As Cathy hastily turned the unmarked envelope over to open it, she felt a lump of something inside. A stick of chewing gum dropped on the leather couch as she curiously tore open the unmarked envelope. Immediately Cathy recognized her son`s handwriting, but she noticed that it was uncharacteristically messy for her ultra-careful only son. "How strange," thought Cathy. "David has never given me a special little surprise like gum in an envelope before. Why would he suddenly do something so childlike now that he is on his own?"
***
Dr. Elliot was returning important phone calls from his highly organized office. As he dialed the number of a co-worker, he simultaneously tidied a stack of folders ready to be filed. His computer chimed to alert him of a new email. He was caught off guard when a familiar name popped up on his inbox screen. The last time he had thought about young David Setter had been 9 years ago when they had lived next door to each other. Wilson Elliot smiled fondly, thinking about how then ten year old David had always peppered him with precocious science questions.
***
It had been David's assignment to formulate a sticky serum to cling to the embedded nano-chips placed in each stick of gum. The professors entrusted David with the job of making sure the nano-chips would not separate from the gum when coming in contact with saliva. The exhausted student was worn out from the many nights he had spent awake working on complex chemical formulas which would allow the gum to collect DNA samples without the nano-chips' being crushed or swallowed. Once he had finally came up with the right formula, David had spent every waking minute coating five nano-chips and placing them carefully in five sticks of gum in such a way that the gum would appear untouched.
***
Cathy shuddered with disbelief as she processed the information she read from David's sloppy letter. Her son was obviously desperate. She knew right off the bat that David's plea could not be disregarded. But how could the situation be as bad as David was saying it was? How could her son get involved in something so seriously wrong? Cathy felt tremendous guilt come over her. What was she thinking? How could a mother not have seen any signs of her only son being involved in something like this? ***
Steve Setter waited impatiently at the black kitchen table as his wife continued shuffling through a stack of papers she had pulled from her well-worn, overstuffed briefcase. His mind wandered to the feeling of satisfaction he had experienced earlier in the afternoon upon completing an important experiment in the lab. Bio-Med Research Center had continued to be a source of contentment and pride for him since he has begun his scientific career with them over two decades ago. He rarely cared what the end results of his experiments were as long as he could spend his days puzzling over solutions. He had always just done what he was told to do.
***
After Dr. Elliot took a quick stroll down memory lane, he read the e-mail that David sent to him. David was trying to explain to Dr. Elliot that he was in trouble and needed help. David described that he was a thriving biology major, so two of his professors had assigned additional work for him to do. He was given the task to make a chemical compound that would coat a nano-chip, making it indestructible and water-proof. "What fun," thought Dr. Elliot, "What trouble could that be?" As Dr. Elliot read David`s e-mail, the problem became clear. David had learned that his assignment would be used for creating, and then destroying, life... for profit.
***
Cathy shouted back to Steve, "I'm sorry Steve - I forgot something at work that might take a while. I'll be right back." She bolted out the door in a hurried frenzy to get to the gum and David's urgent message to their former neighbor, Dr. Elliot.
Steve yelled after his wife in frustration, " We haven`t eaten dinner yet!" He rushed out the heavy front door to see the vintage mustang he and David restored last summer quickly drive out of sight. With his arms indignantly crossed and a scowl on his face he returned to the kitchen, where he sat in perturbed silence and picked at his food.
***
Wilson Elliot could not believe his eyes as he continued reading the lengthy e-mail from David. The message described how two biology professors had devised a scheme to use nano-chips embedded in chewing gum to extract DNA from the most intelligent college students. Then the biology professors would clone them and in turn kill the clones and harvest their brains for experimental transplants.
What shocked Dr. Elliot the most was that his old college roommate, Matthew Grey, was in charge of the gruesome operation. This didn`t make sense; there was no way a devoted believer like Matt would be involved in something so vile. Why would he do something so wicked? Aside from Wilson's own association with Dr. Grey, what complicated matters for David was that Matthew Grey was David's father's boss at Bio-Med Research Center.
***
Richard flipped on the overhead light of the dormitory room that he shared with David Setter. Instantly he noticed that all of David`s personal stuff was gone and yet all of his own belongings were just where he had left them. Richard thought to himself, "This stuff with David is just too weird. It doesn't make any sense at all. I've had enough of this. I'm going to pay his parents a visit."
Richard was thinking about what he should say to David`s parents regarding their son`s friend`s crazy behavior lately. He was taking his normal shortcut through the bushes in front of the dorm when he surprisingly tripped over David`s backpack. This just added to the bizarre string of events that made Richard worried about David and even more determined to speak to his roommate’s parents.
***
Under the weight of the information he had just received from David, Dr. Elliot felt burdened. While segments of David`s story seemed convincing, other parts (like Dr. Matthew Grey`s involvement) were simply beyond understanding. As he silently cried out to God for wisdom, Wilson ran his long fingers through his bushy head of gray hair. Suddenly, continuous banging on his office door forced its way through the silence of his plea.
