The Invisible Alroy

The Invisible Alroy

by

Des Kirby

SMASHWORDS EDITION

PUBLISHED BY

Des Kirby on Smashwords

Copyright© 2018 Des Kirby

License Notes

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This novel is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental. The Invisible Alroy is the property of the author. All rights reserved. The right of Des Kirby to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with copyright law.

The Invisible Alroy

A Novel

By

Des Kirby

CH 1

Dublin, December 2040

‘Wake up, Lazlo. Get down from there and put your hands on your head,’ the cop said. The perpetrator had no desire to run, no hope of escape. He opened his eyes, squinted at them through the heavy mist and attempted to go back to sleep. It was a routine arrest for Garda Flynn Kane and his partner Garda Tommy Wirrel. Lazlo was a no-fixed abode menace who floated around Dublin a lot. He could strike anywhere from Ringsend to Kilmainham Gaol.

Venator located him at the corner of Arran Quay and Lincoln Lane outside The Emerald Apartments block. Somehow Lazlo had managed to lift himself up onto the perimeter wall and used it as a bed. They approached with caution. He was a big guy and an unpredictable drunk. They took no chances.

‘Get up Lazlo,’ Wirrel said and poked him with his torch. The perpetrator grunted but did not comply. ‘I know you can hear me Lazlo. Don’t break my balls now. Just get up and we’ll give you a nice comfortable bed for the night. You don’t want be out here in the cold and wet now do ya’?’

Still nothing.

‘Alright, he ain’t listening Tommy and I’m not in the mood.’ Kane grabbed hold of Lazlo and yanked him off the wall. He hit the ground with a thud and became incensed at Kane’s aggression.

‘You fuckin’ cunt, you’ll be sorry you did that,’ Lazlo said with a surprising clarity to his voice. He got to his feet and began swinging at the officers. They danced around him for a bit then Wirrel maced him. Lazlo staggered backward clutching at his eyes and yelling obscenities. The officers gave him a minute.

‘That was the mild dose Lazlo. Don’t make me give you the good stuff or you’ll be blind for a week.’

‘Get on your knees, let’s go,’ Kane ordered.

‘Why? You want a blow job?’ Lazlo said then burst into a hoarse laugh.

‘Just do it Lazlo,’ Kane said.

‘Get that fuckin’ light outta my face,’ Lazlo barked.

‘Kill the light Tommy.’ His partner complied and put away his torch.

‘OK I did what you asked Lazlo, now be reasonable. One good turn deserves another right? Get on your knees, there’s a good man.’

After muttering some drunken gibberish the perpetrator complied and dropped slowly to his knees. The next thing he felt was the familiar cold steel of the handcuffs on his wrists. The officers lifted him back up on his feet and walked him to the patrol car.

Every few feet Lazlo struggled for a moment then relinquished control again. They put him in the back seat then took off in the direction of the Bridewell police station on Chancery St. Wirrel radioed ahead to let their colleagues know they were coming in.

‘Hey there Officer cutie Nucci. We just put the cuffs on your old friend Mr Lazlo. He’s just dying to hook up with you again.’

‘He better keep his filthy mitts to himself, if he knows what’s good for him.’

‘Ah Sally, throw the dog a bone once in a while.’

‘Go fuck yourself Tommy.’

‘Officer Nucci, you’re on the grid, you wanna tone down the language there?’

‘Oh…yes sir, Officer Kane. Sorry sir.’

Wirrel laughed. Kane didn’t see the funny side.

‘You should be setting an example for her Tommy. She’s young. Don’t give her bad habits.’

‘She’s a big girl now boss. She’s gotta learn how to roll with it.’

‘I’m serious Tommy. I don’t wanna deal with any more complaints about you. Are we clear?’

‘Crystal.’ Tommy got back on the radio. ‘Bringing him in now on the assault charge Sally. He’ll be staying the night. Prepare the cell and the hose. He’s gonna need it.’

’10-4. Did he give you guys any grief this time?’

