The Quest
Copyright© 2026 by A Well Traveled Man
Chapter 4
Chad got a call from Judge Robert Flagg wanting to see him two days after Mr. Myers’ death. When he arrived, Judge Flagg explained that his trust attorney had died and that he had been assigned the case. Let’s go over expenses first. Tuition is quite high. Is there a reason? Chad said he’s on a scholarship, and it costs nothing. The only thing he receives is $ 4,000 a month in expenses. Judge Flagg looked ill and said the money had been spent on your education. When are you going to graduate? Chad said the end of the semester. He says that explains it. Mr. Myers was milking the trust, and when you graduate, all funds and expenses are listed.
The judge said, ok, what degree are you going to have? Chad said dual master’s in computers and science, sir. If I may say, he was acting weird one day, we were at the courthouse for the trial of the FBI agents who bugged my apartment without a warrant. We were sitting in the back, and he saw someone, pulled me out of the courtroom, and left. The cases heard that day were the agents and people vs. DeMarco, sir. That explains his jump or push. DeMarco was or is an enforcer for the mob. Your money is safe, and his insurance will reimburse the trust. Judge Flagg said, “So your only expenses are living expenses,” and Chad said, “Yes.” He gave me his card to call if anything came up, then left.
Something felt wrong, so Chad headed to the restroom and waited behind the door. A few seconds later, a big guy walks in, and Chad knocks him out, drags him to a stall, and pulls his pants down like he’s taking a dump. Then he exited the courthouse out the side door, scanned the parking lot, and saw a large SUV with heavily tinted rear windows and a big guy behind the wheel. Chad waited, and ten minutes later the big guy got out and went into the courthouse. He entered the rear door of the SUV, struck the man in his chest as hard as he could, took his wallet and keys, then walked away. Chad rode his electric bike back to his dorm, went to the cafeteria for dinner, and then home to relax before bed. He was lying on his bed, thinking about what kind of trouble would happen next.
It was time for another dose of the serum. Chad rode to his storage, injected himself, put in his diary October 11th dose, measured his height, and he grew an inch to 6’2” and stayed at 205lbs. Again, most of the changes are still internal. My cognitive skills, reflexes, and heightened senses continue to improve. The mild headaches in the front of my head have stopped, and I can read some people’s thoughts in my immediate area. It threw me when my professor was writing a problem on the whiteboard, and the image of a topless blond girl by a pool popped into my mind. Things like that started slowly, then increased, and soon Chad realized he was reading other people’s thoughts. If he tried to read someone’s thoughts, his headaches would start again. His appearance has remained the same. Chad should shave every day, but he likes to let go a day or two, and those are things he can identify right now.
The Judge straightened out the trust, and it is running smoothly. He hasn’t had any problems with anyone, and Chad likes it that way. Sensi is on his experience kick again, and we are going camping for Thanksgiving break. Sensi hired some help so he could get free more often. Chad thinks Sensi feels he’s missed having a father figure in my life, so he’s the big brother taking his place. He hopes it isn’t freezing where we go. He’s coding again for the professor on his new project, which he assigns in pieces, so no one knows what the other person is doing. It’s top secret and all that.
Chad had been saving the used syringes and now has enough to analyze the serum. The further he gets in the treatment cycle, the more he feels Uncle Charley didn’t know what changes would or could happen. Chad knew he had started treatments because the natural growth cycle was supercharged, and, as Uncle Charley witnessed, it had no value for adults at its current configuration. Chad wanted to duplicate the formula and add another year or two of treatments. So, he went to the chemistry lab after hours and analyzed the serum. All the ingredients were in the stock room, but it was locked. Chad picked the lock and made enough serum for twelve more doses. Then he cleaned the lab, put the new serum in his storage room, and returned to his dorm room.
The closer we get to the break, the more Sensi has upped his game. We have been going to the archery range, and now he has a compound bow and arrows with interchangeable heads. The more he thinks about this trip, the more it becomes a hunting trip on which we camp. The real kicker was the hunter’s safety course, which he had to attend over two weekends. We prepared our packs two weeks ahead, with Sensi explaining what was needed and why. Then Chad had to unpack and repack numerous times. Sensi stressed knowing where everything is quickly and always packing it back the same way.
