Chapter 262: Domain link

The Rowes' quarters were opulent in a way that made academy staff housing look like barracks. Plush carpet beneath their feet, art pieces adorning the walls, a panoramic window offering a breathtaking view of the tournament arena complex illuminated against the night sky. "For suspected terrorists, they have excellent taste," Sophie muttered, eyeing the minimalist furniture that probably cost more than her monthly allowance. Noah was already moving through the main living space, checking drawers, scanning bookshelves, searching for anything suspicious. "Purge members wouldn't just leave manifestos lying around. They're smarter than that." "Clearly," Sophie agreed, examining a shelf of crystal decanters. "Which makes me wonder why you thought we'd find anything here in the first place." They worked methodically through the suite, careful to leave everything exactly as they found it. The bedroom revealed nothing but expensive clothes and jewelry. The office contained only standard datapads and tournament schedules. The bathroom was stocked with luxury products that Sophie recognized from ads targeted at people far wealthier than academy students. Nothing incriminating. Nothing suspicious. Nothing to suggest the elegant couple who occupied this space were anything but wealthy tournament patrons. "Noah," Sophie whispered after twenty minutes of fruitless searching. "There's nothing here. No evidence of Purge affiliation. No sign of Kelvin. Nothing." Noah ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "That doesn't make sense. I know they're involved. I know—" The soft whir of the door mechanism froze them both in place. "Shit," Sophie hissed, looking frantically for someplace to hide. But it was too late. The door slid open, revealing a striking couple in formal attire. Marcus Rowe stood tall and imposing in a tailored suit that accentuated his athletic build, silver at his temples giving him a distinguished appearance. Beside him, Elise Rowe was the picture of elegance in a sleek midnight blue dress, her dark hair styled in an intricate updo. Neither appeared particularly surprised to find two masked teenagers in their suite. "Well," Marcus Rowe said pleasantly, stepping inside with his wife. "I wasn't aware we'd scheduled a tour of our accommodations for academy students." Elise removed her evening gloves with deliberate slowness, her painted lips curving into an amused smile. "Young people these days. So curious about how the other half lives." Noah and Sophie remained frozen, caught in the headlights of the Rowes' casual confidence. Sophie quickly pulled her mask down, recognizing the futility of concealment at this point. Noah followed suit, squaring his shoulders. "If you were looking for our daughter," Elise continued, moving to a vanity mirror where she began touching up her already perfect lipstick, unconcerned about the intruders, "Lila would be in the student accommodations. Though I'm not sure she'd appreciate unannounced visitors either." Marcus crossed to a sidebar, pouring himself a drink as if finding students in his quarters was a common occurrence. "What brings you to our humble lodgings at this hour? The semifinal matches must be far more entertaining than our empty suite." Noah stepped forward, tension radiating from every line of his body. "Where's Kelvin?" "Kelvin?" Marcus repeated, swirling amber liquid in his crystal glass. "I'm afraid you'll need to be more specific." "My friend," Noah's voice hardened. "Kelvin Pithon. Year one, Academy 12. You took him." Elise turned from the mirror, concern suddenly etched across her perfect features. "Took him? My goodness, what a serious accusation." She exchanged a glance with her husband. "Marcus, do we know a Kelvin Pithon?" "Can't say the name rings any bells," Marcus replied, taking a leisurely sip of his drink. "Though I meet so many academy students at these functions. They tend to blur together after a while." Noah's fists clenched at his sides. "He disappeared three days ago. I know you were the one that took him!" "Oh?" Marcus raised an eyebrow. "And you believe we... what? Kidnapped a first-year student? For what possible reason?" Sophie stepped forward, placing a warning hand on Noah's arm. "We should go," she murmured. "Smart girl," Elise smiled, applying another coat of gloss to her lips. "Especially given who your father is. I imagine the Defense Minister would be quite distressed to learn his daughter was breaking into private quarters during such a high-profile event." Noah ignored Sophie's pressure on his arm. "I know you're involved. I know you took him." "What we have here," Marcus said with exaggerated patience, setting his glass down, "is two students who've been caught trespassing, making wild accusations without a shred of evidence." His casual demeanor slipped slightly, revealing something colder beneath. "What we don't have is your missing friend, or any reason to have taken him in the first place." "Yet rather than call security," Elise added, closing her compact with a snap, "we're having a civilized conversation. Because we understand youthful impulses sometimes lead to poor decisions." Noah opened his mouth to argue further, but Marcus cut him off, his tone suddenly serious. "Enough. It's time for you both to leave." His eyes narrowed slightly. "The only reason we aren't reporting this incident is that our daughter made us exceptionally proud today. Her victory was... impressive." Sophie tugged Noah's arm again, more insistently this time. "Noah, please." "But understand this," Elise continued, her voice silky yet threaded with steel. "If you continue making false accusations against us, or if we find you in our quarters again, there will be consequences." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "We have many friends in positions that determine academic futures... and beyond." Noah held Marcus's gaze for a long moment, tension crackling between them. Finally, he allowed Sophie to pull him toward the door. "This isn't over," he said quietly. "For your sake," Marcus replied evenly, "I hope it is." The door slid shut behind them with a soft pneumatic hiss, leaving Noah and Sophie standing in the empty corridor. Sophie immediately grabbed Noah's arm, pulling him toward the service stairwell. "That was close," she whispered, heart still pounding in her chest. "Too close. We need to get out of the VIP section before someone else sees us." They moved quickly through the corridor, rounding a corner toward the maintenance elevator. As the doors slid open ahead of them, Noah yanked Sophie back, pressing them both against the wall around the corner. Commander Albright stepped out, his crisp uniform impeccable as always, his posture military-straight. The Academy 12 vice headmaster checked his watch, then turned—heading directly toward the suite they'd just left. Sophie opened her mouth to speak, but Noah silently shook his head, pulling her into a recessed doorway. They watched as Albright disappeared down the corridor, undoubtedly heading for the Rowes' quarters. Once the commander was out of sight, Sophie turned to Noah, confusion evident on her face. "What are we doing? We need to go." Noah pressed a finger to his lips, then reached into his pocket, extracting a small metallic disc the size of a coin. Sophie's eyes widened in recognition. "You planted a bug?" she whispered incredulously. Noah nodded, producing a small receiver from another pocket. "Borrowed it from Kelvin's stash. It pays to listen to him talk sometimes. That's why I needed to get in there." Sophie stared at him, a reluctant smile tugging at her lips. "So you weren't just charging in like a maniac. You actually had a plan." "I need to stay in range to hear," Noah explained, adjusting the device's settings. "We can't leave yet." Sophie leaned against the wall, shaking her head in amazement. "My underclassman boyfriend does have some brains after all." Noah grinned briefly before his expression turned serious again, focusing on the receiver as it crackled to life. Through the tiny speaker came the unmistakable voices of the Rowes and Commander Albright. "—becoming a problem," Marcus Rowe was saying, his tone no longer pleasant. "And now that Sophie Reign is involved, things are more complicated." "Not because of who her father is.... Kendall" Elise added. " Her mother represents the real issue." Sophie stiffened beside Noah, her breath catching. "Kendall?" she whispered. "That's my mother's name—" Noah squeezed her hand as the conversation continued. But this time, there was a new voice playing through. "This wasn't the plan," Commander Albright's voice came through clearly, anger evident in his tone. "Adrian was supposed to win. Your daughter was supposed to put him over. What changed?" "Your son lost fair and square," Marcus replied coldly. "Perhaps you should spend less time on our arrangements and more time on his training." "You convinced him to throw the match!" Albright's voice rose sharply. "You told my son to let Lila win, and he never even told me!" Noah and Sophie exchanged shocked glances. "Adrian and Lila fought while we were breaking in?" Noah whispered. "And Lila won?" "What matters more to you, Commander?" Elise Rowe's voice was dangerously soft now. "Some tournament glory? A feeble frame in the halls of military history? Or the larger picture we've all committed to?" A heavy silence fell before Albright responded, his voice subdued. "You're right. I apologize. The tournament is... insignificant compared to our goals." Sophie's hand tightened around Noah's. "The Purge," she breathed. "It's confirmed. They're all part of it." Noah nodded grimly. His suspicions had been correct. Not only were the Rowes involved with the anti-military organization, but Commander Albright—their own Academy's vice headmaster—was compromised as well. How many other commanders at the tournament were also part of this conspiracy? "I hope Eclipse caught all that," Marcus Rowe's voice suddenly came through the speaker, unnaturally loud, as if he were speaking directly into the bug. "Because now we'd like him to walk back in here and retrieve his listening device!" Noah nearly dropped the receiver, blood draining from his face. Sophie stared at him in horror. "They knew," she whispered. "The whole time." Noah switched off the device, his mind racing. They couldn't leave the bug—it was