I snuck down to the server room, easily bypassing most of the security. I'd done this dozens of times by now. This place couldn't hold up to some of the other security I'd gotten through in the past. There were more turrets scattered around, but they were just as useless as always. Guns didn't matter if no one knew where to shoot.

The biggest issue I ran across was people, but a confident stride and flicks of Fear the Reaper kept most corpo-drones away from me. As for actual security guards, there weren't that many. The ones that were around were more of the mall cop type that just stood around and looked intimidating without doing anything.

The server room itself was a bit tricky. ID and code to get in. I could go swipe the ID from someone, but getting a code would be impossible in a short time. I had my workarounds though, as per usual. The door was alarmed and had fail safes if the lock was tampered with. Zapping it to get by wasn't an option either. There was a hardware lockdown for any kind of electrical surge.

That wasn't even mentioning the guards posted up outside of it. Although they weren't great at actually guarding, standing at the door was enough to keep me from approaching. Not to mention one of them had flesh eyes. My Blinder didn't work against her. It was unfortunate.

I thought through the map of the building, zeroing in on my location. Should be… right there? I ducked into a janitor's closet when no one was looking and summoned out Corvid. The bird flapped around and landed on a shelf opposite to me. "Caw?"

I pointed up toward the vents and summoned a spectral flock. The spectral crow dropped to the ground and tilted its head, looking between me and Corvid. "Same as last time. Think you can carry this guy through the vent?"

See, server rooms produced a ton of heat. It was just a cost of operation with all the banks and machinery. There were dozens of vents accessing this server room in particular. One of them was connected to the main system through this janitor's closet.

"Caw." Corvid shot a look of disdain toward the Spectral Flock crow and saluted me. He really didn't like those things, did he?

"Thanks… I'll owe you a steak sometime for all the help." I pulled out a screwdriver and detached the vent, opening up the shaft.

"Caw- caw caw." Corvid shook his head and picked up the spectral crow, disappearing down the vent. Although it wasn't big enough for me to get through, the bird had no problem. He reappeared a minute later absolutely covered in grime and dust.

"You okay?" I pulled out a rag from one of the shelves and lightly rubbed his feathers to clean him up. The Greater Sprite pressed himself up into my touch.

"Awk!" He coughed, sending out a plume of dust and debris. His six eye stared up at me, all of them watering. "Awk-caw…"

"S-sorry, buddy…" I needed to make him a rebreather, apparently. At least, if I was going to use this method again. My poor little bird choking didn't sit right with me. "It's all set though?"

"Ca-caw!" Corvid nodded his head and flopped onto one of the shelves. He waved a wing as if to say 'I'll catch up later'.

I summoned a third Spectral Flock, feeling my head split and churn like it was being pulled in three different directions. My sense of balance was immediately knocked off, and a bolt of nausea slammed through me. Was this how Mira felt? She must feel worse though. Having her mind split into five different independent chunks…

Right- Tornado Arms was going down. One way or another. If this didn't work, I could make a dirty bomb with Rykon shards pretty easily. I nodded to Corvid once more and pulled on the second connection. Vertigo hit me, and everything twisted and twirled into a kaleidoscope of color. My world carelessly shifted from one scene to another.

I shifted uncomfortably in the Server room, activating Cold-Blooded to help fight the sudden heat wave. This room was practically boiling with all the servers whirling. I paused for a moment to look around and then headed to the far side of the room for the master terminal connecting everything together.

I stabbed my drive into one of the open slots and got to work disseminating all of the blueprints and information throughout Tornado Arm's systems. I hid them in R&D folders, blueprinting folders, and all over the place where they wouldn't look suspicious. While I was doing that, I also copied every single blueprint I could get my hands on. Tornado's tech? I think you mean my tech.

A corporation like Tornado Arms depended heavily on blueprints and production. If, in an unfortunate accident, all of their weapon designs and fabrication processes were leaked to the public? It'd cause chaos throughout the corp. Chaos that might make someone want to jump ship before it went down. Said person might also stumble across the breadcrumbs of Sentinel's stolen schematics.

After all of that, I went back through and cleaned up any tracks I may have left behind. I wasn't an A+ Netrunner or anything, but I knew enough to carefully cover my traces. The worst that could happen was a Netrunner tracking everything back to this terminal, but that was minor stuff all things considered.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

With everything set, I tugged on the connection once more, teleporting back to the janitor's closet. Corvid, who sat there waiting for me, let out a breath and popped a salute. "Caw. Caw- ca-ca-caw~ca-ca-caw~!"

"Chek chek… thanks. I will introduce you to her soon… still haven't decided how I'll approach the whole interface and eidolon thing." I rubbed his feathers and kicked the spectral feather left by my Trait.

It was an annoying con, but they were destroyed with even the lightest touch, so it wasn't that big of a deal. I bet the one in the server back was already destroyed by the heat. As far as I was aware, there hadn't been any left around that would be massively incriminating… I hoped. And even if there were, they couldn't be tied back to me.

"Caw!" Corvid looked me over one last time and then flopped back through the Aether, leaving a pile of grime and dust. I kicked it under one of the shelves and headed back to the bathroom.

