Alone (2)

"It's me, Katie," Takagi said.

Katie walked out of the elevator and lowered her pistol.

Takagi took off his mask.

She put her pistol in her bag and walked into the dimly-lit hexagonal corridor that ran for a long distance. She and Takagi were separated by ten metres.

"The outer district is a mess right now, isn't it?" she said.

"I know that, alright." Takagi put his mask inside his trench coat. "How's the inner district?"

"Not too much of a change. Although some of my clients have stopped visiting since three days ago." She narrowed her eyes. "It seems an incident in the outer district has caught their attention. To be fair, I'm curious about this one, Rio."

Takagi exhaled as she finally stood before him, glancing at her face first. "I understand."

She was wary. He already knew it.

Considering the situation, it was almost impossible to hide anything. Moreover, Katie was far from being a stupid person.

Takagi contacted her three days ago. He paid money for information–delivered to the usual place in-person, and no questions asked. He kept the lid closed then, only letting out the bare minimum, as he usually did–not just to Katie, but everyone. This time, he had to tell her.

"Where do I start?" Takagi walked towards the walls, and Katie followed beside him.

"Just tell me what you're after now."

Takagi nodded. "Before that, I assume you already know that the Pavlov main family are all dead, right?"

"I have–from my clients," she said. "Their territories are also being taken by other syndicates."

Takagi reached the walls and turned his back, and Katie followed suit. They stood side-by-side with their shoulders almost touching each other.

"...And I guess you already know about the assailants as well?" Takagi continued.

"A group of androids with extreme combat and defensive capabilities."

"Those androids are my mission now."

"Alone?" she asked. "Who's working with you?"

"No one but myself–for now," Takagi said as he continued, "Did you get information about their specs, weapons, anything?"

"They move very fast, and their armour is strong, capable of withstanding bullets and explosives. They also use guns, grenades, and explosives as their weapons."

"How about their identities?"

Katie shook her head in reply. "Nobody really knows what they are. The executives, the Bezopasnosti, everyone."

"I see."

Takagi then pondered. He looked calm but surprised inside.

Everything Katie said was pretty much what Takagi and Redmond had as well. Even though the bees did know about their existence–despite Redmond having the only eyewitness of the massacre–he had expected them to understand much better.

If the executives also did not know it, it meant almost everyone in Podzemgrad was in the dark about those juggernauts–as Redmond dubbed it. It seemed the technocrats in the surface world also directed the bees to handle the situation. However, they kept some crucial information from them.

At that point, he became sure he was dealing with the Krasinski family's dirty little secret. Takagi then narrowed her eyes in silence. After some time, he spoke again.

"Any other info left to tell?"

"The Bezopasnosti don't want to interfere with the situation in the outer districts. They're on standby, but they follow every action in detail."

"The enforcers as well?"

"Yes. They haven't yet been deployed. At least, for now."

"I see."

Takagi then took his mask back from his trench coat. Katie looked at him with surprise.

"You're going now…?"

"Yes."

She then grabbed his arm. Takagi looked confused. "What?"

"...You haven't told me everything."

"What do you mean? I've told you-"

"Rio, don't lie to me. I'm not a fool."

"But I-"

"The Krasinski family is involved in this, isn't it?"

Takagi was caught, unable to reply. Their sights locked on each other as Katie's stare became deeper. Takagi was unmoved, but her nails slowly dug deeper.

"Tell me, Rio."

Takagi exhaled heavily. Surrendered. "It is, Katie. It is. Sorry, I didn't-"

"It's okay, Rio." She eased her grip. "It's okay."

Takagi put his mask back into his coat. He paused himself for a bit. "How do you know that?"

"Your words, face, and voice tell me everything," she said. "Do you still remember three years ago? When we first met?"

"Yeah." It was the first time Takagi got involved with the Krasinski family.

"I still remember it as if it was yesterday..."

Silence prevailed for a moment. Takagi was in deep thought as he looked to the ground.

Katie's fingers pressed tight once more. "So they ordered you, didn't they?"

"Not quite, they asked Redmond through an envoy, and Redmond asked me. We can't reject it, not the technocrats nor the money."

"How much did they pay you?"

"One hundred million. Twenty in advance, the rest if we complete the mission."

"...I see."

"Redmond took five from the down payment. I took the rest."

"...And you use that money to pay me as well."

"Yes."

"Did the envoy say anything about those androids?"

"That's where it gets confusing," he said. "The envoy told something far more different–and intriguing."

"What is it?"

"The main culprit was a woman, not those androids."

Katie furrowed her brows. "A woman…?"

"She wore an armoured suit that makes her look like an android, presumably to conceal her identity," he replied. "The woman can hijack, control, and manipulate droids–not just androids."

"Is she an esper?"

"Probably. Even the envoy doesn't know it for sure," he said. "Either she's an esper, or just a normal human who can hack into droid systems, we don't know. But, either way, she's dangerous."

"What about her identity?"

"No one knows her real name, but she called herself Dea ex Machina–so the envoy said."

Katie looked back at Takagi's face. Jumbled. "Those guys in the inner districts didn't mention anything about this… Dea, but they said they got their orders from the technocrats."

"They haven't been told, I guess. Deliberately."

"Do you trust this envoy?"

"I need to see it with my own eyes first. For now, I'll trust what I have."

Katie put her hand on her hip. "What will you do after this?"

"I'll go to the Regra District. I've promised to meet someone."

"Travis?"

"Yeah. I need some partners for this."

"I see."

Takagi then took his mask back and put it on. Katie then released her hand from his arm and walked away from him. She kept walking to the elevator until she stood in front of the door as Takagi's eyes were glued to her back.

"In the meantime, I'll update you on things if I get something new," she said without looking.

"Okay."

Katie then turned towards him. "Rio, be careful out there."

"You too. Tell me if you need help."

"...I will," she said with a smile.