A Silent Departure

Juri opened the door, and concern colored her face as soon as she landed her eyes on me and Shiba. “I hope you’re not doing what I think you’re doing.”

Shiba invited himself into her house, despite having never met her before. “Unfortunately, Ma’am, he’s doing far worse than you could imagine.”

Instead of getting offended, Juri looked pleasantly surprised. “What a cutie you have there. Come inside, and let’s get those wounds treated.”

I followed her into her apartment as she rushed to the kitchen. Judging by the apron she was wearing, she must have been in the middle of cooking. She was just a retired woman, living peacefully off her pension fund. And here I was, about to ruin her peace. I might even risk her being accused of harboring a deserter. Guilt crept over me.

Shiba quickly made himself at home, sitting next to Juri in the kitchen and crowding her space. She didn’t seem bothered with that. In fact, she was all smiles, warmly engaging with his endless chatter. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was insulting me behind my back. If only she knew how annoying Shiba could be.

“So, you’re a fugitive now?” Juri asked as she set a plate of pizza on the coffee table. It seemed like she had a personal mission never to let anyone inside her home go hungry. If I stayed here too long, I would probably gain weight in no time.

I was about to take a bite of the pizza, but the pain was so unbearable I immediately pulled it away from my mouth. My lips must have been cut pretty badly. Juri clicked her tongue in disapproval before rushing to her bedroom and returning with a first aid kit.

“Is that what Shiba told you?” I turned to Shiba, who feigned innocence. “In a way, yes. He’s right.”

She dabbed the cotton bud against my lips. It stung, and I hissed in pain, flinching back. She smacked my shoulder, signaling me to stay put. “What’s your plan now?”

“I’ve found Yuna. She’s now a secretary to high-ranking military personnel. I don’t know what she’s planning, but it doesn’t seem good. Someone already finds her suspicious. If she really is infiltrating and gets caught, it won’t end well. How about the memory card? Have you heard from your friend?”

Getting excited, Juri pressed a gauze against my bruised cheek a little too firmly, making me yelp. “Right! I almost forgot about that memory card. The last time I heard from him was when I told you about Yuna’s location. Oh dear, what is that girl planning to do? We should go see him and ask about it. Today.”

“Okay, okay. But please take it easy on me,” I mumbled, trying to stop her from furiously pressing on my wounds.

Shiba snickered in amusement, clearly enjoying my suffering. Since he had been a huge help, I couldn’t even complain.

After she finished patching me up, we ate our dinner and got ready to leave. She lent me her late husband’s clothes—a checkered flannel shirt and black slacks. I looked utterly ridiculous, like a walking antique. Then she plopped a cap on my head, completing the transformation into a man in his forties.

Like earlier, Shiba had to make his own trip, because he was too big to fit in a car and far too obvious. Everyone recognized a Bluehound K-9 on sight. I couldn’t risk being seen with him by Bluefort’s cameras or even random passersby.

We had to move fast. It had been a couple of hours since I turned off my ID watch, officially deserting my division. Even with Enma helping stall the search for me, I doubted she could hold them off for long. The thought of someone from the military barging into Juri’s apartment and ruining her property gnawed at me. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if that happened.

I crouched low in my seat when we were in the taxi, doing my best not to let any street cameras catch my face. Juri took the lead, keeping the driver distracted with small talk to ensure his attention stayed off me. The darkness outside offered some cover, but it wasn’t enough to guarantee safety from surveillance. Every passing streetlight tightened the knot in my chest.

I only hoped that Shiba could dodge the street cameras. He had deliberately chosen the route through small roads and underdeveloped areas. Once he got caught, it was over for us.

When the taxi arrived at the destination, I rushed out of the car before the driver could take a glimpse of me. I headed straight into the building, avoiding street cameras I could spot. The apartment was in a rather worn-down building. It must have been a while since the former data analyst lived here. This would be the first time I met him after making such a dangerous, risky request of him. I should properly thank him later.

I met Shiba at the emergency stairs on his way to the third floor of the apartment where the analyst lived. We waited at the front door until Juri arrived by the elevator. She knocked on the door, and a lanky middle-aged man swung it open, tilting his head slightly, beckoning us inside before any words were exchanged.

“Sorry for intruding, I’m Akai Sou, and this is my robot dog companion, Shiba. Thank you so much for helping me decrypt the memory card.” I bowed, showing my respect. Helping me meant putting himself in danger.

“Kato Nobu,” he gruffly introduced himself. His thick glasses distorted his face, making his grumpy expression look less intimidating. He led us into a room before we could say anything more.

“So, how’s it going with the memory card?” Juri demanded once we were in Kato’s messy workspace. A few screens scattered around the room, but all of them displayed the same thing: a red, capitalized word—‘Warning’.

“What happened?” I asked, my eyes darting to each screen. He was still using old-school monitors, not the holographic ones. But even I could tell something was wrong.

Kato ruffled his balding hair, looking very distressed. “That happened once I decoded it. My PC is down, and I can’t restore it. The damn thing self-destructed, ruining my PC. You owe me one, kid. But I guess you’re in your own shit now. A Drifter, huh?” He rummaged through the inside of a drawer and took out a gun, handing it to me. “Take it. You’ll need this.”

It was a military-issued gun. The standard one every soldier received once they passed their first year. I shouldn’t be keeping this, but he was right. I needed a failsafe—a last resort if everything went south.

“Thank you,” I said as I pocketed the gun. It felt heavy in my pocket. I had never had to use a gun for anything aside from training, even when I was capturing Drifters, because we weren’t allowed to carry them yet. But now, it was pressed close to my body. “What do you mean it self-destructed? Like malware or something? Does that mean we can’t see what’s on it?”

Kato huffed. “Yes, precisely—like malware. Whatever she put on it was strong enough to destroy all the data on a computer, rendering it useless. Makes you wonder what she plans to do with it, huh?”