South City, black market. Yamako was still working on the bodysuit. With his left hand, he was constantly typing codes on the holographic keyboard. The monitors were running codes and words, some of them unreadable. The bodysuit was half-built, the right arm missing, the head part hollow. The smell of the room was metallic. The air was heavy. Low lights covered his messy lab—a workshop of the cyber butcher.
The main door slid open, and Kaito entered the room. "I'm back, Yama." He was holding a gun in his hand, a belt around his hip which held two more. "Went shopping, did you?" Yamako didn't turn; he was still working on the suit. Kaito walked toward the table and put down his new toys. The guns gave off a shiny look. Two were identical, and another was different—a black cybernetic outlook with a small display running some codes. Kaito sat down on the chair and leaned back. "God damn, Yamako, everything is so expensive nowadays. How the hell do you even get your parts?" Yamako turned around and put his hand in his pocket. "I'm rich enough, you idiot."
Yamako pulled out a pack of cigarettes and took one out. He threw the packet at Kaito, who caught it. Yamako lit it up and took a puff. The smoke flew upwards, mixing the smell of metal and smoke. "Hey Kaito, I have some news for you."
Kaito leaned forward. He put pressure on the packet, forcing it to crush. "The Flasher, isn't it?" he spoke, his voice soft and hitting hard. An unhinged look. A calm expression.
"I got some people back there. They've confirmed it was an X-grade." Yamako looked completely normal and unemotional while saying it. He kept on smoking, keeping his calm. "Who do you have there?" Yamako asked him with a straight face.
Kaito didn't look concerned, neither excited. He simply spoke with a natural expression, but something was odd. He was awfully calm and soft-voiced. He let go of the packet, causing it to fall to the ground. "I can sense it. I know it's hunting out there."
As Kaito and Yamako were chatting, things weren't very good back in the club. The whole place had become a war zone within a minute. Outside, there was a unit of Rovers waiting, all of them standing at a distance: armored vehicles, cybernetic modifications, lethal weapons. A helicopter hovered. The area was completely sealed, but what was happening on the inside was uncertain.
"Damn it." Yama was knocked down. He was leaning against a wall, his fist covered in blood, and he was bleeding. His huge body armor was cracked in several places. "You good, partner?" Mira stepped next to him. Her tactical armor was cut in several places as well. She reloaded her guns and looked at Yama. "That damn thing won't show itself. How do I hit something if I can't see it?"
Right in front of them, Aoi was laying on the ground, completely unconscious. One of her finger modifications was cut off. She was badly wounded; her threads were cut.
"That thing is using Aoi as bait. If we step up to save her, it will target us." V was hiding behind the bar and peeking through. His katana was covered in blood, and he was bleeding from his hand—a surgical cut.
"I don't see it anywhere. It's an X-grade. Its camo-flash is nothing I've ever seen." Ren was covering everything from the high ground. She was hanging on the edge of the ceiling. "I'm running out of rounds here."
"It won't show up until we get out. Too bad we have to deal with a dead weight." Mira was sitting right next to Yama. She held his shoulder and injected him with a shot in his arm. As soon as she pushed the liquid inside, Yama's eyes gave a slight blueish glow. "Can you see it?"
Yama had been injected with a special liquid that enhanced his vision. From his point of view, he looked around. Everything looked brighter and filled with colors, and he could notice every little detail. A small drop of blood laying on the floor at a distance. He looked up and saw Ren hiding, which was impossible with normal vision. But most importantly, he didn't see the Flasher. "I can't see him," he spoke heavily. Mira breathed heavily and got up. "I think we have to stay here for a while."
Things weren't going very well on either side. In the club, the strongest were pinned by the strongest. Meanwhile, in the HQ, the atmosphere was something else. Vance Tor was walking with a group toward the meeting room. His steps were loud, his body movement frustrated. Behind him, his subordinates were struggling to keep up with his speed. "What's the status out there?" His tone sounded frustrated and deep, his voice echoing through the hallway. "We have no visual of them, sir, but their vitals are up, so they're still alive." Tor looked back and yelled at the subordinate, "I know they're alive, you fool! I'm talking about the Flasher!"
The man trembled. The tablet almost fell from his hand, and the others were looking down. "It's still up, sir." The man's voice barely came out, sweating and tense.
Tor stopped in front of the door, and they all stopped behind him. He fixed his tie and brushed his suit before opening the door. He placed his palm on the door, and it scanned. Within a second, the door opened.
As soon as the door opened, there were some familiar faces in front of him. "Good evening, Tor." Roth. The disgusting fat pig. As soon as Roth and Tor made eye contact, Tor snapped. "Shut up, Roth. I won't tolerate any mocking tonight." His voice was enough to wipe the evil smile off Roth's face. He looked a bit angry, but Roth didn't reply. Tor walked furiously toward Ross. Ross stood there without any motion. Vox watched them while sipping her wine.
Tor furiously approached Ross and grabbed his collar. "You sneaky son of a bitch. You're the one who deployed that Flasher out there. It's your technology, and you're the only one who can access Dex's lab."
The reflection of an angry Tor projected onto his mask. It was shiny, his face unseen, but anyone could understand the look he might give if his face weren't hidden. "I expected a calmer approach from the first founder. Disappointing, I guess." Through his mask, his voice sounded glitchy and mocking.
Tor grabbed his collar tightly and said, "If anything happens to my daughter, I will kill you, Mr. Ivar Ross. Mark my words." He let go of his collar while pushing him back. Vox and Roth didn't dare to speak. They looked at each other and exchanged expressions. "You're mistaken, Mr. Tor. What I did was necessary," Ross spoke up, and Tor looked at him. "Care to explain, genius?" His tone was furious.
Ross fixed his collar. He brushed his suit and looked toward Tor. "Apparently, what they're after won't get them to Kaito Yashima." Vox looked a bit excited and leaned forward; Roth stood there quietly. "What do you mean?"
"Our precious Wingmen in the club think if they make their way to the forbidden records, they'll find Kaito Yashima's record. But they won't." Ross sounded mysterious and confusing at the same time. He sat down and looked at Tor. Tor looked furiously at him and asked, "What do you mean? The records are buried there, aren't they? They were protected by heavy Rover security before you deployed a Flasher." Tor was making sense now.
"Let me tell you a small secret, old friend. The records don't exist anymore. How can someone find something that doesn't exist?" Ross's glitchy voice was the loudest. "You brat. What do you mean the records don't exist anymore?" Roth spoke this time.
"Try to remember, Mr. Roth. You'll get there eventually." A mocking tone.
The wine glass slipped from Vox's hand. It fell and shattered, pieces scattering, wine spilling everywhere. "So you mean…"
"We lost records of every Wingman five years ago. It was the Ghost's work. The Ghost who started it all, Miss Vox." Tor sat down, shocked, confused, and stressed. Roth was too lazy to understand, or maybe too idiotic and greedy. Vox looked shocked as well, but Ross looked ice-cold.