Bubblegum Crisis Fan Fiction ❯ Bubblegum Avatar #2 – "Born to be Killed" ❯ Chapter 6 - “Preplan Checks” ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

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Chapter 6 - “Preplan Checks”

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Amanda Rowley had been in USSD since she came out of college. The incentives the neo-military organization had offered, combined with a desire to make a difference, had influenced the young woman to join USSD. For most of her career, Rowley had enjoyed her time in uniform.

This morning wasn’t one of those times.

She was one of six people in the conference room. General Schwarz sat at the far end of the oval table, his expression showing he was irritated and worried. Behind him, his aide, a rather colorless non-entity by the name of Brown, stood behind the General, looking uncomfortable. To Schwarz’s right, Major Stern sat, glowering at Rowley. To the General’s left, Doctor Cora Hymes looked puzzled, but not hostile. The last person in the room was Sargent Schildt, who was standing behind the Captain.

It had taken two days of requests by Rowley to get this meeting, requests that had slowly become half-veiled threats as frustration at the stonewalling had continued. It had taken a not-so- obscured mention of a well-known investigative reporter before she could secure this meeting. Now, it was the moment of truth....

“All right!” Schwarz snapped. “You said you had some information regarding the Hikigane project. What is it?”

Rowley steeled herself for the coming firestorm. “Sir, I have uncovered evidence that a person or persons unknown besides A.G. Frederick infiltrated the project and compromised its security.”

“What?” Stern roared, shooting to his feet. “What bullshit is this?”

“Major,” said Schwarz coldly. “Remain quiet until the Captain has finished speaking. Then you can protest.” he looked at Rowley. “All right, Captain. What evidence do you have to support this charge?”

Rowley opened the folder in front of her and removed several packs of papers. Schildt stepped forward and Rowley handed him the papers. The Sargent went around the table, placing a pack of papers in front of Stern, Schwarz, and Hymes, then returned to his place.

“What you see in front of you is a printout of the access log covering a period of five weeks,” Rowley said, looking down at her own copy. “You will note the records highlighted in yellow.”

“The same user ID,” Hymes said, flipping through her papers. “Who is it?”

“Herman Block.”

Hymes looked at Rowley. “That’s impossible. He’s still in the hospital.”

Stern frowned. “What happened to him?”

“Motorcycle accident,” Rowley replied. “Or, at least, we thought it was an accident.”

“You don’t think it was an accident,” said the General slowly.

The Captain nodded. “Block was the team member A. G. Frederick replaced.”

There was silence in the room for a few heartbeats. Stern glanced down at the papers. “You think Frederick accessed the network.”

“No, sir. I think someone else accessed these files.”

“Explain,” said Schwarz.

“You will note that there are twenty entries highlighted in yellow, and another thirty highlighted in blue. The ones in blue are Frederick’s accessing of Hikigane project files. You will note that eight times, both Frederick and the person using Block’s access are on at the same time, from two widely separate nodes. We have managed to trace the origins of each access made by this person, and discover that seven computers were used..”

“That does sound suspicious,” said Hymes. “Block wouldn’t need to access the files with that many different workstations. He might use two or three, but not seven.”

Rowley nodded. “In another five cases in which our unknown someone access the files, Frederick wasn’t even here.”

“How do we know the files were copied?” Stern asked.

Rowley looked at the Major. “We traced several of the files copies to a secondary server located on the other side of the base. Those files were downloaded and wiped a day before the raid on the labs.”

“What files were accessed?” Schwarz asked darkly.

“All the important files concerning Hikigane.” Rowley was silent to allow the statement to sink in. “It is my belief,” she continued, looking at the others at the table one by one, “that with the data taken from the files, a moderately competent engineer could build a black box within six months.”

“And if we’re talking about a corporation like GENOM ?”

“Two months maximum. That’s if they’re in no hurry.”

Another round of silence greeted her. Schwarz’s expression was a mix of anger and fear. “So someone outside of USSD has the plans for the black box?”

“That is my belief, Sir.”

Stern expression was one of outrage. “You’re claiming that two spies infiltrated Hikigane? That’s bullshit!”

“I don’t think so,” said Doctor Hymes. She was still looking over the printouts. “Given the circumstances and the evidence presented here, I think the Captain may be right.”

“There’s more,” Rowley said.

“What?” Stern snapped.

“It concerns a Major Douglas Q. Sangnoir, USSD special investigator.”

“I received a report concerning his visit,” said Schwarz. “What about him?”

“The man doesn’t exist.”

“What?” Schwarz whispered.

“Major Douglas Q. Sangnoir, with the exception of a few computer records, doesn’t exist. General Cantrick’s office has never heard of him, nor do they have a record of any such person ever working for them.”

Stern’s face went white. “Another spy?” he said, his voice unsteady.

“The access log indicates that someone logged into the system and search through the database during the time Major Sangnoir was sifting through the labs. Also, there is no trace of the Major since he left the base. It is a very strong possibility that this Major was actually a spy.”

Both Stern and Schwarz looked like deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. Allowing one spy inside Hikigane was going to be hard enough to explain, but three? Both the General and the Major would be lucky to be just dishonestly discharged from USSD. A court-marshal was a very real possibility, and General Cantrick was not someone who was familiar with the word ‘mercy.’
“Who was this spy working for?” Stern snapped, recovering faster then the General from the shock. “And why didn’t you stop him?”

Rowley looked at him in disbelief. “We stop him? Captain Ohbari was escorting him around like a damned VIP! This Sangnoir guy acted just like you would expect one of Cantrick’s special investigators to act. He had to pass at least two security checks before he ever got close to the lab. In short, this one is solely Security’s fault.”

