Chapter Text
There are few things which could be named more burdensome than the paper Gabriel John Utterson currently held. The soles of his shoes soaked through from the remaining puddles of water from last week's downpour as he briskly walked through city streets to the supposed address of Dr. Nathan Wallace. It was not a long walk, but with the troublesome nature of his visitation, his every step felt as though it took hours.
“KEEP ORGAN REPOSESSIONS LEGAL.” A GeneCo advertisement plastered against a buildingfront echoed to him. The phrase had become something one could not move twelve feet in any direction without seeing some variation of on yet another advert. The faces of the Largo family and their poster children, namely, Blind Mag stared down at every passerby from ample advertisements.
Dr. Wallace was not a man of whom Utterson had found himself familiar with, however the unacquainted duo had connection through the form of Utterson’s client and old friend, Dr. Jekyll. Henry, as Utterson tended to call him, was closer with none other than Nathan Wallace. And thus, when presented with a conundrum such as Utterson’s, there was no one more logical to question than Wallace himself. The closeness of Henry and Nathan was something Utterson had always found rather curious. He wasn’t certain of the details of their meeting, although he knew they both were employed at GeneCo. He knew of the fondness with which Henry spoke of his friend, however he had never yet been presented with opportunity to engage with the elusive Dr. Wallace. Utterson had always somewhat wished to meet the man one day, with how Henry had spoken of him, he presumed Nathan to be a man of great character. Unfortunately, with the current circumstances behind Utterson’s predicament, he doubted the meeting would be one of cheerfulness and pleasantries.
The house was largely impressive, a towering thing overlooking the city, near one of many gravesites. Rather unhesitantly, Gabriel lifted his hand upon the wood of the door before him, knocking a curt three times. There was some quick movement inside, and after a minute or so, the door cracked open, only slightly ajar.
“Who are you? I don’t take visitors.” The man who Utterson could only presume was Dr. Wallace was scowling at him. His unpleasantry soured Utterson’s already-vexed demeanor.
“My name is Gabriel Utterson, I am a friend and attorney of Dr. Henry Jekyll. He speaks fondly of you and there are matters concerning him which have me worried. Henry… Henry isn’t opening up nor answering my questions. I understand the two of you are closer than I am with him, and thus I wanted to consult you.” Nathen’s scowl dropped into something mimicking Utterson’s own face of concern.
“Henry?” Nathan stared dumbly for a moment before correcting himself, “We can speak outside.” He slipped himself out of the door, never allowing it to open more than necessary. He led Utterson fairly far in the yard, away from a window on the highest floor where a small figure peered down.
“My client, Dr. Jekyll, recently submitted to me his revised will, however there is a strangeness to the contents. I’m technically not allowed to be sharing this, but I fear his safety may depend upon it.” Utterson opened the document he had so tightly been holding, “I won’t bore you with the formalities of everything in the will, however I must tell you, he has put a Mr. Edward Hyde as his sole beneficiary.” Dr. Wallace looked as perplexed as Utterson felt.
“Edward Hyde…?” He repeated the name aloud as if trying to conjure an image of the man.
Utterson ignored Nathan’s confusion and continued, “Most concerningly, Henry included a clause stating:” He paused briefly to read directly from the will, “in the case of Henry’s ‘disappearance or unexplained absence for any period exceeding three calendar months,’ the said Hyde should step into Jekyll’s shoes ‘without further delay and free from any burden or obligation, beyond the payment of a few small sums to the members of the doctor’s household.’”
Nathan stared at Utterson, “Is this a joke? If he disappears?”
“He was entirely serious about the will. He tried to urge me not to question it, but I cannot look away from something like this. Henry and I admittedly aren’t as close as we had been as boys, but I do keep in occasional touch with him. However in all my decades of being his friend, I have heard nothing of anyone by the name of Hyde. I had thought I knew of all his predominant friends, even if I myself had not met them, but again, never in my 43 years of life have I heard of Hyde.”
“I do not know Edward Hyde either. This is unlike him! Of course, I know he doesn’t have a family of his own, but this is outrageous!” Nathan ran a hand against his face at the absurdity of the situation. “Do you think Hyde has made him do this? Do you think he is in danger?”
“I don’t know." Utterson had begun to pace and twiddle his hands together, a nervous habit he had acquired in late boyhood, “I came here hoping you’d give me the good news of explaining Hyde to be some nephew or godson, something reasonable in this situation. You are closer to Jekyll than I, perhaps he will open up more to you if you question him. He seemed to be of sound mind, but perhaps there are outside pressures. He does work at GeneCo…”
“He doesn’t have any family who he would be giving everything to. No nephews or anything of the sort, and his only godchild to my knowledge is my daughter. I’ll try to get him to speak to me, but he’s been withdrawing lately.” Nathan paused, darting his eyes from Utterson to the will and back. “ I’m scared for him, Utterson,” he at last admitted.
“I know, I’m scared too. But if I can prove this will was maliciously influenced, perhaps we can help our friend.” The two anxiously stood. Utterson remained pacing against the wet grass, while Nathan shifted his weight between feet.
“I will try to speak to Jekyll, however I think it is best you leave. I must check on my daughter. I will let you know what Jekyll says to me, I do hope there is a reasonable explanation for all this.”
“I’ll be on my way then. I hope to hear from you soon, optimistically, with good news.” With that, the fretful lawyer turned upon his heel to leave the way he had come. Nathan watched him momentarily before heading back inside. Upon reentering his home, Nathan securely shut the door and ran a hand shakily through his hair. Anxiety was something Nathan had grown used to, particularly since the death of his wife, Marni. However this was never something he’d considered possible. Henry, his dear, longtime friend, Henry, submitting a will of such absurdity at such a young age? The implications were at the very least terrifying. He cursed himself, briefly, he should have known something was deeply wrong when Henry became so isolated. Since the death of Marni, the thought of losing another so dear to him haunted his every decision. He did everything he could to keep Shilo close and protected, but he had yet to consider perhaps one of his only remaining friends. The fear sickened him; who was this Hyde? What had he done to Henry, and more importantly, what was it that he planned to do? Nathan climbed the stairs to the upper level of his home to check upon his daughter.
He knocked twice before entering the girl’s room,
“Shilo, are you alright? How are you feeling?” He questioned the girl. Shilo was nearing twelve, and she currently found herself sitting against her window which overlooked the city.
“I’m fine, dad.” She declared, rather irritated by his consistent checking.
“I’m going out for a moment, but I’ll be back by time to give you your medicine, so I won’t be gone too long. Remember to keep that window shut, okay?” He kissed her forehead gently and turned towards the door again.
“Yeah, sure, dad, whatever.”
“And lose the attitude, please.” He sternly said as he left the isolated room.