Cleaning Up
Roque approached Lije, who was engrossed in something in front of the walker tank now back on the ground. They needed to get out of there immediately, but curiosity about what the kid was up to kept him from making any noise.
"…"
Lije was fiddling with some small metal lump he couldn't identify. The walker tank's instrument panel sat wide open in front of her, spilling out a mess of tangled wires.
It was impossible to make sense of the scene just by looking. So Roque spoke up.
"What're you doing?"
Lije, who had been hunched over in concentration, snapped her head up and turned around. Her clear eyes reflected Roque's image. He could see the ring of light around her pupils fade away.
Seeing Roque, Lije replied in a calm voice, without a hint of surprise.
"Cleaning."
"…What kind of cleaning?"
"Lije likes things clean."
Her near-nonsensical answer made Roque snort in disbelief. Then he noticed the metal lump in her hand. It was a bit bigger than her palm, roundish, and seemed to have some complex structure inside.
"What's that?"
"Toy."
"…"
After her curt reply, Lije shrank back a little under Roque's skeptical gaze and added,
"…Can Lije take it?"
"Do whatever."
Roque shrugged dismissively and turned away. The sirens of the fire trucks were growing louder. Getting caught by them here would be a hassle. Better than the cops, sure, but it would still complicate things.
"Let's go."
"Okay."
Lije hugged the mechanical device to her chest and came to Roque's side. Planning to move fast, Roque scooped her up in one motion. Her already round eyes went even wider.
Ignoring her reaction, Roque leaped over the chain-link fence around the abandoned building.
"Can't these guys park for shit?"
Daniel grumbled at the police cars, fire trucks, and black SUVs parked haphazardly everywhere. He carefully squeezed his car into a gap, got out, and spotted the towering abandoned building.
As he stared at the desolate concrete structure for a moment, someone approached.
"Detective Daniel."
Turning, Daniel recognized the officer from the club scene before. He started to smile in greeting but hesitated, words catching in his throat. The officer chuckled at his reaction.
"Officer Reimi."
"Ah, Reimi. Good to see you again."
"The scene's this way. Heading up right now?"
"…No elevator, I take it?"
Reimi just smiled faintly. Daniel sighed deeply and entered the abandoned building. The two then trudged up the stairs together, step by grueling step.
"How's Sergeant Harry doing?"
Reimi asked midway up. Daniel, feeling awkwardly silent during the climb, jumped on the question.
"Same old Harry. Once he gets the new implants and finishes rehab, he'll be back on duty pronto."
"Right away? Is he really okay for that?"
"Haha. He was throwing a fit about returning immediately, but the chief threatened to bench him for years if he tried. That calmed him down."
"Classic orc."
Daniel laughed louder at Reimi's response. It was spot on. Daniel sometimes thought Harry had been born a few centuries too late. Three or four hundred years, maybe.
Their brief chat carried them to the floor with the crime scene. A few officers were guarding the entrance. Daniel flashed his badge and ducked under the police tape—but froze at the sight of people already inside.
The three or four men in black suits and sunglasses didn't look like cops, no matter how you sliced it. Daniel turned to the nearest officer.
"Who are those guys?"
"Uh, well…"
The officer hesitated, unable to answer. Daniel's face hardened. He shoved the tape aside and strode in. The officer called after him in a panic.
"The chief said to let them in…"
Daniel ignored him completely and entered the scene. The entire floor of the abandoned building was the crime scene.
His eyes took in the concrete pillars shredded like rags by bullet holes, and the bodies sprawled beneath them. The corpses were unusual—most missing one or two limbs, with no blood trails. All wore black armored suits and bizarre helmets. The outfit screamed ninja to Daniel.
After scanning them briefly, his gaze shifted to the black-suited men staring back at him. He said,
"This is a crime scene. Who authorized you?"
The others faltered at Daniel's aggressive tone. Their eyes turned to one woman. She was in a sleek suit and tall high heels.
She spoke.
"Didn't Chief Paulson tell you anything?"
"Nope. Show me your ID first."
"Hmm. Seeing my ID won't do you any favors."
Daniel's expression grew icier.
"That's exactly why I need to see it."
A smile curled her lips—stimulating, thanks to her red lipstick.
"Fine."
She pulled a slim leather wallet from her pocket and opened it toward him. Daniel's electronic eyes scanned the ID card inside instantly. Brief info popped up in his vision. His face cracked.
"…Isumi?"
"Yes. I work there. And your name, Detective?"
Daniel's cold expression twisted slightly.
"…Daniel."
"Nice to meet you, Detective Daniel. I get that our presence bothers you, but this building belongs to the company. When we heard something happened, our security team came to assess."
As Daniel scowled silently, Reimi stepped up from behind and tugged his arm lightly. He whispered,
"…Chief Paulson approved it. Better to back off…"
But Daniel didn't turn, firing back,
"Company property, huh. Since when?"
"Pardon?"
He pressed the woman, who feigned wide-eyed innocence.
"I'm asking when this half-demolished wreck became Isumi's."
"Hmm. About three hours ago?"
Daniel shut his mouth. The woman smiled at his face, then pulled a business card from her wallet and offered it. He took it wordlessly. Gray background, just [Chairman’s Secretariat - Tachibana Yoko].
"Keep it. And wait a bit. Won't take long."
