"Your turn, old man. Eager for some pi…"
Before Benjamin could finish talking the old man acted. A knife suddenly appeared in his hand. He threw his body forward, aiming straight for Benjamin's heart.
"Die, demon!"
Benjamin wanted to move but he was a step too slow. He cursed his damned age. Yet there was no panic on his face. The knife ripped a hole through his suit and was immediately stopped by a thick protective west. A moment later one of the bodyguards appeared behind the old man. The latter had no chance to resist as his face met the floor and the bodyguard pressed him against the ground, just short of suffocating the feeble old man.
Benjamin had obvious disgust in his eyes. He spat on the old man's head.
"You old dog, know your place."
"Tsk. Let's keep you for last!"
Benjamin didn't immediately deal with the old man, instead addressing the next woman. This time he changed the experiment slightly. He directly gave the woman some coffee before suggesting:
"Do you really want to live like this forever? Why don't you stay clean from now on? Stop touching drugs. Change your life for the better."
Watching curiously Benjamin could see the struggle in the woman's eyes. It took her a few seconds to answer:
"I… no. No. I can't. The pleasure… I can't without it."
This outcome actually surprised Benjamin somewhat. Although the woman obviously knew that becoming clean would be the best for her, even with the coffee's effect she couldn't do it. Her life was controlled by the drugs.
"What a lost cause…"
Benjamin repeated the same experiment with the last man. This time he only asked him to go clean for one week. The man struggled but he accepted the suggestion. He even took various items out of his pockets and threw them through the window.
Intrigued, Benjamin pondered what just happened. Either the man had a stronger will to resist the addiction, or he agreed because one week seemed achievable in his mind. Most likely it was a mix of both, though.
Benjamin felt that he had learnt a lot. He went back to the old man, smilingly looking down on him.
"Demon! Demon! Go away! Demon!"
The old man was going crazy, his eyes bloodshot. Benjamin felt a hint of curiosity.
"Why are you calling me demon? Is this a religious thing?"
"Demon! Demon!"
Benjamin shook his head: "Whatever. Old fool."
Obviously, Benjamin couldn't expect a coherent answer from the old man. He was not quite sure what could have caused this change. Ignoring the old man's crazy ramblings Benjamin continued his experiment. He put a pill bottle in front of the old man and fed him some coffee. At first the old man didn't want to comply but after some convincing arguments from Benjamin's bodyguard he kindly behaved.
After the old man drank all the coffee Benjamin had left, a sinister voice spread in his brain:
"I'm sure you like these little pills I have prepared for you. Why don't you eat… let's say… ten?"
The old man froze for a moment. A hint of a struggle could be seen on his face, but it swiftly disappeared. Ten pills would be lethal without a doubt. Even the old man would never take such a dose. He rejected vehemently, throwing his body around as much as he could, fixated by the bodyguard.
"No! NO! Demon! I will not!"
Benjamin was intrigued by the reaction. He continued, lowering the suggestion bit by bit. From ten pills to nine, seven, six, until he reached five and the old man fell silent, fighting a massive conflict in his head. It took more than a minute but eventually the old man agreed. He reached out with his shaking hand, took five pills from the bottle and threw them down his throat. Afterwards he deflated like a ballon, with tears running down his cheeks.
Benjamin was amazed by everything that happened. He knew that with five pills the old man was definitely taking a risk. At that age and with such an unhealthy body the chances of the dose being lethal were pretty much fifty fifty.
"Fascinating…"
Benjamin sighed lightly as he held the now empty can of coffee in front of his face. After replaying everything that happened in his head, he threw one last glance at the room before signalling his bodyguards to leave.
When the trio left, the two people who were not forced to take any pills immediately sighed in relief. They fell to their butts and the woman broke out in tears.
"Demon… demon."
The old man's incoherent rumbling could still be heard. The other man and woman laid on some mattresses, staring at the ceiling with empty gazes. A few seconds later footsteps could be heard.
"Deamon… coming back, demon…"
The sober man shook. Without caring for anything else he instantly tried to escape through the window. Compared to the old man he was still somewhat nimble and actually escaped successfully, disappearing somewhere in the network of alleys.
Only four people remained in the room. The crying woman carefully glanced at the door and saw a man enter. He was tall, wearing black trousers with a large cloth covering his upper body. His face was rather thin with cruel eyes and unkempt red hair.
If Benjamin was still here, he would recognize the man to be the gangster boss who tried to rob him three days ago. However, this was the exhaust district and the gangster's appearance here wouldn't be too surprising. What might have brought an enormous shock to Benjamin though, was the fact that the gangster boss had two intact hands.
The red-haired man didn't say much. He scanned the room once before waving at someone behind him.
"Take them all!"
"Yes, boss!"
Ten gangsters rushed into the room. All struggle was futile. The sober woman was easily knocked out before they were all dragged away.
Benjamin didn't know what had happened after he left. He was already sitting in his car on the way back home. The results of the experiment were going through his head as he formed plans for the future. Honestly, the coffee was more potent than he had expected. Yet it couldn't force people to do something they were strictly unwilling to.
However, the coffee was still incredible. Hundreds of use cases came to Benjamin's mind. His breathing quickened. Suddenly a single package of coffee seemed way too little. But the price…
A chill ran down Benjamin's back. Perhaps he could negotiate with the strange barista? Was there something else which could interest the man? Or could he send someone else to buy the coffee? It was worth a try.
Furthermore, what should he do with those tow bodyguard now? Although their company was known for its discretion, could Benjamin really allow them to go after what they had seen today? Perhaps it would be for the best to hire them personally.
Various thoughts were running through Benjamin's mind as he returned home. He spent some time to calm down before finally going to bed.
"Demon! Demon!"
Benjamin woke up with a start. The sun had already risen, dousing him in comfortable warmth, vanquishing the voice of the old man which had chased Benjamin in his dreams.
Benjamin needed some time to calm down, going through his usual morning routine. Afterwards he drove to the company. The schedule was pretty much the same as the previous days. The plans for the charity foundation were slowly being finalized. Benjamin knew he had no time left to lose. Tomorrow was Jerouday, the tenth day of the week, which was the company's only off-day in the week. Benjamin steeled his heart and invited his brother for a chat the next day.
William gladly accepted. He knew that their brotherly relationship wasn't the best and happily took any chance to fix that.
Thus, another day passed. That afternoon Benjamin sat in his spacious living room. A can of steaming coffee stood on the marble table in front of him, together with two cups. A light breeze tucked on his clothes, coming through the wide open glass door to his side, which offered a gorgeous view at Benjamin's precious garden.
Finally, a ring came from Benjmain's watch. His brother had arrived. He waited for a bit and soon William was led into the room by an older woman with meticulous appearance. She was called Margaret and been taking care of the manor for years. Margaret brought William over, bowed lightly and left the room.
As the two brothers were alone the atmosphere was first awkward but under Benjamin's deliberation they soon began to converse. Preparing for his goal, Benjamin got William to talk about his travels which was not difficult. The more he listened to stories of white beaches and vast indoor gardens, the more Benjamin felt that he was in the right. Thus, he felt no guilt when his plan was set into motion.
About half an hour in, Margaret hastily approached the brothers, sounding apologetic:
"My apologies, Sirs. Master Benjamin, Mister Norman is calling."
"Margaret. Now is not the time. Tell…"
Before Benjamin could say more, Willim interrupted him:
"Don't worry, brother. Just take the call. We have time today."
"Well… alright, I will make it quick. Why don't you enjoy a cup of coffee in the meantime?"
"Sure."