She Rules the Dungeon

Two weeks. It took weeks before Richard pulled the vanishing act.

Otta woke up that morning like any other. Richard didn't act any different after the day he received the letter. Even though Otta had been very careful to watch for signs, Richard still managed to give her the slip. It was like normal when Otta was busy looking through the concepts written by Louis when Richard grabbed the keys and hollered that he was going to grab them lunch from the convenience store. Otta was too busy and forgot that she was meant to keep an eye out for such things. That was how she realised, after three hours, that Richard had disappeared.

After Neuf heard it, he immediately tracked the security cameras near Otta's apartment trying to find a clue to where Richard might have gone. He didn't disappoint but the results were ugly.

As seven pairs of eyes glued themselves onto the screen, they saw how Richard expertly clung onto the sidewalks and melted into the shadows. Further footage of where he disappeared to couldn't be traced once Richard hotwired a car. They did get the car's license number so Neuf was working on that. In the meantime, the informants started sharing what they've discovered.

"So you've found out about his background too?" Venus was impressed. It took her a week to finally find out about Brandon Clarkson but Cameron did it too."

Cameron smirked. Finally, he could one-up the annoying lady. "Yes, I did. In fact, I think you'll be interested to see the level of influence Brandon has. It's not very advantageous for us if we want to act against him."

Jeffer was impressed as well. With his information network, he knew all that in advance however he didn't want to tell anyone else what he knew in case it was a false alarm. For two weeks, Jeffer did a little digging and uncovered Brandon's motive for wanting Richard back. However, he couldn't understand what Brandon needed Richard for and that was where Kalissa came in.

"Good work," Otta praised Cameron and Venus as she looked through the documents compiled. Cameron was very detailed about Clarkson Inc in his report while Venus included names and places that Brandon saw and frequented. She managed to include rumours heard by some of the people working in the mansion and passed the information to Jeffer who glanced over everything quickly.

"Is this what it's all about? Richard's father wants him back?"

Jeffer shook his head. "It's not as simple as it looks. Brandon might want Richard back but it's not a simple case of a family dispute. Remember Richard once mentioned that he was the brain behind Roomscape? From some digging, I found that the person backing Roomscape isn't the government. It was Brandon pulling the strings. Assuming that Richard is the person who knows Roomscape inside out, I'm assuming Brandon wants him to work for them again."

Something wasn't right. Otta remembered Richard saying that he once proposed the idea of Roomscape but it was rejected. He left soon after they stole that idea to work on it. Why would anyone who stole Richard's idea want him to work on it again? Didn't they steal it because they didn't want Richard to succeed?

"Like I said," Jeff sighed at Otta's expression. "It's not that simple. My sources told me that Richard and Brandon are father and son but not related by blood. It's an open secret that although Boris is the CEO of Clarkson Inc, the one running it is still Brandon. He lost his legs in an accident about ten years ago when Richard was still a kid and brought back the idea of Roomscape a few years later."

"Roomscape is released fairly recent," Khan pointed out and Otta jumped. The adventurer had been so quiet that she almost forgot about him.

"Developing such a complex program takes time. It can take a skilful team many years to put it together and test it before it is ready to launch. I believe syncing the brainwaves of so many and matching it to a common frequency isn't something that can be perfected in months," Neuf explained.

"What do you think Brandon's purpose of bringing Richard back is?" Otta asked. She was confused. There was no direct link and for someone who'd left Richard alone for so long not knowing if he lived or die, why would he suddenly start caring?

It was Kalissa who first spoke and broke the silence.

"Perhaps it is because of the dungeons Richard is able to program? So far, nobody has been able to replicate FLS's dungeon and in terms of realism, we are the best there is out there. Brandon lost his legs in an accident and is technically disabled. The disabled are not allowed to find employment or own businesses so why does Brandon not retire? I'm sure Richard can run his company on his behalf given how smart he is. Also, I'm afraid to say this but I think Otta's idea about the new type of dungeon is the trigger for everything."

Jeff froze. Suddenly, all the puzzles fell into place. The flamboyant man felt a chill go down his spine when he turned to look at Otta.

"Otta... are you still developing the new dungeon for disabled people to experience living a normal life?"

The red-head nodded and Jeff swallowed hard. He didn't know if he should voice out his speculations in front of her. He exchanged looks with Venus who immediately got the hint. The socialite grinned and came up with an excuse about wanting to get something to eat and dragged Otta to the kitchen, leaving the red-head perplexed.

"You can speak freely now," Cameron told Jeffer once Otta was out of hearing range.

"It's only a guess but I think I know his motive now. It isn't Richard he wants to destroy but FLS itself. To be more specific, I don't think Brandon supports the idea of the new dungeon for medical purpose and giving a new life to the disabled. Richard is the only person here capable of making that dungeon come true. Clakrson Inc has been concentrating heavily on the scientist guilds and pushing for results in the research area. They've bought over most sectors involving the medical industry and by putting everything together, it is highly possible that Brandon doesn't want FLS to succeed in creating that new dungeon."

Khan frowned. "Isn't it too dramatic to threaten Richard to leave us? We have other programmers. Richard has given us the plan, no?"

