Chapter Text
"Can I see your passport?"
The words left Benrey's mouth before he realized what he was saying.
"My passport? Why do I- what do you mean, my passport?"
Benrey stared at Gordon for a moment, taking him in, thinking of what to say next. What was he even going on about? He himself didn't even know. He had finally worked up the courage to talk to this lead scientist and he already was screwing it all up.
"Hello?" Gordon waved his hand in front of Benrey.
"Your uh- yeah, the- it's company protocol, didn't you see the, the email?" At this point, he was doomed to go along with this whole passport thing. It was too late to turn back now.
Gordon's brows furrowed as he listened. "No- what? This news to me- I- c'mon man, can't I just come in? I have my- I have my company ID- I'm in the HEV suit, what do you need my passport for?"
"You're uh-"
"Dude, you know what, I'm gonna just- I'm gonna just go in myself and if that causes problems then they can, they can just call me after the test." Gordon grumbled. He was already late and this wasn't helping him at all.
Benrey shuffled in front of the control panel, blocking it from Gordon's reach. "I don't- uh, I'll just have to follow you then."
"Follow me? You can't just- you have a job to do. Just like I do."
"My friend can stay here and guard the door, this is more- this is more important." He insisted.
Gordon groaned and glanced at the other security guard. "I don't think- I think there's supposed to be two of you here. You can't just- you can't just follow me dude."
"No, I have to." He turned to the other guard and cleared his throat. The other guard made a disappointed face - he knew what Benrey was trying to do. "See, he says it's fine, it's my job, I have to follow you."
Benrey now twisted to face the control panel and pressed the button combination to open the elevator. "After you." He said to Gordon.
Gordon sighed. "I guess this is happening. I don't- what email are you talking about? I swear I just checked my emails last night. I didn't see anything about passports."
"Must've been sent to spam." Benrey followed behind, nearly getting shut in the doors. "Dunno, maybe you didn't look hard enough."
"I don't think that's- I'm going to ask the next scientist I see, because I really just think you're fucking with me dude.
Benrey shook his head in response. He really didn't know what to say. If Gordon asked anyone else, he was screwed - his whole plan was compromised and he'd come off as a complete jerk. Well, he'd just have to try his best to stop Gordon from asking anyone at all.
The silence was unbearable to Benrey. He kept worrying about how he'd come off. "Uh... you know, if you jumped down, it would be faster."
"I don't think- well, I guess that's true, but- you'd get very hurt."
Benrey peered over the edge, as if he was considering it. But he decided against it and just stood silent until the doors opened.
"You- are you still following me?"
"I, uh, yeah man, I have to. All the way to the test chamber." Gordon sighed at that and slapped a hand to his forehead. "Sorry, it's the- uh, the manager told me to... do it."
"Manager? We have a manager?" He thought about that for a second as he trailed down the hallway. "I thought we had more than just a manager."
Benrey shrugged and watched as the other guards opened the doors for Gordon without question. This was not helping him out. He shot a look to them, one that got completely ignored.
"See, they didn't ask me about my passport. Are you sure you don't just have some fucked up vendetta against me?"
"Wha- no, man. They were just busy..." He tried to think of something. "Thinking about... Fruit... Loops..."
"Fruit Loops? I- whatever, man. I don't- they had breakfast, why would they be thinking about that?"
Benrey opened his mouth to reply but a new scientist came over and spoke up. "What are you doing? You aren't supposed to be down here."
"THAT'S WHAT I KEEP TELLING HIM!" Gordon exclaimed. "I- he keeps asking me about my passport. I don't- did you get any emails about having your passport?"
This was it. Benrey's chances were over. His whole life was over. He'd have to leave Black Mesa, change his name - maybe to something boring like Barney. He could never be seen again. He wouldn't be able to ever set foot in this state again, maybe not even this country. He'd have to raise some weird farm animals, never be seen by anyone else. He'd have to-
"Emails?" The scientist seemed to think it over. "Yes, I... do you not have your passport?"
Benrey glanced up to him in surprise. That's not what he was expecting to hear, not at all.
"No I don't have my- what are you talking about?"
"We're gonna have to find you that passport."
Gordon groaned. "Okay, fine. I'll- can I not just bring it tomorrow? I sort of have somewhere to go right now, and I'm already late and, this guard, he's trailing me to the test chamber, and I-" He sighed out in frustration.
"I'm gonna have to follow you until we get there man, I'm sorry." Benrey insisted. "That's just what the, it's what the rules said. I'm gonna have to."
"Fucking- fine. Jesus Christ. Let's go then."
Benrey bit his lip and nodded. He started off after Gordon, the stray scientist staying behind. He seemed... confused on what just happened, mumbling to himself - "I didn't get that email..."
"Dude, this is the- this is where the chamber starts, you're not allowed to- you can't come in here. You don't have on an HEV suit." Gordon explained to Benrey. "You're not- what are you doing?"
Benrey pouted his lip out akin to a stray dog.
"That's not how this works. You can't just whine and- what the fuck, dude?" He put his hand to his head and sighed out. "Fine. Whatever. If that's what the boss says, that's what the boss says. Fine. Whatever. But if this whole experiment gets fucked up, well, I just- whatever."
Two scientists unlocked the doors for Gordon. They gave Benrey a look but didn't question it. They didn't know what to say, especially after having seen that whole interaction.
Benrey trailed Gordon inside and looked around. He felt his stomach drop. He was definitely not supposed to be in here. He knew this, and yet it was already too late. Either he tell the truth and leave, probably get fired, or he continue on. And also likely get fired. And hated. Both outcomes sort of sucked in the long run.
"Gordon, who is this with you?" A voice came over the intercom.
"The- it's the security guard, he had some whole- did you guys get an email about a passport?"
Inside, Bubby, Coomer, and Tommy all looked between each other. They all looked confused until Bubby spoke up. "I, uh... I told him I did. I didn't want to seem like I didn't know what was going on?"
"That's uh... that's not a good idea..!" Tommy replied.
But still, Coomer was already speaking up. "Yes, Gordon! We all brought our passports!"
Gordon sighed and nodded. "Guess I'm the idiot then." He mumbled to himself. Benrey shook his head but Gordon didn't seem to notice. "Whatever. What, are you gonna come up and watch me do everything?"
"No, I'll just... I'll wait, uh, I'll wait here."
"Great."
Gordon stood in front of the sample, putting a hand on it.
"Hey, you- uh, you shouldn't be touching that." Benrey spat out. "It's uh, you shouldn't- why are you-"
"Dude, this is my job. I'm putting the thing in here. You shouldn't be in here. It's- okay, I'm putting the sample in, it's going in, it's-" He began to push it inside. And in a flash, everything turned a blinding green.
Benrey felt as if his body was being ripped to shreds, as if everything was being morphed and changed. He felt wrong. The world around him was completely different when he opened his eyes - the man who was with him, Gordon, was gone. Instead, he was face to face with an ugly looking creature. It stared right back. Benrey shut his eyes in fear, hoping he'd just wake up from a weird dream. That's all this was, right?
When he opened his eyes again, he was in a whole different section of Black Mesa, barely even able to get a grasp on his own name.