Track 31 - Take Your Kid To Work Day

Things were moving fast. You weren't even sure how Nikku and co were dispersed, Updike instead summoning you and Tess to his office, even ordering agents to pick you and her up from Rosie's. A lot was uncertain.

You weren't sure why Tess was selected either, figuring it was a spur of the moment choice. Only later did you guess it was because Updike wanted to test out her capabilities.

Tess was predictably against it but could do little as Updike practically threatened her. "We are all part of this team. You are the best fit for what I have planned anyways."

Sitting in his all too familiar office, Updike explained the situation. "I apologize if this is all so sudden but it's best to play this off as a coincidence. And it's better to assume the family may assume Sister revealing the architect is a bad sign. Simply put, we need to get to Lila before they can."

He sat back.

"You two will be disguised as journalistic partners. As part of an article with the 'Lua Times', you and Tess will be doing a fluff piece on the Senor Pelo Architectural Firm. You will be interviewing different architects, asking about various builds, generally collecting information. You'll also take several photographs of the various plans."

"Don't we only need one plan though? Can't we just ask Lila for it?" Tess asked innocently enough.

Updike shook his head. "By interviewing several architects and acquiring many photos it throws off suspicion. If the Family does look into Lila they will quickly find it a coincidence that we interviewed her. After all, we interviewed many people. The 'Lua Times', that is."

"Do you really think they're gonna know?" Tess asked.

"We don't know and since we don't know for sure we cannot assume they won't."

"I see."

"And what if she says no?" You ask.

"In the event she declines the other interviews should clue you in as to a possible location of the files. I don't want to but if we need to stage an operation to break in..." Updike paused. "I would just rather play it as innocently as possible."

"Does this newspaper exist?"

"Yes. I have taken the liberty of contacting the newspaper with the article and contacted the firm about the meeting. They specialize in programming but are willing to take the story should anything show up. I've already contacted the firm. While a bit sudden they have agreed and you shall be present in their lobby in 3 hours. End of the day."

"You came up with all this yourself?" Tess asked.

"No. This idea was actually planned in your late friend's external reports. He had planned to do this himself, once the architect was known. In his passing we shall execute it instead."

"Oh." Tess said sadly.

"Do you have any questions?" Updike asked.

"I'm still a little confused. What am I supposed to ask? How do I know what to say?" Tess asked again. She felt bad having to ask the questions but this was her first foray into espionage. Her worry was palpable.

"That will all be made abundantly clear soon. I have a guide I expect you digest after this."

"What about press passes?" You ask.

"Hum. I admit I did not think of that. You have access to the office floors. Go make some."

"Alright, I'll do that, uh, right now." You nod.

"Good then. Best of luck. Get those plans." Updike said as he dismissed you and Tess.

It didn't take much to get the passes printed. It displayed both Tess and your aliases, indicating you as members of the 'Lua Times'. Printed and laminated, put upon a lanyard they looked official.

Updike had some poor intern write up a report about questions to ask, readying you and Tess for the interview. On the way there Tess studied it intently, memorizing the whole thing. Only about halfway did she stop, preferring to watch the buildings drive by. You looked over, herself lost in thought. You could hardly blame her, the last few days, nay; the last 2 weeks had been a disaster for her. It weighed heavy on her-

"How much longer is this gonna take?" S blurted out, occupying your phone in one swoop. You pull it out. Up till now S had always like incorporating himself into some picture to talk. This time, however it was just a black background, no app icons, no phone buttons, nothing. He didn't look as upbeat either.

He didn't move, not even tapping his foot.

"I don't know. Not much longer. We're making progress." You say.

"Well if it's not getting done soon, let's put a cork in it." He uncrossed his arms. "We need to go to Mobius! Take the next shuttle there."

"W-what?" This had come completely out of the blue.

"Haven't you seen the news?" S started stomping around. "They're destroying entire villages! It's not fair! They apparently even have nukes! Imagine that! NUKES! And they kidnapped Sonic!!"

It caught you completely off guard. You weren't sure who 'they' were. And S' seemingly 180 change of heart made little sense too.