Stern opened his mouth to verbally attack Rowley again, by Schwartz slammed his open hand down on the conference table. “Enough bickering!” he shouted. “We are already in enough trouble without trying to shift blame. I suppose we have pictures of this Sangnoir?”

“Yes,” Stern growled out.

“Then alert the local authorities and other USSD base commanders about this man.” The General looked at Rowley. “I want you to turn over all your evidence over to Captain Brown here,” he said, waving a hand in the direction of his aide. “He will lead the investigation.”

“Isn’t that a conflict of interest?” Hymes asked coldly. “Everyone knows the man doesn’t breathe without your say-so.”

Schwarz shot her a vicious glance, which the doctor ignored. Stern coughed to attract his superior’s attention. When Schwarz turned his glare on him, the security officer said, “I received word from General Cantrick five minutes before this meeting began,” he said in a low, slow voice. “He is sending an investigation team here to scrutinize the situation. They should be here in,” he looked at his watch, “an hour.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?” Schwarz half-shouted.

“I was ordered not to,” Stern replied meekly.

Schwarz inhaled deeply, trying to reign in his temper. “Who is heading up the investigation?”

“A Major Abraham Chin.” Rowley heard Schildt inhale sharply, but refrained from drawing attention by looking back at him.

From the flicker in the General’s eyes, she could see that Schwarz didn’t like what he heard. “When Major Chin gets here,” he said, his voice hard and growling, “I will see him at once. His team is to be given every access and everything they ask for. All cooperation is to be extended to them, with no reservations, and you and anyone under your command are to make yourselves available at all times. Nothing to be held back from Major Chin or his team. Is that clear?”

There were nods around the table. Schwarz stood. “Since the investigations team will be here shortly, I suggest that we cut this meeting short and get our facts together now.” with that, Schwarz quickly strode out of the room, with Brown and Stern in his wake. Hymes followed at a more sedate pace, leaving Rowley and Schildt alone in the room.

Rowley stood and looked at the Sargent. “What’s going on?” she asked him.

“General Cantrick sent Chin,” Schildt replied, his face solemn. “The Major is General Cantrick’s lead investigator. He’s smart, tough, and has all the subtly of an avalanche. The Major doesn’t just kick over the rocks when he heads an investigation, he pulverizes the rock first.”

“So we get the real stormtroopers this time,” the Captain muttered.

“Yes ma’am. If that spy is stupid enough to be still hanging around, they’re dead meat.”

Rowley shrugged. “Let’s get out of here and see if we can give the Major enough help to survive this.”

*****

Out of the corner of her eye, Linna noted it was seven thirty.

Both Irene and herself were sitting at a corner table in a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant itself was on the outskirts of the city’s large Chinatown, a medium priced establishment that both of them ate at regularly. The place was half full, mostly couples and groups, though there were a few singles scattered around the room. Most were people enjoying a night out, though Linna was sure that some were there more for business then pleasure.

Linna’s eyes focused on an attractive blonde sitting by her self at a table near the main door. Something bothered her about the woman, but she couldn’t place her finger on it. Maybe it had to do with the fact the woman looked like a high fashion model, yet she was alone.

After a few seconds of thought, she forgot about the blonde and began to think about how she had ended up here. Irene had called the day before and asked if Linna wanted to go out to dinner. Linna had agreed, then Irene added that she was going to be there with Jeremy, and could Linna find herself a date by then?

Trapped into the dinner, Linna mumbled something about finding someone, then after hanging up, she racked her brains for someone to call. She was currently between boyfriends, and she had few men she could call friends....

Only one name came to mind: Craig. He was single, unattached, and available. And he had apologized for his outburst from two nights before....

She thought about the large bouquet sitting on the table in her apartment. It had arrived the afternoon after the boomer rampage, two dozen roses in a variety of colors. Along with the flowers came a note:

Sorry about last night. I wasn’t in a good humor, and I should have kept my mouth shut. Please accept these flowers as an apology.

Craig

Linna then called Craig, thanked him for the flowers and tried to convince him to be her date for the next evening. He’d tried to resist, to put her off, but Linna had found that a pleading look worked wonders on men, and Craig was no exception. After several minutes, he’d given in and Linna had her dinner date. Irene had met her at a nearby bus stop and they’d arrived early, as both Jeremy and Craig were running somewhat late. In return for this tardiness, both men would take their dates home.

“Earth to Linna?” said a voice, interrupting Linna’s memories. Startled, she looked at Irene in surprise. The younger girl was sitting across the table from the dancer, grinning. “This date of yours must be some guy,” she said. “You got that dreamy look on your face.”

“Actually,” Linna replied, “I was wondering where he was.”

Irene arched an eyebrow. “Oh? Are you two getting serious?”

“We’re just friends.”

“That’s what you said about that banker, and that TV soap actor, and come to think of it, you said that about that poli –“

”I get your point,” Linna said darkly. “But all we are is friends. He happened to be available tonight, and he said yes. Speaking of which, where is Jeremy?”

“Someone call my name?” Jeremy leaned down and gave Irene a quick kiss before sitting next to her. Linna hadn’t even noticed him approach the table. He looked from Irene to Linna and back again. “Miss anything?”

“We were just discussing Linna’s date.”

“Oh?” said Jeremy, glancing around. “Is her around? I don’t see him.”

Just then, Linna saw Craig walk into the restaurant. Or more actually, limp into the restaurant. She waved her hand in the air to attract his attention. He saw it and started towards them. Both Irene and Jeremy turned to look as the last of the foursome approached the table.
Like Jeremy, Craig was wearing a suit and tie, charcoal grey as opposed to the dark blue of Jeremy’s suit. His hair was parted to the right instead of being combed straight back like it usually was. He wore thick-framed black glasses, an uncommon sight in this day, and he was carrying a wooden walking cane. “Good evening,” he said with a smile.

