Day 80

[from Vanishing Point]

That night, Kamui set up the spare bedroom for the three girls to sleep in. Two futons were laid out on the floor, a single and a double, providing enough space for them all to sleep. The three girls gathered around the futons, Kiyoko in her white pyjamas, Cobra in a navy blue nightie, and Hanako, perhaps predictably, in pastel pink pyjamas.

 "So… who gets the single and who gets the double?" asked Cobra.

Hanako almost instantly put her hand up. "Ooh! I want the single! I want the single!" she said.

"But… I wanted the-" said Kiyoko quietly.

"Too bad!" said Hanako, cutting her off. "I called it first!"

"But-"

"Quiet," said Cobra suddenly. "Alright, we'll settle this argument fairly, using an ancient method that's been passed down for generations: rock-paper-scissors!" She swung an arm dramatically through the air, giving the declaration more drama than it really needed.

Kiyoko gave Cobra a blank look. "Rock-paper-scissors?" she repeated.

"Huh? You don't remember how to play?" said Hanako. "It's simple! We each hold out a hand like this, somebody counts to three, and then on "three" we each make a shape with our hands!" Hanako demonstrated each of the shapes on her hands as she continued. "Rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, and paper beats rock! The winner gets the single futon!"

Kiyoko's expression remained fairly blank. "How does paper beat rock?" she asked, confused.

"Because otherwise the game wouldn't work, silly!" said Hanako. "Now come on, get ready!"

Hanako and Kiyoko both held out a hand, which they then balled into a fist. "Alright then," said Cobra. "The winner gets to take the single futon, and the loser has to share the double with me! On the count of three, make your shape! One… two…"

Hanako grinned to herself as Cobra counted down. That single futon is as good as mine!

***

"Zzzzz… zzzzz…"

As it turned out, the single futon was not Hanako's. Instead, she had to share with Cobra, who as it also turned out, was a very heavy snorer. While Kiyoko curled up in the single futon, peacefully dozing, Hanako was wide awake, unable to sleep with the loud noises coming from the girl next to her. She buried her head under her cushion, trying to drown it out, but it would be a very long night for her.

***

The next day, after lunch, the four gathered in the living room to help Kiyoko prepare for the mission, and ultimately to see her off. As Kiyoko affixed an microphone and earpiece to the side of her head, Cobra headed upstairs with a second pair, to check that they worked. "Testing, testing, one, two, three," she said. "Can you hear me, Kiyoko?"

"Yes, I can hear you," said Kiyoko.

"Okay, then we're good to go," said Cobra.

Kiyoko looked down at her side, where Kamui's handgun was holstered, the weight of the metal pressing gently against her hip. Her hand gently brushed it, then quickly jerked away. "Do I… really need this…?" she asked.

"It's just a precaution, in case things go south," said Cobra's voice in her ear. "But don't worry, that's highly unlikely."

"Are you sure?" asked Kiyoko, who seemed rather concerned.

This time Kamui answered, heading over to comfort her. "There's no need to worry, Kiyoko," he said. "As long as you remain invisible, you shouldn't be detected. Trust me."

Kiyoko nodded, her confidence starting to build. "Okay… I think I'm ready," she said.

"Are you sure you'll be able to turn invisible?" asked Cobra in her ear. "You haven’t tried since we escaped from the facility."

"I know," said Kiyoko. "But, if I could do it then, even if I didn't realize, then I should be able to do it now. Well… here goes."

Kiyoko closed her eyes, clasping her hands in front of her, concentrating. After a moment, she flickered, then disappeared from sight completely. Kamui and Hanako both gasped in surprise. "Wow!" exclaimed Hanako.

Kiyoko's voice came floating forth from where she had been standing in front of them a moment before. "Did it work?" it asked.

"It did," said Kamui.

Kiyoko breathed a sigh of relief. "I guess I'll be going then," she said.

"Good luck," said Kamui.

"You can do it!" Hanako called out. "We believe in you!"

"Thank you," said Kiyoko, her voice coming from near the door this time. The front door opened, and then a moment later, closed behind Kiyoko as she left.

***

After about half an hour of walking, Kiyoko reached Shinsuke Headquarters, a massive tower of glass and steel rising sixty storeys above the Tokyo streets. Kiyoko came to a halt before it, staring up at it in awe. "This is it," she breathed.

"That's right," said Cobra in her earpiece. "Too late to back down now."

"Well then… let's get this over with," said Kiyoko. Taking a deep breath, she slipped quietly through the crowd and into the car park in front of the building, being careful not to bump into anyone. Crossing the car park, she headed towards the automatic glass doors at the entrance of the building, which slid open automatically as she approached.

A man in the lobby noticed the doors slide open seemingly of their own accord, peering over the top of his newspaper. "Hmm… damn doors are broken again," he muttered, before returning to his paper.

Kiyoko took shelter behind a potted plant, in spite of her own invisibility, and started talking to Cobra in a hushed whisper. "So, where do you think the CEO's office is?" she asked.

"Probably on one of the top floors," said Cobra. "Hang on, I'll get Kamui on the line; he'll probably know more about this place than we will."

There was a rustling sound as Cobra removed the headset, then another one a moment later as Kamui put it on. "Hey, Kiyoko," said Kamui. "Now, there are sixty floors in this building, so the best thing to do with be to start at floor sixty and work your way downwards."

"I need to set off the fire alarms first, right?" asked Kiyoko. This, as far as they could gather, was the only way to get the CEO out of his room for long enough for them to get the job done.

"No," said Kamui sternly. "You'll need to take the elevator up to the top floor first, because it'll shut down for safety reasons in the case of a fire alert. You'll probably also need some kind of security card to be able to use the elevator and get through certain doors, so you'll need to steal one from an employee.

Kiyoko looked round the side of the potted plant, watching the employees scattered around the lobby. She quickly noticed the lanyards round their necks. "I think I see the cards," she whispered. "They're wearing them around their necks."

"I see," said Kamui. "Well, that makes them easier to steal, but also harder to steal without being noticed. You'll just have to try."

Kiyoko nodded, and closed her eyes, trying to commit the routine to memory. "So… "borrow" a security card from an employee, take the elevator up to the top floor, set off the fire alarm, look for the CEO's office, get inside, and steal any data that might be relevant." She nodded once more. "Okay. Let's do it."

Kiyoko slipped out from behind the potted plant, cautiously sneaking up behind an employee who was drinking at the water cooler. Glancing around to make sure nobody else was looking, Kiyoko quickly took off the man's lanyard and stuffed it into her pocket, whereupon it vanished from sight. Noticing a set of elevator doors opening at the end of the lobby, Kiyoko quickly slipped inside, as the woman inside pressed the button for the eighteenth floor.

"Doors closing," said an automated female voice. The doors slid silently shut, and the elevator began to rise up through the floors. The female employee leaned back against the wall of the elevator, slipping her hands into her pockets and humming quietly to herself. Kiyoko took advantage of her inattentiveness to press the button for the top floor, before hiding away in a corner, hoping the elevator didn't fill up more on the way up, lest someone end up pushed against her. What an awkward and embarrassing way that would be to have her cover blown.