May 20, 2021. 16:31. Central Italy.
It takes another few minutes to properly secure the area before Tetra leads us back through the warehouse.
We pass the bodies from the last firefight, move through what initially looks like an ordinary storage room, then reach a partially concealed doorway behind several industrial shelves.
Beyond it, a narrow concrete stairwell descends beneath the warehouse.
Well, that's not suspicious at all.
Michelangelo sends two Arasaka soldiers ahead before following them down, with the rest of us trailing close behind. The stairs eventually open into a much larger room hidden beneath the facility.
The moment I step inside, I understand why Neo-Tanwir fought so hard to keep us out.
Several workbenches fill the underground space, covered in engineering tools, precision measurement equipment, dismantled components, and partial prototypes in various stages of completion. Handwritten notes are scattered between terminals and stacks of technical documents, some covered in diagrams detailed enough that I can't understand half of what I'm looking at.
Shock slowly walks toward one of the benches. "Oooohhhh..."
I look across the room. "What?"
"They weren't just storing the railgun down here." She lets out a whistle. "I wonder how far they got."
In front of us, Michelangelo approaches another workstation while Mister begins examining the documents nearby.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened.
The Neo-Tanwir had been taking the weapon apart piece by piece, reverse engineering the whole thing over the past few days. They measured components, documented materials, tested individual systems, and apparently even attempted to recreate parts of the weapon themselves. Several of the prototypes lie scattered across the benches, resembling pieces I remember seeing when Azure opened up the railgun back in Vancouver.
You've gotta be fucking kidding me.
"They were reverse engineering it," I say.
"Clearly," Michelangelo replies.
Remi looks around the workshop. "So these assholes weren't even gonna use it?"
"Well, they just did," Tetra points out.
"Bro…" Remi looks at Tetra deadpan. "You know what I mean."
Mister picks up one of the technical documents before examining it. "Possessing a single weapon would have limited value compared to learning how to manufacture additional examples."
Shock looks toward Michelangelo. "Which is probably exactly what Arasaka would've done if you got your hands on it first."
Michelangelo meets her gaze. "Correct."
Shock blinks. "Well, points for honesty."
Dante lets out a quiet breath through his nose. "I suppose the irony isn't particularly subtle."
"Nope," I mutter. "Not at all."
Shock moves toward one of the surviving terminals and immediately gets to work. Most of the displays are either locked, damaged, or filled with technical information, but one computer is still running.
Her expression changes. "Hold on."
Mister walks over. "What is it?"
"I've got transfer logs." Shock's fingers move rapidly through the interface. "They're encrypted, but..." She pauses. "Yeahhhhh… they sent something out."
"What did they send out?" Dante asks.
"Blueprints, probably. Multiple files too. But, for sure, they're waaaayyyy too large to just be messages." Her eyes narrow as she digs farther into the system. "It looks like several transfers were completed before we got here."
My stomach sinks slightly. "Can you tell where they went?"
"Mmm… not quickly." Shock shakes her head. "Whoever set this up knew what they were doing. The destination's been bounced around enough that tracing it from here is gonna be a nightmare if you wanted me to speedrun it."
Michelangelo looks toward one of his operatives. "Copy everything."
"Understood," the operative replies, making their way toward the terminal.
Great... so we recovered the railgun and this shit happens.
The Neo-Tanwir has probably already sent the instructions for building another one somewhere else by now, and who the fuck knows where.
Because apparently nothing involving this fucking weapon can ever be simple.
I move toward another workstation while everyone else continues searching, checking through the monitors for anything that doesn't look like incomprehensible engineering data.
Almost all of the messages are in languages I don't fully understand.
I'd assume a good chunk of them are the various languages that make up Europe, but then my eyes stop on one particular chain of messages written in perfect English.
"Uh... guys?" I call out.
Shock looks over. "What?"
"This one isn't encrypted."
That gets everyone's attention, and I lean closer to the screen.
