Bennett reacted quickly, and along with Corso, they stretched Sonny on the floor and began preforming CPR on him, while Artie contacted the doctor.
Callie watched in fear, at Bennett and Corsos desperate attempt to make Sonnys heart start to beat again.
No one knew what caused Corso to do what he did, but all of a sudden,he balled up his fist and struck Sonny at the tip of the breastbone. The blow landed hard, but didnt break anything. It looked brutal, but it had the desired effect. Sonny all of a sudden gasped for air as the blow had sent a shock through his chest, that made his heart start beating again. It had only lasted a short minute, but it felt like an eternity. As he tried to sit up, he found that Corso held him down by the shoulders.
"Sonny, No! Your heart stopped beating for a moment, I had to punch you in the chest to get it back to working again. That rat put something on that disc with your old name. Must have been nano bugs again. Or poison. It must have triggered something in your body to overload your heart for a minute. I dont want you to stress right now. So I will carry you to bed, but promise me Sonny, you will rest until the doctor can examine you more thoroughly. This was an attempt on your life" Corso begged as he pulled him into an embrace. Sonny could barely hold on to Corso, he could feel his best friends heart racing, and could only imagine the adrenaline rush he experienced with this.
Sonny nodded faintly to what Corso suggested. Corsos reaction, and his two other mens fearful looks, spoke volumes. Whatever it was he had stumbled upon, had made someone very nervous. To the point they would kill whomever threatened to speak the truth about their deeds.
Corso carefully rose from the floor, lifting Sonny in his arms, and headed to the bedroom, where he gently placed him in bed. Then, he stuck his hand inside his pocket, and pulled out a syringe. Sonny looked at him.
"You really think this is necessary Corso? I feel better now. I dont need help sleeping" he tried.
Corso nodded as he sat down next to him.
"You scared the crap out of us with this Sonny. You really do need to rest, at least, with this, I know you wont be in any danger. If you want, I will ask one of the others to give you a massage, or just sit here, so you wont be alone. But I will make sure you get to rest. Give me your arm, so I can do this without forcing it on you." he offered.
Sonny nodded, letting Corso inject him with the sleeping agent.
"Could you ask Callie if she wants to help a pirate in need again? We got too close to the truth of things Corso. The good doctor is nervous about that, and I want to know who he and Bleylock had a contract on me with. And what kind of training was left for me to complete before they deemed me ready for is pulling the strings, is still holding their shadowy hands over the doctor, pulling his strings as the perfect puppetmaster. If Callie can use her skills to get on the money trail, we can wrap this up ahead of the trial. And with luck, reunite some of those lost ones with their loved ones" he mused.
Corso nodded as he stood up.
"I will take care of it Sonny. You should be getting sleepy any minute now. I will let you rest. I got a few things to take care of" he said.
Sonny looked at him, he knew what Corso planned on.
"Corso, going rough on him is ok, I get your need for that, considering the past you have with him. But dont kill him. We will need his testimony" he said, clearly getting sleepy.
Corso smiled softly as he tucked him in.
"As you say Sonny, you are the boss".
Why did he feel like things just got several times worse? Wasnt it bad enough that he and Bleylock had taken the money from these aliens, and spent it? Well, he had spent his share, Bleylock had probably used it to buy off some of his contacts, that would not be the first time he did something like that.
What frightened him, was how much Blackbones seemed to know already. He was sure he had covered his tracks.
But then again, no one really had a clear idea of whom the pirates worked with or just did business with. Even Technoid operatives sometimes dealt with Sonnys pirates when it came to new and advanced technology. Well, new and advanced for Technoid. From the look of things, they bought items that the pirates had upgraded several times, and had any chance of escaping detection of, posing it as their invention. Some of the new robot models was based on pirate design. Sometimes he wondered if Sonny knew what his men was doing, or wheter they, like himself, operated behind their bosses back.
He had been put in an interrogation room aboard the pirates ship, Black Manta he believed they called it. Someone was either running late, or planning a brutal interview. When the door finally opened, the doctor felt his heart race in share utter fear. Corso Takashi, the pirate chiefs righthand man stood in the door, his cybernetic eye pulsating from suppressed anger.
Corso slammed the door shut. And he was seething. The doctor felt Corso grab his lapells and press him up against the wall.
