Chapter 50: Family Dinner
Excerpt from a news report on the Sapphire Heart Raid in the NC Insight news channel; written by Jinpei Yazaki, edited by Cole Springstone:
July 11th struck tragedy when notorious crime-family Muramasa Dynasty raided the celebration of the engagement between Sheldon Corwelly, author of the beloved Night’s Heat trilogy, and Jeanette Wang, daughter of Tanyao Wang — Shandian’s Assistant Vice President of Experimental Development for Westbrook. What was supposed to be remembered as the start of a beautiful communion turned horrid when men in animal masks tore through the luxurious Sapphire Heart ballroom.
Muramasa took several key figures hostage and even snuck bombs into their clothes, however, thanks to the quick response of Westbrook’s First Precinct crisis was averted. Spearheaded by Sergeant Throm Solomon of Squads 11-17, the police under his command quickly controlled the situation. However, it was in defusing one of the bombs that a police officer by the name of Harold Nelby was shot, causing it to detonate and kill 18 hostages and 7 Investigators and Officers. Other injuries have also been reported. Our condolences go to the families affected by this tragedy, but it does beg the question. Why has such an attack happened?
For more news about this event and others, please read from our Netsite: hhh.newcaliforniainsight.nc
4:22 PM July 13th
Diana
It was bullshit. The article and all the others that spun out of it’s lies were bullshit. No bomb went off, we played that about as well as we could, but it was the Sergeant sending in that invisible — or attention permeable — mercenary that caused hell to break loose. There was not one mention of R0N1N, and an NDA sent to our frames prevented us from leaking any more to the press.
The truth would be out there, somewhere. Surely this had to be reported with evidence and- why was I even bothering? This wasn’t the first time, and it sure as hell wouldn’t be the last time the media and Yuzhou twisted events. Playing out the deaths like they’d been a martyrdom. I almost died getting those bombs marked, my wounds still hadn’t healed.
I rubbed my shoulder, feeling the odd bulge of flesh there. It was odd how long it had taken to heal, but I couldn’t deny that I was healing from gunshots by feeding on my energy bill. At least I’d be able to drink tonight, just had to reel things in while I was with the lieutenant.
Sighing, I opened my closet. Time to pick out a fancy dress for the Lieutenant’s birthday tonight.
———
6:58 PM
I went for something classy, a simple ash-gray dress that was cut off by my knees. I was still trying to make a good impression on her. On everyone really, for whoever knows what reason, but I needed to. This system had to change and I was the only one who could climb the ranks fast enough to do it. I’d made results, tangible, massive results during the hostage scene. Defusing the bombs and securing three VIPs, I was arguably one of the most important people there.
I sighed, enough inflating my ego. I had to settle on my goals today, the head chef — Simon Jugosla — in the restaurant was of interest to Soul Killer, and it might be time to open up to the lieutenant. I’d hardly ever gotten the chance to talk to her since I received the Silver Implant courtesy of my dad.
“Focus, Diana.” I repeated to myself. “Focus.”
Everything would come out sooner or later, I’d blitzed over the heads of nearly a hundred Investigators just two days ago and possessed rare Mutations. Playing into the accused nepotism was working out in my favor, I’d heard snippets of some of the higher ups thinking I was doping with high-grade Neurostims or Mutation Boosters. Let them believe that, for now.
[I’ll be by your place in fifteen minutes]
I read the message from Anthony. I hadn’t even started my makeup.
———
7:30 PM
“Fantastic first impression we’re making.” Anthony grumbled as he drove. “Late by twenty-five minutes, you couldn’t just do your makeup in the car?”
I was applying lip-gloss right now. “Patience is a virtue.”
“My parents- my dad’s going to kill me. They’ve already ordered, I thought you’d be more prepared for this whole Soul Killer thing. Even now, you don’t seem focused.”
He was right, I was being evasive right now. “Sorry…” I turned to him, letting the weight of a few weeks fall through my eyes. “It’s been a crappy couple of weeks, you know with Indra and Rorsche… then the ‘bombing’.”
“I’ll figure out what’s up with that, she’s been more open with me lately.” He said, a small smile coming up. “For now, investigate Dogwhistler and Soul Killer, they’re our best leads.”