‘The usual. Lots of cursing and swinging those big ape arms of his. Had to put some mist in his eyes to quieten him. Brace yourself Sally dear. He’s emanating all kinds of odours. Smells like he just crawled out of a broken sewer.’

‘Great. Just what I need as I’m about to finish my shift. Tell Lazlo his timing is lousy.’

‘You can tell him in person Sally. Any word on the victim he assaulted?’ Kane asked.

‘In a stable condition sir, at the Mater. He’s got concussion and a busted nose.’

‘We’ll be with you in five minutes Sally.’

‘Roger that, sir.’

It was Friday, approaching midnight and Dublin City was busy despite the miserable December weather. A fresh heavy downpour suddenly cleared the mist and left the streets glistening under the orange streetlights. Kane looked in the rear view mirror at the pathetic sight of Lazlo muttering and grunting in the back seat of the squad car.

‘Oh Jesus!’ Wirrel yelled as Lazlo began spewing up in the back seat, spraying vomit at the steel mesh separating him from the officers.

‘Lazlo…goddamn you!’ Kane snapped.

‘That dirty rotten bastard,’ Wirrel roared. ‘He did that on purpose. I ought to rub his filthy fuckin’ nose in it. You hear me Lazlo? I ought to make you lick it up you fucking asshole.’

More hoarse laughter erupted in the back seat. Wirrel opened the driver and passenger windows.

‘The back ones too Tommy,’ Kane said. ‘My God Lazlo what have you been eating?’

***

The officers arrived back at the Bridewell Garda Station on Chancery Street. Sally and another officer quickly took Lazlo into custody and had him processed and locked up within minutes. Venator had already identified Lazlo as the person who was at the exact location of the assault in which the young victim, aged just twenty, was punched and kicked unconscious outside Saint Paul’s Church on Arran Quay, not far from the station house.

‘He’s looking at a serious stretch this time Sally,’ Kane said.

‘Yes sir, I think old Lazlo is tired of the street. He wants free room and board for a couple of years.’

‘You knocking off Sally?’ Wirrel asked.

‘You know I am Tommy.’

‘Let’s go get a drink.’

‘Let’s not.’

‘It’s Friday night for Christ sake. Come on!’

‘Goodnight lads,’ Sally said and walked out the door.

‘That woman is playing too hard to get,’ Wirrel said as he watched her leave.

‘Still think you got a chance with her do you officer?’ Kane said.

‘Damn right I do. It’s a question of persistence.’

‘Persistence? Some might interpret it as harassment Tommy. Be careful.’

‘Yeah, yeah. Well partner, looks like it’s just me and you tonight.’

‘Goodnight Tommy,’ Kane said and headed for the door.

‘Oh come off it! One drink. It’s Friday night.’

‘Yes it’s Friday night and I’m gonna share it with my wife and kids. I suggest you do the…’

Kane didn’t finish and turned to his colleague.

‘Sorry Tommy. That was clumsy.’

‘Forget it. Go be with your missus.’

CH 2

8am Tuesday Dec 21 2040

The residents of a quiet suburban street in Ranelagh awoke to the sound of one of their neighbour’s screams. Mrs Krook discovered the ice cold body of her husband lying on the cold frosty footpath outside their house on Northbrook Avenue. He’d been there all night and was now stiff as a board. The back of his skull was caved in. She called the police and officers Kane and Wirrel were dispatched to the scene.

They sealed it off then immediately reported the gruesome discovery to Venator. They questioned the curious and shocked neighbours emerging from their houses in drips and drabs, some still in their pyjamas and dressing gowns. They had little to say which didn’t trouble the officers. They got back in their car and waited for the state pathologist and forensic team to arrive and give the scene the once over.

Before the pathologist even got there, Venator sent the dead man’s Life Cert through to the officers. They sat in their marked car reading details of the deceased on their on-board computer.

‘OK. Ardan Krook. Thirty years old. Married, no kids, two sisters currently living in London. Parents both alive, living in Portmarnock. Occupation, chemical engineer. Worked at Hooke Bio Engineering Research Labs, time of death 1.20am, Tuesday 21st December.’

