Robert entered the east wing of the lab first, with the duffle bag in tow. The hallway smelled like chemicals and ambition. It was quiet, and every door was closed as the scientists slaved away trying to find a breakthrough.
Robert knocked on the first door he saw. He waited for a minute but there was no answer, so he stepped inside.
Seated at his desk was one of his scientists, AirPods in, jamming to songs as he worked away.
Robert couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. But he was only the first stop, so he opened the duffle bag, grabbed a wad of cash, and walked over to where he was sitting and slammed the cash on his desk.
The scientist blinked over and over like his brain couldn't process what his eyes were seeing. He looked up at Robert, down at the cash, then back up at Robert then raised his hand to his ear, pausing his music.
"And where did you get this from Robert?" he asked, making sure to keep his voice down.
"You sure you want to know the answer to that question?" Robert asked with a smile. "If you want to know, I can tell you."
"No. No. No. You keep that piece of information to yourself," he said as he picked up the money and began running his fingers across it.
"Well then, that's sorted," Robert continued. "Just bring that money home to your wife and kids. Let them reap the fruits of your hard labor; they deserve it."
The scientist held the money, stunned. Words failed him; there were too many thoughts rushing through his mind at once. Finally, he shook his head and muttered, "Thank you, I knew you'd come through."
"Anything for my team," Robert replied as he turned on his heels and began to walk out. "Oh, and one more thing: spend it wisely, please."
Robert headed a few doors down and knocked on the door.
"Come in," said the second scientist, typing at his keyboard, barely glancing up before Robert dropped a bundle of cash on his desk with a loud thud.
The loud thump the wad of cash made as it hit his desk caught his attention. His eyes locked straight onto the stack, widening with surprise.
"Damn, Robert. That was fast," he said. "I guess when you're in the line of fire, you find a way out, I guess."
"Something like that," Robert replied.
"Thanks," the scientist replied as he reached for the cash, still smiling.
"You're not going to count it… ask where I got it from?"
The scientist shrugged. "Nah. That's your business, not mine. I trust you. All my concern was that we got paid and we did; we're all good here, Rob."
Robert moved from office to office, before heading over to the north wing then finally the west wing. It was the same story. Cash dropped on their desks, quiet looks, and unspoken questions. No one judged Robert; why would they when they were in as much dire need as he was. You could feel the energy shift in each room, the drive in their eyes ignited and the passion that was extinguished was relit.
By the time Robert returned to his own office, he was drained. The day had taken its toll, physically as well as mentally. But the lab had what it needed. His people had what they needed, and for now, that was enough.
Months passed and things were on the up. More scientists were employed, more projects were finished, and word spread about their work. The lab was alive again, but this time, it was thriving.
And to Robert's surprise, Derrick stuck to his word; he kept his distance. Every now and then, of course, Robert got a call telling him to purchase things from certain companies that inflated the receipts greatly. They felt dirty to touch; every time he looked at them, it was a constant reminder he'd done things the wrong way.
He felt used, like a proxy to bring more evil into the world, but he still complied anyway, telling himself it was a temporary fix; it was the only thing that allowed him to sleep peacefully at night.
But with more success came more time away from his family. Every day was a push towards something breathtaking—the final puzzle piece, the moment everything changed. They were working on synthesizing the DNA of dragonflies, the gene that let them regenerate limbs. The idea was to fuse that with earthworm regeneration. If they pulled it off, it could be the key to self-healing armor, second-skin tech for soldiers, explorers, even astronauts.
But no matter what they tried, the dragonfly sequence wouldn't cooperate. Like the DNA itself refused to bend to the scientists' will. Still, they were close. Close enough to draw global attention. The lab once left for dead now had headlines written about it. Robert graced science magazine covers, sat on panels, and was called a visionary. But he hadn't forgotten how those same publications ignored his funding pleas, and now they couldn't get enough of him.
One night, he sat alone in his office, quietly amused at the irony, wondering for the hundredth time if calling Derrick had been the right choice. He didn't know. But outside his office, everything was about to change.
"DNA: 100% SYNTHESIZED," the machine rang out. Hands were over everyone's mouths in that lab as they were all stunned into a moment of silence, then screams of uncontrollable joy erupted.
"We've done it! We've done it!" one scientist shouted, leaping up.