“You’re right.” I put a tiny bit of lip-gloss to pat on my lips. “Just… a little bit more.”
He sighed. “You really don’t need make-up, you’re pretty enough as is.”
My eyes sliced through him.
“You know you should never say that to girls, it’s more about self-expression based on how we want to look rather than how we naturally look.” I pointed out. “Oh, and look at you. Complimenting me outright.”
“It’s true and you know it — don’t act subtle about your damn Cradle genetics.” He sighed again, but this time a faint blush rose up through him. “Shouldn’t be any surprise that I’m a little attracted to you, but I’ve come to know you pretty well. We don’t see eye-to-eye on that and I’m cool with that. You live and you learn.”
I paused, waiting for a moment to find what to say to that… truth was that I had been… lonely. I couldn’t remember the last time I let myself embrace attraction that wasn’t a one-night-stand. Even those hadn’t happened for well over a year now. But Anthony did deserve better. “You’re nice Anthony, I just wish you kind of realized that. Admittedly, if you’d made a better first impression then maybe… but as it stands, there’s too much going on in my life right now. Maybe one day… but for what it’s worth; I’ve friendzoned a lot of guys, you’ve probably been the first person I genuinely mean to be friends with. Attraction’s… natural, and we both saved each other’s lives… I do owe a lot to you.”
Please don’t take that the wrong way.
“Oh.” He stared into the road, it was relatively silent tonight. “Yeah… I, um. You know, it’s just that everyone’s been asking me questions about you, my aunt included. How we met and everything.”
“Simple. You were envious of my Silver.”
“And now I’m jealous of your Gold.” He played along. “And for real, you- this, even if it’s dangerous as fuck… I’m seeing more clearly than I have in years. You’re probably the only person in the police force I really do trust. I’d rather have that than awkward… flirting, I guess.”
“It’s mutual.” I danced around getting into the topic more. “Tell me more about your gray-haired family. Who should I avoid, and who should I butter up?”
“My dad’s easy, he’s hardly even going to believe that we’re ‘dating’ in the first place. He’ll play nice to keep you there, but truth be told he’s always nice. Aunt Isma is a… it would be disrespectful to call her a bitch. But I don’t have any respect for her. She’s a bitch. My cousins are mixed bags, twins. Polar opposites though…”
And as the list went on and on, I was already regretting joining up with this plan.
———
8:12 PM
Seated down, I’d been the center of attention from the second my silver hair fluttered in their sight. All of Anthony’s assessments of his family was correct, from his great-grandparents down to three-generations down. It was almost startling to see the seemingly middle-aged man named Karsel introduce himself as Jacob Grazhe’s father.
It must have been strange seeing your son age faster than you, all because the Mutagens you digested were cosmetic and the former Lieutenant’s… not so much. After all the ‘it’s very nice to meet you’ and the ‘please, call me by my — insert first name — or you’ll make me feel old’ it was a surprisingly chill evening.
“Anthony…!” His grandmother, the late Lieutenant’s widow, slapped his arm from across the table. “Give the poor girl some attention! She’s being smothered by everyone other than you.”
I smiled, playing along by sliding my hand closer to his own. “Thank you for noticing, Jennifer. What’s happened to courtesy nowadays?”
“Hah! The boy better try his hardest keeping you, or maybe I’ll try my hand!” His creepy uncle bellowed, half-drunk already on Bronze-Grade stuff. There always was a creepy uncle.
Anthony’s father whispered something in his ear, causing him to flinch and very unsubtly show rejection to whatever his father said. The old man only smiled. He’d had sign of natural aging compared to the rest of his family, wrinkles under his eyes which balanced a framed spectacle, a scratchier voice, and just didn’t have as much energy as the rest of the family.
But it was charming, seeing them together. From the moment the two of them caught up, you could feel their bond and love sink across the room. Frankly, it drew eire from some of the more… bitchier family members.
Auntie Isma snapped her fingers in front of Anthony. “What have you promised her boy? Don’t go digging through your grandfather’s coffers just because she thinks you’re from a respected family.”