By the time I left the bathroom, I was back to the clumsy mess of an assistant that first walked in with Saint. Casually, like I hadn't just broken into their server room, I walked back toward the meeting with Saint. I heard it before I even got close.

The man who met us roared in irritation. "How dare you?! You think you'll be able to get away with this?! As soon as your stupid assistant returns, I want you out of here! Tell your corporate masters that we'll talk when they don't send us a dumbass!"

I slipped into the conference room. Saint noticed me immediately and dipped his chin. The manager that met us wasn't so aware. "Look, Oak-dog, I'm sure we can work something-"

Mr. Oakley slammed his fist onto the table, cutting Saint off. "Don't call me that, bastard! The only thing we'll work out is my foot so far up your ass I'll be able to work you like a puppet!"

Saint subtly smirked, though hid the expression with a shake of his head. It seemed like not only could he get along with just about anyone, he could do the opposite too. How had it reached this point already? They were like best friends when I left, and now they looked like rivals. It'd barely been ten minutes.

Saint lifted the silver briefcase onto the table, opening it to reveal the weapon. "Oakes, I didn't just come all this way for nothing. You've gotta give me something at least-"

The manager didn't even give him the time of day. "It's fucking Oakley, you dimwit!"

"Sorry… Fucking Oakley- does your wife know they call you that in the office?" Saint asked in a concerned voice. It sounded entirely genuine, which seemed to tilt the other man even more.

"You- you-!" Oakley's face turned red enough it looked like he might have a heart attack. His eyes finally snapped up to me. "Finally! Take your idiotic bitch and leave before I call security!"

Saint casually raised his hands in surrender and stood up. He grabbed the silver briefcase and turned back to me. "Guess we'll have to discuss this another time, Fucking Oakley."

"Why you-" Manager Oakley picked up an ashtray and threw it at Saint. It missed, shattering against the wall in a spray of ashes.

Saint winked at me and flicked around with mock rage. "Was that- was that attempted battery with a lethal weapon?

"I think it was sir?" I cluelessly tilted my head to the side and stared at the ashtray.

"You're lucky I don't have connections with the Crusade- oh wait." Saint tapped the side of the case marked with the Crusade's symbol. "Would you look at that? Knight Security is owned by the Crusade. We wouldn't want this little incident to get out, would we?"

Some of the rage bled away as rationale returned to Oakley. He finally seemed to remember who we were. "You- you wouldn't."

"Your days are numbered, FOaker." Saint shook his head and walked out the door. I quickly followed after him, intentionally stumbling over the ashtray and knocking over an expensive looking vase to sell my act as an attendant better.

Saint and I made our way out uncontested with the Knight Security deal falling through just as his contact wanted. We worked our way back around the city to break off any tails and then back to my bike once I was sure we were clear.

"What'd you even say to that guy?" I laughed lightly and flicked my bike on. It gently hummed under my palm. "He looked like he was ready to blow a gasket."

"I kept calling him by the wrong name… guess that was a sore spot?" Saint shook his head like it was a shame. "Everything ready?"

"And more." I passed him the drive with all of Tornado's blueprints. At least, the ones stored in Aythryn City. They probably didn't keep the entire corp's data in this city. "Think you can post it when doing the expose?"

He looked over the drive for a moment and then slipped it into his pocket. "What's on it?"

"A database of prints and processes to make all sorts of Tornado Arms equipment." I pulled out my poncho, throwing it on once more to drive out the winter chill.

Unfortunately, the skirt didn't help with keeping warm at all. The heater hadn't had time to warm up, which meant my thighs and legs were pressed to the cold metal of the hover bike. Even with safety shorts on underneath, it wasn't exactly pleasant. I needed to go get an actual dress soon if I was going to have to keep dressing up in winter.

Saint smiled cheerfully and got on the bike behind me. "No problem… I expect Tornado's sales to drop drastically after I release this."

We talked a bit more and then took off back into the city's traffic. I dropped him where I found him and started the long path back out of the Corporate Quarter to the BC Gym.

Halfway there, I got a call from Hope. I pulled over and parked outside of a fast food restaurant. I should get some food for Mira. I didn't have much back at the apartment."Hello?"

"Hey, Zuku… we need to talk. Soon." Hope said. Her tone… something about it triggered my instinct to run. It was colder. Far more distant than how she usually addressed me. It was almost like I was a suspect, but that… that couldn't be right?

I pushed down my flight instincts and shifted on my bike uncomfortably. It was just unnecessary paranoia. "Chek. What about?"

"There's been… developments in a recent case. Developments that involve you. Just- I just have a few questions. Nothing too serious." Hope sighed.

Developments. That didn't bode well. Especially if they involved me. I'd been all over the city recently doing less than legal things. "What case?"

"I can't talk much about it across the line in case they're listening." She paused for a moment. I could envision her rubbing at her baggy eyes, just like she usually did. "When do you think we can talk? This is urgent."

"Um-" I checked the time and sent a message to Mira. I'd have to run by the apartment to change into my Crusade gear. "I'll come to the HQ in thirty minutes."

"Okay. I'll be waiting for you." On that note, Hope hung up.

That- that wasn't ominous in the slightest. What was this about? Thoughts and paranoia plagued me the entire way back to my apartment.

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