Chapter Text
"๐๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ."
The whole hall tensed upon hearing the name. Mr. Kumar being the most visible. It's understandable since Sapphire usually makes his life a living hell by those ridiculous pranks. Admiral Tarung glanced at the commander sitting beside him. Kokochi nodded when he realized the signal. Mr. Kumar then continued on with the presentation, highlighting the key clues pointing towards Sapphire as the potential culprit.
The ๐๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ด ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ was massacred in the typical manner Sapphire frequents. The details were too gruesome, further highlighting the danger this criminal poses. Solar sat in his seat occasionally flinching at the details. This guy was the one that murdered his parents. He was the one. He's too dangerous. What if our dear hacker gets in a big trouble? He'd already encountered the ๐๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ด, a subsidiary under ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ด. He doesn't want more on his plate!
"And we also have one of the victims here with us." Mr. Kumar suddenly pointed towards Solar. Solar snapped out of his daydream. He regained his cool and stood up. He was brought here to be interrogated by these high ranking officials. So he nervously answered all their questions and recounted the interaction with those twins in detail. Who he later came to know as Blaze and Ais. Another two core members of the ๐๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ด. Solar might get a headache with all the problems he's facing. He's only 18!
"So we have decided to keep Solar under our safety. We don't know when someone might attack him again." Solar was again baffled when Mr. Kumar announced this. Under police safety? Then how'll he do his totally safe and legal job?!
"Any objections, Solar?" Mr. Kumar asked him. He shook his head. Well, he didn't have a choice. Gempa then told him that he was going to live with him in his apartment while Solar's residence is going to be sealed. Solar again didn't object and just nodded his head.
'๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต?' That's what Solar thought as he laid back in his seat. He was getting anxious about what'd happen in the future. He needs to go back to his home. There is something he needs to find!
"And that's it for the briefing. When we'll find something else, we'll inform you all. Thank you for coming here today." Mr. Kumar concluded the meeting, then approached Gempa and Solar.
"I am sorry Solar for bringing you here right after you were discharged from the hospital." Mr. Kumar sounded apologetic as he sat with him. Gempa simply saluted him.
"I hope you'll be comfortable with Gempa. I have full confidence that he'll protect you." Gempa nodded firmly.
"No problem, sir! You can count on me!"
'๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฎ!' Solar grimaced while smiling at Gempa.
"Another thing, Gempa." Kumar then stood up as he waved to someone.
Gempa and Solar also stood up. Then they saw a young man no older than Gempa coming towards them.
"This is Fang," Kumar pointed towards the young guy, "Your new partner, Gempa."
"I am Fang. Nice to meet you." The guy brought his hand forward and Gempa shook it.
Fang was a cool guy. He had cool glasses and everything about him screamed cool......Well, not much than Solar that is.
"Fang will be your partner in the future cases that includes the present one. For now you two are tasked with keeping Solar safe until we have more information about the ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ด." Mr. Kumar told them and then excused himself to talk with Kokochi and Tarung.
"So you're Solar? I heard about your parents, I am sorry to hear it." Solar didn't say anything, just gave a solemn nod to him. Solar's attention drowned out of the conversation as the two police officers started to get acquainted with themselves.
ย
"That was soo sick, Taufan!" Blaze exclaimed to Taufan who was seated beside him. The two were at a cafe, munching burgers. But their attention was on the T.V., broadcasting the recent massacre of the ๐๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ฐ๐ฏ'๐ด ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ.
"Of course! What'd you expect from me?" Taufan munched on another bite.
"Man, why doesn't Hali let me do these cool missions? It's not fair!!" Blaze pouted before angrily devoured the whole burger.
"Because you're still young and inexperienced to do these missions by yourself." Taufan calmly explained while taking some of the fries. Blaze was still sulking beside him. Looks like Taufan has to bribe him with some chickens.
"What about your mission with Ais? The raid at ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐จ๐ถ๐บ'๐ด house." Taufan asked him turning his full attention to Blaze.
