Know Thine Enemy (1)
Even as I walked away,
I immediately gathered the debris of the drone scattered across the ground.
Of course, I couldn't just carry it in my bare hands.
After all, it was once an explosive device.
So, I stuffed the drone wreckage into one of the blast-proof cases that were lying around everywhere at Pax Corporation.
Taking this to the police right now would only waste time.
Hope was an engineer and a programmer.
And in my past life, she was the one who had helped me uncover countless truths.
If I brought this drone to her,
she might notice something I had missed.
With that thought, I left the scene.
Or rather, I tried to.
"...Hajun."
Until Great America blocked my path.
"Where are you going?"
Her gaze wasn't fixed on me.
It was locked onto the blast-proof case in my hand.
"Something came up that I need to look into. And there's someone who knows this stuff better than anyone."
"Is it about what just happened?"
"Yes."
Great America's eyes narrowed.
And then—
Grab.
Her hand gripped the handle of the case.
"...What are you doing?"
She clearly wasn't putting much effort into it.
Yet, even with that casual grip, the case wouldn't budge an inch.
"...Let go."
"No."
"Great America."
"Didn't you say you would teach me? Then tell me where you are going, and what you are going to do."
I could sense a trace of irritation from Great America.
"I saw what happened just now, too. Yet you are the only one who knows everything. Isn't that strange?"
It was the simple, brief tantrum of a child.
But that was precisely why I couldn't tell her.
He was watching the scene.
Whether through the drones,
the communication network,
or something else we hadn't found yet.
So discussing the Director here would be tantamount to showing him my hand.
Above all,
if I told her about the Director's existence...
I couldn't picture the aftermath ending well.
"If I explain it to you, what will you do?"
"I will crush him."
"Exactly. And that's exactly what he wants."
"...?"
"He doesn't avoid strong people. He's a lunatic who actually wants the strong to step forward and play into his hands."
Hearing my words, Great America—
Release.
finally took her hand off the case.
Her expression hadn't softened much, of course.
But the fact that she let go was what mattered.
Napalm, who had been listening to our conversation, couldn't bring herself to sneer like she usually did.
"...That bastard wasn't targeting us, was he?"
"No."
"He was targeting the staff."
"Yes."
"And he tried to use us, who were standing in front of them."
"Exactly."
The corner of Napalm's mouth twitched.
The sheer disgust of being used.
That was what was written all over her face.
"...Do you know the bastard who pulled this shit?"
"Enough to know what I need to."
"With that look on your face?"
"What look?"
"Are you fucking kidding me right now? Acting like you know everything—"
"—I saw him in my past life. Satisfied?"
"Ha, look at this guy's attitude."
Napalm swept her hair back, looking thoroughly fed up with my response.
But perhaps she saw something in my eyes.
"...Fine. But,"
she sighed and spoke.
"if you don't explain it to me later, I'm burning your head off first."
"Go ahead."
"...You really have zero fucking manners."
"Then I'll leave the cleanup to both of you. Give the police a good explanation."
Only then did I finally leave the scene.
Watching Hajun's retreating back, Napalm felt an indescribable emotion.
On the surface, he looked no different than usual.
But Napalm had seen it.
The way his fingers had gripped the handle of the case with white-knuckled force.
And how his eyes had sunk into a coldness far deeper than usual.
...Is he afraid? Of what? Him?
She had never seen that Asian bastard look like that before.
He wasn't planning something like he usually did.
He wasn't acting relaxed.
He just genuinely, deeply loathed whatever it was.
"..."
That was why Napalm didn't press any further.
If she forced an answer out of him,
she felt like she would get dragged into it too.
And admitting that fact to herself...
"...Fuck."
was incredibly humiliating.
Even as she grumbled, she followed my instructions.
I opened the link and found the location: an abandoned factory in Queens.
Thinking it was a pretty solid choice, I ran without stopping.
"Pant... pant...!"
And when I finally reached the abandoned factory,
"Hey."
In the middle of the dark space where the sun had already set,
Hope stood waiting, a bulletproof vest thrown over her grease-stained overalls.
Whir, click.
The auxiliary mechanical arms on her back were already fully operational,
and she held devices in both hands that I couldn't even name.
"What, are we throwing down here? You ignore my calls and then drag me out here fully armed?"
She immediately vented her anger at me, but
"I'm sorry."
I apologized right away, knowing her anger was entirely justified.
