Chapter 18

“No Trespassing”

A lonely rusted sign sat still in front of a dark alleyway as people took turns crossing over it, checking their surroundings first before leaping over and into the void as they disappeared into the night. It was already close to midnight as Neil and Aida exited a convenience store somewhere in Uptown 616. They had just arrived after a 20 minute walk from Aida’s place and unlike what they had expected, the main roads surrounding ground zero were busy with traffic and people were gallivanting around at that time of the night where they should be asleep. Ahead of them was the area where the raids had destroyed the most and is completely pitch black from inactivity but it just felt strange for the both of them as they clearly see the divide between the neighboring areas of Block 616 and ground zero. Though they never say it, deep within them was a shared feeling of horror that made their hearts sink down to their stomachs.

‘It’s one thing to see it on the news but…’

‘I know’ Aida replied as they remained still for a moment trying to process the reality of what lies before them before taking the first step into their venture.

‘I sure hope you know what you’re doing Neilsen…’ Aida said as she clutched her arm tighter, feeling nervous about their upcoming ordeal. Neil on the other hand didn’t answer and kept his eyes glued to his phone, looking and cross checking the coordinates that he was streaming from dozens of message and image boards that talked about the raids. ‘My program’s working, we’ll soon find out where or what is exactly happening.’ Neil stated as he hastens his pace while Aida trails after him. They make their way through the crowded streets of Uptown 616 and into the “strip”, the dividing plot of land that delineates Uptown from Downtown 616. Ironically even if the names were supposed to describe the status of the people living there, the downtown area is the more developed district compared to uptown which mostly consisted of residential buildings and mid to upper middle class suburban areas compared to the huge towering structures in downtown.

‘Eww I didn’t know this place existed here.’ Aida said as she looked around the sleazy red lights that surrounded them at every corner. ‘What is this place?’

‘Aida how long have you been in the Philippines?’ Neil graciously asked.

‘Since I was nine… so seven years?’

‘Hmm interesting…’

‘Why?’

‘You know why they called the place you live 616?’ Neil asked.

‘Why?’

‘Six sounds like the colloquial term for the chinese here “Intsik” which by today’s language means everyone with chinky eyes.’

‘Okay that’s kinda racist but go on?’

‘So you got uptown and downtown, both for some reason are heavily occupied with east asian people cuz… you know maybe it’s near the airport and all but…’

Neil cuts off mid sentence after getting distracted by a few ladies in “night attire”

*Ahem*

‘Oh umm…’

‘Airport?’

‘Yes right… So uptown and downtown, you now got six and a six right. And where do you think the “one” is?’

‘I dunno Neil where the fuck are you going with this?’

‘Ugh… This place!’ He said as he spreads his arms to showcase everything around them. ‘The undying strip. It’s been here ever since Downtown used to be the shoreline and it never left… yeah lots of bodily fluids being passed here for generations now.’

‘Eww… and Downtown used to be water?’

‘Yeah my grandpa sez so and yeah I checked, weird right?’

‘So the whole place is based on a racist term and the government just ran with it?’ Aida asked with a concerned look on her face.

‘Well no… but people insisted since it's easier to remember than the old names so… yeah.’ He said as he cringed at his answer. ‘Welcome to Manila!’

Meanwhile Aida just looked at him with a weirded out stare as they continued to navigate their way through the strip and out onto the main highway where already signs of Neil’s speculation were showing.

‘Woah look at these…’ He gasped as looked in awe at all the high end cars that lined up the parking lots in front of the strip. The neon glow from the signs behind them amplifying the stance and curves of the cars that sat there possibly waiting for their turn to run.

‘You weren’t kidding there are nice cars here but this looks like a car show to me though… Where’s the good stuff?’ She asked as Neil immediately checked his phone screen for their next bearing.

‘It's up there!’ He ecstatically said as he pointed five stories up in front of them at the elevated rail highway.

