Zenless Zone Zero: The Front Line
Chapter 9: Leads
Shion considered himself to pretty good at always staying alert and on guard. With Manami acting as his aide, he hardly ever found himself caught off-guard. Tonight marked the first time in a long time that he had ever been found completely unprepared...
"Is this another Verdict hideout?" Manami questioned as the two watched gang members moving supply boxes around a camp in the Hollows.
"Yeah. A different one." Shion answered.
"Well obviously, but how did you know where to find it?" He asked.
"Our good friend Crystal."
"You're still following that poor lady around?" Manami teased.
"She's still our best lead. I've been keeping track of her routes the past few days and she led me to this Hollow. I'm hoping that we can pick out someone that can be of use to us." Shion explained.
"You mean someone who know where more hideouts are?" Manami clarified.
"Each one we weed out gets us one step closer to Bloodhound." Shion stated.
Before the conversation could continue any further, Shion suddenly felt something hard press into the center of his back. He yelped in surprise and pain and, as he tried to turn over, something sharp immediately approached his neck before stopping just short.
"Looking for Bloodhound, huh? How interesting." A Thiren woman with a long, thin and sharp tail hummed teasingly. With the end of her tail threatening Shion's neck, she was able to comfortably sit on his stomach without any fear.
"W-What the...? Who are you?!" Shion exclaimed in surprise.
"Uh uh uh. I caught you. I'll ask the questions first," She said smugly, sliding a knife out of a holster strapped to her leg and twirling it around her finger. "Let's start with your name."
"Urgh...I'm Tremor." He answered, seeing that he had no other choice.
"Tremor, huh? We're using our codenames, are we? Well then, call me Jane." She said with a smile.
"I'm looking for your boss, Jane." Shion stated.
"My boss? Oh, I'm not with the Verdict gang if that's what you're assuming. Clearly you're not either. What is it that you want with Bloodhound then?" Jane asked next.
"I was hired to take him out of commission."
"So kill him?"
"My employer left it open, but he wouldn't lose any sleep at night if it went down that way." Shion clarified.
"Really? Well, maybe we can help each other. I have information that the driver in this hideout has a map that leads to a bunch of other hideouts. Wanna take a look?" She offered. This surprised Shion even more.
"Why are you asking for my help after jumping me?" He asked.
"Haha, I didn't jump you – that implies assault. We're just having a conversation. As for why? Hmm...you'll just have to stay tuned. What do you say?" She asked again.
"You're the one holding the knife...so I guess it's up to you." Shion answered.
"Nonsense, I'll let you walk away, but if you wanna come with me, we do things my way." Jane stipulated.
"Hm...deal." He agreed.
With that, Jane got off of Shion and back onto her feet. Shion brushed himself off as he stood up. Jane linked her thumbs through the belt loops on the front of her jacket as she turned her attention back to the Verdict hideout not too far away from them.
"So what's the plan?" Shion asked.
"Most of the Verdict hideouts keep their supplies in those open tents, but the actual lieutenants keep their stuff in trucks just outside the camp. If the driver is by the truck, you'll have to get their attention while I grab the map." Jane explained.
"How sure are you about this map?"
"Positive. All the lieutenants have one. Bloodhound is a real stickler for organization. Truck's on the other side of the camp. Follow me, Tremor." She gestured with her finger for him to follow her before sneaking ahead.
"I like this girl." Manami commented to Shion quietly.
"You can have her." Shion brushed that comment off as he kept in step just behind Jane.
Whoever this woman was, she was smooth and stealthy seemingly without much effort. She clearly had experience but Shion didn't recognize her methods from any formal training.
Every once in awhile, Jane would glance behind her just to make sure that Shion was still with her. Every time she did, it seemed to surprise her that Shion was keeping up without any struggle. Clearly, he was no ordinary Hollow Raider.
"How long have you been after Bloodhound?" Jane asked curiously.
"Why do you ask?" Shion wondered.
"Well, you've been scoping this hideout, and it isn't your first one. You clearly know what you're doing but if you're finding hideouts one by one to see if Bloodhound will turn up, that's a long mission." She deduced.
