A Side O
He kept waiting for the sound of distant thunder, but it never came.
"It's quiet."
"Yeah."
Mika turned the candy between his fingers. "It's nice."
Orga's eyes scanned the rooftops. "Yeah."
The wind carried the early chills of winter. They'd had a long, warm, and surprisingly dry summer that continued into the fall. Normally Brockton Bay got more rain. Aston heard something about Leviathan having that affect when he attacked. Areas adjacent often became dry and warm. Made sense sort of, but Orga wasn't a weatherman of that variety.
He exhaled, only the faintest cloud of breath billowing out from his lips. Not quite that cold yet.
Normally the coming of winter worried him. Brockton Bay usually got heavy snows and cold rains throughout the season. Coats could be expensive and conspicuous, but that didn't seem an issue now. Orga managed to buy all the winter coats they'd need online, plus extras. Shoes and boots too. Socks. Their new home was solid and warm.
For the first time in years, Orga awaited winter without the fear of anyone suffering frostbite or hypothermia.
Mikazuki noticed the look on his face though. He always noticed. "Something wrong, Orga?"
"Waiting for the other shoe to drop," he admitted.
"Something I can take care of?"
"No." If he got his way, Mika would never need to touch a gun again. Not one he'd have to actually use. "Just a feeling."
"Things seem pretty nice lately."
"They are."
Picking up the old men in Charleston was a long trip, and a tiring one. His back hurt a little from sitting in the truck for almost a day straight, and his eyes felt heavy from lack of sleep. Newtype paid good money for it though, and it was honest work. They drove down with some trucks, loaded them up, drove back, and unloaded them. No bullets fired and no injuries besides a stubbed toe and sore muscles.
That's what he wanted. To get all of them to a place they could build their own lives. Amazing how quickly that came about, and how uneasy he felt in spite of it.
"We should keep an eye out for the Elite."
Mika popped the candy into his mouth and moved it from one cheek to the other. "Think they'll come here?"
"They might. Newtype took out Bastard Son." Even Orga knew who that was, and he didn't know that many capes beyond Brockton Bay. "They have a reputation to protect. We're tied to her now. Anything she does could blow back on us."
"We'll be careful then."
If only it were so easy.
Orga raised his head, looking at the moon as it hung in the sky. He couldn't escape the feeling. They weren't there. Not yet. The place they belonged was still distant.
"Long way left to go, Mika."
"Do you think she'll turn on us?" Mika asked in a low voice.
"Don't know," Orga whispered, more to himself than Mika. "She's hard to read."
Newtype had kept her word so far. They'd signed the papers, and things were coming along. Turbines had absorbed Tekkadan as a subsidiary, and somehow Naze managed to get work visas for them. Orga suspected some degree of forgery or bribery, but it really wasn't something he knew a lot about.
Keeping your word was easy when things went smoothly, though. It's when the waters became rough that deals started looking inconvenient and fate tempted to cut those who trusted you. That's what worried him. That the shoe would drop, and a dozen others would follow.
"I'm not sure how to handle her. She moves fast. No sooner is one thing done than she's off doing the next."
"Pay's good."
"The pay isn't the problem."
Would Newtype continue keeping her word when it became inconvenient?
Lung was Lung, but Lung was easy to manage; you simply stayed out of his way, weathered the storms. Newtype was a different sort of storm. Lung, for all his power, was simple. Show fear and deference, pay him his due, and don't anger him without a good reason. Do those things and Lung didn't particularly care what you did.
Newtype, on the other hand, had rules.
He didn't mind most of them. Criminals ended up in graves and cells. It was only a matter of time. When, not if. Orga would happily trade all the racketeering and gambling and brothel money he could for honest work and honest pay. A lack of bullets and an absence of the threat of arrest or deportation back to the wastelands they'd fled in the first place.
"She's naïve," he mused fatalistically. "She says she has a plan, but does she?"
"She beat Lung. Empire too."
