Diamond in the Rough: Chapter 2|Origin

September 20, 1975
Gemstone Project Research Facility

         "Rachel Lyst, and her new son: Jonathan." Dr. Derek Russ whispered to himself as he wrote his words onto a clipboard. He glanced up from his notes to see the new mother playing with her child in bed. Her green eyes seemed to glimmer as she picked up the infant, laughing. The boy giggled loudly as his mother tossed him upwards slightly, barely letting him leave her grasp. After a few throws, she tightly embraced him, the muffled giggling complementing her own soft chuckling.
         Dr. Russ smiled and returned to his notes, sinking lower into his seat. The gray chair was at the far side of the room, opposite the bed, up against the pale blue wall. The room itself had no defining features. There were no paintings, or windows. They weren't in a hospital, after all. The patients weren't the first priority here, no matter how hard Russ fought for it. These rooms were all underground, below a government facility. Russ sighed, wondering what this environment would do to the children. It was bad enough that they were involved in their project. He shook his head quickly to clear his mind. There was work to be done.
         "Hey Rachel?" He called to the mother.
         "Yes?" She was still embracing her child, the giggling ever-present.
         "Jonathan's eyes are green like yours, right?"
         Rachel brought the baby in front of her and grinned, provoking another burst of laughter. After a short pause, she raised an eyebrow in surprise. She looked back to Russ and answered, "Actually, no. That's weird, both Tyler and I have green eyes, but his are gray. Gray's a weird color on it's own, don't you think?"
         "Gray eyes, but neither parent possess the gene, interesting. He does share the brown hair, though." The doctor said to himself, ignoring Rachel's question and continuing to write. "Thank you, Rachel."
         There was a low buzzing noise as the door swung open and a pair of nurses carted in a trolley of food. One of them gave Dr. Russ a wink and a flirty smile as they passed. Russ nodded politely to her, a monotone expression on his face. Her smile turned to a frown. The nurses took the child and brought him to his own bed to allow the mother to eat and quietly asked her questions before hastily exiting, presumably to tend to another family. Before the door could completely close, a bespectacled young man in a white labcoat sauntered in.
         "Excuse me Dr. Russ, you're needed in room 204. The mother said she wanted you to sign off on the Ruby designation." the man said gingerly, waving at Rachel. She politely smiled and waved back.
         "I'll be there in a moment." Russ replied. The pen continued scratching. "I just need some more time here, Samuel."
         "You've been in this room for over four hours, sir."
         Russ' pen stopped and he looked up with a scowl. "Yes, and I also have a doctorate in theoretical physics, not medicine. Somehow that lands me in the medical department of this facility, watching babies, instead of the department that actually researches physics!" He suddenly stood from his seat, towering a full foot over the researcher. His voice became hushed as he stepped towards Samuel. "If the director has an issue with how I work, tell him to come talk to me himself."
         "I'm sorry sir, the director only told me to relay the information." Samuel said with a hint of fear, stepping back to look up at Dr. Russ.
         Russ sighed and finished what he was writing. "I didn't mean to snap at you. I've been watching babies for two weeks straight. I just thought I would have a job that actually played to my strengths." He looked over at the mother. She had stopped eating, a concerned look on her face. "I'll be back shortly." He apologized, gesturing to the door as he turned back to Samuel. Samuel nodded and they quietly left the room, the door ringing as it opened and closed. The hallway outside was a plain gray concrete, and the same white doors lined both sides. Nurses and researchers droned in and out of rooms, quietly chit-chatting.
         "Sir, you seem frustrated." Samuel reached up to put a comforting hand on Dr. Russ' shoulder. "Is everything alright?"
         "Everything should be fine, but I just don't feel that way. I graduate at the age of 24 from one of the most prestigious universities in the world, and in less than a month I landed a job with the government as head researcher." Russ leaned on the wall, keeping the clipboard under his arm. "I should be ecstatic, satisfied with how well my life is going right now. But I'm not. Everything that we're doing right now could easily be for nothing, or worse. I was skeptical about this project, and I think I still am. I wanted to make a difference in the world, that's why I agreed to do this. But right now, all I can see is that we're messing with things we don't understand."
         The wailing of a baby echoed through the corridor. A door rang as a group of nurses shuffled in. The crying subsided a short while after. Samuel brought his hand back to adjust his glasses.
         "We're working with children." Russ shook his head, looking down at his shoes. "We don't know what we're doing, and we're experimenting on newborn children."
         "We've done the research, you even made some of the most important contributions. We know it's safe and the-"
         "We think it's safe. Research is research, the actual results can always be different." Russ interrupted, an undertone of frustration present in his words.
         "We've informed the families, they all know what they're getting themselves into and they've agreed, we have the paperwork to show that, so we're secure legally."
         Dr. Russ furrowed his brow, struggling to stay calm. "You think I'm worried about legalities?" He inhaled deeply, the sterile scent of the maternity ward reminding him of where he was. "I could care less if we get sued or arrested. I might even say that we deserve it." His words grew in volume, attracting the attention of passing personnel. "These children have no idea what's happening! They never agreed to any of this! They never agreed to be put in danger, or to become outsiders, freaks!" He threw his clipboard to the floor, the clatter echoing through the hall.
         Samuel stared, wide-eyed, at Dr. Russ, his hands in front of him in a defensive stance. The whole corridor had become still, any form of noise was replaced by a thundering silence. Every doctor, nurse, and researcher was now watching the irate researcher.
         Russ took another deep breath and addressed his colleagues with a forced smile, "Sorry everyone. Please, carry on." He slowly bent down to retrieve his clipboard.
         A wave of murmuring soon washed over the passageway as the staff began moving again. Samuel put his hands down and exhaled the breath he was holding, his eyes relaxing. The two researchers occasionally received stares from their coworkers as they passed. Russ clicked his pen repeatedly before putting it to the paper.
         "Has the Lyst boy been given a designation?" He asked dryly.
         "Jonathan? Uh, I believe the director assigned him Diamond, sir. He's already received the necessary operations and therapy." Samuel answered timidly, still visibly shaken. He wiped a spot of sweat from his brow. He grunted as the clipboard was abruptly shoved into his chest. He quickly grabbed it as Russ stepped past him towards the exit. "Dr. Russ?"
         "Tell the director that I'm taking the rest of the day off." Russ didn't turn around as he approached the door.
         "Sir, you're not allowed to leave, the director will surely-" The door buzzed as it slammed shut. Samuel sighed as he brought the clipboard up and read its contents. There was nothing unusual, only simple notes that Dr. Russ was required to take, with the occasional witty interjection or crude doodle. He scanned the paper until he spotted an annotation squeezed into the already overflowing paper. He quietly read the messy note.
         "My sister has requested a stable designation for Jonathan. Opal, Sapphire, Aquamarine? Note to self: Remember to make a request to the director. Jonathan doesn't deserve any of this."

