Eifion deals with the culprit with a firm, yet reasonable hand.
Guest Thank you for the review, it made me smile.
A\N: Sorry for the late post, I had an early start and long shift.
Eifion was leaning forward in his chair, staring intently at the boy before him. He researched all five students… Simone was the one that fits the bill perfectly. He may not have a motive, but considering what the young adult was working on, he has the skillset to pull it off.
What he wants to understand is the motive, why he did what he did. If he can give ample reasons for his work, he'll keep the boy enrolled… However, if his reasoning is weak, they'll have one less student this year.
The young man felt so little in the deacon's gaze. His piercing eyes, staring, looking for something "You… asked to speak to me?"
Eifion offered a nod before leaning back, showing a smile to the student. Even if he had evil intent, he won't be able to deny the person's skills and abilities. He'll need to broach this subject carefully, before going into any claims, "I wanted to speak to you about your thesis."
"Oh…?" Simone Malmström's features lit up. He was finally getting some recognition for his work. But this sinking gut feeling isn't helping him right now. What exactly did he do wrong? "What did you want to talk about…"
"Well, first off… I wanted to point out you're quite skilled for your age… with what you're working on, studying… your grades… you're driving through the subjects like a bulldozer. It shows in your thesis."
"Thank you… I have a motive that's pushing me forward."
"Oh, is it someone you care about?"
"Actually… cared… she passed away a few years ago."
"You have my sincerest apologies."
"I can't change the past… but I'm hoping I can change the future."
"Right…" Eifion pulled a printed document of the boy's thesis out from one of his desk drawers, pretending to scan through it as he interviewed the writer before him "So… you're working on mental health, with reasonable facts and claims… even going as far to use my uncle's research along with Gene therapy, to suggest a reasonable plan of action. Have you submitted any of your work to your Professor? Have you suggested a clinical trial run?"
"I tried, but he brushed it aside… claiming the risks were too high."
"Yet, you're still working on this project…?"
"What's this about?"
"I'm curious. I rarely get to see my uncle's work being applied… in a null risk way."
"The professor said otherwise. Too many risks involved."
"That's your professor… I'm the deacon with no claims of understanding the full extent of your work. Walk me through it."
"Well… if you want to know, I'm not focusing on just mental health… I'm focusing on mainly the worst-of-the-worst cases involving depression." The man gave a nod for the boy to continue, "One of the biggest problems involved in depression, is those with suicidal thoughts. It's not something that can always be fixed with a few sessions with a Psychologist or Psychiatrist. Sometimes the case is worse… and medication sometimes doesn't help the situation; wrong doses, them being too low could prove useless or two high can result in dangerous situations."
"Suicidal thoughts…"
"Exactly, I'm trying to figure out the best plan of attack to help regulate the bodies mood, with the least amount of risks involved."
"I can see why your Professor said it was a high risk now… everyone works differently, so doses of something like this could either throw their emotions out of whack or… make them tranquil… emotionless if you will."
"Yeah… that's a problem."
"Have you by chance… tried offering a weaker version of this to the professor to try? An emotional regulator of sorts."
The boy shook his head.
"How about on other students…"
Simone's eyes narrowed, "What's this about?"
Eifion messed up, but it looks like he triggered the boy. He was getting defensive in both tone and mannerisms now. He struck a chord, so he's going to keep hitting it now "You see… there's a problem going on during the parties-"
"I don't go to those. They're loud and obnoxious… the drunken fools that party like it's their last day on earth."
"Right… but what's going on, is that some students have been slipped something that makes them change emotionally whether they be reserved, quiet or passive, they become the complete opposite of themselves…"
"Alcohol usually brings out the things you tend to keep those feelings deep within yourself."
"That's if they're as drunk or at least tipsy… these people are usually social drinkers, one or two a night… so it wouldn't explain why they're hammered."
"Poor tolerance… Not drinking water… empty stomach, usually are the culprits of those situations."
"Indeed… you could chalk it up to those reasons, however… it wouldn't explain why their alcohol levels were low… low enough to not cause those kinds of issues."
"So, what…? You're trying to pin on me?! I did nothing wrong! I'm not the one whose giving… whatever these students were being slipped."
Eifion's eye twitched, "On the contrary… I know it's you. Using the information, I obtained from the last victim, I ran a database search for someone whose studying in the field of Chemistry and Gene therapy. Now, a few people are studying in those fields so I can't pin it on you that way… but your thesis… the details you go into, well… let's just say you became prime suspect number one. Given your knowledge on the subject, I surmised that you could easily whip something like this up."
"It's NOT me…"
Eifion leaned forward, elbows resting on the table, a menacing aura leaking out "I want the truth… from what you were telling me earlier… I could tell you're hiding something from me. I want to know what that is… what your motives were behind this trial testing phase was…?"
