A few minutes later, Nora exclaimed, "Mein Gott! This is Herzbrecher!"
"Herzbrecher! Heart crusher! It causes excruciating pain and symptoms that mimic a heart attack."
"No, not unless someone has a weak heart. What is this, Jack? What’s going on?"
He briefly told her what he knew, finishing with, "...still not sure I understand why he would need to inject her with Somnusol first."
"I think I understand," she said. "Herzbrecher is slow acting, but once it’s in full force, the person will be rendered incapable of speech. With Somnusol, she’ll be unconscious until after Herzbrecher has taken effect."
"You said it would take ten to fifteen minutes for Somnusol to wear off. Would this Herzbrecher wake her up sooner?"
"No, nothing will wake her up before it wears off. It was once considered for use as anesthesia, but besides being metabolized rapidly, the person will build up a tolerance to it in hours, instead of days or weeks. And past a certain dosage level, it becomes fatal. Now it’s mostly used in research...and for illegal purposes. Once metabolized, it’s undetectable."
He didn’t need to ask what illegal purposes it could be used for.
He triggered another memory sync so his physical self would know that the woman wasn’t in immediate danger.
He had two theories as to what was happening. The first was that the woman planned this so she could get out of jail.
The second was that the man was part of a kidnapping or assassination plot. Once the woman was in the hospital, someone could inject her with something that would kill her, maybe even cause a real heart attack. Or maybe stage a fatal collision while her ambulance was on the way to the hospital. He’d know more once he could talk to the woman.
"Is there a counter-agent for Herzbrecher?" he asked Nora.
"Yes, but it will take some time to synthesize."
"Do you know where I could find some already made? If not, how long would it take to synthesize?"
"A hospital pharmacy might have some, but I’m not certain. If I had the right precursors, I could make some in about an hour."
"Do you know where to get the precursors?"
"Yes, they’ll be available in any compounding pharmacy."
He wasn’t certain he would need or even be able to use the Herzbrecher counter-agent, but figured it was better to have it and not needed it than need it and not have it.
He grabbed an old Atomic level snapshot that covered the city and worked with Nora to locate the ingredients she needed.
While Nora got to work on the counter agent, he walked into the room with the woman. She was beginning to stir. As he closed the door to the room, the woman sat up and looked at him blearily.
"What? Who are you? Where am I?" she asked.
"You are a copy of your original self. This is my soul space, and who I am is irrelevant. Answer my questions fully and honestly. What is your name, and why are you in prison?"
He’d adjusted her to non-violence, unconscious obedience mode, so he knew she would answer truthfully.
"My name is Isabella Macklin, and I’ve been framed for murder." As soon as she finished speaking, she looked at him with surprise and a little fear.
She was Vincent’s eldest sister, the successor to their father’s business.
If she was framed for murder, then this could be the action of a competitor.
During his conversation with Vincent at Club Velvet, Vincent had not claimed any ties to the underworld, but some of the things he’d said hinted at it. Considering the possibility that Isabella really was involved in the underworld, he decided to ask.
"Is your family involved in the underworld?"
"Yes." Her surprise grew along with her fear.
Well! My guess was correct. Now he needed to find out just how deep into the underworld they were.
"Have you murdered or ordered the murder of anyone?"
"No." she said, a look of concern on her face.
"Are you or your family involved in drugs, guns, or human trafficking?"
"No!" she sounded indignant.
"What is your family’s involvement in the underworld? "
"Shipping and construction are lucrative enterprises, and there are many opportunities to increase our profits beyond what is legally possible. We find ways to avoid paying import taxes and tariffs, bribe officials to obtain building contracts and smooth over red tape. We avoid drugs, guns, and human trafficking because they have the highest risk."
For a moment, she looked like she wanted to ask him something, but remained silent. He figured she wanted to ask him how he got her to answer his questions, but for some reason decided not to.
Given that she and her family were not involved in drugs, guns, or human trafficking, he was inclined to help her. Mainly because he liked Vincent and didn’t want the man to suffer. The question was, could he help her?
"The man that you were meeting in the jail visitor’s center injected you with Somnusol then Herzbrecher."
"That little rat bastard!" she spat.
"Do you know why he did that? What are his plans for you?" He’d interrogate the man next, but was curious to see what she knew.
"Nothing good, I’m sure," she said. "I thought he worked for us, so I don’t know who is behind it. As for what he plans, I assume they’ll arrange for a fatal accident on the way to the hospital. It’s the cleanest way to get rid of me."
Then she looked at him and asked, "Can you help me?"
"Maybe. Let’s get the full picture first. We have some time."
He templatized, then instantiated the man, but made him consciously obedient. As soon as the man appeared, sitting in the chair opposite Isabella, she lunged across the table and slapped him, yelling, "Traitor!"
The man fell out of his chair, saw Jack, clambered to his feet and said, "Sir, how may I server you?"
"What?! You!" sputtered Isabella while pointing at Jack.