The name "Evon" had slipped out of Max’s mouth entirely by accident, a reflex born of sheer astonishment. He was so incredibly surprised to see someone here, someone he knew not from his carefully constructed life as a Stern family member, but from his past, bloody life as a prominent member of the White Tiger group. The criminal world and the corporate research world had just violently collided in front of his eyes.
Of all places, what is he doing here at this facility? Max’s mind raced behind the unreadable black glass of his mask.
If Max remembered correctly, Evon was a talented, infamous fighter, one whose unique style and skill had caught the eye of many of the top syndicate and organized crime groups. His name was quite well spread because he didn’t possess the standard attributes of a powerful gangster: he didn’t have a large, intimidating size, no extra powerful grip, and nothing notable like a military background. He was just someone who had started from the bottom of this world, going from place to place, until he had finally found an organization that had become his home. Due to his notorious and effective fighting nature, Max had even wanted him as part of the White Tiger, but Evon had ended up at the Gilt Ratsinstead, one of the largest and most dangerous syndicates.
Wait a second, Max thought, an ice-cold realization settling in. If Evon is here in this facility, does that mean there are deep connections to it with the Gilt Rats? Is it something that Bobo has set up on purpose to gain muscle, or is it something more insidious? If she or her mother was secretly working with that gang, they could very well be the ones behind the real Max’s death. The sudden appearance of Evon elevated the entire investment deal from a simple business transaction into a high-stakes investigation.
"You know this person?" Bobo asked, her voice laced with obvious curiosity and suspicion.
Now Max realized he needed to get out of the incredibly awkward situation he was in. He had blurted out the man’s real name, confirming his familiarity. But there was one thing he could be eternally thankful for: he was wearing his full disguise and his very special mask.
Evon himself couldn’t even definitively deny if he knew this strange person or not. The same frantic thought was clearly going through Evon’s mind as well.
I don’t know some masked freak who walks like this in the middle of the day... but I need to be incredibly careful, Evon thought, his eyes narrowed behind his scar. He knows my real name and not my guest name when I come here. That’s bad news.
Max quickly found a cover story. The screen of his mask flashed with a digital light of recognition. "Ah!" Max said, the voice modulator steady. "I guess you don’t recognize me right now because of the helmet that I’m wearing, right? Don’t worry about it all, Evon. I will catch up with you when the time is right. And right now, I don’t think the time is right for a reunion."
For Bobo, the exchange only fueled her interest in the mysterious figure of the Chairman. If the Chairman of the Billion Bloodline group knew this random man’s name, didn’t that imply that he knew what he truly looked like, or that they were close friends of some sort? It made her investor even more enigmatic.
"What department are you working in again?" Bobo asked Evon, seeking to classify him.
"Ah, I’m one of the human trials testers," Evon smoothly replied, sticking to the cover story Ramon had given him. "At the moment, it’s for some new molecules that treat arthritis, so it’s nothing too serious, just testing for side effects. But it looks like things are going well, which is why I’ll be here quite a bit over the next few weeks."
The answer had satisfied both Karen and Bobo because the man certainly didn’t look like a typical, academic researcher. And on the plus side, it was incredibly unlikely that Bobo would remember who the testers were, let alone every single person who worked in the entire vast company.
Max didn’t ask any more questions, needing to move on, and Evon, visibly relieved, didn’t say anything to stir up any more trouble while he continued to walk hastily off the premises. Everyone, even the two gangsters, thought that silence was for the better.
Who was that masked guy? Evon thought as he rushed away, reaching for his internal communicator. Is this something I have to warn Ramon about? This could be bad news, especially since I’ve never seen a masked corporate figure around the facility before.
With the short, intense meeting finally over, the group had decided to continue on with the official tour.
Bobo began explaining to them what each department did, and, more importantly, how each department urgently needed funding. In short, she was detailing precisely how they would use the capital Max intended to provide. Knowing her words alone wouldn’t be convincing, she asked the head of each department they visited to explain exactly how closeand how much tangible progress they were currently making.
Honestly, Max found it all quite fascinating. He didn’t know that such advanced, complex things were already in progress in the civilian sector, and that there were huge, immovable barriers in the way of commercial success.
At some points, the department heads explained that they needed to plan for the next five to ten years. Even if they had successful human trials today, that was how long it would take to definitively show that there were no clear long-term side effects and for the treatment or medicine to be officially approved for wide sale.
The issue was essentially two things: the bureaucratic approval process was taking a massive amount of time before they could sell anything and recoup costs, and they needed more funding to simply keep going until that distant point. These were the key troubles plaguing the entire research facility.
This realization also posed a serious financial problem for Max. Even if he was to find some brilliant way to get a hold of Bobo’s finances or take over all of the facility entirely under the Billion Bloodline name, it wouldn’t give him instant access to revenue, only to Bobo’s money directly. He would be forced to carry the crippling long-term costs of a research firm that wouldn’t see profit for nearly a decade.
Meanwhile, Karen was completely disengaged, audibly yawning away behind her sunglasses as the researchers droned on about molecular structures and regulatory hurdles. It was clearly not in her interest whatsoever, which made Max wonder why she was even bothering to be there, perhaps just to assert family dominance over her daughter’s decision.
"Oh, and the next room we’ll head to is Ramon’s room," Bobo announced brightly, bringing Max out of his deep internal calculations. "That was the room where your friend you noticed earlier was purportedly working. Let’s go see what they are up to."