Archive of Our Own ^beta

Techno wakes up with the worst headache he's ever had.

And coming from the guy who regularly pulls consecutive all-nighters and substitutes proper sleep with caffeine, that's saying something. His mouth is dry and tastes distantly bitter. While Techno licks his lips, he blinks up at the ceiling.

He got kidnapped.

He was walking home from the store after school and then he got dragged into an alley. Techno hisses at the pounding pain between his temples, lifting his hand. His knuckles are red, which definitely indicates he didn't imagine punching a guy. But that means all the rest also actually happened. He could be in pretty deep trouble right now.

Or he should be. What Techno notices as he blinks some more and clears his vision from the last traces of unconsciousness, is that he's lying in a bed. A very comfortable one, though that's not saying much considering what Techno has as a reference point. The bed he has back in his dorm is basically a mattress on the floor with half a pillow and some blankets. The frame had to be taken apart when he moved in, and Techno hasn't gotten around to reassembling the dumb thing. This bed is so much better by comparison though. Large and soft and very plush.

That doesn't make sense. When you kidnap somebody, you don't usually tuck them in for a good night's sleep, do you?

Well, not that Techno has a lot of experience - on either side of the kidnapping dynamic - but he's seen enough movies to know you're supposed to be wrenched awake by some bad guy throwing a bucket of water into your face while you're tied to a chair, as a prelude for the torture to begin. A nice bed isn't often part of the equation.

"How are you feeling?"

The question makes him jolt, especially since he can't really move right now so the voice kind of comes out of nowhere. With more effort than should be needed, Techno manages to turn his head to the side and look at a man sitting next to the bed in an armchair.

Techno doesn't recognize him. He can only assume it might be one of his kidnappers, though this man isn't wearing any of the same dark and foreboding clothes. He's in a simple black jeans, green sweater combo. He's blond, older than Techno would have assumed from a distance. Or maybe he has a really good skincare routine. He rests his cheek in one hand as Techno watches him, lounging back in the chair with crossed legs as if the scrutiny doesn't bother him. Sluggishly, Techno pulls his eyes away again.

His glasses are neatly folded on the bedside table. Techno slowly grabs them and puts them on, looking around so he can take the room in properly. It does seem to be a bedroom of some kind, if one that is sparsely decorated. Anonymous might be the word used to describe it. Across from the bed stands a simple wardrobe, and against the wall sits a desk with a chair. All the normal furniture doesn't detract from the uncanny feeling Techno gets when he notices the cameras in the corners, placed deliberately so as not to have any blind spots. A red light blinks lazily on each device.

Pushing the blanket off, Techno looks down and sees he's still wearing the exact same outfit too, including the jacket he'd normally never sleep in. They only removed his shoes, which are standing neatly side by side right next to the bed. Techno struggles to put them on before getting up, keenly aware the man is watching him do so with an amused grin. Has he been watching Techno sleep? What a creep.

"Okay, so what's going on?" Techno eventually asks, legs a bit too wobbly for his tastes. The man looks up at him, unbothered. "Is this some sort of new gang induction ritual I'm not caught up on?"

Techno has come to the only possible conclusion that he has either been kidnapped by the nicest criminals in the city or by a group of criminals who want to not piss him off more than he already will be given the situation. The second option is way more likely. And also happens to coincide with the fact that there is one group Techno can think of who would yoink him specifically. A group that has been pulling on his sleeve for nearly a week because they need something from him.

That would make this man part of The Crow Network.

"Why don't you sit down so we can have a chat?" the man asks pleasantly, gesturing at the bed.

"I think I'd rather stand," Techno says. The refusal is somewhat petty, but Techno doesn't want to sit on the nice, fancy cashmere sheets. It makes him feel weirded out. If his legs give out because the drugs aren't entirely out of his system, he'll take the concussion over sitting down when told to.

The man keeps smiling. "Suit yourself." He leans back in the chair impossibly further, maybe so his neck doesn't have to crane up as much if he wants to make eye contact with Techno. "I'm sure you've figured out who I am at this point?"

"Yeah, Jerry from elementary school, right?" Techno drawls. "Are you still pissed that I didn't invite you to my eighth birthday party?"

The man reacts to the joke with a loud chuckle of surprise. "Ah, you're funny. That's good, maybe some humor will ease tensions along."

Techno doesn't know what that means but he's sure he'll find out soon enough.

"My name is Philza Craft. Feel free to call me Phil." The man sticks out his hand for a handshake.

Crossing his arms awkwardly over his chest, Techno squints down at him. "You're the Crowfather? I didn't know you did your own dirty work."

Phil visibly shudders at the nickname. "Please, nobody calls me that aside from lackeys who mistake it as a form of flattery, or people I'm about to kill." He plays the denied handshake off with a little wave, turning his wrist over. "The media comes up with such dramatic monikers to use, doesn't it? I'm sure you'll agree. What was it they called you? Cyberknife?"

Swallowing, Techno looks away. Obviously The Crow Network has to know who he is if they managed to kidnap him. He doesn't like it though. He doesn't like it at all.

"I usually go by Dave," he mumbles.

"I know you do, Techno." Phil tilts his head, smiling wider.

Balling his hands into fists in a way he hopes isn't too noticeable, Techno tries to meet Phil's gaze. His eyes are blue, sharp. Observing his reactions carefully.

"So, I denied your generous job offer and you decided to resort to force. Real classy," he says. "If you have somebody in your corner who can figure out my identity, why don't you ask that guy to fix your leak? What happened anyway, somebody tried to download a suspicious Fortnite gift code to get those free V-bucks?"

Phil laughs again. Techno knows he falls back on sarcasm and making quips when he's nervous, often it helps him through social interactions or spoken exams. He never thought it would end up coming in handy when kidnapped by a criminal empire. Funny how life can turn out.

"I owe you an apology," Phil says eventually, when his laughter dies down. "I really regret we had to resort to such extreme measures."

And then the mob boss even apologizes for the kidnapping. Techno doesn't think there is any movie that could have prepared him for this part. When Phil stands up from the chair, Techno automatically leans back. But Phil just sweeps past him and into the middle of the room, talking as he goes.

"You really are the only person we can trust with this. I promise we don't go over a matter like this lightly. We have somebody in charge of cybersecurity who meets all our daily needs, but the current situation is above his skill level. He wouldn't be able to find you either if he had to start searching from scratch." Phil looks over his shoulder to grin at him. "You certainly know how to cover your tracks, mate."

"How did you find me then?" Techno asks.

Phil hesitates for a small moment before nodding. He turns around fully, facing Techno again. "Hm, I suppose if we want this to work, honesty is important. One of our methods is gathering information on things early. Anything or anybody that seems interesting, we keep records on. In case it might turn out useful to us later. An information network, if you will."

Techno doesn't give the little reference to how they got their name as much as a smile. It does shed some light on how The Crow Network manages to do what it does without law enforcement tracking them. "So you've been stalking me?"

Phil seems unfazed by the accusation. "We 'stalk' a lot of people." He raises his hands to put air quotes around the word, maybe to diminish the negative meaning it carries. "It's not a big deal."

Techno thinks it's a pretty big deal, but decides not to start an argument about semantics with the gang leader.

"How long?" he asks.

"I think you first popped up on our radar when you were in high school," Phil admits plainly. "You stole some money from the Seraphine family. They were helping launder funds for us, so we looked into it. Your work was pretty clean for a teenager." Phil phrases it almost as if it's supposed to be a compliment. Techno will choose to take it as one then. "We've kept tabs on you ever since."

"That's…" Techno begins then trails off. That's insane, he wants to say. Because it is. If the residue of the drugs weren't keeping him feeling pleasantly numb, he probably would be freaking out more. As is, he has to put at least half of his energy into not sitting down on the bed after all. Can't give Phil that satisfaction.