"You are gonna tell me just what kind of poison you put on that damn disc. The disc itself is empty. I find out tha this was an attempt to murder Sonny, you are going to truly feel my wrath!" he growled.
The doctor attempted to swallow a lump.
Corso let the grip loosen somewhat.
"For your information doc, Sonny is still alive. He should be receiving a medical check up right about now. You are lucky Doc. If He experiences the same issues I saw on Chissia, I will end you. You really seem to have a problem making up your mind on what to do when it comes to him. First, you want to sell him to some contractor you wont name, and the next minute you try to kill him, just because he presents you with verifiable facts. I find this strange to say the least doctor. It seems Sonny just threw a blind punch in your direction, but it hit target. So, to make up for almost killing him, you are going to tell me all about the contractor that paid for Sonnys training, and what amount you and Bleylock sold him for".
Callie and Bennett watched as the doctor carefully secured the needed samples and swabs of off Sonnys body. He had been sleeping through it all. The doctor also checked his heart beats and other vitals.
He started to pack away his gear.
"His heartbeats are regular. There seems to be no major damage to his vitals either. He is lucky. This disc you told me about, it has been laden with a poison, it seems to be something Sonny is either sensitive to,or there is allergies in play. I have used a chemical treatment on his hands, to make sure there is no residue left. For him, its a lesson to always wear protective gloves with such items when he wakes up. There appears to be no permanent damage to his heart though. Sonny is one of the strongest and surely, most fit men his age group, that I have ever met. All he needs now, is to sleep the medication Corso gave him off. And he would be ready to start a slow, but steady training to regain full lung effect in the coming days. But keep it slow. Dont let him wear himself out." the doctor reported.
The two pirates were relieved.
"That may just have saved the doctor from Corso tearing him apart. You know how he is when it comes to Sonny" Artie said.
Bennett nodded.
"And still, Corso wonders why the old married couple jokes about him and Sonny are as popular as they are on board The Black Manta. If he could sweep Sonny of his feet and run off to marry him, and keep him locked in a safe place for life, he would be the first to act" he said.
Callie had to hide her smile. She could actually imagine the two top dog pirates just like that, with no clear definition on whom wore the dress and whom wore the pants.
" I dont think Sonny would let him do that Bennett, he is too macho for that. Should we tell Corso the news? You know, to make sure he wont commit murder during the interrogation? He looked like he was about to explode when he left. I would not want to be in the doctors shoes on this" Artie said.
Bennett nodded.
"You re right lad. Ill call him".
Corso had made sure to record all that the doctor said. The frightened doctor had spilt the beans in a hurry, to avoid angering him further. And it left Corso realising that Technoid, as bad as things already seemed, had an even bigger issue, hidden inside its walls.
Sure, the company was a technological giant, with arms to every sector of the galaxy. But what Bleylock, the doctor, and several members of the board of directors covered up,that he had not seen. And he suspected Sonny would not be happy over this suspicion being confirmed.
Human trafficking! They dealt in selling the best trained scientists the company had, seemingly with no regard for their fates, or wheter their knowledge could be used as a tool to device a war on the galaxy, or even the company itself. He knew Sonny suspected something like this after he told him about the doctors work on Chissia, but they had no hard evidence to back it up. Until now. What they really needed, was access to Bleylocks computer files, and the doctors. Corso hoped to find a client list, find the contractors and the buyers. Maybe they could also get to rescue some of the abducted ones. He had to run the idea by Sonny, as soon as he was strong enough to cope. To see him fall over like that, and find his heart stopped had given Corso a real scare. He also needed to find out why Sonny had been poisoned. As he thought of that, his transmitter beeped.
Corso answered. Bennett quickly updated him on what the doctor said.
Corso lowered his shoulders considerably, once the call ended.
Then, he looked at the doctor.
"Its your lucky day Doc. Sonny will be just fine. Now, with that aside, I got an offer for you, I suggest you consider taking it, as it is a hell of a lot better than what Technoid would give".
