Section 13: Get Away From Me
Tseng watched Scarlet leave his office and shook his head. Did she really think that he would believe such a poor lie? Why would Hojo want him to fall in love with her? Poison him, now that he could believe.
Tseng picked up the bottle and read the sticky note on the back. The 'label' said that it was a love potion, but Tseng wasn't sure he trusted the label. He could always ask Hojo to analyze the tea. It wouldn't be unusual for Tseng to ask Hojo to analyze a food for poisons. He often did so if the President thought his food was poisoned.
Tseng sighed and put the bottle in his pocket. He dreaded visiting Hojo for any reason. The scientist took too much delight in his experiments. Tseng might have done some horrible things as a Turk, but he took no pleasure from them. The Turk picked up the pot of tea and left his office. He decided to give Hojo the tea, not the potion, because they might be different.
Once at Hojo's lab Tseng knocked on the door but no one answered. He tried the handle, but it was locked. As he tried to decide what to do, his PHS rang. Tseng sighed and placed the tea on the floor. It was Rude calling to say that the president wanted to see him right away. Tseng had no choice but to leave the tea here or take it with him. He didn't want to get the President involved yet, so he decided to leave it. Beside the door was a pad of paper. He tore off a piece and wrote a note to Hojo explaining that he wanted the tea analyzed. The black-haired Turk left it beside the tea pot and walked away.
As Tseng walked away, a gust of air blew from a nearby window and threw the note into a nearby corner. Tseng had already left the hall and so he didn't notice.
After his meeting with the president Tseng returned to Hojo's lab. There was the possibility that Hojo already had the results. As he got to the door Tseng noted that the tea was gone. He knocked on the door and waited for an answer. He didn't have to wait for long. Hojo opened the door and looked at Tseng. He started to growl at Tseng, but then a strange expression crossed his face. It was the creepiest thing Tseng had ever seen. In an instant Hojo went from angry to pleased.
Hojo smiled at Tseng and said, "It's good to see you, what are you doing here?"
Unnerved Tseng said, "Uh, I brought some tea..."
"Oh, so you brought it. It was very good."
"You drank it? Didn't you find a note on the tea pot?" Tseng asked surprised.
"Hmm, no. I didn't notice one."
Tseng looked at Hojo nervously and asked, "Did you see anyone else before me?"
"No, you are the only person I have seen all day. Why don't you sit down and make yourself comfortable." Hojo walked over to Tseng and placed his hand on his arm.
Tseng shivered at his touch and moved out of reach. "Um, no, that's ok. I'm fine."
Hojo frowned, "You look nervous is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?"
Tseng thought, you could stop being so nice to me. Instead he said, "Scarlet tried using a love potion on me. Do you know if it works?"
Hojo nodded, "Yes, it worked on everything I tested it on."
"How long does it last?" Tseng decided to stay away from Hojo until the potion wore off.
"As far as I know, indefinitely."
Crap, Tseng thought. This is not good. "Is there an antidote?" Please, he thought, let there be an antidote.
"No. Why? Did she use it on you?" Hojo asked concerned and walked towards Tseng.
Tseng backed up until he was against a wall and murmured below his breath, "Get away from me." He took a deep breath and said to Hojo, "On me, no." Tseng wondered how Hojo would react if he knew he drank the potion. "She, uh, put it in my tea. And I sent it to you to have analyzed."
Hojo's eyes widened as the implications hit him. "So I drank the tea?"
Tseng nodded, please don't kill me he thought.
Surprisingly Hojo smiled, "Well I can't be too upset with you. It wasn't your fault the note got lost." He walked over to Tseng until he stood in front of him and placed a hand on his chest. "Why do you want an antidote so much? Don't you like me?"
Tseng glanced down at the hand; there was nowhere he could go to get away now. Tseng wasn't sure how to answer the question. Answer wrong and he'd probably piss off Hojo. "She also drank some herself and won't leave me alone. If you create an antidote she'll leave me alone." Tseng smiled hesitantly.
Hojo smiled back then frowned, "It's not right that she is bugging you. I'll create an antidote immediately. Perhaps then you won't be so upset."
"Right, I'll leave you so you can create the antidote immediately."
As Tseng left Hojo called out, "I'm leaving for the Costa del Sol in a week, would you like to come with me?"
"I'll have to think about it." Tseng rushed away from the lab and returned to his office. One there he sat at his desk and buried his head in his hands. Why did this have to happen to him? Hopefully Hojo would create an antidote and fast.
What will happen?
Will Hojo create an antidote? Go to Section 14: Forget This Ever Happened
Or will he be unable to create one? Go to Section 15: I have one favor to ask