Chapter Text
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The Lab Rat
Chapter 1
Introduction to the Dungeon Troll
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Terry scanned his keycard at the compound’s front door, and entered as it buzzed to let him in. Shivering from the freezing winter air, he brushed the snow off his uniform,and then stepped towards the security station.
“Heya, Terry,” the guard greeted with a wave, “You’re a bit early today,”
“Hi, Jason,” Terry responded, lifting his arms so he could be scanned with the detector wand, “Lucy had errands this morning so I had to drop the kids off at school.”
“I guess you just get to spend more quality time with the dungeon troll,” Jason teased, waving him through the metal detectors, “Lucky you.”
“...yeah,” Terry responded unenthusiastically.
“Keep an eye out, there’s been weird things happening today,” Jason said, lowering his voice to a whisper.
Terry paused with a frown. “Weird things?”
“There’s been talks of interpol investigating the lab. You and I both know there’s shady shit happening here. I just hope Boss Lady takes care of it because I really can’t be looking for another job right now.”
“Yeah,” Terry agreed, “Lucy and I have been saving up to get out of here, but we don’t have enough for a downpayment back home in Maine. We’d like to buy a house for the kids to grow up in.”
“I hear ya, but we’re bottom of the totem pole here at the lab. If they start firing people, you know it’s going to be the guards and cleaning staff they let go first. Your precious troll will be whisked away before all danger, I bet.”
“Probably,” Terry agreed, “But we’ve heard these rumours before and nothing ever comes of it. Miss Vesper has very deep pockets, and likely a lot of connections. I doubt anything will happen.”
“Maybe,” Jason said with a shrug, “But all the same, keep an eye out.”
“Thanks for the head’s up, Jay, I’ll keep an ear out and let you know if I find out anything.”
Terry passed through the xray machine, the routine almost second nature to him. It was the same thing every day, and the next door beeped open for him. Terry put on his helmet, and continued on his way.
The Vesper compound was the most secure place Terry had ever worked, and he knew it was because of the super sketchy things they got up to there. He knew he wasn’t supposed to know any of that, but after working there for over two years, he’d witnessed many questionable activities. Terry said nothing to the authorities of course because the pay was good and it was none of his business.
Terry made his way towards the elevator, and glanced at the employees waiting there. They were all laughing and chatting amongst each other and Terry knew their worklife was much different from his own. Jealous of all the employees that got to work on the upper floors, he reached out and hit the down button in resignation.
Glancing at his watch, he saw it was 7:45am, and let out a deep sigh. Only 75 more minutes of freedom before the torture began for another week.
He hated Mondays almost as much as he hated his job. He dreaded the end of his weekend when he’d have to come back to this hell-lab. On paper the job sounded perfect for him, which was why he moved his family to Northern Greenland. They had been searching for a man with a military background to act as a personal body guard to the lab's most valuable scientist. Full medical and dental benefits, a generous wage and weekends off sounded like a dream to his struggling family.
It was only after he accepted the job that he discovered why the compensation was so high. The scientist he was hired to protect was absolutely monstrous. Luke Vesper was a mean-spirited and spoiled man who was used to always getting everything he wanted. Luke’s mother, Ava Vesper, owned the entire Vesper corporation and he was given free reign to act any way he pleased. He abused his staff both verbally and physically, and everyone despised him. His only redeeming quality was his brilliant mind and even Terry had to admit he was a genius.
Luke went through bodyguards faster than his mother could hire them, and prior to Terry no one had lasted more than a month before quitting. Terry was the first Guardian bodyguard they had hired, because Alphas couldn’t handle the constant disrespect. Luke had a talent for aggravating and angering his guards to the point of violence. Multiple bodyguards had snapped and attempted to hurt him, and so the lab decided to try hiring a Guardian instead. Guardians weren’t as strong as alphas but they were a lot calmer and more patient in nature. The hope was that a Guardian could endure the constant abuse.
Terry hated Luke more than anything on Earth. He’d been pushed, shoved, yelled at, berated, and had objects thrown at him more times than he could count. Whenever his boss was in a bad mood, he took it out on whoever was closest. Unfortunately that almost always ended up being Terry.
Terry could completely understand the desire to wring Luke’s neck, and he was amazed no one had killed him yet. There had been multiple attempts from lab employees as well as outsiders sent to assassinate him, but Terry had stopped them all. It would have been so easy to just step aside but he couldn’t do it. He may have hated his boss but he didn’t want him dead.
Terry had been carefully saving his money over the two years, and soon he’d quit and move his family far from this terrible job. He just had to endure it for a little longer.