------------------------------------

         Dr. Russ grunted as he was shoved into the chair. He angrily looked up at his assailant, a burly man with a buzzcut. His green eyes reflected off the pair of dark shades. The tailored suit and black tie immediately gave away who had sent him. The plain white room only contained a table, and a chair on each side. If he hadn't known any better, Russ would've expected two antithetic police officers to begin interrogating him.
         "The director may have told you to retrieve me, but it obviously didn't make it through your thick skull that I'm one of the most important people in this facility! He will hear about the poor treatment and you will be thoroughly reprima-"
         "Don't flatter yourself too much, Dr. Russ." The voice interrupted Russ. It was deep, commanding, and intimidating. Russ looked to the open doorway to see a rather short man in a suit and tie. His receding hairline and numerous wrinkles displayed age, yet his brown eyes were full of youth and energy. The man smiled and slowly stepped towards the table.
         "D-director, I thought you were busy with another project." Russ stammered. This man could ruin Dr. Russ' life with a single word, and he knew it. He quickly adjusted his tone and posture to be more respectful.
         "Well, aren't you supposed to be busy with your own project?" The director snickered, sitting in the chair opposite Dr. Russ. He absentmindedly tapped his fingers on the desktop as Russ, ashamed and embarrassed, looked down to avoid eye contact. "And you did say that I should talk to you myself if I had an issue."
         Russ' face reddened and he slowly looked up, eyes wide. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words formed.
         "I'm just teasing, Dr. Russ." The director chuckled and gave Russ a playful pat on the shoulder. Russ gave a diminutive laugh in response. The director affirmed, "You've been doing a truly impressive job so far."
         "I-I have?" Russ asked, confused.
         "Yes, I've been pleasantly surprised on multiple occasions since you've started. Although, today was," He pondered the right word. "Unusual."
         "I've just been overwhelmed, sir. The past two weeks have taken a toll." Russ explained, leaning back into his seat. "I'm a bit flustered at Jonathan Lyst's designation. You personally signed off on it. That's not a usual occurrence."
         "Yes, but you seem a bit attached to your sister and her son. Normally, I would advise against this attachment, but I thought that we could work it to our advantage." The director gave Russ a knowing smile.
         "With all due respect, a consultation would have been appreciated before he received his operations. The Diamond is our only synthesized gem. It's incredibly dangerous and unsta-" Russ stopped as the director held up a hand.
         "I am aware of the dangers, Dr. Russ." He said, putting his hand down. "The Diamond's instability is the reason I gave your nephew the designation. Your closeness to that boy will help control him."
         "Sir, that doesn't change the fact that he was given the designation without my knowing." Russ was noticeably upset. His fists were clenched tightly under the table.
         "I did it without telling you because I knew the answer would be no."
         Dr. Russ stared at the director, his mouth agape in shock. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, he finally spoke. "Sir, you knew I wouldn't agree with the decision, but you still went through with it?"
         "I'm sorry Dr. Russ, but believe me, I want the best for these children, and I think you can give Lyst the nurturing he needs to control his power." The director's voice feigned pleading, but Russ knew better.
         There was another long pause before Russ stood up. He eyed the man standing silently in the corner of the room. Another similarly built man in identical dress stood outside the doorway. "Is there a need for so many guards, sir? I don't mean any disrespect, but I don't think I'm that dangerous."
         "You can never be too safe, especially with those rumors going around."
         "Rumors?"
         "Well," The director paused, reaching into his pocket and retrieving a small pad of paper and pen, "April fools is coming up." He said as he began jotting something down on the paper.
         Russ raised an eyebrow. "You're afraid of pranks in a government agency?" He queried, struggling to read the notepad upside down.
         "We work with some eccentric individuals, Dr. Russ." The director slid the notepad towards Russ. In hastily written cursive, it read 'Security breach, there could be bugs. Be careful who you trust.' He nodded as Russ read over the note several times.
         Russ looked up, an expression of dread on his face, his thoughts a scrambled mess of emotion. He mouthed, "The children,"
         Forlorn, the director nodded. "I hear they're even planning something for you. I'd be careful." His intense gaze met Russ' concerned eyes. "Take the rest of the day off, Russ." He was not making a suggestion. This was an order.
         Dr. Russ looked at the director hesitantly before nodding. He gave the director a final handshake and stepped out the door.