As obvious it might have been, rumours were rampant on Girunne. And that was especially true on Vernist, the biggest city on the entire planet. If one was to look into the right direction, at the right time, he would soon discover how easy it was to pick up information about a vast array of topics. Of course, most of them were utterly nonsense, born out the twisted word of mouth that were whispered in in the safety and secrecy of the millions of homes that were scattered all around the planet. But if the right person were to hear them, he would be able to discern that some truth was buried in there, hidden in plain sight.

Vindril didn’t have that skill. While he was certainly smart (that fact he had managed to survive against all odds was testament enough of that.) and didn’t lack in any field related to problem solving, he had never had the chance, or the will if he had to be completely honest about it, to navigate the smoky and maddening complex reality of what was whispered by some strangers. He had always found that just an enormous waste of time. But now, seeing how he desperately needed to find a possible clue about the lab’s location, if there was even one to begin with, he sort of regretted it.

He tried, striving as hard as he could, to perceive even one small word amidst the millions that were currently spoken, shouted, whispered amidst the flood of people who were all around him, passing him by without even glancing at him. Nothing. The total mess his ears were picking on didn’t even resemble anything coherent; it was like a tornado of words, letters, phrases; free, violent and magnificently chaotic in its endless swirl. And he was figuratively in the middle of it; calm, yes, but with no hope of catching anything. He frowned, placing his right hand over his temple. The slight headache that was hovering around his mind was the only damned things he managed to pick up. Damn it all…

Suddenly, Sully appeared behind. Even Vindril wasn’t looking towards his direction, he just perceived his presence. To him, and to his senses, that halwerian just had a presence around him that was unmistakable.

“Hey.” said Sully. A smirk, that was soon replaced with a worried expression, was plastered on his face. “I managed to pick up some reaaaly good things here. There were a lot drinks I’ve never been able to get my hands on before. Oh, just thinking about the possibilities is mak- Are you alright? You don’t look that good…”

“…Yeah.” Vindril answered. “I was just trying to…well, it doesn’t matter. I just got myself a headache. Just what I fucking needed.”

“Ugh. Those are a pain to deal with. I still remember the one I had last year. My head was pulsing so much I was on the verge of throwing up.”

Vindril nodded. He too had experienced something closely tied to that. “I feel you.”

“Yeah. Anyway, have you seen Luzir? I tried looking for him on my way here but I didn’t find any traces of him.”

“No. I have not.” he answered. A small laugh soon followed. Apparently Luzir had some real talents in disappearing. Considering he certainly didn’t have a figure that went unnoticed, that spoke volumes about him.

Sully looked confused. “What? What’s so funny?”

Vindril released the hand he kept on his head, stopping the massage he had been giving himself in the last minute or so. He also shoved it, quickly dismissing the question. “It’s nothing. Moreover, I guess you’ll be happy to know that I’ve secured provisions. B-”

“That’s good. That’s good indeed…captain.”

Judging by the full toothed smirk Sully had on his face, he found calling Vindril like that very entertaining, for whatever reason. There was no ill feeling behind it; Vindril knew that. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit irritated.

“You having fun, huh?”

“Yeah. Very much. I mean, it’s just so easy to irk you. I just cannot help myself.”

Vindril grumbled. With the headache that was plaguing him the more time passed, the last thing he needed was to add another bother to the plate. And Sully, even though he was small in stature, could be a titanic pain in the ass.

“…I swear, one of these days I’m going to kick your ass. Just you wait…”

“Ah! Keep on dreaming. You won’t even come close to that.”

Damned little fucker…

Vindril took a calming breath, relaxing all the muscles of his body and closing his eyelids. His hands stretched out his fingers, only to close them tight into fists; before carrying on, he repeated that small but relaxing gesture a couple of times. Ahhhh. That was better…

Seemingly out of nowhere, Sully laughed. It wasn’t exactly the devilish laugh he sometimes did almost certainly when he was pleased by something, or the visceral and sharp ones he let out on rare occasion. No. This one was short and dry, like something unexpected had happened. Vindril furrowed his brows. Then, intrigued, he turned around. The giant man he immediately spotted answered part of the question; the unconscious person he was carrying on his shoulders like a sack of potatoes did the rest. What the…

“…Care to tell us why exactly are you carrying around a man on your shoulders?” asked Vindril. Sully too looked interested in the answer, even if he was certainly more amused then intrigued.