Terry stepped off the elevator into the lab’s basement, and let out a deep sigh when he could hear Luke yelling at someone. His voice carried down the long hallway and Terry reluctantly trudged his way towards Luke’s laboratory.
When Terry opened the lab door, he was met with the sight of Luke throwing things around the room like a rabid animal as he shouted obscenities at the nighttime bodyguard.
Luke Vesper was incredibly young to be a lead scientist, only in his early twenties at the most. Terry had never asked his age and doubted he would have gotten a straight answer anyway. Luke made it very clear he didn’t see him as a person, and he never talked to him unless it was a criticism, an order, or a threat.
Terry had a feeling Luke got away with this behaviour because for as long as he’d know him, Luke had been very sickly.
Luke had metal leg-braces that went up to the thigh and he had a lot of difficulty walking. He seemed to always be in pain, and got out of breath incredibly easily. Luke was incredibly small as well, definitely under five feet tall, and his skin was so pale it looked like he’d never seen sunlight in his entire life. Terry assumed the height and pallor was because Luke never ate anything that could be considered real food. He lived off coffee, cigarettes and the occasional bit of candy or crisps out of the vending machine. He was painfully thin and always looked like he was about to keel over at any moment. He took an entire dixie cup of pills twice a day and Terry had no idea what they were for. He wasn’t actually sure what medical conditions Luke had since no one had ever told him, but he dreaded to think how awful he’d be off of them.
Terry stared at his boss as he threw a typical tantrum, watching as he pulled at his own hair in fury.
In true typical mad scientist fashion, Luke’s blond hair was an absolute rat’s nest that hadn’t seen a comb in ages. Terry had once seen him lose a pencil in it and then find it several days later while scratching. Luke was always in a bad mood and Terry had never seen him smile once in the two years he’d been there. Terry wasn’t even sure he was capable of smiling.
Ava Vesper rarely visited the lab, but when she did she’d always take the clippers to her son’s head before she left. His hair would then grow wild again in the year or so before her next visit. She was the only one Luke somewhat respected, and he would rarely ignore her direct commands. As such, all complaints about him were sent directly to her, and Terry could only imagine how many thousands she had received over the years.
Terry couldn’t see Luke as a normal human being and preferred to think of him as a strange and exotic wildlife in a nature documentary. Terry sometimes pictured David Attenborough narrating Luke’s erratic actions in a posh British voiceover, and it made things a little easier to endure. He was able to zone out and ignore most of Luke’s vitriol this way, and this made Luke even more furious when he couldn’t get a reaction.
Terry looked over at the nighttime bodyguard, Natasha, who looked like she desperately wanted to jump off a cliff. It was obvious Luke had been at it for a while, and Terry felt pity for her. She’d only been there a month and it was clear she was already close to quitting.
“Morning, Mr. Vesper,” Terry greeted loudly, hoping Luke's wrath would turn away from his poor coworker.
“Shut the fuck up, Kevin,” Luke snarled, turning on him instantly.
Terry stared back at him unbothered, not even bothering to correct the wrong name. He had been there for two years, but still Luke didn’t bother calling him by the right name.
“Everything alright? You okay?” Terry asked Natasha worriedly.
The look she gave him was one of pure relief. “Oh thank god, you’re here, Terry. Maybe you can talk some sense into him!”
“How dare you talk about me like that!” Luke yelled at her, stomping his foot in pure rage. “Who do you think you are?!”
“What happened?” Terry asked, ignoring his boss for the moment.
“His routine bloodwork came back with another severe vitamin deficiency and so Miss Vesper ordered him to start drinking a meal replacement shake with his normal medications…”
“Ah,” Terry responded, instantly understanding.
Luke didn’t like trying new foods and this would definitely be a big issue. He flat-out refused to eat anything that didn’t come out of the specific vending machine located right outside the door in the hallway. Terry doubted there was even a point in trying to do as Miss Vesper ordered, since he knew Luke, and this would be a major fight, a fight he didn’t feel like enduring.
“We’re not his doctors,” Terry responded, “It’s not our job to enforce a diet.”
Natasha blinked at him, “But I was told-”
“He’s a grown man, Nat, it’s not our job. If he wants to die of malnutrition then that’s his decision.”
“But…won’t we get in trouble if we don’t do as Miss Vesper ordered?”
“Frankly, I don’t care,” Terry responded, “I may be a Guardian but Mr. Vesper is not my child nor is he a Little. I was hired to be a bodyguard and nothing else.”
