Chapter 20: Of beers and ghosts

14:37 PM (Japan Time), Friday August the 9th…

"… A little running animal with four legs and a tail! Which is it?"

"Joey! That riddle is SO OLD… A rat!"

"Rat-Man!"

"Come on!"

"So! Beer-Man dropped by~?"

"What in the… Aren't you the one who's always drinking?"

Two soldiers were discussing in a concrete corridor.

They stood next to a half-open door labelled "TV ROOM".

The sound of the TV and chatter rang out from the inside.

"You never know!"

"By all the… I'm not named Greg in vain! Joey!"

His partner wasn't amused.

"Stop kidding and let's patrol! Else the big bosses with get mad at us!"

"I have a BRILLIANT idea for a motto!"

"You don't say!"

"Listen up: Vain Greg: the model soldier of the 21st century~!"

"Model soldier…! I give up, man!"

"Fear and chaos! Running wild and uncontrolled through your throats…!"

"Shut up. Shadow Man…"

"Who the heck is that geek?"

"Dunno!"

The guards gasped when someone showed up there.

It was clearly Miyabi using "Cross Fusion".

His mouthguard had blood red "fangs" drawn below the eyes.

Partial white armor had been built over the torso and over the shoulders.

The red "scarf" was still surrounding the neck.

The rest of the bodysuit had more armor.

Instead of sandals, he used partial shoes covering the center of his feet.

He carried two katana sheaths aiming inwards.

"Boo~!"

A small "ghost" hovered behind Joey, too.

"A g-ghost…?" Greg gasped.

"Coming… The curse of the professional…!"

"Curse of the professional… Patent it!"

"Delighted. Curse of the worker: activate! Target: Joey! Curse~…"

"MOMMY~! SOMEONE SAVE MY HIDE~!"

"Joey! Don't be a chicken!"

Joey ran inside the room, and they heard a slam.

The "ghost" formed three Monster Balls.

The Pokémon "Gos", "Ghost" and "Gangar" came out.

"INTRUDERS! GHOSTS!"

Greg ran inside, too.

"CF" Netto walked in from the right, chuckling.

"You've drunk too much Budweiser!"

"Sod off a soda…"

"I'm serious! Ghosts and ninja geeks!" Greg insisted.

"Sure, sure. It's gotta be your imagination, Greg!"

"Leave us alone: we don't wanna miss this film!"

"That's Mission Impossible! How many times have you seen it already?"

"Dunno. But it's fun!"

"A charm…! My kingdom for a charm…!" Joey's muffled voice rang out.

"Come outta the toilet already, Joey!"

"Get me a friggin' charm first!"

"Curse of the Professional: Continuous Effect Trap Card!"

Shadow Man chuckled.

"The Monster remains on Defense Position Face Up on the Field!"

Miyabi didn't bother to argue.

"Pay 500 LP in each of your Standby Phases to continue the Effect!"

"That was fun!"

The "ghost" removed the white coat.

It was the child Navi that had been in the playground.

"Sure, Trill! Let's continue!"

"Great!"

"But let's be silent, though…"

"OK!"

"We don't want to trigger the "Alert Mode" and face a whole squad!"

"Silence of the Dead..." Shadow Man whispered.

"That – wasn't – funny!" Miyabi hushed back.

The group climbed the stairs and made it to the upper floor.

Trill was handed two Red Bull beer cans by "CF" Netto.

He pushed them to roll across the ground towards two guards.

They were chatting at the turning of the corner.

"Red Bull!"

"Mine!"

Both grabbed the cans and opened them.

Green gas emerged instead, and they fell to the ground, snoring.

The group ran past them and stopped before another corner.

"I'll handle that one…"

"CF" Miyabi silently tiptoed to reach a guard walking down the corridor.

He drew a katana and softly pressed the tip against the soldier's back.

"Don't move!"

The guard gasped.

"Where's the flag?"

"Five… 500 meters further…!"

"Have some Red Bull. I feel generous…"

"R-roger! Cheers!"

He opened it, but was struck by the gas, too.

"Lesson: don't drink during duty…."

They made it past the guard and advanced further inside.

They reached a room which had a black flag.

It had a purple "V" drawn there.

3D letters formed before them.

"GOAL!"

The whole environment became "cybernetic".

It faded away to reveal circuitry patterns flying towards a "portal".

They hovered and flew towards the "portal" at a quick speed.

A white flash ensued.

The next moment they were standing inside of a room.

It had a matrix of green and black squares covering all surfaces.

"Cross Out!"

They cancelled their transformations.

Both collected their PETs.

A holographic screen popped out before them.

VR CUSTOMIZER

MODE: SNEAKING

DIFFICULTY: MEDIUM

TIME: 07:49

RANK: A

USERS: SHADOW MAN, ROCK MAN, TRILL, HIKARI NETTO, DARK MIYABI

HAVE A NICE DAY!

"I'm starting to see the benefits of this…"

Miyabi looked at a "Synchro Chip".

It had a small jewel, and a black edge with two "arms" spreading from it.

It was a combination of a rectangle and an hourglass' shape.

