FicStorm's The Chase

Chapter Twelve

14:36

Paul hadn’t given up on dialing Richard’s number just yet. He was supposed to have left the precinct and gone to work or lie low like his father said he should, but it was easier said than done. He called his supervisor at the office to officially take a leave of duty, but was careful not to mention the police’s involvement. After that, he went back to dialing Richard’s number while leaning on his car. Going home was the last thing on his mind as he couldn’t just sit down and relax when there was so much tension. The question of where to start his search came back to him. There was no time to wait for the lawyer his father had mentioned. He looked up, saw a lady storm out of the precinct and an idea jumped at him. He waved at her to draw her attention as she approached him and he walked up to her. To his surprise, she recognized him immediately as the billionaire’s son and her expression changed. She began apologizing for bumping into him on her way in, lamenting about how the police were really slow in taking actions. Paul was going to ask her how she managed to identify him since he was rarely with his father in the public, but she fired her question first. She asked him what he was looking for at the precinct. Paul shrugged in response and asked for her phone. He was starting to get the idea that Richard was deliberately ignoring his calls and thought that if he used another number, Richard might pick. The lady introduced herself as Ann as she gave him the phone. The name didn’t ring a bell, but she said nothing more and Paul didn’t bother to ask. He just went on to dial Richard’s number and listened to the ring back tune until the call ended. There was no answer, He apologized to the lady and tried again but sill no answer.

“Sorry about that.” The lady said collecting her phone back from Paul who explained that his calls went unanswered. Paul gave a slight nod and began walking back to his car, but it appeared that the lady didn’t want him to go yet.

“I guess the police are screwing with you too.”

“I’ve had my share of their crap.” Paul said turning back to face her but without bothering to close the gap between them. The lady laughed and Paul for a second remembered what Richard often said. “When you’re rich, everything you say is absolutely funny to others.”

“In times like this, you wonder if the police are really your friend.”

“Who are you?”

“Ann.”

“You already said that. I meant to ask why you are here.”

“Oh, same as you.”

“Unless your best friend is being suspected for a crime he didn’t commit, I don’t think we’re here for the same reason.”

“That’s really bad.”

“It’s worse. It’s a murder.”

“That’s a big one. They can’t have a suspect unless there’s an evidence to tie him with.” The lady said taking the few steps to close the gap between them.

“They found fingerprints.”

“When did the murder happen?”

“This morning.”

“They’re messing with you. Fingerprint results can take a whole week to process if not two.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Of course, I do. If the murder happened this morning… Sorry, was it the murder at Ikeja? The doctor?”

Paul pursed his lips. He felt like he had already said too much to a total stranger. He could picture the disappointment on Richard’s face and that of his father’s. Ann had obviously known the answer from his silence and she continued.

“Your friend would need a very good lawyer on this one because as it turns out, the detective in charge is one hell of a fiend.”

“You won’t believe that they bear the same name.”

“That’s nearly impossible. Richard Chase?”

“Yes.” Paul said, puzzled at how she knew who was investigating the case. “Who are you?”

“I am Ann.”

“Yes, you are Ann. Are you a detective?” Paul asked in frustration. She was being evasive and he knew it.

“No.” She said and began backing out. “It was nice talking to you, Mr. Paul.

Paul watched her leave and then walked back to his car. This time, he got in and drove off as he should have done a long time ago.

***

14:52

“I honestly don’t know, but don’t you think it’s worth the shot?” The captor asked with a broad grin stretching across his face. He had been filling the doctor with ideas that were more true than false, looking for a way to cheer him into joining him to achieve an enviable dream, explaining in details, the possibilities of helping man achieve the next stage of evolution. The key to making people do what you want, as he had read somewhere, was to make them think it’s all about them. He implemented this theory by telling his detainee that the breakthrough would be recorded in his name.

“Now that Dr. Boyle is dead, how do you expect to get your hands on Labyrinth?

“I’m not giving up yet. I want to find out who the killer is first, and then I would see where that leads me.

“Why didn’t you just kidnap her in the first place instead of me?”

