Audacity chapter 29.
Authors Notes.
*Hey bitches I'm back… I don't really have an excuse for my absence; honestly this is just the first chance I found while I had both the time and energy to get my ass in gear. I noticed some people are anticipating Euphemia's direct encounter with Cypher 01… Still. You need not to worry I have plans to write that starting next chapter and unless some magical bullshit happens between now and when I'm done producing this chapter, I should commence production on chapter 30. (On a side note once I produce chapter 30 I will be taking some time out of my life in order to pump out the audio rendition of my story… Surprisingly I have received several requests for that so I will continue with it.) Now that I'm done spamming you with my nonsense enjoy this shit I call a chapter*
Response to review by: god of all. It's always nice to know that my story interests people, thanks.
Response to review by: Ghost2113. My characters regular mind as you put it you will find as many incredibly odd hiccups and snags that of which put him on the borderline crazy perspective. But besides that yes his mind is rather ordinary. Thank you for your analysis.
Response review by: Criticanon. I couldn't help but want to keep Mao. Every time he gets offed by another author I can't help but feel like it was a wasted opportunity. The fact is having someone who can tell you exactly what your opponent is thinking, or at the very least gather information is well worth the risk of keeping him around. Thanks for your review.
Response review by: XT3. I think my character fits the bill of this third-party entity you're looking for, because of that I don't think I'll be entering a new one in this story. Thanks for your review.
Response to review by: Atrile. Don't worry buddy, the fact that I took so long to update can attest to the fact that I too often find myself with very little to say. As to the scene with Euphemia… Literally next chapter.
Response to review by: LEGENDRY. Apologies need not be in order, shit happens and things break. But I'm ok now; my arm and such are at full capacity… I think…
I do hope you get a chance to use the internet freely soon… Your reviews have always been the most fun to read considering your one of the few people willing to call me out on things.
As to Lelouch's new power, your rendition is almost spot on save for the fact that the power will also drain him physically as well as mentally if given the chance. Also if you read this chapter you will find more information on its limitations.
The only reason my character gets mad when the angel talks about using him is because he doesn't trust or even like her. He tends to feel attached to Gray Jack so many things he says and does to Lelouch will simply be allowed to slide. As to the reason behind all of the potential disinformation… I can't say… for now.
Mao… He's certainly a piece of work. His interactions with the cast will be exceptionally funny when I get to it. Other than that all I can say is that public relations and Mao simply don't mix.
Thanks for your thoughtful review.
Response to review by: EVA-Saiyajin. Thanks, I try to keep his relations with his allies believable but friendly. Your reviews are always nice to read.
Superduper awesome sauce incredibly distracting line break 2.0
In this world I decided there were very few things that could genuinely annoy me. The existing list was very short, large bodies of water, misplaced pointy objects, people who can't shut up, and finally people who don't know how to keep their noses out my business.
And at the moment Mao was completing half of the requirements to annoy me. All he needed to do now was stand by the ocean right after I lose my butterfly knife; then I would have a good excuse to kill him, instead I had to deal with.
"So about this power you refuse to explain to me, I really wonder why I can't read your mind when you use it!" He said in an exaggerated fashion as we stood several feet from CC's door. I had been trying to lay down some ground rules as to what he should and shouldn't do if CC rejects him… However I yet to get him off the subject of my extra abilities.
"The strangest thing is your mind just all of a sudden gets cloudy and blurry, the most I can pick up is the fact that your there." I couldn't help but facepalm.
"I've already told you, I can't tell you about it otherwise it will automatically kill you… Think of it like a piano that hangs over your head, and as long as you don't look at it or try to understand why it's there it won't land on you… Unfortunately." Mao huffed heavily and responded with.
"You really have a knack for analogies! Do you use them because you think others are incapable of understanding simple concepts? Somebody is full of themselves." My eye twitched slightly in irritation as I forced myself to remain calm.
"Don't you have and obsession with CC to feed? Why don't you go bug her?"
"Nonsense!" He shouted with his arms outstretched "I couldn't possibly bug the beautiful CC she and I get along far too well. Besides we'll have far too much catching up to do for me to start playing with her." I ignored his mildly sexual suggestion and pushed him towards her door.
"Just remember if she doesn't want to talk with you you're going to have to leave, you can still work with me if you want but the bottom line is I'm not going to subject her to you any more than myself."