Unlike the transfer logs Shock found, this terminal contains what looks like an ordinary communication record between Neo-Tanwir and somebody outside of Europe.
At first, I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking at, but that changes the farther I read.
"What the fuck...?"
Mister steps beside me. "What is it?"
I scroll farther through the conversation, finding information about the railgun's location and the exact date and location of Dante's gala.
Holy shit, these messages also include security information, floor plans, entry points, and even details on both the Neapolitan Camorra and Cosa Nostra.
This is EXTREMELY detailed.
And it doesn't stop there.
Entire sections discuss the internal tensions within the family, Giovanni's opposition to Dante, and the growing rivalry between the Camorra and Cosa Nostra. The messages even predict which factions would support whom if the succession turned violent and how each side would probably react once Neo-Tanwir made its move.
The longer I read, the more uncomfortable I become.
Someone knew exactly what was happening inside the Camorra and gave Neo-Tanwir everything they needed to take advantage of it.
Dante's face gradually hardens as he reads over my shoulder. "They knew."
Mister's voice becomes noticeably quieter. "Far too much."
"Wow, this..." Tetra trails off, unable to finish his sentence.
"Yeah..." I mirror him.
Michelangelo steps closer to the terminal. "Someone provided them with intelligence."
"Sure looks like it," Shock mutters.
Remi leans closer to the screen. "What the fuck? Why is this just sitting here in the open?"
"I don't know. Let me keep reading." I continue scrolling through the messages, feeling increasingly uneasy with every line.
Whoever Neo-Tanwir was talking to didn't just know about the railgun. They knew about the Camorra, the Cosa Nostra, the gala, and exactly how much tension existed between everyone involved.
They practically gave the Neo-Tanwir a fucking instruction manual.
Eventually, I reach the bottom of the conversation and find no name or organization identifying whoever sent the messages.
The only thing left beneath the final entry is a single letter.
— J
My hand stops against the terminal as everyone falls quiet for several seconds.
"What the fuck is this shit?" Remi finally mutters. "Does bro think they're the Joker or something?"
Shock's usual bubbly expression disappears, while Mister goes silent beside me and Tetra's brow furrows as he stares at the screen.
I don't say anything either.
Something about that single letter makes my stomach twist.
Dante looks between us, clearly noticing our reactions. "I'm assuming this means something significant."
Michelangelo studies our faces for a moment before reaching the same conclusion. "You recognize the signature."
"Not exactly..." I keep my eyes fixed on the screen, thoughts already racing through every other piece of bullshit we've stumbled into over the past month.
The railgun. Neo-Tanwir. Elias. Everything that happened back in Vancouver.
And now someone had conveniently known enough about Dante's family, the gala, and the fucking railgun to hand Neo-Tanwir exactly what they needed.
Whoever did this couldn't just have one good source.
They'd need connections everywhere, access to people who shouldn't be talking, and enough knowledge of the players involved to predict how everyone would react.
And unfortunately, there's only one person I can currently think of whose name starts with J and who also likes playing coy little cat-and-mouse games with people.
There's no way all of these are just coincidences.
I slowly look toward the others.
Tetra is already staring back at me.
So is Mister.
Shock looks between the three of us, and for a moment, nobody needs to say anything.
Remi, meanwhile, looks completely fucking lost.
"What?" He glances between us. "Why are y'all doing the weird eye-contact shit?"
Shock ignores him and turns toward Dante. "Heyyyy... do you remember the other person I told you about back in Vancouver?"
Dante's brow furrows as he searches his memory. "The 'other' person?"
Michelangelo looks between us. "Are you referring to Azure?" His expression remains composed, although there's a hint of curiosity behind it now. "If so, I fail to see what the letter J has to do with her. For that matter, I was wondering where she—"
Remi suddenly shoots upright. "OH SHIT!"
We all look at him.
His eyes widen as the realization finally catches up with him.
"Y'ALL CHOOMS THINK IT'S JENNY?!"
