Chapter 9: Machinations

11:11 AM (Japan Time), Sunday February the 23rd…

"… Good morning, Chief, sir. Allow me to introduce myself: Oda. I am in charge of the Cyber CID…"

"My predecessor talked highly about you, Superintendent. I've been reading these reports on "Golden Star"… In my opinion, they deserve being the focus of our investigations… I got a draft saying you captured a member yesterday. Have you questioned them?"

"I am sorry. But that's impossible."

"Why?"

Oda walked into an office where Sorodo was sitting behind a desk and looking at some documents inside of a folder; the office had broad views of the landscape as well.

"They had a bike accident and suffered blunt head trauma which knocked them into a coma." He summarized.

"Didn't they have a Net Navi?"

"That's the strange part. The Navi ended up falling into a similar coma-like state at the same moment the Operator did…!"

"How's that possible?" Sorodo was clearly surprised.

"Hikari – hakase spent awake most of yesterday's evening, trying to figure it out… His preliminary conclusions in simple words are that the Navi was "synchronized" to the Operator's biometric data relayed by a network of intravenous nanomachines and a chip implant on the brain… Their consciousness program got locked up by a biometric password which will only unlock once the EEG readout reaches the accepted standard value for "consciousness"…" Oda summed up.

"Wasn't there a system in which Navi and Operator ended up synchronizing and the Operator could enter the Cyber World too? I believe you experimented with it in the past, too."

"Full Synchro? Indeed. When the frequencies of the Navi's program and the Operator's brain happen to match up… They create a feedback, and the Cyber World treats it as if a program came inside of it! An avatar for the feedback mind of the Operator appears inside of the Cyber World. It allows for faster coordination and reflexes while working together while the body is pulled into a sleeping-like status by the phenomenon…"

"So this is somewhat the inverse, right?"

"Correct, sir. It's a new technology altogether and analyzing it is going to take several days. We did check her inboxes but found nothing: there was a program that helped ensure total removal of the data and thus not even Obihiro – kun could retrieve anything from her laptop or from her PET… The call logs were erased too. Her normal bike was at their "Point Limehouse", but we seized nothing of interest there. The abandoned bike had been wiped clean of fingerprints too." Oda sighed in defeat.

"Did you try to locate any family?"

"We found no – one! I guess her family name is fake. She did get into her post by her own merits and not with someone opening up a door."

"They are very well organized. Cars, bikes, hi-technology, snipers, field agents, rules, high-power Net Navis… They must've been slowly growing in a secretive manner ever since the defeat of that gigantic beast… What was its name again?" Sorodo rubbed his chin.

"Super Cybeast Greizer… And it'd make sense they've spent the whole time ever since 2007 just to grow."

"I see. Thank you for the briefing, Superintendent. We're going to have some complicated spots from now on but priority one is concealing the location of the captured agent." Sorodo dismissed him.

"Roger that, Chief, sir."

"So they want war… They'll have it." Sorodo muttered.

"I'm afraid so, sir. If you will excuse me, I will resume the investigations."

"Go ahead, Superintendent. I'm counting on you."

11:44 AM (Japan Time)…

"… So? Any progress?"

"No dice, Boss! We searched the most obvious places but no – one seemed to know anything about Suzuki – san."

"Lovely."

"What do we do? Continue searching?"

"Something must've happened to her on the road! There has to be a witness somewhere."

"Could be, yeah…"

"Does that wound hurt?"

"What? The bullet's grazing? Not so much anymore."

"That Laika guy… How could he be there ahead of us?"

"Hmpf… No big mystery… We thought Kendou was the one who set the microphone, but it turns out it was Obihiro! The genius hacker guy Hikari – kun used to talk about."

"Hikari – kun…? Your former classmate? I see."

"Kendou was unrelated."

"You're being quiet, Andy - kun."

"Hmpf… I don't need to barge into their chat, Legato… And you'd better off not trying to leech on me from behind again…"

"Of course, of course… Don't be so hostile, if you may."