"We're thorough," Phil says.

Techno glances around the room again. No windows, and only one door. He's really worked himself into a corner here - proverbial and literal.

"Let me guess," Techno says. "If I still refuse to take the job, my apartment will mysteriously burn down and my charred corpse will be found inside. Signs of faulty electrical wiring will point at an innocent accident as the cause and my remains will be too burned to bother with an autopsy, especially as no foul play will be suspected."

Phil raises an eyebrow as he listens to Techno's prediction, based entirely on what he has heard on the news. The Crow Network isn't the only one able to do research. "You did your homework, that should make all of this easier," Phil says. "There's no need for any of that to happen though. I'm sure we can work out a better deal."

The implication that if they can't work out a deal, Techno's words will become a horrifying reality is left unspoken.

"What's the deal?" he asks.

"We're willing to offer you double of your usual pay," Phil says. "And a counter favor. No limits, no questions asked. If you need us in the future, we'll be at your beck and call." Phil throws in a charming smile, perhaps trying to sweeten the deal.

Techno has more pressing things to sort out. "And you won't kill me once we're done?"

"You have my word," Phil promises.

"For as much as that's worth," Techno shoots back.

Phil can say whatever he wants. He could offer Techno the moon and stars, but he has already shown the lengths he's willing to go if it means getting Techno to take this job. Kidnapping, threatening murder. The Crow Network is famously good at getting away with pretty much anything. Techno can't imagine they get that reputation by letting witnesses walk away.

He has seen Phil's face. He's going to see the insides of their security too. And Techno is supposed to believe Phil will let him go back to his normal life as a university student after this?

But there's not much of an alternative. Phil just waits for his answer, that constant grinning quickly slipping into obnoxious territory.

"Fine," Techno says. "But you'll need to get me my equipment. I'm not working on some random system without my hardware."

"That can be arranged," Phil says brightly, posture relaxing. "What do you need?"

Techno reaches into the pocket of his jacket, pleasantly surprised to find his home keys are still in there. He throws them at Phil, the older man catching them sloppily with both hands. Heh.

"Bring me my laptop and all three hard drives in the desk's top drawer," he says. "Any USB drives you find lying around too. I also need you to bring me whatever device you use to moderate your security, assuming it's not already here. And a proper internet connection with a proxy would be great."

"I'll get right on that." Phil starts to walk towards the door, stopping at the last second. "All of this might take a hot second. Be patient with us. Wilbur will pop by to keep an eye on you in the meantime since I have shit to do."

"So you actually do your own dirty work?" Techno chuckles. There's something comical about that. Though he could have guessed, since Phil clearly was there during the kidnapping.

"You know what they say, mate. If you want to do something right, you gotta do it yourself."

---

Wilbur turns out to be the guy Techno punched.

His knuckles don't hurt anymore, but the bruise on Wilbur's face probably does. There's a little satisfaction Techno can get out of that. Wilbur doesn't look half as intimidating when he's not dressed all kidnapper chic or whatever fashion statement he was trying to make in the alleyway yesterday, but Techno knows better than to let his guard down because of it. Phil didn't look like the scariest guy around either. That doesn't mean he is any less capable of running a criminal empire. Techno isn't taking any chances.

"Are you hungry?" Wilbur asks pretty much immediately upon opening the door, no introductions or nothing.

Techno touches his stomach automatically. He's been too anxious to have much of an appetite, but he can also definitely tell it's been a while since he ate. He doesn't know how much time has passed exactly, they took his phone and there are no clocks in the room. Techno got kidnapped before dinner and was unconscious for what was probably several hours though. So it could easily be half a day.

"I could eat," he says.

"Come on then." Wilbur steps back, leaving the doorway free. When Techno doesn't react quickly enough, he rolls his eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you, if that's what you're worried about."

"It's not," Techno says testily. He gets up from the chair at the desk. After Phil left, Techno briefly inspected the room but found it unenlightening, and the door had been locked by Phil. So he sat down and drummed his fingers on the wooden desk to pass the time. Classic ADHD hobby, to be honest.

Wilbur waits for him to come out into the hallway, the first time Techno leaves the bedroom since being brought there. He sees another door directly opposite him, and then one on the end of the hallway to the right. It's different, iron and with a bunch of deadbolts on it. While Techno is still staring, Wilbur suddenly grabs his arm and tugs him along in the other direction.

"Don't do anything stupid," Wilbur says, voice calm but with unmistakable harshness hiding beneath. "That's the only exit and it's locked up tight. This entire place is an underground safehouse, so don't bother trying to find a window either."

Techno wrenches his arm free. "Maybe if I'm not supposed to look at things, you should have blindfolded me."

Wilbur doesn't respond to that, but leads the way into a large room that looks like it's both a living room and a kitchen at once. There's another door too. Wilbur nods at it. "If you need to use the bathroom it's in there."

As Wilbur walks to the fridge, Techno awkwardly sits down on a high chair at the kitchen island. Now that he has more of an idea of how big this place is, it feels incredibly cramped. And no windows, just like Wilbur said. They're underground somewhere. Like a bunker. Techno isn't claustrophobic, but it's enough to put him on edge.

A bowl and plate are put down in front of him. And then Wilbur starts piling other random food items onto the kitchen island too. A box of cereal, a banana, chocolate chip cookies, some saltine crackers. Techno is a little flabbergasted by the apparent randomness of the stuff put out for him. When Wilbur notices his expression, the other man smiles sheepishly.

"We don't use this safehouse much," Wilbur says.

"Did you check expiration dates?" Techno asks wearily, picking up the banana and turning it over. Aside from a few brown spots, it looks fresh enough to eat.

"Should be good," Wilbur dismisses. Techno puts the banana back down again and opts for the crackers instead. Hacking with food poisoning is a bit of a pain.

"Do you drink coffee or tea?" Wilbur asks, turning towards an electric kettle on the counter.

"You don't happen to have any energy drinks?"

"Tommy might have left some in here." Wilbur opens the fridge, sliding aside a bag of tomatoes. Techno nibbles at the edge of a cracker, feeling his stomach protest to the attempt, unwilling to perform its normal functions when it's tied into knots.

Wilbur does find a bright blue can eventually. Not a brand Techno would normally go for, but beggars can't be choosers. He cracks it open and takes a sip, allowing the overwhelming saccharin taste to wash away some of his nausea.

"That's not really a balanced meal," Wilbur observes, grinning at Techno's one hand curled around the energy drink and the other still holding a cracker that's barely missing a corner. Techno looks away.

"Yeah, let me know once you guys have figured out proper room service."

Wilbur laughs, reaching a hand into the cereal box and grabbing some. Gross. And he dares get on Techno's case for his eating habits?

After a moment of silence - tense and uncomfortable - Wilbur sighs. "Look, I know Phil probably already apologized for the whole kidnapping thing and told you why we really had no other choice. But I'm sorry too. For uh, throwing you into a wall and all."

Techno snorts, leveling Wilbur with a deadpan stare. "Thanks."

"You know, this is the part where you could apologize for punching me," Wilbur says.

"I'm not in the habit of apologizing for something I don't regret." Wilbur makes a noise half chuckle and half huff, almost entertaining in the way his face twists in annoyance. "Also, Phil didn't tell me."

A genuine surprise passes over Wilbur. "He didn't?"

"He told me you guys are desperate and all, but never explained what exactly is going on. Something about one of your members being in danger?"

Phil had been pretty vague about the details, and aside from Techno's whole 'not working with criminals' boundary, he usually didn't agree to any job before knowing exactly what he was doing and for what purpose.

