Day 2
An exasperated expression was plastered all over Conrad's face. He looked up at the lights, "That phone, huh?" After saying those words, his cheeks and ears visibly reddened.
"What, don't tell me you saw some graphic stuffs there? You already tried using both phones, right?" he said while totally being unaware that he sounded like a sleazebag.
"I did." he answered reflexively as he unconsciously pressed his lips together in a pout with sucked in cheeks. Looking at Conrad's expression, Egon recognized this habit of his. He got this from his mother, but he only oddly does that signature duck face for specific reason: Whenever he did something that he feels shy about, when he lies, or when he doesn't want to talk about something. He decided to keep quiet, his nephew was already visibly struggling to continue, "Curious enough, I checked her whole phone. From what I gathered, she's a hot-blooded, hormone driven, questionable woman."
Egon felt like the answer was too vague and judgemental so he looked at Aubi.
Aubi registered his questioning look, shook her head before explaining, "It's normal to be sexually active." She then leered at Conrad spewing spitefully, "You brat, wait til your older!"
The answer did justify his initial understanding, but it wasn't enough so he looked at Andre.
Andre also blushed. Rather than speaking, he went in front of Egon and mouthed, "She had a compilation of porn video links and she even had saved porn videos in her secret folder. She also had some shady accounts from one of those BDSM websites."
His face was all scrunched up as he was baffled by the need to lip read. Andre continued to mouth, "The videos were really good that even your nephew who never watched such materials spent some quality time doing just that."
Frustratingly, Conrad whispered, "Andre!!"
Egon side eyed his nephew before he chided, "That's good. He's getting to that stage, better now while we're around. By the way, did he finally become interested in one of the sexes?"
Both Aubi and Andre reflexively covered their mouths while holding in their laughter.
Conrad felt so ashamed and had on a despairing look as he complained, "Uncle Eggsie!! Is now really the time to talk about that?"
"Care to explain why all of this is important?" Egon queried.
Conrad lowered his head in utter humiliation as his hand massaged the temples of his head. He elaborated, "She redirected the worm into a set of host files and sites. Since the worm was self-replicating, she technically had a lot of copies of it." he coughed as his blush deepened, "Or at least that's what I thought. Earlier on, when I tried to get the worm to replicate it into my laptop, those videos would play. Literally my screen would be filled with such tabs and my laptop's volume would even be in full blast."
Egon had an amused look as he listened to this nephew of his attentively.
"I tried and tried to bypass the command. When I couldn't get a copy of the worm from her phone, I just tried the replicates from the links, but those links were non-existent in the general space of the world wide web. Knowing that she created those websites and that these are only accessible through specific means, one of it being her phone, I returned to base one and tried using her phone again. Each time I did, the same thing would happen again, and what's more disturbing is that the gadgets near me will also have those videos playing whenever I tried again and again. It was a combination of D-o-S (Denial of Service Attack), DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service Attack), and Drive bys."
His uncle looked like he was about to grill him if he didn't talk about everything he did. The teenage boy was chagrined, but still continued the laborious task, "At some point, I couldn't move forwards nor backwards. Knowing this, I wondered if I needed help. I mean, her program was harmless, it didn't try to take any information from us, but the program she had in that phone was really good to the point that I got nothing while our server almost just stopped working. Her phone was functioned to change its command into a larger set of DDoS and Drive bys everytime someone tries to encrypt it. She even made a new set of codes for that same command. So, far, it's changed into about 10 codes that was always an 'I almost got it but still was too late.' Then, I saw Usa-chan chatting with Aubs. Seeing her, and knowing that she's better than me at coding, I even went to the point of wanting to ask her help."
Registering this line of thought, Egon couldn't help but questioningly accuse his nephew, "You asked an nine year old girl to help you!?"
Conrad immediately denied like a cat whose tail was stepped on, "No! NO! I almost did. BUT Nothing like that happened!"
The whole cafeteria quietened after their consecutive shouts.
Egon reflexively surveyed the people in the cafeteria, controlling his utter need to teach this nephew of his a lesson.
In any case, as he looked around, he was confounded to see Pamela seating beside Shizuka as they stared back at him with shock.