"Why do you keep saying that? You really believe she won't want to have anything to do with me!"
"Exactly! Don't you think that she would've stuck with you had she found a use for you, if you ask me you probably annoyed the crap out of her ten too many times and she decided to ditch you!" Mao's eyes widened in shock, then shortly afterwards narrowed in anger as he adopted a hostile posture.
"Why you!" He growled. "You take that back right now!" I couldn't help but be provoked further by his borderline retarded reaction.
"What the fuck are you going to do if I don't Captain wonton?" My insult caused him to jump at me with his arms outstretched. As he closed the distance my foot firmly found its place between his legs, and with nothing but a grunt and a dull thud the conflict was over… At least physically.
"You son of a bitch that was a low blow and you know it." I held my arms up innocently.
"Just because you can read my mind doesn't mean you can react fast enough, all I need to do is either make snap decisions orjust pull the most random shit possible, and there you have it, your ass is grass." I couldn't help but smirk smugly as he hissed and writhed on the floor. At the same time I felt a moderate amount of sympathy… I had been in that situation before; however it was at least an attractive woman that had done it to me and not a disgruntled male.
I heard a light shuffling of feet from the room beside me and shortly afterwards a door opening revealing CC barely dressed in anything but another one of my dress shirts and a pair of underwear. She didn't look too happy.
"What's all the noise out here fo-" She stopped abruptly her eyes locking on to the nearly prone figure before me; her expression displayed a look of a morbid hesitance and a touch of fear.
"I hope you claim this bastard, because if you don't I'm just going to Geass him." I leveled with sternly.
"No! You can't do that… I mean, he's suffered enough…" I snorted arrogantly.
"His powers are more useful than mine in many situations, if he has any sort of suffering I guarantee you he could wiggle out of it." CC knelt down beside Mao and inspected him as he suffered through the waves of agony I had forced upon him.
"No, it's not like that… His Geass is worse than your own. He can't turn it off anymore and is forced to listen to the thoughts of everyone around him. He's gone crazy from it actually." I arched an eyebrow slightly, more than willing to learn about the patterns of Geass evolution.
"I noticed he has the symbol in both eyes, and I only have it in one yet I can't turn it off… Can you tell me anything about that." Mao managed to push himself into an upright posture and gawk at CC. It didn't appear as if I would get my answer for the mood was entirely killed once he screamed.
"CC! It's been so long! You even kept your hair the same! I always liked it like that! Oh I'm so happy to see you!" Just as he finished his exclamations he literally glomped CC into a massive hug, completely forgetting about the damage done to his dangly bits.
Once again I face palmed.
"Is it safe for me to leave you two to talk in private, because I'd really rather be doing anything else right-" A light wave of dizziness overtook me and I immediately assumed it was from my lack of sleep. "R-right now." I leaned up against the wall heavily after barely finishing my sentence.
"I'll handle him, contact me in a little while once I'm done disposing of him" An alarm bell immediately went off in my head the moment she said the words 'disposing of him' I perceived him as far too useful to simply be swept away despite how much of a nuisance he appeared to be.
"No! Don't do that, he and I are in the process of negotiating an agreement." While drowning Mao out she arched an eyebrow and questioned.
"And what exactly would that be?" I averted my eyes and answered with.
"That he will work for me if I provide safety to both you and him… And he has some sort of obsession with you that he hopes he can quell by living with you." It took several seconds for her to respond, it had grown quiet, even Mao had shut up to hear her response. Her response would more than likely dictate my ability to form a partnership with the aggravating mind reader.
…
"Like I said I'll deal with it." She finally said, but for once without her air of stoicism.
Good, at least she didn't say she was going to try and kill him this time. If I'm lucky she will at least put up with him… But honestly if CC had to ditch him that I can guarantee there's something wrong with him that either she couldn't stand were simply didn't want to deal with…. Or perhaps she was simply running away from something.
Realizing that Mao would pick up on my thoughts eyed him warily for another one of his outbursts but instead of seeing him bouncing off the walls with some absurd concept in his head he appeared pensive as if anticipating the answer to a long-awaited question. I nodded once to both of them and turned slightly.
"All right then, I'll be back later." I couldn't help but feel a measure of worry towards the immortal woman. Perhaps she felt that this man was dangerous to her in some way? But then again, she was physically incapable of remaining dead for an extended period of time so what was the worst that could happen.
