persford. 

Dan had made an early start today as he knew the day would be disrupted by the meeting taking place. Both he and Pat would be attending the presentation being made by the two business consultants from PerzSolve. Today could be an exciting springboard to securing extra funding and maybe the launch of a spin-off company. He was keen to hear their proposals and to be involved with what promised to be an exciting new venture. Whether or not he stayed on in Persford it could only be good for his career.

He had just finished checking around the laboratory, making sure it looked reasonably tidy when Patrick popped in to speak to him.

‘All set Dan?’ he asked. ‘I’m heading down to the meeting room now. Derek’s arrived and is waiting in there for the business consultants.’

‘Who’s going down to reception to meet them?’ asked Dan.

‘Oh, Erin is going down to meet them. She’s organised some refreshments as well. See you in a couple of minutes then?’

‘Sure, I’ll just get my things,’ and with that Patrick hurried off leaving Dan to wash his hands and follow him. However, Dan needed to pay a visit to the toilets before the meeting, not just for the usual reason but because he needed to perk himself up a little. He found an empty cubicle and took out his packet of coke. Placing a generous pinch of the white powder on the back of his hand he snorted it up his nostril. Immediately he felt energised and able to face the morning ahead. He washed his hands and carefully checked his nose in the mirror. All appeared to be well and Dan sprinted along the corridor feeling on top of the world.

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Erin Jones had been employed at the university in different sections since leaving school at eighteen. She’d spent a couple of weeks as a work experience student and had returned to take up a job as a junior administrative assistant, now she was one of the five support staff in the Department of Chemistry. This team supported all the senior staff including Professor Plumpton as well as all the postdoctoral, PhD students and undergraduates. Erin had done well for herself despite not being very academic and coming from a rather wayward family. She’d managed to build up a persona of respectability despite there being some whispered comments from time to time about her father and brothers having a dubious reputation in the area.

From time to time though she’d been tempted as her family had not instilled into her very honest values. She’d managed to divert a few funds from a hospitality budget during one of the science open days. She’d also managed to obtain a projector from one of the meeting rooms which was now being used to show films in some pub or other. But the university could afford it, that was the way she looked at it, they got huge grants and the academic staff got generous salaries, many multiples of her own. Her other weakness was her inability to stop talking about things which should be confidential. Clearly, she saw many documents pertaining to student files and also to developments in the research area. She had no scientific knowledge but it had been clear how well the department had been doing recently, hence the organisation of the meeting today. There had even been a piece in the local paper about a possible spin-off company.  She had been privy to the letters and emails about the cancer research and how the department was breaking new ground. She had carelessly let slip to her boyfriend that she thought they were looking at an area of brain cancer. That much was clear, you didn’t have to have a degree to understand the gist of the communications. However, she now wondered whether she should have told Scott, her boyfriend about how many documents she could access. He had some friends who did some rather dubious work for a powerful person in the area and now the cat was out of the bag there was no possibility of putting it back inside.

Chapter 4

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Professor Derek Plumpton remained seated whilst he introduced his guests. They all nodded and smiled at the visitors and had pens poised ready to take notes. Dan however was grinning as if privy to some secret joke. Whilst the professor was speaking he began to slap his legs loudly and rhythmically until he received a hard stare from Pat. Matt and Brett looked around the room at the assembled group too preoccupied by thoughts about their presentation to notice Dan’s rather hyperactive behaviour. The chemists present in addition to Professor Plumpton, were post-docs Dan and Pat and Dr Phil Sweetman who had been deputising for the professor. Professor Ian French was representing the Science Faculty as a whole and Hilary Worksop was the Head of Innovation and Technology. Professor Rebecca Levinson was an oncology expert from the Persford Medical School and Dr Steve Carter was the head pharmacologist responsible for the biological profiling of the compounds.

The plan was that Brett would speak first and then Matt would take over and present more details on the figures and the aims of their business plan.

‘Good morning everyone, thanks for meeting with us today,’ said Brett, standing up in front of the screen, and flashing everybody his best smile. ‘I’m going to present a broad overview of our vision for what could be such an exciting spin-off company here in Persford,’ and he brought up his first slide.

The screen showed a list of the subjects within the business plan which they aimed to cover and started with some data showing how many successful new companies had been set up within the university environment in various fields of technology and life sciences. He started to summarise the main goals and milestones they should aim for. He outlined a management team which needed to be set up and their recommendations for a scientific advisory board, naming some additional academics who could provide ongoing advice and guidance and whose presence would be endorsing the scientific concept. Throughout the presentation, he enthused about the novelty of the discovery and the huge potential it offered in the field of cancer therapy and the potential commercial prospect it offered. This was termed the unique selling point or USP which was what differentiated the product and research from the competitors.

‘We have already been in discussion with the Persford Innovation and Technology Department, which is chaired by Hilary here and they have agreed to contribute a further one hundred thousand pounds,’  he paused to smile at Hilary who appeared to flush slightly as he met her gaze.

‘That’s right, Dr Chandler,’ said Hilary.

‘Please, call me, Brett,’ he interrupted, causing a further