Ch. 21 Conspiracy Theory
Eric and JR were waiting impatiently in the hallway outside the emergency room for any news on their partner's condition. Waiting with them were Cody, TJ, Jackie, Memo, Diandra, and Gerald. They all waited and waited for hours hoping for any form of reports to come. The group turned suddenly when they heard the doors to the emergency room open. Albert, Alissa, and Michelle all walked out of the emergency room together looking exhausted.
"So?" asked JR with a look of concern.
"Is he going to be alright?" added Eric.
Albert lets out a small sigh then smiled "He's going to be just fine. Ernie isn't going to jump into any big missions any time soon but he's going to be ok"
"That's good news" said Cody sounding relieved.
"Good thing you guys stopped him when you did. If we had waited any longer…" began Michelle.
"Don't even talk like that Michelle" spoke Jackie.
"What happened to him exactly?" questioned Gerald.
"Yeah, the way Ernie was acting was inhuman" continued TJ.
"Well, to put it simply…. uh… Albert you want to take that one? You can probably explain it a lot better than me" said Alissa.
"I'll give it a try considering the circumstances. Something got into both Ernie and Agumon, taking full control of them. To remove it from their systems, Dr. Antonio and Dr. Veronica had to filter out whatever substance that entered Ernie's and Agumon's bodies so that they could return back to a normal state Whatever it was gave them an incredible amount of strength and power but took a serious toll on their bodies, physically and mentally." explained Albert.
"You mean, whatever that stuff was acted like a steroid?" asked Diandra.
"Sort of, but some of the other effects like the red eye color were just… unnatural" answered Albert.
"That's right; me and Gerald had a hard time holding Ernie down. You'd think two people would be strong enough to hold one person down" said Memo.
"How did you know about that stuff being inside Ernie's and Agumon's systems?" asked Cody.
"When Ernie said that someone had just left that bottle of vitamin water in his locker I started to suspect something was up. I figured it would be a good idea to take it to the lab and check it out to see if there was anything wrong with it. Sure enough, I found that substance mixed in with the vitamin water. Good thing I found all you guys in time to help me out there"
"So, who put the bottle there in the first place?" questioned Jackie.
"Yeah and who would want to target Ernie and Agumon?" added Memo.
"Look, we can figure all that out later. Can we at least check on Ernie and Agumon?" asked JR.
"Of course, Dr. Antonio and Dr. Veronica are moving Ernie to a recovery room right now. I'll take you guys to see him." smiled Michelle leading the group through another hallway, Albert and Alissa stayed behind.
"You did it. I don't know how but you did it" said Alissa shaking her head. "I still can't believe you figured out the missing medicines from the pharmacy were the same in that vitamin water Ernie and Agumon drank"
"Glad I did but there are a few things that are still bothering me." said Albert in thought.
"Those would be?" asked Alissa.
"Who laced Ernie's vitamin water with those drugs? Somebody broke into the Pharmacy and stole the drugs but why would they just put them in someone's drink? A lot of stuff just doesn't add up." spoke Albert, thinking.
"You'll figure it out. I better go check on the others and make sure they're not bothering Ernie and Agumon too much" smiled Alissa. She said goodbye to Albert then headed for Ernie's room.
"Sounds like you got a theory going through you head" spoke a voice behind Albert. Albert turned to see Mayra walking down the hallway holding a black colored binder. "You've been thinking to huh?"
"The medicines from Pharmacy aren't the only things to go missing right?" asked Albert.
"You got that right. There have been several items reported missing from around DECA HQ. To start off with, several tools and various machine parts have been stolen from the labs. Along with that, several files from the archives have been reported missing. The missing files covered the Digital Gateway project from several years back but a few files on nanotechnology have also been reported missing." informed Mayra flipping through her binder.
"Add all that with the appearance of the Elemental Stones, Lion Squad's secret mission, the little rat problem and you get…" started Albert.
"One big conspiracy" finished Mayra closing her binder "Got any leads so far?"
"I think I do but I'm gonna need help." replied Albert.
"Me and my squad will help you out and I'm sure the other squads will want to join in." said Mayra.
"Thanks, all we need to do is get the right amount of evidence and we can catch that rat." grinned Albert.
"You got a plan already don't you?" smiled Mayra.
"Maybe but now's not the time. Everybody's been through enough already so let's give it some time before we act." said Albert. Albert and Mayra then proceeded to Ernie's room to check his progress along with the others.
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"Those two will prove to be quiet the nuisance if I let them but no matter. Let's see them play my game. They're almost out of time anyways to piece together my little puzzle."
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Albert and Mayra made their way to Ernie's recovery room to find everybody crowded inside along with Dr. Veronica checking Ernie's current vital signs. Ernie slept silently in the hospital bed with his Digivice at his side. Agumon was resting inside the Digivice until both he and his partner felt strong enough to awaken.
"Ok guys he's stable but you all are gonna have to let Ernie rest for the night. We'll keep you posted if anything new happens" informed Dr. Veronica leaving the room.
"Alright Dr. Veronica, we'll be out of here in a little bit and thanks for saving our partner" said Eric.
"It was nothing really kids. Remember five minutes and then you all have to go and let Ernie rest for the night along with Agumon" spoke Dr. Veronica with a smile then left the room. The room remained silent for a bit.
"There's more to this than what we can see isn't there Albert?" asked Cody breaking the silence.
"I hate to say it but yes, DECA has had a rat problem for several weeks now. Started off with just a few missing files and equipment but now it's growing out of control" frowned Albert.
"Then we all want in" said TJ.
"What?"said Mayra in surprise.
"We know you two have an idea what's going on and we know you're thinking of a plan to catch that rat. All of us want to help" spoke Cody.
"If somebody messes with one DECA agent, they mess with all the DECA agents" said JR clenching his fists together.
"All we need is a plan" continued Eric.
"Then we're gonna need a good one. I already have my suspicions as do the Commanders but we can't just act on a hunch. We're gonna need proof to fully corner our little rat. First off, let me fill you guys in on what's going on so far…" began Albert. The group listened carefully to Albert's words as he explained the current situation. They were gonna need a master plan to catch their rat.