I toyed with similar thoughts as I made my way to the roof of the building knowing that I wouldn't be disturbed. Once I had made it to the roof I inhaled the fresh air deeply and attempted to calm myself from the already overwhelming experiences of my day.
I haven't even been awake for two hours and already I feel like I need a break. However a break of any kind would be a long time coming considering my fear of going back to sleep and re-experiencing hell whilst I rest.
I reached into my lower pocket and removed my cell phone, idly scrolling down to Kallen's number I clicked the call button and waited for a few dial tones until she finally picked up.
"Yes?" She answered quickly.
"How did it go?" I asked as I vividly imagined of the worst-case scenarios, considering that she had picked up the phone most of them were now a moot point.
"It went mostly as planned; most of the Intel we gathered is relevant to any sort of infiltration we're interested in, however most of that I can tell you over the phone." I made a light noise as a confirmation for her to continue.
"By far the most unusual thing we noticed was that the people working there didn't seem to be worried about being discovered, in fact it didn't seem like any sort of hush-hush operation at all. On top of that we noticed a few Britannians walking about the warehouse as well. We suspect that-"
"The police and or nobility are in on the operation." I interjected.
"Exactly…" She paused briefly and I assumed it was to gather her thoughts. "There are very few entrances that are visible, there's a personnel entrance at the very front next to a large rollup gate just like the one at our warehouse. But after a little walking around we found that there's actually a loading area for trucks towards the back."
"Did you take any pictures or something of the like?" I asked thoughtfully.
"We have some, but it was too dark to risk using a flash so all the images are low-quality."
"That's not a problem. Make sure someone has all of the Intel waiting for me at HQ today and I'll compose a plan of attack… If that's what we decide on doing."
"As long as you don't plan on doing it by yourself like you're so fond of everything should be all right." I fiddled with the contents of my pockets in mild frustration as she said this.
"Look, I know you don't want to consider that an option… But you can't just count it out simply due to the fact that it's more dangerous. The fact is I am incredibly efficient working by myself due to my extra abilities-"
"But your extra abilities won't stop a bullet!" She fired back with.
I briefly imagined my attempts to stop a round with my telekinetic abilities but quickly concluded that if I ever tried it would probably end up in failure or at the very least have some serious negative side effects.
"That has yet to be determined honestly. We'll talk more later, bye." I hung up abruptly leaving her with no time to formulate a rebuttal. I returned my phone to its designated pocket and fished out a pack of cigarettes and quickly lit one. After taking a quick drag I leaned over the side of the building and began contemplating what I could with the information I had.
If I could get a hold of the people responsible for organizing and running this drug cartel and could siphon them for money… No, their money comes from the Japanese people… Not an option. If I do receive any sort of funding from this operation is going to have to go directly back to where it came from.
Taking a second drag I listed another idea.
If the police are involved illegitimately then it's more than likely they're providing some form of protection. If that's the case then I'm going to have to have them neutralized or removed from the scene beforehand.
I clenched my fist absentmindedly.
I could have Mao come with me to help fish out persons of interest… But it might be too soon to ask anything of him, not to mention that he seems mentally unstable. I plan on using him in any way I'm going to have to find a way, scratch that, and effective way of keeping him in line.
I idly watched a few students walk towards the main campus as I flicked an ember towards the ground below.
Once again there's always the option of just blowing the place up, but as far as publicity goes that would look really bad for our image. Yeah, join the Seekers! You can blow shit up! That would make a great slogan… Logically speaking the best thing I could do is breach and clear the building, remove all those who resist and relieve them of their merchandise.
A light smile came to my lips as I entertain a mildly humorous idea.
If I can find some way to transport the product, I could always bring it straight up to the Viceroy's palace and drop it off leaving a note saying something like. "Gimme your paycheck, because I just did your job." It would be nice… But unrealistic. Then again I can't pass off the opportunity to interact with the Viceroy. Using this operation as a bridge to open up communications could get me within Geass range if Euphemia.
My light smile turned nearly sadistic as my mind began running scenarios in the background.
There's also a possibility that the Britannians will attempt to actually do their damn job and clean us up in the process… If this happens were going to need heavy hardware. Once again, a problem that could be easily solved if I get within range of Euphemia.
