10 — Sorry, Mom. Your Son Became a Terrorist (05)

After fifteen minutes of walking, we finally reached the back of the institute.

As much as I hated to admit it, Minami-san's calculation couldn't have been more precise.

"Hmm."

To reach the back door, we'd have to step out of the darkness and cross a small open patch of ground, which would've been relatively easy if not for the absurd number of cameras scattered across the path.

"Bzzt. Haruki, Minami… can you hear me?"

Irumi-kun's voice came at the perfect timing.

"We're here, Irumi," Minami said in her usual emotionless tone.

"Great. I also finished things on my end. I connected everyone to channel 6, so you can use it to communicate. Please confirm."

"Ichika, loud and clear."

"Ken, listening."

"Minami, copy."

"Uh… Haruki, copy."

Okay. That was embarrassing.

"Perfect. We can begin the plan. Haruki, Minami, besides voice comms, I also synced your positions so I can track you from here. I have access to the external cameras, but as for the internal ones, I still don't have full control. If anything happens, report immediately."

"Understood."

"You see that door over there, next to the vending machine?"

After looking around for a few seconds, I answered:

"Yes, I can see it."

"Good. That's where you two will enter. In a few seconds, I'm going to shut down the security system. The power will fluctuate a little, so move before it comes back. Just to confirm, you remember the plan, right? As soon as you enter, plug the device I gave you into any computer. From there, we move to the next step."

"Okay…"

"Hey, you bastard! Pay attention so you don't screw us over. If the mission fails because of you, you'll wish you never came back! Got it?!"

"I-I'll do my best."

…Not with that tone, though.

"What was that, Ken? Don't pressure Haruki-kun."

"S-sorry, Ichika-senpai."

"Bzzt. Haruki-kun, since this is your first mission, it's fine to ask for help. We're all in this together, so don't push yourself too hard, alright?"

"Thank you, Ichika-san."

"Ahem. Focus, everyone. I know I said I'd open the channel for communication, but consider that: mission-related communication only. Save everything else for later."

After Irumi-kun's scolding, everyone went silent. Then he continued:

"Yossha! Let's move. Time to begin."

I took a deep breath.

My heart sped up.

Seriously…

What the hell was I doing?

"Now!"

At Irumi-kun's shout, every light shut off.

The cameras, the machines, and every other electronic around us stopped responding.

Minami-san and I sprinted to the door and slipped into the institute.

The blackout lasted only a few seconds.

There was an electric buzz…

And one by one, the lights flickered back on.

"Woaah, when he said it'd be fast, Irumi-kun really wasn't joking. Look at that timing."

"…"

My attempt to ease the tension failed miserably.

This girl still wasn't responding.

"Sigh…"

I really didn't get women.

"Minami-san, since I've been here before, let me take the lead. It'll be better than wandering around blindly."

"…"

Without a word, she followed me.

◈ ━━━━━━━ ◆ ━━━━━━━ ◈

Back at the base, I'd listened carefully to the whole plan, and even then, I still had no idea what kind of information they were after.

What I did know for sure was that I had absolutely no reason to be doing this. It made zero sense for someone like me to be helping in a criminal operation.

It was a little late to be reflecting on that now, but… was this really my best option?

Well…

Whatever.

No matter how miserable I felt, this wasn't the time for an existential crisis.

I mean… I'm an adult. I should at least take responsibility for my own mess, right? My initial plan might have failed, but once I got out of here, I still had a chance.

All I needed was to stay alive.

"Minami-san, the room we're looking for should be somewhere around here."

For now, the most important thing was to finish this as fast as possible.

Clack!

I pulled the door handle and we stepped inside.

And instantly, I froze.

The room was completely empty.

"No one?"

Normally, that should've been something to celebrate, but it was impossible not to find it suspicious. Ever since we entered the institute, everything had been suffocatingly quiet.

It was late at night… we came in through the back, but even so… to not see a single janitor?

At the very least, it was weird.

"Are you just going to stand there? Plug in the device."

"R-right."

Either way, I took out the red device from my jacket. It was about the size of a flash drive, though several metallic extensions stuck out of it in a way that made it uncomfortable to hold.

It looked ridiculously improvised, not that it mattered. Comfortable or not, the only thing it needed to be was functional.

"Kobami Haruki, did you really wear a jacket just to carry the device? That defeats the purpose of using the bodysuit. You're reducing your mobility."

"Oh? A-are you worried about me, Minami-san?"

I pulled my jacket straight, embarrassed.

"I don't care about you, idiot. I just don't want you slowing me down."

"Hai, hai."

…God, I hope she didn't see my phone.

—I plugged in the device.

"Irumi-kun, do you read me? I'm connected to the computer. Awaiting instructions."

After releasing the communicator button, there was a short silence. Then Irumi-kun said:

"Understood. Uploading."

The monitor flickered.

A progress bar appeared and vanished.

"Uh… a bar popped up but disappeared right away. Is that supposed to happen?"

"Don't worry, Haruki. I'm in."

"Phew…"

"Good job, you two. You can move to the next position and give support to the others. Ichika, Ken, how's your side?"

"Bzzt. All set. Start whenever you're ready."

"Ookay!"

I was reluctant to bring this up, but after hearing Ichika-san's voice, I felt like I should. After all, even if I wasn't officially part of the team, if I got caught wearing these clothes, I'd have a hard time explaining myself.

I pressed the communicator.

"Irumi-kun, I don't know if this is worth mentioning, but ever since we got inside, we haven't seen anyone. I might be wrong, but… it's better to be extra careful."

"Hah, coward. If you're scared, let us— ow! Ichika-senpai, my ear! You'll rip it off!"

…Yeah, I immediately regretted saying anything.

"Thanks for the warning, Haruki. Everyone heard him, right? Be careful. Avoid conflict. Our goal isn't to fight anyone. Once we get the data, we leave. Okay?" said Irumi-kun.

"Understood."

Everyone responded at once, and then, just as Minami-san and I were about to leave the room, Ichika-san spoke:

"Haruki-kun…"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for the warning."

"A-ah… you're welcome."