On the elevator ride down, Bradley asked: "So, this thing is supposed to make me bulletproof?""Theoretically. But not this one. The host has no [Body Enhance] skills" clarified Benjamin."[Body Enhance]" repeated a lost Bradley."It won't make you bulletproof, but you can go really fast. Like, zoom zoom" Benjamin demonstrated with his fingers. "Well, you have to see it to believe it""I don't doubt that. Is there like an 'On' Button, or--" Bradley fiddled and flipped the card multiple times to check."Calm down, Sheesh" remonstrated Benjamin. "We're not even outside yet" And turned to Mr. Markham. "Is there an 'On' button?"Markham bobbed his head and said: "There is a pattern. You flip the card in a specific order. First, Back To Front 4 times. Then Front to Back 3 times. And finally Back To Front 9 times. To activate [Avatar Mode]." he explained."You catch all that?" Benjamin asked Bradley."Way ahead of you" replied Bradley, completing a flip, and then perking his head and ears
"But I want to hear you say it. What exactly do you mean by trouble?"Dominique turned to his Captain. I don't take direct orders from him. Should I say anything? Bradley nodded for him to go ahead."Arson, Sir" replied Dominique."Arson! What the fuck? Who?!""We're working on identifying some of them, now, Sir""So we didn't catch anyone?""We're going to. I believe we have some addresses now, but the madam will give you the complete details."Benjamin shook his head. "I'll deal with this when I get back. But in the meantime, Good work! Let's go, Bradley.""You did good, Kid. Again, about this whole thing. I'm sorry it has to be like this"Of course, Bradley was referring to the whole arrangement of their precinct coming to work for a private individual."It's quite alright. I mean, it's not alright, in the face of the law, Captain. But we trust your instincts. And I have to thank you too. Those arsonists are the only action I've seen since joining the force." remarked the boy."Ju
"I assume you have a plan for when the police or 911 or some other watchful entity realizes there's a fucking helicopter on the beach? That's the whole reason I've managed to stay calm until now," said Bradley."Yeah, there's a plan.""Hmm? The plan is that we work fast, and get the fuck out of here." motivated Benjamin, tugging on the crate. That didn't budge."PAYTON, activate [Martial Arts].""At once, Master Benjamin. However, you should know, that [Martial Arts] is incapable of granting inhuman strength, such as ripping a wooden shipping crate with your bare hands," explained PAYTON."There is another skill for that.""Allow me" interrupted Bradley, almost shoving Benjamin aside."Let me guess," said Benjamin, watching Bradley brace his hands at one of the crate ends. Then, with a simple movement similar to a furniture man laying down a rug, Bradley casually peeled off one of side of what looked like dozens of laminated wood."I could get used to this," remarked Bradley, as they
"Then you would be considered a madman, stripped of your career, your loved ones, and ironically your sanity. That is, if you got lucky, and the Alliance doesn't get to you first." iterated Benjamin."I-uhh, huh""Mutually Assured Destruction, Bayubee. I mean, I'll be fine, but you get the point. I just trust your instinct to stay alive and thrive, that's all."Bradley looked over the machine a few more seconds before saying: "Then trust it. I have no reason and no means to do anything. What's with the pen? And the Alliance? What's the deal?""Is it really important that you know?"Bradley nodded.Benjamin sighed. "Fine. Where do I start? The Alliance. It's a secret organization, I suppose. Filled with rich people, and people like me.""By people like you, you mean--""Systems, yes." "I see. And how does one become?""I don't know actually. Huh. I was randomly given a system, I suppose. When I was still a son-in-law at my fiance's house?""Son-In-Law? Why would they give something lik
"I assume Mo' Money, Mo' power, like the rest of them?" "No" started Benjamin absent-mindedly. "Something much more powerful than that. Can you take a guess""I'd say revenge" shot Bradley quickly. Benjamin sat up. How did he know? he wondered."Wondering how I know, Mr. Benjamin? Come on, give me some credit. I am a detective, after all. You're young.Several years younger than me and the rest of us at the precinct. You said you used to be a Son-In-Law, right? Staying at your fiance's house? With the rest of her immediate family too, right? That can't have been easy" questioned Bradley.Benjamin waited for him to continue his reasoning."Now, you're a big shot somehow. It's not rocket science to figure out what's next on your mind" finished Bradley.Benjamin clapped softly. "Well done, Bradley. You look so ordinary sometimes that I just think that's all that equates to your thinking capacity""You're not going to hire someone to kill them or something, right?" asked Bradley, half-p
"Is that it?" asked Bradley, beckoning Benjamin to come over. Benjamin saw it and nodded. "Only one way to find out" "But are you seeing that? It's buried below the sand. Pretty deeply too!" "The waves must have washed off the sand from the shore to bury it" analyzed Benjamin, who had stooped down to untie his shoes. "Wait" started Bradley, shocked "You're not going down there to actually look??" "What exactly do you think we're doing here, Bradley?" "You're going to find some flimsy pen beneath all that sand? Are you kidding me? With all the water in the way too? It's literally worse than looking for a needle in a dry haystack? Unless, I can't believe I'm saying this, but with all I've seen, unless, you have some skill that allows you breathe in the water then?" Benjamin did not have such a skill. "Actually--" started PAYTON. "I don't want to hear it, PAYTON. It's not like I have the money anyway" He turned to Bradley. "No, but I got something else." He was referring to the
Skill? Do they think the System Destruction Ability is a skill?"Drop the card on the ground, Mr. Benjamin Black" instructed the man.Shit! He's being too cautious, panicked Benjamin."Benjamin" Brdley started agitated. "Why the fuck are we listening to anything this cocksucker has to say?""For a guy who has family back home, you sure do seem to be taking the high road a lot more recently. Whatever happened to safeguarding your life at all costs?""Oh? And you think he's going to let us off easily because he got a piece of plastic?" Bradley pointed, and Benjamin turned to look at the split and broken wooden pier strut."Does that look like somebody who's going to show even a morsel of restraint?" asked Bradley."Step back, Bradley" Benjamin instructed this time. Bradley looked at him with a side-eye but stepped back eventually."What's making him so earnest? The Avatar Mode? Benjamin wondered at his stubbornness. We can't win. I've already had [Practical Intelligence] run a scenario
"I thought you were questioning them?" he asked."I was. Until things got a little out of control." Bradley replied.Agent Jacobs stooped to check their pulses. "They're out cold. And with the bruises on this one's neck--" He turned to Bradley. "You were questioning them alone?""I'm the only one on this beach, aren't I?" shrugged Bradley, trying to focus on looking at them, and not on Benjamin's body that was still atop the wooden pier."What about your firearm? You could've used that?""I didn't bring it.""What?""I thought this was only a search, and sweep, and I had to get here quickly too." lied Bradley. He had handled both his pistols to Benjamin that morning when the boy had insisted it was crucial to an ongoing operation."Why do I listen so much to that kid" wondered Bradley. Agent Jacobs whistled. "You must be a pretty capable man, Captain Bradley.""What? It's not like they have tough personalities of their own. These are just the run-of-the-mill scumbags" scoffed Bradley.