protocol_01.04: iterate
They returned the briefcase to Sanctuary first thing. T had looked thunderous when Anna had to explain that the blood was Ixion's. Somehow, Anna doubts that the next conversation T has with their client will be pleasant.
Adze and Sven had left after they got their payment, presumably back to Doc's clinic. Working with him — them? — had been much better than she expected, but at this point, Anna's main concern is getting clean.
She starts peeling off her clothes and gear as soon as the door to her apartment locks, starting with the gloves. The blood's dried on them, flaking as she pulls them off. Those are going to be a pain to clean, she thinks as she makes her way to the shower. The rest of her clothes are in marginally better shape, and once again she silently thanks Elsa's insistence that her outfits are designed for durability and ease of cleaning.
Under the spray, Anna can't stop her thoughts from circling back to her sister. What she'd done to Ixion was scary. The most terrifying part, though, is how fast it happened. All it had taken was an instant, and she had turned Ixion's own body against her. And with this knowledge came the cold realization that it was too fast for even Elsa to be using a keyboard.
Her conversation with T and Doc echoes in her head. But all the other signs are just wrong. The single most important symptom in a skiz, after their addiction to the Net, is that they can't focus. The direct neural jack makes access faster, but the human brain wasn't designed for that. They can't control their own thoughts, their own mental capacity. And her sister is nothing but control. Sure, Anna's seen her impressively multitask to a ridiculous degree, but nothing escapes Elsa's laser-focus.
But the ease at which she disabled Ixion, with which she took over and killed Ixion, Anna can't help but worry. She hadn't even known a corm could do that. It makes sense, in retrospect, sort of. Maybe it happened so fast because no one seriously expects a non-networked set of cyberware to be in danger of a network attack. Maybe it had shitty security, and she's seen Elsa blow through some really impressive networks. Maybe Elsa had just designed them to work that way on cyber limbs because she's that ridiculously paranoid.
Maybe.
It really doesn't help settle her thoughts that her sister's been quiet since the warehouse. As she towels off and bundles into warm sweats, she wonders what the silence means. Is Elsa also bothered by what happened? She doesn't have a way to deal with it, other than thinking or talking. What is she going to do, run around wherever she's being kept? And who is she going to talk to other than Anna?
"Hey Elsa?"
"Hm?" On some level, it's comforting to know that her sister is always listening, always there for her. It really hits home at times like this that they really do only have each other.
"Can we...can we talk about what happened?" she asks, preparing some hot chocolate mix in her tiny kitchen. Anna figures she's going to need it.
Thankfully for her nerves, Elsa doesn't play dumb. "You mean with Ixion."
"Yeah." Anna bites her lip. "You've never done that before."
"I've reprogrammed robots on the fly before."
Anna drops the spoon. It clatters against the countertop. She suddenly, irrationally, hates it. "That's not the same."
There's a long pause. "No, I guess it's not. Because robots aren't alive."
The words die on her tongue. Is that it? That Elsa did that to a human, rather than the fact that Elsa did it at all? Because Anna really doesn't have a leg to stand on, in the latter case. And Ixion was a far worse person than most of the other people Anna's killed.
Or is it because it looks, and sounds, like it's so easy for Elsa to do that, and so savagely? Anna knows she won't sleep well; she never does when she had to end a life. Does her sister have similar problems? This isn't the first time, but she's never even thought to ask before.
"Are you okay?"
The answer takes awhile to come. "I'm fine, Anna. Don't worry about it."
Well, when she says it like that, Anna can't help but worry, but Elsa's tone has a weight of finality to it, a door slammed shut. There have been moments like this before, when she clams up and Anna can't break through, no matter what. It's always 'I'm fine'. She hates it.
Anna takes her mug of hot chocolate and throws herself onto one of the couches in the living room. Chocolate, at least, isn't complicated, she thinks as she savors a sip.
"I think I found something."
Anna nearly spits out her drink. 'Something' can only mean one thing.
"The lead panned out?"
"Very possibly. It was tracing through a mess of start-ups and shell companies, but I narrowed it down to one investment firm. Iwakura Holdings. Unfortunately, the trail goes cold there." Elsa sounds frustrated.
"Wait. 'Goes cold'? What does that mean?"
"It means that there are a bunch of references to files that just aren't there. Someone tried to clean it up, but didn't go quite deep enough. But I can't get to those files."
"Why do I get the feeling there's a yet?"
"Because you're learning." Elsa's got that dry tone again. "I'm pretty sure I know where the files are, physically. But the machine they're on isn't connected to the network. They do a sneakernet transfer."
