"Can I get a box of juice? Or maybe a cube of juice? Do you serve them in liquid or in cube-form, I'm a little confused."

"Mr Montrell," Hs Hope said, grinding her teeth as Caleb threw his feet up on the desk in the interrogation room. Zoe and Mia stood silently in the background while they let the two of them discuss. "The only reason we let you in here—"

"Call me Caleb," He replied, smirking at her. "You'll want to memorize that name, sugar, because it's going to be your doom. Sorry if I sound melodramatic, that's just my style."

Ms Hope pursed her lips, making her crimson-colored lips crackle and crust. "Caleb, the only reason we let you in was—"

"—was because you already have Mia under surveillance and had me on your radar a couple of days ago. We both know I'm smart enough to be in here with both Eli and every other genius you have locked up in here – love the MIB style you got grooving in here by the way, very 'secret lab'-ish – but know that I'm not here to sign myself into a one way stay at the come-and-never-get-away resort you've built. I'm here to check one out," Caleb fired off smoothly, leaning back in the steel chair like he owned the room. Which he currently did. Ms Hope looked like she was ready to smack him one.

Her eyes shifted to Zoe and Mia who with their arms crossed just watched the conversation from the corner. Zoe had a glint in her eye, but Mia was nervous. She had been too anxious to focus on what Zoe explained in the car, so now she sort of felt clueless as to what their game plan here was.

"Mr—" Ms Hope stopped herself when Caleb shot her a flat look. "Caleb. Listen, it's very courageous of you three to come waltzing in here like you are the professionals," She said, eyeing out Caleb's shaggy, holed pants and Zoe's blue hair, "But the matter of the fact is, you have no idea what you are dealing with, nor will you ever. You are playing a dangerous game by coming here and implying—"

"Implying what? That we're leaving today with our friend?" Caleb cut in. "That's no implement, we're taking him with us. That's final."

"Sir—"

"Would you happen to know a guy who calls himself A?" Caleb said, dragging a smirk onto his lips. Ms Hope visibly tensed up. "I'll take that clench as a yes. Then you should probably know, he contacted us."

Ms Hope sat up in her chair and cocked a slow brow. "Did he now?"

"He sure did. Can you see where this is going or would you like me to cut it out for you? Perhaps in cube form?"

Ms Hope squinted her eyes coldly at him. Caleb was clearly poking the bear right now, that much was obvious. The disdain on her face was so vivid, it made Mia's toes curl. They really were playing a dangerous game; one wrong move and Ms Hope would lock them up forever.

"I'll cut it out for you," Caleb said and pulled his legs off the table. He folded his hands instead and leaned forward. "I'm a hacker. The smurf over there is a hacker. 'A' is a hacker. Now, as you obviously know, you've had interest in A. You wanted him to join this freak-show, didn't you? That was rhetorical," He said when Ms Hope opened her mouth. "I know you do, he told me himself. Well, sorta. Anyways, after you showed interest in him, he begun showing an interesting in you, too. Started poking around the edges of your experiments, looked into your files. Nothing big.

"But, as you can imagine, since you work with it everyday, what he found really truly appalled him. The sick experiments, the testing, the trials... irk. Where was I? Oh, right," Caleb grinned. "Naturally, he felt he had to shut you down, stop your experiments, but he couldn't find a way. As well as a hacker as he was, he couldn't find a way to get your information out of your databases and into his own without you erasing it. Clever bug that is, by the way.

"That's where we come in," He said and pointed to Zoe who looked pretty damn pleased with what Caleb was saying. To Mia it sounded like they were winning, but she couldn't be sure, not from the way the vein in Ms Hope's forehead kept throbbing, or from the looks of her white knuckles. "We managed to secure every data you ever recorded with a little joined hacker magic. It's currently being stored in what I've named a black cyber hole – a place I've created that is impenetrable and unbreakable, unless you're this guy," Caleb pointed a thumb at himself and then smirked. "And now since you only deal with geniuses, but not exactly are ones, I'll put this into simpler terms for you; We've got you right where we want you, so basically, you're all my bitches now."

Ms Hope was grinding her teeth so loudly, Mia could hear her molars gritting, even from where she was standing. She was seriously wondering if Ms Hope was going to press some secret alarm button and have them all incarcerated. Or killed.

"That is impossible," She finally said, after taking a few controlled breaths. "Our systems are the most secured in the U.S, and no such place as a 'black cyber hole' exists. It's simply impossible."

"So is a bee flying, but yet it still flies," Caleb nonchalantly replied with a coy smirk. "I'm a genius, doll. I told you to remember my name."

Ms Hope begun grinding her teeth again, but this time Caleb beat her to the punch of the argument.

"Here's the deal; We've got all the info on you guys and it's currently being stored in a place that you can't get to, which means you're screwed. Now, I might've created this black hole and is its only master, but knowing who I'm dealing with here, I've gotten in contact with a couple of people who are what you guys would call geniuses... or do you prefer lab rats?" He mocked. "Any number of them have been informed and told how to operation my little black hole, in the event that I should somehow mysteriously disappear or die before my awesome time. Just in case. You follow me?"

