I looked around the place, checking for anything useful. Lots of Netrunning stuff, most of which I was scared to take. Definitely had some kind of tracking software in most of this. No point taking any of it without a Netrunner of my own to get through the ICE.

That being said, I did find something of note on the downed Netrunner. It was an access badge, one that resonated with the Aether. I’d wondered how the employees got around without tripping the wards, and I think I found it. Maybe. It felt similar to the necklaces that the Circle used at least. I’d test it later after I got everything I needed from the CEO’s office.

With the cameras all taken care of, at least at the moment, it made it rather easy to head for the CEO’s office. I snatched the walkie-talkie from the table and connected it up to my earpiece. This way, I’d be able to keep in touch with any alarms or alerts the security team sent out. I then left the room behind, locking it up tightly.

The guard that the Netrunner talked to blocked my path forward, though it hardly mattered as I slipped past him. He was far too busy playing a game on his phone to notice. Not that I could blame him. Guard duty was almost as boring as surveillance. At least, in low-threat places.

The office sat on the opposite side of the building from the stairs and elevator, making it quite far if security were to move to my location. That, paired with the fact I was already listening in on their comms, would mean I could get out before anyone reached me.

The office itself had a keypad on it. I recognized the model as one of ASCorp’s now-defunct security systems. I’d taken advantage of this particular one a couple of times back before I acquired the interface to supercharge my capabilities.

I slid my knife just under the edge of the panel, popping it off far too easily for what was once considered high-end. The entire top part of the number pad pulled off, exposing its internals. Part of this particular model's issue was it lacked a failsafe in case the pad itself was tampered with.

All that being said, it was rather easy to short the console. After crossing several wires and cutting a few parts, a click sounded and the deadbolt slid out of the way. Easy.

I popped the panel back on as if it never happened and slipped into the CEO’s office. It was a large, imposing place. The entire room was empty except for the large desk on the far side. It was almost as if he wanted to use the empty space as an intimidation tactic. The walls were lined with typical corporate accomplishments and the like, though they were too boring to really pay much attention to. Back to the right sat three lone bookshelves.

I moved over to the desk first, eyeing the golden plaque resting on it. It read ‘CEO - Kuzo Tsukuyomi’. My bastard uncle. Just seeing that name filled me with no small amount of rage, though a dose of unease quickly chased it down. He always did this to me, making me incredibly unsettled just by the mere mention of his name or the image of his face.

I ignored the plaque and moved around the table to access his terminal. The gonk left it without a password, though it did take a few moments to get it booted up from all the power outages. Probably so self-assured in his 'strong' security systems that he didn't think anyone could get in. Idiot.

As I waited for the computer to boot back up, I rifled through his drawers, tossing his shit all over the floor as I looked for anything of worth. Papers and other worthless stuff flew everywhere as I scrounged around. There were a fair amount of housing magazines and what looked like research notes on other cities. Most across the pond. That bastard wanted to move? Or run away? Or both?

I did pilfer a fine-looking cigar case full of expensive-smelling cigars and a bottle of some whiskey. Might be able to sell them. A couple of gold-plated pens too. Maybe added all together I’d be able to pay off my original chrome eye.

The terminal finally booted up, and I immediately used its search function to look for files related to keywords of interest. I first went through each of the shell companies that hired Athena before looking up Athena herself. My first searches revealed quite a few internal emails.

Most of the messages were about Kuzo seeking more research materials for a familiar-sounding project: Project Methuze. I marked down the name and moved on through the rest of my keywords.

I followed a trail of internal emails between my uncle and other workers in the building, eventually stumbling across some authorizing the use of company assets to fund ‘expeditions’ for ‘objects of power’. Probably the gigs to get relics.

I cross-referenced the numbers and dates in the emails versus what Athena sent me a while back. They matched. Or at least they would’ve matched had Athena actually been paid for her services.

From what I could tell, my uncle did indeed hire out to Athena Alexandria—simply referred to as A in the files. And then he sent the Adepts under the corporation’s payroll to go and acquire these ‘objects of power’ and eliminate any ‘dissenters’. Paid far less than what he should’ve owed.

I copied over every file I could, in the meantime looking up ‘Project Methuze’. The computer buffered for a moment before linking to a separate server bank hidden away in the files. One that was locked with a passkey. No way I could crack it.

Unfortunately, I had neither the time nor the resources to get access. I got what I wanted anyway. That just left how I wanted to deal with the rest of this gig. I got the evidence, just wasn’t sure how much further I wanted to go. When in doubt, call the boss.

That’s exactly what I did. At an ungodly hour, I dialed up Athena’s phone deep in the heart of enemy territory. Surprisingly, she picked up after the first ring. “Gah! Zuku? You know what time it is?”

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”I found what you wanted.” I intended to say more, though my words died in my throat as I picked up a picture frame on my uncle’s desk. It was a familiar one, an ancient photo I hadn’t seen since my parents passed.

The picture was of happier times, back when my grandfather was still alive. He smiled next to Kuzo, an arm slung around that guy’s hateful face. My parents stood just next to them, my small form buried in their tight embrace as if to never let me go-

At least, that’s how it was supposed to look. A bolt of icy wrath nearly exploded in my heart as the scar over my eye burned with a vengeance. That bastard had cut out my parents and me, leaving just him and my grandfather smiling in the photo. Just how much did he hate us?

It cracked as I gripped it tighter, shards of glass falling around. I tossed the frame to the side, not caring as it shattered fully against the ground. “Sorry- what was that?”

“First you have the gall to call me this late, then you don’t even listen?” Athena’s voice helped center me back down as she sighed. Although her words were quite cold, I got the feeling she was actually in a good mood. ‘Course, such a deduction was probably influenced by the party I heard raging in the background. “I was asking what you found.”

