Double Helix, Issue 1
It was unseasonably balmy that January morning, touching almost 50 degrees. Some say global warming is a hoax, but one thing a 50 degree Seattle morning cannot change: the rain. Misting drizzle alerts everyone that no matter how gloomy the breaking dawn is, in Seattle precipitation is a constant.
Against this backdrop our tale begins, five personalities cinched together by the drawstring of fate, with a sixth barely able to escape the clutches of destiny. Maybe Calvin was right: choice is an illusion. No matter, for in Terra Acerba, only the most clever and industrious can escape the worst case scenario for long. These six, can they join the ranks of the fortunate?
Only time will tell. So begins Double Helix, the first chapter. Or is it the last...
Eeny, Meany, Miney, Zymo
The morning of Friday, January 16, 2015 did not begin like expected for two of the particulars at Zymogenetics, Shennong and Maria Reyes. Confronting them at the front door was more than yellow tape, but also a smiling member of Seattles finest. After a quick discussion they find that one of their scientists, Svend Akerfeldt, has been kidnapped.
After getting their bearings and surveying the situation thoroughly, it is clear that all is not as it seems. Dr Akerfeldt was not acting normally in the day leading up to the crime, and also someone with serious computer skills, presumably Dr Akerfeldt, did some data destruction to cover his tracks. The strange thing is there is no evidence in his personnel file that he has these kind of skills. The worst news is that recently the IT department has 'upgraded' their backup standard to cloud backups, well, they have been tampered with and cannot be restored.
Perplexed, Shennong calls a consulting detective he knows, James Milligan.
Voyeurs, Two
Coming out of the dewy fog first thing in the morning, Parker LaCroix is hot on the trail of the source of those weekly packages she has come to grudgingly rely on. Approaching the address she deftly coaxed from the FedEx driver, she is surprised to see the giant Zymogenetics sign. It makes some kind of perverse sense, but she feels no better. Without a clear plan she places her hands in her pockets and waits with eyes shielded, but peeled toward the building.
Not everyone can wear a bowler hat. Not literally, of course, because anyone with a head can stick one on there. But that is not the wearing I mean. This guy can. Brutish, thick and champing on something he approaches the building from a different path. He sees the girl trying to look inconspicuous and recognizes her from the underground parkour circuit.
Yeah, that is a thing.
Separately they wait until Shillelagh sees his opening and strides confidently across the street. This chance might not last, so Parker puts her head down and strolls in right behind him. Shillelagh has an appointment, but Parker is barely questioned by the receptionist. When she notices her error, she quickly calls security and Parker is stopped and questioned.
Before she can be unceremoniously escorted back outside, she says something that perks the ears of the collected heroes, and she is invited in.
