Re: Journal of Sociology [S!6] - [Round One] - [Live and Let Die Hard]
03-29-2013, 04:20 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Palamedes.
It had been almost completely forgotten to the workers of the Pacific Spire thanks to the events of the day, and totally unknown to the various competitors of the Sociologist’s game, but the setting sun revealed that Christmas Day was beginning to come to a close. Of course, being a place of professionalism and daily blood feuds, the holiday was mostly unimportant to the state of affairs in the state of the art tower, unless a state had a comical, ironic, or eerily convenient sense of timing. Unfortunately, all three of said senses would conspire within the next hour, much to the chagrin of a certain vaguely-alive scientist.
Alberich inwardly cursed himself for what felt like the hundredth time since he arrived at the Pacific Spire. Though Blacklight had managed to force a hapless office worker into helping him out of his bloodied jacket and into a labcoat, things immediately took a turn for the worse. Not only had his shambling excuse of a body managed to get him separated from the enchantress – though he could barely tolerate her mystical drivel it was comforting to be around someone stuck in the same situation as oneself – but he discovered that mere minutes after his untimely departure she had been whisked away to some wonderful place that wasn’t this goddamn floor.
It was somewhere around Doe’s twelfth lap of the office that something finally came around to break the waiting. The elevator, which had last opened when the Heisenberg Science Company had retreated in pursuit of easier conquests. This time it only held a single man.
Sitting on a chair.
Not moving.
While most of the actual workers on the floor might have first noticed the hallmark moustache, glasses, and shaved head of their manager, one Anthony Stevenson, Alberich instead noticed the red paint (or what was, let’s face it, probably blood) used to write a single, festive sentence on the man’s white workshirt:
Now I have your legal documents
Ho – Ho – Ho
In the seconds it took the rest of the nearby workers to notice what the doctor had been gaping at, the entire office was abuzz again, with the haphazard militia readying their weapons for another battle. A minute passed, nothing came. Another passed, and still nothing. A third –
"Now I know what a TV dinner feels like."
The ragtag group of defenders began looking around, trying to figure out who exactly had broken the silence with such an absurd comment. Alberich himself was confused by the remark’s origins, until he, and everyone else began to hear clinking sounds coming from above and collectively shared a single thought: the air vent, of course. Silently, a handful of them moved under the sound of what was likely the team of Heisenberg soldiers who had blown their cover talking to each other.
"Come out to the coast they said, we’ll get together, we’ll have a few laughs –"
With a creak the ventilation shaft gave way, crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust. Bursts of machine gun fire rang out from the unfortunate workers who were directly under the vent while Alberich readied himself (as much as Doe would let him anyways) and the rest of the office surrounded the scene, finger triggers at the ready. As the dust began to settle a single man was standing in an impossibly immaculate suit, with a half-dozen machine gunners unconscious around him. Every single available weapon pointed at him, it took several seconds before Alberich broke the silence.
"Who exactly are you?"
The suited man looked shocked, then embarrassed, finally settling on professionally apologetic. "So sorry good sirs, madams, where are my manners? Cecil W. Crumb, Johan and Nellis, attorney at law, at your service. I am the personal acquisitions and resources lawyer of the Heisenberg Science Company."
The announcement, obviously, didn’t go to well with anyone, but before the wary horde could open fire Crumb produced a rather impressive looking document.
"Ah ah ah, wouldn’t do that if I were you. As of twenty three minutes ago, your company has been bought out by Heisenberg. You’re now all our employees, welcome to the family!"
A quiet pause, perhaps the most silent moment since the whole fiasco began, settled over the office. Nobody moved, nobody breathed, the lights didn’t even flicker. Finally several voices rang out at once.
"Bought us out? What does that mean?"
"Does that mean we’re already dead?"
"Can… can they do that?"
"Family?… D-dad?"
"I’m almost positive this isn’t legal."
Crumb once again silenced the crowd with an almost unnatural ease. Turning towards the last voice, he smiled. "Of course it’s legal, it’s how things used to be done, and still is done everywhere else in the world. Of course military campaigning is usually less expensive here. Would you like to examine the document? It has Mr. Stevenson’s signature and everything, bless his soul."
The employee who had called the legality of the transaction looked over the document, his confident frown quickly turning more and more into a terrified grimace. With every new article, each airtight clause, every fine-print amendment backing him more and more into a corner until he found his back pressed against one of the office’s larger windows. Crumb kept himself right in front of the man the entire time before suddenly, in a single motion, he took the papers out of his hand and pressed him against the glass with an expensive looking oxford.
Crumb’s grin was gone, replaced by a deadpan stare. "Yippie-ki-yay, motherfucker."
And with that Crumb pushed, breaking the glass and sending the employee all the way down to the bottom of the tower. He spun around, his grin returning to his face almost instantly.
"So I trust we’re all settled? Heisenberg Science looks forward to officially welcoming you all into our family, there’s going to be a mixer on Friday for our new employees, hope to see you all there." Leaving behind the shocked group of employees, most of whom had dropped or otherwise forgotten about their weapons, Crumb moved to Alberich, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop Doe as he tried to wander off, and continued. "Of course, my employer would love a chance to speak with you right away Mister…"
Alberich paused. He really did not want to be here anymore, but also wasn’t particularly fond of falling to his death. He decided to answer before Doe did something to once again ruin everything.
"Doctor Alberich von Wissenschaft… at your service."
"A doctor! Pardon me, of course. You have though coat and everything. I’d shake your hand but, well," he paused, looking over Doe, "you know. This does mean my employer will want to see you even sooner, hmm… no time to wait around here then! Just get on the elevator, go all the way to the top and stop a floor short. I’ll let them know you’re coming."
"And why exactly would I do that?"
Crumb looked genuinely confused. "Why not? Surely every man of science wants to be part of my employer’s dream." Brushing aside a hostile grope from a bored Doe he added, "Besides, with us you’ll be able to work on your… condition, with all the proper resources and funding. Security footage would imply you’re not like this willingly."
For the first time Alberich froze for some reason besides complete bewilderment or blind hatred of his situation. Some of the (not fake-magical) things he had seen since being dropped into the Spire, they were far beyond anything he could have ever dreamed of. If anything existed that could save him from his life as an animated cadaver and get him back in a body he’d actually have control over, it was here.
…And if the events playing out thus far were a hint of what was going on throughout the entire building, then Heisenberg was likely his best option.
"Very well then, Mr. Crumb, I accept your proposal."
"I knew you would, Doctor von Wissenschaft. Man, what a name," Crumb chuckled, practically to himself, "what a name."