”Ah.” I leaned back in the CEO’s chair, carelessly kicking my feet up onto the desk as I knocked aside several ornaments. A few of them shattered as they hit the ground, though I paid it no mind. “The evidence. I have it.” I tapped on my phone, sending over the documents and emails I copied from the terminal.

Athena went silent for several minutes. I pulled my knees to my chest and swirled around in the spinning chair, doing several slow spins as I stared out the rain-covered windows. I idly clenched my hands a couple times, flicking the power off and on as I waited for her to read everything.

”Cold Moon Solutions, eh? Okay. What do you want to do? Sabotage? Or I can send a strike team.” Athena chuckled lightly. “I strongly recommend the latter. Bag that bastard while we’re at it.”

Hmm… what to do? I kicked off of the chair, walked over to the shattered picture, and stared down at my grandfather’s face. I guess I could be considered unfilial now. “I’ll let you know tomorrow?”

”Fine, fine… don’t keep me waiting too long. I’ll transfer the money for part one momentarily.” Athena hung up, leaving me to steep in the near silence of the CEO’s office.

I fully flicked on Cold-Blooded, allowing the cold blood to freeze over the emotions holding me back from rational judgment.

I wanted to do it myself.

This was personal after all.

There was a layer of guilt at ruining the corporation my grandfather built up so passionately, though that layer faded under the raw hatred oozing up in my heart as my fingers traced the long scar down my face. Kuzo deserved what was coming to him at least.

It’s not like the corporation was the same anyway. I’d checked the employee lists while scrounging through Cunts- er, Kuzo’s terminal. Only a few were familiar. And considering the high chance of a Savant Lab underneath the place? The corporation had long since rotted under my uncle’s control. If anything, I was honoring my family’s memory by destroying the rotten namesake.

As for the damages? Destroying the lab would be enough to satisfy Athena. I stomped my foot down on the picture, slamming my uncle’s face underfoot as I moved off to the side of the office. I’d figure the rest out down there.

I’d already done the math. The surrounding rooms weren’t large enough, and the three lone bookshelves were already suspicious on their own. It barely took me a minute to find the activation switch hidden in a bust of my uncle’s face. Originally, the head lifted off on hidden hinges to reveal a button. Of course, that was before someone ‘accidentally’ used too much force and shattered the bust.

The middle bookshelf slid away, revealing a ‘secret‘ elevator just as I suspected there would be. Really, how secret was an elevator if just a look at the room and a bit of knowledge about the building’s blueprint could easily expose it? Careless. Or perhaps just cocky to the extreme.

The elevator itself was marked with the same wards that sat in between every floor. I pulled out the security badge I swiped from the Netrunner and looked it over. Moment of truth. Worst-case scenario, I break the window and jump out before anyone can get up here.

Before doing anything, I looked back at the office. More accurately, at the shattered picture frame. A bit short-sighted of me to just leave it broken there. It was practically a smoking gun revealing this was a personal job... I moved back out into the office. At first, I thought about trying to clean it up, but the mess was just too much of a pain. Oh well. I moved to the table, brutally destroying everything on it without regard. Might as well just break everything to cover it up.

Several moments later, and slightly winded, I stepped through the elevator door. I carefully watched the transparent wall marked with runes for any signs of a reaction to my presence. It shimmered slightly as I passed through the ward, though the shimmer calmed as my swiped pass crossed through. I waited in the elevator for several long moments, keeping an attentive eye on both the ward and the walkie-talkie in case my presence was detected. Nothing.

The elevator panel was far more detailed than the main one I’d been in prior. ‘Course, the first three floors were marked, but below them sat seven sub-levels. Start with the lowest, I guess. Then work my way up? I hit sub-level seven. The elevator dinged as its doors slid shut.

For once, my trip down the elevator went flawlessly. No lurches, no screeching, and thankfully no falling. Just a smooth ride down to the bottom. The doors slid open, revealing a long white hallway. Another ward blocked the way forward, though the security badge I snagged had enough clearance to get through it without causing a fuss.

I wondered around a bit, not entirely sure what I was looking for. The security down here was on another level though. Multiple cameras sat at every intersection, providing maximum coverage. Every dozen steps or so a ward blocked the way forward as if to easily track something breaking in… or out.

If I hadn’t already taken out the Netrunner watching the cameras it’d be nearly impossible to get around. That, or if I were trying to get around without being noticed at all.

The first room I checked was some kind of chemical lab. Quite easy to spring the lock on the door. I mentally marked it down then moved on, finding a dozen different rooms all in various states of scientific disarray. Most of them were chemically inclined and had materials that tickled Aetherial Perception. Some kind of drug lab? Or some kind of magic testing?

Yet, as I headed further around the circular hallway, I got the feeling that wasn’t quite right. At least not entirely.

I unlocked a door, expecting yet another chem lab. Instead, I found a dim room full of blinking server banks. Rows and rows of servers sat in the dimness of the room, with thick black chains wrapped around each. Glowing red runes marked each of the chains.

Oddly enough, the glowing runes were entirely for aesthetics. At least, as best I could tell. While they did glow to the naked eye, they were entirely mundane under Aetherial Perception. It was weird. Incredibly weird.

I heard a couple of footsteps as I headed back for the exit. I immediately ducked back into the server room, clambering up and on top of one of the servers. I crouched down, covering myself entirely with the poncho as I made my form as small as possible.

I scooted back, making myself indistinguishable from the wall in the dim light of the room. I left the barest of slits in my poncho to look through just in case.

A few moments later the footsteps stopped as a shadow peaked through the underside of the door. A voice called out, “Hey, was this door unlocked?”