WCS
A Blog Novel Series by Seeker
Graphics by shiroiusagi
Table of Contents
Chapter 6
Within TL headquarters, A3 and A4 were discussing about what they needed to do inside A3's office.
A3: What are we going to do? I understand that A2 messed up during his mission but this is insane. S wants us to kill him?
A4: I don’t think we have a choice here. You know exactly what will happen to us if we don’t carry out this order. Besides, with every staff member gathered in conference room Jinro and everyone else looking for Zealously, this is the perfect time to execute a process like this.
A3: I’m not worried about whether or not it’s going to be difficult. It just bothers me that we have to do this. We’re already busy as it is with initiating phase three, and now we have to kill one of our own?
A4: We knew what it would take to execute this operation. Sometimes people have to die for the better cause. And if A2’s death will mean the success of this mission, then so be it.
A3: …I’ll say it again… This is insane…
A4: Well, it doesn’t matter what we think. A1 is going to want a status update soon and we either deliver him good news or bad news. Since S is already pissed off as it is with how things have been going today, can we really afford to mess this up as well?
A3: …Fine… How are we doing this?
A4: A2’s being treated in the medical facility right now. As long as we can get in there to see him without attracting any attention, we should be fine.
A3: And the killing method?
A4: There are several, but I think this might be the quickest and easiest way. (takes out a syringe)
A3: Wha… Is that the same thing A2 used on Chapa?
A4: No, not at all. This one is something entirely different. I don’t really have time to go into what it is, but just know that it’s lethal and can get the job done without leaving any mess.
A3: Will it kill him instantly?
A4: No. It won’t kill him right away but it should work pretty fast. The only way to stop the poison from spreading throughout the body is if they catch on to it right away and inject the antidote. But I’m sure the job will be done by the time they realize what happened.
A3: How did you acquire this?
A4: I’d rather not say… Anyways, I have to group up with TL Strat soon so we can discuss our strategies on how to apprehend Zealously. (hands it over to A3) I am trusting you to take care of A2.
A3: Do I inject this into him?
A4: Too risky to do it that way. He’ll most likely be hooked up to some kind of IV drip. Just inject into that and let it flow into his bloodstream. Then, get the hell out of there as quickly as you can.
A3: (sighs) Alright. You guys still searching for Zealously?
A4: Yeah. We have no idea where he is at the moment. We know he’s somewhere in headquarters but he’s definitely hiding somewhere where we can’t reach him. Anyways, we need to get going before someone catches us talking.
A3: …Do we really have to do this?
A4: Yes. I don’t like it any more than you do. But we’ve been given our orders. Let me know how it goes.
As A4 left A3’s office, A3 just stood there with the syringe in his hand. He just kept staring at the syringe, unable to properly comprehend just exactly what was going on.
Within R1CH’s office, his many computers were all functioning at once. R1CH was busy analyzing all the data regarding the events that had occurred that day when he heard a knock on his door.
R1CH: Who’s there?
PLEXA: It’s me. Can I come in?
R1CH: (opening the door) Hey. I’m glad you’re here.
PLEXA: Any updates on the Zealously search?
R1CH: Yeah, I think I may have found out where he’s been hiding. Come look at this.
PLEXA: (walking in) What did you find?
R1CH: I’ve been running traces on all the entry systems in headquarters. I was getting nothing until about ten minutes ago. Check this out. (points to one of his monitors) See that?
PLEXA: Huh... It says that someone accessed KadaverBB’s office… Wait… Is he back?
R1CH: No, he’s not. This says that someone accessed his office by inputting the manual system override code. If it was Kadaver, he wouldn’t need it since he would have his key card.
PLEXA: Maybe he lost it somewhere?
R1CH: I thought of that possibility so I checked the security cameras just in case. Zealously was really good about dodging the first three but he got careless with the fourth. It was only for a split second but once I pause it right here and enhance the image… (rapidly typing) See that? Clear as day, that’s Zealously heading towards Kadaver’s office.
PLEXA: Yeah, you’re right. Good work, we got him.
