Black Sheep

"And you would do this for a few hours? All day even?" Elsa asked as she glanced over to Anna.

"Uh-huh. That's what stakeouts are," Anna lowered her rangefinder and glanced over. "I told you. Ninety-nine percent of detective work is just sitting around and waiting for something to happen."

"It's not terribly exciting. How did you pass the time?"

"Sometimes I'd talk to myself, sometimes I'd surf the net, sometimes, if it was really boring, I'd grab some quick shuteye. I never worked with a partner, so I got really good at sitting in one place for a really long time. That one percent of the time when something does happen though, boy, does it get exciting."

Elsa reclined her seat backward and stared up at the ceiling of the car. "It's almost like meditation in a way," she said. "Sitting still. Emptying your mind."

"Huh, maybe you're onto something," Anna muttered as she kicked her feet up on the dash.

"Feet off the dash, you're in my car," Elsa reached over and smacked Anna's legs.

Anna did as she was asked and lowered her feet, smirking.

"Thank you," Elsa leaned back. "Now, remind me again why we're focused on this building in particular?"

"We've been hitting the streets for a while now, staking out Verenkov properties that OLAF identified in that dossier he made. Out of all the ones we scouted so far, this one is the most suspicious."

"Suspicious because there are no guards?"

"Exactly," Anna said. "When you want to hide something, you don't attract attention to it by putting up a bunch of security measures. That just tells everyone there's something valuable or important that needs to be guarded. No, you hide it in plain sight."

They were sitting in Elsa's car, currently parked in a dark alley within the sub-city as they observed a small and unremarkable office building. The exterior was completely boarded up and shuttered closed, as were the other buildings on either side of it. In fact, for as crowded and densely packed as the underground sub-city was, it seemed that the Verenkovs owned an entire block that was used for seemingly no purpose at all.

For the past few weeks, when Elsa wasn't working at the safehouse and when she didn't have to sleep, she would accompany Anna on nightly outings to gain more intel on the operations of the Verenkovs. It was all part of their efforts to learn whatever they could about them, for if their plan was going to work, they would need something to hold against them. The building they were observing was unguarded and sealed tight, with nobody coming in or out in the past several hours.

Anna raised her rangefinder to her eyes and glassed over the entrances, windows, and the buildings on either side once more, looking for any signs of activity. "Anyway, it feels good to put the detective hat back on and do some actual good for once," she coughed a few times and her lungs ached, so she reached for a bottle of cold medicine.

Elsa looked over, brows furrowed in concern. "Anna, are you sure you're okay?" she asked. "That cough hasn't gotten any better. Maybe it's time we paid the doctor a visit."

"Yeah, but it hasn't gotten any worse either," Anna unscrewed the cap and took a swig. "The symptoms have plateaued, which could only mean it can get better from here, right?"

She was lying. If anything, her symptoms were actually getting steadily worse. It first started as an innocent cough, but it became more severe and more painful on her lungs. Speaking of pain, Anna was experiencing dull aches all across her torso which would fade in and out from time to time. They remained persistent enough that they never fully went away.

"Besides," Anna took another swig, then screwed the cap back on and set down the bottle. "I've been through worse. I mean, I've been shot a bunch, I was stabbed, I got burned, my left arm was used as a chew toy by a mutated wolf that one time, and on top of all that, I got a pretty hefty bout of radiation poisoning," she counted off her fingers as she listed her concerning history of ailments. "But I'm still kicking. Don't worry. I'm not worried. This is just a cough. What's a cough?"

She lied again, or rather she didn't think she was lying. Aches and pains were things she was well acquainted with throughout her lifetime. Her cold or whatever it could be was certainly no different. At least she hoped. Still, she didn't want Elsa to worry.

Elsa said nothing and simply continued staring at Anna.

Anna could feel the weight of her gaze, so she made eye contact with her. "And a doctor's visit? You know we don't qualify for universal healthcare," she said. "We aren't Arcadian citizens yet."

"It is unfair that we have to live here for five years before we can apply," Elsa said. "And we've only been here two."

"Right, well considering that Russia and China could have easily wiped America off the face of the Earth during the collapse, I would say the terms they set out in the armistice were pretty generous. I'm surprised they even let folks from the US immigrate to Arcadia at all. Well, not anymore with everything going on now."

