Hello crazy beautiful world! Sorry this chapter was a day late again, my beta reader's extended family has a bad habit of showing up unannounced.
But in other news, first gameplay trailer for Tiny Tina's Wonderland finally dropped and my God, I am so HYPED! I'm not going to preorder of whatever of course, I don't trust Randy Pitchford as far as I can throw him and that's not very far. But regardless of what happens with it, it has definitely given me ideas for... something. You'll have to wait and see ;)
Reviews:
RobbieTheRabbit, what competition?
whkestila, thank you for paying your respects.
Yes Engineer4Ever, there will be many, many things :)
No more stalling! Chapter, NOW!
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"This means someone is talking."
'This means someone is thinking to themselves.'
This means it's a flashback.
*This means it's a sound effect!*
{This means I'm speaking in a different language!}
Angel in a Gilded Cage
It was another late day at the Pretty Penny casino and as usual, business was booming. It could never be overstated how having so little in terms of actual competition in Osaka or Japan in general helped make money. People from all over the city and even other parts of the country flocked to the gambling house in droves, all for a taste of an American flavoured thrill.
Stepping past the golden doors, one is immediately bombarded with the world of unrestrained opulence within. The stylistic touches of classic art deco, ranging from the marble floors to the gold patterned ceilings reflecting the thousands of blinking rainbow lights, felt like a celebration of the fabled American dream that the people across the sea had heard so much about. The idea that one could make their own fortune if they just worked for it, the thrill of winning against impossible odds, that's what brought the customers in like moths to a flame.
Everything else endeavoured to keep them there. The fancy, fuzzing drinks. The delicious, expensive foods. The carefree, brassy music. The dashing dealer's, immaculately dressed and equipped with dazzling smiles that would make most women swoon. The waitresses, sashaying around carrying drinks while dressed in tight, revealing playboy bunny outfits. It was a world of hedonistic joy and everyone was loving it.
Every night, people would line up outside, extending all the way around the block, all for just a glimpse into the portal into this shining haven. Tall, muscular men guarded the doors, checking i.d cards and letting customers in one by one.
On the opposite side of the building however, was a much shorter line up space, cordoned off with brass stanchions which were connected by red velvet cords. At the end near the door was a suited employee sitting on a stool, looking bored out of his mind. Next to him was a small sign that simply read: "VIP:¥50000."
This was the VIP lineup. For those not willing to arrive early enough to beat the huge crowds or wait, this section offered a shortcut inside, for an exorbitant fee. Those that do so are considered VIPs and treated like kings once they were in the gambling hall.
Of course, not many could afford paying so much money before they even entered. Most people were content on just waiting for their turn rather than spending a small ransom just to get in. Thus the posting was seen as a simple job where employees could catch a small nap.
In fact, that was what this particular attendant planned to do, as he propped his face on his fist and closed his eyes, only to jump and nearly fall out of his seat as something was slapped into his open palm. His eyes shot open and he beheld the thick stack of crisp bills in his hand. He turned his head, staring in disbelief at the two individuals that had passed him and were already entering the building.
He reached for his radio.
"T-This is the front! We've got two VIPs! One man, one woman!"
"What do they look like?" The head of security crackled on the other end.
"Trust me, you'll know."
Inside, the two arrivals were striding through the casino's front hall. The short, tanned skin man in front held himself with a kind of swagger, his polished black boots with silver spurs jingling with every step. His choice of style was equally blinding, as he was decked out in a sharp, light purple striped suit and dress pants. Dangling around his neck was a violet tie adorned with gold money signs, matching the glittering metal of the several gold chains on top of it, his belt buckle and cufflinks. He wore a pair of tinted aviators over his eyes despite being inside at night, obviously more of a fashion statement than an attempt to protect himself from harsh light. On top of his head was a short brimmed fedora, holding his greased hair in place.
If that wasn't enough to draw people's attention, keeping pace behind him was a beautiful blue haired woman. Her tight, black business suit did nothing to hide her hourglass figure. Her short skirt and dark leggings showed off a pair of legs that seemed to go on forever, a pair of heels on her feet. A designer purse slung on her shoulder and dark shades on her face, she was dressed to kill.
