I was half expecting to have to fight to work our way across the plaza. What a purely pedestrian worry. Rather than fighting, people actively backed away from the intimidating Inquisitor. I didn’t even need Cue to see the fear blatantly obvious in most people’s faces as we walked by. Rather, as he walked by the Jaeger and I swiftly followed.
I noticed several groups of 'undercover' looking groups of FSA soldiers out and about the clearing, which was... interesting. For the most part, their disguises were good. I had just spent too much time around the type and could pick them out fairly easily from the rest of the people around. Were they still watching the area after Mira and I found that underground storage area?
Regardless of who was here, we easily passed through the plaza. Maybe it was because of his terrifying demeanor hidden behind enchanted gear? Or the giant sword strapped to his back? No one wanted to deal with us. At least, until something changed about halfway through.
The moment we stepped into the part plaza hiding under the tower, three heavily armed men wearing bright red clothes approached. Each of them was kitted out with rifles and body armor. A massive TS sat on the front of their armor.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out what they were: Talus Security. Although I had never actually been inside an arcology, I had heard quite a bit about them. The internal security basically acted like the police force of the arcology, ensuring its relative peace.
“Play it cool, Shquire. These guys are just poor intimidation.” Inquisitor Strumgard murmured to me.
“Sir.” I followed his advice and stood as still as possible to avoid drawing attention. Better they deal directly with the Inquisitor rather than me. My hand twitched as I suppressed the desire to get out as the security approached. So much for being 'poor' intimidation.
Or at least, that’s what I would think if the leading guy hadn’t tripped over a loose brick. The two following behind him were caught up in his flailing limbs, falling to the ground. Luckily, they weren’t hurt as they tried to save themselves. Physically, that is. Mentally was still up in the air.
Their intimidation immediately fell to pieces as they scrambled to their feet. As soon as the leader was up, he tried to reassert himself, but the ball was already well in our court as the Jaeger and I flanked Inquisitor Ligh Strumgard. The messed up clothes and off-centered equipment from the fall spoke of it being poor quality too, which didn’t help their act in the slightest.
The leader regained what lacking dignity he could and stopped in front of the Inquisitor. To the guy’s credit, he didn’t back down in the slightest. “We weren’t informed the Crusade sent anyone over…”
“And? Are you shuggesting we have to answer to you?” He laughed, each syllable of his laugh sounding like a blade of ice being sharpened.
The leader backed down a bit, glancing back to his compatriots as if to reassure himself. “‘Course not, sir. Our- our bosses do have a mutual agreement though. You don’t bother us, and we deal with the crime in Talus Tower.”
“I know that... We’re merely here for a look around; you don’t have a problem with that, right? Unlessh… you have something to hide?” The Inquisitor’s confidence was infectious as it infused me slightly. They really were just a poor intimidation tactic.
The man fell for the verbal trap almost immediately. “No, sir-”
“There you have it! Come along shquire, these men won’t have a problem with ush looking around.” The Inquisitor made for the large entryway into the building proper seemingly without a worry in the world.
I quickly followed after him, and the Jaeger came just behind me as we walked past the security forces. Was it really just that simple? A little threat here, a bit of intimidation there, and we easily had access… maybe I should keep up with this Crusade ID better. Its uses were unparalleled, at least against the common rabble. I doubt the same tactic would be so good against any of the big corporations.
Ah, but then I’d have to be in uniform more often, and it could paint a target on my back. Hmm… maybe I should carry around the trenchcoat and hat in my bag at the very least? They could easily fit if I cleaned it up a bit, and I could don the Crusade outfit to better sell my ID at any time.
The leader of the security called out to us, but made no move to chase. “Just watch yourselves! We don’t need any more trouble…”
Inquisitor Strumgard flopped his hand towards the guard in acknowledgment as we entered the entryway alongside dozens of others along the length of it. The entryway led into another grand room, reaching several stories up. It was only slightly smaller than the plaza. Small shops and restaurants covered the walls of the place almost entirely, only leaving room for several different-looking hallways leading to who knows where.
“Stay close, Squire. The hallways are like the streets and alleys of the city. It is eashy to get lost, and even eashier to get mugged for turning down the wrong way.” Inquisitor Strumgard told me as we walked toward one of the smaller hallways. It was dark compared to the rest of the place, but I managed to pick out some abandoned trash and boxes scattered around it. The hallway really did seem like a back alley.
No, maybe more like the halls of a massive ship or something? They were almost tight enough to cause a claustrophobic to freak.
We headed through it, the Inquisitor in the lead as we walked through the shifting hallways. Every once in a while, we would enter a populated area, but much of the place sat in disorder as small apartments and stores practically shared the same space.
Arcologies were designed to be fully self-sufficient cities in of themselves, but the sheer size and girth of the place was surprising. Especially considering this was only the first floor of the titanic tower. Seriously, it seemed over the top. As it stands, bigger isn’t always better.
”Do you know w-where we’re going, Sir?” I asked as we turned down the nth hallway. I had long lost track of the path to get here, and the Inquisitor had just kept on trucking as if he had a plan.
He turned back to me. “I was following you?”
Wut? You’re in front of me, damnit! How did this guy manage to do anything with this level of incompetence? “But I was following you- I’m j-just a Squire, after all.”
“Hmm…” He rubbed his chin, or at least the silver mask where his chin hid behind. “Well, you make a fair point, Shquire Zuku. Why don’t we ask a local then?”
