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The darkened hallways of MD-5’s base were mostly quiet, save for the occasional muffled clangs of the pipes in the walls, or an odd police siren somewhere in the distance. Everyone had turned in for the night, and thus a somber stillness hung in the air. However, if you ventured a little further in, you could hear irregular intervals of clacking desktop keys emitting from a closed door.
Sofia was sat at her computer, her screen displaying blocks of code before her. She had long since zoned out into the sea of blaring green syntax, scanning over the seemingly endless lines in search of bugs or unfinished code. Her fingers flew over the keyboard, expertly mending the program as needed. Scrolling back up and clicking open a new folder, she was nearly ready to put the test drive into motion. A sense of accomplishment and excitement grew as she surveyed the final block of code, finally ready to see the fruits of her labor-
“You’re up late.” A voice spoke behind Sofia, causing her to jump.
“L-Lamar! I didn’t even hear you come in!” She said as she regained herself.
“Woah, heh, didn’t mean to scare you girl. I just wanted to see what you were doin’ up so late.”
“It’s fine, I guess I kinda got carried away in this project I’m doing.” She admitted sheepishly.
“Project, huh? Is that what you’ve been slavin’ away at?” He asked, stepping closer to the screen in curiosity.
“Oh yeah! Mason and I’ve been working on this new program that we can hopefully use to get past TAScorp’s firewall, should everything go to plan that is.”
“So why’s Mason not in here helpin’ you?”
“She went to bed a couple hours ago, but I’m really on a roll here and I’m so close to getting it done.” Sofia exclaimed.
“On a roll or not, I think you should be takin’ a break yourself.” Lamar suggested. “It’s nearly midnight.”
Sofia looked back at the monitor, and noticed the corner displayed 11:48 PM.
“What the- how is it this late already?! I swear the last time I read it was only ten!” She expressed in shock.
“You may be a computer genius Sof, but we still gotta work on your time management skills.” Lamar chuckled.
“I wouldn’t say genius, but… I guess you’ve got a point.” She sighed.
“C’mon, how about we both get a snack before we turn in, yeah?”
“Well, I wouldn’t mind something eat right about now.” Sofia said as she felt a sudden sense of hunger return to her.
Lamar motioned for the girl to follow him as he exited the room. Sofia heaved herself out of her chair, raising her arms to stretch her tensed muscles. She shook the drowsiness from her body, then followed her weeb friend into the hallway. Her eyes blinked as she adjusted to the darkness, cautiously trailing behind him. As the two entered the dimly lit kitchen, Lamar flicked on a light and began digging through a small cabinet.
“I’d get the bot to make us somethin’, but I don’t wanna wake anyone.” He explained as he pulled two large cups of noodles out and placed them on the counter. “Besides, I got a damn good deal on these the other day.”
Sofia inspected the cups, and was surprised to see they were of a high-quality brand.
“Shoju? I thought you said you couldn’t get that kind around here anymore?” She questioned.
“That’s what I thought too, but by some miracle I found these at the shop out of the blue and I figured to hell with it, heheh.”
“Wow, good find man.”
Lamar nodded, and after pouring in some water from the sink, placed the cups in the microwave and set it to a minute.
“So Masa’s thinkin’ he might be on to somethin’.” he leaned against the counter. “He found out there’s gonna be a gaming tournament held by TAScorp in the next few months. There’s not much confirmed about it yet, but if we get lucky enough, we could use this to our advantage.”
“Like, getting into their server? How can we do that without alerting their security system? Even the program I’m working on is still in the prototype stage, and it has a lot of flaws.”
“As I said, there’s a lot still up in the air. But Masa says that once the details are announced he may be able to come up with a plan to get around their security.” Lamar sighed quietly. “But I know the kind of plans he comes up with; reckless and untrustworthy at best.”
“But some of them have worked.” Sofia said earnestly. “I know he has a habit of taking risks, but he does so because he’s willing to do what it takes to get to the bottom of all this.”
“I guess so.” He grumbled, looking to the side. He was about to say something else, but was interrupted by the beeping emitting from the microwave.
