5 August 2024
3:01 P.M EDT
Haizi's Apartment, New York City, United States
"You probably already know who's allowing us to stay here?" Drahoslav asked.
"Aye," Jaraslav, Zelislav, and Dvinaslav replied back.
"Haizi is," Stanislav spoke.
"Correct, he is the one who's allowing us to be here."
Drahoslav replied to Stanislav, walking towards Jaraslav and Zelislav as he made his next questionnaire.
"Did you see anything suspicious when it came to Haizi while out in public?"
"We didn't." Zelislav replies.
"No doubts," Jaraslav added in. "Nothing dubious happened. However he seemed to be monitoring while me and Zeli were working."
Drahoslav nods as he returns towards a neutral perspective. Attempting for an equal amount of space between himself and the four comrades. To give off the mental impression he's listening from all sides.
"To refresh everyone's heads before we go down to proper business, all current information I have to my knowledge will be explained. Two days ago, I went to do the podcast with Kyouji, for the end of it all lead to several statements concerning the human soul. They were only statements, no action was done."
He began, maintaining another sense of distance while he continued forth with his explanations.
"Earlier today, on her way back, a black car pulled up. Which on later confirmation was it was Haizi and two unknown chauffeurs, but we assume were associates or subordinates to him. Also during that period, Stanislav punched him in the gut. Which I have to say…"
As he prolonged the sounding of his words, he proceeds his glance over to the Stanislav still bound to the wheelchair.
"He shouldn't have done that, and that probably screwed us all over and caused a scene. Also, we might have to pay damages to the City of New York. But to give him the slightest credit, Haizi is only a persona to who can I assume is two years too early. And he can still fight."
"Who are you talking about, Draho?"
"Alicization baby, this guy looks like the main antagonist of War of Underworld."
Dvinaslav and Stanislav look at him continuously as he made a way towards a seat. The swish of his bang dropping on towards his person.
"Either way, about the car. The people behind it were after her. But where did that car come from?"
Jaraslav raised his voice.
"I expect, from what I'm hearing!" Jaraslav began while popping his fingers, pushes them together to make a dual finger gun, and did the movement for the triggering of one.
"You said there was a two-day gap between the podcast and Dvina being dragged inside the tinted car vehicle. Three variables, why did they go after her? How did they get the vehicle? And how they managed to pinpoint where she was and send a car there?"
"Valid points. This must be conducted in a manner that is concentrated, deliberate, and intelligent."
"But that sparks the question," Zelislav interrupts, "What allowed them to know about these facts. But coming to deduction, they're working for Haizi. Did any of them say anything, Draho?"
Drahoslav crosses his arms for a moment as he stared down, "One of them got chummy with him at the cafe I and Kyouji went to. Two of them said boss after Stanislav's action."
"Then it makes a sensible conclusion he is hiding stuff," Jaraslav added in, crossing one leg over his other while he started to think.
"I already came to that conclusion too," Stanislav said, "What if the times he isn't doing stuff in this apartment but relegated to his room?"
"It might explain his hour-long gaps in him showing up whenever he isn't in public. But if we are going to expose it, we'll need to bust inside and investigate." Dvinaslav said, pushes her fists to bump and separate.
Drahoslav got up from the seating arrangement.
"I guess we should. One of you is on the watch for Haizi. The worse case is if he finds out what we're doing."
Drahoslav said while he approaches one of the pale yellow hallways of the apartment room, stopping at one of the doors next to an empty open room bedroom. Except the only one shut contained a deadbolt and a keypad-based lock. Propelling him to back off to the living room once again.
"I found something out. His room is protected by a deadbolt and an electronic code," he said.
"Could we just, break the door down?" Zelislav suggested, "We won't have to take it stealthily there."
He turns to Dvinaslav and Jaraslav, looking through the windows inside.
Stanislav spoke again as he observes the hall for a second, "There is a downside to busting the door. That is once that is conducted, there is no going back. Haizi isn't stupid, if he figures out someone busted in, it'll be us."
"Then, the downside to not busting in is we wait, and it'll take too long. And another possibility, he catches on, and we're toast either way." Zelislav spoke, his head fixed on Stanislav.
"I see… Jara! Dvina, we need to make a decision!" Drahoslav hollered.
As the two heard the magic word, both groups with their other three comrades as then he spoke.
Slouching back on the sofa, he began his next volley of words, "Stanislav and Zeli said something important how we're gonna obtain what's happening behind the scenes. We could take the 'smarter' approach and wait and see him slip. Or we can bust our way into the room and get it done quickly. But, considering the circumstances, Haizi isn't dumb, and spying on him will attract attention, something I'm beginning to think will be apparent. Should we bust it now and prepare to leave quickly, or should we spy and wait?"