Normally, I'd call him a dumbass or sarcastically congratulate him for finally catching up.
This time, I don't.
I stare directly at him instead. "That's what I'm thinking."
Remi's expression immediately becomes more serious. "Wait, deadass?"
"Maybe," Tetra cuts in. He looks back toward the terminal, clearly unconvinced. "But aren't we reaching pretty hard here? It's only one letter."
"Yeah, actually. I'm with Mermaid Man on this one" Remi scratches the side of his head. "Like, Jenny starts with J, sure, but so do a billion other names, dawg."
"I don't disagree…" I admit. "We don't exactly have concrete proof."
Shock folds her arms. "Mmm... I wouldn't dismiss it that quickly either, y'all."
Mister nods. "Neither would I."
Tetra looks between them. "Why?"
"Because Jenny was exceptionally difficult to track in Vancouver," Mister answers. "We spent considerable time attempting to determine who she was, what resources she possessed, and how deeply her network extended. Remember, we learned remarkably little."
"Exactlyyyy." Shock points toward him before looking back at the terminal. "When I tried digging into her, she was really good at making sure you only found what she wanted you to find. Every time I thought I had something useful, it either went nowhere or turned out to be another breadcrumb."
I glance back toward the screen.
— J
"But that's also the problem," Tetra replies. "If she's that careful, why sign this at all?"
Shock goes quiet, her eyes narrow. "Unless she wanted somebody to find it."
That gets me. "...What?"
"Think about it." Shock steps closer to the terminal. "If this really is Jenny, and she's as good as we already know she is, why leave a signature on an unencrypted conversation?"
Mister tilts his head. "You're suggesting the information was deliberately left accessible."
Shock gives a small shrug. "Maybe. I'm not saying that's definitely what happened. But if Jenny only lets people see what she wants them to see..." She gestures toward the screen. "Maybe we're seeing this because she wanted us to."
A deeply uncomfortable feeling settles into my stomach.
Oh, I don't like that.
Remi stares at the terminal. "Okay, bro, that's some conspiracy shit. Are we really going back to the Elias shitfest? I thought we leave that behind us."
"Says the man who screamed Jenny's name thirty seconds ago," Tetra replies.
"Bro, I was verbally processing!"
"Very loudly."
Dante finally raises a hand. "Alright."
Everyone gradually quiets.
"I understand why this concerns you, but you're constructing an increasingly elaborate theory around a single letter." Dante looks toward the terminal. "We came here to dismantle the Neo-Tanwir's operations and recover the railgun. We've accomplished both. Until you have something more substantial, this remains speculation."
He pauses, glancing toward the Arasaka personnel around the room.
"And need I remind you that we're not exactly discussing this in private?"
… Right.
Michelangelo, unsurprisingly, has been listening to every word.
"Jenny," he repeats.
I look toward him.
"This is the first I've heard that name." His eyes briefly move toward the terminal. "Given your reactions, I assume she's someone of significance."
"That's..." I pause, trying to figure out how the hell to explain Jenny. "Complicated."
"Most matters involving your group appear to be."
"Hey."
Michelangelo ignores me. "If you believe this individual possesses the resources and intelligence network necessary to facilitate the Neo-Tanwir's attack, then Arasaka will want to know more."
Fantastic.
Tetra sighs. "And this is why Dante said we aren't alone."
"Little late now," Remi mutters.
I look over at him.
Somehow, against all odds, he's the one who finally got everybody to say Jenny's name out loud in front of Arasaka.
Good job, idiot.
Before anyone can say anything else, footsteps echo from the entrance behind us.
We all turn toward someone I'm not particularly surprised to see.
Linh, in all of her Biotechnica glory, casually walks into the room as though she'd expected to find us here the entire time.
"Oh, come on," I mutter. "Now you decide to come in?"
She offers me a smile as our eyes briefly meet before approaching the nearest Arasaka operative and flashing a set of Biotechnica credentials.
