MafiA's Gamble

THIRTY TWO

MAESTUS

     Many hours later, in the evening, Eleyne and Ley visited as promised, this time bearing food. "Hellooo~! We brought dinner!!!" Eleyne exclaimed her greeting excitedly, as she gestured to some bags she forced Ley to carry. Yuki looked up from her computer, happily surprised. "Yay! Food!" She got up from her seat with evident joy, as she made her way over to Ley, whose arms were full of baggage. After sharing the well-thought-out dinner, Eleyne and Ley decided to hang around for a while longer, keeping Raito company as Yuki worked on the HADES. Off to the side, the three of them talked and chatted casually to pass the time. Amidst the pleasant banter, sudden, quick flashing movements in the back of the room swiftly brought Eleyne's attention to a shadowed corner. Quickly following Eleyne's gaze, Raito stepped into action the moment Eleyne was about to call out a warning. With agile footing, he jumped upwards, effortlessly snatching the mechanism hovering in the air. Raito held out his hand, which held the device, allowing Ley to briefly examine it.

Observing the sudden commotion, Yuki got up and went over to Ley, who was now holding a thin, metallic object, curious as to what got her friends riled up. Thinking out loud, Ley vocalized his observations. "Well, it's a drone, that's for sure. Hm, as to who placed it here.." Ley turned over the device, his expression darkening when he recognized it's mechanisms. "Scales.. damn, I knew there was something strange going on with them. Based on the way this thing was built, I'd say it's a data collecting drone. I see no speakers, nor a mic, so they wouldn't be able to communicate with us, and vice versa. But there is definitely a camera." Having said his portion, Ley swiftly threw the drone onto the ground, casually crushing it with his foot. "There's no need to keep it around anymore. Best destroy it." Staring curiously at Ley, Yuki marveled at his observation abilities. "I had no idea you were so knowledgeable with tech?" Turning to Yuki with a slightly self-satisfied expression, he looked at her with proud confidence. "Well, I do run a whole tech company. I would be a fool to not have any basic knowledge." Yuki blinked in surprise at her own ignorance. Of course, Ley was the leader of the Kuraikage Technologies, a company which had made huge technological advancements. In fact, they supplied many of the parts Yuki uses in her own gadgets. Laughing it off nervously, Yuki apologized for her unenlightenment. "Aha, sorry.. I totally forgot that you are the leader of Kuraikage Technologies. I guess I've just been considering it and K Tech to be two different things. Ley looked at her with a nonchalant expression. "No need to apologize, at least you know now."

Eleyne was handing Raito a leftover chicken wing, when Yuki's computer began to sound loudly, wailing its warning, declaring a state of emergency. Yuki, who was standing awkwardly by Ley, whipped her attention back to her computer, quickly rushing over to her working space. The moment her eyes started scanning briefly over the screen, her face paled considerably, and she began frowning immensely, not even having the time to sit in her chair. The rest of them watched silently, as Yuki wordlessly started typing at vigorous speeds, super concentrated on the task at hand. They had many questions, but kept them to themselves, for fear of wrecking her focus. The wait was not long, and soon, Yuki's frantic typing ceased to a jerking halt, as she slipped to the floor in horrifying defeat. Hands shaking, she couldn't bring herself to look up at everyone else. "I- I'm so sorry. I couldn't stop it in time, I-." Failing in trying to calm herself, Yuki began to collapse into tears. "I'M SO SORRY, I FAILED, I-." She gasped for air, not quite breathing properly with the state she was in. Seeing Yuki break down, both Ley and Raito rushed to her side, while Eleyne observed the computer. Grasping her shoulders, Raito spoke in a calm and firm voice. "Yuki, it'll be okay. First, take deep breaths- no, Yuki, look at me. We'll fix it together, I promise." Shakily looking up, Yuki wiped her tears and nodded, trying to smother her sobs. "W-while we were busy with the drone, someone managed to hack into the computer, a-and they somehow messed up the code within the HADES." She shuddered before continuing. ".. They somehow activated the start sequence."