Here Be Dragons (Completed)

Intrusion

I was able to bathe and thankfully Gabriel assisted me in removing Sean of any notions of accompanying me into the tub. Gabriel washed my hair, much to my surprise, but I found I quite enjoyed the gesture so I didn't put up much of a fight over it. I was left by myself to soak in the bubble bath that smelled like something soft and fruity for a while before I got out and wrapped my body in a fluffy towel that Gabriel had left out for me.

I walked to the door, preparing to open it and enter into Gabriel's bedroom, but stopped short when I heard mumbled voices from the other side. It was Gabriel, Sean, and from the deep accent rumbling through the air, I assumed Silas.

"...didn't make it through the firewall, but he's been trying since last night." Silas grumbled and Gabriel cursed in response. "Victor's stressed out, fearing that his security won't hold."

"It's never been hacked before." Sean interjected. "It'll be fine. You know how Owen and Kota blow things out of proportion. We were caught off guard last night but it won't happen again."

Gabriel chimed in, his deep voice tinted in worry. "And if he does hack in? That makes us vulnerable right?"

"If it gets to that, Victor will do a clean sweep of our tech. There won't be anything for him to find once he's through." Sean reassured. "It's not like we kept all that much, anyway. It's mostly Kota's videos and notes along with Victor's background checks and research. We'll be fine."

I knew they were talking about Volto and uncharacteristic guilt swirled through my stomach. It wasn't my fault exactly since Volto was his own person and made his own decisions, and because the guys had kidnapped me against my will. It wasn't my choice to be here, or at least it hadn't been before last night so I shouldn't feel guilty over their current hardships, but I did. Volto was crazy, obsessed with me and was going to stop at nothing to destroy the guys to get to me. Not the nicest thing to contemplate.

"And the girl?" Silas asked, breaking the silence. "Depending on what happens at game night-"

"Nothing is happening at game night!" Gabriel growled. "The only ones who can't win are North, Kota, and Owen. The rest of us won't kill her...right?"

Another silence descended and I strained to hear, anxiety and hope warring in my chest. I planned on winning game night so it shouldn't matter but somehow I hoped that they didn't want to kill me. I had a feeling Luke, Gabriel, Sean, and now Victor were on my side, but I was still unsure of Nathan and Silas. Of course, the other three were most likely against me so I needed as many friends as I could get. I hoped we'd moved past the "killing Sang" phase but I guess it wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility.

"We could help her through, give her hints." Sean suggested and Gabriel snorted.

"Fucking shit, you really think Kota and Owen won't notice her getting through the maze quicker? If we give her hints, it will be too damn obvious and then Owen will take her for sure."

Silas grunted. "How about we just let the chips fall where they may? Let fate decide." Okay, so Silas wasn't an enemy but not a friend either. He was neutral and I wasn't sure whether that was a positive or a negative for me.

"I say, we let her stay." Sean trilled, his voice muffled like he was farther away than the others. "She's fun and beautiful, and you have to admit life's been more interesting with her around. Why not have a little fun for a change?"

"For a change?" Gabriel barked. "That's all you ever do, Doc!" They way he said 'Doc' was jeering and I could hear the offense in Sean's tone as he responded.

"Life is too short to spend time not enjoying, Gabe! You can't fault me for living life to the fullest and you know you're just jealous that you can't close like I can."