"So you'll need a corm." Anna throws her head back against the couch. They've done this before, but nothing so important. They can't afford a smash-and-grab. They can't afford mistakes, not now.
"Either that or you pull the database down onto a stick for me."
Anna bites her lip. "What's best?"
Elsa takes her time answering. "If you give me a stick, I can write something that'll copy the database without a trace. There's a chance someone will notice with a corm, since I'll be analyzing on the fly, but it might be faster."
"And we don't want anyone to know we're on their trail. Right. Sooo, prep for both." Anna pushes herself up from the couch and goes over to dig through the Closet of Elsa's Ridiculousness. She stashes all sorts of network and computer hacker-y gear, most of which she has absolutely no clue on how it works, in here. Mysterious boxes would appear from where ever Elsa got things delivered from that time, and all Anna has to do is be able to pull out the right widget at the right time. This time, she fishes out a stupidly-large-capacity datastick from the box and plugs it into the nearby computer. This, at least, she understands.
"So what did you think of working with Adze?" Elsa asks randomly as whatever commands she's writing to put whatever-it-is onto the stick starts streaming across the screen.
"Doc was pretty spot-on. He had no problem with you, which is all the points ever," Anna muses. "Although now I'm slightly terrified of her standards. He was professional and capable and a damn good shot. The dog is adorable and he's not bad himself wait, what?"
"Uh-huh." Oh goddammit, Elsa sounds way too amused. "I'll make a note of that assessment."
"Oh shut up." Her sister's laughter rings in her ear, and it warms her heart. This is easy. This is fine. "Anyway, what's the plan?"
"Getting in will be the biggest issue, as usual. Depending on time, we could break into Iwakura ourselves, or we could try to see if T has a job and get in that way."
"You have floorplans already?" She knows Elsa will leave it up to her. The urge to rush in is hard to resist. They've been searching for three years, and she doesn't want to lose this trail and have to start again. But rushing means the possibility of mistakes. She can't lose the trail that way either.
"Of course."
Yeah, of course she does. Anna tries to ignore the voice in the back of her head whispering suspicions about what it means. Too much, far too much, for a mere human. No, stop that. This is Elsa. Her sister. "Okay, I'll talk to T in the morning."
They'll be okay. Everything will be okay. When she curls up to sleep, the glow of the computer holo-screen where Elsa is working settles over her like a blanket. It doesn't chase away the nightmares, doesn't stop the whispering voice, not completely, but it's a start.
In the morning, she goes down to Sanctuary. Unfortunately, Anna and the universe are not on very good terms at the moment, because there's not magically a job involving Iwakura waiting for her. Her pout only results in T patting her on the head and shoving a mop into her hands.
At least she gets free drinks. Well, non-alcoholic ones. T is sometimes the worst mother hen ever.
It's so disgustingly normal that everything starts itching under her skin after three days of it. Well, two and change. Anna's never been good at waiting, and this is worst than most. She tells herself a solid cover, an excuse, is worth it. Elsa tells her it whenever she catches Anna muttering under her breath.
It's day three when something finally gives. T's got her wiping down tables during the lull. Adze is at the bar, Sven at his feet. Elsa is not letting this fact go unremarked.
"You know, you can say more than just hi to him."
"Oh my god, I am not having this conversation with you."
"I know for a fact that you keep looking back at him." Elsa sounds like she's holding back laughter. "Come on, Anna."
"You are the worst. The actual worst," Anna huffs, but she feels the smile nonetheless tugging at her lips.
Elsa's chuckles recede into silence as Anna finishes the table she's working on and wrings out the cloth. The smile falters a little as the silence continues, a sinking feeling growing in her gut.
"Hey Rime, heh, you know I didn't mean it, right?"
No answer.
"Rime?"
Nothing. The knot in her stomach turns to lead. Shit. Elsa glitched. Wait, stay calm. It could just be a network blip. Totally normal. They've happened before. Elsa's been fine afterwards. That they're on the trail is just coincidence. Total coincidence. Just wait a few minutes and, shit, nothing. Oh god. It's never happened twice in one week before.
"Arc? Arc, honey, are you okay?" Anna blinks and suddenly, T is standing in front of her, hands on her shoulders. Her pants feel wet. Oh. She dropped the bucket. "Arc, look at me."
She does. She licks her lips, mouth suddenly dry. "T, you don't have a job with Iwakura, do you." She can't even make it a question.
