Clinical Trials Ch. 01

"I can't believe this! You're telling me you don't have your rent money again! Fuck! Completely unacceptable! You need to do something about this. Now!" Holly fumed as her roommate Brittney teetered in front of her.

"Look, I'll get the money! I just need a little more time. I'm looking for work, I think I have a line on something tomorrow. Please, just give me a break," Brittney whined. In truth, she had no idea how to come up with the money. With her recent degree from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism she'd been beating the bushes all over the valley. She got a couple small freelance jobs that got her through her first couple months since graduation, but now things seemed to have dried up.

Holly scowled back at her. She saw Brittney as a pampered, spoiled brat. Brittney's trust fund had finally run out, and now she was trying to leach off of Holly. Holly made up her mind she wasn't going to put up with it.

"I'll give you three days, and no more. You better have the money or I'm throwing your ass out!"

"Ok, ok! I'll get it!" Brittney cried.

Brittney hurried back to her room to avoid any more of Holly's wrath. Standing in front of her mirror, she chastised herself for ending up in this predicament. She had always been able to get by somehow. She did well in school, was mostly studious with only few occasions where she got out of control at parties. She'd had several boyfriends, though none of them long term. Most boys seemed to just be looking for a good fuck. Not that she was against that, but none of them were all that good at that, either.

Looking at her reflection, she saw a 22 year old woman with long straight blonde hair, blue eyes, 5 foot 5 inches tall, and a petite body. Not a stunning beauty, but still turned heads, especially when she was showing off her long slender legs. She stayed fit, either running or doing yoga, and had a nice tan thanks to the Arizona sunshine.

But now she was broke and desperate. Her parents had died when she was young, so she was raised by her grandparents. She'd gotten a trust fund that paid her way through school. Sure, maybe she spent it on too many cute dresses and shoes, but these things were practically necessities for a young girl. But now with the money gone and her grandparents retired and moved to Florida she was on her own. She needed a job, and fast. She decided to go back to the Scottsdale Courier tomorrow morning. She had done a couple stories for the editor there. He made her uncomfortable, but it was her best chance.

The next morning she headed off for the Scottsdale Courier offices, having made an appointment to see Ted Packard. Ted's office was on the fourth floor, with windows overlooking downtown Scottsdale. Brittney knocked on the open door, and then stuck her head in.

"Well hello Miss Banyard. What do I owe the pleasure of seeing you in my office today? Please, come on in, have a seat."

Ted sat behind a large mahogany desk. He was 54 years old, short, balding, and about 100 pounds overweight. Overall he was not an attractive man. Brittney forced a smile and made her way to the hard wooden chair in front of his desk.

"Well, umm, Mr. Packard, I really was hoping you had some work for me," Brittney meekly responded.

"Work? Well, hmm, I don't know about that. Your last stories were just so-so. What can you do to convince me that you're up to the task, young lady?" Ted's eyes traveled down Brittney's body, lingering on the exposed skin past her neck. He liked his women young and petite, none of these oversized sagging tits for him.

Brittney squirmed in her chair under the leering eyes of Mr. Packard, not sure how to respond. She gathered her courage and replied, "Well, I, umm, I know I can do better. I'll really work hard and do my best. I just need another chance."

Ted arose from his chair and walked around his desk. "You'll work hard, will you?" Ted chuckled under his breath at what he saw as a sexual reference to his hard manhood. He strode behind Brittney and put his hands on her shoulders and began to massage them. His eyes once again moved down her chest and inside her blouse, catching a glimpse of the front clasp of Brittney's pink bra. "Is that all you have to say? That isn't very convincing, I must say. It will take more than just hard work to make it in this business."

"Please Mr. Packard," Brittney nervously responded, now very uncomfortable with the implications of Mr. Packard's words. "I really need the money..." she trailed off.

"I'm sure you do," he said as his fingers slowly move down her neck and inched their way inside her blouse. "However, I can't just go hiring every pretty girl that comes by..."

Suddenly Mr. Packard's secretary strode into the room. Brittney jumped, but Ted calmly slid his hands back out of Brittney's blouse before addressing his secretary. His secretary quickly glanced at Brittney and a look of disgust flashed across her face but was quickly gone. Brittney blushed, realizing what she must think of her. Brittney wanted to shout out that it was nothing like that, but could only look away in embarrassment.