‘How the fuck are we supposed to get up there?’ Said Aida as she contemplates on ways to get up the highway without using a car. ‘We’re not going up “there” Aida.’ Neil corrected.

‘Where then?’ She asked Neil as he smiled with a witty grin, like a magician who’s about to unfold his trick.

But suddenly a flask of pink blew past. Taking their ear drums with it.

Both of them stood by, stunned. Suddenly the people hanging around them were starting to bubble up as they heard some sort of commotion going on from a distance. The look of confusion started to grow on both of them as the people were running away from where they stood while the car owners were jumping into their cars as they hurriedly peel away from the parking lot.

‘What’s happening?’ Asked Aida.

‘No idea… Let’s go.’ Neil replied as he grabbed her arm spontaneously. The both of them follow the crowd as they head towards wherever they were supposed to go.

…

…

‘Good work, I’ll take it from here.’ Bert said as he looked at the old looking warehouse in front of him. He signals the rest of the police squad to pack up as he pressed the button on the side to lift the roll up shutters that hide the contents of the place. ‘Hmm what are these?’ He spoke to himself as he entered, shining his flashlight on one of the strange equipment inside. ‘Are these… Arms?’

He takes a closer look.

‘Prosthetic arms? But these are from carbine.’

‘They are…’ Said a voice from behind.

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‘Excuse me but this is a police sanctioned site, no civilians allowed.’ Bert said as Lando smirks at him.

‘Apparently Carbine has recently dabbled in the medical prosthetics business as their main specialization is into carbon composite manufacturing.’ Lando said as he lit a cigarette in front of Bert. ‘This Is all top secret stuff but… hey this case has piqued my interest so I did a little digging.’

‘And where might you be digging these kinds of intel?’

‘I got my sources.’

‘So what now? Nothing here adds up… you got illegal street racing, top secret car parts and now prosthetics?’

‘Hey I’m stumped myself but the crumbs we’re getting aint even gonna make a full loaf of bread… “You” got some more digging to do.’ Lando explains as he exhales the smoke from within his lungs as he mutters to himself: If they let you...

All of a sudden the lights inside the warehouse switch open with a loud buzz as the pair turns around, hands on their holsters.

‘Hellooo’ A young lady was standing near the breaker switch wearing the brightest smile anyone could ever imagine.

For some reason Lando had a confused look on his face whilst Bert was approaching her with his hand firmly on his holster. ‘Kid, please step out of the building at once. You have trespassed inside a police perimeter and if you don’t wanna get grounded or worse… we will apprehend you.

‘But I’m a minor… don’t I get a reprimand first, officer? Are you gonna arrest me immediately?’

‘If you don’t leave we will apprehend you and THEN give you a reprimand.’

‘Bert… I think she’s with me…’ Lando said as Bert looked back with a confused expression.

‘Yukino?’ Lando asked. ‘Why are you here? I remember calling for your sister not you.’

‘She’s busy… you know stuff… for our family name…’ The girl answered coyly.

‘Wait a sec…’ Bert squints his eyes as he gets his eureka moment. ‘Lando! you’re involving the senator’s daughter here?!’

‘I’ve told you I got my sources…’

‘She’s the one who gave you the Carbine intel?!’

‘N-no that’s imported… This… Her… She’s our local source or at least it’s her sister.’ Lando said while fumbling through his sentence. ‘Yukino, do you even know what’s going on here?’

‘Nope… But big sis told me i’d be fine for whatever goal it is you’re trying to pull her in for.’

‘Why did you pull her in for?’ Asked Bert as Lando pinched the bridge of his nose as the stress of the situation piles in.

‘Okay fine… Yukino do you have any idea what’s in this place?’ Lando bursts out fearing he had no choice but to use her.

Keeno looks around intently, getting a close look at the machines and the prosthetics that were lying around inside the warehouse before going back to where both Lando and Bert stood.

