Recourse 2 (The Arrangement) Read Online Free PDF Page B

hand most of France admires him for his efforts to bring the country back to financial prosperity. On the other,” She sighed, “He can be a very stubborn and greedy man.”

    “Isn’t an honest politician almost an oxymoron?”

    “I suppose. There is something you need to know though. Chase is not the only owner of Matrox.” I kept silent as she bit her lip. “Back when the whole thing was just a pipe dream, my father provided a lot of political influence to help Chase move the project though the bureaucratic tape. May be it was the wrong move, but Chase believed at the time it was absolutely necessary to seek his help.”

    We walked over to the fence by the stables, and watched the men lead out the horses for their daily exercise. Their shiny coats majestically glistening in the red desert sun.

    “My father assured Chase it was all just family looking out for one another. Chase is smart, and he knew that legally he protected himself enough to ensure that if anyone tried to get in on the action, they would find no ways to do so. My father didn’t seem to be interested in the project at all as it went from the nebulous fantasy to something much more concrete over the last couple of years. He always said he was just happy to see Chase work on something he was passionate about.”

    I turned my head. “But now he had gotten much more curious?”

    She glanced my way, showing the tension in her eyes. “Laura, you’ve seen Chase be a little edgy lately. The meetings are not going well.” She bunched her eyebrows, causing a small wrinkle to appear in between. “From what I’ve been able to gather, Matrox is having a really hard time getting the results published as legitimate proof the trials were successful. The other thing is, I have this really bad feeling that someone is trying to pull the rug from underneath Chase.”

    “Cut to the point,” I said sternly. “Do you think it’s your father?”

    “I have no proof,” She sighed. “But I am afraid my father is somehow mixed into this. I usually don’t talk to him more than once every two or three months. Lately, he’s been calling me every other week, somehow always managing to drop a few questions about what Chase had been up to.”

    “Could he be just curious? Everyone else seems to be.”

    “If he was curious he would call Chase. I think he knows exactly what’s going on.”

    “Did you tell him?”

    She shook her head. “I wanted to get some proof Chase was about to run into a wall before I said anything.”

    My eyes widened, “The convenient escape to Loushen’s office during the party?”

    She let out a small smile, “That was blind luck. I actually wanted to get you alone in the dark.”

    I shook my head as the corners of my mouth curled up.

    The smile faded from her face a moment later as she pressed her lips tight and looked ahead.

    “What do you think your father would want with it?” I said.

    “What does everyone want?” She raised her eyebrows. “Power. Whoever will control this will control the world.”

    I shrugged, “A little dramatic, don’t you think?”

    “Think of it this way,” She said, “You have a way to extend someone’s life by three to five years. You could do what Chase is trying to do, give it out to the hospitals and work with institutions to mass market and mass produce it.”

    I ran my hand through my hair, “Wouldn’t they need to regulate it somehow? Not everyone should get the drug.”

    “Smart girl, I see.” Amy glanced at me. “That’s the problem, I can see a lot of red tape, tons of regulation even worse than before. What would be the criteria for selection?”

    I lifted my eyebrows, “Can you imagine the outrage if you didn’t get it? I would be livid, like, ‘They’re stealing my life!’

    Amy nodded. “You see why it is a very complicated issue. I would venture to say some governments would rather avoid dealing with it altogether. That is Chase’s biggest