"I-. We can't just leave and drop this."

"Like hell we can't! This is not fair. You know it! I know it! I spared you. You owe me! Screw the Family! We gotta go to MOBIUS!"

You hadn't noticed but Tess had started to look over, curious as to who was shouting.

"Look, S. I'm sorry but there's nothing we can do. You know that. I can even hardly afford a space ship. A-and you've told me what they do there. I'm just a regular person."

"Why did I have to be bound to you? ARGH! This is so-huh, who's that?" He stopped, noticing Tess.

You look up. "Oh, this is Tess. She's our newest recruit."

"H-hello?" Tess said uneasily. Like many others, S' appearance frightened her. She didn't fully comprehend what S was either.

"Yeahhowareyoudoin," He turned back to you.

"When this is over. I swear I'll get you on the nearest shuttle. I'll even get Updike to make you a body or something." You tell S.

He didn't look any happier at the prospect. "You don't understand. Bastards are taking down the networks on Mobius. I can't even hear anything from them! It's just all SILENCE!" S shouted.

"Is there really nothing that can be done? Like, can't you hack Mobius somehow?"

"Not really. I can't just transport over there. It would take days. I can't just leave you." S said. You never really thought him serious but maybe he really was bound to you. You chose not to ask.

"Well surely you can get in contact with someone. I mean, you're a genius aren't you?" You say, hoping quietly this conversation ends soon. "Whoa, what about those Chaotix guys? Surely they have some line to Sonic right? Maybe you can advise them what to do."

"I...guess." S had materialized a stone on the ground and started kicking it idly.

"Be an advisor man. You can see things those people can't. Maybe you can tip the war." You add, a little more upright. You shrug, "Hell, do illegal stuff. I won't stop you, especially if lives are on the line."

"Maybe...I think you're right. I'll be back. But for the next few hours you leave me alone. I have a lot to think about."

Without even an animation S vanished.

"Who is he?" Tess asked.

"One of our members. He's a strange person."

You pocket your phone. "How are you doing anyways? Again, I'm really sorry about what happened. We were all caught off guard. We only got to him-"

"It's fine. I don't want to hear it again." She sighed. "I'm doing better. Rosie...I think working here is gonna help me out."

You nod. "If you need anything Tess, we're all friends here. Just ask."

Tess just smiled at you before looking back out the window.

Later on did you and Tess arrive at the building? You could tell she was nervous but you state it a good thing. "If they see you nervous they may be nicer. Hell, tell them it's your first interview. Just be cordial. Play off it." She nodded.

It was a massive building, a skyscraper amongst others. Glass windows lining all the walls, a huge professional sign displaying the firm's name on a perfectly cut lawn. Compared to TGG and IRIS this was the most normal building. You recall Updike's words about an operation. If we had to do a heist here, it would be a cakewalk.

Everything was in order. Press passes checked out, secretary had the times booked and all was in ready. You were impressed at how fast Updike organized it all. You had 8 architects to interview, Lila among them. She was number 7. Escorted by security guard you and Tess went into each office hitting them with easy questions.

You were not to meet the founder of the company, Sr. Pelo but nearly every architect mentioned him and his 'golden voice'. It got you curious.

Tess and you asked general things, education, life before the firm, life right now, their best design, their worst design and a random philosophical question to challenge them. You looked up some famous architects prior, preparing subversive questions for them. It worked with many not expecting it and others breaking out into whole tangents about how wrong you were. Nevertheless, it helped.

At the end of the interview you and Tess asked for floor plans, to which you and her looked over several, photographing each. Somewhere more apprehensive to photographs but Tess had no problems taking the shots with her eyes. She had a digital memory, easily capable of retaining the design.

Eventually after many architects you reached number seven, Lila.

Her office was just like the rest. Situated on a high floor with a view of the city. A large but plain desk in the centre, TV on the side, some fancy cupboards that looked to have no handles, and a few chairs in front of the desk. The walls weren't barren however, various pictures of her designs and what you guess were her kids lined them.