Alberich, on the other hand, simply looked at the elevator without moving. Despite his reasoning, Doe seemed ambivalent about walking through those doors. He was about to question the decision himself when suddenly Crumb interjected again.
"Well doctor, seems like you’re a little stuck? What, a case of 'your head says yes but your body says no'?" He turned Alberich around and gave him a push. "Here, I’ll help you out."
With that, Alberich von Wissenschaft was now a moderately unwilling employee of the very company whose workers he was… enjoying only recently. Alberich supposed that he probably wasn’t technically employed yet, that there would be an interview of some sort, but things like that had always been a formality for him.
While Alberich was concerning himself with his hypothetical interview, Elise and Blake were finding themselves in a far more tangible situation a couple of floors below his destination. If the rest of the company were aware of Krieger’s hesitation or plans of betrayal towards their goal there was certainly no indication of it, instead focusing their efforts on the escaped prisoner and the random guy helping her out.
The two impromptu (and equally suspicious) allies were not completely without hope however. You see, when a company is as obsessed with scientific and technological advancement as the company, no matter how many floors it takes up each and every one has a research and development section. In this case, part of said work was based around rocket propulsion. While perhaps not the greatest topic of investigation to locate near a recently improvised prison, during the hustle and bustle of a mass takeover nobody had thought that one should perhaps immediately separate the location one keeps prisoners in with their most convenient and effective means of escaping.
Nobody but Krieger, whose new occupation as a corpse had swiftly put an end to such sensibility.
If either Blake or Elise had thought about it, they would have realized they would have to thank the late administrator for keeping his interrogation so secret – it had given the pair precious minutes to find Elise’s equipment and try and figure out their next move. However, one can only think of so many things at once, and both were preoccupied with ones far more important than some dead guy.
Elise, for example, was busy thinking of how to best attach the remaining shoddily designed rockets they had stolen from some upset scientists to a delivery-laden trolley they had taken off the hands of a confused intern. She was also thinking about whether or not trying to force their way into an elevator through a hallway filled with armed men shooting at them was really the greatest plan they could think of, and whether or not they should try going back up or straight down.
Blake on the other hand, had similarly important, if different thoughts. Namely, whether or not he should just stab Elise while her back was turned. After all, the Sociologist had said that only one of them needed to die and they could escape this hellhole, Blake really wanted to make sure it wasn’t him, and he was quickly beginning to realize that, despite hopes that the other competitors might take care of each other and his doppelganger, he might have to take action into his own hands. Who knows what gave him the incentive – perhaps it was the continuous rat-a-tat-tat of machine guns, or the occasional boom of a hand grenade, or some other lethal onomatopoeia being directed towards him by a small army. Who can say for certain?
As he pulled out his box cutter Elise suddenly broke the silence.
"Look Blake, I know you’re not the other guy-" she started, not taking her eyes away from her project.
The other guy.
Elise kept going on, something about how 'she had figured out how to tell which Blake was which', or how 'she didn’t think he was bad either despite killing Krieger so ruthlessly', or some other garbage. Blake wasn’t paying attention. The other guy. Those three words were what stayed Blake’s hand. As much as he hated to admit it, what that asshole whose name was anything but Joseph had said obviously bothered him. Though Elise didn’t intend it, her gesture towards validating him as the true Blake had bought her just enough time for him to lose his chance to literally stab her in the back.
As Blake shook his head and prepared to go ahead with his plan, a sound could be heard, lightly, from several floors below them.
*ding*
Elise swore. "One’s here Blake!" She haphazardly taped the remaining rockets to the trolley and wired them to a detonator. "I know it’s not the best time, but this could be our only chance."
Black quickly retracted the knife blade and hid the weapon in his sleeve. Perhaps it was a good thing. The only other competitor he had met so far had taken him hostage, and Elise owed him. He began to help her finish preparing their precarious creation.
"You know this is insane right?" He asked, trying to look more nervous than he actually felt. He had to admit that this kind of action was exactly the kind of thing he had missed from his real life, and now that he was more in control of his situation he secretly loved every bloody second of it.
Elise rolled her eyes "You have any better ideas?"
"Nah," Blake smiled, shaking his head for emphasis, "I wouldn’t have it any other way."
*ding*
Alberich hated smooth jazz. Something about it just screamed stagnation, boredom. Perhaps it was the fact that it was only playing in places where one is forced to wait, trapped in a single small room. You know, clinics, waiting rooms, and worst of all, elevators like the one he was on just now.
Anyone who ever got to know the good doctor would eventually realize that the real reason he hated it was probably because Doe seemed to like it, swaying back and forth with the rhythm. Alberich sighed, waiting until the moment he could be free of the accursed box and completely unaware of just how much worse his day was about to become.
*ding*
"What the hell?"
The company employees positioned near the elevator couldn’t be expected to have any other reaction to what appeared to be a monstrosity of metal, office supplies, and fuselage. They were thus caught off guard when it turned the corner with Elise and Blake hanging onto the side, the former firing bolts at their heads, hands, feet, and wherever else she saw a significant lack of armour. The latter just grinned like a madman, holding a detonator.
*ding*
At this point Alberich had finally turned towards that inconveniently placed mirror that all decent elevators seem to have and noticed just what an appalling state of cleanliness he and Doe were in. While he was now sporting a mostly bloodless outfit, his hair was a mess, their posture was horrid, and Doe’s fingernails were still dirty from skin and flesh.
"I’ll tell you what John, you help me fix up my hair, and I will pick those nails of yours clean. This is an important opportunity for m– for us. You, eh, we can’t mess this up, right?"
Doe was characteristically uncooperative, instead just smacking a hand across his partner’s head, making his hair even more untidy. Not that it would actually be important in a couple of seconds.
*ding*
A slightly less than gentle punch on the arm from Elise broke Blake out of his adrenaline fueled daze. She motioned to the elevator, which revealed that one of them was just short of their floor. "Blake, it’s now or never!"
He snapped to attention, grin still plastered to his face. "Right, right, yes. Showtime."
He pressed the button on the detonator, and immediately a spark weaved its way through every single fuse. In a single instant the trolley became a rocket, an engine of destruction that paved their way through man and barrier alike. The company was helpless against the onslaught of the machine working in tandem with Elise’s crossbow and Blake’s sheer enthusiasm (box cutters tend to only work when one is at a close range and not moving at the speed of a bullet after all). Within seconds it was past their barricades, through their defensive lines, and upon the elevator just as it finally reached their floor.
