Chapter 122: 121 - South Quadrant Conundrum(Part 1)
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"Well, I'm here like you asked, what's up?" I inquired with a sigh.
"You seem to be sort of grouchy...is everything alright?" Asked Director Silva.
"It's...been a weird day," I sighed in response, "Never mind that, why'd you call me here?"
"First, let me apologize for that...I had been planning to refrain from asking your help in investigating the South Quadrant, since lately, you've had your hands full with public attention, not to mention your Academy classes starting up again."
"Wait, the South Quadrant? That's still an issue?" I inquired with a frown.
"Yes, in fact, things have gotten even worse. The crime rate continues to increase and a lot of people have started moving to the other Quadrants, it feels like for every one criminal we apprehend, two more pop up to take their place," Sighed Director Silva, looking stressed.
"It's that bad, huh? I don't think I've seen anyone talking about that though," I remarked skeptically.
"That's probably because your news feeds have been taken up by certain other topics," She pointed out, "If you search a bit though, you'll find plenty of evidence of what's happening in the South Quadrant. We've covered up as much as we can, but with so many people reporting their friends and family as missing, it won't be long before there's no covering this up anymore."
"So, then, what exactly do you need me to do?" I inquired warily.
"Well, I need you to find whoever's responsible for this. You see, I suspected that organized crime is the reason for the rapid proliferation in incidents, so I sent several X-Warriors to investigate...but one by one, all of them have disappeared without a trace," She replied, meeting my gaze with a serious look in her eyes.
"Seriously? That's kinda ominous," I responded with a frown.
"The last X-Warrior I sent was one of my most trusted subordinates, Sofia Lopez, she's one of the few people besides me who can access the underground facilities where we imprison the worst of our criminals and hold our captive Wights...you might remember her from the tournament, she lost to your friend Katie early on," Said the director, before adding with a grimace, "Over the weekend, I found reason to believe that she's still alive, but whoever captured her and the other X-Warriors that disappeared...has probably tortured them for information."
"That sounds problematic...but what makes you think she's still alive? What happened over the weekend?" I inquired curiously.
"The Wight you've been interrogating in the underground prison, Ro Zenitsu...has been killed. Damn it...just when you were starting to get him to spill more useful information about the Wights!" Snapped Director Silva, slamming her fist onto her desk in frustration, before taking a deep breath to calm herself and continued, "It happened at 3 AM on Sunday, Sofia entered the building through the back entrance, she was caught on many of the security cameras. She made her way to the underground facilities and then killed the Wight, before leaving."
"Think she was brainwashed or something? Or maybe she's been working with whoever's behind all this right from the beginning?" I suggested, after mulling it over.
"No, that's impossible. And I don't think she's brainwashed...come here, I'll show you some of the security footage and you'll see why I'm of that opinion," She replied, gesturing for me to walk around her desk and come next to her.
I walked over and looked at her monitor, as she played clips of the security footage. Oh, I see what she means...Sofia looked really conflicted and nervous, her shoulders slumped and shaking.
She had bruises on her face too, probably on her body as well, but she was wearing a long-sleeved hoodie so I couldn't see much, though we could see her face from certain angles.
Her face was in really bad shape, a busted lower lip, a black eye, broken nose, and several dark bruises. Her hands and fingers were wrapped in red-stained bandages, definitely looks like she'd been tortured.
Hm? What was that?
"Hey, rewind a bit...a little more...and stop. Look at her lips right here...it looks like she's talking to someone. Do you think we could get a close up of her ears? If she's wearing a communicator-," I began.
"No, I already noticed that, and I couldn't get any clear zoomed-in shots of her ears, either the angle wasn't right or the hood gets in the way. It definitely seems like she's talking to-...or rather, taking orders from...-someone. But see how her face is slightly tilted up, I think that's deliberate...she wanted the security cameras to catch her face. If she didn't want to be seen, she'd have kept her head down. It could be that she's being blackmailed, I'm having a couple of X-Warriors secretly guard her family to make sure nothing happens to them, but whoever is behind this might have some other dirt on her that I'm unaware of," Frowned the director.
