It had taken quite some time for Allen's plan to begin working. At first, there weren't many changes, but as time went on things slowly went downhill for Maxwell. He was getting sloppy. As his experiments progressed so did his formula and eventually it finally started getting him some results. However, he had a few close calls with some doctors at the hospital and even one with the police. The disappearing patients weren't few and far between anymore. It was happening nearly every other week. One doctor at Memorial had made the very foolish mistake of heading over to the lab to speak with Philip Tate about the matter once one of his own patients vanished.
It wasn't long after the one-sided discussion began that George Maxwell emerged from a door to the right of Philip's desk. The doctor stopped his rant the moment he laid eyes on Maxwell and Philip swore he had a stroke. Standing before them was not the renowned and refined man who had appeared at Memorial Pharmaceuticals eight years ago and given them so many amazing advancements. Instead there was a disgruntled mess wearing black gloves and a lab coat that was completely covered in blood splatter. Flecks of blood were also visible on his face and in his matted hair. Philip nearly gagged in horror and the doctor had turned white as a sheet. Whatever Maxwell was doing, things had clearly gotten messy.
"Tate..." Maxwell looked over at the man in question and saw that he was on the verge of either running in terror or flat out fainting. He then directed his gaze over to the doctor. "Was this man concerned with something?" His eyes and voice were cold and held no emotion save for the slightest hint of annoyance.
"T-that's Doctor Kohl," Philip said dumbly. He was still in shock from Maxwell's appearance. The bloodied man shot him a disapproving look, as though he was scolding a child for making up poor excuses for why his hand was in the cookie jar.
"Y-you're... Blood... Y-you're completely c-covered with it!" Dr. Kohl took a shaky step back. Surely it couldn't have been Maxwell who was behind all the disappearances and deaths. He didn't want to believe any of it, even though all the proof he needed was directly in front of him.
"I know..." he stated slowly. He took a step toward the doctor who gasped and quickly spun to face the door but was a second too late as a painfully tight grip caught his arm. Maxwell's hold continued to tighten until Kohl was certain his arm would break. He fell to his knees and wanted to cry in relief once he felt the appendage drop next to him. His relief quickly evaporated once he realized that the other man was still looming over him. Overtaken by fear again he pushed himself up and to the door in one swift movement but froze once he felt a gun jabbed directly into his spine.
"Ah-! You wouldn't!" Dr. Kohl's voice was partially muffled due to being shoved up against the wooden door of Philip's office. He felt the gun dig deeper into his back and heard Maxwell chuckle quietly.
"Why not?" he asked.
"People will hear the gunshot."
"And? All that does is prove they aren't deaf."
Kohl was going to respond when he suddenly realized why it didn't matter. "You bastard," he said as the gun was pushed even deeper. Maxwell's face split into a murderous grin as the doctor ground his teeth and tried to break free. He released him and when he was fairly recovered he pistol-whipped him full force across the face. Kohl hit the ground and was met with a swift kick to the jaw. Maxwell holstered the gun and kicked him again.
Philip, who had been standing there staring the entire time, desperately wanted to stop it. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to rush in and attack Maxwell. Snatch the gun, punch him, tackle him, anything at all that would mean no more deaths. However, that simply wasn't possible whenever George Maxwell was involved. The man could be an absolute beast if he wanted to be and there was no stopping him once he was on a rampage. You either moved and watched him go by, or held your ground and wound up decimated. In any case, it wasn't fun to deal with.
"Now do you see?" Maxwell asked in a calm voice. Dr. Kohl attempted to glare at him from his spot on the floor, but the room was spinning and shifting and he was seeing so many Maxwells he wasn't sure which to aim it at.
"M-Maxwell..." The man stopped tormenting the doctor to address Philip who nearly choked once he was given the attention.
"Yes?" His demeanor became monotonous once more and the empty look returned to his eyes. Looking at Maxwell now, Philip Tate saw why Allen had been so interested in finding out if his personality was changing. But was this the change he had been expecting? A sick and soulless individual with even worse morals than before and no concerns for other life? If so then why hadn't he warned him? Or better yet, why was there even supposed to be a change? Surely the digging up of the Maxwell Grave alone couldn't have caused this. Not unless...
"What is it, Tate?" The harshness of Maxwell's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he quickly responded.
