Animus Boxed Set 2 (Books 5-8): Revenant, Glitch, Master, Infiltration

by Joshua Anderle

  “You want to borrow the ship again?” Julio asked as he finished cleaning a glass. “You only brought it back last night.”

  “That means the engine’s still warm, right?” Kaiden countered and took a sip of whiskey the man had poured him.

  The barkeep rolled his eyes as he picked up another glass. “What are you after this time? I haven’t even had the chance to set up another gig for you.”

  “It’s not a gig this time.”

  “So you’re looking to take it for a joyride, then?”

  He shrugged. “Joy may or may not be involved, but while I’m not on a gig, this is business.”

  “And business comes with expenses,” Julio noted.

  The ace sighed. “How much do you want?”

  “To the point, then, eh?” The man chuckled. “I guess not having to worry about your future debt has made you feel more cred solvent, huh?”

  “I only know there’s no way I can weasel you down that much considering you have no stake in this,” he admitted.

  “There are those old street smarts coming into play.” Julio flipped the cleaned glass and put it on the rack. “But unfortunately for you, I’m not in dire straits right now.”

  “Ah, come on Julio. You don’t have a hot date you wanna spoil or a new cruiser you’re looking for?” He huffed his irritation.

  “I have more than enough credits for things like that. It’s funny you of all people think this is still my real job,” he retorted and poured himself a shot of whiskey. “And the last time I had a hot date, it actually was ‘hot dates’ and I didn’t plan it properly.”

  Kaiden glanced at the medical patch on his neck and smirked. “I simply assumed you got into a scrape with some punks.”

  “It was more than a scrape, and they were as lovely as they were vicious,” the man corrected. “Anyway, I’m not saying you can’t have it, but I’m more in the mood for a favor than money. So you do this little favor for me, and I’ll let you borrow it, along with some stipulations.”

  “What’s the favor?” he asked cautiously.

  “It depends on where you’re headed.” He took a swig. “I have a few things that need to get done, but I won’t pile them all on you for now. Do you have a flight plan?”

  “It looks like I’ll end up in Tokyo by the end, but I’m headed to Vox first.”

  “Back to Vox? Did you forget something?”

  He shook his head. “Something new came up.”

  “Well, fancy that. I actually need something done there. It came in just before you got back last night, so I thought it was a missed opportunity.”

  “So if I run your errand I have carte blanche to use the ship?”

  Julio placed his shot glass on the counter. “With stipulations, as I said.” He held three fingers up. “One, I need you to deliver goods to a friend of mine on the station.”

  “What are the goods?” the ace asked.

  Julio hesitated before he held a fourth finger up. “Okay, four stipulations. One of them is not asking what’s in the box.”

  “Well, that’s comforting,” he muttered sarcastically. “It’s not illegal, is it?”

  “Are you breaking rule number two already?”

  “I thought that would be counted as four?”

  “Of course not. Keep up!” The man snorted. “Rule three is you don’t wreck my damn ship.”

  “That goes without saying,” Kaiden concurred.

  “And rule four is tied to that.” He propped himself on the bar with his elbows. “You need a real pilot.”

  “Do what?” the ace asked and tapped the rim of his empty glass. “How come? Chief can fly it fine.”

  “Right?” Chief stated angrily and appeared over the bar.

  “EIs are basically fancy autopilots. Even automated ships have to have specifically designed EIs to work right,” Julio explained. “If you are hit by something that takes it out, or if a cyberwarfare suite gets into the system, you’re screwed. Whatever you're doing, I know it’ll get rough, so I want to be sure there’s a smart flyer behind the throttle.”

  “I can fly,” he protested and earned a glare from Julio. “I mean, I have basic pilot’s knowledge.”

  “Then go get a rental,” his companion challenged him. “If you simply need some jalopy to get you from point A to B, you wouldn’t have come here. Hell, you’d probably already be gone. You are obviously going into the thick of something, or you think there’s the possibility of it, at least. So you want the best you can get, and my baby is top-of-the-line. I’ve spent the sweat and credits to make it that way.”