Kage was discussing with a person cloaked in a black monk's cloth including a heavy hood hiding most the face; the interlocutor appealed as being around a meter and seventy tall and some inches taller than Kage himself while Legato walked over to Andy.

"So? What do you suggest? Safe houses, detention cells…? Or somewhere unexpected, like, say, an abandoned underground station?"

"Hard to say at this stage…"

"Please don't be so quickly to feel defeated, Vice President Noir, sir. There could still be a chance. Suzuki was trained and she has a strong personality! The Net Police won't dare to do anything but speaking and asking questions. They don't believe in using violence unlike others."

"I'm worried about Laika butting into the picture. That guy holds grudges, obviously enough." Noir sighed.

"Come on! He's a foreign serviceman and this is Net Police's Cyber CID jurisdiction to begin with. He can't do anything but ask of Ijuuin what they've found out insofar and analyze Akemi's data at the Science Labs! He's merely come as reinforcements to handle their current short-of-useful-hands status…" Kage calmly told him.

"You're right, Miquel – kun. I can't help but feel wary whenever the guy shows up. Remember what he did to your friend back when their first meeting! The damned fools!"

Noir stood up and brought both fists (still inside of the sleeves) down on the small work desk (filled with memorandums, folders, documents, pencils, pens and seals) which sent some of them flying.

"Whoa! Calm down, Boss!"

"… Sorry. I must look like an idiot to you. Really." He grumbled as he sat back down on the chair, and looked elsewhere.

"No. You got hotheaded, that's all. It happens to everyone. How many days have you spent here as of late, anyway? Why don't you go out into one of the storerooms and open the windows to ventilate and cool off a bit? I'll go out with Zarashe to the café close by! There's a soccer match which I wanna see."

"True… I need to cool off… Legato! You're off-duty but I'd be glad if you could try compiling a sketch of the situation and add some ideas as to how to search for Suzuki – san."

"Roger, sir. Please leave it up to me, sir."

"Well, see ya 'round." Andy calmly told Legato.

"Take care."

"Thanks."

Kage emerged into the main corridor of their "HQ", closing the door labelled "VP Noir Office" behind him.

"The HQ is no wonder but it'll do for the time being while "it" is being constructed… Which should be ready by May or June… This old abandoned port bureau building will do fine for the time being since we aren't in need of high-tech stuff apart from laptops. I'll go pick Zarashe on his quarters and let's get moving there. It's a nice morning after all and maybe we'll get some ideas there. Maybe there's some rumor floating around, some info we could use as a lead…"

"It won't hurt to get distracted for a while. Lily – san directed me several hostile glares yesterday! I guess it's because she must wanna blame us for annoying Tozukana – san… One should learn to remain cool and collected if they want to be a decent sniper!" Andy rolled his eyes as he showed up with the life-sized hologram.

Kage was about to knock on a door labeled "Zarashe" when he spotted another door further down the corridor, slightly open, and someone glancing out with a hostile brightness to their eyes.

"Tozukana – san. Now you're going to say Zarashe and I are a gay couple or what?" He dully called out.

"Hmpf! Whatever!"

SLAM!

"Huff. That can't end up well!"

"Hey! Miquel. Ready? I just came back from reporting to Mr. President and his secretary. Good stuff, you know."

"Zarashe – kun. That was being rude." Beta X scolded.

"Come on! It ain't like walls have ears!"

"Is that so?"

"Yikes!"

"See?"

Zarashe turned around to see a woman standing in the corridor; she was looking down (literally) on him, and was probably on her thirties.

She had a black hat that hid her gaze.

Her attire was a black wool jumper plus a pair of jeans and rain boots; gloves covered her hands as well.

"Zarashe. I do think I deserve an apology for your rude comment on my persona." She icily told him while speaking with a marked foreign accent.

"Ma-ma'am…! I… was just kidding and…" He nervously answered.

"If I see you thinking of vulgar things about me again then I shall complain to President Hades. You have been warned."

