An Alternate Story of the Knight Sabers
2034 Year of the Tiger
Neo No Armour Against Fate (Section 2 of 5)
Flash Powder (Part 8 of 11)
by Shawn Hagen(1999;2005)
Based on situations and characters created by Suzuki Toshimichi.
"So, what is it this time?" Sylia asked Fargo. They were in her car, parked in the underground parking lot of Tokyo City Hall.
"I've found two more places where Prometheus Bound is operating out of, that's four so far, with five of your GD-42s accounted for. Still no sign of anything resembling your special package."
"I see. You did not call me out to tell me that."
"No. Giovanni had a visitor."
"Really?"
"Woman, picked up the computer."
"Where did she go?"
"Followed her to Shinjuku. She went into the closed off areas, couldn't follow her any longer."
"Did she leave the area?"
"Doubt it."
"Is there something special about Shinjuku?" Sylia asked softly.
"What?"
"Nothing. Just history. How can we find them?"
"You'll like this."
"What?"
"Giovanni-san, like I said, not very paranoid."
"The point?"
"He went out for ramen, I sent one of my people in. She's not in this Giovanni's league, but she's good enough. She planted a tracer in it."
"Will it be found?"
"If they take it apart and break certain components open."
"Will it effect the performance?"
"No."
"Is it emitting a signal?"
"Not yet."
"Explain."
"This," he held up a NAVI, "will send out a signal, which will reach anywhere a NAVI, or cel phone would. When the tracer picks that up it sends out a signal to this NAVI here. The inertial locator we planted in the computer should tell you exactly where it is at that time, as well as a trace of everywhere it has been, and a time stamp. The signal pulse will be about one second. That should make it hard to pick up."
"Good." Sylia reached out and took the NAVI. Fargo let his fingers brush Sylia's fingers. Sylia frowned slightly at that. "How many of these are there?" She waved the NAVI.
"That's the only one. It's a thirty-digit code, already entered. The tracer should not be accidentally set off."
"Satisfactory."
"Glad you appreciate it." He opened the car door. "I'll keep on this."
Sylia nodded. "There will be a bonus for this," she told him.
"Yeah," Fargo said, smiling. Sylia always reminded him that they had a business relationship and little more. "Take care." He closed the door.
The car started up and pulled out of the parking space, leaving Fargo behind.
Fargo pulled his coat about him and walked off in the opposite direction.
Domino and Katherine stood in front of Quincy's desk, waiting.
"We have received a message recently. It hints that unless we turn the OMS over, they will use the AF-5," he said, in a disinterested tone, almost as if he was speaking about the weather outside.
"Did they send a sample of the blood agent?" Domino asked.
"No."
"Then they probably have not cracked the codes yet. Still, it is interesting."
"Yes." Katherine nodded. "The boomer technology is one thing, the OMS is quite another."
"That is why I am letting you know about this," Quincy said, turning in his chair to look out the windows. "Keep this in mind. There is more to this than we know."
Both women recognised a dismissal when they heard it. They bowed, almost in unison, then turned and walked from the office. Without saying anything they went to Domino's office suite, passing through the empty outer office and into Domino's office.
"What do you think?" Katherine asked.
"I think our opponent has just tipped their hand."
"What do you know about the Largo affair?" Katherine asked.
"Only what is in the official reports," Domino lied. "He did want the OMS."
"Yes, he did," Katherine said, something cool in her voice.
"But he is dead."
"What does that mean for a boomer?"
"Perhaps this is just a smoke screen, flash powder to make us look one way while a magician does something over there. By asking for the OMS, they make us waste time chasing shadows."
Katherine nodded. "Perhaps. We can't afford to ignore it though."
Domino nodded.
"How is Chang-san holding up?"
"Well, for now. She has given us two locations of the terrorists and the weapons. One we already knew about."
"How many locations do we know of now?"
"Six, accounting for eight of GD-42s. We're watching them."
"Are you still willing to let the ADP handle most of this? It will give them credibility if they succeed."
"I have no problem with that. It will make it easier to introduce more boomers to the city if people think the ADP can handle them."
"Yes. I suppose that is true. And it might be of more use if people see the ADP as an anti-terrorist group instead of an anti-Genom group. And if the ADP is not up to it, we might make a suggestion for a new force to deal with these threats," Katherine said.
Domino nodded.
"I think that takes care of business for now. I'm sure that we will speak soon."
Domino showed Katherine out of her office suite, then returned to her office. She turned the lights down and then searched out the room remote. Mozart started coming softly through the speakers hidden about the room. The blinds over the windows pulled back, letting her see out over the city, not that there was much to see. The Tower was cloaked in clouds. It looked cold though, cold and wet and uncomfortable.
Domino suddenly realised something. She was lonely.
She did not want to be alone.
She had little choice though.
D was out there, searching for leads that she herself had given her. No chance for her to talk to her first friend. Plus she was feeling the need for something more than a talk with a friend.
