376 – S7. The Fixers of Omelas – 6

Fin, now sporting a bump on his head, began his explanation to Vecchio.

#1: ToyBox Inc. and the Vanished Slush Fund

Physical confrontations are not uncommon in the process of dismantling a failed company. It’s a battle of extracting assets before they’re seized, or seizing them before they’re extracted.

That’s why the court-appointed receiver sent to ToyBox Inc. brought a veritable army of police officers. To gain an advantage in any potential gunfights, and to scoop up every last crumb of the leftovers.

Although, as it turned out, things weren’t so chaotic.

It was that small detail that Fin looked into. The more people involved in something, the higher the chance one of them will have a loose tongue.

“I know a former cop. He got canned for taking bribes and now works as a fixer. Through that connection, I got in touch with a police officer who was present during the seizure.”

And with a little monetary persuasion, he was able to extract some information.

Former officer A recalled the following:

While the police guarded the perimeter, those black-suited intellectuals brought in by the court receiver thoroughly ransacked every room of ToyBox Inc.

He said that the moment a cabinet or desk drawer was opened, bonds and gold bars came pouring out. But there was something strange about the situation.

The police, blinded by that brilliant gold, could only swallow hard, their eyes wide with greed. But the intellectuals, they said, treated the cash and gold with indifference. As if it were nothing at all.

Then one of them picked up a pair of glasses from the display and, after a brief inspection, let out a shout of elation, so it was said. Which is why they scrutinized those glasses out of the corner of their eyes.

They were antique spectacles, with a dangling cord.

Vecchio tilted his head.

“Were they worth a fortune, those glasses?”

“I looked it up later, out of curiosity, and surprisingly, they weren’t all that expensive. A luxury item, sure, but nothing compared to gold ingots.”

Then why such excitement? The answer was simple.

“It wasn’t the glasses themselves that mattered. It was something… inscribed on them. The password to a secret vault, or the coordinates of a slush fund, something containing precious information in some form.”

“…Information, you say!”

“Mary’s plastic necklace was described as cheap and worthless. But necklaces… they use a string to hang around the neck. So maybe…”

“The cord!”

Finn nodded. That ‘precious information’ was likely there.

Mary’s mother had worked as a housekeeper for the ‘Toybox’ company, they said. She must have learned, by chance, that valuable information was inscribed on the glasses cord.

So, she stole it.

And replaced the cord with the string from a cheap plastic necklace bought from a street vendor… and gave it to her daughter as a gift.

But unfortunately, Mary’s mother passed away before she could explain the truth to Mary. The necklace’s secret remained undiscovered.

Later, after quite some time, someone tracking down the missing cord led to the necklace theft… That’s what the whole story was, wasn’t it?

Vecchio spoke, his face slightly flushed with the tale of treasure.

“An incredible story. So, the masked group who hired the mercenary Bryan… were they the creditors?”

“About that. I don’t think they’re legitimate creditors. They’re dangerous. There isn’t much information, so it’s mostly speculation… but some people call them ‘Ghosts’.”

“…Ghosts!”

Ghosts live in Omelas.

#2 : A Masked Group of Unknowns, The Ghosts of Omelas

Information about them was strangely scarce. In Omelas, where there were more CCTV cameras than human eyes, and people started recording videos on their smartphones at the first sign of trouble, ‘no information’ meant only one thing.

“A corporation is behind them in some way. Any unfavorable information that surfaces on any social media platform, any search portal, they have the power to erase it without a trace.”

“Could they be genius hackers?”

“A hacker who could fight the entire city and win simply can’t exist, unless they dropped in from another world. And there was Bryan’s testimony that they received military-grade modifications, remember?”

Therefore, information couldn’t be obtained in the light.

So he had to delve into the cesspool of information that even corporations couldn’t touch, the dark web. Or choose an analog method of information gathering. Finn chose the latter. He walked the back alleys, listening to whispers from mouth to mouth.