"Hm...it's early in the process." Shion hinted.
"Sounds like we both have good reason to get our hands on that map then...stop for a moment. There's the truck." She pointed ahead of them to a white pickup truck that was parked only a little ways away from the outskirts of the camp.
The driver of the pickup truck stood by the driver side door with a book in her hand, idly reading and waiting for it to be time to go. Jane looked back at Shion. He could see the wheels turning in her head.
"How loud are those shock primers of yours?" She asked.
"How loud do you want them to be?" He asked in response...
At Jane's instruction, Shion made his way back to another side of the camp away from her and away from the truck. Once he found a safe place to send off the agreed upon signal, he started charging up all of his shock primers at once.
"I've got your flight path mapped out." Manami informed him.
"Leaving my lives in your capable AI once again." Shion joked dryly.
"This Jane girl seems a little too clever for her own good. I'm not sure we can trust her." Manami shared his thoughts on the matter.
"Thanks for stating the obvious. Have you been running facial rec on her?" Shion asked.
"The pressure in this Hollow is too strong for anything to get through. Once we get out, I'll start running it." Manami promised.
"Alright. Well until then, are we clear for takeoff?" Shion asked, taking a moment to adjust his helmet before crouching down into position.
"We are live in 3...2...1..."
When Manami's clock hit zero, all of Shion's shock primers went off at the same time, launching him up high into the air. He flew high over the Verdict hideout and cleared the other side with some distance. The resulting shockwave was forceful enough to get the attention of the whole compound.
While they were looking in the wrong direction and assuming that something in the Hollow was shifting, Jane was able to smoothly get into the truck and search the inside for a map, which was tucked inside against the roof of the car above the steering wheel.
Shion met up again with Jane at the entrance of the Hollow. Now back in New Eridu, they found a quiet place to regroup and catch their breath where they could plan the next move.
"Not bad, Tremor. Not bad at all. If this were a test, you'd pass with flying colors." Jane commented with a chuckle.
"Flattering. Did you get the map?" He asked.
"Yep. Take a look." Jane held it up for him to see.
Shion took it carefully and stared at it for a minute. There were about 7 different locations marked on the map, littered in different Hollows well outside the city limits. What struck Shion was how widespread the locations all were.
"The Verdict gang has spots all over the city." He realized.
"Just as we suspected, Bloodhound is only one prominent piece in a much larger puzzle." Jane noted, taking the map back and rolling it up carefully.
"What is it that you want with this map and the Verdict gang? Information? Extortion?" Shion questioned her.
"Hm, you're smart...just a little off the mark," Jane smiled again. "Well since you asked so politely, I'm a Public Security officer – dismantling the Verdict gang one little bit at a time is my current assignment." She revealed plainly.
"You...what...?" Shion froze for a moment. This was the last thing he was expecting to hear based on how Jane was speaking and acting.
"Now I'm not much of a mind reader, but I'm assuming that right about now you're wondering why, if I was a PubSec officer, why would I have ask for your help in the field rather than arrest you; why I'm not operating under officer guidelines.
"I have a sneaking suspicion you've seen your fair share of proper protocol." She suspected with a playful tap of her fingernail against the faceplate of his helmet.
"Let me see your badge." Shion demanded.
And sure enough, Jane didn't hesitate to reach into her jacket and pull out a small billfold from inside the lining. She opened it up and there was her ID and badge with her picture. She was listed as Jane Doe even on her official ID.
"So you're telling the truth."
"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I want to propose a partnership. Today's your lucky day, Tremor. I need a way into the Verdict gang, and you need to get to Bloodhound. If your client is willing to see Bloodhound serve time rather than execution, I have a lot more resources at my disposal than you do.
"Now of course if you're hellbent on the ultimate revenge then I'll just arrest you right now and find another way. So...are you interested?" Jane asked one more time, staring at him sideways with a confident demeanor and a smile that was downright playful.
She knew she was holding all the cards right now.
"If I have your assurance, having a connection in PubSec would actually be a huge help to me." Shion thought aloud.
"See? Big picture." Jane nodded and offered a handshake.
Shion tentatively shook her hand in return...