Haruko.
How she wished she had not promoted the young woman, if only for that night. Domino wondered what it was about the cold rain that was affecting her so?
There were a number of other men and women Domino could think of but she had to reject them for a number of reasons. A sign of weakness, a connection she was not willing to deal with, having to give something of herself to one she wanted to give nothing. For a moment she considered Taeko, if only because it would be the perfect opportunity to kill him.
Unfortunately she knew that she would never get away with it. It would take at least a month to arrange things so that she might be able to kill a member of the Genom Executive Board and not have the Chairman find out.
She had not had a chance to explore her own sexuality, too busy, too scared at times. She knew she could walk into any bar, any restaurant, any hotel, or any house, in the city and entice anyone she chose into her bed. She was a 33-S and it was what they did. That was not the problem.
Her problem was a nagging sense that she should make the first time as special as possible.
It was ridiculous.
Mason had considered sex nothing more than a tool when he could use it as such, and as a release. She knew that more from his diaries than his memories which were without emotional content to her.
Largo had not even considered it from what Domino could tell by the sketchy diary he left behind.
Unfortunately in that respect she was neither of them. She wanted to blame it on the 33-S body she used, but she was not really sure of that. Maybe it was because thought she was in love. Or was she in love with the concept of being in love? Shades of 'The Twelfth Night', she thought.
The analytical part of her mind, the part she had started calling her silicon soul, was telling her that she was being foolish. If she had an urge, she should just find a way to satisfy it. To give a simple urge such emotional weight was a weakness she could not afford. Or simply close off that urge with the housekeeping computer. It was all so easy.
Domino was not so sure.
Everyone had a weakness of some sort as far as she could tell. Hers was fairly minor after all, easily dealt with for the most part, and it did not interfere with her work. If all she had to deal with was the occasional bout of melancholia on rainy nights, she would persevere.
Still, Domino thought, as she began to unbutton her blouse, there were other options open to her. Perhaps not as emotionally fulfilling but they would help her pass some time. She slid her fingers under her open blouse and ran her fingertips up her stomach and then cupped her brassier covered breasts in her hands.
"Where's the money man gone to?" Yoshito asked Laura.
"Another of his little walkabouts," Laura told him as she entered a few commands into the computer then turned around to face her boss. She sat near the forward end of the storage cylinder, her new computer hooked into the cylinder's system. "I don't particularly like it."
"He's the man with the plan, the honey with the money."
"Do you ever listen to yourself?"
"Why? No one else ever does."
"I'm serious Yoshito. This guy worries me a bit. Good at his job and everything, but he gets twitchy as time goes by, like he's suffering from withdrawal or something. Then he heads out and comes back several hours later looking more relaxed. There is something wrong with him."
"That may be true, but he's the one paying us, and so far I have seen nothing to make me think he is going to be a problem. How's your work going?"
"Well enough. We've got enough codes to keep this thing purring along for a week or so, which is good. Right now I'm trying to get this thing to open up for me," she told him.
"How is that going?"
"Slow. There is a clever little set up here. If this thing ever realises that I'm trying to crack it, it will spoilsport on us and we've got nothing but a bunch of useless gasses. I have to constantly tell the computer in this thing that I am not doing what I am doing. Makes for slow going. Furthermore I can never just sit back and let the computer run codes."
"Think you'll get it cracked in time?" he asked.
"Who knows. We really going to use this?"
"That's up to the money man."
"I don't like it. Chemical weapons, biological, nuclear, they are a bit too indiscriminate for me."
"And dumping viruses into computers and watching what happens is not?"
"Cute."
"We do our jobs. We get paid well for it. That's all there is to it," Yoshito stated.
"And we don't have any lines we won't cross?"
"Trust me Laura my dear, morals will screw you right around in this business, but don't worry. If the blood agent was so important to the money man, do you think he would just be leaving it like this?"
"So, because he acts irrational, letting him control a chemical weapon that could kill hundreds of thousands is okay?"
"Exactly."
"You're an idiot," she said.
"I've been called worse. Just sit tight, crack the code so the money man can send a sample to Genom, if he so chooses, and relax. That and get ready to run like hell."
"Relax, right."
"Take care. I'll try to drop by again before everything happens, but no promises." Yoshito walked towards the exit.
Laura watched him go, then turned back to her computer. "Okay, let's try this again shall we."
Sylia sat on the couch in the living room. She folded her NAVI shut and placed it on the table. Another report from Fargo. Everything was still quiet, but certain activity suggested something might be underway. What ever was going to happen, would probably happen within the next few days.
Reaching forward, Sylia picked up a magazine from others that lay on the tabletop. It was 'The International Scientific Journal', one of the many journals she subscribed to. The one she was holding was a preview copy.
On the front cover was a picture of her father, seated beside the first boomer. The magazine contained a number of articles about boomers, from construction, to AI functions to papers on the sociology of the boomer. It also included her paper. Richard Mastason had pulled some strings to get in included.
