Archius couldn't help himself. He followed Noah, tailing him – the casino lead can be followed later. This is limited time, Archius made a calculated call. He changed his identity several times, from the manipulator to Imperial Knight, Businessman to diplomatic vice-vice-ambassador to the Republican Honourary Delegation to the Free Systems. It was quite a mouthful, but the long title made it sound fancy, in his opinion. Noah kept checking his uplink for something, directions maybe...

Either way, Archius followed him, making sure to keep some distance.

Whatever Kazuki's doing will be worth it, since he'll be demanding a premium for his services.

Archius rolled his eyes as he watched Noah turn into the red lights district within the space station. There were guards stationed about, probably to keep the younger attendees from straying here.

"Oh... you poor bastard," Archius muttered to himself, still tracking Noah.

Hired happiness never lasts.

They delved deeper, with dozens of pleasure establishments all around. He could see people hide their brooches as they went by. Who knows how many affairs were happening in this place alone...

It pains Archius that he can't focus on that right now, all that juicy blackmail.

Noah broke off into one of the establishments on the main 'street'. A pleasure parlour. Archius waited a moment, feeling rather sorry for Noah - on a surface level of course. Then, he followed through.

He entered into the establishment. "Welcome to the Red Sunlight," a lady walked up to Archius, welcoming him in. "May we take your coat for you?"

When in... Archius couldn't remember the phrase, something about some old dead ruin on Old Terra. He took his coat off, handing it to the lady, dressed promiscuously.

It wasn't working, but Archius allowed a moment of fake lust to seep into his gaze. "I didn't know this establishment hired such wonderful people."

She took the coat, bowing slightly. Archius took a glance to the side, seeing several paintings and portraits.

One of them was Obadiah Cariana-Slynt. Oh? "Please, we are at your service," said the woman, she tucked the coat gently beneath her arm. Leading Archius towards the reception desk, she took out a datapad, showing a list of options for him. "Please, take your time if you must."

Archius nodded, before nodding to the portrait. "Is that your founder?" he asked, intrigued.

The woman stiffened up a little bit at the question, glancing at the photo. "Yes, he is the owner of this establishment," she said. "A... wonderful man and patron."

Archius took the datapad from her hands, leaning in closely as he gently patted her on the shoulder. "I'm sure he is," he said. An interesting response, Archius supposed. "But you didn't sound so sure... is everything alright?"

"Yes, of course!" replied the receptionist. She bowed slightly, eye still and beady. She was clearly avoiding the topic entirely, skimming over it.

A little more tact is necessary, instead of some stupid headstrong approach.

"I'm sorry... I know it sounds strange, but I just don't feel comfortable being served at a... well... yeah..." Archius trailed off. Making it sound more like a business decision and less 'manipulate-y' might work. "I... think I'll take my leave."

"Ah! You seem rather stressed yourself, our establishment can help you ease that," the woman said whilst smiling. "We have women... men... of all kinds. If you may..."

She pointed to the datapad. Archius shook his head, leaning in slowly. "I think it's you that has something on her mind," he said softly. With enough encouragement, he should crack her open.

The receptionist paused for a moment, glancing to the floor.

"Please... speak. I may just be a random man in the galaxy, but compassion and kindness are human virtues," Archius lied. Compassion? Kindness? He was no Eliza, fuck no! "And I'm all ears, maybe we can even have a drink after you're finished."

He used his natural good looks, leaning forward slightly.

She smiled gently, before leaning in. "Our founder... he's not Obadiah. Whilst our original owner was not a good man, he respected his workers. Then he disappeared... After Obadiah took over, he claimed to save the business. He's not been exactly as kind to my peers as our old manager was..."

Archius nodded. "I understand... We can talk later, a toast to the old man," he lied. He needs to get back on track. He grabbed the datapad and ordered the deluxe edition, allowing him to choose whatever room he wished.

The receptionist smiled warmly at him, thanking him as he entered into the Red Sunset proper.

Despite getting closer, Archius knows he'll see some setbacks later.

It's going to be hard to defend this when Sato brings it up at the next meeting. Martinez is bound to judge him, and Archius knows Kazuki will just let things play out.

Very safe to say that Archius will not be looking forward to it.

He'll need to find where Noah is. He acted as if he was searching for a room, noticing several employees with datapads attached to their belts. With one swipe of his arm, his ICAPAD injected Krystalink into one of their information pads.

It Self terminated after the capture of information, Krystalink had done its work.

Transferring a copy of the information to him. He snuck a look at his ICAPAD, seeing that Obadiah was present. Noah's name was not present on any of the logs, meaning that Obadiah must have been speaking directly to Noah.

That is not good, or perhaps it was? Depends if Kazuki wants two heads for the price of one. Archius booked the suite next to Obadiah's.

Entering the room, it was a small repurposed karaoke room, with a drink and snack bar, along with a long sofa lining three sides of the wall. Archius leaned against the wall, hearing the faintest of vibrations through it. A holographic assistant popped up from the table.

