“So, by creating your own merc group, you would be able to lead ‘in your own way,’ then?”
“Exactly.” He nodded. “I’ve made some great connections—no, friends—in this Academy. Perhaps, if I build up a good reputation and get the credits rolling in, I could get them to come on board in time.”
“That’s rather optimistic,” Sasha noted dryly before he showed a sliver of a smile. “But I like the thought you’ve put into it.”
“So you don’t think it’s daft?” Kaiden asked hopefully.
“You could stand to think it over in more detail. And you’ll need to make further progress than simply buying your contract out.”
“Like what?”
“Look into getting a ship. You’ll get more bounties and jobs in space, along with better rewards. Plus, the merc business is somewhat oversaturated here on Earth, which is not a good prospect to the board.”
The ace considered this carefully. “I follow…maybe I can get Julio to see what he can find. In fact, there might be— I’ll leave it be until I find out for sure.”
Sasha was intrigued by what Kaiden was thinking, but he let it lie. “So, where do you go from here?” The young man was silent. “Kaiden?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry, Sasha. I was thinking. Unless you have any further questions, I’ll think about it and come back to you later. I wanted to get a quick trip in the Animus before I head to bed.”
“Understood. This was a good talk.” The older man stood and offered his hand.
“It was enlightening,” Kaiden said and shook firmly. “And thanks, Sasha—again.”
“Keep it up and I’ll be happy to help any way I can,” he promised and clasped his hands behind his back. “That is what I’m here for, after all.”
The ace smiled as he made his way out and turned to wave as the doors shut. No sooner was he out of view than Sasha sighed and collapsed into the chair. He pounded a fist into the armrest.
Without a doubt, he should have used this opportunity to tell him what was in store, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Kaiden deserved his help—for all that he had done and was about to do.
Without having a clue about what it all involved.
Chapter Eight
Gin, as Egon, strolled through the halls of the Animus Center. More memories of his time at the Academy drifted through his mind to highlight the changes in a way that wasn’t altogether comfortable. They had really made quite a few upgrades in the decade-plus since he had been away, hadn’t they?
The center housed almost seven hundred pods now, along with improved tech and décor—which even his emotionally jaundiced eye had to admit really improved the atmosphere.
As he passed one of the halls, he received an alert and a picture of Kaiden popped up in the HUD of his oculars. He stopped in his tracks and turned his head slowly to look into the hall. No one was there—at least outside the pods, so he crept forward and to the left. His HUD directed him all the way down near the end to a pod that was in use.
There he was, right in front of him—the target of his mission and one of those who got away.
For a while, anyway.
The killer circled the pod and examined the various cables and devices attached to it before he stopped in front of it again. He could simply end this there. His hand moved instinctually to the blade on his waist and grasped at nothing but the belt. Right, he hadn’t brought it with him this time.
He walked back to the side of the pod and traced two fingers along one of the wires. Was there a way to short it out? Maybe he could use the blackout mod, but that would mean he would race against the system failsafe. It would probably desync the student before it caused any real damage.
Gin took a deep breath and stepped away. No, he decided. Not here and not now. This was about more than Kaiden, although he would have his part to play—the sacrificial pawn. He looked up at a monitor above the pod that showed the ace in the middle of a firefight. He easily dispatched a group of mercs with some kind of pack on his back. In all honesty, he had to give him some credit. He was quite capable when not pursued by an infamous revenant.
But he usually had that effect on people. Somehow, they always delivered less than their best when they confronted him.
Footsteps caught his attention and he walked swiftly to the end of the row of pods as a trio of students entered to prepare for a mission. The killer’s eyes narrowed when he saw the symbol of an exotech on the jacket arm of one of the students.
Before the memory behind that could fully crystallize, a soft click behind him announced a pod disengaging. He glanced casually back to see Kaiden’s pod open and he flinched. Rather than move away, he remained where he was. His target wouldn’t be able to tell who he was, and maybe he should have a final conversation with the boy.
Last rites of some kind. It had a pleasant ring to it.
The killer approached as Kaiden stepped out of the pod and stretched. “A good performance, Kaiden.”
The ace rolled his neck and gave Gin a puzzled look. “Thanks, but have we met?”
“In a way.” He nodded and offered his hand. “I’m Doctor Egon. I work in the tech department under professor Laurie. We met during some of your visits with the professor, but for only a few moments.”
“Oh! Well, I’m sorry I didn’t notice. Honestly, I’m not the greatest with faces,” he apologized and shook the proffered hand. “Are you making the rounds? Or is there something wrong with the pods?”
“No, nothing like that,” Gin stated and shook his head. Not yet, anyway. “I used to be in charge of setting the pods up here, but it hasn’t been my responsibility for a few years now. I suppose I felt a little…” He looked through the gaps between the pods and his gaze settled on the exotech student, who stepped into one a few rows down. “Nostalgic would possibly be the right word. I wanted to take a look around and see the changes to my old stamping grounds. I’m sure you can relate.”
Kaiden rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess, in a way. To be totally honest, I haven’t thought about taking a trip back to my old stamping grounds in a while.”
