Esperimenti Segreti
Chapter 4: Secret Experiment
The dark laboratory was a sanctuary of sorts to Dr. Dolcio Cioccolata. The mad doctor preferred it more than anything in the world— not even his equally dark yet more spartan bedroom nearby could compare.
Life had been bizarre for the doctor. One day, he was a top performer at the local hospital and able to get away with torturing ignorant patients at his pleasure. The next day, he decided to do a good thing for once for a patient, and that led him to lose his medical license and job. After a horrible heart attack that he believed was due to the stress over losing his well-earned career, he found a new home as a member of The Special Unit alongside his beloved pet. Rumor has it that Father Diavolo feared Dr. Dolcio more than he would admit, so he allowed the wicked doctor to continue his malicious experiments and operations in exchange for his loyalty and medical knowledge. Whether it be organ harvesting or straight-up torture, Dr. Dolcio relished every moment of his new position within Passione. Everything he did was recorded meticulously in audio tapes, video tapes, and writing since the beginning of his career, but his recordings escalated once he became a mafioso. The doctor prided himself on, despite being messy with his operations and organization in his laboratory, his beautiful yet very clear penmanship.
He rarely had visitors come to his secret laboratory in Rome of all places. Many believed no one dared to walk out alive if they ever tried to visit Dr. Dolcio— invitation or not— and Dr. Dolcio’s own existence was believed to be a myth passed around by low-ranking lackeys; the rumors began swirling aggressively after The Incident. The few men and women that made it out alive, visiting often, were his personal lackeys who dare not to talk about their affiliation with him; Aglio was one of those people in particular. The other group of people who would visit the laboratory was The Special Unit.
When the group was first formed, they weren’t necessarily labeled as the Consiglieri but their positions were mostly described as personal bodyguards hand-chosen by Father Diavolo to perform specialized tasks and missions. No one knew how they were chosen or why, but it was acknowledged that they were the best of the best. Some were believed to be former lackeys of Passione in the early years that ultimately came into Father Diavolo’s good graces while others were recruited out of his pure interest in them. There was so much mystery regarding the group and questions about them often are silently speculated among the mafiosos: whether they have teams to oversee outside of the hierarchy, how much money they receive for their work, whether they have ever seen Father Diavolo’s face, etc. It was acknowledged that getting into such a lucrative and enigmatic group was impossible these days; the highest a lackey can become these days with bribery and other questionable methods is a Caporegime.
In terms of specialized missions, no one knew for sure what they were and what they entailed. Many safely assume the missions are assassinations of more risky targets that need to be kept under wraps at all costs while others speculate the missions may be specific to the members— whoever they may be. Dr. Dolcio’s missions in particular often involved secret experimentations that seem to come straight out of a science fiction novel. Torturing humans was simply part of the research of his work that gave him pleasure when needed.
“Vitals are stable,” he spoke softly into an aged tape recorder without noticing a few specks of dirt coating the surface every time his mouth opened. “Electrotherapy is aiding the specimen in ensuring the heartbeat will reach normal range within a week. The process to wake him up must be slow to avoid sudden cardiogenic shock. If he does wake up, we’ll have our very first successful human clone. Dio Mio , Secco! We are close to transforming humanity!”
He was staring at a large laboratory reservoir tank as he spoke his observations aloud while his human pet of sorts named Secco seemed to be ignoring him; the latter was off in the darkness reading a Herman Hesse novel while also watching the doctor intently. Compared to the doctor, Secco was almost invisible in the dark room and only limited light seemed to shine from the tank and machines hooked to it. Dr. Dolcio gently placed his hands on the glass to observe the face on the other side as he stared at the newly made human before him. He was initially careful to not leave any fingerprints while he did but his excitement ultimately took over as he cooed over his work in progress.
A naked tall man with long black hair floating freely in the oxygenated water remained unconscious and unaware of the machines hooked onto him or where he was; he probably didn’t know who he was at all. The only thing given about his identity, or at least the identity of the man he was cloned from, was four-letter initials scribbled in a notebook Dr. Dolcio had on a nearby desk and some notes about him: I.D.S.F., collected 1995 upon death, Team #23.