We were traveling up in the mountains in my truck because his car wasn’t suited for this trip. We have hunter’s camo, everything, including underwear. Chad asked why if we were wearing all that outerwear. Sensi just laughed and said We get socks too. When the time comes, Sensi tells Chad to turn onto the dirt road, and he asks Where? Sensi points, and with all the brush, it doesn’t look like a road. They turn to go a short distance, and then he says to stop. Sensi jumps out, goes through the brush, unlocks, pulls a heavy chain to the side, waves him past, and relocks it.
We continue up a pothole, rock-infested trail until we hit a clearing, turn into the trees, and park. We spent an hour or so cleaning the area to set up the tent and build the fire pit. Let’s not forget the latrine. Oh, the fun of camping and balancing over a hole, half asleep, but we’re here for new experiences, and this is new. Our camp is set up, the firewood hunt is on, cut it to the right size and stack, and we have dinner outdoors and then sleep. We wake up early, grab our gear, and head out on a trail through the trees. He seems to know until we stop, and he points up. It looks like a small treehouse, with nothing but a floor. We set down our packs and walked a short distance to take a leak, and he explained that our scent would keep the game away, so never use the bathroom by your hunting spot.
Tying a rope to our packs and climbing the tree on unsafe wooden planks, we reach our perch, pull our packs up, and settle. And we wait and watch, ready with our bows and arrows to shoot at a moment’s notice. Sensi points to an area, and Chad sees four deer. Sensi points to the last one for me to shoot. My shot was on target, and it dropped. The rest take off, and we reverse our course, put on our packs, and pull the deer from the hunting area. Sensi shows him how to dress the deer. I’ll never know why they call it that when we’re gutting it, but it was quite an experience. We bury the refuse, take the rest to camp, and butcher it for our main food source this week. Sensi showed me how to tan the hide for later use. Chad would never have thought his urine could be used for something. We cooked dinner, buried the scraps to keep predators away, and slept.
After exercise and forms, we eat breakfast and set off on foot. Sensi teaches me to walk silently through the woods. Then, how to stay downwind of your target and track it, Chad said, was a new experience. Getting away from everything electronic takes a while to adjust, but it is relaxing, and by the end of the week, all he wanted was a hot shower. And that was the first thing he did, getting home after dropping off Sensi. The next was bug-sweeping the apartment and then checking his cameras. Everything comes back fine, but he still checks weekly to be on the safe side.
Chad met with his advisor, and she pointed out the benefits of a doctorate. While he agreed, he would have to ask himself whether the extra time would benefit his research. He was interested in two classes being discontinued after the next semester, so Chad was thinking hard about one more semester.
It was time for another dose of the serum. Chad rode to his storage room, injected himself, put in his diary December 12th dose, and measured his height. He gained an inch at 6’3” and stayed at 205 lbs. Again, most of the changes are still internal. His cognitive skills, reflexes, and heightened senses continue to improve, enabling him to recognize who is approaching him from behind by smell, sound, and vocal cues. It’s gotten to a point where if he doesn’t recognize the person, he’s on alert. Chad can read people’s thoughts immediately if he concentrates on them. The headaches are gone, hopefully forever, and his advisor convinced Chad he could get a doctorate in both fields with his extra credits and one more semester like this one.
He decided to give it a shot with the two classes he wanted to take, so why not go for them? The one thing that concerns him is the attention he is getting from women now. It seems he attracts them to the point that Chad started avoiding crowded areas like the cafeteria or canteen at busy times. He researched his problem and came up with pheromones, and it looks like he was secreting or releasing them, affecting females differently. Some are friendly, while others are downright aggressive toward mating. He was at the mall, getting clothes and new workout gear, when a good-looking young woman pulled him into a changing room. Luckily, a saleslady saw them and expelled the aggressive women from the store.
