Ramon, completely unaware he was speaking to the man he had unwittingly terrorized in the past, explained his current, seemingly legitimate projects. He detailed the critical need to find a cure for certain types of Arthritis and how their proprietary biotech would fundamentally change the game, helping countless people in the future.
While Ramon was busy explaining the scientific and humanitarian aspects of his research, Max started to ask questions, and for the first time out of all the departments they had visited, he asked questions with genuine depth and suspicion. He wasn’t asking generalities; he was inquiring in detail about specific costs, the efficacy of certain reagents, and the exact duration for which they had been running each stage of development.
Then, the questions took a sharp turn, pivoting back to the earlier encounter with the Gilt Rat member.
"And the man we saw earlier," Max said, his augmented voice smooth and inquisitive. "He said he was one of the test subjects, sorry, I guess that sounds a bit crude. I guess one of the people participating in the trials. How do you go about selecting who is in your trials, and on top of that, who is in your core team around you?"
Although Ramon maintained a professional demeanor on the outside, inside, his body was screaming with panic. Why was this man asking so many specific questions?
Regardless, Ramon did manage to produce some answers, at least ones that were passable to a layman.
"When running human trials, there is a wide range of participants we need to demonstrate statistical validity; some need to be strong and healthy, and we need a mix of various ages," Ramon claimed, speaking smoothly. "It’s why trailing is so difficult to do, as there are only so many people willing to participate. At the same time, we can’t just use participants who are already in other trials. So, we have a very strict, standardized method of selecting those here, all through outside agencies."
Ramon then went on to make up some practiced lie about how they select the best researchers in the field, emphasizing academic rigor, something he had practiced saying to Bobo before to bolster his position.
While Bobo and Karen were listening to the exchange, they did make a significant note of something: the fact that the Chairman had shown the most intense interest in this specific facility out of all the others they had visited.
Maybe there is someone in his family that is suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis, Bobo thought, quickly creating a narrative to explain his focus. Everyone has their own situation and drive, I guess, but if we want to push for more investment, it would be good to keep a closer eye on this specific project and Mr. Black’s personal motivations.
When it seemed like Max was done with his relentless questioning of Ramon, there was still one more thing he wanted to ask, a final probe to gauge their true intentions.
"And about that joke you made at the beginning, Ramon?" Max said, turning his masked head slightly to look at the two Stern women. "Do you think there could be some truth to that? If I wanted to be one of the test subjects myself, or if I had someone in mind that would willingly be part of the trials, would you be accepting of that?"
Bobo cleared her throat, instantly sensing a major opening. "There are certain high-level trials that do allow for those who directly need treatment to be selected outside the normal channels, especially with a major investor involved... but if you are asking what I think you’re asking, then I might be able to arrange something, provided the legal waiver is signed, of course."
Max didn’t expect anything less; it was typical for the Stern family to be happy to bend some corners when it was massively in their favor, especially for a major investor. But what he truly wanted to know was the real reaction from Ramon.
"Although we have made a lot of progress, Mr. Black, I don’t think we are at that final stage yet where we can bypass all the agency requirements," Ramon quickly but respectfully claimed, maintaining the facade of a dedicated, ethical researcher. "I would be happy to let you know as soon as we are fully cleared for that specific kind of selective trial."
With everything Max needed to glean from this initial interaction said and done, the group took a final, brief look around the facility and the lab rooms to see what else they had been doing. Then, they promptly left.
It was the end of the tour, and now, it was time for Max to talk actual business and contracts with Bobo and Karen.
Inside the quiet confines of the room, however, Ramon was internally boiling. He immediately started violently biting his lip, and he had his hand so intensely tensed that his knuckles were white.
"Damn it, who was that guy? Why all the curious questions!" Ramon almost shouted, dropping the pretense of the dedicated researcher and slamming his hand onto the desk. "It’s clear he’s paying a lot of specific attention to this lab for some reason, and he’s going to become a major investor. This is disastrous news for our operation!"
He paced back and forth, rubbing the scar on his lip. "What group did she say he was a part of? I’ll need to do some deep, black-level investigating and see what is up with this ’Mr. Black.’ If the Billion Bloodline company ends up being trouble and getting directly in the way of our plan to develop the Super Soldier suits, then I’ll have to deal with them... permanently."