‘It’s a weird 3d printing factory… for some reason they’ve figured out how to use carbon fiber as 3D printing material. See those tower like things?’ She said as she points to the group of machines that were stacked together on top of one another as high as the roof went. ‘They were printing things and assembling them from bottom to the top then delivering it down there where the arms are. But it looks like whatever is setup here is just for a practice run since some of the arms looked to have some major defects on most of its parts.’

‘Okay… How ‘bout these? Do some of these pictures match what you found here?’ Lando asked as he showed her pictures he took at the port area from his phone.

‘Yes some of the parts here are from the 3D printers and I think I saw the same robotic arms back there, I’m guessing they’re part of the assembly process but I’m not exactly sure for what purpose.’

‘That’s okay Yukino, you’ve done quite enough.’

‘Can I take some pictures?’ She asked.

‘Uhh… no--’

‘Sure!’

‘Lando!’

‘What? It’s for the Loran family’s personal use. Besides I think I’m starting to piece things together and we might have higher up support once they get wind that the Loran’s have taken initiative in this investigation.’

‘Wow, you’re suddenly enthusiastic about this Lando.’

‘Well you did make the right choice pulling me into this.’

‘I know, I was betting on it. But how does this connect to the raids?’

‘Well we at least found a third of the breadcrumbs. So we keep on searching.’

‘Searching? I think the crumbs have found us.’ Bert said as he looked at the police reports on his phone. ‘Multiple dangerous driving cases around the 616…’

‘Well what’re we waiting for then?’ Lando answered.

‘Can I come?’ Yukino said from across the floor, her curiosity had somehow made her hearing more sensitive for some reason as both detectives looked at each other in surprise.

…

…

‘I told you we should've taken the elevator!’ An out of breath Aida Murai said while being out of breath after climbing up five stories worth of stairs.

‘The elevator takes twice as long to arrive. Besides its -- good exercise.’ Neil replies, also out of breath as they both reach the train platform of the rail highway. Immediately as they walk into the ticketing area, the station's security guard blocks their path.

‘Excuse me ma’am, sir I am afraid the platforms are closed. Operating hours are from--’

‘We’re not here for a train ride.’

The security guard paused for a moment after hearing what Neil said, prompting him to reach for his radio.

‘Hey control we got code 12 here waiting for a green light.’

‘... _ _. _.. _… _._ _’

‘_ _ _ _._’

‘Ok copy control.’ The security looks at the pair and waves them in, much to the excitement of the both of them as they hop into a sprint towards platforms ahead.

Upon turning a corner they were immediately greeted by a crowd lining up on the platforms as if they were waiting for a train in rush hour conditions and every single one of them seemed to be looking over to the rails. And as the two of them got near, as if the gods had timed it, a strange buzz had whizzed past, followed by another, and another, until they got themselves in front of the cue so they could see what was there.

‘These are all electric cars…’ Murmured Neil as each of them steamed past them on the rail tracks, kicking up sparks everytime one of them bottomed out on the solid steel rails. And to add more to the spectacle, as the line of electric vehicles had passed by them a loud screaming V10 engine bursts from the abyss as a green Lamborghini whips the air around them, sending chills up both their spines.

‘Neil what in the world is happening here?’ Aida asked

‘I don’t know…’ He Replied. ‘But I’m liking it!’

‘Yeah same!’

Aida smiles back as they both soak up the electrifying atmosphere around them as the crowds cheer and buzz around in excitement when the cars pass by. But for a moment Neil noticed something strange going on behind the scenes as the guards were fidgeting around behind them making it seem like something was off. His observations were immediately assured when the crowd started to react in the same way with all their eyes looking around in different directions trying to figure out what was wrong until a distinct buzzing was heard by everyone, unifying their gaze towards the far end of the tracks.

The buzzing got louder and louder as a pair of headlights appeared from a distance.

And another pair of headlights.

And another.