Chad became suspicious when certain girls ignored him for a time, and then they were back in the attention group. He came up with it regarding their menstrual cycle and when they were most fertile. Thank God he didn’t affect all females, but he also noticed that after masturbating in the morning, he didn’t attract much attention until mid-morning. So, it had to do with my sperm buildup, too, as well as sweat. The finals are here, and Sensi has more plans for him. At least he doesn’t have to move out this time. Chad’s classes are reserved for next semester, and his finals are over.
Sensi and Chad fly to New Mexico, where they meet a friend, and Chad is introduced to Tony Jeffers. Sensi returned to the airport terminal, leaving him with Tony, thinking it was hilarious. On the ride to camp, Tony said Your Sensi and I worked together on the teams during the Gulf War. Sensi was the hand-to-hand expert, and he was the survival expert. We had experts in all fields, like explosives, snipers, and integrators. If you needed something done, we had an expert. Like anything else, someone decided to fuckup a good thing, divided us up, and it went to shit. Sensi and I were the lucky ones to survive the breakup. The next two weeks were the most intense training Chad had ever experienced. In the end, Tony said you’re ready. He advised practicing every other month to keep your skills sharp and wished Chad good luck as he left me at the airport.
Chad was flying to Arizona next for driver’s training. Well, that is a general term. It was an intensive defensive driving course. We learned how to avoid accidents through lane preference and situational awareness. We learned how to make the car change direction at highway speed to lose a tail or avoid a roadblock. They instructed us that if all else failed, to use the car as a weapon to escape. What parts of the car are the hardest to damage or render undrivable? On the flight home, his head spun with the information he had gathered over the past four weeks. Chad took a taxi to the university, went to his dorm room, and crashed.
Early the next morning, Chad exercised, did his forms, ran, returned, showered, and went to the canteen for breakfast. Returning, he swept the apartment for bugs and found two. One was under his desk, and the other was under the kitchen table. So, he watched the video while he was gone and saw who had placed the bugs, but he needed to know why. He was a professor in the science department, so why would he do this? The reason was clear when Chad was notified of his doctoral advisor assigned to him.
Chad asked his professor what he could do, and he said he would request an independent review. They could still refuse your findings, but it would be academic suicide for the university. Your other option is to withdraw and pursue your doctorate elsewhere. Chad asked whether he knew anything about Professor Bloom. The professor said you didn’t hear it from me, but he has political connections that keep him in his job. His wife is our congresswoman, so he gets what he wants. Chad thanked him for his time, and then he left and visited his scheduling genius about my problem. She said he could still screw me by getting me dropped from those classes, so he thanked her, left, went to the dean’s office, asked to see him, and was shown right in and sat down.
Chad said, Dean, it is with a heavy heart that I am withdrawing from the doctoral program and will enroll elsewhere next semester. He asked why, and Chad said Academic fraud, sir. I’ve been assigned a professor who doesn’t have a doctorate. He is holding on to his job because of political connections. Reviewing my work insults the university as a whole and me. What happened would forever stain my degree, if and when it came out. Think of your high school senior reviewing your master’s thesis. The man, who just passed his master’s and couldn’t qualify for doctoral studies, is reviewing my work. Or how about how he bugged my apartment to get information on my project? Keep the rats fed, right? View this, and Chad slid a USB stick to him. He looked sick as he viewed it. He asked whether they were still in place, and when Chad said yes, he made a phone call.
The state police crime lab van showed up, dusted for prints, removed the bugs, and left. The state police arrested Professor Bloom at his girlfriend’s apartment in his bathrobe for his perp walk to the police car, and the press ate it up. The congresswoman’s spokesperson said that Professor Bloom and Congresswoman Bloom have been separated for some time and are now in the process of divorcing. She is appalled at her former husband’s actions and hopes justice will prevail. Rats are leaving a sinking ship. The problem with rats is that they leave a shit trail. The press found out she visited home last weekend, and they attended a fundraiser together. She lost her seat in the next election. The professor got five years and didn’t do well in prison. They found him hanging in his cell after he was sentenced.