Case Study #13063

Subject: Jo Taylor Age: 21

Height: 175cm Weight: 64Kg

Nationality: Australian Prior Occupation: Thief

Charlie once again reflected on why there would be much in the way of guards at the wholesale bakery. It had seemed like such a simple robbery, a quick break in, find a bag or two of goods and then get out quick. Nobody should even really notice. The perfect crime.

However, from the moment that Charlie entered through the back door after picking the very basic Yale lock; so simple that it might as well not even be there; things had started to go wrong. The whole building was darker than made sense and then Charlie heard a guard walking around. Moving away from the guard had restricted Charlie’s movement into only a small portion of the large warehouse. When another set of footsteps started from a different direction and further constricted Charlie’s movement then it was obviously time to leave.

Obviously the first route was just to go back the way they had come. That’s when Charlie heard another set of footsteps behind them and knew that this was a trap. There was only one thing for it and that was to find a new route out. Flashing the torch around showed a large room with various bits of large industrial machinery. Certainly any one of those could be hidden behind or in a couple of cases inside but that was only a temporary measure and didn’t help with an escape if they just watched the doors. The torch momentarily lit up the air ducts suspended by a noticeable gap from the ceiling. How to get up there?

“Where’s the thief?” a voice asked in a mid-European accent.

“Hasn’t got past me.” Came a similarly accented reply.

Charlie could hear the two guards checking assiduously below.

“Nothing.” One of the guards grunted.

“How about the air ducts?” the other asked.

“You’ve been watching too many movies. There’s no way that anyone can fit in them. Also, how are they getting in through those small grids?”

Shining their torches around, Charlie could hear the guards exiting the room and silently sighed in relief. Waiting a further five minutes was hard but eventually Charlie extracted themselves from the dark gap above the ducts next to the wall.

With extreme care they quietly lowered themselves onto the largest piece of machinery and then further descended into the darkest shadows of that same piece of equipment. When a hand suddenly but firmly grasped them by the shoulder Charlie screamed.

Case Study #13104

Subject: Mike Harris Age: 23

Height: 198cm Weight: 115Kg

Nationality: USA Prior Occupation: Doorman

Mike was innocent. He knew he was innocent. His lawyer knew he was innocent. The other lawyer knew he was innocent. Even the judge knew he was innocent. That wasn’t the problem. The snivelling creep who Mike had stopped from trying to rape a 17 year old girl was the problem. Or rather his father was the problem.

Aaron Goldberg was the product of parents who had plenty of money, a huge amount of superior attitude and zero time to spend with their child. As such he had adopted the same attitude of superiority to hide his actual feelings. He took what he wanted and knew that his bunch of cronies was enough to intimidate almost anyone who got in his way. If that wasn’t enough, the threat of old man Goldberg was always there. The father owned two-thirds of the businesses in town and controlled the finances and therefore the lives of almost everyone. There were only a few people like Mike and his mother who were completely free of his influence.

Mike worked as a Doorman/Bouncer at the only independent but also the most popular bar in town. His mother, despite looking like a frail and doting grandmother, was actually an author of some of the most vicious crime novels of the last few years. She wasn’t a bestseller but she made a comfortable living as an author.

Anyway this had indirectly led to the situation where Mike now found himself. A lack of fear of Aaron and his gang and also being in possession of common decency had caused Mike to step in when Aaron had started to get overly familiar with the very attractive but clearly underage girl who had been hoping to get into the bar. He hadn’t done anything whilst Aaron was talking to the girl. He had started objecting when Aaron had tried to kiss the girl and by the time Aaron had started to fondle her breast (much to the girl’s complaint) Mike was pushing his way between the two of them, forcing Aaron back.

At first Aaron had tried to bluster but he soon got aggressive and swung at Mike. Being trained in multiple martial arts Mike had easily avoided the blow. However he hadn’t avoided the grabbing hands of Aaron’s cronies and was soon held tightly. Expectedly Aaron had come up to brag to Mike about the situation he was in, which was when he received a forehead to the nose, causing a large amount of blood. Retreating, Aaron had promised to get his revenge, hence Mike’s current predicament.

Unfortunately for Mike, Aaron’s actions with the young lady were not visible to the security cameras. This meant that it looked like Mike was the aggressor and with all of his cronies prepared to lie under oath, Aaron was able to play the victim. Now all Mike had to look forward to was the verdict. He doubted that the character witnesses he had brought with him would have any affect.

“Guilty! 3 months.”

The judges verdict was just about as minimal as Mike could have hoped but it still meant he had a problem. Not just going to prison, he could handle that. But he would now be lucky to keep his licence. Without that he wouldn’t have a job and there were very few jobs in town he would be able to get with Old Man Goldberg blacking his name.

As the guards led him out of the court he was surprised when he wasn’t straight to either the cells or to the prison van. Instead he was silently handed over to two sharply dressed but otherwise innocuous men. They led him to a dark car and he was driven away.

