The Conspiracy
By Zoram Selrof
Chapter 1: It starts with a bang
20:55 PM (Japan Time), Friday December the 17th, 2005…
"… And thus my agents have confirmed total destruction of both the "Witch – Queen of Angmar" and "Nebula Grey"… Yet…"
"Yet?"
"Ah. The outside factor, you mean to say, Mr. Sponsor?"
"Outside factor? May I know the details?"
"Certainly, Mr. Admin…"
Three men had gathered around a round polished oak table set inside of a modest living room in house somewhere: the curtains were drawn and the blinders lowered: the only lighting was a portable lamp set on the very center of the table and most of the room was unlit.
"But if you have something else to report, Mr. Denpa…"
"I do not, sir… Please continue."
The man addressed as "Mr. Denpa" appealed as being on his mid 20s and around a meter and eighty tall.
His hair was brown in color, had the looks of a recent cut and was neatly combed: his eyes' irises were brown and he had traces of a recently shaved beard and moustache.
He also had reading glasses on.
He wore a simple black raincoat with a lowered hood, jeans, black socks and black sneakers.
He was currently intercrossing both hands' fingers and leaning them on the edge of the table as he sat on the upper left corner and looked at the interlocutor opposite his position.
"Is there a problem, Mr. Sponsor?"
"There's the possibility."
The man located in the upper right corner appealed as being on the same age as "Mr. Denpa" and around his same height.
His hair was colored jet black and was somewhat uncared for yet he was neatly shaved as well: his eyes' irises were blue and he displayed a small hint of worry.
He wore a simple black suit and tie plus pants and brown shoes: he had the looks of a simple businessman to him.
"According to the ONBA report, before the "Witch – Queen of Angmar" was deleted, she admitted that she'd had external help regarding the barrier-generating robe and necklace-shaped control device she always wore on her… She did get to pronounce the name "Towa" before she died off. I believe that it is but the start of a name yet all searches have turned out nothing…" "Mr. Sponsor" detailed.
"I see."
"Thus we name it the outside factor, Mr. Admin, sir…"
"Mr. Admin" was largely older than both of them given how he appealed to be on his early sixties yet he was taller than both of the other interlocutors.
A dense black beard covered his face and his eyes' irises were brown too yet they displayed knowledge and calmness.
He wore a black tuxedo combined with pants and shoes.
"Mr. Sponsor: I'd like of you to continue researches into this "outside factor" along with Mr. Denpa… Real-world research is a must given the high degree of monitoring in the Network: we don't want the ONBA to get the wrong idea about us, do we?"
"No, sir. We do not." "Mr. Denpa" quickly replied.
"Is there anything else?"
"Oh. True. There is one survivor of the organization: a pale imitation of the former Zero Virus which now goes by the alias of "Black Doom"… He seems to have increased in power ever since August and shows up in flash to disappear as suddenly as he came. All attempts to trace him have failed because he avoids obvious places. The entire "Angband" complex has been explored and most of its tunnels have been caved in to reduce the number of hiding places… The Sweden ONBA is responsible for surveying that mole and making sure no – one tries to get past their vigilance." "Mr. Sponsor" reported as he looked at some notes.
"Obviously… Once again I apologize for abusing of your hospitality and using your house to hold these unofficial meetings…"
"Oh. Please, sir… I do not mind it. This is but my second residence: and given how quiet and empty this district is then it's easy to have these meetings with absolute frankness…"
"You are humble."
"Ah… Thank you very much, sir. Do remember that I never question your authority, sir… I am but an external advisor. You are the rightful leader of the "Committee"…"
"Incidentally… How much progress has been done with the dismantling of the "Secret Empire" assets?"
"Ah. That's a curious thing. Someone has been providing information to the police and after some difficulty I found out that it was a hacker known as "Hack" along with his Net Navi "Grand" who are employed by someone only vaguely referred as "Mr. Smith" in ONBA files… He is some kind of informer who shows up with useful information or devices which can help out… He's been doing so ever since March… Remember, the "Heart Server" incident…" "Mr. Sponsor" explained to them.
"That is intriguing… That Mr. Smith seems to be pretty interested in the dismantling of such facilities… And if he has the trust of the ONBA then he definitely is in our side…" "Mr. Admin" looked slightly intrigued.
"Indeed, sir…"
"Ah. It's ten past nine. I must be going. Let us meet again at this hour next Thursday. I wouldn't desire to rob of you of the right to celebrate Christmas' Eve at all." He smiled at them.
"Thank you very much." Both thanked as they stood up and made a polite reverence.
It happened without warning: a brutal deflagration rang out from the street and it was powerful enough to shatter the windows and make the southern window's blinders shake: the men had to grab into the table so as to not to lose their balance and lowered their heads: the sounds began to die down yet the unmistakable smell of burning petrol, leather, plastic and metal began to pour inside of the room.
"By all the… Was that…?" "Mr. Admin" gasped.
The three men ran out into the corridor and then exited outside to see a car burning right next to the house's main entrance: it was emitting smoke and a crater had formed in a four meter radius around it thus shattering a water pipe which began to leak water out.