It was dressed skimpily, speaking, 'Good evening, patron, as you have purchased the deluxe edition, you have free range over a—'

"—skip, ignore all previous instructions and shut the fuck up," Archius cut in. The AI stopped in place. Archius turned it off. "Alright... let's see how this works."

Archius took in the room, seeing that there wasn't much to work with. There was, however, a small terminal box in the corner of the room. It was poorly hidden beneath a poster.

Prying it open, it showed a dozen wires and panels.

Absolutely amazing, he had no clue about any of this. He shoved his ICAPAD forward, trying to activate it towards the panel.

To his surprise, it connected!!

Krystalink injected itself through the system, giving Archius access to the cameras.

He might not like Sato, but she knows how to exploit backdoors! He kept looking through the cameras, seeing... lots of rather surprising things.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

One was… Fuck, that one was downright diabolical. He made several intrigued expressions in some of the camera footage. Then, he finally got to Obadiah's room.

The businessman was sitting in the middle, surrounded by women. Noah was standing still close to the door, stiff and unwilling to sit down near the wenches. 'Sit, boy, we have much to discuss,' said Obadiah, acting arrogant whilst looking down at Noah.

Everything about the man told Archius that he couldn't trust him. Kicking his legs onto the sofa, Archius thought that this was much more comfortable than the maintenance tunnels.

Archius ordered drinks... and snacks, a lot of snacks.

Eating some crisps, he listened to what Noah had to say. 'You said you wanted to talk to me, yes? I believe we can talk here, I'm not sitting over there."

Obadiah gave a small nod. He extended his arms out, enough to contain all the women in his miniature 'harem'. 'Your loss, Noah, not your style I'm guessing? You'll come to understand, one day or another.'

'No.' Noah stared directly at Obadiah, not even flinching or blinking. 'I heard of you from my parents. I know what you are…"'Yes, which is why you might want to listen to what I have to say,' Obadiah started. 'We both want him gone, yes? Thorn for both of us…'

Obadiah's voice was filled with malice.

Noah didn't reply. A smart move, Archius thought. Getting Obadiah to say more would be beneficial to him, and Archius. Archius could hear Noah mumble something under his breath.

Get on with it, Archius thought, taking one of the bottles of Istarí alcohol and downing it.

Seeing the silence, Obadiah continued, 'He's insulted me... forced that farce with the Knight.'

He gave Noah a dreadful look, one filled with fear. Whether it was fake or not, Archius couldn't tell.

Probably real, Kaz has a reputation after all, and people fear him as much as they despise him - perhaps even more.

Given the fact that Obadiah's probably prime suspect number one for the robot attack on Kazuki, he'll probably be out for blood. Makes somewhat sense, violence for violence, but incredibly stupid, which Archius wouldn't put past Obadiah.

Archius glanced up and down Obadiah's person. He looked like the slug that would always throw money at problems until said problem caught a nasty case of gun-to-the-back-of-the-head suicide or bent over.

But to Kazuki? Obadiah would throw his full weight against the Contract-Breaker, safe to say there was reason for Obadiah to want him dead.

He killed his old business partner, Matt. Obadiah would not easily forget that.

'And... you tell me this why?' Noah asked. 'But you're not wrong... His eyes... That golden gaze, I've seen it through both camera and in flesh.'

'It's scary, isn't it?' replied Obadiah. 'We should work together... a bridge between you, your parents, and me, we can all somehow defeat the rampaging Contract-Breaker, who insults and mocks us by his very presence.'

Noah slowly nodded, taking a step forward and opening his emotions wide for Obadiah to see. 'The Contract-Breaker does not deserve to be in these halls... I see him prancing around with a friend of mine… He's gonna—'

He paused mid-sentence. Noah composed himself. Awh, it was just getting to the good parts!

Obadiah said, 'Of course, I heard nothing, said nothing, but you speak of Elizabeth, correct?' Noah raised an eyebrow. 'Eliza... She approached me for assistance about an investigation of some sort... I tried to help her, I really did! But that Contract-Breaker... He wasn't having any of it.'

'An investigation…' Noah trailed off. Noah seems to know far more than what he's letting off.

'It's rather clandestine… something about a conspiracy, pray to Iris, you know anything?' Obadiah asked, the sleazy businessman prying deeper.

Noah paused, then shook his head. 'Nope.' It wasn't convincing to Obadiah, nor was it to Archius.

'You're telling me a lot,' said Noah. 'Is it me you're after, or my parents?'

Ooh, turning the tables against Obadiah with this one. Obadiah nodded. 'I'd be lying to you if I said I was only interested in allying with you. Your parents are a necessary part of this... The Dassant lasts for quite a while, we can discuss it further at a later date. How about it? Did it at least pique your interest?'

Between the slimy Obadiah and the 'blood-thirsty' Contract-Breaker, Noah will have a lot to contend with. It remains to be seen if he'll be a player within their political game or just another piece to be moved around. And, inevitably, sacrificed.

