Chapter 12: The Black Knight
22:22 PM (Jawaii Time), Thursday July the 25th…
"… Explain me! What the hell is going on!?
"Turns out that that Gold moron was a pawn of Regal!"
"What!? Regal!?"
"He announced it boldly on TV!"
"Devil!"
"Tried to take out Silver and some gal and the train station, too!"
"The fool was nuts! Where did you dig them from, anyway?"
"Ruby said that it was an expert at explosives…"
"Fine! Meeting of the executive board! Right now!"
Opoulous raged as he argued with a man.
This man was on his late 40s or early 50s.
He had silver hair.
His irises were brown.
A brown beard covered his face.
He had an armband of a dragon colored in platinum color.
He wore a black suit, black tie, a white shirt and black trousers.
The location was a meeting room with a round oak table.
There were several paintings set on the walls.
A small fan was built in the ceiling, taking out the cigar's smoke.
The cigar was leaning on a crystal ashtray.
"Tell Dr. Clark to come, too! Must coordinate with him, too!"
"Roger!"
"Platinum" rushed out of the meeting room.
Opoulos grabbed the cigar and resumed smoking it.
He impatiently tapped the table with his left hand.
"Did you call for me, Mr. Jade?"
"Dr. Clark! We have complications…"
"Apart from the hacked phones?"
"Yes!"
A new man came in.
He could be in his early 30s.
He had neatly combed blonde hair.
His eyes were emerald, green.
He wore a plain black suit over a white shirt and black pants.
He used brown leather gloves on his hands.
"Regal has set our eyes on us!"
"What! Regal!?"
"The man influenced a former executive to do crazy things, too…"
"Hence why the malware in the phone was so well made…!"
"Yes! Only someone like Regal could build that…"
"Then I'll have to be more throughout with them…"
"Make sure that there's nothing that gives away our location!"
"It's the first thing that I looked for…"
"Excellent. But we shouldn't take the man lightly…"
"I don't intend to. Please count on me…"
"Finally! Someone competent!"
"I will take care of readying new and secure terminals…"
"Please handle it. I must talk with my staff and reorganize things…"
"Understood…"
"But to be on the safe side, investigate their background as well…"
"But if you start to suspect everyone, there's no end to it…"
"I am aware. I just meant to see if Regal could've interfered with them…"
"That is more logical. If you shall excuse me…"
"Go…"
Dr. Clark also left the room.
"Platinum" returned, fuming.
"What next?" Opoulous grumbled.
"Now they're blaming each other for the mess…"
"Come on! This isn't elementary school! By Zeus!"
"Ruby insists that he didn't know Gold before…"
"And is saying that someone else hired him?"
"Correct…"
"Bring them in! They need a lesson!"
"Naturally. I have them on standby outside…"
"Platinum" looked towards the door.
"Did you check that they didn't have any devices on them?"
"Naturally. Their infected devices are kept by Dr. Clark…"
"Bring the security staff and have them undergo body checks!"
"Roger. We'll use the storeroom and inspect them one by one…"
"Do that!"
"Platinum" left again and Opoulos brushed the cigar against the ashtray.
"I've been a fool for not taking Regal seriously, either!" He fumed.
There was a knock.
"Who is it?"
"It's me, Anaya. Do you have a moment?"
"Miss Anaya. Come in…"
Anaya stepped inside next.
She wore a sleeveless blue shirt with dolphins drawn on it.
She also sported brown shorts and sandals.
"I heard that Regal has appeared. Did he let out any hints or such?"
"Now that you mention it… I forgot to ask Platinum…"
He pressed a button under the table.
A buzz rang out.
"Platinum" returned.
"What's the matter?"
"Say. Did Regal let out anything?"
"Was talking about a "Black Knight"…"
"What!? Must've found out the receiver!" Anaya hissed.
"Fortunately, the cops thought that he was pulling memes…"
"Fortunately for us!"