‘Thirty. Poor fella, what a waste,’ Wirrel said as he sipped a coffee and stared at the white sheet covering the dead man’s corpse. Northbrook Avenue looked innocuous; a quiet pretty suburban street with white washed houses, manicured gardens, rows of Juneberry trees lining the tree lawns, footpaths undefiled by litter or gum. In stark contrast to the tranquil surroundings lay a young man’s lifeless body with a pool of congealed blood around his head.

‘Print off his Life Cert Tommy. And the perp’s ID too.’ Wirrel printed off a copy for his partner.

‘No sign of it yet boss.’

‘No? Strange,’ Kane muttered. ‘Let’s give it a minute. Whoever he is, his whole life is about to change. A blow to the back of the victim’s head. It’s straight up murder. He’s looking at life for this. He’ll serve a minimum twenty five years.’

The crime scene photographer got his snaps. After half an hour Malone, the state pathologist, finished her forensic tasks then vacated the scene. Flynn recognised the look of malcontent on her face. Malone’s role used to make her feel important too. Forensics didn’t mean much in court anymore; Venator’s tracking system was enough for the courts now.

A police ambulance transferred the body to City Morgue. A clean-up crew power washed the reddish brown frozen blood off the footpath. Kane ordered a couple of rookie officers to remain at the crime scene for several more hours, just to comfort Mrs Krook and calm local nerves before returning to base. The small crowd eventually dispersed. When Kane and Wirrel left the scene it was as though nothing much had occurred there.

‘May as well go and get the dreaded deed over with,’ Kane said. The officers headed off in the direction of Portmarnock where the dead man’s family were listed as living.

‘Wanna flip for it?’ Tommy asked.

‘No I fucking don’t. You’re gonna tell them because it’s your turn to deliver the bad news.’

‘Just testing, Officer Kane.’

‘Yeah right…testing.’

‘Dear God, why isn’t there some other way to inform the families of the dead? Technology seems to have dealt with pretty much everything, except how to deliver bad news.’

‘Yeah I don’t think technology will ever resolve that one. Just focus on the reassurance Tommy, tell them we’ll have the perp in custody by noon. Nothing else you can do. Speaking of which, check for the perp ID again will you?’

Wirrel checked with Venator again. ‘Nope. Still no sign. Wonder what’s up with them? Screw this. I need a perp ID before I break the news to this family. I’m not going in there without it.’ He radioed Venator.

‘Hello there, Garda Tommy Wirrel here from the Bridewell. Who am I talking to?’

‘Agent Coogan. How may I help you officer?’ the Venator staffer replied.

‘Agent Coogan, what a lovely voice you have. Radio friendly. Slight pickle here Coogan, no big deal I’m sure but we’re still waiting for the perpetrator’s ID in relation to the murder of the young man in Ranelagh this morning. What’s his name again?’

‘Ardan Krook,’ Kane said.

‘Right. Ardan Krook. Any word on the perp there Coogan?’

‘There’s some problem with that officer but I can’t tell you what right now. Our technical division are working on it as we speak. The perp details are not showing up on the system for some reason. I’ll get back to you as soon as the issue is resolved.’

‘OK Coogan but we’re on our way to inform the victim’s parents. Mr Krook’s wife can’t do it. She had to be sedated by paramedics. I’d really like to tell them we have the perp in custody, or at least have an ID on him. It gives the family some reassurance. Not much but some and it makes our job a little easier, you know what I mean honey?’

‘I understand completely officer. As soon as they get it sorted I’ll get back to you with a confirmation. That’s all I can tell you for now.’

‘OK Coogan, quick as you can. Thanks doll.’ He hung up and looked across at his partner.

‘She sounded kinda spooked boss. Are you getting the same uneasy feeling I’m getting?’

‘Yeah…I am. I can’t remember the last time Venator failed to ID a perp this long. Last time was only a few minutes, just some technical glitch.’

‘You thinking it could be one of those days boss?’

‘Let’s not jump to any conclusions just yet. Could just be another glitch, only a more complex one. Even super computers can have a bad day I guess.’

