He had to get over there.
As soon as he'd seen that his security system had been hacked, he'd taken off out of his house into one of his cars (evading an extremely shocked and outraged Vanderwood), and headed straight for Rika's apartment.
Shit, he thought, breaking nearly every speed limit in order to get to her before the hacker did. I'm so stupid. I'm so, so, stupid. She has to be okay. I have to make sure she's safe.
If only he'd made it there in time.
When he kicked open the door to the apartment (the training he'd received had never been more important), he was shocked to see that the window had been broken, glass shards littered across the floor, some covered in blood (he hoped-prayed it wasn't hers). He called out her name, wary at first and then increasingly more desperate. She wasn't in the apartment.
He was too late.
It was then that his phone rang. He scrambled to answer it, looking at the caller ID. MC.
"H-Hello?"
Her voice sounded raspy, probably from screaming or yelling for a long period of time. Luciel let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"M-MC. Oh, my God. Are you okay? Where are you? Are you hurt?" He asked, clutching his phone so tight his knuckles turned white.
"Seven. No, I'm not okay." She took in a deep breath. "But I have to tell you something, okay? This is the one phone call I get."
He felt numb. "What do you mean? Where are you?"
"I don't know. But even if you find me, it'll be too late."
"I can trace the IP address. Everything will be fine, just hold on a little bit longer." He whispered. "I will get to you, I promise. Just hold on-"
"I can't. There isn't enough time. I'm sorry." The pain in her voice made his heart hurt.
"Listen to me, Luciel. Everything is going to be okay for me. I am not afraid. Just promise me that you will be okay, too."
"I can't-"
"Please." He wished he'd never heard her voice sound so broken and pleading.
"I-" He was cut off by the sound of the phone falling out of her hand onto a concrete floor.
"I still have time left! Please, let me talk to him for just a little bit-" He heard her beg before the call was cut off.
His body felt cold. He quickly moved towards Rika's computer, praying that he still could somehow find her in time. "Please, God, don't do this to her," his voice cracked.
He typed furiously on the keyboard, tracing the IP to an organization called Mint Eye. He looked up the address and within a half hour he had gotten back into his car, heart pounding out of his chest. Not enough time. His mind raced, creating images of her alone, in pain, dying. His heart lurched at those images, and he felt like he wanted to vomit. He hadn't known her that long, of course, but aside from all of the teasing and flirting he knew that he felt something. He had pushed his feelings out of his mind, telling himself it would only put her in danger. It didn't do a damn bit of good, Luciel thought bitterly.
When he finally pulled up to Mint Eye Headquarters, it was evident that he was too late. Police cars and an ambulance was parked outside, with medics and policeman flooding the building.
"What's going on?" Luciel asked one of the cops, fear gripping his chest.
"Sir, please, just back away from-"
"What the hell is going on?" He panicked, scanning the scene for any sign of her. "Is MC okay? She's my friend." He croaked.
The officer sighed. "Witnesses heard a gunshot around this area. When some of our officers went to check it out, they discovered a young woman, shot in the chest. Died instantly."
Luciel blinked. Time stopped. The officer continued speaking but he was no longer listening. Gone, he thought. I'm never going to see her again.
"It's not a pretty sight. She was tortured pretty badly prior to her being shot." The officer sighed. "Maybe you should be with her right now, in the ambulance."
That got his attention. "Yes, of course I should."
Luciel climbed into the ambulance, hating himself for not being there for her.