Peter and Marianne return to the London Institute of Medicine from their shift. After changing back into their casual attire, the two link up in the hallway outside the locker rooms. A man in a suit approaches them before they can even behind to depart.

  “Excuse me. Mister and missus Thompson I presume?” The man asks.

  They both nod. The man hands them a slip of paper. Peter takes it to examine.

  “The Headmistress wishes to speak with the both of you personally. That is all.”

  He leaves. Peter and Marianne exchange glances. They turn around and head for the elevator. Turning the knob to the top floor, the iron doors shut. Peter pulls on the lever. The elevator begins ascending up. It’s chains rattle. Gears turning. Most elevators shake but the Institutes are cutting edge in design with solid steel foundations and regulated maintenance.

  At the top floor, the iron doors open up. Peter and Marianne head for the office. Rather than knock since they are expected, Peter just opens the door up. Miss Weston is at the desk painting her nails. She immediately locks eyes with him and Marianne.

  “I know I was expecting you two but… At least knock next time.” Weston says.

  Peter scratches the back of his neck. Weston chuckles.

  “At ease. T’was merely a jest. Please, come in. And shut the door.”

  Marianne closes the door. Both of them approach the desk. Weston finishes up and sets the brush into the glass vial of red liquid.

  “You wanted to see us personally ma’am?” Marianne asks.

  “Yes. Sit.” Weston gestures.

  Peter and Marianne take a seat in the two chairs facing the desk. Weston clears her throat. She picks up a set of papers off her desk and adjusts her glasses.

  “Here I have two different sets of papers. One contains examination documents from captured vermin. The other is reports directly from the Westminster Crematorium. Death reports to be exact from the past couple days. From the examination documents… Samples of saliva taken from the rats contained bacteria that matches that of the Crow’s Plague. And from the death reports… Many of those were victims of these infestations. People that became contaminated with those bacteria and succumbed to the infections. The strangest part… Is that a lot of these victims do not list last names. Meaning…”

  “Meaning that they weren’t living in registered households. In other words… Vagabonds. Homeless.” Peter concludes.

  “Nailed it. Quite strange, don’t you agree? According to the government, registered citizens reside within households. They bear last names. Family names. Not to say there certainly aren’t families without homes but… To be labeled simply by their first names or have no names at all as shown here in the reports… Means that these people were not regular citizens. No homes. No properties. Unacknowledged by anyone. Nameless nobodies the city forgot about. Right when we’re on the cusp of curing those infected with Crow’s Plague, this sudden infestation of vermin contaminating hundreds of people most likely with weakened immune systems, no real homes and no proper protection… Something is not right. Scotland Yard is looking into the manner as we speak.”

  “We understand but… Where do we come into this?” Marianne asks.

  Weston sets the papers down. She stands up. Hands behind her back. She turns to look outside the window at the cityscape before her.

  “Peter and Marianne Thompson. You two are the finest and most renowned Black Doctors of the Institute. I’m designating our own private investigation. And you will be the detectives. I want you to look into this manner. Ask around. Check the places where vermin were reported. Surely there must be some sort of paper trail or pattern we can uncover.” She explains.

  Peter and Marianne look to each other in surprise. Weston turns back around. She tucks the reports into separate folders and pushes them across the desk towards the two doctors.

  “Take these. I’m entrusting this task to you two. Let the rest of the Black Doctors handle the majority of the dosing of Rainmaker to the general public. And keep this a secret. Do not let this investigation slip out to anyone else. Understood?” Weston speaks sternly.

  Marianne stands up first to grab the folders. She hands one to Peter who also stands up. The two bow to Weston and nod firmly.

  “We understand.” They both say.

  “Then we are finished here. Good luck you two. With your doctor uniforms, you’ll be safe for investigating quarantined areas where the infestations took place. We need to act fast before more of this heinous villainy continues… You’re dismissed.”

  Peter and Marianne leave the office. Weston watches them go then sits back down.

  “This madness needs to end…” She mutters to herself.

  Cold winds blow in the chilled London air. Peter and Marianne sit on the couch in their living room. Peter reads the newspaper. Marianne reads it alongside him, leaning against his shoulder with her head tilted slightly. A sense of dread fills them inside with each sentence read regarding the recent infestation of vermin.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “I have thoughts on this…” Peter mumbles.

  “Oh? Go on.”

  “Something malicious is at play here. Think about it. Targeting those down on their luck? The most vulnerable of our society. Utilizing plague-ridden vermin during a deadly endemic to strike the poorest communities. It’s clearly a scheme concocted by someone or perhaps… Some collective. We can at least both agree in those suspicions.”

  “I… I see. But, where would we even begin with our investigation, dear?”

  Peter ponders for a minute. He then snaps his fingers.

  “We need to speak to those afflicted. Maybe we can get some context as to how these infestations start. Perhaps uncover a pattern of some kind.”

  “And if we act quickly… We can catch any culprits in the act before another outbreak of vermin.”

  “Precisely. Starting tomorrow, our investigation begins. But for now… Let us relax. Turn in for the night. Dinner was fantastic as usual by the way.”

