Emma didn't know how long she was spaced out for, but the next thing she knew, someone was calling out to her. She blinked a few times and remembered she was in a coffee house. She smiled and walked up the employee, picking a random thing on the menu. When Emma handed the employee the money, he shook his head.
"That woman in the corner over there already paid for your order, we'll call you when it's ready," He said smiling.
Emma raised a brow, not sure if he was serious. She turned over her shoulder to look in the corner. Her stomach sunk as her eyes settled on Scarlett. She stood out like the sore thumb with her blue hair. Scarlett was smirking, her eyes evil as if she were staring at her prey. Emma stared back at her. She was wondering why she wasn't saying anything. She should leave, Emma thought. Nothing good can come out of talking to Scarlett. Screw the free drink. She didn't even remember what she ordered. Emma finally tore her eyes away from Scarlett and started to head for the door, only to be interrupted by a tall man in a suit blocking her path. He locked the door. Emma looked at Scarlett. She chuckled, "What the hell does he even see in you?" She asked.
Emma scrunched her eyebrows together. They couldn't lock her in there. She had to tell the manager. Emma turned to face the counter, ready to cry for help, but there was no counter. She saw a dark warehouse. Where was she? She started hearing footsteps echoing loudly behind her. She whipped her head back behind her, turning back to the tall man and the door.
There was no tall man and there was no door. But the footsteps stopped.
"Aren't you tired of hiding?" A voice asked from behind her. But she knew the voice. It was Owen's. Of course she'd recognized it. He was right there. Where was Dedsec?
She turned around to face Owen only to see down the barrel of a gun.
Emma snapped her eyes open. She didn't even realize they were closed. Except this time, she was looking at a ceiling fan. She sat up, wondering why she was laying down. Her mind steadied, "Just a dream…" She realized. It was so normal. Her usual dreams consist of opening her closet and going down a waterslide, only to land on the set of Seinfeld. Except the cast was KISS, only it didn't really look like KISS, but she knew it was KISS.
Emma turned to check the clock. 7am. She decided she wasn't going to get anymore sleep and got out of bed to make coffee. At home, where no one could find her.
~~~San Francisco Rooftop~~~
Wrench was looking through the scope of a rifle, eyeing the group of buildings they previously believed to be Cyb0rg's headquarters. Men were packing items into a van. He couldn't confirm if they belonged to Cyb0rg's gang or not, but he wanted to watch all activity in that circle. Someone got into the driver's seat of a van and began to start it up. As it did, Wrench pulled the trigger of the rifle, shooting a tracking device covered in putty, at the top of the van. He seemed to have timed it right since no one noticed the putty impact. It wasn't a high power rifle nor was he that far away for it to make too much noise. Wrench turned on his comm channel, "Alright, we got one going out. It's heading west down Beaker street," He said and let Marcus cover the second part.
"Got it," Marcus confirmed on the comm channel.
Wrench backed up from the rifle and stood up straight. He casually grabbed the rifle from the ledge and shoved it into guitar case that was leaning against the ledge. He turned around to leave, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who was standing behind him.
Scarlet was leaning by the stairwell door, arms crossed. She smirked, "Going home?"
"Oh god, what do you want?" Wrench said annoyed, dropping his arms.
"Thought you could use some help," She said, crossing her arms.
"Don't need it, but thanks! Bye, Scarlett!" Wrench said. He threw the guitar case strap over his shoulder and started heading the door, attempting to leave.
Scarlett slid against the wall to stand in front of the door, blocking his exit, "You're not going to ask how I can help?" She asked.
Wrench ignored what she said and groaned, "Can you move?"
"Can you just give me a few minutes?" Scarlett asked.
Wrench sighed and walked to the side of the ledge, trying to lure her away from the door, "You have 5 seconds."
Scarlett smiled, but didn't move, "I'm not moving."
"5….4…" Wrench began to count, but knew Scarlett wouldn't budge, "3…." He said more annoyed, "2 - Seriously, I have things to do, you need to-"
"Well I'll let you leave once you listen to what I have to say," Scarlett said.
"Let me?" Wrench questioned with disbelief, "Let me!?" He shouted, "I didn't realize you were the authority on bank roofs!"
"Hotel," Scarlett corrected.
"Not the point!" Wrench shouted, "I have to leave and I don't want to talk to you. Actually, wait, you know what? I don't need the stairs," He mused and walked to the edge. He brought out his phone to hack into a tower crane.
"Do you seriously hate me more than you like Emelia?" Scarlett asked incredulously.
"No, see, I hate pharmaceutical companies. There isn't a word to describe my feelings about you," Wrench said.
"Aw, how sweet," Scarlett said sarcastically. Wrench glared. Both behind and on the mask. He continued to walk towards the crane. Scarlett rolled her eyes, "Jesus Christ, Wrench! You're like the kid who got rejected in high school and holds a grudge for 20 years. Get over it!"
"Oh yeah, let's bring up high school," He said under his breath, "That'll make Wrench want to listen to me!" He said mocking Scarlett.
"I didn't mean it like that," Scarlett rolled her eyes, "I'm sorry. Please, would you just listen?"
"I don't trust you for a second, you know that, right?" Wrench asked.
"What have I ever done to make you not trust me?" Scarlett asked.
"I don't have time to list it all, Scar," Wrench answered.
"Wrench," Scarlett sighed.
Wrench was half tempted to hit her with the rifle, but realized that would cause more trouble than help. Wrench sighed, "What do you know?" He asked.
Scarlett smiled, "Really?" She asked optimistically.
"Why do you even want to help?" Wrench just thought of asking.
Scarlett chewed the inside of her cheek for a second, "Just trying to reconcile. I feel bad we had a falling out," She said rolling her eyes.
"Oh, you sound so apologetic," Wrench said sarcastically.
Scarlett glared at him but ignored his comment, "I assume she told you about our history," Scarlett said.
"With Owen? Yeah. Coincidentally around the same time you started to talk to me," Wrench said.
"Okay, is this about you or Emelia right now?" Scarlett asked sharply.
