Failure Management
"So you're telling me, despite all that work, and all that prep work, you two decided to give up?"
"Sato-san, please think about it," Boss Kei said, leaning on the sofa. "We're facing a demi-plague. No matter how much you cope about it not being a demi-plague, it is a demi-plague and it will fuck us up."
"We had a deal."
"We did. But the thing is that it's also not the kind of problem we want to be in. See, that's a goddamn Demi, and the last time we had to deal with a semi-god, we almost didn't escape. People are having their skin peeled, so yeah, I'm thinking about giving it up."
"Impossible."
"No." Kei leaned forward. "I think it is. We're Anomalists, Sato. Not Graded Agents or Executors."
Sato pressed a hand against his forehead before holding his chin.
"Your head's grown big."
"Not really. It's still a small head with a high-quality brain inside. Sato, you know that the moment a Demi is present is the moment we need to get the fuck away."
Sato was clearly trying to understand why we gave up, but at the mention of a Demi, he had no choice but to acknowledge the shitty fact. The Twelve Demis were a big part of why the world was like this. It was because of those twelve worldly abominations that we were forced to live like animals sometimes.
A single Demi could put many of the priests and mages of the OB into a shit state. If two or more appeared, then it'd be another Graded Agent War shitshow.
And… the Pale Magus would begin his hunt.
The moment that shit happened, then anything that stood in his way might as well carry a coffin already.
"Look, Sato-san," Kei said. "We're technically not giving up."
"Explain."
"We are simply realigning our efforts and putting this project on hold to focus on current, more urgent business needs and avoid individuals from catching the plague."
"It's the Redmond Mages that I am worried about."
"Assistant, tell him."
Kei turned to me with one brow raised, as if that was enough for me to understand whatever she wanted me to say.
"The Redmond Mages are cornered too. Street and Corporate Mages. Priests of all kinds are trying to stay clear. Sato-san, this isn't something that can be fixed by us."
Sato took a tablet from the side. He scrolled through it until he finally put it back on the table and glared.
"Fine. This is acceptable. What can we do?"
"Something's up, Sato?" Kei asked, like a hound that knew when the man was worried.
"Some of our members got flayed. The scalies at the base of the lanes are killing each other. Every bastard seems like they want to put on a new scale to wear."
Kei shrugged. "And? That's nothing new. Most of those Demis have always been the kind not to take shit when provoked. It'll take care of itself, and if they go too far, the Bureau will just send some poor Agent or another to fix the mess."
"What I mean is that some of our members were ambushed, attacked, and flayed. These idiots don't know shit about who we are or what we do, so they thought they could fuck with us."
"I hope you are informing me. We don't do Fixer work, Sato-san."
"I am informing you. Tsk. Fine, fine, I'm letting this shit go. You aren't lazy. You two worked, and you earned your pay. This can be excused."
"And all it takes to get out of some work is to have a demigod of a problem coming. See this shit, Assistant?"
Kei chewed on the tip of her cigarette. Sato glared at her as tobacco flakes fell onto the expensive carpet, a Persian carpet, the kind you don't see much these days.
"Ah, that reminds me. That Sai Ra, the Ghost-Doll. Where's she?"
I thought hard, but I couldn't remember. Kei leaned back and adjusted her teleforce cane.
"Oh, she's with Aidan Rivas at the moment," she said dully. "Why?"
"Is she functional?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"That Tech-Lich. What about him?"
"And what about him?"
"That's a Tech-Lich, Kei."
"We know. But at the moment we have to make do. Like they say, better to be friends with a lich than be its enemy. Leave that problem to us."
"I don't recall a saying like that, but I agree," Sato said, thumbing his ring. "I'll tell the Bosses about this. Go. Shoo. Before I change my mind and send your crew someplace else."
Kei shrugged, leaned on her teleforce cane, and led the way.
After getting out of hearing range, Kei turned toward the door, glared at it, then raised a silent middle finger.
"Asshole."
"I thought he was reasonable," I said, leaning on the railing of the complex building. "Though I thought he'd send us into a shitshow."
