"There have been some complications."
Deep down, Techno can't be surprised anymore. When Phil told him they should wait a few days for things to calm down before he'd be able to return to his normal life, he suspected one of two things. Either The Crow Network was planning to kill him after all, since Techno had fixed their leak and thus stopped being useful to them. Or, in exposing the leak, since Techno has also uncovered a deeper betrayal within the organization that will take some time to mop up, he has to stay put until that's dealt with. Naively, Techno would love to think it's the second option. Just because dying is a bit cringe.
Still, the information delivered to him has been vague at best. Maybe Techno should be happy about that too. No additional information means a higher chance he can keep being an oblivious college student and probably move as soon as he graduates, because this city is a crime den. But being kept in the dark is annoying too. Techno truly has no idea what kind of issues Phil is trying to solve, why they're affecting Techno, and if they'll keep being a problem after he leaves.
And to top it all off, Techno has discovered he is a lot more claustrophobic than he realized.
This feeling of being caged in might be exacerbated by him not taking his meds for what is edging closer and closer to two weeks. Techno takes pills to help with his anxiety. Usually, it's mainly a minor case of agoraphobia and also every social situation ever that affects his daily functioning. He also takes ADHD meds, though Techno is more used to skipping those. The energy drinks are basically a pseudo-treatment of their own, caffeine is great for his ability to focus. Except, he's become so restless in here. And there are no windows. And the door is constantly locked. And sometimes, he believes the entire safehouse will cave in and bury him alive.
"Techno? Did you hear me?" Phil asks, looking mildly concerned at Techno zoning off while staring at the wall. Techno forces his eyes up, but finds himself getting caught on some distant spot beyond the older man's shoulder.
"Hm?" Techno intones.
"You're pale. Are you feeling okay?" Phil reaches out and Techno flinches back a bit since he wasn't expecting the motion. People don't often touch him, especially not without permission. Phil drops his hand immediately. "Sorry, force of habit for a dad," he says with a soft smile.
Techno doesn't know why it makes his insides feel all compressed, crushed as if the cave-in has already happened.
"What kind of complications?" he asks, hoping to move on quickly from the awkward exchange. He's lucky Tommy is taking a nap and Wilbur isn't around, so nobody else had to witness that.
"It's better if I don't tell you," Phil says. "Do you want me to find some other odd jobs for you to do? As enrichment."
Techno frowns. "Exploitation, you mean."
Phil laughs, looking at him with a purposefully mock innocent expression. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He drops the act a moment later. "Seriously, though. I know this situation isn't exactly ideal, I just want to offer the distraction."
"How about you let me submit my school assignments, that's a distraction."
Techno has to hand it to The Crow Network, he hasn't wanted for much during his stay. Wilbur is always around during breakfast and dinner to cook, something Techno had to reluctantly admit he is pretty good at. When Wilbur isn't around, Phil will usually drop by take out. There are plenty of snacks and drinks. Whatever Techno requests, Phil will get for him. Board games, video games, a constant stream of entertainment so he can keep occupied. All so the stay will be more bearable.
But Techno has been pacing a lot lately. And he misses his classes.
"I… don't think that's the best idea," Phil says, slowly. The pause makes Techno squint at him with suspicion.
"Why?" he asks.
"The timing isn't-"
"Bruh, can you tell me what's going on already? The vague and mysterious thing is getting old," Techno snaps, letting some of that irritation simmer through for once. He's been pretty placid about everything that has happened so far, partly because he has no choice but to go along with things since the alternative is getting killed, and partly because The Crow Network hasn't been mistreating him or anything. But his patience only goes so far.
And it's not entirely dismissed by the way Phil looks at him in almost-pity. Techno stares back, keeping unbroken eye contact for a solid thirty seconds. A feat for him.
"Somebody has reported you missing," Phil says eventually.
