The forty-nine remaining Chairs of the Hosaka Roundtable were summoned for a closed meeting a week and a half after Saeyung's arrest. However, unlike the countless times before, James didn't stand guard at the conference room's entrance. This time, he strode in alone, into that white room he'd only peered at so many times before, towards that marble table that held the fate of half a billion people.
And when he entered, the other Chairs didn't just keep talking in their cliques. They turned to him, nodded, some even applauded. It wasn't that sort of quiet fear that Hisen and Saeyung commanded, but a newfound admiration. They knew he had carried out the perfect operation. Instead of casting shade on all of Ainsel, he'd brought Saeyung into the limelight as the sole perpetrator. The videos were out for all to see: Legionnaire and The Everlancer fighting Sabersong and Sparrow on top of the shuttle. The public believed Saeyung had gone rogue, used unethical methods to construct Legionnaire, and had been taken down by Hosaka.
All that was true, but it was also true that James didn't know how deep the evil ran in the company. The fact was, the megacity still needed Ainsel.
It's for the good of everyone, James told himself. Compromises had to be made. Besides, he didn't want to get too involved in that side of the government. His main concerns were controlling the gangs and Mecha Realm.
James found two of the youngest Chairs who he happened to know better than the rest: Irene Fan, CEO of Windstation, and Gale Jabara, CEO of J_n_Z. Together, they controlled ninety-nine percent of agriculture and food in the megacity, and had replaced their parents who were former Chairs. They greeted him with smiles less rehearsed than the older Chairs.
"Congrats on the operation," Gale said. "I've been looking through Newcast—it's almost only Saeyung."
"How much shade thrown at us?" James asked. How much did people wrongly suspect Hosaka's involvement in the experiments?
"Nothing we've had to remove."
James nodded. Newcast ownership was split among the fifty Chairs, who were privy to what was posted five minutes before it went public and able to take down anything they deemed extreme. Light anti-government propaganda was allowed to exist, but the algorithm would make sure they did not appear on many people's feeds. Flagged as AI-created, minimal engagement. Discouraged the posters from doing it again.
But Wow2, the rival social media platform, was owned solely by Ainsel. That was another matter that needed to be settled today.
"Say, James," Gale said, "how come they don't let you see Newcast posts in advance?"
"Wish I could tell you," James said. The Inspection's job was to keep the megacity safe, after all, and that would be a lot easier if they had advanced access to what was being posted. "Guess I'm too busy, anyways."
"Right. Working on the Marvin Yao case?"
James felt a twinge of annoyance. Did they think he was some detective? His job was to oversee every single gang in the megacity, not just solve a murder.
But some of that annoyance was also directed at his father and superiors who had asked him to forget about Marvin's murder. They'd passed it to the Sector 33 police, and while James agreed that a single murder didn't warrant the government's attention, this one put the entirety of Mecha Realm in jeopardy.
"No. Manhunters," was all James said.
"They're still around?" Irene scoffed.
"We got a tip a few weeks ago. Turns out they're the ones who stole our guns."
Gale and Irene raised their eyebrows.
"I've got their leader in custody," James continued. He felt a jolt of excitement shoot up his spine. He hoped the Chairs didn't notice. "They'll learn their lesson."
Before Irene or Gale could say anything, there was a hush near the front of the room. James turned to see a man in a gold suit enter, back hunched, cane clacking with every other step. His father, Hisen Kobayashi. It was the first time in a while that he'd walked in without Saeyung, and the man was frailer than ever. Not yet seventy, but cursed with an affliction that made him look a-hundred.
"Jeez," Gale murmured as Hosaka's de facto leader made his way to the giant round table in the center of the room. "I'm not sure the reelection was a good idea."
Several months ago, the public had raised concerns over Hisen's health, and the megacity had held a flash election for his position. Of course, the people's votes hadn't been counted. Hisen had talked to some confidants and with their advice, had decided to stay on as a Chair. He was popular enough that no one would think it was rigged.
