Chapter 65 – It Might Not?

A key idly twirled round and round my finger. The small motorcycle charm on it caught the light and settled in my palm. Still, my focus remained locked onto the video playing on the monitor in front of me.

”Are you sure you’re okay, Reyna?” Quinn quietly asked me. We both stood behind a hospital worker carefully scrubbing through old footage. “You were pretty heavily injured.”

”I’m fine, Quinn.” I nudged her with my shoulder. It was still incredibly sore, but in the hours since I left the arcade, it had healed quite nicely. The Healing Salve was no joke. Too bad I didn’t have any more of it to apply to my side, which was now wrapped in so many bandages that it was kind of hard to breathe. “Doctor Smith signed off on me, didn’t he?”

Just like usual when I was injured, Hades took care of it. No idea how they knew I was caught up in that mess, but Doctor Smith saved me from the clutches of the paramedics and took me in for a ‘private checkup’. They couldn’t exactly afford to let their experiments be known just because I hurt myself a bit.

“I don’t trust that guy.” Quinn didn’t look convinced, though thankfully dropped it. Hades would be able to handle an investigation, but the thought of her digging into them still sent a chill down my spine.

I rubbed lightly at my arms. My blouse was totally trashed, so one of the paramedics lent me their Harbor jacket and a spare t-shirt. I had the dark blue rain jacket pulled up to my elbow to let some of my wounds breathe a bit better.

Quinn likewise had on a Harbor jacket. The organization’s name was spelled out in big bold letters in bright yellow. Her sleeves were down, though, and covered up thick mounds of bandages. “Are we going to talk about what happened?”

”At a time like this?” I arched a brow, and snapped my hand around the key. We were in the middle of trying to find whoever sold the information and access badge to Lizzie.

Speaking of, she was fine. They all were. The kids were even here in the hospital, surrounding Lizzie’s mom who was somehow making a miraculous recovery on one of the floors above us. Quinn may be a rich heiress, but she was more than capable of getting her hands dirty.

As for the arcade… Well, it mysteriously closed after I came out of it. In its place was just a door into an empty storage closet. As for the key itself, I was planning on tossing it off the wall into the Mire as soon as I could. I didn’t want it to remain in my possession where it’d tempt me, and I couldn’t afford for anyone else to have it.

Harbor’s anomaly containment teams were still scrubbing the area. We’d have to push back our practical by a week so they could ensure there wasn’t anything else weird going on at the amusement park, but there shouldn’t be too many lasting problems. It’d give more time for Quinn to prepare the place, at least.

”Alright, Guardian. Here’s the footage you requested.” A hospital security guard pushed away from the computer, and stood up. “I’ll leave you to it.”

”Are you sure that’s wise? To just leave us here, I mean.” Quinn waved to the computer. “We have full access to your systems.”

“The less I know about why you’re here, the better. I’m already busy enough as is.” The guard shrugged casually, and headed for the door. “You have better ways of abusing your authority if that’s what this is really about, anyway. Call for me if you need something.”

”Thanks, Lawrence.” I nodded to the security guard. He looked a little happy that I remembered his name as he left the room to just the two of us.

”Nothing to it but to start, huh?” Quinn gave me the rolly chair, and instead pulled up a small stool to sit on. I took a seat just behind her. “What time did you say the transaction went through?”

I pulled out my phone, and checked the bank statement Lizzie sent me. “Just after five. She was just outside the operating rooms.”

While Quinn started to scrub through the hospital’s footage, I leaned backward and slowly spun back and forth. My eyes naturally dropped to the key in my hand once more.

| Redline

Type: Equipment

Anomalous Property: Speed Demon

Effect: Summon a sleek sports motorcycle. The bike maintains perfect traction regardless of terrain, environment, or speed. |

It was such a simple effect, really. And yet I couldn’t help but feel deeply uncomfortable about the anomaly. Just how much had that entity seen and heard? ‘Course I made the connection to when I told Robert I’d kill for a bike. The entity was locked away behind the counter of the ticket shop, and yet it seemingly picked out the perfect item for me.

Redline, huh? I spun the key around my finger once more. I couldn’t even pretend that it was a useless item that the entity gave me to balance out the transaction. I didn’t actually have a vehicle of my own, so it might be pretty useful.

