Chapter 2: Urgency
Darien Fawkes walked through the corridor non chalantly. He wore his usual casual clothing and whistled, which echoed through the hallway. He was the government's best kept secret besides Roswell! What was the secret that he kept? He holds a device called "The Gland", which is implanted into his brain and places quicksilver in his bloodstream that can make him invisible to the naked eye.
Entering The Official's office, the plain Bureau of Health and Human Services insignia hung on the bland walls. The Official was patiently waiting for Darien's appearance along with Hobbes and the Keeper. As usual, Eberts stood by his boss' side, re-reading the briefing. Darien sat himself in a chair right next to Hobbes and the Fatman, but behind the Keeper.
"Good morning, we have a serious situation." Fatman reported in an offbeat but serious tone.
"What kind of situation? Where we can loose funding if one little thing goes wrong?" Darien questioned.
"Not only that but millions of people will die." Eberts hinted.
"Oh, like we haven't gone through that before, Eberts." Hobbes sarcastically replied.
"What happened?" Fawkes ignored his colleague's statement.
"There had been ten unusual cases that dealt with MAOI's which lead to several accidents in the last month." Eberts handed Darien a file that contained pictures of the horrific accident. The folder was passed to Bobby once Fawkes was done. "The recent victim was Jason Hingel, who was killed when his vehicle was smashed into a colliding train on the other side of town. From what the police could gather from Mr. Hingel's car, a bottle of Zoloft was found in the passenger seat. However, his bloodstream wasn't his prescribed medicine, but an unidentified substance."
"What certain types of people are these medicines directed towards?" Bobby wanted to know, "You know, schizoids, paranoids, depressors..."
"Mr. Hangel was on anti depressant pills for three months before his fatal accident. When the company where Joshua bought the pill from failed to comment. I've run several tests on the blood and I concluded that there isn't any form of anti-depressants on the market that have the same exact results. I've tried to find documentation from the FDA to see if this was approved and I came up with nothing." The Keeper piped in.
"So the companies is experimenting the drugs on people and are covering up the bad stuff?"
"Not only that, Bobby. But whatever company made these MAOI's are testing it on consumers in order to receive a seal of approval from the FDA."
"What are MAOI's?" Darien wanted to know.
"Monoarmine oxidose. They destroy enzymes that are responsible for burning neurotransmitters, specifically norepinephine, epolephrint, serotin and dopamine." Claire explained.
"I'm sorry but I didn't study my techno babble this morning…in English please."
"This kind of medicine is used for people who don't respond to tri cycles."
"That's where Prozac came into effect?"
"Correct, Darien, but it interferes with the absorption of serotin that can cause side effects."
"Like wanted to slice and dice yourself?" Hobbes assumed.
"No, nothing like that at all. Some of the side effects are hallucinations, dizziness, and stomach irritation."
"This means that we will look pretty stupid if we can't catch the people that are producing this medicine." The Official changed the subject.
"I've managed to find another person in the same type of situation as Mr. Hangel. Her name is Sydney Miller. She just completed high school and will be leaving for college in two months. Her favorite activities are riding horses, the dramatic arts, writing short stories and poems." Eberts then gave the two a file on the teenager, "The other night she was admitted in Fairfield Asylum and was placed on a thirty day suicide watch."
"For doing what?" Darien asked.
"She attempted suicide by cutting her wrists…apparently, the landlord and a neighbor came in just in time to call 911."
"Your orders are to keep a close eye on this kid at all times. Dismissed." The Official ordered, inching a mile of smugness on his face.
Fawkes, Hobbes, and the Keeper departed the office and entered Claire's cave.
"I need a refill." Darien explained.
She sighed and the Keeper checked his wrists that contained an ugly green tattoo of a snake. The green pigment was halfway consumed the snake while the rest was surrounded by a blood red color. The woman grabbed a filled syringe from the fridge…this needle contained the antidote to his quicksilver madness. Without this counteragent, Darien would be endangering the Agency as well as the world around him.
The woman swiped an alcoholic napkin on the male's main vein located near his elbow. Claire placed the needle in Fawkes' skin and quickly injected the medicine, then scraped the object out of her patient's arm. Darien gripped a cotton swab on the puncture wound while he departed the room with Hobbes. The duo circled through the corridors and adventured outside to the shabby van. Their mission, forced to accept was to watch a teen named Sydney, whose prescriptions were nearly killing her.