Even there, there were only rumors about the masked group. And those rumors were mainly of two kinds.

The first rumor spoke of “Specter” as an organization specializing in the tracking of ‘dark money’ – slush funds, embezzled assets, anything untraceable on official ledgers. Cases similar to Mary’s weren’t unheard of.

Given the assumption that these were the ones who’d taken Mary’s necklace, the rumor held significant weight.

And the second…

That “Specter” was a fiercely elitist group, a violent faction harboring a deep-seated hatred for those living the dregs of life.

“…A violent faction, you say?”

“Yes. That’s been the ongoing buzz, apparently.”

They supposedly appeared before those scraping by without wealth or ability, harming them sometimes directly, sometimes through more indirect means.

A potted plant dropped from a rooftop, injuring a homeless man.

A sudden power outage in an operating room, causing a surgery to fail.

Bribing someone to commit arson under false pretenses.

Finn rubbed his chin, surmising.

“…Perhaps the order is reversed, slightly distorted. If they weren’t fussy about the means to track down this ‘dark money’, they would have routinely threatened and intimidated people for information.”

“Awful people!”

“Indeed. In that sense, they might still be circling Mary. Thinking she knows something more about the slush fund.”

Thinking that way, it aligned with the mercenary Brian’s testimony. The commission he received contained a clause stating:

Mary must not die. Mary must not be severely injured. Mary must not suffer financial damages beyond the loss of the necklace. Money cannot be used to simply buy the necklace back from Mary.

Doesn’t this bizarre condition seem like an effort to keep someone with information alive?

“…”

“Also, their scale doesn’t appear to be that large. If there were more of them, there would be more traces left behind.”

“…So, a company is behind them, but the team itself is small?”

“Recouping ‘dark money’ isn’t something you can do openly, is it? You’d attract all sorts of flies and tarnish the company’s image. At most, they’d operate as a private outfit.”

Furthermore, he believed the company backing them wasn’t that large either. Finn inferred this from the estimated amount of the ‘Toybox’ slush fund.

According to the news, the sum was approximately ten million credits, a vast amount for an individual, but negligible for a large corporation.

Would they really chase after tens of millions when they typically dealt with hundreds of millions?

“To summarize, a violent group informally recovering lost ‘dark money’ for some mid-sized company. Probably.”

“Is that so…?”

“Hmm. But who they are and what they do… doesn’t really matter. We aren’t trying to uncover the full story. Let’s get down to business.”

#3 : Mary’s Request

“To put it plainly, it’s dangerous.”

“…”

“Aye, dangerous it is.”

The request, which they’d thought would only be retrieving a lost necklace after a bit of barroom brawling, had spiraled into a tale of ‘Ghosts’ skimming off the city’s dark money.

The scale had grown, but the pay remained the same. Was there even a reason to pursue such a case? It was just that Mary would have to give up the necklace that held memories of her mother.

Beccio looked up at Finn, eyes wavering.

“But, with that, Mary could pay off her debts. We wouldn’t have to see those gruff characters that came by the other day.”

“But it’s dangerous. We suspected they were on the scale of a private organization, but we’re just individuals. And there’s even a corporation lurking behind it all. Padre, there’s a limit to how much you can help people.”

Finn pressed his lips into a firm line, adopting a stubborn expression. Beccio could read hesitation in Finn’s eyes.

“…But. Finn, you’re wavering too, aren’t you? That’s the face you’re making.”

“…”

“It was a short time, but Mary seems like a good person. I can feel it. So, if possible…”

“That’s… I know it, but…”

Indeed.

He was saying it was dangerous, but he was wavering. If it were an overwhelmingly large obstacle, he could have cleanly given up, but he felt like maybe, just maybe, they could pull it off.

They weren’t directly fighting the corporation, but an organization under its umbrella. With Beccio’s hacking skills and Finn’s combat abilities combined, it didn’t feel impossible.