‘But you’re feeling it right? Jesus I really don’t need this today. What am I gonna tell the family? Look boss, let’s hold off telling them for an hour. Hopefully this glitch will be fixed by then and our boys will have made an arrest. What do ya’ say?’

‘Only for an hour, no more Tommy. Then you tell the family…with or without a perp in custody.’

‘I’ll notify the Bridewell. Let’s pull in at Benson’s for a coffee. Wait it out.’

CH 3

The perp’s name was Alroy Bryce, ID 444151617986789062, not that Venator knew it, or anyone else for that matter. He was originally from County Meath but his family moved to Sandyford in South Dublin when he was ten. He was an only child and seemed to adapt to life in Dublin relatively well. He was somewhat of a loner but that in itself was no impediment to him. He could interact with his peers and teachers when he needed to. At fourteen he managed to form a bond with Helen Carran, the only other human being Alroy ever managed to love. It still took him three years to ask her out. They’ve been together ever since.

He was a Trinity College biochemistry honours student and was immediately snapped up by Hooke Bio Engineering Research Labs before graduation. At just thirty three he was already highly respected, though not particularly well liked by his colleagues.

What no one knew, not even Helen, was Alroy’s secret obsession with beating Venator and usurping its inventor, the great Dr Blake. Nor were they aware of his blood lust. He tried for many years to block out his craving to vanquish a life. To kill at will and remain free to repeat the deed. His murderous fantasies were even older than his desire to immobilise Venator. His small social circle was unaware of his dark dreams. They could not know of his plan to develop a molecular compound more powerful, or at least equal to the power of the Life Solution, Venator’s most closely guarded secret. He wouldn’t share that with anyone. It was his dark dream and his alone.

Alroy had been quietly working towards a counter solution to Blake’s Life Solution that could temporarily obstruct the Venator system since he was in his teens. Later, he made full use of the resources available to him at Trinity where he spent many solitary hours working on experiments in the labs.

He tested formulas, tweaked them then tested again and again. This process often left him exhausted and frustrated throughout his college years. He never told anyone what the experiments were about, and if asked would always lie.

He had spent over a decade fantasising about making a name for himself. A fantasy that exhilarated and frightened him in equal measure. He knew if he ever succeeded in his dangerous desire he would become infamous for it. Perhaps more famous than Dr Blake and that appealed to Alroy more than anything else.

He liked the idea of becoming famous for something. There was also the possibility of making serious money from it too but he regarded that only as an added bonus. Wouldn’t ambitious enterprising criminal fraternities be willing to pay him big money for a solution that could disable the Life Cert and make them invisible from Venator’s tracking system? Surely they would, if it allowed them free movement to commit their crimes and go undetected again? The opportunity to profit from his activities was obvious, but the challenge of beating Venator and Dr Blake excited him in a way nothing else ever did, it was an irresistible dream.

***

Alroy made the breakthrough one morning at Hooke Labs. At first he could hardly believe what he was seeing. It came at the end of a particularly long and arduous week at work. His relentless after-hours experiments using various chemical agents, Nano chips, femtotchemistry formulas, MRI scanners and Hooke’s own powerful computer applications, were proving extremely frustrating.

Alroy used himself as a guinea pig but test after test failed to circumvent the Life Solution. He had spent many nights over the years quietly cursing Dr Blake’s name; all in the silent atmosphere of the lab after his colleagues had gone home. He had injected himself so many times with his Death Solution he lost count. And then it happened.

‘It can’t be…’ Alroy whispered to himself. The lab was unusually quiet that morning as his colleagues were out attending a meeting with investors. Normally he wouldn’t dare open up his private lab files during work hours but this morning was different. He had the place to himself.

‘It can’t be…’ he said again as he looked at the print out of a series of signal exchanges. The exchanges showed his solution had indeed temporarily blocked the Life Solution from transmitting information from the Life Cert chip.

‘My God…I’ve done it!’ he exclaimed. ‘I’ve done it,’ he yelled again. Ten years of testing had paid off. He laughed and clapped his hands and punched the air and at that moment he wanted desperately to share his breakthrough with the whole world. He couldn’t share it though and contented himself with more clapping, laughing and dancing around the lab.

