Chapter 16: Intrigue
19:32 PM (Japan Time), Saturday March the 10th…
"… This is Dock 11, alright. Where's the informant at?"
"I detect no – one, Enzan – sama."
"This is either a joke or…"
"Or a trap, Ijuuin!"
"Fuck! Who the hell?"
"Chat Noir."
Enzan had been standing in the foggy Dock 11 when a distorted manly voice rang out from behind him followed by the glow of two red "eyes" with cat-like black pupils; Enzan turned around to face this apparition.
"He's dressing in a black paraglider's suit so that's why he can't be seen normally and wears night-vision goggles…!" Blues realized.
"Indeed. Rather amateur, coming here and not thinking it was a trap. Maybe you should be looking up to Arsène Lupin when it comes to sneaking around, Ijuuin?"
"You're Noir, then!"
"Chat Noir."
"What's with that outfit?" Enzan demanded, having a hard time to conceal his uneasiness.
"It fits me! A creature of the night, seeing others which can't see me…"
"What do you want?"
"Maybe I feel generous and I want you to walk upon the right road instead of beating around the bush." He shrugged.
"What?"
"What does that mean?" Blues grumbled.
"Listen up… Our organization, Golden Star, is a like an onion. You've just begun to peel the outer layers. You're starting to scratch the middle layers thanks to Suzuki – san's collaboration but there are secrets which only a few know about. Those are in the thickest layer and will be hard to reach at… And, lastly…"
"Lastly?" Enzan gulped.
"The core! That's where all of your beliefs will be questioned and all reality will be torn apart as if it was a mere background for the stage play! You'll see the backside of reality hidden behind it, the blackness hidden behind it, the endless abyss… Where I live at."
"Yikes. That doesn't sound good! At all!"
"You think that white pieces in chess win because they move first! However, if the other players organizes a solid defense, they will be able to counter their movements and win… A single pawn can become a queen but it will keep on being a mere piece of the game… The ones with real power are the players who decide each movement…"
"But what's you guys' goal?"
"Stability. To society."
"How is a mass destruction program like…?"
"No, no. You're not seeing the point. Why do you think the big countries still refuse to dismantle their nuclear armament? It's called deterrence and it was the pillar in which the Cold War sustained. Retaliation strike… The fear of MAD… That's what supported that climate which dragged on for decades… What we seek is something similar, yet there won't be any MAD… There'll be just deterrence. Deterrence to keep the dangers to society controlled and, if possible, fighting amongst themselves into destruction… Is that not what intelligence agencies like the MI6 are doing nowadays? Double agents which try to build up the climate for the mutual destruction of eyesores… Adding fire to old enmities and having criminals compete against each other…" He listed in a calm and explanatory tone.
"That's true, but…"
"Do you still not see it? Everyone's ambitions are fulfilled within Golden Star! Most have abiliies which society did not recognize or ignored… Rather than letting them go to waste, we recruit the best ones… Our pool of members is reduced, but that's because they are sufficient and their combined abilities allow for our expansion across this self-centered society… Tell me. Is there a "self" to begin with or "self" is something you've created because it makes you feel better while shutting your eyes to the world and to others in need which get forgotten?"
"T-that's…"
"You cannot reply. I know this is a largely philosophical matter yet I believe one builds a "self" akin as to how you build a contention wall around something to keep things inside of them protected. Why do you think some people are in need of protection? It's not just because they fear for their lives! They feel better with walls and defenses around them! It boosts their "self" and gives them the sensation of being the center of the Universe… We have tossed all "self" and all "battlements" aside to build up a force which will contribute not only to the stability of Japan's society but most of the stable countries' one! Those torn by internal conflicts will be left as they are but at least the information will shape things in another manner."
"So you intend to pick information from intelligence agencies and make it your own to then decide how to bring "stability?"
"Wrong. You're looking for a hostile manner of doing things which we don't like." He corrected.
"Seeing what happened at the hospital and such…"
"Be glad we didn't barge in and broke open all doors until we found Suzuki – san to then pull out."
"But you caused harm to citizens!"
"No permanent harm. Sometimes a few must be sacrificed for the greater sake… That's one of the mottoes in the NRO."
"What are you gonna do next?"
"Maybe you feel rusted. We'll provide the means to make you shine again and regain your fan-club." He added with obvious sarcasm.
"I don't have a fan-club. Hikari does." Enzan countered.
"Hikari Netto, you mean? He's retired, according to Miquel – kun. He has nothing to do with this so don't bother him. The young man must be busy enough with his duties."
"Where's Kage? Tell him to show his hide."
"What would you gain from that?"
"Information."