"Lung beat the Protectorate."
Orga knew enough to know Lung never had a plan. He was a king who threw a throne into a room and beat anyone who dared to challenge it. I was never going to last, though Orga expected to last a lot longer than it did. Power didn't equate to forethought.
His worst nightmare used to be waking up to find everyone dead.
Ditching Lung, ditching the ABB, and moving to a nicer place with food, clothes, and income didn't take the nightmare away. Many of his fears remained, and unlike before they were dependent on Naze and Newtype to keep the worst things that could happen from happening. Their arrangement now was fair—generous even—but if either of the parties Tekkadan needed to survive backed out, it would fall apart.
Naze wouldn't back out. He would have by now if he intended to. Newtype on the other hand…
"You'll figure it out," Mika said.
Yes. He always figured it out.
Orga turned at the sound of footsteps behind him.
Shino and the others were still moving crates and machines from the trucks. Two of the old men, 'H' and 'S' directed them. They'd been helpful, warning which machines could be dangerous and which weren't. The shadows of the Boat Graveyard loomed in the distance, clouds gathering on the horizon in a mocking image of Orga's mood. He wasn't sure why they picked this area to set up their workshop when they could be closer to Newtype's factory, but it's where they told the trucks to go.
From the group, Aston approached with a phone in hand.
"What is it?" Orga asked.
"StarGazer."
Aston held out the phone and Orga quickly took it.
StarGazer was calling them? Orga wasn't sure he'd ever done more than exchange greetings with her. She was like Newtype's secretary at times, telling people whether she was busy or not and when would be a good time to see her.
He raised the device to his ear. "Orga here."
"Good afternoon Orga Itsuka," the voice on the other side said. "I am sorry to bother you, but there is a situation."
"What kind of situation?"
"There is someone trespassing on factory grounds."
Orga's eyes narrowed.
Another snooper?
They scared a few trespassers off the past few weeks. Expanding their security services seemed basic. Biscuit had left them to stick with Bakuda, but the entire enterprise was his idea. Shipping was a good place to go, but security was something Tekkadan possessed the skills to provide. It wasn't hugely profitable, not at the rates Brockton bay could afford, but it was steady.
Being able to say they provided services to Newtype helped grease the wheels. Put local businesses and apartment buildings at ease. She was a hero. She wouldn't be involved with any sort of racket.
"Akihiro is there, right?"
"Yes," StarGazer said reassuringly, "but I have asked him to wait. I am worried the trespasser may be a cape."
Damn.
Orga gathered Mikazuki, Aston, and Hush. Shino could finish the unloading.
Newtype left Brockton Bay, off to Hartford. Some scheme or another, since Orga knew she wasn't seeking to fight Faultline for real. He didn't particularly care what she intended to do except for the chance that it might blow back on him and his.
In this case, that blowback seemed to be all three of her suits not being around to deal with a potential cape.
Orga waved to Mikazuki. "What kind of cape?" His free hand signaled, pointing to Shino and Hush over by the trucks. Mika nodded and started walking toward them. "Is anyone hurt?"
"No," StarGazer answered. "I would already have acted if they had. For the moment, they are watching the interior and talking to people."
"And no one finds that weird?"
"I believe they are a Stranger. Only I seem to notice they are out of place."
Stranger.
A Stranger someone already saw.
They could deal with that, maybe.
"Akihiro knows?"
"I have informed him. He is reluctant to act without your order. I have two Haros present, but I am uneasy with the situation."
"Give me twenty minutes."
He couldn't afford an arrest for speeding or running any lights. Getting a ticket was probably the dumbest way members of the ABB got undone over the years. Not a way he wanted to go.
A Haro waited for them when they arrived, the yellow one that never seemed to leave the factory.
Orga cut the engine and put the beat-up sedan in park as Mikazuki, Hush, and Shino stepped out. "Where are they?"
