Miss Militia knelt down by the massive footprint in the concrete floor, a frown hiding under her scarf. At least, she believed it was a footprint. It didn't look like any natural footprint, nor did it resemble footwear. If it weren't for the way the depression in the concrete was tilted, she would never have suspected the bathtub-sized rectangle to be left by a foot.
"This makes little sense. Who could leave a footprint like this?"
Armsmaster finished taking photographs of the dent in the wall left by Trainwreck, then turned to her.
"I'd initially suspected Menja or Fenja, but the dimensions don't add up. Not to mention they never left footprints in concrete before."
Miss Militia stood back up, her weapon shifting from a knife to a pistol as she looked around the warehouse. The Merchants inside had already been loaded into the PRT vans and foamed up, with Squealer and Trainwreck among their number. Skidmark and Mush were auspicious absences, but she had a feeling they wouldn't last long without the support of their tinkers or half their men.
She thought to the spider-silk they'd found around all of their wrists and ankles. That must have been the mysterious new bug cape's doing, but that didn't explain why someone who'd only gone after muggers would suddenly take on the Merchants.
And succeed, at that.
She walked over to the wreck of one of Squealer's inventions, watching as PRT officers took photographs and samples. There was a massive hole in the thing's fuselage, like something huge had simply punched through.
"We suspect they took the power source."
Miss Militia turned to see Armsmaster walk over, halberd slung over his back. The tinker was frowning slightly; it seemed that the enigma of the situation was affecting him as well.
"We found similar damage on all the other vehicles as well. No gunpowder residue or plasma burns. Notice how the damage seems almost bent outwards?"
"Yes?"
"It seems like something smashed through, grabbed the power source, then yanked it clean out." Armsmaster allowed a small grin at the corner of his mouth. "Like someone decided to take the batteries out of Squealer's toy cars and planes."
"That seems to be the only thing they took," Miss Militia said. "Did you happen to get anything out of the Merchants we captured?"
"Other from confirmation that the bug cape was responsible? Very little. Most of them couldn't see due to the flies and beetles in their eyes. Some said that a truck created the hole in the wall, but they had nothing else. One did claim that there was the sound of something big moving inside, but that could've simply been their mind playing tricks on them. Eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable, after all."
Miss Militia glanced back to the footprints. "I'm inclined to believe something big was moving inside. But a truck?"
"My lie detector didn't indicate otherwise. The men I questioned did see a truck smash through."
"But what about the footprints?"
"We couldn't find any outside." Armsmaster paused. "That would leave some interesting possibilities. Perhaps we're looking at a size-changing Alexandria Package, or even some tinker creation that can disguise itself."
"How many tinkers could make something that big, though?"
"Not many, admittedly. And that would raise the question of where they got the materials and support base for such a creation. That surely would've showed up as a blip on the radar beforehand."
"And unless Dragon suddenly decided to take down the Merchants without alerting us, that still leaves us without good lead."
"Speaking of, I could share the data with her, and see what she produces. She collaborates with tinkers all over the world; if she can find our mystery man, it's her."
Miss Militia rubbed her temple with her free hand, and sighed. "So... we're looking for a mysterious tinker that could take on the Merchants with help from a cape who can control bugs, whose machine may or may not be capable of shapeshifting, and is big enough to leave tub-sized footprints."
"And who non-lethally took down the Merchants and took power cores, but no drugs or money," Armsmaster finished.
"This is going to be a headache, isn't it?"
Armsmaster sighed. "It seems so. Did you happen to speak with the others about the fallout, by any chance?"
"Not yet, but I know it's not going to be good. The ABB and E88 are not going to sit idle when they have an opportunity like this before them. We'll need to report this to the Director before we can do anything else."
"Alright then, let's head out."
Armsmaster turned about and made for his motorcycle, parked near the large hole in the warehouse wall. Miss Militia watched him go, then turned back to the large footprint in the concrete. There were others around the warehouse; many lead to the wrecks of Squealer's machines, but this one in particular had been the first she'd noticed.
Shaking her head, she sighed and made for the PRT truck that had escorted her here. It was a cool night out, and the Moon was visible in the sky, casting its silver light over the city.
As she hopped into the passenger seat, she thought back to the footprint. It was still at the forefront of her mind, nagging at her for a reason she couldn't discern,
She couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this whole thing than met the eye.