  “You’re so defensive,” Kaiden grumbled and looked away. “I suppose, since you brought it up, thanks for not prying too deeply into this.”

  Julio scoffed. “I’m not making myself a potential accomplice as you said. I have no stake in this.”

  “There’s that camaraderie I’ve looked forward to with every visit,” he snarked. “All right, I have a guy in mind.”

  “Is he good?”

  “I would say fantastic. But there’s one quick question—does he have to be human?”

  “Friend Genos.” Kaiden waved to the Tsuna in the middle of the engineering workshop.

  “Friend Kaiden?” he replied with surprise as the ace walked up to him and his partner turned to fix the droid they were working on. “What brings you here? You seem to be in a jovial mood. I do not believe I have ever heard you address me with a traditional greeting.”

  “Yeah, I thought I’d give it a try.” He latched an arm around the Tsuna’s neck and pried him away from his duties. “Do you have a minute? I want to talk about something.”

  Genos stumbled along and tried to keep up with his companion’s stride. He placed a hand on the unusually tight grip in vague protest. “Well actually, I was in the middle of—”

  “Kaiden? Why are you here?” Jaxon approached, his expression curious.

  “I suppose I could ask the same thing, fellow ace,” he replied and snagged the newcomer around the neck as he had with Genos. “But the more, the merrier. I could use your help too.”

  “Is something wrong with him?” Jaxon asked.

  “I wondered the same,” the other Tsuna admitted and tugged at the arm around his neck. “I hope he doesn’t break my infuser.”

  “Act natural boys. There’s something I wanted to talk to the two of you about,” he whispered and dragged the two away.

  “You are the most suspicious one here, Kaiden,” Jaxon retorted as they left the workshop.

  “A mission for Chiyo?” Genos inquired.

  “Yeah. It appears someone is after her father,” Kaiden explained. “She’s worried and I wanted to help her out. The hope is we can get it done quickly, but it’s still up in the air at the moment.”

  “Why did you need us specifically?” Jaxon asked.

  “Well, since she asked for my help, things will possibly get dicey. Having backup would be a help, which is where you come in,” he stated and pointed at his fellow ace. “As for Genos, he’s a good fighter, but I need a good pilot too. I have a ship—a really good one—but the owner won’t let me use it without a proper pilot and a quick delivery.”

  “I would certainly be happy to help friend Chiyo, but we would miss considerable class time,” Genos pointed out.

  “You would get real-world experience,” he countered but rubbed the back of his head a little awkwardly. “Although you are right. We’d probably have to use any accumulated free time or make it up after we’re done.”

  “Can you give us any details at all?” Jaxon asked.

  “We’re headed to Vox first—a cloud city. I have to drop something off as well as locate a device Chiyo and I saw during our last gig. After that, we hope Chiyo will have enough info so we can devise a proper plan. The overall idea is to find whoever is targeting the Mirai zaibatsu and to either stop them or get a better understanding of their plans so she can inform her connections and the Mirai will be prepared.”

  The Ts
una ace nodded and tapped his infuser. “I see. And will the four of us be the only ones going?”

  “I hope I can get a couple more, but it won’t be a big group, only enough that we have the skills and firepower needed to do this. There’s a good chance they are already on high alert, so making a big scene will either cause them to move their plans up or go back into hiding.”

  “So you will have to show some restraint,” Genos noted. “That should prove interesting. It’s not your forte.”

  Kaiden’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the mechanist. “You know, even if you say that innocently, it’s still kinda demeaning.”

  “I offer my assistance then,” Jaxon agreed.

  “I do as well,” Genos added.

  “Just like that?” he asked, rather surprised.

  “I obviously wish to help friend Chiyo,” Genos stated. “And I have been the only one to not accompany you on a mission yet. Even our new friend Indre got to go on her first day here.”