"What? Who?" Techno asks. Phil's lip twitches up once, maybe in amusement by Techno's very obvious surprise that anybody has noticed he's gone. He doesn't have a job or many friends, and he takes some of his classes online. He didn't think he'd be missed, frankly.
"I believe it was your university? They tried contacting you in regards to a bill, and sent somebody by your apartment for a wellness check when they couldn't find you," Phil explains. "Then they called the police."
"Oh," Techno says, deflating. So it's not even any specific person who consciously took note of his absence. It was the dumb university administration, probably trying to expel him through unpaid bills again.
If anything, that lady must be rubbing her hands together in glee, counting down the days until he has been missing long enough that he can be formally stricken from school records.
"Wait, wouldn't it be better if I do submit some assignments then?" Techno asks. "I can make up an excuse, say I left for a family emergency-"
"Techno, the police are involved," Phil cuts in. "They're going to want to talk to you. And we can't have that right now, not when I'm trying to keep us all safe." His voice is sharp, leaving no room for compromise.
"But-"
"I'll set this right," Phil promises as he turns away. "You won't have to stay in this safehouse much longer." He walks towards the door without waiting for Techno to answer.
"Ugh," Techno groans and crosses his arms on the counter, dropping his face into them. He got complacent, thinking he's the one in charge here. He's not. What Phil says goes. And Techno will find more peace of mind if he just accepts that.
"Techno?" Tommy's voice comes from the doorway, where the younger boy is rubbing sleep from his eyes. "You good, man?"
Techno sits up and brushes his hair back, forcing a neutral expression. "Yeah."
"Cool, let's play another round of Ace Racer!" Tommy skips over to the couch to pick up a controller and start up the racing game they've been wasting hours on in the past day or two.
He wants to refuse. Techno doesn't feel like playing Ace Racer, or playing anything. He wants to go home. And barring that as an option, he'd love to go lie in bed and pretend he's not locked in an underground coffin house until the time arrives where he can go home.
But Tommy is already pouting at him, and Techno knows refusing will cause a lot of complaining and asking what's wrong, and overall make his day worse.
So he plays, at least until Wilbur comes around to make them dinner.
Another thing Techno really misses is the shower in his apartment.
Considering how much mold was stuck between the tiles when he moved in, and the fact that the shower itself really isn't big enough for him to comfortably wash his hair without banging his elbow into the wall repeatedly, it's a weird thing for him to miss. But maybe that's typical for homesickness. It makes you miss everything, even the crappy stuff.
Besides, the shower in the safehouse has terrible water pressure.
The reason is them being underground, Techno suspects. And that's exactly the kind of thing he doesn't want to be reminded of while standing in the already claustrophobic confines of the shower stall. He has to wash his hair but he doesn't want to close his eyes, because the darkness behind his eyelids will make his breath catch in his chest worse than an animal in a snare, so he just tips his head back awkwardly, far enough to stretch his neck, and tries to not get any shampoo in his face that way.
When he's done, he blow-dries and brushes his hair. Normally, that's not something Techno bothers with, but he has the time to kill now.
Or he thought he did. A rapid knocking on the door tells him otherwise.
"Techno?" Wilbur calls from the other side.
"What?"
"Are you almost done?" The way Wilbur's voice pitches up into sounding close to a whine would be funny if it weren't also kind of ridiculous. "I got you a surprise."
Techno's fingers still where they're busy braiding. "I'll be right there."
God, would it be too much for him to hope Phil finally solved the issues and he can get the heck out of this place?
He steps out of the bathroom when he's done, only to immediately flinch back when a handful of confetti is thrown into his face, accompanied by Tommy's overly-loud screaming.
"Surprise!"
Techno waves some of the tiny colorful papers out of his bangs with a frown. "Was the surprise a heart attack?"
"No, silly, it's cake," Tommy answers in complete seriousness. And when Techno looks past him, he does see that there is indeed a fancy chocolate cake on the counter. Definitely not homemade, but bought from a very expensive store most likely. The ganache topping has those elaborate swirls in it that Techno knows cost a ridiculous amount of money. A few candles are proudly sticking out, with Wilbur currently trying to light them.