But they didn't know the extent of Hisen's illness. James didn't even know how many drugs were coursing through the man's veins to keep his mind sharp.
Hisen sat down, and the other Chairs followed. James sat next to Gale and Weston Diallo, facing directly opposite his father. Hisen's eyes were slightly glossy and he hunched shakily over his cane, but when he noticed everyone had sat down, he sat up straight and cleared his throat. His voice was as deep and commanding as ever, as if it were a separate entity.
"First, I would like to congratulate my son on the perfect operation." Hisen gestured across the table, summoning a wave of applause. "I know we all expected nothing less."
James smiled.
"But let's not waste any time," Hisen continued. "What is to be done about Ms. Park? Shall we hear the proposals?" He looked at Irene Fan, who was sitting two spots to James' left. She would represent the first party to make their proposal.
"I think I speak for all of us," Irene began, "when I say that Ms. Park is not fit to lead Ainsel AI nor remain as a Chair of the Roundtable. She is a psychopath who took advantage of us, who thought we needed an AI she didn't even design. So first, can we all agree that she should be removed as a Chair, and as the CEO of Ainsel AI?"
Before the other Chairs could speak, Hisen held up a finger.
"Finish your proposal," he said. "That's how this works."
If Irene was offended, she didn't let it show. "We can also agree that she is a serial killer. Most of her subjects died when they were disconnected from those machines. The ones that didn't will likely spend the rest of their lives in a psych ward. Furthermore, she has tampered with Mecha Realm, making a consciousness implant of her brother, killing him in the process." Irene paused and swept her gaze along the circle of oligarchs. "For these crimes, we believe that Saeyung Park deserves the death penalty."
The room was silent for a moment. Some Chairs subtly nodded. Others exchanged glances. Others grumbled their disagreement.
"Your proposal is heard," Hisen said. He gestured to Weston Diallo. "We have a second proposal?"
Weston was the CEO of weCare, the company responsible for Megacity 14's primary education system, and the husband of mech pilot Morgan Silo. He began his speech about how, while Saeyung had committed terrible acts, she was still the figurehead of Ainsel. It was too much to risk the company's collapse if they sentenced her to death. Life in prison, he suggested. She could be consulted on the most dire of Ainsel's problems, with no other contact allowed.
"Your proposal is heard." Hisen scanned the room for a third proposal. His eyes landed on James. James rolled his jaw and prepared to deliver his first Roundtable speech. Hopefully the first of many.
"I saw first-hand what she did," James said. "It was terrible. No one's gonna argue that. But I also saw first-hand what she built. I saw Legionnaire nearly beat Sabersong and Sparrow on top of a moving shuttle. Not even Ninth Gen can do that."
Irene and Weston looked at him suspiciously. Gale tapped his armrest, intrigued. Hisen's expression was empty.
"The fact is, she hasn't finished her research," James continued. "Legionnaire was just a prototype. No way Megacity 13 will accept that. But if it works that well already, we can repay the debt by the end of this year."
"Someone can take over her research," Irene protested. "I don't know why we decided to place all our bets on her."
"And how long will that take?" James said. "A decade? Two? You think we have that long?"
Betrayal flashed across Irene's face. "What are you proposing?"
"One: we let her complete her research. When we clear the debt, we can do another vote on her sentence." A few of the older Chairs nodded. "Two: we remove her as CEO and split Ainsel among the technocrats." Four of the Chairs' eyes sparked hungrily. "And three: we appoint another AI expert to replace her—Grace Alvarez, I'm thinking—just so you four don't send us to the dark ages." James pointed at the technocrats, which got a chuckle out of them and some others. He leaned back in his chair and caught Irene's gaze.
See, that was still pragmatic. By suggesting the first bit, he was simply looking out for the megacity. Compromises had to be made.