L
"-the names of the captured Merchants have yet to be revealed, though authorities say that they have managed to identify all of them as of two hours ago, thanks to the resources of the PRT. What this means for the future of the gang has yet to be discerned; police estimate there could be as many as fifty non-powered members left."
"The authorities have announced a search for the ones who conducted the raid, but only time will tell if-"
Lung turned off the TV, and leaned back into his seat, arm laid over the shoulder of his whore for the day. He couldn't be bothered to remember her name; only that she had the hanzi for fire tattooed in the crook of her neck. Fitting, he supposed.
The three lieutenants across the table from him were all uncomfortable as they turned their gaze away from the television, save for Lee. Good. This was the kind of fear he wanted his underlings to feel; the fear of certainty. He could sense their unease with his uncharacteristic quiet for the past few days, brewing beneath their skin, permeating their sweat.
Under his own skin, there was no unease, only a calculating fury. Poets and romantics alike loved to describe what he felt now as a cold anger, but he knew otherwise. Just as physical heat began to feel like cold when it was extreme enough, so too did his anger feel. It was like white-hot iron in his veins, pushing out nearly every other thought from out of his mind.
Nearly.
He let his lieutenants' fear stew for a few moments longer before he spoke.
"This changes things."
The other two lieutenants were too nervous to speak without prompting, but Lee simply straightened a little.
"What will we do?" the cape asked.
Lung pulled his arm away from his whore, giving her the cue to leave. She awkwardly shuffled past him, stiffening when he gave her a lazy pat on the ass. Once she was out of the restaurant, he sat up, using his height to loom over the men before him.
"My eyes and ears say that the Merchants had been bound with spider-silk." His voice now carried a low growl to it, and he could see one lieutenant quiver a little. "This was the bug girl's doing."
"How could she have-" the other lieutenant asked, only to click his jaw shut and wither under Lung's glare.
"She did not do it alone. She had help."
"Do we know who helped her?" Lee asked, evenly.
"No. But she could not have dismantled Squealer's machines, or fling Trainwreck into a wall. There is someone strong on her side. I will simply have to be stronger."
Lung motioned to the first lieutenant. "You. Gāo. Take twenty men and make for the remaining Merchant territory, before the Empire can seize it for themselves. Strike while Skidmark and his mud-man still reel from their losses. Lee will help you. Should you find Skidmark or the Empire, do not fight them yourself. Call for me, and I will handle them on my own."
Gāo nodded sullenly, then stood up from the table, and left the restaurant. Lee appeared right behind him, ash crumbling into the now-vacant seat. Lung then focused his stare to the remaining lieutenant.
"Shingen, you shall ensure that production is not threatened by the Empire while we move in on the Merchants. Do not fail me."
There was no need to follow up with a threat; actions spoke louder than words, after all. Shingen swallowed dryly, then left the restaurant as well.
Lung leaned back into his seat once more. A young waitress -the owner's daughter, he recalled- came up with a tray of sake. Her eyes did not meet his as she deposited the drink, and she left in a hurry. Lung admired the view as she disappeared behind the kitchen doors, then grabbed his sake. He took a sip of it, and let out a rumbling sigh.
"Enter," he announced loudly.
Bakuda stepped out of the backroom, dressed casually aside from her mask. She plopped down where the others had been, propping her feet on the table.
"Must be important if you didn't want them to see me," she said in a mechanical buzz. "Got a... special project for me?"
Lung leaned forward. "That night, when the bug girl had the audacity to attack me, I had her where I wanted. By my will, she would have died that night. Painfully."
"Clearly, she didn't," Bakuda deadpanned. "Wonder how that happened."
Lung's lips tightened into a sneer as he let the insubordination slide. "A fire truck hit me, then drove off with her in tow."
"Not even gonna comment on the beautiful irony in that."
"It was not a real fire truck, or the news would have mentioned it." When Bakuda tilted her head, he explained, "The bug girl would either be part of the Wards, or there would be news of a firefighter being attacked by bugs as she fled from the truck. There was neither. Therefore, it must have been an ally driving a fake, or some tinker creation."
"New tinker, huh?" Bakuda rubbed her hands together. "Now that should be fun. What do you want me to do?"
Lung allowed himself a feral grin under his mask. "Something that will save face for me, and lure the bug girl and her allies out from the shadows."
"I'm all ears, boss. Lay it on me."
Lung's grin broadened, and he told her his plan.