Together, the pair looked the part of a rich gambler with his hired eye candy or personal assistant, ready to make a scene.
The glamorous duo stepped up to the cashier's cage and it's awed attendant. The woman reached into her purse and pulled out two thick bundles of bills.
"Fifty thousand in chips please."
The employee's eyes boggled at the volume of yen in front of him until his brain restarted and he took their money. After a moment of counting, he pushed several stacks of golden chips onto a tray, which he lifted into her waiting hands.
Their buy-in collected, the man and woman turned and entered the gambling hall. All around were other players at different games and tables, laughing when they won and screaming in anguish when they lost.
As soon as they set foot inside, heads began to turn, everyone's attention was stolen by the man's outrageous fashion sense, his sexy companion or the glittering chips she was carrying.
"Who are they?"
"Damn… I think I'm in love…"
"No way! Is that Señor Moneyshot?!" Dazzled gasps and excited whispers arose while the fantastic couple continued on their way towards the centre of the floor. There stood one of many roulette tables, the green felt decorated with a checkerboard grid of numbers, various amounts of chips set on different spots. Their owners, seated on lavish leather stools, leaned forward anxiously as the dealer spun the raised wheel in front of them.
"No more bets! No more bets! Here we go!" The man announced, then proceeded to flick a small white ball along the outer edge, sending out a rattle as it skittered on the smooth wood. The gathered men held their breath as it began to slow, moving closer to the innermost ring of the wheel and bounced off the notches until it found its home.
"Red twenty two! We have no winner!"
All four players groaned, watching in frustration as the dealer scooped their chips away with a table rake.
"Next round! Place your be…" The dealer froze. The now poorer players turned to see what he was gaping at, only for their own jaws to drop at the pair approaching.
The man stopped and stared at the stool in front of him, then up at the edge of the table.
The mood shifted to awkwardness as everyone realized that he was too short to lean over the board.
If the purple clad dwarf was annoyed at his predicament, he didn't show it. Instead, he turned up his nose in a snobbish manner and snapped his fingers expectedly.
His accomplice let out an aggravated sigh and reached into her purse once more.
*THWAP!* A large phonebook was slapped onto the stool. With the issue resolved, the man pulled himself up onto the seat. The woman placed his chips in front of him and he flashed his opponents a grin.
"Let's get this party started!" He greeted, none of them noticing the small earpiece hidden within his greased hair.
"There's the signal! Bravo team, move in!" Axton announced over the radio, making Angel jolt.
"Their gazes away... their backs are now exposed… our mission begins." Zer0 waxed stoically from up on his crane perch.
"When you are ready… make the jump across the gap… let us move as one."
She nodded up at her partner and sucked in a deep breath. She summoned her wings and lowered herself into a sprinter's crouch.
"Here we go!"
Angel started running, straight for the edge of the roof. From above, Zer0 nimbly dashed along the long arm of the crane in the same direction. The side of the building approached and she jumped!
Her stomach did a little flip as she briefly hung in midair above the several story drop. Most people would probably feel a little panic at this point, winged or not. Not Angel of course, it was only the third highest she'd ever fallen afterall.
Not that she was going to, as with a flap of her wings, she rose into the air a bit before settling into a glide. Straight ahead was the next building roof, about the same height as the last one.
On her right, she could spy Zer0 leap from the end of the crane and somersault through the air until he handed in a crouch on the building before her.
'Man, he really is like a ninja.' She gaped, then shook her and returned her attention forward. She needed to be paying attention to where she was going.
Speaking of, she was coming up on the landing zone herself. She swung her legs out and with the crunch of gravel, she hit solid ground, albeit with a small stumble.
Looking ahead, she spotted Zer0 already at the edge pointed towards the next building. He effortlessly sprung once again, easily crossing a distance that would make an olympic athlete jealous and landing on the end of a flag pole handing over the streets below. The improvised platform didn't even wobble as he sprinted along its length to the concrete wall, which he proceeded to quickly scale like a monkey and flip onto the third roof.