"He could have, but that's the thing, Akun. He didn't because we insisted and we have a good track record. He's only reasonable because he knows he can't do shit either. He was definitely planning to throw us at the scaly problem. Fuck that. We don't earn our shit like that. Not anymore, at least."
Considering how the 7S was, there was a good chance they'd send their affiliates to test the waters. With our rep looking decent these days, it was probably one of the many reasons why Sato allowed this. Changye's problem had always been that there were some unreasonable assholes out there willing to fuck you over for the smallest advantage.
Once we got back to Asobe Street, we ignored the commotion and stayed by the railing where Sai Ra had just landed. Her left arm smelled of blood, and I could tell she'd probably stabbed some poor fucker with her mantis blade and gutted him.
"Boss," Sai greeted. "Akun."
I nodded at her, went inside, found a bottle of water, and tossed it to her.
She looked like she wanted to quip about being an android, but decided against it. Instead, she used half the water to wipe the blood from her left arm and the rest to cool herself down.
"What's with the qipao?" Kei asked, eyeing the outfit that accentuated her figure and showed Sai's bare limbs.
"Trouble. I had been hit by a molotov while engaging a few nuisances. I had to make do with wearing this one instead."
Kei tilted her head, approached Sai, and flicked one of Sai's artificial nipples.
"Not wearing a bra?"
"I don't see the problem. I am a full-metal doll, Boss. Embarrassment is beneath me and… well, it is more convenient to deploy my armaments without the sleeves."
"Is that so?" Kei turned to me. "She looks good, doesn't she?"
"Yeah," I said. "Not bad."
"Don't fuck her without consent, okay?" Kei grinned.
"I think you are projecting, Boss Kei," I said, crossing my arms.
Sai turned toward me, looked me up and down, and gave me a thumbs-up.
"I approve of your physique, Assistant. Please contact me if you wish to schedule a session."
"Aren't we a joker?"
"It is not a problem. I am a full-metal doll, but as an engram of Sai Ra, my tastes… what she wants and what I want—remain the same."
"Okay, that's enough."
Kei grinned. "Well, I always heard that you androids are kind of unashamed."
"Indeed. We're simply machines with minimal human parts after all. Most of us are artificial and can be replaced. It does not bother me. If the Boss wishes to be pleasured, then please do not hesitate. I am equipped to handle both genders."
Boss Kei just shrugged and turned her attention back to the commotion near our apartment.
Below, I could see some of Aidan's underlings positioning themselves, ready for a good reason to shoot someone and earn extra credits.
"Can you see what's going on, Sai?"
Sai's eyes narrowed. After a few seconds of observation, she opened her palm and projected what she was seeing.
"A few members of low-level street gangs and Demihumans. From what I can hear, there was an attempt on someone's life, and it has become a problem."
"Fuckers. I hope they don't start a fire."
Boss Kei looked toward the platform above us. Even if these idiots started a fire here, Changye was due for drainage, and from the looks of it, we'd have bigger things to worry about.
"Well, Upper Changye's about to take a piss on us. You think there's plague in the water?"
"I don't know. How the Demi Plague works… there's a chance the fluid might get absorbed into you and all that."
"So we're not taking chances. Sai, call Aidan and tell his boys to take shelter."
"Calling." Sai's eyes unfocused. "I am now informing Mr. Aidan about the situation."
She was probably using her internal software to generate the message. One of the many advantages of having software inside your body was the ability to send texts and make calls instantly inside your head.
"How about you, Assistant? Planning to go home?"
I checked the sky and saw blinking lights as the drainage pipes began to open.
"Nah. I don't think I'll make it. Besides, I'd rather avoid the water right now."
"Then you will be staying," Sai said, turning toward the pod-coffin in the corner. "Shall I accompany you tonight?"
"Sai, did you get a virus or something?"
"I don't think so."
"Good. Then stop the bit, okay?"
Sai seemed mildly displeased and rolled her eyes.
"Understood. A shame that you are unwilling."
