Not long after she left, Emily was at least 40 meters away from the house of the guy she mentioned in a green polo shirt. Although she checked her phone again to make sure that she was in the right address, she can't help but think about what Sarah asked her.
'I admit that I have no idea how to convince this guy to help me,' Emily thought to herself, 'But I have to at least give it a shot,'
A few minutes later…
"My answer is No," Liam said while crossing his arms.
"Oh, c'mon. Why not?" Emily asked,
"Okay, sure. I can hack into the database but I ain't gonna do it," Liam replied, "I almost got expelled for changing my bad grades,"
"That was back then, Liam. Not to mention that you managed to get away with it," Emily said,
"Yeah but I only got lucky that time," Liam reminded her, "Now I'm not gonna risk it again for something that's your problem,"
"But I can't do this on my own," Emily said, "And I don't know anyone who can hack better than anyone but you,"
Liam raised his eyebrow in suspicion, "That's quite the compliment," he said, "But the answer is still No,"
Emily was about to say something until she noticed something on top of a table beside her. She picked up a photocard and noticed that one of her classmates named Isabelle in it. With it, she had an idea.
"So, how are you and Isabelle going?" Emily asked,
Liam's face suddenly turned red, "What's this gotta do with anything?!" he exclaimed,
"Woah there, hotshot. You need to chill," Emily said, "I was only asking a question,"
Liam got up from his seat, snatched the photocard back from Emily, and kept it in one of his drawers. "She's just a friend. That's all there is to it."
"If I remember correctly, last time you were paired with Isabella for that three-legged race during our previous school parade," Emily said, "And then you both fell and--"
"Don't you dare say it," Liam warned her,
"You managed to catch her in your arms and all the other competitors stopped and started yelling 'Yiiiieeeee!'," Emily continued,
"Alright, stop!" Liam shouted, "What is it that you want?"
"Just help me hack into the CCTV footage of the company where my mom is working," Emily told him, "And in return, I'll make sure I'll hook you up with her so you could go on a date with her,"
Liam began to think about it, "And how exactly are you gonna get in without raising suspicion?" he asked,
"Don't worry. I got it covered," Emily assured him,
"However, I have one other condition," Liam said,
"And what's that?" Emily wondered,
"If this plan fails and you get caught, you're the one responsible for your actions." Liam reminded her, "Got that?"
"I know what's at stake here," Emily said, "So, do we have a deal?" she offered her hand
"It's a deal," Liam said as he shook her hand, "I hope you know what you're doing,"
"We're about to find out now aren't we?" Emily said,
A little while later, at around 8 in the evening, Emily was already a good distance away from the company that her mom is working. She sat down in the seats outside a convenience store after going in and bought an instant noodle cup. The building is still open at that time and she tried not to be suspicious as she waited for the building to close and lights off.
Approximately, three hours later, Emily woke up from her nap, rubbed her eyes, and checked the time. It's 11 pm. She stood up stretching her arms for a bit and walked away from the convenience store.
Making sure that she's not being watched or followed, Emily walked into the dark alleyway and behind a dumpster. She then picked up an earbud from her bag and placed it on her right ear.
"Can you hear me?" she asked,
"Loud and clear," Liam replied from the other end, "Are you ready?"
Emily reached into her jacket pocket and took out her ruby brooch. Before doing anything else, she had a moment of hesitation.
"What's wrong?" Liam asked,
Emily shook her head, "Nothing," she replied, "I'll let you know when I'm inside,"
"Alright," Liam said,
Emily took off her earbud, putting it in her bag. She then pinned her ruby brooch to the left side of her jacket as she transforms into Rose Knight. She placed her earbud on her ear again as she quietly grabbed her bag and jumped on top of the building next to her.
Rose Knight quietly jumped above and managed to climb her way to the rooftop of the company. She spotted an open-air vent and went inside.
"Alright, I'm in the air vents," she whispered into her earbud. "Where to?"
On the other hand, Liam was on the other end of the call and looking at the monitor in his room. "You're twelve stories above. The security room is on the ground level." he replied, "Also, how'd you manage to get up to the roof that fast?"
"Liam, focus on the task at hand," Rose Knight reminded him, "We've got no time to lose,"
"Right. Right. Sorry, my bad," Liam said then proceeded to type on his computer which revealed to him the virtual layout of the building. "Take a few steps forward and turn left. There's a small elevator that was used to deliver food to employees."
"Am I gonna fit through it?" Rose Knight asked,
"Probably," Liam replied, "I'll disable the cams in that area. I'll let you know when it's safe to go,"
"Noted," Rose Knight said as she crawled forward and turned left. She saw an opening in the air vent and looked through it.
The room was silent but she could hear the slight whirring of the security cameras moving around surveying the area. But a split second later, the cameras stopped moving and looked the other way.
"Go for it now," Liam told her, "The elevator's down that hallway,"
Rose Knight nodded as she quietly busted through the opening in the air vent, ran towards the small elevator, and closing the door just before the cameras moved back to their original positions.
As she let out a sigh of relief, Rose Knight noticed the control panel for the elevator she's in and pressed the button going down. Then, the elevator began to move downwards.
"Are you in the elevator?" Liam asked,
"I'm in," Rose Knight replied, "I should be able to reach the ground floor any moment now,"
"Hold on. I'll disable the security cams there," Liam said,
"Can't you try to change what the camera sees?" Rose Knight suggested,
"I'll see if I can," Liam replied and started typing on the keyboard, "There, it's all cleared,"
"Where's the security room?" Rose Knight asked, "Is there anyone else inside that room?"
"Down that hallway, and no. No one's in the room," Liam replied,
With that, Rose Knight opened the door from the small elevator she was in, closed the door behind her as she sprung her way down the halls and found the security room.
"Here we go," she muttered to herself silently as she reached for the door knob and twisting it open,
Rose Knight carefully went inside the security room and closing the door behind her. She then walked up the the monitors and was stunned by the many screens shown with different point of views from the cameras.
"I'm in. What's next?" she spoke into her earbud,
"Do you have the flashdrive?" Liam asked,
Rose Knight reached into her bag and took out a red flashdrive. "Yeah, I got it." she replied,
"Good. Now plug it into one of the monitors and I'll handle the rest," Liam told her,
Rose Knight shrugged as she looked around the monitor and found a laptop that's connected to them and plugged in the flashdrive into it. Suddenly, the laptop revealed a loading screen and the progress bar increasing slowly.
"Are you downloading the files now?" she asked,
"Yeah, but it's a bit slow so hopefully no one's gonna come in before then," Liam replied,
"Let's hope it won't come to that," Rose Knight said and then felt that something was off. She walked up to the door and carefully opened it and noticed that one of the security guards is headed towards the security room!
"I hate to rush you, Liam but a security guard is coming this way," Rose Knight whispered into her earbud,
"But I'm nowhere near done yet!" Liam whispered back, "I just need more time. The download's not complete,"
"I can't put myself out in the open either," Rose Knight said,
"What are we gonna do?" Liam asked,
With only seconds left on the clock, the security guard is just inches away from the security room where Rose Knight is at the moment while she is thinking about her next move. As she notices the door knob move, Rose Knight began to act.