Now feeling quite boring in comparison, Angel continued sprinting in an effort to catch up, pushing herself harder and pumping her legs.
"Hup!" She kicked off the ledge and her wings beat, sending her skyward in a cloud of dust. She gave it a few more flaps as this building was taller than the last two.
She was just barely high enough, having to curl herself up to get her legs over the edge so she didn't smack against the side.
"You're keeping pace, good…" Zer0 remarked, standing near the other side of the building. "Now comes the delicate part… remember the plan?"
"Uh-huh." She nodded, walking over next to him and glancing down. Below them on the other side of the street was their target, the Pretty Penny, in all of its shining glory. On the rooftop behind the sign was a single door. Mounted above it was a surveillance camera.
It was time for the final approach. What they were going to do next was simple in concept, but the failure in execution would result in a black and red mess on the pavement below.
'Well… no point in delaying the inevitable.' She breathed and took several steps back, getting back into a running pose. Wings fanned out, she was like a plane ready for take off.
She glanced at Zer0, numbers flashing over his visor.
3...2...1...GO!
Angel sped off, swinging her arms as she ran as fast as she could. She passed Zer0 and dove over the side. Her wings snapped out and caught the breeze. At the same time, she straightened her legs behind her.
A couple seconds later she felt Zer0's gloved hands wrap around her ankles.
Immediately, they dropped in altitude by a couple feet, but they held their course. Like a human hang glider, they drifted in a downward slope towards the casino roof!
'Itsworkingitsworkingitsworking!' Angel repeated in her head as she breathed heavily, trying to ignore the strain from her passenger's weight stretching her legs. It was uncomfortable, but not painful, not yet at least. She was just thankful that Zer0 was a lot lighter than he looked. Probably from how thin he was.
'Lighter than Mineta at least. Less creepy too.' She shuddered a little, remembering the time back in the Sports Festival before she hastily dismissed it from her mind. The next step was coming up.
She raised her trusty "handgun", loading it with power and took aim at her goal. The pressure mounted as her arm shook a little. She needed to hit this in one shot or the whole operation could be blown. The fact that it was a small target and she was currently moving didn't help much.
She closed one eye and breathed in.
'Sleep!'
*PAKOW!* She let the bolt fly!
Meanwhile, inside the Pretty Penny's security office was a man sitting in a revolving office chair. He was bathed in the glow of a computer screen, each one providing a live feed from the dozens of cameras stationed all over the building.
He wasn't exactly giving them any mind at the moment however, instead choosing to indulge in some fantasies from the magazine he was reading.
"Ohohoho!" He giggled, extending the centrefold. "Freddie likes what he sees!" He said, licking his lips.
*Zzt.*
He glanced up from the photo of an expensive motherboard, hearing a crackling from his console. A brief scan revealed that all of the screens were one hundred percent functional, except one. Number thirty four was filled with static, the picture completely obscured.
"Huh… that's weird." He muttered, leaning forward in his chair. "Is something-"
But before he could continue down that train of thought, one of the other screens caught his eye. And what he saw made him sweat.
"Ohhhh man, Pretty Boy's not gonna like this!" He hummed, picking up his radio and holding it to his mouth.
"Uhh… Boss? We've got a situation down at roulette table five."
"What is it?" Pretty Boy demanded.
"There's a customer sir, a VIP actually. He's betting like a madman."
"So? That's what we want!" His boss angrily questioned.
"That's not the problem sir! He keeps winning! A LOT!"
"A-And Señor Moneyshot w-wins again!" The dealer stammered in shock, utterly bewildered as he pushed the winner's chips out with the rake.
"YEAH!" People cheered! A small crowd had gathered around the table, players abandoning their respective games to watch an amazing winning streak. A pair of scantily clad women hugged themselves against the dwarf surrounded by foot tall stacks of chips, giggling flirtatiously and playing with his hair in the hopes that this now very rich man would spare them some of his winnings.
"I AM AWESOME! AHAHAHAHA!" The disguised Salvador roared, reaching across the table and scooping the offered chips into his growing hoard. He was the only one playing now, having busted all of the other men out of the game three rounds ago.
