173: A Company of Fools: Forbidden Research V

"Chase…" Iris muttered.

"NO! You don't get to 'Chase!' Me right now, Iris! I was scared I was going to lose you!" I snapped. I felt the tears that had been stinging my eyes starting to fall. Iris looked at me with a tortured expression on her face and ran around the Haws and tackled me into a tight embrace

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry, Chase." Iris whispered. I returned the hug and squeezed her tightly as I cried.

"I'm so glad you're safe." I whispered back to her between sobs.

I wasn't sure how long we stayed like that that but when we finally pulled apart, Haws was looking at the two of us with a devious smirk. I narrowed my eyes at him after I wiped the tears away.

"What?" I asked.

"Sooooo, how long have you two been a thing?" He asked. Iris and I glared at him.

"WE'RE NOT A THING!" The both of us barked. Haws threw his head back and laughed, the sound echoing through the room.

"You sure. You both kinda answered a little quick?" Haws teased.

"Don't start Haws! I already told you she's like a sister to me!" I said sternly. Haws laughed even more seeing my reaction. Iris walked over and slapped Haws on his shoulder.

"Ass!" Iris snapped. Haws flinched and pretended like he was in great pain. I rolled my eyes at Haws. Back in St. Louis he'd always been serious and kinda standoff-ish at the factory bit if you saw him outside of work you'd see that he was a massive joker at heart, however only people he cared about saw that side of him.

"Joking aside, Iris, if you truly want to be able to protect someone, you first have to be able to protect yourself. Chase's magic gun is a tool and a very effective one at that. If using a simple tool is going to damage your pride then…you're not proud. You're insecure." Haws said. Iris looked reached behind her back and pulled the mana-lock I had given her.

"Insecure…definitely…I don't know what way is up or down since yesterday. I wanted to try and act in a way that would make Lady Jane proud…after the way I acted yesterday, I felt I owed her that much, at least." She said. She looked me in the eye, her gaze determined and confident. "I want to protect Lady Jane, I want to help her grow into the amazing splicer I know she can be…to do that I'll have to grow as well."

"Well that's good Iris…" I took the mana-lock out of her hands and turned it around so she wasn't pointing the barrel at herself and then put it back in her hands the right way then pointing the barrel at the ground. "…but the first thing to know about guns is to never point them at anyone you don't mean to shoot. Especially yourself."

"Oh! Gotcha!" Iris said sheepishly.

"HEY! IF YOU MUTATED FUCKS ARE DONE HAVING YOUR LITTLE HIPPIE CIRCLE LET US GO!" A woman yelled.

Iris and Haws both look visibly annoyed and mentally done when they heard the woman's voice. The vice came from the room that Jiggles was guarding so I guessed she was an employee here.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"Madilyn Justice. She's Beaufort T. Justice granddaughter and scientific supervisor on level three." Haws muttered then curled his lip up in her direction.

"Wait? That bloated, bigoted, snaggle-toothed, country fuck's granddaughter is here?" I exclaimed then stomped over to Jiggles. I peeked around him and saw a woman dressed in a lab coat looking very entitled and upset with her predicament.

"You! Splicer fuck! How dare you keep us here against our will! Do you have any idea who we are you fucker?!" She snapped.

Jiggles glared down at Madilyn and snarled, grabbing the doorway and squeezing it, making it crack effortlessly.

"How dare you speak to the Star Shaper that way!" He snarled. Madilyn staggered back and one of the men in the room jumped in front of her in a protective fashion.

"Ms. Justice be careful! You never know what that monstrosity is capable of!" He said.

"I resent my evo being called a monstrosity." I said and stepped around Jiggles to face Madilyn and the other scientists that Jiggles blocked in the room. "Jiggles here might be more than your average evo but he is far from a monstrosity."

"Fucking splicer!" The scientist snapped and pointed a finger at me. "You're not so strong without that evo behind you!"

"Even without him hear you are nowhere near a match for me." I said confidently then reached our and tapped his shoulder. I channeled shock attribute mana into my hand as I did and gave him a jolt strong enough to make his whole body seize up and fall to the ground.

"What did you do to him?!" One of the other scientists yelled as she rushed over to his side to check on him.

"I just shocked him a little." I said innocently. The scientist looked up at me coldly then frowned. His eyes suddenly became wide as he looked at my arm and leg.

"Wait, wasn't he bleeding and missing a couple limbs when Haws and that splicer both carried him in here." The scientist said.

"Splicers heal quick." I said cockily then pointed to Madilyn. "You, you're related to General fat ass no-Justice?"