"I don't know, why don't you tell me," He waved.
Scarlett glared, "Anyway...Owen and I dropped contact once he quit Dedsec. He recently messaged me asking to keep tabs on you guys and what you were planning on doing for Emelia," Scarlett said.
"Have you?" Wrench asked.
"Of course," She said flatly.
"So you admit it!" Wrench said.
"Relax, I haven't told him anything. Nothing correct, anyway," Scarlett said, "But saying no to "Cyb0rg" or losing his trust is just asking for a death sentence."
"We found chat logs between you guys. You're telling me it was all an act?" Wrench asked.
"More or less," Scarlett shrugged, pulling out a cigarette.
"So what was all that about Emma being a traitor?" Wrench asked.
"I had to make it believable. Owen's got ears almost everywhere," Scarlett said.
"ALMOST everywhere? Where's safe?" Wrench asked.
"This rooftop," Scarlett answered.
"And?" Wrench asked, urging her to continue. Surely there were more places. Places that Emma has been where Owen wasn't spying on her.
Scarlett slowly turned to face Wrench, "That rooftop," She said nodding her head in a direction. It didn't matter which direction. Wrench knew what she meant. The safe list was a very, very, short list.
"How does he cover so much ground?" Wrench asked. He couldn't believe he was listening to a word she was saying, but it made sense.
"Blume has him protected. Nudle, too. While you guys were busy fighting off Dusan Nemec, Owen took that opportunity to work under the radar," Scarlett said.
"So we were inadvertently helping him," Wrench stated.
"Yup. He's no Prime_Eight, who harass the public and make themselves known. Owen's a low key kind of guy," Scarlett said. Wrench didn't respond. He sighed and threw his head back. Scarlett put out her cigarette, "I know it's not what you want to hear. But whatever it's worth, you can trust me," Scarlett said.
Wrench wanted to believe her. But he knew Scarlett. He was sure he did. And the Scarlett he knew wasn't worth trusting. She was just giving him a false sense of security so she can strike when they least expect it. But he would play along. Wrench nodded, "Sure." He didn't trust her.
~~~San Francisco County Jail - A few hours later ~~~
Emma waited. She had a good feeling about the current visit. However, she was still eager to get it over with. The rustling beyond the glass snapped her attention back up. Emma looked up to see Sam sitting down. His face was covered in bruises.
"You say the wrong thing to someone?" Emma joked, trying to make light of the situation. Sam shook his head, dismissing the joke, but Emma could see through his eyes that he was holding something back, "Sam?" She asked, kindly.
"He came here…" He said quietly.
"He?" Emma asked.
"You know," Sam said.
Owen. Emma was not expecting the conversation to go this way, "What did he…? Did he do that to you?" She asked. Stupid question, she knew, but she didn't know what else to ask.
"A lot of prisoners are in here because of hackers like Dedsec… And when they found out I was working with them, well… You can figure that out," Sam said.
At first, Emma wanted to apologize. But she stopped herself, "Did you tell him anything?" Emma asked. She felt bad not sharing her sympathy, but she needed to let Sam know she was in charge.
"The more you come visit me, the more you're putting your friends in danger. Stay. Away. From Me," Sam said and hung up.
Emma stood up, "Wait, Sam!" She called out but it was too late, "You fucking coward…" She muttered under her breathe as she hung up and stormed out. She went up to the visitor sheet to quickly sign out. The receptionist in front of her eyed her. She was an older lady with resting bitch face. But when she smiled, she looked like she just wanted to bake you cookies.
"Have a nice day, ma'am," The receptionist said with a bright face. She slid a small folded piece of paper next to Emma's hand. Emma looked down at the paper and then looked up at the receptionist. The woman smiled and looked back down at her own paperwork, going back to resting bitch face. Emma took the note and without further eye contact, walked out.
Outside, Emma was greeted with the sun blinding her. She squinted her eyes. It was December and she wondered why it was still so bright. Emma went down the steps and started to head down the street. Emma took this opportunity to look down at the folded piece of paper in her hand. She figured there was a reason the sign in receptionist was so secretive about the note. Maybe it was her phone number. Emma laughed at herself. There was no way.
Fleishhacker
The note said. Fleishhacker? Emma's never heard of the term. But then again, she wasn't that familiar with San Francisco. Dedsec would know, but how would she explain this to them? She could always try to ask Marcus. It would prove to him that she was making progress all alone. Unless it was a trap. She wouldn't want anyone to get hurt on her behalf. Maybe Owen set this trap. He was always on top of things. He would know her progress. He'd have to. She suddenly started feeling uneasy, like someone was watching her. The crowd walking around her felt normal, but something wasn't right. Emma stopped walking and slowly turned around. In the distance, she saw Owen, standing among the crowd that was walking past him. Emma's eyes widened and her heart started racing. Her first instinct was to get away from him as fast as possible, but she couldn't move. Her body refused. Someone ran into her, shoving her forward, finally tearing her attention away from Owen.
"Watch it!" The rude stranger said, glaring at her.
"S-sorry…." She muttered quietly, but her attention turned back to where Owen was. He was gone. Emma looked around frantically, guessing he moved. He had to be there. She couldn't have imagined him. She was sure of it. Emma continued walking forward, hopefully away from where Owen was.
Emma turned the corner, deciding to go to Wrench's garage. She was scared and she wanted to see him. But what if Owen was following her? She thought. And just as she did, she stopped dead in her tracks. She couldn't lead him to Wrench's garage. The guy who ran into her… He could have just walked passed her, but no, he made it a purpose to run into her, literally. San Francisco isn't known to be the kindest city, but still. She dropped her backpack, and tore off her jacket, feeling the chill of the wind as soon as she did. It was late into November; it wasn't exactly tank top weather. Not in San Francisco. She checked her jacket for anything suspicious. A tracker, a microphone… but she didn't know what she was looking for. She kneeled down and went into her backpack to grab her phone and wallet, which she put into her back pocket. All else Emma had in there was her capsule gun. She took out all the pieces of ammo she had in her backpack, and hid those in her pocket as well. She stood up and threw out her jacket and back pack. Without a second further, she marched away and headed to her destination, fighting back the tears that were forming.
