MM - Chapter 82 - HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER!

C’mon Celeste, you got this.

Encouraged by Raine’s thoughts, and the confident glow in his expression, Celeste turned on Ehrhardt, “You say I’ve got no reason to be here? You know exactly how much my family has invested into your research and staff. How dare you speak to me that way. I’m glad you called the corpus already, saves me the trouble of reporting the criminal beating of your non-martial employee.”

As though she had fallen for his trap, Ehrhardt’s confident smile widened, “That was your crazy bodyguard! He attacked my employees and contractors. As his employer, I’ll be holding you personally responsible for his actions!”

Raine, keeping up his act, threw himself to his knees, pawing at Celeste’s hand, “N-no! That wasn’t me! Ma’am, you have to believe me. I would never hurt someone like that after the beating you gave me last time.” Celeste jerked her hand from his too-strong grasp and he fell back with a raucous cry.

[I’m going to kill him. Can’t wait to watch his stupid face turn blue as I strangle him in his sleep!]

“Enough of your lies!” Ehrhardt pointed at Raine, then his finger moved to one of the movers, “You. Tell us what happened here. Be quick about it, we’re on a tight schedule.”

Put on the spot, the man hesitated before nodding at Raine, “Yah, that's exactly what happened. This guy jumped up here suddenly, then beat up Ulrik and this idiot.”

The female doctor gasped, but Ehrhardt interrupted before she could speak, “I knew it! See, girl. It was your man from the start. And if you think any of my employees will have a different story, you’re dreaming. Afterall, they know what’s best for their future in this industry, don’t they?” The woman was torn between Ehrhardt and Celeste. Her gaze fell to her injured colleague and she shuddered, her mouth snapping shut.

Gritting her teeth, Celeste growled under her breath, her fists clenched. Raine caught her attention as he pulled himself to his feet, clapping a hand to his forehead, “Oh no. Did I do it again? I really didn’t mean it. Sometimes, I get so angry I lose myself and can’t remember anything after that.”

C’mon Celeste. You got this. Anger makes it hard to think. Relax and you can figure this out. He’s digging a deeper hole with every word. All you have to do is stay calm and keep him talking.

Embracing the emotional mastery training she went through on the road, Celeste regained her composure with a deep breath. Her thoughts raced to come up with a new arguing point. Raine bought her time by leaning over the curled up, still-groaning mover. He roughly hoisted the man back to his feet. The mover flinched as Raine dusted him off, hemming and hawing over his dirty uniform.

“G-get your hands off me!”

Dodging the man’s attempts to ward him off, Raine continued to pat him relentlessly. During his performance, his eyes flicked to Celeste so briefly she barely caught it, “Sorry, sorry. I was just so worried about you. Should we report you to a doctor? Oh, I bet we have a whole board of doctors right here! We should ask them about your welfare.”

“What is wrong with you! Get your hands off him this instant!” Ehrhardt scolded, advancing on them and allowing the door he’d held open to close behind him.

She told me she was forced to research Soulgen so she should know. Not sure I can make it more obvious than that without ruining the plan. Damnit, Celeste. Get your head out of your ass!

Between the mental shout and Raine's mouth tightening as he glared sharply at her, realization struck. Celeste gasped softly before she shot Ehrhardt a vicious smirk, “I’m not leaving, and neither are these servers. They hold proprietary data, and by company procedures, cannot be removed from the premises.”

Ehrhardt fumed, stomping closer, “Don’t you try to throw rules at me! I wrote those procedures and they specifically allow for exceptions under extraneous circumstances.” Feeling more in control with each word, he stood straight and jerked at the bottom of his shirt, smoothing it, “I don’t need to say this, but out of respect for your family, I’ll tell you. Yesterday, all our servers were hit by a malicious virus and the only way to correct the issue is by taking them off-site for repair.”

Celeste didn’t back down, though her expression turned thoughtful. Ehrhardt quickly interposed himself between her and the magdolly for fear of her physically intervening, “Besides, the procedure you’re referring to only requires authorization from a higher authority, and I’m the president! There isn’t anyone above my purview. If I say they go, then they go. Stop wasting my company's time and credits, or the relationship with your family ends here!”