I grit my teeth at that, irony dwelling on the tip of my tongue to tell them that I was, in fact, biologically related to Brian Ulrich, the current Corporate Advisor for the New California Police State. All of the rumors pointed him to being a high Gold Adapter.
I knew that the bastard who called himself my father was a Titanium Adapter.
“Ah yes, tell us where you grew up?” The man in question leaned from the head of the table.
“Oh, well… I’m a Cradleborn. Lithium Angel facility up north. Before you guys go around asking me how it was, the truth is… I barely remember it. Been more than a decade since I got adopted by my father. Yorick Jones. He founded a genetics startup, it’s been bought up by Imperium now but we lived in a nice little cottage by Seven Woods in New Washington. I learned to hunt there, been shooting a gun since I was twelve.”
Of course the creepy uncle was the first to respond. “Love me a girl that can shoot, maybe I’ll take you down by the shooting range. Just don’t cry when you lose.”
“She’d leave you embarrassed.” Anabelle Grazhe, my Lieutenant, spoke out loud about me for the first time this evening. “Was beating Investigator scores when she was an Officer, and her recent developments as an Investigator have polished her skills even further.”
Anabelle — or was it still right to call her Lieutenant Grazhe — swirled a cup of lush burgundy wine, sipping it gingerly before tapping the glass as a resonant sound whistled out. When she raised her voice, it struck through the entire room like a blade had met their necks. “Let’s keep her comfortable, alright?” From then, their attitude towards me shifted, they became more… respectful.
It was almost exactly like her father’s ability to influence others with his voice, but more… precise. I hadn’t felt anything.
Even the creepy uncle stopped making comments, and his bitchy wife refrained from anything as well. In a few minutes our full-course-meal had arrived, and I’m going to be honest…
“Fucking delicious.” I said out loud right after the first bite. Before realizing that I probably shouldn’t have sworn.
“Mazhyr’s tits, yeah, it’s fucking delicious.” Cousin Doriel took an exaggerated tear of the steak, ripping it in her mouth for all to see. She was immediately berated by her bitchy mother and bitchy twin sister, but the girl took it in stride.
I liked her.
Only after half an hour had passed by, and when the family was busy in their own drama did I excuse myself to go to the washroom. For two purposes, first I drank up three of the Silver Gene-Limiters, ever since I was a Tier I, my abilities were appearing more naturally. My eyes had a faint glow within them now, and it took the pills to neuter them.
Second, it was time to meet Simon Jugosla. I’d done my research. He was an esteemed chef, a BUG Adapter with considerable Shardware modifications performed for the purpose of improving his skills in the culinary arts. I’d considered my approach in a number of ways, from straight up threatening him to flirting.
But the more I delved into him, the more troublesome he’d appeared. This hotel hired him only when he was scandalized from his previous job as a private chef with his own restaurant, a disgrace in which he cooked up meat sourced from MAL bodies. It made sense why Tonguelasher would have wanted to meet him then, the motive was unclear whether he wanted Simon to act as a chef or as the meal, but in both ways there was a win.
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As for Soul Killer, from what I knew, they were a mysterious force responsible for disappeared persons for the last century. To act that long, either meant Soul Killer was a generational title or a group. Or that Soul Killer was a high-grade Adapter, some could live for centuries. The Founders, in particular, had been alive since the 21st Century after all and they’d started on Titanium.
Now, combining what I knew of both Simon and Soul Killer, a picture started to clear. Either Simon was another kidnapping target, or he was working for Soul Killer in some regard and that’s why Tonguelasher was warned off. My research into Simon showed that he had once been trialed with the preparation of an illegal meal. Using flesh stripped from the MALformed. He’d gotten off light, and his reputation never took a hit since much of the blame was put on the rich corporate family that hired him. Whether or not he was still in that realm of shady culinary arts was unknown… but the fact remained that he had been a choice for that meal in the first place.
What’s to say he didn’t continue that practice, only more covert now.
Touching up my makeup in the bathroom mirror, I thought of how to get into directly meeting up with him. Telling the dining staff that I’d like to give my thanks to the chef was possible, but in the event that Simon didn’t come out personally… it was a dud. Waiting until he left was also an option, or I could-
“What’re you really here for, Jones?” A familiar voice shiverred through me, Lieutenant Anabelle Grazhe had entered the washroom with a bored expression directed at me.
