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WHEN ANDREW RETURNED to the laboratory, Stanford and Walker were waiting. The three men meticulously sealed the room so that it was airtight, then carefully secured the door. They could all feel the excitement in the air.
"All set?"
Stanford nodded. "Ready."
Walker said, "Ready."
"Masks."
They do
"Let's begin," Andrew said. He cautiously lifted the lid from the metallic box.
Inside were six small vials fitted snugly into protective cushions. "Be careful," he warned. "These genies are two hundred twenty-two degrees below zero." His voice was muffled by the gas mask.
Stanford and Walker watched as Andrew gently lifted the first vial and opened it. It began hissing, and steam rising from the vial turned into a freezing cloud that seemed to saturate the room.
"All right," Andrew said. "Now, the first thing we have to do— the first thing-" His eyes widened.
He was choking, his face turning chalky white. He tried to speak, but no words came out.
Stanford and Walker watched in horror as Andrew's body tumbled to the floor.
Walker hastily capped the vial and closed the case. Stanford hurried to the wall and pressed a button that activated a giant fan that swept the frigid gas vapor out of the lab.
When the air was clear, the two scientists opened the door and hurriedly carried Andrew outside.
Ta
He ran over to the two men and looked down at his brother. "What the hell is going on?" Stanford said, "There's been an accident and-" "What kind of accident?" Ta
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, Andrew was lying on a gurney in a room of the emergency ward at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan. There was a pulsating oxygen mask on his face and an IV in his arm. Two doctors were hovering over him.
Ta
Tears filled Ta
"I'll be waiting in the hall."
ANDREW WAS RUSHED downstairs for a number of MRI and CAT scans as well as extensive blood work. A more sophisticated scan, a PET scan, was scheduled. Afterward, he was moved to a suite where three doctors were tending him.
Ta
Ta
He kept reassuring him during the entire flight. "The doctors say you're going to be fine…
They're going to give you something to make you well… All you need is a little rest." Ta
FOR THE NEXT three days, Ta
"How is he doing?" Ta
"Your brother's awake now. You can go in and see him, but only for a few minutes." When Ta
The phone rang and Ta
"Where-where am I?" Andrew mumbled.
"You're at Walter Reed hospital, in Washington." "Why? Who's sick?" "You are, Andrew." "What happened?" "Something went wrong with the experiment." "I don't remember-" "It's all right. Don't worry. You'll be taken care of. I'll see to it." Ta
He took one last look at his brother lying in bed and left the room.
PRINCESS SENT FLOWERS to the hospital. Ta
"Oh, she phoned. She had to go out of town. She'll call you as soon as she returns. She said to tell you that she loves you." A week later, Andrew and Ta
When the news of the accident became public, it was sure to damage Kingsley Group's reputation.
That doesn't matter, Ta
Kingsley."
Ta
Ta
It isn't going to work, my dearest. Right now I need more than you can give me, so I'm marrying someone who is able to do that. I love you and always will. I know you will find this hard to believe, but what I am doing is for the good of both of us.
Ta