Akane paced around the room, looking for the source of the sound. Eventually, she came across shattered glass, directly below a shelf. The knife shook in her hand as she looked around corners and peered behind the different machines around the room.
Just when she let her guard down for a small moment, she heard another glass shattering; this time it was right beside her. She let out a yelp; or what she could muster anyway, as it came out more like a wheeze of air. Just a few inches away from her feet, a rat dashed across the floor, sniffing and scurrying in papers and whatever possible food it could find.
Akane let out a sigh of relief as she saw it was only a rat this entire time. She placed the knife down and gingerly wiped sweat off her brow.
"Looking for me, madam?"
Startled, she whipped around and back-stepped a couple feet away, grabbing the knife, "W-who are you?!"
Standing in front of her was a rather tall man dressed in a formal black suit and had brown hair with grey streaks run across it. He looked no more than 50 years old, and wore black-rimmed glasses. He looked… like a normal, average man.
"Pardon my manners," He calmly took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands with it, "I am the man who used to run this facility," The man walked towards her and extended his hand out, "Nice to meet you. It's not everyday I get to see someone as elegant and vibrant such as yourself."
Akane stepped back and raised her knife, "Don't take another step!"
He placed a hand over his mouth and pretended to act surprised, "Oh dear, I hope I haven't gotten off on the wrong foot here. You'll have to excuse me, I never know what to do on first dates."
Akane tilted her head at this strange gentleman and stayed her grip on the knife, slowly inching back away from him, "So, it was you. You f-founded the Nonary Project, didn't you?" Her voice cracked, as her heart raced staring at this mysterious man. Their was something sick about him and she could tell; even with his "gentleman" appearance veiling him.
He simply smiled, not answering the question, "Do you like pasta? Of course you do; everyone loves pasta, right? How about we talk about this over dinner?" Akane could not get a read on him. His demeanor was odd, and it seemed as if he was on another planet. The only thing normal about him was his formal attire.
He stepped closer again, and she raised her knife to his throat, "What did I say?! Get back! Now answer my question: Are you the founder?" She bellowed as her legs slightly wobbled from fright.
The gentleman looked at her knife, then looked at her wrist; soon observing her eyes and glanced down at her legs. Suddenly, his voice changed from charming to a more flat and serious tone, "Do you know the probability of you surviving this encounter? 0%. In less than 0.64 seconds, I can subdue you and pin you to the floor. Or, perhaps, I can disarm the knife and promptly lodge it directly into your chest cavity; this taking no more than 2 seconds, approximately 4.37 minutes until your lungs collapse from concentrated blood accumulation and you pass out into darkness. In the end, the calculations are in my favor."
Akane couldn't breathe and could not move an inch. This man, or whatever manner of being you can even call him, was merely 5 inches away from her looking right through her soul. When she tried to breathe, it was in short hoarse gasps and her hands started to feel numb and limp. She was deathly afraid.
His face changed again to a more sincere and kind demeanor and he rubbed his head, "Haha, there I go again! I'm not a very good first date, am I?"
"I…. y…." Akane completely and utterly failed to murmur out one coherent word. Every bone in her body was shaking. This was't the first time she's been in danger; far from it. But somehow… this man was different. It was like he discovered everything about her simply by examining her.
He adjusted his glasses, "As the gentleman that I am, allow me to go first. While I won't disclose my name quite yet, I feel obligated to share some oh-so-juicy information with you. You want to know about the project, right, love?" He said as he placed a finger on her forehead and moved a strand of hair behind her ear.
She shuddered and shut her eyes, sweat starting to bead on her forehead. She timidly answered, "Y-yes…"
He lifted up her wrist and observed the jewelry wrapped around it, "And you desperately wish to find out if I know about Phi, no?" He leaned in closer to her wrist and sniffed, "Oh, love your taste in perfume, by the way."
Her breathing was disjointed and heavy, "Y-you know Phi, then. What h-happened here? Why do you people w-want access to the Morphogenetic Field?!"
The man laughed a handsome laugh; calm and honest.
"Be careful not to classify everyone in one group. Not everyone wants that power," He slowly paced around her, his body almost touching hers.
I have to stay focused! I can't let this maniac get to me! She thought to herself as he continued to pace around her like a vulture looking for remains.
Suddenly, he stepped directly in front of her and grinned. It was unsettling and twisted, contrary to his formal appearance. He whispered out, "Oh, but dear, I'm already inside your head."
(In other words, he has access to the Morphogenetic Field.)