[2088] Stand-off

9th July, 2088, 21:45

The plane would leave for Neo-Tokyo in another half an hour. The last few passengers walked down a ramp to the ticket gate, which was on a lower level than the main terminal. Once they got through, they were free to sit anywhere in the boarding area. Boarding had already started for passengers requiring special assistance.

A young man sat near the boarding gate, humming a tune, waiting for his turn to board. He held his phone in one hand and tapped his knees with another.

A young woman came and sat across him, staring directly at his face. Behind her were two men in black suits. The young man could not help but take off one of his earbuds to ask: “Do you need something?”

“Singkut.”

“Huh?”

The woman was dead serious, while the young man raised a brow.

“I’m sorry, big sis, I think you’re mistaking me for someone else. My name is Apaimanee.”

She said nothing, staring at his face, searching for a trace of Singkut on it. His face was different, and certainly Singkut did not look like a twenty-year-old, but she could still see that man on this person’s face.

At one point, she thought she was in love with who this person used to be, but now, she was not so sure.

“Big sis? Are you not feeling well?” Apaimanee’s eyes darted between her and her two bodyguards. “If you keep staring at me, I’ll have to call security.”

“Stop playing dumb. I’ve tried to track you down for two years, and now you’re running away to Neo-Tokyo.”

“Running? I’m going there for the music festival. Sorry, I’ll call the security over. I think you have the wrong man.”

Apaimanee made a move to stand up, but his shoulders were pushed by another bulky man. He batted the security a glance, and even though he was noticed, nobody made a move to help him. The other passengers steered clear of them.

“Check him.” The young woman crossed her legs.

“Hey, what are you doing?! Stop!” Apaimanee resisted as the bulky man put a collar around his neck. He went limp immediately, and the crowd gasped and made noises, but did nothing to help.

“He had a memory rewrite, Khun Levana. Everything after 2064 was deleted.”

“So, everything after the airport attack.” She bit her lower lip.

“Yes. I assume his old memories were edited for consistency.”

“Let him go.”

Apaimanee opened his eyes.

“Hey, what the hell? Who are you people?”

“I’m Levana Wright. I’m looking for someone.” The young woman replied.

Apaimanee’s eyes widened in recognition. She was the Levana Wright, that big agricultural tycoon. He listened attentively as she continued.

“I apologize for mistaking you for someone else. You will be compensated for emotional distress.”

“Khun Levana, are you sure?” The bulky man raised his brows, and Levana gave him a sharp look before looking back at the young man.

“So, you’re going to that music festival in Neo-Tokyo, Apaimanee?”

“Yeah… I’m participating as one of the musicians.” He was wary of her and did not try to hide it.

“Well, that’s wonderful. I’ll listen to your music when I get off from work.”

“I don’t really understand, but thanks?”

Levana got up and turned around to leave.

“Hey, big sis?”

She paused but did not turn around.

“After I perform in Neo-Tokyo, I want you to listen to that performance. I’ll blow your mind.”

“Why do you think I’ll listen?” Levana scoffed.

“Because… I don’t know. A lot of things in my head don’t add up, but I just feel like you’re going to be someone I like. Even after your man just did that to me.”

“Flirt.” She walked off, and Apaimanee did not follow her.

Levana sighed. He was one of the people that killed her older brother, but somehow, the angry Levana inside her hid away when she saw him; a young man brimming with hopes and dreams. She could not bring herself to destroy the spark in his eyes.

They were sparks that Singkut lacked, and sparks that she once had before she started working as the clean-up person for Langka’s darker businesses.

Singkut was dead. She had been chasing him two years, also for deceiving her and breaking her heart, but he was forever gone, and she could not bring herself to destroy what remained. She was aware of what Madame Butterfly did to him, and maybe that was a part of it.

“I’m…tired.”

She stepped out of the boarding area and onto the terminal.

“I can see that.” A voice came.