Duke Maddox looked at the incident report from last night. He had suspected that Doctor Crawen was up to something, but this, he had not expected. He could see the many holograms of Sonny, moving about in a predetermined grid. The doctor appeared nervous. And it seemed, Sonny was deliberately leading him towards a spesific area of the laboratories. The same area that he and his collegues once worked in. Duke Maddox rubbed his chin. He could see Corso apprehend the doctor, clearly, he packed some anger towards him, it was even possible he knew of the doctors past. Then, his gaze focused back on Sonny, whom sat down behind Bleylocks old desk. It seemed he was very focused, looking for something spesific. Maybe information on what Bleylock knew about the project that made him and his lab partner fugitives all those years back.
It seemed he found what he sought, as Sonny inserted a special disc into the machine, to copy something over. He had to have his maintenance team have a look at what Sonny had really looked at. Then, it was if the pirate chief noticed something in a drawer, and he reached for it. It seemed like a small disc. Even he could tell, it had Sonnys old name on it. Then, his men called out to him, and Sonny stuck it inside a pocket.
As he continued to study the video, a shadow fell upon him.
Duke Maddox looked up.
Corso Takashi stood in the room, his face a mask of stone.
"We got a problem Duke. And if you dont do something about it, you will find a lot of bad publicity coming your way, from all across the galaxy and beyond" he said.
Duke Maddox was not in the mood for this.
"What do you want Corso? As I see it, my biggest problem, happens to be you pirates" he growled.
Corso smirked.
"Wouldnt it be nice if things were that easy? You got a real bad infestation of rats in your company. You have known about it for years, and yet, you did nothing to change it. Either Bleylock is a better manipulator than Sonny gives him credit for, or you just dont care at all whom gets hurt on your watch. The reason I am here, are the many scientists you lost. I looked through their files. I find it curious, as does Sonny, with all the possibilities Technoid could offer them, they all mysteriously vanished. Id like to know what your thoughts on that is" Corso said.
Duke Maddox looked at him.
"Sonny found something interesting in the files he copied from Bleylocks computer I take it? It took several minutes to copy it over. I watched the surveillance tapes" he stated.
Corso nodded.
"He has not had time to view it yet, thanks to your doctor. It seems Sonny knows things, things that is making people in your company sweat. Or did you order someone to try to kill him to cover things up?" Corso asked.
The Dukes shocked expression was all he needed. He had no idea of the doctors actions.
"Please tell me that Sonny is safe, and that he is still alive" he said, voice shaking with fear.
Corso nodded.
"Sonny is just fine, he received medical attention after he got some poison on his hands. It caused a short heart failure, wichh we dealt is fine under the circumstances, and he will make a full recovery. Dont you worry about him, he always pulls through. But I would advice you to have a closer look at Doctor Crawen and Bleylocks dealings. What they did is serious, and the good doctor risks being put away for decades, if we cant find the missing scientists alive. As soon as Sonny feels ready, we will look into the matter" Corso informed.
Duke Maddox nodded.
"And the upcoming trial? Will it be an in absentia trial on his part, or is he strong enough to come forth in person?" he asked.
Corso looked at him.
"I dont know what he plans on doing yet. For now, he is working to get better and heal from his wound. He told me to bring you these two files, they will tell you just how Bleylock and Crawen operated. You may want to consider an overhaul of whom you trust after this. If it was the pirates, these kind of actions would lead to a permanent shunning and exile" Corso said.
Duke Maddox opened the first file.
It really didnt make much sense to him, he looked like a question mark,and Corso noticed.
"Have one of your skilled professors tell you more about nano technology and its use. Crawen has used it for years, with dire consequences for the involved. This isnt Sonnys field of expertise, but he learned more about it in two days than most do in two years. In some sense I do feel sorry for you for losing him. You losing him became the pirates gain though. Rest assured that we know what kind of gem we have in him. Sonny would be willing to aid an investigation, but dont expect him to come walking in alone. We would never let him do that. The next file, is Bleylock and Crawens list of buyers. I suggest you follow the money trail, and report your findings to this email" Corso said and gave him a card.
Duke Maddox nodded.
"This is how Sonny chooses to communicate?" he asked,
Corso nodded.
"For now. Prove that he can trust you to pull your weight of the load, and own your mistakes, and he might be more forthcoming. For now, this is all he is prepared to give" Corso said.
Duke Maddox nodded.
"Ill be in touch" Corso said.
When Duke Maddox looked up again, the pirates righthand man, was gone.