Page 5 of London
Gerard cursed himself. He hadn’t meant to give the words a sexual connotation, but somehow he had. He wouldn’t consider writing advice on how to flirt any time soon.
At a loss, he reached for his cheeseburger and bit into it. The sandwich was delicious, creamy and spicy, the meat perfectly done, the toppings fresh and crisp. Linda followed suit, her eyes closing in ecstasy on the first bite.
After several minutes, Gerard spoke again. “Well, now that you’ve heard the story of my life, is there anything else you would like to know?”
“Yes,” she replied, her eyes sparkling. “Tell me about the magical treatment you’ve discovered.”
Chapter Two
When Gerard finished with his cheeseburger, he pushed his plate away and leaned back in his chair. Linda had only finished half of hers, but she was stuffed and did the same.
“I can’t eat another bite.” She laughed. “My eyes must’ve been bigger than my belly. Now, please continue. I find this fascinating. Your serum, it’s a cure?”
“I can’t truly say it’s a cure,” he admitted. “There’s been research done in this area already. What I’ve done is design a treatment formula, which has had excellent results in trials.”
“What kind of treatment is it?” She sipped her lemonade, her gaze fixed on him and the way he used his hand gestures to accentuate his words.
“It’s a two-part system. An injectable serum and a topical ointment. The primary ingredient in both is snake venom.”
Linda’s eyes widened.
“Seriously? Isn’t snake venom harmful rather than beneficial to humans?”
He shook his head, humor sparkling in his exotic green eyes.
“That’s what most people think, but it isn’t true. Several critical heart medications come from a variety of venomous snakes. But snakes aren’t the only poisonous creatures to provide medical venom. A medication for Type 2 diabetes is derived from that of the Gila Monster, while the toxin from certain marine snails and the King Cobra are used to create medications for chronic pain. Many surgeons used a drug derived from the Deathstalker Scorpion to locate tumors during surgery.”
“That’s amazing.” She leaned across the table. “So which snake provides your venom?”
“I’m a nonconformist. I want to prove that every organic substance has its uses. It’s simply a matter of determining the proper way to do it.Crotalus scutulatus,commonly known as theMojave green or Mojave rattlesnake, the world’s most dangerous rattlesnake, has some unique properties, discovered by researchers who produce anti-venom vaccines. While most of the snakes will produce one of the two venoms, recently, some researchers have found hybrids whose bite contains both. Type A produces a powerful neurotoxin which is a strong paralytic, while Type B contains a hemotoxic chemical that has been found to destroy tissue inside the body. That venom is the focus of my serum. Unfortunately, at this time, the destruction is nonselective, and that’s one of the side effects we have yet to contend with because our objective is to destroy only the cancerous cells. As an alternative to surgery and chemotherapy, the first step of the treatment is to inject a specific amount of serum into the tumor, and supplement it, whenever possible, with the ointment. In some types of skin cancer, the ointment proved to be sufficient, but for internal tumors, like those inside the lungs and other organs, we only have the serum to work with.”
As he spoke, Linda couldn’t take her eyes off his handsome, animated face. The subtle lines radiating from the corners of his eyes, proof he enjoyed the outdoors and the sun, added to his air of maturity. His strong, firm jaw covered by stubble, several shades darker than his sandy-blond hair, spoke to his character and determination.
His midnight-blue shirt stretched across his broad shoulders, the rolled up sleeves exposing strong muscular arms, while the drape of the garment hinted at a flat abdomen. Linda’s stomach fluttered. Despite his years, the man had the body of a male model, possibly even an exotic dancer—not what she would normally expect from a doctor or scientist.
While she was interested in what he was saying, it was hard to focus on the words when she kept getting lost in his sensuous lips and mysterious eyes.
Gerard shifted in his chair, bravely taking another sip of lemonade, now far too sweet for her taste.
Linda watched and listened, fascinated.
“But you’re getting closer to perfecting it, right?”
“We are; unfortunately, it’s impossible to annihilate the cancerous cells without affecting some of the healthy ones surrounding them,” he went on. “We’ve completed numerous tests, and after meticulous calculations, we’ve determined what we see as the ideal formula. It can’t be applied to all types of cancer, but for those less threatening, incipient tumors, we’ve obtained encouraging results. Several volunteers from the clinical trials received a clean bill of health after treatment.”
“That’s wonderful!” she exclaimed. “I thought you said it couldn’t be used on humans.”
“Those who applied for the small clinical trials they allowed us, yes, but not for general use,” he corrected.
“I suppose a lot of desperate parents would give their consent to allow their children to act as guinea pigs.”
“Yes, they would, but there are rules. Desperation is a powerful motivator. Many older patients feel their fate is sealed the moment they’re diagnosed. For them, trying new treatments is their only hope. Nevertheless, our calculations are exact and the risks are minimal for those volunteers we feel we can help. Sadly, as I said, we can’t help them all… yet.”
Linda rested her chin on her hands and sighed.
“God, I wish we’d had this conversation twenty years ago. My grandmother died of breast cancer when I was eleven. Perhaps your treatment could have saved her.”
Linda didn’t know much about her grandmother, Rosanna Coriola, the dignified heiress, never without makeup and numerous gold chains around her neck and wrists while others dangled from her ears. The family and all of Italy had cried uncontrollably when their favorite soprano had died prematurely. Even though she and her grandmother hadn’t been close, it had been a dark event in her young life.
