Drown Your Lovers (a Reylo fanfic)

Prologue

Six years ago

Only twelve minutes.

That was the estimated time to get out of the elevator, sneak into the lab, do the deed and then get out without being noticed. The other white coats were too busy ignoring each other and probably thinking about lunch. He counted at least eleven in the elevator, which meant that whereas his face was hidden from the cameras by the figures of the much taller men and women, there was still a chance for the elevator to crash and keep him from fulfilling his mission. One would think that such bright minds would not be this irresponsible to risk getting stuck in that tiny machine.

The green light announced that they have reached the fourth floor. The white coats hurried out and he followed them - it was safer to stay closer and not draw any attention. He glimpsed at the small metal plaques next to the white doors as he was starting to become more frustrated and desperate. Those robots were getting closer to the dining hall and he was getting closer to desperation. No sign of the bloody lab. In fact, why would they even have a dining hall on the same floor as the main lab, unless... damn it! One sudden move to the left and he escaped the crowd unobserved stepping right into a storage room. That twelve-minute deadline was already out of question. He had lost too much time and failing this mission meant risking losing too much money and perhaps his own life. Like most people, he had his own soft spot for elderly people, but that old man who hired him was wicked and he was able to sense it right from the start. After all, the old man used to be a politician and nothing good ever comes out when a politician is involved, especially when sneaking into a pharmaceutical lab is included. But that was none of his business in that specific moment. His business was to deliver the damned vials and he could not risk getting caught, nor misplacing them.

He sat on an icebox and listened closely to any noise coming from behind the door. Of course, all the white coats were supposed to enjoy their lunch break for another twenty-six minutes before going to the lounge for another thirty minutes of coffee and cigar break. However, that meant nothing for his own mission, which was conditioned by too many factors, especially by luck. If only the old man had known what he hired. He himself was already too old for this sort of... did something just break?

He stood up quickly and looked at the icebox. Fortunately, nothing actually broke. Even more fortunately, it was unlocked and his weight had just put too much pressure on one side of the box. He opened the box cautiously and peeked at its insides.

Vials.

Dozens of vials.

Vials like the ones he was carrying. He bit his lower lip and pondered. The old man told him to replace the vials in lab #050618 with those he was carrying, but he was already in an actual laboratory and there were dozens of vials right in front of him. It was not like he was throwing them in the trash can. It was just a matter of details.

He picked five random vials and replaced them with the five he was carrying under his shirt, in the small plastic box taped to his lower abdomen. He carefully placed the stolen ones in the plastic container, taped the box back to his lower abdomen and closed the icebox, checking once more for scratches or cracks. Once everything seemed in order, he opened the door and spied on the dining hall entrance. His wristwatch was telling him that he was almost seven minutes late and could not wait for the break to be over. The man sneaked out of the storage room and checked both sides before crossing the main hallway. He knew by the robotic screeching sound that the cameras had caught him on tape and that he had to think fast before the guardians would notice and come to interrogate him.

Think fast, boy! he urged himself, before blindly stepping inside the storage unit of the dining hall. He bit his lip nervously and looked at all the jars and cans, before instinctively stealing one apple from a crate and eating half of it in one bite.