I adjusted my clothing as I stared at the building across the street from me. The Blue Crusade Little Yukoto department sat in all its splendid glory, an ever-intimidating sight for the masses. Unsurprisingly, there were far fewer homeless and gangers around here, even in the alleys; only the truly desperate attempted to scrounge around this place.
I gave myself a once over, making sure everything looked right. I wore the typical uniform of a low-level squire; a simple dark-blue, nearly-black button-up shirt and black techwear pants. A utility belt filled with boxes and pouches hung from my hip, holding my Sidewinder. Usually, they would be full of tools, but mine were stuffed with bits of plastic to make them look full.
A standard issue plate carrier, good enough to block most small rounds, compressed my shirt tight to my chest. It was marked with the Blue Crusade’s symbol and held ‘my’ badge. My walkie-talkie, actually tuned into Blue Crusade channels, sat slung at my hip and wrapped up around my shoulder. It wasn’t just a walkie-talkie either. It was hyper-advanced, and could easily reach the entire city with its range.
A long dark trench coat covered my small frame from the wind and freezing rain, marked with Blue Crusade along the back and arms. I knew about as well as anyone how intimidating seeing the coat could be. It had the added benefit of EMP threading, so I would be fully protected from pulse grenades if I had the misfortune of being hit by one.
It also had a built-in ECM weave, so smart bullets would have a hard time hitting me. Not that anyone even used smart-bullets anymore. They’re far too expensive per shot compared to normal bullets, so only an assassin or corpo operator might use a couple. Even then, it was iffy. There was no point in shooting away your money.
Seeing as the shoemaker just set me as low level in the records, I didn’t have any of the fancy silver armor that higher-level Squires, Inquisitors, and Crusaders had. It was fortunate because their armor was damn expensive with how much went into it.
Shinobu had even managed to get a Blue Crusade baseball hat, which I used to keep my annoying hair back and out of my face. It was the same dark blue nearly black as the rest of my attire, and it was actually preem. My Slashers hat might have some competition now... if I got out of here alive, that is.
It was seriously impressive Shinobu managed to get a full kit in such a short amount of time, to the point I was half worried he flatlined some random Squire and stole their clothes. Most likely though, he received the stuff from Taru, the Jade Fang Quartermaster. Unless he was trying to set me up.
I took a deep breath, activated my Perks, and pushed all other thoughts to the back of my mind as I crossed the street. Several Squires were chatting at the door, though none of them even gave me a glance. I kept my head slightly tilted down and headed in. Confidence was key here, so I didn’t let my abundant nerves slow me down as I walked through the doors of the Blue Crusade.
As I moved, I couldn’t help but reflect on my nervousness. I hadn’t been this anxious since some of my first B&E’s, and even then I don’t think it had been this bad. I felt as though I had hyped up on caffeine or some kind of drug. Weird…
The front door entered into a small lobby with several hallways leading off of it. As per usual, I had already memorized the entire layout of the building thanks to Eidetic Schematic. The layout was a little weird, as if the architects intentionally made it confusing to dissuade a gonk from breaking in. Or to keep one trapped in.
Either way, having it memorized allowed me to walk with purpose, which led back to being confident. No one but security stops someone when they look like they have something important to do. Though no one stopped me, they were watching me. I could feel the icy caress of insight all over my body as if they were just waiting for the right moment to attack-
I was just being paranoid... People were moving about in a constant flow inside of the lobby, headed from one place to the next. I didn’t remain idle for long either and immediately set out for one of the many hallways leading out of the lobby. I resisted a yawn and walked through it, rubbing at my eyes as I went.
I followed just enough behind a group of Squires to make it look like I was part of their group but not too close to catch their attention too much. We passed through several security gates, the Blue Crusade badge acting like one of those IRF cards. Every time one of the doors closed behind me, I could feel my heart speed up just a bit as my exits closed.
They turned down a different hallway, towards the armory I think, so I continued by myself. There was a noticeably high number of Aspirants moving through the halls around me, almost as if they were expecting a break-in. Were they waiting for me?
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The plethora of Aspirants wore simple clothes like I'd see of an off-duty Crusader. They weren't technically full members of the Crusade yet, being mere recruits till they showed their worth, but I would a hundred percent lose a fight against one unless I got first strike.
After shakily turning down several more halls, and passing by the various twisting operations rooms, I arrived at the low-security lockup. Since there were so many crimes constantly happening all throughout Aythryn City, there was equally as much evidence.
Since there was so much of it, it was divided between several different lockups based on the type of item. Low-security lockup was the place for mundane items that were considered ‘safe’. No drugs, magic items, or weapons, but normal things… such as Shinobu’s ring.
