MafiA's Gamble

NINETEEN

MafiA initiates risky plan

     Lia sat in front of her screen, much like how she had been for most of the week. With Yuki gone, she had to account for so much more, in fact, all of the tech support work. Her fingers were at hard work, and she began typing away furiously, trying to hack K Tech's system to the best of her ability. A semi-relieved expression passed over Lia's face, and she clicked on a few things, allowing Dawn and Krystal a smooth entry. "Okay, I'm in. You guys can go on ahead." Krystal and Dawn immediately sidled up to the entrance, careful not to draw any attention to them. Krystal peered behind her shoulders, and upon ensuring no one was there, replied. "Okay we're in. Were you able to locate her?" Lia frowned, as a fresh wave of frustration overwhelmed her. "No. But you know, there are only so many places where she could be held, if she's even in the building. I've already sent a list of possible locations to both of you. I also suggest you two split up to make the search quicker." Dawn and Krystal exchanged a brief glance, and they began dashing in opposite directions. "Got it. Thanks"

     In the meantime, Alice was busy commanding the other MafiA members who were participating in the mission. Since infiltrating a seemingly all-knowing tech corporation's base is not an easy feat, almost all of the members were involved. MafiA was hoping to also do a few numbers on K Tech, who had such an obvious advantage over everyone else.

     Surprisingly, Eleyne was nowhere to be found in the office. She wasn't by the frequented center table, nor her favourite torture chamber. Instead, she was stealthily lying on top of a building not far from K Tech, sniper rifle in hand and peering into its scope. A radio with a direct line to Headquarters lay near her. It was a decision made by the Boss. Insisting that she would be capable of handling the mass directing and commandeering as a sole strategist, Alice had convinced Eleyne to go help out at the frontlines -though she did still take control over some of the core squadrons- . Despite practically all of MafiA striking the building, it was never a bad idea to have backup. While the core members of the MafiA each took an important, heavy role, the other members were on standby, distracting guards and engaging in combat. 

    Through her scope, Eleyne observed the situation down below. Noticing a guard moments away from dealing a lethal blow to a member of the MafiA, she promptly pulled the trigger. The guard instantly doubled over and fell at the fellow member's feet. Dead. Looking around, the MafiA member raised a thumbs up, silently thanking whoever had saved them, and quietly carried on. Eleyne quickly switched the channel on her radio, and began to casually speak to the commanding leaders awaiting her command. "Hmmmm, alright. Squad A... move 'A' closer in, and back up Squad G. She reloaded the gun with skillful practice, as a rough voice answered her demands. "Yeah, sure."

     Eleyne never took an eye off the scene, and she quickly got back down into position, her rifle satisfied with its full barrel. About to pull the trigger to take someone down once more, Eleyne froze, sensing a foreboding presence making its way towards her. She whipped her head around, greeted with a boy possessing brown hair. He wore a suit with many inexplicable technical intricacies, and a small AG logo was monogrammed atop his shoulder. He radiated such powerful aura, one that Eleyne was sure she would never just happen to encounter, and she narrowed her eyes. Had AG such a powerful being on their side? She could only recall one possibility. "Oh? Are you perhaps the infamous Dark Knight I hear of so often?" The "Dark Knight" in question almost snorted as he replied. " Hah, very funny. That's the same thing your colleague said to me. As for the answer, I shall provide the same I gave to her. What if I am?"

     Eleyne smiled. He had just solidified things for her. Smirking as she threw her radio and gun off the roof, she took the opportunity to leave. "I'll be taking that as a yes. Unfortunately for you though, if you were planning on kidnapping me, unlike Yuki, I won't be so easy to catch." With that, Eleyne jumped as far away from the building as she could, quickly opening up a glider and headed towards the roof of the nearest building. It was a display of classic Eleyne, who always seemed to carry around supplies she deemed necessary all the time. "Hey Boss." She began to speak into her earpiece. "First, just letting you know that AG has crashed the party. Two, what I believe is their so-called Dark Knight appears to be targeting me, so I'll have to abandon my current position and regroup." Alice nodded a confirmation Eleyne could not see. "I trust your judgement." Eleyne closed off the discussion as the roof became increasingly closer. "Thanks. I'll contact you later." She was almost halfway across to the building, when she suddenly lurched down in midair. Looking down, she noticed a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her down rapidly. She whipped her head behind her, shocked to see that the Dark Knight was hanging from her and the glider. Eleyne's mind raced, unable to fathom the situation. Impossible! How on earth did he manage to jump so far?! Not to mention, there was a good chance he could have fallen to his death. She struggled as she tried to shake him off, not caring if she was leaving him to his plummeting death.