~~~ Wrench's Garage ~~~
Wrench was crouched down fiddling with a bot he was modifying. 6 months ago, they turned a security robot they stole from Haum and turned it into an EMP bomb. This time, they wanted to do something similar once they found Owen's lab. Wrench was able to dissect the tech that they used, and applied what he learned to turn an RC car into that specific weapon.
One problem was that they never tried it before. As Wrench was soldering and screwing pieces together, Marcus stood further back holding a fire extinguisher, keeping it ready.
Emma came running up to the garage and stopped when she noticed the door was open. Wrench's back was turned to her, clearly busy making all kinds of noises with a power drill. But Marcus noticed her walk in. He smiled and tilted his head up in a greeting. Emma meekly smiled back and turned her attention back to Wrench. Her nerves over seeing Owen were still going haywire, but she could feel herself calming down once her eyes set on Wrench. Being in his presence made her feel…. Safe? She guessed. She furrowed her eyebrows. Was it specifically Wrench, or was it just not being alone?
Marcus strolled up next to her, "Wanna trade shifts? This thing's getting heavy," He joked. He had to slightly shout over the sound of the power drill.
Emma chuckled, "No thanks. What are you guys doing, anyway?" She asked, also raising her voice slightly.
"Making a bomb," Marcus said.
"A bomb," She repeated.
"Well, we're hoping. He doesn't really know what he's doing, which is why we have this," Marcus said raising the fire extinguisher.
Emma smiled. Wrench stopped drilling, "None-of-this-makes-any-fucking-sense!" He said quickly as if it was just one word. He looked over next to him to refer to a notebook full of diagrams, "This is supposed to….AHHH FUCK IT" He interrupted himself and threw the notebook away.
"Uh, Wrench?" Marcus said feeling uncomfortable about Wrench trying to improvise. He was obviously a brilliant engineer, but also just as reckless.
Wrench turned on the power drill again, interrupting Marcus. He and Emma both took a big step back from him. Emma took this opportunity to ask him about the note she received from the jail receptionist, "Hey, Marcus?" She asked. Marcus looked over to her. She dug out the note from her pocket and held it out, "Does this mean anything to you?"
Marcus looked down at the note and studied it for a moment. It took him a bit, but he suddenly had a revelation, "Oh shit…" he said, "Who gave you th-" Marcus stopped talking when he heard the power drill stop. Wrench was muttering random things. He took off a piece from the RC car and tossed it off to the side. He continued to drill. Marcus looked back at Emma, "Who gave you this?"
"Sam, I think," She answered, but she was worried about her answer. What if it wasn't from Sam?
Marcus smiled. He squeezed the lever on the fire extinguisher, setting it off quickly, making Emma jump slightly. Wrench stopped drilling and looked back at Marcus, "Marcus! - Oh hey Emma!" He said and stood up.
Emma smiled at him, feeling the butterflies in her stomach when he noticed her. God, she was too old for those feelings, she thought. But she liked it. On the other hand, she was worried about how Marcus reacted the way he did when he saw the note.
"We'll talk later," Marcus whispered quickly then cleared his throat, "Ah, sorry Wrench! Finger slipped," Marcus lied. Emma hid the note back in her pocket, hoping Wrench wouldn't say anything about it, "Look, I just… remembered I had to do something," Marcus said and turned to Emma. He knew he was acting weird, but the new information Emma brought was worth looking further into. "Actually… now that Emma is here, she can help you!" He said and shoved the fire extinguisher in her arms. She was surprised by the sudden weight, but composed herself quickly.
"But I didn't-" Emma began, but Marcus already started walking back and turned the corner, "...sign up for this," She sighed.
Wrench walked closer to her, but wasn't sure if he should give Emma a greeting hug. Their relationship was still new and somewhat unsure, he didn't know what he was doing. "What was that?" He asked referring to Marcus but looked at Emma. He ignored the piece of paper that he saw her hide. Was it for Marcus?
Emma had a feeling she wasn't supposed to mention the note, so she just smiled, "Well, I was just stopping by, but I guess i'm helping you now," She sort of lied. She hated herself for already lying to Wrench.
Wrench crossed his arms and smiled on his mask, "Well, lucky you! You, uh, know how to use that?" He asked, lightening the mood.
Emma tilted her head, "Wrench, I work in a lab. I used to go through one of these a week." She said and set it on the ground.
Wrench's mask displayed his surprisement, "How the hell were you employed for so long?"
"Yeahhhh, I had to start paying for them myself," Emma said, "They also limited the amount of supplies on the count that I was a "crazy mad scientist" and setting everything on fire was a waste."
Wrench's mask blanked for a few moments before it reset to it's neutral X's "...Is it weird to think that's hot?" Wrench asked.
Emma chuckled, trying not to blush, "The crazy scientist part or the pyromaniac part?" She managed to ask through her nerves.
Wrench was pretending to think, "...Both?"
Emma blushed and looked down at the ground, avoiding eye contact with him.
She chuckled, trying to play it off. This time, Emma didn't look away. She smiled at him, feeling proud of herself for once, instead of feeling like a weirdo, "Not as hot as building a bomb, though," She said trying to act confidently, but still came off timidly.
Wrench crossed his arms, smiling with his mask, "Oh this? This is nothing! You should have been around earlier when we turned a Tidis robot into an EMP bomb," Wrench explained.
"Sounds like a lot of stuff I don't understand," Emma said.
"It was Ray's horrible idea, at first. He was my robot, my project, my baby. Then Ray made me turn Wrench Jr into an EVP bomb," Wrench said.
"Wrench Jr.? You named it Wrench Jr.?" Emma asked.
"What else was I going to name it?" Wrench defended.
Emma chuckled, but didn't fight it, "You make a valid point. So if you've done this before then why was Marcus so scared?" Emma asked, pointing at the fire extinguisher.
"I know riiiight?" He agreed, his voice higher pitched than usual, "I totally have this under control."
