Chapter 16: Chapter 16

As Hitori made his approach, he took a minute to go over the plan in his head. He and Gordon were currently on their way to the Red Sun Lab, one of the largest artecraft firms on Esper outside the Black Temple. Via a complicated scheme, and Hitori supposed a series of off the books Nova missions like this one, the White Temple contracted them to construct a special arte.

Hitori didn’t know what it was supposed to do, and it didn’t seem Kalindi did either, but it must be either very powerful or very dangerous for the Paladins to go through so much effort to conceal it. Even this lab was only responsible for the final assembly.

The Red Sun office was not far from the inn, so they arrived quickly, even given that they stuck to the ground to avoid suspicion. Only Protius went topside, using the Shifting Arte to pass between buildings out of sight. Elvira and Chandra had taken a long way in, to come from a different angle and wait discretely nearby.

Hitori hit the door first, and out of habit Gordon walked in lock step behind him. They scanned the room without thinking about it. There was no one in the Lab’s foyer when they entered, though a pretty young woman quickly stepped up to her desk from a small room adjacent to it. She was modestly dressed, already prepared for the brisk night air. A sickle sword dangled from her hip.

“Can I help you?” she said as she sat down. Hitori could see her name was Lysandra Khensa from a tag on her shirt.

“We’re here to retrieve something for a client,” Hitori said. He was speaking Bachijan, intentionally adding a mild Mairtalan accent.

“Odd hour for deliveries.”

“Last minute decision. You know how it is.” Hitori took a black chip from a pouch on his chest and handed it to her. His gaze lingered overlong, triggering a wary look from the receptionist. He smoothed his face and silently cursed himself. Wickham’s tag somehow found its way into his things, and he hadn’t been able to get his mind off it.

Khensa took the stone without comment, snapping it into a tray attached to her console. She gave a few more inquisitive glances to Hitori and Gordon while she looked over their documentation. Hitori did his best to look bored, and a little annoyed.

Eventually, Khensa finished her work and removed the token from her console. She turned briefly back to the closet she walked out of earlier, and seemed to be thinking something over. Her eyes lit up.

“Everything is in order,” Lysandra said, returning the data token to Hitori. “So I’ll go ahead and call Assistant Director Penthu for you.”

“Okay, thank you,” Hitori said. When the receptionist turned her attention to a comm pad on her desk, Hitori and Gordon shared a confused glance. It wasn’t exactly a problem, but they expected the research staff to be out of the office by now.

After a short conversation over the intercom, Lysandra bid the pair to wait on a bench nearby. The Assistant Director arrived shortly, a white coat billowed in the air behind him as he moved. He was paler than the average Bachijan, and not much taller than the female guard at the desk. Hitori and Gordon stood to greet him.

He gave them a look over before saying, “You’re here for the Ex Stone.”

“That’s right,” Hitori replied. He could see his name was Dr. Menna Penthu. “Are you here to escort us to the vault?”

“No.” Dr. Menna continued after Hitori gave him a hard look, “We haven’t done our tests. We’ve been waiting, as requested, for your employer to send a representative. I was under the impression we would begin a week ago. Instead you’ve come now only to take it away.”

“Yes, I’m sorry, but there’s been a change of plans. It was decided to conduct all the testing in-house.”

“Unacceptable.”

Hitori gave Dr. Penthu a wary look. “Can we step inside your office to discuss this?”

“No,” he said. “In fact, you can come back tomorrow if you want to finally begin testing, otherwise you may wait until we finish.” He turned to Khensa, who was looking up at them in confusion. “You, guard, see them to the exit.”

She stood with an icy glare at the doctor, then turned to face the potential trespassers. She rested her hand on the hilt of her sword. Hitori could see her measure up the pair of them. She knew what to look for, so she was likely a veteran fighter. Perhaps a sergeant in the city guard?

She didn’t seem excited at the prospect of kicking him and Gordon out, but appeared confident she could do it. At least that meant the pair succeeded in looking harmless. Their complete lack of armor probably had something to do with it.

