Chapter 153

Adam gestured to Timm, Jason, Cameron, Lucy, Anya and Katya while Sean and Rebecca went back to explain the situation to everyone else. He explained to the doctor the group's method of screening and the precautions they took. The doctor smiled slightly and nodded her approval.

"I was tested on Monday," Anya said. "Will I need to do it again?"

"Blood or saliva?" the doctor asked.

"Complete blood work up," Anya answered. "I was in Prague and I was preparing to return to the U.S. It is required. I can contact the hospital and have them send the records."

The doctor nodded slightly and frowned.

"Let's go ahead and do it now – just for safety's sake," she decided. It was obvious to Adam that she was warming to the group. "If we find something, we'll get the records. I really don't think there will be issues. It sounds like this company is far more selective about who they work with and what they're willing to do. If your statements about condom usage are true and you continue to use them with people you do not know well, this is not something you need to be overly concerned about. What you're doing is about the only stopgap measure available in your line of work. Now, are we certain no one has worked with anyone on the list?"

She got nods all around.

"That is excellent to start off with," she said. "We have Patient Zero isolated and we are through the complete second generation of workers. We expect we'll be able to track the third by this time tomorrow. I suspect it won't go farther than that. It was caught pretty quickly – one week between tests and 12 hours from finding it to moving forward to stop it. I suspect there might be one or two more names added to the list but I think this is just about as far as its going to go."

"At least we can thank AMS for that," Adam said.

The doctor scoffed.

"The man gets his test done at the UCLA clinic," she said. "The only reason this was caught quickly is because they perform what is called a Western blot assay on patients they classify as high-risk. The clinic notified the health department as is regulation. The health department notified the man. It was only then that anyone knew for certain he was in the adult industry. UCLA had him on the high-risk register but that could comprise many things: homosexual, prostitute, IV drug user and the like. The health department called us to recheck the sample and we contacted AMS to see if he had records there, too.

"None of the records there were recent enough to do us any good. If AMS would have spotted this, the first call would have been to the media. The poor guy probably would have found out 30 days and 50 scenes later than he did and we would be in a world of hurt in stopping this thing. That's what happened the last time something like this cropped up."

Adam pondered for a moment.

"How can someone who is not an M.D. run a clinic?" he asked.

"She doesn't do any of the medical work," the doctor replied. "She cannot even touch the samples. She is listed as an administrator. Just as the CEO here is not a medical doctor."

"So, theoretically, we could open our own clinic and hire medical staff to work there?" Adam asked, the wheels in his head spinning rapidly.

"If you had a couple of million dollars to spend, sure," the doctor replied. Then she remembered that a corporation was paying for the tests. "Which you do, don't you?"

Adam gave a half shrug. This wasn't something to discuss openly without running it past the others. What he'd said the day before was said in anger and in jest.

"It would probably be better to have a licensed practitioner on staff," the doctor said. "That would be what makes it different from AMS."

Adam rubbed his chin and nodded. It would take research but it might be possible to help the industry out in another way – giving a viable alternative to AMS that wasn't beholden to the major studios for funding.

He was silent as he rolled up his sleeve and the nurse drew his blood.

"Let me know if you decide you're going ahead with a clinic," she said softly. "Even if it turns out I'm not interested in working there, Doctor Brannon or I might be able to point you in the right direction as far as staff."

Adam was amazed that this health-care professional was taking a group of 20-year-olds seriously.

"My boyfriend is a programmer for Selectronics," the nurse said when she saw Adam's look. "I recognize Subarctic Enterprises. He spent three weeks kicking himself in the butt for not thinking of what your student programmer did."

That brought a smile to Adam's face. He wondered how many people in the computer industry were thinking the same thing.

"She's right over there if you want to get her autograph for him," he said softly, nodding his head toward Mary.

"Oh, that would just be perfect," the nurse laughed. Sure enough, when she was finished with Adam, she walked over to Mary and started to chat. Trinity's wandering feet took her in Adam's direction.

"You just can't stop flirting with the pretty women, can you?" she asked with a laugh. "Once we get this all figured out, I'll play naughty nurse and you can be my horny patient."

Veronica and Reanna were both in the house when everyone arrived got back. The morning group had skipped their classes to head to Cedar-Sinai but the afternoon group had decided to go ahead to class.