"Do you honestly think he'll just tell you what he is going to do next, Ijuuin Enzan? Or were you trying to be rough with him? We all know self-defense because Mr. Keitai instructed us." He warned.
"Fuck. Forgot that."
"I don't think Chief Sorodo would approve of it because it'd mark a regression and bring along public uproar."
"Threatening me, you punk?"
"More like warning you."
"Where's the long-haired punk at?"
"Legato? He's making sure no – one gets in the way of our conversation although it's very unlikely that someone would come to such a place at such an hour."
"Why don't you show your face? I don't swallow that tale of the car accident to begin with."
"I don't need to. It creates a better atmosphere in which everyone feels amused by speculating. Speculation can be thrilling from time to time! You pick the little pieces and join them together to form a convincing theory."
"I'm gonna take off that silly mask and figure out your true colors, you Frenchman wannabe."
"You are insulting my deceased mother's ancestors." He turned icy, as if Enzan had attacked his pride.
"Damn! Spoke too much again…" Enzan grumbled.
"I will not tolerate any attempts of physical assault upon me! Apart from the showdown some days ago, have we ever specifically targeted you out of all people?" He warned.
"I know you didn't, but…"
"That's your "self" and your "gonna-be-the-hero" side speaking: I can predict that you'll try to fist me with the right fist but before you can complete that maneuver you'll be in my grip and I'll toss you into the ground." He announced.
"Sheesh. Clever guy…"
"Asterix! Welcome to the party!"
He looked behind Enzan and towards the end of the dock.
"Who…?"
Enzan looked in that direction, but then heard the man running away; he gave chase but his opponent was quite light-footed despite the suit:;Enzan saw the black Toyota up ahead; the rear passenger door opened as the car was ready to shoot out; the man jumped inside like a diver and the door had barely closed when the car shot away while dropping a Trumps card with the Golden Star logo on it, titled "The Golden Star", into the ground.
"Au revoir, cher ami!" A voice called out.
"Fuck them."
"They fooled us with the oldest trick in the book!" Blues cursed with obvious annoyance.
"Shit. And they laughed at us too!"
"I shall offer no excuses, Enzan – sama. I should've been on guard."
"Whatever! Let's go back to the HQ before I catch a cold!"
20:14 PM (Japan Time)…
"The face of the terror! I loved it!"
"Yeah. I can see that through the suit's hidden camera recording you made of him..."
"Terrific, sir."
"Thanks, Legato."
"… Whose face of terror, I wonder…"
"Ijuuin – kun's face, maybe?"
"Sounds logical…"
Suzuki had put on a pair of earphones as she heard to what was going in Noir's room; Akemi was circling her finger around the right ear-pad, tuning into the same frequency.
"But, seriously… That outfit was the killer. It made you look a Delta Force guy or something. The only thing missing was that IM weapon, Improved Munitions, ya know." Kage laughed.
"Sure thing… Too bad."
"By the way! What's the latest report on Purgatory?"
Purgatory…? First-timer…
"Over 85% completed… The interiors and "Zero" are the only thing pending but it won't be all ready and up until the end of May or the first half of June… Depends on how long the crates we charged take to come and how much time we spend with simulations…"
Interiors…? "Zero"… Crates… Hmmm…
"Maybe it's a new HQ?" Akemi suggested.
"Sounds like it and "Zero" must be a machine of some sort with a degree of complexity which demands a lot of testing."
"Maybe it's related to their talk about information gathering."
"There's no rush. The more time we spend making sure all is ready to kick off the better… Has the installation of those progressed? Will the main ones be ready by the time "Zero" is brought to 100% capacity or there'll be need for more?" Andy asked.
"There'll be more, obviously enough, but we'll have sufficient with those set in strategic data interchanging spots…" Noir replied.
"Excellent. By the way… ED is cool, as you said."
"Thanks."
ED? Ending? Someone's initials?
"Where'd you get the idea for this Chat Noir guy, anyway, Boss? Some French comic book?" Kage asked.
"Ironically, no. I got the idea from a small yet-unfinished manga titled Magic Kaito… By Aoyama – sensei, the author of Detective Conan. The character "Phantom Thief Kid" is a cameo coming from this series."
"Cool! Say! Tomorrow's a Sunday, right?" Kage brought up.
"Yeah. Why?"
"Why don't we make them sweat? There's something we need from Point MC anyway, or so you told me. Remember? Project "CR"!"
"Oh yeah. I'd almost forgotten, truth to be told! I've been so busy handling the new info Agoras – kun and Victor managed to dig plus discussing with President Hades if we should start tackling some major dangers of the underground or wait until "Zero" was ready…"
"Maybe it's a system to recollect data?" Akemi suggested.
