"You know, I was hoping you chuckle fucks would let me sleep," Ape muttered, annoyed. Well, I say annoyed, but the lieutenant was trying his best to hide a small smile.
"Now why would we do that?" Eagle asked as he sat back in the chair next to Ape's hospital bed. Grizzly meanwhile leaned against a nearby wall scrolling through his phone.
"Anything new on the front?" Ape asked, curiously. The doctors had said he'd been unconscious for a few days, and while they wouldn't let him near the front for another week, he was still curious as to what happened. Eagle shook his head in response though, before digging around in his pocket.
"Not really. We took the town a day after you were evacuated here. Aside from that, the lines have been quiet," Eagle explained, now rapidly searching his pocket for something.
"Not a big surprise, I mean you saw what they had to fight back with," Grizzly commented, with Eagle giving him a light chuckle.
"I'll say, managed to grab this bad boy off one of them," Eagle said to them, as his other hand moved to his holster. He then unholstered and held out a Luger pistol for them to see. Ape simply gave him a quiet whistle, as he moved to sit up from his hospital bed. He did notice, however, that Eagle's other hand was still searching his pockets.
"Geez, I knew they were getting desperate, but this?" Grizzly said. It made Eagle chuckle again, still searching for something on his person.
"It gets better. I've also got a couple of SKSs, Mosin Nagants, a pair of Lee-Enfields, and an MAS-36," Eagle added, his searching slowly becoming more frantic. It was amusing to watch, but only made Ape and Grizzly more confused.
"Missing something sarge?" Grizzly asked, with Eagle slowly looking over at him.
"By the looks of it, yes-no!" Eagle suddenly exclaimed, his hand now finding something in his back pocket
"Oh thank fuck," the staff sergeant muttered, pulling out an Idroid from his pocket. It was a bit different from the standard Idroid, this one being a bit smaller.
"What's that?" Ape asked. He knew it was an Idroid, but the amount of importance Eagle had for the device made him think there was something else about it. And he would be right.
"Got orders from the top to give this to you. Meet the first of two new members to the platoon." Eagle explained holding the Idroid out and passing it to Ape. The second he handed it off an AI appeared dressed as a cattle hand from the 1800s.
"Lieutenant Telepathic Ape?" the AI asked, its avatar facing the man. Ape replied with a quiet nod, still a bit surprised he was meeting an AI. With how big the MSF had become, seeing a sentient AI was a rarity.
"Name's Marston, Combat AI 012." the AI greeted, dipping his hat forward like an old-timey cowboy, "I'm here to join your platoon."
"Well, great to have you. But, I feel as if command made a mistake somehow," Ape replied. In all fairness, he was possibly right. He hadn't heard of any units getting combat AIs, mainly due to the needed equipment, or the lack thereof. The MSF had stolen the blueprints for capable drones years ago, but the R&D team wanted to add some modifications to improve the designs.
Seeing as they were still up against poorly armed militants, at least in the beginning, it was given the green light.
"Ain't no error, sir. The guys up top picked y'all for the first batch of new guns they're handin' out." Marston explained, and wasn't that a bigger shock?
"About damn time!" Grizzly happily exclaimed.
"It's more than just guns right?" Eagle inquired hopefully, with Marston nodding in response.
"That's right. They're givin' out some of them new THeMIS drones to help haulin' stuff around. Not to mention the ones packin' fifty cals." Marston added, "With the new gear, I'll watch over y'all from up high and lend a helping hand on the ground."
"Seems you'll fit right in," Ape commented. He then looked away from the AI and over to Eagle, placing the Idroid on a nearby table at the same time.
"Now, you said one of two new additions," Ape noted, with Eagle quickly snapping his fingers.
"Right," Eagle said messing with the Idroid Ape set down. Whether it affected Marston inside, Ape didn't know. The AI didn't say anything however so he assumed he was fine. The hologram lit up though displaying the file of a man with a lizard mutation, and purple hair.
"Meet our new recruit. Fresh out of basic and assigned the codename Fervent Gecko-"
"Woah, woah, woah. Fervent Gecko? They couldn't come up with anything better?" Ape very suddenly interjected, with Eagle giving him a look that said he somewhat agreed.