The situation was poisonous. It seemed to be a self-defeating cycle, I needed materials in order to gain materials, I need publicity in order to gain more publicity…
I'm going to have to find some way to alter the status quo in my favor without anyone stopping me. Once again the Britannians have everything I could possibly need… It's just a matter of getting them to hand it over to me, but the solution eludes me. my previous tactics won't work anymore. I can nearly guarantee that the Palace is locked up tighter than a virgin's ass hole.
I chuckled lightly at my own crude analogy.
If I want to Geass Euphemia I'm going to have to get her somewhere outside of her hoity-toity high ground. She seems willing to negotiate so I'll just have to use that to my advantage.
I flicked the burned-out cigarette towards the ground below and watched it fall until it hit the ground. I was at a loss of what to do with my current free time.
Thinking about the same thing only ran me in circles. CC had told me to wait until later today in order to talk to her and I had said the same thing to Kallen.
Reaching towards my telekinetic ability I decided to test its extent along the lines of length and durability. Extending the awkward feeling tendril of energy I reach towards the doorknob of the only door back down to the student Council building. After a fair amount of strain I realized the power wasn't extending any further. Slowly walking forward and bringing the energy with me I determined that the power wouldn't extend much further than 8 feet.
Weird… Perhaps it's due to my limited skill. Or perhaps or some other sort of limitation I don't know about.
I tried several more times varying the path the energy I reached with. However none of my attempts produced any different results. Concluding that my current limitation would be stuck at 8 feet for now I decided to move on to the durability test.
Standing towards the edge of the building once more I gathered the power alongside my hand and formed a flat blade, leaving it un sharpened I raised my arm and brought it down onto the concrete of the building. The following CLACK! Was high-pitched and echoed loudly throughout the area. It reminded me of a sound similar to striking concrete with a hammer. I repeated the action resulting in a near identical product. After leaving no identifiable marks on the concrete I determined that although the power strong enough to resist breaking it had no visible ability to damage something as strong as concrete.
With a bit of creativity I added a sharpened edge to the downward facing side of the blade and raised my arm once more. Striking downwards with as much force as I was capable mustering I finally produced a visible result. A small piece of the concrete chipped and flew back striking me on the cheek. It stung greatly but was no larger than a penny.
Hmm… It seems like it's going to act just like a chisel, not capable of slicing clean through but more than able to wear it down… But at what cost.
I retracted the power allowing it to dissipate back to whence it came and prepared myself for the agonizing headache that I was sure would follow.
I wasn't disappointed.
Several sharp stabs invaded my mind but soon dulled into a consistent throbbing mass. And because of this I found myself in a sitting position on the cold roof next to the edge where I had conducted my experiment.
Ow… Note to self: Do not under any circumstances attempt to cut through metal with this damnable power.
After several minutes of waiting for the pain to recede I noticed something that alarmed me.
I felt much more mentally astute before and after I used the power. However when I was in the process of manipulating the energy whether it be forceful or otherwise it seemed to me as if my thoughts were dulled, if not outright dampened.
I noticed this before but it seems the greater the force applied the greater the mental capacity it drains… Temporarily at least. Which means using this power in a tactical situation could deprive me of the proper decision-making skills I'll need to survive…. Fucking perfect. So far the only practical application I see for this damn thing is opening pickle jars and removing staples.
"Or lighting yourself on fire…" Interjected a deep voice from beside me; I flinched heavily, more than thoroughly startled for once. After taking a brief moment to calm down I noticed Gray Jack had somehow graced me with his presence without alerting me for once.
"Sup." I greeted simply once I had regained my senses.
"Nothing really, I just noticed you were practicing all by yourself up here and figured you could use some company." I arched an eyebrow suspiciously at his answer.
"It'll be a cold day in hell before you come to me just because you wanna hang out." His ever present and unearthly smile widened slightly.
"I can't tell who you're trying to insult yourself, or me?"
"Just you." I said stoically as I began to light another cigarette.
"That's a terrible habit you know…" He stated, although he did sound rather detached.
"So I've been told." I heard the beast chuckle lightly in amusement.
"Ahh yes, the incident with the redhead. To be honest with you I'm surprised you didn't go off on her. Had it been anyone else I can nearly guarantee that's exactly what you would've done."
"So I go easy on her, what of it?" I questioned while trying not to sound defensive.