"That's what can be guessed from these hints…"
"Tonight my blood boils! Maybe I'll become a werewolf?"
"Huh? Werewolf? Who's that?" Suzuki asked.
"Video Man. Guess he's trying to come up with a "cool" line of dialogue for a video or so!"
"I'm back. There were some guys who did try to put up a fight there, on the stadium. That's the place which fills me…" Burner Man announced.
"Comrade. What are the latest rumors about us?" Cosmo Man's voice rang out.
"Hey! Danna. They say we're paid by the Choina Army to test out new Cyber Weapons for the future Cyber Wars."
"Hmpf. They can't think of something better? Good work anyway. Let the weakling know who is in charge of the flames here."
"Alright. Night, Danna."
"Then it's my turn…" A voice rang out.
"Don't overdo it, Dark Man." Legato called out.
"Don't worry. I know when to hold back."
"Good luck then."
"Thanks."
"Commander! I have returned from my assignment in inspecting the placements of "those"… No – one has noticed anything and they are starting to work at a reduced capacity as dictated by the schedule given how we are not ready for full-scale processing yet…" Pharaoh Man reported.
"What are those three saying?" Akemi asked, since she had focused on the Navis' talk.
"Not much. They were discussing Nintendo games."
"Burner Man heard that they think we're a Choina Army front for new-gen weapons. Pharaoh Man handled something which seemingly gathered a small amount of data to be processed with our current capacity before we can fully analyze a larger volume of data." Akemi summed up.
"… Man. I got tricked again… I'm so lame, really." Zarashe could be heard protesting in the corridor.
"That's why you should be wary of her. She's the "Ice Queen" for something, don't you think so?" Beta X reminded him.
"That's easy for ya to say, Beta, but…"
"Raise your head like a prideful member of Golden Star! Look on ahead: Dark Man told me about some huge project we're undergoing and that it'll be complete by June." Beta X tried to cheer him up.
"June's a LONG way from here." Zarashe kept on being depressed.
"Jeez. Why don't you try to beat some guy over at WoC?" Beta X tried suggesting.
"World of Warcraft, ya mean… Could work…"
"Will work."
"I'll give it a try… Hey. Miquel. What's up, man?"
"We gave Ijuuin a scare. I'll post the video in our server and you can watch it to have some fun. It's totally worth it." Kage laughed.
"Alright… I'll have a look at it tomorrow. Right now I need some rest because I got done in by Ice Queen – sama AGAIN."
"Man. That's some bad luck. Why don't you complain? There's a rule about that."
"There's a rule?" Zarashe gasped.
"Rule #18! If one member of any administration drags another member which may or not be of their own administration into trouble or depression they can be reported to their superior and they will be properly scolded after examination of the circumstances by both leaders in a process set to be of a maximum of 4 hours." He quoted.
"Whoa. So, in short: I can complain to Mr. President and, in about 4 hours later, he must've reached a verdict of what to do regarding Ikada – san's behavior with me?" Zarashe summed up.
"Bingo." Andy confirmed.
"Thanks." Beta X thanked.
"You're welcome. Bye."
"Bye."
"Alright, Legato. I'm off to some sleep and you're off-duty so do as you please but do carry the security check around me. You know the drill so go for it, veteran." Noir told him.
"Delighted, sir."
"Tomorrow… They'll be made to jump off their bunks and they'll get to know it wasn't a drill. Too bad, gentlemen."
Something is going to happen tomorrow… What is it? Wait. MC… That name rings a bell somewhere… It's probably going to be an attack through the Cyber World… Let's warn Ijuuin – kun…
She plugged a set of earphones and mike into her PET as she dialed a number and Enzan appeared onscreen.
"It's me. I'll be brief. They're going to raid somewhere named "MC" tomorrow morning. Do those letters ring a bell?" She whispered.
"MC… Hmmm… They do ring a bell, yeah. Blues. Got any ideas?"
"Give me a moment, sir… I found it, sir. Maybe it's this, sir?"
"By all the… They're gonna hit THAT? What about the security?"
"They'll probably bring several Navis at once to break through. I'm afraid it's not designed to deal with such an attack, sir."
"Now I see why those letters were familiar." Suzuki muttered.
"No time to waste, then. I'll warn Superintendent Oda and try to gather as many helpers as possible. Something tells me the three of us won't suffice. Hopefully they won't bring that MDW along!" Enzan grumbled.
"Probably not. They said they don't want to rely on it forever."
"That's reassuring. Alright… Time for battle! Let's get ready, Blues!"