Cryptotrappers!

Cryptotrappers- Skywatchers

"Eva, tell me everything that happened since I left yesterday. Everything."
Eva took a second to go over the day prior before replying.
"Okay, it's not as bad as it looks."
I arched my eyebrows, really wondering how this could be any better than how it looked. With a brief nervous grimace, Eva continued.
"Well, as you suggested, I took a break yesterday. And I slept, for hours even! When I woke up, I went straight back to research. And it was all fine, sure you were taking longer than I expected but I figured that capturing something with camouflage would take a fair while. So I was in the main lab, working on some new gadgets you might need in a few missions, and then... well, then somebody started to enter the base."
Checking quickly to see if Lucy had woken up, which she hadn't, Eva continued her side of the narrative.
"Anyhow, I was pretty concerned since nobody should even know this place is here. So I hid behind the transporter, and I watched. And then, well, this... teenage girl came into the room recording everything on her phone. And she kept looking through the facility, I think she was looking for something, but I panicked and I grabbed one of the tranquilliser rifles and I sort of... shot her."

"You shot her?" I asked loudly, trying to keep both shock and mild disdain from my tone. Eva scrambled to defend herself.
"I panicked and- I mean- she didn't look like she was- but- I'll admit that I might have gone too far but I was worried!"
"How did she end up in the containment chamber?"
Eva's throat swelled with a gulp as she gave a wavering, unconfident momentary smile.
"Well, after she had... fallen under, I didn't want anything bad to happen, you know like her... calling for help or trying to run off. So, um, I took her phone and dragged her in a containment chamber."
The silence between us was thicker than it had ever been. Eva's voice quavered just a little as she continued in the silence that my speechlessness had left.
"I may have also... looked through her phone a little, you know, while I was deleting that video? Her name's Lucy, apparently."
"I... know." I replied stiltedly, to Eva's surprise.
"You know?"
"Lucy's- she's one of my best friends at college, she's one of the coolest people I know, I mean- oh god, she was probably here looking for me. I skipped college yesterday, she was probably worried, maybe she'd followed me to the base without me realising at some point, this is all my fault-"
"Michael, calm down." Eva reassured, holding my shoulders. As I steadied myself, I could see that she was clearly thinking. "So, you're friends with Lucy?"
"Yes?" I replied, tentatively. As she turned away from me with an odd expression, I began to suspect that may have been the wrong answer.

"Exo, I need to ask you a favour. Can I take your phone before you answer?"
Reluctantly, I handed over my phone, really hoping that my PIN number would be enough to keep her from going through it too. Eva gave me a smile and a nod as she pocketed it.
"Okay, thank you, Exo. Now, I need you to stay here over the weekend to watch over Lucy."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Look, Randy's got a convention to attend, Sid's got a big basketball game, and I've got... things to do elsewhere, otherwise I'd stay myself. So unless you've got something pressing to attend to, can I ask you to stay?"
On one hand, I probably could have come up with some excuse to avoid being here all weekend. On the other hand, well, I didn't want Lucy to be abandoned here without any idea what's going on. So, reluctantly, I gave my answer.
"Okay, I'll stay. Can I have my phone back now?"
"Sorry, I can't risk Lucy using it to blow the secret of this place open. You'll have to do without. Now, I'll quickly patch up Sid, there's spare keys for all locked doors in a chest in the Garappa's boat, and there's enough tinned food and frozen microwavable meals in the coffee lounge to survive a nuclear fallout, for humans and Phoenixes alike. Right side corridor, third door, you can't miss it. I'll see you on Monday."
With that, Eva left the room, leaving me to dwell on what the hell I was doing.

I'd never actually been to the Cryptotrappers coffee lounge, hell I didn't even know until today that we had one. But it seemed nice and homely anyhow, and more importantly, I was incredibly hungry. So as I threw a tin of soup on the hob, the sound of the lift from a few rooms over told me that I'd been left alone in the Lab. And sure enough, soon after I'd started on my minestrone, sounds from the containment chambers let me know that Lucy was starting to rouse. So, with no time left to question what I was even thinking by being here, I put down the bowl, collected myself and prepared for what I expected to be the most harrowing conversation I would have in my life.