"I follow you very well," Ms Hope briskly said, her voice dripping with venom. "You have worked up quite the defense, haven't you? Smart, clever you."

"And dumb, stupid you," Caleb reciprocated. "Alright, you seem to know how this works, so here goes; If you don't let Eli and the other subjects go, I leak everything we got to every network in the world. You let them all go, and if you ever try to touch them again, I leak it. If you try and kill anyone in the hacker group, let's say... me, who holds the key for all your information..." Caleb paused for a moment, looking up at her. "... I still leak it – I'll be leaking like a dog on a fire hydrant."

Ms Hope looked positively explosive, shaking with anger. It only seemed to please Caleb even more as he continued.

"I guess by now you must be contemplating to just kill me where my sexy ass is seated, aren't you?" He smirked when she jabbed him a lethal look. "Well in that case, you should know that if I don't walk out of this facility within the hour, the rest of said geniuses who's been informed how to operate my black hole, will leak same said material into the wide open curious world, along with the exact location of your precious facility. Try stopping all the media and conspiracy nutters from climbing over your barbed fence, trust me that ain't gonna be easy. They'll go Spider-Man on that thing. Your science project will be common knowledge to the whole world faster than you can split an atom."

Ms Hope finally pursed her lips for what seemed like the thousandth time, before exhaling a strong breath. She then stood up and straightened her suit, glaring down at Caleb. "Excuse me for a moment. I have to make a phone call."

"I imagine you do," Caleb grinned when she then wordlessly walked up to the door. "Tell your big bawse upstairs I said hi. Oh, and A sends his regards, too."

Ms Hope stepped out, and as soon as she did, Mia breathed out loudly. Her legs felt like cooked spaghettis.

"Holy shit, that was amazing!" Zoe exclaimed, tripping on her feet from excitement.

"We got them where we want them," Caleb nodded, smirking up at Zoe, then passed a look to Mia who looked white as a ghost. "Relax, Mia. I own this joint. They'll quickly find out that their files have been copied and that I am in fact telling the truth. They'll have no other option than to follow our demands, unless they want all their research in the claws of the rest of the world and their competition, and so on. Eli will be out within the hour, trust me."

Mia did trust him, but she didn't trust her knees, nor Ms Hope for that matter. A few silent minutes passed, and just as Mia felt about ready to collapse from anxiety, the door opened again. Ms Hope was back, looking as sour as someone as when she had left. "Well, well, Caleb. You must feel pretty damn satisfied."

"Like I just had sex."

Ms Hope gave him a fierce look. "What you are doing is highly wrong. You don't understand the research we do here. The things that our test subjects help us with, it will revolutionize mankind. With the research we've compiled, we could create a whole new specie of—"

"Only God has the right to play with life," Caleb snarled, for the first time sounding dead serious. "I don't want to hear about what shit you guys do here, I've already heard more than enough from my friend, enough to write a goddamn memoir. Now hand him over. Your information will be safe and sound as long as you promise Eli and the others will be, too – counting us. Those who want to stay, I can't speak for, but those who want to leave can and will leave this place for good. Do I make myself clear, Ms Hope?"

She folded her arms across her chest. Oh, she was pissed. Mia could feel the room vibrating with her anger. "Go through with this, and know you'll be on every government radar for the rest of your life. Your sister as well."

"Don't go through with this, and every bit of information linked to this place will be on every social media platform for as long as mankind exists. That includes your address and the place you get your pussy waxed," Caleb countered. "You don't scare me, Ms-Hope-Be-Lacking-Dope. Just get me my friend the hell outta here."

Ms Hope ground her teeth one last time before she exhaled harshly and replied. "I'll need you to sign an agreement then. My bosses want you to write up a contract that states that if we follow your demands, you promise that in return our information stays safe. There will be no point in trying to retrieve the information from you, we know that, so this is just a formality for our benefit."

"I'll be going over that contract word for word so I don't sign any fucking document that will chain me to this goddamn hellhole," Caleb murderously replied. "And I'll be making this thing waterproof as well. You'll never be able to touch any of us without your research going more public than a public loo."

Ms Hope just crossed her arms. "You're going to be sorry you did this, Mr Montrell."

"I told you, call me Caleb. That's the Johnny Hancock I'll be signing on the contract, so you don't forget who shut you guys down."

"Oh, you're not shutting us down," Ms Hope said, for the first time giving a ghost of a smirk. "You're just forcing us to do things a little differently. But, then again, we wouldn't be working with geniuses in the first place if we didn't enjoy a little challenge."