Wilson`s heart thumped wildly as he jumped from his chair and made his way over to open the door. He hesitated and opened the door with caution, in light of the serious nature of the situation unfolding before him.
There in front of him stood Cathy Setter.
"Wow! Cathy! I'd say I`m surprised to see you, but I just got an urgent e-mail from your son," Dr. Elliot stated with a touch of worry in his voice.
Cathy`s words spilled out in machine gun-style rapid fire. Knowing that Cathy shared his faith in God`s sovereignty, Wilson Elliot placed his hand on her shoulder in a movement of confidence as he said, "Yes, this is troubling, but God will show us what to do because He is in control."
"Here," she offered as she relaxed her tight grip on the package she was holding. She placed the envelope with the stick of gum into Dr. Elliot`s hand.
Hand-written letters were inside the envelope David had stolen from the desk of one of his biology professors. The letters included the disgusting description of the plot David had described in his e-mail to Dr. Elliot and also in his letter to his mom. David`s tale seemed to be true, and Matthew Grey`s name was mentioned throughout the pages as one of the major players in the scheme. In the confusing web of facts that David had become involved in, two things were apparent to Dr. Elliot and Cathy Setter: David was sure that lives were at risk and he was determined to stop this corrupt scientific plot from turning into death and violence. Dr. Elliot and Cathy decided to join him in his decision.
***
Steve decided he wasn`t hungry any more after 30 minutes spent stewing at the table. He pushed back from the table and was headed toward the trash can when he heard pounding on the door. He leaned back to look through the window. He saw Richard on the front porch, swaying back and forth nervously on his heals as he stared at the door. Steve wondered why Richard would come to the Setters' house without David. Steve opened the door for Richard with the joking question, "Hey, Richard. I`m surprised to see Bob the Tomato without Larry the Cucumber. Where`s David?"
"I was wondering if you could tell me..." Richard trailed off as he stepped into the foyer with David`s backpack on his aching shoulder. "Can we talk?" Richard asked.
Steve gestured at the living room couch, when a note card on the wooden floor caught his eye. It lay near where Cathy was sitting before she left. He grabbed the note and quickly read over it as he and Richard seated themselves across from each other. It only took a few lines of the note for Steve to get a pretty good idea of why Cathy had rushed off without eating dinner. Steve also realized that the note probably had something to do with why Richard was visiting without David. Steve suggested, "Don`t get too comfortable, bud. I think I know why you are here, and I think this note is going to give us both some answers."
***
Cathy and Dr. Elliot read and re-read David`s e-mail out loud to each other over and over taking in new details each time. Dr. Elliot shook his head harder and harder each time they read it. "This can`t be!" David had outlined a plan to show the unfair scheme. His idea could have worked well, if he had had a team of committed researchers and months to complete it... but time was not on their side. Dr. Elliot`s wisdom in the field of biology gave him eyes to see some things that David had missed. If David`s remarks and recorded information about the experimental advances that had been made in Matthew Grey`s laboratory were correct...the situation was even worse than David Setter ever could have imagined. Dr. Elliot could tell that with the help of David's nano-chip gum, the evil biologists already had the ability to create (and annihilate) life within days, not months.
"Come on, Cathy," Wilson Elliot commanded. "We don't have time to waste. Let's find the backpack David told us he hid. We also need to find reliable people to help us, and we need to find them quickly."
With those instructions, Dr. Elliot pushed open his office door. To his surprise he spotted Steve Setter and a young, college-aged man dashing down the hallway, coming toward his office. Seeing the panicked looks on their faces, Dr. Elliot knew instantly that the men heading his way were also coming out of worry for David. Wilson gestured for Cathy to hurry up. He then quickened his pace to reach his neighbor and the young man who was with him.
When the group of four reached each other, Cathy Setter practically fell limp into her husband's strong arms. "Cath, why didn't you tell me?" questioned Steve Setter.
"David was scared that you'd lose your job and possibly your life. He knew you'd be at risk if you got stuck in the middle of this," Cathy blurted out with the sound of regret filling her words.
The little "family reunion" was cut short by Dr. Elliot - when he interrupted with, "Right now we need to focus on searching for David's backpack. There will be time for explanations and apologies later."
Richard interjected, "You mean this backpack?!" as he swung David's backpack off of his shoulder and practically threw it into Dr. Elliot's arms.
"Let's see what David has for us in here," Dr. Elliot responded as he unzipped the bag and started to dig around in it like an anteater searching for ants in a mound of dirt.
As he waved a list of students' names scribbled on a wrinkled piece of paper torn from a spiral notebook, Wilson Elliot exclaimed, "We've got it!" He set down the bag to examine the list more closely.
Next, Steve shoved his hand into the bag and grabbed a handful of small test tube vials, each with the label "Bio Med Research Company" glued on them.
"It really is true." Steve muttered almost inaudibly as he shook his head in disbelief at the sight of his own company's logo on the vials.
