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PROLOGUE
Ken Johnson was a 39 year old male who lived in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife and two children. His neck had bothered him for years and he finally had arthroscopic surgery. The doctor prescribed Valtrascin 100 mg for his ensuing neck pain after the surgery.
Trish Ebhardt was a single female living in Omaha, Nebraska. She was 24 years old and a sales manager for a large technology company. She had an active social life and participated in many sports. One day she fell reaching for a ball in a good game of tennis doubles. She landed with her body weight on her arm and broke her wrist in a severe torus fracture. While in a cast for six weeks she developed a nagging pain in her forearm. The doctor prescribed Valtrascin 100 mg to alleviate the pain at night so she could sleep.
Jason Morris was a single male living in San Mateo, California. He was 27 years old and worked for a computer company in the Silicon Valley. He had two room mates in order to afford the rent on a small apartment. He had a passion for skiing and saved his vacations to spend as much time as possible on the ski slopes. On an extended weekend ski trip, he caught the tip of his ski on a rock on an icy slope. He catapulted through the air, and his binding didn’t release quickly enough. The fall caused him to suffer a compound fracture of his right leg. He was taken down from the mountain by the ski patrol and rushed to the hospital where they performed surgery to repair his leg. When he was released from the hospital, the doctor prescribed Valtrascin 100mg for his lingering pain.
Yolanda Cervantes was a 34 year old married woman with three children living in Augusta, Georgia. She worked full time at a furniture factory, but was still on maternity leave due to the birth of her young son. Her lower back and hip were bothering her from carrying her new baby while dealing with her two other young children. She would have to go back to work soon. Her doctor prescribed Valtrascin 100 mg to manage the pain so she could handle her family without a lot of stress on her back.
CHAPTER 1
This time Amad came to the US with two and a half million dollars available to him. His last trip to the states was for four years of college and a graduate degree in chemical engineering, but his father had called him home after his education was completed. He returned to his native Libya to an arranged marriage and then some additional time of militia training in Afghanistan in order to refresh the skills gained in his youth. Only then could he return to the states to begin his first job as a chemical engineer.
It wasn’t long before he was a first class marksman again and updated his munitions skills. He trained in the art of survival under the worst of circumstances. He wasn’t satisfied. He was able to ingratiate himself with some of the religious zealots that he had trained with in his youth. By this time his goals had diverged from the goals his father had set for him. These religious zealots respected his father, and they assumed that the Amad had the same aspirations. It wasn’t as if he had any strong religious feelings as a lifelong Muslim, it was more the purpose he had for himself. He wanted to make a difference in the world – A difference in a very subtle way. Sitting in a mountain cave in Afghanistan was no way to capitalize on his chemical engineering degree. There was no question in his mind that he was so much smarter than these men; his time could be far better spent planning how he would implement his ambitions. He was slowly developing a plan. He wanted to keep it to himself, but he needed their money to finance it. Devising a scheme to placate them, would have them begging him to take their fortunes in order to assure that Muslims would control the world. He didn’t care how he got the money as long as he could be the undisputed one at the helm.
The stupid Americans, he thought as he stood in the customs line at Kennedy International Airport in New York. I’m an Arab – racial profiling and all that – they will be so careful with me. I flew first class, arranged a date with the cute flight attendant and I dressed in expensive clothes that I bought in the Emirates before the flight. They wouldn’t dare offend a member of the wealthy Arab elite.
CHAPTER 2
Susan was dying. She was 53 years old and in great physical condition until today. She was in and out of consciousness barely recognizing her family as they sat in her hospital room. Her husband squeezed her hand to let her know that he was there. Her grown sons had arrived at the hospital this morning and they sat by their father without saying a word.
Dr. Bingham came into the room and beckoned Mr. Dryer, Susan’s husband. Her eldest son Donald took his father’s chair and held his mother’s hand. “Can you tell me when she became ill, Mr. Dryer?”“It was very sudden,” he said. “Her neck had been bothering her for the last few days – but I thought that was just residual discomfort from an old injury. She didn’t complain about it or anything. I just noticed her movements and I know her. We’ve been married for 30 years. It really wasn’t obvious to anyone else,” he said more to himself than to the doctor. “This morning she was fine. We had coffee and breakfast, and then I kissed her goodbye and started to leave for work. As I bent down to pick up my attaché case, I heard a crash in the kitchen. I dropped my bag and ran back into the kitchen and Susan was on the floor. Her coffee cup had landed nearby and had broken into pieces. I didn’t stop to look at her. I picked up the phone and called 9-1-1.”
“Did you notice how she looked on the floor immediately after she went down? Was she pale; was she convulsing – anything odd that you noticed?”
“I only noticed my wife on the floor – not moving.” Mr. Dryer responded. “I was in shock. The paramedics arrived quickly. They should be able to tell you. I just don’t know! She looks awful, doctor! What is wrong – can’t you help her?”
“We just don’t know yet. Her body is shutting down. I’m sorry to tell you that, and unless we figure out what caused this episode quickly – we’ll lose her! Go back to your wife, Mr. Dryer and we will continue to run tests so that we can figure out what can be done.”
Mr. Dryer went back into the room, sat in the chair vacated by his son, and put his head in his hands.
Dr. Bingham sent an intern into the room along with the shift nurse to continue monitoring Susan Dryer. As he looked at the chart Dr. Bingham had an idea. He went back into the room and spoke to Mr. Dryer. “Go back to your house and check the kitchen and bathroom for pills of any kind that Susan might have used this morning. Perhaps it’s an allergic reaction to something. I know that you don’t want to leave your wife, but can you do that or would you like me to send someone?”
Mr. Dryer barely heard the doctor as he watched his wife struggling to live. The doctor touched his arm and repeated the request and Mr. Dryer left the room. “But she was fine this morning,” Mr. Dryer told himself.
As he left the room and walked down the hall to the elevator, he thought of their life together. He remembered how he had asked her to marry him.
They were in a canoe at the lake. It was a beautiful spring day, and they decided on a picnic. She made a wonderful lunch, and he brought the wine. They threw the food into the boat and then he jumped in. He took her hand and helped her climb into the small boat. He rowed across the lake slowly; she wanted to help with the oars but he wanted to be macho and do it himself. She shook her head in frustration. “You can row on the way back”, he told her laughing. By then I’ll be too full after all that food! When they got to the other side of the lake, they tied up the canoe and waded to shore. Susan spread out the blanket and took the food from the basket. He uncorked the wine and poured two glasses. He put his hand in his pocket to feel if the ring was still there. He took a deep breath and blurted it out before he could change his mind. He stuttered for the first time in his life as the words came out, “Susan I love you. Will you marry me?” He could see in her eyes that she was totally surprised and delighted. She smiled and put her arms around him. “I love you too! We will be together forever!”
The elevator door opened and he got inside. Continuing to reminisce he thought about when she told him that she was pregnant with Donald. They were so happy – now they would be a real family. “I’ll be a good mother won’t I?” she worried. “You’ll be a wonderful mother – you have so much love to give,” he told her as he squeezed her hand and kissed her on the forehead. Then two years later, Alan had arrived and now they were a family of four.
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