"I thought the same. From what I've been able to gather the way they decide codenames is with a random name generator," Eagle explained with Ape giving him an incredulous look.
"And that is what it came up with?" he asked, not believing what was said.
"Yep. I chalk it up to bad luck mostly,"
"Better than being called a psychic monkey," Ape muttered to himself, "A billion-dollar military organization and we turn to a random name generator for codenames."
"To be fair, would you want to waste billions deciding how to name things?" Grizzly commented, with Ape deciding that no, he did not. As dumb as it seemed, it was free. Although that did make him wonder, were they using a random name machine back at the MSF's founding? Or did they have some other way of determining names? He leaned towards the second option, as back then there were only three hundred permanent members, and not three million.
"Regardless, he's a brand new addition to the platoon. Other than that is his quirk, which you can already see for yourself." Eagle continued.
"Seems we've got a new rookie then," Grizzly commented before Eagle gave him a mischievous look.
"Nope that's still you, Rookie," Eagle stated.
"Oh fuck you," Grizzly muttered, bringing a hand to his face while also muttering, "Five damn years for this shit,"
"Does his quirk have any other defining traits?" Ape inquired. It wasn't out of malice, but more curiosity. Most mutants he'd met had some kind of physical advantage, at least those with animal mutations. Others just gave them a change of skin tone or slightly stranger faces.
"Nope," Eagle replied bluntly.
"Nothing? No strength enhancement? Any venom? How about being able to stick to walls?" Ape asked, with Eagle scrolling through the Idroid.
"No-wait never mind, he can stick to walls actually. Other than that the file just says his quirk makes him look like a lizard," Eagle answered, with Ape quietly clicking his tongue.
"Well… that's disappointing. Still, I'll take whoever we can get, and the wall-climbing schtick should be good for stealth ops and urban combat. He'll be in your squad for the time being." Ape decided with Eagle quietly nodding, "Now, that everything?"
"Yep…" Eagle answered before a small awkward silence permeated throughout the room. The three men just looked at each other for a few seconds, before Grizzly opened his mouth.
"...You know the new Holotables coming out,"
"Really? Thought they released a new one this year."
"Nah, you're thinking of JAM's Holotable. I'm talking about Hermes' new table."
"Still don't get what the hype is," Ape muttered with Grizzly giving him an incredulous look.
"It's the newest advancement in gaming! You can watch an RTS unfold and be able to see everything," Grizzly quickly reasoned, with Ape giving him an unsure look.
"I'd still rather use a controller, Rookie," Ape told him.
"It can be hooked up to controllers," Grizzly countered, before hearing Eagle mutter an "eh".
"It doesn't always work. That one you got me for Christmas, still won't connect to my keyboard or controller." Eagle quickly countered.
"You play everything with a PS2 controller, and a 1980s keyboard, of course, it doesn't work." Grizzly then retorted with Eagle pausing for a second.
"Touche," he eventually replied, now leaning back in his chair.
"In all honesty though, how did you get a PS2 controller?" Grizzly asked, "They stopped making those things two hundred years ago and you've got thirty of them."
"I know a guy," was all Eagle said.
"You mind introducing us? Cause I've been looking for an old 3Ds for years now." Grizzly told him, with Ape looking as if he agreed.
"Sure," Eagle replied.
Bouba couldn't remember the last time he had something to eat. Had it been days? Weeks? It didn't matter to him at this point. He was a deadman no matter what. The warlord in charge of his town had dragged him out of his home weeks ago, tossed an AK into his hands, and forced him to guard the perimeter. And if the rumors were true, then the enemy he was going to be fighting against was rapidly approaching, and winning.
That scared him. He had a family just a block away from his foxhole. Bouba despised the warlords for everything, but they provided security. They provided some semblance of food and a small modicum of order. That was better than nothing in Bouba's mind, and it seemed that would all be taken away.
"Above us!" someone soon yelled, with Bouba quickly looking up at the sky. Miles away but rapidly approaching, was a massive plane.
"Get the AA up!" Bouba yelled, with a crew of men running over to some flatbed trucks. The warlord hadn't provided them with much in terms of equipment, so the best they had were a couple of pickups with anti-aircraft guns bolted on. The guns aimed up at the sky quickly, and their gunners pulled the trigger. Only for nothing to happen, the massive aircraft getting closer. It was a bomber, it had to be. Nothing that large would fly out here if it wasn't to bomb something.
