Video Tape (3)
The Thumb corridors seemed endless. Doors stretched on forever, and the path twisted so many times it robbed you of any sense of direction. Take your eyes off it for a second, and you couldn't tell if you were running straight or spinning in circles.
But Ganet never lost his way. He pieced together the mental ciphers Lan Yan had relayed over the radio and the room numbers etched in the tape, leading the charge. I stuck right behind him, never letting his back out of sight. When he pointed out the path ahead, I cleared it.
The first Thumb operatives we ran into numbered five. Ganet flashed an open hand. Three on the left, two on the right. I nodded once and quietly drew up Shin.
A warm sensation rose from my feet.
Thwack! The leap, empowered by Shin, closed the distance in a blink.
Slash—! The first operative's throat and the second's shoulder parted in a diagonal spray. Before their blood could even hit the air, I twisted my waist and carved open the third's side. The sickle caught on his ribs, but I shoved forward anyway, shattering bone.
I drove my Mang-clad foot into the fourth's gut while he was still reeling. His belly blew out like a donut punched through.
Right then, the fifth yanked his blade free for a horizontal sweep. Ganet shoved in front, the coat from the boss catching the edge first. His gladius flashed red. The man's head lolled back from a cauterized stump, blood barely seeping.
"Good... this way."
Ganet said. I shook the blood from my sickle and we bolted again.
It played out the same after that. Guards at doorways, patrols in the halls, reinforcements drawn by the noise. Every time, I cleared the road ahead. The corridors were wider than expected, giving my long reach the edge. Sickles shone in open space, not tight quarters—the moment they drew steel, it was already too late. One step to close, slice the throat, smash the collarbone, kick the crumpling corpse aside.
Ganet handled any I missed.
We lost track of the corners when Ganet suddenly raised a hand, signaling a stop. I hugged the wall. The door number swam into view.
Room 718.
Ganet murmured the mental cipher. "Eye, fragment, glass."
The lock clicked open. The two researchers inside jolted up—but we didn't touch them. Someone beat us to it.
"Guhk... ack...!"
The first's jaw spun; the second blacked out from a chokehold behind. It was Rikako and Shim Nan-seul, decked out in M Corp gear.
Rikako toed the unconscious researcher aside. "Whew, finally. Those idiots wouldn't shut up about glass tech this, usage that."
Ganet caught his breath. "Status inside?"
"Mostly done. Just those two left."
Shim Nan-seul added softly, "Control room's empty so far. Now's our shot."
The lab matched the tape: glass tubes, levers, panels, gauges everywhere. And the kids trapped inside.
Ganet stepped forward. "Kids first."
Rikako cut him off. "No."
His face darkened. "Why?"
"Hit the release now, and the data's gone."
She jabbed at the panel and tubes. "This isn't just a cage. It's wired straight to the Singularity. Screw the sequence, and the gear blows, data vanishes—whole op down the drain."
Ganet ground his teeth. "So what? Leave 'em like that?"
"Never said that."
"Then what?"
"Stick to order." Rikako's voice dropped. "Pull the kids first—what then? We've poked the Thumb, trashed an N Corp lab. Bail with just them, no Singularity? Boss might weather it—he's a Color Fixer. But you? The office? Our family? You wanna own that mess?"
Ganet shut his mouth. His eyes shook on the kids in the tubes. Fists stayed clenched.
Shim Nan-seul spoke quietly. "Ganet, hold on. Secure the Singularity first, then we can work the tubes."
Silence fell. Only the low mechanical hum from the tubes punctuated it.
I scanned the tubes wordlessly. I got Ganet's side. Rikako's too. That made it worse.
The tension hung just as—
Clack.
Clack.
Heeled steps echoed from the control room. Leisurely, out of place.
We whipped around. There, at the control room door, stood the Maestro—three rings coiled on her finger. White suit, face veiled in muslin. Androgynous, tattoos speckling from face to neck to chest.
Only one Maestro looked like that.
Jeomsuni.
She glanced at the downed researchers and Thumb goons, then smiled faintly. "You've made it this far."
Rikako snatched a lever at the ominous vibe. "One more step. Drop this, and your precious tech ends here."
Jeomsuni's gaze flicked to the lever, back to Rikako. "Could be."
Her tone stayed polite. "But you don't strike me as the type."
"Yeah? Test me."
Jeomsuni's lips curved. "I prefer realists."
Rikako scowled. "Bullshit."
As her hand tensed on the lever—
Shunk.
A dagger pierced Rikako's chest.
"Guh...!"
Her body lurched forward. Ganet gasped. I lagged a beat grasping it.
The blade through her heart was Shim Nan-seul's.
"...Sorry, sunbae."
Shim Nan-seul didn't smile. Her face was stone; knuckles white on the hilt. "Like you said..."
Her voice stayed low. "We all need to carve our own path to survive."
Rikako twisted, vomiting blood. "You bitch... when..."
"Since the op briefing."
Shim Nan-seul's calm cracked at the edges. "A Grade 3 Fixer like me? Dead meat either way. At least Vergilius won't touch my family."
Rikako sagged. "Still... had to look out for office family... this is too much..."
Shim Nan-seul looked down. "You just said it."
She swallowed. "Can't protect anyone if you can't even survive yourself."
Shunk... The dagger pulled free. Rikako crumpled to the floor.
Shim Nan-seul gripped the lever and fell back to Jeomsuni. "Thought about recruiting you too, sunbae. But no—you don't mix easy."
Ganet charged them. "You fucking bitch!!"
I reached for him on reflex. Too late. He was already lunging at Jeomsuni—breath ragged, spacing wrecked, trajectory wild.
"Screaming in rage like that. Not a pretty sight."
Jeomsuni sighed, flicking her wrist. Her Nangseon gleamed.
Ganet's gladius veered aside. His side tore open; his nape took a precise hit.
"Guhk..."
He folded to the floor.
Jeomsuni looked down. "Won't kill you."
Still formal. "You've got value for testing."
Her words hit like ice water. One thing left to do: hold out. Trust the boss was coming.
I met Jeomsuni's flashing eyes and reset my stance.