"So, you guys have the phone you wanted me to take a look at? Oh, and have a seat too. No need to stand around and tire your legs out,” the talkative hacker gestures towards the couch behind his desk chair.

“Yeah, I brought it with me,” Devin answers as he pulls the item from his pockets and hands it over. Atreus decides to quietly take advantage of the invitation to sit down.

“Ah, you took out the battery, huh? Good choice. Lots of phones these days have embedded SIM cards, so you can't just pluck them out for protection from tracking and whatnot,” Tetsuya comments as he accepts the phone and sit back down in his desk chair.

“Will it be alright for you to turn the phone back on?” Devin asks as he sits next to Atreus.

“Yeah, it shouldn't be a big deal to flip it on momentarily to get things started. If you're really paranoid about being traced, I can disable any and all forms of outgoing signals, no problem. But usually tracing isn't something to worry about unless there's a warrant for it, or the owner reports the phone as missing, which he might not have done, just going off what you've told me about earlier today. Just give me a second. I can get a better idea of what I can do once I see this lock screen,” Tetsuya snaps the phone's battery back in and connects the device into his computer with a USB cable before turning it back on again. “By the way, if you guys haven't eaten yet, feel free to order whatever and have it delivered here, it's no big deal. I have some drinks in the refrigerator, too – lemonade, soda, beer, all that jazz.”

“Maybe in a bit, Tetsu. Thanks,” Devin responds courteously to keep the visit focused for now.

“So, worst case scenario, how long do you think this'll take?” Atreus asks.

“Well,” Tetsuya begins his diagnosis from his computer as the lock screen loads up, “right off the bat, I can tell you something's off with his lock screen. It asks for a passcode, a print scan, and an eye scan. Now, phones normally can only allow you to do two of those things at once – a passcode and either fingerprint scan or eye scan. But the fact that this asks for all three suggests that this guy either downloaded a security app to only slightly but easily beef up his protection, or, if he's savvy enough, he might've jailbroken the phone to install a new operating system.”

“I was considering possibly forcing debug mode from the lock screen,” Atreus comments. “Do you think that would've been a good idea?”

“Well, if you're not used to doing that, a whole host of things could possibly go wrong, but...” Tetsuya pauses to heave a small sigh. “Judging from what I'm looking at right now, you're really damn lucky you decided not to.”

“What do you mean?” Devin inquires.

“Looks like this Takiyama guy indeed installed a new OS, and fuckin' Minerva of all things, too,” the hacker shakes his head at the discovery and the oncoming hardships it implies. “This isn't good.”

“What kind of operating system is Minerva, exactly?”

“It's like a type of embedded OS that you can install into smartphones after you jailbreak them,” Tetsuya begins his long-winded explanation as he examines the information presented about the phone on a window with a very barebones UI. “It's often used for its security potential because it's very highly customizable. I mentioned a security app before, right? Well, those things just place an extra wall of protection around the phone – not even a wall, really, more like a picket fence. But installing a custom OS like this, especially Minerva – one of the most complex of its kind – is a whole different beast, man. It's not just a dinky little fence around the phone. It straight up wraps itself around every one and zero that makes up the code of everything in the phone. It's a real bastard to get through, depending on how code-savvy the person who installed it is. It may take a few days.”

“A few days?” Devin repeats in utter disbelief.

“Oh, and that's not all. It's a good thing you didn't try to access debug mode from the lock screen, because one of Minerva's 'features' is to totally brick the system when someone tries to do that. It's basically its end-all protection failsafe. Because, obviously, if someone wants to get inside a phone they can't unlock, the first thing they think is to force debug mode, as you considered. If they do that, the phone basically shuts down every single functionality – even the power button. It runs in a low power state and can only be turned on again with a scan of the owner's fingerprint. And, like I said, it can be changed to do even weirder shit if the phone's owner knows how to code. That's the power of Minerva's open-endedness.”

“Damn, I'm starting to second-guess the usefulness of this phone if it delays our mission for days,” Devin anxiously confesses. “We're more or less racing against the cops, who might come to the conclusion that someone within the clan did it, maybe even Takiyama himself if they have reason to suspect him.”

“To be fair, we don't know enough to say that he didn't,” Atreus remarks with a hard truth. “But even if Takiyama did it, we still need to get to him first and ensure that he and no other person can tie the murder to the Sanada-gumi. That's the end goal.”

