"Where have you been last night, Ash? You weren't at the dorm." Asked Jules as he helped Riley open the boxes of foods and prepared it at the table. He opened a box with turkey club egg wraps inside, he reached to pick a small portion and tossed it inside his mouth. "This' good, what's the green stuff?"
"There are chives and dandelion leaves." Riley answered.
"I went home." Ash said to Jules, bending over a distant counter absorbed in his work.
"Really? When did you come back?" Jules replied.
"5 A.M. earlier."
"And you head straight here, then?"
Ash nodded in return. He's on his white lab gown again and his eyes were fixed inside a microscope.
"Let's eat first, buddy." Jules grabbed the vacant stool beside Riley who already started eating. He excitedly snatched a large chicken leg and a large steak and was about to start eating when his phone rang. "Damn." He murmured as he grabbed his phone annoyingly. "It's the pesky tomboy again." He said, looking unpleased at his phone, yet he tapped the answer button. "Why do you always call when we're all eating, Ren? Don't you have money to buy your own foods?" He remarked the moment he put the phone on his ear.
"I'm not after your foods, you baldy douchebag." Ren snorted at the other line. "Are you with Ash? He's not answering his phone."
"You always reason Ash, why can't you just admit you're really after our foods?"
"Why are you so childish, Harper? Just tell me where the hell is Ash."
"I don't know where he is. He said he doesn't want to see you anymore, you ugly pig—"
Riley suddenly seized the phone out from Jules' hand, cutting him off. "Hey, Ren, it's Riley, we're at the bio lab." He said while Jules' was making faces beside him.
"Oh, thanks, Riley! I can't imagine a world of Jules Harper without you babysitting him."
Riley just smirked, shaking his head as he ended the call and tossed it back to Jules.
"I don't want to see her." Jules sneered.
"Then go somewhere else. It's not you who she wants to see, anyway." Riley replied as he continued to eat his food.
"Why aren't you pissed with her? She's so annoying and noisy. She was mistakenly born as a girl when she was supposed to be a boy. God must've been pissed to her also."
"Aren't you just the same? Just eat, Jules."
Minutes later, Ren arrived at the bio lab. She's on her school uniform and her usual blonde cornrows braid was now silver. The whiff odor of chemicals mixing in the aroma of meats and seafood loitered over her. At the far corner of the lab she spotted Jules and Riley eating while Ash was preoccupied at the counter.
"I was wondering which laboratory you'd invaded this time when I couldn't spot you anywhere in other laboratories." Ren muttered as she made her way inside. Riley gave her a brief smile while she purposely avoided the sickening face of Jules. "You guys are the only ones who can eat lunch inside a laboratory, how unpleasant." She added, laughing.
"Ash always stays at the lab. We're bringing him foods incase he's already eating those nasty-smelling chemicals he's cooking over a Bunsen burner." Riley replied that made Ren to laugh even more.
She walked towards Ash who's now standing in front of a large incubator. She threw a small brown envelope at the counter and Ash shifted his gaze to it. "Payment from Miles Fletcher, Schiller." She said as she hopped over the opposite counter to sit.
Ash quietly picked up the envelope and was about to put it inside his coat's pocket when he'd realized something was hard inside. He opened it, pulling out a rectangular box that came inside with the money.
Ren giggled at the sight of it, "Ohhh. A chocolate bar," she said teasingly. "Is that how girls say they're hitting on you?"
"A touch of sea salt," Ash read the words at the packaging under the chocolate's brand.
Ren giggled again, "Ohh, I bet she wants to tell you she likes guys who are sweet and a little bit—rawr —salty." She raised both of her hands in a clawing gesture and flashed her canines.
Ash briefly shook his head as he put the chocolate back into the envelope, pocketing it, then immediately returned to his work.