“Er....” Linna said. Jeremy, Irene, this is –“

”Craig Reed,” Craig replied presenting a hand to Jeremy. “I’m Linna’s date for the evening.”

Jeremy shook his hand and Craig sat down. “Did I miss anything?” Craig asked.

“Not much,” Linna replied. “Craig, this is Jeremy Kwan and his fiancee, Irene Cann.”

Craig nodded. “Nice to meet you. Linna’s mentioned you two.”

A waiter appeared and handed out menus. After several minutes, they placed their dinner orders and the waiter departed. Irene opened the conversation. “Mr. Reed, what do you do for a living?”

“Please, call me Craig. Whenever someone addresses me a ‘Mr. Reed’, I either look around for my father or start thinking I’m in trouble.” that generated a brief chuckle from the others. “As to what I do,” Craig continued, “I’m a businessman. Do you know the building on the corner of Koukai and Twenty-Third Street? The one with the book store, music store and coffee house?”

Jeremy frowned. “I don’t.”

“I do,” said Irene. “I’ve browse the book store a couple of times.”

“Well,” said Craig, “all three of the businesses and the building itself is mine. I live on the top floor.”

Irene looked at Linna. “Are you sure he’s just a friend?” she asked in a stage whisper.

Linna redden, but Craig interceded for her. “Linna’s one of the few friends I have in the city. I’ve been here less then a year.”

“Where are you from?” Irene asked.

“The United States. Florida, to be exact.” He leaned back in his chair.

“How did you meet Linna?”

“I needed a personal trainer, and her name came up. We met, talked and came to an agreement.”

An impish gleam came into Irene’s eyes. “What type of personal training?”

Linna looked shocked, while Jeremy glared at his fiancee. “That was uncalled for!’ he said.

“It’s all right,” Craig said mildly. He tapped his leg. “I injured my leg in an car accident six months ago, and I need constant physical activity in order to improve it so I don’t have to carry this cane around forever. It limits my movement for the time being.. Linna has shown me several exercises I can do on my own to improve flexibility and strength. She’s a hard taskmaster, but a good one. It’ll be another six months until I get rid of the cane, but thanks to Linna, I can see light at the end of the tunnel.”

Irene looked somewhat embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize –“

Craig smiled. ”It quite all right. I don’t mind Linna’s company. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. When she called and asked if I was available, I said yes at once.”

Linna’s mind was trying to keep the shock off her face. At once? Who is he kidding?

“Now,” continued Craig, still smiling. “You know what I do for a living, what do you two do?”

After that, the conversation drifted into common subjects until dinner arrived. Craig didn’t press either Irene or Jeremy on any important subjects, though from the occasional looks he shot in her direction, Linna knew he was avoiding them on purpose. The conversation was more limited as they ate, but it did continue. After the dessert, the waiter left a small bowl of fortune cookies on the table along with the bill.

“Ah,” said Craig, reaching for one of the cookies. “I haven’t had one of these in a long time.” He broke it open and removed the slip of paper inside. He read it, and a curious expression crossed his face.

“What is it?” Linna asked.

Craig handed her the slip. After she read it, her expression matched Craig’s. It said: You have come a long way to confront a great evil. Be true to your friends, noble with your allies, honest with yourself, and unwavering in battle, and you will overcome it.

“That must be some fortune,” said Irene, looking from Craig to Linna.

“It makes me sound like some sort of knight or something,” said Craig.

Linna gave the fortune to Irene. She looked it over. “And what’s wrong with being a knight?” she asked.

“I don’t ride horses, don’t know one end of a sword from another, and I get squeamish at the sight of blood, especially my own.”

“Maybe it means you’re going to become a modern knight.”

“Not with Boomers around. They take all the fun out of combat. I don’t know of anyone who could stand up to one unless they had a big gun and a death wish.”

“Well, there’s the Knight Sabers,” Irene said.

Craig looked puzzled. “Who?”

“The Knight Sabers,” Irene repeated.

Jeremy shook his head. “They’re half urban legend, Irene. They are suppose to show up and help the ADP take down rampaging boomers.”

“You mean take down rampaging boomers for the ADP,” Irene replied.

“And how do they do that?” Craig asked. “Boomers are ugly monsters, and I sure wouldn’t want to face one down.”

Linna took a cookie for herself. “They’re suppose to have something superior in technology.”

“Like what?” Craig asked.

“You don’t know?” Irene asked, her eyes lighting up in surprise.

Craig shrugged. “I don’t listen to news much.”

Jeremy sighed. “There’s suppose to be three or four members of this so-called team,” he said. “They wear some sort of power armor that puts them on a par with these rampaging boomers. They show up where and when there’s an out of control Boomer, and manage to stop it.”

“And who do they work for? GENOM? ADP? Or is there some genius out there with their own ax to grind?”

“No one knows. There’s even speculation that the entire team is made up of women or sexroids.”

Craig snorted. “That must stick in the craw of every male chauvinist pig in the city.”
“No one knows for sure if that’s true or not. There’s also stories going around that they’re also mercenaries who take jobs from anyone with the money.”

“I doubt that destroying rogue boomers pays a lot.”

“Well, it might be all a cover of some sort,” Jeremy said.

“Maybe. Why do they think the teams is made up of women?”

“You haven’t seen the armor suits they were, have you? They’re form fitting.”

“You mean....”

Linna and Irene looked at each other, then cleared their throats in tandem. The male half of the dinner party broke off their conversation and looked at their dates. “Nice of you to remember us,” Irene said sardonically.