Blaze angrily drank the soda on the table and turned to Taufan.
"What else? There was nothing except for that sneaky brat. I swear when I get my hands on himโ"
"A sneaky brat? Is that who Bodak is trailing now?"
"Yeah, Halilintar sent Bodak and Chronos to keep an eye on him. While he should've sent me!!" Blaze huffed as he took a napkin to clean the food on his mouth.
Taufan looked deep in thought at that. Maybe he should also look into this matter. He could ask Halilintar for the permission.
"Oh yeah! Is there a new officer at the Chief's office?" Blaze asked the distracted Taufan.
"A new officer? Hmm... I don't think so. Why do you ask?"
"Me and Ais fought a newbie. He was quite good. And his eyes were also unusual. ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฆ๐ด!"
"Golden huh? Well not more unusual than Hali's. But still how come I didn't see him when the good ol' Kumar came to see me." Taufan remembered when Mr. Kumar's team had ambushed the drugs' deal with one of ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ด' customers. But he didn't see anyone with golden eyes
"You talk as if you and the chief are besties." Blaze grinned while swirling some fries.
"We've known each other for 4 years!! He had been with me during my ups and downs. Of course, we're besties by now." Taufan said with a dramatic pose as he put his hand on his forehead.
"Drama queen.." Blaze snickered while rolling his eyes.
"Hey, I heard that! You're the one to talk when you got your butt kicked by a ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ฃ๐ช๐ฆ!" Taufan put extra emphasis on the word newbie. Blaze was ready to retort when Taufan's phone rang loudly, disturbing their chatter.
Taufan picked it up, smiling a bit when he saw who it was. Blaze was a bit curious too, so he leaned towards Taufan to see the caller.
"๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ช? Who is that?" Blaze asked the smiling Taufan.
"A friend." Taufan winked at him and attended the call.
ย
"Gempa could you stop by my house? I need to at least pack my stuff before I move to your place." Solar asked Gempa who was sitting beside him driving the car.
"But chief specifically asked you not to go there. I need to follow orders, I am afraid. Don't worry about finance or other necessities, if that is what's bothering you. The chief's taking care of that." Gempa answered without looking at him as he shifted the gear.
Solar fell into silence. He didn't know how to convince Gempa to let him go to his house. He needed to check that vault behind that stupid portrait!! So he tried again...
"It's not about finance or anything,"
๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ณ. ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ. He wanted to say but stopped himself.
"It's about my books, my notes and other college essentials. I need them to pass my classes or else I'll fail."
๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ข๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ญ. ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต'๐ด ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ข๐ฃ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฅ. He continued in his mind.
"Hmm.....Well, that is a problem. Let me ask the chief then." Gempa said as he pulled the car to a stop and took out his phone from his pocket.
Solar anxiously looked at Gempa as he conversed with Mr. Kumar about his request. After a short while, Gempa put down his phone while sighing with relief.
He looked at the anticipation on Solar's face and chuckled.
"Well, he rejected at first, but I assured him that I'll protect you. So yeah, we're stopping at your home." Gempa started the car and took the next turn to Solar's neighborhood.
Solar on the other hand was trying hard to maintain his poker face, but the stupid smile on his face said otherwise.
ย
"Thanks, Gempa. It'll only take a minute." Gempa nodded to Solar as he ran in the house, passing the police's do not cross line. He looked back to see whether Gempa was coming or not. The person in question was on his phone, looking at something.
Solar breathed a sigh of relief and quickly entered his parents' room. There was a big, rather ugly portrait of a cat on the wall. Solar had always disliked the portrait, often asking his parents to remove the dreaded portrait.
He made his way to the wall and swiftly took off the portrait to find a hidden vault beneath it. He had accidentally found it as a kid when he kicked the ball at the stupid cat. But it never crossed his mind to check what's inside it. Before he thought, it might be something related to his parents' job.
๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฏ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ฆ, ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐น๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ.