"Considering that argument, we conduct a break-in on Haizi's room," Jaraslav replied.
"I follow along with Jara. We'll be caught either way and this will just get the things done we would've faced inevitably." Zelislav said back. "I retract my comment."
"Let's just break that stupid locks and get what that pedophilic shitface is hiding."
Hearing their words, Stanislav gives his nod.
"That settles it, we get to work on it. Now, we need our battering ram-"
Dvinaslav stood up while heading for the kitchen, grinning for the moment away from them, "We don't need a battering ram. We just need kitchen knives and a little technique. One of you, knock the door please."
Zelislav did so, tipping his way to the door to send a few knocks, "Nothing wrong."
"Perfect! It's the normal thickness for a home door."
"Dvina," Stanislav said, "Could we already assume this is a standard home in manufacturing?"
"Nonsense, now I know it, now please, Stani, help me sharpen these knives. Give your resident girl a solid." she stares at him and winks.
Stanislav gives her a look as he then spoke, "Alright. But you're a tomboy than a girl."
She flies it off with a giggle before landing four kitchen knives designed in cutting food in his lap. Proceeding for him to sigh as a result of her stuff. Stretching his right index finger before repeating full circles clockwise. A wind string covering the finger of effect while with help from his comrade. Dvinaslav's slow glide of the blade as sparks flew as the sharpening wind made contact.
Prolonging until all four knives held the edge for the job without words exchanged. The two converting to a variant of a battle mode as it only took around a minute before she took the four to her left hand towards the door.
Once three footsteps away from it the plan she concocted entered into force. The first knife went to her right hand where she'd thrust it up to the handle through the door. The second pierce came forty-five degrees clockwise from the first. The third and fourth respectively make punctures mirroring the first two. When drawn together, the thrusts compose a circle with four waypoints.
Afterward, she pulls them out and returns to Stanislav to get them sharp again. He obliges since from what he saw, the method showed promise. Once completed, she creates four extra stabs between the previous four, but with vertical elements between it.
"Are you sure it's safe?" Drahoslav asked.
Dvinaslav hands the knives to Drahoslav after she was done, "Each of those slits provides a lull in the door. For when I kick this…"
She charges the door, applying the force to incapacitate an untrained man against the barrier. Busting a coarse hole to the room past the door, but with a mass of splinters which needed to be passed. Otherwise, no progress. The point of no return to Haizi's apartment was reached.
"Just wait a moment."
Going left foot first, she leans it to the other side. Most of the harmful edges from the kicked out section and not the remnants. Soon, bringing her right leg through the forced entrance. The rest of her body followed, although with struggle and untraditional movements in an infiltration.
"Did she get through?"
After a lapse, the door opens up normally. Showing a greater idea from the interior while Dvinaslav stares at the two comrades looking at her while she backs away.
She said while passing the hallway. "Do your investigation, I'm back to watch duty."
Jaraslav shrugs as he comes inside the room. Drahoslav follows thereafter into the secretive room they were pushed into.
Haizi's room had the elements of a tight office cubical rather than a bedroom. Several metallic cabinets with locks and paper slips. Next to the bed, a laptop sets on a nightstand with an unactivated headset of sorts with a voltage converter in addition to certain things in frames and a dresser.
"I see multiple locks." Jaraslav pointed out.
"Can you pick them?"
"Give me some time, I'll find a long pin or two to do so. Try your best to get everything inside without having to resort to forcing the locks."
Drahoslav nods, allowing for his comrade to do what was necessary to avoid further collateral damage. While Jaraslav left, he approaches the dresser, wood with four sliding spaces. The first two held normal clothing items and some sensitive personal stuff but not invoking his cause for concern. The third to last area, however, saw a fully loaded cartridge with conventional pistol ammunition. Alongside an M9 Beretta pistol close by. With four more nearby.
"Bingo," he smiles as he takes one of them to his hand, and the mag into the gun. Loading it and pressing the slide. "Better give the others one of them, we'll need guns."
Afterward, he proceeded to the laptop and the headset, both opening his eyes widely as he smiles.
"Oh my, he has one. Holy shit!"
He drops the pistols for a moment while he unplugs the laptop from its charger and took the unused headset, from how the cords were coiled. Carrying them to the table in the living room for a moment. Afterward, returning and getting the pistols, each coincidentally having loaded mags. He then shouts to his comrades.
"Gather around for a moment! We have things of importance!"
As he said it, the other four comrades accumulated at the table. Stanislav and Dvinaslav noticed the five pistols. A good sign, or at least, the indication that something invoking a military element has been underway. If this was in Haizi's room, it could imply…
"These M9's were in Haizi's room?" Stanislav asked while he pulled one towards his hand and inspected it.
