Playful Caper

CHAPTER 9

Gold Star POV

"Hurry up, what took you so long?" Airyn yelled impatiently.

"Don't you know the definition of patience?" Ryan said sarcastically. Ryan fixed his hair in the mirror.

"I've waited for you for an hour now, Evan and Shawn are waiting for us" said Airil.

"Fine, let's go" Ryan huffed. They brought their luggage down to the lobby. Shah and Evan were waiting for them with an exasperated expression. Ryan gave them a sheepish smile.

"You're late" Evan frowned in disappointment.

"The royal highness took his precious time" Airyn gave Ryan a glare.

"I'm only an hour late, it's not like I made you wait for a whole year" Ryan scoffed.

"That time is precious. Nathan is going with us and Dahlia will go on her own later" Shawn said as he snatched up his bag.

They all went to Soleil's underground parking and got into Shah's Porsche. The men stuffed their belongings in the car boot. Shawn drove while Evan rode shotgun. Ryan sat in the backseat excitedly, in between Nathan and Airyn.

"How many hours is it going to take us to reach Aqua City?" Evan asked.

"Five hours, maybe? Minus the traffic" Shawn adjusted the car's AC. Before Nathan could ask a question, Ryan reached towards the front of the car, in between Evan and Shawn to turn on the radio.

Then he plopped back in his seat, satisfied after hearing a familiar beat of a song.

"OMG, this is my jam!" Ryan squealed. He proceeded to sing his lungs out and twerk in the car, not caring the glares Evan gave him through the side mirror.

Airyn covered his eyes and sighed loudly. Nathan felt the need to calm the situation but hesitated, giving a pleading look at Evan through the mirror.

"Ryan, sit down or I'll drown all of us in a river!" Shawn threatened him.

***

"Finally" Ryan sighed as he stretched as he got out of the car.

They all arrived in front of a house that they'll be staying in. It looked like any other house in the neighbourhood, their cover would be safe.

"Let's go in," asked Evan. They all went into the house with their luggage. Nathan hummed in approval when he saw the interior design. It's bright with soft colours. The other guys couldn't care less.

They looked around the house and chose their respective rooms. Luckily, there's enough room for five of them. After unpacking their bags, they went down to the living room.

"I'm so tired," Airyn laid on the couch.

"I was just going to ask you guys if you want to look around the city" said Shawn. Even though he's the one who drove them here, he's pretty energetic.

"How about you go with Evan, I'm exhausted" Ryan sighed as he sat beside Airyn.

"Weak" Airyn mocked him, purposely looking for a fight.

"Look who's talking" Ryan rolled his eyes.

"Well, I'm not a machine who works for 24 hours" Airyn smirked. Ryan scoffed at his remark.

"Cut it out. Do you guys want anything?" Evan asked.

"Oh, can you buy food?" Ryan said.

"Why don't we all just go out and eat? My treat-" Ryan and Airyn cut Shawn off before he could finish.

"Ok" they all answered simultaneously.

"Didn't you just say that you're tired?" Evan raised his eyebrow.

"For the sake of food, I must comply" said Ryan. Airil nodded in agreement. They all raced to Shawn's car. Nathan shook his head in disbelief. They all got into the car.

"What do you guys think of the mission?" Nathan asked.

"How can we focus on two missions at once?" Shah sighed.

"Maybe one of the cases that we need to solve has something to do with Diamond's daughter" said Nathan.

"That's impossible," Evan scoffed.

"Who knows? Maybe we will be lucky enough to catch some clues along the way" said Nathan. His words eased the other bodyguards' mind.

"Do you think that Diamond has a pretty daughter?" Ryan said suddenly, batting his eyelashes innocently.

"Out of all the things you could ask, that's what makes you curious?" Airyn smacked Ryan's head.

"Hey!" Ryan yelped.

"We will look for Eclipse tonight. It's better if we don't dawdle" said Evan.

***

"Evan, what's the plan?" Shawn asked. They had returned home a few hours ago. The boys were gathering in the living room, facing Evan.

"We'll break in Eclipse's headquarters," Evan said boldly.

"Are you insane?" the other guys screamed all at once.

"We need to memorize the map of the building. Find more information about their leader, how they act and their location. Then it'll be easier for us to make a move" explained Evan.

They were all silent, processing Evan's deranged plan.

"This is dangerous. Last time I checked, breaking in is a crime" Airyn crossed his arms.

