First Brainwashing: Hero Spade (4)
Apple showed him nothing but a pitch-black screen. Nothing was visible. Pure darkness. He couldn't tell what it was supposed to be filming at all—maybe she'd played the wrong video by mistake. But when he glanced up at her questioningly, Apple gestured that it was the right one and to keep watching.
『You have to concentrate to see it. You can only spot it if you look closely.』 Apple's voice came through the earphones. The cheap earbuds weren't great at blocking sound, so when she leaned in close and whispered, her voice leaked through clearly even to him.
More than that, there didn't seem to be any sound coming from the earphones at all. Did this video even have audio to begin with...? He'd been expecting some kind of conversation or voices...
'………Huh? Is that... something I hear...?'
His ears finally caught a faint hint of something—a mechanical hum from beyond the earphones. It sounded like muffled mumbling, vague and distant, as if heard through a wall. He tried to crank up the volume to listen closer, but it was already maxed out. He clicked his tongue in frustration.
『Spade, focus on the screen, please.』 Apple's voice returned.
...Sure enough, in one dim corner of the screen that had looked utterly empty, something faint was visible now. A glimmer, maybe... or perhaps... That barely perceptible glow, so faint it was almost nothing, strangely drew the eye all the same. Like how a single dot on a blank page naturally pulls your gaze...
'It's... moving...'
The sparkling light shifted slowly. Not just moving, but leaving a faint trail in its wake, like a tail. After a bit more time, he vaguely realized it was tracing some kind of pattern—or picture.
......Somehow, his head felt foggy.
『Spade, does it look like a picture to you?』
Not yet... He needed to watch longer...
『Yes, so just keep watching it slowly, slowly...』
『Until you can make out what the picture is.』
Got it... Slowly...
……………
…………
…
Huh...?
I have to... go arrest... No. 13...
"...Damn it, why'd she have to fire so many shots when one or two would've done the job."
No. 13 grumbled as he braced against the corridor wall and made his way back to the storage room where Apple and Spade were. The shock hadn't fully worn off yet—his legs were still shaky—but he wasn't seriously hurt. Feeling stifled, he yanked off his bulletproof vest from under his hood.
Rubber bullets on top of Spade's kicks. He'd taken a real beating holding up through it all... but thanks to that, not even a single bone had cracked despite being basically naked underneath. Still, it hadn't absorbed all the impact—his legs felt like jelly right now.
By the time he staggered into the storage room, though, the numbness was starting to fade, and 'Looks like it worked.' Seeing Spade frozen in place near the doorway, blankly staring at her smartphone, a wave of petty delight overrode the pain.
"(No. 13! It worked☆!)"
Apple, standing beside Spade, whispered excitedly and flashed a V-sign. Her eyes sparkled, and she looked genuinely thrilled. Trapping a fellow hero like this and being so happy about it—she was out of her mind. Well, technically she was being controlled by brainwashing, so that tracked.
"Good girl, good girl."
"Ahaha~☆ Praise me lots and lots☆ Didn't I do amazing? Super duper amazing, right?"
"Yeah, yeah. You did great. Really great."
He lightly patted the head of Apple, who clung to him like a puppy and rubbed her cheek against his. Her face melted into a beaming smile, utterly blissful just from that. She looked truly happy.
To explain, the trap itself—as you can see—was a double-layered setup, with the plan going up to locking her in the storage room and neutralizing her with brainwashing gas. That much was No. 13's idea. The Advisor had fleshed it out with specifics like the location and method.
The razor-thin timing, placing a bomb-like toy in front of Apple to lure Spade into the room defenseless—all that was the Advisor's scheme too.
――『Even this might not be foolproof.』
But a true mastermind always prepares second and third options. She'd even planned for the gas failing, using the brainwashed Apple to guide Spade's actions.
It was thorough, to say the least. Originally, the Advisor had said to leave her in the gas for 30 minutes. But No. 13 had started worrying about suffocation or whatever and cracked the door after just 10. Pure No. 13 trolling. He was reflecting deeply on that.
'No, she said herself it could last an hour... What is she, a dolphin or something?'
Some kind of monster. They'd given her anti-brainwashing meds so Apple would be fine in the gas, plus the Advisor's extra third and fourth contingencies—not to mention escape routes. No way it could've failed.
Anyway, it had been a thrilling ordeal all around.
"So, she's properly hooked now, right?"
"Of course☆ Trust in this Apple☆"
"......You look way too happy about this."
"It's just so so fun following No. 13's orders☆ Give me a reward... a rewaaard... ♡ I can't wait..."
How the hell had Dorothy turned this woman into such a chaotic mess? With her braided hair and round glasses, she had this modest big-sister vibe, but her speech and voice popped like fizzy candy—total cognitive dissonance.
'No, no—focus on Spade first.'
Shaking off the stray thought, he shifted his attention from Apple to Spade. Right now, she was defenseless, just standing there blankly while the brainwashing video and audio played. He could move to the next step like this... but according to Dorothy's manual, visual-only tools had weak effects.
To make it stick for sure, he needed to drive in one more wedge here.
"No. 13, here☆"
Right on cue, Apple—who'd been standing beside him—handed over a bottle of brainwashing drug and a pretty embroidered handkerchief. He'd just been thinking he needed it. Sharp as ever. A shame she was using that quick wit to drag down her own colleague.
"Oh, thanks."
Grateful for the consideration, No. 13 patted her head again and took the items.
Spade was still rooted in place, staring at her smartphone like it might devour her. Her wide eyes didn't even blink. She looked like a life-sized wax doll, save for the subtle rise and fall of her chest with each breath—proof she was alive.
To avoid blocking her view and risking her snapping out of the doll-state, No. 13 carefully pressed the handkerchief, soaked generously with the brainwashing drug, over her mouth and nose.
The eyes that had been fixed on the smartphone screen—on that video of endless, meaningless swirling curves—slowly lost their focus. Before long, Spade's body went limp, collapsing softly into No. 13's arms.
'The drug... seems to have taken hold properly.'
Strapped to the same chair they'd used for Apple earlier, Spade sat with half-closed eyes, breathing steadily and shallowly. Her gaze was vacant; poking her side got no reaction.
"......"
He eyed Spade again. Her black top—zipper-front, exposing her midriff. Short shorts baring her thighs. For a public servant, the outfit was scandalously revealing, the tight fabric hugging every curve of her athletic body. The pale skin spilling from the scant battle suit, the healthy thighs stretching below her shorts—they drew the eye unbidden.
A hero, far removed from filth, now sat here utterly defenseless. The sight sent a shiver through his brain.
"Spade. Spa~ade?"
No response from the drugged hero. He rested a hand on her defenseless thigh. Firm, healthy elasticity clung to his palm. Sliding his hand up, he tugged lightly at the hem of her shorts, glimpsing the crease between her legs and the pale pink panties that looked almost virginal.
He pulled his hand away from her shorts and caressed her refined face instead. A spade tattoo marked her cheek—her signature. This hero called Spade had a strange allure that held the gaze, tattoo and all.
Her usual bold stare was now hazy, like fogged glass. Seeing the strong-willed hero so vulnerable stirred an inexplicable air of decadence.
After fondling her face a moment, No. 13 licked her vivid lips and pressed a light kiss to them.
No reaction, even from that. This time, he reached for her chest—the pronounced swell evident even over her battle suit—
"No. 13, if you take too long, Spade might wake up."
Just before his hand met that tempting presence, Apple's words snapped him back.
Right—the hypnosis from the brainwashing tool only lasted a short while.
"......Got it."
Feeling a twinge of regret, No. 13 immediately prepared to implant the brainwashing suggestions into Spade.