"This way," StarGazer said from the robot. It spun on its axis and started rolling over the ground. "Currently, there are twenty-three workers on site; Kati is in the offices with Kurt Donovan. Chariot has been informed and is on his way here."
A cape was coming then. Good. Still might not be enough if the Stranger had backup.
"Hush. Shino." Orga pointed them right, toward the back doors of the warehouse turned factory. "Mika, let's go."
Mikazuki followed him as he followed the robot.
Newtype's factory looked inconspicuous from the outside. An old brick warehouse among many in the Docks.
Inside was another story.
The air hummed with an odd sound. Machines arrayed the room's center, a conveyor belt connecting each tower and turning in a U-shape as it went. Orga counted a dozen men and a woman present on that line, watching the machines as they produced the mass-production version of Newtype's robots. They didn't come out fast and Orga didn't see anything out of place there. Half a dozen men assembled new machines off to one side. A handful more were replacing the side doors leading to the loading dock.
Aside from old ink and Merchant-colored shirts, Orga didn't see anything that worried him.
Well, the Merchant colors did worry him. The Merchants worried him. That the guys Newtype hired seemed in similar straights to his own did nothing to assuage the memories that came with those colors. Guns and blood. Dead friends.
Something he didn't need to be distracted with at the moment.
"Where?"
Yellow stopped and stared, drawing a line straight to some guy. Some guy standing around and chatting with three other men. They were by the assembling doorways to the loading dock and… Nothing seemed odd about it at all.
"That's just a guy."
"That is what Akihiro said," StarGazer replied with some humor, "when I pointed him out. Their power seems to be appearing inconspicuous to others."
Orga found that oddly hard to grasp. Odd in a very bizarre way. He looked at the man more closely. He wore a plain shirt and pants, new looking shoes. He was short and thin, with a bit of a potbelly. Balding on the head with a little gray mixing into the brown of his hair.
"He doesn't seem—" Orga stopped himself.
StarGazer said he didn't belong, but he didn't seem out of place at all. Just a guy.
Orga spotted Akihiro standing nearby, watching the trio talk. He seemed apprehensive, hands tight at his sides and shoulders tense.
"Where's the other robot?" Orga asked.
"Pink is just outside, surveying the surrounding area."
"Any sign of backup?"
"None that I can see, and I have a fairly robust surveillance network of the surrounding two blocks."
Someone could still be hiding. Another stranger, or someone in the sky. Orga learned a long time ago never to assume any cape was alone. Even when they were, things tended to go south. A Stranger though, might be alone. Especially if their power was going unnoticed.
"Where's Chariot?"
"He is five minutes away."
Five minutes was a long time. Waiting that long could arouse suspicion, even if they didn't directly look at The Guy. Orga found not doing so difficult. He almost seemed to forget why he was in the room when he looked away. Still, having a cape when facing a cape was always better than the alternative. It's just a guy after al—Surprise then.
"Mika."
"Yeah?"
"Grab that guy and hold him down. If he resists, hurt him."
Mika didn't say a word. For once, his habit of not questioning what Orga told him to do might be just what they needed.
Something was off. Already Orga found himself wondering why they were so worked up over some guy. The thought kept coming back, almost like a voice in the back of his head saying 'nothing to see here.' Even while aware of it, he kept finding his eyes wanting to look away. He wasn't armed from what Orga could see. Didn't seem to be hurting anyone. Why care?
Mika started moving, slowly at first.
The PR lady watched from the offices above, a look of confusion on her face. Not his problem—
Orga grimaced.
The window to the offices was behind him. How did he notice her moving toward it while looking the other way?
He turned back around, looking at The Guy as Mika started running. A few heads turned and voices called out. The man seemed to notice the approaching assault, but moved too slowly to prevent it.
Mika leapt forward, arms grabbing the man and body driving him to the ground. Akihiro flinched, seemingly surprised. He reacted though, exactly as Orga hoped he would. He rushed forward and his big hands lashed out. He grabbed The Guy's free arm and pulled it as Mikazuki got him into a headlock.