Wilbur considers this, probably trying to decide if he should tell Techno if Phil hasn't. Then he shrugs. "Since you listen to what people say about us on the news, you probably have a pretty negative opinion of us-"

Techno interrupts him by holding up a hand. "If you're about to try and convince me you're not a bunch of criminals, save it for somebody who will actually believe you."

"I'm not," Wilbur says quickly. "I'm not denying anything. What I'm trying to say is we're more than just a bunch of criminals. We're people, we have lives outside of what the news shows. And we have loved ones to protect."

Techno stares at Wilbur, hoping to relay how unimpressed he is with the sob story. Not even a sob story, this is barely an attempt to pull at his heartstrings.

"My brother, Tommy. He's fifteen years old," Wilbur says. "He's trying to live a normal life. I want that for him too. He goes to school and to the arcade and other teen shit like that. He has friends. And if somebody found out what he means to me, what he means to Phil. He could be in serious danger."

Wilbur seems sincere enough, making Techno shift slightly in the chair. "He wouldn't be in danger if you weren't pissing off other criminals."

"Maybe, but it's a little late for that now. The leak spread information that made deals go sour and ruined plans that were months in the making. We can cope with that. If Tommy's identity goes public…"

"I get it," Techno says, tersely. He doesn't even know why he asked. Maybe curiosity. But it doesn't matter. None of this matters. Techno is going to help them anyway, or he's going to end up dead.

Wilbur squints oddly at his reaction. He shoves some cereal into his mouth while Techno continues to half-heartedly nibble at the saltine cracker again. Techno almost thinks the subject is closed, back to uncomfortable silence! For an introvert like Techno, that's still better than uncomfortable conversation. However, after a few seconds more, Wilbur clears his throat.

"Do you have family, Techno?"

Wilbur is making an effort to smile at him, though for Techno it's mostly undercut by the fact that he never told Wilbur his name. And also, he probably already knows the answer if what Phil said about them stalking him is true.

Thankfully Techno is saved from needing to answer by the sudden buzz of a phone. Wilbur fishes it out of his pocket, looks at the screen for a moment, then types something back. It's almost immediately followed by another buzz, and Wilbur typing some more. Techno shoves more of the cracker in his mouth. Either he can use it as an excuse to never talk to Wilbur again, or he'll choke and die. Sounds like a win-win situation to him.

After a bit of back and forth, Wilbur sighs deeply and puts the phone down on the kitchen island. He glances at Techno, as if about to say something, then shakes his head. "I'm going to take a piss." With that crude remark, Wilbur turns and heads for the door he pointed out earlier. Techno waits for him to close it behind him.

Then he picks up the phone.

From a glance, Techno can tell it's not a normal smartphone. Maybe it's a burner device of some sort. The screen is small and rounded, bulging a bit out of the plastic. There aren't a ton of buttons on it. Techno turns it over, wondering if he'll even be able to call 911 with this. And if he can, what is he going to tell the operator? 'Yes, hello, I've been kidnapped. No, I don't know where I am. Guess I just wanted to let you know so you can water my house plants'.

While he's still considering what to do, the phone starts to buzz again.

And keeps buzzing. Not a message. Somebody is calling it. Techno peeks at the door, but it remains firmly closed. He presses the green button and puts the phone to his ear.

"Hel-"

"WILBUR! What the fuck do you mean 'get home on your own'. You're supposed to pick me up every Friday. You promised! Remember the last time you broke a promise? Worst birthday of my life, and yeah I'll bring it up again. I'll bring it up forever if you keep being a dick to me!" The voice on the other end sounds reasonably young and pitches higher into whining at the end of the tirade. Techno flinches, keeping the phone a few inches away to prevent hearing damage.

"You must be Tommy," he says.

The voice goes very quiet for about five seconds. Then the screaming picks back up again. "Who the fuck are you? Where is Wilbur? If you've done something to him, I'll kick your ass!"

"I haven't. I can get why you'd assume that though, he's insufferable."

Tommy sputters on the other end of the line, trying to decide between laughing or cursing Techno out some more. He ends up doing a bit of both.

Techno winces as Wilbur grabs his wrist, not having noticed the other man was done in the bathroom. The phone is snatched out of his hand. "Tommy. I'll call you back." He hangs up, shoving the phone into his pocket before glowering down at Techno. "I told you not to try anything."

"I'm not," Techno defends. He hisses when Wilbur squeezes harder, painful and bruising.

"Phil asked me not to break your hands, but I'm pretty sure you don't need legs to sit behind a computer," Wilbur says.

"What happened to apologizing for throwing me into a wall?" Techno manages to force out without sounding too pinched. Wilbur releases him, frowning, not quite guilty but close enough.

"If you behave, nothing bad needs to happen," he says coldly. Then he turns and walks away, already busy on the phone again. Techno rubs at the skin of his wrist, wincing. That's exactly what he meant about not underestimating these guys. He reaches for the cookies with a sigh.

If he's going to be murdered, might as well do so on a full stomach.

"Here."

Techno glances up wearily at Wilbur. The other man left after his little outburst and stayed gone for about an hour or so. Techno can't say he minded. He took the time to finish his cracker, explore the safehouse properly, and contemplate the meaning of his untimely death.

Turns out an hour is just long enough to start wondering what picture they'll put on his missing persons poster. Probably the same one they took for his student ID, that's the only recent picture Techno can think of. And he still has brown hair on it. Cringe. If they use the same picture for his obituary, he's going to haunt whoever made it from beyond the grave.

The safehouse didn't leave him with much to see or do though. The room opposite the one Techno woke up in is also a bedroom, startlingly identical in design. All the closets are empty, and the kitchen doesn't turn up any more food than Wilbur already laid out for him. Every single room beside the bathroom has cameras in it. Techno stared up at them a few times, wondering if The Crow Network has anybody keeping an eye on him.

"For your wrist," Wilbur clarifies after a moment, when Techno hasn't taken the bundled up towel from him. Techno touches it, feeling the coldness seep through the fabric. An ice pack.

"Thanks," he says lamely, pressing it to the bruised skin. It's not really that bad, Wilbur isn't a bodybuilder by any stretch of the imagination.

Techno doesn't appreciate how the other man keeps staring down at him after he takes it, dark eyes pinched as if he's looking at something strange or unpleasant. Techno isn't doing anything, he's sitting on the couch. No windows, no funny business. He's being the picture-perfect example of a good kidnapping victim, thank you very much. Why the heck is Wilbur scowling at him as if Techno has personally driven a car over his foot on purpose?

"I'm…" Wilbur starts, then stops because his eyes flick away. He sighs, running his fingers through his hair in agitation. To Techno's muted horror and surprise, he sits down on the armrest of the couch, basically right next to him. "I'm sorry. Really."

Techno doesn't say anything, shifting the ice pack against his wrist. This is by far the strangest kidnapping he has ever been a part of. Also the only one, but again, he's fairly certain this is not how they're supposed to go.

"This entire situation has really put me on edge," Wilbur says, not discouraged by Techno's silence apparently. "It hasn't exactly brought out the best side of me." Techno almost laughs, but prevents himself from doing so by pinching his lips together. "I'm honestly kind of freaking out inside, trying not to because it's not fucking helpful but it's hard."

"I fail to see how that's my problem," Techno bites out, keeping his voice neutral.

Wilbur stares at him for a few seconds, eyebrows raised, almost a smile. "It isn't," he admits. "But you've been catching the brunt of it so… I'm sorry."

Techno is resolutely focusing his attention on the ice pack. Wilbur's voice is soft as he continues.

"About ten years ago, we had some information get out to the wrong people. We paid the price for it. My mother, Kristin, she- we didn't get to it in time. If something happens to Tommy, I don't know what I'd do with myself."

Uneasy, Techno swallows.