She turned on her heels and headed down the corridor; Tozukana glared at her from inside of her room, made a grimace and slammed the door shut while Kage was already walking away; Zarashe was ran down the corridor to catch up with him as he opened the stairway's door.

"Don't slow me down, Zarashe."

"Man! You're so stiff…!" Zarashe grumbled.

"At least I'm not a social failure like Felix."

"Yikes. Alright, alright."

"Guess we gotta return to the normal size! We don't want to call the attention! Hardly anyone will repair on us given how they'll be glued to the TV match." Andy calmly told Beta X.

"Obviously enough!"

"I'm sure it's gonna be an intense match!"

"Sure. As always!"

They entered the underground garage where the black Toyota and the scarlet Subaru were parked; Kage unlocked it and sat on the passenger's seat while Zarashe picked the driver's seat.

"Next stop: the bar!" Zarashe grinned.

"The abode of soccer spirits!"

"You know who Mr. X is?" He asked next.

"What "Mr. X"?" He seemed to frown under the sunglasses.

"The cyborg ninja in MGS2: Sons of Liberty, ya know."

"Oh, that. Everyone knows."

"Everyone knows our Uncle Moran will challenge Uncle Merton to a Trumps showdown and will win by betting on Jameson."

"That's a load of crap I don't need to hear to."

"Jeez. You sound so… Occidental. Really. Try to be more Japanese or has that uncle of yours influenced you?"

"No. I'll deal with the fucker with when the right moment comes. The bastard tried to have its accomplices get me so I fled. That's when I got recruited into Golden Star! My knowledge of these criminals was useful and they'd make sure that they wouldn't get away with it."

"You mean to say that the local police were controlled or bribed by those fuckers then?" Zarashe guessed.

"Right. I guess I broke one or two's arms and one's nose. They deserved it. Enough of the past. We're here."

"Yessir! Time for soccer spirits!"

The car pulled to a stop in an empty parking spot; they entered a small bar filled with activity; they choose a table in a corner, and sat down on the chairs while most of the customers were looking at the TV; a presenter was standing in the TV box of the stadium, looking down there and narrating.

"What are you orders?" A waiter asked.

"Soda and mineral water, please."

"…4 to 3! 4 to 3, I say!" A customer exclaimed.

"2 to 1."

"What a defeatist!"

"You mean realist."

"They'll sweep through them and score 2 in the first half and an extra one in the second half while they won't get past their defenses so it'll end up 3 to 0! My word, my fellows!" Yet another customer exclaimed.

"So? Wanna bet?" Zarashe grinned.

"Rule 17! Bets going over 100Z are forbidden."

"Come on! 55Z that it ends 3 to 1!"

"55Z? Well then… I say 2 to 2 and extra time." Kage got in the mood as he faced Zarashe.

"Alright then!"

"Here are your orders, fellow conspirers."

"Thanks, and… What? Fellow conspirers?"

The waiter had brought their drinks and used odd wording; Kage violently seized his head from behind and made it hit the table as he drew his Swiss Army Knife and tried to stab the side of the head; the knife pierced through a latex mask and stabbed into the table.

"Ikada – san." He icily announced.

Ikada shook off the remains of the mask and adjusted her hair's length.

"Come on! I caught you two betting on vanity."

"There's not a rule saying betting on vanity is not allowed as far as I remember unless you've submitted a draft of it."

"That sounds so alike you, Miquel… I already seized some juicy information." She whispered.

"What? A lead?"

"Ijuuin. I've been trailing him and acting like Holmes! A different disguise each time. He didn't notice anything! He went to an intriguing place: Akihara Central Hospital. We could send one of those third party men there to check it out. Maybe Martha is injured and she's interned there!"

"Akihara Central Hospital… We won't lose anything by sending one of those guys to check it out, true."

"By the way… Is this the wound of yesterday?"

She pointed at an already cicatrized scar on his right cheek slightly below the right eye's lower edge.