Standing behind him on the other side of the crowd, Maya stood. Her lip curled at her partner's raucous display, being the centre of attention for a large portion of the casino's clientele and loving every second of it.
'Axton's right. He is a show off.'
"Hey there baby~!"
She let out a groan as yet another casino patron approached her from the side. With his dress shirt unbuttoned, the fancy drink in his hand and the particular swagger in his step, he probably felt more suave than he actually was. She hated dressing like this, it always resulted in some brave fool deciding to take a shot at her.
"You lookin' bored over here, gorgeous. Wanna have a little fun with me?" He drawled in what he likely meant to be a roguish come-on but just made him sound sleazy.
"I'm not interested. Buzz off." She replied coldly, not even turning to face him.
"Ah, come on baby, don't be like that~!" He gave her a(supposedly) charming smile, evidently not taking the hint. "What does that little midget have that I don't?" He asked, looping an arm over her shoulder.
Her patience began to wear thin, eye twitching in annoyance turning to anger.
"If it's money, don't worry, my family is mad rich! I've got this little number that you would look gre-!"
Maya lifted her foot and stabbed the end of her heel onto his toe.
*Crunch!*
"EEEYOWWW!" The man screamed, dropping his drink and falling over, clutching his throbbing foot. No one seemed to notice or care about the man curled up on the floor.
"I warned you." Maya muttered, taking a moment to brush off her shoulder. She glanced around the casino floor. There were four more men in black suits with ear pieces, each at a different angle with their eyes on the game in front of her. The cameras mounted at every corner of the room had swiveled around as well.
It looked like the plan was working. Salvador's winning streak had drawn the attention of the bulk of the security, all of them trying to find out if he was cheating. Hell, if they tried to leave with their earnings, they'd likely be dragged into the back for interrogation.
Good thing that winning money was not their goal.
'We're doing our part, Angel. Now it's your turn.'
"Hey Blue~! Do you have a permit to look that sexy~?" Another gentleman wolf whistled as he approached.
'Uggggh…' She rolled her eyes. 'Here we go again.'
"Executing phaseshift." Angel murmured, glowing hand resting on the digital lock holding the door in place. She willed it to release, but not before she eased the alarm into dormancy, for a minute anyway.
A second later, there was a click.
"Got it." She informed Zer0 and pulled the door open. She waved him in and he promptly obeyed, entering the spiralling stairwell. Before she followed, she pointed her hand up at the camera above her.
*ZAT!* She shot it again, rebooting it's system and quickly shutting the door before it would turn back on and spot her. She followed up by putting the lock back into place and re-arming the alarm. All the while she hoped that Maya and Salvador's distraction was working and security was too preoccupied to notice a couple of their systems briefly malfunction.
If so, she had just infiltrated the casino and no one was the wiser. The thought sent an odd thrill up her spine, making her shiver.
So this was what it was like to be Roland, Lilith or Mordecai all those months ago. Lying in wait for a single moment of weakness to sneak into a seemingly impenetrable fortress and succeeding.
'I kinda want to do this more often!' She thought, smiling.
"Ahem." A purposefully unsubtle clearing of the throat made her glance over at the pro behind her, arms crossed with his finger tapping impatiently, a ":l" emoticon over his blank visage.
"Right! S-Sorry! Got a little caught up in the moment." She admitted, face red as she stepped past and started climbing down the stairs. She made sure to not stomp too hard and make too much noise, something she was sure Zer0 was doing a much better job of.
Angel put a finger to her headset. "Bravo team here. We've entered the building."
"Roger. Everything seems calm out here. Radio in when you've got the data." Axton reported
"10-4." She answered, remembering what Roland used to say.
With that, the pair continued down the stairwell. At every floor they would encounter a windowed door and Zer0 would cloak himself and peer around, making sure there was no one coming in to spot Angel. Thankfully, there were none as most people naturally chose the elevator over using stairs any day. Another blessing was the stairwell being devoid of any more cameras.