"Well screw this," Emma said kicking the fire extinguisher over, "Can I actually help?"
Wrench smiled on his mask, "I would be honored," He said and walked over to pick up a power drill and a black hoodie, "Here," He said handing the hoodie to her, "You forget it was November?"
Emma just realized she was slightly shivering. The adrenaline was wearing off. She almost forgot where she even got the adrenaline from. Owen. Should she tell Wrench? She wondered. Ignoring her inner turmoil, she grabbed the hoodie from him, glancing at it for a brief moment. It had a logo of probably some band she didn't recognize, "Oh, I… just set my jacket down somewhere, and I think someone stole it when I wasn't looking," She lied, putting it on. That's twice she lied to Wrench. She wasn't sure what was worse, the lying or the fact that it was so easy. She smiled though, "Mmmm smells like garage."
"Is that good or bad?" Wrench asked.
Emma shrugged, "Good enough to make me want to keep it. Hope you don't like this hoodie that much."
"Oh yeah, forgot that girlfriends steal clothes," Wrench said.
He said it so casually, but Emma's heart skipped a beat when he said girlfriend. She forced herself to play it cool, "Yeah, and you only have like 6 articles of clothing. Buy more so I can steal more," She muttered.
"Okay fine. As long as you don't steal Carl from me," Wrench said handing her the power drill.
"You name your tools, too?" She asked.
"Emma, please. He has feelings, too," Wrench gasped. Emma smiled as he turned back to the RC bomb to tinker with. She was happy to be around him. She felt safe and wanted.
But...
Emma felt guilty lying to Wrench and keeping information from him. She just wasn't ready to tell him about Sam, she convinced herself. Marcus seemed to have a lead from the note she received. Maybe she should wait. It was better if she waited, she decided. She shook her head, trying to stop her from overthinking, and just wanted to enjoy her current time with him.
~~~ Somewhere in San Francisco ~~~
Scarlett blew a cloud of smoke from her lips, watching it dissipate in the wind. She was sitting on a bench on a pier, staring off into the ocean. It was a cold day. Her favorite. People were indoors more when it was cold. Trapping themselves in their own cage that she could lock up of her own free will.
"Ugh, still using those cancer sticks?"
Scarlett smirked as she watched Owen sit down next to her, "Still? More like again. I quit last week."
"Oh yeah. For what, a day?" Owen asked.
"Worst day of my life," Scarlett smirked, "So what's with the face to face?"
"Just thought I'd catch up. Haven't seen you in person in a while," Owen said.
"That's awfully sweet," Scarlett said.
Owen chuckled, "But you know that's a lie."
Scarlett smirked, "I can read you like a book," She answered.
Owen looked at Scarlett with a serious face, "Likewise." There was a silence between them before Owen spoke up again, "You remember what happened to Franklin, right?"
Scarlett froze for a second but played it off, "Which one was he again?"
Owen snatched her wrist that was holding the cigarette and squeezed it over her lap, "Think real hard and maybe you'll remember," He said.
Scarlett tried not to show the pain that he was causing her. Or the fact that the cigarette was inches away from her leg. She glared at Owen, never leaving eye contact, "I think I do now," She said slowly and confidently.
Owen still didn't let go of her wrist, "And what did Franklin do again?"
Scarlett still maintained eye contact, "Got you the wrong type of coffee."
Owen smirked, "Yeah… that was pretty annoying. Now can you imagine what I would do to someone who would betray or lie to me?" He asked.
The cigarette ash fell on her thigh, causing her to wince, but she still maintained eye contact, "I can."
"Do you understand what I'm saying?" Owen asked.
Scarlett nodded, "Yes."
Owen forcibly let go of her wrist and sighed. He leaned an elbow on his knee, looking at her, "I have about 3 snipers all targeting you. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't give them the signal?"
Scarlett's heart was beating, but she did her best to maintain her composure, "They found our chat logs. I can't let them know that we work together, so i'm trying to trick them," Scarlett explained slowly and quietly.
"You have a strange method of doing so, by actually contacting them. I would have just stayed out of sight," Owen said.
"Neither Sitara or Ray fully trust Emelia. Marcus is suspicious. Wrench doesn't trust me, but I'm planting the seed. She's going to tear Dedsec from within. That's still the plan," Scarlett said.
Owen nodded, "Dastardly. Remember we still have that Blackout of 2003 secret, too" He said.
"As a last resort," Scarlett said.
Owen stared at her hard while Scarlett stayed silent, still looking ahead at the ocean, "Whelp!" He said quickly, causing Scarlett to jump slightly, "I guess we have a proper understanding here," Owen said, putting his hand on her thigh, sliding it upward, "Don't we?"
Scarlett kept her head straight, but shifted her eyes to look at him, "Of course."
Owen grinned, "This is why you're my favorite," He released her thigh and patted it before standing up straight, "Enjoy the rest of your evening, love," He said and walked off.
Scarlett didn't move. She knew she could relax when he left, and when the snipers were off of her. But she could still feel his hand on her thigh. Suddenly, she was jealous of the ones protected by walls. Staring off into the ocean, she's never felt so trapped in her life.
~~~ Wrench's garage ~~~
Emma was huddled over the RC car with the soldering gun, trying to hold it steady, "So just over here?" She asked.
"Yeah right th- NO WAIT!" Wrench shouted.
"What what!?" Emma stopped and panicked.
Wrench started laughing, "I'm just kidding!"
"Oh my god you fucker! I thought I was going to blow it up or something," Emma said sitting back, away from the RC car.
"Awww come on. It's impossible to blow it up right now," Wrench said, stifling his laugh.
"Well, I don't know that!" Emma defended, heart still racing.
"You weren't in any danger. And you'd do the same to me if you were teaching me your science stuff!" Wrench defended, reaching for her hand to make her feel better.
Emma pouted, "Yeah probably," She said, "Well then, I suck, too."
Wrench smiled through his mask, "I'm sorry," He whispered loudly.
Emma tried to fight back the smile, "I'll get you back… you just won't know when."
Wrench glared, "Ooooooh that's evil. I knew I liked you for a reason."