"I'm telling the truth! It's not me…"
Eifion sighed, "If there's one thing I picked up on, it's reading emotions… you're scared… what are you scared about?"
"You!"
"No, it's deeper than that… if you feared me, you would've looked away. But you continued to look at me… and that fear was originating from deeper within you."
"I haven't done nothing wrong…"
"But you have done something… these poor students. What did you test on them?"
Simone buckled, tears streaming down his face. Something was bubbling from within his chest, a fear like no other. He had been found out, but he hadn't done anything like what he's been accused of for months now, "It's a basic stress reliever… HOWEVER, I haven't done anything for a while. All my tests have been a failure, so I went back to the drawing board to figure out where I went wrong."
"Explain…"
"It's a mix of herbs that are designed to help relieve stress and fatigue. I'd normally approach students, offer this to them. I'd make them sign a contract to not say anything. At the start, it seemed to be working fine… they'd feel better after a couple of hours. But then I started building on it, trying to find a way to help regulate emotions. So, I started targeting those with social anxiety. Make it so it helps people come out of their shell too…"
"And this is where everything went wrong?"
"Yeah… it worked… a little too well. It amplified their emotions… but mixed with alcohol, it made the drug worse. Those who went into a wild streak, I made sure to take them back to their place so they could rest. When I saw them in corridors, they were fine, so I didn't pursue the matter further. All I wanted to achieve in the beginning, is find a way to get the drug into their system so it does what it's meant to do… without any negative results. All of them being drunk after having it with alcohol was… a negative effect. So, I stopped trialling it. I haven't used it in months."
"You did… recently… with a boy, age thirteen."
"No! That wasn't me! I-" Simone closed his mouth.
"You, what?" Eifion's eyes narrowed "What did you do!"
"I didn't do it… it had to be one of my roommates. One of them likely took a vial from the latest batch I was throwing away."
"Why…? Why do you think it was this person that did it?"
"He was a little under the weather, so I gave him a vial of the older trial, something to help make him… chipper. I told him to not drink any alcohol, not that he would… he doesn't look the type to go partying, anyways. When he asked me why I scared him saying that'll make him an emotional mess. He probably took another vial from me, one from my latest batch to slip it to this person so he'll break up with whoever it is he's with…"
"Wait…" Eifion pulled up the dormitories file, pulling up the list of students on campus "Who are your roommates…" he asked rhetorically, expecting no response.
When he found the list of names, Simone spoke "Isaac-"
"Isaac Morris, right?"
"Yeah… that kid… Slow on the uptake…"
"You're not off the hook though."
"I said I stopped!"
"But you still went through your own, clinical trial… using students as guinea pigs. I want you to hand over all your work, including any backup copies, as well as remaining ingredients or finish products over to me."
"You can't make me-"
"Let me be frank…" Eifion leaned forward, "You're lucky I'm still letting you stay here. I'm going to give you high marks for your thesis, the research you've done now is extensive. But after this latest student, your research has become a huge risk…"
"Wait… why? Who's this person?"
"Someone with a heighten immunity system…"
"Then… my basis worked?"
"Yes, it bypassed those who, drugs will not normally effect."
"This is good news!"
"No… it's bad. For the drug to work on someone like this, it has become a huge risk to everyone. It means you figured out the code to bypass humanity's immunity system."
"But-"
"Not buts… I want all, of your research, no matter what it details. I'll get a professor outside of this school to look over your thesis to get a proper scoring."
"No! The person will just steal my data and say he came up with the idea."
"No… they will not. If they do, they'll be dealing with someone… a person who won't take any excuses. They, are way~ scarier than me…"
"But…" the young adult looked defeated. All his work, up in flames because of one person. A self-centred boy screwed him over for selfish reasons. He stopped his trials because it always resulted in a negative reaction, so it had to go back to the beginning, to somehow retain at least some of his thesis. He wanted to be able to bring something in this world… so, could he argue to be able to retain some of his work with Eifion? Would he be allowed to keep his thesis? Would the man allow him to continue his work? He could only try… "Mr Mattocks…"
"Hmm…?"
"I want to be able to still work on my thesis… can't I keep that?"
"I cannot… in good consciousness, allow you to continue working on it. After what you put the other students through… the other harm that-"
"PLEASE…" The boy pleaded with the deacon, now sobbing into his hands "I want to be able to continue working on it… my best friend… I cared about her. She meant so much to me and to hear what she went through… to know how she ended her life. It killed me… after having my professor shut me down, I thought by putting the work in on my own, that the positives would outweigh the risks… I messed up… I made mistakes… I pulled it from the shelves once the results ended in them become too drunk to function. I thought I could find the issue, remove it, and remake the original drug, to work on a massive scale… instead I failed… I failed everyone… I failed her. This thesis, the reason I worked so hard to prove it's possible, so nobody must suffer, like, she did… Can't you-"
When he looked up to meet the deacon's gaze, the man was now furious, "Risks… will never outweigh a positive. What if a school college turned up dead after your trial? What would you say then… would you argue it's just one life, this information could still do good?"