Part of him has a hard time mustering up any sympathy for Wilbur or his family. They're wanted criminals, they've killed more people than Techno can count. Them trying to convince him he should help because they don't want to lose their loved ones is hypocritical when Techno considers the innocent blood spilled by The Crow Network, directly or not. It's like he told Wilbur before: maybe if they didn't want to have a bunch of murderous gangs after them they shouldn't have bought in with that crowd to begin with.

The other part of him happens to be the same part of his brain that contemplated majoring in Psychology rather than History. And that part of Techno knows that fear makes people do some wild, irrational, impulsive things. So Wilbur's apology could be pretty genuine. Maybe.

He shrugs awkwardly. "It's fine."

"If it helps, I can let you get a free punch in," Wilbur adds with a laugh. "Just be sure to hit my other cheek, gotta keep this face symmetrical since it's my money maker."

"No wonder you resorted to crime," Techno says as he turns towards Wilbur. The way the man sputters in offense makes it almost worth it. When Techno raises his arm Wilbur suddenly holds up his hands and leans back.

"Wait, you're serious? I was just joking," he says quickly. Techno deflates.

"Cringe," he deadpans.

"You've punched me before, I know you have a mean right hook," Wilbur says.

Techno definitely doesn't smile at that. No sir.

"How about I make it up to you some other way. Wanna watch a movie or something?" Nudging him with his foot, Techno slides to the other cushion so Wilbur can sit down next to him on the couch. "And tell me what you want to eat later. I'll text Dad to get us some."

"Dad?" Techno asks.

"Phil."

Oh… Well, Techno should probably have connected the dots on that one. That means Wilbur and Tommy are both Phil's sons, presumably. And the woman who died was Phil's wife.

While still not excusing their behavior, Techno does feel that it sheds some light on Phil's desperation. Grief makes people act in ways they normally wouldn't. If he felt Tommy was being threatened in a similar way as his late wife, that could be what prompted Phil to take extreme action and kidnap him.

"Ask him to get some instant ramen," Techno says. That's his comfort food, the one thing he can eat whenever. Wilbur smiles and nods.

"Sure. Do you want to take a shower while I pick out a movie? Might as well kill some time until your equipment gets here, right?"

"No thanks," Techno says flatly. "I looked at your bathroom and I'm not using any of that crap on my hair. What's a 6 in 1 shampoo? What six things are you combining?"

Wilbur snorts, shaking his head. "I did say we barely use this safehouse." He picks up a remote from the coffee table. "Suit yourself. You're fine with a musical?" At Techno's blank expression, Wilbur amends, "Superhero movie it is."

He flips through a bunch of options. Techno wants to make some sort of comment about The Crow Network allegedly not using this safehouse yet also paying for the streaming service for their flat screen TV there. Maybe Wilbur is just logged in on the family account but somehow Techno thinks that's unlikely.

Eventually, Wilbur picks out a pretty basic action flick Techno probably watched before, maybe playing in the background while he did his job. Wilbur settles back against the couch, relaxing, typing on his phone once in a while. Techno glances at him a few times, allowing the strangeness of the situation to seep in. He's watching a movie. With his kidnapper. What in the world is he even doing right now?

Wilbur's phone makes a noise and Wilbur grins, showing Techno the screen. It's a picture of the aisle in a grocery store. "What brand do you usually get?"

Techno blinks at the rows of energy drinks. The brightness almost hurts his eyes. "Uh, those red ones." He points at the screen.

"You don't know the name?" Wilbur asks while turning the phone over and typing, presumably telling Phil - telling the most wanted man in the country - what energy drinks to buy Techno.

Techno shrugs. "They're the red ones."

Wilbur laughs, then continues watching the movie. Slowly, Techno returns his attention to the television too and relaxes a bit into the cushions as he tries to distract himself. Nothing else to do now but wait.

---

Techno doesn't hear a doorbell or anything, so he assumes Phil texted Wilbur to let him know he arrived. Wilbur stands and looks down at him, leaving the movie running in the background. "Don't move," he warns.

Techno could point out he'd have to be some kind of idiot to think it'd be a good idea to try and escape when Phil is at the door. What is Techno going to do, make a run for it? But Wilbur is already gone by the time Techno's thoughts have run their course, so he stiffly sits and waits instead. Maybe Phil will already have his hardware. Maybe Techno can make short work of patching the leak. Maybe The Crow Network will be in a lenient mood and not rescind its offer of letting him walk free once he's done.

Maybe he won't miss his deadlines. Oh God, his deadlines.

Techno can't think of those now or he'll puke. He got a peek at Wilbur's phone and knows he's already been in this safehouse for over twelve hours. His GPA won't completely be destroyed by missing some lectures, but it's more about the principle of things for Techno. He worked hard to get into a prestigious university, he can't let it be ruined by mucking up his assignments.

Phil shouldn't mind it if he starts to work on his essays in between the hacking.

"Techno! Look at this!" Wilbur's raised voice carries through the hallway towards him. Techno gets up and turns around, dully surprised that Wilbur is alone. Techno thought Phil would be there too, but guess not.

"What?" Techno asks, looking at the several brown paper bags Wilbur is carrying.

"Stuff," Wilbur says brightly. Techno huffs a laugh at the other man's childlike glee. Wilbur puts the bags on the counter, immediately dipping into one. He grabs two large containers of take-out food, putting them down. The plastic bowls are round and have lids with holes in them. Wilbur absently gestures behind him. "Grab some forks. There's chopsticks too if you prefer that."

Techno obeys without question, though he can't help but peek behind him as Wilbur opens the containers up. Hot steam rises into the air, filling the room with a delicious scent, enough to have Techno's mouth watering instantly.

It's ramen.

Not cheap instant ramen either. Proper ramen like what you get at a fancy restaurant, with handmade noodles floating inside a thick broth, chopped carrots and spring onions as garnish, and half a cooked egg of which the yolk is the perfect amount of runny. Techno grabs some cutlery.

"Dad brought instant ramen too," Wilbur says, nodding at the paper bag. "Your energy drinks should be in there too. But it'll be good to have a proper dinner, I'm starving."

"Is this from that place downtown?" Techno asks. He forgot the name, but he's certain Wilbur will know what he means. The guy who runs it was in the news. He's a famous chef with his own reality TV show who went all the way to Japan in order to learn the traditional way of making ramen, and then opened a restaurant locally. Techno walked by there before, but seeing the exorbitant prices always scared him away. Wilbur holds his hand out for a fork.

"Yeah, the owner is a friend of ours," Wilbur says mysteriously. As if Techno is supposed to know what that means.

Sitting down at the kitchen island, Techno pulls one of the bowls in front of himself. The scent truly is divine, he has never smelled anything as good. And he certainly doesn't feel guilty that the mob is spending hundreds of dollars on food for him. They ruined his eggs.

Techno is not getting less confused though.

A kidnapping with five-star service. He's going to have to rate this gig on Yelp.

"Let's see what else is in here," Wilbur says, starting to dig around in the bags again. Techno slurps his noodles and watches Wilbur put the cans of energy drink and some sodas in the fridge, and the instant ramen on the counter behind him. Then he takes out a little plastic bag and upends it on the kitchen island between them.

A smattering of candy bars tumble out.

"Oh sweet, chocolate." Wilbur grabs one and puts it in his pocket for later.

"Why did Phil get all this?" Techno can't help but ask.

Wilbur just throws him a puzzled glance. "Why wouldn't he? He told me they got the stuff from your apartment, but they need to move the desktop with our security hub from the main house, so that's taking a bit when Phil's putting out other fires along the way."

"Other fires?"

"Rival gang assaults. Nothing to worry about," Wilbur answers flippantly.

Techno frowns at him, but doesn't answer, instead opting to twirl some of the ramen onto his fork. The taste of the dish almost makes him believe the price is worth it after all.

