Chapter 125 - Worenzine

The plane ride to California, the place where Sebastian was from, was around 3 hours long. Most of which was spent by them in a slumber. Having worked quite hard a few days both of them were tired, and if it weren't for the flight attendant, they wouldn't get up even at their destination.

Sebastian booked a cab, and at around twenty minutes later they stood in front of a huge laboratory. "When you said you knew a guy, I thought he lived in a dungeon or something, not a proper lab worker." Christian scoffed.

"Why a dungeon"? Sebastian frowned.

"I dunno, maybe just the way you said. You made it seem like you were some trouble teenager doing drugs and he was your supplier" Christian chuckled.

"Well, the first half of that statement is true," Sebastian confirmed. "Let's go", he mumbled to a stunned Christian.

"I am here to see Charlie Fitz," Sebastian informed the secretary. She asked him his name, called the concerned party and showed them the way. 

When they entered the upper half of the  person was covered behind the computer. On an approximation, Christian noticed the person had very short hair, which gave her a typical tomboyish appearance. Christian halted and grabbed Sebastian's arm, making him halt as well. "I thought you said you know a guy"? He whispered.

"Well, Charlie is gender-fluid. It's hard to tell which pronoun she prefers at which time, so please refrain from using any. Or even better, keep your mouth shut. Don't talk at all". Sebastian instructed.

"Stuff like this should be mentioned earlier don't you think"? Christian huffed back at him.

"I can hear you". A grave voice answered them from behind the computer and looked up. "Hey Seb, long time no see" while her/his greeting seemed pleasant, the lack of any smile, even a faint one gave kind of creepy vibes.

"Hi" Sebastian however smiled back. "Believe in or not I kind of got caught in a family mess".

"I thought you have no family".

"They are dead, yes, but they had connections which came back to bite me in the a**. Which is why it is very much annoying. Can you do me favor?" 

"Depends. What it is"? 

"Well, I have this drug, which I have no idea about. Can you determine what it is"? 

"Why do you have access to unknown drugs"? Charlie frowned. For the first time in their conversation she/he showed any particular emotion. It even took Christian by surprise.

"It's part of the whole mess". Sebastian sighed. "Can you help me or not"?

"No"

Sebastian sighed with defeat with downright rejection, while Christian couldn't help but feel that their entire trip was nothing but a waste. "Didn't you tell me you owe me one when I helped you with that police officer? You said you would be happy to return the favor". Sebastian reminded her/him.

Charlie looked up from her computer, which could be mistaken for a glare, except that was her regular expression. "Alright". Sebastian smiled and handed her/him the packet. "Only trace amounts"? Sebastian nodded at Charlie. 

She took the door that was behind her study and welcomed the duo along with her/him. After putting it on the machine and doing something on the computer she/he stood still as all of them awaited the results.

After a moment a lot of information piled up that was a little hard to decipher by Sebastian and Christian, so Charlie translated it for them. But first, she/he needed a moment to recover from the shock. "Why do you have this"? The concerned tone on her/his voice was not missed.

"Someone gave it to me, like mixed it in my drinks"?

"Alcoholic"?

"Obviously" Sebastian scoffed.

"Accidentally"?

"No, on purpose". Sebastian informed her/him. 

Charlie sighed, before advising, "Well then you should file complaint for attempted murder cause it's a miracle that you are alive".

"Why"? Sebastian asked. Both Christian and Sebastian were surprised and gazed at each other before they looked at Charlie with curious gaze for further information.

"Two years ago, Weig Pharmaceuticals were developing a drug officially labelled as W-III, but few of the developers gave it the nickname 'Worenzine'. It was a type of benzodiazepine. It was supposed to help with insomnia, but it failed the trials when it ended up killing almost each and every guinea pig after two weeks of constant administration. We studied the drug in lower doses and all. Even a little bit will kill you, even if it kills you late. At least if you are a guinea pig".

"Whaaaat"? For the very first time Christian raised his voice since he stepped into this room.

"How do you know so much about it? Do they publish so many details for an experiment"? Sebastian asked her, ignoring Christian's comment.

"I was invited to be part of that project, but I left midway". Charlie declared.

"Why?"

"Doesn't concern you. Now you got what you wanted, feel free to leave". She showed them the door.

"Hold on a sec. Do you know how they can still be accessible?" Sebastian asked. "I have it, so clearly someone is smuggling them".

"I don't have that much data. I left midway, remember"? Charlie raised an eyebrow. "But, I will see what I can find. I will mail you the details."

"Thanks. I would appreciate that very much". Said Sebastian in gratitude. He motioned his head to the door to Christian, asking him to follow. After exiting the building Sebastian looked in his phone and informed Christian, "Well, our return flight isn't for at least six hours. We got some time to kill". 

"What do you wanna do"? Christian asked.

"I…" Sebastian thought for a moment. "Let's go back to my apartment. I need to freshen up". He declared and booked a cab. 

"Well, that was something, but was that really helpful"? Christian asked while they waited for the cab to show up.

"That was something. Let's wait for Charli's email and see what he got for us". Sebastian shrugged.

The apartment was situated in a pretty much busy area for someone who claimed to be 'popular'. The apartment however was at the top of a 20 storey building with 2 deluxe bedrooms and great area coverage. Even if Christian was rich, he lived in a town, so the standard of living varied from that of a city boy. He couldn't help but ask the other, "Do you own this place or rent this place"?

"I own it" Sebastian mumbled before throwing him a towel and a pair of black pants and a blue T-shirt. "You are about my size, so that should fit you. Feel free to use the bathroom in the guest room." He pointed at the guest room. "It will be a long day, you should freshen up".  He declared before disappearing.

Despite going later, Christian was first to emerge from the room to the dining hall. The busy pack life has made him quite accustomed to getting his things done quickly.

While he sat there waiting for nothing in particular, he opened up the fridge to find something to eat, but he was ironically shocked to see it completely stocked. Before he could take anything out he heard a noise of beeping from the front door. Christian went there and was surprised to see a woman in her mid 30s taking her shoes off.

She froze the moment she noticed Christian and mirrored the confused yet alert expression on her face. Each of them were worried that the other was a thief and were ready to attack each other. "Hey Wendy" a voice from Christian's back broke the tension.

Sebastian stood there, smiling while the disheveled wet hair gave him a fresh look. Seeing how the owner of the place was inside the home, her expression softened. She bowed slightly before going inside to do her work. "Who is she"? Christian asked skeptically.

"What does it look like"? Sebastian shot back. "She keeps my apartment clean when I am not around". Christian's expression softened a little bit once he heard that. "Why"? 

"Nothing, I was just worried someone followed us. Honestly, whoever this criminal is starting to scare me. Never did it ever take us this long to catch someone." Christian informed.

Sebastian chose not to comment on it and provided him with a glass of water and an apple. "Let's get something to eat before we leave". 

"What about her''? Christian asked, pointing at the cleaning lady.

"What about her"? Sebastian asked back. "You want to invite her as well"? Sebastian scoffed.

"No! I meant… never mind. Let's go" Christian shook his head. There was no point in arguing with this guy, and he was way too drained right now to care about these things. He also had to worry about all the disaster that awaited them if they didn't figure things out soon. This time, Christian was shocked that instead of calling a cab he decided to walk. Turns out the place for eating was quite near, and very well familiar and fond of Sebastian.