“Yes,” Linna replied, giving Craig a miffed look. “While I suspect that Knight Sabers might be a fascinating subject, they are not here, We are.”

“And I thought you just said that the Knight Sabers were half urban legend,” Irene continued, giving her fiancé a cool look.

Jeremy managed to look embarrassed. “Er....”

“It’s my fault,” Craig said quickly. “I started the conversation.”

“Oh no you don’t,” Irene replied. “This is solely Jeremy’s fault.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Linna said.

“I just trying to find out about these Knight Sabers,” Craig said.

“And what does the fact the Sabers wear form fitting armor have to do with your knowledge?”

Beads of sweat appeared on Craig’s forehead. “Er....It tells me the people inside are in great shape, and don’t mind letting the world know it.”

Linna sighed. Craig sometimes had no tact, and it showed when he dealt with woman. Before she could rebuke her date for his lack of sensitivity, Craig glanced down at the fortune cookie in Linna’s hand. “Your turn.”

Linna opened the cookie and extracted the slip of paper. Her eyebrows rose as she read the message.

Irene leaned forward. “What does it say?’ she asked eagerly.

“Help, I being held prisoner in a Chinese fortune cookie factory?” Craig offered, which got him a blank look from the other three. “Never mind.”

Linna shook her head slowly. “What it says is, You don’t need to look far for a long-term love, for it is close at hand. Enjoy the company of your friends, make new ones, and you will be rich beyond the financial boundaries.”

Irene giggled. “Maybe Fortune is trying to tell you something.”

“I doubt it,” Linna replied, crumpling up the fortune.

“My turn,” said Irene, reaching for another fortune cookie. She broke it open and read the slip. “Your life will undergo several major changes in the near future. Do not fear them, but be ready for anything and you will be victorious in all things.” She smiled. “That makes sense. Marriage is a big change in my life.”

“Mine too,” Jeremy said, reaching across the table to take Irene’s hand. They stared at each other like only those deeply in love do.

Out of the corner of her eye, Linna could see Craig’s slight expression, one of suspicion and anger. Slowly, he started to scan the dining room, looking for something or someone.

Before either half of the engaged couple noticed Craig’s actions. Linna said quickly, “What does your fortune say, Jeremy?”

“Hmm?” Jeremy released his fiancee’s hand picked up the last fortune cookie. He broke it open and unfolded the slip. “You future is filled with mystery and danger. You will find friends and allies in the most unlikely of places. Heed their advice, and the path you walk will be long and bright.”

“Ooh,” said Irene with a smile. “Sounds exciting.”

“Doesn’t it?” Craig said, turning back to the table. Linna noticed he looked irritated about something and he had shifted his seat slightly so he faced Jeremy more. “I hope the guy who thinks those things up is paid well.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Jeremy said, as he crumpled up the slip. “They just meant to sound profound.”

“You don’t know,” Craig muttered. “Sometimes, even fortune cookies can tell you the truth.”

“I love reading fortunes,” Irene said.

“I hate it myself. I’m not much on fantasy in the real world.” Craig shrugged. “I’m forced to be a realist by nature and circumstances.”

A strange expression flittered across Jeremy’s face. Linna asked, “Jeremy, are you all right?”

Irene’s fiancé waved a hand in dismissal. “It’s nothing.”

“What is it?” Irene asked, her tone more demanding the Linna’s had been.

“Maybe the fortune was talking about that biker I’ve seen the last couple of days,” Jeremy said off handedly.

“What biker?” Irene asked.

“It’s nothing.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

Irene leaned in towards him. “No.”

Jeremy shook his head. “All right, It sounds stupid, but I will tell you. The last couple of days, I’ve noticed a guy on a motorcycle in my rear view mirror when I go to and from work”

“That doesn’t sound like anything,” Craig said. “What does this guy look like?”

“I don’t know. All I know the guy dresses all in black, black leather, black helmet, and riding a black motorcycle. It’s probably nothing.”

“The future didn’t say anything about motorcycle riders, so I think you’re safe.”

Jeremy glanced at his watch. “It’s getting late,” he said wistfully. “As much as I would like to stay, I need to take Irene home then get some sleep.”

“Working early tomorrow?” Linna asked.

Jeremy nodded. “Some of my friends are throwing a party for me tomorrow night, which means I’ll have to leave work early.” He shrugged. “I have a very demanding boss. You wouldn’t believe how much groveling I had to do to get time off for our wedding and honeymoon.”

“That’s the nice thing about being my own boss,” Craig said. “I can set my own hours.”

Jeremy stood and took out his wallet. “This should cover our half of the bill.” He dropped the bills onto the table, then extended a hand towards Craig. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Craig. I hope I can get over to your business soon.”

Craig stood and took Jeremy’s hand. “My pleasure.” He managed to smile, but Linna could see something was bothering him. “I would like to do this again, and soon.”

“I hope so too.”

By now Irene had stood. “You’ll be at my bachelorette party Thursday, right?” she asked Linna.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Linna assured her friend.

“Great!” Irene replied eagerly. “I’ll see you then!”

Irene and Jeremy left the table, heading towards the front door. Linna started to stand herself, but Craig’s hand grabbed her wrist. “Not so fast!” he hissed.

“What’s wrong?” Linna asked him in a whisper. The expression on his face told her this wasn’t an idle conversation he wanted.

“The blonde alone in the booth near the door. I think she has a fingernail problem.” He held the fingers of his free hand together like a bird’s beak. “Long, sharp fingernails. The type that could hurt someone.”

Linna’s stomach tightened. “As if she was Born To Kill?” She placed emphasis on the last three words.

“Oh, yeah.”

“Shit,” she cursed softly.

