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Chapter Text

Luna had spent day and night trying to find the man who had killed many, who had killed her beloved cousin, who just wanted to make the world a better place. She played a dangerous game. At any moment, she could hack into the wrong phone or shred the wrong report, get herself on a list of people she'd rather ignore the existence of. Sure, she wanted to catch as many criminals as she could, but she knew she wasn't all-powerful. She could barely defend herself in the current moment, and the only threats were a scientist wannabe and a human trafficker. Of course, both were scary and dangerous, but they were kids' play compared to men like Adam. Who was Adam? She'd find out soon enough... Too soon.

She sat at her desk, her old computer buzzing to life as she opened up all the apps she'd need. She checked the cameras, even if she still didn't need to. No way that man would try attacking so early, right? She should add that to the B.O.L.O of the guy, write :"only comes by after 10pm". She didn't understand the man or the Russian beef cake. Why would a simple light stop men like that? Surely that beef cake could just break the window or get in regardless. And that young man could just run inside as he's done many times... And why does he just hide in the closet?

She didn't get it, it was just a fucked-up game of cat and mouse, except she was the mouse when she'd normally be the human, watching it from afar. Her biggest question was, who was the owner of these little cats?

She tried to silence her brain and get back to work, it was successful for a little while before she got lost in thought and failed to time a hack correctly on the case of some guy whose Neighbours think hes spying on others... Why did all the serious-seeming cases end up being the ones she failed on? She was content with the idea of sitting there at the computer until she could try the hack again, but the light went out in the living room, and she didn't want to be in the dark and give the Russian beef cake a chance to attack.

As she turned in her chair to get up and turn the light on, she was greeted by the sight of a muscular man in a black t-shirt, just like that Russian guy, except he was wearing a white mask, and was breathing heavily rather than speaking in Russian or attacking. All Luna could do was gasp and hyperventilate as she feared what this man would do... Was he another human trafficker? A murder?

Luna stared for about ten seconds before the man pounced, attacking her. When she woke up, she wasn't some slave for a rich douch bag that couldn't get a girl without owning one. That was relieving. Rather, she had a bag over her head. She heard footsteps. There were multiple people in the room.

The bag got pulled off her head by the same man who kidnapped her, beside the man stood a woman dressed the same way. In front of her was a desk and a fairly young man sitting there, perhaps thirty. The man wore a suit, and she realized when she looked around that the room itself was quite lavish. What the hell was going on here..?

"where am I?... Who are you?" she asked, her voice weak and sore from lack of water. The people standing on either side of her kept quiet, acting as if she had never even spoken. The suited man turned in his swivel chair, propping his legs on the desk. His feet nearly knocking over the globe that was resting on the desk edge.

"You're quite special, you know?" The man started. Luna paused, hoping this guy wasn't some crazed admirer. "Normally, i would just let Tanner kill you or Dimitri sell you off... But Tanner managed to convince me you were important to talk to, and i believed him. Don't disappoint me, Luna." he added, his voice condescendingly calm.

"Tanner...? What are you talking about?" She asked, confused beyond belief. She had no clue what this guy was on about. she been flying closer to the sun than she thought. Whoever Tanner was, he was the reason she was alive, yet also the reason she is currently kidnapped. She didn't know if she hated this mystery guy or loved him.

"The man in the white suit." He answered abruptly. She immediately knew who the man was talking about. That scientist guy was named Tanner. Maybe he didn't want to cause her harm, for some odd reason.

"Now, lets get to business. I just hope you don't disappoint me. I'll give you some benefit of the doubt because you're scared, i'd be more surprised if you weren't." He added.

"what do you want from me?" She asked. She was just a neighbourhood crime watch program creator, she was as important as any cop, why did this mob boss-looking guy care about her, or Tanner for that reason.

"Like i've said, just to talk... You have a neighbourhood crime watch. The last case, it might have not stood out to you much, but it was one of my men. I had to ensure you wouldn't catch him, i still need to cash out." That explained why she failed at hacking into that guy's phone.