He sighed before looking at his nephew again. He then pointed at Conrad and Andre to follow him. Before leaving he looked at Aubi, ordered, "You stay with Shizuka."
Aubi nodded her head and went to Shizuka's table, while the three fellows headed out of the cafeteria.
At Conrad and Andre's accommodation room.
The room was similar to Shizuka's room, four bunk beds, but it had a bit more space. There was someone else in the room, one of the bunk beds was occupied. However, the person was covered with a blanket from head to toe.
Once the three of them entered, Egon who was walking behind Conrad warned softly , "You're very lucky I made use of what I've learnt in psychology. Had I followed grandfather's order. In a parallel universe out there, your kneepit had already been kicked, while being forced to kneel and my hand would've pulled your left hand violently behind your back as I step on you generously." His face was laced with dangerous hint of malice.
Conrad and Andre broke into cold sweats. Egon had temper problems when he was younger because of the high expectations his siblings had set. The elders from their family expected that he either equally excelled or he surpassed his siblings. This issue in turn created a large amount of stress for him. This stress would be taken out on whoever was his spar partner in his self-defense classes and even up to the military training days. Miraculously this bad habit of his turned for the better when he entered college taking on a course that veered far away from the family's military mindset.
This action of his greatly angered his grandfather, and yet the young Egon stood his ground. He bravely bargained with his grandfather just so he could pursue this course. This became one of the family's unexplained mysteries for the old man didn't usually give-in and nobody knows what Egon bargained. At some point, many relatives couldn't help but have various conjectures of this bargain: Ranging from a not fighting for the inheritance, being disowned, him having such high ambitions, all those nonsense. With that, his temper problems were curbed... or technically..., he just knew how to better handle his outlet of anger... (*teehee)
They both knew that when he starts to morbidly describes acts of violence, the act itself would soon be realized.
Yes, now, though he's outwardly well and really good at handling situations and people. Such a violent Egon was rare but not extinct.
After all, there are some memories down memory lane that are just too haunting that they can still clearly remember this tyrant in a sloth's skin, and the warning signs made the both of them weary.
Conrad looked like a pitiful kitten as his eyes glistened while he cried out, "Uncle, Levi was also around when Pamela and Aubs came, he came a while later, after the two came in *sniff. Uncle he was the one who legit helped me! You don't listen to me finish my stories anymore! Of course I also thought of Ela-chan. Legally speaking, even though her IQ and EQ are higher than mine, my age is closer to the legal age! Uncle! UNCLE!" he miserably shouted as he reminded him of his promise, "You promised you wouldn't brutally thrash me when I make mistakes as long as it was a 'thought mistake!!' Uncle, I'm currently the only male great-grandchild, if you hurt me, I'll..."
Egon was vexed with this spineless behavior and that threat. He tilted his head to the right *crack, he tilted his head to the left *crack. A series of "hm" could be heard from him. A while later he leered at this nephew of his as he grimaced, "It's not like you have the guts to do anything overboard while that old man is still alive."
Hearing this, Conrad was so alarmed that he seemed like a cat ready to dash away from danger.
Egon walked towards the person who was covered by a blanket, while he said, "Levi, huh." Facing the bed, the blanket was forcefully pulled by him. The person being covered by the blanket was a lean looking person. Had it not been for his masculine built, one might not even be able to tell whether he was a man or a woman."
"Stop playing me for a fool."
The eyes of the person flew open. He was not in anyway apprehensive with Egon's actions as he slowly moved and sat at the edge of the bed.
He had to crouch down a bit, even though the height of the second bed was slightly higher, the man was taller despite his physique. When he spoke, his voice could be likened to a well-tuned cello, "You're here because of that worm issue right?"
"Had it been dealt with?"
"No, the worm she placed at those files and links were just for show. So far, we've managed the situation."
"Just for show?" he enunciated word per word.
"Wait! Wait! Remember, I've been with you uncle, he had more time to move forward from where we left off!!" Conrad defensively spouted.
Levi side-eyed Conrad before shaking his head.
"Tell me then, why is Ela-chan here?" he scrutinized.