“Stop talking about me like I'm not standing right fucking here!” Luke snapped, throwing a box of tissues at Terry.
The box bounced harmlessly off his helmet and Terry pretended not to notice.
“I’m good if you want to clock out early,” Terry told his coworker, “I need the overtime, and I’ve got it from here.”
Natasha nodded in pure relief, looking completely exhausted and stressed. Normally the night shift was the easier one, but by the looks of the circles under Luke’s eyes, it appeared he never slept. He had a habit of going days without sleep and when that happened the whole lab suffered. Sometimes he went so long without sleep he began hallucinating and that was when he was truly dangerous. Terry had seen him stab a doctor because he thought the other man was there to kill him. He’d had to be sedated in order to finally sleep.
Terry hated Luke so much and wished he could slam a fist directly into his face. The spoiled brat needed a good reality check, and it took all of his self-control not to let his Guardian instincts take over. Luke acted like a spoiled child and it irked his Guardian side to no end. It was clear Luke had been raised without any sort of discipline or boundaries, and Terry knew most of this stemmed from his mother. She had turned him into this, and now the rest of the world had to endure him.
When Terry had first met Luke, he thought the young man was a Little based on his small size and soft features. It wasn’t until Terry approached that he realized Luke had zero scent markers and was an ordinary Beta. He knew Luke was a Beta but his inner Guardian was convinced he was just a very naughty Little. It was a constant inner conflict, and Terry felt nothing but agitation that he couldn’t act on. Luke was an adult who just happened to look too much like a Little, and Terry knew it was none of his business how he behaved.
Luke was still throwing papers around and ranting about ‘low-life’ guards, but Terry was doing his best to tune him out. This was an everyday tantrum and for his own mental health, he wasn’t going to engage in this nonsense. This was how he had survived over two years being Luke’s bodyguard. Terry was given raise after raise the longer he remained and no matter how many times Luke tried to fire him, his mother overrode him. Terry vowed the day he finally quit, he was going to tell Luke exactly what he thought of him.
Everyone in the Vesper corporation called Luke the dungeon troll, and Terry had to agree that it was an apt description. Luke spent almost all of his time in the basement lab, and avoided interacting with anyone he didn’t need to. He sometimes went weeks without ever venturing to one of the other floors, and Terry had never seen him step foot outside.
Terry was suddenly caught off guard when something solid hit him directly on the chin. Staggering back in surprise, he looked down and saw he’d been hit with a full bottle of protein shake.
“What the hell?” Terry demanded angrily, rubbing his chin.
“Maybe you should try listening to orders, Kevin,” Luke replied, crossing his arms.
“What are you talking about?” Terry asked, kneeling down to pick up the bottle.
“I told you twice to get down box 23 for me,” Luke answered like this was completely normal.
Terry glanced up at the upper shelf above his head and was tempted to throw the bottle back at him. Luke was too small to reach any of the upper shelves and so Terry tended to help him get what he needed on a daily basis.
“It wouldn’t kill you to ask nicely,” Terry pointed out.
Luke picked up another protein drink. “I have 11 more of these,” he stated.
Terry sighed in resignation and reached up to take the box of files down. Once it was placed on Luke’s desk, he stepped back just in time to avoid another drink being thrown at him.
“Seriously, what the hell!” Terry snapped.
“If your tiny damaged brain can comprehend the language I’m speaking, explain to me why you brought me box 23 when I needed box 25!”
Terry heaved another sigh and grabbed box 25, knowing there was no point in arguing about who was right. He dropped the box onto the desk with a hard bang, causing Luke to startle, and felt a bit of satisfaction. Luke glared at him and then opened the box to dig through the files. Once he found what he was looking for, he pushed the box back towards Terry who obediently placed it back on the shelf.
“Okay, you can piss off now,” Luke ordered, waving him off dismissively.
Terry hated being treated this way but he simply bit his tongue and said nothing. He sat across the room and busied himself with making a pot of coffee, having a feeling it was going to be one of those days. As the coffee began to perk, he watched as Luke put in earbuds, clearly intending on ignoring him while he worked. This was actually a relief for Terry because music tended to put Luke in a better mood. If he listened to music all day then this would be a very rare easy day for Terry.
Despite being a miserable little gremlin, Luke was incredibly talented when it came to singing. He tended to quietly sing or hum to himself while working, and it always amazed Terry that such a nice sound could come out of such a wretched creature. On the rare occasions Luke’s mother actually gave him consequences for his dismal behaviour, she’d confiscate his ipod and then the entire building would suffer as a result. Luke was incredibly childish and he’d scream and have tantrums that would put any toddler to shame. If Terry wasn’t so sure Luke was a Beta, he’d swear he was just an incredibly spoiled Little. It was ridiculous that a grown man would roll on the floor kicking and screaming, and Terry had no idea why he wasn’t embarrassed to act like this. This behaviour was exactly why his Guardian instincts constantly misidentified him.