"What are you waiting for!? Fire!" Bouba ordered, only to see the panicked look of the men as they inspected the AA gun.
"We can't! The barrels rusted over!" one of them yelled before a different man broke into an all-out sprint. Others did the same quickly running to somewhere. Bouba didn't. Where would he run to? The town that was most likely about to be bombed? The fields out in the open? This was it he decided. Looking up at the plane, he waited for the inevitable as its rear opened. But then, instead of a bomb or a missile, a large crate was pushed out.
That caught Bouba off guard, who watched as its parachute opened up. Dozens more followed it before the plane seemed to run out. Once it did the plane began to turn and go back to where it came from. The entire thing was odd to Bouba, as he saw the first crate land nearby. Hesitantly he approached the crate, his AK-47 raised. Bouba didn't know what to expect, maybe someone would jump out of the box and attack. No that would be stupid.
The crate was in front of him now, and cautiously Bouba put his hand on it. Nothing seemed bad about it, but that's what worried him. He slung his AK then and drew his knife. With the knife, Bouba began cutting away the parachute on the crate. Once it was off, he began to force it open. A loud crack signified he succeeded. As he did so, a few other militants had stopped running and were now walking back over.
Bouba meanwhile, looked on in confusion as he examined the crate's contents. It was littered with jugs of water and nonperishable food. Carefully Bouba reached in and grabbed a can from the crate. He couldn't read the label, but the picture on the can displayed a fruit. Curious, and worried Bouba took his knife and cut the can open.
Sure enough, fruit was inside. It was real. The sight made Bouba slowly begin to laugh. It wasn't crazed or sad, but joyful.
"What is it?" one of the men walking back loudly asked.
"It's food!" he yelled back, now hearing the loud rumbles of his stomach. If it was poisoned Bouba didn't care. He stabbed the first piece of fruit he could and ate it quickly. Every bite was delicious before he found the can empty. The other men had already reached them, a few cheering and laughing at the sight in front of them. The townspeople heard the commotion and hesitantly stepped outside their homes.
The hesitancy ended when a few militants ran off to bring food to their families.
"Come on, open the rest of them!" Bouba happily ordered, with the men around him complying. The cracks of crates being opened echoed around them as more goods were found. Toys for kids, medicine, and clothing. Each new crate brought up a new and louder cheer. Then they reached the final one. Quickly Bouba and a few others forced it open. Inside it, however, were several boxes of chocolate. On top of the boxes, was a note. Well, more of a stack of notes.
Bouba picked up the stack and looked over the first page. Whatever was written on the first page he couldn't read. But he then flipped a few pages and found the writing to be in a language he could read.
"What's it say?" one guy asked, while Bouba looked it over. And Bouba's face slowly turned to shock as he kept reading.
"It says these crates were a gift from Big Boss," Bouba told them. The crowd that had gathered around them went quiet, with only the gasps at the name Big Boss being heard.
"He's promising more food if we agree to stand down and that none of us will be harmed," Bouba continued. The idea was shocking to all of them, but they wanted it. They were tired of the warlords starving them out, and so they did. The commander of the town quickly found himself at gunpoint as Bouba and the others charged into his office. In a matter of hours, the men loyal to the warlords had been rounded up. And days later, a column of tanks drove through the town. With the column's occupants being met with loud boisterous cheers.
If there was one thing Ocelot hated, it was reporters. And his work spying on the HPSC tended to bring him straight to the news. Now they still had no idea who he was luckily, but there were always a few times someone would force him into an interview. Be it because they mistake him for a hero, or want to know something about the HPSC. Today, however, neither of those reasons were the cause.
No, it was instead All Might's fault, as he stood outside the front gate attempting to get past the massive crowd of reporters. All of which were shouting out questions at both him and the students attempting to get through.
"Excuse me, sir! What do you think of All Might teaching at UA?" One loudly asked shoving a microphone up to him. Ocelot simply said nothing and continued to walk forward. But the density of the crowd got worse the farther he went.
"What's the symbol of peace like in person?" another asked, bringing another microphone up to him.
