Misun
‘Ahh, this is so frustrating. We have no motive, no evidence, absolutely nothing,’ I said, slamming my hand against the table.
‘Yah! Stop that, you’re going to end up hurt,’ Jungkook scolded, making me gulp.
‘I don’t care. All I care about is catching those *s who did this to Natalie,’ I said, unable to control the anger I was feeling.
‘Misun, we get it, we really do but Jungkook is right. You’re going to get yourself hurt like this and then you won’t be able to do anything or help anyone,’ Jin said, placing his hand on my shoulder.
The door opened and I turned around to see Jimin walking in with Taehyung. Taehyung looked pale and sick but he was still here.
‘Tae! What are you doing here? You should be resting,’ Hoseok exclaimed but Taehyung shook his head.
‘I’ll go crazy if I stay alone at my home with just my thoughts,’ he said.
‘We get it Tae and if you think working on this will help you, then we’re all here to support you,’ Yoongi said. Taehyung nodded before he turned to me.
‘What do we know so far?’ I asked and I frowned.
‘Not a lot. There is no suspicious e-mails or financial transactions. There are no footprints or fingerprints or any shred of DNA. All we know is that there were at least two guys,’ I explained.
‘I’ve been thinking,’ Taehyung began, ‘it could be related to her work. Natalie…she…she never talked much to me about her work, especially some of the research. It was part of the contract that any medical procedures that were still being researched were not to be discussed,’ he explained.
‘That could be actually something we could begin to look into,’ Jungkook said while I nodded.
We continued to discuss things until the door opened, forcing me to turn around once more. This time, I was welcomed by the sight of a woman in a lab coat.
‘Bethany? What are you doing here?’ Taehyung asked, clearly knowing her.
‘I heard about Natalie. I’m so sorry Taehyung,’ she said, engulfing Taehyung in a hug before she turned towards us. ‘I didn’t come just to pass condolences. I think…I think I know why Natalie was killed,’ she said.
There was a beat of silence as everyone looked at one another in disbelief…and a little bit of hope.
‘Wh…what did you just say?’ I asked as I took a step forward. She gulped as she looked at me worriedly.
‘I don’t know for sure but um…if it’s what I’m thinking…it means really, really bad news, for everyone,’ she said.
‘Jesus, then what the hell is going on?’ Hoseok asked. I took a deep breath and ran my hand through my hair.
‘Let’s go to the meeting room,’ I said as everyone nodded. We all walked quickly to that blessed room and sat down. Bethany sat next to me and Taehyung as she fidgeted with her fingers.
‘It’s okay Bethany, you can talk here. It’s safe to talk here,’ Taehyung prompted. Bethany took a deep breath and nodded.
‘As you know, Natalie is an amazing scientist. She’s very smart and a couple of weeks ago, she discovered something which could change medicine forever,’ Bethan explained.
‘Nat did mention she might have a potential breakthrough but that’s all she said,’ Taehyung said with a sad smile.
Anyone could see that hint of pride but the grief and sadness were too much. Those feelings hurt a lot… they hurt too much. They act as a seed and continue to grow. Time doesn’t make it better, it just makes you better at coping or hiding.
‘Oh, she did!’ Bethany exclaimed a smile on her face, which faltered away rather quickly. ‘See, she managed to find a way to alter the immunity system. How do I explain this?’ Bethany asked, stopping to look down and recollect herself. I guess she was trying to not complicate words so we could understand.
‘It’s okay Bethany, take a breath and when you feel comfortable you can continue,’ I said and she nodded. I watched as she took a deep breath and then exhaled loudly.
‘There is a rare disease and so far, there hasn’t been a cure for it. Natalie’s breakthrough found a way to tackle this disease by creating a serum of sorts which alters the DNA in a way,’ she explained.
‘That’s a good thing though, right? I mean you’re talking about a potential cure,’ Jimin commented and she nodded.
‘Yes, but it was still in the first initial phases. Experimental phases so to say. The problem isn’t that,’ Bethany said, chewing on her bottom lip. She looked nervous and anxious, almost as if she was going to be sick herself.
‘Did something happen Bethany?’ Jungkook asked. She gulped and then nodded.
