Sighing, I rest my forehead on my hand.

"If that stupid bottle is so damn important, why don't they put a sign on it that says 'Attention, don't drink' or something?!"

"Oh. My. God." Says Aaron. "Was it you?!"

"No," I lie. But I'm a bad liar. Henry bursts out in laughing.

"How could you leave the salon unlocked?!" Scolds Aaron desperately.

"I was in a hurry, okay?!"

"Since when have you even been drinking champagne?!" Aaron wants to know.

"I don't drink - I..." I give Henry an uncertain look, but he just shrugs.

"It's because of the little blonde girl! I knew it!" Aaron hisses.

"Hey! Now don't pretend you didn't bet your motorcycle yesterday because of that redhead!"

Henry sighs. "Okay, guys, time-out!"  He takes my phone and talks to Aaron himself. "Are you sure it was right this bottle? When is the guy coming to pick it up?"

Aaron thinks for a moment. "I think sometime next week."

"Oh well. Then we don't have much time! Bring the bottle here and we'll fix it!"

"Repair? What do you want to fix? The damn bottle is already open!" Aaron replies.

"Let that be our concern. And bring some new champagne from the supermarket!" Henry says and hangs up before Aaron can reply.

I look at him skeptically. "You really want to fake the bottle?"

Henry shrugs. "What else? Do you have a better idea? We still have an aluminum welder back there and a bit of isofoil. Let's see what can be done with it. Unless you're willing to spend our hard-earned research money for the shit. But in that case, I'll rip your head off!"

"And you want to fill that up with cheap champagne?" I raise an eyebrow suspiciously. "Don't you think these rich sacks can tell good champagne from bad champagne?"

"What? They never notice that! These bottles are never drunk, but always resold! Even if you open them, we can leave a bit of the old in for the aroma. They have no comparison anyway, how it tastes! How many bottles should there be left? They are very rare! In addition, they lose their value if they do not remain unopened."

I laugh into my beer bottle. Henry is really the best!

"Oh well. I'm curious about your talent for counterfeiting!"

After an hour, Aaron shows up at the lab with the bottle. It is dark and apart from us and a few other PhD nerds two floors below, no one seems to be in the house. Perfect!

"Oh well." Henry says and places the bottle on the work surface. "Refill first!" He says and expertly lets the champagne run into the bottle via a flow funnel.

"Cork?" he asks, reaching out. I hand him the cork.

"Are you sure we'll get it back in?" I ask doubtfully.

"If not, we'll just take the compressor." He replies.

"Compressor?! Don't break that bottle!" Aaron steps restlessly from one foot to the other.

"If we can't get the cork in, it doesn't matter if the bottle is broken." Reminds him Henry. "Besides, they do that in the production halls somehow."

After the cork is back in place, we all exhale in relief.

"Now just the topping!" Henry grabs a little of the black isofoil.

"Stop! There are golden patterns on it!" I say. "How do we want to imitate that? The original foil is torn!"

Henry thinks for a moment. "We melt them together with the other film."

Aaron trembles nervously.

"Then a piece of golden foil for the neck of the bottle." After a little tinkering, the bottle almost looks like new. An expert eye would probably know despite it, but maybe we are lucky and the old gentleman does not see so well anymore?

"We'll try it first." I present Aaron with our finished masterpiece.

"And what if he notices?"

I let my shoulders sink exhausted. "Then it's my life on the line, not yours. So lets´s hope it doesn't come to that."

"Oh nonsense!" Henry pats me on the shoulder. "It looks really good! As if these people have ever seen such a bottle in the original?!"

"Well... Now there's no turning back anyway." I give Aaron a warning look. "Do the other roommates know about it?" Aaron shakes his head.

"I was the first to find and hide the bottle. But we should bring them back soon."

I nod and grab my cat. "Time to go home, Watson." 

Henry quickly presses a few buttons on our Meinolf and replaces an empty bottle in which a small tube has been inserted.

"Are you still quickly starting the new cycle for tonight?" I ask over my shoulder.

Henry nods and waves goodbye. "Remember to buy new yogurts for Elena!" He thinks for a moment. "And me too! After all, I just saved your ass!"

I raise an eyebrow skeptically.

"3€ or 3700€? What do you prefer?" Henry asks with a grin.

Groaning, I make my way home with Aaron.