“What do you mean?” I caught my breath, time to play it cool.
“I’ve been an Investigator longer than you’ve been alive.” She twirled her gray hair in the mirror, not looking at me directly. “You and Anthony aren’t dating. Aren’t even sleeping together, otherwise I would be able to smell you on him with all the times he’s come to my office. But the two of you are getting close. I can tell that much, just make sure it stays professional. Stick to one-night stands from a bar in this profession. Love isn’t cohesive with ambition.”
I was caught red-handed, and digging myself deeper didn’t hold any merit. “I appreciate the advice.”
It surprised me when she continued speaking, her speech slurring under the drink but still coherent. “I was like you when I was younger, always getting into trouble with my dad. Being a parent in this profession is ill-advised, any day could be your last and the shit you see changes you. I barely even knew him as my father, only as Lieutenant Grazhe… even then, he was a hardass. It was how I learned that the best kinds of Investigators are the ones that piss off their superiors…”
The Lieutenant right now was so different from the one I’d always seen, a tough nut to crack was putting it lightly, but here she was holding herself up by leaning against a sink. A part of me felt the need to reciprocate her openness. “I try not to think about him, Brian Ulrich. He’s not my father, not really. Just the man whose sperm was used in the Cradle where I was born, back when he was… I don’t know, believed donating his seed was a righteous endeavor. When he figured out having a daughter and being a single-father would get him more popular with the public vote… that’s all I became to him. Didn’t matter that he took me away from a family I loved.”
The Lieutenant grabbed a tight pull of air into her lungs, some faint draw of Warp Energy I assumed to cleanse her mind. I’d never felt another’s Energy before, not with Irons or Bronzes but with a Silver… it was a tangible sense of the world slightly shifting. Like gravity was just a bit off.
Crap? Was I just as noticeable?
“You’re not Silver, Jones.” Her next words came true and quick. “Nobody above you is an idiot, there’s enough of us sensitive to Warp Energy in the Intelligence department who can identify you as a Gold. Just be glad I placed you on a squad without them.”
“…Thank you.” I felt blank as the words came out.
Her slate gray eyes pierced me, Warp Energy dancing across her tongue. “What’s your goal Diana? In life? Why did you join the police in the first place?”
I didn’t resist the urge to spill my secrets. “To save people. I made a promise to be like my friend.”
“Bullshit.”
Bullshit? I should have retorted, but my lips spilled out. “To climb the ranks.”
“Bullshit.”
I met her cold eyes. “To spite my fucking father, to get above him and-
“Closer.” A chuckle left her mouth. “You’re actually a really shallow person, lean into that.”
I grit my teeth. Shallow? “I’m just trying to be myself, to be Diana Jones. It’s impossible for me to pretend like I wasn’t born to be a perfect human being, so why hide it? I’m good. I’m better. But I’m also more than just a lab-grown specimen. All my life I’ve met pricks who think they know me, they deserve judgment.”
“To be yourself?” The Lieutenant hummed. “I can imagine why, born into a system where you’re either fated to be a soldier or a bureaucrat. Then taken in by a man who just wanted a daughter, then by another man who wanted his daughter as a prop. Your whole life has been held together by system and order, makes sense why you fell back in with another piece of the system. But… at the same time, you cannot deny your privilege. Fight it as you might. But as you said, you Luxury Cradleborns are faster and stronger, and that’s without a Gold Implant from a MALignant.”
She might be my superior, but this was all starting to grate me. “I mean no disrespect, but is there a point to all of this, Lieutenant?”
“Oh, how I hate that word.” She sighed. “Everytime I said it, I felt like I’d lost a piece of who I was as that man’s child. Ironic, now I’m the one who hears it the most, life is funny like that. Still, I cling to it because it’s proof that I’m one step closer to making it further than he ever got.”
“Your father? I’d heard that he got stuck as a lieutenant for decades.” I said with a tight throat.
