"Judgment": A Dishonored Fanfic

Chapter 6

   "Found anything yet?" Corvo asked as he rummaged through desk drawers full of paper.
   "Not on the plague, no." Daud replied from a couple of metres away. "Plenty of waffle about other useless topics though."
   "It's the nature of Science." Corvo smiled. "You'll not change it."
   "They could learn a thing or two from Elaine. I like her waffle."
   "A lot could." He then sighed. "I'm going to change target and start looking for elixir. If I don't, I might end up setting fire to most of this God-forsaken room."
   "Only so much paper a man can take." Daud agreed. "I'll stick at it for a bit longer, just to make sure."
After a couple of cabinets full of rubber piping and burners, Corvo finally opened one that was literally drowning in elixir of both types. The internal space was neatly divided into two sections, a colour in each one, and dozens of bottles winked back at him with a dot of light. He smiled.
   "...my, my. That's a lot of medicine."
   "Where? Lemme see." Daud abandoned his drawer, came over to the cabinet and whistled in surprise. "Holy shit. This could protect an army for a week."
   "Never let it be said that scientists aren't prepared."
   "How many are we takin'?"
   "Not all of them, before you think of suggesting it."
   "If we'd still got that old cart, I bloody would have. How about...three of each? That should be enough, right?"
   "If it isn't, we soon know where to go for more." Corvo picked up three red bottles, putting them in his pack, then repeated the action for three of the blue formula. "Least we got that part done easy enough. Notes look to be in bad shape, though."
   "Not a single one. They've disappointed me there. I'd have expected these idiots to research the dick out of somethin' as mysterious as the plague."
   "Me too. So looks like that's it, then."
   "...isn't there anythin' else that we could take? Somethin' that might help her out in another way?"
   "Got a crush on my lady, have we?"
Daud's mouth hung open. "No," he stressed, "but she's a good friend of ours and goin' back with just a few lousy bottles seems a bit shitty to me."
   "Ah, I get it...trying to get in her good books ei?"
   "You never know." Daud grinned. "If she thinks less of me being an idiot with a big mouth, she might be more up for a good old spit roastin' in the near future. Besides, don't hurt any."
Corvo rolled his eyes. "Let's keep looking, if it'll shut you up."
   "For now." Daud smiled.
They switched to another lecture room, and began examining the varying instruments and devices that each desk and cabinet contained. Some were very bizarre indeed, but then, scientists in general were just as strange, sometimes.
   "Hey, Corvo," Daud said after a few minutes, "I'm not entirely sure, like, but I might have somethin' here."
Corvo went to stand next to him, and saw him examining several jars of chemicals that came out of a box labelled, 'CAUTION: FOR GENETIC RESEARCH ONLY. HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED. KEEP AWAY FROM EYES. DISCARD IF MORE THAN ONE YEAR OLD.'
That kind of warning label usually meant it was either extremely good or extremely bad, and there was no inbetween.
   "Genetic research, ei?" He mused. He then quickly shot a hand out to take hold of Daud's wrist as it looked like he was going to shake one of the jars. "Don't do that, you fool! I'd rather not get blown up, if you don't mind."
   "It can't be that bad, you're fussin' too much."
   "You don't know what's in that. Neither do we, so please don't start shaking things about, okay? How old is this stuff?"
Daud rolled the bottle around to examine the label. "Let's see here...barely a couple of months old, it says. Nice."
The box also contained various stands, pots, transparent dishes and swab sticks, along with a microscope kit and instructions.
   "She mentioned genetics." Daud said. "And she needs to study the elixir, so...maybe we should swipe this for her?"
   "Couldn't hurt, I say. Would speed things up a lot."
The box itself was rather too big to be easily carried, so the two friends wrapped up all the separate items with dusting cloths from a cleaning supply closet and shared them evenly between their backpacks to help with carry weight. Wasn't too bad.
A very light, tinkling sound caused them to pause in their act of leaving the premises, craning ears to try and find its source.
   "Trouble?" Daud whispered.
   "Probably cleaners at this time of night. Let's take a look to be on the safe side."
They traced the location of the mysterious sound and were greeted with the visage of an old friend...sort of.
They spied on him for a few seconds, then backed up into the previous room so that they could talk quietly.
   "Tonight's full of surprises." Corvo smiled.
   "It's a lucky one to be sure." Daud agreed. "What would dear old Anton be doing here at this hour? With wine, no less?"
   "I wonder if this is where he normally meets Galvani?"