"Tanner told me about you're little dream, its impressive how hard you have tried to find the blue blood killer yet have gotten nowhere... Once knew a man like you, tried so hard to save a girl, only to sacrifice her for his own life. I don't blame him, its a natural thing to do." he continued. For such a dangerous man, he sure enjoyed telling stories.

"i-... Ive gotten somewhere! Don't discard my work like that-" she started, feeling angry that he acted like all she did was a kids game, even though she knew he was right, She had gone nowhere with this...

"Hush. Don't get too emotional, Luna." He said, his voice more stern, his fist clenched under the table. She was stressed and emotional right now, but not dumb. She saw what this man could do, even if she only saw a mere fraction. He waited for a reaction, only being met with heavy breathing, he smiled again.

"Glad we understand each other. I'll give you a deal, a special one not many get... You can join my side, work on the 'bad' side, sniff out traitors and little rats trying to hack into my databases, and in return i'll arrest or kill the blue blood killer, whichever you prefer. Or, you can go back to you're regular life, forget this meeting happened and continue trying to find him. But if you choose the latter, Tanner and Dimitri will no longer be as kind as they've been now." He said. It was clear which he wanted her to choose. Luna wanted to tell him to fuck off so badly, but she already could barely deal with Tanner and the russian beef cake. And looking at this place, it was clear he was rich and she'd get paid good money... She would be able to afford a place with a normal internet and powerbox, funtional window locks and lights...

"I... " She started, her words failing her as her brain fought a vicious war between morals and the want for revenge and a better life.

"You can sleep on it if you'd like. I'll take you home and you can just text your answer in the morning." He said, before she could say that she didnt have his number, the masked man placed a flip phone with a singular contact on it, on her lap. "and don't even think of trying to call the police, trying to report the number, it won't get you anywhere but the grave" He said.

With a hit to the head, she woke up back in her bedroom, tucked in with the phone beside her...

Chapter Text

Luna woke up, her head is throbbing horribly from all the hits she took the previous day. She saw the small flip phone beside her, a single number on it with a message that read: "You have until 4pm to answer. Join me or not."

She felt her heart drop. She merely had a few hours before having to give her answer. The answer would forever change her life. She wanted to say no, to not go against her morals, but she'd die if she did. She couldn't fight off those two men, especially if they went harder on her like the man said. if she agreed, she'd be safe, atleast from the two men currently hunting her. She'd have problems with cops of course, but the blue blood killer would finally stop his reign of terror... It was so tempting, she had to choose fast.

She decided she'd first make herself some coffe and instant noodles, her usual breakfast... As she boiled some water for her two dollar thai chicken flavour ramen noodles, if she said yes, she wouldn't have to eat like this anymore, clearly that man was rich.

Time seemed to blur, her hand stiff as she brought the fork with noodles wrapped around it to her lips. As she swallowed the noodles, which seemed flavourless in her current nerve filled moment, she picked up the phone. Her breath hitching as with trembling fingers she typed out: "I will join your side, but i want proof you know the blue blood killer first." As she clicked send, it took merely a few second before she got a response.

"Brave of you to make demands" the text read, before she could respond, the man sent a photo. A photo of a document folder with all the information about the blue blood killer along with a photo of the young man tied down to a chair in a dark room.

"What shall we do with him?" he texted once more. Her heart begged her to just say 'arrest him', but he had done so much bad... A man like that didn't deserve the beauty of life, and if she'd be on this man's side, she'd have to lose her morals regardless.

"Kill him" Luna typed out, feeling dirty. Was she any better than this killer? Killing a killer still leaves one alive. She wasn't helping the problem, she was making it bigger and becoming part of it. She was a smart woman, she knew that. Maybe it was true that all humans were like animals, turning against morals in the primal urge for revenge and better life.

"Done. We'll come pick you up in an hour. Pack you're things" With that, Luna started to pack all her stuff which was mostly just some basic clothes and toiletries. She spent most of the money on instant food, bills and her crime watch.