"I had to call in reinforcements, Boss," Veronica said when she saw Adam. "The phone has been busy. The woman you met from the 'Chronicle' wants a comment. I told her we would release something once we had more information. AMS is calling for a 180-day quarantine. They said this might reach as many as 50 performers."

Adam looked puzzled. That didn't jibe with the information the doctor had given him. He pulled out the printout the nurse had given him with the names of potential carriers. It had only 14 names on it and the doctor said she didn't suspect it would go past third generation – which should be known in full by the next day.

He pondered for a moment then dialed the hospital they had left less than an hour ago and asked to be put through to the infectious disease laboratory.

"Uh, hi, I'm sorry if I'm being a pest, but this is Adam Walters," he said. "Is this Miss Drabowski?"

"Yes, did you come to decision about the clinic that quickly?" the nurse asked.

"No, that is a discussion for later in the year, I'm afraid," Adam said. "I was wondering if Dr. Brannon or you had seen the information from AMS recently?"

"I don't think so," the nurse said.

"They are saying this could reach as many as 50 performers," Adam told her.

"Oh, bullshit," the nurse spat. "Uh... , sorry. But that is total crap. Dr. Brannon is damned good at tracking outbreaks. She spent her residency with the CDC doing this in Gambia and Cameroon. She hunted nomads across the desert to pinpoint Patient Zero and backtrack it. I'm pretty sure she can trace the path of an incident as isolated as this one is. If she says she has most of the names, she has most of the names."

"So a 180-day work stoppage is unwarranted?" Adam wondered.

"That I can't say," the nurse replied. "I'm not sure even Dr. Brannon is qualified to make that determination. However, given what she says, I would be surprised if the risk of contracting this disease from anyone who got it in this outbreak will exist for more than a week. Dr. Brannon will let you know when she has all the names."

"Will she let the media know?" Adam asked.

The nurse laughed.

"I would almost bet on it," she said. "She is pursuing a job at a teaching hospital. I think she will want to make her contributions known. It is highly unusual for actual hospitals to get involved in this. It is usually run solely by AMS."

"Thanks," Adam said and hung up.

He glanced around at the faces in the room.

"I think we should call the 'Chronicle' and make a statement," Adam said firmly.

"Saying what?" Rebecca asked.

"That according to an actual medical professional who makes a living tracking infectious outbreaks and who works at an actual hospital and who actually attended medical school, the list is almost complete and the outbreak is not nearly as widespread as what a woman with a sociology degree would like people to believe," he said angrily. "If we could get people to stop doing stupid shit we could really minimize this risk."

"Do you think you could word it differently?" Shelly asked with a roll of her eyes.

"Probably, but I'm not sure I want to," Adam replied. He ignored the eye roll.

Trinity sat down at the table with a pen and paper.

"The performers from Five Friends Casting and Looker Lass Productions were deeply saddened to learn that three adult entertainers have tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus," she said. "Our thoughts go out to the performers and their loved ones. It is a stark reminder that when even one of us refuses to take reasonable precautions, it places all of us in grave peril.

"We are thankful that the state health department, in conjunction with the infectious diseases centers at Cedar-Sinai and UCLA Medical Center, has moved so swiftly to identify those at risk, to contain the outbreak and to keep performers and agencies – no, business operations here, I think – business operations informed. As with most of the industry, Looker Lass Productions has suspended operations temporarily.

"We will remain closed as long as the licensed medical community believes it prudent. We recommend that other performers, casting agencies and production houses carry out their due diligence and speak with the professionals involved in tracking this problem and assessing its reach before agreeing to an arbitrary work stoppage determined by AMS, which has no licensed physician or infectious diseases specialist on staff, to the best of our knowledge."

Rebecca was looking on with fascination as Trinity worked her magic pen. Trinity had managed to say exactly what Adam had said – and what everyone else in the room thought – without making them sound like a group of heartless assholes.

"Have I mentioned today how much I love you?" Rebecca asked.

She leaned down to kiss Trinity but veered off to her cheek instead of seeking her lips.

"You know, if one of us has this, we all do," Trinity said. "And you can't get it from kissing."

Adam simply sighed. If one of them had it, it was because he'd brought it home to them.

"Should we call the others?" he asked.

Karlie shook her head.

"They said to handle things here as we thought best," she answered.

"Do you want to call the paper?" he asked the room at large.

"You should call; she knows you," Rebecca answered again for the group.

"Do I answer questions?" he wondered.

"I think you should if you find the questions reasonable," Shelly put forth. "You're actually pretty quotable and I think it will help in this situation."