Neuf nodded. "We can continue his work, no problem here. However, I think Jeff is on the right track. Brandon doesn't want the new dungeon to succeed but it isn't the real reason. Why doesn't he want it to succeed? Besides, this idea is only possible because of Otta. Without Otta, even having Richard would be useless. Why doesn't Brandon threaten Otta too or offer to buy over FLS?"

Cameron frowned. It would make a lot more sense for a company as huge as Clarkson Inc to buy over FLS. Why did they have to go so far as to threaten Richard?

"Wait, did anyone see the letter?" Khan asked.

Jeff shook his head. "Otta said he threw it out before she had the chance to recover it. However, he became very pale after reading it so we assume that it's a threat. We don't know what kind of threat yet but Richard decided to leave us because of it."

Khan frowned. All the guessing and discussion was making him confused. He preferred to do things the direct way.

"Why don't we visit Richard and ask him? He should be home now, right?"

Jeff wanted to smack the adventurer there and then. If they could do something this easily, why bother with the discussion?!

"We don't know if he's home or where his home is," Kalissa quipped.

Neuf went back to his laptop and Cameron sighed. All that discussion and still nothing.

"So how's it going guys?" Venus smiled and Otta carried in a tray of steaming hot mugs. They sipped the coffee in silence, the mood dull and gloomy at having no leads.

"Got it," Neuf chuckled. They didn't know what the hacker was talking about until he grabbed a piece of paper to scribble down an address.

"Here," he handed it to Otta. "This is where Richard is right now. I managed to hack the public cameras to find out. I don't know what good this is but at least we know where he is now."

Khan smiled. "We should visit him and ask why he left."

Jeff felt like strangling the adventurer when Venus beamed.

"It's a great idea! Otta, you can pay him a visit, I'm sure they'll let you in. You can pretend to be his girlfriend demanding to know why he didn't return home!"

Everyone stared at Venus as though she'd grown four heads.

Then, Otta blushed.

"No! I can't do that... I'm not his gi-girlfr... I can't just barge into someone else's house!"

"Sure you can!" Venus insisted and grabbed Otta's hands. "Richard loves you enough to forgive you for anything you do. Besides, you can find out what's going on once you're there. Treat it like an undercover spy mission. If you're lucky, you may get to meet his father and discuss business with him!"

Otta was torn. What Venus said sounded like a great idea. However, Otta wasn't confident at all that such a reckless plan would work. However, it sounded a lot better than simply sitting around. Richard didn't answer his phone and didn't reply to the messages she sent. He left no note behind and didn't return. The only good thing was how everything in Richard's room was left as it was. That gave Otta a little hope that maybe Richard would be back soon enough.

"Look, maybe he's gone to talk it out with his father. He might be back in a few days so before we jump into conclusions maybe we should give him a chance and wait?"

Jeff blinked. Otta had a point. They were too hasty to call for a meeting once Richard disappeared.

"Alright, Otta." Khan agreed. "We wait until the end of this week. If he does not return, we will plan to visit him."

***

The week rolled by quickly but still, there weren't any signs of Richard returning. Otta missed his company and found herself spiralling into depression when she realised that her good friend and business partner wasn't around to give her his opinions about her newest concepts. It was painful having to eat alone although meal preparations were easier to manage.

It was eleven fifty-nine. Otta watched the second hand of the clock on her wall tick closer and closer to twelve. In her heart, she wished that Richard would come back anytime now and apologise for being so late with the lunch he promised to get. However, once the hand passed twelve, Otta closed her eyes, feeling a sense of defeat.

***

"Young master, it's late. Please get ready for bed."

Richard was staring out of the window. He heard Boris the first time two hours ago but ignored it. Ever since he arrived at the mansion, his old man hasn't appeared even once. Yet, Richard wasn't allowed to leave the premise. He didn't know what kind of game Brandon was playing at but Richard wouldn't let him win. He couldn't let anything happen to FLS, the dream that Otta painstakingly built.

Otta... he wondered if she was worried about him.

It's been days since he was holed up in this overly luxurious room. The first thing he did was throw his phone down the toilet. He knew that Otta would try to contact him but to prevent his father and Boris from suspecting him, Richard had to take drastic measures. He didn't come back to work for Clarkson Inc. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He was going to settle matters once and for all, he only hoped Otta and the rest of them wouldn't do anything too foolish.

Yes, Richard knew that their employees didn't share the conventional payer and payee relationship. The fact that everybody works overtime willingly without demanding compensation is proof of it. It was more like a big family than a small company. Although Otta's apartment was cramped, it felt like home. In this huge and empty mansion, Richard couldn't sleep. The dark circles around his eyes were proof of his sleepless nights.

As he looked at the stars, Richard wondered if Neuf would be able to track him down. He had no doubts that Venus and Cameron would have found out his identity by now. Jeff would have told everyone and perhaps dug a little deeper into his past. Sadly, the programmer didn't have high hopes about his friends coming to his rescue. FLS may be the driving force for new technology but Clarkson Inc has been around for way longer. Its roots have been grounded very deeply into society. There was nothing that Brandon didn't know with his connections everywhere. Richard can only protect FLS by complying with Clarkson Inc and bidding his time to plant the seed that will cause Clarkson Inc's downfall. He didn't know how long it would take but he doubted that he would be able to return to FLS.

It was a pity but he had fun while it lasted. Maybe he should have told Otta how he really felt about her in a cheesy goodbye letter like in the movies. Nah, who was he kidding? He didn't have the courage for that.