"We're the good guys, in case you've forgotten" Ryan bit his cheeks in annoyance.

"But it's a good plan. Desperate times call for desperate measures" said Shawn. They all glanced at Shawn.

"I agree with Shawn" said Nathan, scratching his chin.

"It's not like we'll steal from them. Who knows, maybe they have some information on Diamond's daughter?" Nathan continued.

"Like you said, it's dangerous so we just have to be careful," said Shawn.

"I protest, good intentions doesn't justify one's actions!" said Airyn. He stood up from the couch, clenching his fists.

"We're not doing this, this is suicide!" Ryan yelled.

"Huh, it's rare of you to agree with each other" Nathan smirked.

"Shut up, Nathan!" Ryan and Airyn barked simultaneously.

Evan and Shawn glanced at each other. Shawn crossed his legs.

"Alright, fine. Let's vote" Shawn sighed.

"Those who agree?" Shawn asked while raising his hand. Evan and Nathan raised their hand too. Ryan and Airyn sighed in defeat.

"It's settled now," Shah said.

"Eclipse is more cunning than us. We'll get caught in less than a minute" said Airyn.

"You're such a wonderful ray of sunshine, aren't you?" said Nathan sarcastically. Airyn scowled at him.

"We'll ask Dahlia and a few others to join, but we'll keep the real objective from them" said Evan.

"Alright, we'll move tonight," Shawn said. It'll be a lie to say they were all calm. If tonight's plan fails, they will definitely die. The enemies they'll face are all merciless killers. They hope everything will go as planned.

***

Kiara POV

The girls gathered together to discuss their plan for tonight. I faced my co-workers in the living room.

"We'll break into Eclipse's base, retrieve some relevant information" I said, crossing my legs.

"You mean stealing their personal files? We don't even know where they keep them" said Lucy.

"I suggest we memorize the map of the building. Laura can cut off the electricity of the Eclipse building, like she usually does in every mission. Eclipse has advanced technologies. If their power supply gets cut off, they'll definitely panic'" said Tasha.

We all nodded in agreement. Amanda came into the living room with a frown. She must be disappointed.

"I can't trace the location of Eclipse's HQ" Amanda sighed.

"Seriously?" Lucy asked in disbelief. I ruffled my hair in frustration.

"What are we going to do? It's useless" Amanda asked. They all looked at me with a hopeful gleam in their eyes. I sighed.

"There must be a clue. Give me a few minutes, you guys just get ready" I said.

I left them in the living room, heading to my own room. I went to the balcony, inhaling the hot air of the evening.

Shit, we've reached a dead end. We couldn't proceed with the mission if we couldn't even detect those bastards' hives.

I grasped the pendant of my necklace. It's a habit I've built whenever I feel restless. The memory behind this chain was bitter and painful. Ironically, it calmed me down.

It's impossible for the headquarters to be located in the middle of the city, it'll attract too much attention. This city was full of tourists.

I sat on the floor.

In the middle of the city there was a mall. Is it possible for it to be under the mall? But then it's too risky because it might be accessible to the public.

I thought of all the possibilities, desperately trying to find an answer. Eclipse is when the sun and the moon is in a straight line, right?

Heh, I guess it's useful to learn basic science back in the days.

I turned to the symbol of the pendant. I looked at the purple sky. It's almost sunset. Then, suddenly it hit me. I quickly climbed the mansion's roof from my balcony, balancing myself on the roof's uneven tiles.

I hold the pendant in front of me, straightening my arm. The light of the moon that was about to appear and the light from the setting sun, shone through the pendant.

The light pointed to the tallest building in the city. The building was visible from the balcony's view. The shadows of my pendant appeared on the roof's tiles.

Okay, this was stupid. There's no way the pendant from my dead parents could pinpoint Eclipse's location from this exact same house that I was destined to stay in. That'll be paranormal as hell but it did give me an idea.

The HQ might not be in the middle of the city, but Eclipse was prideful so they must at least have an extravagant building. A reputation that was so remarkable that they could hide in plain sight.

I quickly got down and ran into my room. I wore the necklace and my usual attire for going on a mission. I wore a black leather jacket, gloves and a belt to hang my favourite weapon.

I kept a dagger in my belt and took the katana that was hidden in the closet. I wore my mask and walked downstairs. Adrenaline pumped into my veins. The girls were already in the living room, in their all black attire.

"Kiara, Izz is joining this mission as a backup" Tasha said as soon as she saw me walking down the stairs.