As Plexa was about to pull out his receiver and call in the TL Defense team, something caught his attention on one of R1CH’s other monitors. After studying it for a couple of minutes, Plexa stood there silently and did not move from his spot.
R1CH: (turning around) Is something wrong? Why are you still here?
PLEXA: …Is this accurate? (points to a section on the monitor) This list of people who haven’t used their key cards today?
R1CH: Yeah it should be. It refreshes itself every hour. Why?
PLEXA: Umm… Huh… I see that lichter is on that list.
R1CH: Huh? (takes a quick look at the screen) Oh yeah, so?
PLEXA: Why hasn’t he used his key card today?
R1CH: Does it matter?
PLEXA: Kind of. He just recently got a promotion to Men in Red status. I just assumed he went to the writers’ office after the meeting since he would have a bunch of work to do but… If he hasn’t used his key card at all today then where the hell has he been for the past two hours?
R1CH: Hmm… Good question. Let me check things out here. (begins to quickly click and type things at 300 apm) Yeah you’re right… He used his key card only once today to gain access into headquarters… We don’t require key card entrances for conference rooms so he didn’t need to use it for the writers’ meeting… And yeah, that’s it. He hasn’t used it at all today. (turns to Plexa) What does that mean?
PLEXA: I have no idea… What about DLO and Zeal? Did they use their key cards today?
R1CH: Let’s see (300 apm clicking and typing) Yeah, right here. They both accessed the writers’ office today.
PLEXA: But this doesn’t make any sense. I saw lichter in section Elephant. Normally he would have to use his key card to request for permission to get in the doors since he doesn’t have access to that place and then someone inside section Elephant would have to approve of his entry. If he hasn’t used his key card at all today, how the hell did he get in?
R1CH: That’s true… And our systems were designed to ensure that everyone leaving or entering a room would always have to use their key card, so even if he followed someone inside, he would have to use his key card eventually or the alarms would have gone off.
PLEXA: Did he call someone inside section Elephant and ask for entry?
R1CH: Nope. Nothing here that says he did that.
PLEXA: I don’t understand… R1CH, check out the entry logs for section Elephant, who went in and out of there today so far?
R1CH: (300 apm gosu movements) Huh… According to the logs, only Chapa has entered and left section Elephant today. …Oh wait, it says here that DLO also accessed section Elephant earlier today.
PLEXA: DLO?
R1CH: Yeah… But that’s weird… It says he accessed the place but he never exited.
PLEXA: Never exited? DLO came to see me in my office about an hour ago. If he never exited, how was that possible?
R1CH: No idea… I don’t see any indications of a glitch or an error occurring either… What’s going on here?
PLEXA: No clue. But I think this may be important. Look, monitor section Flying Monkey and make sure Zealously doesn’t escape. I’m going to go talk to DLO and figure out what happened.
R1CH: Gotcha. Keep me posted.
PLEXA: Alright. By the way, other than the Zealously thing, what else have you been working on today?
R1CH: Just standard maintenance stuff. Oh, and I’m also running some entry log checks for salle.
PLEXA: For salle? Why? Did something happen?
R1CH: He didn’t say. He just said that it was urgent.
PLEXA: Huh…
Inside conference room Jinro, the room was jam packed with all remaining members of TL staff. The chatter and the discussions going on were coming from all sorts of directions.
COSMICSPIRAL: So… Why exactly do we all have to be in here?
DARKHORSE: No idea. They didn’t tell us anything other than the fact that it was mandatory that everyone be in here.
COSMICSPIRAL: Do you think some kind of emergency happened?
SHELLSHOCK: Maybe. All I heard was that the TL Strategy/Defense team have been frantically running around everywhere around headquarters for some reason.
SHIROIUSAGI: What? Why are they running around everywhere? Are they looking for something?
SHELLSHOCK: They could be. Maybe something important got stolen.
DARKHORSE: Or you know… Maybe someone broke into TL?
JBRIGHT: Broke into TL? What?