"And everyone who isn't an American expatriate only has to live here for three years before they can apply for citizenship. The immigration law is so unfair."

Anna snorted. "Nothing is fair," she said, based on experience. "We paid our way here, set up new identities, new credentials, all that jazz, and it used up that small fortune we had. Stuff like healthcare insurance, that's just even more credits."

"Maybe we should have sprung for it anyway."

"And we've been over this. Those premiums are just a scam, they barely provide any real coverage, and the contracts are just legal ways for the corps to fuck us over. We're better off just hanging on until we can get universal healthcare."

"Hmm," Elsa frowned. "I just don't want you to be sick anymore. It's been tough not cuddling, kissing, or... you know."

"You're telling me," Anna scoffed. "But really, babe, I'll be fine. It's just a little cold. Nobody ever died because of a co- woah, hello," she raised her rangefinder to her eye when she spotted movement down the street.

A red sports car came rumbling to a stop in front of the building. A moment later, a man stepped out wearing a similarly red tracksuit and sunglasses.

"Hey, red is my thing," Anna looked over and started taking pictures through her cybernetic eyes. "Is this our boy?"

Elsa brought up her omni-pad and scrolled through OLAF's dossier. "Not Alexei, that's his son," she swiped up with her fingers and transferred the image to her car's dashboard holo-display. "Alyosha."

Alyosha was a tall man, well-built with a broad chest and wide shoulders. His brown hair was short, styled in a high and tight cut. He looked around cautiously to ensure that he was alone, then he went up to the front door, unlocked it, and went inside. At the same time, his car drove itself down an alley and around the back of the building via the autodrive.

"Sketchy looking guy," Anna said, trying to see inside the building using her rangefinder. "What do we know about him?"

"An up-and-coming politician and a prolific businessman," Elsa replied. "He represents the legitimate front of the Verenkov crime family, with holdings in the real estate market and a few of the big accounting firms."

"Legitimate. Hmph. I'm guessing he's funneling most of their dirty credits through those businesses as a laundering scheme."

"Possibly. All we need is any sort of evidence that could expose him or the other members of his family."

Anna put away her rangefinder. "Whatever he's doing in there, it's definitely hush-hush," she looked at Elsa. "This is the first bite we've had in weeks. I think we need to get a closer look. We aren't getting anything out here."

"I think you're right," Elsa said, opening her door. "Let's go. Quietly."

"I know how to be quiet. You think this is my first stakeout?"

"I was just saying."

Anna rolled her eyes and got out of the car. Afterward, she and Elsa quickly crossed the street, entered a side alley, and ascended to the rooftop. Anna did so by using the grappling hook in her cybernetic arm, while Elsa simply jumped up and climbed. Once on top, they came upon a slightly raised tier of the roof with windows embedded in the sides. There, they could see into the building and they were surprised to find that the interior was abandoned and filled with nothing but old office equipment.

Alyosha was standing in the center by a netrunning station. There were a few boxes and shelves, but aside from that, there wasn't much to be found. Currently, he was just standing still as he scrolled through a datapad.

"What is he doing?" Anna whispered, activating her cybernetic eyes to scan for any useful clues.

Elsa did the same with her own eyes and frowned. "He's in the way and I can't make out what he's looking at," she looked across the rooftop. "And this is the only vantage point."

"Okay," Anna used her rangefinder to zoom in on Alyosha. "So we wait a while. See what else he does."

For the next hour, they remained still and silent as they simply observed what Alyosha was up to, taking a few more pictures as evidence. At one point, he set down the datapad but turned it off, so neither Anna nor Elsa could read what was on it. After that, he sat down at his terminal and began typing away, but again, he was in the way. Finally, he dove into the net, his eyes glowing and seeing nothing as his mind was transported elsewhere. When he was done a few minutes later, he closed down everything and left the building, driving away in his car.

"Whatever he was doing, we know he was alone," Elsa said, scanning the interior. "I'm not seeing any active security systems. No cameras, no laser tripwires, nothing."

Anna opened the window and gestured inside. "Well then, after you, milady."

"You just want me to go first in case there's any trouble."

"What? I do not. I'm just being courteous."

"Relax, I'm just teasing," Elsa laughed and went through the window, dropping down.

Anna rolled her eyes and followed after her.