Luzir walked the short distance that separated him from them, ignoring the obvious stares that were coming from the people all around him. Some were afraid, while the other were mildly intrigued; whatever it was due to the giant man’s size, or because of what he was so nonchalantly carrying around, Vindril had no clue. It was a fact however, that the giant didn’t seem to care about any of that. It was like, no matter how crazy that thought was, he was the only one in that whole filled to the brim plaza. Not necessary a bad trait to have, he guessed.

A few seconds later Luzir reached them, stopping right in front of Vindril. He looked at him with his right eyebrow turned up, as if questioning his motives. Vindril had always maintained a good relationship, if the couple of times he had spoken with him could be counted as such, with the nulnarian. He was under the belief that, while he was a man of a few words, he was a pretty calm and collected person; the type that knew how fight, but wasn’t the one starting it, to be perfectly clear. If that was the case, and Luzir was indeed like that, what could have caused…all of that? Truly, Vindril couldn’t come up with even a hypothesis. It seemed that only the man in question held the answers.

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“…Answers.” he said as a matter of fact.

“…Answers?” repeated Vindril. “And how on hell are you supposed to ask them if you’ve knocked him out?”

“I’ve already got them.”

Now Vindril was even more confused. “…Then why take him here then? What the fuck is going on?”

“…You need to hear what this man has to say. It’s imperative.”

“Why? C’mon. We got problems that needs solving here! We cannot loose time here bec-”

“It is exactly for that reason that I’ve taken him with me.” he said, scanning the horizon. His eyes, which were a shade of green that resembled those gems that were mined near the Outer Rim, usually sold at a high price on the Starnet, or the local market stalls, looked over the mass of people like he was searching for something. Whatever were his intentions, Vindril had no clue. But he could clearly see that the giant man was determined in accomplishing what he wanted.

A faint groan, so feeble that it was barely perceptible even to them, who were right next to him, came from the unconscious man, making Luzir look at him; in all honesty he even looked a little bit annoyed; but maybe Vindril had just imagined it.

“Now come. He’s almost waking up. I don’t him to make a scene here. Too many people to take care of…..even for a man like me.”

“…Wai-Where the hell-”

Luzir completely ignored him, setting out in the crowd, who obviously made way. The size of his race, it seemed, was pretty intimidating no matter where he went. That, or the fact that he was carrying around a grown man on his shoulders like it was nothing. Either seemed plausible to Vindril.

Vindril sighed. He had to follow him, didn’t he? He had no other choice at that point. A sentiment, perhaps a bit strangely, that was shared by Sully.

Ahhhh, never a dull moment…

//////

At the risk of sounding a little bit naïve, Vindril would have never thought he was ever going to witness a torture scene. Well, it wasn’t exactly bloody torture, with broken bones and severed ends, but it was pretty much the same thing; just…less violent.

In front of him, with his back against the cold wall of a building, was the man Luzir had so abruptly appeared with. He wasn’t exactly conscious, to be honest; his eyes were half closed, and his speech wasn’t exactly coherent. If Vindril had to describe his state, he would have said he wasn’t fit for…well, anything. Luzir didn’t seem to have any problem with that.

“Tell them what you’ve told me.” he said menacingly. The sight of that managed to make Vindril shiver. “And be quick. We’ve got places to be.”

The man didn’t answer. His head bobbed back and forth, coming close to hitting the harsh wall more than once. Luzir shook him up really good, grabbing him by the shoulders: It came easy to him; his body, aside the obvious size that towered over most races of the galaxy, was so well developed that muscles were evident even under the armor he was wearing. It wasn’t the type of physique that was so lean veins popped out every single muscle; that wasn’t the case. His body was just a massive, well maintained, power house.