"Correct. And the ammunition I saw were nine-millimeter NATO. If these all add up, this is without a doubt, Haizi's doing something behind the scenes that has a militaristic side of things." Drahoslav replied.
"And if it adds up that there are guns. Maybe the cabinets must've hidden secrets important to Haizi." Jaraslav added as he gives two pins to Drahoslav.
"Before I head back in, see that headset. It's an AmuSphere, a FullDive console. We're taking it with us. And Jara, can you try and get information off that laptop?"
Jaraslav nods, as he watches Drahoslav depart the living room to get into previously inaccessible zones in Haizi's room so far.
Drahoslav arrived inside Haizi's room again with the lockpicking tools he'd need. Approaching each lesser locks, and begin the technical aspect to breeching presumed sensitive information concerning Haizi's work. Requiring several minutes' worth of time before it got completed to the point extraction turned feasible.
Grasping the top space of the filing cabinet closest to the door. Drahoslav jerks the section from the body. Nothing except dead weight filtrated the insides. The two comes out next, two slips of paper in the second cabinet. And several sheets in the third cabinet, removed.
"Let's see what these behold," he said to himself while he investigated the documents.
The first slip possessed two numbers, one with an accessible phone number. Then a second, classified number put entirely into numbers. The second slip, however, showed like a business card…
"Gabriel Miller, Chief Tactical Officer, Glowgen Defence Systems…" he mumbles. "Shit…"
He exits the room back to the living room. Saying with immediate tone for them to gather together. Swaying his limbs around with frantic word. Gasping several times
"I have made an immediate discovery that requires immediate attention!" he said.
Fortunately, Stanislav and Jaraslav were already there, decoding on the things on the computer. A mix of the latter's technical knowhow and the former's other skills as he then said.
"The guy who is Haizi is more than we saw. He's not Haizi. He is Gabriel Miller, the CTO of a militaristic company operating in the American state of California. We are leaving this place tonight. We have to, or we will most likely face severe consequences, including death."
"What about the other documents?" Stanislav asked. "I suggest taking all of them with us, concerning his behaviour towards us. And we need some level of proof and protection to show to the authorities in the event we are arrested."
"Agreed." his Slovak comrade said back.
The Real World (Alternate)
6 August 2024
7:30 A.M BST
Site of the Portal, London, United Kingdom
The area in which Stanislav, Drahoslav, Jaraslav, Zelislav, and Dvinaslav defeated Uugu, and to an extent, caused their exodus to their original perception of Earth remained as solid as before a few days to a week ago. Except, due to the awareness of their unannounced and unusual absence, became flooded with personnel working under the squad they were a part of. Mostly in casual clothing however several held tools and instruments, and a minority with assault guns on them.
"I wondered, why they didn't come back yet." said one of the personnel, having a Slavic accent, "Especially Staff Sergeant Cizik."
"I agree, he's not the one to disperse for a while and not come back. Not with notification. What happened during their confrontation with the great evil?"
Suddenly, a man standing a hundred and eighty-two centimeters with a white buttoned v neck shirt and green slacks with a black belt with brass buckle tightening around his waist. Nonexistent hair on his head with the exception to the very back, covered by a green beret showing the Croatian coat of arms. Jacked up arms makes him, in any serious situation, an individual best left with attention.
"L-Lieutenant. We're getting back to work!" one of them said.
The man turns, two other people besides him not minding the larger person's change in attention. Saying with a thick and commanding Croatian accent, "What's with the banter? What are you two so scared about?"
"Just about why we're here..."
"Didn't you get Dimitri's briefing?" asked the Lieutenant. "The staff sergeants are missing. Return to work."
As he made the words, the two persons returned on to their work. The Lieutenant's accomplices continued on their current path alongside the person himself. Towards the frame of the vortex that caused the five, they refer to as Staff Sergeants to disappear without a trace. One of the two looks towards him.
"Are you sure that's the case?"
"Yes, it is, Kong. This is Élisée we're talking about and his projects. This is one of his from the intel we have gathered a while back." he explained, looking back with his brown eyes.
Kong shook his stubby black hair off of dandruff. Not holding the same capacity of height as the Lieutenant, however having a defined shape and sense of being able-bodied but younger than the comrades. His eyes green, uncommon for someone of his assumed race. And held Asian facial features. Otherwise, his skin came out tan.
The Lieutenant crosses his arms again as he stares at the console, "Beyond Élisée, it's critical we find them and attempt to bring them back. If it's true about his secret intent, they're not supposed to be on the other side. For reasons?"
"What could happen?"