"As a senior Biotechnica executive operating within Italy, I'd like to observe the scene."
Tetra and I exchange raised brows.
Shock, meanwhile, immediately lights up. "Heyyyy! And I was wondering when you'd come in!"
Remi looks between all of us. "Wait, the fuck? She's an executive?"
"I believe that was communicated earlier, Remi," Mister replies.
Michelangelo immediately turns toward Linh. "This is an Arasaka security operation."
"And a Camorra operation," Dante adds.
Linh gives them both a polite smile. "Conducted against an international terrorist organization on Italian soil, within property belonging to neither Arasaka nor the Camorra."
Michelangelo stares at her.
Linh stares right back.
Oh great, this should be fun.
A brief exchange breaks out over the radio between the Arasaka personnel near the entrance and several of Rafael's men. Nobody seems particularly happy about letting another corporation wander around the scene, but nobody here has much legitimate authority to throw her out either.
Eventually, Michelangelo gives the slightest nod. "You may observe. Do not interfere with our operation."
"Of course," Linh says before walking farther into the room.
She casually examines the workbenches, dismantled equipment, and terminals until her attention eventually settles on the screen in front of us. Her eyes skim through the conversation, taking in every detail before she suddenly stops.
She doesn't say a word.
Her expression barely changes, but the longer her eyes move across the conversation, the more obvious it becomes that she understands exactly why everyone else went into theorist mode.
And if we're right about that letter... that means someone within Autumn Blade gave the Neo-Tanwir everything they needed to orchestrate the attack.
Question is... why?
That question immediately creates about a hundred more.
Why use the Neo-Tanwir? If Autumn Blade made these weapons to begin with, are they still trying to distribute them across the world? Why deliberately involve Arasaka, Biotechnica, the mafias, and everyone else who inevitably came sniffing around afterward? Or was that simply a byproduct? Were they not just trying to sell a product? And why go to the lengths that "J" did with that insane amount of detail?
And most importantly...
What the fuck did Autumn Blade actually want out of all this? It feels like we're rats in some messed-up social experiment.
I try to force myself to remember anything Wissen might've said that could add some context, replaying whatever conversations we've had about Autumn Blade in my head.
But nope. Nothing.
The only thing I can really remember is Wissen mentioning Autumn Blade's elusive yet fearsome reputation.
A sigh escapes me as I take out my phone and text Wissen everything we've just discovered.
Dante catches what I'm doing and reaches for his own phone shortly afterward. Apparently, we've both reached the same conclusion.
Whatever the hell this means, Wissen needs to know about it.
Eventually, Dante lets out a slow breath. "At least the Neo-Tanwir presence is finished in Italy."
Remi continues staring blankly at the monitor.
"Bro, what the hell?" He scratches his head. "So... they just wanted the terrorists to go fuck with everybody?"
"No..." I keep my eyes on the signature for a little while longer before shaking my head. "I don't think that's all they wanted."
Remi looks toward me. "Then what?"
"If Autumn Blade planned this..." I pause, trying to make sense of the dozen different pieces moving around in my head. "Then there was a reason."
My eyes drift toward Linh.
"And I have a feeling we're still missing most of it."
"Well, whoop-de-dooooo." Shock throws her hands up, apparently deciding that somebody needs to lighten the mood. "I guess we're only short Azure from another full-house reunion."
Nobody laughs, of course, but Shock doesn't let that stop her.
"Maybeeee it's like that whole Elias situation again, trying to get people to notice a 'crack' in the system or whatever. Except… Autumn Blade is focusing on corporations instead of cybernetics this time?" She waves a hand vaguely through the air. "Something, something, 'corpo greed and theoretical superweapons wage wars on battlefields you dream of today but live tomorrow'?"
I slowly look toward her. "I… don't know about this one."
Tetra goes quiet beside me, while Mister's expression becomes noticeably more thoughtful.
Michelangelo is apparently thinking along similar lines.