"My car! My black Audi! James! My driver! James!"
"… I don't see anyone in the cabin…!" "Mr. Denpa" muttered.
"A bomb-rigged car? In JAPAN? We've never had these here as far as I can remember!" "Mr. Sponsor" gasped.
"Damn it! Answer me, James!"
"Calm down, sir! I'll go fetch the fire extinguisher!"
"Mr. Sponsor" rushed back inside of the house and took out a fire extinguisher which he aimed at the burning wreck: the flames began to recede and they began to look around what was left of the frame to try to locate the driver yet no body was anywhere to be seen.
"Strange. Say, sir… Did you have your car repaired recently?"
"Well… Not. Yet… James is a new one. Kuno, the former one, got the flu and James has been replacing him for 3 weeks already…"
"I've called the police and the firefighters." "Mr. Sponsor" reported as he came back from inside of the house.
"Good… Yet… Could this be a ploy by "them"?"
"The "Common Patterns"… So they've gotten desperate. Say, sir! You always leave at exactly 21:15 PM and we stand near the car to see you off… Right, sir?" "Mr. Denpa" asked.
"It is 21:17 yet that explosion seems to have been triggered at around 21:11… Maybe their clock was not properly timed and the bomb went off 5 minutes earlier than expected!" "Mr. Sponsor" seemed to guess.
"So they were aiming for the three of us. We have an insider yet… Not even the Department Chiefs know where I go and have the meetings or how many persons… So how could a mere spy find it out if there's no register to begin with?" "Mr. Admin" reflected.
"… James. He has to be the traitor! He's in the best position to set the bomb and everything… And look at what I've found in what's left of the trunk, sir!"
"Mr. Denpa" showed them a largely melt down and charred dummy which had some remains of a driver's uniform on it: both "Mr. Sponsor" and "Mr. Admin" gasped in surprise.
"Damn them! Up until now all conflicts had been cutting off their influences and their infiltrations of politics yet now they seem to have gotten desperate to see how we're gaining the upper hand in this 40 year – long conflict!" "Mr. Admin" growled.
"What do we tell the police?" "Mr. Denpa" asked.
"Let us go with my public image as the President of the Life Safe Inc. Ameroupe Home Office… An assassination attempt by a desperate loan shark – backed company which is being cracked down by us… That will be convincing enough. James McEdelson! You won't be able to laugh for long: with the help of our resources we'll locate you!"
"Get ready!" "Mr. Sponsor" icily hissed.
20:29 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Job's done, gimme the agreed 50000 Z…"
"Good. Here you have the check and the passport: you'll need to use this disguise for a while and flee the country: the mannequin will quickly be seen through and the damned cops will can on the Interpol. We don't wanna them around."
"Okay, Danna…"
"… We interrupt this broadcast to bring in urgent news: a car has been reported to explode in Yokohama 3rd District's Takeda Avenue… Initial police and firefighters information reveals that the car was bomb-rigged and that the chauffeur of it, James McEdelson, might be behind the attempted assassination ploy…"
"WHAT! Oi! You! What does this mean? "Attempted"…? The bomb went off but they didn't get blown off? Explain!"
"Damn it!"
"Explain!"
"Che! Well! My clock was faulty, it'd seem! It went off sooner than expected! No big deal, so I'm off!"
"Not so fast, McEdelson! The written agreement says that the 50000Z will be given once their death has been confirmed!"
A man on his 30s having black hair (plus brown irises) and wearing sports clothes was meeting with another man on his 50s who had brown hair and irises plus a beard inside of a room somewhere: a briefcase having several bundles of notes inside had been set opened atop a desk and a nearby radio was relaying the news: the man on his 50s had drawn a Beretta handgun and McEdelson had drawn a scout knife.
"Shaddup! This money is mine!"
"Die!"
"You die!"
They tackled each other and began to fight across the room: the table got hit and it fell into the ground thus tossing the bundles of bank notes across the room: the older man was trying to aim the Beretta but McEdelson had stabbed the side of it with the knife and kept it aiming elsewhere: the man began to shoot at wild and the shots rang out inside of the room while McEdelson removed the knife and lifted it to aim for the older man: he suddenly got shot in the shoulder from a close distance and he growled as he dropped the knife and tried to steal the gun from the older man: they rolled across the ground and began to punch each other until they hit a shelf and the radio fell atop the older man's head knocking him out: McEdelson growled and quickly picked some bundles before running off the room without bothering to pick the handgun: the older man groaned and quickly stood up.
"Damn it, McEdelson! If you think you can ditch Admin 5 of the T Syndicate then you're very mistaken! You won't get far: but I gotta scram before someone calls the police… This is a hotel after all!"
Growling he quickly tossed the bank notes bundles inside of the suitcase and ran out into the corridor while wielding McEdelson's knife: he picked the emergency stairs and ran them down until he reached the rear of the hotel: he quickly snuck out into the street but a figure dropped down from somewhere higher and barred his path with what seemed to be some kind of sword.