      The added weight was never accounted for in the original formula, and as a result, the two barely made it to the top of the building, tumbling and crashing onto the roof. The supposed Dark Knight swiftly rolled over, quickly pinning Eleyne down, as he spoke into his own earpiece. "I have secured her... Send in the helicopter to my location." She struggled against the agile figure's grip, but to no avail. Curses she would never say in front of her mother rippled angrily through her mind, quickly realizing she was absolutely no match for his strength. Unlike his initial appearance, he had a lean and well toned frame; combined with his immense agility and combat ability, it was very possible he was one of the top ten combatters in the Underground. The Dark Knight stared down at Eleyne, who had stopped flailing, flashing his signature, charming smile. "I'm glad you have come to realize that struggling really is quite futile." Eleyne squinted back at him, blinded by the bright light that radiated from him. She frowned and scrunched her face up in frustration. "Hah, I'm not so stupid to be incapable of knowing which battles I will lose."

     He shrugged his shoulders in response and rapidly tied up her hands. As she was escorted to the helicopter that had just landed on the roof, Eleyne looked down at her destroyed earpiece with a frown, unable to contact HQ while she was taken to AG. 

     Never having to actually account for so many things at once before, Alice and Lia were extremely flustered, though they handled the situation rather well. Alice officially took full command over every division, busy giving out orders to all, while Lia sat nearby, her fingers typing lines of code endlessly, as someone at K Tech had been trying to regain control over their systems. 

     Krystal peeked her head into another empty room, another dead end, increasingly annoyed at the tedious process that seemed to be leading nowhere. "Lia. There's way too many rooms. K Tech is seriously huge and I say we need backup to help us search." Alice was working furiously, her head full of possible outcomes and present watching surveillance, so she absentmindedly agreed to Krystal's request before she even registered the question. "Fine. Send in the rest of the reinforcements on standby to help Krystal and Dawn. Send others to reinforce the front lines." Dawn ran and flung another door to an empty room open, not bothering to check inside because she could tell it was hollow. "Yeah, this will make it much faster."

     It didn't take very long. The constant, omnipresent tapping of a keyboard suddenly jerked to a jarring end. Followed by several explosive, desperate hitting sounds that almost broke the board. Likewise, the background noise of many radio signals with its familiar static fuzzed out into silence. The screens, the room went dark, and Lia abruptly stood up, grasping her desk as her face shone pale, illuminated by the silent, bright moon. Alice stared back at her colleague, alarm defining her very being. "No way." Lia threw a glance at her now dark screen, her mind recreating the final scene that flashed before her eyes repeatedly. "They set up radio jamming and now they've hacked our system. We can't offer any more support, but that's not even the issue here." She shuddered before she continued, trying her best to recall exactly what blinked across her screen before she saw it shut down. Yes, she couldn't quite forget such a scene. There stood K Tech's building at the center as it should be, but then there were the walls. The tall, imposing walls that blocked off every entryway, activated just as the last member of the MafiA had stepped a foot into their property. "It was a trap. They waited to lure in almost all of our forces before activating a built-in lockdown procedure. They've got everyone." Alice grit her teeth angrily as Lia confirmed everything she had been surmising. Whirling around, she reprimanded herself for not seeing it sooner. "... Damn it, I've walked right into his trap... Lia!" She turned back to Lia. "Contact Eleyne please. She shouldn't be within the field of jamming, and I know our earpieces aren't hackable nor linked to our system anyway, right?" Lia snapped back to attention, and nodded, quickly setting up a phone call. After a few minutes, Lia gave up, her eyes widening. "I think we lost communication with her completely. The line doesn't even connect, which isn't even possible unless the earpiece was completely obliterated." She sighed, as she grimly concluded the following: "Eleyne would never let the earpiece break of her own will; I threatened her to never lose or break the thing again unless she wants to go communication-less forever, and she knew I seriously meant it. Plus, if the guy sent by AG really was the Dark Knight, she would stand no chance. I say she must be captured." Alice nodded curtly, the stress finally heightening and the panic rising. She willed her reddening eyes to not let go of her welling tears. They were completely shut down, no more resources left, and there was nothing she could do. "Ahh... It seems we've lost the bet."