"Hm...can't you track her using her I-Watch?" I suggested.
"Well, about that, her I-Watch has been in the exact same location for three whole days, including when she was breaking into this building...which means she isn't wearing it. And a few hours after she left, we lost the signals of the I-Watches of the other X-Warriors that had disappeared...I-Watches run on the bioenergy of their wearers, and if removed, can last upto a whole week before shutting off...it's been less than a week since some of them disappeared, and yet, their I-Watches have shut down...which means that they're dead."
In order to prevent them from being stolen, I-Watches are designed to stop functioning either if someone who isn't their registered user wears them...or if the registered user dies. But there's one thing that doesn't quite add up here...
"If Sofia wasn't wearing her I-Watch when she came here, how'd she come here in the first place? You can't get through a Teleportation Point without your I-Watch, after all," I pointed out.
"Yeah, about that...footage from the security cameras at both Teleportation Points showed her knocking out the attendants, injecting them with tranquilizers to keep them unconscious and then propping them up on chairs to make it look like they'd just fallen asleep," Explained the director, "And she also made a point of erasing the teleportation logs before leaving...which is pointless of course, guess she didn't notice the cameras and thought erasing the logs would be enough to cover her tracks."
Huh, come to think of it, I did notice that security around some of the Teleportation Points had been seriously ramped up.
"I don't know, that seems way too careless, she might have deliberately left the cameras alone, like you said she deliberately let the cameras in this building see her face...then again, she's clearly been tortured pretty severely, so maybe that knocked a few screws loose," I surmised with a shrug.
"Well, that's everything I know...and I'd like you to track down whoever's behind this and kill them on the spot. Of course, do things as you always do, make sure to record the whole thing. And there's really no time to waste, so I'd like you to begin tonight," She requested with a grimace, "It shouldn't be too hard, just use the signal from Sofia's I-Watch to track her and her captors down."
"Yeah, I don't know about this...," I trailed off uncertainly, before adding, "In the first place, my face is among the most recognizable in the Sanctuary right now, should I really be the one to do this? And second, this whole thing is giving me a really bad feeling, so I'd prefer to stay away from the issue entirely."
"Oh, it'll be fine! And as for recognizability, wear a disguise! Maybe get glasses with a different colored and shaped framed, cut off that blonde streak in your hair and wear an outfit that's different to your usual style," She suggested, after mulling it over.
"I absolutely will not cut off my blonde streak, but I guess the glasses thing is fine...I suppose I could wear a wig to cover my hair. But overall, I'm leaning more towards refusing, and it's not like you can force me since the fact that I'm an Anomaly is no longer a secret," I replied objectively.
"But maybe I can persuade you...how about this, if you can complete this Mission, I'll talk to the Academy and get you a couple of days off for the next two or three days...what do you say?" She suggested, looking a bit desperate.
Normally, I'd scoff at such an insignificant offer...but right now, some distance from the Academy might be necessary for me, what with Asshole being all creepy, me forced to work with Bytra and Asshole being all creepy...what, I mentioned one of those twice? Yeah, no shit, it's called emphasis!
Wow, I got this worked up just from thinking about that? Yeah, okay, I definitely need some distance from the Academy, even a couple of days would be great...I need some time to mentally prepare myself to face my current issues with those certain classmates of mine.
"You know, what? Fine...I accept your proposal. Get me the rest of the week off from Academy classes and I'll get this done...I'll kill whoever's behind this and save Sofia...if she's still alive when I find her, that is," I responded, after mulling it over.
"Great! Normally, I'd send an Ace, but we're stretched way thin thanks to the expansion projects we're currently carrying out outside the Sanctuary, we need the Aces to protect the builders," Explained Director Silva.
Oh, right, I think I remember Kilella mentioning something about that a few days ago.
"Wait, what about Kumar? He's still in the Sanctuary," I pointed out.
"Well, yes, he is...but, uh...my brother's abilities and general approach aren't exactly...suited for covert Missions like this one," She replied, averting her gaze sheepishly.
