Sneaking into an unknown building surrounded by guards armed with assault rifles apparently is easier than one would imagine. As long as you look like the part and walk like you belong, no one in a hundred years would suspect anything. They got their own problems to deal with. They don’t have time to interrogate a cranky woman in a stolen lab coat with a black beanie, a young woman who looked like she was from the set of Oliver Twist and their aggressively looking athletic friend. You may stare but that is just too much to process. And you got better things to be doing. Like working, or copying data papers or monitoring your boss’s movements so you know when to slack off and take a smoke break. Sometimes you need something stronger than nicotine. A small flask could help. Just a little bit in your morning coffee to ease yourself into work.

Evelyn, Samantha and Io had trot their way into the facility. Picking up small bits of information as they moved in search of Samantha’s machine. They made their way into the breakroom.

It was a nice, white, clean break room. Standard silver refrigerator, coffeepot, microwave and cabinets full of white mugs; some with names on them and some that were blank. Evelyn rolled herself in as if she worked there, and headed for the cabinet and grabbed a mug. Io followed and Samantha was behind her, sheepishly looking about. A few men were sitting at the table idling reading notes. They didn’t see Evelyn approach them with a half cup of coffee and sit down in front of them.

One of them dropped their pencil in surprise and looked up.

“Oh, lovely. An intern.” He said as his hand crawled like a spider to pick up his pencil.

“Probably don’t know their test tubes from a centrifuge.” The other man said with a grin. Evelyn smiled back.

“Ah...you got me” Evelyn said as she pulled out her phone. “That's what these babies are for.” She said in a sarcastic tone. The three of them laughed for a bit.

“Is that your family over there?” The man with the pencil said.

Without hesitating Evelyn answered, “Yeah, that's my wife and her daughter.”

Io crack a smile but was forced to push it back. She didn’t expect that but she approved. Samantha on the other hand mumbled under breath and wore a look of confusion mixed with annoyance. She wanted to say something but didn’t. She was putting her faith in Io and Evelyn to lead the tale.

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“Of course. And they would get cleared from the guard. Bastard. You know, I tried to get my wife and son in here once and they couldn't get in cause they didn't have clearance. And you, the intern, gets it right away.” The other man said in a dry unapologetic tone as he reached into his coat and pulled out a tiny flask.

Habits are a tricky thing. Some are good like washing your hands and others are bad like drinking alcohol to cope with trauma. Unfortunately, Evelyn eyed the man’s flask and simply thought to herself, ‘Eh just a little. It’s fine.’ and placed her mug on the table and slid it forward to the man. The man glared at the mug and then at her. He too was looking for an easy escape from the hard realities of the world around him.

“How about this. I give you some and you talk to the guard about getting my family in. I mean fair is fair, right?” The man said as he mockingly swung the flask back and forth in front of Evelyn.

“Yeah! Sure! I’ll have Parker help you.” Evelyn said as her hand reached and snatched the flask out of the man’s hand. The men stared at her as she unscrewed the flask with ease and yet with anticipation. Evelyn pursed her lips on the flask and in moments felt the warm sense of relief trickle down her throat. Her throat started to feel the burn as the liquor sailed through her. Her head stopped pulsing and her hands slowly stopped twitching. A great weight rolled off her shoulders. She felt like she could cry. She took a few deep breaths and slipped the flask back to the man.

The men looked at the empty mug and then back at Evelyn.

“Do you need...help?” The man with the flask suggested as Evelyn stood up, leaving her coffee mug on the table. Evelyn looked behind her and saw Io and Samantha staring at her with worry. A sense of guilt crept up her and started to swell in her chest. At that moment she remembered what she promised Jane earlier in the day. She felt sick.

“Yeah. I heard there was something big going on here. Know anything about that?” Evelyn said as she turned around and faced the two men.

The man with the pencil looked at the man with the flask. They both mumbled a few words together. The man with the pencil shuffled at the table and sat up straight.

“Dr Bronson. He’s going around telling everyone.”

“Telling...what?” Evelyn said as she placed her hands on the table and slightly leaned towards the man with the pencil.

“Look” The man with the pencil protested as he held up his hands. “All we know is it going down in the basement. But he won't let anyone down there. Especially not some intern with a drinking problem. Bet your daddy is really proud of you on that one, princess.”

Evelyn’s jaw tighten at the words spewing from the man’s lips. She was already feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt from what she had done. She snatched the pencil out of the man’s hand. Without breaking eye contact she snapped the pencil with her hand and tossed the pieces at the table and stormed away.

Io and Samantha stood there, witnessing the whole event unfold. There was a weight of darkness hanging over Evelyn’s shoulders as she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. They started to move.

When they emerged from the break room they didn’t see Evelyn anywhere.