"Mr. Packard, there's an issue downstairs with the latest copy. They need your input right away," she curtly stated.

Ted sighed, realizing the moment with Brittney was past. "Very well, tell them I'll be right there."

Ted took one more look down Brittney's blouse, and then walked back around his desk and dug a folder out from under a large stack of papers. "Here," he said as he thrust it towards Brittney. "I've put a couple different reporters on this one, but they've all been shut out. You give it a try, maybe they'll be less threatened by an innocent young girl. All the information and contacts are in the folder, report back to me in a week."

"A week? But... isn't there something a little shorter?" Brittney needed money now, not in a week. This job wasn't what she needed right now.

"You don't want it? It's all I have for you, darling, take it or leave it," Ted responded gruffly.

Brittney jumped up from the chair and grabbed the folder. "No, no. It's great. Thank you so much, Mr. Packard. I'll do a great job, you'll see!"

"Come back in a week, Miss Banyard. And don't screw it up or you won't work here again," he threatened.

As Ted headed out of his office he started making plans for Brittney's return visit.

Brittney rushed home and began to pore over the contents of the folder. It contained information about a local company called BioZene, located in local the research park. She vaguely recalled seeing their sign while driving past. There was very little information on exactly what they were researching, only some vague mention of alternative medical treatments. There was a contact name and number, a Dr. Jennifer Drake. Some hand written notes were in the folder, she assumed by the prior reporters, that had some very unflattering comments about the woman and an ominous warning to stay away. The basic idea of the story was to uncover what this company was up to; all the better if it involved any sort of unsavory actions like animal testing.

After reading all the material Brittney sat back. Holy shit, how am I going to do this? Like they are just going to open up and tell me what they are doing? "Yes Miss Banyard, right this way and we'll show you our super secret formula for curing cancer. And over here you see all the monkey cages where we've perfected our new serum." Uh huh.

Still, she couldn't come up with a better plan than to just call this Dr. Drake and ask for an appointment. What else could she do, break in at night and search their facility? Steeling herself, she picked up her phone and dialed the number.

"Dr. Drake," was the curt response after the third ring.

"Umm, yes... umm, I'm... this is Brittney Banyard with, umm, with the Scottsdale Courier..." she stammered. "What the fuck am I doing?" she asked herself.

"Yes, Miss Banyard. How may I help you?" Again a terse response.

"I, umm, I'm doing some research for an article on local high tech companies. And I, umm, would like to learn more about what you do," Brittney fumbled through the flimsy excuse that just came to her. It sounded like something a high school kid would do for his school paper.

"And why would I want to tell you about what we do?"

Shit, good question. "Umm, it might be good publicity, Doctor. You could tell you side of the story, avoid people getting misconceptions about what you do." Well, that sounded reasonable, Brittney thought. There was a long pause on the phone.

"Doctor Drake?" Brittney asked, wondering if she had hung up on her.

"Fine. 5:30 this afternoon. Come around to the side entrance, the main lobby will be closed by then."

A rush of relief passed through Brittney. "Thank you so much!" she squealed. "I'll be there!"

"Don't be late, Miss Banyard." And the line went dead.

The rest of the afternoon Brittney spent planning for the appointment. She listed out questions, reread the material, Googled them to find any more information. There wasn't much. They seemed to be getting private funding from someone. Apparently they only had this single facility in Scottsdale. Not very helpful. She dressed conservatively for her appointment in a mid length grey skirt and white blouse, and added some 3 inch open toed heels. She was successful at avoiding her roommate all afternoon until 5pm when she headed to the front door to get to her appointment.

"Hey, got my money yet?" Holly shouted out to her.

"Umm, almost... I'm heading to a job right now."

"Well, I hope it pays well. For your sake," Holly added.

Brittney rushed out the door without responding.

Traffic was heavy, but she'd given herself lots of time. She arrived five minutes early. The front of the building looked very professional, with a shaded high trellised entryway leading to large tinted glass windows that concealed the lobby. Driving past the main entrance, she found what must be the side entrance that Dr. Drake referred to. It was a little seedier looking, with a small gravel parking lot surrounded by a chain link fence. Grabbing her notepad, Brittney nervously got out of her car and walked up to the door.