"Hello, Darcy's phone," the female voice answered.

"Uh, yes, Miss Stanton, this Adam Walters – Derrick Driller – returning your call," Adam said.

"Oh, Adam, thanks for getting back to me," Darcy said in a cheerful voice that was in stark contrast to Adam's grave tones. "I should have called you to thank you for all the help you gave me on my previous stories but, well, I was embarrassed that I didn't see things right away. By the time I got over it, it would have been worthless to let you know how much I appreciate it."

Adam didn't reply. He hadn't expected a thank you so he hadn't been disappointed.

"Are you handling the HIV thing in the porn world?" he asked.

"Yeah, I got handed that," Darcy replied. "I hope you guys are alright. It looks like a bad one."

"I think its severity depends upon who you listen to," Adam replied. "But it appears as though this group is safe. Those of us who worked with people who aren't well known to us have been tested. The doctor we spoke to seems to think they have most of the players identified."

"Really?" Darcy said. She was at lunch but she put down her sandwich and pulled out a pen and her notebook. "That is entirely different from what everyone in the industry is saying."

"Let me read you the official position of Five Friends Casting and Looker Lass Productions," he hedged. "Then I will do my best to answer your questions."

He did know something, Darcy thought. This guy was a gold mine and he didn't play games. She liked that. Darcy took notes as Adam read the prepared statement. The last sentence caught her attention completely.

"I'll e-mail the text of the statement," Adam said.

"Good," Darcy answered quickly. She wanted to get as much information from this guy as she could before he hung up. "Do you have time for some questions?"

"I do," Adam said. "But my answers might not be definitive. There is a lot about this I don't know. I will, however, do my best to point you in the correct direction."

Darcy smiled to herself. Smart, handsome and hung like a horse. It was a damned shame this guy was a porn star, she decided.

"Wilma Scott is not a doctor?" she asked first.

"According to our information, she is not a medical doctor but rather holds a doctorate degree in sociology," Adam answered. He was met by approving nods from Rebecca, Karlie, Shelly, Trinity, Veronica and Reanna.

"No shit," Darcy said, almost to herself. "Can I ask your source?"

"Dr. Celeste Brannon, a real doctor by the way, from Cedar-Sinai's infectious disease department," Adam replied.

"Yeah, about that, AMS has inferred that they are the ones who are tracking this," Darcy said.

"Probably because they think no one will actually care enough to confirm that statement," Adam said. "But it is not true. AMS was only notified because the doctors wanted to see if this guy had been tested there recently. It is being handled by UCLA, Cedar-Sinai and the health department. AMS has absolutely nothing to do with this."

"And the quarantine AMS suggested?" Darcy wondered.

"As of right now, Dr. Brannon, who worked for the Centers for Disease Control in Africa, believes it will extend to less than 20 performers," Adam said. "It is our understanding that this will extend no further than Generation Three. She has spoken with Patient Zero. She has his medical records and he was given a blood exam each time because he is categorized as 'high-risk.' He showed no trace antibodies 10 days ago but tested positive for HIV three days ago. He worked with only two people in that time. If you want confirmation of that, I can give you her number."

"Oh, I want her number," Darcy said. "Do you care to speculate why AMS is acting as though the industry is about to end?"

"Specifically, no," Adam said. He wanted to give her his suspicions but there was no evidence to support them. "However, if you look into the ownership groups of the major houses and then at the leading donors to Adult Medical Services, I think you might draw your own conclusions."

Darcy was stunned into silence.

"Adam, if I find out they're using a health issue as a reason to let the other studios play catch up, I will crucify every God damned person involved," she said angrily a moment later. "Truly, I'd like to see you succeed. But it is a business and business can be ruthless. This is scaring a hell of a lot of people. You've got people sitting at home terrified that they might die – or worse, they might have killed someone they care about."

"I know," Adam said softly. "I'm one of them."

Darcy was happy it was lunchtime. It meant there was an even chance of catching people willing to talk. Her first call was to Celeste Brannon. Darcy explained who she was, where she got Dr. Brannon's number and why she was calling.

"Yes, I spoke to AMS as soon as I heard what was said," Dr. Brannon said crisply. "First, Adult Medical Services is in no way associated with what is going on at Cedar-Sinai. I've spoken to my colleague, Dr. Leonard Mulberry at UCLA. AMS is not associated with them, either."

"Can you clarify what you mean by that?" Darcy asked.