"Did something catch your attention?" Cyntia asked, seeing Ryan return out of breath, giving away his run.
"I ended up hearing a friend's voice and decided to say hi." He smiled amiably, to which Cyntia nodded.
"I see… anyway. Let's get on with it." Cyntia quickly guided them toward the university infirmary. " First, we need you to take a few small clinical exams." Ryan furrowed his brow.
"Medical exams?" He questioned, to which she nodded.
"Of course, we need to know whether your body has any congenital defect or whether you're sick for whatever reason. Your body needs to be healthy in every instance." Cyntia then looked deep into his eyes with sweat trickling down her forehead, yet she said in a threatening voice. "Likewise, it's quite common for some fools to try to pass the special exam using doping. As a precaution, we're going to take a few samples of yours, to guarantee the integrity of the exam."
'Shit!Shit!Shit!'Ryan's eyes widened in total panic, no one said he'd be undergoing a medical evaluation!
If they discovered he was using the Overclock he would fail the exam immediately and, as a consequence, his family and friends would die along with him. 'What the hell does Aron have in his head?! He force-drugged me to help me with the exam and now we're going to fail because of his bad work! What a terrible spy!'
Before he could realize it, Ryan was sitting in a chair while a nurse prepared to draw his blood. His body wouldn't stop trembling, this time he couldn't contain his most primitive impulses.
"Well look at that, are you afraid of needles by any chance?" Cyntia said, stifling a laugh, Ryan couldn't have been more nervous, everyone around noticed it. "Such a big boy afraid of such a tiny little needle." She laughed, amused.
'If only I were afraid of the needle and not of what it represents.' Ryan suppressed the thoughts of death and calamity weighing down on him. He soon tried to find a way out as fast as possible.
'What do I say? That I was forced by Aron? That he's one of the leaders of the savant mafia? I never did anything wrong even though I've been affiliated for a few weeks. I only worked as a regular barista these last few days. If I tell everything I know now, it might be the best way to deal with the police and the federal agents later.
My knowledge can get me out of a lot of trouble and then, with the money from Manhattan Café, I can flee the country. That way I can cut my ties with the savant mafia completely.'
Ryan's hands trembled as the needle slowly pierced his skin, his face went pale, dreading the results. Once again, his mind was pushed to the limit as he glanced over at Aron while the other exams proceeded.
Somewhere inside him, there was still hope that Aron hadn't made a mistake. That in truth, all of this was part of a bigger plan. Aron was, after all, the Boss's left arm, he had to be extremely capable.
Even so, when Aron looked back at him, thick sweat trickling down his forehead. Aron
was noticeably nervous, just as much as Ryan.
Ryan cursed mentally, knowing that not even Aron had known this would happen. The medical exam had never come to his knowledge, Aron had made a mistake just as Ryan had made one.
In that moment both of them were desperate to find out what would happen next. Those small instants stretching out infinitely, feeling endless.
Ryan saw from afar several vials of his blood being placed in a centrifuge and then removed as the doctor and the nurse took notes. Slowly the doctor approached Cyntia, showing her a spreadsheet which she devoured voraciously.
"Interesting…" She murmured with the expression of someone who knew something.
Ryan stared at Aron, waiting for him to take some action. Hoping he would step forward and justify himself, trying to find some solution. But in the end, Aron just lowered his head in resignation, at which Ryan clenched his teeth.
'Damn coward!'
"Do you want to hear the results?" Cyntia asked, to which Ryan swallowed hard and, taking a deep breath, said:
"Yes, please." Ryan braced himself to make his confession.
"It says here…" Cyntia teased with a mysterious tone. "That Ryan is the healthiest person we've ever seen." She widened her smile.
Ryan listened in silence, waiting for her to finish the sentence, expecting her to add something more. However, she just stared at them.
"And that's it." She concluded. "Ryan didn't use any drugs and is a very healthy young man." She shrugged, at which Ryan furrowed his brow in disbelief.
"What?" He nearly shouted, drawing attention. "My heart is about to jump out of my throat and I'm all sweaty. My blood pressure must be through the roof and it's so hard to breathe, I surely have low oxygen in my blood. How the hell am I the healthiest person you've ever seen?"
Cyntia laughed, amused. "Being nervous isn't a sickness Ryan, people sometimes get like that before an important exam or test... like the special exam, for example." She handed him the clipboard.
Ryan flipped page after page, reading word by word. And indeed, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Even so, he believed he was poisoned and the poison should have shown up there. He looked again at Aron's expression, he still seemed nervous and yet he had raised his head.
His reaction was suspicious.
Ryan pulled himself back from that situation.
There were two possibilities:
The Overclock wasn't detected by the exams.
Or else, the Overclock didn't exist, and therefore, Ryan had never been poisoned.
But Ryan felt that his body was altered on an unnatural level. The overclock had to be real, so Aron had to have poisoned him, the first option was the true one.
But was it really?
His heart said yes.
Yet, his instincts and his sharp mind were clouded and confused.
Aron's neutral reaction only left him more confused.
"We're done with this part." Cyntia said. "Time to really begin with the general exam. I hope you've prepared well, because you're going to need it."