I stepped into the room; it was blessedly empty of onlookers. Heck, the place was barren except for a long counter on one side protected by a massive security barrier. The entire room felt like a cage. A jail cell. A perfectly laid trap-
I wasted no time walking up and hitting the buzzer. A couple of seconds later, an elderly woman walked into the room on the opposite side of the counter. She gave me a long critical look as if nothing could get past her eyes. “Fill this out.”
Grabbing the clipboard, I moved off to the side and slowly filled out the information on the requisition slip. Most of it was stuff I already knew thanks to the detes Shinobu sent me earlier and other things that were in my ‘shoe’. The evidence I wanted was from the Idism Case.
After finishing up with it, I slid the clipboard back under the barrier. The Evidence Technician grabbed it and cast a critical gaze over me as if she knew I wasn’t really a Squire. Her beady little eyes watched me like a hawk, almost begging me to squirm to make the hunt a tad bit more interesting.
I tried to not let my nerves show as I smiled at her, using what I learned from Honest Face to the best of my abilities. She looked down at the requisition slip with equal scrutiny before slowly moving back toward the evidence lockers. I knew better, her movements were just giving me time to admit to it all. To profess my guilt-
I sighed and leaned against the counter, allowing myself a moment as the jitters coursed through me. My head pulsed with the beats of my heart, sending pain piercing through my brain as I tiredly sagged down and took a moment to breath-
The door slammed open, forcing me to abandon my relaxed position and bolt upright. I glanced over my shoulder and immediately felt my anxiety spike to unprecedented levels. An Inquisitor stepped into the small waiting room. They knew. He was here for me-
N-no, it was still too early to say. Maybe he was just here for evidence like me? It was seriously unhealthy to assume he was out to get me just because he showed up. This was the Blue Crusade building after all.
Unlike Squires, Crusaders and Inquisitors wore the fully silver armor one would expect of a knight from way back when. ‘Course, it had been innovated and improved substantially from then, but it definitely evoked a similar image. As far as I understood it, each one had personalized armor specifically made for them, though there were a few common points. For instance, Inquisitors all had eyes engraved over their heart. Fear dripped down my throat as said eye seemed to see right through me.
The Inquisitor in front of me had his silver armor over the thick Crusade trench coat everyone here had on. Unlike some of the more outlandish designs I had seen, his was entirely focused on looking sleek. Or chasing like a hound of hell.
He only had on the silvery chest plate, bracers, and greaves covering him, unlike some of the super heavy-duty armor I had seen on the way in. An AR of some kind sat strapped to his back and two pistols were slung in the utility belt at his waist. The most intimidating thing about him, other than his aura, was his face.
Just like every other higher-up of the Crusade, a smooth sheet of one-way silver covered his face entirely, blocking even the slightest micro expression from being read. Unlike some of the others, his was only a mask, allowing his black hair to peek out from the edges. Not that that helped the sheer intimidation factor the mask had.
The same longsword that every Inquisitor and Crusader wore as a sign of their office hung from his hip. Each one of them was a form of vibro-blade that could easily cut through steel, flesh, and bone like it was mere butter. Heck, back when I was helping Iris, I had seen firsthand how easily it could mess someone up. Maybe he was here to run his through me?
The Inquisitor looked at me, or at least I think he looked at me. His mask was tilted in my direction, and I stared at my form reflecting in it. It was as if I could instantly see every flaw with my disguise, and he was only waiting for me to admit my guilt-
I forced away a tremor and attempted to straighten my back even more, turning my head into the light slightly to make me seem more open. I also opened my eyes slightly wider as I looked toward him, though not too wide to scrunch my face. They were very simple tricks from Honest Face. “Sir.”
He nodded at me, not saying anything as he continued to look towards me. Just as the creeping temptation to bolt started to feed into my mind, he moved to the wall and leaned up against it real casual-like.
The elderly woman returned, drawing both of our attention. I nearly let out a sigh of relief as she carried in a box full of evidence and passed it to me. “Oh, Inquisitor Strumgard!”
Instantly, the ease I was feeling turned to ice-cold fear in my gut as a shudder went down my spine. I felt a chill as if Insight was warning me that death was but a moment away. That fear ate away at me even more as the Inquisitor spoke in an icey voice. “Mary… how are you?”
The old woman laughed mockingly as she seemed to watch me from her peripherals. “Preem, preem. Just helping out your Squire here.”
“Oh?” The Inquisitor turned his shielded face back towards me, exposing the guilt reflected in his mask. “My Shquire?”
Fuck.