“I wonder what I should call you,” the doctor mused to himself. “What do you think, Secco? Should I call him by his original name? He needs to know where he came from. You will be into this world, Isidor—”
Light suddenly filled the room when the main door opened. Secco comically hissed and hid next to the desk where the notebook was strewn while Dr. Dolcio barely flinched in response; he knew who came to visit him just by the silhouette of the backlit body. Rarely do members of The Special Unit arrive at his secret laboratory unprompted, but a recently retired member visiting was another story. “Lucifer,” he decided to tease the visitor, “just as I expected. The Prince of Assassins that ever lived. I thought you were visiting the Maldives this week! What happened?”
“The more you spend time with that clone,” the mafioso named Lucifer Rigati quickly shuts the door for Secco’s sake, “the more your human pet here will grow jealous.”
Lucifer was a former member of The Special Unit who spent years as a deadly meticulous assassin for Passione; his unofficial title as a Prince was created by low-ranking mafiosos who help drive rumors of his deadly abilities and how he was specifically positioned to kill Stand Users that stepped even a toe over the line; the rumor also included speculation that he was supposedly the son of Father Diavolo despite being similar in age to Dr. Dolcio. Lucifer was rumored to be so good at his job that he was granted retirement from the syndicate with no strings attached and a cushy payout that continued to roll in to this day. While he still visits his old team on occasion, his life after work was mostly quiet out of respect and safety for The Special Unit. He was known for unexpectedly coming to visit his team members to simply spend time, but Dr. Dolcio felt there was something off about this particular visit. Secco felt the same, straightening his back and began pretending to read his recently discarded novel upside-down as he watched the conversation in silence. The doctor asked why the retired assassin was there when the former noticed the other man holding a large manilla folder under his arm. A label on it indicated it contained information from a mortuary in Naples.
“What are you doing back here,” he asked out of pure curiosity rather than suspicion. “What happened to traveling the world and enjoying senior citizen life?” The reference to Lucifer being an old man was an inside joke between them. It was unknown whether the assassin really saw eye to eye with Dr. Dolcio or had an easier time tolerating him compared to others. Both considered each other their best allies nonetheless. “I’ve decided to come out of retirement,” Lucifer handed the envelope to the doctor and motioned him to open it, ignoring Secco growling at him before the doctor reassured his pet that the assassin was harmless. Secco eventually cowered back and resumed pretend-reading.
“I miss the thrill of being in Passione,” Lucifer added, “you know? Killing Stand Users with my Stand「SHINEE 」can’t be replaced by visiting the Maldives for sure. Plus, Father Diavolo himself asked me to return to help out with some recent developments in La Famiglia .”
Secco inches closely to read the documents inside the envelope, pretending to sniff at the corners when Lucifer was watching. It didn’t take long for both men to discover the pages inside were part of an autopsy report. “Ogio Engio is dead,” Dr. Dolcio looked at the assassin to confirm. “Died of blunt force trauma on the head that seemed to resemble a fall from a high place of sorts,” Lucifer summarized. “His body was almost burned beyond recognition but it would be reported that he only fell and cracked his head. It’s a strong belief that someone killed the man and staged an act of arson at the international school he was found in. Students claimed the old man he was found with fought to protect them or something. None of the evidence is adding up, which is why Father Diavolo wants me to investigate it. Ogio Engio’s death might be connected to Leaky Eye Luka’s death as well but I’m not sure.”
“You’re not the type of person to do any sort of investigation— even when you used to work for Passione,” Dr. Dolcio skimmed through the reports to see the other minute details. “There has to be a bigger reason why the Father brought you back from retirement.”
“Ogio Engio just died today with the autopsy finished less than an hour ago,” Lucifer explained as he noticed Secco was no longer hunched down and acting like an animal, “and Polpo Ripieni is to face a similar fate any time now. No one is supposed to know about this death until the next morning and I don’t think his guards even knew what happened. Roma-Naples will be getting a new Caporegime and the region will also be plunged into civil war as soon as the news gets out.”
