Case 21: The Secret Experiments
Blood coated his hands. Florescent lights flickered over head and the smell of chemicals burned his nose.
Blue eyes opened and closed in a glassy haze as sirens approached and slim hands scrabbled at his wrists as they muttered his name.
"It's okay Rachel. I'm here; I'll figure it out just hold on." His southern drawl was at it's thickest with worry.
"JJ!" That wasn't Rachel, that was the voice he'd been praying for over what seemed like eternity.
"Down here David!" He glanced towards the stairs and watched at the elder detective slowly make his way down with the clank of boots on metal, dressed as a civilian with sleep tousled hair and gun drawn.
Right behind him were the paramedics who dashed towards Rachel, checking her over and stabilising her, taking over putting pressure on the head wound before moving her onto a board and taking her away. JJ ordered one of the officers to go with them and keep the detective informed.
He barely felt himself being dragged up and only truly realised it when the dawning light of the day hit his eyes. David pulled him to the SUV and sat him in the back and grabbed a water bottle and a roll of paper towels and started washing the blood off his lovers hands before taking his head in his hands, gently kissing his lips.
"Tell me what happened Babe." JJ took in a deep breath before looking into blue eyes and started speaking, noticing the Chief approaching from the side.
"You know I wake up at anything. I got a text from Rachel, this address and SOS. I didn't think, just got changed, grabbed my bike and drove here as fast as I could. When I arrived I heard shouting from bellow and found the trapped door. Broke the code and went in. I saw someone trying to attack Rachel but there wasn't enough light to make out any details so I shot over their heads and they shoved Rachel to the side. She cracked her head on the trolley and they ran so I pulled my sweater off and used it to stop the bleeding while I called it in."
He looked down at his hands again and tried not to think on that all to familiar feeling of blood covering his skin, especially with the way it had soaked into his jeans from it's small pool on the floor.
David went to investigate the lab and returned with a syringe of something, a shoe print and a mostly faded document before they were going back to the lab and JJ let himself shower and change to begin the day.
Walking up to the lab he saw his lover matching the shoe tread on the computer and he found the document set up for him to unravel it and he soon discovered a formula of some kind from what he could make out.
He handed it to the lab techs to look over and joined his lover at the computer as the shoe print was matched to an office shoe, certainly not Rachel's.
"Come on, the office is more Rachel's home than her apartment so we might find something there." David nodded and was glad to see JJ was firmly himself.
The news building was the same as it always was, buzzing.
They could hear people talking about Rachel left right and centre but ignored it all to find her desk and Dorian whined as they approached, laying on the floor and hiding behind his paws.
"Carl." The cameraman looked up at him with wide eyes. "Start talking." Dark Greene eyes bored into him, making him tremble and blanch as he looked at the very angry marine before him.
"She was chasing a story, something big she wouldn't tell me about. She started talking to this guy called Drake Ribbs in Walton Square." He stuttered out but whimpered when JJ moved closer, almost growling in anger as he glared down at the man. "Well, I, I may have sold her USB stick to Alden Greene. I needed the money and it was all about Greene Holdings." He was shaking as he looked at Rachel's friend.
"When this case is done you will leave Grimsborough and never come back." The wolf like smile made the man run, thinking JJ would rip his throat out if he stayed.
"Nicely done Babe." Jones chuckled as he looked over a stack of files and found that it was cease and desist letters from a General James March and whipped out his phone, calling Rixton and hoping she could find him something.
JJ however found a tablet and unlocked it before watching a video that Rachel had recorded, she looked composed but scared.
JJ if you're watching this, then it means I am no longer of this world... and presumably it is my investigation that got me killed.
Thankfully that wasn't true, thank God for that text and he meant it. David noticed his lovers hand drift up to the cross under his shirt.
I've been investigating the development of an illegal serum. The serum transforms men into vile killing machines, and always against their will! I've been talking to an ex-military by the name of Drake Ribbs. He's the only living proof that the serum has secretly been tested on humans! But talking to Drake isn't easy: a side-effect of the serum is making him more and more violent. I admit, even I am scared of him sometimes. The serum has already ruined thousands of lives, JJ, you have to stop it before even more people are killed! I'm sorry.
JJ closed his eyes slowly and put the tablet down. She honestly thought she was going to die. That she was ready to give it all to get this done and exposed.