"Is something the matter?"
"Don't worry. It only involves me and Marco…"
"Alright…"
"How's the body check going like?"
"Sapphire, Ruby and Emerald are over…"
"Fine. So only Pearl and Diamond remain…"
"The only odd thing was Ruby trying to sneak cannabis cigarettes…"
"Cannabis!? What does he think this is, a party!?"
"Makes you wonder why we appointed him as executive, really…"
"… Change of plans. Send Ruby to the brig so that he cools down!"
"Sure…"
"Let this be an example that we won't tolerate any stupid actions!"
"Agreed!"
"Platinum" rushed out.
Anaya was barely hiding her annoyance, too.
"Regal…! How much does he know…?"
"That's the issue!"
"Now's where I wish that I had a competent agent that…!"
She stopped in mid-sentence, as if she realized something.
"I remember! That's what the "Black Knight" was!"
"A special agent?" Opoulos inferred.
"Yes. A trump card… I must coordinate with Marco!"
"Good. An unforeseen trump card might tilt the balance of things…"
"And, preferably, to our favor…"
"Truly…"
"Well then. I'm going to handle this right away!"
"The sooner, the better. Regal might try to steal it!"
14:28 PM (India Time), Friday July the 26th…
"… This is Conductor. Unit "I", awaken!"
"… Voice pattern recognized. Input passwords…"
"… A dark knight emerges from a house in a port town…"
"Password #1: correct. Please input password #2…"
"… Its potential and knowledge allow it to overcome any battles…"
"Passwords correct. Awakening the unit…"
Someone started a transmission with a system somewhere.
The auto-voice system was the interlocutor.
The system was dark, save for a faint source of light.
It was repairing rings circling a Navi wearing a black cloak and hood.
The rings stopped and deactivated.
The Navi slowly descended to the ground.
"… This is Unit "I". On standby…"
"Is the programming proceeding as scheduled?"
"Yes, Conductor. Program will finish at 00:00 AM on August 1st…"
"Alright. Nobody else has tried to contact you, I take it?"
"No, sir. Nobody…"
"Good. Don't accept orders from anyone else but me…"
"Is there the fear of another party interfering with the project?"
"Yes. Do not accept any new orders from now until 8/1…"
"Understood…"
"Will contact you again when the time comes…"
"Looking forward to it, sir…!"
18:09 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Meijin – kun! It's been a while since we last met!"
"Yes, Makoto – kun… Glad to see that you're safe!"
"I still don't understand what happened to me…"
"Don't worry about it. It's over…"
"If you insist…"
Meijin was meeting with a woman in a MOS office.
She had brown hair.
Her eyes were blue.
She had glasses on.
She was the victim of that abduction.
"Someone stole a copy of my data about improved "Copy Roids"…"
"Thought as much… The choice wasn't at random…"
"It was a powerful hacking. It was no amateur…"
"Clearly. Since that man is involved…"
"What exactly is going on?"
"Many things!" He summed up with a sigh.
"I can tell!" She sighed.
"But now that they have the data, they probably won't bother you again!"
"Let's hope that!"
There was a knock.
"Meijin. Are you there?" Yuuichirou asked.
"Yes, sir. Do you need something?"
"I wanted to coordinate something, and… We have visits?"
"Yes, sir. Aoki Makoto – kun. We worked together in the past…"
"I remember. You built the basis of the "Copy Roid" tech, right?"
"Correct, sir…"
Yuuichirou stepped into the office.
"It is an honor, sir…"
"Please. I'm not someone that mighty!"
"But your contributions are amazing, sir!"
"Well. If you insist…"
Theu exchanged handshakes, and he laughed.
"If you need help, you can count on us…"
"Thank you very much, Dr. Hikari…"
"By the way, Meijin. Did you check security on the "DG"?"