‘I did it…hah! By God I did it. I knew I could. It had to happen and it had to be me. It had to be me! Alroy Bryce…as I live and breathe. I’ve bloody well done it. Can you hear me world? Can you hear me Blake? I beat you! And now I’m gonna beat Venator. And the government. And the police. I’ll beat you all. Hah!’

He continued dancing around the lab punching the air then tried to regain control of himself but the excitement was too much. Dr Blake and his merry band of scientists and engineers had spent the guts of twenty years perfecting Venator. Alroy Bryce immobilised it, albeit temporarily, after just ten years of late night dreaming and testing. No other scientist or technologist had succeeded. Many tried and all failed, such was the complexity of Dr Blake’s work.

Alroy’s mind was awash with so many thoughts he became overwhelmed. He collapsed into a chair and stared at the computer printout again. He checked it and double checked it.

‘Have I made a mistake?’ he muttered. ‘Did I miss something?’ Suddenly the thought of human error in the test process yielding a false reading sent a shudder through him. ‘I have to test again, I must be sure. I must.’

He glanced at the clock on the wall; 10.20am. His colleagues said they’d be back around eleven. He couldn’t take the chance of starting a new test. He hadn’t enough time to spare. He packed away the results in his locker and went back to his formal research tasks. His colleagues, Molloy and Gilchrist returned to find Alroy in an unexpectedly elated mood.

‘Did you just get a raise?’ Molloy asked.

‘In a way…yes!’ Alroy replied with a smile as he left the room and headed for the canteen.

‘What does that mean?’ Gilchrist asked, looking at Molloy.

‘Lord knows. He is a strange one. Bit too strange sometimes.’

***

Ardan Krook was a talented chemical engineer that worked at Hooke Labs for six years. He was a popular, cocky character but competent at his job and respected by the staff. Alroy didn’t like him from the moment he first shook his hand. He felt an intense and immediate animosity toward him. It grew worse over time and he could not fully explain it to himself, though he suspected he had something to do with Krook’s popularity with the other staff.

However, it was easy to ignore Krook as their research projects were completely separate within the company and so neither one had much cause to speak to the other. Krook liked banter though and would often wind up his colleagues, most of whom could see the funny side of it and handle it with ease. Alroy pretended to handle it but he always had the feeling that Krook wasn’t just making fun of people. There was a sinister undertone to his remarks and jokes, he seemed to enjoy belittling people. Alroy was always cautious when in conversation with Ardan Krook, which thankfully was a rare occurrence.

Not long after Alroy’s momentous breakthrough, Krook paid him a visit. It was late one evening and Alroy assumed everyone had left the labs hours ago. Thinking he was quite alone he once again packed away his research work for Hooke Labs and got busy performing another test for his Death Solution. He knew the formula worked but he enjoyed doing the tests, and besides he hadn’t quite figured how to conduct a real world experiment yet. Until he did he was happy to keep injecting in the lab. He was just about to conduct another MRI scan on himself when Krook suddenly appeared.

‘Hope I’m not intruding,’ Krook said in a deliberately menacing tone. ‘I saw the lights on.’ Alroy was startled by the voice and instantly alarmed by the mere presence of Krook.

‘Jesus, don’t creep up on me like that. You trying to give me a heart attack?’

‘Relax Bryce,’ Krook said and began strolling around the lab, snooping at notes on the work top while casting suspicious glances at Alroy.

‘So what are you working on here? Whatever it is, it must be very important. All these late nights you’re putting in. Your colleague Molloy tells me you often stay in here till ten or eleven o’clock at night.’

‘So what if I do? It’s no concern of yours. Stick to your own research Krook.’

‘My God,’ Krook laughed. ‘I’m just trying to show an interest in a fellow scientist’s work. Is there anything wrong with that?’ The two men eyeballed each other.

‘No,’ Alroy said. ‘Of course not. It’s just some experiments I’m conducting into immunisation against ASD.’

‘Really…sounds interesting.’

