Faithful Freefall (24.1)

"Hey, you," Leon turned, ready to come up with an excuse for what he and Fenix were doing in the building when he saw that it was Lumina who had tapped on his and Fenix's shoulders.

"Jesus, Lumina," Fenix clutched his chest, "You can't just say something like that and approach us from behind, I thought we got caught!"

Lumina grinned, "Well, at least we know that your instincts haven't dulled, I could see Leon's mind racing to come up with an excuse. Anyways, have you guys found anything interesting? What are we doing here exactly?"

Leon was the one who answered this time, "Remember I mentioned Risá was working on a way to stop the min control chips from working? Yeah, we're about to do something with. If we execute this right and no one catches up, you'll thank me."

"Whatever you say, Leon. You know what's best here. And Fenix, I guess. I'm entirely out of my depth here," Lumina shrugged.

"Oh no, count me out, I'm not much help either," Fenix added, looking around the large room they had just entered, "Growing up, I was only allowed on Level 3 and nowhere else. Anytime someone saw me anywhere else, they'd immediately let my uncle and aunt know. Speaking of which…I really hope we don't run into them. God forbid they see Owen."

Lumina turned to him, "What exactly is that situation? Like…What's the situation with your uncle and aunt, exactly?"

Fenix sighed, "My mom and dad disappeared before I was really old enough to remember them. I think Bella probably remembers them more than I do. Since then, my aunt and uncle have been the ones taking care of us—But I guess saying they took care of us is giving them a bit too much credit. They didn't really care where I went honestly, as long as I didn't get in anyone's way. And when I did get in trouble…" He shivered, "They'd make me watch the experiments they did on people. They said they'd do it to me if I misbehaved again. One of the experiments they made me watch was…On Owen. It was his eye."

"...Hey, Mina and Owen already murdered a bunch of people, surely no one will notice two more people's deaths—"

"Lumina," Leon chided, "Trust me, I completely agree. But we do have a mission and we need to stay focused. However, if they do happen to get in our way," His eyes flashed, "Don't show them any mercy."

Lumina sighed, "Fine, you're right. Alright, which direction is the office in? We'd better get there sooner rather than later."

Leon took the lead, going down the hallway towards the labs. He shivered a bit as he saw the rooms with certain machines that looked like tanks, or pods, "Let's…Keep moving," Leon said, as Lumina and Fenix looked at him concernedly. Both of them decided it would be better not to push him.

Pushing a door open, Leon slowed down so he was right between Lumina and Fenix and whispered, "Stay next to me, don't touch anything unless I tell you to. I'll direct you to look in certain places, check if you can find a Level 4 access card lying around anywhere. If anyone asks you any questions, tell them that you're both my assistants." 

"Got it," Lumina responded quietly as they reached an empty lab table, and Leon began to pull a couple of things out, a couple of mechanical tools such as wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, etc.

"You see that guy two tables ahead of us," He asked and Lumina nodded, "Go over to him and act like you're looking for something. He'll probably ask you what you need, tell him you're looking for an empty USB."

As Lumina moved, Leon leaned over to Fenix, "Do you have your phone?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, what should I do?" Fenix asked back.

"Call Risá. Tell her we're making the…Uh, just say we're trying to break the mind control. She'll know what to do from there and she'll tell you what to get. If you can get me the right computers and other electronics, I can take it from there," He asked, grabbing a tablet and picking up a stylus.

Fenix frowned, "I meant to ask this but...How would Risále know what you'd need to make some USB that can override the mind control? And why do you know how to stop it?" He asked.

Leon was silent for a moment, "Do we have to have this conversation now?" He asked softly. 

The ginger hummed, "I think we're stuck here for a while, so no better time than now. I'm going to get the things Risále tells me to get but when I get back, I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me what the hell is going on," He said simply, before walking out of the lab, pulling out his phone. 

Lumina came back to the table, holding a seemingly new and blank flash drive, "Where did Fenix go?" She asked.

"He had to get supplies for what I'm trying to do," Leon responded, plugging the flash drive in and scrunching his eyebrows, "You'd think they'd make sure they check what's actually on these things but no. Honestly, how are these people okay with the fact that someone might randomly stumble on this shit."

"Wait, oh my God, is that po—"

"Shut up, yes. And no, I'm not surprised, we're moving on now. I've got to focus on what I'm trying to do," Leon muttered, his face a bit red.

"Which you do have to actually explain to us, by the way, since all we know is you guys might have a way to disable the chips," Lumina said, raising an eyebrow.

Leon sighed, running his hand through his hair and tying it back, "Honestly, just wait for Fenix to get back. I have to explain it to him anyways as well so you might as well be here for it as well—" He looked up to see a couple of security guards standing outside the hall, and then his eyes widened as he saw a familiar face. Quickly, he turned to Lumina, "Go with Fenix, make sure that guy doesn't see his face—" He subtly pointed to one of the scientists.

Lumina squinted her eyes, "Is that—"

"Yeah, it's Matthew fucking Callahan, and if he sees Fenix then we're screwed," Leon hissed, "Go, and make sure you can get him back in here while covering his face at least a little bit."

