After Ramirez told them about Rachel's message that was left to them a few days ago, Jones angrily said to him, "Of course we want to listen to Rachel's message Ramirez! Even if it's a few days old, it could help us explain who injected her with that mysterious drug!"
Ramirez then started to break out into a sweat and told Marie calmly that she can listen to it while Jones calms down. After he said that Marie hit the message button and Rachel's voice said, "Hello Marie, it's Rachel. I'm sorry for telling you goodbye on such short notice, but I'm investigating a huge story implicating the army and I think I may be becoming a bit paranoid. But I know you're scared something bad is going to happen to me cause I have the same feeling too. In case I die from investigating this story, please keep investigating my case for me. I've left you a more detail video message on my tablet in my office at the news station.
"I can't risk giving you the password, but I'm sure a pro officer like you won't have any problems hacking into it. One more thing before I end this call, I'm convinced the company behind all of this is Greene PharmaCorp but I can't prove it's them just yet. I'm counting on you old friend and I'm sorry to do this to you." And after that the message ended.
Marie then grabbed her brown trench coat off of the back of her chair and put it on over her white sweater and said in a determined voice, "Come on David! Let's go search Ray's office for that tablet and if this Greene PharmaCorp s really behind this, then we better go and talk to Alden directly!"
The first place they decided to go to was the news station and get Rachel's tablet. Once they got there, Marie found the tablet and she started to hack it to open it. Soon, she found the right password and the tablet opened to the home screen. Marie then opened the video app and she pressed on Rachel's video message and once she hit play, Rachel's image said to her, "Marie, if you're watching this, it means I'm no longer of this world and presumably it was my investigation that got me killed. I've been investigating the development of an illegal serum that transforms men into vile killing machines and it's always against their will! Lately, I've been talking to an ex-military soldier named Drake Ribbs and he's the only living proof that the serum has secretly been tested on humans!
"But talking to Drake isn't easy cause there's a side-effect of the serum that's making him more and more violent. I have to admit, even I'm scared of him sometimes. This serum has already ruined thousands of lives and I'm begging you Marie, you have to stop it before even more people are killed!"
As soon as the video was finished, the two officers looked at each other and Jones said, "By the sound of her voice, even Rachel was beginning to realize that Drake was becoming dangerous! I think it's time we checked on him again!"
Once they met with Drake Ribbs again, Marie approached him cautiously and said to him, "Mr. Ribbs, I understand that you're angry about your changes."
"Well why wouldn't I be angry?! One minute I'm the best soldier in General Marsh's unit and the next minute I've become Frankenstein's monster! The general promised me that I'd become even better, even stronger than I already was. But when I woke up looking like this, he kicked me out of the army. I can't even find a good job anymore. I bought myself a Doberman so I could try and get a job as a night watchman, but they said I'm even too scary for that.
"Life wouldn't be too bad if only I could hold my sweet Rachel again, but she's gone off to a better place and maybe I should follow her," Drake explained to them in a sad tone.
Marie placed a kind hand on the man's arm and said to him, "Don't give up on your life Mr. Ribbs. Rachel wouldn't want you to do that. Besides, if you bought yourself a dog, I think they would be the most sad. What name did you give your dog?"
"I named her Pearl and she's still a little puppy yet. I guess you're right officer; my poor Rachel would still want me to live. Plus, I think the both of you have something in common; I see Rachel's eyes in yours," Drake said and he muscled up Marie's hair thanking her for the advice.
(AN: Here's a picture of a Doberman puppy just for you guys😉)
After Jones and Marie were done talking to Drake Ribbs, they headed towards Greene Holdings main office to speak to Alden. When they got there, Marie asked him if his company Greene PharmaCorp was developing any illegal drugs fir the army. Alden then laughed and said, "That's just absurd! Ms. Priest seems to ave pursued the wrong career; that woman should've been a fiction writer not a reporter!"
"Sadly, I think it's too late for to make a career change and given how you two didn't like each each other, I'm guessing you're not too saddened by her death," Jones explained to the man.