DARKHORSE: It’s possible. Maybe they’re looking for an intruder or something.
COSMICSPIRAL: That could be. Why else would they gather everyone in here right now? Maybe they’re trying to protect us.
SHELLSHOCK: Well whatever happened, I’m sure TL Defense will take care of it.
MERU: (walking towards the group) Well, I asked around and it looks like no one knows what’s going on.
JBRIGHT: Figures. We’ll probably be kept in the dark until the issue is resolved.
SHIROIUSAGI: This sucks. I can’t get any work done with all of us being gathered in one spot like this.
MERU: (looking around the room) Huh… So I’m looking at the Liquipedia section and I don’t see NovemberstOrm anywhere.
SHELLSHOCK: He’s over there at the banling section. He recently got promoted so now he’s part of both Liquipedia and banlings. I’m supposed to be over there too but I got bored so I’m here talking with you guys.
MERU: Oh okay. Well, it seems like apart from the admins and the TL Defense team, everyone else is pretty much in here.
DARKHORSE: Not really. I’ve been observing for a while and I noticed there are three people missing.
SHIROIUSAGI: Really? Who?
DARKHORSE: lichter, Zealously, and DLO. I don’t see them around here anywhere.
MERU: Oh I noticed that also. When I was going around the room and asking people if they knew what was going on, I later on noticed that those three guys were nowhere to be found.
COSMICSPIRAL: Odd… You’d think they would be in here. Where could they be?
SHELLSHOCK: No idea. Maybe they had something to do with this situation right now. Do you think-, JBright? You okay?
JBRIGHT: …Since you guys mentioned people that are missing, I looked around the room for myself and I noticed someone else that’s missing.
SHELLSHOCK: Really? Who?
JBRIGHT: pPingu. I don’t see him in the Liquipedia section and I don’t see him in the banling section either.
DARKHORSE: (scanning the room) Yeah, you’re right. pPingu isn’t in here.
SHELLSHOCK: Huh… Maybe he just went into the bathroom or something.
JBRIGHT: I don’t think so. I really don’t think he was even in here to begin with.
SHIROIUSAGI: So then… Where is he? And where are lichter, Zealously, and DLO?
COSMICSPIRAL: …Who knows?
MERU: …Ugh! This sucks. I wish someone would tell us what was going on already…
In front of the medical facility, A3 was standing very still as he stared at the doorway. Every inch of him did not want to go in there and do what he had to do. However, realizing that he had no other choice, he slowly reached out his right arm and knocked on the door.
SMIX: Who is it?
A3: Hey Smix, it’s me. Could you let me in?
SMIX: (opening the door) Oh hey. Why didn’t you just use your key card?
A3: Huh? Oh… Uhh… I left it back in my office. Sorry.
SMIX: It’s cool. Come in. What can I do for you?
A3: Oh it’s not anything important. I just came to visit lichter. How’s he doing?
SMIX: Wait. How do you know about that? Plexa told me that this was strictly confidential and that no one other than the people involved knew about it.
A3: Oh… I… I was checking the Liquipedia servers and I saw a medical entry that came in all of a sudden. I was curious so I checked it out.
SMIX: What? That’s against protocol. You can’t do that.
A3: I know, I know. I’m sorry. I promise I won’t do it again. Please don’t tell anyone.
SMIX: …Fine. I’ll let it slide. Just this once though, okay?
A3: Thank you so much. So, can I see him?
SMIX: I’m afraid I can’t do that. He’s not allowed to have any visitors at the moment.
A3: Please? It will only be for a second.
SMIX: Sorry. Orders are orders. You can come back and see him after he’s been cleared.
A3: Oh… Well… I really won’t take that long, you know? I just want to see if he’s okay.
SMIX: He’s fine. He’s resting right now. I’m sorry but I can’t let you in. Do you need anything else?
A3: Umm… Can you at least tell me which room he’s in right now?
SMIX: Why?
A3: Because… Because I noticed that you forgot to put in his room number when I was checking the medical entry.