Yeah...I can't argue with that.
_____________________________________________
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!
Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.
Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:
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"Well, I'm here like you asked, what's up?" I inquired with a sigh.
"You seem to be sort of grouchy...is everything alright?" Asked Director Silva.
"It's...been a weird day," I sighed in response, "Never mind that, why'd you call me here?"
"First, let me apologize for that...I had been planning to refrain from asking your help in investigating the South Quadrant, since lately, you've had your hands full with public attention, not to mention your Academy classes starting up again."
"Wait, the South Quadrant? That's still an issue?" I inquired with a frown.
"Yes, in fact, things have gotten even worse. The crime rate continues to increase and a lot of people have started moving to the other Quadrants, it feels like for every one criminal we apprehend, two more pop up to take their place," Sighed Director Silva, looking stressed.
"It's that bad, huh? I don't think I've seen anyone talking about that though," I remarked skeptically.
"That's probably because your news feeds have been taken up by certain other topics," She pointed out, "If you search a bit though, you'll find plenty of evidence of what's happening in the South Quadrant. We've covered up as much as we can, but with so many people reporting their friends and family as missing, it won't be long before there's no covering this up anymore."
"So, then, what exactly do you need me to do?" I inquired warily.
"Well, I need you to find whoever's responsible for this. You see, I suspected that organized crime is the reason for the rapid proliferation in incidents, so I sent several X-Warriors to investigate...but one by one, all of them have disappeared without a trace," She replied, meeting my gaze with a serious look in her eyes.
"Seriously? That's kinda ominous," I responded with a frown.
"The last X-Warrior I sent was one of my most trusted subordinates, Sofia Lopez, she's one of the few people besides me who can access the underground facilities where we imprison the worst of our criminals and hold our captive Wights...you might remember her from the tournament, she lost to your friend Katie early on," Said the director, before adding with a grimace, "Over the weekend, I found reason to believe that she's still alive, but whoever captured her and the other X-Warriors that disappeared...has probably tortured them for information."
"That sounds problematic...but what makes you think she's still alive? What happened over the weekend?" I inquired curiously.
"The Wight you've been interrogating in the underground prison, Ro Zenitsu...has been killed. Damn it...just when you were starting to get him to spill more useful information about the Wights!" Snapped Director Silva, slamming her fist onto her desk in frustration, before taking a deep breath to calm herself and continued, "It happened at 3 AM on Sunday, Sofia entered the building through the back entrance, she was caught on many of the security cameras. She made her way to the underground facilities and then killed the Wight, before leaving."
"Think she was brainwashed or something? Or maybe she's been working with whoever's behind all this right from the beginning?" I suggested, after mulling it over.
"No, that's impossible. And I don't think she's brainwashed...come here, I'll show you some of the security footage and you'll see why I'm of that opinion," She replied, gesturing for me to walk around her desk and come next to her.
I walked over and looked at her monitor, as she played clips of the security footage. Oh, I see what she means...Sofia looked really conflicted and nervous, her shoulders slumped and shaking.
She had bruises on her face too, probably on her body as well, but she was wearing a long-sleeved hoodie so I couldn't see much, though we could see her face from certain angles.
Her face was in really bad shape, a busted lower lip, a black eye, broken nose, and several dark bruises. Her hands and fingers were wrapped in red-stained bandages, definitely looks like she'd been tortured.
Hm? What was that?
"Hey, rewind a bit...a little more...and stop. Look at her lips right here...it looks like she's talking to someone. Do you think we could get a close up of her ears? If she's wearing a communicator-," I began.
"No, I already noticed that, and I couldn't get any clear zoomed-in shots of her ears, either the angle wasn't right or the hood gets in the way. It definitely seems like she's talking to-...or rather, taking orders from...-someone. But see how her face is slightly tilted up, I think that's deliberate...she wanted the security cameras to catch her face. If she didn't want to be seen, she'd have kept her head down. It could be that she's being blackmailed, I'm having a couple of X-Warriors secretly guard her family to make sure nothing happens to them, but whoever is behind this might have some other dirt on her that I'm unaware of," Frowned the director.
