Faster Than Angels

[Ace3000]

The referenced album title of Part 24.1 was California Noir by Julien-K.

[s2_16.2: Part 24.2] That Crooked Vulture

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<22120601>

Monday, June 1st, 2212

Brandon's house, Perth, Australia.

23:09:31

"Come on, damnit, answer!"

Kat had had enough, she wasn't going to play by Nikole's rules, she was going to find out about the spy by any means necessary. She had followed Kyoko to Brandon's house, and was seeing her bang on his door.

"What?! It's 10pm! Are you're sleeping?" She took out her phone and phoned him. "Of course you are not answering the door when I need your assistance the most, argh!"

"Where the hell are you?!
"...
"... Ugh, no reason. じゃあね."

She hung up at that point. Not wasting any more time, she re-entered her car and set off, switching off the red lights the moment she got back on the roads... but nearly lost it in the process, her AG racing skills bringing the car back in control. Kat continued following her, all the way to Angelus HQ.

Donning her beanie again, she snuck into the building, following Kyoko right up to Brandon's office. Cracking the door open slightly, she listened in.

"-ow what I have to deal with."

"No, of course I don't, but you still need sleep to function properly!"

Kat listened in to their entire conversation, complete with Kyoko slapping Brandon in the face. The conversation suddenly changed when they finished discussing the spy.

"How are you holding up?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Your identity. How are you holding up keeping it covered?"

"Oh, that... well, once I got used to it, it's pretty easy."

"Good, good."

"Although, I won't say that it wasn't tiring, because it was."

Kyoko removed her helmet to cool off and sat down, continuing their conversation. Katsuo was about to leave, but there was one thing she couldn't let go of.

She had to see her face.

Katsuo cracked the door just enough to get an eye into the door. She used the window behind the desk to catch a reflection of her head. There was a slight chill from the sight she had beheld, but not enough to make her look away. She kept her eye on the face for a solid minute just to make sure she knew exactly what it was. After this realization, Katsuo couldn't help herself from staying to listen to the conversation they had, learning what should never leave the office, up until the last possible moment she could stay.

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<22120602>

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2212

Public underground carpark, Perth, Australia.

08:59:19

There was no way to know how much longer there was until any effort to find the spy became moot. Nikole was anxiously waiting in her car for Katsuo as a result of the issue. She showed up to the meeting point 15 minutes early just to fool herself into thinking she would get her information earlier, and now she has sat alone for another 15 minutes before Katsuo had arrived with the news.

“They're attacking Crinale.” Katsuo started.

“Attacking? What do you mean attacking?”

“Couldn't tell you much more then that, just that they might not be playing fair for a while.”

Nikole spaced out from realizing the complications of a company with those intentions being infiltrated, or even manipulated from the inside.

"Any other requests?"

Nikole snapped out of her trance. "Brandon Smith, anything about him?"

"I heard him say he was trying to find the spy, in a roundabout way. He's in the clear."

"Alright, at least we avoided a worst case scenario."

"If you thought he was the spy, then why did you tell him about it?"

"I had to tell someone, and Brandon was the least likely. He's the one that everyone would see everyday. Did you spot Kyoko at all?"

"If she ever leaves her home, she wasn't in her favourite anonymous racing suit of secretness. Still, though, she and Brandon are too close for a spy to not get caught as her. She apparently only shows her helmet on a raceday anyway, which would make for the world's laziest informant."

"Gareth Ardos?"

"It could be him, he was a bit sociable, though. It'd be hard for him to stay undetected with how he acts, but it could be done, I suppose."

"And Alexandra Kotova?"

"Something was off about her... I almost didn't even see it. Apparently her hair had looked different or something. I though maybe she just changed it's colour overnight, but that would mean that whenever someone notices, she changes it back."

"You saw her change her hair colour after someone saw it was different?"

"Yeah, she went to the bathroom just to do it. That's all the weird stuff I saw her do, though."

"Right... anything else I should know?"

Katsuo looked up, as though she was debating with herself on what to say.

"What is it... If it's that important, just tell me."

After taking a large breath, Katsuo opened her mouth. "I know where Tarah Andrews is."

"...How do you know this." Nikole said sternly, already knowing the answer.

"Did you think I was going to find her grocery shopping? I had to, I couldn't get to her any other way?"

Nikole laid her head on the steering wheel in frustration, then sat up in a slightly calmer state. "Maybe you were right. Just... don't tell me what you heard."

"But she-"

"If Tarah's been under the radar for this long, she hasn't been making any problems. We'll deal with the spy first, then we'll see what happens. You can go now."

"Nikole-"

"I don't want to hear it. Enjoy the rest of your day however you like, your job is done for now."

Katsuo still felt she had more to say, but knew she couldn't convince Nikole to hear her out. After a bit of hesitation, she eventually exited Nikole's car, which promptly left the carpark, and went back into her own. It wasn't until she had managed to fully distract herself from the subject with whatever she had on hand before she went back to the outside world herself.