"I…" he looked down into his lap, "You're right… I'll turn all the information over to you this afternoon. Then… I think it's best if I leave the school. I don't deserve to be on these school grounds…"
Eifion's expression softened. Seeing the boy dejected, giving up after having his ears chewed off… he became Vastorie in a sense. He never strived to be this cruel to his students. He never wanted to become the thing he strived to be better than…
More compassionate and understanding…
Sure, he needed to be harsh at times, but this time… Simone may have gone too far with his research… he may have killed the boy's dream to help others… But even so, with the students he trialled this drug on, none of them was seriously harmed.
He was careful with his acts…
He was careful about who he targeted…
He made sure to pull his drug off the shelf after students had terrible results. That had to amount for something…
Picking up the boy's Thesis, he slammed it on the table in front of the boy, making him flinch in the process.
Although still teary-eyed, he didn't look like he was expecting a positive outcome from all of this. He had given up completely, "Look…" the man let out a deep sigh, "I'm doing this for your own, good. But considering no one was seriously hurt… I can allow you to continue working on it."
The boy picked up his thesis, clutching it in his arms as though he was being reunited with the best friend he had lost. Tears continued to fall; a sniff being uttered every few seconds. He wanted to thank the man for this opportunity, but he was so broken, he couldn't even do so… he couldn't bring himself to utter a single word.
"However, you're not off the hook… First, there will be a mark on your record about this situation. Second, I want the remaining research, the left-over drugs and the list of people you slipped this drug."
The defeated adult offered a nod.
"I want all research you've included in this thesis to be removed; stuck from all the copies you'll keep. I'll allow you to keep the theory-based stuff… but the things you learned from testing it on students… I want it stripped from your document, got it…?"
He offered another nod…
Eifion stood up, moving around the table to place a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Do right by your best friend. When or if you meet her in the afterlife, you should be prepared to say you did something… for her. You should be prepared to face the consequences of your actions, whether that results in her being proud or angry at you…"
When the young man left, Eifion sighed after the door closed. He felt bad for how the situation turned out. Letting him walk away to continue to work on the thing that could've gotten people hurt… once he sees the boy's research, the last batch of his drugs and gets the contents tested, he felt like he could have a thorough understanding of Simone's work.
Something, however, still felt off about the situation… "How and why is Isaac Morris linked to this situation…?" Why did he steal a vial from a poor batch and slip it into the drink? What was it for Killua…? Unless, his original target was Daniel… but doesn't explain why he'd wanted one of the boys to become an emotional mess? None of this made sense. At least… not right now…
He was missing pieces of the puzzle.
Pausing for a moment to consider the details that were already presented to him. Isaac either wanted to harm one of the boys, or he wanted them to get into a fight with each other.
So far, the two options were malicious reasons, but what he was assuming, could be far from the truth. So, he did the next best thing… picking up the phone, he made a call to administration.
"Hello-"
"I need you to do two things. Get someone to Simone Malmström's dorm room. He has some documents and products he needs to hand over to me. Also, I want you to find and bring Isaac Mattocks to my office. However, do not call him over the PA system. I want none of this getting out, understood?"
"Yes, sir. I'll get right on it…"
When he hanged up, he leaned back into the chair, pondering the situation longer. He still feels bad for Simone, but given that Isaac has now been involved, things have changed. If the situation has become worse than he anticipated, he'll have to split Isaac from the others. Worst-case scenario, he'll have to expel Isaac and unfortunately, Simone as well.
But that was the last thing he wanted to consider right now.
Vastorie might not believe in second chances… but he does, and he'll stick to his ideals. It doesn't matter if that man argues with him about making the wrong decision, he's the deacon, so he should be allowed to take risks on chances he believes is the right thing to do.
Given that the boy was so broken up about the deal they made, he was willing to give the boy a chance to continue to work on his thesis. What he will not do, however, is allow him to apply for Clinical trials… at least not anytime soon.
Another thing he'll have to do… is to talk to the young man's professor. He needed to bring up everything he has learned about the situation. He's prepared for things to go sour, but with everything else handed over, it should help lessen the damage done. It should help redeem Simone from some of his actions.
Not only that… If the professor is unwilling to meet in the middle, he's not about to sack them. What he'll do, however, is look for an off-campus professor who's willing to take over knowing all the facts, and continue to help the Simone further his studies and make up for the harm he has done.
As for Isaac… he wasn't too sure yet, given the details he's aware of right now:
The motives were unknown, even if he starts to make educated guesses about the situation, the details would need to be pulled from the younger boy.
Also. Killua and Daniel arguing with each other would be the last thing either of them wanted.
So, Isaac's motives at best… were poor decisions.