*Yawning, he shook his head trying to wake himself up as he specified, "It's rare to see someone who can finally help her potential in coding, I also need someone who could help when I'm already worn out from my duty."
Egon scowled at this pathetic excuse, "So, you brought her along?"
"Hmmm... She must've met her by now."
"She did, before I left the cafeteria, she was already sitting beside her."
"Seeing as she's not here, the new girl's safe?"
"..."
With the quiet response of his friend, he couldn't help but find it entertaining, he chuckled. "Well, it is to be expected if she really is capable of making such a program while it remained harmless on our end, she's got finesse as a hacker."
"..."
"After managing your nephew's blunder, that was it. I had to pull an all nighter to manage the situation left behind. I did find something odd, though. Her phone had this installed application."
Egon squinted his eyes, "What?"
"It's an ovulation cycle app."
"Wait. What does all of this have to do with our conversation?"
"Well, this is gonna sound weird. The ovulation cycle had a diary function. The diary dates back to eons ago. The theoretically presumed creation date."
Egon listened to him quietly.
"There are empty entries, there are normal diary entries, and there's also vague entries. The diary section is a developed code added to the original app's software. The app's supposed function is entirely different from the one the developer made." he paused for a bit, a wry smile hung on his lips, "I surmised that it was a clue. There were disturbing entries like: 1. Finally, you realize it's here. Took you long enough. 2. Hey, try to categorize my entries to better understand it. I'm not a morally upright person, but I guess my moral compass should be somewhere along the same lines as yours or the exact opposite. 3. Try historically if it's related with my life or something I believe in. After all, the safest and also the easiest clues are usually related to one's life. 4. Oh, did you notice the Blind Dead Scholar entry?"
"Not only that, whenever I tried to understand the vague entries that seemed to be talking with us, (breaking the fourth wall...) it had sections like: The blind scholar, six lifetimes, desire but not with the devil. From the clue of the blind scholar, I tried deciphering it. With the help of your grandfather's need to investigate this woman. He gave me, beforehand, probably the same profile of her that you have. Scholar's are usually alluding to teachers. So, I checked her teacher's that were already dead. Then the adjective blind. There was one teacher in her college days who gave her an almost failing grade. I hacked her online conversations with this teacher. In the conversation, she respectfully questioned her grade for the final term. How she recited a lot, had high scores for her exams, passed all the projects, her groupmates had high grades for their work..."
"but still she's the only one that got that bad grade..." Egon said before Levi could finish his analysis.
Levi took no offense, nodding, he added, "She was a scholar. The majority of her grades were fine, but that subject pulled her GPA. She was almost kicked out of her scholarship. You know, that letter to Tesda."
"I know."
"So, I took the dates into consideration. Bizarrely enough, the date of the death of that teacher was a code, it was the last part of the code. The very same code I managed to come up with to settle the situation... it disturbingly had those last few numbers af the end."
"..."
A dazzling smile was seen on Levi's face as he laughed without inhibitions as he further illustrated, "What's more, the time stamp of each video that pops out every time you try to get a copy of the worm are the exact set of numbered codes of the code I used."
"And?"
"I think the answer is really in the combinations of understanding the entries with the help of both her personal life and that intriguing list of hers. I've already reached the point where I'm decoding her mythological and fictional allusions. She chose such steamy classical scenes or the least noticeable parts. I must say, she's not as bad as your nephew describes. That woman even has a more refined taste than most. I was quite entertained. I managed to decipher her code in time before it changed, and what I found made me very interested at what's left inside that phone. The program she has in there is even better than our phone programs. I just got lucky to see some of it myself. " There was a sense of cynicism as he sized her up based on the orders of each sequence he got. He couldn't help but lick his lips, they felt a bit dry.
"Sore throat?" he said, laced with concern.
"Nah, it's just the cold."
"Continue." Egon said mechanically.
Conrad couldn't take it, other than the distractingly high definition, plot driven, and artistic drawn porn and hentai list + the diary entries, he couldn't help but ask his uncle seriously, "Uncle, I didn't study psychology, but I think she might be some pathologically deranged person."
Levi added enthusiastically, "Deranged is an understatement. She's brilliant."