“Father Diavolo must want some crowd control once his death is announced,” Dr. Dolcio flipped through the pages as he speculated. More information about the burns being caused by sunlight and the chemical burns that were recorded to happen soon after made the cause of death more suspicious. “It will all be somewhat over as soon as someone pays the ten billion Lire payout as customary. Is that why you came back? To help avoid chaos?”
“I came back to create chaos,” Lucifer corrected him. “I did visit you to give you a head's up though. You’ll be getting an influx of bodies to work with as a result of upcoming events. I’ve put you on the top of my priority in terms of body disposal.”
Father Diavolo was one to not shy away from civil wars; it was an easy way to get rid of unnecessary Hitman Teams or prevent any union and alliance to overthrow him. While he emphasized the need for stability within the syndicate, the Don of Passione often indulged in making a mess within Passione to keep things interesting while also reminding his subordinates to stay in line. Usually, Lucifer or a member of The Special Unit would be brought in to jumpstart such events. It was only two years ago that Father Diavolo allowed an instance of that to happen; the Don of Passione was wise enough to ensure it was controlled nonetheless and often used the formerly retired assassin to oversee it. Dr. Dolcio chuckled upon hearing what Lucifer said about the bodies.
“What trouble have you caused this time,” the doctor’s interest was piqued. Secco gave out an exaggerated grunt to play his role.
“Ogio Engio may not be smart or want the best for his subordinates,” Lucifer explained, “but he wants his transition of power to be as smooth and peaceful as possible. His most updated will indicated that all the Roma-Naples teams will congregate and his rumored Favorite will be revealed by his head guards. Said Favorite is to become Caporegime without question. Ogio Engio wants no bloodshed or power struggles to tear his region apart. He and Father Diavolo have butt heads about this for years.”
Secco stared at the man as if he was listening to the whole thing more than the doctor was. When he noticed the assassin becoming suspicious, he simply exaggerated his animalistic behavior via grunts or hops. The machines around them continued to hum in the background, masking the noises that did come out of Secco’s act; even the bizarre behavior fooled the assassin into believing the human pet was as crazy as everyone claims. “There are rumors of who this supposed Favorite of Ogio Engio is and whether he would take over,” Lucifer added. “A Hitman Team mafioso from a not-so-reputable group… I think you know where this is going.”
“Are you suggesting my lackey Aglio Nero is the Favorite of that stupid, blind rat,” Dr. Dolcio’s eyebrows raised. “I explicitly told him he is not allowed to become any favorite lest he wants more than just a member of Team #47 to suffer as punishment for insubordination.”
“He’s not,” Lucifer reassured him. “But, someone on his team is; I don’t think Aglio even knows himself he has a Favorite among his subordinates. We don’t know who this man or woman is yet, but Father Diavolo doesn’t want any Hitman Team mafioso to take over Ogio Engio’s position— let alone anyone from Hitman Team #47— especially after the… thing that happened a couple of years ago.”
Dr. Dolcio hummed in agreement, relieved that Aglio didn’t betray him but slightly disappointed that he didn’t have another excuse to torture him as a result. “Who does Father Diavolo want to take Ogio Engio’s place,” he asked. “He can just easily make a decree to override Ogio Engio’s last will, so I don’t see why he’s going through the trouble of bringing you back to stop it. Unless he plans on getting rid of some Hitman Teams in addition to #47.”
Lucifer took in the scene before him while he was talking to Dr. Dolcio. The laboratory barely changed compared to the last time he was here aside from more stacks of paper and more filing cabinets filling up. There used to be multiple rows of human specimens in tanks but that had now reduced to one; the laboratory nonetheless was something even doctorate students of L’Università degli Studi di Milano would envy over. His eyes wandered to the single tank again as his memories swore he had seen the human before. As he analyzed its appearance, Lucifer swore he saw the specimen’s eyes flutter but speculated it was just water refracting to create the illusion. He resumed the conversation to answer the last part of Dr. Dolcio’s hypothesis.