In any case, this plan was a bust. Hitori looked at Gordon and shrugged. Khensa relaxed as the two turned and headed towards the door.

After walking out, Gordon whispered under his breath, “Told you this wouldn’t be easy.”

Hitori rolled his eyes, then discreetly gestured for Protius to meet with Chandra and Elvira nearby. They were in a secluded spot between a pair of tightly packed offices, with a clear view of one side of the lab.

Once everyone was settled, Chandra asked, ”How did it go?”

“As expected,” Gordon said. She looked at him warily. “That is, poorly.”

“For some reason Dr. Penthu didn’t want to hand over the Ex Stone,” Hitori said.

“What, really?” Chandra said. “Why?”

“He acted like he really wanted run his tests, but it’s clear there’s an ulterior motive.”

“Any idea what?”

“Nothing concrete.” Hitori shrugged.

“We could ask him ourselves,” Elvira said. Hitori gave her a curious glance. She pointed up at a spot behind him, where he saw Dr. Penthu himself rummaging through an office, presumably his own.

Hitori hummed. “I’m reluctant to get more ‘hands-on’ than necessary…. Still, the situation is very suspicious.”

“What’s your theory?” Protius asked.

“Dr. Penthu is planning to steal the stone, might even be making his move as we speak.”

“Should we contact the White Temple?” Chandra asked. “Or at least, um, Kalindi?”

“For now, yes,” Hitori said. “I’ve got her WebId, so I’ll send a message.” Hitori typed out a quick note on his Comm. “Hopefully she’ll get back to us sooner than later.”

It didn’t take long for the stone like device to shimmer and buzz in his hand.

“That was quick,” Hitori said. He tapped a few glowing symbols, then frowned a moment later. “‘Mission is to retrieve stone.’”

Gordon laughed, “A Paladin with a sense of humor?”

Elvira shot him a low glare. “That wasn’t exactly helpful,” she said. Gordon shrugged.

“It’s good enough for our purposes, at least,” Hitori said. Elvira glanced at him. “Her response technically authorized a broad range of retrieval options.” Hitori grinned. “So if the White Temple has a problem with our choice, they can take it up with her.”

Elvira eyed him warily. “What exactly are you thinking?”

“Oh, nothing serious,” Hitori said innocently. “Just a little highway robbery.”

 

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Elvira stared into the shadow. Supposedly, Gordon was sitting on that ledge somewhere, but if she hadn’t watched him jump up she’d never believe it. With him above, Elvira was alone in the alley below. Protius and Chandra left to take up an overwatch position on the other side of the lab, and Hitori was off to fetch gear from the inn for him and Gordon.

The last step was…. Elvira peered into the darkness. She really needed to develop a few more techs. Her little old Dash could only carry her so far, and even in its intended use it was starting to feel decidedly ’entry level’. Problems for later, for now—she jumped at the wall with a running start, planting her feet and doing her best to pretend she was on level ground.

There was a tremendous thrill in executing a tech, like being carried in the hand of God itself. Her hair whipped in the wind as the sky rushed forward in a blur and suddenly she was dangling in the air. With a delicate touch of aerial acrobatics she aimed towards what was theoretically a ledge with Gordon on it.

She plunged into the darkness, and after a split second of panic felt the reassuring strike of concrete on her feet. Then lurched forward and banged her head into the wall. Before she could topple down Gordon pulled her into position. She could barely make out the outline of his body. He motioned for her to follow to the front edge of the building.

They had a commanding view into Dr. Menna’s office, which he had stepped out of while she and Hitori were practicing lines for her part in the plan. She got to play the robber, a role she landed supposedly because Hitori thought it might cast some suspicion on the Black Temple during an investigation, though she couldn’t shake the feeling her captain was rounding out her skill set.

It reminder her of the time she shot down an invitation to an all girls drama club when she was ten. Said it would be a waste of time. Go figure.

