Vindril was nervous. That much was obvious. The slight trembling his body had started to emit in the last minute was making him even more agitated than he normally would. But how could he not feel some degree of apprehension when faced with the harsh reality that was in front of him? Guards, which were obviously armed to the teeth, were guarding diligently the building they wanted to enter. Without the shadow of a doubt that was the right place.

LOMAAB was, and had been since time immemorial, the focal point in producing anything related to chemistry. Thanks to their buying power, which had been achieved through many, many escamotages that were more or less legal, (no one talked about the many times they had resorted to intimidating tactics when their more peaceful methods failed, but that’s another story.”) they had achieved a sort of legendary status that seemed to convinced them to be untouchables; that was true…for the most part. Most people would think twice, trice, and even more than that if necessary, before even considering attacking one of the countless facilities that were scattered on a myriad of planets. First, nobody outside their employees knew exactly where the goods were stored; some didn’t even know where they were produced. Secondly, nobody who wasn’t outright mad, or desperate enough, had the guts and audacity to mess with them; their reach was nothing to joke about, after all. Vindril gasped. It seemed that luck, for once, had been on his side. Luzir had taken a doctor that actually knew where to find what they needed. Incredible…

That small illusion of luck being on his side was short lived.

From their hidden position, right next to a wall just on the other side of the road, Vindril realized how difficult was going to be getting inside. Cameras of the most advanced models, the one that could immediately pull up any information available in the Starnet about any potential intruder that was unlucky enough to be capture by its expensive lenses, were scattered pretty much all around the complex; if there even was a blind spot in that first line of defence, Vindril couldn’t spot it. In the case they’ll even find a way to bypass those bothering machinations, they’ll had to find a way in. Fortunately, Luzir had the solution for that.

After knocking the doctor out for the second time, the giant had ignored the protests that had come from Vindril and Sully, favouring instead to search the kidnapped man. In hindsight, Vindril was grateful to the giant man for ignoring his rant. If he had listened to him as he had wanted him to, they would have never found the carefully hidden Id the doctor had carried around with him. And without that, Vindril was sure they wouldn’t have had a chance to get inside.

“Well…shit.” drily remarked Sully. His head peaked around their hiding place, eyes scanning the entirety of the compound. “There’s no way we’re getting in there.”

Vindril almost nodded. He didn’t think for a moment it was going to be easy. But he had to show his best side if he wanted to convince him it was all going to work out in the end. Sully was, after all, one of the most strong-willed men he knew.

“It’s not impossible…” he said, sounding a bit too weak than he liked. “Is it going to be a pain in the ass? Sure. Is it impossible? No. Definitely not.”

“Oh yeah? Then pray tell me, oh great captain, how in the hell are we supposed to get in there? Or are you saying you have a way of tampering with the cameras without ending up six feet deep?”

Vindril took out a small gadget; it was the same one he had used all those months ago, back on Keelo Prime.

“The cameras won’t pause a problem, as long as I gain access to the control room. You see, this little guy right here can grant me access to a vast array of security systems without alerting anyone. It’s like a virtual battering ram, if you will.”

“…Where the hell have you- ‘know what? I don’t want to hear it.”

“It’s a long story.”

“Anyway, unless we can point out where that-that damned control room is, we’re are as good as back to square one. And, in case you’ve not noticed, there are guards at the access point. How the hell are we supposed to get past that, uhm?”

Vindril stopped to think for a minute. As much as he hated to admit it, Sully was right. What use could that little contraption of his have if he wasn’t going to even come close to use it? “…I…I-”

“See?” he asked. A punchable smug, like the one Vindril had seen on some assholes in the past, was making his lips arch upward. “What did I tell you? it’s impossible. We might as well try to rob something from that planet/bank, Arn-6x. We’re more likely to-”

Luzir interrupted the halwerian man, startling him. Even Vindril, who had kept his eyes straight on the compound, analysing it thoroughly, was left startled. where had that giant come from? As far as he knew, he had been behind them the whole time. So how had he-

“Hurry up. We’ve to go.”

Vindril’s brows arched even more. What the hell was he talking about now? Jeez. Wasn’t appearing with a kidnapped man enough to him? Did he really have to act so…mysterious?

“Whoa. Were the hell do you want to take us, big guy?” asked Sully.

“…Inside.”

“Wh-What the hell are you talking abou-”

“No time to explain. Just shut up and follow me. Both of you.”

Vindril looked at him curiously. Now he had to see how what the hell was going on.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

//////

“What’s up, guys? Is everything alright?”

The man who spoke those words was the same that was driving the truck, who usually made deliveries on behalf of the laboratory to their next destination. Luzir (Vindril didn’t have a clue how in the hell had he managed to do that) had successfully bantered a deal with him, though the exact specific of what that entailed were outside his knowledge. All he knew for certain was that they were currently hidden in the covered back of the truck, nestled uncomfortably between some empty metal containers that were probably used to safely transport all those expensive vials.

A guard approached the truck. A full body suit of armor and a helmet were covering his body, rendering him completely unrecognizable. They knew that was the case thanks to their previous sniffing around.

“Id.” said the guard. Apparently even his voice was being altered.

The man driving simply handed him something metallic.

“Good. Now open the back up.”

“Oh, come on!” said the driver, maintaining a surprisingly calm demeanour. “Can’t you like, make an exception? Just for today! I’m already running late as it is…”

“There are procedures to needs to be maintained. Protocols that must be enforced in order to maintain top security. I cannot make any exceptions. You know that.”

