Chapter 34 – /ERROR CODE:404
The next mission briefing was a long one. Thanks to the other two dolls of the AR team, they had located M16. She was in the mountains; dangerous terrain for even SF dolls. The Ringleader sent after her would be just as dangerous as the environment. The map of the area revealed dozens of hidden passages, alternate routes, and ambush locations. SF dolls weren't very bright on their own, but they could take advantage of those features without a ringleader guiding them. Of course, Griffin could also take advantage of them.
He flipped a page of the document and stared at a sheet of blacked out text. He raised an eyebrow. "Are we hiring mercenaries?" He pushed the paper to Ursula. "And how insanely wild are these mercenaries that we can't even see their names?" She took the paper. She looked it over for a second.
"Miss Helian didn't mention anything during my meeting with her. Perhaps we are going to meet them during the mission?" She put the paper down. "Anyway, I wanted to talk troop composition. I want to bring more…" She trailed off and turned to Bryant. He was staring out at the hallway. "What?"
"I saw something being…dragged past the door." Yulia approached the door and checked.
"It couldn't be…I don't see anything like that." Bryant stroked his moustache.
"I hope your eyesight isn't getting worse." He took off his glasses and sighed. Ursula continued the briefing after a moment. Deployment information, troop composition, enemy resistance and more were discussed, but Bryant couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
That evening, he wandered back to his room and paused at the door. The door was open the slightest amount. He narrowed his eyes but entered. Two girls were at his desk. One was playing with his Knick-knacks, the other sitting in his chair watching him. Their eyes glowed faintly in the dim light. His eyes darted to the corner of the room. A taller woman was leaning on the wall by his bed. Another one was collapsed on his bed, curled up with a rifle.
The one in his chair spoke. "Guten Abend, Commander."
"How did you get in here?"
"It was easy," the one at his desk moved to join the one by the wall, "my sister can get through any lock."
"I could have gotten through the door just as well...if I hadn't been carrying that dead weight."
"You mean dragging?"
"Close enough." The taller one huffed with more than a hint of annoyance. The one at his desk spun in his chair while the others quieted down.
"...to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with?" The Doll at his desk gave him an eerie smile. The others turned their attention on him with varying emotions on their faces.
"No one." Her smile faded and she stood. "I'd like to talk about the mission, ja?" The door slid shut behind him, leaving them in the darkness.