Hemostasis 3.4
For a while, we simply drank coffee in silence and examined each other. I pondered the information I had received, which, however, didn't clarify much and only added new mysteries and misunderstood points. And Victoria decided to take advantage of my moment of pensiveness.
"It's not the best place, I admit, however, the details are unknown to me. Who knows how everything has changed there over the past years. Except I am much more interested in what is happening there that is not visible to the naked eye," the woman said calmly.
"I still don't understand what this has to do with me," I simply shrugged my shoulders, placing the mug on the table. "If you think I know the secrets of Red River because I lived there or because I am now connected to Vought, then I'm afraid you are mistaken. What I know about the orphanage is not worthy of special attention."
She tilted her head as her face gradually lost all emotion.
"Of course, too much time has passed for you to know anything relevant. However, I also know that before his death, Mr. Stevenson left several notable documents that were found next to his corpse," she also placed her mug on the table, shifting the full attention of her cold eyes to me. "Some of them, for some reason unknown to us, turned out to be unreadable and consisted of meaningless nonsense, but they did find something interesting. In the documents, among many names unknown to us, yours was also mentioned. And with your previous last name. For some reason, Mr. Stevenson was very interested in you shortly before his death, however, as far as I know, you haven't met with him for how long? Ten years? I think you would also be curious to know why you interested him. Knowing the director's character, it's definitely not some trifle."
Neuman looked at me with curiosity, but I wasn't so easily broken.
"Eleven, although it doesn't matter. Excuse me, but this only raises even more questions on my part. You are a senator, but does access to such documents fall under your jurisdiction?" I raised an eyebrow questioningly, looking straight into her eyes. "I thought this was the job of the FBI or even the CIA, but definitely not yours."
She chuckled slightly, but I didn't believe in the sincerity of those emotions.
"I'll tell you a secret, but I wasn't the one supposed to come and talk to you today. This is, let's say, my personal initiative. Actually, a sort of ally of mine was supposed to talk to you, but I volunteered to do it myself. I am simply interested in getting to know you personally and meeting face to face. I confess, only two people on all of earth know that I used to live in the institute, and you will become the third. I trust you for only one reason—there is much more in common between us than you imagine."
The corners of her lips rose slightly as she continued to drop incomprehensible hints.
"Before you start asking new questions, I will say right away that some things are better left a secret for now. For the time being," she suddenly became much more active and brisk, leaning against the back of the chair and folding her hands in front of her. "And since you know a very important secret of mine, I ask for a small favor in return. Nothing serious, just listen to me and consider my proposal. I am offering you to do something truly heroic that will help the whole society. Help us catch Vought red-handed and bring them out into the open. We will find all their crimes related to Red River, Stevenson, and the rest. The corporation has slipped out of our hands countless times at the very last moment, but the time has come to bring them to justice. And there's no need to feign ignorance—we know perfectly well that Vought's inside is much dirtier than the outside."
I looked appraisingly at the woman sitting across from me. A very interesting and risky move. Neuman just openly asked me to go against Vought, the company I actually work for. A dangerous move. In general, the whole conversation with her reminded me of an attempt to play with a cobra—a deadly dance where every unnecessary movement will lead to my demise. And although I don't care if I lose my career and advertisers, there were other reasons to worry.
"Vought is an influential corporation. And they will not be very happy if they find out that a piece of information not exactly pleasant for their brand surfaces because of one of the supes. But what confuses me the most is that the daughter of Stan Edgar himself is unlikely to go against her father's company. Such an influential organization, I'm sure, can not only fire a hero who seriously messed with them, but also damage his personal life much more."
Neuman suddenly became much more serious, she slightly pursed her lips, and sadness appeared in her gaze.
"Unfortunately, my father and I strongly disagree on this topic. He has always been too serious and focused on a single task, which is why he is no longer able to see anything but potential profit and stock growth. I am grateful to him for everything he has done, but now I have my own duties that I must fulfill despite family ties..."
With every word, she looked more and more thoughtful and even saddened, as if it were hard for her to speak.
"We only know the bare details, but if the truth about Vought's terrible experiments and the rumors about the sins of the most depraved 'heroes' that they cover up with special care are confirmed, then the guilty must be convicted. And I will help the investigation, even if it harms my father. Besides, our relationship was already not in the best shape after my speech in Congress regarding the passage of the superhuman control act."