This office however had one key difference from the others. There were two, you guess children, watching the TV. You assumed they were children from their small stature but the costumes had you guessing otherwise. You had seen too many 'irregulars' to tell anymore. One had a pumpkin on his head and tuxedo beneath it. The other was dressed as a skeleton. The TV was on playing some black and white horror movie.

Lila looked sheepishly away. "I'm sorry. She said. It's take your kid to work day and they think it's Halloween. And I'm looking after the other one."

"It's fine." You smile back.

"See mom! It is spooky month! They have costumes too!" One of the kids noticed you, the other following as they inspected you and Tess.

You still had your 'guard attire' on giving you a militant appearance. Then they just guessed Tess was dressed up too.

They kept tugging on Tess' dress, berating her with questions. "Are you going to take over the world?"

"Are you weak to water?"

"Boys! That's enough. I just need to talk to these people." Lila said and got up.

She wore all dark purple, from the knee-length dress with holes in the shoulder to the dark purple tights. She didn't wear light clothing, almost giving her a gothic look. It matched her dull long purple hair. The look was complete with black boots, belt and sleeves. Despite her dark colours, she was stylish. It reflected off her pale skin.

"I'm really sorry. If we can reschedule this-"

"Don't worry about it." You say. Nudging Tess you say. "Jenny, can you watch the kids while I interview her?" Jenny, being Tess' alias. Tess nodded, still overwhelmed by the kid's questions. They were pulling on her arm, making it extend.

"So what are you watching?" She asked. They lead her to the TV, still waiting to know if she was an evil robot or not.

"Thank you." Lila said, out of breath. She goes back around the desk and takes a seat.

You sit down on the one of the chairs in front and crack your knuckles. The goal was to get her to willing talk about the compound without you initiating it. Like a cop trying to get someone to confess. You couldn't just start asking about it. Too suspicious. You had to get her to ask it.

"I'm sorry. They can be such a handful."

You go through the usual questions not getting much concrete. You scribbled the answers on a notepad, bullet point to save time. Her best design was her house, it had a lot of sentimental value. Worst design was some butcher's shop. She wouldn't explain why, skipping over the topic entirely.

Largest build? Some museum. Larger than the compound? Or maybe she didn't want to mention it.

Big spenders, most expensive build? She named off some celebrities. Nothing related to the family.

Weirdest build?

"That's an odd question."

"Well, we like to add a few offball questions. Helps us learn a little more."

She rattled off something unrelated. This wasn't working.

You put the notepad away. "This is off the record. Do you have any customers you regret working with?"

"I can't say. Though, no offense but I don't really know you. Especially since you're a journalist."

"No offense taken. It's fine."

You try to think of some possible questions. Any customers that were demons? Did you ever build for demons? Ever have any customers that were outright criminals? What do you know about the Dearest Family? You couldn't think of anything. You determine the best course of action is to pause the interview, get the photos, and hope you think of something.

You watch as Lila gets up and goes to the one of the cabinets, pulling out a whole slew of folders. That's it!

"In your all your projects, have you ever done a, uh, doomsday prep build? Like a whole self-sustaining thing. With the political landscape a lot of our readers are into that sort of thing. Like, disconnected buildings, large properties for farming, you know. Just stuff for our prepper readers, y'know?"

Lila flipped through the folders, pulling out a few large sheets of paper. "I know what you mean. Yeah, I've done one. For this rich family out in the city. Dearest? Yeah. Ever heard of them?"

You and Lila weren't looking but Tess tensed up. It was a dead tell. The kids noticed it but chalked it up to her being scared of the horror movie. "Ah, it's just make belief Jenny." One of them consoled her and patted her on the back.

"I think so. Buncha musicians, right?"

Lila nodded. "Yeah. Did their 'compound' years back. Crazy place. Underground tunnels. Shelters, so on."

This was the motherload.

"Do you think I could see the plans?"

Taking out the last sheet, Lila placed them all onto her desk. They easily covered the whole thing.