Egon couldn't help but give the both of them a vague look before replying heavily, "For one, she has a pathological disorder, she's not pathologically deranged, but..." he paused a bit before looking at Levi. Coincidentally, Levi was looking at him as well. "Her pathological disorder probably developed due to her A.C.E. (Adverse Childhood Experiences). Had the indications of a deranged mind been present I would've noticed and even Vi would've caught something along those lines with the entries... or she's just that highly adept in understanding situations and humans. Masking herself, while seemingly not masking herself. So far, I've noticed how she used paradox paradigms to make observers question their evaluations of her. But from what you said, Vi, I think she's been waiting for people to understand her. Or these have already been signs of S.I. (Suicidal Ideation)."
Levi looked at Egon without blinking. He then moved towards him, taking back his blanket and laying on the bed, covering himself before sleeping. He then mumbled, "We should hire her, I need some help in that aspect. I'm under staffed."
Egon's demeanor became gloomy as he grunted before leaving.
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At the cafeteria
"Hello~" a young girl greeted as she sat near Shizuka.
Shizuka raised her head and was surprised to see a kid on board, she even choked on the food inside her mouth, choking until her cheeks flushed.
The girl calmly gave her a glass of water.
She took this glass and gulped a mouthful. Breathing deeply, she then sighed.
The girl was around 8-10 years old. She looked delicate and sweet which created a contrast to her overall look since she was dressed in a soldier's uniform. It made her look like she was cosplaying as a soldier. Her hair was in a ponytail, her back was straight, her eyes couldn't hide the curiosity brimming in them. The little girl continued to look at her curiously.
Calming herself down, she looked at the little girl that sat beside her. She greeted back, "Hello."
The girl wasn't in anyway reserved and started talking with her, "My boss said I should try my best to persuade you to work with the government."
Shizuka examined the kid's word choice then replied, "So, are you following his orders?"
"Nope~" she answered with nonchalance as her chubby cheeks became pronounced.
She couldn't help but indulgingly look at the girl. "Good. I can't help but like talking with a kid like you."
The girl nodded at her while her smiles went up to the ninths. Like her favorite teacher praised her.
Shizuka just nodded at her, unmoved by her mesmerizing smile. Her siblings were another tier of beauty, she just carried on her meal unfazed.
The girl's demeanor changed, "I knew you would say no." she said as a matter of fact.
Shizuka chuckled at her remark. She nodded carelessly as she continued to eat to her heart's content like the food was more pleasing to talk with than the child.
"Will you stay in contact with Big Brother Eggsie?" she carefully asked.
She paused, lowered her hand with food, "Knowing when to advance and retreat is good. You were taught well."
"Mm!" she nodded her head expectantly.
"Yeah, we'll stay in contact. I'll be working with him on a certain project."
"Oh, really? What project is it? I liked his previous research on Intellectual Quotient and Suicide Rate. His review on Emotional Quotient and Suicide Rate was also particularly interesting."
Shizuka smiled a bit before asking, "You seem to understand more than the usual. Mind me testing you out?"
She quipped, "That depends, how do you intend to test me?"
"Why don't you talk about it?"
"Okay.~ Let's go with the EQ first. The researches he collated showed that people who had average or below average EQ were found to have higher suicidal behavior. On the other hand, high EQ indicates better self protection from S.I."
"While his research on the IQ has somewhat startling findings, higher IQ was directly proportional with SI based on the suicide mortality rate the opposite can be said with lower IQ..."
Shizuka speculated, "Requiring an Intelligence and Emotional threshold for both?"
The little girl was stunned for a bit before she confirmed, "Yes, well, in that particular group of people."
Understanding what she meant, they both looked at each other before laughing. Shizuka shook her head before adding, "The limitations in itself has made the research necessary to be conducted on a larger and longer scale."
Seeing how she immediately pointed out the gap of the research, she couldn't help remark, "You and Eggsie must get along well."
"We're quite civil."
"I see. What about us, big sis?"
Shizuka stared blankly at her before she gently voiced out, "As of the moment, strangers with somewhat similar perspectives."
The girl digested her words, "Fair enough, for now."