"Go easy on her! Ha! Your borderline hyper protective! I'm surprised you haven't looked her in a cage somewhere while spouting some bullshit about it being for her own good!"
It was incredibly difficult to come up with a comeback considering that the being pestering me was privy to my thoughts and feelings. So instead I became angry.
"Yeah so what? I give half a damn about someone other than myself! That's not something you would understand!" There was a short silence, during which I looked at Jack quizzically only to find him staring off stoically until he finally replied with.
"This is true…" In all honesty I had never intended to actually hurt his feelings. Although the relationship was incredibly complicated and possibly one-sided I did feel a sort of awkward attachment to him. He was one of the few consistencies in my life other than my lack of memories… Which ironically enough he declared himself the cause of.
"I didn't mean it like that… I mean… Sorry. After last night I'm not feeling myself… You know what I mean?"
"More than you'll ever know. Speaking of last night; Number one: You honestly shouldn't of pissed that bitch off. Good luck trying to catch any type of legitimate sleep from now on. Number two: About this Mao character…"
"I'm sure you've already seen that he can't detect you. Although I'm not sure how long I can keep you a secret considering he plans on hanging around both CC and I. And seeing as both she and I have dealt with you and will continue to do so. It's only a matter of time until he stumbles upon you one way or the other."
He nodded in agreement while crossing his freakishly long arms.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there. But until then I'm sure you have some questions for me."
"It's like you read my mind." I joked lightly.
I struggled to find a starting point for my inquiries and after several moments settled on one.
"Explain to me how my power works in greater detail."
"That wasn't a question, but I'll give the information regardless. Basically you are manipulating an incredibly small form of matter using the physical and nonphysical energy in your body combined. AKA your stamina and your will."
I nodded and motioned for him to continue.
"I'm sure you've noticed the headaches and possibly other physical pains you've received from just about any type of usage. This would be a direct result of what I like to call material overload."
I scrunched my brows together struggling to understand the concept he had just dropped on me.
"I don't understand."
"Of course you don't. Basically, imagine the power as water. The water is extracted from your body and used to affect the world around you. Now let's assume for a brief moment that you have two types of water at your disposal from within your internal reservoirs."
I nodded in understanding so far.
"Your physical reservoir is basically what provides the physical force of your ability and is consumed according to how much you use it. However the mental reservoir you deploy from is not consumed and simply makes up the area that the physical reservoir can occupy."
"This still doesn't explain the headaches."
"I'm getting there." He grumbled. "Your mental reservoir is refilled when you dissipate your ability but on the inside of your reservoir in the pressure has changed and the quick return of the water causes a stretching to occur… Which overall, is the cause of your headaches."
I sat there momentarily. Going over his words over and over until I believed I fully understood what he had described.
"So what you're saying is once I deploy the power wherever it comes from shrinks like a balloon… And when I dissipate my ability it all rushes back… Rather forcefully…"
"Good, it seems we've reached some sort of understanding for once. Just keep in mind that the more you stretch your balloon… As odd as that sounds… The easier it will be in the long run. Because as previously stated, your power is just like a muscle in more ways than one. You have to train it in endurance and power as well as maintain it… Also it helps if you don't over exert it."
"Duly noted." I said simply as I found myself lost in thought.
"Anything else?" He asked lightly.
I sifted through my options for brief moment and settled on another question.
"What's the deal with this angel person?" I forwarded bluntly.
Jack shifted one of his hands and rubbed his nonexistent chin while grunting long and heavily.
"It's complicated, but the best way for me to impart information upon you about it is to simply say that she is sort of like the recon party… She's here for me and you are just an instrument. A bridge to close the gap… So to speak."
I was about to inquire further but Jack cut me off.
"And that's all I'm going to tell you about that… For now." I quickly shuffled myself into a standing position and assumed a threatening posture.
"I'm sick and tired of having information withheld from me simply because people are too busy covering up their own secrets pertaining to something I shouldn't have to be a part of!" I said while struggling to keep my voice down.
"But you are a part of it and there's nothing you can do about it. So your best bet is to sit back and let things happen."
"And if I refuse?" I said threateningly causing his eyes to narrow.
"Then you're in for a world of hurt, worse than the one you just experienced." I tried, but I couldn't stop my imagination from formulating something worse than hell itself… The results weren't pretty.
I stomped over towards the end of the building and kicked the retaining wall in frustration.
