PROLOGUE

ROSWORTH PHARMACEUTICALS COMPOUND, HYPNOSIA CITY

“WE ARE HERE, SIR.” A voice interrupted Sven’s reverie. He opened his eyes when he heard the words of Alistair, his personal driver. He was attending a charity gala in the Kingdom of Larran when he received a call from his assistant about an urgent matter. Using his private plane, he directly flew back here in the State of Nyx and Alistair was already in the airport to pick him up. He looked through the car window and true to his words, they were here.

“Mr. Bernstein and Doctor Greyson are waiting for you in your office.” Alistair added.

He nodded his head in acknowledgement. Patrol cars were currently parked on their drive way and he saw some of the local authorities along with their security forces checking the surroundings. The lights were on in the whole compound, especially where the laboratory building was located. A tall and muscular guy approached the car and opened the door for him.

“Good morning, sir.” The man firmly greeted him. It was Oliver Wyatt, the head of their security team.

“Oliver,” he acknowledged his presence before turning to Alistair. “Go home, Alistair. I’ll stay here for a while. I’ll just call you later.”

Alistair nodded in agreement and he went out of the car. As it sped away, Oliver escorted him inside the building.

“What exactly happened?” he inquired as they headed for the elevator.

“I’ll explain later, boss and it’s better if you can hear from Greyson too.” Oliver pressed the button for the thirtieth floor where his office was located.

“Is he okay? I’ve heard from Eugeny that he fought off the intruder.” He was talking about Brenner Greyson, their head chemist.

“He is. A little rattled and has bruises but nonetheless he’s fine.”

He let out a sigh of relief. He looked at his watch; it was already two in the morning. An hour and a half after he received Eugeny’s call that someone entered into their laboratory and took D-1513571 or D-15 as they called it. It was a drug that they were developing under their Project Bloodstream. It was already on its final stages but they were not finished with it yet. It had to undergo several more tests to prove its effectivity and for them to get the government’s approval.

With all the information given to him by Eugeny, it seemed that this incident was not a simple case of breaking in. First, the drug was the only one stolen from their laboratory and second, the intruder had the access codes to their building, which means that whoever planned this heist, either hacked their security system or…had somebody inside working for them. Either way, this would be a big problem. The people were eagerly waiting for this drug ever since they announced this project to the public, but he also knew that not everyone was happy with what they were doing. He was hoping that this would not get out of hand before they could find a solution.

When they reached his office, Eugeny Bernstein greeted them by the door while Brenner, a woman and a man wearing NXPD uniforms were sitting in front of his table. He looked at Brenner. From his disheveled clothes, broken glasses and bruised face, it looked like he fought to hell and back. He also smelled agitation from his subordinate. The three immediately stood up from their seats, but he motioned for them to remain seated. Eugeny put out his tablet and stood aside, Oliver took his position beside his assistant and he went for his chair behind the table.

“Sir,” Brenner grimly greeted him.

He felt sorry for him. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

He nodded. “A medic already checked me a while ago.”

He then shifted his eyes to the other two. The woman offered her hand and he took it.

“Officer Mavis Grace, sir, and this is my partner, Sergeant James Randall.” The guy also offered his hand. He also took and firmly shook it.

“Lieutenant Jacobs send us. We will be the one to take Mr. Wyatt and Mr. Greyson’s statements. ”

“Sven Rosworth but ‘Sven’ is fine.” He then looked at Brenner and Oliver. “Are you ready?”

Both of them nodded their heads. He looked back at Mavis.

“Well, you can begin now.”