Shizuka snorted as she couldn't help reiterate, "For now." as if the words held a meaning of some sort. She opted to distract the girl, "Do you know Conrad?"
"I do, but we're not that close. He just recently became part of our team. He's just like me, it's just that he's a neophyte in our field."
She grinned at her noticeable vocabulary, "A late bloomer..."
"He actually is."
"Interesting." she said pensively, when she unconsciously looked in front of her, she saw Aubi looking at the both of them. "Aubi..."
Aubi smiled at her, "You seem to be getting along with her."
"Mm... not quite, just polite. I didn't even ask her of her name."
Hearing this, the little girl chirped, "My name is Pamela Avenir. Would you mind exchanging names with me, big sis?"
Shizuka sighed while she stared at the very close ceiling, "Yama Shizuka."
"A quiet mountain?"
"Mm."
"Why did they choose such a meaning?"
"I don't actually understand as well. I mean, mountains usually give us a sense of achievements, home, solace... but I don't exactly know what achievements I need to or was the purpose for such a name?"
Finishing her meal, she turned to Aubi, "Aubi, do you work here? I mean, are you stationed here?"
Aubi blinked a bit, the word 'stationed' caught her attention. "You're familiar with some military terminologies?"
She nodded in response.
"I'll answer your question if you answer mine." she bargained.
Shizuka grasped the point, she tilted her head to the right while giving a charming expression. "Sure."
Aubi couldn't help but grin at her adorable look, "Why did you ask if I'm stationed here? Don't tell me other than hacking, you're also fascinated with the military? As far as I can remember, you're apprehensive..."
Shizuka cut her off, "I am apprehensive. The waters are quite deep here." Her eyes held coldness that was different from any of the emotions that Aubi has seen on that face.
She couldn't help but ask, "You know it as a form of self-protection?"
Shizuka chuckled, amused by her tryst with her innocence. "I'll make this easier for the both of us. I had a 'deserter' neighbor. She taught me everything I know. I understand at the very least how the military works."
Both Aubi and Pamela had dark expressions on.
"I don't know which country she belonged to nor was I able to trace her back after she left. It was as if she never existed." she said in a dazed manner.
She looked at her with a hint of anticipation, "Aubi, I know that Egon or someone up the ladder here has investigated me. I want to know if they found something about her that I didn't."
Aubi sighed, she looked at Pamela.
Pamela had been observing her, seeing her look her way, she knew what the order was. She stood up and informed Shizuka, "Big Sis, I'll be reporting to my superior. I'll talk to you again, soon."
Shizuka observed her walk out of the cafeteria calmly. She then turned to Aubi, "You don't know what they know, do you?"
Aubi's demeanor was still quite gloomy as she answered her query, "I can infer."
The two of them looked at one another quietly, both not saying a word until some time passed.
Suddenly, Shizuka raised both hands, "Fine, I give in. I won't ask anything. For now..."
Her brows furrowed hearing this. "Shishi, it's not that I don't trust you... but your performance and honesty can be interpreted in two ways."
"In civilian translation: You can either be a criminal or a very capable civilian. In Military translation: Either you're an enemy country's spy or just a very capable civilian."
"I can understand why that deserter taught you, if she really existed. But right now, I really can't say."
Shizuka wasn't anxious, instead there was a hint of apathy etched in her eyes.
"Her name was..." Aubi hesitated, then kept quiet.
Time trickled another round.
Shizuka sighed, she then joked, "Enemy spy or not. We're both hesitant with one another after this one incident. So, would any of you still tour me around this submarine? I mean, It's not like I can escape."
Aubi understood what she meant and she did tour her around the submarine.
--------------------------------
A series of knock could be heard with the following rhythm.
▪︎▪︎-
▪︎-▪︎
--▪︎
▪︎
-▪︎
-
Egon and group were startled by these knocks.
Egon looked at Andre who was standing beside the door and nodded at him.
Andre nodded back before opening the door.
When the steel door opened, Pamela could be seen standing in front of their room.
Andre looked at her inquisitively.
"Can you let me in?" she asked politely.
Andre looked at her, then looked at Egon.