Emma laughed and stopped trying to fight off the smile that was forming on her face. Wrench's phone went off, interrupting what Emma was about to say. He checked to see Marcus calling on the comm channel. He put it on speaker, "Oh hey, remember when you said you'd come back in an hour?"
"What, you fuck up and now your garage is on fire?" Marcus asked.
"Worse. I pissed off Emma," Wrench said. Emma stuck her tongue out at him.
Marcus laughed, "Emma, he's sorry and he loves you. Kiss and make up or don't, I just need you guys to get to hackerspace right NOW!" Marcus said and hung up.
Wrench and Emma felt awkward at the 'love' comment that Marcus made. For a moment they just sat there, hoping the other one would talk first.
"Should we-" "Do you-" They both said at the same time
"No, go ahead-" Again.
"No, you-" Again. Then they both stayed silent.
Emma quickly stood up, hoping it'd make her feel less uncomfortable. Wrench did the same, picking up the RC car on the way up. He set it off to the side so it wouldn't be in the way, "Wonder what he wants," Wrench finally said.
Emma thought that maybe it was about the note. What if Marcus mentioned Sam? Emma should tell Wrench before he finds out from someone else. She should. She just wasn't sure how to say it without just blurting out Sam's name, "Hey, before we go…" She started.
Wrench stopped to look at her, "Yeah?" He asked, attention fully on her.
Abort, abort! She thought in her head. She couldn't tell him. She didn't want to think about it at the moment. All she wanted to do was think about Wrench. But he was right in front of her. He pulled his hood forward a little bit and as he did, she noticed his hands were slightly dirty from working all day. It was cute, she thought. She smiled shyly as she closed the distance between them. She reached up to his mask, attempting to take it off. Wrench shut off all the icons on his mask as he rested his hands on her hips. He slipped his hands under the hoodie so his hands could rest directly on her jeans. She wasn't even mad that he was getting dirt on them. Emma fumbled around with the mask a bit. There were buttons on the side, she knew, but for some reason she couldn't find them. She groaned and she rested her forehead on his chest, "I'm sorry," She mumbled.
Wrench laughed quietly, "it's okay," he reassured, "Further back."
Emma looked back up and fiddled around with his mask again, "You mean this clasp? Last time you said they were buttons."
"Well, they function the same," Wrench said.
"But they're different words for a reason," Emma argued back.
"Well, whatever, there's a clasp that loosens the mask," Wrench said.
"Tomorrow are you going to tell me it's a knot?" Emma said back sarcastically.
Wrench displayed question marks, "No, ew, who ties on a mask like that?"
"Halloween costumes?" She offered.
"I'm offended," Wrench said.
Emma chuckled, "You wanted an answer."
"You going to unclasp it, or you going to keep talking?" Wrench asked.
"I"m trying!" Emma said still fidgeting with the clasp. Wrench reached up to do it himself. "I'm sorry, I ruined the moment-"
"No you didn't," Wrench said and as soon as his mask was off, his lips crashed onto her's. He tossed his mask onto the counter next to them and returned his hands to her hips, eventually moving them around her back. She wrapped her arms around him, trying her best to ignore the spikes on his vest.
Unbeknownst to them, Wrench was still on the comm channel, "OoooOOOOoooooo" They heard Marcus and Sitara say over the comm channel, "Hey you idiots! What did you not understand about RIGHT NOW?" Marcus said.
Wrench and Emma separated slightly, but were still only inches away from each other's faces, "They ruined it," Wrench said actually leaving the comm channel.
Emma smiled, "We should go then?" She asked, still not making an effort to separate herself from him.
"Right now," Wrench said in a mocking tone, but just reached down to kiss her again. She giggled slightly through the kiss. Wrench turned them so that her back was against the counter that his mask was on. He pushed into her as the kiss got more passionate, causing Emma to let out a noise. Just as Wrench was going to respond to it, Emma pushed him back, eyes wide open, "What?" Wrench asked with concern.
Emma looked up at Wrench, like she forgot he was there. She tried to say words but couldn't. She shook her head instead, "I-I don't know… I'm sorry," She managed to say.
"Is it something I did?" Wrench asked.
Yes and no, she thought. Yes because he existed. God, you're so hot She thought and then interrupted herself, "N-no you're fine… uh, not like 'damn you fine'. Not that you aren't, but I meant you're good. As in… you didn't do anything wrong," She rambled, trying to recover, until she cleared her throat, "We should…go," She said rubbing the back of her head.
Wrench was thoroughly confused. And her ramblings didn't help, "Can you tell me what's wrong then?" He wasn't sure if pestering her was smart, but he couldn't help but want to know.
"Nothing!" Emma snapped, "Let's just go," She said and headed for the door. Before she walked out, she remembered what Wrench distracted her from. Owen was still out there. Maybe he lost track of her. Should she say something? Wrench lowered the garage door and locked it with his phone. He already had his mask back on and began heading for hackerspace, without saying another word to Emma. She really messed up, she thought.
~~~ Hackerspace ~~~
Sitara was pacing back and forth waiting for Wrench and Emma to show up. Marcus, Josh, and Ray were sitting at the table.
"Could you stop pacing?" Josh asked.
Sitara stopped dead on her heel, "Sorry," She muttered, "But where are they?" Sitara whined and plopped down on her seat.
"Young love, you heard it!" Ray said.
"Shouldn't you be the grumpy old man right now? "These damn kids wasting my time"," Marcus said trying to imitate Ray.
"Yeah, at this rate we'll have a baby in our little group," Sitara muttered.
"Oh boy, don't say that around Wrench," Marcus laughed.
Sitara laughed with him, "Oh yeah, the thought of him being responsible for anything? It'll actually kill him."
Ray nodded, "Good to know for the next time Wrench pisses me off."
"Do you think Wrench would freak out over a baby or puppy more?" Josh asked with a straight face.
Sitara, Marcus, and Ray all stared amongst each other. That was a very good question, they all thought, "If neither are his, the puppy. But if he found out he was going to be responsible for a baby, then it's no contest," Marcus said.
