Chapter 8
Every day for the past 2 weeks, Bruce has visited Gotham University's Infectious Research Department. It is now the day before Thanksgiving but unlike most days, Bruce arrives before lunchtime.
Keeping a watchful eye on Dr. Snood is one reason for his daily stopovers, but more of his time is spent with Catherine Henner. He is fascinated by the paradox of this woman. Prim and proper scientist during the day, she is unreserved and uninhibited after work hours. Bruce thought the night at the bar was an unprecedented act of behavior for the doctor, brought on by the steady flow of alcohol and repressed emotional response to the sordid events of that particular day. He has come to learn that this woman has an untamed wildness to her. In the past two weeks, Bruce has observed her spend time at several of the most notorious nightclubs and ill reputed bars the city has to offer, sometimes as her accompaniment, other times shadowing her as Batman. Each night brings a visit to a different locale, with each ending well past midnight. Yet the following morning, she is always at work on time, never a tell tale sign of the binge partying from the night before.
Bruce often wonders how she can keep such a lifestyle when he knows full well the exhaustion of leading a double life. Perhaps it is this kindred duality that tantalizes Bruce's curiosity about the woman and drives him to drop in unannounced each day to see this enigmatic female in her daytime role.
Still, at the back of his mind, Bruce occasionally thinks back to the night in the bar and the impromptu revelation that Henner has a daughter in Hub City trapped in a sterile, isolated quarantine, awaiting a medical miracle to cure her strain of SCID. Catherine had said the University allows her to work on her daughter's case, but Bruce cannot recall once seeing Catherine stay after hours to further the research into her daughter's disease.
Bruce, true to his word, made certain the Provost and Dean of the GU School of Medicine didn't acquiesce to Snood in the matter of allowing Catherine to pursue her daughter's health. If that wasn't the reason for her behavior, what was? Bruce was determined to understand what goes on in the mind of this enigmatic woman.
"Well, Mr. Wayne, you're much earlier than usual. Either you feel the need to impose more of your corporate presence on me or you aren't interested in the status of my research at all." Snood makes a knowing glance toward Catherine.
"A bit of both you might say, Dr. Snood. May I see this morning's results?" Snood hands the daily reactionary printouts to Bruce who looks over the results.
Catherine has spent the morning encoding the results into a computer simulation to explore how each component of the test agents impact the strain of the avian flu. "What you are seeing in that printout is fairly remarkable. Snood may be one of the most arrogant pricks I've ever met, but at least he can back it up. His H5N1 vaccine was right on the money for that strain. It even works on several other strains."
"But not H6TX. He can identify which parts of the virus are resistant to the test samples?"
"Yes, and he's engineered the vaccine to be easily reformulated to increase its immunization potential so that he could add on to it to create a universal antigen."
"How can he rework the vaccine that quickly?"
"DNA and Recombinant Vectors. He's been working on virology from a genetic level for the last several years and is using nucleotide decoding to look at the base materials of the strains. It's brilliant."
"How effective is it?"
"It's like being Mother Nature, Bruce. With that knowledge of a virus, you can synthesize antiviruses, pre-birth immunized Cytocells; you could even manufacture your own strains of a virus."
"Such as for germ warfare?"
"That's a little unethical, Bruce. I meant for research. Take the H6TX strain for example. It shows elements of H5N1, but also several other strains and most significantly, some codons bear resemblance to autoimmune disorders."
"Okay, you're losing me Catherine."
"Sorry, what it means is that by looking at the genomes and structure of one illness, it may hold clues to curing dozens of others with similar genetic markers."
"And Snood discovered this?"
"No, not all of it. Most research facilities have been looking at the cellular level of diseases. My team was even tagging the genetic markers of the H6TX strain prior to Snood's arrival, but we weren't anywhere as close to breaking down and recombining the codes as he is."
"Well at least he's worth his asking price then. Look, I have a meeting with the new assistant District Attorney, Harvey Dent, for lunch today but I'd like for you to come to my house for Thanksgiving tomorrow."
"I'd like that Bruce."
"Great. I'll have Alfred send a car for you tomorrow at your apartment."
"Actually, pick me up here. I was going to use some of the genetics equipment to look at Isabelle's SCID analyses. Since I can't be there with her for the holiday."
Bruce nods, thinking maybe she isn't the enigma he imagined all along. Perhaps she was just a woman trying to balance a high-pressure career and the suffering of a grief stricken mother with a way to vent the pent up frustration and anxiety.
As Bruce and Catherine finish making their plans for the following day, Snood looks at his watch and rushes to leave the room with a folder. Bruce notices him whisper to a technician on the way out.
Seconds after Snood leaves the room, a security guard wheels in a cart containing an engorged roast turkey with a buffet of side dishes filling the trays. Henner assumes the guard is in the wrong place and attempts to guide him to wherever he is supposed to be.
"Can I help you?"
"Where do you want the food?"
"The food? I think you have the wrong department."
The Guard checks the delivery sheet. "Virology Department. Gotham University Hospital. Happy Holiday's from Wayne Enterprises."
This peaks Bruce's interest, as he did not authorize a delivery of this sort. "Did you say Wayne Enterprises?"
Before anyone has a chance to look at the sheet again, the turkey explodes, rocking the lab and destroying data and specimens while hurling technicians into the walls. The fire alarms and safety measures are in place immediately as air vents seal to protect the main hospital from virulent toxins, fire foam sprays from the ceiling to smother the fire and absorb pathogenic materials that escaped from containers during the blast. Bruce looks up from the floor where he landed. Smoke clouds the room, blurring the images of technicians running, some in panic, and some to initiate safety measures.
Bruce looks for Catherine, but doesn't see her. Fire erupts from one of the machines near the detonation point and startles and already panic stricken room. Catherine runs back in to the lab with a fire extinguisher and quickly shouts orders to staff to try to secure the area to avoid personnel injuries. There is no doubt to anyone that the research is corrupted. Specimens have been lost; data files destroyed. The setback is incalculable at the moment.
Bruce runs to Catherine, and looks her over for injury.
"Are you hurt?"
She is covered in exploded food, mostly, and soot from the trapped smoke. "I don't know. I don't think so. I notified a containment team. Where's Snood."
"He left just before…" Bruce stops as he realizes the impeccable timing and the rushed exit the doctor made just prior to the delivery. "I'll find Snood, you get cleaned up and coordinate the salvage here."
Bruce runs from the lab area to the office used by Snood, only to find it in disarray, and Snood nowhere in sight.