[indent]Kira had laid back to sleep on the way back to District 4. From 10, the ride took most of a day. It would be late at night when she finally arrived. The sleeping plan was cut short by an annoying chirp in her ear. It was amazing how inconvenient the timing of a phone call could be. Corporate handlers seemingly perfected the art of inconveniencing people. Perhaps if this was quick she could fall asleep before the train hit District 8. She grouchily answered anyway, [color=#fffadd][i]“Mack I was asleep.”[/i][/color]

[color=#ffdde4][i]“Well sorry to interrupt your beautyrest princess, but unfortunately we have to cancel your return to HQ today,”[/i][/color] Mack chastised.
[color=#fffadd][i]“Are you actually fucking with me right now? I have to abort an op for this and now ‘this’ is off? If you are bullshitting me I swear I will shoot you in your good leg,”[/i][/color] Kira growled back.
[color=#ffdde4][i]“Do I sound like I’m laughing?”[/i][/color] Mack interrupted her, [color=#ffdde4][i]“we just had a discrete security task we assigned a team to fall through. You’re the closest person with certs and clearances for this.”[/i][/color]
[color=#fffadd][i]“So I’m stopping here in 9, 8? Where are you shipping me now?”[/i][/color]
[color=#ffdde4][i]“We have to ship you to 12,”[/i][/color] a frustrated grunt from Kira briefly interrupting Mack, [color=#ffdde4][i]“another handler will meet you at the train station in 8 where we’ve made arrangements for you to switch trains. He will brief you on your new current assignment, as well as the urgent matter at HQ.”[/i][/color]
[color=#fffadd][i]“Well then,”[/i][/color] she huffed, [color=#fffadd][i]“any other last-minute surprises you want to dump on me?”[/i][/color]
[color=#ffdde4][i]“I think that covers it. We’ll be in touch.”[/i][/color]
The line went dead and Kira shuffled herself into a more comfortable position. Perhaps she could get a full hour’s nap before arriving in 8.
[hr]Like before, her travel itinerary at the train station was prearranged. The attendant ushered her to a sleeper car that was completely empty despite departing in just a few minutes. Ori must have bought out the entire wagon for security purposes. It heightened Kira’s weariness of just what was going on. A slim Asian man was already seated in the private room, fitting the Europan ‘Asian’ stereotype to the tee. Hopefully he had answers.

[color=#d6e0ff][i]“I took the liberty of ordering this.”[/i][/color] He spoke rather deliberately in a low, almost hushed voice. Kira was aware of the speech pattern but had little interaction with higher-ups: the people who usually had it. He had pulled two small glasses and a bottle of hot sake out onto the table in front of him. There was a cultural appreciation between the two of them already that she and Mack would never. Though she knew better than to trust an executive ever again, it was pleasant to have that commonality with someone here. It took the edge off being in a strange land, normally made worse by her excessive self-consciousness.

Kira gave a respectful bow and took a seat across from him whilst he poured the sake into each of their glasses. First they drank, and then the company man turned his attention to business. [color=#d6e0ff][i]“I understand you are Jian Group, Takeda-san.”[/i][/color]
She nodded in acknowledgement and allowed him to carry on. [color=#d6e0ff][i]“Last night at zero two hundred hours there was a minor breach at a private data vault. Incident appears to be a physical infiltration that successfully bypassed all security monitoring and controls.”[/i][/color]
[color=#fffadd][i]“A….”[/i][/color] Kira briefly halted his explanation, [color=#fffadd][i]“With respect, this sounds like someone else’s problem. Why does a ‘minor breach’ necessitate any action on our part, let alone the briefing of a Jian operative?”[/i][/color]
[color=#d6e0ff][i]“A fair question Takeda-san,”[/i][/color] he answered confidently as if he expected the question, [color=#d6e0ff][i]“One that deserves a fair answer.”[/i][/color]

He pulled out a rather thick case file before continuing. There was most certainly a story here that Kira was not yet aware. [color=#d6e0ff][i]“The thief – a one-person operation we suspect by the level of discretion achieved – accessed the vault’s internal network, conducted a reference search on our company, downloaded the resultant information, and escaped the facility.”[/i][/color]
[color=#fffadd][i]“I see now, this was targeted,”[/i][/color] Kira was beginning to see the bigger picture, [color=#fffadd][i]“I assume C-war is already in full battle-mode back at HQ ... which means I’m on call to track this person down when we find them.”[/i][/color]
[color=#d6e0ff][i]“Yes, that is correct,”[/i][/color] he continued to speak and opened the file, skimming for something specific he wanted, [color=#d6e0ff][i]“this unknown subject is showing great interest in our organization. It is in the interest of operational security that we find out why.”[/i][/color]

[color=#fffadd][i]“In my experience the question ‘why?’ only leads to more questions,”[/i][/color] Kira mused.
[color=#d6e0ff][i]“Then we will pursue answers to those questions as they arise.”[/i][/color]
[color=#fffadd][i]“Fair enough. I take it C-war will update me as soon as there is a physical lead to be tracked down?”[/i][/color]
Company man nodded yes and he closed the file. He slid it towards Kira, who pushed it aside for now. She would read up on that mess later. He pulled out a smaller file – her impromptu security assignment she assumed – and continued. [color=#d6e0ff][i]“I expect you also want to know why we require you in District 12 by tonight.”[/i][/color]