*ding*
Alberich had only seconds between hearing a sound evocative of a small jet engine and seeing the horrible contraption bursting through the elevator doors and flying right at him. Of course, this sudden surprise did nothing to help his less-then-attentive body’s dodging ability. The cart came crashing into him, smashing him against the back of the elevator, and crushing him further as the jets sputtered out and died.
Blake and Elise on the other hand, were far more nimble and prepared, but had the sheer momentum of being taken along with a rocket propelled trolley working against them. Elise had put enough thought into the escape to simply hang off of the back of the device, letting it pull her most of the way before falling off at the last moment so as to roll the rest of the way in and come to a relatively painless stop.
[background=#818181]Blake had not been so clever, riding the makeshift battering ram all the way in and finding himself filled with regret the instant the cart came to a halt but he did not. Picking himself off of the wall he took a quick glance at the scientist trapped and (very likely killed) by their entrance. He’d almost feel bad if he wasn’t just being shot at by the man’s allies, and if he wasn’t, well, himself.
A small part of him could swear he recognized the man from somewhere, but he shrugged it off without too much of a thought. Whoever he was, he was dead now.
Instead of worrying, Blake started to laugh. Elise, upon getting up off of the ground, just raised her eyebrow and motioned towards Alberich. "What’s so funny, and who is he?"
"Don’t know. Don’t really care." Blake ignored the first part of Elise’s question and instead moved over to the doctor’s body. "Looks like another scientist, a dead one. What’s the big deal?"
Elise shook her head. She could have sworn the man pinned behind their escape craft looked like that competitor she had seen when this whole thing started – the awkward, suited man. She had to admit though, there was an awful amount of blood and obvious damage done to the man, and he was certainly not moving. He was dead, and judging by the fact that they were still on the Spire she had to have been mistaken.
"We’re still going up Elise."
Blake had pointed out a simple but unwanted fact, one that Elise had been trying her best to avoid thinking about. The chances that their passenger had been stopping at their floor was unlikely – and from her limited knowledge of the tower the top was the last place she wanted to be.
"Is there any way to stop it?"
Blake shook his head. “What do I look like, some kind of techie? Want me to hit a different button? I guess we could jump out too
"No," Elise interrupted, "it’s alright. Whatever’s there is probably no worse than anything else on these floors. Let’s just get up and head back down."
"Sounds good, as long as it’s not the top floor."
"I agree."
Both of them paused, and for the first time since they began their escape there was a brief silence in the air.
Nemo.
The unspoken word hung over them for a moment (a much less flattering name for the man was being thought of by Blake, but that is a mere technicality). Neither was particularly interested in dealing with the man again after their previous experiences, nor were they willing to believe that what was on the second to last floor was any more dangerous than what was on the last plus the psychopath.
Strangely enough it was the supposedly dead man who interrupted their collective thoughts. Elise and Blake both spun around to see the scientist groaning and weakly moving his arms along the embedded cart.
You see, Alberich was far from dead – it was just that no matter how protected a skull is, a liberal enough application of force will still be able to render a concussion to knock one out. As for Doe, though he was immortal a rocket-propelled trolley into the torso is not a thing to be taken likely, and his bruised and busted internal organs had also taken some time to heal.
"Wh-what’s going on?" The professor vaguely motioned towards the two of them. "Who… the devil are you?"
Before Elise could respond or even react to this guy who should by all accounts not be breathing anymore, Blake was already on the move. Though the elevator itself was a bit larger than average, it was by no means big enough that he couldn’t reach the doctor within a few paces. He pulled out his box cutter.
"Sorry," Blake began, in the most unapologetic tone possible, "but you just can’t live. We’re on the run from you guys after all."
With that, he slid the knife right across Alberich’s neck. The doctor gasped, and a hand warily reached up to touch the wound. The other reached for Blake at the same time as Alberich’s eyes moved from his neck to the man who had just caused the damage.
Blake was taken aback. Usually when one takes a good slash to the throat they don’t get back up, and he assumed that went doubly so for guys who were also hit by what must have amounted to a speeding car. Frowning, he extended the blade on his box cutter a few more inches, driving it into his victim’s heart.
"What are you doing?" Elise shouted, taking out her crossbow. Maybe this Blake was worse than the other. Maybe she’d have to worry about him just as much as Nemo.
"I’ve got to make sure he’s dead." Blake twisted the knife to cause the greater amount of damage that the media had always implied such actions would. No small amount of blood began to leak out of the hole. "He’d tell the others. Besides, what kind of guy survives that kind of –"
Alberich and Doe were proving to be experts at interruptions, as the latter grabbed hold of Blake’s hand, the one pushing the box cutter into his body. Blake tried to pull away but the corpse’s grip was painfully strong.
Blake gasped. "What the hell? Let go of me!" Using his free hand, he began trying to pry off Doe’s grasp.
At this point Elise wasn’t fully sure of what was going on, or even if she should be helping Blake murder what might be an already dying employee. Her hesitation was assuaged however, when Doe’s other hand moved from his own throat to grab hold of Blake’s shoulder. To both of their surprises, the lethal gash across the man’s throat had become a bloody, but otherwise minor, cut. Alberich, with his head now completely cleared, looked up at Blake.
"What the hell." It was no longer a question on Blake’s part, rather, him stating his disbelief and confusion at how very quickly things turned around. He repeated said statement over and over as Doe slowly pulled him closer.
"Blake, get away from him." Elise raised her crossbow.
He didn’t respond, instead opting to continue his confused repetition. Elise pulled the trigger, swearing when she realized she needed to reload.
"I’m terribly sorry about this…" Alberich paused, as if a realization had suddenly hit him, "Mister Richards, was it?"
Blake’s chant paused for a brief moment. "How the hell do you know… son of a bitch. You’re in too, aren’t you?" He began struggling harder.
"You brought this on yourself; I can’t control him when he’s lost so much blood and energy, when he’s so… hungry."
With that, Alberich opened his mouth, and Doe pulled him into biting range. At the last second however, a crossbow bolt hit Doe’s left arm, causing enough of a distraction for Blake to finally yank it out of his grasp.
"Don’t let him bite you Blake!" Elise leveled her weapon, firing off another shot.
"No shit." Blake pulled himself out of Doe’s grasp completely and then quickly ducked as the zombie swung its wounded arm towards his head. Doe’s fist instead left a sizable dent in the elevator, causing a groan that the three competitors shouldn’t have ignored, but did in the heat of the moment.