  “I would like to assist a friend in need as well.” Jaxon placed a hand against his chest. “It is my duty as a future warrior of the Tsuna.”

  “Plus you want another rush like the last mission?” Kaiden asked coyly.

  Jaxon folded his arms. “That was…more intense than I thought it would be, but it was good to see how I perform in the field proper. Another opportunity would allow me to grow even further.”

  “I agree!” Kaiden shouted and clapped.

  “You say you want a couple more to accompany us—do you have anyone in mind?”

  The ace smiled. “Well, we certainly need more stealth on our side.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “You want me and Amber for what now?”

  “A mission.”

  “Another merc gig?”

  “Not a gig specifically, but you’ll get your fill of action and a proper reward.”

  “Who’s paying?”

  “I am.”

  “Really? You must be in a pinch if you are asking for help,” Flynn mused and kicked his feet up on the bench.

  “I’m only trying to make this as convenient as possible,” Kaiden retorted. “I’m not sure how long this will take. Hopefully, only a few days, but it’s fairly complicated, plus there are many unknowns. So having the backup and a spread of skill sets would be the smart option.”

  “Heh, you’re certainly right about that,” the marksman agreed with a smile. “You know, you’re actually thinking like an ace.”

  “I’ve been doing just fine to make it to year three, smartass,” he pointed out and a hint of a snarl formed.

  “During the action, sure, but it is important as a leader to be able to have a plan of action you can clearly explain to your subordinates. That puts them at ease and reassures them that they aren’t simply making a suicide run.”

  His snarl deepened. “Are you saying that in all the missions we’ve run, you’ve always felt that way?”

  “Only sometimes and coincidentally, they were the ones when Jaxon was in the lead.” Flynn glanced up to see his companion glaring daggers at him. He held his hands up to calm him. “Anyway, getting back to the point, I’m willing to lend you my sniper skills if you give me more info.” He lowered his hands and sighed. “As for Amber, sorry mate, but she won’t be able to help out.”

  Kaiden’s snarl changed to a puzzled frown almost instantly. “Huh? How come?”

  “She isn’t here,” the marksman answered flatly. “Her mom left to go take a look at some new medicines being developed by a company in Canada. As a battle-medic, Amber is shadowing her for extra credit and getting a look at it herself, along with a group of hand-selected medics.”

  “And she won’t be back anytime soon?”

  Flynn shook his head. “Nah, she’ll be gone for at least another week.”

  “Damn,” he muttered. “Having someone who can patch us up on the fly would be really helpful.”

  “Do you think we’ll take a lot of heat?”

  “Well, there are at least two phases to this plan. The first one will hopefully be a quick retrieval, but the second is still in the air. Chiyo is looking into it but from what she told me, it will either be a quick stop for her to help with changing the security or it could be a potential elimination mission.”

  “Elimination?” he asked in surprise. “Well, I guess if it comes down to that, having a marksman would be handy.”

  “Yep, especially now since we can’t build a team for straight combat without a medic of some sort,” the ace admitted.

  “You do know there are over two hundred people working in the medical division, right? Why not rope one of them in?” Flynn suggested.

  “Because I don’t know any other medics personally, besides Julius, and I can’t find him anywhere.” He thought for a moment before he hung his head. “He’s with that group Dr. Soni took, isn’t he?”

  “Yep. You really need to keep up with your friend's lives.” The sniper leaned back and tilted his head in thought. “So it’s a matter of trust. Well, in that case, if we can’t draft another medic, how about you replace that with another person who can help with stealth?”

  “That would be a component, either way, as we’re traveling relatively light,” he explained while nodding in agreement. “But you are right. Stealth should be the main focus now that we can’t rely on being able to perform well in a prolonged fight.” He clicked his tongue a few times and scratched his chin. “As for our standing right now, we have you, assuming you say yes after all this. Jaxon has shown he can be versatile in both a direct fight and in tactical situations, so he’s a go. Genos might have some skill there, but I don’t know if that’s his forte. He would be a great backup and there’s a good chance we can find a way to utilize his engineering skills.”

