Corbin went into the garage the next morning to raise the door behind his coupe so he could start the car and let it be warming up for the trip to the academy. As he rounded Shade's car on his way to his own, he noticed the random popping sounds of a hot engine as it cooled coming from the dark coupe. He stopped and placed a hand on the hood, feeling the warmth and realizing that his night-loving sister must've just gotten in from another late one. He smiled to himself with amusing thoughts of his untamed sister as he continued on to the driver's side of his glaring red coupe. 

    He decided that since she obviously needed to get some rest he wouldn't bother her about accompanying him to The Better Tomorrow Institute in order to follow up on the Dr. Harper lead. After driving Lydia to the academy and listening to her many speculative ideas about what he was sure to discover about Dr. Harper, Corbin found his way to the institute which resided near the heart of Bergstad.

    The building was marked by very proud lettering along with a stylishly designed logo fixed above the main entrance, and was just one in a wall of many tall buildings that lined both sides of the inner city streets. The morning rush was in full swing by the time Corbin's rumbling coupe eased down the congested streets where automobiles moved inches at a time while the sidewalks were covered with droves of nine-to-fivers who piled into the surrounding buildings like ants returning to anthills. After a couple of slow trips around the block he finally found a parking lot where he was able to squeeze his car into a tight parking space.

    He reached into the glovebox and retrieved a photo of Dr. Harper which he had printed out last night from the files brought over to the manor by Gideon and Amanda. He studied it intently, doing his best to memorize every definable aspect of her visage. Her short, tapered hair which was more orange than red made her jade eyes all the more striking, while the square-rimmed glasses that rested low on her nose gave her sternly shaped features the look of a soured school teacher. He guessed that she was pushing fifty, not that her age mattered for any reason.

    With a final look at the picture he stuffed it back in the glovebox and got out of his car. Crossing the street he made his way toward the institute, falling in with the streams of people who were too busy with their cell phones or conversations with co-workers to notice him. Once he was inside the building he found a wall-mounted directory and quickly ran down the list of names until he came across the one he was looking for: Dr. Roslyn Harper, Head of Genetics, ninth floor.

    Corbin then drifted amongst the arriving employees, letting them lead him to the main elevator lobby where he squeezed into one of the six elevators that was headed up. After pushing the ninth floor button he ascended with thoughts of what he would say and do if he happened to encountered Dr. Harper. The elevator stopped at pre-selected floors with alerting dings, allowing the passengers to shuffle around as some got off and others remained. By the time Corbin reached the ninth floor only two others remained with him in the elevator and they stayed inside for the climb to higher floors as he got off.

    The ninth floor offered Corbin the choice of two corridors, one to the left and one to the right. The corridor to the right echoed with the sound of heels clacking against the tiled floor that seemed to be coming closer so he chose the corridor to the left in hopes of keeping his presence as discreet as possible. As he rounded the corner with thoughts of how Gideon would surely disapprove of his risky exploration he bumped into a woman who was coming his way.

    "Oops!" he muttered, pulling himself back. "Sorry."

    The woman acknowledged him with an annoyed scowl as she adjusted her lab coat. Corbin was about to offer another apology when his eyes settled on her and he recognized the face from the picture in his glove box. Unprepared for the surprise meeting he decided to take advantage of their chance encounter with the hope he could speed things along and learn of any possible connection between her and Jarell.

    "Harper? Dr. Roslyn Harper?" he enquired, even though her resemblance to the picture was unmistakable.

    The woman's stiff demeanor loosened a bit as she suddenly studied Corbin with a slightly befuddled expression. "Yes, I'm Roslyn Harper. Do I know you?" 

    "Um, no, but I..."

    "Are you sure?" she interrupted, studying his face more closely by looking over the glasses resting at the end of her nose.

    "Yeah...I'm pretty sure," Corbin assured with an awkward smile.

    She kept studying him with a burrowing stare, as if she didn't hear or believe what he'd said. After a few uneasy seconds of enduring her intense stare Corbin tried to start over.

    "My name is..."

    "Corbin!" she stated almost excitedly, with a glow of interest overcoming her.

    Corbin took a cautious step back as he cocked his head at the unsettling smile that grew on Dr. Harper's face.

    "How...how do you know my name?" he questioned, with the urge to retreat pulling strongly against his puzzled curiosity. 

    She advanced toward him confidently with her head bowed slightly so that her green eyes were fixed upward, unobstructed by the glasses at the end of her nose. Corbin moved away from her with each step she took, keeping the purple-tinted eyes under his furrowed brow locked onto hers.

    "I know many things," she bragged as her eyes began to glow.

     Corbin was instantly transfixed by Dr. Harper's eyes as the emerald glow around them intensified until both her eyes were like bright neon orbs that had him caught in a trance he couldn't break. She backed him up against a wall and kept her glowing eyes trained on him until he soon became blank, even a little slack-jawed, like a zombie statue. 

    The glow surrounding her eyes ceased when she looked around as if to see if anyone was spying on the treasure she had just discovered. She looked back at Corbin's hypnotized state with a devilish smirk, then ordered him to follow her as she marched off. He fell in behind her, following her with a glazed expression void of any thought or will.

    She led him to her office where she ordered him to sit while she gathered a few things from her desk. "You're not the only one around here with Vandarmensen blood in your veins," she stated openly, explaining the nature of her power as she sifted through the contents of her desk. She was keenly aware that though Corbin's body was present, his essence was far removed, trapped deep within his being by the binding hold of her power.

    "Oh to think, the Master's prize! Falling right into my hands," she mused as she gathered her car keys from the top of her desk and shoved them in a pocket on her lab coat. Swinging around and stooping to face Corbin's blank stare she grinned widely. "I know very well who you are Corbin Allender, but do you know who you are?"

    Dr. Harper stood up proudly in front of Corbin, still grinning. "You're the key to all my work, to the Master's grand plan of world domination. He's told me all about you and I'm sure he will be  very pleased to find you residing compliantly at my private lab when he returns."

    Corbin's blank face never changed but a cruel scowl fell suddenly across Dr. Harper's. "Stand up!" she ordered gruffly.

    Corbin did as he was commanded. Dr. Harper's expression softened with a satisfied gleam as she stared at the highly prized possession before her that was now subject to her every whim. Looking up at Corbin's mindless face she cracked a luscious smile. "You know, in the photos given to me by the Master you looked quite handsome, but I must say that in person you're absolutely delicious. It's a pity that we have so much work to do."

    Dr. Harper grabbed her winter coat from a wall-mounted rack in a corner near the door then opened the door to check the corridor for anybody who might prove to be an obstacle in her way. She turned to Corbin with hardened features again. "Follow me," she ordered sternly.

    With the coat folded over her arms she led Corbin with hurried steps to the stairs near the elevator. Opening the door to the stairway she ordered him down the stairs then checked one last time for any unwitting observers before slipping through the door and catching up with him.