Lumina nodded and walked off, a bit faster than usual but not so much so that it would draw attention. Leon sighed, and spoke quietly into his earpiece, "Matthew Callahan is here. And from what I can tell, I think Dr. Heranzik is here as well."

There was silence on the other end, before Bella spoke up, "Where is he?" Her voice was tight and tense, and Leon would expect that Fenix and Owen were tense as well.

"He's on Level 2, outside Chemical Lab 3," Leon muttered lowly, "Lumina if you can't get Fenix to cover his face, get him out of here or even up to Level 3. I'm not risking Matthew seeing him."

"I'm fine," Fenix responded, "I have a face mask on, it covers my nose and mouth, we'll be fine. I've got everything we need, Lumina and I are coming back."

Leon hesitated for a moment, "Alright," he said, "Bella, Mina, Owen, you guys need to hurry the fuck up with whatever your plan is about getting into the offices because I'm sure Dr. Heranzik will come up there soon."

Owen spoke this time, his voice a bit tight, "We'll be fine. Just warn us if either of them tries to come up here or something."

"I'll keep an eye on them," Lumina said, "Fenix is heading back, I'm just going to stay in their general area. If they come upstairs, I'll go with them and warn you guys."

Mina's voice came over the earpiece, sounding a bit worried, "Lumi, be careful…" She said.

Leon looked up and watched Fenix tuck his head down a bit as he walked past Matthew and Dr. Heranzik, luckily, both of the men didn't seem to notice him. He moved towards Leon, putting a holographic tablet on the table, along with both laptops.

"Are you okay—"

"Let's just do what we need to do," Fenix said, "And you can explain to me why the hell you and Risále know all this shit."

Leon sighed, "Wonderful. I'm going to have to explain this to Lumina as well later. Well, might as well get started. Also, wear your goggles in here when you're not working with chemicals. Even if you aren't, other people are."

Fenix laughed as he pulled the goggles over his eyes and pinning his hair back, "You're such a mom—"

"Shut up if you want me to talk," Leon grumbled, pulling a hair tie off of his wrist and handing it over to the other boy, who just laughed but didn't continue to speak. Taking a deep breath, Leon began, "The White Lotus actually did start testing Risá and me as possible candidates for the Gifted Child Program before I got separated from Chaewon. They started to do experiments on us but had to stop, I think Apocalypse said that it was her who put a stop to it. One of the things they tried to have us do was create a base framework for this mind control chip. We didn't actually succeed in making it, since we only made the bare bones of the code, but it seems they basically used it as a base and developed it. Then they injected all the citizens with chips at the nape of their heads. Risá did some experimenting at the camp near Sector 1 and managed to make a code that actually overrides the mind control chip. I need to put it on this USB and get up to Level 4 since the mainframe is up there. I'm starting the more difficult part of the code but we need to be quick," He turned to him, "I'm going to need you to disconnect from our local group wave in your earpiece and call Risá again. Open up that laptop and type out whatever she tells you exactly."

"...Got it," Fenix said quietly, opening up the laptop and stopping, "Don't blame yourself about this. I know you are."

Leon sighed, "How am I supposed to not blame myself? Even…Even if we were children, it still…It doesn't undo all the harm we've caused. At least Risá tried to fight back. I was too scared all along."

Fenix shook his head, "It doesn't undo the harm, that's true, but it's still not your fault. You were in a situation where you couldn't have done anything more. From what I understand, you had more to lose than Risále at the time. You had Hyunwoo, and they threatened to hurt Chaewon and Elliot too, didn't they? I know you've heard this from everyone, and it still won't sink in, but you were a victim."

"...We can deal with this later," Leon murmured, "Call Risá."

The other knew he wasn't going to win the fight and sighed, disconnecting from the local group connection and calling Risále. As she quietly explained, Leon watched as Fenix began to type quickly on the palmtop.

It only took them a few moments to finish and Fenix plugged the USB into the laptop, transferred the code into there, and handed it to Leon, who plugged it into another laptop. He combined the two different codings, and pulled it open on the holographic tablet, running through the code.

Suddenly, someone tapped Leon on the shoulder, he and Fenix whirling around as Leon closed the hologram quickly, "Hey, Dr. De Luca is asking for you in his office," One of the guards said, looking at Leon.

For a moment, Leon and Fenix looked at each other as Leon said, "Can you give me a few minutes? I'm working on a project right now."

The guard shook his head, "He wants you there now, you'd better get moving, kid."

Fenix carefully grabbed the flash drive and unplugged it from the laptop, slipping it into Leon's jacket. Leon smiled at the guard, "I'll be there in a second, just let me put some of this stuff away," The guard seemed to believe him and walked away.

Immediately, Fenix turned to Leon, "You can't—"

"I have to," Leon said firmly, "If I say no, they'll immediately take us into custody. Besides, Arsenio's office is on Level 4. This is the quickest way to get up there. And either way," His eyes darkened as he glared at Matthew and the other doctor, "Arsenio De Luca and I have been long overdue for a proper talk."