Girl Of Heart And Iron | ✔

16 | regroup and restore

"Discoveries?" Minhyuk leaned a little closer on the table. Ri felt his arm brush against hers. Normally, it would've been annoying but she felt strangely comforted and grounded.

"Well, you see..." Monday's uncharacteristic hesitance immediately put Ri on edge. AIs weren't meant to sound unsure and scared. "You're not on the map. This computer...doesn't exist as far as the world is concerned."

"You mean the IP's hidden? Ingrid's using a VP-"

"No, I mean you are coming up as a single dot in the middle of the woods. I assume that this computer isn't plugged into dirt, Mister Kim, therefore you are in a room with a socket. But no such room, or house, or anything is coming up," Monday said.

"So Ingrid's probably mafia, but that's nothing we didn't suspect already." Minhyuk crossed his arms and scowled at the screen, the glare reflecting in his eyes. "What I want to know is what the heck Oliver thinks he's doing with her."

"That's...not all." Ri never thought the day would come where she'd dread hearing Monday's voice but she supposed there was a first for everything. The AI continued, "The only possible trace I can find on this server is that the virus was the handiwork of Syndicate End."

"Fuck."

Ri startled at the sudden curse. She craned her neck to better look up at Minhyuk and asked, "Bad news?"

He nodded emphatically, eyes shining with fear. A cold chill rushed through Ri and she opened her mouth to suggest- something, anything that wasn't staying here, but then Monday cut off her panicked thoughts and said,

"They are a crime organization based in Central London, with branches in Manchester and York," which didn't make her feel any less like they should be running out of here right about now. "Also, I feel it would be helpful to mention that the terrorists at LuNa Industries have the Syndicate End logo emblazoned all over their clothing."

"Then Ingrid...wait, if this is Ingrid's safe house, then the computer is hers and- oh. Oh no." Ri blinked at the too-bright monitor and suddenly felt a little sick.

Her eyes were drawn to Minhyuk's shaking fists. He had them clenched so hard they'd turned white. Ri's mind kick-started back into desperately thinking up of possible solutions. If she could find a phone somewhere - who was she kidding? she was certain she'd find more than just a damn phone in a place like this - then they could take Monday with them. "We're not safe here, we need to-"

"Oh god, Oliver." Minhyuk suddenly blurted. He lifted a hand to his mouth and for a second, Ri thought he'd faint on her. The visceral, unadulterated fear in his eyes was hard to look at. "What is he thinking?"

Ri didn't know how to answer. Worse case scenarios weren't something she wanted to dwell on. Oliver was either planning to kill them, or was being manipulated by Ingrid, or... Ri shook those thoughts away and focused on Minhyuk.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Dark eyes snapped to meet hers and Ri resisted the urge to flinch at the eye contact. Minhyuk shook his head and took a deep, shuddering breath to calm himself. "I didn't think. Oliver isn't a bad man, she must be holding something over him- oh god, Fern and Aliska. We can't even check on them."

He swore again and this time, Ri didn't jump. She lifted her hand but hesitated mid-way. Would Minhyuk be okay with her comforting him? There wasn't much else she could do at this point. Ri didn't know what they would do after this either. Someone really ought to write a book on handling disasters of the phenomenal variety like this one.

In a burst of bravery, she let her palm land on his sleeve. Minhyuk's eyes dropped down to her hand, then back up to look at her. The silence turned expectant, or maybe Ri was imagining it, but still she said, "we've got each other, Minhyuk. We're gonna get out of this place and figure this out."

The way Minhyuk just...relaxed was a surprise. His fingers unravelled from the tight fists he'd clenched them into and he laid a hand over hers. The fear never really vanished, his expression morphed into a guilty frown instead and Ri thought for a second that maybe it was worse.

"I'm sorry, I should be more level headed. I...want you to know you can rely on me instead of uh- Being a burden." Minhyuk cringed and the fingers around hers squeezed a little, almost as a reflex. He laughed self-deprecatingly, "I'm meant to be the adult here, being twenty one and all."

Ri shifted so she was facing him better and said, "Bullshit," with so much conviction that he blinked in surprise. "That's a load of crap, Minhyuk. You helped me back at Harrows and saved my life at LuNa. You're not a burden, if anything I'm so freaking glad that you're here with me so stop it. Monday?"

The AI spoke up, "Yes, Miss?"

"Is there anyway we can check up on Oliver? You know where he lives."

There was a beat of silence and then, "Permission to hack into Mister Kim's surveillance cameras?"

Ri looked at Minhyuk and he nodded immediately, "Permission granted, M."

"As I have prior experience, it should take only a moment," Monday chirped. "The Metropolitan Police have extended their thanks to the...mysterious hacker who aided them, but MI6 hasn't been so kind. If it weren't for Miss Pepper's firewalls, I would be long gone by now."

Minhyuk and Ri shared a horrified look.

"They figured out you're an AI?" Minhyuk asked.

"No, they believe that I'm a computer program of some sort but their techs haven't found me out yet," Monday explained in a tone of voice better reserved for commenting on the weather. "I do believe that we have a lot of work on our plate once all this is over. Miss Pepper mentioned programming a boundary of some sort for me."

Ri would've been surprised at Pep's out of character suggestion if their AI hadn't indirectly admitted to spying on the goddamn secret service. Not to mention, Monday also seemed to be capable of hacking into satellites. That wasn't planned at all. Her and Pepper seriously had to sit down after this and fix this royal mess. She rubbed her temples and sighed wearily, dropping her hands to her sides.

Minhyuk made a noise of worry but Ri waved him off and said, "I'm fine, just...concerned."

"Miss Ri, I'm pleased to report that Mister Kim's family is safe and sound. No one has visited them and they haven't left the premises," Monday said. "May I please suggest calling a cab to the nearest road and driving to the closest available police station."

"We can't," Ri remembered the car crash and the dead driver and shuddered, feeling a chill run down her spine. The memory of men in black combat gear and guns was as clear as day in her mind and she didn't want to willingly put themselves in that sort of danger by going to the police. They had to figure this out alone.

"Miss," Monday's voice was startlingly louder all of a sudden, echoing around the tiny room. The tinge of concern in her tone filled Ri with unease."There are three jeeps driving at very high speeds towards your location. I suspect they might be the same men who attacked you on the bridge. Non-friendlies, for sure."

"Oh god," Ri turned to Minhyuk with wide, panicked eyes. "We need to get out of here. Now." 

a.n. an update! sorry the schedule's been all over the place, i'm going through a a bit of a life change and my laptop's also down ;;; how've you all been recently? anything exciting happen to you? it's the holidays right now so things are mostly relaxed (or they would be, if so much Stuff wasn't happening at the same time :'))) ) 

if you liked this chapter, please give it a vote and maybe leave a comment! new updates will come as soon as i finish writing the next chapter ~

carry on bravely!