She flipped through pages, noting what the various writers had to say. Some of them got it right, some did not. Her own research into the field was a few steps ahead of most everyone else, if the articles she was reading were to be taken as an indication.
She wondered if the paper would cause problems in the future. Not long ago Sylia Stingray was the daughter of Katsuhito Stingray. She had been, as far as the world was concerned, a no one. Well, not quite true, but her fame came through her relation to her father.
Now there was a chance she would become, quite likely, a shining star in the boomer community. That would mean attention. It would mean attention from Genom. That was the last thing she needed.
She was also not sure about any of her research. Was it her work, her brilliance, or something forced on her by her father? Could she ever really be sure? Thank you very much Otousan, she thought not without a touch of bitterness.
She dropped the magazine back to the table and leaned back in the couch. She thought again about Bestar-san's proposal. Perhaps it was something she should seriously consider?
Sylia shook her head as she got to her feet. She had work to do.
A few minutes later she was reviewing the information that Nene had dug up and making notes. She turned her chair slightly looking at a display, a schematic, of a motoroid. She tapped a few keys on the arms of her chair then switched her attention to a schematic of the Sky Carrier. Mackie would have the new ECM package installed soon, she thought. Hopefully it would be as good as the specs claimed.
Sylia looked over a few more things, then began to shut her system down, putting it into sleep mode. She ran a security check, one last thing, and noted that Mackie and Nene were still down in the basement storage and workshop area.
Strange, she thought, looking at the time. Mackie should have long since finished his work, as should have Nene. She wondered if perhaps there was something wrong with some piece of equipment. She finished shutting the computer down and got to her feet. Best to check things out.
As she walked towards the elevator she realised that there might be another reason that Nene and Mackie were still down there. She put that thought out of her mind, deciding that it was not very likely.
She found them both in her lab, their backs to her, obviously working on something. As soon as she entered the room both Nene and Mackie turned to look at her.
"Is something wrong with any of the equipment?" Sylia asked them.
"No," Mackie told her. "We got everything checked, it's all ready to go."
"We're just working on something," Nene explained. "I asked for Mackie-san's help. I hope you don't mind."
"What is it that is keeping you late," Sylia walked across the lab and looked down at the table where they had been working. Lying there was a cat, the fur and artificial muscles peeled back, showing the cybernetic organs and systems underneath. "Genom boomer pet," she said.
"I found it today," Nene told her.
"And you want to get it running," Sylia said, picking up the scans next to it. "It's in surprisingly good condition."
"We've already made the basic repairs," Mackie said.
"And I can get the necessary programs. We have a slight problem though."
"What?" Sylia turned to look at Nene.
"Well, this is what I was planning," Nene grabbed several pages and handed them to Sylia.
Sylia took them, then began to flip through the pages, looking at the diagrams, and reading the specs. "You basically want to make this into a four legged hacking computer," she said, looking at Nene.
Nene nodded. "More than that though. It will also function as a observation platform, with surveillance and ECM/ECCM capabilities."
"Do you plan to bring it on missions with us?" Sylia asked, taking a closer look at the diagrams.
"I kind of thought about it, but decided that I probably had watched too many shoujo anime. It is a helper for when I have to be out of my suit."
Sylia wanted to sigh. Sometimes she felt less like the leader of a mercenary company and more like a den mother, or an older sister. It was a rather interesting concept though. It would present something of a challenge. While the initial designs were good, neither Nene nor Mackie would get it to work. "I'll see what I can do," Sylia said, putting the pages down and turning back towards the cat.
"Really?" Nene asked.
Sylia nodded as she gently prodded the cat. "It's an interesting project, and the boomer pets have always interested me. I expect that Genom will revive the project in a few years."
"Why did they cancel it?" Nene asked.
"Officially, they were worried about malfunctions occurring. Unofficially they needed a loss for tax reasons and it was a project they could cancel. I also suspect they were worried about what you are planning. These things would make an excellent spy platform. That's for later though," Sylia turned to face Nene and Mackie. "You aren't of any use to me if you exhaust yourself," Sylia told them, ushering them out of the lab.
She shut off the power and locked the door before leaving. She'd get to work on the cat after the current crisis had passed.
Leon was wired on caffeine, sugar and what the less charitable might call amphetamines. A desire to start laughing kept washing over him every few minutes. Since nothing was particularly funny he was more than a little worried about it. He had been up most of the night before, not that he regretted that, and he had not managed to get any rest for the entire day.
He had been kept busy with a number of thing, most of all getting the GD-42s into the ADP. Twelve of the weapons systems, with tech crews and pilots had just become part of the ADP. It had been the best way Leon thought of to protect them from possible prosecution, if things went bad. The 42s would attract the most attention in any action that the HouBang forces might be involved in.
Officially the AD Police was considering purchasing the GD-42s and Kyuusei Industries was kindly providing them with some test units, on paper. The incredible coincidence that such a thing coincided with the action that might be coming could be passed off as just that, a coincidence.