   "...y'know, you may be onto somethin' there. He never did tell Elaine exactly where the meetings were." He paused for a couple of seconds. "We gonna say hello?"
Corvo smiled. "Anton might feel inadequate if we leave him out. Maybe he knows a couple of useful snippets."
With nobody else about, the two assassins chose to walk right up to him, standing in front of his surprised face and full wine glass as the scientist sat at a low table.
   "Don't you believe in taking your work home with you?" Corvo said as Anton stared alarmedly at each of the two men in turn. Sokolov had dealt with them on previous occasions, so while still rather fearful, he was a lot calmer than Galvani had been.
   "...not you again." He moaned. "Look, I haven't done anything wrong! I'm just meeting a friend, that's all."
   "He regrets that he won't be attending today."
   "You...you've not killed him, have you?"
Daud chuckled. "Nah, what do you take us for? He does look like a bruised potato right now, though. We had a talk with him last night, and he tried to make it difficult. You know how it goes."
Anton did. At the time, it had taken almost a full week for his own bruises to fade away, and he didn't want a repeat performance. He swallowed nervously, and put the glass down.
   "I see. So is it my turn now, then?"
   "Not necessarily...if you're rather more polite than he was."
Daud wasn't really in a punching mood, truth be told.
Anton relaxed visibly. Whatever else he thought of the two men, he knew that they did keep their word.
   "What can I do for you?" He asked. "Would you like a drink?"
   "Nice idea, but we'll pass." Corvo said. "No assassin should ever have their head full of fluff while on the job. Accidents happen. We've drafted an expert who's helping us to devise a cure for the plague, and we're gathering information to help her."
   "A cure? My elixir is all that's needed."
Daud, tactful as ever, started to laugh quietly.
Anton looked at him. "Did I...say something humorous?"
  "Oh come on, now." Daud snapped. "The newspaper boys might believe that load of bollocks, but what do you take us for? First of all, it's not yours. It hasn't been yours since you sold the first batch to whoever along with the recipe. You're sure not doin' all those paintings out of appreciation for fine art, are you? You paint cos' it's your sole income, cos' you barely make a bean from your fucking potion anymore."
Sokolov's face became annoyed, but he wisely stayed quiet.
   "Second of all, that stuff is so expensive that only rich bastards like yourself can keep supplied properly. And let's not forget number three, that whatever's in there isn't strong enough. Some folk water it down and bootleg it, y'know. I'm sure you do."
   "It's not my problem anymore, as you just said." Anton replied with a stern voice. "So I can't fix that for you."
   "Who can?" Corvo asked then. "Who's got your recipe? Or, are you able to remember it and write it down?"
   "I couldn't possibly remember what stuff I put in there, in what amounts, after all this time."
   "So who has your recipe?"
   "You've been very charming so far." Daud said. "You sure wouldn't be as clever as they say if you ruined that now."
Anton knew that too. "...Campbell."
Corvo gasped. "What? The ex High Overseer Campbell?"
   "None other. I take it that you've already met? Oh yes, of course you have. I'd bet that it was you who shoved that red-hot poker into his face and got him cast out. It was, wasn't it?"
Daud looked at Corvo. "...you did what? When?"
   "Later." Corvo told him. He then focused back on Anton. "You actually sold it to him? Why would he want it?"
   "National security." The scientist replied. "At the time, he told me that he wanted to protect his men as well as the Crown, and his men could help to spread the elixir around much faster at the same time. Of course, we all know how that turned out. And before you ask, no, I did not know that he was lying at the time. If I'd accused him of that, I wouldn't be telling you this now." He paused. "He screwed me too, Corvo, not just all of us. In truth, I wish I knew where he were. Me and Piero, you two, all of us...we need more than excommunication for him now. We'd settle for blood and nothing less."
   "...Piero?"
   "Yes. He bought that elixir too. A monopoly on life. Rather fitting for a man such as he really was, under the uniform. I also have to say that since he got hold of the recipes, they don't seem as effective as my own once was."
   "You're saying he's changed it?" Daud was shocked.
   "I have no concrete proof, but I'd bet coin on that too. I wish I were there, when you find him. You will. Whatever shit-filled rat hole he's now hiding in, you'll flush him out. I'd be the first to take a knife and slit his bloody neck." Anton then calmed himself down a touch. "If that was all, I'd rather like to be left alone now, if I may ask you for that. I can at least still drink to forget, until Luigi's face has healed up from whatever you did to it."
Corvo nodded. "Thank you." He said quietly. "We shall find him, I can promise you that." He then turned and walked away, with Daud silently following close behind.