  “Look at this thoughtfulness. I feel like a proud big brother.” Flynn chuckled.

  “Aren’t you a few months younger than me?” Kaiden asked and lost his train of thought.

  “Maybe I’m biologically younger, but you have to admit—”

  “You want to shut up now,” he warned and rolled his eyes. “I can’t even get any respect from the people who’ve seen me fight.”

  “It’s not like you have a gun on you right now.”

  “Maybe not.” He slid his hand down to his tray, picked a fork up, and waved it in the Aussie’s face. “But I have this and an isolated area.”

  “Truly intimidating. You might hit a vein,” Flynn mocked. “But again, back to the matter at hand. What are our options?”

  He placed the utensil down and leaned forward. “We could have wrapped this up by now,” he muttered before he released a deep breath, looked at his hand, and began to count off on his fingers. “Izzy would be a good choice. She’s an agile scout. Cameron and Raul would do well too, as long as we can keep their personalities in check.”

  “You’re one to talk.” His companion chuckled under his breath. “You’re forgetting someone, though.”

  The ace looked up. “Hmm? Who’s that?”

  “Before I help you remember, you promise we aren’t doing anything illegal here?”

  “You won’t be,” Kaiden answered.

  “That’s a specific answer,” the marksman remarked and regarded him suspiciously.

  “The first part of the mission will definitely be a little sketchy, at least to most,” the ace admitted with a shrug. “Considering my background, I’m certainly used to dealing with areas that are rather gray.” He fixed the other man with an honest look. “But as a sniper, shouldn’t you be fine with dealing in the same muddled areas?”

  “I’ll have you know I plan to go into a SWAT unit or the military,” Flynn said and thumped his chest. “But I’ll admit that even aiding you, despite knowing that not everything you’re doing right now is necessarily on the up and up, does mean I’m a little more flexible than I’d probably like to admit.”

  “So you are on board then?”

  He smiled. “You know as much as I do that I was
on board the moment you asked. It’s not like I have anything to do anyway. I only have two workshops left this week and then it would be some intense Animus training. This’ll be equally as good.”

  Kaiden nodded and folded his arms. “It’ll either be a vacation or a struggle to survive. It’s still not clear which.”

  “Man, you must expect the worst if you’re scared.”

  He spat on the ground. “I ain’t scared.” He cracked his knuckles. “But I do have to admit that whoever is behind this has powerful connections and is potentially rather dangerous.”

  “They would have to be to make a zaibatsu their target,” Flynn agreed. “Which is why I think she would make a great addition to the team, but I want your promise that you won’t involve her in anything shady.”

  “I already told you that I would handle all the stuff like that,” Kaiden grunted. “Jeez, who is she? Your sister or something?”

  “I don’t have any blood relations in the academy,” Flynn countered. “But Amber does, and she would kill me if I were responsible for wrapping her up in something like that.”

  “Amber has a family member he—” His eyes widened as he smacked himself on the head. “Oh, right. Her.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “So, dear Kaiden has involved you in something troublesome again. has he?” the professor asked.

  “I think it’s nice that she’s looking out for her friends,” Cyra interjected and fixed him with a stern look. “And I’m not sure you should judge his actions. Considering how annoyed he looked when he stormed out of here, I can only assume something didn’t go well between you two?” Her words made Laurie flinch.

  Chiyo shook her head. “He’s doing something for me this time—something quite important, and more than I should ask him to do as a friend.”

  “Is that so?” He opened his desk drawer and removed a box. “Here. I want you to have this.”

  She took it cautiously, opened it, and looked at him in shock. “I’ve never seen a model like this.”

  “It’s honestly merely a fancy redesign of mine,” he admitted. “Play around with it. I’m sure you can find a use for it.”