As she finished packing her suitcase, she heard a car pull up to her house. A black van. She was skeptical if this was the car, but the familiar sight of the Russian beefcake made it clear it was... Why did they send Vladimir out of anyone? Regardless, she got in the passanger seat, fastening her seat belt as he started to drive.

"Ты очень дорог Адаму." He said, his voice deep and the sound of the Russian words making her uneasy.

"What?" she asked softly. He sighed, pulling out his small phone. Good thing the roads were empty at this hour so he could only drive with one hand. He placed his phone on one of those phone holders taxi cars had. The phone displayed google translate as he repeated himself into the phone. The translatetion showed: "You're quite special to Adam"

Luna wanted to say something back but Dimitri didn't seem done yet, speaking again and the translation showing: "Normally, he doesn't give housing to his workers. And he rarely lets women work, especially pretty ones." Luna blushed a bit at his words, she was infact pretty. Not outstanding, but did catch a few eyes while walking past. She felt uneasy, if she was getting special treatment from a man like that, it could only mean the worst.

Luna stayed silent during the ride, so did Dimitri. It was quite the awkward drive, mostly because of the nagging fear in her heart, the fear that this was a terrible decision she'd grow to regret in a few days, but only time would tell. Of course, as they drove further, her face had gotten covered by a bag for secrecy. She needed to gain Adam's trust before he'd let her freely see where he's situated.

(after a few hours)
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"Finally here, glad to see you" Adam said. Luna stood there nervously, still uneasy while standing in Adam's presence.

"I was surprised you agreed, but then again, its was only natural you chose that. I wont hold it against you, Luna." He added with a small sigh

"I decided i'd make a video for you, just so you'd know that man is actually dead. i wouldn't want you thinking im a liar or a fraud. You'll be situated to your new place right now. I need you working close by, so you get an apartment near by. Patrick here, will lead you there." He said, the masked man walking up to her. She kept quiet, just following patrick out the building and down the street to a nice apartment building. It wasn't a big place, but atleast the power worked and her windows locked normally.

Patrick left as fast as he came, leaving Luna to get situated. Though it was a nice change of pace, the linering dread of guilt ate away at her, and she hadn't even started properly working for Adam yet.

Chapter Text

It had been a day since Luna took Adam's offer. He had been kind enough to let her not do any work on her first day, give her some time to accept what her new life is. The guilt hasn't gone away, gotten even worse actually. She woke up with a note beside her bed. It wasn't nice knowing men like that had access to her apartment and could come by whenever they pleased, but her body didn't seem sore, so she just figured someoe came by a dropped a note, rather than doing something unsavoury to her.

She picked up the note, full of instructions for her and how she should do her new job. Mostly things like: 'Change the wifi router position every once in a while to avoid the police from catching on. Don't open the door for anyone while on work, hide somewhere if someone gets in. Don't get hacked. Check wiki's for passwords.'... Seemed like this would be even more tiring than her regular job. Though police would be easy to avoid since she worked with them, she knew how long it took for them to catch on and how to avoid their radar for as long as possible.

She sat down at her computer, opeing it to find only a few apps. A messaging app with the only contact being Adam, a browser app and a shady dark web store she could spend her virtual coin on. The shop had things like virtual keys that would help her find the codes in the pages, or some better hack blockers. Her new job wouldnt be easy, just as dangerous as before but now she'll feel like a monster for doing it, but will get more money... Theres always two sides to each coin.

She had no idea why she needed to find these codes to access the dark web, surely Adam already had them all, unless he planned to sell them or something. Or maybe he was giving her random jobs to see her conpetence, her worth to him. Regardless of her theories, they wouldnt change the fact she had work to do and her boss was quite the man.

She opened up the web browser, met with a page full of links to different darkweb pages. The names alone made her sick. 'Rape 4 pay', what sick fuck would use something like this? But then again, more than half of these links led to websites that dehumanized women, making them mere dolls for the taking. That could've been Luna... That was the worst part. Her mind screamed at her to safe these women, she was basically encouraging this to continue.