I looked up and down the dank hallway. Every door leading off it looked condemned, and it looked as if the owner's belongings were tossed out into the hall. Half of them looked rotted, which was damn impressive considering most of the stuff was synthetic. “Here?”
”Of course! Watch and learn, dear Shquire.” Inquisitor Strumgard walked over to a nearby door and lightly rapped on it.
I sent one last speculatory glance as Insight came over me with that familiar chill. There were no footprints in the dust. No one had been here in a long time. “Sir? No one-“
The sound of fumbling came from behind the door, proving me entirely wrong. The door opened, and a little boy’s face popped out. He twitched and shrunk back a bit before swinging it wide open. “Wow! An Inquisitor! D-did I do something wrong?” He shrunk back, his eyes quivering as his arms trembled.
“No need to worry yourself, kid. We’re just looking for directionsh.” His ice-cold voice and intimidating aura seemed to envelop the kid as he trembled harder in fear.
Or not, considering how his face lit up and absolute joy. “Oh! I’m an arcology guide! I can show you around if you want.”
What the hell? How incredibly lucky to knock on a random ass door and have it be not only be a guide, but an enthusiastic one at that. Surely this was suspicious… was it a setup of some kind? And look at the way he’s shaking! Cue numero uno for anxiety. Is he scared he’ll be discovered?
Apparently, I was the only one having such considerations as the Inquisitor stuck his hand out. “What’s your name, kid?”
The kid eagerly stuck out his own shaking hand- uh, his fingerless hand. The kid had no fingers, just palms. “Nick, Nick Tinsley. Everyone calls me Tens though.” He waggled his hand around.
Was his nickname Tens because of his last name? Or on account of him missing all ten of his fingers... “How much do you charge?” I asked the kid as I looked around. Insight wasn’t chilling me, so there probably wasn’t any immediate danger. Still, I carefully inspected my surroundings for any hint of something off… nothing but squalor.
”Twenty Ryan per floor usually, but I’ll do it free since you’re the Crusade!” Nick’s lips wavered suspiciously as he broadly smiled, showcasing a missing tooth.
The Inquisitor’s silver mask seemed to gleam in the low light of the boy’s room as he nodded his head several times. “Ah, well, I’ll pay you fifty. Why don’t you go on down to Shlab Co. and get yourself some new fingers?”
“New fingers?” The boy twitched to the side, though I was beginning to suspect it might’ve been drugs rather than suspicious behavior. It was far too frequent, almost like a Patch addict… but he didn’t have the cuts. “But chrome will cost me at least a hundred, and I’ll have to find a Medech. I’m saving, but that’s expensive.”
“Slab Co charges only fifty. A lot cheaper, Nick.” I told the kid. If this was just all a convenient coincidence, and he wasn’t a plant to guide us into an ambush, I would feel bad for the kid. It was quite sad not to have any fingers. Humanity relied on them heavily, and when they were taken away…
How’d he lose his fingers in the first place? Birth defect? Hmm… Insight tingled, drawing my eyes to the clean cuts of his short stumps. Sure they had healed somewhat, but I could still see the original cut. Like someone had intentionally cut them off... Maybe a doctor then?
Where were the kid’s parents though? Surely someone must be paying for this small room- I looked around at the abandoned state of the area. Maybe not then. Maybe the kid was squatting here… hmm… another point of suspicion, alongside the ‘lucky’ find of the kid.
The kid twitched in surprise, I think. Kind of hard to tell with his overall twitchy nature. “Really? But every’n always says I should get chrome?”
It was weird to me too back when Neal told me about it for the first time. Corporate propaganda, if I had to guess, attempted to lock people into the single-minded path of chrome replacements. It worked for people like me who needed that little extra something, at least I thought it did, but most normies and corpo drones were better off just sticking with flesh.
“Regardless, we need to find somebody, Tens.” The Inquisitor said, completely ignoring the way the kid jittered as he spoke.
“Oh! I get to help in a real Crusade investigation! Ah, this is so exciting!” Nick practically vibrated in place. “Talus is a bit big though… what do you know about the perp? Help narrow down the area.”
The investigator tapped his chin and thought. Deep thought, I realized as the silence stretched on. With every passing second, the kid seemed to shake more.
Time ticked by, and eventually, my patience wore thin. “Uh, he would’ve come and gone a lot… probably had his own room too, on account of his job.” What else did I know about Drew?
Rather, what did I know of thieves in general? I was one, so maybe base a description off how I would’ve operated given the choice? “Would’ve like lots of ways in and out.” I continued. “Probably somewhere more secluded. Would’ve probably liked to avoid security as much as possible…”
Nick started to shift from foot to foot as his face scrunched up. “There’s s a lot of areas like that… maybe on the first or second floor though if’n he wanted in and out and came and went frequently.”
Inquisitor Ligh nodded his silver-covered head. “Tens, If you can get us close enough for the Jaeger to find his shcent, I’ll pay you a hundred Rayn.”
Was the Inquisitor so drunk he forgot the original offer? That was worrying… No wait, that was good. Maybe he would forget all about me if he drank enough? Maybe I should get him one of those "World's Best Boss" coffee cups and a lot of 'creamer'.
Nick’s face lit up at the generous offer. “I think I know a place!”
And he instantly knows a place? Even more suspicious! I guess I'll find out if this really is an ambush when we get there… the Inquisitor should be able to take care of the fighting, right?
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