All was well so far on the Augusti Path.
Ryan had met Zanbato as expected, beat up Sarin at the harbor, and now repeated the exact same conversation which would lead him to crash at Jamie’s house. All was well and good, to the sound of crashing waves against the piers...
“I have to be sure about something,” Luigi asked the courier. “Are you a snitch or a double agent?”
“Well, I’m not really on anyone’s side,” Ryan replied, but then his mouth acted on its own, “But I’m a Carnival infiltrator, yes.”
… or not.
Everyone present turned to look at him, a tense silence settling in. The grunts raised their weapons, while Zanbato’s face turned from shocked, to disappointed, and finally, to furious.
“Uh oh.”
Okay, two lessons learned.
One, Ryan hated truth-tellers. Hated them, with a passion.
Two, Zanbato could make sashimi out of people with his laser sword. Ryan wouldn’t look at sushi the same way ever again.
But this time… this time, it would be different. The courier had rehearsed the perfect misleading answers. Luigi's power compelled Ryan to say the truth, but only according to the teller’s exact words.
“I have to be sure about something,” Luigi asked him again. “Are you a snitch or a double agent?”
“I can’t snitch on a group I haven’t officially joined yet, and I am not a double agent.” Technically, he was a triple one.
“Are you a mole?”
“Of course I’m not a mole, I’m human.”
There! Saved! He did it, he did it!
“Okay, I should work on my wording,” Luigi sighed but didn’t give up. “Are you, or do you intend, to relay information about us to another organization?”
“Well, yes, I intend to. Hell, I already did!”
Goddammit!
Okay.
Okay, third time's the charm.
Through timing and intelligence, Ryan had skillfully navigated through the chain of causality to avoid the fated question. He had put on the charm, befriended everyone, distracted the grunts with funny anecdotes. Now, the courier and Zanbato prepared to return to the Plymouth Fury, and go eat some delicious pizzas.
“Hey, Quicksave,” Luigi asked, as they took a few steps towards the car. “Before you go, there are a few questions I must ask every new recruit.”
“Luigi, seriously, please, don’t do it,” Ryan replied, his eyes pleading. “For your sake, don’t say this. It won’t end well, I swear it won’t—”
“Sorry, protocol. Are you a snitch?”
“Yes, yes, yes! Yes, I am! Is that what you want me to say, Luigi? Is that what you want me to say?”
Quicksave breathed deeply, fighting off his rising frustration.
“Luigi,” Ryan pointed a finger at the truth-teller, as everyone raised their weapons at the courier's face. “We’re going to have a problem, you and I.”
“Where’s Luigi?” Zanbato asked Grunt 1 when the truth-teller failed to show up at the harbor, leaving only the henchmen to deal with the operation. “Wasn’t he supposed to take care of the shipment?”
“Sorry, he was attacked yesterday night,” Gruntie said, carrying Luigi’s cell phone. Apparently, he would have to fill in for the Made Man. “He’s at the hospital right now, and he’ll be out of commission for a while.”
“What?” The news shocked Jamie, who clearly hadn’t been informed. “By whom?”
with a hockey mask and stick, from
very dangerous sport, hockey,” Ryan said absentmindedly, looking
was crazy,” Grunt 1 nodded. “Apparently Luigi returned home late for a party, you know, perfectly normal, he starts opening his home’s door and then BAM!
almost chortled. “Why Luigi? Was it a
didn’t even take his money,” Grunt 1 replied.
according to witnesses,” Gruntie said. “At
lot, a real homewrecker,” Grunt 2 pointed out, “Maybe
Zanbato crossed his arms. “But then how did they
find the hockey equipment than Luigi’s address. Nobody
crash at my place for the night, just in
don’t say,” Ryan
they played poker, went to Vulcan’s factory, and
forward. The auto-pilot wasn’t really a sub-power, simply a state his conscious mind entered when he couldn’t be bothered to live
causality. With a few exceptions, he constantly lived through an endless theater rehearsal. People held no mystery to him after a while, always reacting the same way to the exact same
would drive anyone
to reach the perfect ending and soon, it would finally end. Everything would turn right when Ryan found Len. He was
back to
he was when he snapped back to consciousness. Extensive looping and repetition often eroded the Genome's perception of reality, especially when his power noticed an alteration
phone, while Lanka had already left for Vulcan’s factory, the laying defeated on the ground. The message
Psyshock taken care
Thanks for the tip.
such surprises,
to repeat until he met Vulcan. The Augusti’s underboss froze the
“You,” Pluto asked Quicksave.
preparing to repeat the same
“Have we met before?”
surprised Ryan, as he didn’t expect
of it, we already met,” Pluto replied, her
stood still next to
Pluto said. “But I don’t
...
Did her power somehow mark
the conversation, carefully backing Ryan
is your new recruit,
to joke when Jamie invaded his personal space, putting a hand on his shoulder. You speak to her when talked to, he all but said out loud. “Quicksave,” Zanbato
into his soul. The courier couldn’t explain why, but he felt a growing pressure around him.
or infohazard,” Pluto’s female bodyguard pointed out. “Maybe your powers interfere with each other
set on Ryan. The courier whistled and looked away innocently, while Zanbato came to his defense. “Quicksave may be odd, but he is reliable,” the Made Man said. “He helped
Ryan, completely dismissing Zanbato’s words.
alleviating the tension. “Ryan Romano.
right now, but I will call you back
that wasn’t a threat. That was
order,
group watched the underboss leave with her bodyguard in complete silence until they were out of sight. Nobody dared to speak up at first, so Ryan
of relief. “Blabbermouth, what the fuck did you
Ryan replied, just as confused. “Or
is serious, Quicksave,” Jamie said. “That woman is Pluto, Augustus’ sister and underboss. Her interest is
you follow her lead without question,” Ki-jung said, her face
she even here?” Lanka asked her team
Jamie replied, his arms crossed. “Vulcan will take command of the clean-up since she’s been itching to test her new weapons in the field, and Pluto loaned her the Killer Seven hit squad. I say it’s finally time we clean up the
to poor Luigi,” Ki-jung said with a frown. “To attack him in front of his
it’s the Meta who did that though?” Lanka asked, skeptical. “I mean, it was just a guy with a hockey cross. It if was a Meta, there
replied. “The Meta-Gang isn’t a big group. It would make sense for them to outsource their
through with his promise and stopped targeting the Augusti with assassinations. With no one to divert their attention, the criminal syndicate had decided to focus entirely on
out though. It could threaten his entire infiltration mission, and he
he made
until Vulcan told him how to contact or reach Len. He didn’t have to
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