There was that familiar mocking tone again that irritated Alroy. ‘More frustrating than interesting. You know how it is.’

‘I do indeed,’ Krook replied with a grin. ‘Don’t we all? In our world, progress is so damn slow. We’re all frustrated here at Hooke Labs. Too many egos chasing the same dream.’

‘Dream?’

‘Oh come on Bryce, you don’t need to be coy with me. We all want to make a name for ourselves. Find the ever elusive cure for all forms of cancer, eradicate Alzheimer’s, restore sight to the blind, fix broken spinal cords and make paralysis a thing of the past. And we want all the praise and accolades that goes with it. Like a Nobel Prize for Medical Science. Now wouldn’t that be something? Yeah we scientists just can’t help ourselves. We want the glory and the legacy, that’s the dream. The money would be nice too of course but the glory…the respect…that’s what we do it for.’

‘Yes. I suppose we do,’ Alroy replied.

‘What’s your dream Bryce? Curing autism?’

Alroy had a bad feeling about the line of questioning but he couldn’t be sure. ‘Yes, I guess you could say that. I prefer to think of my work as prevention rather than cure. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to cure autism, but maybe I could develop solutions that could immunise future generations from it. Yes I believe that’s possible.’

‘That’s a good dream Bryce.’

‘Well…I like to think so.’ A long silence followed and Krook continued snooping and eyeballing Alroy.

‘Just as long as that’s all you’re dreaming about.’ The atmosphere took an immediate turn for the worse.

‘What do you mean by that?’

Krook laughed. ‘Now there you go again, getting all coy on me.’

Alroy’s patience started wearing thin. ‘I’m busy Krook. If you’ve got something to say then say it…then get out so I can get back to my work.’

‘Take it easy Bryce I just want to talk, this doesn’t have to get ugly.’ Alroy stepped in closer to him. He stood his ground, he felt threatened but wasn’t about to show it.

‘You’ve obviously got something on your mind Krook, now spit it out before I throw you out.’

Krook changed his tone. ‘I’ve seen your notes Bryce. I did a little after hours research myself here a couple of weeks back. Worked a late shift…very late. I sneaked in here after you finally left for home. Ok I broke in here. I hacked your lab code. It wasn’t too hard to hack the login on your locker either.’

Alroy could feel his skin crawling, his insides churning, his face beginning to rise in temperature. He knew he was in deep trouble.

‘You broke in here? You broke into my lab, my locker! How dare you? I’ll report you for this. You’ll be lucky to keep your job you arrogant prick!’

‘Now let’s keep this civil shall we?’ Krook replied trying to keep order. Alroy grabbed him by his jacket collar with both hands and began shouting.

‘Keep civil. You want civility after what you’ve just said. You pompous bastard, I ought to kick your arse!’

‘Let go of me you bloody fool!’ Krook yelled.

Alroy wouldn’t let go and dragged Krook towards the door. Just before he was about to sling him out the door Krook cried out.

‘I know about the Death Solution!’ The revelation momentarily stunned Alroy. He let go of Krook. ‘That’s right. I thought that might get your attention, and now that it has maybe you’ll get a grip on yourself!’ Krook fixed his collar and stared Alroy down. ‘Now are you ready to listen? Good, ‘cause you’re gonna need to hear this. This is a big moment for you Bryce. We both know it.’

Krook walked briskly across the floor and grabbed a bunch of notes from Alroy’s desk. He held them up in the air as though he were addressing a jury in a court.

‘I broke in here and I had a good goddamn look at your little plan. You want to subvert the Venator system. You’re close to a breakthrough for a chemical solution you call Death Solution. It’s an antidote to Dr Blake’s Life Solution; it acts as a blocker so satellites can’t transmit to the Life Cert Nano chip. In other words it makes you invisible to Venator. Blake is a hero of yours isn’t he Bryce? I remember someone telling me that before but I guess I didn’t pay too much attention at the time. I mean why would I? We all need a hero, someone to inspire us. Give us the motivation we lack. Nothing wrong with that, nothing unusual about it either but my God Bryce, you’ve taken it way further than that haven’t you? You’re actually trying to invent a solution that could provide criminals with the ability to make them invisible to Venator. Now that’s what I call ambition. I gotta admit Bryce…I’m actually jealous.’