"Is this... necessary?" He meant to sound more certain, more firm, but his voice came out in a slight whisper.
Maxwell's eyes widened ever so slightly and for the briefest of moments he looked as though he had no idea how to answer. The look passed just as quickly as it came though, and he set his sights back on the doctor who had managed to prop himself up against the wall. When he noticed Maxwell looking at him he promptly spat a wad of bloodied spit at his shoes, to which Maxwell smirked.
"Of course it is," he said, still looking down on the man in front of him. Philip wanted to hit himself. Why would he ask such a question? What he really wanted to do was scream at him to stop this now and then incapacitate him and call the police before watching them cart him off to where he'd get the death sentence. That was what he imagined but deep down he knew that he'd never be able to do that. He was much too old and was physically no match for the other man. All he could do was pray he'd be forgiven for his silence.
"What's the matter, Tate?" Philip looked at Maxwell in surprise that he'd been spoken to without having to address him first. "You seem distressed." It might have been his imagination-and he desperately hoped it was-but he thought that Maxwell's voice lowered for just a second. Despite speaking to him, he hadn't even turned to look at him and yet somehow he knew how he was feeling. He was beginning to think that maybe the scent of fear was real.
"I-"
"Is it because I'm abusing this poor man?" he asked with mock concern. "Perhaps it is a bit harsh. After all, he was only concerned about his patient's whereabouts. Isn't that right, Doctor?" Dr. Kohl tried to back further into the wall as Maxwell reached down and grabbed him by the collar. He lifted him with ease and brought his face closer so that he could easily see the fear racing through his eyes.
"Let me go!" Kohl brought his arm back and launched his fist directly into Maxwell's face. The man's head instantly snapped back and he flinched slightly, but he did not let go. Instead he lifted his head back up and cracked his neck before wiping the blood off his face with his free hand. He then preceded to repeatedly punch the doctor in the face. Philip merely watched in a mixture of guilt and terror as each punch hit its mark. At some point he heard a sickening crunch and watched as the blood ran down Kohl's face onto his clothes and the floor.
Maxwell, now seemingly satisfied, dropped the man. Philip said nothing as he stared at the limp form. He knew it was horrible and selfish, but he couldn't help but be thankful that it wasn't him.
"How easy do you think it'll be to avoid any suspicion if this man were to go missing?" Maxwell asked calmly, almost cheerily. Philip didn't know how to respond. First he comes in looking like a deranged surgeon, then he brutally beats a man, and now he's acting like they're planning an outing. He might as well have asked who was going to be in charge of sandwiches for a Memorial Pharmaceuticals staff picnic. "It'll be very difficult, yes." He must have gotten sick of waiting for a response.
"W... what?" It was the only thing Philip could manage at the moment.
"I have a job for you, Tate," Maxwell said sternly as he hefted the doctor off the ground and slung him over his shoulder. "Keep the police out of this." He then walked past him and headed the way he came all the while muttering something about parasites and formulas. That night saw Philip Tate trying to figure out every way of keeping the police out of Maxwell's business. Things were getting increasingly difficult though, thanks to one Detective Alex Corey. The guy had been trying to get into the lab to do some investigating ever since the frequencies of missing patients increased. They've managed to slip past for the most part, but now that a doctor's gone missing...
"How can I possibly keep this up?" Philip groaned and rubbed his temples. It was impossible to keep anyone from investigating. Doctor Kohl was last seen at Memorial Pharmaceuticals Research Lab and it was on the matter of a missing patient. If that wasn't already enough grounds for a full-fledged investigation, then there's also the fact that refusing any police admission would only make them seem even more suspicious. At this point he wasn't sure what would be worse: life in prison or Maxwell's wrath.
He glanced at the clock on his wall and let out a long sigh. It was 3:15 AM. Another night wasted at Memorial thanks to Maxwell's orders. Now he had to add making up an excuse for his family to his to-do list. Things couldn't be any worse.
Beep
Click
Philip started when he heard the lock release. He looked over at the door by his desk and saw Maxwell emerge from it. Fortunately, he had gotten rid of the bloodstained lab coat and had cleaned himself up. If he hadn't been there to witness the event earlier he never would have believed the other man would do such a thing. He seemed positively normal right now, to the point where Philip was starting to wonder if the whole occurrence earlier had been nothing but an awful dream his overworked brain conjured up. Just as he was on the verge of tricking himself into believing it Maxwell smiled. It was the same sickening smile he often wore when he had achieved something in his own interests.