Case Study #12976

Subject: Emily Roberts Age: 22

Height: 168cm Weight: 60Kg

Nationality: New Zealand Prior Occupation: Student Vet

The doctor turned to the crying mother and said, “I’m sorry.” There was nothing else you can say to a grieving parent.

“But she was recovering!” the mother half wailed, half screamed. Distraught as only someone who had had their hope rise only for it to be destroyed along with their daughters life could be.

“Yes, the signs had been favourable over the last couple of weeks and I was hoping along with you that she would come out of her coma. However, last night everything turned around and in the last few hours all her vital signs just got worse and worse. We tried everything we could but nothing seemed to make any difference.” The calm voice of the doctor contrasted strongly with the upheaval that his words revealed. He also sounded extremely tired and looked like he was about to collapse.

Eventually, the father, who until now had said nothing, spoke up. “Thank you doctor. We’ll just have a few moments alone with her and then get out your way.

With that the couple walked into the area that enclosed their daughter. Just a couple of plastic curtains separating them from the rest of the ward.

The mother reached out to grab the hand of her daughter but as the hand was cool and clammy to her touch, she soon released it.

The brooding machines standing around the bed seemed to stand broodingly in judgement as they failed to display any life signs. That and the strange noises that occasionally came from the girl were enough to slightly unnerve the parents and eventually they left the ward to continue their grieving at home.

Very shortly afterwards the bed containing the body was moved from the ward and placed into a different room. The doctor entered shortly afterwards and administered various injections intended originally as a cure for Hypothermia but never released for general use. He monitored the girl until he could tell that she would make a full recovery.

Leaving the room, he turned to the two well-dressed men who stood nearby and said, ”She’s all yours.”

Silently the two men entered the room.

Case Study #13169

Subject: Kajal Sharma Age: 21

Height: 178cm Weight: 91Kg

Nationality: Indian Prior Occupation: Taxi Driver

The two well-dressed Europeans who hailed Kajal’s cab had said nothing to each other or even to Kajal as they sat in the back. The only words had been the address, which was for one of the newer industrial estates in the outer parts of Mumbai.

At first Kajal had tried to be outgoing, asking questions about business, travel and even sport with zero response. In the end he gave up and just concentrated on his driving.

Avoiding the other road users was second nature to Kajal and great reflexes allowed him to swerve the taxi or stop it in time to avoid all of the potential dangers. Even when a child ran out unexpectedly from between two cars, Kajal was able to stop in time. He made some hand signals to the worried mother dragging her child back to the pavement by one arm. The signals suggested that she should keep closer control of her child in future, expressed in the vernacular of obscene gestures. He mixed the gestures with a running prayer to various gods.

The crowds gradually decreased and the transport became more motorised as the journey continued. At the same time the buildings grew more modern and cleaner as they escaped the city proper. By the time they neared their destination the passing traffic was clearly owned by a wealthier group as Kajal passed multiple BMWs, Mercedes and even Porsche and Ferrari.

Eventually the reached their destination and one of the men directed him to take his cab down a ramp to underground parking. Shortly after he entered the space he saw the door close silently behind him. “That’s automatic” stated the only man who had spoken. See that door at the back, that’s where we need to go!”

As Kajal peered forward in the increased gloom of the parking area he suddenly felt a prick on the base of his neck. His eyes closed and everything went dark.

Case Study #13009

Subject: Charlie Thompson Age: 20

Height: 170cm Weight: 63Kg

Nationality: South Africa Prior Occupation: Student Activist

Jo looked at their watch and saw that it was now too late for anything the protestors did to make it on to the nightly news or the front pages of tomorrows newspapers.

“Time to start tidying up.” They suggested to the few other regulars who like them manned the protest barriers outside the Houses of Parliament. Brushing green hair out of the way, they got on with their own task of removing signs from the barriers so that they could post a whole bunch of different signs tomorrow.

Todays protest had been about the lack of female representation in the top management of the big companies. Tomorrow they would be back to protest about the rights of Asexuals. Jo’s degree course in Women’s Rights gave plenty of time in which they could avoid their studies and join any protest that suited them. For Jo that was all of them. If you were to ask Jo they would say they were firmly supportive of each and every cause they came to support but the truth was somewhat different. Jo was trying to fight back against the unsupportive attitude of their family. However as they had been killed in a car crash Jo was now looking for a fight against anyone and everyone.

Finishing up the clearing away, Jo decided that it would be a good idea to get a meal, maybe at one of the new restaurants by the sea. You might ask how a student could afford that but it was of the few benefits of losing your whole family. Money was no longer an issue.

What was becoming an issue however was that Jo had suddenly realised that a group of suited men were in every direction and that rang alarm bells. Bursting into a run was the immediate reaction but it was too late. A sharp prick on the arm caused Jo to look down and see some sort of small dart fall away from the sleeve. Then the world darkened.