Despite the shock of the news, and her obvious conflicts over it, Mina had been expected to continue her work and go about her day like any other. Throughout much of the day, she was glad for the chip's ability to let her go into near auto-pilot for many tasks without risk of mistakes. Her mind was much more on the data drive in her pocket than the flowers in her hands. She had to keep herself from fidgeting with it as she thought. The drive had the record of Scott's argument with his supervisor, as well as extensive records of his history of hacking the school's systems, along with the service records of the rest of the programmers.
That afternoon, between her two actual flower deliveries, she was given additional information and assignments. Whoever was on the inside had to have help from someone within the black market or some other criminal organization. All of the agents in the city were following up on various leads, and Mina would be no exception. The following day, following training, she was going to be sent into the International District on a fake delivery to look into one of the likely fronts for black marketeers with the resources to move counterfeit skill-chips.
Mina was so lost in that train of thought that she almost missed her mother talking to her near the end of the workday.
“Mina, honey ... it's time to go.”
“Wha ... oh? Another delivery?”
“No, honey. Your dad has the van ready. I know you haven't had much chance to pack, but they've already arranged for your new apartment. We thought you might like to take a look at the place and see what you're going to need. Amiko started getting some things together for you to move, so you wouldn't be moving anything too heavy or pushing yourself too hard after the difficulties.”
“Oh ... I'll be sure to thank her. I can handle packing. I would like to see it, though,” Mina agreed readily enough. That much was true. In addition to just the thought of having her own place, she was liking the thought of having somewhere she didn't have to pretend to have her mind on flowers, deliveries, and landscaping.
“Then get going. Your dad is waiting.” Mina's mother hugged her. “Thank you for the hard work around the shop. It's already making a big difference having you here, honey.”
The trip to the apartment wasn't a long one. It only made sense, of course, that Mina should be within easy biking distance of the flower shop. All in all, it wasn't a bad place. Modest, certainly, befitting her supposed income. She'd eventually get an upgrade if she got married and combined incomes, or when she took over the business entirely. Until then, this would be her home. The elevator took them to the seventh story, the top floor.
“Seriously, Dad, I can help with stuff. I've been making deliveries all day.”
“There's not a lot just yet, sweetie. Just sit down at the window.”
Looking out over her little section of West Seattle, she had to wonder if it was intentional that the chipping center recommended a place with such a view. Most of the neighborhood was older-style architecture, some of it dating back over a hundred years, to the reconstruction. Few other buildings in the area were taller than three stories, built in an era when earthquake paranoia was at its height. The building was also at the top of one of the region's many hills, giving Mina a fantastic view in two directions from her corner of the building. Nothing in her chip's knowledge stores indicated she had any particular lookout duties here, so, she figured, it might just be that if they were going to give their highly paid agent a lower-middle-class apartment, they at least gave her one with a view.
Jim Cortez set down the last of what they'd brought. “This was in the blankets,” he said as he handed his daughter a note. Mina read it.
Mina,
Don't worry; I'll let you handle most of packing your own room, but here's enough to set up your kitchen. There's also some blankets and pillows so you sleep at the apartment, if you want. Also put in the music player in case you need to think. Some of us still have school, but Dad will partially let me off practice this weekend for an unpacking sleepover!
Be seeing you,
Miko
After weighing the benefits of personal space against having access to her computer and her own bed, Mina finally assured her father she'd be fine for the night, and would be at work on time the next morning, even setting her chrono's alarm five minutes earlier to make sure she had plenty of time, while he was there, watching. As soon as he left, Mina took a few deep breaths and turned on the music player, trying to help herself relax enough to process everything. She settled in at one windowsill, looking out over the cityscape of her new home.
Somewhere out there was one of her best friends. Her real employer had him at the top of a list of suspects, though far from the only one, at least. Regardless of the truth, he was now either working with or in the hands of someone dangerous enough to have raided the high-end facility. She would be given every chance to help discover the truth of the kidnapping, but even Mina had to admit, the evidence looked quite strong that an inside presence had to have been involved. Her chip helped her run through the logistics, letting her perfectly picture the maps and camera patterns of the area. Every scenario she could easily come up with was impossible to execute within the time frame and data they had.
Mina fidgeted with the drive. Scott currently looked like the strongest case for an inside job, not that she believed that for a second. To clear him, though, she'd still have to follow all of the leads and take advantage of the one thing she had that the other agents didn't—direct familiarity with one of the victims. Even if he wasn't involved with the kidnapping, whoever was almost certainly wanted Scott, and the others, for their knowledge and computer skills. As such, her knowledge might still be valuable in tracking them down if he had any access to systems with internet access, or some way he might be able to plug into something that did.
Despite her best intentions to eventually try to make something of a bed for herself, Mina ended up falling asleep in the windowsill, still trying to find the one detail someone had missed. By the time she drifted off, she was still no closer than when she started.