Then there was the Vitae. I wasn’t sure how Blackwater tracked me or considered my assessment, but I completed the bounty. With a thought, the Blackwater Anomalous Biosystems popped up into my vision.

| Subject: Reyna Vargriev

Subject Species: Silver Wolf Apex

Subject Profile:

STR - 2.0 ACU - 1.3

AGL - 2.5 PSI - 2.6

RES - 0.8 ANM - 0.2

Traits: Regeneration, Rage, Mutant, Witness, Stygian Growth Serum

NLC - 10/158

=Blackwater Anomalous Biosystems V7.77

=Blackwater Anomalous Rend

=Templar Basic Immuno Mask(10)

Vitae: 19

Blackwater Catalogs: Basic Nyter, Blackwater Anomalous |

My stats had marginally improved since the last time I checked, which was nice. Strength was catching up with Agility, and I felt that back in the arcade. The monster had been incredibly heavy. The only reason I managed to get it over my shoulder and slam it into the arcade games was thanks to technique.

I lightly picked at a scab on my arm as my eyes roved over PSI. It’d gone up by point one. I… I didn’t know how I should feel about that. My Psyker nature was what kept me on the knife’s edge. Just one small push or missed inhibitor could push me into a fate worse than death.

What would happen to me if that number turned to 3? Or 4? Would I become even more susceptible to corruption than I already was? Would I turn into a full fledged abomination in—

“Reyna.” Quinn’s hand wrapped around my own, causing my brain to freeze up for a moment. I looked down at my bloody fingers, and then up to her concerned face.

”S-sorry.” I shook my head, and pulled my hand away. She just watched me for a moment before waving her hand to the side. A small stream of water washed off the blood.

”Hold still.” Quinn pulled a bundle of bandages out of her pocket, and started to wrap my arm till I looked like her. “Knew grabbing extra was a good idea.”

”Thanks,” I muttered quietly. For some reason, I felt like a little kid who disappointed her mom. I dropped my hands into my lap and shifted my focus to something else as she went back to reviewing the footage.

| + Daily Curio(h m):

Lyzar Mutagen(unstable)

-5000V > 50V

+ Blackwater’s Choice(h m):

Reflective Subdermal Plating

-550V

+ Anchor Estate Liquidation:

Owner: Tod Hollow(revoked)

[ Open? ]

+Blind Acquisitions:

Lost and Found - 10V

Basic Catalogs - Locked

Veil Curio - Locked

+ Blackwater Bounty:

N/A

+ Blackwater Anomalous Relay: 175/500 |

I couldn’t afford anything still—wait, no, I could afford one thing. I hesitated for a moment before selecting Lost and Found. I needed to spend a ton of Vitae anyway, so why not try it out?

| Blind Acquisitions - 1x Lost and Found

Rolling… |

Oh… My ears drooped slightly. So this was a gambling thing? What a waste of Vitae. I was never particularly lucky with these kinds of things. In the future, I should just save Vitae for the Daily Curio and Blackwater’s Choice.

| Congratulations! |

| Blackwater Anomalous Universal Chroma

Pattern: Teric

NLC: N/A

Effect: Universal Chroma suite that grants control over biological, nanite, and esoteric coloration. |

Huh, that seemed kinda useless. What was I going to do with something like that? Dye my hair? Although… Maybe I could change the color of Rend from silver to the same blue color as Sylvie? I could call it a late bloom or something. Might make us a bit closer to share the same Aspect—

Shit! My tail shot out straight, and the silver fur along it stretched out in alarm. A thin black line cut through the air just in front of me. The familiar line etched into the air, and expanded into a pure void of nothingness. Don’t send it now! Are you crazy?

Quinn noticed my body going rigid. She paused the video, and started to turn back toward me. “You okay—?”

I pressed up against Quinn’s back to keep her facing forward, and dropped my chin onto her shoulder to block her view. My arms naturally shot up to wrap around her waist in a loose hug. She immediately tensed up like I’d just hit her with lightning. “Uh, Reyna?”