Elise didn’t respond, instead continuing to fire at the pair. To her great surprise, Doe seemed to absorb most of them with his flailing arms. The few that did hit Alberich’s head just caused glancing wounds and bounced off.
Blake was now beside her, out of reach of Doe’s grasp. "Just keep shooting!"
Doe would have none of it though. He left the rest of himself vulnerable for a few seconds, grasping the trolley that was pinning him to the wall until he could get a hold of it. A couple bolts hit him in the chest, but with a couple pushes the cart finally budged. With one more, it was flying towards Elise and Blake.
It was at this exact moment, as the two jumped out of the way and the trolley fell out the busted door, that Elise Pestarztyn swore she would never set foot in an elevator again.
"Look," Alberich began, as Doe steadied himself out of the wall. "I do not want to fight either of you, let alone kill you. There is something I have to do in this tower. My… associate does however, so I would recommend leaving the same way you came in."
The two didn’t move, and in the moments of nothing happening Doe had finished seemingly deciding which of the still ruptured organs in his body would be fine for now.
Alberich sighed. "Too late then."
Elise raising her crossbow to fire, but Doe didn’t give her a chance. He closed the short distance between him and her within a second, he was next to her. She pulled the trigger too late, Doe knocking her aim off with his outstretched grasp and moving in for the kill. He knocked her crossbow to the ground when she tried to line up another shot, forced Alberich to lean in close and then –
Nothing. Alberich was confused. As much as he enjoyed not feasting on brain matter he had never known Doe to turn down a meal, especially when he was hungry. The only type of brain his lesser half ever had turned down before were the first he tried to go for. The cold brains of corpses…
Alberich understood. "You’re like me, aren’t you?"
Elise didn’t answer, but scowled behind her mask. Instead, she quickly dropped her crossbow and ducked under Doe. With one fluid motion she was under him, behind him, then, upright again, with her crossbow somehow retrieved at some point during the motion. She kicked Doe into the wall, and the new force in combination with his current momentum sent him crashing into a wall again. She wasn’t dead yet, and Alberich was not the same type of monster she was becoming.
It was all proving too much for the elevator. With squeal, the lift’s floor tilted, and the lift came to a stop. This time, everyone did notice the kind of trouble they were in. Everyone but Doe of course, who was trying to continue his rampage when the shift made him lose his footing. Elise turned to Blake and pointed at the top of the elevator.
"Quick, give me a boost."
"Are you insane?" Blake shouted. "You think I’m going to let you leave me alone with this guy –"
"This place isn’t going to make it, we need to get out now! Before he gets up!"
Blake groaned in frustration, but helped Elise reach up and take out the panel at the top of the elevator. She quickly climbed through, and went to help Blake up when he was suddenly knocked aside by Doe. She looked around and noticed the eight cables holding the elevator up, each one attached by a clamp. She had an idea.
Blake of course was busy trying to avoid being mauled by Doe and Alberich to do anything but inwardly curse Elise for leaving him probably to die. Unlike Elise though, he was not experienced in killing enemies who stubbornly refuse to die, and a box cutter ranked among the worst weapons to fight a zombie with. As such, he quickly found himself pinned by the Doe and swearing to himself that he would find a way to haunt Elise for the rest of her days.
"Again, just know that I didn’t want this eith–" Alberich was cut off by a thick black cable hitting Doe. Blake took the seconds the zombie was distracted to slip out from under him.
Stepping back, Blake looked up to see Elise already holding another cable. As Doe struggled to get back up, she dropped it on him as well.
"Said I’d help you get back up, didn’t I?"
Blake sighed in relief. "You took your sweet time!"
"One second." Elise disappeared again, returning with a third cable to drop on the once again standing zombie pair. "I’ve only got five more of these, then the elevator’s done. Come on."
Blake nodded, and waited for her to drop two more cables before trying to clamber up one. Elise dropped the third cable as Doe started to reach for him. As he reached the top of the elevator and climbed onto the roof, Elise detached the seventh cable, dropping it as well. The elevator began to sway.
"Open that door Blake." Elise pointed to the door to another floor above them. Blake began to pry it open as Elise stared down at the struggling zombie.
Alberich desperately looked back up at her. "You wouldn’t."
"I’m terribly sorry about this… but I kill zombies."
Alberich chuckled nervously. "But you are one."
"I am not!" Elise shouted. "Not yet, I can stop it!"
"Uh," Blake interjected, the doors pried open. "We’re good to go."
Elise calmed down. "Alright then, get ready to jump."
With that she detached the last cable. As the elevator plummeted down hundreds of stories her and Blake jumped, barely managing to grab a hold of the floors edge. Carefully, they pulled each other up and looked down the shaft, panting.
"You know," Blake gasped, “you could have just let me climb up first."
Elise snickered, catching Blake completely off guard.
"What's so funny?"
Elise stretched "Sorry about that, I didn’t expect that to be your only reaction after all of that. Come on, let’s go." She turned and began to walk away from the elevator shaft.
"I fail to see what’s so god damn hilarious, I could have fucking died there!" Blake spun around to face her, only to see her practically frozen in place. He stopped as well.
Dozens of clicks and a single, very suspicious whirring sound greeted them. Wordlessly, a crossbow and box cutter fell to the floor.
Alberich meanwhile, had closed his eyes in expectation of an (eventual) impact. What he was not prepared for, however, was a complete lack of movement. Through their struggling, Doe had somehow managed to get himself so tangled in the cables that the two of them were held in place. He made a mental note to not chastise Doe for his clumsiness every time from now on.
Further to his surprise, he began to notice that they were beginning to somehow move up the cables. Due to the awkward positioning of a neck in what should have been free fall, Alberich couldn’t see exactly how. Had Doe, who was completely incompetent when it came to walking in a straight line, managed to figure out how to climb a rope effectively? It seemed impossible.
The doctor’s suspicions proved to be correct when he eventually found himself being dragged through the same door Elise and Blake had been pulled through. Looking around, he saw several interns putting down the cords they had clearly been pulling, he saw Elise and Blake, hands raised into the air and surrounded by a small army of guards, and a single, excited looking man in a suit.
Said man practically jumped in delight at Alberich’s ascension to the floor, his perfect moustache quaking with delight.
"Thank you very, very much for your assistance, Doctor von Wissenschaft! I can already see you’ll be a valued member of our team."
Doe picked the two of them up, and Alberich simply gaped at the overly happy and grizzled man. "Thank you but… who exactly are you?"
"Oh right, of course," the man chortled, his equally perfect chin the moving up and down with each ‘ha’. "Sorry about that doctor. I am Sir Bradley, CEO of the Heisenberg Science Company."