“So you really did order them to remove the servers? That wasn’t someone else?” Celeste asked innocently.

Ehrhardt rested his hands on his hips, his chin high, “Of course it wasn’t anyone else? Who would dare?”

Celeste sighed dramatically and backed down, “That’s such a relief. They simply looked so suspicious is all, but it turns out there was nothing nefarious happening. My apologies for the misunderstanding. We’ll stop impeding your operations.” Snapping her fingers, she motioned at Raine while taking a few steps toward the edge of the dock.

Behind Ehrhardt’s back, Raine spun a finger in the air, nodding at her to keep going but she had no idea what else to say. He pointed at Ehrhardt, then above his head. She frowned, then his earlier words came to her and understanding dawned, “Out of curiosity, you said there wasn’t anyone above your purview, but what about the shareholders of the board? Correct me if I’m wrong, does the company policy really not say anything about alerting the board of directors when there’s a potential breach in proprietary data? I personally own quite a few shares, but I wasn’t alerted at all.”

Ehrhardt was taken aback, his eyes darting around for a brief moment, “Of course it does. There was no breach! It’s just a virus and some repairs. Hardly worth alerting the shareholders.”

Raine’s voice and posture shifted dramatically, regaining their typical overbearing qualities, “Ladies and gentlemen, as you heard, he knew exactly what he was doing and had no intention of informing us. Considering this ‘moving company’ doesn’t exist, and the usual server maintenance was never contacted, it's clear what he was planning.”

“W-what? What nonsense are you spewing?” Ehrhardt spun to face Raine, anger and confusion mounting in equal measure.

“Oh, I must have forgotten to include you in the vodcast. The board’s been observing from the start. Anyways, you’re fired. Don’t re-enter the building to retrieve anything as you're under suspicion of corporate espionage and your possessions are now subject to investigation. The corpus will be here momentarily to take you into custody for a thorough search of your LinQ. Any broadcasts or transmissions will be used against you in a court of your superiors.”

As Raine spoke, the drone dropped from the sky to hover over his shoulder. Morty, in his usual thoroughness, commanded its large central shutter to close and open, winking at Ehrhardt. The man took a half-step back, fear and disbelief flashing across his features, “This is some kind of trick! I won’t be fooled by a nobody bodyguard!”

“Wait, do you really not recognize me?” Raine asked, his tone silky smooth. Ehrhardt furrowed his brows and Raine adopted a sly expression, shaking his head, “I now own, let’s see… forty-one percent of Soulgen’s shares. Making me the majority shareholder by a significant margin.” Raine’s tone dripped with deadly venom as he took a step toward the slack-jawed man, “I find it quite interesting you didn’t think to inform me about removing my property from my company.”

“R-Raine?!” Ehrhardt squeaked, falling backward. As distant blaring sirens tickled their ears, the man could only shake in realization that his life was crashing down around him. 

The movers turned to flee, and Raine shuffle-stepped. He moved so fast that those without any training lost sight of him. Appearing behind the nearest two, he delicately chopped their temples and they crumpled to the ground. Celeste’s leg flashed out at the one trying to run by her. The man took the blow in the stomach, folding like wet paper. The last made it off the dock and two more steps before Raine caught him.

He returned and threw the limp body into the pile at Ehrhardt’s feet. The president stared at their unmoving forms for several seconds as the sirens grew louder. Looking up at Raine, a fraction of his earlier arrogance returned, “You set me up. All of this started after your tour yesterday. I had my suspicions, but now the truth is obvious.”

Raine snorted, “You set yourself up, smooth brain. You’ve been colluding with Juan Pauel Luu Rahn for months. When your plan to buy the company's shares at rock bottom failed, you tried to steal the servers.”

The name caused Ehrhardt to flinch, but his confidence crept back all too quickly, “No. You’re wrong. You’re slandering me with no proof other than a few random words I used to get that stupid girl to go away. Without being granted an official seat by the board, you don’t have any authority here. We’ll see who the corpus hauls away!”