Alden scrunched his eyes towards Jones and said to him, "I don't like what you're insinuating officer! I mean sure, we had our differences, but I value human life above all else and I'll do anything to help you catch her killer."
Marie gave a small smile and said, "We'd greatly appreciate it Mr. Greene. And speaking of which, would you mind if we searched your office?" And Alden told them to go ahead while he stepped out to go to the restroom.
After Alden was hone, Jones looked at Marie and asked, "I thought his son placed a restraining order on him for your sake?"
"Dad said if it's work related I can go near him, but other times when I'm not working he stays away," Marie told her partner as she and Shino started to look around the office.
Suddenly, Shino and Rocky started barking at one patch on the office carpet and Jones and Marie saw a strange substance stained on it. Marie began to think that this substance must belong to a chemical plant or a lab of some sorts; not a CEO's office. She soon collected a sample of it off of the carpet for Grace to analyze so the two officers can determine if it's chemical based or not. Meanwhile, Alden took out his cell phone and dialed General Marsh's number and once the General answered, Alden asked, "Were they there general?"
"Yes they were and you were right about that female officer Marie Holmes Alden. I looked into her eyes and I saw lightning sparks inside them. She seems determined to find out who killed her friend," the general said to him.
Alden asked him if he kept an extra syringe and General Marsh said, "Of course I did! I managed to save one after we used most of them on that nosy reporter for coming too close to our plans. If that female lieutenant even manages to fuck with the army once, I'll teach her a lesson that she'll never forget!"
Afterwards Grace was done analyzing the strange substance and she called Jones and Marie to the forensics lab to tell them the results. Once they were in front of her, Grace explained to them, "It seems the substance you found on Mr. Greene's carpet is the same substance that killed Rachel. And I've never seen a serum like this in all my life. With the sample you gave me, I managed to replicate enough of the serum to test it on a mouse. And as crazy as it sounds, the serum turned the mouse into some kind of super strengthened monster that killed all the other mice within seconds."
Shocked by what he was hearing Jones asked, "So you're telling us that a serum to create super soldiers really does exist?!"
Grace nodded and said to them, "And if the army got a hold of that serum, it would be worth billions of dollars! I don't if this will help you in your case, but one person who could've created this serum is a scientist named Kelly Speltz. She's famous for her unethical and more or less illegal experiments; for example, the two-headed goat she created."
After they were done talking with Grace, Jones and Marie went back to their desks and Marie said in disgust, "I can't believe there really is a sick gold rush to create a super serum going on right underneath our city!"
"It seems the people in the Financial Center will do anything to get rich, even if it means killing hundreds innocent people in the process," Jones said in a disappointed voice.
"Well if we're going to stop it, we need to find out who started it! Let's try and find out whether Kelly Speltz created this serum," Marie said in a determined voice and Jones agreed with her.
When they called Kelly Speltz and brought her to the interrogation room, Marie looked her in the eyes and asked, "Mrs. Speltz, were investigating a super serum that has killed a friend of mine. Did you happen to create it?"
"You think I'm the one who's created a super soldier serum? I'm flattered you would ask that lieutenant, but it wasn't me. People don't recognize my genius often enough. They call my work inhumane and they try to have me shut down. Such as that rotten reporter Rachel Priest. She tried to have me stop experimenting on animals!
"I don't even know what she was even talking about; my latest guard dog has survived every single one of my experiments so far. It's people like Rachel who don't realize I'm doing the work of god; I'm trying to create a newer, better, stronger humanity," Kelly explained in a wicked voice.
After they were done talking to the mad scientist, Jones and Marie were sitting at there desks with their dog partners beside them and Marie said, "I wonder how far Kelly is capable of going to make sure nobody stops her from continuing her sick experiments?"
"I'd say we should keep a close eye on her and we should probably call animal rescue for her guard dog," Jones suggested.
Suddenly, Ramirez showed up next to Marie and said to her, "Hey lieutenant, the mayor is on his way here to speak with you and the chief ordered you to remain here until he arrives."
Curious Jones thought, why on earth would he want to come here and talk to us?