It was all above board, assuming no one dug too deep. With a few days time they could bury everything deep enough that even digging would not reveal anything. The personnel were even being paid by the AD Police, though their daily wages were such that the change in Leon's pocket would cover a week's pay for all of them.
On the sides of the mechs the AD Police symbol was being painted, which also took care of the problem of the possibility of them coming under friendly fire.
"McNichol!" The familiar bellow rung out across the motor pool. The ADP crew winced at that voice. The Kyuusei people were not familiar with the voice, but they recognised the look on the faces of the people they were working with. Obviously the boss had come.
Leon took a deep breath and then turned to face Chief Todo. "Oi, good evening Chief," Leon said, a big smile on his face.
Todo stalked up to Leon, moving close, forcing Leon to take a step back. "Care to explain what is happening here?" His voice was deceptively soft.
"Well," Leon looked around, "the GD-42s are being prepped, and the ADP symbol is being painted on them."
"Don't jerk me around McNichol! Explain to me why you have military vehicles down here."
"They go nice with the K-12s?"
"Answer me or I'll have you up on disciplinary charges!"
"They are part of the ADP's motor pool. We are testing them for possible inclusion in the ADP table of equipment."
"And what gives you the right to do that!"
"It's in our charter. You, and senior officers, are allowed to obtain equipment for testing, as long as it only comes out of our budget surplus."
"We don't have a budget surplus!"
"It is being paid for out of my discretionary fund."
"Your discretionary fund is hardly enough to get your men drunk once a month. You expect me to believe that you paid for all this," he waved his hand about, indicating the GD-42s, "with that money?"
"I got a good deal. I also talked to Yamanaka-san. It's all irregular, but it is legal."
Todo said nothing for a time. "I'm taking this up to the head of police services. If these things are still around when the investigation is launched, you can say good bye to your career." With that Todo turned and walked away.
"Bye, bye," Leon said, watching him storm off.
"Is this bad?" one of the Kyuusei techs asked.
"What?" Leon looked over at the woman. "No, not a problem at all. It will take at least a month for all the paperwork to go through and the investigation to start. You won't be here. Also, Todo-san will word everything so that the minute you leave everything will fall through."
"You mean he is supporting you in this?"
"Keep that quiet will you?" Leon said to the woman. "And relax."
"Well," she did not look fully convinced, "we've got everything taken care of, we're ready to go."
Leon nodded. "Okay," he called out. "Go and get some rest. Something could happen any time now. I want everyone ready when it does."
Everyone was more than happy to follow his orders. Lights started going out in the large garage as people began to pack up. Leon took a look around, then turned and walked towards the elevators. He would head up to the senior staff lounge and pass out on one of the couches.
Yoshito walked past the two members of Prometheus Bound, pilots for the single A3 stored in the house's garage. He ignored them and walked over to Robert.
"How are things going?" Robert asked him.
"Same old same old." He moved closer to Robert. "I think some of our locations have been compromised."
"Wonderful. How do you want to deal with it?"
"As long as we get out, I don't really care what happens to Prometheus Bound."
"Cold."
"That's my job," Yoshito told him.
Robert looked at the two men who were on the other side of the room. One was wearing a suit, though his jacket was draped across a chair, and his tie was loose around his neck. He was reading through one of the manuals for the A3. The other one, a big, beefy man was pacing back and forth, occasionally stopping to throw punches at shadows.
"Junpei deserves better."
"Who is he?"
"The shorter one, the one who is not an idiot. Just a banker who was a Neo-Ludite before some Prometheus Bound member convinced him to join up," Robert said.
"What's the big guy's story?"
"Suguru. I checked him out, Junpei too, out of curiosity. Suguru has a criminal record, bounced around from job to job, usually fired due to either gross stupidity or just laziness. He thinks that boomers are taking jobs from him."
Yoshito laughed. Suguru turned to look at him and Robert. He scowled and went back to his angry pacing.
"Ask him if he is willing to do the jobs boomers do?" Yoshito asked.
"I don't have to. It would just make him angrier. Out of all the people they gave me, he actually makes a half decent pilot."
"He's the pilot?"
"I was not about to put him in charge of the weapon systems. Junpei will do just fine."
"So Suguru is an idiot who is looking for someone or something to blame his problems on. Just like all racists."
"Is hating boomers racism?" Robert asked.
"Depends on who you talk to, I guess. So, you ready to go?"
"I guess. Do we have a go time yet?"
"Tomorrow, about an hour after it gets dark," Yoshito said.
"That's pretty vague."
"Do you think you could get these people to meet an exact timing?"
"There is that."
"Listen, once you unlock the door to the armoury and that A3 is ready to go, get out of here. Don't look back. And be careful."
"Right. How many people do we still have in the city?"
"Ten."
"Not many."
"That's just the way I like it." Yoshito smiled.
"So, what do we do after this?"