"What is this?" Techno asks.
Tommy takes his wrist to drag him along. "A birthday cake. For your birthday. Surprise!"
Despite being literally kidnapped, Techno feels a tiny bit bad about breaking their hearts. "It's not my birthday."
Tommy doesn't let go, though he does drop his arms and looks appropriately dejected at the revelation. Wilbur - done lighting the candles - tilts his head in a matching amount of noncomprehension to Tommy. "It's not?"
"My birthday isn't for another six months," Techno says.
"But your student profile said-"
Techno laughs, turning Wilbur's confusion into a bit of flustered embarrassment with the interruption. "You fell for one of my decoy birthdays? Classic."
"What the fuck is a decoy birthday?" Tommy asks, finally letting go.
"A fake birthday I made up for one of my online profiles," Techno explains. He walks over to the counter to take a seat. "You should have checked Phil's file on me. He probably has my real birthday in there."
"I was trying to do something nice," Wilbur says with some offense. "How the hell was I supposed to know you were lying about your birthday online, I assumed that was pretty harmless information so you wouldn't bother to change it."
"Assume makes an ass out of you and me," Techno tells him. He picks up a fork and sticks it into the cake, not taking a plate. Just because it's not his birthday doesn't mean Techno should let a perfectly good cake go to waste. Wilbur rolls his eyes, but then picks up the knife to slice him a proper piece.
"Are you really that paranoid when it comes to anybody finding out anything about you?" Wilbur asks, face scrunching up like it's an insult. Techno doesn't think it should be. He's proud of how well he's been able to maintain his anonymity in the digital age. Stalking crime syndicates aside, Techno has done an outstanding job at it.
He shrugs, humming around the fork. The cake is delicious, he'll give Wilbur that. "I don't want anybody to know when my birthday is," he says when he's done.
Tommy plops down next to him. "Why not?"
"I never celebrated it," Techno says. Which in turn makes Tommy look as if he's about to burst into sobbing. A person like Tommy can't even phantom not being the centre of attention on their birthday. "I grew up in foster care, birthdays aren't really a thing there," Techno says.
Admittedly, it's only partly a lie. Maybe if you're fostered into a nice, loving family, they'd bother to throw you a proper birthday party. But most of the time, in Techno's experience, foster parents don't want to spend too much money on a temporary kid. Or they are scared of bringing back old memories from a child's birth family if they acknowledge the foster kid didn't just spawn out of thin air. Group homes definitely don't have the time or resources to do elaborate birthdays.
Techno stopped expecting anything by the time he turned eight and it has served him perfectly.
"We can show you how to celebrate your birthday properly," Wilbur says while cutting Tommy and himself a slice of the chocolate cake too.
"It's not my birthday," Techno repeats flatly.
"I know, it's in six months, right?" Wilbur smiles excitedly at him. "That's plenty of time to prepare something nice."
"Bold of you to assume I'll still be in town by then," Techno says. It's a joke, honestly, though the silence that follows is almost disquieting.
Before Tommy breaks it with an exaggerated smacking of his lips. "Wow, this cake's fucking great, isn't it. Really rich and stuff."
Wilbur kind of raises his eyebrow but nods. "Yeah, it better be for this price." He looks at Techno, waiting for his reaction.
And Techno might be cruel, but he's not that cruel. "It's nice," he agrees.
As far as not-birthdays go, it's probably the best not-birthday birthday Techno ever had.
Techno knows something is wrong because he's woken up by the door slamming.
The front door that actually leads outside. Since it is made out of heavy iron, the sound it makes is distinct from any of the other doors in the safehouse. Techno is a light sleeper and isn't a stranger to waking up to noises from outside - usually Tommy. But the heavy footsteps and muffled yelling are new.
