Chapter Text
"Do you think it will work?" Jayce asked, his honey-colored eyes fixed on the test tube he held between his fingers. "It's never been tried before..."
"There's always a first time for everything," Viktor replied, putting on his safety glasses and handing a pair to his partner.
In Lab Sixteen of the prestigious University of Piltover, surrounded by shelves full of multicolored reagent bottles and machines that hummed incessantly, the two advanced students had been immersed in their project for days. The walls were covered with periodic tables and complex diagrams, the air thick with the characteristic smell of science in action. They had lived among those test tubes and flasks, surviving on coffee and instant soup, but after so much effort, with luck, this time they would achieve the desired chemical reaction.
Jayce put on the glasses and positioned himself next to his partner, Viktor, a young man he had met in his first year, and since then they had been inseparable. With a steady hand, Viktor added the distilled chemical by Jayce to the flask. Both young men held their breath as the liquids merged, and when the flask showed a vibrant, transparent blue liquid, they leaped for joy and shouted in unison.
"It worked! It worked!" Jayce exclaimed, full of energy, as he grabbed Viktor by the shoulders and shook him with infectious enthusiasm.
Viktor, more reserved by nature but already accustomed to his colleague's outbursts, laughed and nodded his head, sharing the joy of seeing their hard work bear fruit.
Jayce leaned over the flask, looking at that blue liquid with an intensity that reflected his passion for science.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he commented without taking his eyes off the experiment.
However, Viktor kept his gaze fixed on Jayce's face, appreciating how his eyes shone with happiness, noting every detail of his hair, the line of his chin, and the curve of his lips.
"Yes... truly beautiful," he murmured.
The shrill ringing of his alarm clock elicited a growl from his throat. Viktor, with an annoyed gesture, turned off the incessant and irritating device and sat up in bed, waiting for the fog of sleep to dissipate, but also focusing on the remnants of the dream he had just had.
It was rare for him to delve into the past, especially memories of Jayce. A faint smile formed on his lips; it had been years since he last saw him at the graduation ceremony. What had become of him? The question crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. There was no point in wasting time on nostalgia, he thought as he cast off his silk sheets and leaped out of bed.
He walked towards his en-suite bathroom, ready to prepare for a day full of work. His room, a vast space with walls reaching up to a double-height ceiling, was decorated in a futuristic style that was beginning to bore him. The predominant colors were gray and black with white accents, which at one time had seemed a stylish choice, or perhaps he had just agreed to it to make his decorator stop bothering him.
The room was equipped with cutting-edge technology; the lights automatically turned on with his presence, and the floor-to-ceiling windows offered a beautiful view of the garden, though now they were hidden behind automatic blinds for privacy. In one corner, a minimalist design desk with an interactive glass surface awaited use, but now it only reflected the desolation of the morning. Beside it, a black leather sofa, comfortable but impersonal, seemed more a statement of his success than a place of rest.
Every piece of furniture and every accessory in the room, from the chandelier to the gray wool rug that muffled his steps, spoke of a life of luxury and control, but also of palpable solitude.
After showering and dressing in a tailored dark blue suit, Viktor left his room for the kitchen, with his burgundy tie hanging disheveled over his shoulders. In the vast kitchen, two female figures awaited him. The first was his secretary, a woman in her forties, slender with an air of intrepidity. Upon seeing him enter, she approached to adjust his tie while reminding him of his tight schedule for the day. Her hair was elegantly pulled up in a high bun, and she wore an immaculate white shirt with black modal trousers. The second woman, over sixty, with short gray hair and dressed in a maid's uniform in shades of pink, placed in front of him a steaming cup of coffee along with a plate of toast adorned with avocado and nuts.
Viktor settled at the high kitchen table, having his breakfast while making passing comments about what was expected that day, all within the usual routine.
"Ah, sir... there was an incident at the plant last night," his secretary said, hardening her gaze.
"Apparently, the new product is delayed; it has an unwanted side effect that the lab technicians don't know how to eliminate," she explained in a tone that foretold trouble.
Viktor let out a sigh, knowing that complications never come alone.
"Mr. Silco has requested that you review the formula in person," she continued, and Viktor nodded, aware of the seriousness of the request.
"Clear my schedule for tonight, come up with some silly excuse for the investors, and make sure I have a driver and security for the journey," he ordered, his voice laden with resignation.
"Until what time do you plan to stay at the lab, sir?"
"Probably all night," he replied, grimacing with displeasure. Laboratory work no longer brought him pleasure, but a direct order from the boss could not be ignored. It was a reminder that, despite his position, he was still bound by the chains of the powerful Zaun family, living in an empire built on a thin line between legality and shadow.