“That thought has crossed my mind. Are you armed?”

“No.”

“I am.” He released Linna’s wrist and pulled out his wallet.

“You were expecting to find someone trailing them?”

“No,” Craig replied, throwing down some large bills onto the table. “I was looking for that son of a bitch, Ishmael.”

“What makes you think he’s here?”

“The damn fortunes. His way of being subtle.”

“How do you know she’s a boomer?”

“Tell me how many woman that gorgeous eat by themselves in a restaurant?”

Linna repressed the urge to slap him, but decided since he wasn’t her boyfriend, there wasn’t a need to. “Maybe she’s waiting for her date.”

“She’s already ordered dinner. He picked up his cane. “Besides, there’s something wrong with her body language. I’ve been watching her out of the corner of my eye since I noticed her. She’s too still.”

That explains who you shifted your chair to face Jeremy more, Linna thought. Craig did have excellent peripheral vison. “That doesn’t mean she’s a boomer.”

“She also looks out of place in here – she’s dressed too rich and stylish. Besides, the only direction she has look in when she isn’t looking at her meal is this table.”

Linna stood, unimpeded by any of Craig’s actions. “What are we going to do?”

“Walk out of here like any other couple finished dinner.”

“What happens if it attacks us?”

“Unlikely. It’s watching Irene and Jeremy right now.” He tapped the cane with a forefinger. “But I have a few surprises, just in case I’m wrong.”

Linna jaw dropped slightly. “Are you always this paranoid?”

“In this city, it’s Standard Operating Procedure.” He held out an arm for Linna. “Shall we?”

She took his arm and they walked towards the exit. Linna glanced at the blonde, and a chill went through her as the blonde returned the look with a cold stare of it’s own. It was easy to see why Craig thought she was a boomer. She had the same lean sharp look of the boomer assassins in the anime. Cold blue eyes stared back at her, as if determining how much effort it would take to kill her.
With a sharp turn of her head, Linna forced herself to look away from the manufactured killer. But she could ignore the cold wave that ran down her back. Even though they traded looks for a couple of seconds, she now felt like she was the prey and the female boomer the predator.

***

Cahira waited until the other couple that had been with her primary targets walked past her before she removed a phone from the small purse she carried and dialed a number.

“Yes?” can the voice of her master.

“The subjects met another couple and had dinner.”

“So?”

“The male half of the second couple matches the general description of the secondary target. Also, I think the female recognized me for what I am. ”

“I see. Take care of both of them now.”

“What about the subjects?”

“Leave them for now. It is time to start clearing the board of clutter. This may or may not be our target, but best not to take chances.”

“I’ll see to it at once.” She broke the connection and slid out of the booth, tossing a small wad of bills on the table. The turned to follow the second couple when someone bumped into her hard enough to stop her in her tracks.

“I’m dreadfully sorry,” said a male voice. Cahira glared down at the person who had blocked her progress. The man was a head shorter then Cahira, somewhat past middle age, thin without being frail, with a white goatee and clear blue eyes. He was dressed impeccably in a blue suit with a subdue, though tasteful, tie, and carried a walking cane in his left hand. “I’m afraid I didn’t see you there.”

Cahira took half a second to decide her next move. Gutting the stupid human, while satisfying in the short term, would compromise her mission. “If you will please move, I will be on my way,” she said stiffly.

“Of course.” The man bowed and stepped aside. Cahira strode past him swiftly, so she never saw the small smile on the man’s face.

The boomer assassin strode out of the restaurant. The sidewalk was crowded with people out enjoying the spring evening. Despite that, it shouldn’t be too hard for her to pick up the couple. As she started to scan for her targets, she stopped. Something was wrong with her memory.

She ran a level two diagnostic on her memory system, and when that didn’t give her a satisfactory answer, ran a level three diagnostic. Both told her the same thing. Somehow, all visual images of the second couple had vanished from her memory. She knew that her original targets had met with and had dinner with another couple, but she had no record of their physical appearance beyond the male matching the basic description of the secondary target, and nothing left on the female’s description.

“Is there a problem?” asked a voice from behind her. She spun quickly, as her sensors had not picked up anyone approaching her. The man from the restaurant was standing less then an arm’s length away from her.

A sudden flash of what humans would call insight struck her. “You did it,” she said.

The man smiled. “Maybe I did.”

“You don’t know what you’re interfering with, old man,” she said, her voice cold.

“On the contrary, CX-64124, codename ‘Cahira’, it is you and your boss who do not know what you are meddling in.” The way he said it indicated that this man knew full well that he was standing in front of a disguised boomer, and he wasn’t even slightly fearful of her

Cahira took a step back. There were three people on the planet, including Largo, who knew her manufacture’s ID number. This man wasn’t one of them. “Who are you?”

The man smiled. “Now, that would be telling. Have a good evening.” He turned and walked away, leaving Cahira standing there.

Her brain took in the data of the last minute, organized it, and made a decision. Her primary and secondary objectives were beyond her ability to complete now, but this man had shown himself to be a threat. Therefore, he needed to be eliminated or questioned, then eliminated. Either way, she needed to pursue him.

All this took less then a second for her to reach this determination. She turned to track her new target, her systems gearing up for a possible battle....

....and found that the old man had disappeared into thin air.

She blinked as her brain tried to reconcile the impossibility with the reality. He should have been within two meters of her, three at the most. But he wasn’t there. In fact, he wasn’t anywhere within her vision. She turned around slowly, scanning for him. Nothing.

If Cahira had been human, she might have been scared or worried, but she wasn’t programmed with those emotions. Her primary and secondary mission had been compromised, yet her memory still retained the image of the mysterious man. She replayed the entire conversation with the man, examining the man for signs of something unusual.

