Epilogue: One more surprise

The mission seemed to wrap up safer than you could have imagined. With the exception of Goodbye springing her odd Rabbit Badge news on you, the only unexpected part of this mission was that nothing unexpected had happened. Your team reported that several copies of the same machine you'd found in New York had been found and disabled. Deliverer casualties were high. A few Deliverers were captured. No sign of Promethia. Over all, an open-and-shut case.

Just as you were ready to go kick your feet up and wait for your team to get back, the main screen in the control room suddenly sprang to life, startling you and causing Goodbye to start shrieking impulsively. That was just her way of coping with surprise, apparently. You recognized the ominous call-sign, starting with two hands clasping together then bowing towards the screen, before the overlaying word "NAMASTE" filled the horizontal view. Once again, no further details were visible of the elusive hacker who always seemed to find their way into CEDIT technology. Last time, she'd spoken to you through Despedida's drone. This time, she came to you through your main control room... if they could breach your security this far in, they must be someone working very closely with you. {if Suspicion that Despedida is the Enemy = 1}

Earlier, you'd told Goodbye you thought Despedida was the mole... Every appearance of Namaste made your suspicion that much stronger.{endif}

"Hello, Ciao. I'm happy to see you're still alive."

Last time, you hadn't had a chance to speak to the mysterious person on the other end of the line; Despedida had done all the talking. This time, you weren't going to pass up your chance. However, the moment you began speaking, the warbled voice shushed you.

"I'll assume the feeling is mutual, but I don't have much time to talk. I heard you make a pretty stupid error just now. Your pick for the bad guy- the 'sleeper agent...' you're off base. Pretty naive of you to think you've got it all figured out already..."

{if Suspicion that Au Revoir is the Enemy =1}So it wasn't as simple as picking Au Revoir, huh?{elseif Suspicion that Despedida is the Enemy = 1}So it wasn't as simple as picking Despedida, huh?{elseif Suspicion that Tschau is the Enemy = 1}So it wasn't as simple as picking Tschau, huh?{elseif Suspicion that Despedida is the Enemy = 1}So it wasn't as simple as picking Despedida, huh?{else}But wait... you hadn't picked anybody, had you? Was Namaste saying you were naive for holding out hope that none of your comrades were sleeper agents?{endif}

"Let me put it to you this way... Your problem, Ciao, is that you're thinking of one person as the perpetrator of the conspiracy. The truth is, every one of the girls is hiding critical information from you. It might be better to think of them all as culprits and desperately try to weed out one you can trust, rather than the other way around..."

You felt your teeth clenching as you became frustrated and Goodbye became panicked... how were you supposed to trust this Namaste, anyway? You asked her why you should believe a thing she says.

She just kept talking over you, even as you tried to get a word in. "It's up to you to decide whether you trust my information or not. All I'm saying is... Try doing some of your own research on the incidents so far. Try to get at their history. I believe you'll find each of the Goodbye Girls are still hiding an awful lot that you aren't seeing in those dossiers, Mister Nathaniel Speck."

This weirdo even knew your name... Only Goodbye was supposed to have that info. Then again, Vaarvel had already figured it out too, somehow...

"That's all for now. Stop getting distracted by what hints people hand to you and do your own digging. Just watch your back while you do. Not one of those girls is going to want you discovering the skeletons in their closets. Oh, and one more thing: This will be the last time we meet, for a while. Namaste, Ciao..."

The hands bowed once again and the name left the screen; the screen went back to the world map image it had been displaying moments earlier.

You turned to look at Goodbye, who looked as though her face had frozen in a screaming expression, but no voice was coming out. Gently, you shook her shoulder to snap her out of it. "Oh! Sorry." She took a moment to adjust her glasses, then sighed deeply. "It sounds like this is another addendum to your secret mission, Mister Speck. Dig into those histories. Even if Namaste hadn't told us to do it, it would still be a good idea. Just be very, veeeery careful..." Your boss crossed her arms across her sweatervest and considered the message carefully. "However, even if we trust her words that far, there's no reason to suspect every one of your four teammates. After all, these are the Goodbye Girls... even if there's a mole embedded in the team somewhere, they've done more good collectively in a handful of years than the average CEDIT agent can accomplish in his whole lifetime. Self included..."

You asked her if she had anything that could help you get started.

"Maybe... I'll update your dossiers with some information regarding the general history of the Goodbye Girls. Maybe something in there will point you in the right direction. Oh, and about that latest message from Namaste... let's keep it between you and me."

It seemed like you'd been given a little slice each of heaven and hell... You'd been given full permission to use your cock in pursuit of information gathering, which sounded like a fun change of pace, but at the same time, you'd been told that each of the girls you were investigating had major baggage... the kind of baggage that could really make you regret getting close to them once you figured it out. Like Namaste said, you'd need to dig up the facts yourself and follow your own gut. Everyone may be out to deceive you...

"Um, Ciao? You're looking a little haggard... Why not pack it in for the day? I'll finish up comms with the girls on their way in."

You told her you'd appreciate that, then left the CEDIT subterranean base for the comfort of your temporary lodgings, where you'd be able to put together your thoughts in the mission wrap-up.