Not sure what to do next, she tried the door, which was locked, of course. She checked her phone, she was 3 minutes early. She tentatively knocked on the steel door and waited. She was about to knock again when the door suddenly flew open. Standing in front of her was Doctor Jennifer Drake , sharply dressed in what appeared to be an expensive skirt and silk top. Brittney guessed she was in her mid 30's. She stood several inches taller than Brittney and looked fit. What struck her the most was the perfect complexion on the doctor's attractive though somewhat sharp featured face. Brittney wasn't attracted to women, but something about her drew Brittney's attention. She had an unreadable look on her face as she greeted Brittney. This was not at all what Brittney expected from a medical research scientist.

"Hello, Doctor Drake? I'm Brittney Banyard, we spoke on the phone?" Brittney said as she tried to shake off her initial reaction at seeing the doctor.

"Of course you are. Follow me please," the doctor responded curtly.

The doctor led her quickly down a hallway, then through a large set of doors that she opened using her badge access. Brittney struggled to keep up, and somehow found herself looking at the doctor's hips as they swayed under the skirt in front of her. Another hallway followed, then another smaller door, also requiring a scan of her badge to access. She didn't see anyone else in the building. She also didn't see anything useful to her story. Just empty hallways and closed and similarly locked doors. She found herself in what looked sort of like a doctor's examination room, though quite a bit larger. There was a small sink, cabinets stuffed with supplies, a laptop on a stand, a desk, and an examination table. A strange place for an interview, Brittney thought.

"Thank you for meeting with me, Doctor..." Brittney began, but the doctor immediately cut her off.

"Why are you here, Miss Banyard? Who sent you?" the doctor asks suspiciously.

"I, umm, I work for the Scottsdale Courier. Mister Packard asked me to do this story," she stammered.

"Packard, hmm? Ted Packard. Yes, he's been after me for a while. Why is that?"

"Umm, I don't know, he just asked me, gave me your name to contact. I just have some questions for you..." Brittney replied as she fumbled with her notebook. "Umm, how long have you worked for BioZene?" Brittney asked, trying to get on with the interview.

"How old are you, Miss Banyard?"

"What? Umm, I'm 22, why?"

"Quite young to be an investigative journalist, don't you think? What other stories have you done?"

"Well, I wrote about the overcrowding at the animal shelter, and, umm, I covered the..." Doctor Drake cut her off.

"Oh, yes, I can see how that would make you qualified to snoop into what we are researching here," the doctor responded sarcastically. "What do you know about advanced medical research? Do you have any sort of medical background?"

"Well, I, umm, not exactly, but..." The doctor cut her off again.

"But how hard could it be, hmm? Just come in here and ask some questions, write a little worthless story that tells your readers nothing? Or maybe you are hoping I'll let slip some dark secrets? But then what? Would you even know a secret if you heard it? Or know what to do with it?" The doctor looked Brittney over disapprovingly while Brittney was sitting there in shock.

"Tell me, how bad do you want this story, Miss Banyard? What would you be willing to do to get a truly revealing story on BioZene? A story that nobody else has written? A scoop, as you'd call it?"

Feeling desperate as her assignment seemed to be slipping away from her, she blurt out, "Please, I really need this, I really need the money for rent! What do you mean, what would I need to do?"

The doctor looked her over for a few moments, contemplating, and then replied, "I'll give you your story, on a couple of conditions. First, you will sign a non-disclosure. One of the requirements will be that I will review any and all materials before they get submitted to Mr. Packard. You'll still get your story, but I'm certainly not willing to divulge corporate secrets to my competitors. If you fail to comply with this then I'll sue the Courier and ruin your career before it starts."

"Umm, ok, I guess," Brittney responded, not sure if she was allowed to enter into this type of agreement but seeing little choice. She tried to think back to the ethics class she took, but didn't recall anything that fit this situation.