"Yeah, well, this is one genius whose brain you won't be messing with. Now hand me a pen. And FYI, I'm keeping the pen when I'm done."

~~~

Mia couldn't believe they had just pulled that off.

Walking on shaking legs, her, Zoe and Caleb were making their way back to the car – Caleb twirling his new pen with a grin.

"So let me just get this straight so I can understand this fully..." Mia said as soon as they were in the car. Zoe was driving home this time. "We just walked into a top secret lab, threatened to expose them if they didn't hand over our friend, managed to draw up an agreement, and walked out of there... alive and all in one piece?"

"Hold that thought for a moment," Caleb said and cupped his crotch with a serious expression. After a good assessment, he nodded. "Yes, we are in fact in one piece. Anyone need a hand checking if anything is missing?"

Mia exhaled a dizzying breath. This was unbelievable. Actually, it was impalpable. She didn't even know how they had managed to pull that off.

"So they'll release Eli and the rest of them tomorrow, since there is a lot of paperwork to be done. I told them if they dared to relocate, I'd leak their shit as well," Caleb said, leaning his seat back. Him and Zoe were up front while Mia sat in the back, letting her adrenaline steam off. "I also hacked into NASA's satellite feed, so if they decide to up and leave, we'll know. They're not going anywhere with our boy."

"I still can't believe it..." Mia whispered, feeling tears in her eyes. "We pulled it off. Does this mean... does this mean he'll be free?"

"They all will. All thanks to us and A."

Mia had almost completely forgotten about that mystery. "Hey, who is that 'A' guy anyway? How do you even know it's a guy? Did you find him?"

Caleb cocked a brow at Zoe who was driving the car, being awfully silent. "Smurf, care to speak up?"

Zoe bit her lip and looked at Mia through the rearview mirror. "I... I know him."

"You WHAT?!" Mia actually almost screamed.

"Well, not like that!" She quickly said, turning her eyes back to the road. "Remember when we hacked the school system to look at the surveillance cameras?" When Mia eagerly nodded, she continued, "Well, a hacker by the name of 'A' contacted me shortly after that, saying he knew I had been snooping around. He begun talking to me... he told me he knew who the genius was, and that he had been secretly helping him ever since he got busted for breaking into the school with his friend," She glanced at Caleb who was still playing with his pen.

"Wait, so... how did he know who Eli was? And did he tell you it was Eli?" Mia said when a few things started to make sense.

"No, he didn't tell me. He was reluctant to give me Eli's name, since he preferred letting Eli decide who knew and who didn't. And as for how he knew him... like Caleb said, C.E.N.T.U.R.I.E.S had contacted him as well, and so the minute he saw Eli, he knew he had seen him inside the facility before."

"Wait, A has been inside the facility and made it out again?" Mia gaped. She had so many questions, she didn't know which one to answer first. "Who is this 'A' guy, seriously? Do you know him, Zoe? For real?"

Mia noticed she bit her lip again, as if unsure how much she could say.

"I've met him before. Twice."

"His name, Zoe!"

"I can't tell you and I never will, I promised," Zoe said, pouting. "He revealed who he was to me because it was necessary at the time so I could get the info we needed from a reliable source. He couldn't very well send what he had in an email, so we had to meet in person so he could hand me the USB. He provided us with what we needed, and that's how we managed to get C.E.N.T.U.R.I.E.S' info into Caleb's black hole."

"I'm beginning to rethink the whole 'black hole' thing," Caleb cut in and frowned thoughtfully. "Is it just me or does it sound kinky?"

"So anyways, he was also the one who told me to be patient with you," Zoe said, ignoring Caleb, and glanced at Mia through the mirror again. "That whatever you said or asked of me, I just had to roll with it. That it was for the best and that you were helping the genius as well. I guess I decided to trust him, because... well, I trusted you."

"Zoe..." Mia whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "I can't believe you'd... do that for me. Blindly trust a stranger."

"He's not a stranger." She said, keeping her voice plain. "He said he wanted to protect the genius because he knew what it was like to feel like an outcast – that he knew the pain and gain by having a brain that could put scientists to shame and make computers seem in vain, if I remember correctly," Zoe said, a cute grin lifting to her lips. "He actually made a rhyme, can you believe it? Anyways, that's when we thought out the plan to use Caleb's black hole. After you left, it was just the matter of setting everything up. And that brings us to here," She carefully said. "It all worked out well, didn't it?"

"Zoe you are the genius here!" Mia said, shaking and crying from happiness. "God, I can't imagine what I would've done without you, Zo. You're just... the best friend I could ever imagine. I love you, Zoe. Thank you for everything."

Zoe smiled to her through the mirror and Mia couldn't help but notice her eyes looked pretty glossy as well. She couldn't remember ever having seen Zoe on the brink of emotional tears before, which was ironic, since she was Emo.

"Hey, where's my love?" Caleb broke the silence and pulled his seat up again. "We couldn't have done this without me either – I want a hug!"

He launched at Zoe who was driving, and with a shriek, Zoe nearly drove right off the road when Caleb tried bear-hugging her. "Get off me, you big golden retriever! Paws off! Down boy!"

"But I want love!"

"I'm driving!"

"You're a woman – multitask!"

Mia couldn't help but smile at the two of them; there were definitely sparks between them.

She let them banter for a while and in the meantime just leaned up against the window and looked out at the road as they drove. Tomorrow Eli would come back, and then he'd be free for life.

An aching thought passed through Mia's head just then; What if he didn't want her in his new life?

• • •

We are slowly closing in on the end, in case you didn't notice. Just wanted to warn y'all.