I felt her heart and saw that she was telling the truth. Body reactions on such a level are impossible to fake. Unless, of course, you possess superpowers to control the body like mine. Of course, there is always a chance that she and I have similar powers, but what are the chances of that? However, even such sincerity was not enough for me to simply agree just like that.
"Before I even start thinking about this, I need guarantees. I don't care about fame and money, but I worry about my parents, whose lives the superconglomerate is capable of severely ruining, even using only legal means. I need you to guarantee their protection in the worst-case scenario."
I doubt that Indira and Paul will truly be threatened by anything, since they themselves are connected to the corporation, but if everything is revealed, then extra protection won't hurt just in case. And I'm just curious to see how far Victoria is willing to go trying to recruit me.
"Undoubtedly, we will be able to guarantee you and your relatives the highest level of protection, the best we can possibly give," she nodded in satisfaction, beginning to look much more professional. "After all, this is not my personal initiative, but a full-fledged government program, albeit not heavily advertised. As far as I know, a special team was even created to search for evidence regarding Vought's crimes, but my acquaintance who organized the whole thing will tell you the details. I only remember that they have some stupid name..."
She frowned slightly, trying to remember a word, but quickly gave up and put it out of her mind.
"It doesn't matter; in any case, I can assure you that everything will be executed at the highest level. And if everything goes according to plan, no one will even know about your role. Simply put, to find out Vought's real secrets, we need an inside man. Someone connected to Red River and at the same time ready to assist the investigation. The plan has already been drawn up, all we need is your consent to participate in a little performance that will help get the necessary information."
I sighed heavily, rubbing my temple. Wooow... My head refused to work and simply couldn't process all the hints and omissions that were clearly present in the woman's speech. It's too complicated, and I have no experience weaving intrigues and communicating with professional politicians. Especially with a shark of Neuman's level. I'm sure she somehow wrapped me around her finger even without lying. Her speech seemed far too strange, and I literally felt in my bones as if something wasn't adding up. However...
Memories of my life in the orphanage slowly returned to my head. The constant beatings of children committed by an aggressive Latino who had been brainwashed. Technically, he wasn't even to blame for such behavior and was merely a toy, a weapon created under mental influence.
And also the accidental and completely unsuspicious disappearance of Ricky, right after he dug too deep. And all this was noticed by me in just a few months of living there. And who knows what they've managed to do over a decade?
To close my eyes and refuse is easy. It wouldn't cause me any problems, and I could continue my peaceful and successful life. Except would I then be able to look myself in the eye while looking in the mirror? Would I be able to tell children about heroism while being afraid to face true evil?
I wanted to be a true hero, and now was the moment to prove it. In any case, I've already died once, so they can't scare me with that. And since I wasn't afraid of losing my fortune, they have few ways to threaten me.
And I was also bothered by thoughts that Vought might be developing weapons behind closed doors. Considering the roughly zero moral level of the corporate suits and their endless desire to control everything, they would definitely try to create an argument against all supes. Biological weapons or something more subtle - Vought is bound to have such a thing. But first, I need information.
"I agree. We will need to discuss a lot, and I want to be able to change details of the plan myself if necessary, but yes, I agree to help you in the fight against Vought."
Victoria smiled softly, leaning slightly in my direction.
"Excellent. I'm glad we reached an agreement. In that case, here you go, this has the number of my acquaintance who is in charge of the mission."
She handed me a new, pure white card, on which only matte black numbers stood out.
"I assure you, you can trust her," the woman continued. "Vought wouldn't be able to buy the Deputy Director of the CIA even with all their money. And secondly, she has her own experience working with the company, and it is by no means positive. She oversaw the project of using supes during the war in Nicaragua, and since the program has been blocked ever since, you can guess the result for yourself. Once you meet, she will brief you in detail and show you her..."
The woman snapped her fingers as if she remembered something.
"The Boys. Right, that's what her team is called. A stupid name, yes, but what they are fighting for is more important. And I can assure you that this group would sooner break themselves than bend to Vought's will. They've gathered an interesting contingent there, but I think you will find common ground."
There was still a strange feeling in my soul, as if I had overlooked something and fallen into a trap without even noticing it, but I couldn't figure out exactly what went wrong. Moreover, thoughts interfered as I tried to realize that I had actually decided to go against Vought. And yes, maybe there is no benefit in this for me; sometimes you just want to do things you consider right. Because that's what heroes do.
. . .