"Have you figured it out?" Lucy asked. I only nodded and took a seat beside her after laying my weapons on the coffee table.

"Amanda, what is the tallest building in this city?" I asked.

"A company called Celestial Technology" Amanda answered. They all frowned in confusion at my question.

"Is there a possibility that the building might belong to Eclipse?" I asked. Amanda frowned at me.

"I thought you'd choose the mall or the cyber centre. Why the company?" Amanda asked.

"Can you find out about the company?" I asked impatiently. Amanda just nodded. She picked up the laptop from the coffee table and started searching.

"Celestial Technology contributes a lot to the modern lifestyle, the latest technology and the economy. In short, almost everything in this city is in their control" said Amanda.

"Eclipse likes to control people, so does the company" I hinted at them. I got no other choice but to gamble on fate and hope that my hunch was right.

"Kiara may be right" Laura nodded.

"Eclipse kills people, right? But they're already rich and famous so why are they killing people? What is their motive?," asked Tasha.

"Maybe it's not possessions they're chasing, it might be something else," said Lucy. Amanda raised her head from the laptop screen.

"The building has 30 floors and 4 basements. It is tightly secured, there are many security cameras and there is a helipad," said Amanda.

"Are you sure this is their base?" she asked again.

"We have to try," I rubbed my eyes.

"How do you know about this building?" Laura asked.

"It's hard to explain" I crossed my arms. None of them forced me for an answer and I was grateful for that. It was tiring to explain, actually it's tiring to even talk. It's one of the reasons I hate to talk a lot, but of course no one understands that.

"There's a map here, but if we print the map of the building, it'll expose us" Laura peeked at Amanda's screen.

"So, what do you suggest?" I raised my brow.

"I suggest that one of us walk into the building and snatch a map from there," suggested Laura. We all looked at Amanda. Amanda was quite petite but looks can be deceiving. She was one hell of a fighter and she's pro for being undercover.

"Sure, I'll do it," replied Amanda.

"Alright, we'll wait here. Give us a heads up if you're in trouble" I said.

"Kiara, let's just go with Amanda and hide out at a place nearby" Lucy bit her cheek. I glanced at her.

"No, it'll just attract unnecessary attention. Eclipse has eyes everywhere" I said firmly. They all just nodded. Amanda went upstairs to change into an appropriate outfit..

Amanda came downstairs a few minutes later, dressed like an office worker. She wore a shirt and a pencil skirt. She was carrying a handbag in one hand.

Lucy gave Amanda her car keys and a pair of glasses.

"Alright Amanda, there's a camera built in the glasses. Just pressed the small button behind the frame to take pictures. Say 'I saw a cat' if you're in trouble and we'll come to you" Lucy said.

"It'll be a piece of cake" Amanda smiled broadly as wore the glasses. She walked out the door.

***

An hour had passed and we all sat in the living room facing the laptop. The camera on Amanda's glasses was connected to the laptop. Whatever she saw and heard, we could too.

Amanda has arrived at the Celestial Technology building. She entered the building and started a conversation with a man at the reception desk.

The man looked the same age as Amanda.

"Hello, I'm meeting someone from this company," said Amanda.

"What's their name?" said the man at the counter a few seconds after being stunned by Amanda's beauty. I must admit, she was quite good looking. The reason why she's our secret weapon.

The man had curly brown locks and a sharp jawline. Totally Amanda's type, but let's just hope she didn't get distracted by him.

"She is my distant cousin but I do not remember her name. I'm meeting her here" said Amanda.

"In that case, it's hard to inform the person without her name, Miss-" the man trailed off.

"My name is Amanda" Amanda said while giving her signature charming smile. The man blushed.

"Maybe you can give me a tour of this building. So, I can find her quickly" said Amanda again.

Tasha who was sitting next to Laura began to laugh hysterically at the man's red face. Lucy was impressed with Amanda.

"Call me Simon" said the man with a sheepish grin. He agreed to take Amanda around the building.

It was time for the employees to return to their homes, so the situation there was a bit hectic. They went to several levels before Amanda stopped.

"Simon, can you wait for a minute? I need to um-" Amanda trailed off and glanced at the nearby restroom. That made Simon's face redder than ever. He looked like he might explode.

"O-of course, I'll wait for you" Simon stammered.

Amanda went to the restroom and looked around. It was empty. She realized that the toilet had two exits. So Amanda went out in the opposite direction to the path she had just entered.