They just left and went to Walton Square, hoping to find Drake Ribbs.
The man wasn't hard to spot, he was built like the hulk and he scowled like him as well.
"Drake Ribbs." JJ called out walking ahead of his lover and making sure there was a good few feet between them and the suspect.
"Yes." He grunted, slightly aggressive but nothing he was worrying about yet, yet.
"I'm Sergeant James Jensen and this is my partner Inspector David Jones, were here investigating an attack on Rachel Priest."
"WHAT!" The man breathed heavily, embodying JJ's own rage that he was keeping out of the way for now.
"She was hurt earlier today, in a secret laboratory. She's currently in the hospital." He finished and watched as the mans emotions swung so he had tears running down his face.
"My Angel. She was always so sweet and she loved hearing my stories. I was General Marsh's best soldier and then they gave me that serum. It was suppose to make me better, stronger and it turned me into a monster and they kicked me out. Now I have nothing, they won't even take me as guard after I got my dog, to scary even for that."
They finished the interview and just got in the car when JJ's phone rang.
"Jensen."
"Sir, Officer Lawrence. Miss Priest has stirred but not regained full conciseness yet. The Doctors also found a dog hair on her clothing, a brown one precisely." The young officer explained.
"Good work, I'll be there in a moment to collect it." He said with a smile in his voice.
"Of course sir. Ward 20." And then he hung up.
The two drove to the hospital not far from their current location and did as promised before reaching the lab, giving the hair to Grace.
They then went to see General Marsh who was meeting with the Mayor, marvellous, he hated politics and he soon hated the General who was one of those men who thought the world bowed to him just because he was top of the Rank Table. They already knew that he had something to do with this.
Hello, JJ, it's Rachel. I'm investigating a huge story implicating the army, and well, maybe I'm becoming paranoid... but I'm scared something bad is going to happen to me. In case I die, please keep investigating this. I've left you a more detailed video message in my office. It's on my tablet computer. I can't risk giving you the password, but I'm sure a pro like you won't have any problems hacking into it One last thing, I'm convinced the company behind all this is Greene PharmaCorp, I just can't prove it yet. I'm counting on you, JJ.
The answering machine finished with a beep, it was from early that morning, before JJ would have even come into world which is why it was on the machine. JJ wasn't dumb, he knew the military did questionable things, he'd done enough and Rixton even more but they were always worth it in the end or they were stopped. Judging from what he saw from Drake Ribbs, whatever operation there was should have been cut.
David had gone to interview the business man as it was usually JJ who rubbed him the wrong way and the soldier wanted to strangle the man as always. His lover came back under a dark cloud but gave a singular, decisive nod, this was Greene. He also came back with a sample of something and a Cryptex.
He gave the latter to JJ and took the other to Grace.
JJ quickly cracked the Cryptex and found Rachel's USB stick and plugs it into his computer.
Reading it over he realised that comparing Drake to the Hulk was almost one hundred. Marsh should be called Ross as he tried to (re)create Captain America and skipped straight to human trials without thought or care and according to Rachel it was funded by Alden Greene and his company.
They worked through the motions of the case and were talking to the Mayor when the case was taken out of their hands.
"You can't be considering arresting General Marsh, he is a well respected man who's come to far to do such things." Howard Johnson was digging himself a hole that would come back to haunt him.
"You obviously don't know how the world works." They all turned at the southern drawl and saw a wolf of a woman with almost golden eyes dressed in perfectly pressed army uniform that made her seem even more dangerous, as well as the blood splattered on her right side.
"Who are you?" That was King while the Mayor blinked at her, the two detectives smiling.
"Master Sergeant Rixton Jensen." She showed the Chief of Police her military ID. "I'm here to inform you that the investigation into the happening concerning Rachel Priest is now in my hands." She also handed over the official notice of such.
"General Marsh is to be court marshalled and Alden Greene has been arrested, you won't be hearing from either of them any time soon." She smiled sharply, making him gulp, eyes going wide. James had nothing on his sister. "Good day." She turned and walked out without a word to any of them and JJ had to chuckle.
The next he heard from her was a pile of papers left by Rachel's hospital bedside when he went to visit, the brunette already looking for a new Cameraman.
