Background music suggestion: Dragonforce: Seasons (Acoustic version)

Chapter 6: McDefection

Is this the coming of the day?
As the alliance of the dragon takes its prey
Is this the call of revolution?
Is this the fall of revolution of the soul?
Is this the cry from all corruption?
Or is corruption just a fortress we bestow?

-Saviour Machine: Legion

...

The following morning was grey and rainy.

"I kept thinking something last night...I didn't want to bother you since you fell asleep so quickly," Ian began.
They were still in their room.
"What is it?" Jo asked.
"It's about Vanya. I don't think he told us everything..."
"I actually think he has a crush on Helena Magnusson."
"Based on that one chance encounter?"
"It's just a feeling...What can I say, an emo knows an emo?"
Jo just nodded.
Also, she couldn't help noticing Ian had obviously begun accepting the emo in himself more and more, and was happy for him.

...

"I'm saying we can't hack the fire alarm without being traced. We tried to go around it yesterday, just to test it, and they would have detected us. Definitely," Mitsuko explained.
They were still at the flat, going through the different scenarios.
"I'd just prefer they'd never know we were there," Ian said shaking his head.
The weapons they had hidden in the venue were mostly dart guns. The sedative darts they had with them, hidden in their bags. The drug would cause memory loss but using them would still be problematic since there was a lot of security personnel. Since Gudrun had a little more experience with weapons and Vanya and Mitsuko some but Orfeus practically none, they decided that the last mentioned would stay in the van that day.

...

A girl approached Cosmo at the venue. He had sat close to one of the exit's again.
"I was asked to give you this," she said giving him a piece of paper.
Cosmo took it and the girl left as quickly as she had come.

The fast food restaurant two blocks south from here.
I know you don't really know me but I ask you to come alone.
As soon as you can.
Please. Helena.

What was he supposed to do? Was this a trap? Pondering these questions Cosmo walked to the corridor as if he had received a call. Around the corner he explained the situation to Orfeus briefly.
"We should talk to the others," he replied in the ear-piece.
Cosmo explained the situation again so all could heard it. There was a silence. Who would call the shots now? Would it be Ian, Jo or Erik?
"I don't know…" Jo finally said.
"I mean, she has chosen a public place…" she was thinking out loud.
"If she's willing to switch sides this could be a game breaker," Ian added.
"I'd say go. But just make sure you don't get ambushed on the way," Erik commented.
So in a way they all called the shots apparently.
"And keep us posted." Ian said.
"The whole time," he added.
He had a feeling Cosmo would understand the underlying meaning. No breaks from communication this time.

Cosmo thought he would have gone to meet her anyway, no matter what the other Agents would have said. It was difficult for him to explain why, even to himself, but he was sure that's the way it would have gone. He fetched his leather jacket from the lobby and was soon in a side corridor walking towards the door that lead to the fire escape. He exited the building and descended to the parking lot used for maintenance. He had noticed the fast food restaurant the first morning they had driven there. It was perhaps five minutes walk away. He took the most unlikely route, looking very carefully around his surroundings.

As he walked in the rain, his thoughts were racing. He had most certainly not expected to see Helena the following day. Somehow he had assumed they might never meet again, or they would possibly meet in the worst possible circumstances. Her father was obviously with NüVikings, possible even one of the leaders, or the leader. Soon he arrived at the restaurant. It was rather large space and he could spot her in one of the booths in the furthermost corner, as far away from the window as possible. She was wearing the same hoodie as yesterday and her hair was tied to a ponytail now.
"Hi," Cosmo said sitting down opposite her, surprisingly casually and taking off the wet jacket.
"Hi," she replied staring at him.
Everything in her appearance made him think she probably hadn't slept the previous night. Especially her eyes. He could also see the situation made her feel uncomfortable and he didn't want that. She might have been very much connected with the crazy Vikings and SCEPTRE but right now she looked like just one pained human being sitting in front of him. Cosmo had always been quite keen to sense what other people were feeling. It was often even discomforting, to be somehow so connected to the people around him.
"Would you like something? I'm going to get a coffee," he instinctive asked.
"Another one wouldn't hurt," she said, obviously looking relieved he had asked this.
"Sure. How do you want it?"
"Black."

...

