Thomas Kress snapped his eyes open. The first thing he did was roll his large body over and glance at the crystal lamp beside his bed. Yet,
Thomas Kress snapped his eyes open. The first thing he did was roll his large body over and glance at the crystal lamp beside his bed. Yet, he found no figure near the lamp.
"Was it just my imagination?" he thought to himself.
The alertness triggered by the sound he had heard in his sleep slowly subsided. Thomas quickly checked the place where he stored his valuables and, finding nothing amiss, used both hands to push his heavy body upright.
He reached for the bedside light switch. With a press, the suite was flooded with brightness.
Thomas scanned the entire suite but saw nothing suspicious. He rubbed his temples, puzzled.
Was it just auditory hallucinations from too much stress?
Although his health consultants had warned him about this, he hadn't expected the pressure to weigh so heavily on him.
"Huff..."
Letting out a breath, Thomas realized that the short nap had already worn off most of his drowsiness. He decided to get up.
He headed toward the suite's bathroom, unaware that as he passed by a couch, someone was secretly watching him through the gap behind it.
Meanwhile, in KK Squad's private channel, the discussion was tense.
Oliver: What now? Looks like the target's awake. What do we do? V: Should we knock him out? Since he didn't immediately check anything, the stash must be inside that lamp. We could knock him out, grab it, and bail. Jack: If we're gonna move, do it fast. I'm hiding behind a damn curtain with half my body exposed. I panicked and picked a bad spot. Unlike Oliver and V, who are behind the couch, I'm totally at risk. If he spots me and screams, we're screwed.
As the three spoke, Karl remained calm, sitting silently on the other side of the bed, carefully watching Thomas Kress's movements.
"Don't rush," Karl said over comms, keeping his eyes locked on Thomas's back.
The small triangular gap between the bed and the floor was a natural blind spot for someone lying down. Karl had predicted that Thomas would instinctively glance first at the lamp on his left side upon waking—and when getting out of bed, he would naturally move in that direction. So Karl had chosen to hide on the right side. As expected, Thomas hadn't noticed him.
"Our hiding spots are risky, but we're not exposed yet. No need to move unless we're really forced to. Best case, we sneak out without any noise. If we knock him out, when he wakes, the first thing he'll do is check his secret stash. But if he wakes up normally, he might not think of it immediately. From how Thomas reacted, I'm confident. Letting him fall back asleep buys us more time."
Oliver: What kind of psychology is that? If it were me, I'd check right away if I thought something was wrong.
Karl: It's stress behavior.
Karl continued, "I remember seeing this in a braindance analysis. When someone hides an extremely important secret—something they believe could impact their entire life—they tend to deceive themselves in small ways. Their fear grows with time, making the secret feel heavier and harder to face. They start to subconsciously avoid dealing with it until reality forces them to."
Oliver: Not sure I'm getting it.
Karl: In simple words: it's like when a kid secretly steals money from their parents. They get more and more scared as time passes, behave extra obediently, and avoid anything related to money. Even if the parents walk near where the money was taken, the kid's heart races but he won't dare check it himself.
Oliver: Sounds like you've been through that. You stole money as a kid?
Karl: No. I never even knew where my parents kept their money.
Karl added, "Look at Thomas's reaction just now—his heartbeat spiked when he looked at the lamp, his eyes full of fear. But once he confirmed nothing looked wrong, he immediately relaxed. Even his body stopped trembling. But he didn't dare check the lamp properly. If that's not exactly like what I saw in the braindance, I don't know what is."
V: Did that braindance have a name for this?
Karl: No idea. Doesn't matter. Knowing how it works is enough.
Karl silently watched Thomas Kress standing in the bathroom, staring blankly at himself in the mirror without even closing the door.
Drip drip.
Thomas splashed some water on his face, trying to clear his head. Looking into the mirror, his unaugmented eyes showed no bloodshot veins, no dark circles—but his face was full of exhaustion.
Four more days, Thomas reminded himself.
Just four more days, and he would finish his inspection tour for the New United States of America's military contractors and return to Washington, where his loyal supporters waited.
If it hadn't been for the pressure from his family—who insisted he see Arasaka's frontline with his own eyes—he would never have come to this Militech testing facility in Los Angeles.
Almost done...
After washing his face and feeling a bit more awake, Thomas turned back toward the bed.
The bed looked normal. Yet, an odd sensation gnawed at him—as if someone had been there just moments ago.
His stress symptoms were clearly worsening. He would need serious rehabilitation once he returned to Washington.
Returning to bed, Thomas turned off the lights and closed his eyes.
This time, he slept soundly. Dreamless.
Morning.
The soft ring of the service bell woke Thomas.
"Mr. Kress, your breakfast is ready," a voice called out.
Thomas opened his eyes.
Three more days... he muttered, instinctively glancing at the lamp on his left.
No abnormalities.
No abnormalities...
Then, a sudden wave of unease hit him.
Ignoring the server's voice, Thomas quickly jumped out of bed and rushed to the lamp.
He pressed the hidden mechanism.
The secret compartment popped open—
It was completely empty.
Thomas Kress froze.
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