It had been almost completely forgotten to the workers of the Pacific Spire thanks to the events of the day, and totally unknown to the various competitors of the Sociologist’s game, but the setting sun revealed that Christmas Day was beginning to come to a close. Of course, being a place of professionalism and daily blood feuds, the holiday was mostly unimportant to the state of affairs in the state of the art tower, unless a state had a comical, ironic, or eerily convenient sense of timing. Unfortunately, all three of said senses would conspire within the next hour, much to the chagrin of a certain vaguely-alive scientist.
Alberich inwardly cursed himself for what felt like the hundredth time since he arrived at the Pacific Spire. Though Blacklight had managed to force a hapless office worker into helping him out of his bloodied jacket and into a labcoat, things immediately took a turn for the worse. Not only had his shambling excuse of a body managed to get him separated from the enchantress – though he could barely tolerate her mystical drivel it was comforting to be around someone stuck in the same situation as oneself – but he discovered that mere minutes after his untimely departure she had been whisked away to some wonderful place that wasn’t this goddamn floor.
It was somewhere around Doe’s twelfth lap of the office that something finally came around to break the waiting. The elevator, which had last opened when the Heisenberg Science Company had retreated in pursuit of easier conquests. This time it only held a single man.
Sitting on a chair.
Not moving.
While most of the actual workers on the floor might have first noticed the hallmark moustache, glasses, and shaved head of their manager, one Anthony Stevenson, Alberich instead noticed the red paint (or what was, let’s face it, probably blood) used to write a single, festive sentence on the man’s white workshirt:
Now I have your legal documents
Ho – Ho – Ho
In the seconds it took the rest of the nearby workers to notice what the doctor had been gaping at, the entire office was abuzz again, with the haphazard militia readying their weapons for another battle. A minute passed, nothing came. Another passed, and still nothing. A third –
"Now I know what a TV dinner feels like."
The ragtag group of defenders began looking around, trying to figure out who exactly had broken the silence with such an absurd comment. Alberich himself was confused by the remark’s origins, until he, and everyone else began to hear clinking sounds coming from above and collectively shared a single thought: the air vent, of course. Silently, a handful of them moved under the sound of what was likely the team of Heisenberg soldiers who had blown their cover talking to each other.
"Come out to the coast they said, we’ll get together, we’ll have a few laughs –"
With a creak the ventilation shaft gave way, crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust. Bursts of machine gun fire rang out from the unfortunate workers who were directly under the vent while Alberich readied himself (as much as Doe would let him anyways) and the rest of the office surrounded the scene, finger triggers at the ready. As the dust began to settle a single man was standing in an impossibly immaculate suit, with a half-dozen machine gunners unconscious around him. Every single available weapon pointed at him, it took several seconds before Alberich broke the silence.
"Who exactly are you?"
The suited man looked shocked, then embarrassed, finally settling on professionally apologetic. "So sorry good sirs, madams, where are my manners? Cecil W. Crumb, Johan and Nellis, attorney at law, at your service. I am the personal acquisitions and resources lawyer of the Heisenberg Science Company."
The announcement, obviously, didn’t go to well with anyone, but before the wary horde could open fire Crumb produced a rather impressive looking document.
"Ah ah ah, wouldn’t do that if I were you. As of twenty three minutes ago, your company has been bought out by Heisenberg. You’re now all our employees, welcome to the family!"
A quiet pause, perhaps the most silent moment since the whole fiasco began, settled over the office. Nobody moved, nobody breathed, the lights didn’t even flicker. Finally several voices rang out at once.
"Bought us out? What does that mean?"
"Does that mean we’re already dead?"
"Can… can they do that?"
"Family?… D-dad?"
"I’m almost positive this isn’t legal."
Crumb once again silenced the crowd with an almost unnatural ease. Turning towards the last voice, he smiled. "Of course it’s legal, it’s how things used to be done, and still is done everywhere else in the world. Of course military campaigning is usually less expensive here. Would you like to examine the document? It has Mr. Stevenson’s signature and everything, bless his soul."
The employee who had called the legality of the transaction looked over the document, his confident frown quickly turning more and more into a terrified grimace. With every new article, each airtight clause, every fine-print amendment backing him more and more into a corner until he found his back pressed against one of the office’s larger windows. Crumb kept himself right in front of the man the entire time before suddenly, in a single motion, he took the papers out of his hand and pressed him against the glass with an expensive looking oxford.
Crumb’s grin was gone, replaced by a deadpan stare. "Yippie-ki-yay, motherfucker."
And with that Crumb pushed, breaking the glass and sending the employee all the way down to the bottom of the tower. He spun around, his grin returning to his face almost instantly.
"So I trust we’re all settled? Heisenberg Science looks forward to officially welcoming you all into our family, there’s going to be a mixer on Friday for our new employees, hope to see you all there." Leaving behind the shocked group of employees, most of whom had dropped or otherwise forgotten about their weapons, Crumb moved to Alberich, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop Doe as he tried to wander off, and continued. "Of course, my employer would love a chance to speak with you right away Mister…"
Alberich paused. He really did not want to be here anymore, but also wasn’t particularly fond of falling to his death. He decided to answer before Doe did something to once again ruin everything.
"Doctor Alberich von Wissenschaft… at your service."
"A doctor! Pardon me, of course. You have though coat and everything. I’d shake your hand but, well," he paused, looking over Doe, "you know. This does mean my employer will want to see you even sooner, hmm… no time to wait around here then! Just get on the elevator, go all the way to the top and stop a floor short. I’ll let them know you’re coming."
"And why exactly would I do that?"
Crumb looked genuinely confused. "Why not? Surely every man of science wants to be part of my employer’s dream." Brushing aside a hostile grope from a bored Doe he added, "Besides, with us you’ll be able to work on your… condition, with all the proper resources and funding. Security footage would imply you’re not like this willingly."
For the first time Alberich froze for some reason besides complete bewilderment or blind hatred of his situation. Some of the (not fake-magical) things he had seen since being dropped into the Spire, they were far beyond anything he could have ever dreamed of. If anything existed that could save him from his life as an animated cadaver and get him back in a body he’d actually have control over, it was here.
…And if the events playing out thus far were a hint of what was going on throughout the entire building, then Heisenberg was likely his best option.
"Very well then, Mr. Crumb, I accept your proposal."
"I knew you would, Doctor von Wissenschaft. Man, what a name," Crumb chuckled, practically to himself, "what a name."