"Hm...can't you track her using her I-Watch?" I suggested.
"Well, about that, her I-Watch has been in the exact same location for three whole days, including when she was breaking into this building...which means she isn't wearing it. And a few hours after she left, we lost the signals of the I-Watches of the other X-Warriors that had disappeared...I-Watches run on the bioenergy of their wearers, and if removed, can last upto a whole week before shutting off...it's been less than a week since some of them disappeared, and yet, their I-Watches have shut down...which means that they're dead."
In order to prevent them from being stolen, I-Watches are designed to stop functioning either if someone who isn't their registered user wears them...or if the registered user dies. But there's one thing that doesn't quite add up here...
"If Sofia wasn't wearing her I-Watch when she came here, how'd she come here in the first place? You can't get through a Teleportation Point without your I-Watch, after all," I pointed out.
"Yeah, about that...footage from the security cameras at both Teleportation Points showed her knocking out the attendants, injecting them with tranquilizers to keep them unconscious and then propping them up on chairs to make it look like they'd just fallen asleep," Explained the director, "And she also made a point of erasing the teleportation logs before leaving...which is pointless of course, guess she didn't notice the cameras and thought erasing the logs would be enough to cover her tracks."
Huh, come to think of it, I did notice that security around some of the Teleportation Points had been seriously ramped up.
"I don't know, that seems way too careless, she might have deliberately left the cameras alone, like you said she deliberately let the cameras in this building see her face...then again, she's clearly been tortured pretty severely, so maybe that knocked a few screws loose," I surmised with a shrug.
"Well, that's everything I know...and I'd like you to track down whoever's behind this and kill them on the spot. Of course, do things as you always do, make sure to record the whole thing. And there's really no time to waste, so I'd like you to begin tonight," She requested with a grimace, "It shouldn't be too hard, just use the signal from Sofia's I-Watch to track her and her captors down."
"Yeah, I don't know about this...," I trailed off uncertainly, before adding, "In the first place, my face is among the most recognizable in the Sanctuary right now, should I really be the one to do this? And second, this whole thing is giving me a really bad feeling, so I'd prefer to stay away from the issue entirely."
"Oh, it'll be fine! And as for recognizability, wear a disguise! Maybe get glasses with a different colored and shaped framed, cut off that blonde streak in your hair and wear an outfit that's different to your usual style," She suggested, after mulling it over.
"I absolutely will not cut off my blonde streak, but I guess the glasses thing is fine...I suppose I could wear a wig to cover my hair. But overall, I'm leaning more towards refusing, and it's not like you can force me since the fact that I'm an Anomaly is no longer a secret," I replied objectively.
"But maybe I can persuade you...how about this, if you can complete this Mission, I'll talk to the Academy and get you a couple of days off for the next two or three days...what do you say?" She suggested, looking a bit desperate.
Normally, I'd scoff at such an insignificant offer...but right now, some distance from the Academy might be necessary for me, what with Asshole being all creepy, me forced to work with Bytra and Asshole being all creepy...what, I mentioned one of those twice? Yeah, no shit, it's called emphasis!
Wow, I got this worked up just from thinking about that? Yeah, okay, I definitely need some distance from the Academy, even a couple of days would be great...I need some time to mentally prepare myself to face my current issues with those certain classmates of mine.
"You know, what? Fine...I accept your proposal. Get me the rest of the week off from Academy classes and I'll get this done...I'll kill whoever's behind this and save Sofia...if she's still alive when I find her, that is," I responded, after mulling it over.
"Great! Normally, I'd send an Ace, but we're stretched way thin thanks to the expansion projects we're currently carrying out outside the Sanctuary, we need the Aces to protect the builders," Explained Director Silva.
Oh, right, I think I remember Kilella mentioning something about that a few days ago.
"Wait, what about Kumar? He's still in the Sanctuary," I pointed out.
"Well, yes, he is...but, uh...my brother's abilities and general approach aren't exactly...suited for covert Missions like this one," She replied, averting her gaze sheepishly.