"If you need help with something simply ask! Don't run around in circles having me do things indirectly!"
There was a long pause in the conversation. Neither of us said anything for several minutes.
"CC and Mao are coming up to the roof; you need to get out of here." Where the words he used to break the silence.
Turning back to him quickly I couldn't help but question.
"Why?" Jack face palmed and walked towards me slowly.
"Because she asked you to come back later and those two are coming up here in order to talk. You being here might complicate things." He said as he grabbed me by the back of my jacket causing me to give him a questioning glare.
"What are you doing?" I asked nervously while in elongating my words.
"Reuniting you with your worst enemy… Gravity." He said darkly just before he gave me a halfhearted toss over the edge of the building.
My world inverted several times in a fantastic display of blue green and gray as I began panicking loudly, but not before I managed to give him one last parting insult.
"Fuuuuck Yoooou! OMPHH!" My descent was halted quickly, but rather gently, by a mass of foliage.
Branches and leaves invaded my vision, and after brief moment of feeling it I was sure a branch had somehow found its way into my pants.
"Son of a bitch you knew there was a bush down here! I thought you were trying to kill me!" I yelled aimlessly as I struggled to crawl out of the overgrown plant. After several seconds of violent tossing and turning coupled with various profanities I managed to extract myself from the object that had broken my fall.
Looking upwards I found myself met with the faces of five or six fellow students. All of which were left wide-eyed and slack-jawed by the display before them. I coughed lightly in embarrassment causing a flurry of leaves to fall out of my hair and out of my jacket.
"Nothing to see here…" Except a guy falling 2 ½ stories down nearly killing himself…
I walked away quickly while shaking myself off and ignoring their questions for my well-being.
"Bastard could've just teleported me or something. "I grumbled under my breath as I directed myself towards the east entrance.
I decided that I might as well head over to headquarters to go over the information my team had gathered and maybe get a bit of knightmare practice in as well.
As I made my way towards the exit I casually viewed the throng of students socializing amongst various groups. It was peaceful for the most part save for the random bouts of laughter or the occasional playful complaint. While keeping my distance from the others is much as possible I happened to see Nina talking to three boys that were standing in a staggered formation. Two of them were blonde and one a brunette, their physical stature was roughly equivalent to someone who was used to physical activity, but not of the strenuous nature
At first I paid this no mind, however after giving it a second glance I noticed Nina was attempting to reach for something that the boy in the center was withholding from her.
And it was obvious she wasn't happy.
After deducting that something was amiss I angled myself towards her and picked up the pace.
"Give it back…" Nina feebly demanded causing the three boys to laugh at her. The boy in the center simply held up what I determined to be a laptop even higher.
"Not a chance, we can't exactly have a terrorist lover in our school! Just do us a favor and get out."
I stopped just behind Nina and glared at the three young men.
"Is something wrong here?" I asked coolly, my eyes never leaving the center man.
"Yeah!" Shouted the blonde on the left. "We got this little bitch here writing about how she approves of the terrorists!" I paused for a moment and crossed my arms.
"Which ones?" I asked flatly shifting my angry gaze to the one who had spoken up.
"That Cypher guy!" He answered that the same volume.
I took three steps and stood in front of Nina and shifted into the best intimidating posture I could manage.
"I fail to see how this is a problem, everyone has their ideals-"
"That doesn't matter, he's still a terrorist!" He cut me off with.
"And that gives you the right to take her things." The center boy took a step forward and got right in my face.
"She doesn't even deserve to be here thinking things like that! In case you've forgotten we're Britannians, anyone who thinks better of anyone else is trash!"
I can honestly say had he not gotten in my face and yelled at me the next course of action wouldn't have been necessary… At least not so soon.
Deciding to subtly put my new power through another field test I formed a casing around my closed fist and brought my arm upwards in a fierce uppercut that connected squarely with his throat.
"Gahh!" A satisfying sputtering came from the boy as he collapsed on the ground dropping the computer safely onto the grass in order to clutch his throat.
It seems I'm feeling mighty confrontational today…
I thought amusedly as the other two began to come at me. Hiking up my left foot I formed another telekinetic barrier around and planted it firmly into the sternum of the guy on the left. For brief moment I could've sworn I heard a cracking noise as he was force into a similar position as the first young man.