“You know about The Rising 88,” Lucifer inquired. The manilla envelope revealed not just autopsy notes but information about the particular Hitman Team the assassin mentioned. “Hitman Team #88 led by two Team Leaders Greggio Zucchero and Fioeri Sale? They’re a recently-made yet well-favored group of Ogio Engio. Surprisingly, while they have been in his good graces, none of the members in it are favorites to him. You should see the way they treat their contemporaries simply because they think Ogio Engio liked them the most and the late Caporegime usually let them get away with it anyways. The mafiosos in The Rising 88 are those who are willing to do anything to be Caporegime.”
“Even murder their own Hitman peers,” Dr. Dolcio realized what Lucifer was going on about. “Given that they aren’t favorites, they probably are out of the running to be the next Caporegime and would lose the opportunity to kill for the position once the congregation happens. The guards may not look like it but they are the most prepared and publicly respected. No one dares to kill them.”
“Unless,” Lucifer took out his phone from his pocket and showed the last message indicating he just called the team before visiting Dr. Dolcio. “Someone anonymously told them that Ogio Engio was dead ahead of time and falsely gave them the all clear to do so. Don’t worry— Father Diavolo approved of the order after I told him what I did. If The Rising 88 lives, they will have to suffer the consequences of breaking a forbidden rule and their contemporaries will deal with their behaviors.”
“You are a wicked man,” the doctor playfully jabbed the assassin, who surprisingly had been speaking in a rather professional tone that contrasted Dr. Dolcio’s way of speaking. Out of everyone in Passione, Lucifer often reacted the least to the doctor’s antics. “What a risk taker,” Dr. Dolcio added. “Even I wouldn’t dare do things without his approval first! Oh, those mafiosos are going to have their reputations tainted if they fail to become the next Caporegime. So much bloodshed will entail that might compromise you! How are you like this?”
“I believe a good life requires taking risks,” the assassin shrugged. “It keeps me young and makes my life more exciting. It’s part of why I came back to Passione from retirement in the first place. You should try it sometime.”
“I wish to feel young again,” Dr. Dolcio felt fatigued all of the sudden and went to find the closest chair to sit on. “If I hadn’t gotten that heart attack years ago, I would have been water-skiing in Bora Bora with you last month. My pet here doesn’t recommend that I submerge myself in water for some reason but I listen to him nonetheless. He is the only thing that actually cares for me.” Secco, ever so helpful, rushed to help the doctor sit down and seemed to stuff something brown in his mouth as he comforted the latter. The way the two of them seemed to hold and comfort seemed like a bizarre relationship; Lucifer himself had to get used to seeing how they acted. The limited lighting made it hard for the assassin to see exactly what that brown item was and he speculated it was some sort of chocolate-flavored medicine. The smell of dirt briefly hit his nose but he ignored it out of the belief that the dark laboratory was just messing with his mind.
“There’s a reason why I mostly throw myself into researching and experimenting these days instead of literal labor,” Dr. Dolcio eventually told Secco to lay off his affection after reassuring the latter he was fine. “The closest and safest thing I can get to feeling the same rush that you feel with skydiving is medical breakthroughs and torture.” The doctor remained seated in the chair as he pulled out various documentation from the desk nearby. Secco made his back hunched again and stared intensely at Lucifer until the other man noticed and tried to look away. “I assume Father Diavolo brought you back to bring fear into the Hitman Teams once more,” Dr. Dolcio guessed, “and ensure that war doesn’t escalate further than necessary as well, no?”
Lucifer nodded. “That,” he confirmed, “and he mentioned you need some help regarding a project. Something about you having a test subject within Passione to watch out for. I have no idea what that project entails though— do tell.”
“I’m so glad you asked,” it was the most secretive project he had been working on that everyone else in The Special Unit is the least interested in. Then again, only he and Father Diavolo knew about the specifics of the project so far. “It has to do with my Stand「Hybrid Theory 」and La Spezia! I recently discovered a second ability a few years ago and solved a long-time problem of Passione regarding the drug trade. Let me show you.”
「Hybrid Theory 」had many abilities, such as infecting living bodies and acting similar to Cioccolata’s Stand「Green Day」, and initially seemed to be no different from its predecessor. However, it had a secondary ability that Dr. Dolcio recently found and Father Diavolo wanted to take advantage of: Stand ability transferring.