"I just made a breakthrough," he said, still smiling. "I think I've finally gotten it right. I just have to run a few more tests to be certain though..." He trailed off as he looked at the clock. Glancing back at Philip he added, "I'm off," before swiftly making his way to the door.
Though he knew he'd regret it, he stopped Maxwell. "What about... Doctor Kohl?"
The other man pursed his lips as if thinking of a viable answer. When none came he simply shrugged and looked blankly at Philip. "What about him?" That was it.
"Dammit! Don't play dumb! You know exactly what I'm asking!" Philip slammed his hands on his desk and stood up before quickly backing down. His outburst could cost him and his family their lives.
Maxwell smiled slightly at the pained man in front of him. Tate wanted to stand up and put an end to this but didn't have the guts to do so. He was too frightened of what could happen. Pathetic really. Although he didn't know how lucky he was to still be alive. He would've been dead ages ago had it not been for Hale.
Maxwell inwardly snarled at the name. Just the thought of that man pissed him off. He knew that Allen Hale and Philip Tate were still in contact; had known for some time now. He'd seen Philip re-entering Allen Hale into the security scanner of his office and had even tailed him once, just to be certain. Those two had met at what they thought was a secure location. If only they knew how wrong they were. He kept tabs on everyone in the event that someone thought it smart to go against him. Given Tate's personality though, it was most likely Allen who had initiated contact and it was probably his idea to dig up his children. Whether or not Tate helped didn't matter, although he was most certain that he did. They were both going to suffer severely for that, starting with Philip. Maxwell still wasn't certain what to do to Hale. He'd already lost his job, his family, and his reputation. What more was there? Oh well. He could figure it out later. Heck, maybe him just making progress with the Cerebral Toxin was enough torture for him. It was one of the only logical reasons he could think of for why he'd be keeping in touch with Tate. Either that, or there was something that he overlooked.
"Well... What do you think happened to him?" Maxwell asked, a sadistic smile forming on his face. Philip gulped and paled. There was nothing Maxwell enjoyed more than tormenting people. This man especially. It always gave him great pleasure to see the horrified faces people could make and watch all the emotions flash through their eyes in a matter of seconds. Philip was no different save for the fact that he was the easiest of all to scare. And he could have some of the most amusing reactions if pushed enough.
"Well?" he pressured. He was hoping for a reaction.
"U-um..." Philip took a shaky breath to steady himself. Maxwell was always a frightening man and as time went on it almost seemed to get worse. Philip heard all sorts of horror stories from the other scientists whenever they were certain the man wasn't listening. There were even a few who were 'fired', although not by him. Despite all this, nothing had ever really happened to him outside of threats. As a matter of fact, every time he spoke with the raven-haired man he always seemed to be polite. When he wasn't angry over something, at least.
Looking at Maxwell's sinister smile now and after seeing him earlier Philip suddenly felt the slightest twinge of betrayal and a lot of anger. That man had kept his darker intentions deliberately hidden specifically so that he could force him to do his bidding. That had to be it. It did explain the sudden change in his behavior. Now that he'd gotten Philip so deeply involved with his crimes there was no need for him to hide anything anymore. It was far too late for him to go to the cops and even if he tried Maxwell was sure to find a way to pin it all on him. He did with Allen.
I can't believe I was such a fool, he thought.
Maxwell let out a brief laugh as the last emotion that floated through Philip's eyes was utter sadness. Before the other man could say a word he left the office, all the while smiling at how easy it was to tear people down.
Philip let out a long sigh and decided it would be best to head home and get some sleep. He wasn't making any progress with lies for the police and he couldn't stay there for two whole days without freaking out his family. So he straightened out his desk, threw on his coat, and left the office. As he was walking to his car he couldn't help but shiver at a thought he just had. It might be best if he cut all ties with Allen.
A/N: Okay so now I'm starting to get closer to the actual events of the game. I hope that these time skips aren't getting confusing or anything, and if there's something you don't get then just ask me and I'll do my best to explain. It'll be another chapter-possibly two (maybe)-before I get to the game's events but I hope the backstory for before makes sense and that the characters don't seem too OC.
