11. Undercover

Early next morning, after a harsh night of sleep, Haruka got up, had some food and got ready. She dressed jeans, a green blouse and a leather jacket, civilian's clothes, and set her hair up in a bun. She also put on a solitaire diamond ring and gold hoop earrings. After all, a thief should show a bit of her work. She looked on the mirror and satisfied with her new look she left her apartment. Haruka got her motorcycle (much simpler and more discrete than Kazuki's one), put on her new black and pink helmet and went to her new fake apartment. It was on a scarcely populated area of Tokyo, near Marunouchi, where the bank was. The apartment itself was a bit small and run down, but good enough for a simple stay. As she arrived, she turned on her NCID and said:

- "Hi operator-san, good morning, are we all set here?"
- "Yes we are, Haruka-chan! All sensors, cameras and mics are working fine, and we have two agents close by, who will keep an eye on things."
- "Thanks a lot, Op-san."
- "It's all the Colonel's decisions of course, I just got to assist you! Now, please wait until our undercover agent arrives to take you to the rebels."
- "Sure thing, thank you." - Haruka waited for a good hour before she heard the bell ring.
- "It looks like the agent, Haruka-chan" - said the operator.
- "Alright" - Haruka went and opened the door.

The agent was a large bearded man dressed in black, who looked around suspiciously. He said:
- "Do you have laundry for me, madam?"
- "Not much. During autumn I stay mostly at home and save clothes. I miss the summer."
- "Summer has changed, but our hearts haven't."
- "So, pleased to meet you, Koji-san." - Haruka bowed.
- "Pleased to meet you. Velvet-san, right?"
- "Exactly."
- "Great, we have no time to lose. Let's go." - both left the apartment and rode their motorcycles. Haruka followed the man as they went to a deserted part of town. He stopped and identified himself in an old building, where he was allowed to enter and Haruka right behind him. They climbed some stairs and stopped on an apartment, numbered 119. Koji knocked three times and waited for the door to be opened for him.

Haruka and Koji entered the room. It was a small living room featuring two couches, an armchair and a central low table. On one couch was a huge man wearing a worn shirt, on the other a black haired woman with a white blouse and jeans and on the end of the room, standing up, was an imposing long-haired blonde man with a brown jacket, navy pants and boots. The three stared at Koji and Haruka. The blonde man broke the silence:
- "Heeey Koji-san. Is that the safecracker you promised us? The supposedly velvet-touch girl?" - tension was in the air.
- "Yes, this is her." - Koji replied.
- "Hm, I'm not sure. You know I'm not the trusting type. Think fast" - the blonde man threw a light bulb in the direction of Haruka's face. She caught the bulb, turned it towards them and made it light up with her magic. Her face was dead serious, she said:
- "Is that enough for you? Or do I need to blow it up?" - the blonde man clacked, clapped his hands and continued:
- "I like your style. My name is Eisubel, leader of this operation" - he bowed - "and how can I call you?"
- "Call me simply Velvet" - her expression was unwavering.
- "Well, Koji-san, you can leave."
- "Eisubel, am I not part of this operation?" - Koji seemed shocked.
- "No. Your part was only to find our safecracker. We already have enough personnel here. The less people, the less room for error."
- "Alright. Good luck." - Koji left. He wanted to discuss, but knew it was safer for the mission if he accepted Eisubel's will.
- "So, Velvet, please sit down, let me present you the team." - Haruka looked around and sat on the same couch as the woman, but on the other end. - "so this is Hammer-kun" - he pointed it at the man - "he is the muscle of our operation. Sometimes he gets too excited, but he is effective."
- "Hi Velvet" - said Hammer. His eyes were big and threatening. His hair was white and spiky.
- "And this is Renegade-san" - Eisubel continued, pointing at the woman - "she is a hacker who knows about the bank's systems, computers and got the insider info, our access cards, this sort of thing." - he paused - "And I am, of course, the leader and mastermind of this operation." - Renegade got up and served everyone water. This and the presentations eased the mood which facilitated the segue into the next step of the meeting.

- "So, let me present you the plan" - Eisubel continued. - "Each one of us will enter the bank separately, at the very time it opens and each one will have a different identity and key card" - he delivered to each one a folder with the cards, identity and bank map - "We will use the fake identities in our papers to access the manager room, where customers talk with managers. At this time, Renegade-san will already have hacked the cameras and alarm system. Then, she will guide us to a door, where we will use the fake key cards she arranged. I will use paint on a single specific camera, right on the safe we are targeting. Then, Velvet-san will use her electromancy and technique to open the safe. We will carry everything on a bag. Finally we will leave through a back door escape route and make our way out" - Eisubel looked at them, satisfied with himself - "any doubts?"
- "What about my payment?" - Haruka asked.
- "Well, Koji should have said, this safe contains gold, bills and documents. All the bills are yours. I will give them to you as soon as we leave."
- "Are you sure the bills are unmarked?"
- "Yes of course" - said Renegade, fazing at Haruka - "do you think we are what, stupid?"
- "No need to take it personal" - Haruka replied - "but I am a professional and want my guarantees."
- "Don't worry, this has all been planned out." - said Eisubel. - "Any more questions?"
- "What if the guards see us?" - asked Hammer.
- "Well, my dear Hammer-kun, we will all be armed. But then" - he smiled - "you will be allowed to do your thing."
- "Amazing!" - he shrieked. Eisubel waited before continuing:
- "If we are done here, let's leave and separate, we meet tomorrow at the bank's opening hour. I will bring the bag and everyone brings their cards and arms. We will be quick and efficient. Is that clear?"
- "Sure thing." - said Renegade.
- "Of course" - said Haruka. Eisubel got up and Hammer followed him. Haruka got up but felt a force on her arm. Renegade was holding her and said:
- "Care for a drink?" - Haruka's face was filled with suspicion - "it can be quick, I just want to know a little about who I am going to work with."
- "Okay, I can accept that." - Haruka and Renegade left the apartment after the others were already gone.

***

Kazuki arrived at the office restless, looking around. He sat on his desk and called the operator:
- "Operator-san, how is Raikubo-san?"
- "She is alright, she is going to her apartment now."
- "Alright, keep me informed." - he continued restless.

As time passed, Kazuki felt trapped on his desk. He alternated between tapping his feet, then looking around the office, then stretching, then typing fiercely, then looking on his phone. After that, he restarted the cycle. It took a few cycles before he called the operator again:
- "Operator-san, any news?"
- "Well, she reached the apartment, nothing else."
- "Is there something I can do to help?"
- "No, Kazuki-kun, we have two operatives close by and it is much safer for her disguise if you keep a distance."
- Yes I know. I kinda of just wished I had some mission or some action today to keep my mind from Raiku... I mean, from the mission."
- "Have you checked your calendar today, Kazuki-kun?"
- "Actually no, let me take a look" - he looked at the calendar app on his computer - "wait a minute! I have a physical test for the entire afternoon! It was not like that yesterday."
- "Yes, I know. Some agents had to postpone their training, so we had to do some last minute adjustments to the schedule."
- "Was this just a coincidence?"
- "Yes, I guess" - the operator muted before she laughed.
- "Operator-san" - Kazuki paused - "thank you very much."
- "Don't worry, make sure you are not late!"
- "I won't!" - Kazuki turned off the NCID and continued working. He was still restless, but when the time for his test arrived, he was forced exert himself and was able to forget about his mission.