She turned without waiting for a reply. Daniel stared at her back a moment, then turned himself. Reimi hurried after.
Passing the guarding officers, Daniel started down the stairs. Reimi followed, asking,
"You okay?"
"…Damn it. What's the difference between them and corporate security? Fucking hell."
Reimi gave a wry smile.
"Can't be helped. Corporate taxes make up a big chunk of the Midland government's budget."
"Then what's the point of electing a mayor? We picked him to stop this crap, right?"
Reimi just smiled awkwardly. After letting Daniel fume for a few floors, he spoke again.
"But are you really leaving? You should at least see the scene."
"Nah. It's corporate bullshit anyway. No ordinary citizens there. Best to ignore it."
Reimi nodded. But Daniel's real reason was that he had a hunch about the killer behind the massacre upstairs. Reimi would have noticed too if he'd looked closer—they'd seen those marks recently.
Those marks. Definitely from an Aura Blade.
Exiting the building, Daniel fiddled with his pocket terminal and glanced up. From on high, Yoko watched him. Flustered, he quickly turned to his car.
Basking in the wind up top, Yoko watched him a moment longer before speaking quietly.
"So, nothing left?"
The black-suited man behind her bowed his head.
"…Yes. All gone."
Yoko rubbed her forehead.
"The team that recovered BN-031 just reported the same. No combat data, no footage, no programs, no rune-etched panels—everything wiped blank. And now you're saying these test subjects here have no data either… How am I supposed to explain this to the chairman?"
The suited man trembled.
"…Definitely a very powerful magician. The one who took down the tank and subjects was impressive, but this magician is beyond imagination. I've never seen such clean work. If we met in cyber space, I couldn't even guess how to counter."
"They just erased data."
The man lifted his head slightly. His electronic eyes gleamed behind the sunglasses.
"Normally, even destroying storage leaves traces recoverable in cyber space. But this time…"
"How's it different?"
Yoko's question made him swallow hard.
"Everything's gone. Cyber space traces, ports to HQ—all erased, as if they never existed. No magician traces either. Nothing. Like…"
"A ghost passed through?"
He flinched at her words.
"…Yes. Ghostly handiwork."
Yoko pondered silently, then turned. Her heels clicked as she walked among the cyborg test subjects, the suited men following in a cluster.
She muttered,
"At least I have something to tell the chairman now…"
Time flies. Roque sipped coffee on the sofa, gazing at the bright day outside, and thought so.
A week had passed since the Hayato incident. He'd only told Philip it was done and holed up in the apartment. Lately, he'd been taking jobs too often. Normally, he'd lounge for weeks until the money ran dry.
Then the door to the corner room—one he'd half-used as storage—creaked open. Lije shuffled out, still in pajamas, rubbing her eyes like she'd just woken.
Spotting Roque sprawled on the sofa, she blinked slowly.
"…Sleepy."
"Then sleep more."
Lije shook her head.
"Sleep more, lazy. Lije is diligent."
Half-lidded, she shuffled to the kitchen. Watching her tousled hair, Roque glanced at the room she'd emerged from.
It had been a makeshift storage. Living alone, he'd never bothered separating living room and bedroom—bed, sofa, TV all in one space.
But sharing with Lije made him realize she needed her own spot. Even if she was a kid, not his real daughter, cohabiting brought inconveniences.
So he'd cleared the storage room for her. Lazy as he was, Lije had been thrilled. Her usually blank face even cracked a faint smile.
Lost in thought staring at the open door, Roque heard a whirring weeeng—and something rolled out.
A boxy robot with four small legs, about puppy-sized. Its "head" was just a camera on one side. Wheels on the feet let it glide smoothly.
Roque stared blankly from the sofa. It seemed to notice, facing him—camera to eyes. A beep sounded from inside.
"What're you looking at?"
Roque grumbled. The robot's side clicked open, launching something out. Toy missile. It thwacked his chest and rolled away. The camera tracked it.
"…"
It rolled to his feet, nudging the plastic missile with a front leg, as if wondering why it didn't explode.
Then Lije appeared from the kitchen, spoon in mouth, cereal bowl in hand. She spotted the scene, chewing.
"Come here, Bini."
The four-legged robot spun and dashed to her feet, fidgeting around. Looks aside, it acted like a hyper puppy.
Roque chuckled softly, bending to pick up the toy missile.
"Do that again, and I'm tossing it."
Lije's eyes widened, blinking at him, then at Bini.
"No more. Roque says no fun."
Bini froze briefly, emitting a beep—like it understood. Then it resumed fidgeting at her feet.
Bini originated from that metal lump from the walker tank. Roque wondered how junk electronics plus the lump became this in days, but he'd half-given up understanding Lije's abilities, so he didn't pry.
Better than her vegging on games all day, anyway.
Lije sat at the kitchen table with her cereal, Bini curling at her feet. Roque watched them a moment, then turned to the sunny window.
Sunlight warmed the apartment. No noise but Lije's crunching cereal and rising coffee steam tickling his nose. Roque closed his eyes unknowingly. A lazy morning somewhere.
Then Lije's chewing stopped. The holographic phone buzzed brrring.
Roque opened his eyes as the screen lit up with Philip's face.
Roque's gaze slowly shifted to Lije at the table. Her cheeks bulged with cereal. She stared back at him.
Their eyes met in silence.