"Given how intertwined you've all become with this railgun, I wouldn't discount the possibility that the weapon itself is secondary," he says. "Having the same parties become involved with it twice could be deliberate. Someone may be testing your behaviour and building profiles based on how each of you responds."
Remi looks toward him. "Profiles for what, choom?"
"To what ends, I don't know," Michelangelo replies. "But I wouldn't assume coincidence."
Shock slowly raises a finger. "Greattttt. So what you're implying is we're being recruited." Her expression immediately brightens. "Hey, you know what? That works! I was offered a full severance package from my last employer!"
Michelangelo glances toward her. "Knowing the trouble you cause, they're probably better off without you."
"Hey!" Shock plants a hand against her chest. "I always clean up my problems! I just don't clean up other people's without incentive."
"Regardless, I'm not implying anything. I'm pointing out the possibility." Michelangelo's gaze briefly moves across the rest of us. "Arasaka has employed similar methods before. In fact, there's a reality in which we may have approached you after you compromised one of our interns, Shock. Had your code review and subsequent psychological profile produced different conclusions, perhaps we would have."
Shock stares at him. "...Wait, you guys profiled me?"
"You literally hacked our Vancouver branch and picked a fight with one of our interns."
Shock's eyes narrow. "Ugh… stalkerrrr."
Dante, meanwhile, seems considerably less amused by where the conversation has gone.
"I'm not one to question my sister's methods," he says, glancing toward the terminal, "but I have questioned whether she would involve herself in something capable of attracting this much corporate attention."
"Shit, bro." Remi scratches the side of his head. "So what does that mean for us?"
"It means we've hit another fucking wall," I answer.
Remi immediately points toward my phone. "So we gotta ask Papa Wissen what to do—"
"Let's not bother him just yet," Mister cuts in.
Remi turns toward him. "Why the fuck not?"
"Because we have only just sent him the information," Mister replies. "Repeatedly contacting him before we've finished examining the site accomplishes very little."
"But if he knows Autumn Blade—"
"Okay, guys, calm dow—" Tetra starts.
"Sorry to interrupt," Linh cuts in.
Everyone stops.
She stands a short distance away with an amused eyebrow raised, clearly having spent the last minute listening to our increasingly disorganized conversation.
"Ah, but do go back to this Jenny person you were discussing."
Dante's attention immediately shifts toward her. "That name isn't relevant."
"Actually, Godfather Dante, I believe it is very relevant." Linh's smile doesn't disappear. "Biotechnica facilities have also been assaulted and raided by Neo-Tanwir forces. If you're suggesting that someone may have deliberately supplied them with intelligence, I'd very much like to know who you're referring to."
Michelangelo looks toward her. "I'm surprised they successfully conducted a raid so close to Biotechnica headquarters."
Linh gives him a pleasant smile. "We can't all compensate for our insecurities with private armies."
Ooooh shit.
I bite the inside of my cheek.
Michelangelo's expression doesn't move an inch. "Biotechnica's security deficiencies are hardly my concern."
"Then I'm glad we agree."
Oh, these two are gonna get along great.
While everyone else is distracted by the sudden corporate dick-measuring contest, movement beside me catches my eye.
Remi has wandered over to where Michelangelo left the damaged railgun and somehow gotten his hands around it.
He lifts the weapon awkwardly, turning it over before bringing his eye toward the scope. "Ayoooo..."
My eyes widen. "Dude, put it down."
"Hold up, lemme see—"
I immediately cross the distance between us and yank the railgun out of his hands. "No."
"Hey! What the—"
"This thing erased half a hallway five minutes ago!"
"Yeah, and it's busted now!"
"That doesn't mean you get to swing it around like you found a hockey stick!"
Remi throws his hands up. "Bro, get off my ass! I was just looking!"
"Look with your eyes, idiot."
"That's literally what the scope is for!"
I stare at him.
He stares back.
Damn it.
"...Okay, that's actually a fair point," I admit.