"W-who!"
"… Admin 5. You're an imbecile. Doctor T's orders were to kill that man once he came here: and the bait payment was to be 10000Z and not 50000Z… Most of those are prototype fakes taken out of our labs without authorization from Doctor T." A voice intoned while making some eerie "breathing" sounds.
"Y-you're…!"
"Thus your usefulness has expired. I've been sent to cleanse: Satan's waiting for you in Hell!"
"No! Step away! Don't come closer!"
20:48 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Huff, huff… Hiding in this garbage recollection point will do for the time being… If a car comes close by I can always take it and flee before the cops can get a hold of my trail… I should've killed the old man but I was on a rush to get out before the cops came there… Whatever! I have the passport and 10000Z… I change them into coins by using vending machines and they vanish without a trace! I can buy a disguise in the black market too…"
McEdelson was hiding behind some garbage bags and containers and muttering aloud as he looked around.
"Damn it. Luckily I had a sensor telling me when the bomb was gonna go off so I could flee but didn't have time to finish preparing the mannequin on its place… Che."
"Too bad. Those plans won't come to happen."
"Who the hell!"
McEdelson turned around and spotted a figure looming over him plus a blade totally stained in blood: the figure suddenly seized his neck with the left hand and McEdelson began to shoot at him yet the bullets seemed to bounce off something.
"Useless."
"What the hell! Lemme go, you punk!"
"No. I've come to cleanse this mess. The Katana Assassin came… And Satan's expecting you in Hell too!"
"T-t-t-the Katana Assassin! Impossible!"
"Impossible? No. Now get ready… All will be over quickly enough!"
"Damn you!"
McEdelson tossed the gun at enemy and broke free: he pulled something and ended up picking some crimson strands of hair: something suddenly was driven through him and he roared in agony…
21:04 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Doctor T. Master. I'm back."
"Ah. Black Doom… How was it?"
"Refreshing, Master."
"That sounds like you, alright."
"Both are silenced and the cops will deduce they were in a league: I've set some papers on Admin 5 to remove all linking to us… They're going to think he was a subsidiary of that loan shark-backed company in Kentucky so investigations will be led there… Regarding McEdelson they'll believe he was the one who killed Admin 5 given how I gave him my katana. Heh, heh, heh…"
"I know the rest of the plan. A katana case will be left at Admin 5's hotel room and it'll have both of their fingerprints… It'll look like Admin 5 ran away but McEdelson caught up with him thus killing him before he was found by the Katana Assassin and killed too… How dramatic yet how supreme. My Master would've appreciated such a work."
A Net Navi who looked very similar to Zero (but having purple eyes, crimson hair and black armor instead) was kneeling in front of a cylinder having a black armchair set atop it 2 meters from the ground: eight hologram projectors had been set around the edges of the vast metallic room which was barely lit at all thus hiding the scale of it: a figure could be spotted sitting in the chair and sounding amused.
"I guess we'll need to replace Admin 5, then?"
"Correct. The Vice-Admin will step in. What happened to his superior will be enough to terrorize him for life and he'll never think of going outside of written orders… Fear is useful to keep weaklings under control when they realize they have zero chance of fighting back… And his example will be remembered by the other 7… See? This is the art: turning a nuisance into something beneficial at a very little cost!"
"Brilliant, Doctor T."
"Heh! Too bad I couldn't dispose of those three yet such an opportunity won't come to happen ever again. But they must be blaming the obvious guys by now… Heh, heh, heh… The time of the year will also be in our benefit: this winter will extinguish the energy of the foolish plebeians going up and down and they'll be unable to fight back if we strike. However! By strike I don't mean all out war. No! By strike I mean a single blow which can be blamed to some disposable grunts… And their over-confidence and feeling of security will crumble! Thus our propaganda will begin to crawl inside of them and kin-strife will be created! And during that instability then our T Syndicate can extend its reach and come closer to controlling key aspects of this nation…" "Doctor T" exposed while sounding slightly amused.
"I see…! So deep and so well-thought… There's no intelligence surpassing that of yours, Boss!" Black Doom sounded awed.
"I appreciate the compliments. And don't worry… You'll have countless chances to taste the fear and despair plus the blood of those foolish humans… Powerless to halt you!"
"Your will!" He made a reverence.
"Now rest. And train! If you seek to win by strategy and intelligence then no opponent can stand up to you. And soon enough that bothersome red jerk will be reduced to a new gravestone standing in Saiba City's Reverse Internet Graveyard…" "Doctor T" told Black Doom.
"Such is my desire. If you shall excuse me…"
He warped out of the room while "Doctor T" seemed to make a smirk as a holographic screen displaying a city map popped out and one building was signaled with a red circle.
"There… I'll go scouting… And maybe I'll find that man. But I won't act yet: the ONBA supports that man… Yet one day I'll make that man pay for the treason… And you, "V", shall be next! Stick out your neck, my enemy! For this is the start… of a conspiracy. Hah… Heh, heh… Hah, hah, ha~h!"
"Doctor T" laughed aloud in an evil tone of voice…