"There's a warlord in Laos who wants a team to train his soldiers and provide security until his people are up to speed. Dog and pony show sort of stuff really. Pays well."
"Sounds interesting. A nice break."
"I hope so. Why don't you get a few hours of sleep? I'll keep an eye on things down here."
"Thanks." Robert got to his feet. "Keep an eye on Suguru, he's prone to do something stupid."
"I know the type."
Robert nodded and headed towards the bedroom in the back of the house.
Reika stood on the roof of the Kyuusei Building, a number of her security personnel behind her. There was some muttering about snipers and the like, but Reika was not really listening.
She looked out over the cityscape and up at the sky. The clouds were dispersing, thinning, blown across the sky. A crescent moon was like, Reika thought for a moment, trying to remember the line, a ghostly galleon, tossed upon a stormy sea. A few stars were still visible, but they were beginning to fade in the faint light of the coming dawn.
Leaning upon the raised lip of the roof, she looked over the city again. Suddenly the buildings were tombstones, thrust up from the ground, marking the resting-places of dreams that had died. The Tower was a mausoleum, where the undead of the city resided. For a moment she could clearly picture Domino Odotte as a vampire.
Just as suddenly as the strange vision had come to her it was gone. The city was just a city once more.
She pulled her coat tighter about her as the wind picked up, the damp air cutting through her clothing.
Not for the first time she wondered just what had drawn Irene to the city she had died in, what had she been searching for when she had left home? Had she ever found it?
Reika sighed, placing her chin on her folded hands.
"Here." Kou placed a mug beside her elbow. Steam rose invitingly from it.
"Thanks." Reika picked up the mug and brought it to her lips. A puzzled look crossed her face for a moment. "This isn't coffee."
"Hot milk, a bit of cocoa, and a splash of Kahlua. You don't need all the caffeine."
"Trying to get me drunk?" She took a sip.
"No, just trying to put you to sleep."
"Can I afford to sleep?"
"You push yourself much too hard. It's not a good idea."
"But can I afford not to do so?"
"No, not really. Welcome to the hardships of command," Kou told her.
"Is this what grandfather has to deal with?"
"Probably."
"I wish I had known." Reika took another drink from her mug.
"He hides it well."
"Do I?"
"Better than some."
"I should get some sleep." She finished the mug off.
"If anything happens I'll wake you."
"Shouldn't you get some sleep as well?"
"I will. Don't worry about me."
"You are my second in command." Reika straightened. "I count on you, I have to worry about you," she said sternly. "I also care about you as much as you care about me." She went up on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Take your own advice."
Reika turned and walked towards the elevators.
Kou watched her go then turned and walked over to the building's chief of security.
"How are we doing, Mr. Donaldson?"
"Everything is quiet sir, nothing odd. There was a bit of activity around the Tower an hour ago, helicopters coming and going, but that happens sometimes."
"We have some information that suggests whatever is going to happen will happen soon."
"We're ready."
"Good. Make sure we don't let Miss Chang down."
"We won't. Sir, Miss Chang," He was hesitant, as if looking for the right words. "she's good, if a bit rough, and she cares, perhaps too much."
"I know," Kou told him.
"I've seen that type before. It's dangerous."
"I know that as well."
"Take care of her," he finally said, sounding uncomfortable, as if he had just stepped over a line he should not have.
"Don't worry about it." He reached over and squeezed the man's shoulder. "Miss Chang will be safe. Just make sure that her people are as well."
"Yes sir," Donaldson told him.
Kou nodded then turned and walked towards the elevators.
February 15th, Wednesday
For most of the city, the day started as it always did. For some, getting started was a little more difficult than usual.
Priss woke up in a capsule hotel, having spent the night there after saying goodnight to Miako. She took a cab to Raven's place, got her bike, and rode back to her trailer. She spent the rest of the morning sitting outside her trailer, enjoying the fine weather while it lasted.
She had little to do but wait for Sylia to call her, and to work on song lyrics.
Nene showed up late at work, and was grabbed by Leon before she even had a change to change into her uniform. He sent her to the Kyuusei building to work on linking up the communications systems of the ADP and Kyuusei.
Linna was up early, as always, and headed to rehearsal. She was feeling the effects of the late night, and sleep had not come easily to her. She knew that Kikuchi-san was going to be finding fault with her that day.
Sylia opened the Silky Doll, deciding to take a small break from everything else. One of the benefits of the shop was that it allowed her to keep herself occupied with something a lot less demanding than running a hidden economic empire, and a mercenary group.
It was nice to take a break, but she knew that it would only be for a short time.
It was in the afternoon, after Sylia had closed the shop early, when she received a call from Fargo. There was an increase in action around the places where they knew Prometheus Bound had set up. It appeared as if something would be happening soon.
Sylia thanked him, then sent the information onto Reika Chang.
That done, Sylia began calling up the rest of the Knight Sabers.