More than anything, he wanted to. He wanted to help Mary.

But Finn had something even more important. Protecting the Padre was his top priority.

Beccio thought deeply. This subject was the same. Others or self. Material or heart. The scales balanced on opposing extremes trembled precariously, as they could not bear to abandon one side.

Just then.

Knock, knock. Someone knocked on the door.

As Finn got up to check who it was, a voice came from beyond the door. It was Mary.

“Hey, the soundproofing isn’t that good here, Finn. You complained about the moaning next door, and you don’t know that?”

“…”

“I heard everything on my way past. I never knew my necklace held such a secret. I wish Mom had told me earlier, huh?”

Hah. A deep sigh escaped.

Mary paused for about ten seconds before speaking.

“Listen, I don’t want to put you in such a dangerous situation just to pay off my debts. If you were jumping in because you wanted the slush fund, fine, but if you’re trying to help me, I don’t need it. Consider the request withdrawn.”

Her voice was filled with regret.

The chance to turn her life around was incredibly sweet, and the words, ‘The amount, half, no, 9 to 1, divide it like that, so please retrieve my necklace’, almost made it out of her lips. But Mary held back.

If Finn and Beccio went silent, she thought she would feel really bad.

Tap, tap. The sound of Mary’s heels faded away. Finn and Beccio’s dilemma was swiftly resolved by the client’s cancellation. They stared blankly at the unopening front door, then,

“… Did you brush your teeth?”

“… Not yet.”

“… Then let’s brush together, and then it would be good to drift off to sleep.”

“… Okay.”

They finished the exchange in listless voices, bringing the conversation to a close.

Together they brushed their teeth, washed their hands, and then lay side by side in bed, seeking slumber.

* * *

Flicker, flicker.

His head was too full to easily fall asleep. His eyelids felt anything but heavy, and sleepiness showed no sign of paying a visit. Disturbed.

Even with their eyes closed, Finn and Vecchio couldn’t stop thinking. Behind their eyelids, stray thoughts, like tumbling balls of fluff, continued to cause a ruckus.

The job was done.

Without a job, there was no reason to move. No need to dive into dangerous affairs. Farewell to ‘Ghosts’ and slush funds.

Mary’s troubles were Mary’s troubles. Whether she was being harassed for debt, or living some other agonizing life, in the end, weren’t they just strangers? People they would never see again once they returned to the Holy City.

About an hour passed as they feigned sleep.

Vecchio spoke softly.

“… Finn, you know… if we had money, what could we do? Like, if we happened to find that slush fund?”

“Well, as I said before… we need exactly one million credits for our return. We could leave Omelas and go home.”

“I see…”

Another ten minutes passed, and this time Finn spoke, his voice quiet.

“… Your Holiness, we were definitely… immortal, right? Even if we met our end in this world, that crazy wizard said we could escape before that happened…”

“Yes. Bennet vouched for it too. He said a mysterious blue magic circle would protect us. That’s why we can escape even when our lives are in danger…”

“Right.”

And then.

Another ten minutes passed. Finn and Vecchio spoke at the same time.

“Your Holiness, I’ve been thinking… with your hacking skills, laundering the slush fund money wouldn’t be a pipe dream. No corporation could trace it. Then we could save Mary and not worry about the repercussions.”

“Finn, I’ve been thinking… I’ve got an idea for how to track down the ‘Ghosts’. If their modus operandi is as rumored, and they’re still watching Mary, then wouldn’t they reveal themselves if we threatened her?”

“We’re going back to the Holy City anyway, so if we take all the suspicion on ourselves, no one else will be troubled–“

“They don’t seem to know anything about sacred magic, so if Finn and I work together, I think we could fight and win against a small organization–“

Suddenly, they bolted upright.

The two of them got out of bed and turned on the light. And as they chatted together, they devised a plan. A plan to retrieve the necklace, secure the slush fund, and make everyone happy.

