As Jack approached the office, he was pleased to see the door ajar. He walked in and found himself in an outer office with a secretary’s desk. Beyond the desk was a second door, also ajar. Jack continued in and, reaching the threshold, he rapped forcefully on the jamb.

“Aha!” Shawn voiced, leaping to his feet. “Here’s a sight for sore eyes. How the hell are you?”

Shawn moved toward Jack with his hand extended.

“I got your note,” he added, with a smile splashed across his face. “I’m so pleased you stopped by. And look at you, you look as fit as you did the last time we were together. How do you do it?”

“Mostly street basketball,” Jack said, a bit taken aback by Shawn’s exuberance.

“I should follow your example, buddy,” Shawn said. He leaned back and stuck out his already protruding gut, patting himself as if proud of it.

“So, how long’s it been?”

“I don’t remember exactly,” Jack admitted. He glanced around the spacious office whose windows looked out on Fifth Avenue. A number of early Christian artifacts sat on a large rectangular center table. An entire wall of bookshelves was filled with an impressive collection of art books. The far wall was dominated by an enormous dark green leather couch.

“Beautiful office,” Jack remarked, thinking of his own tiny cubicle.

“Before I say anything else,” Shawn began, “I want to thank you for being willing to help in this affair. It truly means a lot to me, for many reasons, but mostly because I think this extraordinary find is going to define my career.”

“I’m happy to do it,” Jack said, wondering what Shawn would think if he knew that Jack was doing it as much for himself as for Shawn. Being involved in Shawn’s project was a hundred times more absorbing than investigating alternative medicine, the results of which people didn’t want to hear.

“What’s the bottom line? Have you had a chance to ask your chief about lab space?”

“I did. There’s no problem. You and your wife will have to sign a comprehensive liability waiver, but that’s it. No one has even spoken of any charges.”