After the encounter with the robot IUNUX, the characters begin searching the room some more. Yung spots cameras in each corner of Vangelos’ workshop, and Kolchack inspects to find that they are wireless. This make them think that the clues to Vangelos’ murder might be in video files on the computer.
As George and Phoenix are standing over IUNUXs body they perceive someone at the door. Moving to either side, Murphy alerts the rest of the party. The door then swings open and a man steps in. The man recognizes Phoenix, and she knows him as well. “Jake?”, she says.
The man is Jake Simmons, a recent recruit to Visus Novum. Simmons explains that Corvin Barrack asked him to tail the party to ensure they were doing the job assigned to them. Phoenix is a little annoyed at Barrack’s apparent distrust. When asked, however, Simmons said the order didn’t come directly from Barrack, but instead from Raven Ocano.
The characters continue searching the apartment, but find mostly old books on engineering and history. Murphy does find a few more doses of what is presumably Lightyear in the freezer. After a few failed attempts by Simmons and Soo at hacking into Vangelos’ computers, Simmons eventually succeeds. They quickly find the video files they were looking for and begin to fast forward through them, looking for evidence.
Most of what’s on the video is just Vangelos’ mundane daily activity. He labors at his work bench, does research on his computer, makes food, etc. Vangelos occasionally tinkers with the robot IUNUX, but in all the video they find, the machine appears to sit lifeless at the end of the workbench. Unfortunately, the video from all cameras goes black a couple of hours before they entered the workshop. The author of Vangelos’ fate, it seems, will remain anonymous.
There is something interesting in the video files, however. Looking further back in time, they come to a point in the recordings where they find Vangelos injecting himself with Lightyear and lying down on the hospital bed. He then takes the clipboard from underneath the mattress and holds it above his face seeming to stare into it. He remains like this for 2-3 hours, eyes wide open, before eventually falling asleep, clipboard dropping to the floor. When he wakes, he takes the clipboard, goes to his desk, and begins scribbling on a paper which he attaches to the clipboard when finished.
Puzzling behavior to be sure
Yung leaves Vangelos’ workshop to go check things out on the street. Turning down a dead end alley he still sees no one. Inside Kolchak has decided to see what this Lightyear thing is all about. He gets the clipboard from George, but unfortunately Murphy’s doses are still frozen. The only liquid Lightyear is with Yung and he’s still outside. Soo goes out to find him, then looking around the parked truck on the corner where the beggar was, he sees something that appears to be a black dog, but with an almost humanlike face. Hard to make out, but nevertheless disturbing to look at for too long.
Soo returns to the lab to inform the others. When he and Yung return they find more “dogs” in the street as well as a rather disturbing looking gentleman with ghost white skin, dark round goggles and a broad, yellow-toothed smile. Yung, Kolchack, and Murphy climb the delivery truck parked outside, although they and Soo have clearly been seen by both the man and what they suppose are animals.
Simmons and Phoenix attempt to take a flanking position as then man, who introduces himself as Dr. Talos, begins conversing with Soo.
Dr. Talos, it seems, knows who the characters are and is a little upset with them for killing one of his “pets.” They presume that he means the “monster” that attacked them in the nightclub as they were confronting Holbrook Alder.
Soo attempts to extract some information from Dr. Talos, and learns that Vangelos was in his employ. The conversation, however, stalls and it appears now that Talos is ready to let his dogs, who haven’t yet barked, begin to bite.