Lyaeus (closed)

[Raffe]

He felt caught between two worlds. Nox’s words pierced him like needles. Yesterday already seemed like a lifetime ago, and the warm comfort of their relationship before that an entirely other existence, more a dream than a memory. Confusion burned against the pain, and he was somewhat aware he probably wasn’t even thinking straight. He was grieving for what was lost, yet to shift through the debris of what was left in order to decide if there was anything worth salvaging. The way the sound of Nox’s voice tugged at every string in his body told him the feelings had not cut themselves clean with the betrayal. That was no great surprise to him, but it churned anxiety with his decision. Part of him wanted to call. But it wouldn’t be fair. Probably not on either of them.

Raffe had ample time to think about it, for they took an elevator up to higher levels, and it felt like riding into the sky. The building was enormous, dizzyingly so. At some point he closed his eyes, flexing his jaw.

For now he ought to concentrate on why he was here. He had things to confront. Like the fact he was dying.

***

The office boasted a spectacular view of the Moscow skyline. Ephraim Haart was perched on the edge of a desk, scrolling through an array of screens that he promptly dismissed with a wave of his hand and a beatific smile. He was smartly dressed, as Raffe supposed he would be given their surroundings and his role in the company, but there was also something supremely unintimidating about his manner that eased the tension in Raffe's shoulders. His suit was an elegant grey, clearly tailored, but the jacket was slung over a chair, and his sleeves were rolled up above tan skin, one wrist flaunting an expensive watch into which the screens had dissipated.

“Ah, Mr Janssen. A pleasure. May I call you Rafael?” Ephraim's eyes crinkled at the edges when he smiled, like he did it often. He moved to welcome Raffe into his realm, thanking the secretary for her time and attention to his guest. Raffe noticed the pink blush to her cheeks as she left.

“Raffe is fine,” he said. Honestly, he had never heard 'Mr Janssen' so much in his entire life.

“In that case, take a seat, Raffe.”

They moved away from the formality of the desk to an arrangement of comfortable chairs by a large square coffee table. The view glittered outside the windows around them, like the world basked at Paragon's very feet. In fact everything felt like it had a strange shine, as if this really was another world. Ephraim sat with his arms spread along the back of the couch and his legs crossed, while Raffe perched opposite with less repose. The glow from behind lit up the other man's blonde curls like the aura of a god. There was certainly something magnetic about him.

They waded through the niceties until Raffe began to relax, and then Ephraim embarked on the preliminaries of the trial. He was an effusive and elegant speaker, free with his hands and expression. An adjustment at his wrist sprang accompanying images in mini screens around his head that he manoeuvred for Raffe's easy perusal. The effects of Sickness. The rates of death and survival. The work Paragon was doing to combat it. There was paperwork to go through too, accompanied by coffee delivered by the secretary with the dark hair. She smiled at Raffe before she left.

Later Raffe flitted through the screens of the contract. There were a lot of them. "Compensation?" he asked, indicating his current page by tilting the screen.

"Any trial is not without risk," Ephraim said amiably. "The packages Paragon offers in the event of unexpected outcomes are substantial. In fact you won't find better terms anywhere else. In this case it is little for you to worry about though. Mostly this will be about observation, and the nanotech is well researched in that regard. Still, I would be remiss not to point out the dangers to you."

Raffe only nodded. He stared at the blank space left for a beneficiary name and felt a yawning pit open up in his chest.

Ephraim sat forward then. Imploring.

"Usually we would offer a tour first, Raffe. Lunch. An opportunity to speak to the doctors involved and ask them any questions you might have. But your questionnaire suggested you may still be Sick. It would provide valuable data if we expedited those tests. Got the ball rolling so to speak.

"There is no rush, of course. You can take as long as you need to decide."

Raffe entered Nox's name in the box. He had no one else. Oriena didn't need the money, and Carmen had the club. The girls were all looked after by Kallisti. Afterwards he skipped all the way to the signature and signed. He placed the screen and stylus back on the table, and pushed it gently towards Ephraim. He just wanted this done.