The entire time, Angel followed the map in her head, having memorized the building's blueprints over the course of the last couple days. The casino had been a number of different establishments in the past. A movie theatre, a newspaper and prior to that, a car factory. It seemed to be an ongoing trend for each owner to just refurbish the building each time rather than tear it down and start over. Thus, it was incredibly easy to get the plans from the ministry of construction.
Visualizing the plan in her head, Angel had a general idea of where she and Zer0 needed to go. Taking in factors such as the power grid and climate control keeping the computer systems from overheating, the security office would likely be somewhere on the third floor. Once there, she'll probably be able to find where it is.
Speaking of, they were coming down to the right floor.
"Alright, this is our stop." She told her companion as they arrived at the door. Zer0 nodded and immediately vanished. She leaned against the wall and waited, still completely unnerved by the knowledge that he was still around her, yet she couldn't see, hear or feel him in the room. Even Toru made some noise or at least had a tangible presence even when she wasn't wearing anything. With Zer0, he was just gone.
'The difference between a student and a pro perhaps?' She theorized.
After a couple seconds of silence, presumably for Zer0 to glance out the small window, the knob turned and the door swung open a tad, the action of which nearly made Angel jump out her skin. The door quietly closed and Angel knew that Zer0 had gone on ahead, probably scouting for any employees that might happen upon them by accident.
Thus, she waited some more. She stood completely still, listening intently for any indication of an approaching person, Zer0 or otherwise.
It was about two minutes by her estimation that something finally happened.
Zer0 appeared on the other side of the window, giving her a beckoning gesture.
She placed a shaking hand on the door knob and eased it open. She glanced both ways down the carpeted hallway, but there was no one else around, for now.
"Where to?" Zer0 asked.
"Give me a second. I need to concentrate." She told him, closing her eyes and placing her hands upon her temples. She took a breath and let the world of machines into her conscious mind.
She could hear the light fixtures in the halls. A smattering of cameras on this floor. And from each of them was a stream, trickling in both directions. One fed the eyes their orders, the other carried what they saw back. She followed the trails to where they joined their network and followed that too. All the way to the end where they converged with other systems like the alarm and security doors, but what was more puzzling was the several other streams connected to the hub, reaching downward.
Angel shook her head slightly. A mystery for later. She had what she needed. She opened her eyes and pointed down the hallway on the left.
"That way. Then a right turn, another after three rooms and then on the left." She relayed.
Zer0 nodded and began leading them down the hall she indicated. Angel thanked whatever interior designer decided to put carpeting down on the floor as she didn't trust her fledgling stealth skills to save her from making too much noise. She kept glancing over her shoulder, expecting a waiter or security member to turn the corner behind them and yell "Hey!".
They drew near the corner and Zer0 held up a hand, making her stop. The next instant, he vanished again.
'Hate it when he does that.' She pouted a bit, annoyed with how he'd just turn invisible without any warning.
At least this time was shorter than the last as he shimmered back into view
"The way is guarded… there's another watchful eye… at the very end."
"Hold on." She told him, closing her eyes again. Yes, directly on their right was another camera.
Opening her eyes again, Angel shimmied along the wall until she was at the corner. Readying her left hand, she took a breath and leapt out!
'Sleep!'
*PAKOW!* Her bolt flew true and impacted against the camera mounted on the ceiling at the end of the hall, bathing it in sparks.
"We've gotta move, that won't last too long." She said and they resumed down the hall.
As she had committed to memory, there were a series of doors on the right side. Fortunately, the first was a storage closet and the one after, a bathroom if the signs were to be believed. Unfortunately, the third and last one said staff room, the light coming from the crack in the door and voices therein signalling that it was occupied. Two men, if she was reading their voices right, argued in English as she fearfully crept past.
"{I'm telling ya man! Once I've got enough bread, I'm going to start my own company and build my own casino, one that'll make this one look like a gold plated turd! You'd be crazy not to sign up!}" One man loudly exclaimed.
