"You're too trusting, Ronny." Yiska says.
"Did you expect me to force her into giving me information? She's a kid." Ronny says.
"And if we have worries, all we can do is hope she contacts us," Yiska says.
"That's the call I made." A slight annoyance in his voice.
Yiska stops writing to look at him. "Your decisions should take us into account, not just yourself."
No one raised their voices. These two rarely do, but the room goes silent for a moment. Ronny and Yiska staring daggers at each other.
"Hey now, quit the fighting." Fin says, "if Ronny made his call, then we just have to deal with that ourselves."
Silence continues to fill the room until the two of them pull their heads away. "You're right. It doesn't help anyone if I can't get the information you two need." Ronny says.
"It's possible that if you had tried to get something out of her, it would've pushed her away. Sorry." Yiska says.
"See? That wasn't hard." Fin sits at his desk in the room, spinning the chair around to face us. "You heard anything from Suck?" He asks Ronny.
"Nothing." He says. "And I'll be taking the offer."
"Let's go, Ronny!" Fin shouts, "guess we should start looking for a replacement, right?" He asks Yiska.
"Yes, we should." Yiska gets up from her seat. "I'll be outside for a moment." She says, walking out of the room.
"I thought as much." Fin says while spinning in his chair. "You should probably check on her. Who knows when you'll see us after joining Suck?"
"What about you?" Ronny asks.
"We'll find a replacement for you, doesn't matter that much to me." He says.
Fin spins back around, getting to work as Ronny leaves the room. Yiska is standing outside the building, standing there is silence as she gathers her thoughts.
"Am I bothering you?" Ronny asks as he stands next to her.
"No, I was about to come in anyway." Yiska says.
"I still haven't taken the offer. Things might change."
"You will, and they'd be fools not to take you. Don't let us keep you from doing what you want."
"I'll visit when I can."
"We know."
The two let the calming air fill the silence between them before sirens blare throughout the town. "Breakout detected! Breakout detected! Evacuate the area immediately!"
"Another one, already?" Ronny says.
"I'll get back to the office. Stay safe." Yiska asks.
"Got it." Ronny says before running off.
Ronny sprints down the street. Who is it this time? I haven't seen a single person with steam coming off them today. The only person was… Ronny's eyes widen as he runs faster. If there's a time for him to save someone, it has to be now.
But as he arrives at the breakout's location, it's already dissipated, the young Ivy falling into the chocolate Kamen Rider's arms. You… Ronny balls his hands into a fist as soldiers follow behind them, the rider running in the other direction. A child, those bastards took a child?! First our people were affected, and now our young? How does this help us? How is taking the people we care about supposed to save us? It won't, none of this will. Unless they're stopped, our whole town, everyone who lives here, will turn into those monsters.
"Kamen Riders!" Even though the rider had already vanished, Ronny shouted at the sky, the image of that unconscious girl in the rider's arms locked in his mind. "To protect our town and its people, I'll bring you in no matter what!"
Once the soldiers give up the chase, they walk back, one stopping in front of Ronny as they move. "It's Ronny, correct?"
Ronny clears his throat, bringing his voice down to its usual deep and harsh tone. "That's right."
"Our CEO wants to see you. Come with us." The soldier doesn't wait for a response before walking to catch up with the rest of his group.
Without taking a look back at the girl who he failed to save, Ronny follows the soldiers in silence. I'll bring you all in and show you the pain your little revolution is causing us.
As expected, there isn't much talk between the soldiers. Between the robots and the humans, it's hard to tell who's quieter. The soldiers stop in front of the massive wall towering over the town. Even Ronny can't help but look in awe at its size.
"Follow me." A soldier says to him as the group opens a door in the wall. Though they don't do anything to make it open, they just stand there until it does.
The soldiers lead Ronny into the massive skyscraper, rising even above the wall. It's a completely unique atmosphere separate from their town. Everyone's either in a suit, lab coat, or the rare soldier. They lead Ronny to an elevator, pressing a button to take them to the top floor.
"Do you know what this is about?" Ronny asks.
"No." The soldier responds, no further comment.
And people say I'm boring, guess you have to make sacrifices to protect the town. The elevator stops, the soldiers motions Ronny outside as he stays inside, letting the elevator close as he goes back down.
"Excuse me for the wait. I had to tidy things up," an older woman says from behind a desk.
Tidying up is an understatement. The office is completely empty. Not even a single paper sits inside, just her. A woman in her late 40s or early 50s stares at Ronny, a scar over her closed left eye.
"I wouldn't have cared either way." Ronny says.
"Shall we introduce ourselves, then?" She asks, not waiting for an answer before speaking again. "You may refer to me as Grand, Hilda Grand. I'm sure you're aware of my position here."