“J-just a bit tired.” I let out a casual yawn, and flicked my tail back to catch a small silver cylinder just as it was pushed out of the void. Using my tail to actually maneuver stuff usually wasn’t a good idea, but it seemed my strength increases hadn’t only been to my arms. The impenetrable black void sealed itself a moment later. “Is this okay?”

”I guess.” She patted my leg with her hand, and hit play on the recording once more. “Should I go get you a pillow instead? Be more comfortable than my shoulder.”

”We probably won’t be here that long.” I let out a groan as the stitching in my side pulled, and leaned heavier against her. Her back straightened even further to support me. “S-sorry.”

”It’s fine… you sure you’re okay?” She asked somewhat awkwardly. Quinn was the type to make eye contact while speaking, so I’m sure our current position was throwing her off massively. “You’re usually like a fussy cat when it comes to physical contact.”

”I prefer the big bad wolf.” I moved one of my arms back, and sneakily popped open the lid of the canister just out of her view. White mist billowed up behind me, and a silver needle poked out. “You, uh, you found anything yet?”

“No.” She sighed. Her shoulders slumped, taking me with them. “Are you sure the transaction time was correct?”

”Unless it was a delayed transaction.” But that was highly unlikely. The canister dropped through a void behind me like it was never there, and I relaxed a bit more.

With her still focused on the monitor, I stabbed the needle into myself and injected my newest Nanite Strain. There wasn’t a reason not to. It didn’t even affect my Nanite Load Capacity. That was the truly anomalous part of Blackwater’s strains from what Vigil said.

Icy cold spread through my veins, and the nanites spread out through my body. A second later, I checked just to make sure the strain had been integrated correctly—

“Wait, go back.” I perked upright, and let go of Quinn. I rolled around to her side instead so we were shoulder to shoulder.

“What is it?” Quinn rolled the recording back slightly.

”There. Right there.” I pointed toward a despairing Lizzie curled up in the corner of the surgery’s waiting room. Most of the recordings so far had shown the same thing. “Why’d she sit up right here?”

Quinn hit play again, and zoomed into the recording. Lizzie shifted around like someone approached her, and warily watched something on the other side of the room. Unfortunately, it was just out of the camera’s view. There was no audio, but her lips twitched like she was talking to someone. “Who’s she talking to?”

“Can you swap cameras?” I asked.

A different perspective showed up. Quinn manipulated the footage several times, only to show the same thing again and again. “There’s no one there.”

A ghost? No, more likely some kind of camera scrubbing tool or anomaly? Whoever this was went through extreme lengths to remain unknown. Had our trail gone cold then? I already tried Dr. Hovland. He was a Harbor researcher that disappeared about the same time the Back Arcade site got shut down. Most of the records were expunged, so that was a dead end too.

“Maybe—“ Quinn’s voice cut off as her phone started to ring. She paused on the camera, and lifted it to the side of her face. “Guardian Tidebreak speaking.”

My ears twitched. Although it wasn’t on speaker, I had good enough hearing to catch the other voice. It was Harbor’s Captain Voin. “Guardian Tidebreak! It’s good to hear from you again.”

”You called me.” Quinn didn’t bother being cordial with the man. Her voice was just a step up from dripping with venom.

”Ah, so I did, so I did.” The spineless pig laughed heartily. “So, where are you now?”

”East Silverport Hospital. Canary Vargriev and I are investigating how the Silverport Back Arcade access card got sold.” Quinn turned around in her chair so she was facing me. Why was Captain Voin himself calling? Surely it should’ve been Lieutenant Harkness if there was something wrong, right?

”Yes, yes, that case is quite important…” He mumbled to himself. Although the guy was an ass, he wasn’t totally clueless. Otherwise he wouldn't have become Silverport’s Captain. “You and, um, Canary Vargriev are more than capable of handling it.”

Was this a honey and axe situation? Or just Voin being a suckup like usual? Quinn shrugged at me. “Thank you—“

“That being said. I’m taking you off the case immediately.” And there was the axe. “Your duties are still to focus on Silverport Academy, not get caught up in an investigation. Go ahead and take the rest of the night off.”

“What about our reports?” Quinn glanced at me with an exasperated expression. Usually, reports were supposed to be written up within a couple hours of the events happening while it was still fresh.

