Time kept slipping away... like a steady pressure tightening around everyone's chest.
"Hey! That guy, Yorinobu Arasaka... looks like he's on comms with someone. Definitely not tonight's girl... I mean, his bodyguards cleared everyone else out."
Jackie's voice suddenly broke through the comms. A simple call shouldn't have mattered—but this one hit like a rock breaking calm waters.
Almost instantly, chaos erupted both at the top and bottom of Konpeki Plaza.
While V's personal link was still connected to the safe's terminal, the roar of engines shook the glass wall before them. Three AVs rose from below, leveling out over the balcony.
One Caliburn flanked by two Octant Drones..
The engines thundered so loud it felt like the glass would shatter. Worse yet, they settled onto the helipad at the very top of Konpeki Plaza.
"Our Crown Prince has friends... and not the low-ranking kind..." Staring out the window, V's pupils shrank to pinpricks. She barked into the comms: "T-Bug?"
Just the name... but the meaning was clear to everyone.
"I'm working as fast as I can! Jackie, what the hell's happening downstairs?" T-Bug's voice cracked with urgency, her teeth audibly grinding.
"Chooms... this doesn't look good..." Jackie's voice trembled, like he was frozen by something he couldn't believe.
But he still forced the words out: "Adam Smasher..."
Down in Konpeki's grand lobby, a massive figure approached. The clang of metal boots on marble drowned out everything else.
"Shit! Smasher's taking Yorinobu toward the elevator!" Jackie's voice rose into a near-shout, making every heart sink.
"Stall them!!" T-Bug roared, her voice exploding over the channel.
"It's Adam Smasher! Fuck! No time to explain, but this bastard knows us!" Jackie's voice cracked with despair... That sick feeling—like watching something tumble past the point of no return.
"Shit! Shit!" V's eyes locked on the progress bar. The instant it hit the end, she ripped out her personal link.
Arthur didn't need prompting—he snatched the box the moment the safe lid popped open.
"Ugh... box duty again." He muttered, low but still loud enough for everyone to hear. It did nothing to cut through the tension choking the air.
"We can make it!"
"We can make it!"
"We can make it!"
Everyone repeated it in their heads.
But before V could dash for the elevator, Jackie's voice cut in: "They're already up."
...
For a heartbeat, the sound seemed to vanish, stripped away. Dizziness swarmed V's head...
If they were trapped here... Her eyes flicked to the black glass outside. Damn it. They didn't have wings.
"It's too late! Hide, now!" T-Bug shouted, snapping V back to her senses.
"Where? Where the hell do we hide?" V yelled.
Almost instantly, T-Bug shot back: "Behind you! That pillar! Move!"
No time for anything else—Arthur hauled the box and followed V into the hollow pillar.
A seamless panel shut flush with the wall.
"Hiding in this thing? They'll find us sooner or later!" V hissed, panic plain on her face in the cramped space.
"I'm working on it! Damn it... what the fuck is going on?" T-Bug's voice was ragged, just as shaken.
"¡Se acabó—It's ove!!" Jackie's voice cracked with dread. If his brother got burned on a Gig he himself had vouched for... he couldn't bear the thought.
"Relax!" Rebecca's voice cut in, sharp and unwavering. "If they find us, we fight our way out!"
Even unarmed, she sounded full of confidence—like blasting their way out was the simplest thing in the world.
Just then, the lights in the penthouse snapped on. Slowly, the elevator doors opened, and two figures stepped out.
One tall, one shorter... though "short" was relative. Adam Smasher, and Yorinobu Arasaka.
"They're here?" Yorinobu's voice carried a strange lilt. He asked just that before sinking into the sofa.
A mechanical female voice echoed through the penthouse: "Helipad secured. Subjects inbound."
"Shit! Who's coming?" V growled under her breath.
Arthur clutched the box tighter, pressing himself against the other side of the cramped hideout. He nodded toward the nearby stairs. "An old man? Maybe his grandfather?"
...
"No... no, fuck, that's impossible!" T-Bug's voice broke, laced with raw terror. This was a pressure even Adam Smasher couldn't produce. "It's fucking Saburo Arasaka!"
Arthur eyed the old man calmly. Maybe ignorance really was courage—he felt little fear for this hunched figure whose back barely stayed straight.
"Quiet... Careful, this glass isn't soundproof..." V's warning dwindled into her chest, then disappeared.
Only the sounds outside remained.
Saburo Arasaka entered with another bodyguard, also Asian, built like Arthur but a head shorter.
Fulfilling his duty, the man's eyes swept the room, data flickered across his eyes.
The two inside the pillar held their breath until their lungs burned.
"Takemura!" Saburo waved toward him. "Enough. Let's speak privately."
"Lord Saburo, the inspection here isn't complete," the bodyguard said gravely.
"He's my son..." Saburo shook his head, casting only the briefest glance in their direction before pulling his gaze away.