"Any movement outside?"
"None," StarGazer replied. "I will inform you if that changes."
Orga nodded and started moving forward. Already, a few bystanders were approaching.
"What's going on? Let him go."
"No," Mika replied.
From behind, a loud voice bellowed. "What's up?"
Orga glanced back as Kurt stepped down the stairs leading up to the offices. The big man was one of the leaders of the Dockworkers, the other half of Newtype's workforce.
"My apologies," StarGazer said. Her voice came from all around, emanating from speakers set up throughout the warehouse. "A security threat was detected and I requested Tekkadan to intervene. I believe the culprit to be a cape capable of appearing innocuous, but I assure you that they are trespassing. Please wait while Tekkadan escorts them from the building."
That got most of the men around to stop and watch. Kurt kept moving, following behind Orga as he approached.
"Get him up," Orga ordered. "We're taking him outside."
Akihiro hefted the man up, Mikazuki twisting around to transfer both arms into the larger boy's hold. "What do we do with him after that?"
"The PRT?" Kurt asked. He waved to those watching. "He's a cape, right?"
The PRT, exactly who Orga wanted to deal with. "Let's get him outside first."
Kurt turned to the two workers, asking, "What was he talking to you about?"
The men blinked and looked at one another for a moment.
"Basic stuff," one of them said. "Like what it was like to work for Newtype. What we do here. That kind of thing. Should we not have said anything?"
That information didn't seem very valuable. "That's it? No names?"
"Names?"
"Uh yeah. He asked who to talk to about getting a job and stuff."
Orga glanced at Kurt and then turned to follow Akihiro.
Yellow came with him, and StarGazer informed him there was still no movement suggesting any sort of aid coming the Stranger's way.
"Why would he want names?" Kurt asked.
"Because it tells whoever sent him who is in charge," Orga answered. "Knowing who can get you what is valuable information. The people Newtype trusts to handle things are people she trusts to know things."
"Taylor's pretty cagey with information."
Because all things aside, she wasn't stupid. Newtype took information seriously. She knew even a small amount of knowledge could carry a lot of weight. She could have taken the ABB at any point it suited her and only held back because she didn't want to hand the entire city to the Empire.
Neither Lung nor the Empire caught on, not fast enough to save themselves.
There was something karmic about the idea of Newtype finding herself on the receiving end, but that wouldn't work now.
Tekkadan needed her. No Newtype, no factory, no work.
The Guy didn't resist as Akihiro led him around to the front gates. He didn't even try to slow them down. He walked along with Akihiro willingly and silently, and that made Orga nervous.
Orga glanced at the nearby rooftops as they moved. Mika did the same, one hand slipping into his coat where he kept his gun.
The lines of sight around the factory were bad. StarGazer claimed to have it under constant observation, but Orga didn't take that as a given. If someone got onto a nearby roof they had good lines of fire and cover. Other than Mikazuki's gun, Orga had discarded most of their weapons. He didn't need anyone getting arrested on a gun charge any more than a traffic ticket. The current state of the city was quiet enough to leave all the guns they kept locked away until something warranted breaking them out.
The barriers blocking entry to the factory yard lowered, and Akihiro sat their citizen's arrest down. Shino and Hush joined them, helping Akihiro and Mikazuki surround the cape.
StarGazer said the PRT was coming, and that gave him little time to get his own information.
Orga crouched in front of the Stranger. "Who sent you?" No answer came. "Are you a Master?" Still nothing. Just a blank and vacant stare, as if in a trance.
Something about the cape's face made Orga uneasy. It was off, though he couldn't quite place how. Their power maybe? He struggled to think of the figure as anything but 'some guy' or the like. He seemed so mundane. Focusing kept that at bay, but it remained. Even stranger, The Guy didn't look at anyone or acknowledge their presence.
Was he like that before, or only now because he'd been caught?
"Are you with the Elite?"