Tires screeched, accompanied by van doors sliding open. A storm of footfalls preceded a host of heavily armored men and women rushing around the side of the building. They held electrified batons at the ready and their captain’s hollered orders shattered the unsteady peace, “Hands on your heads! On your knees, now!”

Ehrhardt, Celeste, and the female doctor complied. In blatant disregard, Raine stuffed his hands in his pockets and watched them come. The president snickered, right up until one of the officers rushed past Raine to tackle him. His gasp was replaced by a whimper as his coccyx cracked from the impact. He squirmed in agony, unable to truly resist the officer straddled atop him. She repeatedly cracked the side of his torso with her baton, “Comply! Comply! Comply!” Each strike sent buzzing currents of agony through him, only furthering her excuse to beat him.

A fifth shock rendered him unconscious and she relented. Standing up, she cleared her throat and bowed to Raine, “Apologies for our late arrival, Champion KongRu. We came as soon as we got word from the mayor.”

“Your timing couldn’t have been better. Well done, officer...”

“It’s lieutenant. Lieutenant Deleray,” she stood straight, thrusting out her padded chest with a charming smile, “I saw your fight last night and missed the chance to introduce myself.” Behind her, the captain cleared his throat but the young, attractive girl didn’t break eye contact with Raine.

Deleray? Pretty sure that family owns a majority of the city’s agricultural production. Nepotism at its finest.

Celeste watched the girl like a hawk, not seeing any signs of her hearing Raine’s thoughts. Against her will, she inspected the girl’s cheeks, unable to spot any freckles through the transparent visor of her protective helmet.

[Why did I even look?! Stupid Mel, I’m going to kick her avatar’s ass so hard.]

***

Raine leaned against the wall of a secluded, dead end hallway, “That’s everything I know for certain, Captain Hemlock. Hopefully, you can find proof of collusion on his LinQ. Since Juan Pauel Luu Rahn split, this scum is probably the only lead you can pass along to whoever is sent to investigate the firearm.”

Celeste stiffened at the mention of the weapon. She stood a few meters away, just around the corner to make sure they weren't interrupted.

The captain responded in a no-nonsense tone, “Don't you worry, Expert KongRu. We'll be sure to search Mr. Ehrhardt thoroughly. By the by, thank you for including me in your vodcast. You've made my job easy today.”

There was a light ruffling of cloth from around the corner, followed by the strained voice of a young woman, “Are you two done with all the boring stuff yet?”

Raine ignored the classically-pretty Lieutenant Deleray, standing and moving closer to the captain, “You're welcome, Captain. On behalf of Soulgen and myself, thank you for your efforts. If there's anything your department needs, feel free to reach out.”

Happy to encounter someone who knew how to grease the political gears, the captain firmly shook Raine's hand, “Likewise.”

Turning smartly, the captain marched away, “Lieutenant, pick your jaw off the floor and get the men loaded up. We're moving out!”

“Aww. No fair, cap. You gotta let a girl take a shot!”

“You took twenty and missed every one!” He grabbed the front collar of her armor and bodily hauled her down the hallway and through the door to the dock. 

“It was a pleasure, Expert KongRu!” She managed one last wave at Raine before her face vanished from sight. Celeste's nose crinkled and her upper lip contorted as she released an undignified grunt of displeasure.

“You're so cute when you're jealous,” Raine teased, heading deeper into Soulgen's bowels.

“Keep dreaming Expert KongRu,” her mocking tone was a perfect fit, eliciting a bark of laughter from Raine.

Through another set of double doors, they arrived at a medium sized room that was half-full of the returned server banks. A flurry of activity surrounded them as insistent staff sorted out which device belonged to which laboratory. Since none of the doctors could work without their data, Raine didn't feel any need to chastise the delay in productivity. Besides, there was only one server that truly mattered, and he didn't even know for sure if it was in the room.