Priss stared out the window at the street, the people and cars passing by her. The day had grown cold, but Priss' table was in a pool of sunlight and she was quite warm. She took a drink of her coffee, then turned back to several sheets of paper lying near the coffee cup. Picking up her pen, Priss pulled one of the sheets towards her.
She tapped the pen on the upper corner of the page, leaving a number of small dots. Then she moved the pen to the paper and began writing lyrics. After she had the words down she grabbed another sheet and wrote the notes out. She looked down at what she had written and began to hum it.
Not bad, she thought. She'd play it out on her guitar or a keyboard and just make sure it worked. She had roughed out work for three new songs. Not bad for a day's work. Of course she still had to translate them. That was going to take a bit of work.
Her cel phone rang. Priss reached over to her jacket and removed the phone. It was not actually a call, but a page. She watched as the information scrolled across the screen. A video store wanted her to return a late movie.
Priss closed the phone up and got to her feet. She had never rented the movie in question, it was just another code. Sylia never used the same signal twice, just in case. Priss thought it would be easier if she just called every one up like a normal person would. After putting on her jacket she slid the phone back into the pocket, then gathered up her pages.
She looked them over once more, then folded them up and slid them into her jacket's inside pocket. She stopped on her way out to pay for her coffees, then left the store, walking towards where her bike was parked.
Nene was up on the roof of the Kyuusei building, working with one of the Kyuusei com techs, making sure that the systems was ready to go.
Nene picked up the small handset and turned it on. "Naoko-san, can you hear me?"
"Yes," Naoko's voice came thought the ear piece. "There is some distortion though."
"Hold on." Nene put her hand over the microphone. "They've got some distortion."
"How are they coming through?"
"Fine."
"It might be something wrong at your end."
Nene shook her head. "I don't think so. Reload the encryption protocols."
The tech sighed, then did as Nene asked. After about thirty seconds he looked up at Nene. "Okay."
"What's it like now Naoko-san?"
"Much better."
"Good. I think the communications are set."
"Sounds like it. I'll talk to you later."
"Right. Bye Naoko-san," Nene said as she shut off the handset. "Thank you," she said to the man who had been working with her.
"No problem. Are you leaving now?"
"I guess," Nene said, gathering up her things.
He nodded, then escorted her to the elevator.
The doors had closed and Nene was just reaching out for the lobby button when her NAVI chimed for attention. She pressed the button and took the NAVI from her pocket. No call, but a message asking her to bring some milk home. Innocent enough, which is why Sylia had chosen it.
Nene tapped in Naoko's number.
"Nene-san, what is it?" Naoko asked, her face appearing in Nene's NAVI's screen.
"I'm going to stay here, just in case something comes up," Nene lied. She felt bad for it.
"Okay, I'll talk to you later then. Bye." And Naoko cut the connection, obviously busy.
The elevator doors opened on the lobby and Nene stepped out, putting the NAVI into her jacket pocket. She hoped no one needed her, or that nothing went wrong with the communications. She would certainly be in trouble if that happened.
She walked from the lobby, dropping her visitor's badge off at the information desk before leaving the building.
Linna walked out of the steam filled shower room, shifting her shoulders to work a kink out of them. She had a towel wrapped around her hair, and another wrapped around her. She was one of the last one out of the showers, so the locker room was very crowded. She pushed politely through the group, then sat down on the bench in front of her locker.
"She's certainly pushing very hard today," Mako Namura said from her seat beside Linna.
"I was sure that she would be directing most of that anger at me," Linna said, pleasantly surprised at how well she had done that day.
"You're getting into your part. You don't have to think about it."
"I suppose."
"Want to go out for some drinks with the gang."
"That sounds like fun," Linna said as she opened her locker. "Just got to check my messages," she said, reaching in for her NAVI. Opening it up Linna found she had a message reminding her to pay her water bill. "Something just came up," Linna said, closing the NAVI up.
"Too bad," Mako said. "Well, there is always tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after," she said, smiling.
"Hopefully tomorrow."
Mako nodded as she pulled her bra from her gym bag and began putting it on.
Linna dressed quickly, said her goodbyes, than ran from the locker room, out of the theatre, and to her car. She hoped she was not too late.
Leon read through the information that Reika Chang had sent to him. As he had suspected, she had known more than she had said, but in a way he was used to that. Now he knew where several of the GD-42s were, places where the terrorists were gathering. It was, of course, very useful to know.
He wanted to send teams out there right away, but he had to admit that Reika was right about waiting. The longer they waited, the more they could catch. Of course the longer they waited, the more individuals were getting their hands on weapons.
"Daily," he called out.
"What is it?"
"We need to plan some things." Leon pulled out a map board. "I know where some of our targets are."
"Do we scramble the teams?"
"Not yet. It is probable that all the groups will begin their attacks at the same time. When they are coming out, all bunched together, we should be able to get them all at once. There won't be time for any warnings to go out."
"They won't be contained. Hit them all while they are in their buildings, we can hold them."