“No good memories, then?” the killer asked.
“Actually, I have a lot of good memories, but… Sometimes, it only takes one bad memory to mess things up.”
Gin froze and balled his fist behind his back. “Yes, I can say I do know.”
The ace noticed that the other man had tensed. “Ah, I’m sorry, Doc. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I’m rambling. Coming out of the pod always makes me woozy for a while.”
“It’s all right, Kaiden. It’s not your fault—although sometimes, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to deal with the fallout,” he said cryptically.
“Do what now?” Kaiden asked and folded his arms. “Is rambling a thing with most techs?”
“I suppose it’s a part of the trade, considering how much we deal with potentials and hypothesis.” He snickered and took a few steps past the student, walked up to the monitor, and tapped it a few times. “Are you preparing for the upcoming final?”
“Yeah, practicing doing solo stuff. It’s been a while since I’ve had a solo test, but I’ve done other things solo, though. Still, they like to throw weird things at us from time to time.” The ace cocked his head thoughtfully. “Although I guess, since you work in tech, you would be one of those people who craft those weird things, wouldn’t ya?”
Gin shrugged. “We like to keep you on your toes. Plus, we have a lot of time to imagine those scenarios.” He turned his attention back to the student. “Are you looking forward to running solo again?”
“Sure, but it’s not like I’ve been dying for one or anything.”
“No, I suppose not, but you seem smart enough to know that you should always rely on your own skills rather than depend on the help of others.”
The ace regarded the technician in confusion. “Uh…you do realize that this is an academy filled with the best of the best, right? Of course, we can all have a bad day, but
I’ve run through any number of missions and tests with others and they’ve always gone well.” He stopped himself for a moment and thought it over. “For the most part, anyway. Plus, this whole year was spent getting us to work together more.”
“And yet your final test is a solo mission,” the killer pointed out. “You won’t be able to rely on others this time around. I’m simply recommending that you should learn that as a rule in life, not only in these games.”
“You’re kind of nihilistic for a doctor, aren’t ya?” Kaiden muttered and folded his arms. “You work with people all the time, right? Even lead them? I’m an ace. People rely on me to lead at times as well.”
Gin sighed and shook his head. “I suppose my words of wisdom are lost on the youth of today.”
“I’m merely saying that you have to have at least some people you trust, right? Maybe one or two?”
He turned away and stared over his shoulder. “At one time, I had a few, yes. I still stand by what I say, however.”
The ace hesitated. Part of him wanted to continue butting heads with this techie, but he could tell there was some damage there and sighed. “Whatever happened, I guess I’ll say I’m sorry about it. But come on, man, if you didn’t have hope for the future or actually believed your all for one mentality, you wouldn’t be here, would you?”
The killer laughed. “Perhaps, but I suppose I’ll simply say that I have my personal reasons for being here, and I can accomplish them myself.” He began to walk away but stopped at the end of the row and called back to Kaiden as he placed a hand on one of the pods. “Keep it up, Kaiden, and have a little fun while you’re at it. You never know how much time you have left.” With that, he turned and left the hall.
“Well, that started out nice enough, but now, I feel chilly,” Chief grumbled.
“Can you even feel temperature?” Kaiden asked and unconsciously rubbed one of his arms.
“I can make a good guess. Plus, its metaphor anyway, asshat,” Chief retorted. “It’s not really like you to have an existential discussion with randos. Are you feelin’ all right, partner?”
“I guess I was caught up in the conversation.” He shrugged as if he could shake off the odd feeling of disquiet. “Plus, I felt like I knew him. The face wasn’t familiar, but the…vibe, for lack of a better word, was familiar, if rather off-putting.”
“Looking back through the logs, we’ve seen Egon a few times at the R&D center and he’s usually present at the big get-togethers. He was at the auditorium yesterday and eyeballed you intently a few times too.”
“In a bad way?” the ace asked. “Maybe it’s a career thing? Do you think he might have bad blood with Laurie? And me by proxy considering I’m his little project?”
“Technically, I’m his little project,” Chief corrected. “You’re merely the box I’m in.”
“Are you gonna call him daddy too?” Kaiden jibed. “If so, I’m out.” A message popped up on his screen. “It looks like Chiyo is trying to get in touch.”
“It’s getting late. Maybe we should take a rain check.”
Kaiden waved a hand airily. “Eh, it shouldn’t take too long. Besides, it’s been a while since the two of us had a simple conversation.”
“I guess we can see what she wants. Besides, I personally enjoy it when she calls you on your bullshit.” The EI chortled.
“I haven’t done anything,” he countered and slid his hands into his jacket pockets. “I swear, you’re looking for me to get in trouble nowadays.”
Chief spun in the HUD and turned a pleased pink. “Maybe a little, but to your credit, it’s happened less and less. I’m almost beginning to think you’ve become respectable.”
Kaiden laughed. “We wouldn’t want that now, would we?”
Chapter Nine
Kaiden stood beside the fountain in the academy plaza and looked around for Chiyo. “How did I beat her here when she was the one who called me?”