Rapidly marching beyond the hubbub, he led Celeste down a flight of stairs to the laboratories. He strode right up to Dr. Krillian McLeary’s lab, finding it empty. Many of the vials inside were broken, and two of the monitors had been torn off the walls. In the corner sat the server Raine had uploaded Morty’s clone to.

Raine released a pleased exhalation, then used the credentials his watch copied from Ehrhardt’s LinQ to open the door. The room was rank with the cloying smell of spilt chemicals. He pushed through debris on the floor to the server, tapping it with his watch. His AR display populated a disembodied replica of Morty’s face, complete with skin and a fancy haircut, “Master! Welcome to my little land of dreams and miracles! What can I for you do?”

He's already destabilizing. That server isn't designed to hold such a powerful AI. 

Raine's tone was serious and he spoke quickly, “What did you discover about Dr. McLeary?”

Clearing his throat, the clone perfectly copied Raine's tone, but it only made him sound more derisive, “Your suspicions were correct. He's definitely not the original creator of ReGen.”

When I first saw his lab, I thought that might be the case, but how is it possible? My memory on this is crystal clear. He was definitely the creator in the past. Unless he stole it that time too.

Celeste frowned at Raine. Unable to hear his conversation with the clone, she couldn't quite piece together his meaning. [The way he talks about the past as if it's a future he's already experienced is so weird. If he wasn't so damn accurate, I'd swear he has brain damage.]

Oblivious to her thoughts, Raine pressed the clone, “If Dr. McLeary didn't create it, then who?”

“Isn't that the billion cred question!” The image of Morty flashed him a beaming smile, his teeth literally glowing like the sun. Right when Raine was about to snap at him to stop messing around, the copy answered, “He managed to delete all the footage before I was uploaded, but he didn't hide his tracks well enough to fool the amazing me! I dug through the laboratory door access logs from yesterday and found something suspicious. After checking the last several months worth of logs, the same pattern repeated multiple times.”

“Out with it!” Raine snapped. He'd spent almost all of his accumulated wealth on the hopes of acquiring the sole copy of ReGen's formula and finalizing its production. After Ehrhardt's betrayal, his patience was running thin.

“No fun at all,” the Morty clone huffed, wisely continuing, “Before your arrival yesterday, and several times recently, lab eighteen was accessed three times in rapid succession.”

Raine narrowed his eyes, “So you're saying someone left lab eighteen, then immediately after, the door was triggered two more times? So either that doctor is incredibly forgetful, or someone was sneaking in after they left.”

“Precisely! But not just anyone. Each time I noticed the pattern, Dr. McLeary door was also triggered twice.”

Raine nodded, agreeing with his assessment, “That's pretty damning. So, who's the doctor in command of laboratory eighteen?”

“A Dr. Pamalaiha Shraufand. (Pah-Mah-Lie-Ah, Shrou-Faughn) And I have to say, her background is quite mysterious.”

“Alright, send me everything you've got on her,” Raine received the file before he finished asking the question. Accessing it, he found the employee photo and couldn't think of anyone from the past who matched her image or name. “Good job, Morts two-point-oh. Uhh, don't tell him I said that.”

“Afraid it'll… go to his head?” The creepy mechanical laughter that rang in his ears was way over the top.

As Raine rolled his eyes, the laboratory door hissed open and a short woman with dark skin and sensual curves entered. She wore a surgical apron and mask that hid most of her features. Though Raine didn't need to see them to know who he was looking at as he'd only just learned the woman's name. 

Celeste opened her mouth but Raine's hand on her arm stopped her from berating the woman. Not paying him or Celeste any mind, Dr. Pamalaiha Shraufand pulled on a pair of medical gloves, snapping the cuffs. With unhurried movements, she rummaged through the mess. If he didnt know the truth, she would have looked like nothing more than a janitor coming to clean up the spilled chemicals.

Is she looking for her stolen ReGen?

Quick as lightning, the doctor's head snapped toward Raine. Realizing the woman heard his thought, Celeste felt her heart sinking until it dropped straight through the floor.