"And it will probably lead to a massacre, it always happens like that. They come out, we get them then."
"Your call."
Leon nodded. It was his call as much as he wished otherwise. "We'll get our pilots into the air, and move our people out, small groups. We'll set up in cover around all the target points. We'll put our GD-42s into trailers and move them close. We'll move our people in on foot, as close as we can get them."
"Tear gas launchers, taser nets, and gel bullets to begin with?"
"That's what I was thinking. We begin with non-lethal force, then let them escalate to lethal force."
"I'll get my people ready to go, then come back here to work it all out."
"Good, I'll do the same."
"Back soon," Daily said, turning and walking off towards his team.
Domino stood by her window, looking out over the city. From so high up it was not as if she could actually see anything on the streets, but she knew things were happening down there. All the groups were moving into their end game positions. Soon it would be finished. And then a new game would begin. It always did.
"You wanted to see me?" D said, coming into the room.
Domino turned to face her and indicated for D to take a seat. Once D was seated Domino sat as well. "Prometheus Bound has become an annoyance."
D nodded.
"This disk has the names of a number of members of the group that I want the police to deal with." She put the MMSD on the desk top. "This one," she held up another, "has the names of those that the police won't be able to touch, or who know embarrassing facts. I want them all dead before morning."
"I'll make sure of it."
Domino placed the second SD on the desk beside the first. "Good."
D reached out and took both of the disks then put them into her jacket pocket. "Is there anything else?"
"Not that we need to be concerned with."
D got to her feet, stepped back from the desk, then bowed to Domino. She turned, and left the office.
Domino stood and turned her attention back the window and the city outside. Tonight's events were going to be very interesting. Genom was testing a new paramedic boomer class, recently sent out to all the hospitals and ambulance depots for testing. Everything had a positive aspect, if one knew where to look.
Reika pulled on her body suit, making sure the padding was set properly. She had been tossed up against the console of her GD-42 more than once and knew that having the suit on right made all the difference. Satisfied with the suit, she put her shoulder holster on.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Kou asked. He was wearing a piloting suit as well.
"Can you honestly say I'll be able to run things better from the building?" Reika pulled out her revolver, checked it over, and then put it back in the holster.
"No, but it would not be as stressful as being out on the front lines."
"We are one of the more experienced teams in the city. We would be of the greatest use in the cockpit of 'Buddy'."
"And in the greatest danger. By the way, why Buddy?"
"Buddy Holly."
"I see. Why not Elvis?"
"Bad karma," Reika told him.
"Have you given much thought to how you want to spin this?"
"Our property was stolen, we informed the local authorities of the problem once we were aware of it, then we let them handle it."
"And coincidentally the local authorities had access to some of our weapon systems?"
"That is what we will say. Everyone will believe that we were cleaning up after our own mess. That's useful."
Kou nodded. "And if anyone finds out about the blood agent?"
"We deny all knowledge," Reika said, sounding less than happy about it.
"Are you going to share the location, if you discover it, with Genom?"
Reika signed. "I'd rather not, but I will. It was what we agreed to."
"You're hopping that the Knight Sabers will get it first though."
"That was why I hired them."
Laura was whistling softly as she worked at breaking the code. She was sure she was getting close to it. She was also getting tired. A little rest would be of use. She put the computer into rest mode, holding everything she had done, her foot in the door as it were. Nothing was happening, but at least she was not sliding back.
"Hey," she looked over her shoulder. "Want to take a try at this?"
The man she addressed, the money man, as Yoshito called him, looked up from where he sat on the floor. He was middle aged, thinning blonde hair, brown eyes, average appearance, though he had the look of someone who had just recovered from debilitating illness. "What?"
"Want to take over? I need a break."
He blinked, a surprised look crossing his face. He raised his hand and looked at the watch he wore. "I have to go," he said without preamble.
"What? Now?"
"I need to take care of some things. Keep working."
Laura shook her head. "Great."
He did not seem to notice that she was upset. Or he did not care. He got to his feet, brushed off his clothes, then walked away.
Laura watched him go, then got to her feet and walked over to the mattress lying on the floor. If he did not want to help, she was not going to kill herself getting those codes. It was not as if she really wanted to succeed.
"It is not necessary," Sylia told Mackie as they looked over the suits, one last time.
"I think it is," he told her. "You'll need all the help you can get. Weren't you hired to keep damage down to a minimum? The more resources..."
"Don't tell me how to do my job Mackie-kun," she said, putting a slight edge into her tone.
Mackie looked as if he was planning to argue more, but decided not to, for now.
Sylia went back to checking Linna's suit, but she was thinking about Mackie. She had known that he would want to get involved in their jobs beyond fire and technical support. Raven-hakase had reminded her of it some time ago. He was her younger brother, and she wanted to protect him. It was her responsibility as his older sister.
There was only so much she could do though, and a time came when protecting became smothering.
