Free The Diamond Conspiracy: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel by Philippa Ballantine, Tee Morris Page A

notebook.
    “What are your plans for this one?” the Maestro asked, leaning over the boy. The sound of his ocular focusing on the boy’s torments underscored the whimpering.
    “Make him compliant. At first.” Henry glanced up from his notes as he watched the child begin to settle into his serum’s euphoric side effects. His eyes jumped to the timer, then back to his notebook. “This batch is still experimental, more so than Victoria’s present formula, so it remains uncertain what effects it will have on him. The question I have to answer for myself is, will the results appear in other subjects.”
    “Victoria is still too valuable to risk.” The Maestro’s ocular focused on Sophia, but she doubted he really saw her. “Yet it would be pleasant to be able to control all of the aspects of her personality. Her anger in particular.”
    “I’m not interested in temperament control so much as I am interested in tapping into muscle stimulation. The human body is quite a machine, capable of astounding things, if we know how to tap into its possibilities.”
    Sophia remained silent, the best policy at present. The two of them were imparting valuable information that could be useful to her later.
    “Consider the unexpected side effect with Her Majesty,” Jekyll said as he placed two fingers against the boy’s forehead. “Her particular cocktail was supposed to restore vitality and vigour, but it actually repaired skin cells and restored muscle tissue, which returned her to her youth. I have to now build on that unforeseen discovery, and see if I can reproduce those results here.”
    “In order to share with others?” the Maestro asked.
    “Cure your ailments, for example, or unlock amazing potential in others,” Henry said. His eyes then flicked over toSophia. “Provided I find other willing test subjects.” His grin faded as he returned to his notebook. “Building on the success of Her Majesty’s treatment, I believe this batch, which could lead to an army of supremely strong and supremely compliant soldiers, will help your cause.”
    The Maestro straightened, the steam engine on his back singing an eerie note, and gestured to Sophia.
    “You will continue to help Henry, my dear, in whatever he needs. If he needs more test subjects such as this one, then do not hesitate to drain the city of its guttersnipes.”
    “Children, in the beginning,” Henry interrupted. “Much easier to control. As my experiments progress, I will need men.” His eyes returned to Sophia’s, this time the look not sly or covert. He wanted the Maestro to see this. “You can lure men for us, can’t you?”
    The Maestro’s ocular, brandishing a sapphire glow today, remained fixed on her. Sophia had the horrible sensation that he could see inside her. In there, he would find cracks in her faith, and that would make him terribly angry.
    Through her dry lips she managed to grate out, “Yes, Maestro. Whatever is needed.”
    Jets of steam escaped from the back of his suit—a malevolent hiss. “Then I suggest you begin immediately.”
    A change in her perception of the Maestro and Jekyll reducing her to nothing more than his concierge had helped her find a fresh anger and outrage, dangerous bedfellows to the terror she felt being caught between both men. She had always been a woman in control. Even on feeling herself surrender to the charisma of the Maestro, Sophia maintained a model of decorum.
    Now, she was a toy in a child’s hand, quickly abandoned if deemed dull or uninteresting.
    “As you wish, Maestro,” she stated with a quick bow.
    As she turned to go, her hand flickered out, and hidden by the fullness of her sleeve she scooped up two of the vials on Jekyll’s desk. As she slipped her prize into a pocket inside her jacket, she had no idea what to do with Jekyll’s serum, but at least for a moment it felt as though she had taken a little bit of herself back.
    Yet it was cold comfort as the boy behind her began to scream