“You could always look for her on the network map,” Chief reminded him. “Hell, let me do it. Honestly, it will take literally a second.”
“Nah, I’ll quit my welching.” He removed his jacket and slung it over his shoulder. “She would send a message if she—”
“Hello, Kaiden,” Chiyo said and he almost stumbled into the fountain in surprise.
“Jesus, did you put some synapse points into assassination or something?” he demanded.
“That’s not a real skill,” she responded and sat on the rim of the fountain. “Not technically, although I suppose you could put points into stealth, melee weapons, or get the proper mods to—”
“You’re taking this too far when you just said it’s not a thing.” He chuckled. “What did you want to talk about?”
“I wanted to pass this along to you,” she said and held a drive up for him.
Kaiden took it and frowned at it in confusion. “What’s this for? Some assignments I missed?”
“I would assume I’d need more storage for that.” She deadpanned but still teased a laugh from him. “It’s a set of maps I downloaded for you to help prepare for your tests.”
Kaiden glanced at the drive again. “Wow, I’m touched.” He placed the device into his back pants pocket. “Thanks, Chi. I’m sorry to say I haven’t got anything like that for you.”
“You’ve helped me considerably over the last couple of years,” she stated, her gaze on the rising moon in the evening sky. “This was where we met on your first day here.”
“Yeah, it is.” He glanced over his shoulder at the fountain. “You know, thinking back, those guys who picked on you that night…I haven’t seen them bothering you since the end of last year.”
“One of them washed out during the last test and failed teamwork exercises one too many times,” she explained.
He scoffed. “That’s not hard to believe.”
“The others seem to have moved beyond their petty grievances. I suppose I proved to them that I do belong here. While it doesn’t make what they thought any better, time and action do help in dealing with troubles.”
Kaiden was silent for a moment and scuffed his boot along the ground as he considered his next question carefully. “You know, you never did tell me why you were such a loner during those first few months, or why anyone had problems with you.”
“Do you think they are connected?” Chiyo asked quietly.
“I ain’t exactly a detective, but considering that you were personally invited to come here and had some of the highest marks of anyone last year, I can only guess that it was either jealousy or there was something shady going on.” He caught his next words and turned to her. “Not that I think you did anything malicious, and while rumors can grow into horrible things, they start from somewhere.”
She closed her eyes. “You don’t need to fret, Kaiden, but tell me—what have you heard?”
Kaiden folded his jacket on the side of the fountain and sat beside her. “I try not to listen to gossip, but from the tidbits you’ve mentioned, you grew up hacking, may come from wealth, and came here looking for a ‘path’ or something cryptic like that.”
The infiltrator smiled. “Yes, I remember our first conversation. You were more…bitter back then.”
“I had more of a chip on my shoulder,” he admitted sheepishly. “In my defense, I had Chief shoved into my head just before we met. I was a little grumpy.”
“Well, it was great to see you relax over time and mature along the way.” She smiled. “How do you think your journey has gone? Have you found your path?”
“I’m making one,” he stated and placed the palms of his hands on the edge of the fountain so he could lean back and gaze into the sky. “I’m not really sure I have the destination down properly, but I’m making a path to something.” He blinked and turned his attention to her once more. “I thought we were talking about you.”
Chiyo nodded. “We were—not my favorite subject. I suppose it’s a habit to try to divert attention.” She sighed and avoided his gaze. “I
t is basically an unspoken rule that after your second year at an ark academy, it’s the metaphorical point of no return. From here on, you’re locked into the path you’ve chosen.”
“I would have thought that happened way back when they slapped you with a multi-million-credit contract.” Kaiden grimaced.
“There are scholarships and workarounds that allow you to leave the Academy and reduce the amount you have to pay. It’s still not a great situation but more realistic than doing it later,” she explained. “But it’s semantics. In reality, there have been people who left in their last year. It’s simply one of those things that had enough coincidences to be believed as fact after a while.”
He eyed the infiltrator, his lips pursed. “Are you thinking of leaving, Chi?”
She met his gaze at last. “It occurred to me, but that was long ago—before I met everyone, I thought that the skills I had were enough to start a life in the field of my choice. I didn’t see the point in developing those skills further only to be bound to some company for years.”
“I can’t say I don’t see that logic. It’s something I’ve thought about a lot myself,” he admitted. “But you moved past that eventually?”
“As I said, it was before I met everyone. Specifically, those thoughts left my mind after our test together.”
“The Co-op Test?” he asked. “Why that one specifically?”
“It was the first time in a quite a while that I was forced to trust someone, and they came through,” Chiyo stated. Kaiden was taken aback before she raised a hand and knocked a knuckle against his forehead. “In your own catastrophic way.”
“You’re never gonna let me have a nice moment, are you?” he grumbled sarcastically as he rubbed his head, although he did manage a smile.
“You’ve gotten better, and to be honest, I’ve grown to enjoy it,” she admitted. “But only sometimes. Don’t let yourself think you can go back to simply blowing everything up.”
Animus Boxed Set 2 (Books 5-8): Revenant, Glitch, Master, Infiltration Page 29