"Yeah, I might have to agree with that," Sitara said. Before anymore discussion could happen, the door to the hackerspace opened, with Wrench and Emma finally entering and joining the table, "Ugh, finally! I-" Sitara began to say but could feel the tension between them.
"Wow, you really did piss her off," Marcus said to Wrench, but Emma overheard. She walked over to the side of the table to sit next to Josh.
"My man," Ray said pulling out the chair next to him for Wrench, "Let me teach you about women. No matter what, they're always right." Wrench flipped him off and sat in the seat across from Ray.
"He didn't do anything and everything's fine," Emma interrupted, "Okay?" She feels like she just made it worse. But it wasn't fair for them to blame him when he didn't do anything.
Sitara looked at Emma, "You gotta dish later," She muttered, "But anyway, we think we know where Cyb0rg is!"
Marcus turned to Wrench, "You know that van we tracked this morning? Well it led me to the zoo, which we thought was weird. Maybe it was just a delivery job. But then that I remembered what that guy that Sitara interrogated last week said, about his bases being underground. Then I thought about how the zoo parking lot used to be the Fleishhacker pool. There has to be some underground base there!" Marcus explained.
"So we blow up the parking lot," Wrench suggested.
"What? No, there has to be an actual way in," Marcus said.
"We have to keep it stealthy. Cyb0rg also tends to move around a lot. If we let him know we're onto him, Fleishhacker could just be another dead end," Sitara said.
"I'll tell ya, it's a pretty solid theory," Ray said, "I know of far too many places like The Bunker and I never even heard of this pool."
"It's worth a shot," Marcus shrugged. He looked over at Emma, who was making eye contact with him. She looked worried. He wasn't sure if it was because of what happened with her and Wrench, or of the Fleishhacker knowledge.
Emma nodded her head to the left and stood up to walk over to the other side of the hackerspace. Marcus went over to her while the other 4 members continued talking, "You okay?" Marcus asked.
"I just have a bad feeling about this… It's too coincidental. That on the same day, I get a note to where you and Wrench have been?" Emma said.
"Maybe, but it's worth a shot. It'll be fine, okay? A dead end is better than nothing," Marcus said and touched her shoulder. Emma nodded, but still not buying it, "You still haven't told Wrench about Sam?" He asked.
"Not yet. I was going to earlier, but I chickened out," Emma said.
"Well, I'll still keep my mouth shut until you give the okay," Marcus said with a smile.
Emma smiled warmly at him, "Thank you, Marcus...Really."
"Of course," Marcus tapped the side of her arm and walked back over to the others, Emma following. Wrench was wondering what they were all talking about, "Alright, so we all caught up, right? I'll go check it out, and scout the area."
Sitara nodded, "This is going to be fun," She grinned.
"Josh and I are on security," Ray said and Josh already started tapping into the security cameras.
Wrench stood up and looked at Marcus, "Can't let you have all the fun," He said casually, inviting himself.
Marcus chuckled, "This isn't going to be some epic chase scene, you know."
"I can change that," Wrench said with evil eye appearing on his mask.
Emma started to panic at the thought of Wrench endangering himself. She felt very uneasy about the whole plan. Sure, she was worried about Marcus going alone, but now that Wrench was involved, it was different. Maybe Marcus would be safer on his own anyway. Wrench was reckless. As Marcus and Wrench were heading up, Emma hurried to the side of the stairs and got Wrench's attention, "Be careful," She said. He was already upstairs, but she knew he heard her. She didn't like how things were left off between it. She blamed it on the fear, but her eyes began to water. Emma hoped that she'd be able to figure out what was bothering her by the time Wrench came back. He would come back.
"You want to talk about it?" Sitara asked.
Emma quickly wiped her eyes and turned to Sitara with a smile, "No need! Everything's fine," She lied.
~~~ Streets of San Francisco ~~~
"We were making out, getting really into it, then BAM brick wall." Wrench said to Marcus on the way to the old Fleishhacker pool.
Marcus hummed, "Well, wasn't her last relationship with Owen? You know, the guy who's been ruining her life and potentially trying to kill her?"
"Okay, but she can't possibly think that I'm the same!" Wrench said.
"The subconscious mind, my friend. She probably can't help but be afraid of new relationships," Marcus said.
"You're probably right," Wrench sighed, "But it doesn't make me feel any better." Marcus was good with women, surely he knew what he was talking about. He thought back to all the weird moments Marcus and Emma shared together today. The weird note thing, him leaving as soon as she showed up, having a secret chat in the hackerspace. He decided to ignore that, he didn't want to come across as jealous. After all, Marcus was his best friend. He wouldn't get in the way of him and Emma.
"Man, you two are so perfect for each other," Marcus laughed.
"W-What?" Wrench said with a voice crack. DId Marcus read his mind?
"You're both too emotionally dumb to realize you need each other during your weak moments, but instead just shun yourself off because you're afraid of being vulnerable. Which is fine. To each their own, but when you find someone who shares those some attributes? Doing it alone doesn't make much sense," Marcus said.
"Okay love guru, where the fuck did this come from?" Wrench asked.
"Because I know my best friend. And then I met a female version of my best friend. Watching is both entertaining and infuriating," Marcus said. Wrench glared, urging Marcus to tell the truth. Marcus looked nervous and then sighed, "Okay fine. I was tracking some guy and I had to blend in at a magazine stand. I got a little too... invested in playing the part," Marcus cringed.
Wrench started laughing, "Hahaaaaa you read teen dating magazines!"
"I-it was for work, man!" Marcus defended.
Wrench continued to laugh, "Let me guess, you got so invested you lost the target?" Marcus didn't say anything, which only caused Wrench to sigh and rest his legs on the car dashboard. Marcus twitched the steering wheel, making Wrench having rebalance himself, "Whoa-whoa-whoa alright alright," He said sitting up again.
"You won't say ANYTHING about that. Which by the way, was information that was helpful! Soooooo…. You're welcome," Marcus said confidently.
"Any college intern can post bullshit like that and people will believe it," Wrench said.