"Our "Dimensional Generator"? I did. A couple of hours ago…"
"Alright. Go over it every day. You never know…"
"Naturally, sir…"
"Sorry. As you can see, things are tense…"
"I can perceive it in the air, yes…"
"But rest assured. We're handling it!"
"That's very reassuring, sir!"
"Alright. Time to resume work!"
"Same. I'll try to design a failsafe to deal with abuse of that technology!"
"How reliable! Counting on you!"
"Leave it up to me, Meijin – kun!"
"Good. Let's focus on what we can do!"
18:15 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Draw forbidden! You skip your turn, Dekao!"
"Heck!"
"Not bad. The yellow 5!"
"Yellow 3!"
Yaito, Meiru, Dekao and Hikawa were playing the "UNO" card game.
"… My dice roll outcome is 5!"
"Heck! My piece was taken out!"
"Too bad, Netto!"
"I go next!"
Netto, Saito and Chisao played the "Parchesi" card game.
"What happened in the end with that fuss of the other day?"
Dekao looked up at Yaito.
"The police drove the onlookers away! Some were trying to sneak in…"
"Naturally… There'll always be sly types amongst those…"
"Well. Even if they managed to step inside…"
"Your traps would drive them out… Like a certain someone…"
Meiru grinned and glanced at Dekao.
He sweated and gulped.
"Also… My Forehead Mowers will blind them!"
"What are those?"
"Mowers with a flashlight on the front, to blind intruders!"
"Well. If it doesn't harm them…"
"Exactly…"
"Nevertheless… We must be careful…" Saito warned.
"We still don't know what Regal means to do…" Netto added.
"That madman…!" Yaito fumed.
"Hard to tell what "Black Knight" is about…"
"Maybe he means to do something to Cream Land?" Chisao suggested.
"True. Pride and Knight Man…!" Netto recalled.
"But I feel like it's too literal…" Meiru argued.
"You never can take anything for granted with such mad folk…"
"Fair. Let's warn her…"
Netto interacted with his PET and placed a call.
"Lord Hikari. It's been a long time!"
Knight Man answered the call.
"Knight Man. Keep your eyes open. Regal might strike there…"
"The "Black Knight" tale? We are aware of it, thank you very much…"
"Alright. But it never harms to be careful, right?"
"Naturally. The Princess is coordinating our intelligence services, too…"
"OK. But Regal is sly. And has the "Dimensional Converters"…"
"We have built countermeasures to them over the years…"
"Great. But I insist that Regal is not to be taken lightly…"
"Yes. We will fight back anything that they send for us!"
"Excellent. Good luck!"
"It is an honor!"
"Alright. We should train and sharpen our skills, too!" Meiru rallied.
"Sure!"
18:33 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Well? Did you figure out anything, Kir Osh?"
"Not much. It was built with security in mind…"
"But you did find some hints as to the builder?"
"Yes. A maker specializing in secure phones located in California…"
"But the maker isn't the seller, so…"
"They themselves wouldn't know who owns each phone…"
"I'm having Blood Shadow inspect the encryption, too…"
Two men were talking, reunited in a room.
He was in his mid – twenties.
One of them stood next to a desk.
He had messy jet-black hair and blue eyes.
He wore gray armor made of several plates joined together.
Two sword sheaths were attached to his black belt.
His arms and legs were also covered in plating.
He had gloves and boots made of the same material.
A purple cape hung from the back of the shoulders.
There was a round device with a purple "V" on his chest, too.
"Alright. What about the contacts list?"
"That was easy to dump…"
The other man was sitting on a chair before the desk.
He was in his early twenties.
He had blond hair and green eyes.
He wore a mechanic's overalls.
The room was square, illuminated by fluorescent tubes.
The only entrance was an armored door.
The only furniture was wooden chairs and a metallic table.
It had an integrated keyboard, mouse, USB ports and a CD tray on it.
A holographic projector was placed on the center of the table's surface.
A disassembled phone was set over the table.
A toolkit was placed next to it.