He gets up quickly and heads for the hallway, trying to make out what Phil and Wilbur are arguing about. He thinks it's them, it's their voices that are going back and forth.
The front door was left open.
Whoever rushed in was in so much of a hurry that they didn't lock the door or even close it behind them. Techno could just… walk out. Wilbur and Phil are being so loud, he doubts they'd hear him. He could be halfway across town before they notice.
For some reason, Techno turns the other way.
"What's going on?" he asks as he walks into the living room. Tommy is sitting on the couch, anxiously bouncing his leg. Techno barely has time to register how unusual that is. The more concerning thing is how the other two abruptly cut off, looking at him.
"It's fine," Phil says. "Go back to your room."
"What?" Techno asks. Well, more like laughs in disbelief. Phil talking to him as if he's an unruly teenager is strange, and the weird tension in the air is stranger, and Techno isn't going to let himself be waved off when something very bad is obviously going on.
"I'm fixing it," Phil starts. But Wilbur turns away and towards Techno.
"Your identity was leaked."
Techno swallows, mouth dry suddenly as he's filled with abject horror. "My-"
Wilbur turns to the TV and clicks the remote. Techno didn't notice he was holding that before, his eyes automatically drawn towards the screen as it comes alive. Panic is already pushing static into his brain, drowning out all rational thought.
The newscaster is young, wearing a little too much makeup in a way that makes her look too shiny under the studio's glaring lights. Her hair is pinned back, and she's shuffling with the papers on her desk.
And next to her, somebody has overlaid a picture of Techno.
It's the picture of his damn student ID. Crap.
"-missing for almost fifteen days now. This student has been linked not only to the organized crime group known as The Crow Netwerk, but a series of cyberattacks enacted under the pseudonym of Cyberknife. Police are still unaware of his whereabouts, but are considering the angle that this is not a missing person case, but rather that he is purposefully on the run from law enforcement. Anybody who knows about this man's location or has any information that could lead to his arrest is asked to report themselves immediately."
Techno doesn't hear anything after that.
Honestly, it's half a miracle he even heard that much with the rushing in his ears suddenly. He can't look away from that picture, the stupid grainy texture of the display, how they made him put his hair in a ponytail and forced an attempt at a smile. Almost as if he's looking at a complete stranger. Except, Techno wishes that were the case. Because then there'd be a way out of this mess. But the reality is he can't deny that it's his face being broadcast all across the news. His face, his name, his identity linked to Cyberknife or Dave or whatever the police want to call his hacker persona. His effort to build a proper life for himself, all down the drain in an instant.
"I really tried to prevent this," Phil starts, sounding mildly apologetic. "Word got around that we hired Cyberknife, and it wasn't too difficult to link to recent disappearances."
"But you can make it go away again, right?" Tommy asks, knee still going up and down with some kind of nervous energy. Techno blinks, finally pulled away from the screen.
"He can't," he hears himself say. Because Phil can't. The police know. His university knows. They know Techno is Dave is Cyberknife. He got doxxed, essentially. He can never go back to his normal life. There are no strings in this universe Phil can pull to make this go away.
"It'll be alright," Wilbur starts. He reaches out a hand to squeeze Techno's shoulder, the gesture meant to be one of comfort. Techno buckles underneath it until his knees hit the floor.
He can't breathe.
His chest hurts and he can't breathe, the walls are too close together, there's no sunlight, and Techno hasn't seen the sky in weeks, and he can't breathe. He can't breathe. He can't-
"Techno?" Phil asks, alarmed. His fingers curl around Techno's other shoulder. Techno flinches, trying to hunch in on himself. He's hyperventilating faster and faster, but no air seems to be making its way into his lungs.
"Techno, it'll be alright," Wilbur tries to assure again.
Techno shakes his head, as much as he can when his vision is tunneling and every nerve is turning numb. Oh, he's definitely getting worse. Is he dying? Techno doesn't want to be dying.
