GREETINGS FROM W

Eighteen

“You keep scaring me with your surprise meetings,” Tyler rolled his eyes and entered the living room. “I had to beg the coach to let me finish the training sooner,” 

“Sorry, again,” I gave him a shy smile, “But this time, it's urgent,”

“Why? What's going on?” Jay crossed his arms, “It better not be Kye Wright wanting to be our friend,”

I chuckled, “Our enemy, you mean,” I took a sip of the tea Shadow prepared for me, then I cleared my throat. The five of them were looking at me, impatient to know what bomb I was going to drop. “So, I went to see Luke, and I asked him about the letter,”

“That's true,” Kaela rubbed her chin, “We forgot to check his letter.”

I nodded, “Wolfe mentioned matryoshka dolls, and Luke is as confused as we are. So, we kept talking, and I remembered my dad got me those dolls when I was a child,”

“And?” Aleyn leant closer, raising his eyebrow. “Did you find them?” 

I nodded, “In my parents' flat, and then I found this,” I took the USB key out of my pocket, and my friends widened their eyes.

“Oh, man,” Tyler slammed his back against the couch, “Is Wolfe playing games with us?” 

“I sort of looks like it,” I chuckled nervously, “But there's no album in here,” I said, looking at them as I pressed my lips, “It's a weapon,”

None of them said anything as they couldn't understand what I meant. Shadow furrowed his brow and tilted his head as he looked at the USB as if it was a threatening object. 

“What's inside?” he asked calmly. 

“I'm going to need your laptop,” I said, and he nodded before he walked to his room to bring the device. 

Once I had the laptop on the coffee table, I connected the USB key and took a breath before I opened the file. 

“Videos?” Jay looked at me with confusion, “Are we... are we supposed to watch this?”

“Sky, what's in there?” Kaela asked with a shaky voice, “If it's anything horrible, please don't show us,” she shook her head. 

I looked at my friends and realised all of them were thinking the same. I guessed they thought it was something about Wolfe— about his death. Then, I suddenly felt guilty as I haven't even worried about that when I found the key. I was eager to know what was inside that I didn't care about being traumatised for the rest of my life. 

“It's nothing like that,” I whispered, “It's about Luke,”

“Oh?” Kaela relaxed her shoulders and gulped, “P—Play it,”

I nodded and clicked on the first video. Once Luke appeared in the agency's hallway, Jay let out a scoff and shook his head, “He did that,” he mumbled. 

“Wait, is that Glass building?” Aleyn gasped, just realising what was going on, “Wolfe got the footage?” 

I nodded, “Keep watching, Aleyn,”

When the first video stopped, they all looked at me, then I said, “This one doesn't show much, but still, it's proof that Luke was leaving the building when that guy called him and walked him to that room,”

“Okay, okay. Play the other one,” Jay said, anxious.

I played the second video, and my friends immediately cursed when they saw I-Luna. 

“Oh, man, give me a punching bag,” Tyler rolled his eyes, “I can't stand her,”

“You'll hate her even more, trust me,” I said, my eyes focused on the screen. 

“What the hell?” Kaela muttered when I-Luna started touching Luke without his consent. “That's harassment!” 

“She touched his butt,” Aleyn was disgusted, “It's assault, Kaela. It is under the law,” 

Shadow scoffed in disbelief when I-Luna pushed Luke on the couch, “She's one dead woman,” he mutters, “Assaulting someone and falsely accusing him of the opposite. She can kiss her career goodbye,”

“Her and all the ones who helped her,” Tyler added, “It was well-planned,”

The video ended, and I disconnected the USB key, then I rested my back on the couch and sighed, “But why would she do that?” I asked.

“Maybe she was asked to,” Jay said, “Kye was jealous of Luke when he started his label. He lost a great producer, and maybe he wanted to get revenge,”

“That's nasty,” Aleyn mumbled, “Rich people are capable of everything,” 

“Not all of them are the same,” I smiled at him, “Indeed having money means having more power, but not everyone abuses of it.” 

“So, what are we going to do?” Kaela asked, “Should we show this to the police?”

“No way,” Shadow mumbled, “It's too dangerous as we don't know yet who we're dealing with, and I have a feeling this is what caused Wolfe's death. He knew about it, and they decided to eliminate him,”

I pursed my lips and looked down as it was painful to hear those words from Shadow. Losing a brother—his only family—that way must be hard to handle. 

