Chapter 2.0: Undercover On Both Ends

Day 1, Midnight

Clank's POV

Buz and I tread carefully through the silent halls. Only our eyes shine through the thick darkness. She is not on her wings, which is understandable since they are distinctively loud. There just may be guards lying in wait, hoping to catch the suspect or a wandering competitor.

"So, Wade has guards posted outside of our suites." Buz whispers. "I can't say if anyone is still in the gym."

It is all too soon when we reach our destination; the sense that something terrible is hanging over the area still lingers. We enter the hall where Blax's body had been found and discover both vending machines gone. The area has been thoroughly cleaned.

"Tree…" I say thoughtfully.

"Three what?" Buz asks, holding up a hand. "Three fingers?"

"The Thugs' sister was acting strange earlier. She ran to the elevator then all the way here, to the gym. I believe she was trying to tell us something important."

"She's the one who led you all to the body?"

"Yes. I believe she sensed that there had been someone on this floor who did not belong."

"That's what I don't understand, though! How did Blax even get on our floor? His key card wouldn't have worked."

"Hm," I ponder. "Someone else allowed him access, then."

"Depending on when he got murdered…" Buz starts, fidgeting with her antenna. "'cause we don't have a great timeline, do we? We were all either still competing or out somewhere in the Dome at the time..."

I reflect upon the moment we were all in the common room. Everyone had looked either shocked, surprised, or worried. I cannot recall any particular red flag or sign of deceit from anyone.

"Oh," I say, "but Qwark..."

"Hey, doesn't he have a key that lets him into any room?" Buz asks weirdly.

"He most certainly does."

That was the next question. Qwark did tend to do things that made no sense, though I can see him doing this more out of carelessness than anything else. Still, something does not feel right. For one, when would he have had the time to let Blax onto our floor?

Buz is frowning hard at the wall in thought, apparently thinking along the same lines. "I dunno, though. Let's think of someone else. The Kerchu?"

"Their whereabouts after the events are unaccounted for. Oh! Ravenda had been absent, as well."

"He...he wouldn't do something like this."

The doubt in her tone is interesting. I of course knew nothing about Ravenda. Of all competitors he has been the most reserved and hard to read. His ability to move like a ninja is certaintly a stealth killer's dream. I know Ratchet has expressed discomfort about not being able to hear him on approach.

"I am not suggesting he is a suspect. Yet," I say. "But he is one of the few in our block without a clear alibi after we competed. He was not in the locker rooms, nor was he with his agent in the lobby. One has to wonder what he was doing in that time."

"Right, let's…search the area, see if we can find any clues."

It takes us a little while. While I comb the ground Buz takes to the air to scan along the walls. We both determine that every surface in the small foyer has been thoroughly sanitized.

I inspect the port in the wall where both machines had been plugged up. All the wiring has been removed, but that triggers the remembrance of a small detail.

"Buz."

She bolts over. "Ooh, what! Didja find something?!"

"No. There is something that I have remembered."

Earlier, both vending machines had their plugs in the port. However, the one that had fallen had an odd inconsistency: its cord had not been snapped, which would have been indicative of the "accidental" circumstance of it falling.

When I tell Buz this she responds, "Yeah...wouldn't the cord be broken if the machine fell?"

"It was cut," I rephrase. "It was a clean cut. It was not snapped or frayed."

"…Ooooh...ooooh, geez. So you mean…?"

"That would indicate it was purposely severed to eliminate all but one oppressive force in its descent."

"Huh? Oh, gravity. Right. But hold up!" she exclaims, "We saw how big those things were. How many of us would be strong enough to tip one over? Because I can totally see Blax getting into position and not noticing the danger before it was too late. And we don't even know how or why he was lured here! Like, who kills someone with a vending machine? Someone he trusted had to have led him here. Someone really big and strong, too."

Both of us go quiet. I can almost hear what she is thinking, because I am thinking it as well.

Kodiak. As the towering Head of Security, he fit the profile. Any poor victim could be tricked into thinking they were safe with him.

"...wait." Buz gasps from across the foyer. She is perched on one of the decorative plants, drawing a white rectangle from the soil. "What the heck! Look!"

"Is that a...card?" I ask, confused.

"Yeah, in the dirt! I only saw a little corner of it!"

"That is a universal pass," I suddenly recognize, recalling an identical looking card on Qwark's person. He had his name written on it in crayon. Buz turns it over and I am quite relieved to see it does not have a name on it.

"Who all has one of these?" Buz touts suspiciously. "The Director, right? Then Lia, Kodiak, Qwark..."

"That is it. Only senior staff members are allowed to have one."

"Oh, shoot! Well, I don't think the Director would break his own protocol…"

"He was also in the box for a large window of time," I say. "Ophelia of course was a commentator, and Qwark we already discussed. As for Kodiak—"

"Who's a jackass."

"Heh heh! We are on the same page."

"How much do you know about him, Clank?"

"I have nothing good to say about him. Admittedly, I did not fancy even him to be a murderer."

"Uh huh, 'specially of someone who could barely see straight. What'd be the point?"

"We can only guess. He is not shy about manhandling competitors. Who is to say what else he would not do?"

"Did he do something to you?!"

"No. And you absolutely cannot tell anyone about this, Buz. If you do he will try to hurt Ratchet even more." I then elaborate, "Because of what happened at the banquet, Kodiak tagged him to make sure he would not interfere with his agenda here."

"What? Then what a complete scumbag! Oh!" Buz holds her head. "Wait! Wait, wait, wait! You know what I just thought of? When we use our cards on any keypad, it's recorded in real time by the security system's database. You can see the window on the receptionist's computer! What…What if Kodiak made a fifth copy and used it so he couldn't be tracked?"

"Oh," I remark, impressed. "That is very reasonable. But! All we have now is circumstantial evidence. We need hard evidence."

"Hey, there's cameras! Ha! If we check those, we can see who took the elevator to our floor!"

"About that," I say, sighing. "Qwark, erm, mentioned that the cameras have been having technical difficulties. They were not online today."

She drops her arms limply. "...no stinkin' way."

"I am also not sure when they will be fixed. So, there is that issue."

She pulls a face reminiscent of the one Ratchet had earlier when learning of the same thing. Disbelief, mixed with disgust.

"Heh heh heh heh!"

Buz and I jump. If we were organics, we would have been covered in goosebumps. Why?

Why was someone laughing so horrifically in the gym at this time of night? Without a word we dive under a bench. I sure hope we have not been detected!

"There's two of them..." Buz mutters. "Two people."

The pair of voices enter the area we are in. "…then he also ate the pavement, and I told him he was plumb outta luck since he didn't have his insurance on file."

Yes, that is Wade, coming in with…

"Well, too bad. What irresponsible Schmuck can't afford healthcare nowadays?"

…Kodiak. How pleasant.

"Ahh, yeah. I tried getting it through his head that I can only help so much, y'know?"

"Ha ha ha! Yeah, I know. You were wastin' your time gabbing, that's what."

One of them turns on a light. They pass by our position, sweeping the area as they continue to speak. What are they doing?

"Damn," Kodiak says. "I still can't get over how well your guards did in here."

"Uh, don't you mean your guards? I'm not the one who's buried under the pressure of this investigation," Wade quips lightly. It sounds like they turn around to come back. "Ahh, but I don't mind putting the big boss at ease. It changes up my night. What're you going to say to him?"

Kodiak grunts. "I don't know, even though I think what we're doing is pointless. But I don't want to lie to him."

"About what?"

"About...what I hoped happened instead of what really has."

Now, just what did he mean by that?