She was cautious so she wouldn't get caught by Simon. She wandered around and saw a sign of the building's fire escape plan.

"You guys seeing this?" Amanda mumbled as she pressed the small button on her glasses frame. She took a picture of the plan. We all hummed in response.

She went back to the toilet and headed back to Simon, adjusting her blouse in a hasty manner.

"I'm done. I think it's time for me to go home, it seems like my cousin isn't around" Amanda pouted. Simon gave her an apologetic smile.

"It's okay, I bet she'll call you later" Simon tried to assure Amanda. The two of them headed back to the lobby and stood at the reception desk.

Suddenly, Amanda turned to the man and gently grabbed his tie. Tasha squealed in excitement at Amanda's bold move. She shook Laura's shoulders. I sighed, Tasha was a sucker for romance. Not that Amanda was romantically attracted to the prey, Tasha was just insane.

"Your tie is crooked" Amanda fixed Simon's tie with one hand. It was a blow to the poor man's heart. Simon blushed and averted his gaze. While Simon was distracted with being flustered, Amanda used her other hand to open the drawer of Simon's desk. She shifted her gaze for a moment to see what was written on the paper. The paper was apparently the complete map of this building. What a lucky day.

Simon faced Amanda with a bashful expression. Amanda finished 'playing' with Simon's tie and covered the man's eyes with one hand.

"Hold still," Amanda said softly.

Amanda took a good look at the map in the drawer and took a picture of it with her glasses. Then, she faced the man and let go of her hand. Amanda took a step back from Simon.

"You look red, I was just checking your temperature. Don't overwork yourself" Amanda said.

"Thank you and I'm sorry for wasting your time" Amanda gave him a smile.

Simon was still stunned by Amanda's bold action. Well, it's definitely an awkward situation. Lucy saved the situation by calling Amanda's phone.

On the laptop screen, Amanda took out her smartphone when it rang.

"Oh, my cousin called. Thank you, Simon" Amanda walked out of the building before the man had time to ask anything.

***

Amanda arrived at the mansion an hour later and sat in the living room after changing into her assassin attire. We all gathered in the backyard after making sure no one was in sight. The moon shone brightly in the night sky.

"Amanda, tell Luna to send two motorbikes and a helicopter," I said. Amanda fulfilled my request without a word.

She handed a piece of paper to me. I frowned in confusion.

"Wait, I didn't see you snatching the map. I thought you only took a picture of it" I said. Amanda gave me an arrogant smirk. It was the complete map of the building, the hardcopy.

"It's like a normal office" Tasha commented after seeing the map.

"Is this the same as Eclipse's logo?" Amanda's finger pointed to the end of the map.

"The Eclipse's logo is a small circle in a large circle and there are three horizontal scratches across the rings" I said.

"It doesn't look like Eclipse's logo," said Tasha, stating the obvious. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Eclipse is very famous but it's impossible to track them down. It's like they're invisible" Laura sighed.

"Wait, what did you say?" I perked up and faced Laura.

"They are famous but-"

"No, after that" I interrupted Laura.

"They're invisible?"

"Invisible, huh? There might be another map behind this map. Amanda, can you get the UV flashlight?" I said.

Amanda went inside. A few minutes later she came back with a flashlight. She handed it to me.

I switched it on and shone it on the paper. Another map appeared in glowing ink. They really go out their way to scribble their secret map on a piece of paper. It felt like it was too easy for us to get our hands on this map. It was kind of suspicious.

We didn't have time to crack that mystery, we still have to figure out the mystery that unfolded in front of us.

"They used invisible ink for the map. Look, another logo appeared" Amanda pointed at the emblem at the edge of the paper. It's definitely Eclipse.

"There is another floor below the 4 basements. There is a secret floor between all the floors in the building" I muttered as I observed the map.

"Like, there's another level between levels 1 and 2?" Tasha asked. We all nodded.

"How do you go to the secret floors?" Laura asked.

"We have to find it ourselves," I said as I folded the paper in half.

"Laura, find the source of electricity of the whole city and cut it off. Tasha, you go with her. After you're done, find out how Eclipse operates their schemes" I instructed. The both of them nodded.

"Amanda, you're on the lookout for any threats. You'll lead us and give us directions. Wait at the helipad to make our runaway" I said to Amanda.

"Lucy, you're with me"

Time to head out. Izz arrived a few minutes later and Amanda went with him. The rest of us rode our bikes. We headed to Celestial Technology to take the first step on hunting our prey.