"Miles said to tell you she was thankful that you managed to ensnare her twin sister's villainous plan. If you hadn't she will be seen as the most disgusting woman in the entire university by now." Ren said while she played with the pestle and mortar she found above the counter. "You know, I always imagined having a twin sister, thinking it's cute and cool, but I realized having a twin doesn't mean you'll be having the same thoughts and interests." She began to voice out her opinion, "It was shameful what Meghan did to Miles, they were identical twins, it's really hard to spot any difference from them and Meghan used that as an advantage to sabotage Miles. Yesterday, the entire department of tourism had watched the scandal video prepared by Meghan at the stadium. Everybody surely thought it was Miles, although only her back faced the camera. Aside from the fact that Mile's boyfriend was clearly the man on the video, Meghan had her back tattooed, the only thing that could distinguish Miles from Meghan and everybody knows about Mile's tattoo. What an ungrateful, diabolic, little moron she is! Luckily, Miles had the audio recorder she got from you and she waited for the video to end before she grabbed for her own turn and made everyone listen to it! WAHAHAHA!" Ren was laughing loudly when the lab's door suddenly opened.
"What a disgusting laugh you have in there, Ren." Said a familiar voice, Ren immediately stopped laughing, a look of annoyance in her face was quickly replaced by an embarrass blush when she turned around to see Levi and Calix entered the lab.
A strong scent of men's perfumes instantly filled the room. Both of the guys were in their school uniform but Levi was sweating, looking like he just probably came from the baseball court. He unbuttoned his white polo shirt and totally removed it, his white tank-top was left, exposing his chest and back slicked with sweat. His muscles moved captivatingly as he tried to mess up his damp, long hair.
"A disgusting face leads to a disgusting laugh, Calix." Jules added goofily at Calix' remark to Ren as he licked his fingers smeared with cream and oil.
Calix just laughed and went straight to their table. Levi was quietly following behind him, focused on ruffling his wet hair.
"It's you who's disgusting, Jules. Look at you, you eat too much it's corrupting your nasty, little brain that seems suffering in obesity." Ren fired back at Jules.
Instead of replying to Ren, Jules reached over for another chicken leg and steaks, he saturated them in the rich, sweet sauce and popped a large chunk of steak into his mouth in a slow motion while he looked at Ren.
Ren attempted to threw the pestle she was holding to Jules but decided against it, she let out a tiresome sigh and just removed her attention from Jules.
"What are you doing this time, Schiller?" she focused her attention back to Ash.
"Looking for evidence." Ash replied while typing rapidly on his laptop.
"Another crime? Who are you saving this time?"
"I don't think it matters about who I am saving right now; maybe it's who I am facing this time."
"What do you mean?" Ren noticed something different from Ash's expression.
"I'm looking for something big this time, Ren. Something interesting." Ash pulled the Petri dish beside his laptop and the funnel from the test tube rack, pouring slowly the white powder from the Petri dish to a test tube using the funnel.
"That explains why you look awful today. You didn't sleep, did you?" Ren asked, scrunching her face.
"I needed to go home last night to research, I traveled back here at 4 A.M. since I needed something from the bio lab."
Ren scoffed, "You're mad, Schiller. So what's this interesting evidence you're researching?"
Ash felt his phone buzzed inside his coat, he pulled it out and saw Catalina's calling. He ignored Ren and quickly answered the call.
There was a moment of silenced from the other line before Ash heard Catalina's sinking voice, "I got a call from the Sanctuary Regional Prison, my grandfather's ill." Ash can feel her struggle to hold back a sob, but her voice was dark and grim, "He doesn't know who I am, couldn't even tell his own name. They said it's dissociative disorder,"
Ash became silent for a second, surprised. "How's that possible? Is he, by any chance—"
"He has PTSD, Ash." Catalina trailed off, "I was shocked, I never knew that. I went to his personal Doctor as soon as I heard the news, though it cost me to give him a little threatening before he spilled out the truth. Grandfather was hiding he had PTSD. Why on earth would he do that?"
"Look, it isn't safe to talk over the phone. I'm almost done with my research, I'll see you after this."
