On A Carriage Ride Part 1

Date: May 7th
Location: Carriage to Elizabeth Ellington's house in Paris

As Dr. Jackal continued to read the leather bound book, he became more shocked by the information. The book read more like a case file on Dr. Laurent Lemaire. After Dr. Laurent Lemaire stole the research formula from Dr. Jackal's lab he began modifying it and is currently selling it to people. A team, hired by the Order of The Moon, was sent to investigate. The team tracked the doctor to about two hours west and south of Paris - in the mountains. The last team however never made it to the doctor as they were attacked, leaving one survivor. There is something different between this monster that tore through the last group and the reports of what Dr. Jackal turned into. Dr. Jackal resembled a big red devil unlike the new monster made by Dr. Laurent Lemaire. The new monster was more like a human that had heightened strength and lost control and not demon like. It had enough strength and frenzy though to rip an entire team apart (almost). The Doctor that stole the research is Dr. Laurent Lemaire. He's an underground rouge scientist, thrown out of the Scientific Guild of Paris years ago for inhumane experiments. There were some stirrings he might have been in London, last Autumn - during the time of the Jack The Ripper murders.
Word is now, Dr. Laurent Lemaire is somewhere in or near Paris - possibly hiding among the people at the Exposition.

Dr. Jackal quickly picked up on what his new mission was. He was to track down Dr. Laurent Lemaire and recover all his research. Dr. Jackal rubbed his temples as he got a headache from this whole situation. It was a good guess his possible pardon came with a big price tag. Nothing in life was free. However if he didn't take this offer things would only get worse for him since he was living like a vagrant and eating scraps to survive. His cheap Doctor calls were all he could rely on. As he glanced up to see Sasha reading her book he wanted to ask her some questions but was not sure how much she actually knew already. Since she managed to hunt him down her skill set was high and since she was brave enough to negotiate with him she have courage. However this was a large problem that could get tricky depending on the resources that Dr. Laurent Lemaire had at his disposal since he had around five years to prepare for trouble.

As he contemplated several ways his research could be used for nefarious methods, he realized he could use a hot bath, close shave and a hot cup of fresh coffee. Oh how he truly missed having a civilized life. He took it for granted in the past but after loosing it he now realized how blessed he was before his epic failure. By all accounts the failed experiment should have killed him, but that was not the case. This scared him a lot as he knew that Dr. Laurent Lemaire was selling that nightmare to others now. Despite the serum being less extreme, he still found it to be a major problem. As for his customer base he could guess it would be criminals, terrorists and leaders of countries with no moral compass. He then looked at Sasha who seemed to be enjoying her book as asked her, "So is it safe to assume you will be my escort at the Expo?"

Sasha looked up from her book. "That all depends on you." she said. "If you are well behaved I might be your only escort, if trouble is foreseen you might have another with us." she put up a, silencing hand. "Not to keep you in check." Sasha offered "Merely precautionary to be sure I will be safe. I mean no offence docteur. I consider myself quite skilled in matter monster, I have fought beast as large as yours, but I am sure you understand our concerns." she said. "But as of now correct I am to be your escort, any detail to the contrary will be informed to you when we are briefed after our arrival."

Dr. Jackal nodded as he was correct in his thinking. He replied, "That is understandable. The other guy......... well he doesn't have the best track record. Even his good days are like a nightmare for everyone else." Dr. Jackal scratched the back of his head before he asked, "So this Dr. Laurent Lemaire. Now that am somewhat caught up on this situation I do recall who we are talking about. For the longest time I had been getting his name wrong." Dr. Jackal smirked as he recalled what he called Dr. Laurent Lemaire. Then he said, "I am sure he might hold some ill will towards me for calling him Lemmiwinks since his name began with an "L" and he tended to blink a lot when under pressure. Perhaps it was one of the reasons he stole my work and is selling it as his own." Dr. Jackal gripped the leather bound book firmly and said, "Sadly I can't allow him to continue profiting while making more monsters." Dr. Jackal look like he was in pain as he recalled moments memories he shared with Big Red as he wreaked havoc. He hoped he could redeem himself in the future with this Order he was about to meet. He then asked, "By chance your companions didn't happen to collect any samples of these monsters they dealt with? If I have something to work with I may be able to figure out what he did with my research."