"Hence why Dr. Wily was so persistent about it…"

"And why Regal tried to stop us from using it…" Netto added.

"Had a run-in with another dummy. Busted it…"

"How the mighty have fallen!" Rock Man sighed.

"This humbled abode is interesting and so was the banner…"

"That banner in Chinese? What did it say, anyway?"

"… "Struggle meets a sudden end as a blessing from the Great Monk"…"

"… And what's that supposed to mean?" Miyabi asked, annoyed.

"Maybe it's a parody of some game…" Netto sighed.

"Who made that?"

"Sigma. Who else?"

"That giant's sense of humor is so lacking…"

"To begin with, this map was programmed by him, too…"

"Hence the beer jokes?"

"Guess that he's been watching overseas TV series…"

"Whatever. I only wanted to get the hang of it…"

"Blood is finishing a battle map to fully test combat abilities…"

"Good. I'll be looking forward to it…"

They exited into the corridor.

"But this place is amazing!" Trill laughed.

"Remember not to run in the corridors!" Netto told him.

"OK!"

"Hello, Trill. Did you behave?"

"Sure! Big bro!"

Blood Shadow turned the curve and met with them.

"OK. I brought a board game. Will you play?"

"Sure!"

They waited until they were out of sight.

"Is that what the enemy meant to steal…?"

Miyabi asked Netto in a hush.

"Correct…"

"Hide a leaf in a forest…" Shadow Man muttered.

"Camouflaging it as a child avoid calling for attention, too…"

"Especially if you're looking for a weapon…"

"You have preconceived ideas of what it'll be about…"

"Exactly…"

"Fine. I won't ask further. That's all that I need to know…"

"Understood…"

"As always, I'll keep quiet about this facility…"

"Yes. The less that know, the better…"

"I remember the room's location. I'll meet with Omega…"

"OK. See you later…"

Miyabi walked away towards the left.

Netto continued towards the right.

He entered the observation deck.

"Hello. Been a while, no?"

"Sure. Yuriko…"

Yuriko was sitting in a chair, going over a map of Jawaii.

"Any leads?"

"Not much. Ford Island was also attacked…"

"How bold!"

"They're now sending an aircraft carrier over there…"

"To send planes to patrol the area?"

"Correct. Your friend, Ijuuin, has also headed there…"

"Because they need a "Net Savior" that can use "CF"…"

"That's the gist of it…"

"But again… If she had asked for shelter, I'm sure that…"

"She probably didn't want to hassle their benefactor…"

Yuriko shook her head.

"And she was determined to protect that child on her own…"

"Even if that meant plunging into danger…?"

"Her resolution is that great…"

"… Guess that. No point regretting what's already happened…"

He sat on a chair, too, and sighed.

"But nobody is perfect. They'll eventually make a mistake…"

There was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me. It's me, Zataki… Do you have a moment?"

"Naturally…"

Zataki walked into the room.

"Zero found a powerful lead…"

"True. Been a while since I've last seen him…" Netto recalled.

"The identity of "Jade Panther"…"

"Really!?"

"We ran many checks. It all fits together…"

"Amazing!"

He interacted with the projector.

A photo of Opoulos at a party somewhere was displayed.

"Kranos Opoulos, 59. Born in Athens!"

"Hence "KO"… It really was his name's initials!"

"Left for NYC at age 22…"

"Ambitious!"

"Worked in a yacht business for over 10 years…"

"Yacht business. I was right to suspect that they'd use one…"

"Enrolled into the FBI at 37…"

"The FBI! Hence why he's so sneaky!"

"Quit six years ago… Current whereabouts are unknown…"

"And that must be when he began building his own business…"

"Likely. And, at some point, he met Anaya…"

"And choose to help them out. Maybe they had some pact…"

"It's possible that they have mutual benefits…"

"Surely…"

"It wasn't easily found. Was heavily encrypted and hidden…"

"But Zero has his "eyes" and "ears" for parallel processing…"

"Yes. Hence why he was able to find this in a server in Detroit…"

"Maybe someone else has set their eyes on this subject?"

"Possibly. An old acquaintance looking for him or an old foe…"

"However. We shouldn't show our cards too early…" Yuriko warned.

"I know. Let's wait a bit more…"

"Because it could work as a tool for negotiations?"

"Yes. Especially if Opoulos tries to exchange Iris for Trill…"

"You can warn him that we have leverage over him…"

"What types like these fear the most is having their identities exposed…"

"And if the leader shows weakness, there might confusion in the org…"

"Fight poison with poison…"

"Understood. We'll be quiet about this topic…"

"I was thinking… Maybe they plan to use a double decoy…"

"Such as?"

"Sail in a yacht. A chopper retrieves them. They unload in a cargo ship…"

Yuriko drew routes on the holographic screen map.

"Have both yacht and chopper head in different directions…"

"Such as Kiribati or the Midway Atoll?"

"Correct. A cargo ship won't call for attention, unlike a yacht…"

"And another chopper can pick them up as the ship heads elsewhere?"

