Talk to Rider Seven

You nodded toward the door again, tugging Tex along. You wanted answers, but if you just walked up to them right now, Rider Seven might stay silent and Kazumi would likely call security. Since you weren't even really supposed to be there, you had to at least look like you were there on official business. You and Tex slipped back out the door, shutting it quietly.

Out of earshot of anyone else who worked at Hideki, you turned to Tex. "Can you conjure up some SCPD uniforms? Not from the Angel program since we wouldn't have Riders at the moment, we just need to look like we're on standard patrol."

"...Well I would not consider my abilities to be conjuration like some sort of magical being in a fairytale. However, I can provide us with the proper attire."

Tex put her hand on you, and both of your outfits shifted from Hideki riding gear into your typical dark blue SCPD uniform, the kind you used to wear before being brought into the Angel 800 program. Tex went so far as to generate badges, using Angel Five and Angel Seven's real surnames: Raine and Fletcher. Even if Rider Seven--or likely Steven Brooks, at the moment--recognized you, getting all the details right meant everything to complete the illusion. Tex also generated some aviator sunglasses for herself, to hide the orange irises.

Satisfied with the look, you pounded on the door, this time making it clear you were here! "Spiral City PD!" you announced, and then glanced back at Tex. "I'll do the talking, okay? Just keep listening for Rider."

Tex nodded. Listening closely, you heard a lot of rustling and shuffling inside the garage area, you wondered if maybe Rider Seven was trying to hide or escape--which only added to your suspicion. Tex glanced away, like she was listening carefully for a second set of footsteps beyond Miss Ishida's, but she didn't make any sudden movements suggesting that he had left the area.

Kazumi came to the door, eyes widening for the briefest of moments when she saw you through the windows on the door, but she opened them. "Officers, what a... surprise. What can I do for you?"

"Miss Ishida, we've been tracking some of our officers that missed their check-ins, we got a ping on a tracker that suggested one may be here, specifically pinpointed to your work area. Are you aware of any SCPD officers in the area?"

Kazumi flexed her hands, glancing to the side, looking directly in the direction that Rider Seven was hiding, for the briefest of moments. It was a good thing for her sake that Kazumi wasn't being interrogated for anything, she wouldn't do so well in one of those rooms...

Deciding to spare her the choice of whether or not to lie and explain anything, you cleared your throat to get her attention. "Do you mind if we look around?"

"There's a lot of confidential stuff in here, so I just--"

"We're not here to turn your workplace upside down, ma'am, we'd just appreciate a quick sweep with our tracker so we can rule things out. Your cooperation is appreciated."

This was the kind of assertiveness you were used to as an SCPD officer--for better or worse. These sorts of strategies were often a gamble, since you could often get permission for things without having search warrants or other things, but it's the same sort of tactics that tended to sow distrust in law enforcement. It's why you were happy to be in the Angel program where your work dealt with clear criminal activity and dangerous people--the people police should be targeting. These were the kind of tactics that just hurt the wrong people, but lucky for you in this case, it worked. Kazumi stepped aside wordlessly.

Walking in, you pulled out a phone from your pocket, fortunately Tex hadn't phased those things away yet. You pretended to use it to scan for a signal you lied about, the whole premise behind you being here was a lie! You pretended to go left and right, as if you didn't know exactly where Rider is in this whole process, not wanting to give away that you knew more than you let on.

Of course, once you rounded the corner past the shelving, into the little cubicle of a work area, you knew who you would find. Rider Seven sat in an office chair, hunched over an armored panel that appeared to have some damage on it. He poked at it with a tool, as if pretending to work on it. Seeing you approach out of the corner of your eye, he turned around to feign surprise at SCPD officers, only to be actually surprised by the officers that found him. "A...Angel Seven, you're... you're okay, that's great news!"

"I wasn't for half a day," Angel Seven said a bit accusingly, before you realized it. She was feeding off of a shared frustration you had with Rider Seven at the moment. Deep breaths.

"But I'm glad to see you are okay," you said on Angel Seven's behalf. "Why are you here, Rider? Why not check in?"

Kazumi walked by you and Tex, slipping into the cubicle. "Daniel's here because his armor was damaged and he asked for my help to fix it."

Daniel nodded, holding up the armor piece to you. "Those nanites, they really did a number on us. Here, take a look." You took the piece of armor, a shoulder pad, and noticed a few fairly small holes in the surface. It looked similar to the damage you saw on Angel Seven's armor when you'd found it, albeit not nearly as extensive. You handed the shoulder pad to Tex for her to analyze. "Please don't tell Sarge I'm here? Not yet. I didn't want to come back with broken armor."

And apparently didn't want to come back with an Angel, either, you thought. How absurd that this was the thing Rider Seven concerned himself with, when he should have been looking for his Angel!

There were a lot of questions and accusations that you knew Angel Seven wanted to spring on him, but you had to keep her temper under control. "Why here though? If anything, a Yabusa tech would have been more a better option."

"...Well, okay. So, I used to work here and I'm comfortable around Hideki, it's where I worked as a test rider. And I knew Kazumi is really good with all sorts of technology, so she was the first one that came to my mind. And she doesn't charge the same hourly rate a Yabusa technician would!"

Kazumi grinned. "That's right, I charge triple." She glanced back at you and Tex. "Look, I've heard how your guys' boss can be sometimes when things don't go according to plan. Maybe this wasn't the best plan on Daniel--Rider Seven's part, but he thought it was important."

Tex handed the shoulder pad back to Rider Seven, who looks at you with puppydog eyes. "So... A-Seven, I'm sorry to leave you worrying about me." He seemed totally clueless about the truth of the situation. "But I promise I'll talk to McPhearson once this is all done, okay?"

"You might want to check in sooner than later. Everyone's looking for you. ...I won't say anything to McPhearson, but I will say that right now, we still have one other Rider missing and most of the others are out of commission with nanites that struck at the station. You should check in so they can narrow the search."

Daniel sighed in relief, nodding that you weren't going to tattle on him. "I promise I will. I'll get everything straightened out, I promise. And I hope you can find Rider Two--err, I mean, I hope you find the other Rider, too."

Kazumi and Daniel both looked at you quietly, indicating that the conversation was over and they had work to do. Nodding slowly, you and Tex walked out of the room. Your hands balled into a fist as you stepped quickly, with Tex struggling to keep up. Once she matched your pace, she put a hand on your shoulder. "I analyzed the damage in the shoulder pad pretty closely. Those were not made by nanites, they just look like similar damage. The pattern along the metal is more likely caused by a drill press."

"So he's lying about damage, he apparently knows it's Rider Two that's the other missing officer despite me not saying anything, and his reason for not rescuing me is flimsy as hell," Angel Seven said, with some venom in her voice. "He would have known exactly where to look if he actually tried. I don't buy any of it. Do we report it?"

You shook your head. "No," you said as you stole Angel Seven's voice again. "He's shady, yeah, but we need to get to the root of this nanite problem. Everything makes me think we just got a ton of clues that are too hard to overlook, especially after the chat with Ivy and Ela. Let's get our facts in order back at the apartment, and then I think I know who I want to talk to next."