‘Yesterday, they told us about Natalie. Everyone was really shocked and everyone ended up going home early. No one was in the mood to work after that news. You got to understand, everyone loved her there,’ Bethany exclaimed.
‘Of course, they did,’ Taehyung murmured lowly, but loud enough for us to hear.
‘Then what happened Bethany? I know you’re scared and maybe uncomfortable but telling us the truth can help us catch the *s who hurt and killed Natalie,’ I said and she nodded.
‘This morning, I went to work and went to check on her research. I…um I was well her assistant…I went to gather her work so we could have a smooth transition for when the research continues, but I didn’t find the work,’ she explained.
‘Did you tell anyone at work?’ Hoseok asked but she shook her head. Instantly, alarm bells started ringing. There could only be a few reasons why she didn’t tell anyone. Either she was scared, or she didn’t trust them.
‘This work, it was on a need-to-know basis for now. Only a few people know about it – the ones directly involved so the research team and people on top,’ Bethany explained.
‘Do you think the work could have been stolen?’ Jin asked and she nodded, almost without hesitation.
‘The thing is, it seemed as if there is no evidence of the work being stolen. In fact, um… I think Natalie’s code was used,’ Bethany replied.
‘*, do you think she could have been killed for that? To get access to that?’ Taehyung asked and I sighed. He seemed suddenly more agitated than ever before. Not that I blamed him. I could not imagine someone being tortured and killed over scientific research meant to make the world a better place.
‘We can’t be certain. Bethany, why didn’t you tell anyone at work? Do you think someone might be involved?’ I asked and she shrugged.
‘As I said, it was highly secretive,’ she replied. ‘There’s more though,’ she added. She gulped once more.
‘Go ahead, you can tell us, even if it’s just suspicions or theories,’ Namjoon encouraged.
‘You see, if this research falls in the wrong hands, it means big problems,’ Bethany said.
‘How big are we talking about?’ I asked, instantly feeling anxious. Something felt wrong…really wrong.
‘I’m talking about bio-weapon big,’ Bethany said.
‘Say what again?’ Jungkook asked, sitting straighter at the mention of a bio-weapon. I felt my heart accelerate and my lips felt as if they went dry.
Bethany sighed as she ran her hand through her hair. She licked her bottom lips as if hers had also gone dry.
‘You see what our team was working on was meant to be used for good. It was meant to help and heal people who were in need. Having said that, it’s a tricky thing. The procedure can be reversed or altered. What Natalie had found out opened the door for various things, including the idea that it could be used as a weapon. What I fear is that whoever stole it, does not have good intentions,’ Bethany explained.
‘*ing hell,’ I said in disbelief. ‘If this is what happened, we’re talking about a potential terrorist attack happening or hundreds of lives being at stake,’ I said.
‘We need to inform the Chief and the Captain. We’re going to need all hands on deck,’ Jungkook said. I nodded immediately.
‘Bethany, what kind of damage would it do if you used to like that?’ Namjoon asked and Bethany shrugged.
‘Can’t tell you for sure. All we had was a hypothesis and the initial experiments, but Natalie…oh God,’ Bethany exclaimed, stopping all of a sudden.
‘Natalie what?’ Taehyung asked.
‘Natalie was one of the few people who knew how to reverse it into a bio-weapon. I think…I think that’s why they must have tortured her,’ Bethany said.
‘So that they could get the method out of her,’ Jimin asked, his face showing the shocking realization.
‘Is there anyone in your team you trust?’ I asked and she nodded. ‘Good. Gather them, we might need you to start working on a potential cure,’ I said.
‘It’s tricky without the proper things but we’ll work on it. We’ll need a lab,’ Bethany said.
‘I can handle that,’ Namjoon offered and I nodded.
‘Bethany, I also need you to give Yoongi your first suspects. Don’t worry if they’re not, we’ll figure that ourselves,’ I said and she nodded. ‘Yoongi, get the kids and go over them,’ I said.
‘Got it,’ Yoongi replied while I stood up.
‘Where are you going?’ Jungkook asked, also standing up.
‘I’m going to talk to a friend who might be of some help,’ I said.