Levana saw Malee, standing there with the two investigators who killed her brother. Levana tensed up, and so did her bodyguards. She was not aware that Malee would be here, and immediately contacted her men stationed around the area.

“Fancy seeing you here, Khun Malee. Crystal sure does have a thing for airports.” She smiled, and the other woman returned the gesture.

“I am just here to make sure that you do not harm our experiment.”

Levana sighed.

“Your experiment, huh? I’m not in the mood to. Not anymore.”

“Although you have been trying to track him down for two years?”

“Khun Malee, do you really think I am so cold-hearted? His frame, his memories, they’re all different from the person that was Singkut, and different from the man that killed Madame Butterfly.” The smile disappeared from her face. “You planned all this. You planned for me to meet him. And you’re the one behind my brother’s death.”

“What will you do, then?”

“I am but a lowly pesticide salesperson. What can I do against someone who controls the entire country?”

At the end of Levana’s sentence, Malee toppled over, a portion of her head blown out. No blood came out.

“Khun Levana!” Her bodyguards surrounded her. Levana furrowed her brows.

“A remote-control frame…”

“Walee, what the heck?!” Suwan moved for cover when his assistance shot Crystal’s boss – or her remote-control frame - to death.

“Stay away from me, boss… I’ve been hijacked.”

“What?!”

Walee lost her arm while taking down Huren in 2086. In order to use her new prosthetic arm smoothly, she underwent slight modifications.

“I can feel it…the attack barrier’s still holding, but he’s still trying to get through to my brain.” Walee spoke through gritted teeth. “But he got my arm.”

“I…fuck, I can see that.”

Walee tried to tear the gun away from her prosthetic arm.

“Shoot my arm off, boss!”

Suwan did so without a pause, but the arm struggled. Levana’s bodyguards joined in, and shot it off from Walee’s body. The woman fell backwards, but someone caught her and held her at gunpoint.

Everyone held their breath.

“Huren…!”

The cheap, 3D-printed frame looked nothing like the proud and handsome Huren, but it was Levana’s brother. She knew he had his memories uploaded somewhere on the clouds, and so, she downloaded them and revived him, giving him the nondescript temporary body until she could take down his enemies and guarantee his safety.

Huren should have been disabled by Walee’s attack barrier, but somehow, he stood firm.

“Khun Huren, I know what happened, but please. Walee was doing her job as an investigator. It’s nothing personal. It’s never been.” Suwan held both hands up. “Please. Let her go.”

“Nothing personal? That’s a funny joke, investigator Suwan. Do you realize what her relationship with Khun Malee is?” Levana stepped out from behind her bodyguards. She had a gun, but preferred not to use it. “We’re taking her back with us.”

Huren did not speak. His frame had no vocalization system.

“Nobody is going anywhere.”

Nobody recognized that voice, but a second later, Huren’s head was blown off, and his gun fell to the ground. Walee broke away and seized it, pointing the gun at the man’s lifeless frame.

Levana did not flinch even as her bodyguards surrounded her once more.

“Have our men track down the sniper. Call in reinforcements.”

“Khun Levana, we lost contact with them.”

“Fine. I was expecting that.”

The power went out inside the airport, and a commotion followed. The power came back on a few seconds later, but the flight board turned red from delayed flights.

Levana realized that it was all Malee’s trap. Apaimanee was the bait, and she took it without thinking.

Malee was somewhere out there, and she was here to kill. Levana knew that it would be difficult to upload herself onto the cloud when Malee had just cut off all signals.

If she died here, she was done for. She reached for her gun.

Malee’s van was parked outside the airport’s fence. She watched the happenings inside from there until Walee blew her remote-controlled frame. Now, she resorted to seeing through her sniper’s eyes.

“Why does Wakul get to go in but not me?” Sud was also inside the van, watching and learning.

“She passed all her trainings. If anything happens, she knows what to do.”

The sniper’s name was Saowakhon, but most people call her Wakul after her code name.