Sasha rolled her eyes once. "Boys and their grudges, do the world more harm than good." she said commenting on the childish nickname and the possible reason for starting this whole mess in the first place. "We sadly do not at the current juncture have samples living or expired of the monster, however we have procured a few samples of the tonic that is being sold as a 'Virility Enhancement Tonic'. Though we've yet to crack if those samples are identical to the one's making monsters out of men." Sasha explained. "We have scientist working on it but we have little to test and aren't willing the risky trial on a human subject."

Dr. Jackal nodded as he understood the situation. He replied, "I see. It may be faster if I studied it and ran a few tests to verify if it resembles my research. However I doubt Dr. Laurent Lemaire could acquire all the ingredients since I only had one sample of the red crystal and it was used on me. So he is obviously substituting the main ingredient with something else......perhaps a wild beast like a gorilla? If so the effects would only be temporary since I did similar tests on rats before. Hmmm... well I won't know till I see it for myself." Dr. Jackal seemed puzzled and was now acting more like a scientist. He was recalling all his past work as his brain was working out a lot of possibilities in case he saw something similar down the road.

Sasha placed a tasseled string in her book to mark the page. Sasha's posture changed slightly as she sat a bit more proper. "I do have a working theory, I'm no scientist but I do know a thing our two about dissection and the occult." she said reaching into her bag pulling out a worn copy of 'Systems of Practical Medicine.' "Only a bit of study on the subject but maybe a mind separate from the problem at hand could lend you a new track for that train of thought you are on."

Dr. Jackal nodded as he looked at the book Sasha had. He replied, "You seem to have a wide taste in literature. I haven't read any books in the last five years till today. I find it ironic that in five years the last thing I read and the fist thing I read are the same topic. Though I am a man of science I feel like something resembling Fate is guiding me back to correct what I did. Since I have been gone for a long time I am guessing much has changed in my absence. So please pardon my ignorance when I appear confused on some things. I am guessing you have your own theories on the serum matter as well, so feel free to share them. Sometimes a different perspective is needed to find enlightenment." Dr. Jackal rubbed his temples as his stomach growled loudly. He chuckled as he asked, "After some much needed grooming will it be possible to get a meal where we are going? I have had a decent meal in years so I am quite famished."

Sasha nodded, "Of course we will get you a meal Docteur." she said. "As for my theory, I do not believe the changes to your formula are blood derived." she tapped her temple with two fingers. "As you well know the brain houses several of the bodies key functions, and what it doesn't it instructs the others to. Lobotomies, removing key part of a brain cause in 90% of cases a 'calmness' though we will be honest here its mostly to render women, men find negging comatose. However that is off track, Docteur what if someone was extracting the chemicals in the brains of aggressive animals?" she looked at him, "I don't know how possible that would to do effectively and consistently, but if he's has the funding required for a large operation he might have the needed equipment to achieve such a task."

Dr. Jackal listened as Sasha presented her thoughts to him. He ran many imaginary scenarios in his head as he looked perplexed. Then he spoke up, "I see....... At this point it is possible to use a brain in such a manner however his biggest problem would be time. Once a brain is removed from a living creature it begins to decay so storing it would be an issue as well as securing enough live specimens would attract a lot of attention. If he stole or purchased aggressive animals it would leave a big trail to follow. So if he did that we will have to take in account that he would be using various aggressive animals and then run his tests on live humans. Which also makes us question is he using prisoners or is he selling his serum like a snake oil salesman. He will need money and connections which also means word will get around that he is making a move of sorts. I am not sure if that will be what he is doing but hopefully your allies may pick up on a rumor or two." Dr. Jackal rubbed his temples then asked, "Is the local law or other government agents involved in this case?"

TBC