Now that they were inside, they performed a quick sweep of the interior to verify that they were really alone, then they went over to Alyosha's netrunning station. They looked around, searching through the boxes and crates and finding nothing of use. Next, they turned their attention to the terminal. Anna was just about to reach for it when Elsa stopped her by pushing her hand down.

"Wait," Elsa said, scanning the terminal.

"What is it?" Anna asked, pulling her hand back.

Elsa walked around the terminal, scanning it up and down. "I knew it wouldn't be that easy," she said. "There's an access lock, a layer of ICE, tracking malware, and an alarm system if you try to use it."

"And we can't leave any trace behind. Can you get through it?"

"Can I get through it," Elsa repeated sarcastically. "Of course, just give me a moment."

Anna rolled her eyes for the third time and carefully explored the rest of the office interior for anything useful. In the meantime, Elsa was kneeling by the terminal, hacking into it using her omni-pad. Once she was done, she sat down and booted it up, exploring the files that it contained. Anna returned and stood behind her, also trying to make sense of what she was seeing. The terminal contained terabytes of information, none of which appeared to be useful or relevant at first. However, as they continued to parse through them, realization slowly set in.

"These are government files," Elsa said. "Classified documents, senior-level communications, personnel records. Look at this," she pointed one out. "Warship schematics and detailed maps of naval movements. And this is just the tip of the iceberg."

"Aha, there's our smoking gun," Anna furrowed her brows and read along with Elsa. "There isn't any chance the IFF codes we need are here too, are they?"

"Hmph. Nothing on the Iron Curtain or IFF codes. If they were here, we wouldn't even have to have a meeting with the Verenkovs."

"Crap. Still, what's he doing with all this intel?"

"Hard to say," Elsa's stumbled across a file showing a history of financial transactions. "Look at these. He's been receiving credits from the same account for the past few years."

It didn't take long for them to put two and two together.

"He's selling them," Elsa's eyes widened. "State secrets, sensitive data, military intel. He's been selling them."

"Selling to who? Who's on the other end?"

"I can try and run a trace, but that'll take time and I don't want to risk doing that here. But, if I had to guess, it'd be probably the American government. Who else would want to get their hands on this type of information?"

Anna gasped. "Naughty, naughty. Commies won't like that."

"It's definitely high treason," Elsa said, reaching into her jacket for a blank data shard. "The Russians won't take kindly to someone selling out their info," she inserted the shard into the chip slot behind her right ear and then jacked into the terminal via neural cord. "This is just the kind of leverage we need."

"What are you doing?"

"Copying the data," Elsa said as her cybernetic eyes flashed, indicating that she was copying the contents of the terminal into the data shard she had just inserted into her head. "We got our bargaining chip. Let's just get it and get out."

Outside, the rumbling engine of a sports car could be heard returning, followed by a door shutting.

"Shit, he must be coming back," Anna looked over to the entrance. "Hurry, Elsa!"

The door started to rattle as Alyosha fiddled with the padlock. Within a few more seconds, they would surely be discovered.

"I'm almost done," Elsa said, then she unhooked herself. "Got it! Let's go!" she powered down the terminal and stood up, dashing away with Anna.

Together, they both made for the way they came in, quickly ascending back to the rooftop by each of their preferred methods. It was just in time too, for the doors opened and Alyosha returned, heading straight for his terminal.

"Whew, that was close," Anna whispered as they hid from view, suppressing the urge to cough.

"Wonder why he came back," Elsa said. "I hope he can't tell we were just in there."

Alyosha had apparently forgotten something in the desk as he opened a drawer, retrieved a few items, then quickly made his exit once more. Only when the rumble of his car's engines faded from earshot did Anna and Elsa finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Anna went over to the edge of the rooftop, staring down the street. "You think we should have tailed him?"

"No, we got what we came here for," Elsa came up next to Anna's side and patted her on the shoulder. "Come on. Let's get back to the safehouse and see what else is on this shard."

… … …

After returning to the safehouse, Anna, Elsa, and OLAF set to work on decrypting the rest of the files that they had stolen from Alyosha. As of late, they had been spending much more of their time at the safehouse than their apartment, sleeping over on most nights in the small bedroom that Elsa kept.

"Jeez Louise," Anna said, walking around the hologram that showed the massive extent of the files. "They've been at this for a long time. Some of these go back years and years."

