Chapter 9 — Leverage
After finishing his noodles, Harrison wiped his mouth and looked at Krist suspiciously.
"I know you're up to something."
Krist didn't even raise his head from his laptop.
Instead, he asked casually,
"Do you know my cousin Ash?"
"Yeah."
Harrison answered immediately, keeping his voice perfectly neutral.
"Why?"
"Nothing."
Krist continued typing.
Harrison waited.
And waited.
But Krist said nothing else.
Finally, Harrison cleared his throat.
"Why are you asking?"
"No reason."
"What do you mean no reason?" Harrison protested. "People don't randomly ask questions like that."
Krist shrugged.
"Maybe I was curious."
Harrison narrowed his eyes.
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Before he could ask another question, Krist looked up.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Why don't you follow me on X?"
Harrison blinked.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"I just don't see you as someone who cares about social media."
"I don't."
"Then why does it matter?"
A mischievous smile appeared on Krist's face.
"It doesn't."
Harrison stared at him.
The feeling in his stomach got worse.
What exactly did this guy know?
At that moment, Luna walked into the living room carrying her bowl.
Krist immediately smiled.
Perfect timing.
He looked at Harrison and asked loudly,
"Why do you care so much about Ash anyway? Do you have a crush on her or something?"
Harrison nearly jumped out of his chair.
"You know what? Don't answer that."
He immediately buried his face in his noodles.
Luna froze.
Her eyes moved from Krist to Harrison.
Then back to Krist.
"Wait."
She pointed at Harrison.
"He has a crush on who?"
Harrison instantly choked.
Violent coughing echoed throughout the room.
Krist patted him on the shoulder.
"Relax."
Then he looked at Luna.
"It's nothing."
Afterward, he leaned closer to Harrison and whispered,
"We'll talk later."
Harrison immediately straightened.
"Yes, sir."
The sudden obedience was so fast that Luna became even more suspicious.
She spent the rest of breakfast watching the two boys like a detective investigating criminals.
A few minutes later, Luna placed her empty bowl down.
"So what's the plan?"
Krist finally closed his laptop.
"The Stark Institution belongs to my family."
Both Harrison and Luna nodded.
"My parents designed the building."
He tapped the table.
"Which means they also have the blueprints."
Realization flashed across Harrison's face.
"And the server room."
Krist nodded.
"And every hidden access route."
A grin spread across Harrison's face.
"Now we're talking."
"My plan is simple."
Krist stood up.
"I'm going into Stark Institution."
"And?"
"I'm going to use the Stark Key."
"And?"
"I'm going to find evidence against Bellatrix."
Silence.
Then Harrison frowned.
"That's your entire plan?"
"Pretty much."
"That's a terrible plan."
"It has worked so far."
Before Harrison could argue, Krist started walking upstairs.
"Finish eating."
"We leave in twenty minutes."
"Leave for where?" Luna shouted.
But Krist had already disappeared upstairs.
Twenty minutes later, Krist returned wearing a fresh set of clothes.
By then, Harrison and Luna were waiting near the entrance.
The three of them headed into the garage.
A few moments later, they rode out of the Stark Estate on their bikes.
However, the moment they exited the main gate, they almost collided with someone entering.
"Maya?"
Luna smiled.
Maya stopped her bike.
"Morning."
"What are you doing here?" Harrison asked.
"I came to see Krist."
"Perfect timing."
Krist pointed toward the road.
"We're heading out."
Maya looked curious.
"Where?"
"Zestle Street."
Maya frowned.
"That's where Stark Institution is."
Krist smiled.
"Exactly."
"What are we doing there?"
"Information hunting."
Maya's curiosity immediately doubled.
"Count me in."
As they rode through the city, Luna and Maya gradually moved ahead, chatting together.
That left Harrison riding beside Krist.
The moment they were out of hearing range, Harrison spoke.
"So..."
Krist smirked.
"No."
"What do you mean no?"
"No questions about Ash."
Harrison almost lost control of his bike.
"You're impossible."
Krist laughed.
"You have a crush on her, don't you?"
"What?!"
Harrison nearly crashed.
"That's ridiculous!"
"We don't even talk!"
Krist's smile widened.
"Then you won't mind if I tell Luna."
Harrison's face turned pale.
"You wouldn't."
"Oh, I would."
"You have no proof."
Krist laughed.
"Really?"
The smile disappeared.
Then he said quietly:
"You follow every single one of her social media accounts."
Harrison froze.
"You have over three hundred photos of her."
Silence.
"And before you ask..."
Krist pointed at him.
"I already made backups."
The bike swerved.
CRASH!
Harrison rode straight into an advertisement board.
"What the hell?!" he shouted.
He jumped back to his feet immediately.
Ignoring the pain completely.
"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?!"
Krist laughed so hard he almost fell off his bike.
Harrison stood there looking horrified.
"Wait..."
His eyes widened.
"My phone."
Krist's laughter became even louder.
"My phone!"
"You left it unattended."
"That's impossible!"
"It took ten seconds."
"Ten seconds?!"
"Maybe less."
Harrison looked like his entire worldview had collapsed.
Meanwhile, Krist was enjoying every second of it.
"If you keep reacting like this," Krist warned, "Luna and Maya are going to notice."
Harrison immediately straightened up.
Then he calmly got back on his bike.
"I'm calm."
"You don't look calm."
"I'm perfectly calm."
"You crashed into a sign."
"That sign came out of nowhere."
Krist burst out laughing again.
A few minutes later, Luna suddenly sped past them.
Luna suddenly sped past them.
"You idiots are too slow!"
Maya laughed and accelerated after her.
Krist shook his head while Harrison grumbled about nearly dying from emotional damage.
Then Luna's bike slowed.
A moment later, Maya slowed too.
The sudden change caught Krist's attention.
"What happened?" he asked.
Neither girl answered immediately.
Instead, they were both staring toward a nearby alley.
Krist followed their gaze.
Four boys were walking away from the main road.
Or rather—
Three boys were dragging another boy with them.
The boy looked about their age.
His uniform was dirty, and panic was clearly visible on his face.
"Please," the boy begged.
"I said I was sorry."
One of the boys shoved him forward.
"Then maybe you should've thought about that before opening your mouth."
The group laughed.
Krist's eyes narrowed.
He immediately recognized them.
Billy.
And his followers.
The three boys were so focused on their victim that they didn't notice the four bikes parked across the street.
"Looks like they're up to their usual nonsense," Harrison muttered.
The frightened boy tried to pull away.
It didn't work.
Billy grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him deeper into the alley.
"Come on," Billy sneered.
"Let's have a private conversation."
The fear on the boy's face became even more obvious.
Maya frowned.
"Should we do something?"
No one answered immediately.
Krist simply watched.
His expression had become unreadable.
The memories of the classroom flashed through his mind.
Billy's fists.
The insults.
The mention of his parents.
The blood.
The rage.
Then he slowly stepped off his bike.
A small smile appeared on his face.
It wasn't a friendly smile.
Not even close.
"Well," Krist said quietly.
"It looks like Billy just found today's victim."
He began walking toward the alley.
Behind him, Harrison sighed.
"Why do I have a feeling this is about to become everyone's problem?"
Because deep down—
They all knew exactly what was about to happen.