"He brought you some toiletries too," Wilbur continues, turning to another bag from which he produces a toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, and a few different bottles. Techno notices the luxury brand shampoo and conditioner. Wilbur must have relayed his complaints.

Wilbur sits down to start on his own food, but not before sliding the final bag towards Techno. There are some clothes inside.

"A clean change of clothes and something to sleep in," Wilbur explains. "Since you'll be staying overnight."

"And you're not going to drug me this time?" Techno asks sarcastically.

"We won't need to if you behave," Wilbur says, grinning in a way that bares his teeth.

"How generous."

Wilbur offers him a little chuckle, digging into his ramen in earnest. Techno isn't going to complain about the food - or the treatment in general. Aside from the original kidnapping which was kinda rough, he vastly prefers this over what he thought being abducted by the mob would be like. That doesn't entirely stop the uncomfortable tension in his gut, the sword of Damocles that dangles over his neck. But it helps make that more ignorable.

They finish their food, and then the movie. Wilbur insists on watching a musical next, something Techno begrudgingly allows after making him promise he won't sing along. When they're done with that, they watch a movie of Techno's choice. Wilbur falls asleep at two different parts during the art house dramedy.

By the time the credits are rolling, Techno is stifling a yawn into his palm. Without windows, his brain is having a hard time deciding if it's time to sleep. And Techno's no stranger to an all-nighter anyway. He just knows he's been awake for hours.

"You should get some rest," Wilbur says, standing up with a noticeable crack in his knees. "I have to head out for the night but I'll be back in the morning."

"Yeah," Techno says, getting up too. He takes the bag of clothes from the kitchen island.

Wilbur walks ahead of him towards the hallway. He comes to a stop at the door of the bedroom.

Ah, he's expecting Techno to go inside before he leaves. Scared Techno will run after all? Somehow that musters up more amusement inside Techno than it does dread.

"Why did you ask about my family?" Techno asks. He started to wonder about that more and more during the movie, so he might as well try to get an answer.

"Hm?" Wilbur tilts his head. "I guess I was curious what you'd say."

With that enigmatic statement, Wilbur opens the door for him. Techno goes into the bedroom.

He falls asleep to the light buzz of the cameras in the corners.

---

When he wakes up, it's to overlapping voices in the kitchen.

Techno rubs his face, once more beset with the disorientation that comes from having no windows or clocks, his sense of time thoroughly scrambled. He doesn't know if it's morning, afternoon, or evening. He could have slept for twelve straight hours. His head definitely hurts enough for it, though that might have more to do with him chucking like four energy drinks during the movie last night and not taking his meds for two days.

Grunting, he gets up and opens the door, the voices getting more distinct as he does so. They're arguing, or at least being rowdy about something. Phil, Wilbur, and another one.

The moment he steps into the kitchen area, Techno has to duck when a piece of bacon flies past his face.

"Don't play with your food," Phil says sternly.

"I'm not playing," the unknown voice responds. "I'm very serious in trying to kill Wilbur."

"By throwing bacon at me?" Wilbur bursts out, laughing. Techno clears his throat.

"Let me guess. Tommy." He looks the newcomer up and down. The fact he's fifteen years old would be the dead giveaway here, since that's the age Wilbur cited his brother is. Though Tommy is also almost a carbon copy of Phil in appearance. Techno doesn't think The Crow Network is rich enough to invent human cloning, but there's always a chance…

Tommy scowls a little at the tone of Techno's voice. "Again?" He mimics Techno's tone, badly. "Let me guess, the nerd."

"The nerd that's going to make sure you don't get murdered, yeah."

Tommy frowns harder, something Techno ignores in favor of walking towards the desktop computer that seems to have mysteriously appeared on the coffee table overnight. Somebody hooked two screens to it, putting some books beneath them to make them a little more manageable for use while sitting on the couch. Not a lot.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Wilbur interjects. "Don't you want to have breakfast first? A shower?"

Techno looks over his shoulder. "You brought my stuff. So I can do the job." He sees his laptop and the hard drives he requested waiting for him on the coffee table too. He should have everything he needs to get going.

"Did we forget anything?" Phil asks. He's standing behind the kitchen island with a mug in hand. Techno sees plates with scrambled eggs, bacon, some toast. They really prepared all of that?

"Nope," Techno says, popping the P as he glances over his equipment. "Should be everything I need."

"Then you can get started if you want to," Phil says. "But Wilbur is right, if you're hungry, eat first."

"I thought this was an urgent matter?" Techno mocks lightly, opening his laptop up. He turns the desktop on, hearing the fans work overtime to keep the insides from overheating. If this is the hub of their security, Techno isn't entirely surprised they got owned.

"A couple more hours won't make a difference," Phil says.

Techno hums, plugging in the hard drive where he keeps most of his rootkits. The malware starts to run immediately, with a popup warning him of the unknown program. Techno right clicks for administrator access and turns to Wilbur, who has walked up beside him while holding a plate.

"What's the password?" he asks.

Wilbur doesn't answer, picking up a piece of bacon and holding it out a few inches in front of his mouth. Techno glares up at him.

"I dunno," Wilbur says innocently. "Eat."

Reluctantly, Techno takes a bite. Wilbur just smiles at him.

"Kr1st1n," Phil spells out for him. Techno's fingers pause over the keyboard in disbelief.

"You used the name of your dead wife as your account login?" he asks. "Bruh, how did you not get hacked before?"

"I use encryption keys for all other systems," Phil defends. "Not the account login. Nobody touches this computer except for me."

"Somebody did," Techno points out.

The tension in the room skyrockets instantly, and Phil quickly strides to his side. "What?"

"Your leak is caused by a remote access trojan," Techno says. "Planted in the hardware, so through a USB or hard drive like this." He taps his own hard drive sticking from the side of the device.

"How the fuck do you know that, you've only been at it for ten seconds?!" Tommy asks loudly, also walking over while chewing the last of his toast. Wilbur shushes him, but Techno answers anyway.

"Because they left traces. Whoever planted this is no expert, that's for sure."

"Wait," Phil holds up his finger to slow Techno down. Wilbur sticks out another piece of bacon and Techno eats it automatically, not reacting to Tommy's giggle at him being hand fed. "I had our cybersecurity guy look into this, he couldn't find anything. And now you're saying there are obvious traces?"

"Did you let him work on this desktop?" Techno asks.

"No, this is the computer I keep in my personal quarters," Phil says. "They checked the network from their own PC."

"Then that's your answer." Techno points out a few files, though he doubts they mean anything to his captivated audience. "You were right, your security is pretty airtight. An outsider can't get in. But from the inside, it can be cracked open. Somebody was on this device."

"That's impossible," Phil says, louder.

Techno raises his hands. "Hey, don't shoot the messenger."

"Fuck!"

Techno jolts as Phil turns around and stomps away, back towards the kitchen. Wilbur puts a hand on his shoulder. "Damn, that's impressive."

"It's cool as hell. Can I learn to do that?" Tommy asks, leaning over the back of the couch and putting his upper body next to Techno on the other side. "Could you teach me?"

"Uuuuh," Techno falters, eyes still trailing Phil who is furiously throwing his plate into the sink. "In theory."

"Can you see who it was?" Phil interrupts.

"No," Techno says. "But I can fix it. And I can probably figure out around what time the trojan was deployed."

"Good, that should help me narrow down who the snake is."

Phil's voice sounds absolutely venomous and Techno understands why. If this is Phil's personal device that he keeps in his room, and nobody is supposed to touch it, that means somebody either broke in or betrayed Phil's trust. Going by Phil's fury, the latter is more likely.

Techno bends over the coffee table - really, would it have killed The Crow Network to provide a desk somewhere? - and starts typing, working on patching the leak and tracing as much information as possible from what has been accessed. Given enough time, he'd probably be able to find where the remote device is that they used to steal the goods, though he doubts Phil will be patient enough for that. If the device isn't destroyed already.