"{Really? You? Starting a company?" The other snorted. "{Didn't you drop out of highschool?}"
"{No, I left that dump!" The first defended. "{Besides, who needs some fancy high school diploma? I've already got about half of the cash I'll need just by taking a couple bills from the intake every day after work!}"
"{You're seriously skimming cash off of Pretty Boy? I'm definitely not joining now. Last thing I want is to get a private session with Bubba for being a part of whatever dumbass, get-rich-quick scheme you've concocted.}"
"{Hey, don't diss Tony Bordell LLC! I'm going places, you'll see!}"
"{Do you even know what LLC stands for?}"
"{Lovin ladies constantly, duh!}"
"{Righhht… when you get busted by Pretty Boy, don't drag me down with you.}" Not-Tony sighed, unaware of the teenage girl and ninja hero passing by.
Briefly feeling a bit of pity for the individual that had to put up with this "Tony", Angel returned her attention forward as Zer0 got close to the junction in the hall and held up a hand, signalling her to stop. Turning invisible again, he looked around the corner and reappeared, giving her a tilt of the head and going around.
Following him, Angel beheld their final destination, a reinforced metal door outfitted with another digital lock and a card reader.
Luckily they didn't need any pieces of plastic to get in.
"Alright." Angel said, kneeling down and pressing her hand to the device. "I'm going to open this in a second, but be ready. I'm certain there's going to be someone inside, so, get ready to do, uh… your thing."
A happy face flashed over Zer0's face in affirmation.
She nodded back and summoned the power within her.
"Executing phaseshift."
A glow, a fizzle and a beep. The door whirred open. Peering inside, Angel could see a dark room, illuminated by the collection of security monitors along the one wall. Sitting in front of said monitors was a single man in a revolving chair, furiously typing at a keyboard.
"Huh? Who's there? Is that you boss?" The man asked over his shoulder, not tearing his eyes from the screens. He began to turn around. "L-Look, Freddie said he'd take care of the big spender situation, but you gotta let me work my mag-!"
He stopped in mid sentence as both parties stared at each other. Angel's jaw dropped at what was probably the most fashionably blind person she had ever seen. Dressed in a mishmash of purple sweat pants, pastel colored sneakers, pink fanny pack, poofy leather jacket, white shirt with the words "Just hack it!" on the front, fingerless gloves, wrist computer and pink tinted shades, it looked like all of his clothes were trying to kill each other. His lack of style was only accentuated with his blond mullet and thin mustache.
"Aahh…" He hissed. "Freddie's in trouble… ain't he?"
"Yup." Zer0 replied, but it didn't sound like he said it right next to Angel.
Before she or Freddie could blink, Zer0 disappeared and reappeared right behind the seated man and pulled him into a chokehold!
"GLURK!" Freddie sputtered as he tried to escape his assailant's grasp, but it became clear very quickly that wrestling wasn't his strong suit.
"Get in here, quickly… and find what we came here for… I'll take care of him." Zer0 said, dragging his hostage away from the computers.
Not wasting a second, Angel stepped inside and tapped the button on the wall, closing the door. Her nose curled at the gross odour of days gone by, filled with takeout meals and void of showers.
She tried to ignore it, as she had a job to do. She moved past Zer0 and Freddie, the latter of whom was starting to turn blue and leaned on the desk, taking in all the screens. She noticed the many cameras pointed at Salvador at a roulette table, laughing amidst a castle of chips and a cheering audience. Maya was nearby, both bored and annoyed at the same time.
"Axton, we're in!"
"Good shit! Now get those files!" The hero cheered.
Reaching into one of her jacket pockets, Angel retrieved a small external harddrive. After brushing aside some stale chips, she connected it to the usb port. With her hand firmly planted on the device, she closed her eyes and prepared to, as Ashido once put it, plug in.
"Executing phaseshift." She murmured once more and she could feel her grasp on her body slipping. Kind of like when one is on the precipice of sleep.
She felt her power travel through the wire and into the processor, like the root of a tree. Immediately, a field of red erected itself in front of her eyes. A firewall. One wouldn't think that the term would be so fitting.