“What should we do, then?” Kaela raised an eyebrow. “Should we send this anonymously?” 

“Not that either,” Shadow shook his head, “The police or anyone who knows about informatics might track our IP address.” 

“Yeah, it's easy to do it nowadays,” Aleyn nodded. “We'll have to send it from somewhere not connected to us like a cyber. We'll have to create an account there, so the police can't track it either.” 

“Well, you do you,” I said, “You and Shadow are the computer scientists,”

“But who will do this?” Kaela asked, “It's not only a matter of IP address but CCTVs in the streets and the cyber,” 

We all stayed silent as our friend marked a point. We couldn't risk getting caught, and it was going to be difficult as many people know us as Wolfe's best friends. Even Kye Wright saw us all during the memorial service. 

“We'll have to go undercover,” Jay proposed, “I don't know, a ridiculous outfit or something from the cosplay shop,”

“Easy way to track us,” Shadow shook his head, “They ask at the shop, and they show them the CCTV and boom, busted.”

“Right,” Jay sighed deeply and crossed his arms. 

My leg was shaking repeatedly as I tried to look for an idea. We needed to uncover the truth behind Luke's arrest, but at the same time, we had to think of a way that won't get the police to tail us.

“The cosplay idea is fine,” I said, “But as Shadow said, they're going to track us. But what if we make the cosplay?” I asked, looking at Kaela, “I suppose you can help,”

“Of course,” she widened her eyes, “I haven't thought of that. Stupid me,”

“Risky,” Shadow sighed, “Background check, they find out about Kaela's job, and again, boom, she's capable of designing a cosplay,”

“Holy s**t,” Tyler looked at him with disbelief, “How do you know all this? Did you work with the police someday?”

Wolfe chuckled, “I watched many criminal shows,” 

“Yeah, I can see that,” I rubbed my chin, “So, you must have some better ideas,” 

Jay snorted and patted my back, “Bold of you to assume he's that smart,” he said, earning a deadly glare from Shadow. 

“Let's see if you are smart,” Shadow crossed his arms, “Go on, spill some ideas,” 

Jay chuckled, and this time, I was the one to pat his back, “Bold of you to assume you can win an argument against Shadow,” I said, and everyone started laughing.

“Guys, we're losing time,” Kaela looked at us with concern, “We're here laughing, while Luke is in prison. That's not fair,”

I nodded as I let out a heavy sigh, “We need to think of a way to get him out,”

“Just give me a few days,” Shadow said, “I'll find a solution,”

“Are you going to binge-watch your favourite crime show?” Jay chuckled, “If so, I can join you,”

Shadow rolled his eyes, “How do you think you're funny, Jay? Seriously?” 

Jay shrugged, “Wolfe always laughed at my jokes though,”

Wolfe gulped at his brother's name, and for the first time, he couldn't argue with him. 

Wolfe and Jay's friendship was one of the best.

One second they cursed at each other, and the next, they were out fishing or hiking mountains. They could throw stones at each other, but leave no one else hurt them. Their bond was strong, and now it was broken. 

“Sorry, I shouldn't have said that,” Jay rubbed the back of his neck, “Talking about Wolfe makes things worse.”

“Let's concentrate on Luke now, shall we?” I asked with a smile, “Let's get him out, and then we'll start the adventure,” 

My friends nodded, and later, they started leaving one by one as it was getting dark. 

“Well then,” Jay stood by the door, “Hope we'll find a way soon,”

Shadow nodded, “Don't worry about that. I'll surely find something...” he paused for a moment and pressed his lips before he added, “...after I binge-watch my crime shows,”

We all looked at him with surprise as we knew he was never one to make jokes—lame ones above all, then we burst out laughing.

“I think I'm starting to like you more now,” Jay rubbed his chin.

Aleyn chuckled and shook his hand, “It's very nice to meet you, new version of Shadow,”

“Come on,” Shadow rolled his eyes, “Don't make me regret it,”

I laughed and rubbed his back gently, “It's nice to see you smile, Shadow,” I whispered, and he gulped as he looked at me. He knew I was aware of how much it pained him to get used to a life without his brother, and how difficult it was to smile. What I told him was only a reminder that a new happy life was never impossible.