* * * *
Mina woke with a start. Only her newly chipped reflexes kept her from tumbling out of the window. All the chipping in the world wasn't going to do a thing about the crick in her neck. She took her bike into work, arriving ten minutes before her shift, and promptly reset her chrono alarm to five minutes later. Any hint of smugness didn't last long, before her mother set her to work arranging the display cases.
She'd only just finished with the displays when the phones turned on for the day, and, as she expected, she promptly got calls for three deliveries. As it turned out, use of the van had been a first-day thing, since all the deliveries were in biking range. She made the one legitimate delivery first, then plugged in the code her chip gave her to hack her tracker and falsify her location, then headed for the hidden gym. Agent Park's idea of 'easy' was no kinder than the day before, but at least this time she knew what to expect. What she didn't expect was how quickly the program was taking hold. Even in just her second day, she showed measurable improvement in her top speeds, and especially her balance and greater ability to use her off-hand and off-foot. The progress was almost distracting from her contemplation of the case.
“Not bad, Cortez, but try to keep your mind a little on the exercise.”
“Right. Sorry. Scott being a suspect is ... just ...”
“—a lot to take in for you, yeah,” Agent Park said with a sigh. “There's a reason we have policies in place to avoid that sort of thing. Don't take it personally, Mina. I learned about taking cases personally the hard way. One of my former partners—he was a good cop—an actual cop, not an agent. We'd worked together about five years and were pretty close. Jonas was the first time I got to be the one to give the chips-are-a-tool-not-a-crutch speech.”
“There's a speech?” Mina said breathlessly as she tried to keep up with the treadmill.
“Only among a few cranky old men. Chips never replace instinct. Especially in our line of work. They're always handy, but if you're the type to get the Inquisitor chip, odds are good you have a good sense for things, and it won't always agree with the chip. Usually I say trust your gut. Programmers are good, but they don't do what we do and can't prepare for everything.” He sighed, turning the treadmill off, calling a break while he got back off the tangent.
“So, anyway, I'd been working with Jonas five years. I got to be the cranky old man. He got a little too enthusiastic and got himself hurt, bad. He didn't even see the attacker, but I'd seen the M.O. I'd practically seen the same ruined leg before, on Tommy Escalante.”
Mina was still trying to catch her breath. “Abuelo ... the same people ...?”
“Not the exact people, but a related cartel. I was sure of it. More sure, and more specific about who, the more I looked into the case, and the Inquisition files. But I couldn't prove anything, and trying to would have put the organization at risk. The cops kept me away from the case, and the Inquisition gave me an enforced vacation ... and it was the right call. I don't know what I'd have done without some time in Florida to cool down and get my mind right. We eventually got the guy who crippled Jonas, three years later, on an unrelated case that I wasn't even involved with.”
Mina nodded sympathetically, then said, “And you think I ...”
Agent Park put a hand on her shoulder. “If this case wasn't an emergency, they'd have done the same. Recruited you, then had you trained somewhere else. They'd have found a way to cover it with your parents. Putting you on this isn't policy, but even if I disagree, I have to acknowledge that this is about as bad as it gets.”
“Really?” Mina asked, trying to get her mind off the personal level.
He nodded. “Sure, there's plenty of black-market chips. Some of the good ones are even pretty sophisticated, but having actual programmers hostage gives them potential to produce things on a new level. Worse, in the short term, those people handle the programming for everything. They can access information on almost every security system on the West Coast, or the inner secrets of the political machine, shipping and travel schedules for everything and everyone going through the region, plus the Inquisition.”
Mina blinked. “I hadn't thought of that.”
“Yeah. They've had access to data on how we operate, how to identify agents. We have to get this shut down, and fast. Not going to give you much time to learn or grow into the job, I'm afraid.”
“Thanks for being honest,” Mina replied, sincerely. She still wasn't entirely comfortable with what she was being asked to do, after all. She hesitated a moment, pondering approaches to trying to convince her fellow agent that Scott couldn't possibly be responsible. She'd been brought in, after all, for her direct, applicable knowledge, and that was one thing she was sure she knew. She decided that wouldn't help her case any, nor convince Agent Park that she could handle the unusual assignment after all. “I'll do everything I can to help solve the case,” she offered instead.
* * * *
Her next delivery was in the International district. She was still restricted to her bike, since her father had the van out on park business, but the district was readily accessible by biking to the nearest light rail station, and taking it a bit further north. After the intense workout, she was glad for the opportunity to coast down the steep hills leading from the station down to the shops, while simultaneously dreading the trip back uphill.
This time, it wasn't about training. She was supposed to make a couple of quiet deliveries to shops in the area as anonymous birthday presents and the like, allowing her to closely monitor the traffic around a particular teriyaki and pho restaurant. Mina quietly reported in as soon as she reached the correct block. “I can see Lucky Pho from here. You really think they'd be keeping them at a restaurant, with all those people coming and going?” she asked.
“Not our highest priority watch,” the Director answered. Of course it wasn't, Mina thought. They wouldn't put the rookie on those. “But it's still on the list. Delivery trucks and large groups wouldn't draw attention. They shouldn't have a basement, but the area reports suggest that it was built on top of the older international district—a lot of which was quakeproofed enough to still be stable if someone dug down to it.”