She was Sud’s sparring partner during his times at self-defense lessons, and the boy knew she was always holding back. He once got frustrated over it and made her go all-out. The boy was down on the floor, rolling in pain in a matter of seconds.

He played pranks on her all the time, and it was abundantly clear that he had a crush on her.

“Hey, Khun Malee, what do we do now?”

Haschai and Nil were there. It took a very long time for the two to work together again, but it worked out in the end, partially thanks to Sud.

Nil decided to stick around after realizing that the only way they could change things was if they had the power. That power was with Malee. They were not on the best terms with her, and the two often clashed, but Malee liked having them around to argue with.

Nil still wanted to watch her downfall, but that moment would not likely come any time soon.

“Find out where they keep Huren’s memory data and wipe it clean. If it is on a satellite, shoot it down.”

“Roger.” Haschai replied.

“What about Khun Levana?”

“Are you still thinking of her, Nil? She tried to sell you out.” Sud walked over. Nil was now in a regular human frame, but with antlers like a Qilin’s. They said it looked unique.

“Just asking. What’s your plan with her?”

“I want her out of the way.”

“Khun Malee, it seems Huren’s data is kept in a local computer. I deleted the backup one on the cloud, but it seemed like they didn’t need that version anymore.” Haschai’s fingers slid across the screens. “I can’t hack into it. We need to send someone in.”

“Are Chan and Su on call?”

“We are, milady. Send me the location and I’ll head there ASAP.”

“Be careful. This could be a trap. Take others with you.” Malee crossed her arms.

“Roger.”

“Nil, if you try anything funny again, I will really fry your brains.”

“Alright, alright, Khun Malee! I won’t bother Chan and Su ever again! Promise!”

Nil knew that Malee had some kind of special skin on her hands. She once touched their head during a mission, and they found records that she pried into their darkest memories along with finding out that they were trying to bust Chan and Su’s hideout during the mission. Nil never tried anything again.

“Wakul.” Malee tapped her earphone.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“How is A?”

“Evacuating.”

“Good. If the two investigators cannot arrest Levana, shoot her.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Before all this happened, Suwan and Walee accompanied Malee to take Levana in for questioning. They had evidence of her involvement in Dr. Kedsara’s poisoning.

They did not expect her to resist, yet they were not surprised that a fight ensued.

Walee lost an arm to Huren. She was not about to lose her life to his sister.

“Put the gun down. All of you.” She said, but Levana shook her head.

“You can’t arrest me.”

One of her bodyguards fell, so the rest shoot in the direction where the bullet came from. There were sounds of footsteps as the sniper changed location. In that time, Levana fired at Walee. The woman fell backwards but returned fire, and Levana also fell.

“Walee!” Suwan caught her before she fell. She took the shot on the shoulder of the arm she lost. Levana was on the ground, sputtering blood. There were two bullet holes on her body.

“Ah, crap. This is bad.” Suwan clenched his teeth. “What’re all of you dumbasses standing around for?! She needs medical attention!”

Another bodyguard fell. Suwan blinked, and saw a teenage girl standing on the railing of the boarding gate, pointing a gun at Levana, her finger on the trigger.

“Arrivederci.”

“Stop!” Walee cried out, and the girl did stop. She ducked before the surviving bodyguards could get her, and returned fire, taking out the rest of them.

“Wakul, stop it.” Walee winced.

“Orders are orders, investigator Walee. Do not worry, no blame will fall onto you.” The young girl walked over to Levana.

Wakul paused as she neared the dying woman, seemingly holding an internal conversation with someone. She lowered her gun and applied first aid to Levana, then picked Levana’s body from the ground.

“Change of plan, investigator. Please accompany me to the car.”

“Me?” Walee raised her brows. That statement seemed to be directed at her alone.

“From what Khun Malee told me, investigator Suwan may have some regrets if he left so soon. I do not understand why, so please do not request an explanation from me.” Wakul nodded at the older man. “Let us get going, investigator Walee. Khun Levana does not have much more time.”

