Chapter VIII
Indeed, the crude alarm system installed in the compound proved accurate. The search team called for reinforcements, as soon as it became clear, that something happened to the Clerics. One of the Sweepers noticed a sense offender dashing out from a nearby compound.
"A sense offender!" The Sweeper stated. "I think we found their hideout!"
"Great work, Janson" The Sweeper Commander replied. "Since we have to do without the Clerics, let's do the following: Smith, you and your men will surround the compound. Decker, take your men and wait in the house where the Clerics had gone – just in case. As soon as this place is surrounded, we're going in."
"Yes sir."
They went in hard. The sense offenders attempted to form some resistance, but it was obvious they don't stand a chance.
"Let's get the fucking outta here! To the passage!" Jackson yelled.
His companions didn't have to hear him twice. Most of them managed to escape through the passage, before the Sweepers bursted in. Martin Stein was out of luck though.
"There they are!" One of the Sweepers noticed the hostages. He also noticed Martin Stein and was about to shoot him, but Cleric Ross said:
"Don't shoot. The Vice-Council wants him alive!"
The Sweeper hesitated. He kept his gun aimed at Martin, but but after all he didn't shoot.
Another Sweeper drew his combat knife and freed the hostages.
"Sir ...," he asked, "how did they capture you?"
"They set a couple of proximity grenades" Ross answered. "One of them killed Cleric Stein."
"Clever" the Sweeper stated. "And they escaped!"
"Decker's men will deal with them. Now get the hostages to the van. Davis and Norris will search the rooms and, as soon as they finish, we're getting out of here!" The Sweeper Commander ordered.
"Yes, sir."
Martin Stein was handcuffed and escorted outside, where a police van arleady waited. James and Andrew followed him as well.
Crow still felt pain, caused by the withdrawal. It was bearable, dampened, but still present. And it wasn't only physical.
Emotions caused this pain as well.
"Sir." One of the Sweepers noticed, what was going on. "Your dose worn off."
"I couldn't take my interval, since I was tied up. Besides, my PIU was destroyed."
The Sweeper reached for his PIU and asked:
"Do you wish to dose now, sir?"
Crow knew there was only one correct answer to this question.
Martin Stein knew his fate. Thrown into the police van, he could only hope that his message will be heard. Although he knew he will be found, it happened sooner than he expected.
Martin Stein did what he had to do. He could only hope he did the right thing. If he miscalculated, everything would be lost.
"Aside from the fact that you were taken hostage, you did remarkably well, Investigator" the Vice-Council said, as James Crow and Andrew Ross were on the debriefing.
"Thank you, sir."
"It's inconceivable that such a high ranking person turns out to be a traitor" DuPont said. "What did he tell you?"
The question alerted Crow. He knew he couldn't reveal how much he actually knows.
"He said he lost his belief in Libria." Crow answered eventually.
"Interesting. Did he say something more? About a research perhaps."
"Yes, he mentioned an experiment. A major research on Prozium. Something about refining the drug, so it works permanently" Crow improvised.
DuPont looked at James warily.
"Cleric?"
But Cleric Ross confirmed Crow's version. He sensed his intentions and understood as well that he can't reveal his knowledge of classified information.
The Vice-Council observed both men for a moment.
"Good. You may both leave."
Still, he wasn't reassured. A clerical instinct told him that something is wrong. As far as he hasn't noticed anything unusual in Ross' behaviour, Crow's attitude bothered him. DuPont remembered his reaction to the fact that Gabriel Stein was assigned to this mission and was even tempted to arrest Crow.
He decided to observe him first. He also decided to keep an eye on Ross – just in case. Assigning him a new partner sounded like a good idea.
There was another matter the Vice-Council planned to take care of. Expecting Dorn to come within few minutes, he smiled smugly, as a new plan began to form in his mind. All that he needed was a few pieces of information.
The scientist came as expected.
"As you may – or may not know, Martin Stein has been captured." The Vice-Council started. "His act of treason will be punished, but before the processing occurs it would be a good idea to gather some additional information on his research."
