Chapter 64: Tempted

Chapter 64: Tempted

“So, how bad is it?” I immediately asked as soon as I got into the car.

“It hasn’t gotten too bad yet. We split up the shipments into smaller, but more frequent shipments, so our losses are limited. They stole our shipment the first time, and in the latest incident, they burned it,” Claire replied.

“And our casualties?”

“None. Both times, they struck while the shipment was sitting in port before we picked it up. The liability coverage from the transport company doesn’t cover it, though, as they had already dropped it off.”

“I see...Let’s discuss this with everyone first.”

A security guard who sported our company’s logo drove us back as Thorne and Claire chatted about our time on the NNA continent.

We soon arrived at our office building, and we directly went to the meeting room. Leo and Lana were already there, along with several others that Thorne had put in charge in his absence.

“Leo, Lana, did you guys find anything?” I asked as we sat down.

“No. All the footage was erased, or the cameras were disabled. None of the workers in the port seem to know anything, either.”

“Then we know absolutely nothing. Not who did this nor how they did it...” Thorne muttered.

“Does anything else have any information to provide or something to add?” I glanced around the room.

...

I assumed it was a no, considering the silence and how the security personnel avoided my gaze.

“Then let’s end this meeting here. Everyone go dig around and see what else we can come up with.”

I stepped out and headed to my personal room to unpack, with Thorne following right behind.

“Are you planning to contact a QG to have them dig around?” Thorne asked as soon as the elevator door closed.

“Maybe, if we don’t find anything in a few days. Hopefully, we can shape up and learn how to do it ourselves.”

“You know, there’s another way to find the perpetrators if they really are targeting us.”

“Go on...”

“We’ll just have to bait them with our next shipment. Then we’ll get all the info we need once we capture a few of them.”

“And if this was some corpo spec ops, we may just get killed.”

“That’s why I’ve been telling you we should make use of our men instead.”

“Look, you’ve trained them well and all, but how long has it been since you guys were formed? They are more suited to do what you’ve trained them on, to guard our assets. I’d rather not lose them and have to pay the expensive compensation and train new recruits all over again.”

“They won’t mature if you don’t give them a chance.”

“...If you want to go through with your bait plan, we’re going to need to hire specialists to bear the brunt of it. Shock troops who are experienced. Our men can play the supporting role.”

“So you are going to call the QGs again.”

“If we don’t find anything ourselves. I’ll give it five days or so. The next shipment isn’t due until next week.”

I took the first two days to get caught up with all the work I offloaded to Claire and stayed in contact with Vin, to who I delegated the task of setting up our Salt Lake City branch. On the third day, I began the search for information on our potential attackers.

Thorne and the rest of them had gone over the most common information sources, so I paid a visit to the most iconic structure in the city.

I got to once again enjoy the perfect ocean view as I drove across the water.

The environment sure is strange. It looks perfectly fine here, but I’m sure it is entirely out of whack in other parts of the world.

I passed by several checkpoints, and thanks to my status as the owner of an official corporation affiliated with the Elevate City Consortium, they swiftly let me through.

Once I arrived, I went straight to the cafe I had made a reservation with. At my table, a familiar middle-aged man was already there.

“Rob, how have you been?” I greeted the SocialCorp manager who had connected with cassettes for Claire.

“Yeah, me and Lucy got them on our scope. I sent the signal to the team down there. You two should bring your minions and surround them.”

“Minions...really?” Thorne stopped and turned to Max.

“Yeah, really. They obey and are small fries, right?”

“Forget about it. Let’s go, Thorne!”

“Right. I’ll contact teams one and two to go around.”

Flo - Mercenary

“How long has it been since we’ve been stuck in here? Hey Leo, is anything happening outside yet?”

“It hasn’t even been ten minutes since you last asked. No!” He yelled through the comm, not trying to hide his agitation whatsoever.

“...How about now—”

“Come on, Flo, stop teasing the kid. Want to watch ‘Love Code: 401’ with me instead?”

“We’ve been full-time for how long? You know I don’t like romance shows unless I’m trying to sleep, Erza.”

“Heh, maybe that’s what I’m planning so I can cuddle you.”

The sound of hair brushing up against something drew Flo’s gaze to the side, where she found Liz looking up at them. For once, her eyes weren’t glowing, but she was quiet as usual. A few moments later, she took a deep breath and went back to watching whatever she did on her optics.

“Haha, you even got Liz here feeling uncomfortable. That’s why I love you.”

Just as Flo was about to give Erza a hug, Leo’s voice rang out with impeccable timing.

“They’re here. Max has eyes on them. You should be able to see their outlines once they get close enough.”

“Leo...has anyone ever told you, you’ve gotten even less fun ever since you returned to being a real corpo.”

“What?”

“I—” Seeing the look Erza gave her, she cleared her throat. “Never mind. How many of them are there?”

“We spot twelve. Rollo and Thorne are already encircling them from a distance with our men.”

“You really have changed. You really like being a corpo that much, huh?”

“What are you getting at? Why wouldn’t I like having a stable job with prospects to move up in the world?”

“You can do that too, working as a merc,” Flo smirked.

“No, that’s different. At the end of the day, mercenaries are just treated as disposable pawns. There’s a reason why all the jobs are high risk. If you want a stable life, you should join us, Flo.”

“Hmm...Maybe. But I ain’t ready to sell my soul and be exploited like a slave.” She couldn’t help but remember some memories of her childhood when her parents toiled away. She swore to never be like them, at the beck and call of their superiors, like a well-trained dog.

“You know Rollo wouldn’t do that. Think about it when you have time. The intruders are closing in. You should be able to see them soon.”

At Leo’s reminder, she looked up to see red outlines appearing in her view, one by one.

She grabbed the tower shield leaning against the wall and double-checked her shotgun.

“You two ready?”

“Yes!” Erza and Liz replied in unison, with excitement tinged in their voice.

Even I can’t fully get used to Liz flipping her switch so abruptly after so much time together.

They watched as the intruders climbed up atop the shipping containers and grew closer to them. New outlines in blue, marking them as allies, tailed the suspected enemies from a distance behind.

They finally reached the container Flo’s team was in and slowly began cutting the lock.

Show time.