What Tom had told the other researcher before wasn’t a complete lie. When he said he was a big fan of Rickle, there was some truth to that.
Tom had interest in the Altered space and his father’s work. He did have a stronger passion for something else, but due to everything, he did admire the founders of NIRV.
Seeing the person right in front of him, he was somewhat struck with fear. Which was why it was odd, without saying a single word, Tom had ended up in the lab along with Rickle Epman.
‘Wow, it’s just like Gary’s dad described it… actually, it’s even more impressive,’ Tom was moving his head.
There were several experiments half set up. Crystals of beasts placed around the area along with other experiments and screens.
Some of the charts and screens gave him an idea of what Rickle was working on, while others he had no clue about.
Shaking his head though, he knew he needed to get to the point and tried to focus.
“Um…is Dean Dem here?” Tom asked, his voice breaking toward the end.
Although Tom hadn’t really met Dean, only seen him from a distance and heard him speak, he still felt like for some reason it would be safer if Dean was in the room and it wasn’t just him and Rickle.
“What, are you scared I’m going to bite you?” Rickle used his leg and dragged a stool over into the center of one of the aisles and sat down. “Sorry, bad joke, but why are you even looking for Dean anyway?”
“I mean, sure, he’s allowed to live his life, but no one who actually knew Dean would come here; he would never tell them to come here in the first place.” Rickle placed his elbow on the side of the table and was leaning on his hand, staring at Tom. Not breaking eye contact for a moment.
Tom gulped.
‘Is this how a founder of NIRV acts? He’s so calm. I thought he might be more sophisticated, or… I don’t know what I thought, but not this.’
“Actually, the real reason why I came here was to talk to you,” Tom said. He took a deep breath again. He needed to make sure everything that needed to be said was said.
“Well, now you have my attention. You know Dean, and you wished to come to me?” Rickle replied.
“First, I need to say that I am here as a researcher for the Howlers. I am here on behalf of Gary Dem. I hope you can understand why he couldn’t come down here himself,” Tom said.
No longer was Rickle just leaning on the table; he sat upright as the name had caught his attention.
“One of the Werewolf Kings, I see. Now if you said you were here to meet Dean Dem, I would understand, but you said you were here to meet me?” Rickle asked.
That was when Tom stretched out his arm, and there was an odd metal contraption attached to his forearm.
As he tapped it a few times, it slid open, and a small syringe was seen. Instantly the black liquid could be seen moving about in the vial.
“An infected solution? You want to talk to me about this?” Rickle asked. “But that’s quite an interesting contraption that you made.”
“Yes,” Tom answered. “We actually have a large number of these infected solutions that we obtained, but in order to get past your sensors and security, I could only bring so much.”
Rickle’s eyes were glued to Tom’s arm rather than the solution itself.
“I’m afraid I can’t help you much. I’m aware of the infected solutions, but if you came here to ask where they come from or how to get rid of an infected Altered, I don’t have an answer for you,” Rickle replied.
Tom was hoping for this kind of response, and Rickle sounded like he was speaking the truth as well.
“Actually, that’s why we wanted to talk to you. The infected solutions, we discovered that they were being sold from NIRV to the One Gang,” Tom explained.
“We heard that the one behind selling these solutions is Rumper Karn.”
Suddenly, Rickle stood up from his seat, and the chair flew back, hitting a ledge and falling onto the floor.
“That’s a brave accusation to make of one of my business partners, especially with no proof,” Rickle said.
“That’s why we came to you!” Tom blurted out. “NIRV is a big organization, and it’s hard for us to find out the truth. Right now, we just have witnesses.”
“But checking, it’s something you could easily do, right? And wouldn’t it help you out as well to stop where the infected solutions are coming from, especially if it’s right under your nose?”
Tom was betting on the fact that Rickle was a righteous person and would want to get rid of the infected solutions as well.
“We need evidence. If you can get evidence that Rumper is behind this, then we can pass it on to the White Rose, and he can stop them. Gary really needs your help; we all need your help with this!”
When Tom shouted the last line, he bowed his head, looking at the floor. He had nothing to convince Rickle to take the request.
Yet he was hoping for a string of things to put Rickle into action—the fact that Gary’s father worked for him and helped him out, and Rickle’s sense of character in the first place.
“The infected solutions are indeed a problem,” Rickle said. “I will deal with it for now. When I get an answer or some information, I’ll send someone to Slough.”
“As for you, tell me, what is it that you’re interested in?”
Tom finally looked up with a raised eyebrow, confused. Why was he asking this question?
“Um…I’m interested in Altered solutions and trying to get rid of th-”
“Not that. It seems you like to tinker with stuff as well. If there were no barriers, what would you like to work on? And answer truthfully, I can tell if you’re lying or not.”
Tom looked deep into Rickle’s eyes, and at that point, he didn’t know why, but he gave his answer.
“Video games,” Tom said.
“I see,” Rickle replied. “You can leave. In the future, I might help you achieve your goal, and pay you a visit, although there is a chance that I might look different.”
“Good luck, Tom Green.”
Tom quickly bowed, saying thank you, and left the lab as soon as possible. As he reached the other side of the door, he finally let out a big breath.
“Wait a second…how did he know my name?”