Things were moving relatively quickly, quicker than Tom had imagined, as he stood inside one of the NIRV buildings with a guest badge around his neck.
It wasn’t one of the facilities he had worked at before, but all of NIRV felt quite similar. The whiteness of the flooring, the walls, even the lights displayed a stark white glow.
It almost reminded Tom of a hospital, yet at the same time, a hospital never felt this fancy. The seating areas, the decorations, and even the curved oval reception area.
It was certainly a place with money, which came as no surprise.
What did surprise Tom was that they’d let him come as a guest to a facility where neither he nor his father worked.
In the end, Tom did ask his father for a favor, requesting access to visit as a guest at a certain facility of NIRV, which had locations all over the country.
Yet with how many secrets they held, he thought it would be more difficult. As for why this facility was chosen in particular, it was the one mentioned in Gary’s father’s story.
As a guest, Tom had been given a tour around the facility by one of the fellow researchers. As they walked around, Tom kept asking questions to try and find out where Rickle Epman was.
All he learned was that Rickle Epman visited this facility a lot, but he also visited other facilities, so it was hard to know if the person in question was even here.
To be careful, Tom asked other questions as well.
“As for the other founders, do they frequently go to the other facilities?” Tom asked as they walked through the hallways.
“The other two founders… well, Rumper Karn usually stays at one facility. It’s a large place, but further out. Not many transfer out there.”
“As for Tinth, he’s more of a passive founder of NIRV. You could almost say he’s retired. You have to remember, they’re all getting old now; he’s the most passive, with a hands-off approach.”
“I guess Rickle is really the only one that’s on the move all the time.”
Tom was thankful that was the case. They knew Rumper was the man behind some of the infected solutions, but they weren’t sure about the others.
As long as they weren’t here, he would be okay.
‘Gary is still in Slough training with Bree, and just outside the city, not too far from the base, are Marie and Olivia… but it’s not like they can get inside quickly,’ Tom thought.
As he had these thoughts, he turned his head at an odd-looking group of people walking by. Tom had seen people like this before; it was clear they were Retrievers.
This made Tom’s heart beat even faster.
‘I wonder, though—this facility is in a tier-2 city and is a bit smaller than the other NIRV bases. Is that the reason why Rickle likes to spend his time here, away from the others?’
Eventually, Tom’s tour came to an end, and they returned to the main reception.
“I’m sure, as a past researcher, you know the workload can get tough,” the man said with a big smile. “But honestly, things at this facility are a little calmer. You have the choice to be more active in the experiments and investigations or focus on the research side.”
“I have to ask, though, what makes you want to move here? Isn’t it far from the last facility you worked at or where your father worked?”
Tom gave an awkward smile back.
“Actually, there was a reason I was asking you so many questions. It’s because Rickle is somewhat my role model and someone I look up to.”
“I actually left NIRV thinking I could start up my own company like this, but it was harder than I thought. In the end, I guess I just wanted to work here…”
“Speaking of, you don’t think there’s a chance I could meet him, do you, if he’s here right now?”
The researcher shook his head but gave a comforting smile to Tom.
“Unfortunately, not even I can get you a meeting with a founder. Unless he calls for you, and even if you request a meeting with him, he’s unlikely to answer; you’d have to try booking in advance.”
Tom was wondering what to do. He didn’t want to be too pushy, just in case the researcher got suspicious. He could also let him go and search around the facility himself, but after having the tour, he was unsure if that was possible.
‘I have to think… the reason I came here as soon as possible is because we don’t have much time. The others are relying on you,’ Tom thought.
He started to think back, to when he’d even given Gary a piece of chocolate, almost killing his friend. Beyond that, how Gary had ended up getting payback for those who laid hands on him.
And now, how Gary was secretly looking after his family from matters involving Slough and more. Things even Tom’s parents weren’t aware of.
“Ah, that’s a shame,” Tom answered. “Actually, I was wondering if there’s another person I could thank—is there a researcher by the name of Dean Dem here?”
The man pulled out his tablet. He couldn’t say it was a name he’d heard, but he also knew he didn’t know every staff member’s name.
“Oh, there is a Dean Dem who works here, but it doesn’t state what his role is… just wait here a moment, and I’ll see what I can do.”
After saying no to Tom’s first request, the researcher didn’t want to disappoint Tom again, which was why he gave this one a try.
And if the person in question was important, it would have given him some title, so the man didn’t mind asking.
While waiting, Tom sat down on the sofa. He saw the researcher talking back and forth with the reception staff, then the researcher headed off somewhere.
Around ten minutes had passed, to the point Tom thought they might have forgotten about him.
“So, it was you? You were the one who asked for Dean… that’s odd, I don’t even know who you are,” a voice said from behind.
The hairs on Tom’s back stood up. He hadn’t even felt anyone behind him, but when he looked, he saw a tall man with dark black hair.
Immediately, everyone in the area gave a small bow to the man.
“Sir Rickle!” the staff members said.
Looking at the man, Tom couldn’t help but gulp.
‘So this is one of the NIRV founders… Rickle Epman.’ n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
“A person I’ve never met, using a name that shouldn’t be known… this better be important,” Rickle stated.