She pressed on the first link she saw, a link to a website called 'Cheap surgery'. This one didn't seem too bad, it loaded quite quickly. There seemed to be no hidden codes anywhere, unless Adam wanted her to click on every button and read every line of code. She clicked on the next link, some confesional website. It took longer to load. The screen loading before flashing white again. The internet was good just a second ago... She clicked out and went into the third, it loading in a mere second...

The longer loading must mean theres something important there. She opened it again, waiting for it to load before scrolling past some confessions. Thats when she stumbled across one. A jumble of letters and numbers. She coppied it and write it down on the notepad app. Surely it was a code. She was clearly doing something right as she got a text from the messaging app. It was adam.

"Good job on finding the first of seven codes. Im impressed. I can see everything you do on this computer, so dont try watching porn or something. Later, when i trust you, i might allow you acess to more websites, but i dont need you trying to contact the police. Keep working hard and soon enough you'll be employee of the month"

It was clear he had some sarcasm in there. Good to know she was always being watched, that really crumpled any plan of moral comeback and saving the innocent people forced into this.

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The first day ended like that. She was on constant alert, having some hitman trying to come after her along with the police... Of course, why did she think that working for a MOBSTER who was rich and influential would make her safe? Of course a man like that had dangerous enemies that would want her dead the scond they hear even a single rumour of her even looking his way. But, she did get some praise from Adam that was drowned out by 'work faster' and needless tips she already gathered.

It was a long and tiring day, she still had many more like these coming. She turned the wifi off, to avoid the police tracking her while she sleeps. She was planning on changing, but decided to do that in the bathroom. If the apartment had cameras, they'd probably be in the main part of the apartment, not the bathroom, right? Maybe she was being paranoid. Regardless, she changed into some simple pajama clothes and left the bathroom.

She walked into the open floor plan bedroom, sitting down on the comfy bed. It made her old bed feel like stones. The matress soft and unused, sheets soft and smelling of laundry detergent. The pillows were puffed too. She had barely noticed how comfortable it was yesterday since she was so damn stressed. She still didn't agree with her new job, she never did and never will, but if shes going to constantly hate herself for it, she'll just end up killing herself.

When she woke up in the morning, she found another note by her bed... Who was leaving these? She'd say Adam, but no way a man like that can be bothered to leave notes each morning, especially when he can just text her. The handwriting was the same in both the notes. Handwritten by an ink pen, the handwriting reminds her of doctor. There was only one man she could think of... Tanner, but why would Tanner write her notes? Unless Adam ordered him to, but it still just didnt make sense to her. He could've just gotten one of the men that do these things to write her notes, not an insane doctor man... Not to mention, yesterday Adam gave her the same notes in the text that were in note... Perhaps Tanner, or whoever, was writing these without Adam knowing.

This note read: 'Today you'll be checking cameras. When you see something out of the ordinary, send a report to Adam. Make sure to turn around frequently to make sure there isnt a small glowing red dot pointed at your forhead. If that does happen... Lights off and hide in the bathroom until the laser sight disappears. And also frequently change the internet.' Seems like she had other tasks today, but same enemies.

She got up, she didnt even wanna think about work before getting dressed, drinking some coffee and enjoying breakfast. Luna made her way to the bathroom, changing into her daily clothes and brushing her teeth. She didnt take a shower in fear there could be cameras in there. She made her way to the kitchen. Right, new apartment, no food or coffee. She opened the cabinet, expecting to find it empty but seeing ramen and other food inside.... Someone went shopping for her, she was pretty damn sure there was no food in there yesterday. Someone was looking out for her, and it didnt seem like Adam.

Chapter Text

She woke up the next day, it was pretty late. She was used to working late nights and sleeping in as she had no day job. It was around twelve. To say she didn't want to get to work was an understatement. But regardless of the odd notes and lingering guilt, Luna had work to do. She got out of bed and made her way to the kitchen, wearing her pajamas and some slippers. In the kitchen she filled a kettle with tap water and started the kettle to make some tea for herself. The water would take a few minutes to boil so she decided that she could use this time to check out her tasks for the day. She turned on the computer, seeing a new app on it. The icon looked like a camera.