He sat down with two coffees. She still seemed pained but slightly more relaxed.
"I know you are an Agent of Metal. Agent Vanya. And I have a feeling you now know who I am."
"I do."
He was slightly surprised she even knew his Agent name.
"How did you find these things out?"
"I'm a researcher. You left me enough clues."
Cosmo felt he wanted to be fair with her.
"Before we continue, you should know something. These glasses have a mic and a camera. And they are sending."
She took a sip of the coffee.
"I kind of guessed...You didn't have glasses yesterday. Thanks for the coffee and for telling that. Hi everyone," she said obviously talking to the glasses.
Her reaction somehow surprised and amused him. Perhaps it was the tiredness.
"It's actually only one person watching you right now. I mean besides myself."
"What''s the name of this person?" she asked.
"Orfeus."
She kept staring at this glasses.
"Hi Orfeus."
Then she stared at the coffee mug.
"Orfeus says hello," Cosmo said after hearing his voice for a second in his ear-piece.
"This is surreal…" she said raising her eyebrows.
Cosmo thought this realization of being observed made the encounter even stranger. He couldn't quite be himself and could see she couldn't either. It made it actually feel like the weirdest business meeting ever.
"You probably want to know why I asked you here. You and the others are thinking whether I wish to defect, right?" she was now talking in the tone he assumed the researcher Helena Magnusson would speak.
"Correct," was all he could say.
"And you're also thinking whether this is a scam, a trap, or something like that."
"Yes. You can probably understand that."
"I can. The thing is I do wish to...defect. But I guess you also want to know why?"
"I do," the tone of his voice had been most serious.
So she told him a story. I guess it was a typical story of how a cult is born. His father was the charismatic center of it. She had always thought this is the way life was, having lived secluded, delving into science and medicine as the purpose of her life. She obviously averted some details just to keep herself together. While she was explaining it for a second Cosmo had a thought of her wearing a mask. She most definitely didn't wish to lose her face now.
"So about a year ago my father was contacted by these strange people and little by little things just got so fucked up I couldn't…"
She was shaking her head.
"You know them. SCEPTRE."
"And since yesterday I've know they have a weapon. It's called Bargala. They're going to do something here today, as a part of their plan. I guess you have a scenario where you cause everyone in the building to be evacuated. I strongly suggest you use it. This Bargala...I don't know what it exactly is and how exactly it can be destroyed. They don't tell me about it. But I do know what you've done in the past so if anyone can do it, it's the Agents of Metal."
She took a deep breath. The words had somehow rushed out of her mouth.
"So yes, I wish to leave it all behind."
She dug a folder from the backpack she had next to her.
"I have a lot of data here. You might want to sit next to me as I go through this so you can record the whole thing,"
Cosmo sat next to her. By the time she had explained the plan of the mountain complex where she lived and worked, and Bargala was held, she had somehow forgotten all about being observed, and mostly her mask too, and Cosmo couldn't help thinking she was now the exact same woman whom he had embraced last night.
"I guess you couldn't leave with us now?" he asked although he guessed the answer.
"No," she shook her head.
"If I leave now you will never get to the complex. They will go on full alert. We leave back there tonight," she was now looking somewhere in the distance. Then she handed him the file.
"I have done my share. I don't know if there's more I can do now."
"Thank you Helena," Cosmo said looking her straight in the eyes.
The dark eyes looked right back at him, somehow solemn.
"Orfeus wants to thank you too," Cosmo said after hearing his voice in his ear-piece.
"And he will surely appreciate that I don't wish to take him to the men's room now," Cosmo said rising from the seat.
He took off his glasses and shut down the mic and camera but he sat right back opposite to her. He could see the surprise in her eyes.
"I'm so sorry you have to go back there."
She nodded staring at him.
Cosmo felt like there was something he needed to know.
"Could you tell me...why you came to the roof?"
She suddenly averted his look and swallowed.
"I just felt so powerless...I thought I would just have to watch the world burn."
"So later when I dug up who you are, I couldn't believe it."
She now blushed slightly, still not looking at him directly.
"I'm sorry about leaving the way I did. I was..."
She obviously didn't know how to end the sentence.
"Don't worry about it."
Now she looked back at him and they just stared at each other for awhile.
"I can't promise I can convince the others...But I can see you're real," Cosmo said.
"How?" she asked frowning.
"I just can. And I want to help you."
"Thank you, Cosmo."
"Can I ask you one thing?" she said smiling faintly.
"Of course."
"What's the deal with your Agent name?"
"Well...I actually wanted everyone to assume my real name was Ivan because I disliked Cosmo so much."
"That's silly." She actually smiled. For real.
"I know," he said smiling back at her.
He realized he could've again just kept looking at her smile endlessly but he soon remembered the bitter reality.
"I'm sorry. I have to put this back on. It's your benefit too. They'll believe you when they'll see you and don't think I'm up to something."
"I understand."
"I'm back," Cosmo said.
"One more thing…" Helena seemed to remember something.
"I thought a way of communicating with you. It's so difficult because of the security...but I was thinking we could play songs."
"I'm sorry. What did you say?"
She turned to the last page of the folder.
"I was already quite tired at this point...But it's just so stupid and random it could work."
On the page there was the name of a music website that recorded the details of the tracks that the user listened to.
"Do you know this?"
Cosmo nodded.
"This is my account and I have the code suggested here."
"I guess this could work," Cosmo said raising his eyebrows looking at the code.
"I'll create an account."
"You can write the username here" Helena said lifting the sleeve of her shirt and giving him a marker.
"I'll use this one," Cosmo said as he wrote the name as neatly as he could.
It was Phantastes_2014. A smile rose again on her lips as she read it. But then she frowned.
"I don't have any more time now."
She rose from her seat.
"You've recorded everything so...I don't know...I guess this it it then."
Cosmo cleared his throat.
"I do hope we'll meet again. Although the circumstances might be...extreme."
"I do hope we meet again."
She gave him one more meaningful look before she took her backpack and left. It was somehow filled with sadness. After she was gone Cosmo realized his gut reaction was to very much run after her again.

...

"I've been analyzing the data your glasses are sending. There's have something going on now. Every 218th second there's an image. I've been trying to capture it but there's nothing coherent in it. But I wouldn't look at the presentation further if I were you. Also, there's a very high frequency in the space. It would be a good time to proceed with plan five," all the Agents heard the voice of Orfeus.

Plan five was causing an alarm that would cause evacuation.

...

"Do you have the lighter?" Jo asked.
They found a place that was hidden from any surveillance cameras. Ian lifted her.
"This is a bit crude," she said lighting the lighter under the sprinkler. Almost immediately she felt the water on her face as it began to work. Ian lowered her down. They left back for the main hall when the sprinklers shut down.

"THIS WAS A FALSE ALARM."

"I REPEAT. THIS WAS A FALSE ALARM. PLEASE REMAIN WHERE YOU ARE."

"I guess it was a bit too crude," Jo said.

...