Another covered his face in disbelief. "It's real? We actually did it?" Tears streamed down his cheeks.
The lead scientist of the group, still jumping up and down, stopped for a second and scanned the room. When he couldn't see Robert anywhere, he bolted out of the lab and ran towards the west wing where Robert's office was. He wasn't much of a runner or an athlete at all. His legs filled up with lactic acid with every step. His lungs screamed from the top of his lungs to stop, but adrenaline pushed him through.
When he reached Robert's office, his vision was groggy and his legs were heavy. He hadn't run in over twenty years, and by the state of him, you could tell.
"Robert, Robert!" his voice rang out through heavy breaths.
"What is it?" Robert asked as he rose from his seat.
"We did it. We actually did it, Robert!"
"Did what?" Robert asked with a wary glance.
"The DNA. Dragonfly. Synthesized."
Robert's eyes widened. "No…"
"Yes!" the man shouted, still leaning over trying to get his breath back. "Come. You have to see it."
Robert began to walk slowly toward the door, the memories of his past flooding to the front of his mind. The dreams he had as a kid. When he was young, he always promised his mom as he sat in her lap that he would change the world, create something revolutionary, and now finally he had fulfilled that promise.
As Robert snapped out of his daydream, he ran past the scientist, who was barely back to his feet, then sprinted towards the lab as fast as he could. When he arrived at the lab doors, he took in a deep breath then exhaled slowly as he walked through. And there it was on the monitor in bold letters:
DNA SYNTHESIZED.
Robert stared at the screen. His hands trembling as tears flooded his cheeks. Finally, after all the years of sacrifice, it was there and no one could take it from him. He dropped to his knees as he became overcome with emotion. He finally felt like someone—that his sacrifices weren't in vain.
"Maybe I'll get a Nobel Prize," he whispered to himself as he wiped the tears away that were now clouding his vision. He stood up on his shaky legs then addressed the team. "Great work, everyone," he said, his voice filled with emotion. "Tonight, we celebrate."
The men called their wives, children, and their loved ones to break the news of their achievement. But Robert… he rushed home to tell his family the news in person.
As he arrived home and took out his keys, he began to fumble them in his hand, unable to contain his excitement. When he finally got a hold of them and opened the door, he burst straight through it.
"Honey! Gabriel! Daniel! Get in here, quick!" Robert shouted.
Nicole rushed in, panicking. "What's wrong?"
"Boys!" Robert called.
"Alright, Dad…" Gabriel mumbled, coming down the stairs.
"Do I really need to come down for this?" Daniel groaned from upstairs.
"Yes, unless you want to be grounded," Robert said, grinning.
They all gathered in the living room, confused.
"I did it!" Robert shouted.
"Did what, Dad?" Daniel asked. "You do a lot of stuff. Be specific."
"That's exactly what I was thinking," Gabriel muttered.
Nicole smiled. "Let your father speak."
"The experiment. The DNA. My life's work. I finally cracked it!"
"No way, you actually did!" Nicole screamed as she ran, jumped onto Robert, and wrapped her arms around him.
"We synthesized it. It's done."
"You believed in me when I didn't," Robert said, trying his best to keep his emotions in check. "This? This was all of us. You guys were my why. When I felt like giving up, I thought about you guys and pushed through."
He looked at his sons with a grin, his eyes full of love. "Bring it in, guys. Don't make me beg."
Daniel groaned. "Do we have to?"
Gabriel nudged him. "Come on. This is, like, his Avengers moment."
Daniel and Gabriel laughed as they walked over to join their mom in hugging their dad. It felt strange to them; they hadn't hugged their dad since they were little kids, never mind hugging as a family, but they smiled and held on tightly nonetheless.
"We're going out tonight—me, you, the boys, the guys from the lab, and whoever they want to bring along to celebrate. It's on me," Robert said as he squeezed his family tighter.
"I guess I better start looking for something to wear," Nicole said, nodding her head from side to side and beaming with a radiant smile.
Robert's phone kept ringing and buzzing over and over. "Answer it then, Robert," Nicole implored.
"They can wait."
Robert always felt like an oddball in the world, never really knowing his place in all of the moving pieces that made it whole, but for the first time in his life, he felt like he belonged. He wasn't just a piece in the background no one ever saw, and he was going to savor this moment for as long as he could.