Alroy could feel his blood run cold. The look of venom in Krook’s eyes scared him, the clearly contemptible tone in his voice scared him more.

‘You want to beat Venator and you don’t even want to profit from it. You want the fame more than the fortune. You want to do it for kicks. I know that because you wrote it down right here in your own notes you damn idiot!’

Krook pulled a copy of Alroy’s notes out of his pocket and began reading aloud as though he was now addressing the whole courtroom.

‘It shouldn’t be too much longer now. I can feel it, I am close. I’m like a long distance runner on the final lap and Dr Blake is the last competitor ahead of me. The great doctor is tiring; he is old and running out of steam. I am young, in my prime and now I’m going to overtake him and leave him far behind. Pretty soon people will be talking about the great Dr Alroy Bryce, the man who beat Venator. The man who beat the man who invented the Life Solution, a Nobel winner! I’m going for gold but the gold doesn’t matter. The glory is the real prize, the infamy is worth more than all the gold in China.’

Krook began laughing and Alroy felt helpless. ‘This is great stuff Bryce but weren’t you worried at all that someone might see these? Could you at least have used some kind of coded language for cover? You’re a hell of a scientist Bryce, I’ll give you that but not so smart for a criminal are you?’

Alroy couldn’t move, he felt welded to the spot. His mind began racing ahead, he couldn’t think straight. He felt anger and then nausea. Krook threw Alroy’s notes back down on the work top, then stepped in closer to his opponent and lowered his tone.

‘Now you listen to me Bryce. The law takes Venator tampering very seriously, but then you already know that so I’m guessing you don’t care. Alright fine, so you don’t care. That makes two of us. What you’re doing is risky. So risky it could land you in jail for up to twenty five years, but you’re obviously willing to take the risk. All the late nights you put in here…you’ve been working hard on this. I know you have so I know you’re serious about this.’

‘What the hell do you want Krook?’ Alroy shouted, ‘spit it out.’

‘I want in…that’s what I want Bryce,’ Krook calmly replied. The admission shook Alroy further.

‘Want in? What on earth do you mean?’

‘I mean my ambition is not quite as noble as yours Bryce, I’m more the old fashioned type. I know how valuable this Death Solution could be to the right kind of criminal organisation. Despite your claim to have no interest in money, I’m guessing at some point you are gonna try and sell this Death Solution formula to the highest bidder. And if no one wants to buy it through legal channels then somebody will buy it illegally. One way or another you stand to make a fortune Bryce. And I want a piece of that fortune. That’s what I mean.’

‘How big a piece?’

‘Well I think 50% is the fairest deal in this situation.’

’50%. In return for what? What exactly are you bringing to this fair deal?’

Krook smiled then chuckled. ‘In return for my silence of course, because if you don’t cut me in I’m gonna sing like a canary as they say. Let’s see…who will I start with? Well first, I’ll inform the police, then the Venator Investigative Bureau. They will be extremely concerned I’m sure. Then the Hooke board of directors, they won’t be too pleased either. And of course the papers, podcasters, radio stations, TV news networks, net publishers; they’d all love to hear about it. Everybody Bryce…I’m gonna tell everybody about your little Death Solution plans. You get the picture? Is it clear enough for you now?’

Alroy said nothing in response. His mind was still too clouded by shock and anger; he needed time to absorb Krook’s threat. He turned his back on Krook and walked to his desk and stared at his scattered notes. Then he turned to face Krook again.

‘You’ve got nothing on me Krook. I mean really…what have you got? Some lab notes, so what? There just silly notions I scribble down when I’m bored in here late at night. They’re nothing more than that. It can all be explained away very easily. Nobody will take that seriously, the authorities certainly won’t. They’ve got better things to do with their time.’