"Many things, Dimitri. They aren't conventional, their abilities could be considered supernatural. And, in the case of Élisée, that man thinks three steps ahead when it comes to his experiments and things he oversees. It was only until their disappearance we found what was going on. Also, he probably knows from their activities before the twenty-eighth they've passed in. And three, he probably knows the limits he can push."
"I see," Dimitri replied, his accent Russian however passive.
The shorter individual, About a hundred and sixty-eight centimeters, graying hair with lighter white spots agrees, digging his fingers across his head.
"I notice your points, sir, what if One-O-One shows up?" Dimitri replied.
"I need to speak to Kong individually, oversee the others' operations. We'll talk about them in private," the Lieutenant said.
After his words, Dimitri did what he was assigned. The Lieutenant fully stretches out his left arm and twists his hand upside down, repeating his index finger curling. Within the view of the intended person.
Kong follows the Lieutenant to where he desired. Ending up at the front of the console with the keycard.
"Is anything on this panel similar to what you saw at your experience?"
"And this chip over here next to the card scanner." he said, before pointing to the improvised keycard scanner. "It's in Morse code, but my knowledge of that shows it's saying S, A, and then O…"
"Do you know what it's implication is?" asked the Lieutenant.
"SAO..." he replies.
"Before I continue, are you alright?"
"Memories?" Kong said.
Kong looks away to look at the Lieutenant, "Draho's a fan of that and I've watched it too. Also, it's what we used to reference a lot of our stuff during our research to understand Fluctlights and the FLICS".
"You know what this means?" he asked.
"Yes, I do."
"You have any real idea what could happen?"
"Anything could happen contradictory to the show," Kong replied, "It's unlikely, close to impossible they'll end up in that game. But with no established coordinates from this console, they could end up anywhere on the globe."
"This will not be solved quickly," said the Lieutenant, closing distance between him and Kong, "Our raid of the Foreign Legion's headquarters found the backup card. Can you go in there, find them, and assist them until we can find a way to pull them out. Can you do that, Kong?"
"I can," he replies.
"It's set, stand in front of the gate." said the Lieutenant while taking the backup card from one of the sacks in his pants.
Kong did what he was given to do, blankly looking at the frame, nothing special towards it for the present. Until the card beeped in a two pattern beep, then the vortex of energy showed in front, a hypnotizing thought, until its gravity took over. Kong sucked in like a vacuum. With no trace behind.
The Lieutenant turned his head again, giving another order using a gesture of his hand to get their attention, "Investigation teams, continue your investigation. Support personnel, stay behind to keep the investigation fed, and helped. All other teams, withdraw!"
The Real World
6 August 2024
2:40 A.M EDT
Edison, New Jersey, United States
Several kilometers from New York City, the comrades walked the streets of one of the few smaller areas of the metropolitan area westward within the state of New Jersey. Paying explicit attention to the concrete sidewalk for vehicles. Insight of a highway bridge with several cars passing through. Each comrade used small backpacks, with Stanislav's wheelchair having the papers. Jaraslav took the laptop, and Drahoslav the AmuSphere they had. The other two carried the guns and ammo and other stuff that didn't require a dedicated guard.
"Do you have an idea where the truck is?" Drahoslav asked Jaraslav.
"The one carrying explosive and assault weapons to the Glowgen Armoury in Norfolk?" Jaraslav responds.
"That one, yeah."
"The driver cannot sustain continuous driving if they were heading south from Buffalo. They might be checking out at a truck stop or hotel nearby." Drahoslav explained.
"You need to be careful when it comes to this, we don't want to get into trouble or arouse suspicion from Gabriel." Dvinaslav blurted.
"True, true," Stanislav said, "If anything, we take the truck and the driver and/or accomplices with us on our way there."
In front of them, resides a truck in parking off the interstate. Masked in black and tinted windows, no blatant markings, and far off from the hotel. He turns towards them, which he began to speak again.
"This must be the truck. One of you accompanies Stanislav to the back of it," he said, giving another sensible command.
"I'll do that," Zelislav said."
"Jara," he said, passing their only two-way radio set, stolen from Gabriel's room as well as the other things. "Can you get to hacking the cameras before we make our attempt and bypass the locks?"
Jaraslav nods.
"Go with Zeli and Stanislav."
"Give everyone a gun. We'll need them in the event we face resistance." Drahoslav said to Dvinaslav.
"Got it."
With the words that were spoken, she unstrapped her backpack and threw two M9's to Drahoslav. Catching both with a hand each, and spinning from the trigger guard to each before concealing the two.
"Didn't need two, but okay," he said as he looks and smiles at Dvinaslav.
"Would've been wasted if Stani couldn't shoot well with his condition," she said back while passing a pistol to Jaraslav and Zelislav.
"Doesn't matter. As now, LET'S DO THIS!" Drahoslav says before shouting.