Meanwhile, back in the present, all she had to worry about was helping Gordon with reconnaissance, or at least getting some pointers on it. They wanted to confirm Hitori’s theory about Dr. Menna. It would be terribly embarrassing, not to mention counterproductive, if they went through the bother of robbing the man only to find a handful of marks and a half charged Wolf Stim.

The doctor took his sweet time wherever he’d wandered to, and the air cooled considerably by the time his office light flashed on once more.

Gordon tapped her wrist, and pointed towards him. “See that in his hand?”

Elvira squinted hard and leaned in, bracing against her teammate. She could barely make out a small metal case, and nodded.

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“Guess things are go,” he said. He turned to Elvira. “Gotta drop down and gear up. You link the hands free?”

“Not yet,” she said. Gordon was referring to a small earpiece she’d gotten from Chandra earlier. Actually… she had no idea how to set it up. Gordon held out a hand and she passed it over. He fiddled with it and her WebComm for a few seconds, and when she put it in she could hear Hitori giving orders.

“When the doc leaves, let us know.” Gordon tapped a spot on his own earpiece. “Then get into position. We’ll guide as needed.” And with that he dropped out of sight. Elvira resisted the urge to follow with her eyes. Instead, she doubled her focus on Dr. Menna.

He was leaned over the desk with his back to the window, messing with something out of sight. The silver case rested close to his right arm, inside his direct field of view.

She wondered if Li could grab the box unnoticed. She was very sneaky, but what were the limitations of the Shifting Arte? Did it always have to be done in shadow? His office was very well lit, in any case.

The doctor stood without warning, grabbing the case and stepping away. Elvira almost called it in, but he started to pace. In his other hand Elvira could see a palm sized circular tablet. If she had to guess she’d say it was a WebComm.

After a few minutes, the doctor returned to his seat and back to whatever he’d been doing. This process repeated a few times, before he finally threw on his coat and rushed out the door.

“He’s on the move,” Elvira said. The earpiece tingled a little when she pressed on it, a sign she took to mean it was working.

“Confirmed,” Hitori replied.

With that, Elvira dropped from her perch, aiming diagonally so she wouldn’t roll into the far wall, then sprinted deeper into the alley. Her footsteps echoed down the path, deafening in the deathly silence of the industrial district. Only a faint whistle from the wind offered any amount of cover. She cringed internally with each step, wondering how her teammates learned to move so quietly.

“Don’t think he’s heading home,” Gordon said over the radio.

“Where’s he going?” Hitori replied.

“Not sure. Following the seventy.”

“Almost straight towards the wall, could be planning to leave the city.  Bet we can catch him on Talaat. Can you get five into position?”

“Got eyes on her now.”

“Good. I’ll coordinate with two on the next channel.”

“Hey Elvira,” Gordon said.

“I’m so confused,” she said.

Gordon laughed. “You’ll get the lingo eventually.”

“I assume I’m five?”

“Fifth on the team.”

“Ah, simple enough.” She supposed that meant Gordon could see her from somewhere. She scanned the roofs around her, but couldn’t see any hint of him.

Gordon chuckled. “Rude, was waving and everything.”

Elvira rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, we’re on the wrong side of the target, so be patient. You can Dash at will ‘cause it’s dead right now.”

Elvira followed his guidance, and before long she found herself hiding from the moonlight in a shallow nook. Gordon left her to wait for the doctor while he joined Hitori in tracking his progress. Supposedly Protius and Chandra were nearby, but there was no sign of them.

All that was left was to wait.

And wait.

And… wait.

Elvira glared down the road. Did that rat bastard of a doctor take a detour? Did her radio go out? Before she could test it Hitori told her Dr. Menna turned down the street.

It took some effort to make him out, walking close to the opposite wall. The silver case was tucked tight into his chest. He certainly had the look of someone worth robbing.

I wonder if f—she shook her head. No time to daydream, there was work to do. She sunk deeper into the shadow and focused on the doctor. He sure was taking his sweet time.