Krook sneered at him. ‘Yeah right. That’s why the VIB and the courts dish out such lengthy sentences to those that dare try to sabotage Venator. As I recall a couple of years ago, those clowns over in London got ten years each for trying to do just that. And correct me if I’m wrong but their plans weren’t anywhere near as advanced as yours. I’ve seen your notes Bryce. There’s enough detail in there to put you away for twenty five and maybe longer if the judge doesn’t like you.’

‘I’ll destroy them. There won’t be a single note left after tonight.’ Krook let out a loud laugh which seemed to echo around the lab.

‘Oh Bryce! It’s not true what they say about you. You do have a good sense of humour!’ The laugh was prolonged and false and then he stopped laughing. ‘I photocopied the notes Bryce. For Christ sake give me some credit. You didn’t think I’d come in here to challenge you without having some back-up. Those photocopies are my back-up and they’re tucked away nice and safe where you’ll never find them.’

Alroy stood still desperately trying to think of something to say, anything that could remedy the situation, but his mind drew a blank. He walked over to the test counter and sat down on one of the high stools.

‘Look Alroy…can I call you Alroy?’

‘No you bloody can’t. Only my friends can call me that.’

‘Fine. OK Bryce it is. Here’s the thing Bryce. I admire what you’ve done here. In fact I think your Death Solution is a stroke of genius. If it works that is…and judging by your most recent notes I’d say it does. The detail in those notes is incredible. It’s impressive stuff, some of those formulations are incredible. Must have taken you quite some time. I admire your commitment. You have my respect.’

‘Oh well, thank goodness for that. I was so worried that you might not respect me.’

‘Sarcasm. I like that. Look Bryce I’m trying to tell you that I admire your work.’ Krook placed the palm of his hand on his chest. ‘Hand on heart I respect what you’ve done. But you’ve got to understand something here. At some point you’re going to need someone to help you sell the Death Solution so you can make a decent return. A reward for all your time and effort. The dates on your notes go back three years. Is that how long you’ve been working on Death Solution?’

‘A lot longer than that,’ Alroy said in a low voice creaking with defeat.

‘Well then, don’t you want a fair price for all that time and effort? Of course you do. You’d be a fool not to. Look I get the infamy thing. We all crave the glory. We all want the dream. But fame alone don’t pay the bills Bryce. Now we earn a pretty good living at Hooke Labs and that’s fine but let’s face it, none of us are ever gonna get rich here. Now there’s talk in the media of another economic collapse coming and they reckon it’s gonna be bigger than 2028. The banks say there’s no cause for alarm but then that’s what they always say right before they fuck society in the ass and run off with everybody’s cash. If we want some decent early retirement money we’re gonna have to work together on this.’

‘Work together?’ Alroy snapped. ‘I’ve spent half my life dedicated to this formula. You come in here and issue threats. You’ve done nothing to warrant any reward. You deserve 50% of nothing, that’s what you deserve.’ Krook became irritated by Alroy’s contempt for him.

‘Alright smart arse. Tell me, who are you going to sell the Death Solution to? Well? Know a lot of people in the underworld do you? Tell me damn it, don’t just stand there like a child being told off. Who do you know that has the money to buy this formula? And how much would you charge for it? Do you even know? You don’t do you? You don’t even know what the Death Solution is worth. Isn’t that the truth?’

A long silence followed in which both men stood staring at each other with disdain.

‘I haven’t had time to work out a figure,’ Alroy replied sounding like a broken man. ‘I’ve been so busy with work; with the Death Solution…I just haven’t had the time to think about money.’

‘Well you’d better start thinking about it because once the formula is ready for sale you need to negotiate the right price before someone else beats you to it, so take a guess Bryce. How much would you charge for the Death Solution on the black market? Best guess?’

It took a while for Alroy to answer. ‘One million,’ he said sheepishly. Again Krook laughed out loud.

‘Alright, two million!’

‘Try fifty million.’

‘Fifty?’ Alroy said, stunned by the figure. ’Who on earth would pay that?’

‘Quite a few people actually. The drug cartels for one. Small beans for them. They’d happily pay so their dealers could move around without Venator following them anymore. Terror groups for another, and there’s no shortage of those clowns and