Alberich, on the other hand, simply looked at the elevator without moving. Despite his reasoning, Doe seemed ambivalent about walking through those doors. He was about to question the decision himself when suddenly Crumb interjected again.
"Well doctor, seems like you’re a little stuck? What, a case of 'your head says yes but your body says no'?" He turned Alberich around and gave him a push. "Here, I’ll help you out."
With that, Alberich von Wissenschaft was now a moderately unwilling employee of the very company whose workers he was… enjoying only recently. Alberich supposed that he probably wasn’t technically employed yet, that there would be an interview of some sort, but things like that had always been a formality for him.
While Alberich was concerning himself with his hypothetical interview, Elise and Blake were finding themselves in a far more tangible situation a couple of floors below his destination. If the rest of the company were aware of Krieger’s hesitation or plans of betrayal towards their goal there was certainly no indication of it, instead focusing their efforts on the escaped prisoner and the random guy helping her out.
The two impromptu (and equally suspicious) allies were not completely without hope however. You see, when a company is as obsessed with scientific and technological advancement as the company, no matter how many floors it takes up each and every one has a research and development section. In this case, part of said work was based around rocket propulsion. While perhaps not the greatest topic of investigation to locate near a recently improvised prison, during the hustle and bustle of a mass takeover nobody had thought that one should perhaps immediately separate the location one keeps prisoners in with their most convenient and effective means of escaping.
Nobody but Krieger, whose new occupation as a corpse had swiftly put an end to such sensibility.
If either Blake or Elise had thought about it, they would have realized they would have to thank the late administrator for keeping his interrogation so secret – it had given the pair precious minutes to find Elise’s equipment and try and figure out their next move. However, one can only think of so many things at once, and both were preoccupied with ones far more important than some dead guy.
Elise, for example, was busy thinking of how to best attach the remaining shoddily designed rockets they had stolen from some upset scientists to a delivery-laden trolley they had taken off the hands of a confused intern. She was also thinking about whether or not trying to force their way into an elevator through a hallway filled with armed men shooting at them was really the greatest plan they could think of, and whether or not they should try going back up or straight down.
Blake on the other hand, had similarly important, if different thoughts. Namely, whether or not he should just stab Elise while her back was turned. After all, the Sociologist had said that only one of them needed to die and they could escape this hellhole, Blake really wanted to make sure it wasn’t him, and he was quickly beginning to realize that, despite hopes that the other competitors might take care of each other and his doppelganger, he might have to take action into his own hands. Who knows what gave him the incentive – perhaps it was the continuous rat-a-tat-tat of machine guns, or the occasional boom of a hand grenade, or some other lethal onomatopoeia being directed towards him by a small army. Who can say for certain?
As he pulled out his box cutter Elise suddenly broke the silence.
"Look Blake, I know you’re not the other guy-" she started, not taking her eyes away from her project.
The other guy.
Elise kept going on, something about how 'she had figured out how to tell which Blake was which', or how 'she didn’t think he was bad either despite killing Krieger so ruthlessly', or some other garbage. Blake wasn’t paying attention. The other guy. Those three words were what stayed Blake’s hand. As much as he hated to admit it, what that asshole whose name was anything but Joseph had said obviously bothered him. Though Elise didn’t intend it, her gesture towards validating him as the true Blake had bought her just enough time for him to lose his chance to literally stab her in the back.
As Blake shook his head and prepared to go ahead with his plan, a sound could be heard, lightly, from several floors below them.
*ding*
Elise swore. "One’s here Blake!" She haphazardly taped the remaining rockets to the trolley and wired them to a detonator. "I know it’s not the best time, but this could be our only chance."
Black quickly retracted the knife blade and hid the weapon in his sleeve. Perhaps it was a good thing. The only other competitor he had met so far had taken him hostage, and Elise owed him. He began to help her finish preparing their precarious creation.
"You know this is insane right?" He asked, trying to look more nervous than he actually felt. He had to admit that this kind of action was exactly the kind of thing he had missed from his real life, and now that he was more in control of his situation he secretly loved every bloody second of it.
Elise rolled her eyes "You have any better ideas?"
"Nah," Blake smiled, shaking his head for emphasis, "I wouldn’t have it any other way."
*ding*
Alberich hated smooth jazz. Something about it just screamed stagnation, boredom. Perhaps it was the fact that it was only playing in places where one is forced to wait, trapped in a single small room. You know, clinics, waiting rooms, and worst of all, elevators like the one he was on just now.
Anyone who ever got to know the good doctor would eventually realize that the real reason he hated it was probably because Doe seemed to like it, swaying back and forth with the rhythm. Alberich sighed, waiting until the moment he could be free of the accursed box and completely unaware of just how much worse his day was about to become.
*ding*
"What the hell?"
The company employees positioned near the elevator couldn’t be expected to have any other reaction to what appeared to be a monstrosity of metal, office supplies, and fuselage. They were thus caught off guard when it turned the corner with Elise and Blake hanging onto the side, the former firing bolts at their heads, hands, feet, and wherever else she saw a significant lack of armour. The latter just grinned like a madman, holding a detonator.
*ding*
At this point Alberich had finally turned towards that inconveniently placed mirror that all decent elevators seem to have and noticed just what an appalling state of cleanliness he and Doe were in. While he was now sporting a mostly bloodless outfit, his hair was a mess, their posture was horrid, and Doe’s fingernails were still dirty from skin and flesh.
"I’ll tell you what John, you help me fix up my hair, and I will pick those nails of yours clean. This is an important opportunity for m– for us. You, eh, we can’t mess this up, right?"
Doe was characteristically uncooperative, instead just smacking a hand across his partner’s head, making his hair even more untidy. Not that it would actually be important in a couple of seconds.
*ding*
A slightly less than gentle punch on the arm from Elise broke Blake out of his adrenaline fueled daze. She motioned to the elevator, which revealed that one of them was just short of their floor. "Blake, it’s now or never!"
He snapped to attention, grin still plastered to his face. "Right, right, yes. Showtime."
He pressed the button on the detonator, and immediately a spark weaved its way through every single fuse. In a single instant the trolley became a rocket, an engine of destruction that paved their way through man and barrier alike. The company was helpless against the onslaught of the machine working in tandem with Elise’s crossbow and Blake’s sheer enthusiasm (box cutters tend to only work when one is at a close range and not moving at the speed of a bullet after all). Within seconds it was past their barricades, through their defensive lines, and upon the elevator just as it finally reached their floor.
