𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛 ✔

𝟔𝟔. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓

Sugu led them to a dark alleyway between two of the few buildings that resided on the side of the street.

"Why is it that there's always an alley somewhere?" Taelyn remarked upon seeing their new surroundings.

"Because this place is sketchy and sketchy is good when you need to hide," said Sugu.

"Tae, don't get off topic," said Cara. "Sugu, what was it that you had to tell us?"

"Why were you at the headquarters? Because you wanted information on the ingredient. The ingredient. You guys are trying to stop them, admirable on your part. But I may remind you that they have zero information on the ingredient, so-"

"Our mission was useless, yes," said Aiden. "Go on."

"Right. They didn't, and still don't, have any data on the ingredient, that's why they were trying to capture you in the first place. However I...." Sugu leaned in, a smirk gracing his lips. "I have plenty."

Cara's eyes widened. "You have information on the ingredient?"

"Like I said, plenty."

"That's-that's so great! I'm-"

"Shh. Keep your voice down."

She cocked her head to the side, confused. "I thought you said they weren't tracking whatever part of town this is?"

"Tracking meaning by computer systems and installed cameras. They could send spies and other find us in other ways than cameras," Sugu explained.

"How much power do these people have?"

"Too much. They even have power over the law, at least here."

"How is it that you know things about the ingredient but even Itch themselves, a whole crime organization, doesn't?" said Aiden, cocking a brow.

"I work mainly in the hacking and technologies field, at least now. But back before....things happened, I was a scientist. Once I found out that the gang was looking for the ingredient, I contacted every top scientist I worked with in my earlier days to find out which of us was creating a new substance. And I found it eventually, of course."

"And what is it? I assume you're going to tell us?" Taelyn remarked sarcastically.

"Histamylamine acid."

"Hista what?" She raised a brow.

"Histamylamine acid," said Sugu.

"That's not a thing," countered Aiden, stepping in front of Cara. "No chemical is named that. You're lying." He turned to the others, grumbling. "He knows nothing. Come on, let's just go."

"Let him explain, babe," Cara whispered, sending him a glare. She turned to Sugu. "Care to enlighten us?"

"Aiden is right. Histamylamine acid isn't a thing. At least, it's not an existing thing. It's what the scientists are creating, top secret, and against the government's knowledge, too."

"What is it?"

"Histamine, that's what our bodies create naturally. It's a chemical that releases, it's what makes us itch in the first place. Scopolamine, on the other hand, is a drug that is used to treat motion sickness and prevent nausea. But it has side effects - dizzyness, sleepiness, constipation, and even hallucination. It can be used for mind control," he nodded at Taelyn, who grimaced. "...and that is when paired with an abnormal amount of histamine..." he leaned in, lowering his voice. "...it's fatal."

Cara nodded, taking a deep breath. "But how does it work?"

"When injected with histamylamine - the perfect ratio of histamine to scopolamine, the victim starts to lose themselves, due to the side effects of the scopolamine. They start to hallucinate, fall asleep....much like a drunk. And that's where the histamine comes in. They cannot control themselves from itching, and they can't feel it as they're so out of it, so they keep doing it.....until they bleed to death. It's gruesome, and it takes a long time for the victim to die."

She gulped, squeezing Aiden's hand. "That's....that's so horrible. But...how? How did the scientists get so much of the histamine, the chemical in our bodies, to even mix it with the scopolamine?"

"They...extract it. From people."

"People who volunteered?"

Sugu bit his lip, inhaling sharply. "No. People who were forced."

Cara felt her eyes deepen in rage, and her breath hitched as she tried to regulate it. Her fist clenched and her heart burned, deep and painful like a wildfire spreading rapidly across her chest.

"It's okay," Aiden whispered, squeezing her hand. "You can do this."

"Why do Itch need the ingredient from the scientists?" Taelyn inquired. "They have scopolamine, Taelyn told me Scorpion used it on her, and they did have the prisoners to extract histamine from."

"Because they didn't know how to extract it," said Cara quietly. "Right?"

"Correct," Sugu nodded. "Itch has plenty of scopolamine - that's thanks to Scorpion, he's the drugs specialist - but what they're missing is the histamine. They have people to extract it from, but they don't know how to extract it. And now that we freed the prisoners, they're stuck - they have to have to get the histamylamine from the scientists."

"Why did these scientists start creating something so horrible in the first place?" she asked.

He laughed, his tone bitter. "They wanted to use it against the Itch Gang. Thought they were bringing justice. Ironic, isn't it?"

"So they were trying to make something 'right', but also captured and forced people into doing something against their will? What a bunch of hypocrites," Taelyn grimaced.

"Do you- do you know where these scientists work?" said Cara.

"Yes."