Her sobering eyes held a hot flash of anger flickering within them. “Single handedly kept this District together after the earthquake, was a soldier in the civil war before that. Did great things. Should have been in charge of the District, but they were afraid of him, even I was. I knew what he would do if he got promoted any higher — hell, I’ve got access to his list of crimes that gave him his governance. You want me to tell you why I’m telling you all of this?”
“I am, yes.” I felt like I was getting stuck like a rat in a glue trap.
“You’re going to be my weapon, Diana. My weapon to break out of this rank of Lieutenancy. I will not be my father, but I lack the allies to get further than he did, assuming I stay on the honest end of the spectrum… so unless I can get some results during the next MALswarm, I’m bound to carry on his curse. That’s why I want you to become a Special Investigator. My Special Investigator”
“…A Special Investigator.” I nodded blankly, my promotions were technically in her hands. Was she… offering it to me? “Hold on, hold on, this is all happening way too quickly! What exactly do you want me to do?”
“The MALswarm is going to upend this city, every century, the Free Cities are left in near ruin as our finest are plucked up by NeoCore and the Corporate Nations. I intend to carve my way through it, to reset the board and win no matter the stakes. The skeletons of the underworld are planning something similar, and soon the whole of the New California — from the skyscrapers to the sewers — will join in on the swarm as well. We’re going to be attacked from both within and out of the city.”
I stayed quiet, was she planning a mutiny? Almost as though she read my mind, she continued.
“I’m not intending to upend the system entirely, nor do I have any grand delusions of making this place a utopia. My plans are wholly selfish. Westbrook is seized by terror, the fact that an attack like the one two days ago was so easily accepted is a fact. You know what Yuzhou told me to do? They said to let the hostages die. To turn it into a terror attack so that R0N1N and Muramasa would be hunted down. I came to a compromise. You were sent in as a sacrificial pawn, you were supposed to die or be taken hostage for the sake that a few more corporates could live. Sergeant Solomon saved our skin by getting Topaz in there, a known accomplice to R0N1N’s previous works.”
“You knew R0N1N was behind the attack?” I bit my lip, witnessing the masked predator execute dozens of people in seconds was… eye-opening. His speed and precision were leagues of their own.
She sighed. “A hunch from our sources. R0N1N never pulls elaborate stunts like this, normally attacks Yuzhou facilities down-right, and the only thing that matters to him more than taking that corporation down is some fucked-up sense of honor. He would never condone Murmasa taking hostages, at least, civilians who weren’t affiliated to Yuzhou anyway.”
My eyebrow furled. “Then why did he hire them?”
“I don’t know… something must have caused Muramasa to act on their own accords. This last year, they’ve been… a chaotic mess. Not acting their leader typically used to.” The tiniest of wrinkles creased on her face — even out of work, Anabelle Grazhe was still the Lieutenant of the First Precinct. “Could be any number of things, biggest rumor even has it that the Bladefather’s no longer running things. Most likely an informant tipped them off to some other benefit they would get by raiding the place outright, the chaos that evening caused a lot to slip by our cracks.”
An informant…
“Dogwhistler?” I said aloud. “They were trying to get that Gold MAL into the police evidence room, the box can be activated remotely.”
“I figured.” The lieutenant just sighed. “I’m no idiot, Jones. Dogwhistler is both friend and foe, hell they’re why we could react so quickly to the Muramasa attack.”
It irked me how casual she was with the reveal. “You’re still in contact?”
“Keep your enemies close, and all that.” The Lieutenant ground her teeth. “But they killed my father, I have to get some penance for it. Besides, it’s more of a one-way communication.”
“I- I’m trying to-“
“Stop.” She stood her ground. “You might be Gold, but Dogwhistler was the source of your Implant, they could have a multitude of Golds out there and be a Titanium themselves. Take this job on once you’re ready.”
“I’m afraid I really don’t have a choice.” I grit myself as I began to explain Archangel’s inclusion in brief. That either she was going to take my Implant, or information on Dogwhistler.
“Fucking NeoCore, doesn’t help they’re already stealing twenty-three Special Investigators for the Swarm. Now they’re involving themselves directly. I suppose…” Her eyes closed tight, as though the Lieutenant was contemplating herself. “You’re here today on Simon Jugosla, right?”
I froze on sight. “…Yeah.”