*ding*
Alberich had only seconds between hearing a sound evocative of a small jet engine and seeing the horrible contraption bursting through the elevator doors and flying right at him. Of course, this sudden surprise did nothing to help his less-then-attentive body’s dodging ability. The cart came crashing into him, smashing him against the back of the elevator, and crushing him further as the jets sputtered out and died.
Blake and Elise on the other hand, were far more nimble and prepared, but had the sheer momentum of being taken along with a rocket propelled trolley working against them. Elise had put enough thought into the escape to simply hang off of the back of the device, letting it pull her most of the way before falling off at the last moment so as to roll the rest of the way in and come to a relatively painless stop.
[background=#818181]Blake had not been so clever, riding the makeshift battering ram all the way in and finding himself filled with regret the instant the cart came to a halt but he did not. Picking himself off of the wall he took a quick glance at the scientist trapped and (very likely killed) by their entrance. He’d almost feel bad if he wasn’t just being shot at by the man’s allies, and if he wasn’t, well, himself.
A small part of him could swear he recognized the man from somewhere, but he shrugged it off without too much of a thought. Whoever he was, he was dead now.
Instead of worrying, Blake started to laugh. Elise, upon getting up off of the ground, just raised her eyebrow and motioned towards Alberich. "What’s so funny, and who is he?"
"Don’t know. Don’t really care." Blake ignored the first part of Elise’s question and instead moved over to the doctor’s body. "Looks like another scientist, a dead one. What’s the big deal?"
Elise shook her head. She could have sworn the man pinned behind their escape craft looked like that competitor she had seen when this whole thing started – the awkward, suited man. She had to admit though, there was an awful amount of blood and obvious damage done to the man, and he was certainly not moving. He was dead, and judging by the fact that they were still on the Spire she had to have been mistaken.
"We’re still going up Elise."
Blake had pointed out a simple but unwanted fact, one that Elise had been trying her best to avoid thinking about. The chances that their passenger had been stopping at their floor was unlikely – and from her limited knowledge of the tower the top was the last place she wanted to be.
"Is there any way to stop it?"
Blake shook his head. “What do I look like, some kind of techie? Want me to hit a different button? I guess we could jump out too
"No," Elise interrupted, "it’s alright. Whatever’s there is probably no worse than anything else on these floors. Let’s just get up and head back down."
"Sounds good, as long as it’s not the top floor."
"I agree."
Both of them paused, and for the first time since they began their escape there was a brief silence in the air.
Nemo.
The unspoken word hung over them for a moment (a much less flattering name for the man was being thought of by Blake, but that is a mere technicality). Neither was particularly interested in dealing with the man again after their previous experiences, nor were they willing to believe that what was on the second to last floor was any more dangerous than what was on the last plus the psychopath.
Strangely enough it was the supposedly dead man who interrupted their collective thoughts. Elise and Blake both spun around to see the scientist groaning and weakly moving his arms along the embedded cart.
You see, Alberich was far from dead – it was just that no matter how protected a skull is, a liberal enough application of force will still be able to render a concussion to knock one out. As for Doe, though he was immortal a rocket-propelled trolley into the torso is not a thing to be taken likely, and his bruised and busted internal organs had also taken some time to heal.
"Wh-what’s going on?" The professor vaguely motioned towards the two of them. "Who… the devil are you?"
Before Elise could respond or even react to this guy who should by all accounts not be breathing anymore, Blake was already on the move. Though the elevator itself was a bit larger than average, it was by no means big enough that he couldn’t reach the doctor within a few paces. He pulled out his box cutter.
"Sorry," Blake began, in the most unapologetic tone possible, "but you just can’t live. We’re on the run from you guys after all."
With that, he slid the knife right across Alberich’s neck. The doctor gasped, and a hand warily reached up to touch the wound. The other reached for Blake at the same time as Alberich’s eyes moved from his neck to the man who had just caused the damage.
Blake was taken aback. Usually when one takes a good slash to the throat they don’t get back up, and he assumed that went doubly so for guys who were also hit by what must have amounted to a speeding car. Frowning, he extended the blade on his box cutter a few more inches, driving it into his victim’s heart.
"What are you doing?" Elise shouted, taking out her crossbow. Maybe this Blake was worse than the other. Maybe she’d have to worry about him just as much as Nemo.
"I’ve got to make sure he’s dead." Blake twisted the knife to cause the greater amount of damage that the media had always implied such actions would. No small amount of blood began to leak out of the hole. "He’d tell the others. Besides, what kind of guy survives that kind of –"
Alberich and Doe were proving to be experts at interruptions, as the latter grabbed hold of Blake’s hand, the one pushing the box cutter into his body. Blake tried to pull away but the corpse’s grip was painfully strong.
Blake gasped. "What the hell? Let go of me!" Using his free hand, he began trying to pry off Doe’s grasp.
At this point Elise wasn’t fully sure of what was going on, or even if she should be helping Blake murder what might be an already dying employee. Her hesitation was assuaged however, when Doe’s other hand moved from his own throat to grab hold of Blake’s shoulder. To both of their surprises, the lethal gash across the man’s throat had become a bloody, but otherwise minor, cut. Alberich, with his head now completely cleared, looked up at Blake.
"What the hell." It was no longer a question on Blake’s part, rather, him stating his disbelief and confusion at how very quickly things turned around. He repeated said statement over and over as Doe slowly pulled him closer.
"Blake, get away from him." Elise raised her crossbow.
He didn’t respond, instead opting to continue his confused repetition. Elise pulled the trigger, swearing when she realized she needed to reload.
"I’m terribly sorry about this…" Alberich paused, as if a realization had suddenly hit him, "Mister Richards, was it?"
Blake’s chant paused for a brief moment. "How the hell do you know… son of a bitch. You’re in too, aren’t you?" He began struggling harder.
"You brought this on yourself; I can’t control him when he’s lost so much blood and energy, when he’s so… hungry."
With that, Alberich opened his mouth, and Doe pulled him into biting range. At the last second however, a crossbow bolt hit Doe’s left arm, causing enough of a distraction for Blake to finally yank it out of his grasp.
"Don’t let him bite you Blake!" Elise leveled her weapon, firing off another shot.
"No shit." Blake pulled himself out of Doe’s grasp completely and then quickly ducked as the zombie swung its wounded arm towards his head. Doe’s fist instead left a sizable dent in the elevator, causing a groan that the three competitors shouldn’t have ignored, but did in the heat of the moment.
Elise didn’t respond, instead continuing to fire at the pair. To her great surprise, Doe seemed to absorb most of them with his flailing arms. The few that did hit Alberich’s head just caused glancing wounds and bounced off.