"How fucking dare you! It's general Beaufort T. Justice! And yes! He is my grandfather! So if you know what's good for you, you'll tell that slobbering fuckwit to stand down and release us immediately!" Madilyn snapped and pointed at Jiggles.

"Wait so you want us to let you all out outside where all the thrads are?" Haws asked as he stepped around Jiggles and stood next to me. Madilyn froze for a second with her finger in the air. Her eyes widened as realization hit, her face turned bright red and she pointed her finger at Haws.

"Shut up traitor! Helping two splicers! Your ancestors must be rolling in their graves!" Madilyn yelled. Haws rolled his eyes and huffed.

"Please! Like I actually give a fuck what you or those bigoted dumbasses in my family think." Haws growled.

"I think the entitled little bitch needs to wake up to her situation…" Iris said joining Haws and I. Jiggles took a step back seeing that the space he cordoned off was starting to get a little crowded. "…you are a American scientist, working in a illegal techno-splicing facility on Egyptian soil. What's more you are making defective evos that you are supplying to a hostile gang in the one of Egypt's most well known cities, in a misguided attempt to sow chaos and force the Egyptian military to buy more evos from you."

"No one really knows that this base is here and even though your granddaddy is a general in the military, in order for him to come and save you the company would have to admit all those dirty little secrets. Which would lead to an alienation of Justice technologies and distrust in techno-splicing…well more of a distrust in techno-splicing." Haws added.

"That would be the least of the company's problems. Justice technologies is backed by the American government, what do you want to bet that a bunch of countries would use this as provocation to attack America?" I added with a devilish smirk.

"We've kept splicers from our boarders once! We can do it again!" Madilyn yelled patriotically

"Yeah!" the other scientists in the room cheered.

"Yeah…that was one country that was already fighting another war and was too busy to actually send any real support to the soldiers there. Imagine every country that Justice Technologies has done business with declaring war on America at once. Do you honestly think that your puny, pathetic, country could stand against the whole world?" Iris said. Her tone was dark and matter of fact.

Madilyn looked less sure of herself. Her eyes widened as a panic started to creep across her face. The same panic seemed to spread to the rest of the scientists.

"Essentially, we could kill every last one of you and your precious grandaddy wouldn't be able to do shit. He'd be too bust trying to cover up everything." Haws said.

Madilyn opened her mouth to deny what we were saying but froze. A look of doubt and fear creeper across her face. Seeing this the scientists all started to go into full panic mode. They looked at one another not as colleges but as competition. They started to yell and bicker amongst themselves and honestly, it was entertaining.

[Ummmm….Chase what was the plan here?] Iris asked through the mental link.

[No plan. Just wanted to kill some time and knock a Justice down a peg.] I replied. Iris turned and glared at me.

[Kill some time before what?] Iris demanded. I started to answer but was interrupted by Louie snapping over the mental link.

[CHASE! We're on the way! Be there in twenty!] Louie snapped bitterly

[That.] I said with a smug smile. Iris groaned and shook her head.

"What now?!" Iris asked out loud, grabbing the attention of all the scientists and Madilyn.

"Now it's time to go an reason with that thradiz." I said and turned on my heel. Jiggles moved to the side to let me pass this time as I walked past him towards the medical bay door. Iris sighed and followed after me with Haws and Jiggles bringing up the rear.

"Reason with a thradiz? It's an evo! You can't reason with an evo!" Madilyn yelled. I smirked at Iris as we both looked back at Madilyn.

"Maybe you can't but we're filthy splicers, remember Maddy?" I asked. Madilyn's face turned beet red as she glared at Me.

"NEVER CALL ME MADDY!" She bellowed.

"Sure thing Maddy." I said making her even more pissed. Madilyn stomped over to me and reared her hand back like she was about to swing, forgetting about Jiggles completely and what I did to the other scientist.

I quickly channeled shock attribute mana throughout my body and poked Madilyn before she could slap me. She was shocked just like her knight in shining armor was and dripped to the ground. I smirked and pointed to her limp body and then looked to Jiggles.

"Take her with us. We can always throw her to the thrads if we need to escape." I said.

"Yes, Star Shaper!" Jiggles replied and quickly grabbed Madilyn and threw her over his shoulder.

Iris and Haws both gave me evil looks but said nothing. Which is also what the scientists that had been so protective of her earlier had said. Nothing, he just watched as Jiggles picked her up and slung her over his shoulder like cheap meat.

'They are either too scared to say anything, hoping we forget about them and just leave, or realized the situation they are in.' I thought as I turned and started out the medical bay.