In the end, they wanted to help Mary. All they needed was a way.

The discussion stretched on. Methods were proposed, critiqued, discarded. Slowly, a plan began to coalesce.

That plan went like this.

#4: The Nameless Plan

Ignoring the sub-plans for various contingencies, the main thrust was this:

One, through consultation with Mary, they would receive a portion of the necklace’s value as commission. A concrete sum of one million credits. Any corporation’s slush fund would surely have more than enough, so it seemed achievable.

Two, through various means, they would unearth the 『Ghost』. Even if every other operation failed, Pope Vecchio’s hacking skills were steadily improving, so there was confidence they’d eventually catch a tail. (However, if the Ghost turned out to be too strong, they’d cut their losses.)

Three, they would track down the 『Ghost』, recover the necklace they stole, and based on the information etched into the necklace’s chain, get their hands on 『Toybox』’s slush fund. Vecchio’s hacking skills would then cleanly launder the money.

Four, using that money, they’d gift Mary a new identity and a new life, while Pin and Vecchio would absorb all the aggro from the 『Ghost』.

[Amount needed for return: 1,000,000 credits]

Five, they would immediately use the commission to ‘escape’ to another world.

—

[Plan 1: Negotiate with Mary.]

“We’re from another world, and we can disappear in a poof!”

“Pin, did you perhaps slip the kid some… stuff…?”

“Calm down and listen. There’s a relatively safe way to get some coin. And we can bail out any time. Hear out our plan. First of all –”

Success.

[Plan 2: Unearth the 『Ghost』.]

[Plan 2-1: Based on Brian’s request, stir up a commotion as if to kill Mary, and see how the 『Ghost』 reacts. Please, let it work.]

Crash!

Pin hurled a wooden chair next to Mary, erupting in anger.

“…You need to pay the commission! Do you think I dig for money in the ground?!”

“I’ll pay the commission when it’s resolved. How can you expect payment when you couldn’t even handle a simple request to find a necklace? Your face is boring and your temper is stale. If you’re going to act like you have no balls, maybe consider gender reassignment surgery – uh, that was acting. Don’t actually get hurt.”

“I’m not hurt-!!”

As they delivered their heartfelt performance, Vecchio, who had seized and was monitoring nearby CCTVs, spotted the 『Ghost』. They really were lurking nearby, appearing the moment something seemed amiss with Mary.

The plan worked. The prediction was correct. Even in the request, they’d insisted Mary not be killed; they didn’t want any harm to come to her!

“Target B-3 is experiencing a problem. Shall we eliminate the obstacle? Affirmative.”

The 『Ghost』 spoke into an earbud with someone, then prepared to move into the scene. That’s when Vecchio immediately sent a signal.

-Pin, Ghost-catching successful. Lighten the mood!

“Oh, uh, okay. Um. I, I was most hurt that you don’t understand my heart, Mary. I love you!”

“Uh, uh? Yeah. Ah, okay. I love you too, Finn!”

-⋯⋯Was it *really* necessary to do it like *that*?!

『Ghost』 ceased its approach after the awkward acting-drift and subsequent, affectionate reconciliation. And after reporting the same through his earpiece, naturally.

“⋯⋯Reporting. B-3’s trouble has been resolved. Seems a relationship has blossomed. I will submit a report later. Yes.”

He concealed himself again, resuming surveillance.

But Vecchio had already pinpointed the Ghost. The little Pope used various electronic devices as his eyes and hands, observing the Ghost’s every move.

Half a day later, 『Ghost』 was relieved by another Ghost. And began moving somewhere. Vecchio tracked him, and eventually…

“I found the 『Ghosts’』 base. A 5-story villa disguised as a shopping center, but it’s extremely heavily guarded, trying not to look like it. I hacked the internal CCTV and took a look inside, and, holy moly. The necklace was intact!”

He had succeeded in the chase.