Blake was now beside her, out of reach of Doe’s grasp. "Just keep shooting!"
Doe would have none of it though. He left the rest of himself vulnerable for a few seconds, grasping the trolley that was pinning him to the wall until he could get a hold of it. A couple bolts hit him in the chest, but with a couple pushes the cart finally budged. With one more, it was flying towards Elise and Blake.
It was at this exact moment, as the two jumped out of the way and the trolley fell out the busted door, that Elise Pestarztyn swore she would never set foot in an elevator again.
"Look," Alberich began, as Doe steadied himself out of the wall. "I do not want to fight either of you, let alone kill you. There is something I have to do in this tower. My… associate does however, so I would recommend leaving the same way you came in."
The two didn’t move, and in the moments of nothing happening Doe had finished seemingly deciding which of the still ruptured organs in his body would be fine for now.
Alberich sighed. "Too late then."
Elise raising her crossbow to fire, but Doe didn’t give her a chance. He closed the short distance between him and her within a second, he was next to her. She pulled the trigger too late, Doe knocking her aim off with his outstretched grasp and moving in for the kill. He knocked her crossbow to the ground when she tried to line up another shot, forced Alberich to lean in close and then –
Nothing. Alberich was confused. As much as he enjoyed not feasting on brain matter he had never known Doe to turn down a meal, especially when he was hungry. The only type of brain his lesser half ever had turned down before were the first he tried to go for. The cold brains of corpses…
Alberich understood. "You’re like me, aren’t you?"
Elise didn’t answer, but scowled behind her mask. Instead, she quickly dropped her crossbow and ducked under Doe. With one fluid motion she was under him, behind him, then, upright again, with her crossbow somehow retrieved at some point during the motion. She kicked Doe into the wall, and the new force in combination with his current momentum sent him crashing into a wall again. She wasn’t dead yet, and Alberich was not the same type of monster she was becoming.
It was all proving too much for the elevator. With squeal, the lift’s floor tilted, and the lift came to a stop. This time, everyone did notice the kind of trouble they were in. Everyone but Doe of course, who was trying to continue his rampage when the shift made him lose his footing. Elise turned to Blake and pointed at the top of the elevator.
"Quick, give me a boost."
"Are you insane?" Blake shouted. "You think I’m going to let you leave me alone with this guy –"
"This place isn’t going to make it, we need to get out now! Before he gets up!"
Blake groaned in frustration, but helped Elise reach up and take out the panel at the top of the elevator. She quickly climbed through, and went to help Blake up when he was suddenly knocked aside by Doe. She looked around and noticed the eight cables holding the elevator up, each one attached by a clamp. She had an idea.
Blake of course was busy trying to avoid being mauled by Doe and Alberich to do anything but inwardly curse Elise for leaving him probably to die. Unlike Elise though, he was not experienced in killing enemies who stubbornly refuse to die, and a box cutter ranked among the worst weapons to fight a zombie with. As such, he quickly found himself pinned by the Doe and swearing to himself that he would find a way to haunt Elise for the rest of her days.
"Again, just know that I didn’t want this eith–" Alberich was cut off by a thick black cable hitting Doe. Blake took the seconds the zombie was distracted to slip out from under him.
Stepping back, Blake looked up to see Elise already holding another cable. As Doe struggled to get back up, she dropped it on him as well.
"Said I’d help you get back up, didn’t I?"
Blake sighed in relief. "You took your sweet time!"
"One second." Elise disappeared again, returning with a third cable to drop on the once again standing zombie pair. "I’ve only got five more of these, then the elevator’s done. Come on."
Blake nodded, and waited for her to drop two more cables before trying to clamber up one. Elise dropped the third cable as Doe started to reach for him. As he reached the top of the elevator and climbed onto the roof, Elise detached the seventh cable, dropping it as well. The elevator began to sway.
"Open that door Blake." Elise pointed to the door to another floor above them. Blake began to pry it open as Elise stared down at the struggling zombie.
Alberich desperately looked back up at her. "You wouldn’t."
"I’m terribly sorry about this… but I kill zombies."
Alberich chuckled nervously. "But you are one."
"I am not!" Elise shouted. "Not yet, I can stop it!"
"Uh," Blake interjected, the doors pried open. "We’re good to go."
Elise calmed down. "Alright then, get ready to jump."
With that she detached the last cable. As the elevator plummeted down hundreds of stories her and Blake jumped, barely managing to grab a hold of the floors edge. Carefully, they pulled each other up and looked down the shaft, panting.
"You know," Blake gasped, “you could have just let me climb up first."
Elise snickered, catching Blake completely off guard.
"What's so funny?"
Elise stretched "Sorry about that, I didn’t expect that to be your only reaction after all of that. Come on, let’s go." She turned and began to walk away from the elevator shaft.
"I fail to see what’s so god damn hilarious, I could have fucking died there!" Blake spun around to face her, only to see her practically frozen in place. He stopped as well.
Dozens of clicks and a single, very suspicious whirring sound greeted them. Wordlessly, a crossbow and box cutter fell to the floor.
Alberich meanwhile, had closed his eyes in expectation of an (eventual) impact. What he was not prepared for, however, was a complete lack of movement. Through their struggling, Doe had somehow managed to get himself so tangled in the cables that the two of them were held in place. He made a mental note to not chastise Doe for his clumsiness every time from now on.
Further to his surprise, he began to notice that they were beginning to somehow move up the cables. Due to the awkward positioning of a neck in what should have been free fall, Alberich couldn’t see exactly how. Had Doe, who was completely incompetent when it came to walking in a straight line, managed to figure out how to climb a rope effectively? It seemed impossible.
The doctor’s suspicions proved to be correct when he eventually found himself being dragged through the same door Elise and Blake had been pulled through. Looking around, he saw several interns putting down the cords they had clearly been pulling, he saw Elise and Blake, hands raised into the air and surrounded by a small army of guards, and a single, excited looking man in a suit.
Said man practically jumped in delight at Alberich’s ascension to the floor, his perfect moustache quaking with delight.
"Thank you very, very much for your assistance, Doctor von Wissenschaft! I can already see you’ll be a valued member of our team."
Doe picked the two of them up, and Alberich simply gaped at the overly happy and grizzled man. "Thank you but… who exactly are you?"
"Oh right, of course," the man chortled, his equally perfect chin the moving up and down with each ‘ha’. "Sorry about that doctor. I am Sir Bradley, CEO of the Heisenberg Science Company."