Vindril felt his blood freeze inside his veins. Fear, as visceral as it was true, tugged at the edges of his mind. They were going to catch them. They had to defend themselves, now that they still the chance do so.

Without wasting even a single moment, Vindril tried to take hold of his Mary. However, Luzir quickly stopped him before he even had a chance to succeed.

“Don’t do it.” he silently mouthed. His giant hands were firmly blocking his movement, creating a tight grip from which he couldn’t free himself from. Now he understood for the first, true time how much strength was concealed in that giant’s body. Even if the situation was far from ideal, he had to marvel at how easily that giant could overpower him even with how “calm and composed” he was; in that moment, he almost felt powerless against his superior size and strength; almost….

Fortunately, Luzir seemed to have picked out the perfect man for the job. While Vindril couldn’t see or perceive exactly what the hell was happening outside, just a few paces away; he could see the driver take out a small leather pouch. In it, he wasn’t sure, there probably were some star coins; or the local equivalent of that. It seemed the man wanted to…oil the intransigence that guard constantly exuded. Vindril sighed, trying his hardest not to fear for the worst.

“Listen, I know it’s not exactly normal to let me inside without doing an inspection.” the driver said in a calm and contained voice.

“Then you know th-”

The driver interrupted him. “However! I’ve been doing this since forever. And in all those years you’ve never found a problem with me, or the vehicle. So, why don’t you take this pouch, and take all the guys out for a drink?”

Silence, that seemed to last an eternity, at least to Vindril, soon followed, making the tension skyrocket. Everyone, except Luzir, that for some strange reason was completely unfazed by it all, seemed to think that was the end of it. They seemed to think that soon they’ll have to fight their way out of the thorny situation that was developing.

“…Why would you do that?” asked the guard. “You’ve never, not even once, been so…giving with any of us…”

Suspicious was evident in his tone.

“Oh, come on. It’s way simpler than what you’re imagining. My boss is breathing down on my neck today. You know how it goes. He has a bad day, and I’m the one who has to endure his constant rumbling.”

“I see…”

“Yes. I’m sure you can understand where I’m coming from. It’s just one of those days. And this is just my attempt at speeding things up. Besides, it’s not like it’s going hurt anyone, right?”

“I guess-”

“Perfect!” the driver literally threw the money at the guard. “Now, can you please raise the bar? I’m already running late as it is.”

The guard grumbled, but accepted the bribe nonetheless. “…Alright. But we’ll kill you is something happens.”

“Eh! Sure. Whatever you say, boss.”

Vindril relaxed the tension that had been building inside him, and Luzir, who must have perceived such a shift in his muscles, let his hands go. Strangely enough, his hands were in pristine conditions. He had half expected to find them bruised, or at least reddened, after all the pressure that had been applied in the last minutes; but it seemed that Luzir wasn’t only strong. He had such a control over his body that he knew exactly how much force to apply before hurting someone; that is if he chose to act that way. The punch with which he had knocked out the kidnapped doctor was still fresh in Vindril’s mind.

After the bar was raised, the truck slowly made its way around the complex, carefully avoiding to attract some unwonted attention.

Eventually, the truck came to a stop, and the driver turned around to directly address them; more specifically, Luzir. “I’ve got you here. Now it’s on you. Do not forget our deal, you oversized man. I’m risking my neck here.”

“Uhm, I know we don’t have much time but-” said Vindril. “What kind of deal have you-”

“Shh!” silently screamed the driver. “Get out! I cannot be late at the pick-up point. Ask your friend there if you need the specifics.”

Having said that, the man hastily hushed them out, leaving them behind the security of small building. By the nauseating stench that was coming out the small opening that was over their heads, it must have been a storage room were some kinds of wastes were stored in. Vindril instinctively cover his nose to avoid emptying his stomach on the ground. The stench was so powerful, and chemical, and full of whatever fucked up mixture the doctors came up with that just a small sniff was enough to-

He turned around and walked off. Before doing that he managed to see if there were any cameras pointing in their direction, and the coast seemed clear. Now, away from that hellish place that stank of death, he sharply inhaled some fresh hair. Immediately, the overwhelming nausea that had assaulted him began to decrease, until it eventually disappeared completely. What the hell was that? That couldn’t be legal; or safe; or healthy. Who the fuck had the brilliant idea of storing chemical waste like that was a good idea?

He sighed. Better put it past him and focus on taking care of those cameras. Luzir and Sully, who were exactly near him, were of the same mind as him.

Locating the correct building among the dozen that were in the entire complex proved to be…quite simple actually. For some reason that eluded Vindril, every single one of those construction had a metal plate mounted, usually over the entrance door, to mark what was exactly inside. It couldn’t have been easier than that.

With that, after a quick search that must have lasted no more than a few seconds by how simple that was, they located the correct one. Inside it, after cracking the door’s commands, they immediately knocked out the couple of guards that were carefully watching all the monitors that were placed all around the room. Vindril quickly took his strange gadget out and quickly connected it to the giant console that was controlling all the security system of the cameras. In a matter of seconds, he gained access.

Vindril cursed. Nothing had gone terribly wrong, but the endless list of files that was stored inside that drive looked way more complex than he had initially anticipated. He took a calming breath. Now wasn’t the time to let panic get the better of him. He had to stay focused and find that damned file. Focus, Vindril. Focus!