It quickly became so.

Everything in the memories was the same -- the warning by Cahira, the counter warning by the man, until the man walked away. After the man took a couple of steps, he turned and said, “This memory won’t help you figure out who I am. Just tell Largo that he is...’ he stopped speaking and tapped a forefinger against his chin. “What’s that word? Ah yes....tell Largo that he’s screwed. Good evening.”

And the man simply faded away like he was a hologram losing power slowly, unnoticed by any of the people walking past them.

Cahira frowned, and ran four separate diagnostics on her core memory systems . This wasn’t happening to her, one of GENOM’s most advanced designs. Each of the four diagnostics came back clean of any problem. Snarling a curse, she stalked towards he car, her logic circuits trying to make sense out of the situation.

In a matter of less then two minutes, she had two brief conversations with a human male that didn’t seem to be abiding by the standards Cahira had programmed into her systems. In a matter of seconds, the man had managed to erase all trace of the secondary’s target visual description from her memory, and added a new memory, all without doing anything more then bumping into her or disrupting any other memories. He also knew who she reported to, and her manufacture’s ID number. Either there was a major flaw in her memory system, or the man had been something more then a mere human.

In either case, Largo would have to be told. If she was malfunctioning, it would impede her ability to complete her mission, and thus would need replacing before the mission reached a critical stage. On the other hand, if this human wasn’t a human, it could be a threat to her master’s plans.

She reached the car and got in. As soon as she closed the door, she reached for the phone and dialed the number. A small screen flared to life on the console as the buzzing at the other end of the signal was answered. Largo appeared. “Cahira,” he said. “Finished already?”

“No sir,” she replied. “I have run into a problem....”




It took Craig and Linna five minutes to reach the parking garage where Craig had parked his car. They took an elevator up to the fifth floor of the garage, where the car sat, nestled between a couple of other sports cars. There hadn’t been much conversation between the two. Linna had several questions she wanted to ask Craig, but none she wanted to ask in public. She scanned the area around her slowly, looking for the blonde boomer. She held Craig’s arm loosely, ready to separate from him in a blink of an eye. Her free hand hovered close to her Saber-issued ‘panic button’, disguised as a pendent around her neck.

Craig, on the other hand, kept his head in constant motion, first looking over his shoulder, then up towards the rooftop, then at the passing pedestrians, then finally glancing in front of him before looking over his shoulder again. He continued this series of actions even after they entered the garage, where there was almost no one around. The walking cane was held in a death grip the entire time, his knuckles white from the strain.

It wasn’t until both had gotten into Craig’s car did either one begin to relax. Craig leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. “That was fun,” he said sarcastically.

Linna looked around the parking garage. “I don’t see anyone. Do you think we lost her?”

“If she was ever after us,” Craig replied, his eyes still closed.

Linna saw something sitting on top of the dashboard. “Craig,” she asked, “did you pick up an extra fortune cookie on the way out the door?”

“No. Why do you ask?”

“Because there’s one sitting on top of the dashboard.”

“What?” Craig’s eyes opened and quickly located the object. “That wasn’t there when I parked,” he said.

“You don’t think – What are you doing?”

Linna’s shouted the last question as Craig snatched the cookie from the dashboard and crushed it with his hand. He removed a slip of paper from the with his other hand and read it. He then snarled and handed it to Linna. “Read it,” he said, his expression one of anger.

The slip read: Be more careful in the future, Avatar. I have managed to divert Largo’s hounds for the moment, but I cannot always be there to guard your back – Ishmael.

“My God,” Linna whispered. “This is real?”

“Yeah,” Craig muttered. “Unless you think the entire situation was a figment of my imagination.”

“I don’t know,” Linna rambled. “Sylia and Priss told me, but....”

“But you’re still having a hard time believing in a god-like entity who drops people in from other dimensions, right?”

“Er...yes.”

“Think about how I feel,” Craig replied. “I’m working for the son of a bitch.”

“I don’t think you should be using that type of language.”

“Believe me, if I ever get a hold of him, hearing bad words are going to be the least of his problems.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Craig shook his head. “No, Ishmael is my problem, not yours. You have Irene to worry about, while I have Jeremy to keep an eye on.”

“What about this biker Jeremy mentioned? Could that be one of those boomers?”

“I hope not.” Craig started the car. “Because I’m the biker who’s been following him.”

“You?”

He looked at her. “Sylia’s orders.”

“When did this start?”

Craig waited until he put the sleek back sports car into gear and started maneuvering it out of the parking space. “Two days ago,” he replied. “Right after that last Boomer bash. That’s why I was late tonight. I followed him home, then went back to my place to change.”

“Why are following him?” Linna asked

“To see if there’s anyone following him.”

“Like that blonde boomer?”

“Or one of it’s sisters.”

“Did you see anyone?”

“No. He followed the same route to and from work the last two days.” Craig drove down the ramp leading to fourth floor. “But the traffic is too thick to spot a tail easily, and I can only follow him as far as the front gate of the place he works at.”

“What do you do when he’s inside his work place?”

“Sylia secured an office overlooking the main gate of the place. I sit there, watch, and
become bored until he leaves and I follow him home.”

“Why doesn’t Sylia tell them what’s going on?”

“You’re full of questions tonight.”

“Don’t you think I have a right to know?” Linna asked. “Irene is my friend, one of my few friends outside of the Sabers.”

“I don’t know,” Craig replied as the car descended down to the third floor of the garage. “Maybe she thinks if Irene and Jeremy suddenly disappear, it’ll alert Slime and Slimier that something is wrong and change their plans. She’s planning something, but she hasn’t told me yet.”