Until a whole pack of cars were zooming past the station, kicking up smoke and dust and sparks as they passed by like a blur in between the train tracks. At first there was silence when the cars had gone by, it took a couple of seconds before the shock had faded from the crowd as they all loudly celebrated what they had just witnessed. Aida hugged Neil as she failed to contain the excitement the scene had given her while Neil stood still in surprise, he didn’t expect this night to turn out this well.

‘Scuse me everyone!’

‘Everyone!’

‘EXCUSE ME!’

Everyone stopped as a sinisterly suited man upped the volume on his megaphone, getting everyone’s attention.

‘I am sad to inform you that the race has been compromised and the police have been notified. We all have 30 minutes to evacuate the scene so please organize yourselves down the stairwells… THANK YOU!’

The crowd had let out a huge groan upon hearing the news as everyone started to walk out of the premises. But amongst the disappointment, Neil had kept his head on his shoulders and his ears on alert.

‘Aida… don’t ask… but we need to run.’ He whispered.

‘Huh?’

Before she could ask any further, Neil had already pulled her away as they sprinted out of the platforms before anybody had even made it out to the stairwell.

…

…

‘Val? Val can you hear me?’ The voice of J2 crackled and popped through her speakers due to unstable connections but it was clear enough for her to understand.

‘Yeah what?’

‘Whatever it is you're doing it’s working. You’ve got cops closing in on your position.’

‘Thanks for the update but…’

‘But?’

‘I think your updates are a tiny bit delayed.’ She said as she looked out of the window of her car, a bunch of blue and red lights were flashing on her windshield as the sirens echoed loudly from within the buildings below.

‘A single green Lamborghini… looks like you’re the only one left holding the fort.’ She told herself as ahead of her were the flaming exhausts of the “Monster” Lamborghini that looked like it was running dead last behind all the electric cars in the race.

‘Guess it was timed perfectly by the old man… I’m impressed… That asshole.’

‘J2!’

‘What?!’

‘Just in case… If my tracker remains still for ten seconds, disconnect yourself.’

‘But…’

‘Just do it! Ending comms…’

‘Hey wait Val?’

J2 on the other end of the line was left staring at the blinking icon on his screen, feeling helpless now that all direct communication had been cut off by Val. All he can do now is sit down and watch as he hopes that the red dot keeps moving, as he couldn’t bear the thought of having an empty parking spot in their garage.

…

…

‘What the fuck Neil? Why d’you have to pull so hard? I almost tripped down the stairs!’ Shouted Aida as the both of them stopped to catch their breath in an isolated alley within the strip.

‘Sorry bout that but I had to cuz there’s no way--’ Neil stopped to gasp some air into his strained lungs. ‘There’s no way the police would take 30 minutes.... Not when ground zero is just a few blocks away…’

‘W-what do you mean?’

‘The people running the show… they lied… I think they didn’t want to cause a stampede but they lied…’ Neil said as he continued to struggle breathing.

Aida was confused as to what Neil meant and as she was about to ask, dozens of police cars had swarmed the stairwell exits as the people that were behind them started to scream and panic trying to escape arrest.

‘Shit…’ She gasped as the both of them looked at the trouble from a safe distance as the both of them thought to themselves at how narrowly they escaped. They both met each other's gaze under the red soothing lights, and after all that they have been through tonight the only reaction they had for each other was a spontaneous burst of laughter. Neither knew why or what triggered the reaction. It wasn’t from nervousness nor joy, they were tired and their adrenaline was running high. The crowd that they shared a lot of emotions with are all running and screaming from the law and the both of them were hanging out in a dark alleyway breathing in secondhand smoke and air conditioning fumes while a couple “Ladies of the night” stared at them annoyed at how carefree they were.

There was nothing amusing with their current situation but somehow they found it fit to laugh.

And laugh they did.

All the way back to Aida’s place they went.

It was a good night both thought.

Goodmorning.