"Can you get All Might for us? All we want is an interview?" a third asked, it now becoming impossible to walk past them. It was annoying, but Ocelot did have other ways to get past the crowd. He snapped his fingers and gave a few gestures to the Ocelot Unit, who nodded and moved to the front. The reporters were somewhat confused but kept asking questions.
"How much is UA paying All Might?"
"Don't you think All Might's services might be better at Shiketsu-"
"Out of the damn way lady," one of the Ocelot Unit muttered, before shoving past the reporter. It brought out a sputter shock from her, with other reporters looking on surprised.
"Wha- hey! You can't just treat us like that!"
"Don't care," the man muttered again this time with Ocelot chuckling. It was somewhat easy to get to the front gate now, as the Ocelot Unit mainly just forced their way through with a bit of shoving and some forceful glares. It was also with the annoyed and angry cries of the reporters, usually yelling something about freedom of the press. But Ocelot didn't really care, I mean what were they going to do, write an article about the maskless men no one knows about, and legally do not exist as per the HPSC's guidelines?
Even if they did, so what? Ocelot didn't care, and none of the unit cared either. But soon enough they were at the gate, yet the reporters didn't seem to let up. With one reporter grabbing Ocelot's arm. That would have been a grim mistake were this any other time, as Ocelot would have quickly flipped them over, and put a round in their skull. However, Ocelot was an HPSC representative. One that didn't care about his reputation in the media, as it didn't exist, but still meant he couldn't just kill a civilian.
Plus Snake would be upset. So very slowly he turned his head to face the reporter, finding a look of grim determination in her eyes.
"Sir, all I'm asking for is an interview!" she exclaimed, with Ocelot yanking his arm away and very easily freeing himself from the reporter's grasp.
"Not going to happen," was all he said, before turning around and walking through the gate. Well, that's what he was originally going to do, yet as he turned back, he noticed something. Far away from the reporters across the street, was a man standing and watching. Ocelot couldn't see the man's face clearly as he was too far away, but he could make out the long unkept light blue hair. Not to mention the bright red shoes and pale skin, which stuck out as strong contrasts to the all-black outfit he wore.
But just as soon as he saw the man, a bus drove by obscuring his view. When the bus was gone, so was the man. Every fiber of Ocelot's being told him something was off. All the training and years of combat experience told him something was off. Basic common sense told him something was off. He shrugged it off though, as there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. So he finished turning back around and walked through the gate, chuckling to himself as he heard the afraid screams of reporters when the barrier shot up behind him.
"He blamed me!" Uraraka quietly exclaimed taking small bites out of her lunch. It was nothing extravagant, just a cheap bento box she managed to score. But it provided her with some amount of comfort during lunch.
"Fudaki charges in leaving me behind and Mr. Aizawa blames me!"
"Well…" Iida started rubbing the back of his neck. Uraraka and Asui both looked at him incredulously before he continued.
"Wait wait, hear me out. It was incredibly reckless for Fudaki to charge in, yet heroes are not supposed to leave their compatriots behind." Iida quickly reasoned, which Uraraka could consider fair, but Asui then brought up a different point.
"I think there's a difference between leaving someone behind, and not following someone in a suicide charge, kero," Asui countered. And Iida nodded his head slowly in agreement.
"That is very true. But heroes back each other up, even if it's trying to clean up an ally's mistake," Iida pointed out. Yet Uraraka gave him an unsure look, as she picked away at what remained of her food. She looked out at the cafeteria, her eyes falling on the lunch table the masked men usually sat at. For an unknown reason, they never sat in the teacher's lounge Uraraka had seen them actively avoid it.
So instead they sat at a table at the far back of the cafeteria, where Uraraka occasionally heard snippets of their conversation. At the moment only two sat at the table, with her not knowing where the other two were. Uraraka wondered what they thought about them, about her class. They were present for the exercise, but never said a word. There was so much about them she still didn't know, and that was part of the reason she was curious about their thoughts.
They didn't act like heroes, yet seemed to have… well not good relations if Aizawa's glares at Ocelot were anything to go by. But they seemed to tolerate the other at least, if only barely. If they were in her spot, how would they have done it differently? The curious part of her made her believe they had powerful quirks, if only because of the mysteriousness behind the men.
They probably wouldn't have failed like her. But Uraraka shook that thought away, as she looked back at her friends. Who had seemingly changed the topic while Uraraka was looking away.