"THANK YOU!"
"You're still not getting it back."
"WHAT THE FU—"
Remi suddenly stops himself.
Before I can figure out why, his body turns into a blur, leaving an afterimage where he'd been standing. A split second later, something yanks hard against my arms and the railgun disappears from my grip.
"HEY!"
The sudden force pulls me forward, and I stumble a step before barely catching my balance.
Remi is already standing several metres away with the railgun held snugly against his chest and the most obnoxiously satisfied grin on his face.
"HAH! Bitch."
I stare at him in disbelief. "You seriously did not just use your Sandevistan for the pettiest thing ever."
"Sounds like somebody's mad they got outplayed."
"You wasted your cooldown to steal a broken gun from me!"
"Sounds even more like you're mad."
"Remi—"
"Guys, knock it off," Tetra interrupts us.
We both stop, look toward Tetra, and then back at each other.
"...Fine," I mutter.
"Aight."
Okay, maybe that was getting a little stupid
Tetra gives us one last look before turning away.
I reluctantly do the same, setting my attention back toward the others.
Mister, Shock, Dante, Michelangelo, and Linh stand together in what seems to be an information-sharing circle.
Shock folds her arms. "Soooo, just to be clear, we're seriously considering telling Biotechnica about Jenny now?" She flashes a gentle smile at Linh. "No offence, girl. It's your company, not you."
"None taken," Linh chuckles.
"We've already discussed her in front of a Biotechnica executive," Dante points out.
"Yeah, but there's a difference between accidentally name-dropping her and then handing over everything we know." Shock shakes her head. "Come on, that's a little too far."
"I wouldn't call what you've shared so far everything," Linh says pleasantly.
Shock shoots her a look. "You know what I mean."
"I do. I'm just being technical here."
Dante thinks for a moment before looking toward Linh. "If we tell you what we know, what exactly are you offering in return?"
Linh's smile widens slightly. "Information for information?"
"Something equivalent."
"Fair enough." Linh glances toward the terminal. "I suppose it's to your benefit, too, that the Neo-Tanwir have conducted operations against Biotechnica elsewhere in Europe. We've captured personnel, recovered equipment, searched their facilities, and even accessed several of their systems."
Shock raises a brow. "Oh? And what did you learn?"
Linh continues. "On several occasions, they possessed information they shouldn't reasonably have had, such as our facility layouts and security procedures." She clicks her tongue. "Of course, you can imagine that shipment schedules and locations of our resources that weren't publicly disclosed were also targeted as well. Nothing too noticeable that would drop our market output significantly, but it's annoying enough that we'd continue to lose out on optimal profit returns."
Mister tilts his head slightly. "Do you suspect an internal intelligence leak, then?"
"Naturally. Several, actually." Linh pauses. "We investigated accordingly. None adequately explained the extent of the Neo-Tanwir's intelligence, though."
Shock's arms slowly uncross. "...Okay. I guess that's actually worth something."
"Glad to hear it."
Dante looks toward Mister and gives him a small nod.
Shock immediately turns toward him. "Seriously?"
"We're exchanging information, Shock," Dante says.
She groans but doesn't argue any further.
Mister takes over. "Jenny is someone we encountered during another investigation in Vancouver. We believe her to be affiliated with Autumn Blade, although the precise nature of that affiliation remains unclear."
Linh listens without interrupting.
"She demonstrated access to information well beyond what we could reasonably attribute to an ordinary operative," Mister continues. "She was also exceptionally difficult to investigate. Our encounters with her occurred after the railgun entered our possession."
"And now you believe this 'J' may be Jenny," Linh finishes the thought for him.
"Suspect? Yes. But nothing beyond that," Mister corrects. "We have no evidence sufficient to establish that conclusion."
Linh's eyes briefly flick toward the terminal. "Only the initial."
"The initial, her known association with Autumn Blade, her apparent intelligence capabilities, and similarities in behaviour," Mister says. "Circumstantial evidence."