Mikazuki tapped The Guy in the back of the head. No flinch, not even a reflexive reaction Orga could see. It made his skin crawl.
Turning to the yellow ball at his side, Orga asked, "Don't suppose you know him?"
"I know of no cape by this description, but the power is possibly two or three capes I am aware of."
"Any with the Elite?" It seemed the most likely suspect. Newtype hit them. They'd want to hit her back in some way. Thinking of other options, Orga proposed, "Maybe some Nazi group? Patriots?"
"I am unaware of any Strangers like this employed by the Elite, the Patriots, or any neo-Nazi groups. In fact, all three Strangers who possess a power like this are members of the Protectorate. One is too young to be this individual."
Protectorate. Worst of the options. If they took exception to how Newtype was doing things and labeled her a villain, Tekkadan would wind up right back where they started. Why send a cape without a costume, though? That didn't make any sense. He seemed like just some guy to Orga, and he had a feeling he'd keep seeing him that way even if he dressed in some kind of Halloween outfit.
Addressing the cape again, Orga asked, "What are you after?"
Still no response.
"Like he's dead or something," Kurt mumbled. "I'm gonna call Danny. Let him know to watch out for any strangers."
Not a bad idea. "Shino."
"I got it."
He did seem almost dead. Not in appearance, but in demeanor. Orga waved a hand in front of the cape's face and got no reaction. On a hunch, he slowly reached forward and poked his shoulder. Skin, warm. Not an illusion. The eyes though…
"Check his pockets."
Mikazuki stepped forward and started looking. Nothing. No wallet or ID.
A blur moved through the air, and Orga rose to face Chariot. He wore most of his costume, a white paneled suit with armored arms and legs, a chest plate, and a visor over his eyes. A tool belt hung from his waist, with packs of gear Orga didn't understand arranged in various clasps and pockets.
Definitely a tinker, but not one who expected to be fighting anyone.
"Came as fast as I could," Chariot said. He glanced down. "This the guy?"
"Yeah." Orga nodded toward The Guy. "He's not very talkative."
"What was he doing?"
"Asking around. Looking for who was in charge of hiring. How to get a job."
"We're sure he doesn't just want a job?"
"I am certain he is a Stranger." The Yellow robot rolled to the side and jumped up. One hand popped out of its body and grasped Chariot's shoulder. "While present within the building, no one seemed to notice him as out of place except for me. Even Orga and Akihiro needed to constantly focus to keep him on their minds."
Chariot crossed his arms and frowned. "So… His power is that he just looks like some guy?"
"Yes."
"Suppose that would be useful for a spy or a detective. He hasn't said anything?"
"No."
In the old days, Orga would have Mikazuki rough him up. Newtype might not like that though, and in this instance, he wasn't sure it would get them anywhere. The guy really did seem dead on the inside.
Maybe there was a Master.
It just wasn't him.
Orga checked the rooftops again and inquired with StarGazer.
"I observe nothing out of the ordinary," she answered.
Unless she was being mastered too, if she could be. Rumors said StarGazer didn't have a body. She lived in machines, a monster cape like Trainwreck or that new Ward. The metal one.
"Let's wait for the PRT," Orga decided. "Someone might be listening in, waiting to see what we say."
Chariot hummed, and asked, "What if the PRT is the target?"
"Possible," StarGazer replied.
"Not our problem," Orga noted. "The PRT has its own security and I'm not the one being paid to ensure it."
Chariot grimaced. "I mean, no but shouldn't we be concerned about being used to deliver some kind of trick?"
"If that is the ploy, there is little we can do," StarGazer explained. "We are not empowered to hold someone for an extended period, and simply releasing them seems needlessly forgiving. We can provide the PRT information concerning our suspicion."
"Best we can do," Orga agreed.
The flash of sirens cascaded down the street as the vehicles approached. One armored van painted black with 'PRT' in white letters on the side. Overhead, a figure flew in stylized armor, carrying a shield and a shimmering spear.
