Three hours in, the "professional" atmosphere began to erode.
Adrien's eyes were bloodshot. "Lily, for the last time, stop humming 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.' It's messing with my syntax."
"I can't help it! It's a rhythmic anchor," Lily pouted, popping a sour gummy into her mouth. "Also, you're over-complicating the handshake protocol. Just bypass the kernel."
"You don't 'just bypass' a 512-bit kernel, Lily!"
"Watch me," she smirked, her fingers blurring. Five seconds later, a green checkmark flashed on her screen. "Done. You're welcome, Goggles."
Adrien stared at the screen, stunned. He looked at the girl with the neon hair and the sugar-stained fingers. "How...?"
"Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to," she winked.
Across the room, the silence was different. Ashley was cleaning her sidearm, the rhythmic snick-click of the metal parts the only sound. Leon watched her from the window.
"You're good with that," Leon remarked. "Most corporate types hire people like me to do the clicking."
"I wasn't always 'corporate,'" Ashley said, not looking up. "After my parents died, I spent two years in the underground circuits. I learned that a gun is just a tool. The person holding it is the weapon."
"Tough talk for someone in a designer gown three hours ago," Leon teased, though his voice was soft.
Ashley finally looked up, her gaze meeting his. "And you? You're too fast to be just a bodyguard. You've got the reflexes of someone who's been... enhanced."
Leon's expression hardened for a split second—a flicker of a memory he couldn't quite reach. "Maybe I just drink a lot of coffee."
He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed near her. "Look, we're stuck here. If we're going to die in a chemical plant tomorrow, you might as well tell me: why the red hair? Is it a warning sign?"
Ashley almost smiled—a genuine, dangerous flash of teeth. "It's so my enemies know exactly who's coming for them. What's your excuse for the spiky blonde look? Did you get struck by lightning?"
"Only when I'm around you," Leon quipped.
The air between them grew heavy. For a moment, the bickering of the hackers in the background faded. Leon reached out, his hand hovering near hers on the mattress.
"Leon?" Adrien's voice broke the trance. "The file. It's open."