"I- I can't-" he tries, then chokes on a cough. He tries to cover his mouth, and is surprised when his hands come away wet. He's…
He's crying. Techno touches his cheek, rubbing against the flushed skin. He's crying?
"Dad?" Tommy asks, wavering. He gets up and Techno notices the smile fell off his face. Why was Tommy smiling before? Was that anxious energy Techno thought he saw something else? Excitement, maybe.
"He's having a panic attack," Phil says, firmly. He tries to direct Techno's gaze to his face. "Techno, listen to me, you need to breathe."
Techno shakes his head again, harder, finally feeling the tears break free from his lashes. He's practically gasping at this point.
He can't breathe. His life is over. They might as well have killed him at this point.
"Fuck, Techno, calm down," Wilbur tries. "Inhale slower." Any attempt Techno makes to follow instructions ends up with him choking on his own panic.
"Tommy, get the meds," Phil instructs. "I told you this would happen. I wanted to let him know some other way-"
"It was your idea in the first place," Wilbur hisses back.
"It worked, didn't it? He's not going anywhere now. He's just- He'll be fine," Phil responds quickly. "Tommy, now!"
Techno blinks rapidly, trying to cling to those words. What were they talking about? What worked?
He can't think. The walls are closing in on him, and Techno can't think or breathe or do anything.
Not until Phil presses something against his lips.
"They're anxiety pills," he says. "Take them."
"I-" Techno opens his mouth, but it only allows Phil to press a little harder. He tastes chalk on his tongue and takes the glass Tommy holds out to him next, drinking from it almost on autopilot.
They can't be his usual meds. Those are smaller, and not actually fast-acting or anything. You can't take them during a panic attack to make it stop. But within a minute or two of taking these, Techno feels his heart rate slow down, and his chest doesn't hurt as if it's being squeezed by a vice anymore.
He can breathe again, a little bit.
"It's okay," Phil says gently, rubbing the back of his head. "You're okay." Techno shifts against the older man, pulled into a hug without even realizing it in his hysteria. "I'm sorry it all went down like this."
Techno would love to get an explanation on what the heck that actually means, but with the panic bleeding out of his brain, so does any energy he had left. Either the pills are kicking in more strongly or the episode wore him out worse than he thought, Techno is too dizzy to pay it much mind. He slumps against Phil.
He falls asleep in a matter of seconds.
"If I had a penny for every time I woke up with you next to my bed…" Techno slurs. He's too tired to muster up more, not even the end of the joke. But he's sure Phil got the gist of it.
Or he must have, because his lips crack up into a smile.
"How are you feeling?" Phil asks, perhaps purposefully echoing their first meeting.
"Exhausted," Techno mutters.
"Yeah, I bet. Do you remember what happened?" Phil looks at him carefully, apprehensive. Techno can get why. He often gets confused after panic attacks, and even now, he doesn't really remember what happened after seeing himself on the news.
That's the important part, though. His identity leaking to the police, ending his normal life as a university student forever. He nods. "I remember the news, I guess."
"We're leaving once you've rested up," Phil says, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back in his seat. He seems relieved at seeing Techno up. Maybe he was worried?
"Another safehouse?" Techno asks, bitterly.
Phil shakes his head. "An actual place where you and Tommy can stay long term. You'll have to lay low for a while, of course, but we can make it work. We'll protect you."
"Yeah?"
Techno doesn't mean to sound doubtful. The Crow Network definitely has the means to keep him from getting arrested. They can hide Techno, make all his traces go away. Eventually, when this all blows over and Techno's identity reveal stops being such a hot topic on the news, they could make a new life for him. A different name, a different university. Phil can make it so that Techno can enroll online, if nothing else, get his degree, something.
He has to believe that, because the alternative is too scary to think about.
"Yeah," Phil says, "We can. I promise."
Techno closes his eyes and sighs. "Okay."
With Phil watching over him, it's concerningly easy for Techno to fall back asleep.