Clean and pristine. The sight of the Curie is truly one to behold. A massive monument covered almost completely with reflective glass. It towers over the city, dwarfing the buildings surrounding it. Chequered across its whole body are one-way mirrored windows, shielding the interior from prying eyes, its contents remaining hidden from any who don’t venture in. Of course, all of Ferros know its repertoire as the leading institute in medicinal research.

“…making this the third case of brain death-” “Amp loss,” cuts in Mr. Sharp as Morgan continues looking through the case files as the both of them head straight for the reception. It had been a few days since they’d taken care of things in Alnico Avenue. Morgan continues, “…of amp loss among successful, high-profile members of society.” He keeps skimming through the documents, quickly analysing the information within. “Their twins were practically the bottom rung of society,” he comments nonchalantly.

Zigzagging through the crowd in the main lobby, the pair finally make it to the front desk, who tell them that they will be attended to shortly. Waiting by the side, Morgan picks up where he left off, “So, the patients’ twins were all found rather close by. Autopsy rules that they all died due to blood loss.” He pauses to think for a while. “Is it possible that their twin instigated the attack?”

“Interesting proposition!” bellows a deep, staunch voice from behind. Startled, Morgan turns around, “Wha-?? Uh…hello?” Not much taller than himself, standing behind Morgan is a man in a suit, his muscles bulging through his outfit. His brown hair parted neatly down the middle and curled at the ends, styled similarly to his big handlebar moustache. Or perhaps it was the other way around. His large eyes smiled along just as joyfully as his facial hair did.

“Talden Armstrong, director of the Curie,” introduces Mr. Sharp bluntly, as the large man thrust his arm forward, his face all smiles. “Which, might I add, is the finest, and grandest, institution in all of Ferros,” says Talden, topping up Mr. Sharp’s introduction. After a solid gripped handshake with Morgan, he turns and firmly pats Mr. Sharp’s shoulder. “Looking sharp as ever, Mr. Sharp,” he compliments spritely. “And who’s the strapping newcomer here?” “Detective Morgan Crow, currently assigned as Mr. Sharp’s partner,” greets Morgan. “Not really new, just never been to the Curie myself. Never really had the need to, you know.” 

Talden reels back from the comment, eyes closed and brow furrowed, pinching the bridge of his nose. A look of pity spread on his face. “My boy, you’re missing on the piece de resistance of Ferros!” he says, his expression quickly changing to that of a child about to present his favourite toy, bright with anticipation at how well it will be received.  But before Talden could open his mouth, Mr. Sharp, all too familiar with his routine, cut in once more, “Armstrong. L7-392, please.” He pouted for just a split second, before closing his eyes and nodding in a show of understanding. “Right, right. Wouldn’t want to waste any more time on this beautiful day.” His usual radiant demeanour back in action, Talden turns around, “Right this way, gentlemen!” and heads down the extensive hall, deeper into the institute, and the two quickly follow suit.

Large strides lead his way as Talden cheerfully greets many of the people along the way, both staff and visitors alike. “Excuse me, director?” inquires Morgan. He’d been mulling something over for quite a bit along the way. “I’m just wondering about what you said earlier. About suicide being an ‘interesting proposition’?” Without slowing his pace, Talden smiles warmly. “Well, I didn’t mean to intrude on an investigation by our fine officers of the force, but… you do know how amp loss occurs, correct?” he asks. They turn a corner and proceed down a hallway. “Well, yeah, I think. Simply put, it’s when your twin dies prematurely, so you end up with amp loss, right?” replies Morgan dubiously. He wasn’t going to argue with a specialist on it, of course.

“Excellent,” praises Talden, patting Morgan on the back. “As expected of our brilliant education system,” he proclaims as he calls for the elevator. A soft ding, and they step into a completely windowed elevator. A picturesque view of clear sunny skies atop a vibrant cityscape greets them as they step in. Resplendent rays flooded the space, warming all it touched. If not for work, he would have liked to just stay there and bask in the sun for a bit, Morgan thought to himself. Talden does exactly that, though, and stands in the sunlight for a moment with his arms wide open, his eyes closed in delight, before turning back to the gentlemen as the elevator begins its ascent.

“It’s natural for twins to age and pass of old age concurrently. That’s simply the law of nature,” continues Talden. “Twins are interlinked, after all. However, human beings, as magnificent as we are, aren’t infallible. So, we’ll make mistakes from time to time.” A dejected look comes across his. “Freak accidents will occur,” adds Mr. Sharp from the side. Talden nods in agreement, “Indeed. If ever your counterpart loses themselves for any reason other than natural, you would also lose yourself.” “Amp loss,” cuts in Mr. Sharp once again. He was on point as always. “As it’s more commonly known,” concurs Talden, solemnly. “In such a state, the body doesn’t seem to react to any stimulus whatsoever. And yet the brain persists in maintaining bodily functions. As if the patients were in a deep coma, until eventually, they pass. So far, there’s been no record of anyone ever rousing from such a slumber.”