***
It was already late at night, probably past midnight, and Viktor was still in the lab, hunched over a long desk, his eyes darting from one to another of the three monitors on his computer. The research building he was in had four floors. The first three were a glass facade that revealed anyone who spent the night in their office. The fourth level, however, was hidden underground, invisible to the outside world, its existence a secret known only to members of the Zaun family.
There, at that moment, the "night workers," as Viktor called them, were immersed in the creation and synthesis of powerful and addictive drugs. Substances tailored for specific clients or new stimulants for the general market. Any effect was valid as long as it was stimulating, fleeting, and addictive. There weren't many conditions in their production; the challenge was ensuring the side effects weren't too devastating to the human body, at least in the short term.
To avoid this, they kept a couple of human guinea pigs in that vast underground lab, homeless vagabonds without family, lured by promises of shelter and food, unaware they would be subjects of cruel and torturous experiments. However, some found in this a strange way of life, preferring the injections and adverse effects to the cold and hunger of the streets.
Viktor, at that moment, was watching for the fifth time the video of one of these guinea pigs, aimlessly wandering in their cell. In his hands, he held the formula for the new stimulant, JYV-16 1.0. Theoretically, it was supposed to be a mental relaxant, a drug that would take its consumer to a state akin to nirvana. But in practice, the results were more akin to zombification. No, "zombie" didn't quite describe the situation; the subjects could speak, walk, move with agility when commanded, but there was something about the side effects that intrigued Viktor. Normally, a guinea pig's response to external stimuli under the effect of a new drug is delayed, but in this case, obedience was immediate, as if their bodies were programmed to comply with orders without delay.
Viktor leaned back in his chair, covering his face with the papers of the report, exhausted and completely tired.
"This is going to take all night," he murmured.
***
Sitting in the back seat of his car, Viktor rubbed his temple, exhausted after a night and part of the morning dedicated to hard work. His driver, adhering to traffic laws, was trying to get him home as quickly as possible.
"It's too far to reach the villa," Viktor growled, his voice more like the growl of a beast than human speech.
"Let's stop for coffee, or I won't survive the journey to the countryside," he asked.
"Perfect, boss," the driver responded, nodding. "There's a new café a couple of streets away; we won't even have to detour."
"Excellent," said Viktor with an absent tone, his eyes closed behind his dark glasses, enduring a sleep hangover that pounded his head.
The driver parked and hurried to fetch the drink for his boss. Viktor took off his glasses and massaged between his eyebrows, trying to soothe his tired mind. At least, he could rest for the rest of the day, though the burden of not having solved the problem with the new drug promised more sleepless nights.
He looked distractedly out the window at the café, more interested in seeing how long his driver would take than in the place itself. But when he fixed his gaze on the man behind the counter, his heart skipped a beat. The fatigue vanished, his mind cleared, his eyes piercing like daggers into the individual who was hastily preparing the order.
"Jayce," he whispered, incredulous.
There he was, slightly hunched from work, in a cream-colored shirt that didn't suit him, and with a three-day stubble. His eyes showed tiredness, but not as much as Viktor's. Despite his appearance, his smile was still the same: broad, showing his characteristic rabbit teeth, as perfect and beautiful as Viktor remembered.
Viktor was frozen, watching the man who had been his obsession during university. He looked older, a few years more, but his eyes, his broad shoulders, his short, neatly styled hair... it was definitely him.
Thousands of questions crowded his mind, so much so that he didn't notice his driver had returned until he handed him the coffee cup.
"Thanks," Viktor murmured, taking the cup and watching as they drove away from the café, from Jayce.
Once out of sight, he turned his gaze to the coffee and took a small sip. Maybe it was the exhaustion, maybe the nostalgia, but as he tasted the liquid, he was transported back to those university days. When Jayce would leave his cup next to his papers while he was still absorbed in his reading. Simpler times, happier times, but also as bitter as that coffee.
He spent the rest of the journey in silence, drinking in small sips, as if he wanted to prolong the moment indefinitely, but also eager to savor every drop prepared by the man he had been obsessed with for so long. He thought he had moved on, that seeing him flirt with one woman after another had killed his feelings. But looking at the empty cup, he knew it wasn't true; they had just been on pause, distracted by more important and dangerous matters.
Finally, he reached his bed, put on his pajamas, and lay down, staring at the ceiling. The sleep he had so longed for when leaving the lab now seemed to elude him.
He turned towards the nightstand, looking at the empty paper cup. He couldn't throw it away, couldn't even move it. He stared at it for a long time, as if wishing it would transform into that man.
And so he eventually fell asleep, his face turned towards a used paper cup, with a face branded into his mind.
***
The office door burst open without warning: Sevika entered with her usual disregard for formalities, while the receptionist, a young and slender woman, followed helplessly, unable to stop the imposing black-haired woman.
