Wolves and Men

Kenneth stared deeply into the man’s eyes and began overpowering the man’s will. He could see the man’s hands slacken and relax on the arm rests of the chair. The man’s eyes still held a sharp look and his will was still his own. Kenneth would have to be careful but he was winning.

“Just relax for a bit. Start to feel your body sink comfortably into your chair, as all your worries and stress starts to fade away. You don’t feel any pain in your body and everything is becoming just a bit fuzzy and unimportant.” Kenneth pressed further and pushed the man’s will farther and farther back till all that was left was Kenneth’s will and control.

“You feel very light and loose right now. Your thoughts have vanished and all that remain are my words and my thoughts. You obey my words without question or hesitation. My words become your truth.”

The man simply nodded blankly.

“I am of no importance to you or anyone else. When anyone asks you about me you won’t even remember my face. You will sit at your desk and you will forget ever having seen me. I am invisible to your eyes, and silent to your ears, until I tell you otherwise. You will forget you ever saw me; you will forget all about how you got that bruise on your chest and your throat. You won’t remember me in any way. You understand me, don’t you?”

Again, the man nodded blankly.

“And you will obey my words completely. My words are your reality, aren’t they?” Kenneth asked.

The man nodded again.

Kenneth left the man sitting at his desk. As he summoned the elevator, the man started to clean up his desk and look around a bit. He shook his head as if he had just woken up from a nap and tenderly touched his chest and neck. Kenneth snorted softly as he stepped inside the elevator and rode it to his destination.

When he reached the prescribed lab, he was a little surprised to see it still inhabited. Through the opaque glass he was able to make out three bulbous forms which he assumed were three people wearing their puffy, sterile space suits and massive unwieldy gloves. Even his vampire sight couldn’t pick out any more real detail than that. He stepped inside the clean room.

Usually, he would have sent word about his impending visit but he had gotten word that Alessandro was taking a keen interest in the port areas and had made inquiries to the other two Houses about an increase in drug trade inside his borders. Time was growing short for Kenneth and he needed answers now. It would only be a matter of time before the other two Houses reported that they had no idea as to why the drug trade or the port activity had increased. Then Alessandro would have to look to his own House for answers. It wouldn’t take too long before Alessandro’s mind and search turned towards the relatively young and somewhat ambitious vampire that he himself turned in that so called “summer of love” in 1969.

Kenneth pressed an intercom button and listened to it buzz for a moment before he heard a woman’s voice on the other end. “Tom?! You know we are busy in here and that we asked for all our calls to be held.”

Kenneth was not amused. “I am here for Trevor, actually.” Kenneth thought quickly. “I am only in town today and we had agreed on this time to meet. I would hate to have to tell my investors that there is no update and therefore no justification to further fund your research.”

Through the opaque glass Kenneth was able to see a blurry figure walk all the way across the room and meld into another figure. Then the figures separated and Kenneth could hear the hissing of air and a weird sealing sucking noise as well. Then the inner door opened and Trevor walked in yanking off his helmet. He looked angry till he saw that it was Kenneth standing in the clean room. He calmly set his helmet on a nearby rack and waited.

The vampire turned toward his newly arrived student, “I have not received an update on your progress Trevor. I will have that report now.” Kenneth was looking at Trevor with a stern, stoic face that brokered no disobedience.

The grey eyed man in front of him lowered his eyes and they remained on the ground in front of the vampire. “I haven’t reported to you, Instructor, because we haven’t had anything worthwhile to report.” He ran fingers through his close-cropped brown hair and shook his head. “This issue we are running into is…”

Kenneth said flatly, “I am not in the business of brokering excuses.”

The shorter man stood there with his eyes glued to the ground, he didn’t respond at first, waiting to see if Kenneth was finished. “The compound is attacking the cohesive enzymes that we are using as a bonding agent. We have tried just about every combination of protein to synthetic to bacteria. Without a proper restorative bonding agent, the compound breaks down and turns to sludge. If you needed this for things less specific then maybe we could distill and manufacture multiple doses with multiple trial and error results. With that research we could then narrow down the field of compounds to use and get you an exact match. Without said experimentation we have been fumbling around in the dark.” Trevor was remarkably calm as he said this, knowing that it would do nothing but garner the dissatisfaction of his instructor, which it did.

“If it is impossible, then why should I keep funding you? Why should I even let you live?” Kenneth asked warningly.

“Because without me and my research you will never find the answer you’re looking for. I am pushing my team to their absolute limit. I have never failed at something I have set my mind to. I have found greatly improved synthetic and natural cures for a dozen different bacteria strains and my research has made four different types of open surgery sixty four percent more successful.”

“Yes, your track record is why I am standing here, Trevor. So, this is to be your first failure?” Kenneth drew very close to his student, “I don’t tolerate, nor can I afford failure, Trevor.” His voice was low and deadly calm, “I ask you again, why should I let you live?”

“Because,” Trevor stated calmly, “I haven’t failed you, yet. My team and I just need more time.”

Kenneth was caught between a need for urgency and the need to let this man finish his work. His work could not truly begin till Trevor had accomplished his task. Trevor needed more time, if it was his to give, he would grant the scientist another century, if need be. There was nothing that could be done. He had some time and that time was worth giving to the student in front of him. He prayed that he was making the right choice. The lynchpin of everything depended on Trevor’s research and that compound he was working on, without it none of his plans would reach fruition and his fall from grace would be legend, not only in House Dukart but in all the other vampire Houses as well. He prayed that they both had time enough to avoid that end.

He looked calmly at his student, “I will give you whatever resources I am able. I hope your team is worthy of the trust you place in them. Pray that the answer to this conundrum does not elude you overlong, Trevor, I would hate to have to be the one to facilitate your first professional failure.” He didn’t wait to see the response form on his student’s features. Instead, he calmly pushed the door open and made his way out of the building.