The Temperance Effect – Part Two

Mary parks the car a block away from the building. It is early morning. No traffic is on the street. She isn’t searching for what is inside the building. With any luck she would find who she was looking for before the noon hour. However, they had been disappointed many times before.

She settles in, knowing it might be a long wait. After a year and half of searching, they are closer than they’ve ever been. Therefore, patience was more than just a virtue here. If this was actually the place and they had found Jeremy at last, Mary had the plan from there. First, she was to confirm they had actually found Jeremy.

The Temperance Effect – Part Two

A year and a half ago a small, concerned group, of Jeremy’s friends hired Mary’s private investigation firm, to find him. It has been one of the most challenging cases of Mary’s career. Every step of the way they had made it on just traces. It was as if Jeremy became a secret agent overnight. Not only was he elusive but also nearly invisible.

With this in mind, she feels stunned when she finally sees him. Though, his appearance has changed, it is unmistakably him. She watches him leave the building and get into the cargo door of a waiting van. Quickly she makes sure all the equipment is recording. Then she starts the car and follows the van.

It isn’t long before she realizes she isn’t the only one following the van. There is definitely another player here. She eases back just a bit more. Furthermore, she is trying to avoid exposure. She isn’t prepared for a confrontation. That would require the help of the local police.

Furthermore she had found him at last, and that meant they were near solving this case. She couldn’t explain his ragged appearance, and he had been carrying a suitcase. This wasn’t strange in itself. However, the handcuffs attaching the case to him, were. That one detail alone, speaks volumes about the unknown entities following the van.

Revelations

She follows the van as it crosses the city. Additionally she is careful. She makes every effort to remain hidden as the van comes to a park and parks. Mary is a block and a half away, and sees Jeremy exit the van. From a distance she sees him enter the park and sit down on one of the benches. Then the van pulls away.

Mary is contemplating going to get Jeremy now, but she has contacted the local police and is waiting for them, before she approaches. Additionally, she is on the phone with her office, they were going to need all hands on deck for this one. She watches Jeremy stand and begin walking toward the river. He throws something and then falls to the ground.

Jeremy falls but not hard. A couple of EMT’s are there to assist him. Mary isn’t sure where they came from. Similarly they have an ambulance waiting as one of them cuts the handcuff chain tethering the suitcase to Jeremy.

This all happens in mere seconds. Mary feels surprised at the speed with which things were happening. However, not nearly as surprised as when she looks in her rear view mirror to discover the mysterious van, directly behind her car.

Temperance Effect

Dr. Hinkleman hears the man screaming his name and then a series of odd things. It was unsettling, and the man’s pulse rate and blood pressure had skyrocketed. They had no choice but to sedate him again. However, the doctor had asked the man his name and he had known it. This was a hopeful sign.

The thing that had shaken the doctor the most, was what he had just contacted the council about. This is all from the development of a theory over twenty years ago. They scrubbed that program. Aside from Dr. Hinkleman, only two others knew what was in that theory. And now this man named Jeremy did too. Dr. Hinkleman is on full alert now. He has no way of knowing, how far this has spread.