I touched the fur, running my hand over it. Even without using my power, I felt the animal's heartbeat, it was that strong. Too strong. A sign that something was wrong with the cat's body. I tried to calm the beast down, starting to pet her while fully utilizing my ability. Ordinary doctors couldn't understand what was wrong, so the hero stepped in.
"Easy, purr-machine, no one is threatening you. I'm here to help you. And therefore I advise you not to bite me. I can nip back," I said calmly, scratching the animal's back. The cat clearly liked this, which is why she even began to purr.
"I still don't understand how you stay so calm around her. I can only work with such dangerous animals if I raised them myself and they consequently know me," Martha asked questioningly, looking at us.
The feline representative flicked her tail, thereby letting me know not to get distracted from scratching her royal personage. The cat lying in front of me was not an ordinary pet, but a one-and-a-half-meter beast, with claws five centimeters long and fangs capable of gnawing through a great deal.
I don't know, honestly, if they could have pierced my skin, but I was confident in my ability to stop her if she decided to show her temper. Behind my back stood Martha, who guided my work and made sure I didn't cause any trouble. Honestly, this was no longer necessary now, since I myself handled wounded beasts perfectly, but formalities still needed to be observed.
"I just know what she likes and dislikes," I shrug my shoulders. "Animals' emotions depend much more strongly on bodily reactions than humans'. Besides, predators like this beauty sense fear well. And I am not afraid of her, as she poses no more threat to me than a domestic kitty. And at their core, they are all the same, only the sizes differ."
Martha sighed, shaking her head. But the lioness finally calmed down, completely allowing me to explore her body. She didn't understand this, of course, but she felt that I didn't intend to harm her and only wanted to help. It also helped that after a long, dull ache caused by an unknown injury, the animal had become more submissive.
"Sometimes I envy your abilities," the woman said tiredly. "Strength, bodily durability, enhanced perception, and regeneration. You don't understand yet, but people my age are ready to give a lot to return to the past, even just for a short while, and feel young again. And you also have other special abilities... Tell me, what is it like to have them?"
I chuckled, listening to my mentor, while continuing to monitor the condition of the proud lioness's body. She was also watching what I was doing, although she clearly couldn't comprehend what was happening. But my abilities are sufficient to check the body and hold a conversation.
"It's as if a third eye appeared on your forehead, seeing the world from a completely different angle. As if a highly specialized sixth sense emerged, aimed at perceiving something truly non-human. A unique sensation; every time I use the ability, my mind flutters. Every time I learn something new, my perception becomes deeper and subtler. Once, in childhood, I thought that by studying medicine enough, I would be able to fully understand the signals sent to me by the power. Except the deeper I dove into knowledge, the more I realized how little humanity knows about its own body. The more I learn, the more information the use of the power gives me, but at the same time, I more clearly see the boundless pit of everything that humanity does not yet know... Ah, and here is the problem."
Pressing a spot on the lioness's back, she sharply swished her tail and turned her head in my direction. I immediately shook my head and started petting her, occasionally scratching.
"Sorry, had to check. Alright, the problem is found - a small and practically unnoticeable muscle micro-tear, which could have led to truly major problems later on. I won't be able to restore it with my power, but compiling the correct treatment won't be difficult. She'll have to move less for a while, but there are no irreparable consequences from the injury."
Martha thoughtfully watched my actions, as if evaluating something in her head. At the same time, she remained silent and did not comment on my actions in any way. Only when I ran my hand over the lioness's fur for the last time and stepped aside did she start speaking.
"Excellent work. I'm sure you now know more about animal anatomy than I do," the woman answered in satisfaction.
"Don't underestimate your abilities. I still have a long way to grow to reach your level..."
I tried to raise my hands and show that my talents weren't particularly impressive, since I was able to pull off such tricks only thanks to my power, but Martha quickly interrupted me.
"No, Mark. I wouldn't have been able to find the injury so quickly without instruments. You have a rare gift that I can never attain."
A soft smile unexpectedly appeared on her face, and joy emerged in her eyes.
"But that is exactly why I am so proud of you, Mark. I am sure that you will use them for the benefit of everyone in trouble. You might seem like a withdrawn grump, however, I see how your eyes burn during healing. I see someone who will do anything just to help those in need. You will make a great hero. Even if you don't want to admit it yourself."
She patted me on the shoulder, after which she left the room. I remained standing in place, trying to figure out what had just happened.