“Honestly, I can't really give you guys a time frame on when I'll be done for about another few hours or so,” Tetsuya announces without prying his eyes from his monitors for even a second. “I need to slowly get a grasp on what kind of beast I'm dealing with here. That's why I suggested you guys order some food if you're hungry. There's a few nearby places that are still open this late, some of them are fast food joints if you don't want to deal with the almost hour-long wait of something more fancy.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” Devin admits with a small sigh as he pulls out his phone to begin searching for a place to order from. “There aren't any fast food places that cook Wagyu beef though. I've been cravin' it since I caught a whiff of it up in the VIP section of Crown.”

“You're a Crown VIP?” Tetsuya comments, still alert and aware of the two gangsters' conversations despite also being preoccupied. “I thought it was Mystik that you went to all the damn time. Did Ami switch clubs or something?” even the unkempt hacker knows of Devin's obsession with Mystik's top girl.

“No, Atreus works a temp job at Crown as a bouncer, and he's been up in the VIP section for a while. I just met him up there before we came over.”

“No shit? I've been there a couple of times. Not terribly recently though. Nice place.”

“If you're hungry for beef, one of the places open late in this area is a beef place, and they do cook pretty quickly,” Atreus interjects with a food suggestion.

“Millennium Kyushu, right?” Devin guesses the name of the restaurant aloud. “They do have a pretty good menu. Only other beef-centric place is Kyoto Golden, but they just serve expensive genuine meat, which isn't all that great, anyway. Hate it when places do that.”

The food industry has evolved in many ways since the introduction of lab-grown meats to the masses nearly two decades ago. Though they initially hit the market with high prices, consumers slowly migrated to them more and more as time passed. With their growing prominence also came a wide variety of experimental 'breeds' of meat that arose as products of labs trying new flavor combinations, merging meats with natural and artificial tones without the need to season or marinate while cooking. Because of lab-grown meats becoming so popular, 'real' meat from actual slaughtered animals became a commodity that some restaurants built themselves on, offering them at high prices. However, indulging in real meats has become an activity associated mostly with snobs, due to the fact that lab-grown meats are generally considered healthier and better tasting, and, depending on type, having a better texture.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Of course, another huge benefit to lab-grown meats is, obviously, no more need to kill livestock. In addition to that, labs in which the meat is developed take up significantly less land than livestock farms and slaughterhouses. Since the perfection of its production and increasing productivity, the lab-grown meat industry has become more than capable of meeting the increasing volume of consumed meat per year.

“Guess we'll eat Millennium Kyushu, then,” Atreus decides. “I'll just take a Millennium Gyudon and mixed rice. I'll pay you back my portion of the order.”

“Got it,” Devin replies as he hits buttons on the digital menu, which showcases a library of remarkably appetizing Japanese dishes. “Should we order drinks? Tetsu, what kind of soft drinks did you have?”

“Uh, several,” Tetsuya answers as he continues to type and stare intently at his monitors. “You're welcome to open the fridge and look, it's no big deal.”

Devin, with his phone still in hand, pushes himself off the couch and accepts the invitation to examine his host's fridge. Inside is, as expected, mostly condiments and various type of easily prepared foods and leftovers. On the top-most shelf with the most vertical space is a small collection of several two-liter bottles of different types of soft drinks, varying in the amount left inside them, but none with less than a quarter left.

“You don't drink directly out of the bottle of these, do you?” Devin asks with an eyebrow arched up in suspicion.

Tetsuya smirks and sharply exhales out of his nose at the accusation. “No, I don't. I'm messy, but I'm not a savage. I don't drink like that with my soft drinks. I do it with my milk though, which is why I didn't suggest it when I first listed off the drinks I had a few minutes ago. Glasses are in the cupboard right next to the top of the fridge, by the way.”

“Awesome,” Devin finalizes his order on his phone as he opens the flat, black maple cupboard to grab a tall glass and pour himself a drink.

“So, Atreus,” Tetsuya begins, “since you're working at Crown, do you know if a girl named Ai still works there? I've haven't been over there in months, so I have no idea if the roster is still the same, but the last time I went, I spent my time with Ai, and man, she was quite the charmer – really cute, and a great conversationalist. It's a bit difficult to find a hostess who can keep up with my tendency to ramble sometimes, you know? But she was really on point, didn't miss a beat.”

“Ai still works there,” Atreus replies. “She's become pretty popular in the last month, at least from what I've seen.”

“That's good to hear,” Tetsuya nods in satisfaction at the confirmation. “I really should make my way to a hostess club sometimes soon, even I need a break from looking at a screen all day. But man, I get swamped with jobs after tax season. I can barely find the time to leave my apartment even if I wanted to.”

“If you go to Crown, you should totally check out this girl named Reiko,” Devin joins the conversation with his glass of caramel-colored pop, setting it on an ottoman with a turned over top cushion to reveal a flat wooden bottom. “When we were there last night as customers, we asked for her, and man, she is gorgeous and really knows how to get a guy to eat out of the palm her hand.”