I might really have to call Matt and see if she'd inserted something into Sai's system that made her aroused or something. Or maybe it was just the exposure play. No… if anything, I felt like she was messing with me because I'd stared too long at her qipao-clad shell.
Kei watched the exchange with an amused look before waving her hand dismissively.
"Enough flirting with my assistant, Sai. Go recharge or whatever it is you do in that coffin of yours. We've got enough problems without you trying to schedule sessions."
Sai gave a small bow, her movements precise and almost too graceful for something made of metal and synthetic skin. She retreated to her pod-coffin without another word, the lid hissing shut behind her.
The office fell into a heavy silence, broken only by the distant sounds of the city and the occasional drip of water from the drainage pipes above.
Kei lit another cigarette and took a long drag. She stared at the ceiling like it owed her money.
"This whole thing is fucked, Akun. A Demi-plague. An actual fucking Demi. I thought we were done with ancient bullshit after Vultan."
I poured myself more coffee and sat across from her. The liquid was bitter, just how I liked it these days. Everything tasted bitter lately.
"You really think pulling out was the right call?" I asked.
Kei exhaled smoke through her nose. "It was the only call. Sato can be pissed all he wants. We're not equipped for this. We record anomalies, sell data, and make money. We don't go hunting living legends that flay people for existing. That's Graded Agent work. Let them earn their ridiculous paychecks."
She tapped ash into an empty cup.
"Besides, if the Pale Magus really is moving… fuck. I don't want to be anywhere near that."
I nodded. The Pale Magus wasn't just some urban legend anymore. Not after everything Matt told us. A being that slaughtered gods and demigods. A slayer who made even the Bureau nervous.
If a Demi was back and the Pale Magus caught wind of it, the city would become a battlefield whether we liked it or not.
Outside, the first sheets of drainage water started falling. Heavy artificial curtains washed over the streets below. I watched a group of chromed salarymen hurry under cover, their metallic skin glistening. They didn't fear the plague the same way. Their fake skin protected them.
The rest of us?
We were playing Russian roulette every time we stepped outside.
Kei stood and walked to the window, staring down at the growing chaos in the lower levels. Somewhere in the distance, I heard shouting and the crack of gunfire. Greenscales versus scalie hunters. Another mess in an already messy city.
"You think Sai will be okay out there?" I asked. "If she goes out."
"She's built like a tank and has the mind of an old agent. She'll be fine. She will probably enjoy herself, to be honest. Dolls like her don't get tired the same way we do."
Kei turned back to me, her expression tired but sharp.
"Akun… be honest. Do you think we're making a mistake by stepping back?"
I took a moment to think about it. Really think.
The office had come far. We had connections now. Money. A reputation.
But reputation didn't mean shit when your skin started peeling off your body because some ancient curse decided you had too much magic in your veins.
"No," I finally said. "We're not ready for this. Not yet. We push too hard now and we end up like those poor bastards flaying themselves in the alleys. Dead or worse."
Kei nodded slowly, like she'd already come to the same conclusion but needed to hear it from someone else.
"Good. Then we focus on what we can control. Data collection. Low-level anomalies. Keeping our heads down while the big players sort this mess out."
She took another drag of her cigarette, then stubbed it out.
"Besides," she added with a tired smirk, "if the world really is ending again, I'd rather spend my last days doing something other than chasing immortal slayers and flaying demigods."
I couldn't argue with that.
The rain from the drainage pipes grew heavier, drumming against the roof like angry fingers. Somewhere in the city, another person was probably screaming as their skin betrayed them. Another priest losing faith. Another mage sealing their power in some shitty cryo-pod.
And here we were, in our small office, trying to stay afloat in a world that kept trying to drown itself.
Kei looked at me one last time before heading back to her desk.
"Get some rest, Assistant. Tomorrow's going to be another long day of not dying."
I raised my coffee in a mock toast.
"To not dying!"
She gave a small laugh, the kind that didn't reach her eyes, and returned to her screens.
Outside, Changye kept bleeding.