"If I didn't tell you where I read it, you would have still believed it," Marcus said.
"Doesn't make it any less bullshit!" Wrench said.
Marcus shook his head, "Look, we're almost there, but just think about it anyway, okay? The part about you two being very similar isn't bullshit."
Marcus got Wrench there. The way Emma reacted by pushing him away is what Wrench has done many times in the past, "Yeah, if she'll actually talk to me."
Marcus parked the car at a building near the zoo. The plan was for Wrench to stay back and provide guidance while Marcus try to move in.
~~~ Hackerspace ~~~
Emma didn't want anything to do with this. She sat on the couch away from the computers, but was intently listening on what everyone had to say. Marcus and Wrench were on the comm channel.
"Doesn't look like anyone's there," Sitara muttered quietly, "Off day?"
"With Cyb0rg having as much power as he does, I can't imagine he lets his team take that many days off," Ray said.
"And if they have a million bases, they can provide less support on one. It's possible there's just one guy running the whole show here," Sitara said.
"If it's one guy, then why is this place to important?" Wrench asked.
"The van led us here the other day," Marcus said, "There has to be some restricted access door or something."
"There hasn't been any strange activity as far as security goes," Josh said, "Maybe check for power lines."
"Already on it," Wrench said.
Emma had a bad feeling. This seemed too empty of a lead. They were snooping in Owen's business and he's just waiting for them to snoop so far in, that Owen could easily backfire. She didn't know much about hacking or engineering, but real life happened like that, too. Then again, if this was a secret base, then it wouldn't be so easy to find. She didn't know what to think, but she couldn't help shake off that bad feeling. Maybe she was just guilty that she was dishonest with Wrench, or that she didn't tell everyone where she got the note from. Marcus and Wrench could be endangering their lives because of her.
"Uh oh, I think there's something jamming our signal," Marcus said.
"I-is that bad?" Emma couldn't help but ask.
"There's usually always a jammer or two, but only when there's something they want to protect. I'd say this is a good sign," Sitara said. She didn't seem to get upset, so Emma calmed down a bit.
"My feeds getting too much static. I can't see anything," Wrench said, getting frustrated.
"I'm on it. Just don't know where to start," Marcus said.
"They're underground," Ray said, "Anything you can find?"
"Like get in via sewer?" Marcus asked disgusted.
"If that's what it takes!" Ray responded.
Wrench laughed, "So not jealous of you having all the fun this time," He said.
"No way, man. Sewers are the most fun. You sure you don't want to trade?" Marcus asked.
"Yyyyyup!" Wrench said, "And as much as I'd love to guide you through a sewer, I think I found restricted access door. Kind of hard to tell with the static."
"Oh thank g-"
"Not so fast. You really want to go through their front door? Sewer is safer, if you can find one," Ray said.
Marcus sighed, "Well, I think I found a way in then," He groaned as he moved the pothole lid. He started heading down the ladder.
Emma finally walked around the table to stand behind Ray and Josh to watch the feeds. Marcus was navigating his way through the sewers, but the feed kept cutting in and out, "And he normally does these alone?" Emma asked quietly.
"What do you mean? He's not alone," Sitara said.
"I mean physically. Next to him," Emma corrected.
"Less he has to worry about. We have more power from here anyway," Josh explained.
"I guess you really can hack the world, huh?" Emma asked.
"We're losing contact with Marcus and Wrench," Sitara said, staring at a static screen. She was typing something on the keyboard, hopefully to try and bring the feed back up.
The feed started to get increasingly staticy for a few moments before it cleared up. They saw Marcus standing over a knocked out body, holding a destroyed jamming device. He lifted it up towards the security cam, not saying a word as to not be detected.
"Nice going, Marcus!" Sitara said.
"And we're back," Wrench said, "I lost -"
"Hey, hey can you hear me? We're losing you guys again. There might be another jammer," Sitara warned but it didn't matter. There was too much static.
"This isn't good," Josh said.
"But it's… normal though, right?" Emma asked.
Sitara looked back and up at her, trying to keep her poker face. Emma was clearly worried, she had every right to… Sitara didn't want to make it worse, but she also shouldn't lie, "It's not… uncommon."
Emma wasn't falling for it, "Do something!" she said desperately.
"There's definitely a database in there. I keep trying to connect, but whatever's jamming the connection keeps interrupting it," Josh said.
"Guys, this could really be it…" Sitara said under her breath. She didn't want to jinx it.
The static turned into a feed. Only it wasn't Marcus or Wrench's feeds. Before they saw a face, they heard a laugh, "You Dedsec losers are so easy to fool!" Owen said through the feed.
"Shit," Sitara said.
"I knew it!" Emma spat.
"Wow, you're way less scared than you were a few hours ago," Owen said.
Sitara and Ray looked at Emma, "What is he talking about?" Sitara asked, and Emma dismissed it by shaking her head.
"Ohhh keeping secrets," Owen mused, "Listen, you fuckers need to stay out of my business."
"Getting scared now, are we?" Sitara mocked.
"Scared? HAH. You guys are like a fly in the kitchen. A nuisance, but a pretty annoying one at that. I'll cut you a deal. You leave me alone, and I won't kill your two friends right now," Owen said.
"You're bluffing," Ray said. Sitara shot him a look.
"Am I?" Owen asked. He turned his webcam to show he had a sniper rifle aiming out a window, "You probably can't see where i'm aiming, but I got Wrench in my scope right now."
Emma growled, "You even think about it, I'll-"
"You'll what, exactly?" Owen mocked. Emma didn't know what to say. What could she do? "Really though, Emma… You could do better."
"Josh, do something," Emma whispered desperately. Josh didn't say anything, but he was typing away, doing whatever he could.
"So you going to stop snooping in my business?" Owen asked politely, but police sirens interrupted him, "Fuck," He growled and shut the feed off.
It suddenly went to a clear picture of the security cams, but neither Marcus or Wrench were seen, "Shit," They heard Marcus on the comm channel.
"You heard all that?" Sitara asked Marcus.
"Yeah, and I hear the cops now so I have to find a way out," Marcus said.