“Okay, so supplies and potential places to hide people. What else put them on your list, exactly?”
“This is part of a longer-term operation, Agent Cortez. At least one of the Lucky Pho partners definitely has a hand in some of the smuggling through the ports. We want to figure out whom he's working with but haven't been able to get too close.”
Mina nodded unnecessarily. Apparently, the AIA checked in periodically on several similar suspicious places all around the city. At such times as they had enough proof on site, or they tracked down one of the higher ups through their surveillance, then they'd get the FBI, local law enforcement, or someone else involved to actually conduct a raid. AIA agents themselves almost never got directly involved, except as part of their day jobs. “Haven't been able to get close to a restaurant?”
“Not in any meaningful way. We know the food is terrible, the service is worse. They seem to actively discourage too many customers, and yet remain open year after year. The story on their taxes is that they keep getting bailed out by rich relatives. We just wanted to figure out who, precisely, this rich uncle is.”
“Understood. So no stopping in for lunch between deliveries. Got it.” She could hear the Director's exasperated sigh. Apparently she didn't take much to the efforts to lighten the tone. Mina elected not to push her luck any further. “Anything else I should be looking for?”
“We're pretty sure they're running protection rackets through the area. Small-time stuff, trying to earn a little money on the side. If you see them out and about taking up a collection, don't let them get a good look at you. You're there on legitimate business, but we'd rather you not be seen at all, especially close to any of their operations.”
“Understood. Starting to move now.”
Mina went on comm silence. The Director could check her locations if she wanted to, but otherwise, Mina was on her own doing Inquisition work for the first time. The district was busy. Small import shops, groceries, and Asian-language vid-and-file stores lined the way along with a variety of restaurants. There were plenty of other people on bicycles, along with plenty of wandering college students, so Mina blended in relatively easily. She took her time about the first delivery, weaving through people to buy herself more time to keep an eye on Lucky Pho.
She took the elevator for one of the post-Decimation-era foot bridges spanning the street, then paused midway across. There were plenty of others climbing the bridge's steps, admiring the scenery, and reading historic placards.
The only thing she was able to notice from higher up that she hadn't seen from below was a delivery truck pulling up to the back. There were no signs of the truck opening or being unloaded, though three people from inside did come out, and engaged the driver in conversation. Eventually, she left the bridge and continued with her delivery. The first was made easily enough. An older woman at one of the groceries received anonymous birthday flowers. Mina slipped back out post-delivery as the woman and the other store employees nearby started speculating.
Moving across the street, she passed by Lucky Pho's spacious—
and mostly empty—storefront. She did note a few employees moving about inside, but no actual customers. The place was amazingly well staffed for a place without much business. As she passed by the next alley, she noted the delivery truck she'd seen moving slowly down the back alleyway. At the next footbridge, a few blocks later, she went back up, scanning past the low buildings as best she could until she found the delivery truck again, this time parked behind one of the other stores along the street. Once again, no sign of any deliveries being made.
Mina crossed the bridge, moving towards her second delivery. Had she not been looking back towards Lucky on a regular basis, she'd have missed them. Three men, dressed similarly to the people she'd seen talking to the delivery driver. She couldn't tell if they were the same, as she'd been too far away before, but guessed they likely were. Her chip quickly drew her attention to small details that didn't fit right. While each wore similar light jackets, the sleeves weren't quite long enough to entirely conceal hints of tattoos that reached to the wrists on two of them. She also picked up signs off of each that they were armed: well concealed guns, but guns, nonetheless. Remembering the earlier warning, she made sure not to stare too long, while still keeping track of their progress.
The three stopped at a few stores along the way, not too far behind Mina, emerging each time and heading further down the street. She lost sight of them amidst making her second delivery, this time dropping off congratulatory 'Just Chipped!' flowers at a vid-and-file shop. She didn't have quite the same chance to quickly slip out this time, as the recipient's mother had to call her from the stockroom to come get the bouquet herself.
Mina and the Chinese girl spent a few moments explaining to her parents that they weren't schoolmates, and no, the flowers weren't from Mina; she was just the delivery girl. Further assurances she had no idea who they were from, but, yes, she was very happy for the family. She turned down the offer of tea, insisting she had to be going. It was just enough of a delay that she nearly bumped into the three men from Lucky, on their way into the shop, as she was heading out. Noting them at the door, she instead quickly ducked back behind one of the shelf units. She turned her delivery jacket inside out. It would look odd, but the lining was a different color and didn't have the Emerald City logo on it. Then she pulled her hood up and tried to keep her head down.
That was all she had time for before the shouting started. She tasted aluminum as her chip started translating for her, with everyone else speaking rapid-fire Mandarin. The woman who had been at the till insisted they didn't have enough money. The oldest of the three men started threatening her. When that didn't change her insistence that they would give the men everything they had, but it wouldn't be enough, his tone changed as well.
Mina was still in her hiding spot, unable to see, but hearing everything. There was a scream, and the sound of a gun cocking, then another.