“Why?” A smile curled on her lips.
“Because he’s… a lead. Archangel pointed him in my direction.” I wasn’t too keen on revealing Soul Killer just yet, knowing how the police tended to refer to them as a boogeyman.
“Simon Jugosla runs in a human trafficking ring, living and dead. Some sort of Mutagen extraction program hobbled up with a cabal of corporate cannibals.” The lieutenant casually slipped, but it would explain why Tonguelasher had an interest in Simon Jugosla. “Been trying to take down that bastard for years. My father let him by solely because he thought the food was too good to give up. My dad had… a loose sense of morals. Truth is, half the reason I’m here is to get info on him myself.”
Oh so… we were on the same mission? Did she not know about Soul Killer’s involvement, or was she not letting me in on it? “Yeah, he’s uh… well, I didn’t know that specifically.”
“Runs in a circle called The Gourmet.” She explained. “A high society of corporate douches with nothing better to do than try exotic meat. Endangered animals, human flesh, MAL flesh, doesn’t matter.”
“And your dad kept it hidden?” I sighed.
She shrugged. “I’m just trying to correct his wrongdoings, following in my sister’s… forget it. You can’t take them all out at once, but maybe you can implicate Simon. Get them to flush towards other similar groups, catch their sources.”
The Lieutenant studied me. “You could feasibly get in, since you’re in Intelligence, your ID Sigil by-default shows you as a civilian.”
“You’ll help me out?” I was frankly in shock.
“A trial run of my Golden spear.” She turned to the mirror, but her reflection stared at me. “Besides, I only want you to get Simon. He’s already agreed to come meet us personally, him and my father were close — he’ll pay his condolences.”
That certainly changed things. “How exactly do you think I’m going to get in with this whole… Gourmet circle?”
“You’re an Ulrich. You have a Gold.” Her eyes were cold and unflinching as their gray weighed on me like steel. “Use every advantage you have.”
With that, she left the washroom, leaving me to my own thoughts.
When I joined up, the dinner was progressing smoothly and was quite enjoyable. I never had a family, not a big one like this. To see so many faces, and know you could depend on them if things got tough… that must have been nice.
Then he appeared, Simon Jugosla. The tall blonde-haired man was handsome and quite aged, perhaps in his late thirties. “If it isn’t my favorite family. My condolences to Jacob, I will sorely miss his critique. He had a fine taste and wasn’t afraid to have me approach my faults. Please, tell me, is the food to your liking?”
We all gave our critiques, that bitchy aunt couldn’t help but point out something wrong in her food. Then, I offered my own piece of thought with a played-up aloof voice. “Please, I have to ask, do you do private catering? Anthony here promised me something nice for our one month anniversary.”
Anthony laughed it off, his entire family eying me awkwardly. Simon leaned in, a wizened smile on his face. “I do, but be wary that my fee is quite high.”
I took the opportunity to stand up and greet him with a firm handshake. “Oh that’s not an issue.”
Then I leaned in, a quiet whisper placing just the trap I needed. “My father is Brian Ulrich.”
———
Seated in Anthony’s car, I stared at the message in my view.
[If you’re interested in the real avenues of finer dining, then I would love to invite you to an auction some friends of mine are hosting late August.]
“So.” Anthony pursed his lips. “Everything go well?”
“About so, looks like I’m joining your nepotism ride.” My view flickered through the address Simon sent me.
“What do you mean?” He started up the car.
“Your aunt figured out my Implant, and she kind of had an idea about Dogwhistler… I think we’re on the same side?” I scrolled it down, my heart beating quickly. Simon Jugosla. The Gourmet. Dogwhistler. Soul Killer.
“I’m…” He stifled his voice. “I’m not surprised she knew. Probably knows we aren’t a couple as well.”
“Yeah, but now half your family thinks I flirted with Simon when I whispered into his ear.” It mortified me, but the truth had been far worse…
“Sheesh.” He feigned betrayal. “My ‘girlfriend’ flirting with other men in front of me — guess that’s bounds for a breakup. So… when do you want to do it?”
“Let’s give it another week.” I smiled lightly. “Any other family birthday coming up? You guys have nice dinners.”