"Wrench?" Emma tried to call out, "Wrench!"
"He probably shut his comm off so he could leave. If Marcus heard it, then so did he," Ray assured her, and himself.
Emma nodded, "Yeah, okay…" She said.
Sitara looked at Josh, "Well?"
Josh couldn't help, but smile, "We're in."
Sitara stood up and cheered, "Yes!"
Emma stood wide eyed, "What?"
"The plan was flawless!" Sitara said high fiving Ray. Emma stood confused.
Sitara noticed and chuckled, "He thought he could get us, but BAM! Checkmate!"
"That was all planned?" Emma asked.
Sitara nodded, "Well him hacking into our feed wasn't, but we wanted to get close enough where we could hack into his database-"
"-Which we did," Ray said.
"-and then put in an anonymous tip to the police-"
"-Which I did," Josh said.
"And flush him out so he'd leave his base unattended," Sitara finished with a proud smile. Emma stood dumbfounded, "You okay?" Sitara asked.
"You knew it was a trap?" Emma asked.
"Not really, but we knew that once we got there, Owen would know. And he loves to show off how much he knows about something. That couldn't have worked any better!" Sitara said.
"I can't handle this…" Emma said and pushed Sitara, "You could have at least warned me!"
Sitara held her ground, "Hey! Listen, we didn't have a foolproof plan. That was mostly improvised."
Emma took another step toward Sitara, unhappy, "He was ready to kill Wrench!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Ray said holding onto her arm, pulling her back.
"But he didn't," Sitara tried to calm her down.
"But he could have! How could we improvise with that, huh?" Emma shouted, her voice wavering as she was trying to fight back tears.
"Emma, everything went well and that's all we should focus on, okay? We hacked into one of his major databases. This is the biggest lead we've gotten so far," Sitara said calmly.
"At what cost, huh?!" She pulled her arm away from Ray, angrily, "If Wrench or Marcus would have gotten hurt because of me, I'd never be able to forgive myself. I don't even care what the rewards would be," Emma said.
"Emma-" Sitara said.
"Forget it," Emma interrupted and left to go upstairs.
"Where are you going?!" Sitara asked, but Emma ignored her, leaving the hackerspace. Sitara scoffed in frustration.
No one spoke for a few moments until the comm channel lit up, "Yeah, what if I died?" Wrench asked.
"Wrench-" Sitara warned.
"Kidding, kidding," Wrench said.
Sitara shook her head, "Marcus, Wrench, just meet back here, okay? Emma will get over it and come back. We need to sort through our results."
"Wrench, let's make a quick pitstop before we head over," Marcus said. He had a feeling he knew where Emma went off to.
~~~ San Francisco Jail ~~~
Emma jumped out of the cab and ran up the stairs, pushing the doors open. She went to the receptionist. A different one than earlier. Emma was pissed, but she put on her best fake smile and spoke as kindly as she could, "Hi, I was here earlier. I really need to see Sam-"
"Visiting hours are over, sorry ma'am, you'll have to come back tomorrow," The woman said kindly, albeit slightly nervous around Emma's frantic behavior.
"I know, but this is really important, please! Sam Mueller. M-U-E-" Emma insisted.
"Honey, you'll just have to come back tomorrow," The receptionist said again.
"Don't you "honey" me!" Emma shouted and quickly caught herself before she made it worse. Security was walking toward her and so she backed off the receptionist's window, "Sorry for yelling." She said through gritted teeth.
"Is there a problem?" The security officer asked.
"Look, is there ANY way I could see him? He has very important information for me," Emma said and turned back to the receptionist, "SAM. MUELLER."
"Wait, Sam Mueller?" Another receptionist spoke up.
"Yes!" Emma said.
The receptionist looked at his clipboard, "It says he got released."
Emma's eyes widened, "Released…? No that's… I just saw him this morning."
"Yeah, looks like he got released today at noon. There's no details on it. Just that he was released," The receptionist said nonchalantly.
Noon. She might have saw him no later than 11am. Did Owen release him? That means she really did see him. He was following her. No, he saw her come from the jail and released Sam. For what? To inhibit her investigation or to help his own cause? Did Sam know he was going to do that? Sam wasn't going to say anything to Emma. Then that means the note WAS a trap. Owen sent it. She could scream, but instead, "Thank you," Emma said to the receptionists and walked out of the jail. She didn't want to cause anymore of a scene. But with Sam being out there, she suddenly felt like a target.
Emma took several steps out, and started heading down the steps, when she noticed Wrench and Marcus standing off to the side. She quickened her face and ran up to Wrench, throwing herself into him, wrapping her arms around his neck, "I'm so sorry!" She cried. She wasn't sure why, but she needed to say that before anything else.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm okay. Everything's fine, right?" Wrench hugged her back tightly and smiled, even if she couldn't see it. Emma loosened her grip and broke the hug, but she still rested her hands on him.
She shook her head, "No… everything's not fine. Sam got released," Emma said, wiping her eyes with one hand.
"What? Didn't you just talk to him-" Marcus began, but stopped. Wrench looked at him, with question marks on his mask. "I-I mean…"
Wrench looked back at Emma, "You were talking to Sam?" He let his hands drop and turned to Marcus, "And you knew?"
"Can we just get away from here, please?" Emma said, worry all over her face.
"We'll do all the talking there, yeah?" Marcus asked carefully. He knew Wrench wasn't happy. But that would be a conversation for the hackerspace. Marcus went to hack into the nearest fancy car and got in.
Emma held her hand up, signaling Marcus to give them a second, "Please don't be mad before you hear the whole story," Emma said quietly so that only Wrench would hear.
"Kinda like how you didn't get mad before you heard Sitara's whole story?" Wrench asked with a wink.
"You heard all that…." Emma sighed.
"Wish I could have seen it!" Wrench responded, "You know, no one's ever really reacted like that…about me."
Emma lazily smiled quickly, but couldn't keep it up, "If anything happened to you, I…"
Wrench reached out to grab her hand, "I know," He said and pulled her closer to him so he could hug her.