"...Sigh, so what is it?"
Hope slowly approached me, keeping her eyes locked onto mine.
"What's this about an analysis, and why did you tell me to come here?"
She questioned me again,
scanning me from head to toe as she spoke.
And then—
"...Huh?"
Hope stopped mid-sentence.
Her eyes had landed on the object in my hand.
The blast-proof case.
It meant there was an explosive inside.
Combined with the way my eyes kept scanning our surroundings,
the pieces clicked together in her mind.
"...What are you hiding right now?"
Suspicion took root in her mind.
But I couldn't deny it here.
"I'm not hiding anything."
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
"It's just not the time to talk about it yet."
However, I needed to take a slight detour.
"First, there are three things we need to do."
"What the fuck—"
"—Analyze the drone debris, and recover the communication logs."
And...
"Activate the defense system."
"...!"
Hope's sunken eyes widened.
It was a reaction that showed she had never expected those words to come out of my mouth.
"...The defense system? How do you know about that?"
That was why I answered her question with even greater care.
"Because if it's you, I knew you would have built one."
"Cut the crap. I haven't told a single soul about that."
"Does it work?"
"Answer me."
"Detection sensors, point-defense turrets, drone jammers, and electronic warfare shields. I ask you again, do they work?"
"...You crazy bastard. I only finished the defense turrets a week ago."
"Which means they all work."
"Did you sneak into my workshop?"
"No."
"Then did you hack my server?"
"Do you really think I could?"
"Then how the fuck do you know?"
"That's not what's important right now."
"It's damn important to me, you lunatic!"
Watching Hope fume, I spoke calmly.
"...Turn on the detection sensors."
"Why?"
"I need to check something."
"Ah, fuck. Check what?"
"If I'm right. Once we see that, I'll tell you everything."
Though she cursed under her breath at my words,
she pulled a phone-sized device from her pocket and turned on the screen.
"...You're really driving me insane."
And then—
Beep.
A dot appeared on the sensor.
"...Huh?"
Soon, a second.
A third.
And then a fifth.
Unidentified electronic devices... were surrounding the area.
"...You."
Hope's voice dropped.
"Did you know?"
"I thought there was a high probability."
"A probability?"
"I only got confirmation just now."
"You absolute lunatic."
I felt genuinely sorry to her.
After all, it felt like I was using her.
But I didn't have any other choice.
If I pulled this stunt back at the scene...
If I leave it at the Pax set, he'll just watch us again.
If I do what the police say?
It might leak through their internal network.
That would mean throwing away any chance of catching the Director.
Therefore,
"I needed the place we could control the most."
I believed this was the lesser of two evils, even if it wasn't the absolute best option.
"Is that why you told me to choose the location?"
"Yes."
"And you used me as bait?"
"No."
"Then what is this?"
"I used myself as bait."
"...What?"
"Go inside that shielded room over there."
"No."
"You hid the central control unit in there, didn't you?"
"...? Seriously, how the hell do you know that?"
"That's why you need to be inside."
"What about the outside?! The signals are increasing right now—"
"—You have me."
"...!"
"I'll handle the outside. So... you handle the things I miss from in there."
"...Ha."
Hope grumbled at my instructions, but
she slowly walked toward the room.
"If you die here,"
Hope said, not even turning back as she stood before the door of the shielded room,
"you'd better explain every single bit of this."
"...I will."
Clack.
As soon as the door to the shielded room shut,
Bzzzzzt—!!!
at that very moment... the abandoned factory began to wake up.
The green lamps on the old electrical panel flickered to life.
Miniature drones poured out along the ceiling rails.
Rumble, clack, whir—!!
The defense turrets folded beneath the floor slowly raised their barrels.
"...Whew."
With Hope behind me, I took a deep breath.
And then, red stars in the dark night sky...
no, the red infrared sensor lights of the drones filled my vision.
Static...
And then, a voice came through.
"Hmm, was it a trap? And here I thought I hadn't been noticed."
"Well... not bad. 'Pax Corporation Hero Dies Suddenly Near Abandoned Factory!' Wouldn't it be quite a spectacle for those two to read that headline?"
"That's not going to happen, 'Director'."
I set down the blast-proof case and grabbed my gear.
"Because—"
"—This is my backyard, you motherfucker."
Because I... no, we were only going to fight battles we were guaranteed to win from now on.