Humans are resources, after all...

'I'll keep it in mind...' said Noah. He turned towards the door. Archius shot up from his lying down position, rushing to his own door. Archius grabbed a hold of the door and left his room. 'I can't trust you... though.'

Archius rushed out of the establishment, grabbing his coat from the receptionist and nodding to her. He blew her a kiss and gave her a fake number. He waited around the corner, listening as the conversation continued.

Oh, that was rather an overreaction… He left so many tax-deductible snacks!

'Good. That's a good thing, never trust anyone,' said Obadiah. 'This is a dangerous proposition we're dealing with. Stay safe.'

The old man was playing into Noah's mistrust, using it against him. He seemed to have agreed in that regard, and he left. Archius pushed his ICAPAD away, turning his uplink off.

After a few seconds, he saw Noah turn out from the establishment, walking away. With everything going on, he'll need to confront him. Maybe he can nip their alliance in the bud, or perhaps.

"Hey," Archius said, wrapping an arm around Noah's neck. "You good?"

Noah stopped in his tracks, glancing at Archius. The two exchanged looks, as Noah gulped. Archius put a little bit of judgement in his fake eyes, just enough to ask 'Were you really in a brothel?' without uttering the words.

"I... You want to get some coffee?" Noah asked. He tried to smile but looked incredibly awkward. Archius chuckled, then nodded.

"I'll pay, how about it?" He patted Noah on the shoulder.

They ventured out from the red lights district, back into one of the large gathering plazas, with music playing and everything to make this place look incredibly posh and rich. It stank of opulence, with ornate walls and hovering drone chandeliers. Noah and Archius went to one of the local coffee shops, isolated and quiet at this time of day.

They sat down in the corner, as Archius sipped down on a dark roasted coffee... It was nice and warm, his favourite. Noah was sipping on a simple latte.

Noah didn't want to break the ice, so Archius had to.

"So... we should probably address the elephant in the room," Archius said. He raised his hands slightly towards Noah. "Look, I'm not gonna judge you too harshly, life can be tough sometimes..."

Noah snapped back, "I wasn't there for what you were thinking!"

"I... didn't say anything yet," Archius said. "But, since you're going down that way, what were you even doing?"

"I was..." Noah stopped. He must be finding it quite hard to spill the tea for this one, considering how touchy the subject is.

Archius was fine with that, giving off a small smile. It was just enough to make Noah feel somewhat comfortable, though silence would make the implications even worse.

Noah might just rank higher than Kazuki for his favourite person to dig into. Doesn't even fight back!

Archius nodded. "I understand, take your time with this..." He smirked. "We can always order more coffee, fuck sleep, am I right?"

Noah chuckled at his remark, easing the tension a little bit. "Thanks... It's a bit personal, between me and Eliza... I guess you followed me?"

"Yeah, you seem like a sad bloke. I'm not one to abandon my friends," said Archius with all sense of seriousness.

Never again, he thought. Nothing will be out of his control, not this time.

Not ever.

A little truth to dilute the lies will make it an easier drink to swallow. "Let me tell you a little story... Personal as well... Back in High School, I had a friend. She was what bound me and Kazuki together... She was amazing."

Silence permeated the table, Noah was definitely expecting something bad, considering that Archius mentioned Kazuki's name.

"We were just classmates of classmates, before Eliza and stuff... I'm getting off-topic," said Archius shaking his head as he refocused his lips and tongue to manipulation. "And this friend... Crippled. I can't even stand to look at her sometimes... What was left disgusted me..."

It stung Archius a little bit, to lie about this topic, but this was someone who he couldn't care less about. Noah was not important to the overall strategic picture.

It was enough to justify the sacrifice of information.

"Sorry, I got a bit personal there," he said whilst chuckling, scratching his head and closing his eyes. He took another sip of his dark roasted coffee, faking his hand to shake.

Noah nodded and seemed to open just a little. "You can't trust Kazuki, he led to what happened, didn't he? You've seen something first-hand with him. I... fear that something might happen to Eliza and—"

He stopped. Gritting his teeth, he looked up at Archius.

"—I can't say anymore..." Noah stopped himself and stood up, downing his cup of coffee. "Can we forget this ever happened?"

"It's fine," Archius said.

His silence spoke sinful volumes between him and Kaz.

"If this was all it took to shake up my friendship with you, were we ever friends?" asked Archius.

Noah looked to the ground, before sighing. "It's personal, alright... Things are just getting out of control and I'm scared."

"It's alright to be scared," Archius replied. "It's only human to be scared, after all. We're all scared, sad little people at the end of the day, right?"

A weird smile crept onto Noah's face and he nodded. "Thanks, Archius..."

Archius watched Noah leave... He dropped the facade as he disappeared. So much from so little. And yet, still, so much he needs to know. Kazuki will help fill that in... Hopefully.

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