Aftermath

We rounded the corner to Mr. Kalihart’s house, stopping to catch our breaths and regain our balance before running up the paved hill that led to his mansion-like estate.
“Suzuki!!!” I hollered, then immediately regretted it as my vision swam. I caught myself, and heard Courtney make a sound of alarm.
“I’m fine,” I assured her, “just was being stupid.” I stood back up and looked around. Police were still on the scene, a few civilians were packed around the gate. I figured we could at least get to the gate without being suspicious. Walking with Courtney up to the gate, I got my face as close as I could through its bars.
“That’s as far as you go, all of you!” Said a fireman to us with a loud speaker.
I looked around, hoping to find something, anything, of Suzuki’s presence. Tire tracks, foot prints, anything. I saw some tire tracks leading towards the gate, though I couldn’t tell if those were going or coming. I grunted, both in frustration and another from pain in the head, then turned away from the gate.
“We should go, Courtney.”
On the way back, we talked about what had happened.
“Do you think Suzuki killed Mr. Kalihart?” Courtney asked.
I frowned. “I don’t know. It’s definitely possible. But I wonder, what if the email address was Kalihart’s, and that was who she sent the email to?”
“Do you think she threatened to expose him with the information?”
“I’m not sure,” I said, sighing, “I think the only one who knows that is Suzuki, and anyone who might find the email on Kalihart’s computer.”
“Do you think the email is on there?” Courtney asked.
I sighed. “No, I don’t think so. I think she wanted to ruin Kalihart, that’s why she had us send him the information, and drive him to committing suicide.”
Courtney was silent. I’m sure the circumstances were pretty heavy on her.
“So what do we do now?” Courtney asked after a time.
“I don’t know.” I said, and we walked back into town in silence.

=
=
Courtney and I were glued to our respective TVs in our apartments that night. The news report said that Rimoss Pharmaceutical was scrutinized and investigated. They found the AIs and shut the warehouse down, putting it under further investigation. Anyone in the higher-ups was arrested and taken to prison. Charges of unauthorized weapons production, treason, and many heavier charges were being placed upon the chain of command.
It felt weird, watching this unfold before us. We were right in the middle of it, but our path took us alongside Rimoss in a way that we weren’t even scathed. No one came looking for us; nothing was mentioned on the news about the files. It was like the operation between Courtney, Suzuki, and myself, never happened. We were ghosts. Then Mr. Kalihart was pushed over the brink, and the domino affect started itself. We were now sitting back and watching the fireworks.
I had to hand it to Suzuki. She was a clever robot. Whether she murdered Kalihart or not, I’d never know. I blinked out of my reverie upon getting a text message. It was from Courtney. We’d exchanged numbers after leaving Kalihart’s house. She wanted to see me about something. As late as it was, I felt wide awake. Leaving the TV on, I left my apartment still in my PJs. I threw a coat over me and left without another thought.
Turns out my bike came back, my bicycle, not the motorcycle. I don’t know if Suzuki gave it back to me or not. I rode it down to the subway, and took the subway to the next stop. That’d put me about halfway between my apartment and Courtney’s. I expected I might have to walk a little ways before seeing Courtney, but it turned out she was waiting for me there at the station; looked like she’d just thrown a coat over her pajamas too. I had to smile at that as I approached her.
“Hey.”
Courtney smiled at me. “Hi.”
We didn’t go far, as a matter of fact we stayed in the station, just on one of the benches on the other side of the ticket booth.