=Venom=

Venom 6

  Eddie was tossed into a viewing room with his hands tied behind his back. He landed on his chest and rolled over.
  “Appreciate it guys.” His sarcasm was raspy as he caught his breath.
   Eddie looked around the empty lab surrounding his cell. A set of doors opened and out walked Frank Archer with two armed men, one was Rice.
  “Rice tells me you put up quite the fight for him and his men.”
  “You should have been there.” Smirks Eddie.
  “I suppose we can skip introductions.”
  “Your goons here just interrupted the very nice evening me and my girl were having, so excuse me for not giving a shit about introductions. You’re Frank Archer, I’m Eddie Brock, and that’s dickhead.” He gestures towards Rice. “We both know why I’m here so let’s cut the bullshit.”
   “As anxious as I am to see you and the Symbiote in action I do believe it to be in the best interest of science to let you rest a bit.” He turned to leave.
  “You mind turning the lights down a bit, it’s kind of bright in here.”
  Arched turned off the lab lights but the lights inside Eddie's confinement remained on.

  “So, what do we do?” Brie’s anxiety was getting worse, fidgeting and rocking, she worried about Eddie.
  Ana grabbed Brie’s hand. She was just as scared for Eddie but she didn’t witness the event like Brie had. “Tomorrow…”
  “Tomorrow?” Brie shot her a look.
  “Hear me out. I have a contact that may be able to help us.”
  “So, call him now.” Urged Brie.
  “I will, I will call him tonight and let him know what is going on, but right now those men could very well be looking for you and if they haven’t figured it out by now, Venom too.”
  “It’s safer to lay low for the night, Brie. Even if they know Venom is no longer paired to Eddie they still need him to learn why he has been able to successfully join with him.” Reassured Dan.
  Ana walked Brie to the guestroom and brought her a change of clothes. Brie walked into the bathroom to shower. She removed her shirt and looked at her shoulder. It was healed for the most part, bruised and sore to the touch. “Did you do that?”
  “We are one. And I cannot have you returning to Eddie in pieces.”
  Brie stepped into the shower and closed her eyes as the water ran over her head, the whole chain of events played back. She slide down onto the floor and pulled her knees to her chest. Venom’s body emerged slightly from her and wrapped his arms around her. The human female was very complex. He was bombarded with emotions, making him feel weak, yet strong and determined.

  Dan didn’t expect Brie to be awake so early. He usually got up around 5 A.M for his shift at the hospital. He caught a glimpse of her walking into the kitchen as he poured himself some coffee.
  “You’re up, early. Did you manage to get some sleep?”
  “A little.” She couldn’t be sure. “Why are you up?”
  “Morning shift at the hospital. Coffee?”
  “Please.”
  Dan could tell she was up all night, her eyes were bagged and red, and her movement was slow and slumped. He placed the coffee down next to her and took a seat. He and Ana had a hunch someone would discover what Eddie is and come for him. Archer Aeronautics was huge and Frank Archer was loaded and we’ll protected, he wasn’t quiet sure what it was Ana had planned.
  “Do you know the person Ana is talking about?”
  “Yea. He was an intern for Carlton Drake.”
  “Can he be trusted?” Dan's nod was less than convincing.
  “I think so.” Ana walked into the kitchen and gave Dan a kiss on the cheek. “I spoke to him last night. He’s going to come by my office once he gets off work.”

  Brie braided her hair and tucked it under one of Dan’s baseball caps to disguise herself on her way to Ana’s law office. As they drove down the street, Brie saw a police car investigating the BMW she stole from the night before.
  “Don’t worry, they will find nothing.” Assured Venom.

