Chapter 3: Background Check
Artie groaned. Opening his eyes, he remembered where he was. He looked around and realized the reason he had woken from his unexpected nap. That annoying buzzing could only be one thing. The Farnsworth.
Groaning again, he sat up and grabbed the device from its holder and opened it, successfully aborting the incessant noise.
"Artie!" said Pete's distorted face. "We have something. It's not much, but it should help. The artifact seems to have sucked the fluids, and some of the nutrients out of the victim's body."
"Do you have it?"
"No," said Myka's head, as it pushed Pete's to the side of the screen. "We talked to the detective working the case, and he said that he moved it to a lab for testing."
"Not good. See if you can get it out of there in case someone else gets drained."
"Will do. Oh, and Artie, I picked up a weird vibe from that detective guy. Would you do a background check on detective Preston of the Bellevue PD? I'll keep an eye on him anyway, just in case."
"Sure. I'll check for anything suspicious."
"We'll call you again with any new updates."
"Alright, while you two are getting the Rubik's cube, I'll research why I've never heard of this cube before. If you guys find anything else or need my help with something, you know how to get a hold of me," said Artie just before switching off the Farnsworth.
Turing towards the computer screen, Artie began to think. "Why have I never heard of this cube and its mysterious power before? It must have been covered up somewhere by someone who didn't want it to be public knowledge. Now where to start looking? I guess when and where they started making them would work."
Opening up the Internet, Artie began speaking out loud. "Let's see where, and when, Rubik's cubes originated, for a start." As he typed 'Rubik's Cube' into the search bar, the computer screen began to flicker. "Oh come on! Not right now!" Artie yelled, while giving the side of the monitor a hard slap. The screen returned to a normal steady state. "Now back to researching," Artie grumbled.
He began to scroll down the page of results that had popped up when he searched, when the title of one of the pages caught his eye: '35 People Killed, 65 Injured in Rubik's Cube Factory Fire.' Clicking on the link, Artie began to read the article, but he stopped himself. He thought for a minute, then decided to call Pete and Myka to update them.
"Myka, let's head over to that lab and see if we can take a peek at the artifact. Can you get a hold of Preston and ask him if he'll meet us there?"
"You sure you want him around?"
"I want to keep an eye on him. If he is a possible threat to our mission, it would be a good idea to keep tabs on him."
"Good point, but in the times that he isn't around, who knows what he could be doing."
"Well I'm hoping he occupies himself with normal, everyday things. I trust my vibes though."
"Alright, I'll call."
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the lab. It was a medium sized building, one story, with many bushes and plants around it. The entryway had a small overhang which protected the door from any rain that might decide to show itself. They got out of the car and went inside, looking around for Preston.
When Preston saw them, he broke off the conversation he was having with the man standing next to him.
"Ah, Agents, hello. This is the forensics director of this district, Mister James Terrence." Terrence shook hands with both of them, stepping forward to talk.
"You may have been wondering why the cube was brought into the testing section. It was because I requested it. When we first saw it at the crime scene, it was glowing with an intense white light. Since then it has faded to what I must assume is a normal look for it. I have been experimenting on it to see if I can recreate that light." In actual fact, he had requested its presence here for a specific reason, other than the one he just mentioned. He had heard many rumors of objects that had a power linked to them. There had been many unexplained things happening, and some object having been removed from the same area. There was never a report of a similar incident dated after. He knew the government was hiding things, and this seemed like something they would be looking for. He decided to test this object to see if he could figure things out for himself.
"The object is in the examination room. If you would follow me…" They followed Terrence back into the center of the building. He stopped before a door marked with the number 38. It is in here. Please, do not touch it. We are not sure if it does anything, but we do not want to take chances.
"Sure thing," said Pete. "Let's see it" Terrence nodded and opened the door. Pete took a second to glance around the room. It had a table in the center, with a few cords leading away from it. In the corner and along one wall, there was a counter with various supplies and chemicals in clearly labeled containers on top. There was also a lower section of counter which looked almost like a seat. However, it had several boxes of tools and wires sitting on it. Interesting. The cube was sitting near the middle of the table, with a few wires connected to what looked like a battery charger.
"We just finished testing it for electrical current and conductivity. The cube seems to possess neither. We should be starting a series of test to try to get some sort of reaction out of it later today."
"Sounds good. What will you do if it reacts?"
"The technicians will back off and observe. We are hoping that if there is a reaction, that it will be something that we can control, and use to our benefit.
"I guess we'll leave you to it then," said Myka. "Mind if we come back tonight to watch the tests?"
"Not at all. I hope to see you two there." Terrence said his goodbye, and Preston escorted them back out of the building. He then proceeded to tell them what time they should plan on arriving. They climbed into their car, then pulled out onto the street.
The Farnsworth beeped once as it turned on, and Artie pressed the call button. Pete's face appeared on the pixel screen.
"Artie! What's up?"
"Pete, Myka, listen. I was searching around, and found this article. I'll read it out to you:
It is titled: '35 People Killed, 65 Injured in Rubik's Cube Factory Fire.' It's dated July 7, 1981, and printed by a newspaper in Budapest, Hungary.
Early this morning, at about 9:15 A.M., a fire broke out in the newly opened Rubik's factory. The fire started in a small chamber off the main factory floor, and quickly spread out into the hallway, where it blocked the only way out of the factory for people on the third floor. As a result of this, people were trapped on the third floor with no way out of the burning building. Fire brigades arrived on scene at around 9:39 A.M., and began to try to put out the fire. People resorted to jumping from third floor windows as the fire and smoke began to make it unbearable on the factory floor. After fire brigades were able to put out the blaze, a single Rubik's Cube was found in the wreckage of the factory. As of 12:00 P.M. today, the hospital has reported that 35 people have died of injuries connected to the fire, and 65 more are injured. Spokesperson for the Company Puzzle Masters Incorporated, Daniel Preston, released a short statement to the press at 11:30 A.M. stating the following: "We at Puzzle Masters Incorporated are shocked at this morning's fire in our recently opened factory, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who passed away or received injuries as a result or this tragic fire."
"Well," said Pete, "It seems Preston is not new to this case."
I am incredibly sorry for the four month space between updates. I lost the drive that I had for the story, and I hope that it has returned. Thanks go to TheFallenCoDLion for working with me to improve the story. I appreciate it. I plan on updating more regularly, once a week or so. Read and Review!