"Don't get me wrong, it is an honor to be elected vice-rep, but I can't say I'm not disappointed," Iida said, with Asui bringing a finger to her chin.
"Did you not vote for yourself?" Asui asked.
"I did not, after all, I had to uphold the system I recommended. Otherwise, what would the point have been? That may have been my folly, but I don't regret the decision," Iida replied confidently his arms now moving in a chopping motion. It reminded Uraraka of a robot, which caused her to chuckle a little.
"You know, we should hang out after this," Uraraka said, drawing a small look of confusion from Iida, and a smile from Asui.
"We… should?" Iida said, more of a question than an actual statement. Now it was Uraraka's turn to look at him confused.
"That is what friends would do- wait we are friends, right?" Iida asked, with an unnoticeable nervous tone.
"Well, yeah! Did you think we weren't?" Uraraka asked, a little worried. She knew he didn't have the best social skills and was sometimes rigid as a board. And those signs never painted the best picture.
"I hoped we were, it's just… I've never done what one would classify as friend activities,"
"I don't think anyone says friend activities, kero," Asui bluntly pointed out, "But you've never hung out with anyone?"
"I mean I've done things with friends before, but those were more group study sessions or extracurricular events," Iida explained, with Uraraka slamming her hands onto the table. Mentally she regretted the action as a few other students turned to look at her surprised, but she ignored it.
"Then it's settled!" Uraraka loudly proclaimed, "You, me, and Tsu will all do something after school. You guys good with that?"
"Sure, kero," Asui said, a small smile on her face, "I heard there was a beach nearby, maybe we could go there."
"An excellent idea! I've been meaning to improve my swimming technique. After all a hero must be prepared for all kinds of circumstances," Iida went on. Uraraka was already excited by the idea, even though no plan had been thought of yet. Still, it sounded fun. They could go get some ice cream, build a few sand castles, go swimming… Uraraka paused on that thought, as a different one hit her.
All her swimwear was back home. Not at her apartment in Mustafu, but at her home in Mie. That… no that was fine. She had some money saved up, and a swimsuit wasn't all that expensive… But at the same time, her food options were quickly running out. Uraraka could only go for so long on leftovers and cheap bentos. Yet that meant going to the beach in the only casual clothes she owned.
She did not want to get sandy, both out of discomfort and again money. Even something as small as washing her clothes would add expenses to the water bill. The more Uraraka thought about it, the more anxious she became. This… it was fine. She might not have money now, but she'd become a hero, and her parents would never have to worry again; then again-
"Warning! Level three security breach!"
An alarm blared overhead as Uraraka was dragged from her thoughts. She looked up and around, confused before everyone in the cafeteria began to book it to the halls. Worried Uraraka quickly followed after them, only to get trapped in a massive crowd of students. Minutes passed as she tried to resist the tide of people shoving against her, but then to her shock, she heard something new. Gunshots were echoing down the hall.
"What are we getting again?" Ocelot asked as he looked down at the walking stoat next to him.
"The first lead we've had in five years," Nezu vaguely replied. But Ocelot already knew what he meant. It would have been hard not to know.
"You managed to find something?" Ocelot inquired with Nezu calmly nodding.
"Possibly," Nezu answered, "I found a series of financial transfers from several JSDF warehouses across the country. Who was transferring the money I couldn't figure out, but considering the total amount of money was forty million dollars, I figured it had to be his doing."
"All this time he's been quiet, and only now does he make a big move. If I'm right, we're nearing his end game." Ocelot said. This was a conclusion he held for a while now. For years Night Owl had spent billions doing whatever he wanted around the globe, only to go quiet. He had been planning for something, but no one could figure out what. And while Ocelot was Madam President's right-hand man, he barely ran into the scientist.
It worried him, as it did Nezu.
"We very well might be. The question remains on what that is, however," Nezu stated. They kept walking quietly for a few minutes, constantly checking the area around them. Now Nezu trusted his staff, but with the secrets he knew, he'd rather keep them in the dark. Same with the students, so they kept looking to make sure no one was around. But then the alarms started ringing around them.
"Level three?" Ocelot asked drawing his guns in an instant, surveying the hallway.