T looks very worried. "No. Nothing's come in. Arc, what —"
"I need to go," Anna pulls away, rubs her hand down her face. "I can't wait. I...I need to go now. Dammit."
"Arc. Arc!" T grabs her shoulder, spins her around. "What happened?"
Anna breathes in once, sharply, through her nose. "Rime's gone silent," she admits. T sucks in a breath. "Iwakura has information we need. That's what Rime found. And it could be a glitch, or something else, but you know Rime doesn't do this."
"She could have just been called away," T says, gently.
Anna bites her lip. "In the middle of a conversation?"
T sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Arc, you can't just go running off on your own. Iwakura's big. Rime's probably fine, just got distracted. Girl has to get off the Net sometime. And I don't think she'd be none too pleased with you if you went off half-cocked by yourself and got killed."
Dammit, why does T have to sound so logical? But there's something tugging at her gut, that same sense of dread, that this isn't as innocent as T thinks it is. She remembers there was a really big storm when she was younger. It raged and howled throughout the skyscrapers, wind rattling the windows, sounding like all the world like an angry dragon. Elsa had still been there, and she remembers huddling under a blanket in her sister's arms, her only safe haven. But what she also remembers is the feeling right before the storm came. The eerie calmness that settled over everything, the taste and smell in the air, and the ominous clouds, all mixed in with the absolute certainty that something big and wrong was coming.
She has that feeling now, pricking in her fingers and up her spine. She hopes she's just being paranoid.
Paranoia has kept her alive for the last three years.
"T, I know. I know you mean well. But this is important."
"Important enough to risk getting yourself killed because you can't wait for your partner? Iwakura isn't the same as tricking Prince."
Anna knows this. She knows it completely, she's not stupid, but she's waited three days, and sneaking into the investment firm has always been on the table, and maybe Elsa will be back in a minute and everything will be fine —
"I can go."
She nearly leaps out of her skin because she didn't even hear Adze come up behind her and oh my god, she is a mess. She's on a hair-trigger and didn't notice him. What the hell does that mean for her threat assessment because it's just more evidence that T is right and...
She turns around and whatever it is she thinks she's going to say dies in her mouth, because Adze is looking at her with nothing but concern and quiet determination. "What? Adze, no, I can't ask you to do this," she says instead.
He frowns a little. "No, you can. I can go. Look, this is obviously important to you, and you're off-balance because Rime's missing — sorry, overheard that — so you need someone to watch your six. And I think we did okay together a few days ago, and you two are pretty chill, so...yeah."
Anna just stares at him, uncomprehendingly. No one volunteers for this sort of thing. There's no pay. There's no reason for him to stick his neck out for someone he met a few days ago. And Elsa isn't here, isn't answering, and Anna needs to make the call, and she's scared. She's scared about the timing, about screwing up, about everything because she's not perfect. She's sometimes reckless and clumsy and why would anyone trust her lead? Because that's what Adze is doing right now.
"You're actually volunteering? Adze, you hate people." The skepticism rolls off T in waves.
Adze rolls his eyes a little. "Doc's been working on that. I'm trying to fill my socialization quota," he says sarcastically. But when he looks at her again, his face loses a bit of that edge, and he's nothing but sincerity again. "I'm serious. I can go with you."
Something furry brushes her palm. Sven whines and shoves his head into her palm again and she buries her hand into his fur automatically.
She takes a deep breath. "Okay. Okay, we can do this. Yeah. You sure?" He just nods. "Okay, yeah. T can we...?"
T levels a look at Adze before nodding. "You know where they are. And Arc?" There's something that Anna doesn't want to think about in T's eyes. "Be careful, because I don't want to be the one to tell Rime if you're not."
It isn't until they're safely in a back room that Adze starts off talking again. "Okay, so. What are we doing?"
Sven bumps her leg again, and her fingers scratch him behind the ears. The contact centers her a bit more. He's a good dog. "Aren't you going to ask?"
Adze rubs the back of his neck. "No, not really. Way I see it, we wouldn't be down here doing this stuff if there wasn't a reason. I'm guessing this is related to yours, and that, well, that's fine with me for now."
There's so much she could say to that. But not now, not when she has to be in charge. "We need to break into Iwakura Holdings." She fishes out the tablet that has access to the files she knows Elsa always stores things for her. Just in case. Anna's never hated and loved Elsa's 'just in case' more right now. "Rime did manage to prep the intel and target."