“Leaving aside the reason why we’re currently hiding in a back alley, standing right next to a restaurant’s back door, I don’t think that’s the right approach.”

“Hate to say this, but with him on this one.” said Sully. “Besides, what the fuck is going on?! I mean, I know you very well what you’re capable. The last time I saw you fight it became abundantly clear to me that you’re very good with that physique of yours. But kidnapping someone? That is a first. Why the fuck have you done that?”

“…Do you trust me?” he asked. Even if he had stopped shaking the man like he was one of the mixed drinks Sully sometime prepared, his eyes were glued to his face, intensively looking at him like his green iris could somehow gaze into his soul, beyond the confines of the flesh.

Sully looked at him perplexed. “Of course I trust you. How long do you think we have known each other?”

“Then believe me when I tell you this man can help us get what we need.”

“And what is exactly-”

“Information.”

“…about?” asked Vindril.

The man opened his eyes wide; some clarity having returned to him. Vindril could see, by the way he was looking around, with his eyelids rhythmically opening and closing, that his mind was still cladded by a thick fog.

“As I’ve said…” said Luzir in his usual tone. “Tell them what you’ve told me before. Do that, and you’re free to go.”

“…W…W-wh…Where…am…I?”

“Still inside the city. Now answer me.”

Vindril looked at the man, a human in his early forties, if his greying hair could be trusted, with a degree of curiosity. Now, a normal person, if one could ever use that term, since Vindril was firmly convinced that normality was a subjective thing, and not objective as most people believed, would have empathised with the man. He had been mistreated, kidnapped and taken to an alley; and now he was surrounded by a couple of other figures who were complete strangers to him. Surely this was enough to arouse some empathy in most people. Not Vindril. The way he had grown up had left its mark, leaving him with a few scars that went beyond flesh, though he still had a couple on his body.

“I…I’m-”

“Doesn’t matter. Skip to the important part.”

The man inhaled. “…A-alright. I’m…a doctor at…LOMAAB. Department of research.”

LOMAAB?...Lomaab…? That name wasn’t new to him. But for some kind of reason, he just couldn’t picture where exactly had he already heard that.

If Vindril wasn’t surprised about it, Sully certainly was. “…W-WHAT?!” he screamed so loudly Vindril instinctively put his hand near his Mary, gripping the handle tightly. “Are you fucking nuts? We’re screwed. Screwed! We won’t be able to-”

With a wave of his giant hand, Luzir commanded silence. Soon after the man resumed talking.

“I…I’m part of…the team that…researches all newly…discovered chemical formulas…before they’re deemed ready to…be allowed for production. Basically I’m on the team…that creates all new adrenalins and boosters.”

Luzir nodded, giving the man a moment to catch his breath. “…Go on.”

“…There’s a lab outside town. It’s inside…an oval building…with tinted windows. But you’ll never be allowed entry.” the man said, barely holding the laugh that was right at the edge of his mouth. “Even if you manage…to get past the many…security measures that are in place, which is something completely impossible, men armed and trained to handle far more serious crisis then you could ever be awaits you. You have no po-”

A punch knocked him unconscious once again, making his body go relax.

“…You’ve heard him. Now that we know where to get those boosters from, it’s just a matter of getting them…”

Sully quickly corrected him. “No, no. Now it’s a matter of getting out of there alive. You’re crazy, like, completely out of your mind, if you think we can get in there. It’s the LOMAAB, dammit!”

“Uhm.” said Vindril. He was tempted to feign ignorance to avoid appearing ignorant. Still, now he wasn’t alone. He had a crew to pay and, to the best of his abilities, to provide for. He had to swallow his so-called pride and ask. “What exactly is the LOMAAB? I take it’s a pretty important laboratory…”

“…I-Important?” he asked incredulous. “LOMAAB is like THE biggest lab; at least on this part of the galaxy. Every little adrenalin, med, or booster is tested and produced by them.”

Daaaamn. So that lab had the power of a corporation….Shit.

Still, they had to get their hands on those vials. It was not an exaggeration to state that their future adventures were highly dependent on the success of that mission. Which obviously made Vindril a ball of nerves.

Damn it…