"It means someone's broken in," Nezu answered a hint of shock in his voice.
"Seems that intel will have to wait then," Ocelot muttered, now walking off in a different direction. Where he didn't have a clue as Nezu would loudly point out, but that didn't matter. There was an intruder, and until someone said otherwise that meant searching the area. So at a brisk pace, he moved through the halls, inspecting every inch as he passed by. After the fourth hallway of nothing, Ocelot was about to search somewhere else, when he found an office's door wide open.
From the office, he heard something rummaging about inside. That immediately struck Ocelot as odd. If it was a student, then they should have been evacuating. If it was a teacher, then they should have been securing the area. Which meant one thing. With revolvers in hand, Ocelot quietly snuck up to the doorway and peeked through it. And there in the center of the office rummaging through papers, was the man he saw earlier in the morning.
"Come on, come on, where is it," the man muttered to himself in a horribly raspy voice. Whatever it was he was searching for Ocelot didn't like. He very quickly stepped through the doorway, both guns aiming directly at the man.
"Hands where I can see them," Ocelot ordered, making his presence known with the loud click of his spurs. The man paused for a second, with Ocelot seeing a piece of paper in his hands. He had the diligent care to only hold it with four fingers, which Ocelot again marked as odd. That was unless it had something to do with his quirk, Ocelot quickly reasoned.
"Caught by a low-level NPC," the man again muttered to himself.
"Look pal, I'm not gonna say it a third time. Put your hands where I can see them," Ocelot ordered, yet the man didn't seem to care at his demand. The man erratically dove to the side, with Ocelot quickly firing. The rounds hit the man in the arm and chest, with blood splattering on the ground. The man groaned in pain but didn't stop moving. He flung one hand at Ocelot, who jumped back.
"Like it or not hero, I'm clearing this level," the man said angrily now booking it through the door.
Ocelot mentally berated himself for letting the man slip by, before chasing after him. But his beratement ended when he remembered he did not know the man's quirk. It had something to do with hands, so a simple touch could have done something harmful. That was in the past now, as Ocelot ran after the fleeing man. Taking a right down a corridor he turned on his codec.
"I've got an intruder fleeing down H Hall!" he exclaimed into the codec.
"Got it, sir, on our way!" one of the ocelots replied.
"I'm in E Hall, should be able to cut him off soon!" another stated, only to be covered up by the annoyed grumbles of someone else.
"We're down at the cafeteria, the entire hallway's clogged. We're going to try and find a different route but we might not make it in time,"
Two out of four would have to do Ocelot determined. He brought his revolvers back up then and aimed at the fleeing man. Just as Ocelot was about to fire, the man darted around a corner. Ocelot quickly followed after him but found the winding maze of UA to be difficult to run through. His years spent working with the school meant he knew it like the back of his hand. But all the winding corners and turns slowed anyone down.
He managed to fire a few more times during the chase though, both shots hitting the intruder in the chest. Yet the man seemed to be running on an adrenaline high, ignoring the pain as he ran.
"Damn it! Seems you're a higher-level enemy," the man commented, before taking a left down another hall. Ocelot did the same and found one of the ocelot unit at the other end running up. The intruder seeing this took a right while ducking slightly as both his pursuers began to fire. It seemed like they almost had him, but the man soon darted into a nearby classroom.
This one was empty, its class having gone to lunch, which Ocelot found lucky. What he did not find lucky, was the intruder's next actions. He held out his hand and placed it on the class's window. In mere seconds the glass had cracked before turning to dust, with the man jumped out. The problem was they were on the third floor. Undeterred Ocelot jumped out after the man, breaking out into a roll as he hit the ground.
It still hurt like hell, with Ocelot feeling as if he messed up the landing, but pressed on regardless. Very clearly the man was running toward the outer wall, and Ocelot raised his gun to stop him. Only to swear as it clicked empty.
"You're lucky I'm forced to speed run this!" the intruder taunted, while Ocelot angrily swore still in pursuit. Yet he was too far ahead to catch up. The man soon reached the wall, where Ocelot found a large hole present. The man dived through it, right as a purple void of clouds appeared in front of him. And in seconds, the man was gone.