"Get this man an energy drink," Wilbur says amiably, clapping Techno on the shoulder. "Something tells me he's going to need it."

---

The entire job ends up taking Techno six hours.

Wilbur and Phil hover over his shoulder the entire time, demanding to be fed random information. Techno suspects they're also keeping an eye on him since he technically has access to an internet connection now. He could ping for his current location and alert the authorities of his whereabouts. He could message somebody for help. He could max out Phil's credit card on bouncy balls if the old man was foolish enough to press 'save information' the last time he bought something on Amazon.

Techno isn't dumb enough to try any of that.

He treats this like any other gig he's ever taken, thoroughly swiping through every kilobyte of data to check for stolen content and malware. Within the first hour, he can tell Phil the exact day and time somebody messed with the computer. At the five hour mark, Techno had compiled a full list of every single file that has been touched.

Some of it was nonsense to him, vague times and locations. The things Wilbur mentioned would make deals go south. But a lot of it was about Tommy too. Secret names Tommy used to enroll in school and hobbies, pictures of his face (something Techno understood was normally kept under lock and key. Him having seen Tommy's face was a worse sign for his survival odds than having seen Wilbur or Phil), and even full schedules.

Techno fixed the leak and went as far as to install some extra protection too, even if it wasn't really necessary. Phil should just keep his PC in a lockbox or something.

When he was done, Techno went to take a shower.

There wasn't much else to do, really. Techno had completed his job, the least he could do was die clean. Nobody likes a corpse with greasy hair.

Techno comes out of the bathroom still patting his hair with a damp towel, and Tommy gestures at him from the couch. "Come show me your tricks?"

The television screen is the main menu of a fighting game Techno is very familiar with. "Sky warriors?" he asks.

"Yeah, you won a championship once, right?" The comment should be disconcerting, since it shows The Crow Network definitely isn't lying when they say they keep tabs on him. Techno won that tournament before he started hacking in earnest, when he was in middle school. A local thing, barely even reported on in the news.

"Sure, but promise not to cry if I beat you," Techno says, sitting down.

Tommy goes to hand him a controller. "Why the fuck would I cry?"

"Isn't that what ten-year-olds do when they lose?" He laughs at Tommy tossing the controller into his lap and missing his outstretched hand on purpose, huffing. "I didn't expect you to still be here," Techno adds.

"It's called a safehouse," Tommy says, pronouncing the word funny. "Dad puts me in here to keep me safe. Wilbur and him act like I'll get murdered out there." Tommy doesn't sound as upset about that as a boy his age probably should be. "I'll have to sit it out until the coast is clear."

"He could have let your usual security guy access his computer," Techno says offhandedly. "That would have gone a lot quicker." Techno has no doubt they'd also have discovered the trojan.

"Dad doesn't like that guy," Tommy says with a shrug. "He's been more interested in you for ages."

Techno opens his mouth, a sharp inhale that leaves his tongue too dry to reply. It doesn't help that Phil picks this exact moment to walk in.

"We can send you home after another day or two," he says, looking at Techno. "Once things have calmed down." Techno should ask what the heck that means, it's not as if anybody should know he worked with The Crow Network. Why wouldn't he be able to go home now? "While we wait, mind doing another few jobs for us? I'll pay you."

"What kind of jobs?" Techno asks suspiciously.

"Nothing you'd object to," Phil says quickly - too quickly. "We run into dirty cops a lot during our… business. The kind that works with gangs. The precinct usually covers up their bullshit, but I thought you'd enjoy exposing their filth for what it is?" Phil smiles widely at him.

Heh, Techno supposes that is usually the sort of thing he'd do for fun, when he needs to stretch the old hacking muscle, so to speak. Even if he's smart enough to know Phil means the cops that help rival mobs. The Crow Network is the one profiting here.

But what does he have to lose? If it means they're not killing him? They're not even treating him badly.

"Sure," he says. "Let me wipe the floor with Tommy first."

"There have been some complications."

Deep down, Techno can't be surprised anymore. When Phil told him they should wait a few days for things to calm down before he'd be able to return to his normal life, he suspected one of two things. Either The Crow Network was planning to kill him after all, since Techno had fixed their leak and thus stopped being useful to them. Or, in exposing the leak, since Techno has also uncovered a deeper betrayal within the organization that will take some time to mop up, he has to stay put until that's dealt with. Naively, Techno would love to think it's the second option. Just because dying is a bit cringe.

Still, the information delivered to him has been vague at best. Maybe Techno should be happy about that too. No additional information means a higher chance he can keep being an oblivious college student and probably move as soon as he graduates, because this city is a crime den. But being kept in the dark is annoying too. Techno truly has no idea what kind of issues Phil is trying to solve, why they're affecting Techno, and if they'll keep being a problem after he leaves.

And to top it all off, Techno has discovered he is a lot more claustrophobic than he realized.

This feeling of being caged in might be exacerbated by him not taking his meds for what is edging closer and closer to two weeks. Techno takes pills to help with his anxiety. Usually, it's mainly a minor case of agoraphobia and also every social situation ever that affects his daily functioning. He also takes ADHD meds, though Techno is more used to skipping those. The energy drinks are basically a pseudo-treatment of their own, caffeine is great for his ability to focus. Except, he's become so restless in here. And there are no windows. And the door is constantly locked. And sometimes, he believes the entire safehouse will cave in and bury him alive.

"Techno? Did you hear me?" Phil asks, looking mildly concerned at Techno zoning off while staring at the wall. Techno forces his eyes up, but finds himself getting caught on some distant spot beyond the older man's shoulder.

"Hm?" Techno intones.

"You're pale. Are you feeling okay?" Phil reaches out and Techno flinches back a bit since he wasn't expecting the motion. People don't often touch him, especially not without permission. Phil drops his hand immediately. "Sorry, force of habit for a dad," he says with a soft smile.

Techno doesn't know why it makes his insides feel all compressed, crushed as if the cave-in has already happened.

"What kind of complications?" he asks, hoping to move on quickly from the awkward exchange. He's lucky Tommy is taking a nap and Wilbur isn't around, so nobody else had to witness that.

"It's better if I don't tell you," Phil says. "Do you want me to find some other odd jobs for you to do? As enrichment."

Techno frowns. "Exploitation, you mean."

Phil laughs, looking at him with a purposefully mock innocent expression. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He drops the act a moment later. "Seriously, though. I know this situation isn't exactly ideal, I just want to offer the distraction."

"How about you let me submit my school assignments, that's a distraction."

Techno has to hand it to The Crow Network, he hasn't wanted for much during his stay. Wilbur is always around during breakfast and dinner to cook, something Techno had to reluctantly admit he is pretty good at. When Wilbur isn't around, Phil will usually drop by take out. There are plenty of snacks and drinks. Whatever Techno requests, Phil will get for him. Board games, video games, a constant stream of entertainment so he can keep occupied. All so the stay will be more bearable.

But Techno has been pacing a lot lately. And he misses his classes.

"I… don't think that's the best idea," Phil says, slowly. The pause makes Techno squint at him with suspicion.

"Why?" he asks.

"The timing isn't-"

"Bruh, can you tell me what's going on already? The vague and mysterious thing is getting old," Techno snaps, letting some of that irritation simmer through for once. He's been pretty placid about everything that has happened so far, partly because he has no choice but to go along with things since the alternative is getting killed, and partly because The Crow Network hasn't been mistreating him or anything. But his patience only goes so far.

And it's not entirely dismissed by the way Phil looks at him in almost-pity. Techno stares back, keeping unbroken eye contact for a solid thirty seconds. A feat for him.

"Somebody has reported you missing," Phil says eventually.