Yeah...I can't argue with that.
_____________________________________________
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!
Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.
Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:
https://discord.gg/sRbx9VbTVP
"Well, I'm here like you asked, what's up?" I inquired with a sigh."You seem to be sort of grouchy...is everything alright?" Asked Director Silva."It's...been a weird day," I sighed in response, "Never mind that, why'd you call me here?""First, let me apologize for that...I had been planning to refrain from asking your help in investigating the South Quadrant, since lately, you've had your hands full with public attention, not to mention your Academy classes starting up again.""Wait, the South Quadrant? That's still an issue?" I inquired with a frown."Yes, in fact, things have gotten even worse. The crime rate continues to increase and a lot of people have started moving to the other Quadrants, it feels like for every one criminal we apprehend, two more pop up to take their place," Sighed Director Silva, looking stressed."It's that bad, huh? I don't think I've seen anyone talking about that though," I remarked skeptically."That's probably because your news feeds have been taken up by certain other topics," She pointed out, "If you search a bit though, you'll find plenty of evidence of what's happening in the South Quadrant. We've covered up as much as we can, but with so many people reporting their friends and family as missing, it won't be long before there's no covering this up anymore.""So, then, what exactly do you need me to do?" I inquired warily."Well, I need you to find whoever's responsible for this. You see, I suspected that organized crime is the reason for the rapid proliferation in incidents, so I sent several X-Warriors to investigate...but one by one, all of them have disappeared without a trace," She replied, meeting my gaze with a serious look in her eyes."Seriously? That's kinda ominous," I responded with a frown."The last X-Warrior I sent was one of my most trusted subordinates, Sofia Lopez, she's one of the few people besides me who can access the underground facilities where we imprison the worst of our criminals and hold our captive Wights...you might remember her from the tournament, she lost to your friend Katie early on," Said the director, before adding with a grimace, "Over the weekend, I found reason to believe that she's still alive, but whoever captured her and the other X-Warriors that disappeared...has probably tortured them for information.""That sounds problematic...but what makes you think she's still alive? What happened over the weekend?" I inquired curiously."The Wight you've been interrogating in the underground prison, Ro Zenitsu...has been killed. Damn it...just when you were starting to get him to spill more useful information about the Wights!" Snapped Director Silva, slamming her fist onto her desk in frustration, before taking a deep breath to calm herself and continued, "It happened at 3 AM on Sunday, Sofia entered the building through the back entrance, she was caught on many of the security cameras. She made her way to the underground facilities and then killed the Wight, before leaving.""Think she was brainwashed or something? Or maybe she's been working with whoever's behind all this right from the beginning?" I suggested, after mulling it over."No, that's impossible. And I don't think she's brainwashed...come here, I'll show you some of the security footage and you'll see why I'm of that opinion," She replied, gesturing for me to walk around her desk and come next to her.I walked over and looked at her monitor, as she played clips of the security footage. Oh, I see what she means...Sofia looked really conflicted and nervous, her shoulders slumped and shaking.She had bruises on her face too, probably on her body as well, but she was wearing a long-sleeved hoodie so I couldn't see much, though we could see her face from certain angles.Her face was in really bad shape, a busted lower lip, a black eye, broken nose, and several dark bruises. Her hands and fingers were wrapped in red-stained bandages, definitely looks like she'd been tortured.Hm? What was that?"Hey, rewind a bit...a little more...and stop. Look at her lips right here...it looks like she's talking to someone. Do you think we could get a close up of her ears? If she's wearing a communicator-," I began."No, I already noticed that, and I couldn't get any clear zoomed-in shots of her ears, either the angle wasn't right or the hood gets in the way. It definitely seems like she's talking to-...or rather, taking orders from...