evidence of their break-in, something that could be used against them regardless of what they'd discovered. "We have to go back," he said finally. Sophie looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "Are you insane? We just confirmed they're Purge members! And that they've got Albright in their pocket!" "And they know we know," Noah pointed out grimly. "Running won't help us now. Besides," he added, thinking of Kelvin, "we need to face them." With leaden feet, they made their way back to the Rowes' suite. The door opened for them before Noah could even knock, as if they'd been expected all along. Inside, the scene had transformed. Gone was the casual, unbothered couple. Marcus and Elise Rowe stood with Commander Albright, all three wearing expressions of cold calculation. The pretense of civility had been dropped entirely. Noah stepped inside, keeping his gaze locked with Albright's. The history between them sparked thinly concealed tension—Albright's suspicions about Noah's secret abilities, his resentment over Noah consistently outshining his son Adrian, and now this final betrayal of everything the academies supposedly stood for. "I believe this is yours," Marcus said, holding up the tiny listening device between his fingers. Noah took it without breaking eye contact with Albright. "I know you have Kelvin," he said quietly. "I want to speak with him." Marcus laughed, the sound entirely without humor. "Bold request from someone in your position." "Even if it's the last time," Noah pressed on. "I just want to talk to him." The Rowes exchanged amused glances. "You understand none of this matters, don't you?" Elise asked, studying Noah with detached interest. "You're children. Who would believe your wild stories about respected figures being part of some... what do you and your merry band of deluded heroes call it? 'Purge'?" Noah said nothing, simply waiting. After a long moment, Marcus shrugged. "Why not? It changes nothing." He produced a sleek communications device, entering a code before holding it out. The screen flickered to life, showing a sparse room—no windows, no distinguishing features—and seated in the center, tied to a chair, was Kelvin. Noah's heart leapt at the sight of his friend, alive and seemingly unharmed, though clearly captive. "Noah?" Kelvin's voice came through clearly, his expression brightening despite his situation. "Man, please tell me you didn't leave my system running in our room! Did you guys spill anything? If you're going down, make sure everything's wiped, okay?" It was so typically Kelvin—concerned about his tech even while being held prisoner—that Noah almost smiled despite the circumstances. "Don't worry about that," Noah assured him. "I'm going to get you out of there." Kelvin gave a weak laugh. "Well, hurry it up if you can. They served me lettuce for breakfast. Lettuce! Not even the good kind with the crunch—the sad, wilty kind." Marcus cleared his throat impatiently. "How touching. Your friend will be released once our business here is concluded. If there's anything else you'd like to tell him, now's your chance. Our patience is wearing thin." Noah took a deep breath, meeting Kelvin's eyes through the screen. "Hey, Kev. Remember that question I never got around to asking you? About forming a link with me?" Confusion flickered across Kelvin's face, then his eyes widened with sudden understanding. "A link? With you?" A grin split his face. "Yes! Absolutely yes!" Sophie glanced between Noah and the screen, clearly baffled by the exchange. The Rowes looked equally puzzled. "Well," Marcus said with a smirk, "seems your friend swings both ways. Honestly, how does my daughter always choose the rotten ones?" Noah ignored the comment, giving Kelvin a slight nod and a genuine smile before turning to the Rowes. "Thank you for letting me speak with him." "The situation is simple," Marcus said, all pretense gone now. "Keep quiet about what you think you know, and your friend returns unharmed when we've finished our business here. Try to blow the whistle, and no one will believe you anyway—but your friend comes back in pieces. Your choice." Noah turned to leave, motioning Sophie to follow. She hesitated, her gaze fixed on Commander Albright. "Academy 12 deserves a better vice headmaster," she said, her voice tight with fury. "Commander Owen would be ashamed." Before anyone could react, she spat directly at Albright's feet, then turned on her heel and followed Noah out. They walked in silence until they were clear of the VIP section, Sophie practically vibrating with rage beside him. "How can you be so calm?" she finally demanded. "They've got Kelvin, they've got Albright in their pocket, they know about my mother, and—" She broke off, noticing his expression for the first time. "Why are you smiling?" Noah couldn't help it—the smile had been growing since they'd left the Rowes' suite. "Because I'm going to get Kelvin back," he said, confidence coloring his voice. "Today." Sophie stared at him. "How?" What Sophie couldn't see was the translucent interface that had appeared in Noah's field of vision– [Domain link successful] [Match: Kelvin Pithon] Noah's smile widened. Everything was about to change.