"I have nothing to hide." Dorn answered.
"I do not doubt it," DuPont replied, "But it's not the experiment I'm talking about."
"I'm listening."
"As the expedition pulled out, I checked all records on Martin Stein. A most interesting thing is, that four years ago he was granted a permission to set up his private laboratory. In the light of his recent actions it would be quite logical to assume that he was planning to conduct a research. His research."
"The notes!" Michael recalled.
"Tell me what you know."
"Based on his notes," the scientist started, "I assume he was working on an antidote."
"Which he managed to complete" The Vice-Council interrupted. "Otherwise he wouldn't have escaped, would he?"
"Yes" Dorn agreed.
"Two things" DuPont said. "First: find out what you can on the antidote. Second: I'm going to give you the authorization to talk to Stein. Get as much information as you can. Just in case, I'll also assign an interrogator to help you in... technical issues."
"Yes sir."
"Good" the Vice-Council said. "You may leave now."
As the scientist left, DuPont smiled.
Martin Stein raised his head as the door of his cell opened, revealing Dorn and one of the Clerics, dressed in a navy blue uniform. Only the fact that Martin was tied to his seat prevented him from what he was tempted to do, namely punching his former colleague.
"It's sad that we had to meet in such unpleasant circumstances," Dorn started. "But I must know something more about your private little research."
Martin's hostile look ensured Dorn that he is going in the right direction.
"Yes, I can see that you know where I am heading" Michael continued. "The antidote. Where is it?"
"Hidden" Martin spat.
"Where?"
"Out of your reach, Dorn!"
"Wrong answer" Dorn smacked the captive. "I'll ask you again: where is it?"
"Suffice to say: it exists."
"I know it does." Michael sighed. "The question is: where is it hidden? As an old friend I would recommend you to speak. Or," at this moment Dorn smiled discreetly, "I will be forced to leave you in more skilled hands." He said, glancing at the Cleric.
"Apparently I should had been more cautious while choosing friends," Martin sneered.
The next blow was much stronger – strong enough to cause bleeding from Stein's nose.
"Watch your tone!"
"Why should I ?" Martin said icily "I will be dead anyway."
"Yes," Dorn replied. "But there's a difference between quick and slow death. My companion can explain it better then I. And now excuse me, I must go out for a moment."
"Go to hell and don't come back" the prisoner thought furiously as Michael left.
"You have never interrogated a prisoner before, have you?" The Cleric thought, having no slighthest intention to heed Dorn's suggestion. Not that he avoided such methods – but he knew that they didn't always prove effective. He decided to start from the beginning:
"Tell me about the antidote. What is it?"
The scientist glanced at the interrogator with interest. Sensing his chance, while Dorn was still absent, he decided to answer the question.
"It is supposed to nullify the effect of Prozium. By Prozium I mean the new and deadly generation of this drug, which will be introduced very soon."
"Deadly?" The Cleric thought with interest. He was about to ask for more details, but, warned by the instinct, refrained from doing it.
"Where is it?" He asked instead.
"I won't tell you." The prisoner snorted.
"An answer of a man, who has nothing to lose" the interrogator stated. "But is it really the case?" He observed the prisoner cautiously.
"What do you mean?"
"You're not the only Stein, are you?"
"Bastard!" Martin's eyes widened.
"Yes…" the interrogator said, noticing Stein's reaction. "I knew Gabriel Stein. It was quite a surprise he got killed, given the fact that he was one of the better Clerics. But at least he remained loyal and died for a legitimate cause."
The scientist clenched his teeth.
"Still, we're not so sure about Steins' sense of loyalty anymore," the Cleric continued. "You could help us in restoring our faith in you and your family if you revealed the antidote's location."
This blow was accurate. Martin remained silent, wrestling with his thoughts.
"Loyalty" the scientist barked eventually. "I had a significant part in creating the system you serve now. I served it as well with my best abilities, until I was forced to revise my loyalties. There is a new generation of Prozium to be introduced, which will kill anyone who will miss the dose – accidentally or not. It's not what Libria was about!"