Dauntless landed on the ground quietly and walked over to them. His eyes scanned the group and Orga felt his jaw clench. He didn't know how much the PRT knew. If The Guy was connected to them, they might already be suspicious.
Given what Newtype said about Teacher and a secretive group running the PRT behind the scenes, he didn't like the idea of anyone being suspicious.
"Chariot," Dauntless greeted simply. "StarGazer?"
"Present," the formless cape said from the robot.
Dauntless walked over to the figure sitting at the center of the group. "This the Stranger?"
"Yes. His power appears to be appearing innocuous, even in situations where his presence should raise alarm or suspicion."
"Pretty soft," the Protectorate cape mumbled. "You spotted him through the cameras?"
"I continue to be quite resilient against potential master and stranger effects."
"Any sign of lingering effects? We normally like to play this carefully. Quarantine everyone—"
"We're fine," Orga said. He most certainly wouldn't be surrendering himself or anyone else to the PRT's mercies.
Dauntless looked at him, then at his coat. It was a mottled green, thick with a high collar. The flower icon the kids drew up marked the back, but from the front Dauntless would only see 'Tekkadan.'
"You are…"
"Orga Itsuka. Newtype hired my company to provide security while she isn't here."
The hero looked past Orga, to Hush and Shino, then to Mikazuki. "A little young, aren't you?"
"We hustle," Akihiro mumbled.
"Dealing with capes without any of your own is dangerous."
"Just a Stranger who slips in and out. Nothing we can't handle." Upon further thought, Orga added, "Though I don't think he's alone." His heart raced, but talking about the cape behind him would hopefully keep focus off of himself, or Akihiro, Shino, Hush, or Mika. "He's acting funny. Doesn't respond to anything. Like he's not all there. No wallet. No ID."
Dauntless tilted his head to one side. "Potential master influence. Any other sightings around the area?"
"None that I can see," Stargazer responded.
Dauntless nodded and waved over his shoulder. Two PRT troopers in body armor stepped forward. One waved Orga aside, and he stepped right as the nozzle of a foam sprayer pointed at the stranger. The trooper hosed The Guy in foam, then stepped back to let the material harden.
"We'll take him," Dauntless said. "Can we question anyone as to what he said and did while inside?"
"I can go get the boys," Kurt said. "Bring them on out."
"Please. If I can"—he turned his helmed head to Orga—"I'd ask for you to go over everything from the beginning. StarGazer too. Chariot?"
"I just got here."
"I'll include it in the report. Just standard questions. Procedure and forms."
StarGazer replied with, "Of course."
Orga waved Mikazuki over, his eyes still nervously searching the rooftops. It wasn't right. Felt like something was crawling under his skin. Like the feeling of being watched, and it wasn't coming from the foam-covered Stranger.
"Go check some of the camera feeds," Orga whispered. Newtype was right about that part. Having contracts with half the businesses in the Docks gave them a broad net. Maybe whoever was watching knew how far StarGazer could watch things and was trying to stay out of her range. "Anything weird. Vehicles that aren't from around here. Anyone acting oddly. Costumes."
Mika nodded. "Okay."
"Call Biscuit. Warn him that we have someone snooping around and looking for info."
"Yeah."
He stepped back and turned. Hush quickly followed after him, and Orga turned to The Guy.
He blinked.
"Where is he?"
"Where is—" Chariot turned. "Um. Yeah?"
The confoam lay on the street, empty. Orga spun, looking up and down the street. Could The Guy turn invisible?
Dauntless rose into the air, searching.
"Alright," he said from a few feet up. "That's not good. I don't see him."
"Nor do I," StarGazer said.
Orga cursed, still feeling the sensation that someone was watching.
Before, he'd kept the others alive by being too low on the radar. They stuck to the less profitable sections of town. The places only the most desperate went. It gave them cover and freedom of movement.
They didn't have that anymore.
They were in the open and targets in the open always got hit.