"Yeah. The son of a bitch marked me! It's their way of payback! Even though I've never met them, and Burner Man went there on orders from Boss, and not mine. But since I'm the closest man to Boss he thought this applied to Boss too." He grumbled.

"Sorry, big boy. Anyway… Do you think I should tell this to Mr. President and wait for results? Let's give it 5 days' time."

"Sure thing."

"… GOAL! GOAL! GOA~L! At 3 minutes 44 seconds into the game Nagoya Rage's best shooter, Inao, scores a magnificent GOAL!" The commentator exclaimed.

"Oh yeah! Go for it, Inao!" Zarashe and Kage exclaimed.

"Eat this!" Andy and Beta X excitedly uttered.

"Boys will be boys. I'm off to my subtleness. Do your best." Ikada blew them a provoking kiss.

"Hmpf! Save your tricks for a fool, miss!" Kage was unimpressed.

"Yikes. As intimidating as always!"

"Do your best, big boys…" Sandra teased.

"Yeah, yeah. We know that tune." Both replied.

"You could be twins, even!"

The four of them quickly focused on the soccer match again.

"… GOAL! GOAL! GOA~L! At 17 minutes 58 seconds into the game Inao sweeps through the enemy's lines again! What an amazing speed! What coordination! What power!" The commentator exclaimed.

"I'm so gonna win the bet!" A customer exclaimed.

"Wait and see, lad. The game's but started. Who knows? Maybe the others are feigning weakness but will then counter with such power that we'll be the ones to get busted instead!" Another customer warned.

"Who cares? Go, Inao, go!"

"Go for it!"

"We'll get the Japan Cup this year as well: my word!"

"Blow them away! Fight! Fight!"

"Things are getting exciting!" Zarashe exclaimed.

"Sure." Kage calmly replied as he sipped some water.

"Are you sure there's nothing weird there? You never know, with Ikada – san's moods and all…" Zarashe whispered.

"Have you forgotten? We all have intravenous nanomachines which break down foreign chemicals into harmless structures or rebuild them so as to not to be dangerous for the organism."

"True! Man! That was a brilliant idea! That aside! For Inao and the Nagoya Rage!" Zarashe help up his glass of soda.

"For Inao and the Nagoya Rage, yeah."

"And if the Cyber CID guys believe they've scored a goal let them wait until we return the kick! We'll pound them into the ground."

"I'm sure Mr. President and Boss will come up with a very intriguing strategy fitting to handle those guys."

"Count on them! They're the geniuses who met and started the whole deal after all." Kage shrugged his shoulders.

"Those guys will suffer a new defeat! Let's see how they sink into the depths of despair." Andy chuckled.

"If only they knew… Our future ace-in-the-hole…" Beta X teased.

"But they don't know… They're afraid… Very afraid…"

"Afraid of our hidden power…"

"By the way. Shouldn't we send Ikada – san's suggestion to the President? The sooner we look into it, the better… Don't you think so?"

"Yeah. You take care of that. I've got a busy week with several assignments to complete. Remember that this isn't a competition. As long as you comply with the rules and orders, then there's nothing to get nervous about." Kage reminded him.

"Don't worry! I was able to find some hard to chew rascals during the weeks leading up to the operation of the other day. Now I feel more satisfied at teaching them that acting like gorillas won't allow them to win in Net Battles." Zarashe explained.

"Gorillas sure were. They relied on trying to hit you with punches. Their movements were so slow… Their thick armor was annoying, though. It cut off damage by 25% so…" Beta X detailed.

"I see. We should use that data as reference to train further and adapt our strategies to deal with that kind of foe, too." Andy rubbed his chin.

"Shoo! That was CLOSE! But I'm sure that the next goal is imminent!"

"Don't be in a rush, my lads! It's a matter of time! Go, Danna!"

"Let's enjoy the match, Zarashe! The rest can wait!"

"Well said, Miquel! Go, Inao! Unleash your TRUE POWER! Hooray!"