"It's all right, Silvia, she's an expected visitor," Viktor said, reassuring his assistant, who gave a reproachful look to the guest before returning to her desk, closing the door behind her.
Viktor set aside his computer and turned towards his unexpected visitor, who had already settled into the comfortable armchair in the room.
"You know it's not good for you to be seen here," he chided while crossing his fingers on the desk. "Your face is in the police files."
"Ah! Relax, Vik," Sevika interrupted, placing her heavy boots on the coffee table as if she were at home. Viktor noticed this but said nothing, although he looked disdainfully at the dirty boots on his mahogany table.
"Besides, I'm here to give you what you asked for," she pulled out a small USB drive from her pocket and tossed it to Viktor, who had to juggle to catch it.
"It was interesting to investigate him, I must say. You were university buddies, right? Are you looking to organize a reunion of old classmates?" Sevika asked, trying to read the intentions of the stoic man while he, unfazed, connected the USB drive to his laptop and began to review the information.
There were several text documents, official files from Piltover University, some from a rival lab, and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of photos taken without the man's knowledge or consent.
"It says here that after university, he got a job as a lab technician, but he was blamed for an accident in the facility and got fired," Viktor commented, skimming through the report.
"That's right," Sevika confirmed, leaning her head back, ready to recount what had taken her two long weeks to investigate. "It was a technical fault in the lab, but to avoid responsibility, they pinned everything on Mr. Tails. They defamed him and threw him out like a dog. He tried to clear his name through a lawsuit, but the lab had friends in the judiciary. The trial dragged on so long that he lost all his savings on legal fees, and still, he got nothing," she concluded, shrugging with resignation. It was a sad but common story in her line of work.
For his part, Viktor hardened his gaze as he looked through the photos. Jayce leaving work, going to the market, entering a small apartment in the city.
"In none of the pictures does he appear with other people. Does he have no friends or partner?" he asked.
Sevika smiled, knowing this detail would not go unnoticed.
"The last photo with his former partner on social media is from a month after he was fired. Since then, he stopped posting, only occasionally sharing updates about his case or a photo of him drinking a beer, but he's rarely active. He doesn't seem to be with anyone romantically now, and from what I could check, there's no profile with his face on dating apps, neither straight nor gay. As for friends... In these two weeks, we didn't see him meet or talk with anyone except his work colleagues. And his mother lives in another city, so... I guess he's a lonely man," she concluded.
Viktor brought his hand to his chin. The Jayce he knew was always surrounded by people; this man seemed like someone else. But of course, bad luck drives people away. Viktor sighed, feeling pity for the misfortunes Jayce had endured.
"Well! I've done my part. You know which account to make the payment to," Sevika said, standing up and heading for the exit.
"Yes, consider it done. Send my regards to Mr. Silco on my behalf," said Viktor without taking his eyes off his monitor.
When he was alone again, Viktor opened a particular photo: Jayce with tired eyes, asleep on the coffee shop counter. He ran his fingers over the cold screen, wishing he could touch the real man.
He leaned back in his chair, covering his eyes with his hand.
"You're losing your sanity," he told himself, feeling his soul swirl in a whirlwind of emotions. On one hand, he wanted to help him, rescue him, give him work, money, restore a full and happy life. But on the other, his selfish and darker desires wanted him, yearned for him with every fiber of his being. He wanted to hold him in his arms, embrace him at night, kiss him, and fulfill other carnal desires he had never felt for anyone before.
But how? Viktor lived in a dark and violent world. Everyone around him was dangerous, involved, with blood on their hands. From his driver to his maid, everyone had a past, and everyone was bought with good money to keep silent. Jayce was not the type of person who would willingly enter such a world.
Viktor was born in darkness, a member of the Zaun family, after all. During his university years, he had pretended to be from the surface, lived and moved like the other innocent souls in the city. But upon obtaining his degree, he returned to his place in the underworld's shadows. Having a partner or friends outside of the darkness was completely forbidden.
Frustrated, he yanked the USB drive from his computer, slamming the file folder shut, revealing the document he was working on before Sevika arrived: the report on the failed drug, JYV-16 1.0.
"Great, as if I didn't have enough frustrations," he said, looking at the file with hatred. In these two weeks, he had made no progress. The effects were still the same; the only thing he had gained was a better understanding of the effects it had on the consumer.
It was while looking at this file that an idea struck him. Paralyzed, he reread the document over and over, weighing the possibilities his perverse mind suggested.
"It's madness," he murmured to himself, but he looked at the USB drive still in his palm.
It was madness, something perverse and horrible to do to someone. But Viktor had already crossed many lines in his life; this wouldn't be the worst.
He quickly pulled out his cell phone and called the woman who had been in his office minutes earlier.
"Sevika, I have a new job for you."
"Uh?" came the response from the other end.