Six years ago, Benjamin had finally earned his AA License. He had ambitiously applied for both his doctoral and pharmaceutical licenses and was accepted for both. His recruiter was proud of Benjamin and himself. He knew recruiting Benjamin was the right choice.
Soon, Benjamin was introduced to the Special Crime Task Force, Unit #2. It was a small, elite team with only twelve people in total. His first responsibility wasn't medicine, but combat.
He was already skilled with a sword and hand-to-hand fighting, but they forced him to hone those skills. Benjamin wasn't sure why any of it was necessary. He was a doctor, after all, not a soldier or a guard.
Once his training was deemed complete, he was called to a top-secret briefing. His recruiter was leading the briefing. The mission was to infiltrate a research lab in Southern Zephyr, located just beyond the border of Gris where the kingdoms of Zephyr, Naga, and Arcadia intersected.
There were reports of horrific human rights abuses occurring at the research lab. Women, men, and even children were being held against their will. The Task Force could easily take down the lab, but the real issue was the research itself. They needed to know exactly what was being researched and if it posed a threat. Benjamin's assignment was to go undercover and figure out what was being studied so that the Task Force could determine their next move.
After the briefing, Benjamin was terrified. He had just graduated, and his first real job was to infiltrate a secret laboratory? It felt like a plot from a novel. Sometimes he wondered if this was all real.
The Task Force, his team, was a mystery. They didn't know each other's real names. Only the recruiter knew everyone's true identity. Benjamin had decided to go by his middle name, Atlas, which had now been removed from all his records for his safety.
There was no sense of unity among the twelve of them. The only thing they had in common was taking part in this mission—a mission that only the Task Force and the Emperor knew about.
Through underground connections made by the Task Force, they heard that the lab was short-staffed and looking for extremely talented, ambitious new graduates who were open-minded. Through their underground connections, Benjamin attended several high-end networking events where he was finally able to get an interview for a position at the lab.
He arrived at the office using his alias Atlas Night. His application had a blurry photo, and when the interviewers questioned it, he quickly made an excuse about spilling water on the document on the way to the interview. They didn't question him further.
The recruiters told him their goal was to eradicate terminal diseases, a concept Benjamin found fascinating as a doctor.
As part of the interview, they introduced him to one of their patients, a young child. Benjamin worked with natural ease. Then, they brought in a pregnant woman. Again, they saw that not only was he skilled, but the patients felt at ease around him.
The recruiters told him that the position was urgent and he could start as soon as his background check cleared. They were impressed with his dual AA License as a fresh graduate and at such a young age.
After the interview was over, they asked for his secondary trait. Benjamin, as he had practiced with his team, had told them he was a Beta. The recruiters then mentioned he would need to provide blood samples if accepted.
However, when the call finally came that he was hired, the blood test was never mentioned. He was surprised but relieved.
Benjamin had been nervous before heading off to the lab. He had packed herbs for his pheromones, and had packed a lot of herbs that would help calm his nerves.
Arriving at the remote lab in the middle of nowhere, he saw that the grounds were massive. It was a self-sustaining facility where workers in grey uniforms served the staff.
All staff members were required to live on-site in small dorms. Staff were only allowed to visit Gris, the closest sign of life outside the lab, once a month.
On his first day, Benjamin went through a formal orientation and got a tour of the facilities. He was told his only duty was to monitor the health of the children. He checked their ears and throats, took their temperatures, and made sure they weren't getting sick.
The children were pleasant and well-behaved, but as Benjamin performed his check-ups, he noticed something concerning. Their bodies were covered in needle marks. When he asked the children about it, they told him that being sick meant having to get shots. They spoke about it with heartbreaking pride, explaining how they stayed brave, and then they would get rewarded with toys and sweets. Benjamin could only smile—he couldn't afford to let his sadness and rage show through.
When he asked his colleagues why there were so many needlemarks, they had told him that they needed blood and bone marrow samples for various tests. When he asked how often they were being tested, the staff calmly replied, "Once or twice a week, maybe. It always varies."
Benjamin felt sick. He was deeply concerned knowing that these blood tests were far too frequent for children. He had successfully infiltrated the lab, but he hadn't known then that what he'd seen was only the tip of the iceberg.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Lost in his memories, Benjamin was interrupted by a few knocks on the bathroom door. "Ben, are you alright?"
Benjamin looked away, trying to hide his tear-stained face, but it was too late
.
Wren approached him and sat by the bathtub with his back toward Benjamin. He didn't say anything. They sat in silence for a long time. Finally, Wren sighed, stood up, and brought over a towel and a bathrobe.
"Benjamin, you should get out now. You'll get sick," Wren said, averting his gaze.
He helped Benjamin out of the tub and left the bathroom. "I'll be outside," he said, still not meeting Benjamin's eyes.
When Benjamin eventually stepped out into the bedroom, which had been cleaned, Wren was sitting on the edge of his bed.
"What do you want from me?" Benjamin asked coldly.
"Benjamin, is there anything you want to tell me? Anything at all?"
"I have nothing to say to you. If you're not going to answer my question, please just leave me alone."
Wren gazed at him intensely. "Ben, I know far more than you think."
"I know."
"Then? Isn't there something you're not telling me? I won't get mad, I promise," Wren said, staring directly into Benjamin's eyes.