The office building pops up on the holo, surrounded by nearby buildings. Iwakura is in the Beyford Ward, but doesn't reach the Upper City. Sort of an unremarkable building, really. Papa would have called it "boringly standard with a distressingly middle-manager aesthetic". She has to fight a small smile at the thought, before reality drags her back to the present.
"You've been planning this," Adze observes, walking around the holo to start figuring out how to attack this problem.
"Yeah. We were hoping T would find a contract that would offer an actual cover, but..."
"Timing."
"Yeah." Anna rolls her neck. "All right, let's figure this out."
It takes them hours, pouring over blueprints and floorplans, security footage and patterns. Anna has new respect for how quickly Elsa does this, because this is a stupid amount of information and she makes it look effortless. But Adze knows his own abilities, has some tricks of his own, and between the two of them, they manage a plan that's actually pretty good. It's really nothing fancy, in the end, because simple means they can adapt and being able to adapt means they don't screw up.
They split up to get their respective gear and join back up to head over to the Beyford Ward. Officially, it's part of the Middle City, just full of people just good enough to escape the undercity, but nowhere near rich or glamorous enough for the Upper. Unofficially, well, everyone knows all it would take is one string of bad luck to send you falling down to the undercity, so it's a weird sort of desperate elitism that sort of permeates everything.
It's really kind of stupid.
Annoyingly, this means that the people who live and work here are the type who would totally freak out at the sight of two people dressed and armed like blacksiders on the tram or walking down the street. Thankfully, Adze has a vehicle, a small older-model car that's probably barely street legal on skybridges, but it's not at all out of place here. About the one good thing having to use it is that they at least have a way of getting back quickly.
They're a few miles away when Anna's subdural earphone cracks to life.
"Anna?"
Anna nearly bangs her head on the roof of the car, she jumps in her seat so hard. "Rime? Are you there?" She's so surprised, she doesn't even use the subvocal. She catches Adze's quick look at her, his eyes wide in surprise, before he focuses on driving again.
"Yeah. I'm here. Sorry about that." Elsa sounds...tired. Her voice is thin and slow, and Anna's torn between anger at her for making her freak out like that, and genuine worry.
She settles on worry and switches back to subvocal. "What happened?"
"It was...a system glitch. I'm fine now." A pause. "What's going on now? You're not...you're not at Sanctuary. Wait, why are you in Beyford?"
"I'm with Adze. And Sven. We used your notes to figure out a way into Iwakura. You...glitched. Dammit, do you have any idea how worried I was?"
"It was a glitch. Those have happened before."
"Not when we're on the trail like this! For godsakes, I thought something happened to you!"
"I'm fine, Anna. They don't know about it yet. I would know."
"You are not actually perfect! What if —"
"Anna. I would know. Just...I would, okay? And they don't." Scratch tired, Elsa sounds exhausted. "Now please explain to me why you're going to Iwakura instead of waiting?"
"Well, you glitched, I got...fine, I got scared and T wasn't coming up with anything. I was done with waiting." Anna huffs a little. "Adze offered to help, so we made a plan."
"...okay. Fine, I'll trust you on that." Another pause . "Is Adze also on comm?"
She looks at him, and says normally "Yeah, he is."
"Okay. Just give me a second." It takes less than that before both their comms activate. "Hi Adze."
"Hey Rime. Glad you're back. Arc was worried." He says it without even a hint of censure, and Anna likes him a little more. Sven barks in the back.
"Yeah. Sorry about that. Couldn't...couldn't help that."
Adze frowns. "You don't sound so good."
"It's nothing. I'll be fine in a bit." Before either of them can call bullshit, though, Elsa changes the subject. "Mind telling me your plan?"
They do, not quite talking over each other at times, but managing to explain it to Elsa, who really isn't asking as many questions as she normally would. By the time they're done, Adze has parked the car in an alley two blocks away from Iwakura.
Adze rubs the back of his neck before dropping his head against the seat rest. "Rime...are you up for mission control?" It's the obvious question, and Anna knows he has to ask it, because really, their chance of success skyrockets if Elsa's with them. At the same time, she hates it, because god, listen to her, and she knows what Elsa's answer will be.
"Yeah. Yeah, I can do it."
Sometimes, her sister can be a goddamned moron. "Rime, are you sure?"
"I'm fine, Arc." And there's a little bit of steel back in her voice, and that more than anything convinces Anna. "Longer we waste here, the shorter the window to do this is."
Anna turns to look at Adze and finds him already looking at her. He nods and smiles, and yeah, she's right, that and the confidence do look good on him. She can't help but grin back. "Well, okay then. Let's do this."