### **Arc 13: Into the Lion's Den**
Geneva, a city of pristine order and quiet diplomacy, was the perfect camouflage. It was a place where secrets were currency, and the most dangerous people wore the most expensive suits. Their destination was an old, unassuming horology shop in the heart of the city, its windows filled with the intricate, ticking guts of priceless watches. The sign above the door read, "H. Berger & Fils, Clockmakers since 1888."
The proprietor, Herr Berger, was a small, wizened man with eyes that saw far more than the delicate machinery on his workbench. He was a retired master spy, a Cold War relic who had traded the world of espionage for the quiet precision of clockwork. He was also one of the few people on Earth Renji had ever trusted.
When the three of them entered his shop, the small bell above the door chiming softly, Berger didn't even look up from the watch he was repairing.
"You are supposed to be dead, Tsukishiro-san," he said, his voice a dry, rasping whisper. "To appear here, with your siblings in tow… it is either an act of supreme confidence or supreme desperation. Given the circumstances, I suspect the latter."
"A bit of both, Berger," Renji replied, his eyes scanning the quiet street outside. "We need your help."
Berger finally set down his tools and looked at them, his gaze lingering on each of them in turn. "The Oracle Protocol," he stated, not as a question. "Your digital ghosts are being hunted by an algorithm. A clever, but ultimately flawed, piece of technology. It predicts patterns. To defeat it, you must become patternless." He smiled, a rare, thin-lipped expression. "Walking into the heart of your enemy's territory is certainly a good start. What do you need from an old clockmaker?"
"We need a ghost," Renji said. "A new identity. Untraceable. One that can get me within arm's reach of The Director."
Berger's smile faded. "You are not asking me to help you disappear. You are asking me to help you commit suicide." He sighed, a sound like rustling leaves, and slowly stood up. "The Director is attending the World Economic Forum's private summit in two weeks. It's being held at their secured chateau in the Alps. Security will be… absolute. Getting you in there is not a matter of a false passport. It is a matter of creating a legend, a complete identity so flawless that the Oracle Protocol will accept it as truth."
He led them through the back of the shop, into a room that was a stark contrast to the old-world charm of the front. It was a sterile, modern command center, filled with servers and holographic displays.
"It will be my masterpiece," Berger said, his eyes gleaming with the thrill of a long-dormant challenge. "But it will require a performance from you, Tsukishiro-san. You must become someone else entirely. And your siblings... they must become the most convincing distractions the world has never seen."