  Marianne chuckles. The two kiss then stand up and head for the bathroom to shower together before bed.

  “W-we was just standin’ around the fire… Mindin’ our business see? Next thing I knew there were screams comin’ from down the alley. ‘Rats! Rats!’ A woman shouted. Panic ensued. Me and the lads were at the furthest end o’ the alley so we started runnin’ for our lives. And mind you that alley was our home. Ain’t never had any vermin problems since the gov’ment done did that clean sweep operation five years ago. Caught a glimpse of some of the mangy little fucks briefly before headin’ down the street. Sorry but… I-I didn’t see no strange folk on the streets. Just everybody runnin’ from the alley.” A scruffy man with matted brown hair spoke.

  “Me mum was bit. Saw the marks myself. Two days later she… She died. Bites done infected her. An’ she already had a weak immune system so she didn’t stand a chance. By the time she had noticed it… Was too late. Couple others she bunked with passed away from their infections too. Just… horrible…” A woman with long black hair sobbed.

  Peter and Marianne moved along to a rundown grocery store down the street from a condemned encampment. Several people in tattered clothing with dirty skin resided inside the old store. Most of the people there had scurried from the camp. One individual, the last one they found, was standing out back smoking cigarettes with two others. All of them were men. The other two didn’t speak a word. The third, a tall man with short blonde hair and large hands wearing grungy blue overalls was willing to comply.

  “So… Tell us what you witnessed on that day. Yesterday. When you all were forced to evacuate and move here. We want any and all details.” Marianne asks.

  Peter held a notepad and pen. The two of them wore their doctors’ outfits to remain anonymous. This current borough was not quarantined so there wasn’t any current threat of Crow’s Plague in the vicinity.

  “Tells you what I saw an’ heard…” The tall man spoke. His voice very deep and monotone. “… Was returnin’ from my shift at the plant. Few of us work there but I was the only one who finished their shift. It was early mornin’ you see. Not a damned soul on the street. Rounded the corner. A man in black passed me, bumping me on the shoulder since his head was lowered like he was coverin’ his face. Didn’t get a good look at him. Anyway… Right as I made it back to the parkin’ lot entrance, screams rung out. Started rushin’ ahead until everyone was headin’ my way. Scattering about. Shoutin’ about rats. That made me freeze in place. Caught a smatterin’ of the little vermin scurrying about. Looked like they came from a tiny, narrow alley near the tables we had set up. My mate here grabbed my wrist and dragged me away. After that… We migrated here.”

  Peter jots down every word he spoke. Marianne nods. She crosses her arms.

  “Okay… Curious about that lone man you said passed by you.” She says.

  “Coulda’ just been some stranger on an early mornin’ walk. Maybe goin’ to work. Not sure. Dressed like he may have worked at an office. Desk job. Very clean. Nice clothes. Again… not sure what his deal was.”

  Peter finishes writing. He slides the notebook and pen away.

  “Thank you, sir. This is new information crucial to our investigation.”

  “’Course ma’am. But uh… Should you not be goin’ around curin’ people with that there fancy new shit you doctors have?”

  “We’re on a special case. Fear not… We’re looking into these infestations. C’mon Peter. Let’s go. Thank you again for your time.”

  The tall man just nods. Peter and Marianne depart. They cut through the alley next to the building back onto the street. With all the information gathered, they make way for their steam carriage parked down the road.

  Another day passes. Peter and Marianne once again spent their entire shift going around talking to homeless residents previously occupying areas now sanctioned off due to the infestations of vermin. More or less, they recorded similar accounts from yesterday. At the end of their shift, they visited a café. Sat at a table far from anyone else, they review their notes.

  According to what they’ve gathered from speaking to people in these communities affected by the vermin outbreaks; There’s similarities to what they’ve heard. The infestations occurred either early in the morning or late at night. People would panic. Some were unfortunate to be bitten or make contact with the vermin. All residents in the areas vacated to new areas. Each site had at least two or three small, narrow alleys connecting them to other alleys or the streets. If they were buildings or structures, the interiors had any various numbers of entry points from the outside for rodents to slither in be it holes in walls, windows and doors left slightly open or cracks in the ceilings. Only one recurring element from the reports was significantly less spoken of.

  “We’ve spoken to so many people…” Marianne speaks, taking a sip of coffee. “… And yet only a few individuals ever caught sight of a potentially shady figure heading opposite of the sites hit by the infestations.”

  “Now those could’ve easily just been regular citizens unaware of what would happen or was happening. But it’s an element in our findings that is so minute that I can’t help but wonder if perchance those individuals were fortunate enough to spot potential suspects. The fact these incidents happen very early or quite late when there’s generally less foot traffic has me questioning these specific reports…” Peter adds.

  “Indeed. We should speak to the authorities. Have them monitor these encampments and places where homeless residents resign. Now we know for certain any of them could be targeted next. We also have to assume that these culprits must be breeding the vermin. After all, the Queen enacted that mass execution operation five years ago nearly wiping out all vermin in the city.”

  “Ah yes, I do remember. Very well. Tomorrow, we report our findings to miss Weston. Agreed?”

  “Agreed. We’re making progress. We must persevere…”