"CEO of Suck, I've never heard your name before. Is there a reason you're so secretive?"
"This isn't an interrogation, is it? I believe it's your turn to introduce yourself," she slowly taps her desk.
"Ronny, breakout consultant from Snooze News."
"No surname?" She asks. Ronny nods. "Just felt a need to clarify."
"Is the reason I'm here because of Suck's need for recruits."
"That? No, I wouldn't turn you into a run-of-the-mill soldier. But it was a good front to find potential recruits for a unique position."
Ronny raises an eyebrow, "unique position?"
Before Grand can answer, the elevator rises up and opens. "You could at least tell me what I'm here for. This is no way to treat someone you just met." A man exits the elevator, turning from the soldier he was speaking with to look at the other two.
"I was wondering when you would arrive." Grand says.
"You, uh, you know I was talking to the soldier, not you, right?" The man says, slight panic in his voice.
"Of course. We were just introducing ourselves. You can call me Hilda Grand." She wears a smile, but it gives off a feeling of authority rather than one of welcoming.
"Chip Taylor, pleased to meet you, Ms. Grand." He says with a chipper smile. "Who's the serious guy?"
"Ronny." He looks at the man for a moment before turning back to Grand. "I'll ask again, what's this 'unique position?'"
"Not one for small talk?" She asks. Ronny simply nods. "Very well. I'm sure at least you've noticed the rise in breakouts, alongside the appearance of those 'Kamen Riders.'" She says, pointing at Ronny.
"And it's only getting worse with the ideas they spread to the people." Ronny says.
"I've heard from customers about their children, or even friends and family, acting differently because of them." Chip says.
"Customers?" Ronny asks.
"I work, retail, and I've got some pretty good ears. Mix that with my general approachability, and a lot of news comes my way."
I interact with the breakout victims directly, while he speaks to the people close to them. If we're to be a pair, I can see why Ms. Grand put us together. Even if his personality might get annoying.
"I assume you've figured out why I'm putting you two together?" She's staring directly at me.
"You still haven't said what for," Ronny says.
"Stopping breakouts, and eventually, the Kamen Riders," she says. "You will keep your current jobs while working under me in secret. You will report to me on a weekly basis, or if I require it. And, of course, you will receive more than adequate pay for your work. Is that clear?"
"If we subdue one of the riders, what do you want us to do?" Chip asks.
"Bring them in." Ronny says in an authoritative tone, not waiting on Grand. "Under those masks, even if they're ruining our town, are still people. People who, in their own misguided way, want to help us."
The unconscious flashes through his mind, the anger he felt watching that Kamen Rider run away with her. I don't understand why they do it, but no matter how furious it makes me, I want to believe they're trying to help.
"And if I ask you otherwise?" Grand asks.
"I'll walk out, simple as that," Ronny says.
"Then you may bring them in," she smiles at his conviction. "Any objections?" Grand looks at Chip.
"I wasn't too keen on killing anybody either, so it's fine by me." He says, trying not to challenge either of them.
"Our talk here is over, then. You two are free to conduct this job however you feel is necessary. All I expect is a report weekly." She says, pulling out and laying two guns on the desk. "The same type of weapons our soldiers use. They're designed to deal with breakouts, but it should be enough to subdue those riders as well."
Ronny and Chip enter the elevator after taking the weapons, Chip taking his much more reluctantly. Ronny pressed the button that'll bring them to the entrance. It's silent, Chip constantly opening his mouth to say something but stopping himself right before speaking.
"Is there something you wanted to say?" Ronny asks.
"N-No, well, yes. You're not mad that I asked her what to do with the riders rather than just saying what you did, are you?" He says.
"You asked an important question, nothing to be mad at."
"Okay, good. Cause I don't actually want to kill anyone," Chip stares down at the gun in his hand.
"Not good with weapons?"
Chip shakes his head. "Don't worry though, I know how to use one. I'm just not that much of a fighter, bit of a coward, actually."
"Then let me do the shooting."
"I don't want to leave my new partner on his own. It'll feel weird at first but-"
Ronny cuts him off. "If you don't want to use it, then don't use it. You shouldn't go against yourself just for a job."
Chip opens his mouth, but backs down. "Sorry."
"We're partners. We look out for each other. Nothing to apologize for." Ronny hands Chip a slip of paper with his number, "stay in contact." They leave the building, exiting out the wall and going their separate ways.
AN: So this took way longer than it should've, mainly because I was just really worried about how it was gonna come out. I was really excited to start writing for Grand, which made me worry too much about actually get it written. I'm still not super confident about how this chapter came out, but I'm just happy I got it out.