Dr. Elliot stated the obvious as he remarked, "I'm afraid your job and your safety really are at risk now that you have witnessed the professors` evil plans with the clones personally."
Steve cut in like any caring father would. "It's David's life I'm concerned about. What do you think we should do next?"
Dr. Elliot led the group back to the privacy of his office for a quick meeting to plan their approach. A few moments later, the four emerged to head out separately. Wilson Elliot spoke to them with the words, "You're going to have to trust God a lot more than you trust me."
***
Richard's lungs burned and the soles of his feet cramped from running for so long. Even though his body ached from exertion, Richard still felt rather proud of himself for finding and figuring out the only clue David had left as to his whereabouts. When Richard found out that David had removed all of his belongings from their dorm room, he had noticed a tiny note earlier that evening. David had pinned a note with a thumbtack to an anatomy poster which hung on the back of their door. "You're a true friend." It was signed, "From the bottom of my brain, David." The note was tacked to the brain stem on the poster. David had always referred to the Culver Library as his "brain," Richard remembered.
Richard rushed through the front doors when it was almost closing time at the library. He bolted for the steps, and went down several flights before finally reaching the dark, soggy basement. Richard was hoping David had left him a lead to follow. As he drew near the double doors at the very end of the hallway he heard muffled grunting sounds. He heaved on the door with all his might, only to hear the grunting intensify. The doors were locked, but he knew that David was in there.
Between panted breaths Richard managed to shout, "Hold on David. If I don't pass out of heat exhaustion running up those steps, I'll be back to let you out in a minute."
Richard returned with a rather befuddled librarian and her set of keys a few minutes later. David was so relieved when Richard cut off the gag and untied him from the chair using the pocket knife he had gotten for Christmas a long time ago in his stocking. David was able to joke, "I was beginning to think you wouldn't pick up on my clue. You're not such a blockhead after all." Then he continued, "Did my mom get to Dr. Elliot with the information? We've got to get there fast and help them. We need to get to Bio Med Research Labs right away. Things are worse than I thought!”
***
Wilson Elliot breathed in deeply as he rang the doorbell at the home of his college roommate, Dr. Matthew Grey. While he listened to Matt's footsteps coming near the front door, Wilson prayed hard that his hunch was correct.
"Wilson!" exclaimed Matthew Grey. "I don`t know what to say! Well is there anything I can do to help you? It's so unlike you to show up anywhere unannounced."
"True, Matt, true. It's also unlike you to involve yourself in anything that is immoral and ethically questionable," retorted Wilson, "which is the reason for my unexpected visit."
With what he said, Wilson revealed every detail in his possession that he had. Just as he predicted, Dr. Grey was downright shocked. Matt had to gather himself before he could even speak.
"Wilson, I've been deceived! I've been completely set up by the professors! To prove my innocence and put to an end this nightmare at once, we've got to call the police."
"Matt, the police are small potatoes. We need high-level involvement at this point. Do you have any connections with the FBI?" Wilson asked.
Matthew Grey placed a called to the FBI as he motioned for Wilson Elliot to head with him out the door. The two friends looked scared as they sped down the highway toward the Bio Med Research Company. They drove into the employee parking lot just in time to see David and Richard exiting out of a black taxi cab.
Doctors Elliot and Grey got out of Matt's car. They were stunned to see smoke pouring out of a broken window on the side of the Bio Med Research Company building. It was the window in the side of the structure where the nano-chip gum experiments had been conducted.
Matt shouted, "This is horrible! They are probably burning the evidence!"
Wilson chimed in, "Who knows where they've taken the gum now! I hate to think about what they are capable of doing unnoticed if we can't trace the evidence to them."
Just then, Steve and Cathy stumbled out of the back door of the wing where the fire was located. They were coughing and gasping for air as they entered the parking lot.
David saw his parents at once and yelled, "Mom and Dad! Are you guys okay? Did you see my professors?"
"Can someone call the police?" Steve yelled back as he hacked to clear his throat. "Not only did we see them," he said," but we also trapped them in the lab. I set a little fire and contained it in a trashcan and I smashed open a window so the police would know where to go."
Dr. Grey chimed in, "So you tripped our automatic fire containment system? It completely locks down the wing where a fire is detected so that the damage is unable to spread throughout the entire building. That means the professors are completely locked in until the fire and police arrive to disable the alarm system! Steve, you're a genius! But, wait a second. That also means they can destroy everything they can get their hands on until help arrives!"
"Boss, give a guy some credit. We lured them out of the lab, and then we tripped the alarm. Our villains are trapped in an empty hallway with nothing but a lot of silence to give them time to think about how they'll spend their time in jail."
The two doctors, the Setter family, and Richard stared at each other briefly in stunned silence. Their plan had worked!
The quietness didn't last long because fire trucks with screaming sirens soon filled the parking lot. The two doctors, Richard, the Setter family, and were all relieved to let the authorities handle the rest of the situation.
David smiled mischievously as he offered, "Now who would like a real stick of gum to celebrate?"