Elsa was picking apart the files by hand, methodically searching through each one. "Or just Alyosha," she suggested. "There's a reason he kept this such a close secret and it seems likely that none of his other family members know about what he's doing."

"And whoever he is dealing with certainly knows how to hide their tracks," OLAF said. "They're using the same strategy as we have been with the Pinocchio algorithm. Bouncing signals off of orbiting satellites and communication buoys to mask the IP address, doing that dozens of times to avoid leaving any type of trail we could follow."

"How far along were you able to get?" Elsa asked.

"I was able to trace the payments that Alyosha received to an offshore account listed under a shell company," OLAF said, pulling up the relevant info. "Darby-Saxon Incorporated."

"Hmm," Anna tapped her chin as she looked at the info. "No assets of any kind, no operations of any kind. It's just a front. Probably used by Alyosha and whoever he's been dealing with. Could be anyone on the other side."

Elsa glanced over. "I think it's a safe bet they're American, whoever they are," she resumed her task and came across a particularly interesting file header. "Hmm, curious. This file is more heavily encrypted than the rest and it's about the STARGAZER program, referring to something called... the confluence."

"STARGAZER?" Anna perked up. "I don't think I've heard of that before."

"It was an American deep space colonization program that was discontinued after the disappearance of the USS Roanoke," OLAF said.

"What are the Russians doing with this intel then?" Elsa asked. "Whatever's in this file, it's old. From as far back as the collapse."

"Perhaps they were trying to learn more about it and start their own similar program," OLAF suggested.

Elsa tapped her chin and scrunched up her face. "Think you can crack the encryption on this, OLAF?"

"Of course," OLAF said. "Although it will take some time."

"Take as much time as you need," Elsa said. "I'm curious to know what intel the Russians could have on this confluence, whatever it is."

"I'm curious too, but let's get back on track," Anna paced for a bit, stopped, and snapped her fingers "OLAF, show me the board."

OLAF brought up a new hologram which was essentially a floating wall of light that held images of the Verenkov crime family. At the top was Alexei and beneath were his underlings, Alysoha and Svetlana, along with notes on each one. Threads of contrasting colored light were running all over the board every which way, connecting their targets to different aspects of their organization.

"So," Anna stood back with her hands on her hips. "We know Alyosha has his paws in some state secrets. Svetlana, we believe is headed to Arcadia with Lizzie, but we haven't been able to confirm that yet. And Alexei, the head honcho, we know is in bed with some of the corps."

Elsa came up next to Anna, crossing her arms. "We need to focus on Alyosha then."

"I agree," Anna nodded. "We've got the leverage on him so we just need to get him to sit down to a meeting with us. We work out some type of deal where he gives up the codes and Lizzie, otherwise, we threaten to leak those files. If his family doesn't eat him alive, then the government will."

"What makes you so sure his family would turn on him?"

"Just a feeling I got. These gangoon types, they're all the same. Doesn't matter that they're blood relatives, if one of them turns black sheep, they get cut out. Especially if it's the pretty poster boy of the family."

"Hmm," Elsa considered that for a few moments. "I still don't like the idea of striking a deal with them, not after they sold out our friends in New York."

"Neither do I," Anna looked at Elsa. "So, what if we just leak these files anyway after we get what we need from them? Eye for an eye and all that."

"They don't know much about us, but they do know enough to be a problem in the future. I think we hand it over to the government discreetly and let them take care of their own leaky plumbing."

"There's always a chance the Verenkovs won't be willing to play ball. These guys have a lot of strings to pull. Things could get violent."

"If it comes to that, we'll do what we have to. I just hope it doesn't come to that. Either way, we're getting those codes and we're getting Lizzie back, no matter what."

They stood next to each other in silence for a few moments. In just a few weeks, Anna and Elsa had gone from leading secret double lives to working together to coordinate an interplanetary network of freedom fighters and tackling the mob. While it was certainly a bizarre chain of events, Anna found that the change was welcome and much needed.

Now that she had something worthwhile to devote her energies to, she no longer sought out cheap thrills by taking on dangerous gigs for Mulan. Even so, in the year that she had been doing that, she had earned a decent reputation for herself as a capable mercenary who got things done. A street cred like that would certainly come in handy when it came time to ask a favor from Mulan.