After the call ended, Ash received a text from Catalina to meet her at her office. After what happened yesterday, she doesn't think meeting at Late Halberd would be safe anymore.
"Calix," Ash called out as he removed his lab gown and walked towards the table. "After your class, run an errand for me."
"Sure, Your Majesty. I am your humble servant." Calix replied right away, stuffing a spoon of omelet in his mouth.
"You're familiar with professor Kobayashi, right? I'll text you his address later, go to that place and try your best to talk with the other member of his family. Find out everything about him, most importantly anything related to his past crime. It's impossible to talk to him directly since he's having dissociative disorder, try something out from his family or anyone related to him." Ash shifted his gaze to Levi, "Do the same to Daichi Nakamura, Lev." Then his eyes shifted next to Riley, "You too, Rile. You'll have Amida Akiyama."
"Didn't you already investigate these people before?" Riley asked.
"I did, but it seems that I only got the surface of the water, there must be something deeper underneath." Ash replied.
"What about me, Ash?" Jules suddenly asked.
"Kids aren't allowed, Jules." It was Ren who replied as she walked towards them.
"No one's asking for your opinion, Ren." Jules scowled back.
"Call Lorenz, Jules. Tell him to babysit you while Riley's busy." Ren stuck out her tongue and before Jules could answer back, she hurriedly snatched a piece of chicken leg and run out of the room.
"Someday I'm gonna kill that bastard." Jules whispered grimly.
"Yours will be the witness of Senator Haytham's murder, Jules." Ash said that made Jules to smirk.
"Sir, yes sir." He playfully replied and even made a saluted gesture. "The victim's mother which was also one of the senator's housekeepers, right, Schiller?"
Ash nodded, "I'll skip class. I got to go somewhere." he stood up from his chair and went to his locker to get his bag.
"You're working with the granddaughter." Calix suddenly spoke.
"She's paying me." Ash replied, facing the locker as he pulled out his coat from his bag.
Calix laughed, "That's normal. You never help without a price, you dork."
Ash didn't reply, he put on his jacket and quickly brushed his hair using his fingers. He then walked out of the lab and left everyone inside.
When Ash had arrived at E'vico Empire, he stopped at the entrance to keep his board inside his knapsack. He stepped inside a large lobby, so far the most luxurious he'd ever seen. The floor was tiled in fine marble which made his every step echoed. Pale pink shades and red accents were found everywhere, evoking the empire's rosy branding. The pink and red signature of the brand was added in the sofas' upholstery that spread across the lobby's overall space. A delicate light poured from the glass ceiling atrium to the middle of an open space while the reception area is accented with optically subtle pink lighting overhead, the ceiling is illuminated without seeing the light source, as if the roof was missing. Beside vintage pieces, indoor plants and flowers created an exotic and affectionate yet contemporary atmosphere. The white walls, dark marbled floor, and accents of caramel and cream created a neutral backdrop for the rosy items.
Ash headed straight to the reception and was about to speak at the receptionist behind the desk counter when someone called him.
"Mr. Schiller,"
Ash looked at the woman who's now walking towards him. She wore a perfectly ironed black blazer and an ipad was tucked under her arm. "I'm Raquel, Ms. Haytham's secretary. I will guide you to her office, she's waiting right now. Please, this way," She said, guiding him forward to the elevators.
Ash followed quietly. The elevator doors opened for them. Raquel waved him inside and pushed the sixtieth button. It was quiet as they start to head up.
After a while, Ash got something out from his bag's pocket and suddenly held out his hand, handing it to Raquel who got a little surprised at his sudden gesture.
Raquel peered at the chocolate bar Ash was handing to her. She glanced at him in confusion but Ash was just looking at the elevator doors.
"Ah," slowly, she reached for it, unaware why she was receiving a friggin' chocolate from a stranger.
"It's dark chocolate, good for your period cramps." Ash muttered, not looking at her.
A flush crept up Raquel's face as she blinked in surprise. "H-How did you know—"
"There are two tongue-twisting flavours, sugar and salt." Ash cut her off, "The chocolate whipped together with salt helps combat stress and can instantly uplifts your mood."