The third boy however, I was unable to block successfully and he landed a perfect punch on the right side of my jaw. Instead of reacting with some sort of counterattack I simply stood there as motionless as possible as he continued to apply force throughout the punch. When he had finished I kept my gaze towards the ground only to slowly look upwards at him.
"Is that all you got?" I questioned menacingly as I took a step towards him.
Either due to the ineffectiveness of his punch or the fate his buddies had suffered he decided it was a better idea to back down by turning tail and running. As soon as I had determined the threat was over I reached down and picked up Nina's computer while disabling the enhancements to my fist and foot.
"This belongs to you I believe. You might want to go see Milly after this, if only to keep bastards like these guys off you." I said kindly as I returned her computer, barely able to keep the grimace off my face due to the mental pain I had inflicted upon myself.
Taking her awestruck expression as an excuse to leave I sidestepped past her and continued on my way.
Damn that punch hurt a lot more than I thought; apparently I just had some sort of delayed reaction with the pain. I thought morbidly as I rubbed the side of my face.
Maybe next time I wouldn't be so forgiving…
***Seekers Headquarters***
After arriving at headquarters I noticed there were new keypads installed on all of the doors. I began panicking as a realized I had no idea what the code was. However after a quick inspection I noticed the manual locks were still there as well which although out of date suited my needs perfectly as I only had an actual old-fashioned key at my disposal.
Another thing I noticed once I entered was the fact that almost everything that had been inside such as trash, scrap metal, pipes, and bits of old machinery had been cleared out and disposed of in parts unknown.
I could hear the distinct sound of hammering echoing throughout the large building and due to its lack of apparel inside it was easy to find the source.
I spotted Ohgi and the man I remembered as Yuki working on a doorway leading to the stairs that led to the lower levels of the building. Walking over to them I greeted them casually and asked them what they were doing.
"I'm sure you've noticed the keypads outside, we haven't put a passcode on them yet but were setting up the rest of the doors in this place just the same." Oghi explained as Yuki struggled to lift a heavy reinforced looking door from the ground. Shuffling over quickly I caught the other side of it and helped him heave it upwards.
Christ this thing is heavy! I thought as I helped lift the solid steel door upwards and into its position on the hinges.
Oghi picked up an electric drill and began attaching several screws on the inside of the doorframe to secure it properly.
After what I counted to be 32 screws he was done.
"There, much better." He said proudly as he tested the doors smoothness of operating.
"How solid is it?" I asked, genuinely interested.
"Well, unless you have a knightmare or some explosives you won't be getting through without the code."
"And what is the code right now?"
"Until we set them they're all just six zeros."
"All right good, now that that's done tell me about the warehouse you guys inspected." I said deciding it was time to get down to business.
"Right!" He said as he led me towards one of the corners of our warehouse over to a computer sitting on a wooden foldout table.
"These are the images we managed to take, but due to the fact we couldn't use a flash we couldn't get a whole lot of details at night." He explained as he pushed the computer towards me allowing me to cycle through the images.
As I did this I continued to question further into the details.
"Give me an estimate on how many people are in the warehouse while it's operational."
"I'd say no more than 30 or so give or take…" I nodded and stopped to inspect a picture that viewed through a window and into the warehouse in detail.
There were several long tables set up with a menagerie of crates that were generically marked. In the midst of the picture there was a man lifting an individual tan sack off the top of the crate revealing dozens of stacked boxes presumably holding refrain.
From the looks of it Oghi had gotten his numbers estimate from the photos, or at the very least the photos closely mirrored all that he had seen himself.
After over viewing the photos for a while longer I came to a decision.
"Honestly the best way I see we can handle this is to simply have a knightmare plow through the steel gate and allow us to remove the workers by force… Not the most subtle or elegant thing we could do, but if we go through the ordinary doors one at a time we would probably just get pinned down. I can almost guarantee you that these men are armed in some way shape or form."
"Ohgi! We're going to need about 15 or 20 people including Kallen and her knightmare! Get them in here as soon as possible and we'll get loaded up."
"Sir!"
"Yuki, power up one of theKnightmares for me… In the meantime I'm going to get some practice in."
Yuki nodded and ran off just as Oghi had to accomplish their assigned tasks.
I need to get combat ready in a knightmare as soon as possible… But for now I'll do this on foot, even if it might get messy.
***To be continued. ***