His eyes ran over the building and Laguna felt his heart sink. When he first saw the building, he'd taken an instant and irrational dislike to it. Nearly two decades later, dislike had blossomed into an entirely rational hatred.
He despised the building and everything it represented. He despised the building's chief occupant. He despised the memories it stirred up within him. He despised the political necessity that prevented him from demolishing the entire block. He even despised the architecture, the way the building sat like a bloated toad, a hideous contrast to the soaring towers of metal and glass around it.
Laguna's jaw clenched as he felt the muscles in his leg contract. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and produced a bottle of pills. Opening it, he placed one of the muscle relaxants under his tongue and held it there, letting the slightly bitter tablet dissolve. The next pill he swallowed outright, hoping to stave off his impending migraine. An aide offered a bottle of water, but Laguna waved it away. The bad taste in his mouth had little to do with medicine.
"We ready, boss?" Kiros asked from off to the right, one eyebrow raised in question. Ward stood to the left, his enormous presence reassuring in the way of familiar landmarks.
Ward nodded his head, the gesture barely visible. He clenched a fist for a fraction of a second and Laguna saw the meaning in his friend's eyes: strength.
Laguna grinned, hoping to lighten his own mood. "Well, hey. At least we won't have to fight our way inside this time."
They headed inside the building. Light streamed in through a series of skylights, bouncing and playing over metal surfaces. The receptionist rose, stunned at the retinue coming through the door. Drawn up to his full height, he stood a full head shorter than Laguna.
"Can I help you?" he asked, voice condescending and unctuous. He tilted his head to one side, a gatekeeper accustomed to denying access.
"Hi," Laguna said. "Surprise inspection. Don't mind us."
"You can't just—" he sputtered.
"Oh, right, right," he nodded. "Sorry," he said, shaking the man's hand. "I'm President Loire. We're having a surprise inspection."
The receptionist nodded in slow motion, the concept struggling its way to his brain. One hand reached up to stroke his paisley tie as he looked down at the computer screen in front of him.
"I'm sorry, you're not on the schedule…"
Kiros sighed, leaning in towards the receptionist. "What part of 'surprise inspection' is challenging for you? We're here to look things over, so sit at your desk and don't get in our way."
As he sat down, the receptionist picked up the phone. "He's in Galbadia today, but would you like me to leave a message with his assistant?"
Kiros rolled his eyes as they proceeded past the desk. "You do that."
Laguna, Kiros, and Ward took a seat, along with one of Laguna's security agents. After a moment, the seat raised and started gliding down the hall.
"So far, so good," Kiros said as the reception disk slid out of sight. The natural light faded away, replaced with an endless series of fluorescent bulbs.
They disembarked at the observation room, a large lab area with windows overlooking a central pit – the containment room. Laguna found his own image refracted back at him in countless stainless steel surfaces.
One of Odine's researchers stood waiting for them.
"President Loire," he said, extending a hand. "My name is—"
"Dr. Hensley, hello," Laguna replied. "You came with Odine on the last grant proposal."
"Yes, that's right! I'm honored you remember me, sir." Hensley's face almost glowed with pleasure.
Laguna nodded. "We'd like to see Seifer, please."
"Of course, sir. Right this way, sir." Hensley bobbed a little, performing a little half-bow with each "sir." He gestured towards the windows.
Laguna took a few hesitant steps towards the glass, looking down to the containment room.
A tall blond man rested motionless in a bed, his eyes unfocused, staring into a point somewhere beyond the ceiling above him. The light overhead shone a deep blue color. Laguna blinked, convinced he'd started to see colors as part of his migraine. He glanced away and looked back but the blue remained. A few wires and tubes protruded from the man's body, but less than Laguna had expected, given Odine's proclivities.
Laguna took a step back, glancing over at Hensley. "So… he just lies there? I mean, I guess that's good." Laguna had heard rumors of howling madness.
Hensley bobbed again, a nod performed with his entire torso. "Erm, yes, sir. We had a few staff injuries, but apart from those, he's been remarkably docile."
"If he's injured the staff, why isn't he in restraints?" Kiros asked.
Bob. "He was initially, sir. They proved… unsuccessful."
"He broke free?" Laguna pushed.
Hensley took a deep breath. "No, sir, the trouble was that, when he was restrained… we could hear him."
Laguna's eyes traveled to the windows. Kiros voiced Laguna's question for him. "Aren't those windows soundproofed?"
"Not here, sir," he said, pointing to his ear. His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper as he pointed to his temple. "Here."
Ward shifted his weight a little, stroking his chin in thought.