Solar smirked as he recalled how the two twinsโBlaze and Aisโcouldn't find it even after destroying the whole room. Maybe the cat scared them since it ๐ช๐ด quite ugly. Or maybe they're not that sharp compared to him.
He cracked his hands. This was going to be ๐ง๐ถ๐ฏ.
The room was cold, unnervingly quiet, save for the faint echo of Solarโs breath. He stood before the vault, its wall-mounted surface gleaming, a challenge presented in the form of an impossible array of locks. Five locks. Each lock was a different kind: combination, key, digital, even biometric. The sort of thing most would call "๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ." Most, but not Solar.
He cracked his neck, then leaned forward, his fingers flexing as if to prepare for a symphony of delicate manipulation.
No tools. No fancy gadgets. Just him, his mind, and his unparalleled knack for understanding things no one else could. His gaze flicked from one lock to the next. They were intricate, each one built with a different set of security measures, but Solar didnโt flinch.
The first lockโa vintage combination dialโcaught his attention. He set his fingers gently on the knob, feeling the grooves, the subtle tension of the internal mechanism. His mind hummed through potential combinations. In the span of a few seconds, he had narrowed it down. He twisted the dial, slowly at first, feeling the soft clicks as he moved it back and forth, each one a telltale signal of where the numbers hid.
His fingers settled on the perfect position. ๐๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ฌ. The first lock released.
Solarโs lips curled upward, a satisfied smile forming on his face.
He turned to the next lock, a biometric reader, its sleek surface taunting him with its digital precision. Most would give up here, assuming the technology was too advanced, too secure. Solar was no most people. He placed his palm flat against the sensor, the warmth of his skin against the cold, sterile glass. He concentrated, subtly pushing a tiny current of energy into the system. A trick he'd learned, one of many from years of "๐ณ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ" electronicsโlike tracing the signature of a fingerprint through the faintest residual warmth left behind.
A moment passed, then another. The lock clicked, and the biometric screen flickered before fading into standby mode.
Two down.
Solar moved to the next lock, a heavy-duty electronic one, flashing red and blue with digital codes. A lock that could take an expert hours, maybe days to crack. But Solar didnโt need to rely on brute force. His fingers skimmed the surface, brushing the edges, feeling for the faintest pulse in the electromagnetic field, as if he could ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ the lock's code whirring silently behind its display.
He closed his eyes for a moment. Then, with a precise push, he activated a series of commands inside his head, mimicking the correct sequence of signals to spoof the lock's system. The red lights shifted to green.
Another click.
He smirked again, the thrill of unlocking each successive obstacle like a private applause for his superior mind. Each mechanism, every lock, was just another puzzle to solveโanother proof of how far ahead he was.
Three locks done.
Solar approached the final two locks. Both were the most formidableโone, a heavy-duty, mechanical monstrosity requiring a key; the other, a digital pad with a ten-character password. The kind of locks that would make anyone with lesser skill give up and walk away. But Solar wasnโt like the others.
The key lock was trickier. He knelt down and inspected it carefully, a knowing smile on his lips. The key might be lost, but the lock itself? It had weaknesses. He pulled a thin wire from his pocket, a single, flexible tool he always carried, and inserted it into the mechanism. He twisted, applying pressure. There was a slight give, then the mechanism clicked into place. The metal inside shifted with a precise, satisfying sound.
Four locks down.
Finally, the digital lock. Solar had no interest in cracking passwords the traditional way. Instead, he reached into the lockโs inner panel with a tiny metal pick. Inside, the circuitry was vulnerable. A flick of his wrist, and he short-circuited the padโs power grid, rendering the lock useless in a fraction of a second. The numbers on the display scrambled and then went black.
The final click sounded like the ringing of a bell. It was done.
The vault door swung open, the thick steel of it groaning under the weight of its own failure.
He grinned to himself, eyes narrowing in quiet triumph.
But the feeling was short lived and replaced by a feeling of ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ, when he found out what the vault had stored.