“Fuck it, I think I'll go to Crown once my next big job is done. Have I told you about it?” Tetsuya finally turns his head for a brief moment to give Devin a boastful smirk. “It's pretty big.”

“No. What is it?”

“You know how Automa's partnering with some mail services for self-piloting cargo planes? Not even a remote pilot sitting in some control base or anything. They hired me to look for holes in their new infrastructure.”

“No shit,” Devin's mouth falls slightly agape. “That's sick. But that's probably a massive job though, right? An airline infrastructure? You're not the only one working on that, are you?”

“No, I'm not; there's other programmers working on it too. Either way, they offered a pretty hefty sum of money for me to put everything else aside and focus exclusively on that for the next couple months. Frankly, you guys are lucky I haven't already started or I'd have had to turn you down, especially after finding out fuckin' Minerva's on this damn phone. I'll even have to cut down on my time in Black Iron – probably might not even log in at all on some days. But once it's done though?” Tetsuya lets out a short but dramatic whistle to put emphasis on his great income for the job. “I can take a month-long vacation; I might even go abroad somewhere and chill out.”

“I should probably start saving money so I can take a vacation like that, myself,” Devin admits with a sigh as he leans back in the couch. “But I tend to spend my money pretty quickly, particularly on visits to Mystik and ways to make myself look richer than I actually am. It's come in handy before, though. I'm considering importing myself a box of handmade Nicaraguan cigars,” Devin makes a gesture with his thumb, index, and middle fingers in front of his mouth, pretending to hold up an imaginary cigar. Atreus rolls his eyes at the predictability of his friend's spending habits and decides to stay silent as the two other men continue to speak in a stream of consciousness.

Just under an hour later, the two yakuza are still sitting on the couch, but now eating their delivered gyudon housed in thick plastic bowls, and using complimentary chopsticks to indulge, practically stabbing at their meal with famished fervor, all while surfing through various subscription networks available of Tetsuya's TV, which is mounted on the wall opposite them. Tetsuya himself, however, is still analyzing, typing, and trying to break through the tough security on Takiyama's phone by desperately searching for an exploit. Atreus is the first to finish his dish, and places it on the ottoman-turned-table with the chopsticks resting horizontally across the bowl.

“So, how much do I owe you for my part of the order?” Atreus asks as he retrieves his phone from his pocket.

“Twenty-five,” Devin answers immediately before he scarfs down another mouthful of beef and rice from his second bowl.

Atreus opens up Velonum, a digital wallet application, and with a few button presses, sends the money owed quickly and painlessly. Due to the variety of uses the service is capable of, including carry digital credit and debit cards, it's rare for people to carry physical currency anymore. Buying things online and sending money to friends and family is effortless, as is making one-time transactions with people in person.

“So,” Devin speaks up again after a loud gulp, “did you talk to that hostess you said you liked? Max, right?” he looks over at his friend with an expectant glare as he shoves another large cluster of beef and rice into his mouth.

“I talked to her a bit before we opened the club today, yeah,” Atreus replies listlessly. “Before you and I left, she tried to invite me out somewhere, but obviously, I couldn't really do that. So I just took a rain check and gave her my number.”

“Damn, she's already eager to hang out outside of work, huh? She must like you, too.”

“Another thing to look forward to after this investigation is done,” Atreus gripes underneath a relatively benign comment. Even though he's been on the mission for less than a day, he's already somewhat irritated at the fact that it's so quickly eaten into his social life. He suddenly turns his head to his gracious host, who's still staring at his monitors. “Speaking of which – Tetsuya, are you really okay with helping us out on this?”

“Hm?” the hacker turns his head and lifts his eyebrows inquisitively. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you're typically a white hat, right? Are you sure it's okay for you to help out yakuza investigate a murder in a way that might clash with law enforcement? Don't you have a reputation to uphold or something?”

“Strictly speaking, my reputation as a white hat is localized entirely around my professional life,” Tetsuya bluntly confesses as he returns to hitting his keys in short bursts with almost frightful speed. “It's how I make my money. But, in my private time, I've done my fair share of not-so-legal things. Mostly to see if I can, sometimes to help others, and once in a while to help myself. I'll be the first to admit that I'm no saint, and despite my association with white hat activities, even I'm not immune to the temptation of breaking into a few things for my own gain. I do try to keep it to a minimum, but for the most part, as long my income still mostly comes from my white hat projects, then I feel like my conscience is clean. As for worrying about the cops finding me out, well, let's just say that if I weren't good at covering my tracks, they'd have had me for something already."