Someone's In My Head (WATTYS AWARD WINNER 2015)

Chapter Nine

"The journey's about half an hour long, hence we have plenty of time to talk," Layla announced after we had strapped on our seatbelts. "So, where do I start?"

"Perhaps you could start by introducing yourself." I smiled pleasantly and crossed my legs. I was certainly enjoying this. It was like an interview, with me as the interviewer.

Layla, on the other hand, was getting perceptibly annoyed. "You're not interrogating me, Jarod. I'll only be telling you information that's crucial for this mission, nothing else."

I stared hard at Layla. She didn't seem to be breaking anytime soon. Finally, I spread my hands and gave her a nonchalant smile. "Fine."

Layla took a deep breath, as if calculating what to say. "Several years ago, we intercepted an encrypted message that was directed to a notorious underground association, Malader Organization, which has been on our primary watch-list for a very long time. The Malader Organization is famous for their cutting-edge technological achievements, mainly concerning the study of the human body. Their researches are brilliant, and the results fascinating, except for one flaw."

"Which is?"

"They were using human subjects for their experiments. Or at least we suspect they were doing so. This is against the law, as according to the Nuremberg Code, the voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential for all sorts of scientific experiments whatsoever."

"Well, to conclude your suspicions, why didn't you, y'know, get a warrant and barge into their facility to arrest them?"

Layla shook her head. "No, it's not that simple. We were not confident about their alleged crimes yet, and were forced by our superiors to cease and desist our investigations on the case. We knew we did not possess enough evidence to bring them down, but Royce and I continued to study the case―"

"Royce and you? So Royce is in this too?"

Layla nodded. "He's been particularly devoted to solving this case. Says it's his life's work."

Nuh-uh. I'm still not liking this guy.

Layla took a gulp of the water. "Anyways, across the years, we tried our best to gather as much evidence as possible, but the results were pretty disappointing. Either the baddies had disappeared for good, or they were being really careful."

"I'm guessing you put your money on the latter."

Layla smiled. "You bet. Let's get back to the message. After having it decrypted by our best men, we realized it was a list."

"A list." I felt a chill jog down my spine.

"Indeed. A list of names." She confirmed.

Phil was chirping again. "Hey, didn't Dr Gordon mention something about sending patients to a mysterious facility?" Realization hit me in the face, along with his words. Yes, the patients. They were all innocent teenagers sent by a doctor desperate for power and wealth to a sinister facility that carried out God-knows-what experiments on them. And I was one of them.

In a soft but firm voice, I voiced out my fears. "Was my name in the list?"

Layla's eyes widened. She was obviously taken aback. That made it twice I've managed to surprise the Best Actress. I should be given an Oscar.

"Y...yes." Layla stuttered. Then Agent Lisanthe stepped in, and she composed herself. She stared at me sternly. "The list was highly classified." She commented, clearly implying something.