One eternity later and he was finally within a few paces. Elvira signaled to Protius. Dr. Menna tripped, toppling to the ground and sending the silver case bouncing down the road. Elvira stepped into the light.

“Took you long enough,” she said. Shit, that wasn’t what she meant to say at all. She tried to ignore the nervous clench in her stomach as she planted one foot on the metal box.

“Reaper?” Dr. Menna said as he fumbled to his knees. “I was on my way to bring you the stone.”

Elvira resisted the urge to blurt out ‘Who?’ and instead managed to say, “Ah, so that’s who you’re working with.” Then added imperiously, “I guess they had no idea how popular it would be.” She pinched her face into her best menacing glare, mostly to avoid looking bewildered. Improv was another thing on her todo list.

“What? Who in the red sands are you?”

“That’s a mystery you’ll have to live with, I’m afraid.” Elvira plucked the case off the ground and turned to walk away. “Come, Apollo! Hold him and let’s get out of here.”

Protius dropped to street level behind the doctor, and as he landed silver bindings materialized around the man and dragged him prone. The hood on his cloak was up, to conceal his nationality in the hopes the doctor might assume they were agents from Duroterra, possibly even the Black Temple itself.

“Look out!”

Confused, Elvira turned to see why Protius yelled, and saw Dr. Menna with an outstretched arm aimed at her chest. Black mist spiraled to a point on his hand, then a ball of scarlet light burst forth. Elvira recognized it as a high level Flame Arte, the sort that got your name put up on a wall somewhere. Assuming anybody cared.

Elvira reflexively pulled the case in front of her chest, barely in time to catch the sphere dead on. The metal flashed red hot, and half the case vaporized in an instant. The force of the metal ripping apart tore it from her hands, and knocked her to the ground. As quick as the explosion started, it stopped, the distinctive whoosh cut off with a thump. The red orb reduced to mist, then vanished in an instant.

A clatter of tings drew Elvira’s gaze, where she saw a crystal about the size of her hand tumbling away. It was nearly transparent, except for strange crimson tendrils pulled into a point deep inside. She bounced to her feet and stepped forward.

“I won’t let you get away with this!” Dr. Menna yelled. He launched another Flame Arte, this time far smaller and easy to dodge, though still enough to get Elvira to back away. The crystal rolled within reach of the doctor, who snatched it from the ground and buried it in his chest.

Elvira drew her sword, unsure what to do with it. She felt safer at least. Protius motioned for her to back off.

Dr. Menna was still pinned, and this section of the city was almost completely abandoned, so things weren’t hopeless yet. Elvira wished again that she’d joined that acting club. This would have been a great chance to show off her skills.

“God, man, there’s no need to overreact,” she said. Not a great line, but it was honest.

The doctor made like he was about to respond, but then cried out in pain. Elvira took a quick step forward before catching herself, she didn’t want to get too close if this was a trick. She looked to Protius, who was equally confused. Before they could move, the doctor cried out again, this time a long, drawn out scream.

Elvira decided this was unlikely to be a ruse, so she approached and kneeled at his side. He was gasping, harsh and wet, and trying to pull something out from underneath him. She picked him up, after asking Protius to remove the bindings, and set him in a seated position. His eyes were vague, face flush with sweat, and both hands clasped tight to his chest.

She focused on him, and willed her Vital Net to read his status, then looked at Protius with concern. “Uh, Vinni says he doesn’t have a VN?”

He gave her a curious glance, then said, “Does that mean his Vital Net collapsed?”

“Most likely,” she said, then turned back to the doctor. “Do you think that crystal thing caused it?” She wedged her fingers under his hands and began to pry, then cried and jumped back.

“What happened?” Protius stepped forward.

Elvira shook out her hand and then looked at it. “What…” She held out her hand to Protius. The tip of her index finger was missing.

Protius looked from her down to Dr. Menna, then touched his hand to his ear. “Uh, boss, something strange is going on.”

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