Raquel gazed disbelievingly at the chocolate bar she was holding. Earlier this morning, she wasn't expecting her monthly visitor as she had totally forgotten about it and was unable to bring any medicine. She has been planning and craving to buy any dark chocolates just to help the cramp, but she couldn't find the chance to leave since there's so much work to do at the office. She's been enduring since morning and almost forgot about the pain, not until this young man unexpectedly handed her a seconde life. It was as if God had brought her a sweet air to breath after a decade of suffocation.
"Well, thank you," She said awkwardly.
"That's $15."
Raquel quickly jolted her head to look at Ash, "Huh? Are you selling this to me—" she paused, "Oh, right! You didn't say it's free. My bad," She hurriedly scanned her pockets for any cash as her cheeks reddened, looking embarrassed.
"I don't usually give out something for free, but, you can just have that since you honestly don't look fine. A little sleep will do you good." The elevator doors opened as they reached the sixtieth floor and Ash walked out while Raquel paused at her feet, gawking.
She was just taken aback when the elevator doors was attempting to close again and rushed to follow Ash. She guided him down to a hallway where they pass through several private offices and meeting rooms until they reached another smaller lobby. A gigantic chandelier made rainbow colors danced across the lobby. Exquisite paintings hung from the rich, red walls. Two long sofas in muted beige surrounded a large, flat-screen television and a cream-coloured desk stood at the corner where Raquel went quickly to use the telephone and called Catalina, informing her that Ash is now outside her office.
After Raquel had put down the telephone, she gestured Ash to follow her. The twin doors that led into Catalina's office were a pristine white with golden handles, Raquel pushed it open and Ash saw that the Attorney was also there, sitting comfortably at the sofa. In front of him sat Catalina, leaning her head at the back of a couch.
"We meet again, Mr. Schiller." Mr. Malthus greeted, curving his lips into an expressive smile.
Ash gave him a nod and Mr. Malthus invited him to sit. Catalina straightened her blazer and settled on her couch, folding her leg to the other as she bored her eyes to Ash.
Ash detected Catalina's anxiousness but she still put on her usual manner, like a cold, ferocious deity. He can see how the muscle in her jaw twitched from time to time, pressing her lips together to harden her expression as she crossed her arms over his chest. She's scared. But, her anger overpowered.
"So, Ash, Catalina already filled me up about your meeting last time." Started Mr. Malthus, "You know, the drug, it's really giving me goosebumps. And so are you." He said frankly.
Ash stayed quiet.
"The drug we obtained from the police is being tested by the best researchers and technologists the RECEO ever have. But, until now, it's still in process. Yes, they did find something similar about your own hypothesis the first time you spoke to us about the drug, but, honestly speaking, they're consuming too much time."
"I told you it took me three weeks. I just sold you the drugs last week." Ash replied.
"I remembered. But, you're a mere student, they're professionals." Cried Mr. Malthus. "If it took you three weeks, they should be done by now. They couldn't even uncover everything about the drug. They should've identified the absurd information that the drug is ridiculously alive."
"Then maybe I'm better than them, Attorney." Ash said nonchalantly, not trying to be boastful but it appeared the opposite way to the Attorney who put on an analyzing look. Ash let out an edging sigh before he spoke again, "Look, I know you're all getting pressured for the remaining weeks in getting stronger evidences that could pull out someone who is actually in a death row. But, you should know by now that you're also facing stronger opponents."
Mr. Malthus was looking straight at him.
Ash fished a hand inside his coat's pocket to get the small box which contained the drug. He placed it on top of the table and clasped his hands underneath his chin.
"It seems that you're facing the hybrids of Lucifer," he proclaimed. "with an equal of a hundred brilliant human minds." He drew his eyes at the box, "It's not actually just an artificial synthetic drug. These are artificial cells made using manmade DNA. They made the cells to mimic an illegal drug."