She also had a new notification from Adam; it was a brief explanation of what she'd be doing today. It read: 'Good work yesterday, hopefully you can keep it up today as well. You see, a man like me has multiple tasks for people like you. Today you'll be checking the cameras of other places and replying valuable things for my other men to snatch. Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it, at least I hope you do for your well-being." What message from Adam would be complete without a threat? She also noticed a new note hidden under her keyboard. Her secret helper was here while she slept. She opened the note, trying to decipher the delicate handwriting. The note read: "Today you're checking cameras. In the bottom corner, you'll find a window with any type of valuables; it's made like this so you could report something worthwhile in just a few clicks. If something doesn't match the criteria on the reports button, don't bother with it. Good luck, Luna". Whoever was writing these notes wasn't Adam, and wasn't telling Adam about them. But who would risk keeping secrets from such a man just to help her? Who would go out and buy her groceries? She didn't feel any comfort knowing she had a secret admirer who was close enough to Adam to know her next tasks.

She tried to ignore her rising unease and opened the camera access app. Footage of garages, homes, bathrooms, and parking spaces. Her job was simple: see if there were any valuables worth taking. It was so simple that all she had to do was press a few buttons, and she could send a report. Adam had given her a quota of at least 10 things. And if she can spot 15, she gets the rest of the day off. The first few minutes were all calm, unless she had missed something in the bathroom cams. She refused to check those if she saw someone was in there... She had limits. Her first report was in a suburban house, which looked empty and had an expensive-looking watch on the table. She had seen one of them retail for a few thousand in her hometown, something about it being a luxury and 'all ecological' brand watch. All marketing schemes to make you feel like you're better than the person who bought a watch for a few hundred dollars that was made out of 'cheaper' and less 'ecological' materials.

Adam replied to her report. His message wrote: 'Usually we look for more worthwhile things. But this is good enough. Keep working.' Would it kill the guy to give a compliment? He was stuck up as all hell in his messages. At least she knew she was doing her job correctly, mostly. She preferred this over trying to check every line of code on a website to find a code. Of course, her morals preferred the first since it meant she wasn't intruding on people's privacy, but her eyes liked this far more, and so did her back. She didn't have to hunch over her computer for a while, straining her eyes with this.

The reports were spread wide out, the second came a few minutes late, along with the third and fourth, but the fifth took some time. Almost half an hour to be exact, this type of work wasn't as easy as it first seemed. One minute it feels like every camera has something good, the next minute everything is empty. And you can't take a break because you could easily miss something, and Adam would butcher her if she missed something good because she wanted to use her phone or take a bathroom break. But, then again, she had no doubt there would be others checking all the footage again, searching for things she'd missed or for something else entirely. Adam had many people working for him; there was no way each person had a unique task. It seemed impossible.

As she hit another stalemate in her search, she let her mind wander. She thought back all the way back to when she first started doing her crime watch. She did it to get justice for her cousin; she made it her life goal to get that guy thrown in jail for life. She made a promise to herself to never hurt people, to protect them like her cousin did... Now she works for the very people she sought to stop. She's the reason the blue blood killer was a cold corpse. He could've had a family for all she knew. Yet she couldn't bring herself to feel remorse for such a man. It made her scared. Was she losing herself? Was she losing her morals and everything that she once believed in just because she's worked with these god awful men for a few days? And the worst part was, she couldn't back out, not ever. She had always valued all her morals and values, but it seemed not enough to die for them.

She snapped out of her thoughts as she heard a faint knock on the door. She glanced at the screen, quickly flipping through the cameras to make sure there was nothing of value before she went to see who was at her door. After yesterday, she was a little more hesitant about opening the door so she looked through the peephole. She gasped and jumped back when she was met with the sight of Tanner, the man who once tried to kill her. He, being the 'prankster' he always was, had been bent down, smirking into the peephole to scare her.