“Taking the blood of a Stand User, transforming it with my Stand, and injecting the product into another would allow the other to receive the former’s Stand abilities for a while,” Dr. Dolcio took out a secured suitcase and opened it for Lucifer to see. The suitcase itself was carefully packed and consisted of six vials that seem to resemble a more translucent version of blood that resembled watered-down wine more than bodily fluid. The doctor mentioned it could either be taken orally or intravenously and that the latter is much more potent. “So,” he clarified, “if I were to take my blood and give it to you, you could temporarily have「Hybrid Theory 」’s infecting abilities. You can infect others for a short time. If you keep injecting the fluids consistently for a time, you can perform the same abilities on your own without further injections or a new Stand. Your own stand will adapt to your new abilities. This working flawlessly is just a theory, though. The reality of constantly taking doses is much grimmer based on my current results from research and experimentation.”
Secco proceeded to hand Lucifer some paperwork from a nearby filing cabinet, tossing them unceremoniously at the latter and not caring about whether it fell onto the ground or not. Upon inspecting the documentation, the assassin realized they were autopsy reports from many deceased members of Passione and former trafficked victims killed upon using their usefulness in the industry they were forced into that claimed to be killed by the minor flu epidemic that happened three years ago. “The flu situation back then was a coverup,” Dr. Dolcio explained. “I haven’t figured out a pattern to minimize the effects, but the reaction to the dosages is similar to how bodies would reject foreign biological material like transplanted organs or pollen. If the body does get a consistent dose of the items over time, the rejection rate would be greatly reduced and eventually nonexistent. That is only if the rejection isn’t hard enough to warrant more tries. Some Stands injected end up disappearing, remaining undetected and the rest subjects are unable to gain the Stands any more. The ones who died... Every single one has died within two doses— except for one. That one test subject is who I want you to watch for me.”
“What’s so important about keeping this research going,” Lucifer wondered. “With all due respect, the results don’t seem promising. Why have mafiosos secretly killed by illness when they could have died in battle for Passione?”
“You remember Signore Sherpa Vignelli,” Dr. Dolcio mentioned, “Team Leader of The Narcotics Team? You know how La Spezia is made, no?”
“His Stand allows him to make the drug out of sea salt and revert back after a period of time if it isn’t used by then,” Secco watched the assassin put the pieces together. “Wait… he’s the only person who can make the drug Passione needs.”
“Until now,” Dr. Dolcio pulled a folded piece of paper from the suitcase filled with the vials. He handed Lucifer the paper, which contained handwritten notes and a printed photo that was recently taken and developed. The doctor waited for the photo to be revealed before continuing.“Meet his replacement and the test subject I need you to watch.”
Upon unfolding the paper, Lucifer found further instructions from Father Diavolo about the test subject and a photo of a young woman who seemed to be unaware that her photo was taken. He didn’t know or recognize who she was but saw in the image that she was in a heated argument with a white-haired police officer for some car issues; Lucifer speculated she was pulled over for a traffic violation and the officer was trying to coerce her into bribery. He mused at how there was a blond-haired man trying to hold her back during the altercation and assumed they were some sort of acquaintances to each other rather than strangers getting into the action. Her agitated face was slightly obscured by a hood attached to her outfit but some wispy bangs managed to peak out from under. He didn’t know whether it was her actual hair color or the low quality of the photo making the bangs appear blue.
“Father Diavolo wants me to keep an eye on her,” he wondered aloud.
“She’s a member of Hitman Team #47,” Dr. Dolcio fished some sugar cubes from his pocket and threw them at Secco, who grabbed them midair ravenously. “Given that she’s Aglio Nero’s second-in-command, it would be a risk for me to personally observe her. I’ve been secretly injecting her with the fluid for the past two years under the guise that they were flu shots or when she needed to get intravenous work done at doctor offices office I secretly oversee. I wonder why she survived so long— either because of her Stand abilities, her human biology, something triggered her to take it without issue, or she was just destined to endure it the best— who knows? I also don’t know if she has noticed this new ability. You need to report your observations back to me and ensure she remains alive long enough to determine the experiment’s success.”
Lucifer tried to ignore the gross munching sounds Secco was making from chewing the sugar cubes for the past several minutes. He tried to pay more attention to Dr. Dolcio’s ramblings about his test subject. “What do you mean by success,” the assassin inquired.