Shock finally jumps back in. "Very circumstantial. Like... a giant flashing disclaimer saying 'circumstantial.'"
For a few seconds, Linh says nothing.
Then she looks back toward the terminal.
"Interesting."
I raise an eyebrow. "That's it?"
"No." Linh steps closer to the screen. "There's something else."
Her eyes settle on the final line.
— J
"This is the first time I've encountered that signature," she says.
That gets everyone's attention.
Michelangelo looks toward her. "Across all Neo-Tanwir material recovered by Biotechnica?"
"Anything I've personally reviewed or that has been included in our investigation, yes." Linh gestures toward the terminal. "We've interrogated their personnel and extracted information from captured systems before throughout Europe, but we've never seen a signature like this before."
She taps a finger against the edge of the terminal.
"Prior to us meeting here, we—Biotechnica—had only seen their sensitive communications encrypted or otherwise protected through extreme measures. This is the first time I've seen one that isn't."
Remi's brow furrows. "The hell—"
"Wait just a minute." Shock steps closer to the terminal. "You're saying you've torn through Neo-Tanwir communications across Europe, and you've never seen J?"
"Correct." Linh nods.
"But here..." Tetra gestures toward the screen. "They leave an entire conversation sitting around unencrypted?"
Mister and I both go silent.
Oh.
Then the uncomfortable thought seems to hit all of us at roughly the same time.
"So this really was intentional..." Shock says quietly.
Linh gives her a small nod. "That would be my best guess."
Mister remains focused on the screen. "If the message was intentionally left accessible, then its discovery may itself have been part of the sender's objective."
Michelangelo's gaze settles on the terminal again. "I concur. Whoever 'J' is may have wanted this particular communication recovered."
Nobody says anything for a moment.
My stomach sinks as more thoughts form in my head.
Of all the Neo-Tanwir bases, apparently this is the one where our mysterious friend decides to leave a giant fucking breadcrumb behind, conveniently giving them everything they needed to take the railgun.
And now... it's been disassembled somewhere a bunch of mafias, corporations, and terrorist groups can easily access it.
You've gotta be fucking kidding me.
Shock slowly points at the terminal. "Okay. Soooo... I would officially like to upgrade my earlier theory from 'probably overthinking it' to 'that's really fucking weird.'"
"Agreed," Tetra mutters. "I don't know how I feel about this..."
That thought doesn't exactly make me feel better.
Linh gives the terminal one last thoughtful glance before smiling back at Dante. "As we agreed, information for information."
Shock looks at her and sighs. "Fine... that was worth it."
Meanwhile, around us, the operation slowly begins winding down.
With the Neo-Tanwir cell more or less fully dismantled and the railgun recovered, the remaining Arasaka soldiers get to work securing everything worth taking. The damaged railgun itself is carefully packed away, followed by the recovered schematics, storage drives, prototypes, and pretty much every scrap of technical data the Neo-Tanwir left behind.
On the other hand, Linh copies whatever information she can from the computers, which also includes basically everything digital that Arasaka and Shock found.
So, Biotechnica is up to date too.
Yeah, I'm sure both of them having all of that won't cause any problems whatsoever. What's next, Militech?
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Michelangelo step away from the rest of us.
He says something quietly to one of his soldiers before excusing himself farther into the room, apparently calling someone.
I don't pay much attention to it at first and just assume he's reporting everything back to his handler or whatever.
That is, until I catch him occasionally glancing toward us, and me by extension.
Goosebumps creep along my forearms, and I'm just about ready to rip into him when a message from Wissen interrupts my train of thought.
"Just got the update from you and the others. Thank you. For now, focus on concluding everything and stop overthinking."
Uh huh...
I glance over at my teammates.
Shock is still hovering around the terminal with Linh and Dante. Mister and Tetra are discussing something nearby. Remi is doing... whatever the hell Remi does when nobody is supervising him.
And then there's me, doing fuck all.