"I'm sorry, but they're kinda crazy about that. I can't. We had to take extreme precautions. I can't let you take photographs of these either."

So she wasn't going to let you see them. Time for the trump card. You lean back, agreeing. "It's fine, really. This town's gone a bit crazy recently. Few weeks back, my boyfriend and I were attacked. Home invasion. Messed up stuff."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you and him okay?"

You nod, feigning a sombre tone. "He got injured, fine now though. Total nutjob though. Large guy too. Wore a devil mask." You shiver. "We're fine now though."

You purposely ignore Lila's eyes going wide, instead making yourself appear in thought. Tabi could have died.

One of the kids came to you first, apparently listening in. "Do you know him too?!!" The skeleton kid was at your side, tugging your arm. "We played hide and seek with him once!" The other kid said. "He was really bad at it." They both said in unison. "You should have played hide and seek with him!"

"How do you-" You start to say but Lila gets up and closes the door, locking it. You turn to her, Tess looking as well. "Are you screwing with me?" She asked, her horrified look replaced with instant suspicion.

"I'm sorry?"

"That devil guy. Large, deep voice? Carried a knife?"

"Huh?" It was your turn to play dumb now. "He uh...said a lot of food facts?" You stammer.

"P-please, if you're lying. Just leave." She said coldly. "He died. There is no way."

"I'm not lying. We were attacked." You raise your voice. "Shoot, my boyfriend can vouch. The stab wounds are still there." You get a nasty idea. "Look. I got security footage if you don't believe me."

"I...I don't know." Lila said quietly. She had a rush of emotions. Updike had only discovered she was attacked by him before. Her sullen reaction indicated she still remembered it vividly.

"Let me see." She said after a few seconds.

It didn't take long to find the footage. It clearly showed Velseb going in, knife in hand. It then showed you, Theo and Tabi leaving, Velseb in pursuit. You skip the part where Huggy runs out, remarking him as your dog. You then showed the outdoor footage which only briefly showed the final confrontation. The moment when the house fell on him the camera shook, though it was caught.

Lila just watched silently, the kids watching as well, despite Tess' trying to shoo them away.

"My neighbour has other shots." That was a half lie you hoped Lila wouldn't press. Theo's outdoor cameras weren't operational at that time.

"We killed him. Cops confirmed that. How do you know him?" You ask.

"Are you positive?"

"We saw the police haul him away. My neighbour, his house is pretty badly built, some scaffolding fell on the guy. You know if you know anything-"

She shivered. "Not the ones here."

"What's wrong mom?" One of the kids noticed Lila's downcast attitude. "Nothing Skid. Just, uh, go back to watching the movie." She said.

The kids nodded and quickly resumed watching it, dragging Tess with them.

While the mood of the scene had been completely ruined you still weren't any closer to your goal. It was time to tie it together. "We had another group come to investigate the aftermath. They were certain it was targeted. I don't know exactly who did it but if I'm right it was the same people who went after you." You weren't sure if that were true but belief wholeheartedly that's how the Family knew of Velseb. And if I'm right, then seeing those floor plans is gonna help a lot."

Lila understood what you were hinting at and sighed. She got up and pulled out a few more images. Without saying a word she laid them onto the table. There, in utmost detail was the map of the compound down to each individual room. You almost missed yourself salivating at the prospect.

Image: https://www.deviantart.com/odaocer/art/Floor-Plan-1026386510

"No pictures though. I'm not supposed to have copies of this. They find out, I'm dead." She said quietly.

"Understood. Just for reference. It won't be mentioned ever again." You promise.

"You'll never see me again." You add. Lila nodded in agreement.

You had planned for this outcome, it occurring to you the real reason Tess was picked. "Tes-Jenny come take a look at this." You motion her over. Her eyes were cameras. Surely, that had to be the reason she was picked. She scanned over the plan.

"I don't know what you're planning at but if you think you can take them on, you're gonna need a lot more than a journalism degree." Lila said after some time.

"I think we'll manage." You say with a wicked smile.

The next chapter will be called A Force To Be Reckoned With.