"If this is the case, we should look forward to it, shouldn't we?" The Cleric asked. "Besides, I'm waiting for your answer. Two more sense offenders won't make any difference for the city furnaces."
"They're innocent!" Stein shouted those words out.
"Yes" The interrogator replied flatly. "But who, besides you, really cares?"
They both knew the answer.
"I don't know the exact location of the antidote," Martin sighed. "I had it hidden."
"Clever" the Cleric thought.
"Whom had you given it?" he asked.
"One of the Resistance members, of course."
"How much of the antidote did you manage to produce?"
"Two vials."
At this moment, a clerical instinct spoke again. The prisoner didn't lie, the Cleric was pretty sure about that. But there was something more that begged for an answer.
"I'm not a scientist," the interrogator continued, "but I'm pretty sure that if there's an antidote of any kind, there must also be a formula."
"Dorn has it" Stein retorted.
"Really?" The Cleric squinted. "Well, to be honest, it's highly unlikely."
"Is that so?" the scientist sneered, trying very hard not to show any trace of anxiety.
"Yes. Now I'm going to show you something." The interrogator said and left the cell for a moment.
A creeping feeling has awaken in Stein. He had to admit, that this Cleric really knew where to hit – and this was much more painful than Dorn's brute force. Preparing for whatever might come next, he knew he must be careful.
Still, he wasn't prepared for what he saw. The Cleric brought something that looked like a briefcase.
"I guess this laptop is yours" the interrogator said with a hint of satisfaction, sitting opposite the prisoner. "The search team found it in the sense offenders' hideout."
Martin lost his cool and uttered a few German swearwords.
"Yes" The Cleric muttered as he switched the laptop on. "Why would you take it with you to the Nethers? That would be pointless, unless there would be something important, wouldn't it?."
The chemist didn't say anything.
"You don't make things easy, Stein" the Cleric said, turning the laptop in Martin's direction. "I should have expected that this system is password protected. Now, what's the password?"
The scientist frowned.
"Your resistance is useless" the Cleric said, noticing Martin's reaction. "I'm pretty sure your schematics are stored here. Whether we will be able to access this system or not, you won't have any use of it anymore."
"But it still makes a difference." Stein drawled. "Choosing between destroying the data or handing it over to Dorn I would choose the former."
"Why?" The Cleric didn't understand.
"Because that would hinder Dorn's research" he said, not without satisfaction.
At the same moment Michael Dorn entered the cell.
"How is it going, Cleric?" he asked.
"We're getting somewhere" he replied. "Now, I think this thing would be useful for you." He said, pointing at the laptop. "It is Stein's laptop."
"Indeed, Cleric, indeed" Michael answered, approaching the table.
"But you are going to need a password." The man said.
Dorn looked at the screen.
"Do you have to complicate everything, Martin?" he finally asked.
The prisoner observed his former colleague with contempt and didn't bother to answer.
"The password" Dorn threw in.
"Forget it, Dorn."
"Remember what I said, Stein." The Cleric reminded.
Martin fixed his eyes on the floor, concentrating his efforts on keeping his cool. Two conflicting thoughts began their struggle once again, this time with increased intensity. The moment he feared most – the moment of the final decision came and he felt almost physical pain as he realized what he must do.
"No" his voice was hollow. "I cannot tell you that."
Jason was looking around nervously. He buried the CDs given by the scientists in a safe location, but there were still the vials of antidote to be delivered. Barely escaping from the compound, he hid in the ruins, continuing his run only when he was absolutely sure that he's the way is clear. The next hideout wasn't that far and, as far as he knew, it was still temporarily safe.
He glanced back and, after a brief rest, continued his run. The surroundings seemed completely deserted and eventually Jason noticed the hideout, located in one of the ruined houses.
The young sense offender bursted into the house, but suddenly a single gunshot wounded him in his leg.
"Freeze," he heard a voice "You're coming with us."
Jason turned his head and noticed two Sweepers aiming at him.