No matter though. With an imaginary sweep of her arm, she tore through the antivirus like wet tissue paper. Behind it however was the digital equivalent of a vault door. User identification and authentication software, unofficially coded and trademarked by the looks of it too.
'Something of "Freddie's" design? Impressive.' She noted, then a rare confident smile wormed its way onto her face.
Didn't mean much in the end, not against her unparalleled control over the digital world. Really, her quirk was just unfair sometimes.
Placing a metaphorical hand on the surface of the armored door, it burst apart into a shower of ones and zeros at her whim.
Entering the depths of the database, she looked upon the rows and rows of boxes, each of them representing folders which contained the files she was searching for.
A sparking at the end of the mindspace however caught her attention. Scrutinizing it further, she almost cursed at her carelessness and latched onto it, cupping it in her digital grasp. If she had to describe what she was looking at in visual detail, it'd have to be a circular, warping void, like a black hole.
An emergency deletion safeguard. It must have triggered when she violently bypassed the authenticator. A final measure to protect Pretty Boy's secrets in the event that someone made it this far, by destroying any evidence of his crimes.
'He's definitely up to no good if he's this paranoid.' She thought, crushing the rift in her digital fist.
Returning her attention to the folders, she began sifting through them all, scanning their names and file size. She was going to copy all of them, but she needed to find any clues as to the whereabouts of the missing persons.
Bills. Tax receipts. Supply order forms. Employee records. Customer complaints. All seemingly innocent/mundane subjects and not likely what she needed.
'If I were incriminating evidence, where would I be?' She wondered.
She spent another minute going down the list before she finally found something.
Invoices_Debt_Repayment.
She wasn't sure, but there was something about that folder name that unnerved her.
She opened it up, revealing a series of tables, spreadsheets and wireless money transfers. At the bottom however, was a list that appeared to be tabs. Tabs for considerable amounts of money owed to one Milton Redman.
'Wait a second.' She paused. 'Who are these debtors?'
She glanced over at the appropriate field. The most recent one belonged to one Ieyasu Okuma, dated just yesterday in fact. He owed the casino over one million yen. There was also a field called "Date of Reimbursement", which was also yesterday. Even curiouser, a field for quirks, his being Super Glue.
She moved onto the next one. Hisato Ota, seventy hundred thousand, Steam Explusion.
Ume Okabe, one point two million, Prism Skin.
What was Pretty Boy doing, cataloguing all of this information? She couldn't imagine holding onto people's powers was necessary for repaying the amount of money they owed.
But it was the fourth name that made her freeze, that if her eyes were open, they'd be the size of plates right now.
Uzuki Yamaji, ninety five hundred thousand, Folding Touch. More importantly, the fourteenth missing person!
'Does that mean-?!'
She quickly swiped to the next file. Then the next. Then the next. Each name deepened the pit in her stomach.
They were all here. All fourteen were in this folder!
There was no doubt about it. Pretty Boy was responsible for the disappearances.
'But what is he doing with them?!' She growled in frustration.
But then out of the corner of her eye, she spotted one last file.
Bingo_List.
A seemingly innocuous name, but it's proximity with the other files made Angel swallow at the prospect of what it might contain.
She opened it and was greeted with a large spreadsheet, decorated with the Pretty Penny's logo. The headings for the fields read: Date, Bill to, Ship to, Item #, Description, Price. She looked down the second to last column.
Her breath caught in her throat.
"1 Adult Man, Emitter Quirk: Super Glue."
An icy cold filled her veins as she realized what the file was.
She glanced at the date.
It was today.
Initiating the copying process, she immediately pulled herself out.
"HUAAH!" She gasped, eyes shooting open as she began to hyperventilate! Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself a little, but only just. She couldn't afford to stay still!
"Axton! Axton! Do you read me?!" She called urgently into her radio.
"I'm right here! What's happening?!" The hero responded, his voice ladened with concern.
"I know where some of the person's are but we need to hurry and save them, now!" She answered, drawing Zer0's attention.
"What do you mean?!"
"I found something! It's a shipping manifest!" She swallowed in revulsion. "It's-it's human trafficking! Pretty Boy is selling people for their quirks!"
To be continued…