RISING PHOENIX ACT SELECT

CHAPTER 21: EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

After making it back home safely and going to sleep at his usual time, Marco went back to classes as usual on what seemed like an ordinary Friday. When lunch rolled around, he quickly made his way to the spot he told Glenn and Prairie to meet with in private - the equipment room between ASTB 201 and 203. After looking around to make sure no one saw him, he went into the room and quietly shut the door. The room was filled with machines and glassware for Research purposes, reminding Marco of his own Research project, which made him uneasy. Strangely, he heard some clattering and footsteps on the far end of the room. When he decided to check it out, his heart nearly skipped a beat when he saw someone else. Turns out, it was just Brianna.

“Geez, you scared me…” Marco told her.
“Hey…” Brianna replied nonchalantly as she held two beakers in her hands. Silence filled the room for a few seconds as the two tried to think of something to lessen the awkwardness of the situation.
“Sorry, I’m just meeting with Glenn and Prairie about Rising Phoenix stuff…” Marco explained to her.
“OK…can I stay? I’m in the middle of something right now,” Brianna asked.
“Sure, that’s not a problem…” Marco assured her. After a few more awkward seconds, Glenn and Prairie finally arrived.

“Pasensya na...lumagpas sa oras yung SocSci namin,” Prairie explained as she and Glenn entered the room.
“Yeah…what she said,” Glenn remarked as he closed the door behind them.
“Anong bago?” Prairie asked enthusiastically.
“Well, yesterday I made my way to Ramone’s address, and they were in fact living there.”
“Nice,” Glenn told him.
“Thing is…I wasn’t able to get the drive from them.”
“Aaaand there it is.”

“Teka, anong nangyari?” Prairie asked, concerned.
“Before I explain, I need to tell you guys what I learned about the S.P.E.C.T.R.E. program. It’s…crazy stuff,” he told them both. He proceeded to tell them about the nature of S.P.E.C.T.R.E., from its potential as a catalyst for mass destruction to the critical role the drive plays in stopping it from executing. As Marco explained all of this, Brianna slowly began to listen out of intrigue.
“Anyway, that’s all you guys need to know about S.P.E.C.T.R.E. and the drive,” Marco concluded.
“OK. Why don’t you have the drive then?” Glenn asked semi-snarkily.
“They wanted 100,000 pesos sent to this Bitcoin address and a slot to prom night,” Marco explained as he showed the two the address he received, “...and they threatened to release their guard dogs on me, so I had to back down.”
“100,000?!” Glenn blurted out as he put his hands on his head.
“At isang slot sa prom? Pero isang linggo nang tapos ang prom reservation...! Hindi na kami puwedeng magdagdag ng tao!” Prairie added.

“That’s the least of our problems…” Marco remarked, “...how are we supposed to pay them 100,000 pesos…?!”
“Wait…give me your phone,” Glenn told Marco. He quickly complied and gave it to Glenn, who took a second look at the wallet address along with the site Ramone instructed Marco to use.
“This site looks relatively niche…if the conditions are right, I may be able to use my laptop to breach it and override the server-side database to visually modify certain numbers temporarily,” Glenn explained.
“Does that include changing the money count on the wallets…?” Marco asked.
“Let me check,” Glenn remarked as he visited the transfer site and examined the source code. There were certain traits he was looking for to see if it was possible.
“Yes…I can breach this,” Glenn confirmed, prompting Marco to sigh in relief. Brianna continued to watch the whole thing unfold from the far corner of the room.

“Alright, that’s settled…not sure how we’ll deal with the prom slot. Like Prairie said, it’s final…” Marco told the two. As he said this, Prairie got an idea.
“Paano kung hindi ako pumunta...at kunin nalang ni Ramone ang aking puwesto?” she suggested. Marco and Glenn fell silent when they heard this. Even Brianna was surprised by the suggestion.
“No…that’s not fair. We’ll find another way…” Marco told her.
“Pag-isipan mo. Ikaw ang kinausap ni Ramone, kaya kailangan nandoon ka - at kailangan nandoon si Glenn para i-hack yung crypto wallet. Ako lang ang pwedeng maiwan. Saka, ayoko naman talaga pumunta…” she explained.
Marco was rendered speechless. He didn’t want to have to sacrifice someone else’s prom experience for this, but judging by the circumstances and the high stakes, he realized it was the only way - and so did Glenn.
“I think you’re right. If you’re the one who stays home, I don’t think anybody would notice,” Glenn remarked.

“Okay...and how will we get Ramone to replace you on the list?” he asked, trying his best to ignore the implications of what Glenn just said.
“I can do that,” Brianna chimed in. All three of them turned around, surprised that she had something to say.
“I’m in the prom committee…they haven’t printed the lists out yet for the registration. I can do some convincing to give me edit access to the list. Then I can swap out Prairie for Ramone,” she told the three.
“Looks like you’re finally useful again,” he told Brianna. Glenn and Prairie stared at them uncomfortably, trying their best to ignore the implications of what Marco just said.

