[h3]~ Tian Jin Sky City, Highway - Red Dragon Resort~[/h3]

[color=SlateGray]"This is backfiring at me."[/color], Jason exclaimed, throwing the cigar down in between his feet before stomping it, leaving a scuff on the rough, navy colored asphalt. His action provoked a scowl by Zhen, the young driver of some Chinese car-for-hire company who was supposed to deliver him in front of the "Red Dragon", that until the car's tire popped up and they had to make a stop just aside the main highway. Watching the cars go by, then apathetically throwing a glimpse at his watch, with his impatience growing like a tumor with each second wasted, Jason finally decided to address his agitation to the young chauffeur the way how he always makes his mood swings known - by issuing a threat.

[color=SlateGray]"Are you making any progress with that tire, or should I call your boss?"[/color], the young prodigy spoke, clearly and showing no sign of sympathy for the man. Zhen, in the other hand, was still trying to figure out where the lug nuts are. The newly manufactured cars that were frequent around Tian Jin were equipped with highly advanced experimental tires, which were very different from the normal tires. Regardless, what chauffeur doesn't know how to change a spare tire? After a succession of grunts and cursing in Chinese, Zhen, a man about three-four years Jason's senior responded to his client's threat-question. "I'm sorry sir. I don't know how this happened. It's not my fault. The maintenance wo-", he was about to go on with his attempt at acquitting himself of all charges, until the young Ford interrupted his shameless exhibition of broken English and made-up words (made worse by his shrill voice) by slightly pressing his right hand on his mouth. 

[color=SlateGray]"Don't. Don't blame the maintenance workers. That's so last year."[/color], Jason spoke, not ever breaking from his monotone voice, before sauntering away from the chauffeur's pale face, leaving him to work on his own for the time being. Sneaking a glance back at the poor man, who remained intact for the first quarter of a minute until finally moving on to fix the tire, Jason pulled out his phone, working his hands to establish an uplink with the Sakurai nerve center. The process to creating a cyber bridge in between a floating city in China and a four-story building in Shimizu, Japan was quite a slow and complicated one, but he wasn't going anywhere, so why not make use of that time. His brief pondering was put to an end as a woman's voice was heard from his Android, prompting him to shift his sight at the screen. 

[color=SlateGray]"Hello."[/color], Jason waved, almost as if considering a small and nearly irrelevant gesture like waving to be a nuisance. 

The woman on the other end of the line, Sophie, a tall, slender woman, dressed in an appropriate work suit which occupied the role as Jason's second-in-command, leaned towards the screen in a slightly inquisitive manner before querying. "Well? Did you change your mind?"

Her question provoked an erratic chuckle by Jason, who quickly assembled himself before responding; [color=SlateGray]"No Sophie, I'm still taking that vacation. I just called to see how the [i]thing[/i] went."[/color]. His response was less than pleasing for Sophie, to whom the prospect of handling an organization with 40+ employees and engaging in felonies rubbed her the wrong way. Following a quiet, but distinguishable sigh, she began speaking yet again. 

"About that, I have some bad news and some good news. Which one do you wanna hear first?"

[color=SlateGray]"The bad one."[/color], Jason spoke rapidly, as if in a hurry. 

"The bad news is; we hacked the Defense Ministry database and sifted through a load of information, but got caught before we could complete our search. I've never seen such a quick server shut down in my entire life, I tell you", the woman declared, her last sentence causing Jason's heart to sink deeper as he struggled to control his face muscles. The message that Sakurai's attempt at hacking a national database failed was no news for him. Ever since it's creation, Sakurai was nothing but an example of what happens when you try to use technology to bend the government. The fact that they got caught, however, made him anxious, his mind immediately springing at the likelihood of their IP being backtracked. If that was to happen, he'd be jailed in no time. It was Sophie's calm disposition and the thought of a good news that kept the young man from having a mental breakdown.

"The good news is", the woman on the other end of the line began, after a brief intermission. "we slipped away clean." Her last words felt like a calming dose of morphine to Jason, as he lifted his head up then sighed in relief, glad to hear that he'd get to avoid prosecution yet another day. Sophie's facial expression, in the meanwhile, signified she was pissed off and frightened, simultaneously. The pleads that followed shortly after confirmed that.

"Jason, please, we need you to come back. I-I don't think I can handle so many people at once. And the things you're making me do..", she stuttered, the change in her tone made it all the more obvious she didn't want to be any part of his activities.

[color=SlateGray]"You get half of the profit. Isn't that worth all the effort?"[/color], Jason queried, sneaking a devilish smirk which disappeared quickly so as to avoid coming off as inconsiderate before a woman who was about to burst in tears. His monotone changed to a more warming and somewhat even mocking tone towards the end, as he had his last word. [color=SlateGray]"Look, I'll be there in a week. Just try and keep everything in check 'till I make my glorious return, understand?"[/color] The woman nodded before the screen went black, marking the end of the broadcast.

Coincidentally, the end of the broadcast was also the end of that long period of staring at the highway, as Zhen blissfully notified he had finally fixed the car tire. That said, the duo departed from the highway and made their way into the "Red Dragon", where Jason was dropped. Staring in awe at the huge, mechanized building, the long-haired man took his first steps towards the entrance.