"What? Who?" Techno asks. Phil's lip twitches up once, maybe in amusement by Techno's very obvious surprise that anybody has noticed he's gone. He doesn't have a job or many friends, and he takes some of his classes online. He didn't think he'd be missed, frankly.

"I believe it was your university? They tried contacting you in regards to a bill, and sent somebody by your apartment for a wellness check when they couldn't find you," Phil explains. "Then they called the police."

"Oh," Techno says, deflating. So it's not even any specific person who consciously took note of his absence. It was the dumb university administration, probably trying to expel him through unpaid bills again.

If anything, that lady must be rubbing her hands together in glee, counting down the days until he has been missing long enough that he can be formally stricken from school records.

"Wait, wouldn't it be better if I do submit some assignments then?" Techno asks. "I can make up an excuse, say I left for a family emergency-"

"Techno, the police are involved," Phil cuts in. "They're going to want to talk to you. And we can't have that right now, not when I'm trying to keep us all safe." His voice is sharp, leaving no room for compromise.

"But-"

"I'll set this right," Phil promises as he turns away. "You won't have to stay in this safehouse much longer." He walks towards the door without waiting for Techno to answer.

"Ugh," Techno groans and crosses his arms on the counter, dropping his face into them. He got complacent, thinking he's the one in charge here. He's not. What Phil says goes. And Techno will find more peace of mind if he just accepts that.

"Techno?" Tommy's voice comes from the doorway, where the younger boy is rubbing sleep from his eyes. "You good, man?"

Techno sits up and brushes his hair back, forcing a neutral expression. "Yeah."

"Cool, let's play another round of Ace Racer!" Tommy skips over to the couch to pick up a controller and start up the racing game they've been wasting hours on in the past day or two.

He wants to refuse. Techno doesn't feel like playing Ace Racer, or playing anything. He wants to go home. And barring that as an option, he'd love to go lie in bed and pretend he's not locked in an underground coffin house until the time arrives where he can go home.

But Tommy is already pouting at him, and Techno knows refusing will cause a lot of complaining and asking what's wrong, and overall make his day worse.

So he plays, at least until Wilbur comes around to make them dinner.

---

Another thing Techno really misses is the shower in his apartment.

Considering how much mold was stuck between the tiles when he moved in, and the fact that the shower itself really isn't big enough for him to comfortably wash his hair without banging his elbow into the wall repeatedly, it's a weird thing for him to miss. But maybe that's typical for homesickness. It makes you miss everything, even the crappy stuff.

Besides, the shower in the safehouse has terrible water pressure.

The reason is them being underground, Techno suspects. And that's exactly the kind of thing he doesn't want to be reminded of while standing in the already claustrophobic confines of the shower stall. He has to wash his hair but he doesn't want to close his eyes, because the darkness behind his eyelids will make his breath catch in his chest worse than an animal in a snare, so he just tips his head back awkwardly, far enough to stretch his neck, and tries to not get any shampoo in his face that way.

When he's done, he blow-dries and brushes his hair. Normally, that's not something Techno bothers with, but he has the time to kill now.

Or he thought he did. A rapid knocking on the door tells him otherwise.

"Techno?" Wilbur calls from the other side.

"What?"

"Are you almost done?" The way Wilbur's voice pitches up into sounding close to a whine would be funny if it weren't also kind of ridiculous. "I got you a surprise."

Techno's fingers still where they're busy braiding. "I'll be right there."

God, would it be too much for him to hope Phil finally solved the issues and he can get the heck out of this place?

He steps out of the bathroom when he's done, only to immediately flinch back when a handful of confetti is thrown into his face, accompanied by Tommy's overly-loud screaming.

"Surprise!"

Techno waves some of the tiny colorful papers out of his bangs with a frown. "Was the surprise a heart attack?"

"No, silly, it's cake," Tommy answers in complete seriousness. And when Techno looks past him, he does see that there is indeed a fancy chocolate cake on the counter. Definitely not homemade, but bought from a very expensive store most likely. The ganache topping has those elaborate swirls in it that Techno knows cost a ridiculous amount of money. A few candles are proudly sticking out, with Wilbur currently trying to light them.

"What is this?" Techno asks.

Tommy takes his wrist to drag him along. "A birthday cake. For your birthday. Surprise!"

Despite being literally kidnapped, Techno feels a tiny bit bad about breaking their hearts. "It's not my birthday."

Tommy doesn't let go, though he does drop his arms and looks appropriately dejected at the revelation. Wilbur - done lighting the candles - tilts his head in a matching amount of noncomprehension to Tommy. "It's not?"

"My birthday isn't for another six months," Techno says.

"But your student profile said-"

Techno laughs, turning Wilbur's confusion into a bit of flustered embarrassment with the interruption. "You fell for one of my decoy birthdays? Classic."

"What the fuck is a decoy birthday?" Tommy asks, finally letting go.

"A fake birthday I made up for one of my online profiles," Techno explains. He walks over to the counter to take a seat. "You should have checked Phil's file on me. He probably has my real birthday in there."

"I was trying to do something nice," Wilbur says with some offense. "How the hell was I supposed to know you were lying about your birthday online, I assumed that was pretty harmless information so you wouldn't bother to change it."

"Assume makes an ass out of you and me," Techno tells him. He picks up a fork and sticks it into the cake, not taking a plate. Just because it's not his birthday doesn't mean Techno should let a perfectly good cake go to waste. Wilbur rolls his eyes, but then picks up the knife to slice him a proper piece.

"Are you really that paranoid when it comes to anybody finding out anything about you?" Wilbur asks, face scrunching up like it's an insult. Techno doesn't think it should be. He's proud of how well he's been able to maintain his anonymity in the digital age. Stalking crime syndicates aside, Techno has done an outstanding job at it.

He shrugs, humming around the fork. The cake is delicious, he'll give Wilbur that. "I don't want anybody to know when my birthday is," he says when he's done.

Tommy plops down next to him. "Why not?"

"I never celebrated it," Techno says. Which in turn makes Tommy look as if he's about to burst into sobbing. A person like Tommy can't even fathom not being the centre of attention on their birthday. "I grew up in foster care, birthdays aren't really a thing there," Techno says.

Admittedly, it's only partly a lie. Maybe if you're fostered into a nice, loving family, they'd bother to throw you a proper birthday party. But most of the time, in Techno's experience, foster parents don't want to spend too much money on a temporary kid. Or they are scared of bringing back old memories from a child's birth family if they acknowledge the foster kid didn't just spawn out of thin air. Group homes definitely don't have the time or resources to do elaborate birthdays.

Techno stopped expecting anything by the time he turned eight and it has served him perfectly.

"We can show you how to celebrate your birthday properly," Wilbur says while cutting Tommy and himself a slice of the chocolate cake too.

"It's not my birthday," Techno repeats flatly.

"I know, it's in six months, right?" Wilbur smiles excitedly at him. "That's plenty of time to prepare something nice."

"Bold of you to assume I'll still be in town by then," Techno says. It's a joke, honestly, though the silence that follows is almost disquieting.

Before Tommy breaks it with an exaggerated smacking of his lips. "Wow, this cake's fucking great, isn't it. Really rich and stuff."

Wilbur kind of raises his eyebrow but nods. "Yeah, it better be for this price." He looks at Techno, waiting for his reaction.

And Techno might be cruel, but he's not that cruel. "It's nice," he agrees.

As far as not-birthdays go, it's probably the best not-birthday birthday Techno ever had.

---

Techno knows something is wrong because he's woken up by the door slamming.

The front door that actually leads outside. Since it is made out of heavy iron, the sound it makes is distinct from any of the other doors in the safehouse. Techno is a light sleeper and isn't a stranger to waking up to noises from outside - usually Tommy. But the heavy footsteps and muffled yelling are new.