"When we first put him in restraints, it was just a little screaming," Hensley continued. "And it was kind of… in the background. Like white noise after a while. Until we started hearing voices underneath the screaming. We lost two people before the Doctor decided to remove him the restraints."
Kiros shook his head. "What do you mean by 'lost,' exactly?"
"Well, one of them attempted to put out Dr. Odine's eyes with a letter opener."
Laguna threw a sideways glance at his friends. He couldn't dismiss a desire to stab Odine as a wholly supernatural event. "What about the other?"
"Smashed a mirror in the bathroom and slit his wrists open, sir. Both are in observation rooms on the fourth floor." He paused, shifting from one foot to the next. "We removed him from restraints, though, and the voices stopped. Oddest thing."
Laguna glanced down to the containment room again.
"Why are the lights blue?" he asked.
"Cerulean, actually, sir," Hensley bobbed. "We're running a series of perception tests, trying to measure his response to various stimuli. Today we're experimenting with color. We present a given color and measure the response on a number of scales"
Laguna pinched the bridge of his nose. "And?"
Hensley pressed a few buttons on the consoles. Their displays shifted to charts and graphs that, no doubt provided the answer to anyone possessing numerous advanced degrees in highly specialized academic disciplines.
"It's interesting, really," Hensley replied. "All our sensory tests indicate that while he's receiving the information on a physiological level, he isn't responding to it to any degree."
Ward gestured to Hensley, indicating that he wanted the researcher to continue. Hensley pursed his lips.
"His pupils dilate properly in response to light levels, but he exhibits no reaction to the light. Loud noise enters his ears and appears to be received properly, but you won't see him flinch in response. His pain centers respond, but he doesn't recoil. His—"
Laguna wanted to cut to the chase. "So what's wrong with him?"
"Well, that is the magic question, isn't it, sir? There are recorded cases of psychosomatic blindness or things of that nature, but all five senses? That's unprecedented. Oh, excuse me, sir."
A blinking light on the console caught Hensley's attention. Another series of button presses and the monitors stopped showing the floor of the containment room, instead switching to an enormous composite view of Doctor Odine. Each monitor showed only a portion of his face, leaving the image fragmentary and oversized – Doctor Odine seen through an insect's superposition eye.
"Hello, Doctor, sir," Hensley said. He dipped even lower as he bowed.
"My dear employer," Odine purred, his civility a mask for anger. He spoke with precision, carefully threading his way through the maze of fricatives and sibilants, concealing his accent. "How perfectly whimsical of you to drop in unannounced." Laguna could see the Doctor clench his teeth as he finished speaking.
Laguna squared his shoulders. "Oversight was always part of the deal."
"Naturally, naturally. The progress reports are not satisfying. To see with your own eyes, that is the true spirit of scientific inquiry. "
"I've read the reports," Laguna shot back. "I want to make sure I have the entire picture."
"Your concern for the subject is admirable. Hensley has not been boring you with irrelevant details, I hope?" Odine's smile widened. "Is that it, Hensley? Do you waste their time with office gossip?"
"No, sir, Doctor, sir," Hensley said. He attempted to take a step back as he bowed, almost tripping in the process. Laguna reached out a hand to steady the man. He could see the threat dancing in Odine's eyes, promising to end Hensley's career if he'd spoken to them. Laguna knew he had to intercede.
Laguna smiled right back. "He's been most helpful, Doctor," he replied. "He gave us the grand tour. You know, showed us where all the bodies are hidden."
Odine blinked, visibly surprised by the turn of phrase and trying to hide it. Laguna could see the wheels turning in the little man's brain.
"Well," Odine said, attempting to rebuild his veneer of good humor, "I only regret I could not meet with you myself. I am on my way home, though, so perhaps when I arrive I can answer your questions personally."
Laguna bowed his head, fixing Odine with the same grin he employed to disarm tenacious reporters seeking a scandal. "That's very kind of you, Doctor. We just wanted to stop in and check on things, so we'll take you up on that offer when you come back."
Kiros and Ward shot Laguna confused looks from the other side of the room. Odine followed suit.
"You— I… I look forward to it, President Loire," he said, whatever pointed remark he'd readied dying on his lips. Odine shook his head a little.
"Thanks again, Hensley," Laguna said, grabbing his friends by the arm as he started to leave. As he sat down on the moving seat, he looked at the screen again.
"Good day, Doctor," he called out as they started to move. "Be seeing you."
NB: Seem familiar? It should. Not too long ago, I was rereading "Figlio Perduto," and I decided that there were a lot of things I'd like to change. So look for this to be a major revision. The destination is the same, but we'll get there by an entirely different road.