“Ah, they’re done.”
He clicked open the microwave, and lifted out the now steaming cups of noodles, and walked over to place one in front of Sofia. The girl looked eagerly at the noodles, wasting no time to dig in. Lamar however, was a bit more reserved, as his mind was taken off food. He took particular note of the last thing Sofia said, how willing she was to go with Masa’s plans….
“So uh, you’ve been workin’ hard on that program of yours, huh?” Lamar said, attempting to change the subject.
“Yeah, wasn’t easy to get it right you know. In simple terms, I had to find my way around a lot of variables that I’ve been struggling with for awhile now.”
“But from what I’ve seen, you got past all that?”
“I mean, to be fair it wasn’t all me. Mason’s been a huge help, and this is the biggest project she’s worked on with me so far. She’s really come a long way.”
“I’d bet it’s cause she’s been taught by the best hacker I know.” He smiled at her.
“Heh, well, thank you. I’ve still got a lot to learn, but I’m just glad she’s absorbing the information as well as she is.”
“Yeah, you two make quite the team.”
“And hey, I’m not complaining having another set of hands around.” She chuckled. “But really, we’re going to need all the help we can get with this.
Lamar could sense Sofia’s shift in tone, and looked at her with concern as she stared downwards.
“I know, and we are gonna get to the bottom of this, I promise.”
The girl gave a brief smile, yet her sullen expression soon returned, picking at the few remaining noodles in her bowl.
“Sof… I know this has been hard on all of us, you especially, but… Is there somethin’ in particular you want to talk about?”
She remained silent, seemingly debating on whether or not to speak.
“Look, it could just be me, but I notice you’re in your room more often than not recently, not talking to Masa or me, spending hours coding. Even Mason’s told me she’s worried about you, and she knows you better than anyone. I know you’re committed to this, but I’m starting to think it’s been impactin’ you more than you let on.”
Lamar looked at her with intent as he spoke, wishing she would return his gaze.
“Sofia, you’re my friend, and I care about you. You can trust me, just… Please tell me what’s going on.”
She stood up from her chair, trying to collect the thoughts and emotions that had been eating at her for weeks.
“It’s just, I… I know I’ve been overworking myself, not eating or sleeping well, and I know it’s not good for me, and at first I thought it was just because I finally found a possible solution to all of this, finally being able to find out what happened, but…” her voice hitched, as if finally coming to terms with the situation. “I just don’t know what else to do with myself, Lamar. I haven’t been able to get my mind off it, and every time I try to relax I feel like I’m wasting time.”
Sofia began pacing as she spoke, trying to get her thoughts out coherently.
“Hell, half the time I don’t even know what I’m doing, or if this just doesn’t mean anything, but it’s all I feel like I can do anymore and I need this to work and I need to know that this has amounted to something and I….”
She paused, a waver coming to her voice as she spoke.
“I need my sister.”
For a moment, all Lamar could do was stare at the girl, who was now fighting back tears. He felt so badly that he didn’t do something to help her, to be there for her in her sister’s absence. Sofia had been in so much pain, and he felt like only now he knew the true extent of it. Words failing to come to him, he stood up and stepped closer to her.
“I-I’m sorry, Lamar, I just-”
He suddenly wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close. She was rather surprised at this gesture, not knowing Lamar to be a physically affectionate person. However, she found herself returning the embrace, sobbing quietly into his shoulder. The two stood for awhile, Lamar simply letting his friend express her emotions. When he felt her tears start to slow, he pulled back from the hug, giving Sofia a sincere expression.
“Look, Sof, I can’t guarantee what’s gonna happen, but I can tell you that we will do whatever it takes to find the truth.”
She sniffled a bit as she nodded, still drying her tears. “Thanks, Lamar. I needed to hear that.”
A relieved smile spread across both their faces as a newfound sense of comfort came over them. It may have seemed like all odds were against them, but they did have each other at least, outcasts with a powerful bond and a burning desire to see this through. They were going to find out what Lucks had done.
Whatever it takes.