Linna closed her eyes. “Why won’t she trust us?”

“Because she’s not ready to tell us. She‘s not the type of person to waste words with meaningless updates.”

“I know....” She tilted her head to look at him. “But it’s hard to just sit while a friend and her fiancé is in danger.”

“Sylia’s not going to let anything happen to them if she can help it.” Craig glanced at her. “Are you all right? You look worried.”

“I am worried,” Linna said sharply.

Craig reached out and put a hand on Linna’s arm. “Hey,” he said softly. “So am I. But Sylia’s the only one who has the contacts and resources to pull something like this off.” He removed his hand to help guide the car down the next ramp. “But she has to be careful in setting this up. If Largo and Mason even think Irene and Jeremy are still alive, they will tear this city apart to find them.”

“You think that Sylia’s going to fake their deaths?”

“I would if I was her. You don’t go looking for dead people.”

“I suppose not.”
Craig eased the car down the last ramp. “It shouldn’t be too much longer,” he said. “The events started after Irene’s bachelorette party, which is Thursday. Give it several days for that letter to reach Reika, and –“

”Irene’s sister?” Linna asked. “Why does that matter?”

“Ah.” Craig stopped at the exit and paid the attendant before he eased out onto the street. He waited until they were on the street and heading towards Linna apartment before he said, “Irene didn’t tell you the complete truth about herself because she’s trying to make a life on her own.”

“She did mention that her sister was a singer. What do you know about Irene’s background?”

“Well, her real name is Irene Chang. Her sister is Reika Chang, A.K.A. Vision.”

Linna felt a shock go through her. “Vision is Irene’s sister?”

“There’s more. Irene is the granddaughter of Dr. Chang Chongk, and a heir to the power of the Hou Bang.”

“Her grandfather is the head of the Chang conglomerate?” Craig nodded. “Then why doesn’t Sylia tell him and have him send people to bring Irene back?”

Craig exhaled. “I don’t know. Maybe that’s part of her plans. She doesn’t keep me in the know.”

A question suddenly occurred to Linna. “Is Reika in one of the anime episodes?”

“Yes.”

Linna was silent for a moment. “Is there...any way I can see the rest of those episodes?”

“I don’t know if I should.....”

The dancer remembered how she had gotten Craig to come to the dinner. “Please?” she said, turning the charm on.

She could see uncertainty flicker in his eyes as he glanced at her. “But Sylia –“

Linna upped the charm she leaned over toward Craig as far as she could and said, “I really need to see those shows,” she cooed.

She saw a shudder run through Craig, and his knuckles went white as he gripped the wheel in a death grip. His entire attention was on the street . “Don’t do that,” he hissed, his eyes wide behind his glasses.

Linna put on a pouting expression. “And why not?” she whispered. “You don’t like me doing that?”

“No,” Craig responded immediately. “I’m afraid I’d like it too much!”

That caught Linna by surprise. The charm vanished as she straightened in her seat. “Oh,” she said.

Craig relaxed slightly. “Thank you,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I guess I got carried away.”

There was silence in the car for several minutes. Finally, Craig said, “I have a copy of the shows. If you want to see them, I’ll –“

”No, I don’t think I should,” Linna said firmly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have acted like that. That was stupid of me.”

“No need to apologize.” Craig took a deep breath. “Never the less, anytime you want to see the series, you’re welcome to come over any time. Just don’t tell Sylia, okay? One of the reasons she wanted to keep the show under wraps was to keep you from thinking events would be exactly the same as in the anime. You’ve already seen the differences between what happened at Aqua City in the series and what really happened.”

“Let me think about it.”

“Sure. We’ll be at your place in about thirty minutes, unless you want to stop off for a cup of coffee?”

Linna shook her head. “I think I’d better turn in early tonight. I have to teach an aerobics Class at nine A.M.”

“Okay.” Linna thought she head a tang of disappointment in Craig’s voice, and filed it away with the Chinese fortune and Craig’s statement about being afraid of liking her charm too much. Was there something emotional brewing between Craig and herself?

She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. She would have to think about it – by herself....

*****

The one who Craig and the rest of the Sabers knew as Ishmael returned to his place of watching.

The place was outside time and space. There was no light here, no darkness, no warmth, no cold, nothing that a human being could use as a reference. The same thing could be said of Ishmael himself.

Ishmael was met by a second intelligence. the second intelligence asked. It didn't have vocal cords, or a brain to use telepathy with, but it still managed to make itself understood. If one was able to hear and visualize the mentality as a person, they would imagine a young male, full of amazement and shock.

Assisting my Avatar, the entity called Ishmael replied.



Really? Says who?



If Ishmael had a head at that moment, he would have shaken it in disappointment. The laws prevent us from confronting the Dark Ones directly. Any direct battle between us would destroy that dimension. So, we cannot fight the Dark Ones directly, nor can we infuse an avatar with our power beyond what is necessary to adapt to the task. However, there is nothing in the laws that prevent me from aiding my avatar indirectly. That is what I did.



Nothing but its own arrogance. A perception of weakness has always been something they have strived to avoid at all costs. It will not help the one called Largo beyond what it has already done.



Exactly. The idea is to let Largo destroy the Knight Sabers and claim that dimension for itself with the least amount of aid. Already, the Avatar I have chosen has disrupted their plans beyond what they expected.



There is a saying on Earth, ‘If its and buts were candy nuts, everyone would be fat.’

There was silence for a moment.

You always are searching for why something shouldn’t be done, never why it should be done. The laws we operate under are not the black and white rules that you believe them to be. That is why you were sent to me. I have been successful because I know what the laws will and will not allow and operate according to that knowledge. I can step in and shield my Avatar as long as I do not directly confront either the Dark One who is my opponent or its Avatar. What I did tonight was obscure my Avatar’s identity and let the other side know I was around.

