COMPETITION

"The Mr. Gordon Folly?! You mean the man who stands as the richest person in all of Beethoven, Gordon Folly?!" Jeremiah asked.

William smirked and chuckled lightly.

"That is correct, Doctor. It brings me joy seeing that you know who my master is, because it means you understand why your help is so important", William said.

Jeremiah grunted, then wondered just how talented this Doctor Michael person was for William to be going this far just to seek his help.

His next thoughts became ones that questioned why someone so important was in a prison cell when he met him. Also, why was he looking rough and unkept like a man who had given up on hope and life in general?

As a matter of fact, the color of the badge on the uniform shirt he wore was one that allowed the possibility of bail, so if Doctor Michael was really that important, then why hadn't his bail been paid when Jeremiah met him?

Jeremiah had so many questions about his mysterious cellmate, but just as he began to get lost in them, he saw the bodyguard's curious glance and he grimaced.

William noticed the quick exchange between both men, and he said "His name is Steven. He's my personal guard and assistant, so you don't have to be on high alert, doctor. He's not going to lay a finger on you."

Jeremiah chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head as he replied "What are you talking about, Mr. William? I wasn't worried at all. I was just going to ask what his name was, but you've already told me, so there's no need anymore."

William looked at Steven and ignoring what Jeremiah had just told him, he said "Steven, please greet the good doctor and show him that he has nothing to worry about when it comes to you."

Steven looked at Jeremiah then bowed his head in respect.

"My apologies for scaring you earlier, Doctor Michael. Like Mr. William had said, there's nothing to worry about, because as long as you're a cherished guest of the master, you'll always be protected by me and all the master's affiliates."

Jeremiah heard what was just said, and his eyes widened in surprise.

This was the first time in his life that someone, besides his mother, had told him that he was someone they cherished and wanted to protect and, honestly, it felt good.

"Thank you, Mr. Steven. I look forward to the rest of our time together", Jeremiah said, and Steven bowed his head in respect again before returning his focus to where he was going.

They finally got to the door and William gestured to Steven to open it for them.

Finally, it was going to happen. What Jeremiah had been waiting for since William revealed the truth a couple of seconds ago.

Jeremiah's heart raced as, while staring at the door, he thought that on the other side was the richest man on the continent, who he imagined was resting in a hospital bed, surrounded by a doctor and a couple of nurses.

"Wow. I can't believe I'm actually going to meet Mr. Gordon once this door is opened", Jeremiah said elatedly, but then William paused.

The aged gentleman's sudden change in demeanor made Steven, who was just about to open the door, stop.

Jeremiah grimaced, wondering why William just reacted strangely to the last sentence he said and also why that made Steven not open the door like he was supposed to.

"About that," William said, and Jeremiah raised a brow.

"Is something wrong?" Jeremiah asked, then looked at the door with furrowed eyebrows because he could hear murmuring coming from the other side.

Steven had opened the door slightly and the noise being generated from whatever was on the other side slipped right through the crack.

"Let me just show you," William said, then looked at Steven and, with a gesture, instructed him to do what he was supposed to do.

Jeremiah wondered what William meant until the door was fully opened, and he saw that on the other side wasn't a room with a patient, a doctor, and some nurses like he thought, but instead a massive hall that was at least a couple acres wide.

That, however, wasn't the most shocking part.

What surprised Jeremiah the most was that in the hall were what he estimated to be over a thousand people, all murmuring to themselves or discussing passionately with one another.

"Mr. William, what's all this?" Jeremiah asked as they walked through the doorway.

Just then, Jeremiah stepped on something that took his attention to the floor, and he saw that his foot was on a crumpled piece of paper.

He furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head.

"Why's there a piece of paper on the floor the moment someone walked into the room?" Jeremiah asked himself, then went down to pick up the crumpled piece of paper.

He opened up the paper and saw that there were things written on it. Things that struck his interest because drawings were also included.

However, just as he was about to read the first word on the paper, his vision focused on what was under the paper. To be exact, what was on the floor a couple of feet away.

Jeremiah saw a carpet of crumpled, folded, and flat pieces of paper that spanned almost the entire dimension of the hall, and each one had things written on them.

"What the hell is going on here? Why are all these—?" Jeremiah asked, but suddenly his attention was stolen by something else.

"We've tried the treatment, and I'm sad to say that it was a failure," a very loud voice said, and when Jeremiah followed the voice to find where it came from, he saw a massive screen close to the ceiling.

On the screen, he saw people in lab coats, wearing gloves and nose masks all scrambling around in the background of another same-dressed individual who stood in the middle of the screen.

"Mr. William, I know I've asked this many times, but please tell me what's going on here?" Jeremiah asked the man standing by his right-hand side while he looked up at the screen in confusion.

"This is the think tank, doctor Michael" William replied.

Jeremiah furrowed his eyebrows and looked at William.

"The think tank? What's that supposed to mean and more importantly, what is being thought about?"

William gestured at the hundreds of people in the hall and said "Everyone in this room is tasked with one job and that's finding a way to save my master from what ails him before it's too late."

With widened eyes, Jeremiah looked at the crowd of seriously focused people and thought 'So I'm supposed to compete against all of these people and do what none of them can't to get my wish granted?'