Insider

07:37 pm.

The Bloomberg Austerity Bank building was rather large, the series of windows over its magnificent face solemnly declaring that it indeed had sixty-seven floors.

Of course, most of these windows were illusions, or rather, misdirects, as more than half of them did not grace light from the outside into any enclosure on the interior at all.

A formidable set of steps led to the building's entrance – which featured two large double doors – preceding them, an impressive fountain that on most days would have captivated visitors.

Tonight, however, the waters spraying from it were lit in red and blue because of the many police vehicles nearby tainting their beauty.

A wide perimeter had been set all around the bank and every functional establishment – store or otherwise – was evacuated not only for the civilians' sake, but also to ensure that the criminals wouldn't escape using the crowd as cover.

"So, that's the building, huh?" Twist said, his fake moustache skewing.

"Yeah. The lot you gotta deal with is all in there," Ratchet replied while looking beyond the commotion tens of meters ahead.

Ess narrowed his eyes and surveyed the Bloomberg Austerity Bank building. Great lights were lit from the net of cops and Agents, ensuring that not even a square inch of the building was cast in too deep of a shadow – anything that could allow the enemy to sneak away.

Because of the nigh palpable keenness ahead, the group of six couldn't approach any further. They had to watch from an empty book store that Twist had warped them all into. (They had switched places with a few books that had fallen from a large shelf – likely the result of the abruptness in which the security parameter had been set.)

"This is definitely something," Ess said through his black, cotton face mask.

"It looks like it has some very impressive protective mechanisms on the outside," Bee said while fiddling with her sunhat. She too wore a face mask, like Ess.

'Elliot' beside her, fitted within a large bomber jacket to combat the light cold, sneezed. He held tight a large case in which Bee's J.U.N.K, Binky, was stored.

"Oh, it does. I believe that's why those thieving brats didn't try to get in the old-fashioned way. Then again, they wouldn't need to if they have a tech genius, which the Bureau reckons they have," Ratchet said and he whirled the large ratchet in his hand.

After being told about what Ratchet wanted in exchange for D-dee's information, Ess, Twist and 'Elliot' had headed towards the hotel that T-96 had secured for them. The faithful guardian had made it all too easy for them to find him using his Utility.

Twist and Bee had retrieved their J.U.N.K, which T-96 had been responsible for following their unorthodox entry into Green Lolli.

To make it a little harder for people to recognise them, given where they were going, Bee and Ess had decided to wear face masks. Ess added a baseball cap to his disguise and Bee assumed the hat she had bought from Giant Milkshake. Twist had already been set.

Soon, the trio and 'Elliot' had left T-96 again with Dein and Jayne to meet Ratchet.

"So, you said it wouldn't be a problem for us to get close?" Ess asked.

"Yeah," said Ratchet as he peeked through the window of the store. "The party who's integral to that part is on his way. He's a good friend of mine."

Twist gave Ratchet a suspicious look.

"How sure are you of that?" he asked.

"Cool it, kid. I'm not an idiot. If I was, the Bureau would have caught on to my dealings in a city as large as this a long time ago," Rachet scoffed, and then he looked at Ess. "Besides, I'm hoping to heck that I can create a situation where you lot can surgically do what I asked without this bastard turning the entire city into a disk!"

Ess sniffled in amusement and Twist nodded in an I-get-it sort of way. He could believe that Ratchet wouldn't allow a city he was quite fond of to be destroyed just because he trusted the wrong person.

Right then, the door to the store seemed to open on its own and then a light from a torch mysteriously bobbed from the air. (The lights in the store were out.)

The Ryduun siblings tensed a bit, but then they heard a sigh of relief that neither them, 'Elliot' or Ratchet made.

"Finally," Ratchet suddenly said to the empty darkness in the store, and a moment later, a man in a police suit appeared from thin air.

"Sorry. Had a hard time sneaking away. Can't expose that I have a Utility either."

A man with fiery red hair and downturned, ocean blue eyes spoke, his gaze first landing on Ratchet and then everyone else.

He intended to greet them all casually, but he stopped himself. His eyes scanned Bee and Ess in particular and then they widened.

"Holy cra—"

"They are here to help, Rufus," Ratchet cut the man off. "We are, as you know, in a hurry. For my sake."

A wide smile broke over Rufus' face.

At once, Ess, Twist and Bee recognised the beam in his eyes.

This man… was a fanboy.

"I can't believe I'm standing at arm's length from the Ryduun kids! If your autograph wouldn't get me imprisoned for life, I'd ask for it right now!" Rufus exclaimed.

Ess and Twist gave a quizzical look to Ratchet who immediately explained on Rufus' behalf.

"He was a handler for Heathens like me three years ago, but I helped him wipe his record and join the police force."

Twist frowned. He looked quite disgusted as he turned to Rufus.

"Why the fudge would you do that? Join the police, I mean," he asked.

Genuinely, he couldn't wrap his mind around how someone could do that to themselves.

Rufus didn't miss the demeaning shadow in Twist's eyes, but he didn't take it personally.

"Ah, people as fantastical as you couldn't possibly understand. Not because you are incapable of it, but because you are far beyond people like me," he said with a dull smile. "After my wife died – in a way I can't quite accept yet, haha – she left me a kid, you see. I decided that I didn't want that kid to suffer the consequences that usually follow those in that line of work, like his mother. That's all. I can hide my Utility as long as I can earn a living as a cop. A peaceful life for the most part."

It was impossible to remain in the police force if you were capable of using a Utility. All Utility Users were grafted into the Bureau, and this was one of the many reasons the police and Bureau Agents didn't see eye to eye.

Ess gave Rufus a severe look.

He looked as though he had a lot he wanted to ask, as did Twist who had been the one to inquire about Rufus' 'situation', but Ratchet quickly intervened.

"Give us the updates. Like I said, I'm a bit impatient. We can all sob about your wife and brat later."

Rufus gave a light cough and nodded.

"Right. Well, we have reason to believe that someone in Half Side has taken control of all the technical security measures in the building. These people are obviously looking for something, but thankfully, one of Bloomberg's managers says there's a matrix they had installed by a foreign Utility User that makes all the vaults in the bank appear the same from the outside both physically and electronically – no names, no numbers. You can't check the contents either, even with the bank's resources within the building."

Twist screwed his face.

"So, these guys have to open every vault until they find what they want?" he asked.

"Exactly. Unless of course, they can hack the fuck out of that matrix or use a complex Utility, but that's hard to imagine," Rufus said.

Ratchet looked relieved.

"I guess we have a little more time," he said. "What else?"

"Well, the Bureau tried to keep this information under wraps, but that became increasingly difficult since yesterday night," Rufus said with a difficult expression. "There are some troublesome Restrictions placed on the building. The leader of that band, Half, proudly explained them to us yesterday. The son of a bitch was taunting us."

Ess furrowed his brows.

"What are these Restrictions?" he asked and his siblings pricked their ears.

Rufus sighed.

"For one, nothing can approach the building or exit it without being trapped in these large coffins. You can see them once you get close. Many officers and Agents were ensnared in them yesterday, and we are yet to confirm if they are alive or not. Even bullets won't work. They get trapped in tiny versions of the coffins too. Can you believe it?" Rufus said as he tsked.

Such a Restriction...

Damn.

Everyone turned tense, but urged Rufus to continue.

"As for the other Restriction, well, apparently no violence is allowed inside the building," the fiery-haired man said with a defeated look to his face. "Even if we manage to get inside by some miracle, we wouldn't be able to take down these bastards by ordinary means."