"Second, you will consent to participating in a clinical trial of some of our product developments here at BioZene." Doctor Drake moved over to her computer as she talked. "As part of this trial you will be required to fill out an extensive survey. You will also sign a waiver form relieving myself and BioZene of any liability for any side effects the testing might cause, as long as BioZene acts in good faith to not knowingly harm you. I will also need to take a blood sample before you leave today. When you return tomorrow I will have all the documents ready for you to sign, and we will begin the first phase of testing. Understood?" the doctor asked while glancing up from the computer.

"I, umm, I'm not sure... What sort of testing will it be?" Brittney asked nervously. She was completely taken aback by the doctor's proposal.

"Nothing dangerous, I assure you. I can't divulge too much until you sign the non-disclosure, but we will be testing some non-invasive alternatives to some common cosmetic surgical procedures. Look at it this way. You'll not only get your story, but you'll get a firsthand account for your research. A win-win. Oh, and these are paid trials. You'll get $200 for each visit. Visits are mandatory, but scheduled at my discretion. Miss a visit and you will be expelled from the trial and I will not consent to you writing your story. Understood?"

Now even more uneasy about getting in too deep, but also thinking about how much she needed the extra cash, Brittney quickly replied, "Yes, ok. I'll do it. But it's not going to hurt, is it?"

The doctor laughed. "Hurt! Of course not. Well, a little pin prick now to get a blood sample, but that will be the worst of it. Don't worry, I'll take care of you, Miss Banyard."

"Umm, ok, I guess. Do I, umm, get paid right away? I mean, when I return tomorrow?" Brittney asked.

"Of course. In cash. I'm assuming that is acceptable?" the doctor asked.

"Yes, of course!" Brittney responded with relief.

The rest of the time in the office was spent getting the blood sample and explaining the next steps for the clinical trial. The doctor e-mailed the survey to Brittney and told her she had to return it by the next morning, filled out in full. The doctor warned her that any bullshit answers and the deal was off. Brittney was to return the next day, again at 5:30pm, for her first clinical visit.

Finally, Brittney was led out of the building and found herself back at her car. She started her car and rushed out of the dingy parking lot, now even less inviting in the dim light of early evening. On the way home she struggled to understand what she had just signed up for, and whether this was a bad idea. But deep down she knew she was going to go through with it, she needed the job and the money too badly.

Arriving home, Brittney entered to find her roommate Holly sitting on the couch watching TV, her bare legs draped over her boyfriend Billy's lap. She tried to pass through without getting into it again with Holly, but Holly quickly spoke up.

"Hey, how much money did you make today? Got my rent money yet?"

Brittney grimaced, but tried to respond politely. "Well, I'm working, so I'll have some of it tomorrow."

"Some of it??? And what am I supposed to do with that? Maybe you should be thinking about pawning off some of that junk you've collected. Or hey, maybe you can work it off by doing my laundry," Holly taunted.

"That won't be necessary," Brittney responded, trying to keep her cool. "I'll have more money for you soon."

Brittney rushed to her room, but heard Billy's voice before she closed her door.

"Hey Holly, how about giving her to me? I'd make her earn her keep with that little body of hers," Billy snickered.

Holly kicked him in the thigh. "Shut up, you're an ass. Just for that, I shouldn't give you any of this tonight," she said as she put her foot against Billy's crotch and rubbed his hard cock through his shorts.

Back in her room, Brittney calmed down and changed into her pajamas, and then opened her e-mail. The survey from Dr. Drake was waiting for her. "Might as well get this over with, she muttered to herself. The first questions looked like typical doctor's office type questions;

List your medical history, do you smoke, do you drink, are you currently taking any prescription drugs. Are you parents still alive. What medical issues did they have.

Then the questions started to make Brittney a little more uncomfortable.

Are you sexually active, when was the last time you had sex, how many partners have you had.

"Ok, still sort of health related," Brittney thought, as she answered as best she could. But then;

Do you consider yourself heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual. Have you had oral sex. Have you had anal sex. Have you had any lesbian experiences. Have you had lesbian fantasies. Have you had submissive fantasies. Have you ever been tied up.

"What the fuck," Brittney cursed out loud and slammed her laptop closed. "She can't be asking these things, it's none of her business!" But as she fumed, she also recalled the doctor's demands. The survey must be completed in full, with no bullshit. "Fuck," she cursed again as she returned to the survey moments later.