To say the news was having a field day, would be an understatement. With a tired look at his computer, Nezu watched as the news anchors continued to bicker over the one thing on everyone's minds. Nearby a tired Ocelot stepped into his office with a plastic bag and a few vials of blood. Yesterday had been a pure nightmare for them both. Ocelot was forced to report to Madam President, while Nezu attempted to keep order in the school. Ocelot then sat down in a nearby chair as he looked at the rodent.
"It bad?" he asked, with Nezu calmly nodding. He turned the monitor of his computer to face Ocelot, and the cowboy grimaced as he heard its audio.
"What this is, is irresponsible! They're the best hero school in the country and they let some random punk break in!"
"It truly is. And it's why I keep telling people UA needs to be under government control. That rodent has let things get out of hand during his tenure as principal. I mean a normal school has to listen to a school board or a super independent, but Principal Nezu gets to do whatever he wants."
"Like turn a hero school into a charity,"
"Exactly! Like, turn a hero school into a charity! What's next!? For all we know the irresponsible madman could-"
Nezu elected to cut off the news then, with Ocelot letting out a low whistle.
"Suprised they're not more angry at the punk who broke in," Ocelot muttered before clicking his tongue, "Then again, he managed to break in thanks to their reporters."
"Has the HPSC attempted anything?" Nezu asked, picking up a nearby tea kettle.
"Not yet luckily. But I've heard talks that Madam President is up to something," Ocelot answered. It was only now that Nezu gave the vials of blood a curious glance.
"And those are for?" Nezu asked pointing at one of the vials.
"I was going to take them back to Mother Base for testing, see if they could find anything," Ocelot answered, setting the plastic bags on the desk.
"There is no need for that," Nezu told him, quickly confusing Ocelot.
"How so?" Ocelot inquired.
"For one, this isn't Night Owl's doing," Nezu answered. Which Ocelot, didn't believe. The day Nezu tells him he found something on Night Owl, is the same day the school is broken into. Call it coincidence or paranoia, but Ocelot found that suspicious.
"What makes you say that?" Ocelot asked.
"For one, those financial transfers I told you about yesterday," Nezu told him, before rummaging through his desk. In a few minutes, he pulled out a set of files, which Ocelot inferred was the intel Nezu had found.
"All of these transfers have been sent to one organization, a villain group calling themselves the Ninth Circle," Nezu explained.
"I think I've heard of them before," Ocelot commented, bringing a hand to his chin in thought.
"That still doesn't mean he isn't involved. For all we know this man could be one of theirs." Ocelot quickly pointed out, with Nezu slowly nodding.
"That could be the case, however, I managed to find one more piece of evidence. It took some digging, but rumors about something big were spreading around the underworld. Yet none of those rumors involved the Ninth Circle." Nezu continued, before taking a sip of tea. Ocelot meanwhile, gave the rodent a confused look, before pulling out one of his revolvers.
"We're going off of rumors now?"
"It's the best we have at the moment," Nezu stated, "The point still stands that if this was the Ninth Circle's doing, then someone in the criminal underworld would have heard about it. Especially with-"
"The amount of arms at Night Owl's disposal," Ocelot finished, the dots slowly connecting. The sheer quantity of ordinance in Night Owl's possession meant someone was bound to notice something. It's possible to hide that many guns, but it becomes more difficult when moving them all. And if this break-in was linked to Night Owl, then rumors of someone transferring crate loads of guns would be noticed. With a sigh, he brought a hand to his face, while his other one spun his revolver.
"So it's not Night Owl then. So who is he?"
"I'm not sure. This could have been one man's actions or it could have been an organization" Nezu answered, causing Ocelot to grumble.
"Do we at least know what he stole? I caught him rummaging through files before running out with a paper in hand," Ocelot told him.
"At the moment no." Nezu answered, "That office was practically torn apart. To find out what was stolen, we're having to go through what we still have."
"I'm going to assume that'll take hours," Ocelot commented, with Nezu quietly nodding. It was worrying. The MSF had spent years chasing after one guy, and while they had run-ins with other organizations like the Brothers' Cartel, the Tyrant's Domain, or the Showstoppers, none acted like normal criminals. They controlled territory with a concrete frontline. They amassed thousands of dollars worth of equipment, to the point they acted as a mere peer enemy. So to add someone new to this equation, someone who didn't act like previous enemies, it was worrying.