"Open up, Luna. Regards from... Adam" He said through the door, his voice tightening and getting quieter when mentioning Adam. Tanner was a trusted man of Adam, so she had no choice but to let him in. She unlatched the door and Tanner welcomed himself in. His suit was pristine, his hair almost seemed plastic from how shapeful and perfect it was. Not a single wrinkle on his face or clothes, not a single hair out of place on his head, and those teeth that looked like pearls.

"What does he want?" Luna asked, taking a few steps back, hesitant to be in the same room as Tanner. He paused, his eyes going cold and calculating. Something was off, but he was impossible to read.

"Just wants to make sure that you are keeping true. We wouldn't want a little rat, now would we?" Tanner said, his voice sweet in a sickening way that clearly mocked you.

"I'm just checking cameras, trying to find valuables." Luna said, glancing at the desk and backing herself up against it. Tanner was imposing, and it seemed like he could see right through her. He extended his arm, pointing to the chair.

"Don't let me distract you from your work then. I just have to look around" Tanner said, his eyes locked onto hers in a way that almost made her believe he wasn't human, but rather a machine. She hesitantly sat down and glanced at her computer. Yet her heart raced, not from attraction. Sure, Tanner was attractive, but knowing what he does... It made her feel unsafe, made her feel like he'd stab her in the back any chance he got. She could tell that he knew she was scared, that he heard her heavy breathing and the slight tremble in her pinky. He stood over her for a few more seconds, not enough to make her speak up, but just enough to let her know that he was observing her closely.

He walked away, going through the apartment. He was checking the kitchen, looking at all the food with a hidden smile. She saw that smile, expecting some comment, but getting none. She feared that he'd find the notes, report them to Adam. What if Adam killed this secret helper of hers..? And why did she care? Whoever the admirer was, they were a cruel criminal who didn't deserve her respect. She subconsciously hunched over the desk, lifting the keyboard where she had found today's note. Her mind raced with thoughts as she reached for the note, probably to crumple it and hide it. But her fingers brushed against the soft skin of Tanner. She lifted her head, finding him standing there. How the hell was he so quiet and quick? Was she that out of it?

"Hiding a love letter from the class?" He teased, taking the note and looking down at it. He didn't seem surprised to find it, as if he expected it to be there. Luna held her breath, waiting to be reprimanded for keeping secrets like this. She wished he would give her any clue as to what he was thinking. Instead, he put the paper into a paper shredder she had taken with herself from her old home. He had that calculated look again, like this was all part of some big plan.

"Why would you do that?" She asked after the shredder finished its loud working process.

"I assumed you don't feel a connection to paper." He replied, for a man like him, he sure loved giving sassy responses.

"I won't tell Adam about this." He added, going back to checking her apartment. He was kind. From what Adam had previously said, it seemed like Tanner was the one who suggested to get her into this work. Why would he choose her? Luna doubted that it was for a heartfelt reason. But right now, she felt calmer. She knew her life wouldn't be over because of some paper, but she also still feared him. She decided to actually get back to work for the moment. She noticed something good in a camera of a parking lot, it was an expensive-looking suitcase. She reported it, getting yet another. Five more and she could reach her quota. She flipped a few more cameras, finding a laptop on the table of a person's house. She reported it for technology and got yet another one right.

Eventually, Tanner left, coming out from the direction of her bathroom. He didn't even say goodbye as he left, closing the door behind himself. She let out a sigh of relief and locked the door after him, not wanting any more visitors for the day. She slowly finished out the day with a few more reports. She hadn't managed to reach the 15 quota that would let her go to bed early, but she managed 12 which was above the minimum. She turned her computer off, rubbing her eyes that needed rest. She stood up from the chair, stretching her back and yawning.

She went to the bathroom, getting undressed and hopping into the shower. maybe she was just stressed, but the water pressure of the shower head felt different, like someone had unscrewed the head and reattached it a little too loosely. Surely she was overreacting or imagining things...