As for Elsa, while she had been throwing herself into her work as of late, likely as a way to avoid thinking about the lives that had already been lost, she seemed to be more driven and purposeful than ever. More than that, now that she had Anna on her side, she was positively bouncing with renewed energy. For the most part, she had been carrying on her fight alone with only OLAF for company. Now, she had Anna.

The strangeness of their fortunes of late eventually struck Anna, making her snicker quietly to herself.

"What's so funny?" Elsa asked, smiling.

"Nothing, it's just… look at us," Anna gestured between them both. "Who would have thought?"

Elsa chuckled. "Life has been very strange for us," she said. "We are an unusual couple."

"Does that make OLAF our weird AI child?" Anna asked.

OLAF floated around Anna's head. "I'm not weird."

"I never thought of him that way," Elsa said. "OLAF, do you consider us to be your parent figures?"

"I consider you to be my friends," OLAF replied. "Things can get uncomfortable when you introduce that type of dynamic, especially for a being of synthetic origin."

"Fair enough," Anna shrugged. "Anyway, I'd say we're ready to move ahead now. Should I call Mulan, set up the meeting?"

"Do it," Elsa nodded.

With that, Anna brought up her omni-pad and dialed Mulan's contact. After a few seconds, even at this late hour, she picked up the call at the other end. In the meantime, Elsa stood off to the side, listening in but remaining out of sight.

"Rachael, I haven't got any gigs for you right now," Mulan said.

"Not calling about work, M," Anna said. "I need to ask you a favor."

"Oh? I'm listening."

"The Verenkovs, you know 'em?"

"Of course," Mulan scoffed. "Every two-bit thug in this city knows who they are."

"Good," Anna said. "I need you to put me in a room with one of them for a meeting."

Mulan frowned. "Woah, woah, woah, did I hear you right just now?" she asked. "Did you just say you want a sit down with the Verenkovs?"

"You heard right. I got biz I need to take care of and it involves Alyosha."

"Rachael, these are big players. The biggest in Arcadia. Your biz is that important?"

"It is," Anna nodded. "Look, I've built up enough street cred to earn a reputation, haven't I? I've never flaked on your gigs, I always get the job done. I just need a meeting with him, that's all."

Mulan conceded the point as she sighed. "Yeah, fine," she started typing away on something. "But you need to give me something to reel him in. I got some pull, but he'll need to know more. Something to hold his interest."

Anna looked over to Elsa for help. Elsa held up her omni-pad to show that she had typed in a message.

Tell her you know about his business ventures. The stuff he keeps off the family books.

"I've got some info for him," Anna turned back to Mulan. "About his latest enterprise that he keeps off the family books."

Mulan stopped typing and squinted at Anna. "Sounds shady enough. Don't tell me another word," she resumed typing. "Now, just you and Alyosha? Table for two then."

Once again, Anna glanced off to the side. Elsa was showering her a new message.

Caelestis will be there too.

"Not quite," Anna said. "My partner will be joining us."

"Wait, partner?" Mulan stopped what she was doing and stared at Anna. "I might be able to put you in a meeting with him, but a partner? Who's your partner?"

"Caelestis."

"Caelestis?" Mulan's eyes widened with surprise. "I thought they were just a ghost story."

The fact that Mulan – a fixer and one of the most well-connected, well-informed people in Arcadia – didn't believe that Caelestis was real was a credit to how well Elsa had been able to maintain her cover. Still, for the plan to work, they would have to take a few calculated risks which necessitated a certain degree of exposure.

"Whatever, I already regret asking," Mulan started typing away. "I'll set up a meeting and let you know the deets as soon as I get them. And Rachael, one more thing? Do me a favor and don't ask me for any more favors like this."

"Read you loud and clear," Anna said. "Thanks, M. Appreciate it."

"Don't thank me. Out," Mulan ended the call.

"Whew," Anna clapped her hands together and sighed as she looked at Elsa. "M is doing her thing. We just need to wait," she yawned and stretched. "Ooh, I'm pooped. I'm gonna go to bed. Some of us still have day jobs to go to. You coming?" she started walking towards their bedroom, coughing a bit on the way.

"I will, just let me put on hazmat suit first," Elsa said, following after her.

"Ha ha ha," Anna laughed sarcastically. "Very funny. Make fun of the person whose already sick. Aha ha."