Topic: Chakui

Kakure-Kai

Date: 2011-06-02 12:04 EST
A Japanese man whose smile resembled a shark's and whose eyes did not hide the fact that he was nothing more than a thug dressed up in a three-piece suit waited patiently in the reception area of Kazon Mithril. He'd been told at least a dozen times in the hour and a half that he'd been waiting that Mr Kazon was a very busy man and without an appointment, he would most likely not be able to see him.

The thug's command of English wasn't the best but he knew when he was getting the brush off, and his mood had slowly soured as he waited. Finally, after waiting for two hours to see the business man, he stood angrily and thrust the letter written by his oyabun at the first person who happened by. "Give this to Kazon," he growled in broken English, and stalked off, leaving the foundry behind and returning to the Organisation's headquarters in Dockside.

Should Mr Batten ever receive the letter, it would read:

Victor Kazon, Owner, Kazon Mirthril:

My name is Mitsugu Ryu and I am the head of a charitable organisation, headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. Recently, my associates have learned of a plot to interrupt Kazon Mithril's productions, hurt employees, and even hijack shipments. We are prepared to offer our services in order to protect you from this threat. In exchange for a monthly stipend, we will ensure that your employees are safe from harm, your deliveries reach their destinations intact, and your facilities are free from sabotage.

I would like to call on you at your offices soon. Please courteously reply to this letter and inform me of a convenient time for us to meet. I would hate to see such a profitable business such as yours fall into ruin because you did not act right away.

Sincerely,
貢龍
Mitsugu Ryu

Victor Kazon

Date: 2011-06-02 16:41 EST
"And the dumbass sat here for over two hours?" Victor laughed along with several others at the receptionist's retelling of that afternoon. The meeting had been a short one, with only the operations chairman and those who'd come in contact with their 'visitor'.

The seraph shook his head and finally crushed the letter in his fist, tossing it over his shoulder into the trash. "I suppose I should pass around a warning that we've got a merry band of ei-skurs shaking people down. Looks like the usual 'protection' racket. Of course, we'll be tightening security, so make sure everyone's ID chips are updated. I've already activated the Omega drones, just in case they're really stupid. I'll check the omnithal and the local databanks, and if they've got any technology that actually poses a threat, I'll work on viral and disjunction countermeasures."

The operations chairman nodded. "Should we arm the men in the cybernetics divisions?"

Victor shook his head. "No, no. Most of those guys are techs and they'd just shoot themselves anyway. The Omega drones will prioritize cybernetics and weapons, and I'll code them to shoot first and ask questions later if anything fails the IFF check. I won't let any of this interrupt day-to-day operations, and I certainly won't put unnecessary stress on the employees."

The name probably meant nothing, but Victor searched it anyway while he reviewed the video logs from the stranger's visit. Then, on to the good stuff. "Good job on planting that tracker, Leo." The 'receptionist', one of the two other retired seraphs in Kazon Mithril, had placed a cloaked monitor on the visitor, and Victor's eye now called up its visual, watching the man's life through his own eyes.

Victor Kazon

Date: 2011-06-14 19:09 EST
"So nothing else out of the ordinary?" Victor already knew the answer, of course, since he'd received no calls.

Leo simply shrugged. "Nothing."

"I figured as much. I told the governor I'd give them all we have." A photo of the man, fingerprints lifted from the paper, a DNA analysis from a stray hair he'd left along the way. Victor couldn't send it the normal way, so he'd printed everything out and planned to drop it off himself. "Anything else from the bug?"

"Nope. He's just the messenger, and I don't think he's even come in contact with anyone important." Leo tapped the screen on the wall, and the image that came from the man's eyes was nothing noteworthy. A small apartment, an almost empty refrigerator. The sink. A bottle and glass. "They may be primitive, but they're not stupid. He probably doesn't even know who's in charge."

Nodding, Victor killed the monitor and headed for the door. "Then I'm off. Oh, and keep an eye on the alien. I doubt he'll be a problem, but let's make sure he doesn't become one."

"Is he really doing all this to go meet an Ikural?" Leo was still skeptical, but he couldn't argue with the payment they'd been given in exchange for something as simple as a ship.

"So he says. Hell, he makes it sound like some kind of pilgrimage."

The two seraphs shook their heads and laughed in unison, then Victor waved and departed. A moment later, bright silver flew through the sky toward the governor's office.

Kakure-Kai

Date: 2011-06-15 21:25 EST
It was a very good thing that Ryu-san had chosen Kōtetsu as his chief for this new enterprise. Kōtetsu was very careful in all of his dealings and never took anyone's word at face value. He always investigated claims on his own and he was certainly happy that he'd sent someone to this Government Advisory Council meeting. He'd learned some very, very interesting things there.

Like the fact that apparently the technology in this realm allowed people to put cameras inside his men and film their lives through their own eyes. When the kyodai who had attended the Council meeting reported back seeing Shiro's face projected from one of the audience member's eyes, Kōtetsu had Shiro...taken care of...and had his body sent back to Japan for a full autopsy.

The results were startling. A little...something...had been attached to the man's brain stem. Kōtetsu could only assume that it was the camera and it was now resting in a box, which had been left just outside Victor Kazon's foundry. It was just a small present to Kazon, a nod to a worthy opponent, and perhaps a little warning as well:

'We know what you're capable of; can you say the same?'

Victor Kazon

Date: 2011-06-16 13:24 EST
"Looks like our little bug died, boss." Leo's voice over the comm-link was disinterested at best.

"Then my theory is confirmed. They had a spy in the meeting." Victor smirked, then there was a temporary blackout at the terminal before he reappeared. "Sorcha, quit that... Anyway, that's why I never mentioned our defenses or that they were already deployed."

"Exactly. So, do you plan on hunting another one down, or are you going to leave this to the authorities?"

Victor scratched his stubbled chin for a moment. "Well, I have better things to do than play hero. Besides, if they're smart, they'll assume a bug in anyone we let live."

"Right, and they'll be dead an hour later."

"Exactly. How many of their men do they truly consider expendable?"

---

The next morning, Victor had just emerged from his shower, watching a quartet of thin slashes into his shoulder knit together before he dressed. It wouldn't do to ruin a perfectly good shirt with blood... again.

It wasn't often the seraph was startled, but he was when his arm panel started blinking red and beeping. "Leo? What's going on?"

"Boss, you need to see this."

Through the tiny screen, all Victor could make out was a box the man held in his hand. "Did something crash?"

"They found the f**king bug."

The panel's display zoomed in, over and over. The bug was smaller than a grain of salt, and Victor stared in disbelief. "What the..."

"I found it outside the main office this morning. They're damn careful, though. They never got anywhere near the defense drones. You sure that didn't leak too?"

"Absolutely certain. I never spoke a single word of it, anywhere. Even the employees don't know. Just you and me."

Leo nodded. "Must have just been really careful, then. Probably didn't want their delivery man bugged. Then they'd have to kill him too."

"That's what I'm guessing." He checked the time in the corner of the screen. "I'll be there in 11 minutes. Send some kind of word to the governor that our man is dead, but don't tell them the skuth found the bug. I want to see if someone already knows."

"Understood. Ellesch out."