Egon couldn't help but sigh in exasperation.
A chuckle could be heard from under the covers of Levi's blanket, he then commented, "Very promising, indeed."
Egon massaged his temples before answering, "Come in."
She entered swiftly and immediately sat at the edge of Levi's bed. She then tugged at Levi's blanket. The blanket wouldn't budge, a pout could be seen on Pamela's lips. She harrumphed as she started striking the person under the blanket. "Vivian! Open up!" She whimpered in frustration.
Egon's temple's ached all the more with how these people acted. "Ela-chan, why are you here?" he asked.
Pamela briefly looked at him before clambering up the bars above Levi's bunker bed, her four limbs positioning her body directly above Levi. She then let go of her hold directly falling onto Levi.
an "ughfff" sound could be heard.
A deep sigh could be heard from Egon as he mumbled to himself, "Thank God I saved myself from this farce by taking psychology."
The person underneath the blanket moved quickly, he first hugged Pamela while they were separated by the sheets before deftly covering her with the whole blanket, finishing it up with a knot. The blanket looked like a bundle of laundry. He then threw the child and blanket at Egon. Egon caught it cleanly. He opted to unbundle the blanket, the child immediately looked at him while pouting. His left eye twitched at the sight.
"Seriously, children shouldn't get in the military with her age." he said with concern.
"Well, it isn't safe for her to stay outside either." Egon and Andre said at the same time.
"Speak." Levi commanded.
"Vivian, you ordered me to do those things, now that I'm reporting you don't even want me." Pamela said as her lips trembled.
"I've been sleepless these past few days, Pamela, and didn't you say you wanted to marry this man, he's carrying you, now, he should be responsible with you."
Pamela whimpered, she then placed her head at the crook of Egon's neck, while her hands wrapped around him as she whispered, "Eggsie, you're the only one who loves me the most."
Egon gently patted her back as he persuaded her with a "hnn."
Her hug loosened as she looked at him, "Hey, Eggsie, Vivian never taught me about deserters before. I've heard and read about them, but are there a lot of deserters in our military?"
"Deserters?"
Pamela nodded her head before adding, "Yeah, that girl Vi told me to get close to, she said she was taught by a deserter. Aubi sent me her to check about this information."
Egon and Levi immediately looked at one another. There wasn't any information about a deserter in the files they received.
Levi's eyes steeled. "Did you hear correctly, Pamela?"
She wearily looked at Levi before nodding firmly.
"More sleepless nights." Levi grunted, getting out of his bunker, he immediately wore his uniform before commanding Pamela and Conrad, "You two follow me to the command, no one is leaving until we finish decoding that phone." He promised heavily.
Pamela whimpered all the more as he looked at Eggsie with her watery eyes, "Eggsie..."
Egon sighed, shooked his head, and gently placed her down. He nudged her to follow Levi.
Pamela looked so disheartened as she nodded and left with her superior. Conrad nodded at his uncle before he followed the two of them.
Andre asked Egon, "Why does it feel like this isn't going to end up nicely?"
He couldn't help but sneer, "Nothing ever ends up nicely here, why'd you think I left this place before I could even step in here?"
Andre shook his head. He couldn't help but say, "She isn't a spy. I believe my gut instinct."
"I agree with you, but I also believe she's a ticking time bomb. I'm just not sure who she was designated to blow up."
"From your conversation with Vi, she doesn't seem like an enemy."
"She isn't, but her capability will be used at some point for self-protection. We've already seen her decisiveness with those men."
Remembering those corpses, Andre couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"The fact that she can decide to kill so easily, knowing that that is her first kill that was ever recorded, and she's still psychological not worn out makes me wonder about her state of mind. Where she stands will define where we would stand in a few days from now."
"Do you think she'll speak?" Andre queried.
"Let's hope."
--------------------------------
In a hallway, somewhere inside the submarine. The atmosphere was tense. Aubi was on a defensive stance while she eyed Shizuka wearily.
"Aubs, I think if we fought, there's a fifty-fifty chance I'd win or maybe even more, had I not been fond of you." Shizuka remarked, while she looked at Aubi dotingly. As if her words weren't threatening at all.
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