“Isn’t that pretty much the same as being dead?” He’d said it without thinking, but Morgan immediately regrets saying it once the words had left his mouth. Mr. Sharp gives him a simple, stern look. The director shakes his head. “Mind your words, Mr. Crow. Not many take kindly to such a harsh reality, no matter how true it may be,” he says solemnly. Talden throws Mr. Sharp a small sympathetic look, but he pays no mind to it. “So, knowing all this, no one in their right mind would actually go about trying to take out their own twin. It would only incapacitate themselves.”

Morgan starts, “True…but considering their relationship, perhaps they were at wits end or something? And when they couldn’t finish the job, they decided that since they’ll…uh…” he takes a quick look at Mr. Sharp, who maintains his stoic expression, “both get affected anyway, it’d be more or less the same if they just took themselves out.” Morgan finishes his sentence, but something inside him feels off. He didn’t quite like how he had worded it, but the fact remained that this was the current situation they were in, and sugarcoating it wouldn’t help in any way. But given the way that Talden had been acting around Mr. Sharp given the subject they were discussing, his gut told him that Mr. Sharp was involved in this case deeper than he’d initially thought.

“And that’s what makes it interesting, my boy,” Talden speaks up. “Just how far does the human psyche have to drop to even consider such a thing. Because when it comes to the taking of someone’s life, you are actually effectively taking two. And I’ve never heard, let alone seen, any case of a twins’ relationship that would instigate such a thought, to be honest,” claims Talden, shaking his head solemnly. By now, the trio had exited the elevator and were somewhere in the upper levels of the institution.

White walls sprung from the sleek and clean floors, the smell of disinfectant just faintly wafting from it. Doctors and nurses alike, all adorned in pure white with tiny hints of colour dotted here and there in their apparel, roamed the halls. Decked with their medical apparatus, each moved with purpose and determination. Unlike the lower floor they had come up from, there were no patients or visitors moving about. No doubt that this was a floor for the elite.

“Your conjecture assumes,” begins Mr. Sharp for the first time in a while, “that their respective relationships were in tatters to begin with.”  Talden nods his head in agreement. “Very true. Just because society viewed them as opposites, doesn’t necessarily mean that they had bad blood between them. Take for example, our first case here.”

Arriving at the door of a rather opulent looking ward, guarded on either side by large men in suits, the three peer in through the clear glass window of the door. In the centre of the room is a large hospital bed set on an incline. A nurse is busy adjusting the intravenous drip next to it. Propped up on the bed itself was one of the most beautiful women Morgan had ever laid his eyes on. Pale smooth skin without a single blemish shone at him. Small lips curled ever so slightly to make a gentle smile.

Like a porcelain doll, she gazed back at the three staring in like a loving mother watching over her children, her kind eyes never blinking. But those blank eyes surrounded by long curled eyelashes showed not a single breath of life behind them, an unfocused gaze projecting beyond the people who had come to visit her quarters. The nurse began unwrapping the bandage around the woman’s head in order to replace them, taking every bit of care not to cause even the slightest bit of discomfort to the patient, despite the lack of response from the patient herself.

Talden’s ever radiant demeanour had disappeared, and in its place is a sombre air that engulfed Morgan. Mr. Sharp looks in for a bit longer before closing his eyes as if in deep contemplation. “The first victim to befall such an atrocious and unfortunate circumstance in this recent string of cases,” begins Talden, his voice low. “An elite among elites, she was found 4 months ago at the bottom of a staircase in her mansion.” Talden breathes in slow and deep. It seemed rather difficult for him to be talking about this patient in particular.

He continues, “Having sustained cranial injuries caused by the fall, she is currently recuperating here in the Curie. Or at least, that’s what’s being reported.” The nurse excuses herself out of the room, slipping past the director as he carries on, his face sorrowful. “CEO of Nikola Holdings, Ms. Ekxel.” Morgan takes a deep breath. If word of this ever gets out, there would be a huge debacle.

Talden stretches his arm out towards the hallway, inviting the detectives to walk down with him. Morgan turns to follow. Mr. Sharp takes one last look before joining Talden, leaving behind the mannequin-like figure on the bed staring silently into the distance, her expression unperturbed in the slightest. They stroll further down, passing by another ward with a similar still figure propped on a hospital bed positioned in the centre of the room. “The second victim, with an uncanny resemblance to the circumstances Ms. Ekxel was found in. His brother also met the same fate as Ms. Ekxel’s twin; exsanguination.”  “Covered in cuts and gashes,” adds Mr. Sharp, “but no decisive blow. It was purposeful.” His eyes narrow. He shifts his attention to Morgan, “Your earlier assumption also doesn’t explain the need for such brutality on oneself.” Morgan concurs.

Turning around to the opposite ward, Talden speaks up, “And here we have our latest patient.” Through the glass, the now familiar scene of an amp loss patient was depicted. However, this time he was accompanied by someone. By the side of the bed is an elegantly dressed lady, holding the patient’s hand in hers as she gently strokes it with her thumb. She seems to be reading a book out loud to him. Her face is trying its best to express the emotions contained within the story, but a flicker of sadness often seeps out between the cracks. As was the case with the others, the patient remains unmoving in his bed.