“If only I knew then what I know now…” The captor said, letting the doctor’s mind fill in the gap. There was a moment of silence between them which was broken by the voice of Alice calling his attention. He asked the doctor to give him a minute and then he took his leave. A flight of stairs led him to the door he had left ajar. He walked in and shut the door behind him. The room was flooded with bright lights and was empty except for the connection of workstations and monitors that surrounded the room sparing little space in the center for him. The monitors gave him life feed of the city of Lagos. He could see anywhere and everywhere he wanted with just a push of a button. He sunk into his revolving chair and crossed his leg on the table that his control switches rested on.

“Alice, what do you have for me?

“The police have a suspect. His name is Richard Chase.” A female electronic voice answered and an image displayed on a very big monitor. The captor found himself looking at the image of what could have been a boy or a man and listened as Alice called out his height, eye color, size and age. He had to admit in the end that he was looking at a boy in a man’s body. He mentioned it to Alice and she commented by telling him not to judge a book by its cover.

“Crime records.” The captor requested and was surprised when Alice said it was only a ticket.

“Not the kind of person to commit a murder now, is he?”

“I’d keep my ears open for more information,” was all Alice said.

“That’s my girl.” Captor said and after a couple of seconds, he said, “Stop blushing.”

“I’m not blushing.”

“Yes, you are.”

“As I am only just a voice, it is impossible for me to blush.”

“We’d have to do something about that, Alice.”

“You have an incoming video call from Gab”

Captor pushed a button on the control without taking his legs off the table and the face of his associate from another country replaced the image of Richard Chase. Gab backed out so his whole form came into view and Captor could see the well equipped laboratory in the background.

“What do you have?” Gab asked

“Nothing much. Alice just figured out who the police is suspecting for the murder. A fellow named Richard Chase.”

“I’ve heard that name before. The dude was singlehandedly working on a cure for cancer, but he’s dead now.”

“I’m not sure we’re talking about the same person.”

“Alright, but there’s no time. We need more than speculations. The Apple of Eden is getting out of our grasp.”

“They call it Labyrinth here.”

***

14:52

The underground laboratories at Zyberdine were used to carry out secret experiments and only few people had access to that floor. Inside laboratory room X9, a subject was encased in a big transparent cylinder that had a lot of tubes and wires attached to it. The subject was a human but it was hard to tell if it was a male or a female unless one got very close, for the body was nearly masked by the blue mist in the cylinder. JFR-061 was boldly inscribed on the cylinder and two men in lab coats stood watching the subject through the cylinder. One of them was white and the other, black.

“He is still stable, but I’m afraid...” The black one started.

“Quit worrying, Christopher.”

“I was about to say we might need more of the BLD formula.”

“That’s not a problem, is it?”

“Dr. Caleb, you know very well that too much of the formula would make him unstable.”

Dr. Caleb moved to the monitor that displayed the subject’s status.

“His vitals are just fine. But with more of the formula, we’d lose the balance.” Dr. Christopher explained.

“His heart is doing just fine and his brain too. He should be able to withstand more of the formula.”

“I…”

“You’re doing a good job, Dr. Christopher. The loss of Labyrinth still weighs on you so bad that you’re scared of failing. This one would be a huge success. I can feel it.”

“My team and I are still carrying out tests and upgrades.”

“I trust you.”

“Speaking of Labyrinth, I heard about Dr. Sarah’s death.”

“Yeah. Me too. It’s not cool. I don’t like the idea of seeing Zyberdine on the headline of any newspaper if the story that follows is bad news.”

“Is that what you care about? One of our finest is gone and you only care about what the press is going to say? That’s not cool.”

“I’m sorry. But she had already left us. She resigned, remember?” Dr. Caleb said without remorse.

Before Dr. Christopher could reply, the door to the laboratory opened and two men in biohazard suits entered. He watched the door slide shut for a moment and watched the men stroll over to the monitor displaying the status. They both acknowledged Dr. Caleb with slight nods.

“I’d leave you guys to work.” Dr. Caleb said and patted Dr. Christopher’s shoulder on his way out. Dr. Christopher said nothing but stood still watching his superior walk out.