“Have your Canary do it. I’m ordering you to take the rest of the night off.” My tail coiled around my thigh. Heh, that was about right. He finally managed to find his spine, and it was only to make my life more difficult.

”Sir, it isn’t fair—“

“Life isn’t fair, though of course you don’t need me to tell you that.” Captain Voin grumbled reproachfully. It sounded like he was more aggravated with himself than anything. “Here, your Canary can have the night off too. Her name’s Reyna, right? The paperwork won’t go anywhere.”

Hearing that I also had off, Quinn finally relented. “Yes, sir.”

”I’m glad you see it my way! Now, I’ll let you go. I’m sure you must be incredibly busy, Guardian.” With his goal achieved, Voin immediately hung up.

Quinn held the phone limply in her hand, and stared blankly at me. I shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. “What was that about? Someone doesn’t want us to dig deeper?”

Being pulled of the case usually insinuated that, at least. He even let me off for the night, so it must’ve been quite important to him that we didn’t keep pressing this. Was Harbor tied up in this? Was Harbor itself who handed over the key? This could all just be some fucked up way of testing anomalies using civilians. I wouldn’t put it past the shadowy elite.

“I don’t think so?” Her phone buzzed again, and she relaxed ever so slightly.

“Why not?”

Quinn shrugged and showed me a message from her dad. Remember tonight? It was short and simple, leaving me even more confused. She just sighed heavily. “Dear old dad must’ve called him.”

”To give you the night off?” I felt like I was missing a few things here. “Don’t you guys have an agreement that he won’t tamper with your job?”

”We did.” Quinn winced. “It seems that agreement went out the window when I asked him to get us jobs at the Academy. I’ll have a talk with him about it.”

I slowly nodded. So this wasn’t some attempt to cover it up? Honestly, I wasn’t too upset with being taken off the case if it wasn’t a coverup. Voin was right about one thing—we should be focused on the Academy and training the next generation. ‘Sides, the trail went cold anyway. If the cameras didn’t work… we could probably ask around whoever was working that day, but that might not turn up anything. Better to leave that to whoever gets put on this one.

That wasn’t to say I wouldn’t keep trying on my own time, though. This bastard targeted a thirteen-year-old girl. There was no chance in hell that I’d just let that kind of thing go. If he did this kind of thing once, then he’s probably done it a couple times. I just needed to ask around the right circles and see if I couldn’t turn something up.

“What’s up with tonight specifically, then?” I asked. Not every day that Silverport's Captain himself called to make us take the night off.

”Well… I have a date.” Quinn scratched at her cheek. It was such a shy motion that it totally threw me off for a moment. “Probably worried I’d skip it on the premise of working.”

”Were you going to?” I checked the time. It was already getting super late.

”No. Shaton’s alright enough.” She stood up, and offered her hand down to me. Bandages peeked out from below her sleeves. “I should take you to meet him sometime?”

”Why? So he can kick me?” She was the one who told me that guy liked to kick puppies for fun and whatnot.

”Just rumors. We’re actually going to volunteer at a food pantry in the rioting district as our date.” She looked like she was still surprised by that fact. “His idea. Shade Energy is funding the whole thing.”

Well… maybe he wasn’t so bad after all. Then again, Shade Energy controlled most of the electricity throughout the UCS. They were basically a monopoly. Wasn’t it them in the first place who shut off the power?

The situation was never as simple as it seemed, though. Probably best I reserved judgement till I met the guy. ‘Sides, Quinn wasn’t complaining about him like she used to with everyone her father set her up with. He couldn't be that bad. “Fine. I'll be the third wheel sometime.”

”Thanks.” Quinn smiled softly at me. For some reason, I got the feeling that it meant more to her that I agreed than she was letting on. “I’ll drop you off back at your apartment?”

”Um, no. I’m meeting up with someone tonight too. Sister Neriyov’s going to be pissed I’m so late.” I’d been trying not to think about it, but the Silver Wolf was probably going to throw a fit.

“Fine, fine.” Quinn pushed open the door to the security room. “To the front door then?”

”To the front door.” I stuffed my hands into my pockets, and slowly followed her through the hospital.