The other intelligence was silent.

That is a start. There is one other thing we need to do before I continue to teach you.



Give you a name.



Because it is time for you to stop watching and start helping me in a more active manner.

What would have been eagerness in a human tinged the next question.

If Ishmael could have sighed then, he would have. It is also time for you to stop asking questions, and start answering them on your own. You can chose your own name and I will leave you time to think about it. When you have decided on your name, come to me and we will start.



Good. In the meantime, I will keep watching our Avatar and see if he manages to stay out of trouble.

Amusement tinted the next statement.

*****

Sylia Stingray was not a fan of parking garages, but they made excellent places for clandestine meetings.

Not that this meeting was occurring in person. The parking garage made an safe, anonymous place to receive the call from General Schwartz. Fargo had called several hours before to tell her that the USSD were looking to hire the Knight Sabers for another mission related to the one they had just completed. Sylia thought about it for a moment, then gave Fargo a vidphone number and a time to call to pass onto Schwartz. If USSD tried to trace the number, they would find it was leased to a minor GENOM subsidiary. With the immense size of the corporation, it was easy to hide something as small as a phone number among the reams of data. The number was one of several dozen programmed into the vidphone’s memory bank, and through a complex program, most of the numbers were open only for several hours a month, making tracing an active line difficult.

Still, it was best not to take chances. She had chosen the garage to take the call in for several reasons. First, at this time of night, there was well over fifteen hundred cars parked here, divided among the eleven floors. It would take hours for even a large number of soldiers to search the structure. Second, its location was close to Tokyo Bay, which was about as far as she could get from USSD headquarters and still be in the city. And third, there were several major roads she could use to leave the area quickly, if need be.

She didn’t think it would come to that. USSD had more important things on its plate at this moment to waste time trapping a hi-tech Mercenary unit like her own. Fargo had told her that the current situation inside USSD headquarters South Asia was a complete madhouse. Evidently, there had been another security breech about the same time as the attack on Project Hikigane’s lab. Sylia had a strong feeling she knew what had happened.

Just then, the low buzz of the phone started. She waited until it rang twice more before she picked up the phone, and waited until the image of General Schwartz appeared on the small screen built into the car’s central console. “You wanted to contact us?” she asked

“Er...yes,” The General replied. Sylia had no fear he could see her. All he could see on his screen was a computer-generated image of her hardsuit helmet and upper torso. As far as anyone on the other end of the line, Sylia was in full armor, anonymous as she had been when she and Nene had been standing in General Schwartz’s office.

“Do you have another job for us?” Sylia asked. The computer also electronically disguised her voice.

“Yes, and it relates to the previous job you completed with us.”

“Was something unsatisfactory about our previous job performance?”

“No, No,” said the general quickly. “You completed the mission. . .to our satisfaction. However, we. . .er. . .have discovered that there was another security breech that involved the item you retrieved from Aqua City.”

I hate it when I’m right, Sylia thought. “Tell me what happened.”

“It appears that someone other then Frederick managed to break into our computer system and steal partial plans for the satellite synchronization system –“

”The so-called ‘Black Box’,” said Sylia.

“Yes. We want you to find the people responsible for the theft and either retrieve the plans or destroy them.”

“What about the thieves?”

“If you can supply evidence we can use to prosecute them, we will pay an additional ten million above and beyond your normal fee. Otherwise, you can do as you see fit.”

Ah, plausible deniably, Sylia thought. We run up a body count, and you can wash your hands of us. “I see. Can I ask you one question?”

“If I can answer it.”

“Why did you use the form of a little girl for your black box?”

Schwartz blinked in surprise. “Er...” he stammered, “As you know, Cynthia was a weapon we developed to synchronize with the orbital satellite. During the design phase, we considered many possible shapes, but –“

The words came out of Sylia’s mouth before she realized it. “Do us all a favor and make the next one look like a cat or dog. We found Cynthia to be too much like a little girl who needed rescuing.”

“That was the point. No one would suspect a six year-old girl of being a weapon.”

“It was still too close to real. If we had not known it was a boomer, we would have thought it was a little girl.” Sylia took a deep breath. “Enough debate. Well take the job, loose ends and all.”

“We deeply appreciate it,” Schwartz said. The small fax printer began spitting out sheets of paper. “Here are the details of the job as well as data about black box, the orbital synchronization system.”

Sylia picked up the papers and looked them over. I will compare these to the files Craig retrieved, she thought, just to see how much they trust us. “We will expect our twenty million fee on completion.”

“Very well. I believe time is of the essence. I hope to hear from you shortly.”

Sylia placed the receiver back into its cradle, and the screen went dark, signifying the end of the call. “How self serving,” she murmured, then realized she had just said the same thing her animated version had said about the same time after the phone call.

She closed her eyes and sighed. The entire situation was delicate, to put it mildly. On the plus side, she and the others knew what was suppose to have happen with Irene and the superboomer project. On the minus side, it was clear that events were already diverging from the episode.

She put the papers down on the passenger seat and started the car. She already had Nene get everything on the factory where the superboomer project was suppose to be taken after the destruction of the first lab, as well as all route to and from it. Her plans weren’t firm yet, but she had already decided that she wasn’t going to play Mason’s game. If they could take out the superboomer before completion, so much the better.

She shifted the car into gear and drove out of the parking space. Most of her plans regarding this series of events were up and running, but there was still a degree of uncertainty she couldn’t account for. She glanced at her watch. She had some calls to make tonight, and orders to issue. After that, all she could do was hope they were prepared for whatever events threw their way....