The coffee finished dripping and Terry immediately reached for a mug, desperately needing a bit of caffeine. He had just finished stirring the cream and sugar into his coffee when Luke snapped his fingers at him and pointed at a spot on his desk. He didn’t even look up from his work and Terry hated the entitlement of it all. Knowing it wasn’t worth saying anything, Terry got up and placed the coffee in the indicated spot, and then returned to grab another mug.
Taking a long and satisfied sip of his coffee, Terry pulled a novel out of his pocket and opened to his marker. As long as he kept the coffeepot full, he was certain Luke would ignore him while he worked.
Terry had a relatively easy morning and read while Luke typed on his laptop. Luke quietly hummed along with his music and downed cup after cup of coffee. Terry had no idea what he was working on, but figured he wouldn’t understand it anyway. When Terry had crossed the room to go to the bathroom, he’d glanced at the screen and saw incredibly complicated math and didn’t give it any further thought.
When Terry returned, he noticed Luke watching him out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t say anything, but it gave Terry an uneasy feeling. He had the feeling something awful was going to happen, and he went back to his seat cautiously. Luke was still watching him, and Terry glanced around, looking for what Luke had done. Had he messed with his lunch again? Terry pulled his lunch out of his bag but it seemed fine. He searched the rest of his belongings but everything seemed in order.
Luke loved to mess with his guards and so Terry didn’t trust him one bit. He got some sort of petty satisfaction from torturing them, and most guards couldn’t handle it. Guard after guard quit and Terry was the only one who stayed.
Deciding to play it safe, Terry poured his cup of coffee down the sink and then rinsed out the mug. He was not in the mood to be drugged with laxatives again. Sitting down, Terry noted that Luke was typing but he was still quietly watching him. He was waiting for some sort of reaction and Terry had no idea what he’d done. Terry casually glanced all around him but there didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary.
Deciding to ignore it for now, Terry opened his book and continued reading. Luke lit a fresh cigarette and then went back to ignoring him. Terry had no idea what that was all about, but he wasn’t going to question it. It had been a relatively good day and he didn’t want to ruin it. Reaching into his backpack for his bottle of Pepsi, he cracked it open only to immediately get soaked as it sprayed everywhere.
“God damnit!” Terry yelled, looking down at the massive mess.
Terry was completely soaked, and he whirled to face Luke. Luke didn’t even spare him a glance, lit cigarette between his lips as he typed. Terry glared at him and wished he could let loose what was on his mind. It would be so satisfying to cuss the troll out, but he knew he couldn’t afford to lose this job.
He radioed the cleaning staff and then quietly cursed to himself as he patted at his soaked clothes with a paper towel. Having to work the rest of his shift damp was not going to be fun. It took the cleaning staff twenty minutes to clean and dry everything they could, and Terry glared at Luke the entire time they worked. When they were done, he resumed his seat, not giving Luke the satisfaction of an argument. Opening his slightly damp book, he went back to reading, and was aware Luke glanced over at him again.
Terry wasn’t sure if it was boredom or a mental issue that caused Luke to be like this, but it had nothing to do with him and he wasn’t getting involved. He just had to keep his temper in check for a while longer and then he'd be out of that damned building forever.
Terry turned another page in his book and then paused. The last few pages of his book were ripped out. Terry felt his temper flare and he stood to his feet, book clenched tightly in his hand. Taking several deep breaths, Terry tried to calm himself down and was fighting against his Guardian harder than ever.
Luke popped an earbud out as he glanced over his shoulder at him.
“Problem, Kevin?”
Terry grit his teeth, refusing to say what was on his mind. Instead he slammed the ruined novel into the trash can and then forced himself to sit back down before he did something he’d regret.
“Get me box 28.”
Terry closed his eyes for a moment and let out a very deep sigh. Without a word, he got up to do as he was told.
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I will do my best to update this story regularly :)
Please leave a comment to let me know what you think
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An explanation about why I started a new story instead of finishing my old one. The Little Thief was a paid commission someone requested that I write. Unfortunately, after ten chapters they did a chargeback and scammed me out of a LOT of money. It put a really bad taste in my mouth and I likely won't finish that story. I'm sorry to disappoint the people who really liked that story. Hopefully you'll like this one just as well.