He gets up quickly and heads for the hallway, trying to make out what Phil and Wilbur are arguing about. He thinks it's them, it's their voices that are going back and forth.

The front door was left open.

Whoever rushed in was in so much of a hurry that they didn't lock the door or even close it behind them. Techno could just… walk out. Wilbur and Phil are being so loud, he doubts they'd hear him. He could be halfway across town before they notice.

For some reason, Techno turns the other way.

"What's going on?" he asks as he walks into the living room. Tommy is sitting on the couch, anxiously bouncing his leg. Techno barely has time to register how unusual that is. The more concerning thing is how the other two abruptly cut off, looking at him.

"It's fine," Phil says. "Go back to your room."

"What?" Techno asks. Well, more like laughs in disbelief. Phil talking to him as if he's an unruly teenager is strange, and the weird tension in the air is stranger, and Techno isn't going to let himself be waved off when something very bad is obviously going on.

"I'm fixing it," Phil starts. But Wilbur turns away and towards Techno.

"Your identity was leaked."

Techno swallows, mouth dry suddenly as he's filled with abject horror. "My-"

Wilbur turns to the TV and clicks the remote. Techno didn't notice he was holding that before, his eyes automatically drawn towards the screen as it comes alive. Panic is already pushing static into his brain, drowning out all rational thought.

The newscaster is young, wearing a little too much makeup in a way that makes her look too shiny under the studio's glaring lights. Her hair is pinned back, and she's shuffling with the papers on her desk.

And next to her, somebody has overlaid a picture of Techno.

It's the picture of his damn student ID. Crap.

"-missing for almost fifteen days now. This student has been linked not only to the organized crime group known as The Crow Network, but a series of cyberattacks enacted under the pseudonym of Cyberknife. Police are still unaware of his whereabouts, but are considering the angle that this is not a missing person case, but rather that he is purposefully on the run from law enforcement. Anybody who knows about this man's location or has any information that could lead to his arrest is asked to report themselves immediately."

Techno doesn't hear anything after that.

Honestly, it's half a miracle he even heard that much with the rushing in his ears suddenly. He can't look away from that picture, the stupid grainy texture of the display, how they made him put his hair in a ponytail and forced an attempt at a smile. Almost as if he's looking at a complete stranger. Except, Techno wishes that were the case. Because then there'd be a way out of this mess. But the reality is he can't deny that it's his face being broadcast all across the news. His face, his name, his identity linked to Cyberknife or Dave or whatever the police want to call his hacker persona. His effort to build a proper life for himself, all down the drain in an instant.

"I really tried to prevent this," Phil starts, sounding mildly apologetic. "Word got around that we hired Cyberknife, and it wasn't too difficult to link to recent disappearances."

"But you can make it go away again, right?" Tommy asks, knee still going up and down with some kind of nervous energy. Techno blinks, finally pulled away from the screen.

"He can't," he hears himself say. Because Phil can't. The police know. His university knows. They know Techno is Dave is Cyberknife. He got doxxed, essentially. He can never go back to his normal life. There are no strings in this universe Phil can pull to make this go away.

"It'll be alright," Wilbur starts. He reaches out a hand to squeeze Techno's shoulder, the gesture meant to be one of comfort. Techno buckles underneath it until his knees hit the floor.

He can't breathe.

His chest hurts and he can't breathe, the walls are too close together, there's no sunlight, and Techno hasn't seen the sky in weeks, and he can't breathe. He can't breathe. He can't-

"Techno?" Phil asks, alarmed. His fingers curl around Techno's other shoulder. Techno flinches, trying to hunch in on himself. He's hyperventilating faster and faster, but no air seems to be making its way into his lungs.

"Techno, it'll be alright," Wilbur tries to assure again.

Techno shakes his head, as much as he can when his vision is tunneling and every nerve is turning numb. Oh, he's definitely getting worse. Is he dying? Techno doesn't want to be dying.

"I- I can't-" he tries, then chokes on a cough. He tries to cover his mouth, and is surprised when his hands come away wet. He's…

He's crying. Techno touches his cheek, rubbing against the flushed skin. He's crying?

"Dad?" Tommy asks, wavering. He gets up and Techno notices the smile fell off his face. Why was Tommy smiling before? Was that anxious energy Techno thought he saw something else? Excitement, maybe.

"He's having a panic attack," Phil says, firmly. He tries to direct Techno's gaze to his face. "Techno, listen to me, you need to breathe."

Techno shakes his head again, harder, finally feeling the tears break free from his lashes. He's practically gasping at this point.

He can't breathe. His life is over. They might as well have killed him at this point.

"Fuck, Techno, calm down," Wilbur tries. "Inhale slower." Any attempt Techno makes to follow instructions ends up with him choking on his own panic.

"Tommy, get the meds," Phil instructs. "I told you this would happen. I wanted to let him know some other way-"

"It was your idea in the first place," Wilbur hisses back.

"It worked, didn't it? He's not going anywhere now. He's just- He'll be fine," Phil responds quickly. "Tommy, now!"

Techno blinks rapidly, trying to cling to those words. What were they talking about? What worked?

He can't think. The walls are closing in on him, and Techno can't think or breathe or do anything.

Not until Phil presses something against his lips.

"They're anxiety pills," he says. "Take them."

"I-" Techno opens his mouth, but it only allows Phil to press a little harder. He tastes chalk on his tongue and takes the glass Tommy holds out to him next, drinking from it almost on autopilot.

They can't be his usual meds. Those are smaller, and not actually fast-acting or anything. You can't take them during a panic attack to make it stop. But within a minute or two of taking these, Techno feels his heart rate slow down, and his chest doesn't hurt as if it's being squeezed by a vice anymore.

He can breathe again, a little bit.

"It's okay," Phil says gently, rubbing the back of his head. "You're okay." Techno shifts against the older man, pulled into a hug without even realizing it in his hysteria. "I'm sorry it all went down like this."

Techno would love to get an explanation on what the heck that actually means, but with the panic bleeding out of his brain, so does any energy he had left. Either the pills are kicking in more strongly or the episode wore him out worse than he thought, Techno is too dizzy to pay it much mind. He slumps against Phil.

He falls asleep in a matter of seconds.

---

"If I had a penny for every time I woke up with you next to my bed…" Techno slurs. He's too tired to muster up more, not even the end of the joke. But he's sure Phil got the gist of it.

Or he must have, because his lips crack up into a smile.

"How are you feeling?" Phil asks, perhaps purposefully echoing their first meeting.

"Exhausted," Techno mutters.

"Yeah, I bet. Do you remember what happened?" Phil looks at him carefully, apprehensive. Techno can get why. He often gets confused after panic attacks, and even now, he doesn't really remember what happened after seeing himself on the news.

That's the important part, though. His identity leaking to the police, ending his normal life as a university student forever. He nods. "I remember the news, I guess."

"We're leaving once you've rested up," Phil says, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back in his seat. He seems relieved at seeing Techno up. Maybe he was worried?

"Another safehouse?" Techno asks, bitterly.

Phil shakes his head. "An actual place where you and Tommy can stay long term. You'll have to lay low for a while, of course, but we can make it work. We'll protect you."

"Yeah?"

Techno doesn't mean to sound doubtful. The Crow Network definitely has the means to keep him from getting arrested. They can hide Techno, make all his traces go away. Eventually, when this all blows over and Techno's identity reveal stops being such a hot topic on the news, they could make a new life for him. A different name, a different university. Phil can make it so that Techno can enroll online, if nothing else, get his degree, something.

He has to believe that, because the alternative is too scary to think about.

"Yeah," Phil says, "We can. I promise."

Techno closes his eyes and sighs. "Okay."

With Phil watching over him, it's concerningly easy for Techno to fall back asleep.