The airport terminal was huge, but luckily the medical team came to meet them halfway and started the treatment on both injured women.

Suwan watched them leave, then turned around and saw that his older brother – or the person that was supposed to be his older brother – walked up from the boarding area to where he was standing. Suwan bit his lower lip.

“Civilians aren’t meant to see this. Please head back to the evacuation area immediately.”

“I… I was just talking to her. Is she going to die?”

“We’ll do her best to save her. Don’t worry, after some questioning, you’ll be able to board your flight.”

Suwan wanted to laugh. What was this awkward conversation? At one point in their lives, they could confide each other in anything, and look at where they were now.

“Have I seen you before?” Apaimanee narrowed his eyes as he took in Suwan’s appearance. There was a flash of pain in the investigator’s eyes.

“Maybe in the news. I’m… Suwan Rattanawohan.”

“That does sound familiar. By the way, what did she do? Levana Wright, I mean.”

“That’s confidential.” Suwan replied. Apaimanee opened his mouth, but then decided against saying what was on his mind.

“Well, thank you.” He turned around to leave. Suwan felt something being torn from his chest and getting further away with Apaimanee’s every footstep.

“Hey!” He called out, and the younger man who used to be his older brother stopped. “Can I have your contacts? In case you have any intel, or in case Khun Levana’s people come after you again.”

“Sure.” Apaimanee walked back, and the two exchanged contacts.

Suwan glanced at Apaimanee’s surname that he used on social media. It was some random surname he could not recognize.

He finally understood why his brother gave him a strange request the last time they met in April of 2086. His brother wanted him to take care of this new Apaimanee.

“You can contact me for anything, work-related or not. We like the same band, see?” Suwan pointed to a post on Apaimanee’s feed. It was the same band that his brother attended their concert in person, a long time ago. The band recently released their reunion single.

“Wow, then we really have to talk!”

Apaimanee had to go back to the evacuation area for a head count. As he watched his brother leave, Suwan took a deep breath, and called out.

“I hope you succeed in whatever you’re doing and lead a long, happy life!”

Apaimanee raised a brow and scoffed.

“What’s with that, investigator? But oh well, you could watch my performance as well, and I’ll show you what success looks like!” The young man waved him goodbye and disappeared behind a glass door.

Suwan stood there, stupefied.

“You’re really gone, aren’t you, brother?” He mumbled. Walee contacted him, and he rushed out of the terminal to regroup.

“I can never get used to not having Sin around.” Chan mumbled as he plugged a virus into the computer containing Huren’s data. “I should find time to visit that islander.”

“Chirp.”

“Yeah, we haven’t been there in a long time, huh?”

Su hopped around, checking the other computers. Then, a cord extended from their butt and plugged into the leftmost one.

“What are you doing?”

“Stealing.” The bird went still. “Done.”

“No way, you made a backdoor already?”

Su did not reply but hopped onto Chan’s shoulder. If the bird was not deep in thought, they would probably say something along the line of hurry the fuck up.

“What’s bothering you?” Chan had to ask.

“If Levana dies, then what?”

“I don’t know. That’s for Khun Malee to think about, not us.”

“What will happen to this country?”

“Where did that come from? Hey, Su, isn’t the country already a cleaner place with Khun Malee cleaning up all of those corrupted politicians and business people? She’s also getting rid of outside influences and fighting unfair trade agreements.”

“Is that really a good thing? Or are we biased?”

“Su, something’s off with you.” Chan furrowed his brows.

“I got an upgrade. Bird brains have extreme activity levels, bitch.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re Su, no questioning it.”

“I wonder if Sin became a good-for-nothing without you around to babysit him.”

Chan choked as he pulled the external disk containing the virus out.

“Shut the fuck up, Su. We’re leaving.”

The alarms went off, and both of them rolled their eyes.