"What is it you want to do?" Sylia asked, not looking up from her work.
"I thought I could help support Linna-san," he told her.
Sylia smiled. "Good choice."
"I know you'd want someone who could be counted on to keep me safe, and Priss-san would not want me around."
"I suppose that Linna-san could use the heavy weapon support."
"I don't want to use the heavy hardsuit," Mackie told her.
"Pardon?"
"It won't be effective. A long range weapon is not what we need here."
"You want to take number 5?" Sylia said, managing to keep from sighing.
"That way I can take the Heavy Motoslave."
"Which you've wanted to test out."
"It has already been tested. Maybe not in combat, but it's all based on the previous designs, and we know they are effective in combat."
"You're asking me to send two, untested units out."
"Linna-san will be using the Tornado, the heavy hardsuit could not keep up with her."
Sylia got to her feet and left the suit room. Mackie remained where he was for a moment, then jumped to his feet and went after her.
She led him into the main garage where the Typhoon II, the Tempest, the Tornado, and Sylia's old Hurricane motoslave were all parked and ready to go. She walked past them to the vault door. Mackie watched as she entered the codes, still not sure what she was going to do.
The locking bolts slid back and the door opened. The interior of the vault was nearly empty, usually it held the motoslaves and weapons. At one point it had also held the other Hurricane models, as well as the earlier versions of the hardsuits. Sylia had moved all of it into Raven's garage, locked away in the vaults there.
She walked directly towards the hardsuit lockers, all of them empty since she had moved things to Raven's, all but one.
Sylia tapped in the entry code and the locker opened with a slight hiss as the pressure inside equalised with that outside. Inside was a hardsuit, mostly dark blue, with dark red highlights. At first glance it looked much like all the other hardsuits, but on closer inspection there were fewer curves, the feminine appearance of the other suits was lacking.
She had first built the heavy hardsuit when it became apparent that Mackie would want to take a more active role in the Knight Sabers' activities. A suit with heavier armour, a larger weapon system, perfect for long range support. Perfect to keep Mackie out of the thick of a fight.
A good design, but Mackie had not been willing to sit back in the support role. He had convinced Raven-Hakase to help him with a design he preferred. When Sylia had found out her first reaction had been to just stop it. She had reconsidered and taken the project over. If Mackie was going to have a hardsuit, she was going to be certain it was well built.
It was similar in overall design to Sylia's, though it lacked any in close weapons. A pair of rail guns, like the one Priss used, were its primary weapon systems. The weapons were tied into a powerful targeting systemit was the most precise weapon system Sylia had ever designed.
It was her way of keeping him safe, as safe as possible. She had set the suit up to put him in a sniper role. Furthermore, she had added some basic ECM and ECCM gear into his suit. Not anywhere near as good as Nene's, but useful.
"Is the heavy motoslave ready to go?" she asked him.
"It just needs its weapon systems."
"Get it prepped and move it out with the others. I'll make sure the hardsuit is ready, though I want you to check it out yourself."
"Right," Mackie said, unable to hide the enthusiasm in his voice. Sylia hoped she would not regret it, but she could not hold him back forever.
Robert slapped the panel on the GD-42 closed. The cockpit controls began to light up and the generator began to hum.
"Ready to go," he told Junpei.
"Thanks," Junpei said, bowing slightly.
"You don't have to thank me," he told the man.
Junpei nodded, then took off his glasses and began to polish the lenses with his handkerchief.
"What about the guns," a man yelled. Robert had no idea who he was, but he seemed to be the leader of the cell.
"Here," Robert pulled the keys from his jacket pocket and tossed them across the room. "The key pad code is 224532. You better write that down."
"I'm sure I'll remember."
"You better. If you don't the explosives will level this place."
The man frowned, then grabbed a food wrapper from a table and demanded a pen. "All right, once more?"
Robert smiled. "224532."
"224532?"
"That's it."
"Good."
Robert watched as the man headed back into the house, to unlock the weapons room. He watched as Suguru and Junpei got ready to go. He shook his head, then headed out the garage's back door.
He moved quickly, quietly, across the rubble behind the house, keeping to shadows, and using dead ground to the best advantage. He was not sure if he was worried about being spotted by someone outside the house, or if he was worried about being shot in the back by someone inside it.
Moving as he was, he almost stumbled upon a small group of ADP officers, hiding nearby. He moved back quietly, and then started around them. It looked as if they had been marked, at least in one location.
He thought about sending a message back to the Prometheus Bound members, letting them know that they were going to be walking right into an ambush. No, that was not his job. Actually, they might have a better chance of survival if they were taken by surprise.
He continued on, not looking back. Not long after he had hopped over a fence and moved through the busy parking lot of a grocery store. If he could get a taxi he might be out of the country in two hours.
"One should not be overly fond of famous swords and knives. Even if one has a sword valued at 100,000 coins, he will not overcome 100 men carrying spears valued at 100 coins"
- Asakura Toshikage