“Father Diavolo had many concessions to keep Sherpa’s loyalty over the years,” Dr. Dolcio elaborated, “but, who knows when the mafioso will die or decide to take his loyalty elsewhere? To rely on the entire drug trade on one man is unsustainable, to say the least. With my Stand extraction abilities, Father Diavolo initially wanted to find a way to make a farm of sorts to harvest or special drugs.”
“He wants to turn humans into drug-making livestock,” Lucifer asked to clarify, able to quickly put the pieces together. “Is that related to your current specimen here? The one in the tank right now?”
“He’s just a clone for something else untelated,” the doctor mentioned the man in the tank was a different project unrelated to what he just explained. “T
Anyways, the plan Father Diavolo had with Sherpa’s blood is to continue La Spezia production more sustainably using my Stand’s ability. We find the most compatible humans to keep making the drug, preferably without issue, and we can eventually use their blood to put into other compatible humans that can help maintain or increase production when necessary. Sherpa doesn’t even know his routine bloodwork is actually providing us with plenty of samples to research this. The goal is to no longer rely on him completely for the drug production. You can consider it a sort of infinite glitch.” Secco nodded rapidly as if to show excitement about the process. He was playing too much into the act, but Lucifer didn’t care to notice.
“We do have a hiccup,” Dr. Dolcio continued. “Many of our test subjects so far had died because of the incompatibility. The ideal candidate should be a strong Stand User who can withstand increasing dosage of「Hybrid Theory 」 extractions over time before they can make the drug on their own without further doses. My hypothesis so far is that most of the test subjects end up unknowingly losing control of the abilities unknowingly via converting the salt in their bodies into La Spezia. They end up overdosing without warning, which explains their reports showing high levels of sodium. Only one subject succeeded and is walking alive to this day— and that is the woman in the photos. She doesn’t even know she had been given dosages of Sherpa’s blood for the past several months, but one of my lackeys claimed she successfully made the drug for the first time after taking a rather rough fall earlier today. I heard she jumped off a building for some reason and it resulted in her new powers appearing.”
“You want me to look after her to see if that report is true,” Lucifer asked to confirm that this was the person of interest he had to watch for; the doctor nodded to confirm. “Who is she?”
“Azzura Diamante,” Dr. Dolcio closed the suitcase to put it away. “Bring her to me alive if the situation calls for it. She is the last hope for Passione’s survival.”
Translations:
Dio mio: my God.
La Familgia: The family. In the English dub of Vento Aureo, characters often refer to Passione as "La Familgia" and the phrase can be used to refer to a mafia clan or mafia family. In Passione's case, it is used in reference to the syndicate as a whole.
L'Università degli Studi di Milano: The University of Milan known for being the largest in Italy. Sometimes, it is referred to as UniMi or La Statale. While a real institution, consider this as a fictionalized version for the sake of the story.
La Spezia: The spice. It is the nickname used to refer to Passione's infamous drug.
Signore: a title or form of address used of or to an Italian-speaking man, corresponding to Mr. or sir.
Name Meanings:
- Secco
- Secco: Italian word for "dry". It is part of the word "Proscecco", an often sweet and sparking Italian white wine. In reference to Secco.
- Lucifer Rigati
- Lucifer: Latin name for "the morning star, lightbringer". Often associated as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. In reference to the SHINee song "Lucifer" .
- Ragati: Italian word for "ridged". It is known as Rigatoni, a type of cylinder-shaped pasta with ridges. In reference to the mafioso Rigatoni from Golden Heart, Golden Ring.
- Greggio Zucchero
- Greggio Zucchero: Italian word for "raw".
- Zucchero: Italian word for "sugar". In reference to Mario Zucchero.
- Fioredi Sale
- Fioredi Sale: A play on the Italian translation for "Fleur de sel", a type of salt known for flower-like patterns and used a finish for dishes.
- Azzura Diamante
- Azzura: Italian word for "sky blue"
- Diamante: Italian word for "diamond". In reference to the rock musician Diamante, who is known as Diamante Azzura Bovelli.