MISSION: IDENTIFY SUSPECT

[awakeningwill]

Update me on the search for the masks. Do you have any leads so far?

Also... do you remember anyone showing particular interest in the masks, before they were taken? Or suspicious activity on the network lately?

= = =

Being the Sage Guardian, you have experience in isolating irregular activity, don't you?

I need your help with something. Come to my room, when you have a moment.

Comments

[awakeningwill]

It may be that their decision to steal the masks was short-term, or even impulsive, considering how little preparation there was.

[Zero pulled up the account of the man who had asking around his network post: another member of faculty, in charge of the Lost and Found.]

His name is Garrett. He seems to keep a pretty low profile, but he's been looking for a way out of the city. If he is our man, it's possible he severely miscalculated his escape route out of here.

[lovesthepain]

That's the same man who asked me about the masks.

[Harpuia can pull the face from his memory easily. It's a connection, but... just asking questions isn't against the law. They're only high-school security officers, too (or, well, one of them is). Warrants are definitely not going to happen.]

We can't go making any accusations without proof, but we don't have much time left to waste, either. We could try to detain him to see if he confesses. I doubt he would, though. There's been more than enough time to realize there's no escaping, and the moon is only getting closer, but there hasn't been anyone coming forward yet.

[A fact Harpuia resents. What is this thief doing...? Were the masks just taken for the sake of having them? If they were going to be used for something, then the fact the set is incomplete... no, even if he's just doing it to prove some kind of point... It's a thought that carries a lot of risky connotations with it, but Harpuia finishes it anyway:]

I think our thief would be more likely to try and steal the remaining mask than return the three they already have.

[awakeningwill]

With people out for his head, there's no way he's going to volunteer his own neck to undo his mistake. So you're suggesting we use the final mask as bait and stake him out.

[Wow. His brows raised a little. That was a plan so risky, you'd think Zero was the one who thought it up. The fourth mask was the only chip they had left to play - if things went wrong, then there was no saving anyone.

But that didn't mean Zero wasn't willing to gamble on those stakes. Without the whole set, they were useless anyway. Might as well go all in.

He pushed himself away from the desk.]

Makes sense to me. Let's do it.

[What did they really have to lose at this point, other than everything]

[lovesthepain]

If we don't have all the masks, we may as well have none of them.

[A pragmatic statement of fact. The value the one mask they did possess only lay in what all four of them could do together. In fact, the only person who would be able to use the mask, as of right now, would be the thief, so who else would consider going after it?

It was a big risk, but an acceptable one -- Harpuia could see no likelier way to draw the other masks out, considering their scant leads and looming deadline.]

We'll have to take every possible precaution, of course. We need an area that we can observe inconspicuously. It needs to be open enough to tempt the thief, but secure enough to be convincing. Then, all it would take is a network post announcing we've moved the remaining mask to a safe location...

[awakeningwill]

[Well, Zero definitely didn't disagree on any of those points.]

The mask is still with the kid who found it, right? That probably doesn't pose enough of a challenge to tempt our thief...

[Crossing his arms, he Zero pondered the best place to make their trap. But this was far from his area of expertise - usually, he was the one breaking in. A proper guardian would probably have better insight on this than he did.]

What's left of the school at this point? The security office?

[lovesthepain]

It's probably the most viable location we have left. The majority of the cameras are still down, despite Wave's efforts, and it's one of the few secure places left that hasn't faced some structural damage.

[It would take some utter audacity on the thief's part, too, but... given the brazen way they must have strolled into Gordon's lab while the party was going on, that may actually serve to attract their attention. If there were any possible motive that Harpuia could attempt to assign to the theft, it seemed like it may have just been for the sheer cheek of it -- trying to make some sort of statement, perhaps?]

It has the advantage of a very limited number of entry points, too. If we can give the impression that the office is left unattended after hours... It would be feasible to give the school the impression that we're all out doing manual patrols in lieu of monitoring camera feeds, wouldn't it?

[awakeningwill]

That's true. The lock on the door could easily be broken, but the boldness of breaking into the security office of all places should tempt the thrill-seeker in our thief.

So, we should announce publicly that the mask is being moved... then wait for Garrett to take the bait.

[Here's hoping that a thief whose technique comprised of smashing through a glass case wouldn't have the technological dominance over the security efforts of two combat reploids from the future.]

[lovesthepain]

Precisely.

The sooner we put the plan into motion, the better. I can make the necessary arrangements... can I count on you, Zero?

[He's almost a little reluctant to ask, as the reality of a stakeout is a lot of time away from a charger. If anything, Harpuia may just be encouraging an already existing problem.]

[awakeningwill]

[Zero crossed his arms, a mixture of annoyed, cocky, and stern in his air. It shouldn't really have to be asked, but since Harpuia seemed to have some measure of doubt, the reploid's answer was firm.]

Of course.