SMIX: Oh, did I? Thanks for telling me. I’ll get to it later.
A3: That’s not necessary. I’ll do it for you.
SMIX: That’s very kind of you to offer but I’m afraid I can’t tell anyone that information. Do you need anything else?
A3: Uhh… No… I don’t need anything else.
SMIX: Okay. Well I have to go check up on other patients. Can you exit that way?
A3: Yeah, sure. I’ll just uh… quickly use the bathroom and then be on my way.
SMIX: Okay. Bathroom’s down the hall and to your left.
A3: Thanks Smix.
A3 slowly began walking down the hall and towards the direction that Smix had pointed to. He kept on looking left and right for any signs of where lichter might be. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a phone ringing from over at the main desk. When he heard Smix pick up the phone and answer, he knew that this was his only chance. He quickly dashed down the hallway as he took out his phone and accessed the Liquipedia servers. A3 was hoping to not have to access the medical entry files like he told in his lie but now he knew that he didn’t have another choice. After quickly scanning through all the files, he saw the one with lichter’s name on it and clicked on it. The information read that lichter was in room 113, which was not far from where A3 was. After pocketing his phone he ran as fast he could towards room 113. When he got there, he tried to open the door but realized that it was locked. He cursed under his breath because this meant that he would have to use his key card to gain access. Even though A3 knew that using his key card meant that there would be a record of him having accessed the room, he also knew that time was running out. He quickly took out his key card and swiped it.
KEY CARD RECOGNIZED
USER: pPingu
STATUS: Liquipedia/Banling
POSITION: Liquipedia Staff/Moderation
OFFICE LOCATION: Horse
ACCESS DENIED
PPINGU: Damn it! I don’t have enough access to get in!
Realizing that it was only a matter of time before Smix found out that pPingu was trying to break into lichter’s room, he quickly inputted an override manual code that he knew would allow him access into the room.
MANUAL OVERRIDE SEQUENCE RECOGNIZED
USER: salle
STATUS: Men in Red
POSITION: Head of Liquipedia
OFFICE LOCATION: Puzzle Piece
ACCESS GRANTED
As soon as the door opened pPingu quickly went in and closed the door. Knowing that he didn’t have a second to waste, he quickly ran over to the bed that was in the corner of the room and located the IV drip that was hooked on to the body on the bed. pPingu took out the syringe from his pocket, injected it into the IV bag, and squeezed out the liquid. After he was done, he ran into the bathroom and flushed the syringe down the toilet. He then opened the door, and tried to leave the room as fast as he could but was stopped instantly.
PLEXA: Freeze! pPingu, interlock your fingers behind your head and slowly get down on the ground, NOW!
pPingu saw that Plexa and Smix were both inside of lichter’s room. Plexa had his gun pointed right at him. pPingu slowly did as he was told and got down on the ground with his hands behind his head. Plexa then walked over to pPingu, checked to see that he wasn’t holding any weapons, and then cuffed him. Suddenly, the heart monitor next to the bed started beeping hysterically. Smix quickly ran over to the bed to see what was going on.
PLEXA: …What the hell pPingu? What did you do?!
pPingu said nothing. He continued to sit on the ground while staring at Plexa. Plexa could not believe what was going on. Right as he was about to question pPingu again, Smix suddenly called to him.
SMIX: Hey Plexa… C-could you come over here for a second?
PLEXA: Don’t you dare move! (walks over to Smix while keeping the gun pointed at pPingu) What’s going on?
SMIX: Is this… Is this who I think it is?
PLEXA: What do you mean? What-
Plexa stared down at the bed and instantly froze. He could not believe what he was seeing. Smix was also speechless right next to him. pPingu slowly turned his head over to see what was going on. When he saw the body that was lying on the bed, his eyes got wide and his heart started pumping rapidly. It was not lichter that was lying on the bed. It was DarkLordOlli.
PLEXA: …Wha-… (slowly turns towards pPingu) W-where the hell is lichter?
pPingu: (in a shocked voice) …I …I don’t know…
End of Chapter
