NOVEL WEB 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 me with cassettes.
“Rollo…Was there something you want?” He asked cautiously.
“No, be at ease. I just wanted to chat. I told you, I wanted to be friends, remember?”
He chuckled and took a sip from his cup.
“And I thought I told you to keep contact to a minimum. SocialCorp counterintelligence isn’t a joke.”
“I don’t plan on getting you to do anything against them now or in the future,” I paused as the server came. “A milkshake please.”
We both watched as the server walked away until they were out of sight. “Anyway, I wanted to ask you about your experience dealing with other corporations.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What? You think some corp is finally targeting you?”
“Maybe, I don’t know for sure. Unlike you, my company doesn’t have a goliath of an intel department.”
“Ha, those guys just report to the higher-ups, the people who matter. Then, the info is passed down the chain as necessary.”
“I assume it won’t be that easy to find out who is targeting me, then?”
“It depends. If an entire corporation is out to get you, then it will be difficult. If just a manager or someone is working independently to gain merit, then it’ll be a lot easier.”
“Easier, how?”
“They won’t be using the full might of their corporate security. They’ll hire mercenaries or use their trusted personnel only.”
“I see…Thank you for your time. Want to grab lunch while we’re here?”
“No need for your thanks. A true corpo repays favors with benefits, financial or otherwise.”
“Come on, I’ll treat you to lunch.”
“This is awesome, I’ve missed this! I can see through the obstacles and what my allies are seeing. My Lucy is ecstatic!” The man exclaimed as he kissed his sniper rifle.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it, though it will only be for this operation. It only works with our company’s server, processing all the info for us.”
“Yeah, I know. They had this stuff back when I served in Texas too. It’s nice for sure, but nothing beats the skill you hone and the chemistry you have with your beloved rifle.”
“Sure, just make sure you don’t get too excited and get us spotted,” Thorne interjected from behind.
“You kids these days don’t get it, huh? A shame, really.” He shook his head and brought his attention to the scope of his gun.
My high-tier optics came with comparable zoom, allowing me to take a quick glance around with my naked eyes. My SAID had access to the feeds in the other optical modes like infrared, so I could leave it to Kiri to notify me if it spotted anything unusual.
The port in front of us was simply enormous. Stacks and stacks of shipping containers filled the area. The lights were only on in the sections where workers were, allowing anyone to easily spot where the workers were. Over ninety percent of the entire pass was pitch black, as the port employees couldn’t cover the entire port.
Leave it to the corporations to know how to save on their electricity bill. This makes it really easy for any intruders to avoid people as well…
Paying more focus to the unlit areas, we sat at our vantage point atop a nearby building for several hours by now. I wouldn’t even complain because I knew the other team had it way worse.
“You guys think they will show up tonight? It would suck if Lucy and I didn’t get to make use of this program you gave us.”
We have come a long way from when the coordination program had to be synced with the makeshift visors I made before. Now it was simply a program for optics that was connected to our corporate servers.
“They definitely will if they really are targeting us,” Thorne replied, as he remained on guard, scanning the area unrelentingly.
He did have the advantage of stamina, thanks to all his chrome, he physically never gets tired.
‘Infrared has detected suspicious individuals,’ Kiri’s voice suddenly rang out.
I immediately added an infrared layer to my optics. Kiri had helpfully highlighted the people it spotted for me.
“Turn on thermal, over there.” I made sure to vocalize loud enough for my companions to hear.
While they adjusted their equipment, I zoomed in on the suspects, as close as my optics allowed. The thermal imaging only showed an outline, but combined with night vision, I could make out the weapons they had equipped.
“A dozen of them, all armed. Do you guys see them?” I asked.
“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.