[color=#fffadd][i]“Does it have anything to do with that big corporate party I saw some memo about?”[/i][/color]
Kira hadn’t thought about it at the time but she remembered seeing something about it. She wasn’t exactly social with the Ori execs thus never gave it any thought.
[color=#d6e0ff][i]“Yes. Our CEO Hiero Ueno and many other executives will be in attendance. Due to its location, substantial security measures have been taken to ensure their safety. Unfortunately, the recent ... 'situation' with data theft has raised concerns about security, as well as causing some redistribution of our personnel assets in the region.”[/i][/color]
[color=#fffadd][i]“So somewhere in here is the part where you tell me that some bigwig wants my qualifications as replacement?”[/i][/color] Kira rushed him.
[color=#d6e0ff][i]“Close I would suppose. Instead of adding more security and startling guests, the event’s head of security has requested the minimal number of personnel to serve as covert security. You are the closest asset with both the clearances and certifications for the assignment that could be redirected.”[/i][/color]
[color=#fffadd][i]“I suppose I should be grateful. Is that my briefing there?”[/i][/color] Kira gestured to the thinner file.
Company man nodded affirmative.

[color=#d6e0ff][i]“One more thing, Takeda-san,”[/i][/color] he reached for something else from his bag of tricks, [color=#ddeeff][i]“I read in your record that you carry a magnetic sidearm with armor piercing rounds. For safety purposes, you cannot use such a weapon in a crowded environment.”[/i][/color]
Kira was not about to give up her gauss driver, not her personal weapon that Matsu-san gave her. Company man produced another handgun, though clearly an inferior conventional ballistic model. [color=#d6e0ff][i]“Sig Sauer, nine millimeter. I am aware your affinity for high-penetration rounds and have supplied you with steel-core expanding rounds. You should have no issues piercing any kevlar or single-layer carbon weave without overpenetrating an unarmored target.”[/i][/color]

He deposited the weapon and several spare magazines on the table before departing. He stood, gave a small bow in return, and left the room. There was at least four hours before the train arrived in D12. She would likely meet with the existing security team prior in addition to preparing for a party. That would mean hairstyling, makeup, all the usual social preparations she despised in addition to the burden of preparations for covert security, like finding a way to conceal her various weapons. Kira stuffed her head into her reading material to pass the time and ignore the impending dread of a social gathering.
[hr]The security chief reminded her of Mack if Mack wore the tin foil hat a good bit tighter. Apparently he was laid off by Blacklight when Ori picked him up. A grade A hardass was what he was, but perhaps that was what was called for. He was pissed about the last-minute change. He was paranoid that it was an attempt to insert a compromised individual into his security operation, though not without reason. Posing as a legitimate security consultant was a tactic that Jian had used before and it worked with fantastic efficiency. He spent over an hour triple-checking Kira’s clearances before he was willing to talk to her.

In response to the reorganization, he’d opted to pull all of his resources back to just the other executives, while Kira would be solely in charge of Hiero-san unless something changed. The contingency plan was that she could be retasked to handle a threat while the existing team could expand its web to cover the CEO themselves. Chief Hardass said that was unlikely, as the threat would have to be severe enough to warrant using their most qualified asset but also minor enough to not warrant the entire security team springing into action.

That all was three hours ago. Now she was stuffed in a third-rate motel room with a half a dozen weapons and a horrifically distasteful black party dress. At least it had hot water and air conditioning. What passed for fashion among white women here was unbearably scant on material. Of course Kira’s thoughts on the matter were rather skewed given her appearance. She would never be caught dead in a backless dress. She much preferred to keep her normal attire and just keep to the shadows. Makeup could lessen the obviousness, but nothing could completely cover the scarring. So instead she cut off about a foot and a half from the dress and wore it with leggings and her silver sport coat and her hair uncharacteristically let down.

She had the Sig on a holster on her left hip, and her MagTek in an underarm sling holster above it. Her batons still fit in her boots, which were never out of fashion with black leggings. Her headset that kept her in touch with Chief Hardass and the rest of the security team was mostly hidden by her hair. She stood in the bathroom mirror combing it out before leaving. She straightened her jacket lapels and carefully pinned on a fresh-picked white lotus blossom on her left. She forced a smile and headed out.

Her motel room was about four blocks away – short enough to walk but uncomfortable had she worn heels. In the party she kept to the fringes, always near to Hiero-san but never quite close enough to be part of “his crowd”. Kira didn’t know much of Hiero Ueno but from what she was watching, “sleazy womanizer” seemed like an apt description. His biggest vice was attractive women, and he was the handsy type. Kira had objected to running his security up close for that reason. She would beat him within an inch of his life if he laid a hand on her like that. She took a thin glass off one of the passing trays and headed into Hiero-san’s private lounge. She gave a quick report on the radio before entering, [color=#fffadd][i]“Lounge is clear,”[/i][/color] and carried on. She choked down a sip of the drink with a visible grimace. Kira hated champagne. Perhaps she could find a more real drink to replace the glass she set down on the table.[/indent]