-someone. But see how her face is slightly tilted up, I think that's deliberate...she wanted the security cameras to catch her face. If she didn't want to be seen, she'd have kept her head down. It could be that she's being blackmailed, I'm having a couple of X-Warriors secretly guard her family to make sure nothing happens to them, but whoever is behind this might have some other dirt on her that I'm unaware of," Frowned the director."Hm...can't you track her using her I-Watch?" I suggested."Well, about that, her I-Watch has been in the exact same location for three whole days, including when she was breaking into this building...which means she isn't wearing it. And a few hours after she left, we lost the signals of the I-Watches of the other X-Warriors that had disappeared...I-Watches run on the bioenergy of their wearers, and if removed, can last upto a whole week before shutting off...it's been less than a week since some of them disappeared, and yet, their I-Watches have shut down...which means that they're dead."In order to prevent them from being stolen, I-Watches are designed to stop functioning either if someone who isn't their registered user wears them...or if the registered user dies. But there's one thing that doesn't quite add up here..."If Sofia wasn't wearing her I-Watch when she came here, how'd she come here in the first place? You can't get through a Teleportation Point without your I-Watch, after all," I pointed out."Yeah, about that...footage from the security cameras at both Teleportation Points showed her knocking out the attendants, injecting them with tranquilizers to keep them unconscious and then propping them up on chairs to make it look like they'd just fallen asleep," Explained the director, "And she also made a point of erasing the teleportation logs before leaving...which is pointless of course, guess she didn't notice the cameras and thought erasing the logs would be enough to cover her tracks."Huh, come to think of it, I did notice that security around some of the Teleportation Points had been seriously ramped up."I don't know, that seems way too careless, she might have deliberately left the cameras alone, like you said she deliberately let the cameras in this building see her face...then again, she's clearly been tortured pretty severely, so maybe that knocked a few screws loose," I surmised with a shrug."Well, that's everything I know...and I'd like you to track down whoever's behind this and kill them on the spot. Of course, do things as you always do, make sure to record the whole thing. And there's really no time to waste, so I'd like you to begin tonight," She requested with a grimace, "It shouldn't be too hard, just use the signal from Sofia's I-Watch to track her and her captors down.""Yeah, I don't know about this...," I trailed off uncertainly, before adding, "In the first place, my face is among the most recognizable in the Sanctuary right now, should I really be the one to do this? And second, this whole thing is giving me a really bad feeling, so I'd prefer to stay away from the issue entirely.""Oh, it'll be fine! And as for recognizability, wear a disguise! Maybe get glasses with a different colored and shaped framed, cut off that blonde streak in your hair and wear an outfit that's different to your usual style," She suggested, after mulling it over."I absolutely will not cut off my blonde streak, but I guess the glasses thing is fine...I suppose I could wear a wig to cover my hair. But overall, I'm leaning more towards refusing, and it's not like you can force me since the fact that I'm an Anomaly is no longer a secret," I replied objectively."But maybe I can persuade you...how about this, if you can complete this Mission, I'll talk to the Academy and get you a couple of days off for the next two or three days...what do you say?" She suggested, looking a bit desperate.Normally, I'd scoff at such an insignificant offer...but right now, some distance from the Academy might be necessary for me, what with Asshole being all creepy, me forced to work with Bytra and Asshole being all creepy...what, I mentioned one of those twice? Yeah, no shit, it's called emphasis!Wow, I got this worked up just from thinking about that? Yeah, okay, I definitely need some distance from the Academy, even a couple of days would be great...I need some time to mentally prepare myself to face my current issues with those certain classmates of mine."You know, what? Fine...I accept your proposal. Get me the rest of the week off from Academy classes and I'll get this done...I'll kill whoever's behind this and save Sofia...if she's still alive when I find her, that is," I responded, after mulling it over."Great! Normally, I'd send an Ace, but we're stretched way thin thanks to the expansion projects we're currently carrying out outside the Sanctuary, we need the Aces to protect the builders," Explained Director Silva.Oh, right, I think I remember Kilella mentioning something about that a few days ago."Wait, what about Kumar? He's still in the Sanctuary," I pointed out."Well, yes, he is...but, uh...my brother's abilities and general approach aren't exactly...suited for covert Missions like this one," She replied, averting her gaze sheepishly.Yeah...I can't argue with that._____________________________________________Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:https://discord.gg/sRbx9VbTVP
