章 9: Agendas

Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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[▪︎23rd November 1992▪︎]

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[▪︎Vought Tower, New York▪︎] •[▪︎General Pov▪︎]

Vought Tower, one of the tallest skyscrapers in New York City. It has ninety-nine floors, making it a very tall and large building.

On the ninety-ninth floor, In a large and extravagant room.

Men and women dressed in suits were seated around a rectangular glass table situated in the middle of the room discussing some issues.

" Our new comic issue 'Black Noir:The Darkest Might' has increased our annual profit by ten percent and our experts are estimating it will increase to twenty by December ending."

A plump middle-aged woman explained with a large screen in front of the room displaying statistics that indicated the profit margin.

"That's good news."

A man seated next to the woman exclaimed excitedly with the rest also showing happy expressions.

"That's good news indeed, is there any other thing we should consider?"

One of the men with graying hair asked.

"As of now, the crime rate in Boston is on a constant rise, we need to send someone competent to deal with it. We have already secured a contract with the Government so all that's needed now is who to send."

A tall middle-aged dark-skinned man said as he used the remote to display a statistical report on the large screen.

"I propose we send Gunpowder. Ever since the disbandment of Payback, he hasn't gotten a big deal as of late. We can even capitalize on his age and his reputation as Soldier Boys' sidekick. As a young and strong man, the public's interest will be more inclined towards him and he can also get the job done perfectly."

One of the women in the meeting explained.

"That's a plausible explanation. Okay, then do we all agree to send Gunpowder to deal with the crime situation in Boston?"

A stout old man with gray hair asked. Who judging by his seating position at the end of the table was the Chairman.

They all nodded in agreement.

"Since that's settled, let's talk about what Virgil did. Mr. Edgar, can you please explain it to us?"

The person in question stood up and used the remote to quickly switch to a document.

"Thank you for the floor, Mr. Sanders. Now, let me give you a brief summary of what stem cells are before I continue.

Stem cells are basically cells from which all other specialized cells can be generated under the right conditions.

In simple terms, they are cells that don't have a general function but they can be transformed into any cell, like blood cells for example.

It has a lot of potential but research in this area has stagnated in recent years since the current success rate of getting the needed cells is only twenty percent.

I don't need to stress how important this is to humanity as a whole since it has endless potential.

That was the case until Virgil wrote this paper titled ' A Guide In Manipulating Stem Cells'.

This paper explains in detail how to increase the success rate of stem cell transformation by ninety percent while also limiting the possible side effects that may arise."

He explained calmly.

The rest of the executives in the room had contemplating expressions on their faces. It was impressive but they didn't understand how that was going to help the company.

"Mr. Edgar, I can speak for all of us when I say we don't really understand how that's going to help us and the enterprise as a whole."

Mr. Sanders said with the rest nodding with him.

"Is that so? Then let me break it down. With his paper, many diseases like leukemia, Testicular cancer, and any other cancer-related disease wouldn't be a serious problem anymore as the cost of chemotherapy will be reduced, patients will recover faster and they will be more healthier.

Publishing his paper will also give us a lot of publicity, which will attract a lot of recognition from the world as a whole.

This will also make us five to ten years ahead of the world in the medical field, and with Virgil, on our side, we will have a long-term monopoly in Stem cell research and cancer treatment.

I've consulted our researchers and finance experts and they predict that from just this paper, our profits will be doubled."

Mr. Edgar explained patiently with his smooth voice.

The faces of those present changed from shock to joy when they heard his explanation.

Just hearing that the profits will double was enough, the other explanations didn't matter.

Right now in their hearts, Virgil was the most valuable asset the company had. He was just ten but he has already doubled the company's profit.

Most of them started thinking of how they were going to milk all that he has without leaving a single drop.

"This is the best news I've heard this week. We need to start using him thoroughly, from his intellect to his looks to his abilities. We need to start planning his future."

Mr. Sanders said, with the rest nodding in agreement.

Mr. Edgar took his seat shortly after with a smile on his face and said:

"He has one request though."

"The boy wants something? Hmm, what does he want that requires our permission?"

One of the men present asked.

"Nothing really, he just wants a state-of-the-art personal lab with a lot of 'resources' being provided to him."

Mr. Edgar replied with a calm smile, putting more emphasis on 'resources'.

The executives in the room started discussing about the request with only Mr. Edgar being silent as he watched them.

'Hmmm, this boy is really frightening, to say the least.

He is already heading towards the dark side of science at his age, I don't know if Vogelbaum has influenced him but him knowing what he is going to do and is still okay with it makes him a terrifying youth.

His eyes showed he had everything under control, even when he was explaining his paper to me.

I need to put measures in place to control him, this company will be in my hands sooner or later so I need to take full control of every asset. I just need to know what makes him tick and what makes him happy. After all, knowledge is power.'

Mr. Edgard thought with a devious smile on his face.

After a while, the discussion ended.

"Tell the boy that we've accepted his request and that we will provide whatever he needs so far as he continues to surprise us."

Mr. Edgar nodded with a stoic expression on his face.

"Alright Ladies and Gentlemen, I hereby conclude this meeting. The paper will be published tomorrow in Virgil's name and will be spread by our News agency. Thank You for your time."

Everyone got up and left the shortly after with their own agendas. The presence of Virgil has sped up a lot of things.

Even though they might be showing a united front, many things go on in the dark as the current Chairman of the company will retire soon giving everyone the chance to become the next Chairman.

But unknown to those who were present in the room, someone listened to their entire conversation from beginning to end.