There was a box which had small components, sealed in vinyl bags.
"The list is as following…"
He handed the man in the armor a list.
PLATINUM DRAGON
DIAMOND SIREN
PEARL REX
EMERALD PEGASUS
RUBY PHOENIX
SAPPHIRE KRAKEN
SILVER GORILLA
"And the leader is "Jade Panther"… Fancy naming sense…"
"Given that their name is "Deadly Pandora" to begin with…"
"Fair. The issue is… Where do they operate from?"
"Morgangantz and his "Justice Council" buds found a proxy in Dallas…"
"Dallas… Texas, right?"
"But their orders came from cut-outs…"
"Naturally. They're not amateurs…"
He stopped and frowned.
"Who was Morgangantz again?"
"You forgot again? It's Charles. Daratsu's brother…"
"Sorry. His surname is so fancy, I tend to remember by his name instead…"
"Happens, happens…"
A buzz rang out.
"It's me, Blood Shadow. I bring a report…"
"Come in!"
The leader used a remote to open the door.
Blood Shadow stepped inside.
"The encryption system is based on a previous CIA system…"
"The CIA, is it?"
"It has pieces of a prototype system by the NSA, too…"
"Twilight must've taken both and skillfully combined them…"
"Yes. There was a small note inside of the code…"
"His autograph?"
"Yes. "All rights belong to Jonathan Clark. Copyright: 2012"…"
"2012? That's last year. It must be recent…"
"Maybe he made it when he met with Jade Panther…"
"True. Jade Panther was the one posing as a cult leader a year ago…"
"Which was a smokescreen as he built up his business…"
"Did you find traces of Regal meddling with the phone?"
"I managed to rescue the file about the scheme from the system bin…"
"And?"
"It was signed by "Legar of Alubne"…"
"Come on! It's "Regal of Nebula" flipped around!"
"Exactly…"
"But all sender data was gone, obviously enough…"
"Well. Didn't expect Regal to make such a blunder, anyway…"
"Alright. Good job, Blood. Return to your usual duties…"
"Roger, sir. Right away…"
Blood Shadow walked out.
The two men sighed.
"Anyway. Will keep digging for clues…" Kir Osh told the boss.
"Sure… I'll go meet with Oozono…"
"OK…"
The leader left the room and exited into a curved corridor.
It had several arches every a few meters.
Fluorescent lights were set in the ceiling.
Armored doors were lined up on both sides of it.
He stopped before one labelled "OBSERVATION DECK #3".
He knocked on it.
"Oozono? Are you there?"
"Sure…" Yuriko replied.
He opened the door and stepped inside.
It was a cubical room with a large viewing window.
There were several seats set before it.
Yuriko sat in one of them, checking her PET data.
"Been a while, Zataki…"
"Sure. Did you find anything?"
"Not much. Apart from a stack of cannabis and marijuana…"
"They did find a bag of marijuana in that man's hideout, too…"
"I guess that he was "high", hence his partial madness…"
"Likely…"
Zataki sat two seats to her left and crossed his arms, sighing.
"And? Did Regal pester you?"
"No. There was nothing. His sight must be on Clark…"
"Better for us, then…"
"I did find traces of him having used my old hideout…"
"Heck. We didn't think of that…"
"I found a calendar. August 1st was marked with a red circle…"
"8/1? Something might happen…"
"Or it might be a fake hint, too…" She warned.
"Good point. I'll tell the "Committee" to sharpen their ears…"
"Sure. I'll also check the place every a few days…"
"Yes. Let's pretend that we forgot about it…" Zataki agreed.
"I'll take a break and go see my sister for a couple of days…"
"Naturally. We'll work on it in the meantime…"
"You should also be careful not to overwork, Zataki…"
"… You're right. Should follow my medic's advice more often!"
"… The "Black Knight"… A weapon? An asset? What is it…?"
"That's what we'd all like to know, truly…!"