“Alright, looks like we have a plan,” Marco told them all.
“Ako na bahalang kumausap sa magulang ko tungkol sa bakit di ako makapupunta...kung may kailangan kayo sa akin, sabihan niyo na lang ako sa Discord,” Prairie told Marco.
“By the way, make sure to bring your laptop to prom, alright?” Marco told Glenn, who gave him a thumbs-up.
As he watched Prairie polish the notes on her notepad and Glenn examine the website further, he felt an overwhelming sense of pride for how far they’d all come. Prairie then began to explain some other things to Marco, but he started to zone out after turning around and realizing who was missing from it all - Brianna. She was still at the back working on her research project while they all discussed the plan.

“Alright, I’m done…” Brianna told the three of them as she put down her glassware. She made her way to the door and opened it a crack when Marco stopped her.
“Yes?” Brianna asked as she turned towards him. However, he couldn’t manage to get anything off his mouth. After a few awkward seconds, Brianna decided to leave.
“Alright…good luck guys,” she told them before closing the door. Marco’s guilt continued to build up inside him as he stared at the closed door.
“Um, anyway…meeting dismissed! Just work on your tasks, we can do this…!” he told Glenn and Prairie, which slightly boosted their confidence in the mission. Marco then hurriedly left the room as he looked at his watch, making sure to go in the opposite direction as Brianna.

Marco quickly ran to the koi pond in the middle of the SHB - he had agreed earlier that day to meet Darren there. When he got there, he saw Darren gleefully watching the koi swimming around. After hearing the door open, he turned around and saw Marco.
“Hi Marco!” he said as he waved at him. Marco smiled back upon seeing this. He then went up beside Darren, who shortly rested his elbows on the rocky rim of the koi pond after.
“This is an underrated spot…it’s beautiful,” Darren said as he looked up and admired the beauty of the atrium surrounding the koi pond - the various plants and trees reaching high up into the sky, the dew resting on their leaves, and the ledges protruding off each floor, creating an interesting pattern.
“I hadn’t noticed,” Marco told Darren as he looked at him.

“Aray...dapat di ko dito pinatong yung siko ko.” Darren commented as he took his elbows off the rim in pain. Him and Marco had a quick chuckle about it before watching the koi swim around.
“You know…I can’t believe it’s almost over,” Marco told Darren.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m close to cracking the Rising Phoenix case, I can just feel it. I’m just so hopeful right now, you know?”
“I’m glad you do.”
The pair watched the koi swim for a while before conversing once more.

“What are you gonna to do after this is all over…?” Darren asked.
“I don’t know, honestly. I don’t feel like I even have a purpose outside of stopping the Rising Phoenix.”
“Well…maybe our purpose is to hope,” Darren told Marco, who looked back up at him.
“Then I hope I get to spend more time with you,” Marco replied.
“Me too, Marco.”
With that, the two of them inched closer together as they continued to watch the koi swim around.

But little did they know, another student was watching them.

He stood at the glass behind them and stared emotionlessly at the pair, envying what they had. In his right hand was a folder containing a few pieces of paper. He stood there for another minute before straightening his clothes and making his way to the Discipline Office. After ringing the doorbell outside, Sir Ernest promptly opened the door.
“Alonso,” Sir Ernest said as he saw the student, “Pasok ka.”
Alonso sat down on the couch and plopped the folder down on the table. It was labeled “PROOF” on top with black marker.
“Ano ‘to…?” Sir asked earnestly.
“I’ve been investigating the Rising Phoenix as well,” Alonso explained, “...and I’ve found concrete proof of the true identity of their leader.”
Sir Ernest was immediately intrigued upon hearing this.

Alonso opened the folder, revealing the first page - a picture of Marco wearing the Rising Phoenix’s signature bird mask. He gave the page to Sir Ernest for him to examine while he took out the rest of the pages, which contained fabricated message logs of Marco directing the Rising Phoenix.
“Sabi ko na nga ba...” Sir Ernest muttered under his breath.
“Alam mo ba kung nasaan si Marco?” Sir asked Alonso.
“No,” he replied.
“Sige...kakausapin ko siya kapag nakita ko siya. Salamat at nasabi mo ‘to sa akin...” Sir told him, “Sorry, may meeting pa ako…kailangan ko nang umalis. Kung tingin mo may iba pa akong kailangan malaman, i-email mo lang ako.”
Sir Ernest quickly packed his things and left the Discipline Office, with Alonso following suit. After Sir Ernest was out of sight, Alonso quickly headed to the back of the ASTB for privacy. There, he took out his burner phone and called someone. Soon, the person on the other end picked up.

“Ginawa mo na…?” the mysterious person asked in a garbled voice, the same one Marco heard from his recording device at the 4F Audi.
“Yes…I did it. Sir seems to believe it,” Alonso told them.
“Salamat, Obsidian. Alam kong mapagtitiwalaan kita.”
“Anything for you, my love,” Obsidian replied.
“Mahal kita.”
“You too…” he said unenthusiastically before hanging up.

After the call, he left the back of the ASTB, prepared to carry out whatever was needed in the name of the Rising Phoenix.