  “Mr. Mackenzie is in your office waiting for you Ana.” Said the receptionist on their arrival. Brie followed closely behind Ana as they stepped into her office.
  “Hey Mack.”
  “Sup.”
  Brie looked at the man sitting in the chair in front of her desk and then back at Ana who gestured her to close the door and have a seat.
  “You’re joking right? This is your contact?”
  “Yea, this is Jacob Mackenzie.”
  “Ana, he’s a kid!” Brie looked over the man.
  “I’m 18.”
  “Excuse me…a teenager…he can’t even walk into a bar how can he get us to Eddie?”
  “Wrong actually.” He pulls out a fake ID and hands it to Brie.
  “Clark Kent, age 30.” Reads Brie. “That’s rich.”
  “Calm down Brie.” Urges Ana.
  “If you want to get to your boyfriend back, you’re going to need me. Archer’s security clearance is pretty high tech. You’re going to need me to get you through the access points.”
  “You can do that?”
  “It’s not as easy as making a fake ID but I can get you in.”
  Brie looks at Ana and then to Mack. “Why are you so willing to help?”
  “I used to intern for Carlton Drake. I found out about some of his experiments and learned The LIFE Foundation was backed by a bunch of rich asshole elitist looking for an escape plan in the event of Armageddon.”
  “I don’t understand.”
  “Mack sent me information from the inside showing that Drake was receiving large monetary donations for a special program he was developing, it was one of the reasons the firm started looking into The LIFE Foundation. Basically, if you have the money and the world is going to end, he is offering you an all-inclusive trip to another planet to avoid destruction.”
  “You’re joking.” Scoffed Brie.
  “Eddie had a hunch that once Archer took over Drake’s facility that he might expand on what Drake was looking into, the Symbiotes.”
  “I saw footage of what happened when they rejected their hosts. I’m all for finding life on other planets but I was hoping for something a little more E.T or Paul. I can have the cards ready by lunch tomorrow.”
  “Tomorrow?” Brie’s anxiety started to kick back in.
  “WE NEED THEM NOW.” Growled Venom and scared Mack out of his seat.
  “Shit! That’s him isn’t it? The one that got loose?”
  “They think he’s still bonded to Eddie.” Said Ana.
  “Look, I don’t know anything about where they’re keeping him. Depending on his location in the building depends on the type of clearance you’ll need. It’s going to take me the rest of the day just to break through their firewalls and map out their systems.”
  Brie didn’t like having to wait any longer, but it was the only choice they had. They made arrangements with Mack to have the ID cards delivered the following day no later than 12.

  “Good morning.” Frank entered the lab eager to get things rolling. “I take it you slept well?”
  “Great, I hope your security didn’t mind too much, I like sleeping balls out.” Eddie stretched as he stood to his feet. “You guys offer any room service or anything?”
  “My apologies. Breakfast will be here for you shortly.” Archer walked over to a computer and started reviewing the security footage from the night before, wondering if Eddie may have tried to pull a stunt with the Symbiote to escape. A man pushed in a cart with a cover. “Just in time.”
  Eddie stepped away from the door as the man pushed the cart into Eddie’s containment, quickly closing it after to keep him from escaping. Eddie approached the cart, his nose picking up a rancid smell that got stronger the closer he got. He pulled off the cover and found the cart was covered in chunks of human meat. He stepped away and started to gag.
  “What the fuck!”
  “Is it not appealing to you?” Questioned Archer.
  “That? That’s not even…” Eddie started to gag as he caught a glimpse of the eyeball sitting on the intestine that was resting in a bowl. “It’s looking at me, it’s fucking looking at me.”
  “I thought the Symbiotes required humans for sustenance?”
  “Yea, the bad ones. Mine likes chocolate and tatter tots. Can we get that out of here, please?”
  Archer looked at Eddie curiously. “Are you sure? He’s already dead, no need to let good meat go to waste.”
  “Nah, I’m good. Maybe you can just get me a phone and I can order a pizza for later. Speaking of, do I get a phone call while I’m here?”
  Archer grinned and pushed a button. A high-pitched sonic pulse echoed into the room for 10 seconds. When the pulse ended, Archers assumption was confirmed.
  “It’s just you, isn’t it?”
  “I don’t know what your talking about.” Archer walked over to the door and ordered two soldiers to go into Eddie’s cell with him. The guards held him down and Archer grabbed a small butane torch. He held it to Eddie’s arm and pulled the trigger, igniting the flame on his skin.
  “Fuck! What…what the fuck!” Eddie screamed as his skin blistered with the heat, charring around the edges that popped. Archer stopped and looked at him.
    “Where is it?” He demanded. “Where is Venom?”
    “I’m not telling you, you sick son of a bitch.”
    Archer exited the lab to find Rice and tell him to start a search for the Symbiote, he was certain it would be with the girl.

      Brie took a cab back to Ana and Dan’s place. She wasn’t feeling good and thought it would be best to try and get some sleep, seeing as how she didn’t have anything else to do. Venom would not stop fussing that they were losing precious time and she was starting to think it was him that was making it so hard for her to sleep.
“Can you shut up for 5 minutes? God, how does Eddie deal with you in his head all day?”
“I’ve rescued Eddie once before, I can do it again.”
“So, this isn’t the first time Eddie has been kidnapped?”
“No, he is very much a damsel in distress.”
Venom had managed to put a small smile on Brie’s lips. “I want to go after him just as much as you, but Ana is right. We need to get in and out without drawing too much attention, and right now I could use some Advil because you are giving me a major migraine.”
Brie walked into the bathroom hoping to find something to help ease her headache. She found a bottle of Excedrin and walked into the kitchen, popping a couple of capsules while she poured a glass of water. She chugged them back as the doorbell rang, when she went to answer it, she was met by two armed guards who fired two tranquilizers into her chest before she had a chance to realize what had happened.