"If he could organize that prison break, he can organize this, too…"

"True. It must've been planned days ago…"

"Maybe we ask Zero to sit and surveil the islands…"

"Already told him to do that…"

"Great. The sooner we gain a lead, the better…"

"I also sent Omega. If needed, they can distract the enemy…"

"Let's be careful, though. Regal might try to benefit from that, too…"

"That fool…! Needs a lesson carved on his bones…"

"Were it that easy…!"

"Anyway. I'll set everything into motion at once!"

22:42 PM (Jawaii Time), Thursday August the 8th…

"… The chopper will land in platform #3…"

"Excellent…"

"It'll be here in another 5 minutes…"

"Wonderful…"

"Remember the deal with him, milady…"

"I know! What are you, a Twitter bot account or what?"

Anaya stood next to a landing platform along with Izono.

The latter was inexpressive and constantly warning her.

Anaya fumed and tapped her upper arms with the fingers.

"Where's BK?"

"BK? Black Knight? Training, as always… Why?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to ensure that it doesn't know of this…"

"It's not in his orders. Besides, Cosmo Man is no pushover…"

"Golden Man bites, I see. Did he beat Silver Surfer?" She laughed.

"Have it your way. Don't blame me afterwards…"

"Why's with you today?"

"It's not "today". I am always careful. Especially since that blunder…"

"Should've said it louder!"

"I did. 8 times. You dismissed me…"

"We'll argue that later!"

"You always say that but never address the issue…"

Two women soldiers in powered suits walked over to them.

"We finished cleansing the room…"

"Sorry for the hassle, my dears…"

"Don't mind it, milady. Orders are orders…"

"Did you make sure that there's nothing inappropriate?"

"Mr. Platinum insisted a lot on it…"

"There was only a book about crosswords…"

"Nothing weird inside of it?"

"No. We also checked it…"

"Marco Polo… What have you told Giratina about me?"

Anaya was becoming annoyed.

"That you take things too lightly…" He replied.

"… Whatever…"

She looked away, fuming.

"We are in standby to receive the POW and bring them there…"

"Good. No violence. Besides, they can't escape from here…"

"Roger…"

"This is Control. Opening top hatch…"

A voice rang out from a speaker.

The top hatch rattled and opened.

A KA-62 chopper became visible, headed at the platform.

The ground crew signaled with their glowing sticks.

It deployed the landing gear.

The chopper gracefully touched down.

The mechanic headed to the left side of the chopper.

The right door opened.

"Climb down…"

Iris, having her arms tied and a bag over her head, climbed down.

Three soldiers also climbed down.

Two stood at the sides.

The third one aimed her gun from behind.

"Walk forward…"

They headed for the outer edge corridor.

The other two soldiers stepped forward.

"Good job. We take over from here…"

"It was a long trip, no? Take a break in the barracks…"

"Affirmative…"

"Handle it…"

The other two soldiers took over.

"Sir. If you will lead the way…"

"Sure. I want to ensure myself that there's nothing odd…"

Anaya fumed and followed them without issuing a word.

They entered a main corridor and turned to the right.

A soldier opened the door into another section.

It had armored doors with slits near the bottom edge.

There was another wall some meters ahead.

Izono drew a cardkey and placed it on the reader.

The door unlocked.

They crossed it to enter another section of the cells.

He stopped before one and unlocked it.

"Wait. I'll check it out myself, too…"

He drew a device and went inside.

"What's that gizmo?" Anaya asked, annoyed.

"A wiretap and hidden camera detector…"

Anaya was about to say something but closed her mouth, annoyed.

"Here is the PET, milady…"

"Good!"

A soldier handed over the PET and Anaya turned it on.

"I apologize for the delay. Was fine tuning something…"

"Fine. Check this out and dig up the weapon thing…"

"Roger…"

Clark had come in and Anaya flung him the PET.

He calmly inspected it.

He raised his eyebrows, slightly surprised.

"Excuse me, but… It's empty…"

"Empty!?"

"The subject was sent to an unnamed server, days ago…"

"What in the bloody…!?"

"Must be Vadous… The Miss contacted him and entrusted the child…"

Anaya was about to say something but stopped.

"… Daring, aren't you?"

She glanced over her shoulder at Iris.

"But maybe we can use her as leverage against them…"

"Fine. We can continue with the original plan…"

"… It's clean. You can bring them in and free them…"

"Roger, sir…"

"I'll handle things…"

"Fine! Have it your way, Marco Polo!"

She walked away at a brisk pace.

"… We'll undo the ropes. Stay still…"

"You can't escape. Behave…"

The soldiers brought Iris inside of the cell.

It had a simple bed, a wooden chair and a table.

There was a small wooden stall.

It had a small gap between the walls and ground.

"You can only see the feet. It's to not lose track of them…"

"I see. Mr. Platinum insisted on keeping dignity…"

A soldier used her knife to cut the ropes.

She pulled out the bag.

Iris sighed, gasping for air.

"Stay still…"

Both drew weapons as the front soldier walked behind her.

They walked out of the room and shut the door.

Izono pressed the interphone's button.

"You will be our bargain chip. Behave, and no harm shall happen…"

He let go of the switch.

He left the area along with the soldiers.

"Let's hope that Ms. Anaya behaves…!"