Early the next morning, Eddie showed up at the Life Foundation building with his cameraman in tow.
The man looked like he'd wrestled a bottle of whiskey, lost the fight, and then spent the night pacing in circles. His eyes were bloodshot, his shirt wrinkled, and his hair had given up trying to look respectable hours ago.
Coincidentally, Carlton Drake, the man Eddie was supposed to interview, didn't look much better. The bags under his eyes were heavy enough to qualify as carry-on luggage.
Both men had clearly lost sleep for entirely different reasons… yet both reasons traced back to the same man: Luke.
The interview itself had originally been requested by Drake for the San Francisco Daily. The purpose was straightforward, smooth things over with the public after the crash of the Life One return capsule.
Drake's PR department wanted a nice, safe chat about technical difficulties, rescue efforts, and the Foundation's bright future.
Unfortunately, Drake had not factored in Eddie's talent for derailing a conversation at terminal velocity.
The moment the cameras started rolling, Eddie abandoned the agreed talking points. Instead of asking about the crash, he started hammering Drake with questions about the human experiment rumors he'd picked up the night before.
And Eddie wasn't the kind of guy to drop a bone once he'd bitten down on it. Every question was sharper than the last, until Drake's forced smile twitched like it was about to mutiny.
Drake, who had already been rattled to the core by his earlier encounter with Luke, was now trapped in a small room with a man who just would not shut the fuck up. Each question chipped away at his composure until he was practically vibrating with fury.
By the time security escorted Eddie out, Drake was one insult away from throwing a chair.
The moment Eddie was gone, Drake stormed into his office and called the San Francisco Daily's president. The conversation lasted ninety seconds and consisted mostly of yelling.
When Eddie returned to the paper, he barely had time to put down his bag before he was told he was fired. No severance, no second chances, just a simple "get the fuck out and don't come back, you're fired."
From there, his life nosedived.
At home, he ranted endlessly about exposing the Life Foundation. His obsession consumed every conversation, and eventually, his girlfriend decided she'd had enough. She packed her things and left, slamming the door on the way out.
In less than a week, Eddie had lost his job, his relationship, and any semblance of stability.
So when he remembered the cryptic words of the stranger he'd met at night, the one who'd hinted at deep secrets inside the Life Foundation, he made up his mind. If his life was already in pieces, why not gamble what little was left of it?
Five days after getting fired, Eddie quietly arrived at the Foundation's headquarters.
The building was eerily dark, its towering glass facade reflecting nothing but the streetlights. Not a soul moved inside.
Eddie gripped the axe in his hand, the handle slick from the sweat in his palms. He had no clue how to pick a lock, so his plan was as subtle as a sledgehammer: smash the front door and fight his way in if needed.
…
On the helicarrier above the grocery store on 58th Avenue, Manhattan…
Luke was leaning against the railing on the observation deck, enjoying the crisp night air with Wanda and Sharon. The city sparkled beneath them, a million little lights scattered across the dark.
Bumblebee rolled up beside him, his engine humming low. "Boss," he said, "Eddie Brock just entered the Life Foundation's HQ."
Luke's eyes lit up instantly. 'Finally.'
He'd been lazing around for days, half-worried Eddie might have decided to stay home forever. But patience had paid off and the man had taken the bait.
He jogged back to the control room and gestured for Bumblebee to project the surveillance feed onto the big screen.
"Bee, stay sharp," Luke ordered. "Don't let Eddie get caught too early."
In his mind, this was a pivotal moment. Drake would be far more cautious now, and if Eddie got grabbed before bonding with Venom, the entire storyline would fall apart.
Bumblebee beeped an affirmative and set to work.
…
Back in San Francisco, Eddie raised the axe… and hesitated. One swing, and there'd be no going back.
But the curiosity gnawed at him. If he didn't see what was inside, he'd never be able to let it go.
Just as he tightened his grip and prepared to swing, the heavy glass doors slid open with a smooth hiss, making him freeze in place.
The Foundation's doors were all smart locks, controlled remotely. There was no one in sight, no sign of movement, just the door inviting him in.
Eddie lowered the axe slowly, scanning the street but finding nothing at all.
Could the building's security system be malfunctioning? Or was there something, or someone, inside guiding him forward?
Shrugging off the unease, he stepped inside, axe still in hand.
To his surprise, every single door he approached opened automatically, as if the building itself was escorting him to his destination.
…
Meanwhile, in the security room, two guards sat hunched over their monitors, watching… absolutely nothing.
The cameras were live, but somehow, Eddie wasn't showing up on any feed.
Unaware of the glitch, Eddie strolled right into the underground lab. The final security door, reinforced and meant to withstand serious force, slid open without resistance.
Inside, he ran into a lone scientist. The man was thin, nervous, and about as intimidating as a wet kitten. Eddie turned his lights out with a single punch to the face.
That's when he noticed the airtight glass containment chamber.
Inside, a disheveled man crouched in the corner. The moment he saw Eddie, he lunged forward, slamming his hands against the glass. "Help! Get me out!"
Eddie didn't hesitate. He gestured for the man to step back, and with one swing of the axe, the reinforced glass shattered into glittering shards.
The freed man bolted out straight at Eddie. His hands clamped around his throat with terrifying strength. Eddie fought back, but didn't see the black, liquid-like substance sliding from the man's arm and seeping into his skin.
On the helicarrier, Luke let out a slow breath. Eddie had merged with Venom. The first domino had fallen, now just wait for the rest to fall in line.
…
Minutes later, Luke's phone rang.
He frowned, at this hour, the only one in the grocery store should be Red Braid.
He picked it up.
"Boss," Red Braid whispered urgently, "there's a… uh… customer here. I think I saw him on TV. He's got a bunch of guys in black suits with him, and they're loading up on groceries."
Luke blinked. "A celebrity?"
"I… I think it's the President," Red Braid stammered.
Luke grinned. "Oh. My old customer."
To him, that was all the President was, a repeat client.
"What's the big deal? Customer's a customer. Treat him normally," Luke said.
But Red Braid wasn't worried about the encounter, he was worried about the bill.
"Boss… should I… charge him?"
Luke's brow furrowed. "Of course! And raise the prices while you're at it. Ten times, no, a hundred times! A rich guy like that can afford it."
Red Braid nearly dropped the phone. This was extortion on a scale he wasn't sure was legal, no, scratch that, it was definitely beyond illegal. Still, he swallowed his fear, reached under the counter, and pressed the third hidden button, the one Wanda had set up for a hundredfold markup with the help of Bumblebee. The other two buttons were for double and tenfold respectively.
His hands shook as the computer adjusted the prices. His heart thudded in his chest.
If this went wrong, they weren't just overcharging a customer. They were overcharging the President of the United States. He could already imagine himself sitting in a jail cell along with his whole family and friends.
…