"Your proposal is heard," Hisen said. He began to scout the room again for a fourth proposal. From what James knew, those were rare. Usually, the proposals were two extremes and one moderate.
But, to his surprise, Hisen cleared his throat. "I will give a fourth proposal." The room seemed to get even quieter. Heads craned forwards. Hands folded beneath the table. "We let Ms. Park finish her project. My company acquires Ainsel AI and moves it out of the public eye. Ms. Park keeps her seat at the Roundtable to advise the future implementation of her products. We tell the public she has been sentenced to life in prison, but we will hold no trial. The good she has done far outweighs the bad."
James stared at his father as the room was silent for a while longer. Are you insane? Even if this would benefit the megacity, no one would vote for it. Perhaps it was a push to get the Roundtable to go lighter on Saeyung. Perhaps it was a test to weed out her loyalists.
Or perhaps the woman was simply that important.
She really has done a lot for the megacity, James thought, before catching himself. Kidnapping over fifty people and milking their brains was worse than anything he'd seen a gang do, and Saeyung had done it while nearly overtaking Hisen in influence. She needed to know she couldn't get away with everything.
James observed the room as its energy swelled. First, there were the looks between Chairs. Then murmurs in groups of two or three, which evolved into smaller cliques of five or six. Then Chairs began speaking across the room, and the debates began in earnest.
-----
Because he wasn't a Chair, James wasn't allowed to participate in the debate or the vote, but he didn't mind. He'd spoken his mind and now had a more interesting endeavor ahead of him.
Veronica, the leader of the Manhunters, sat trapped in a Bessmer chair with a spherical bowl of electrodes clamped on her head. Her numerous red, cybernetic eyes glared at him with contempt, but her clenched fists betrayed her fear. She knew the former leader of Centium had been killed in this room, after being interrogated with James' unconventional methods.
The rest of the room was empty save for a hologram display and a metal desk. It had been a piloting room for Draconis, Hosaka's flagship mech, but James had repurposed it into something more useful.
"I only have two questions," James said, pacing back and forth. "Were you involved in any way with Marvin Yao's death?"
"Still haven't found his killer?" Veronica sneered. "What a competent group you've got."
"Were you involved?" James repeated.
"No."
"You arrived at the stadium almost immediately after Marvin died. Why?"
"The Sawblades lost the duel. Lost the money they owed us. We had the right to annex them."
That lined up with what James knew already. "And you know nothing about who actually killed Marvin?"
Veronica scoffed. "Doesn't it make you uncomfortable, saying that?"
James frowned. "Saying what?"
"Killed. You were trying so hard to convince us Marvin didn't die. Thought you even convinced yourself."
James' left eye twitched. He saw the hypocrisy as clear as her—Hosaka would go to great lengths to silence talk about the murder, but would barely lift a finger to seek justice. It was a bad look, sure. But Veronica had no right calling it out when she had done so much worse.
"Rumors are starting to spread, you know," she continued. "Not just that Marvin was murdered. They're saying the reason you're covering it up is—"
"I'm aware," James said. They'd exiled one conspiracy theorist—Bob, Sienna's fiancé—and a hundred more had sprung up in his place. Now there were over a thousand. Most stopped their theories at Marvin being dead, but a few brave ones pointed fingers at Hosaka, as if James' father had anything to gain from killing the pilot. Marvin had been making unprecedented amounts of money for him. For all of the Roundtable.
"I'm guessing they don't tell you a whole lot," Veronica prodded. "You might be Lead Inspector, but you're just a lapdog to them."
"Hosaka didn't kill Marvin," James said calmly.
"Just what a lapdog should believe."
To his surprise, James let out a laugh. Despite being the scum of the megacity, Veronica somehow had more of a backbone than Darren Kane. It would make the ensuing experience more fun.
"Enough about Marvin." James pulled out his tablet and opened the controls to the altered Bessmer chair. "You stole our guns. How?"
"We bought stealth tech from the scavs. Stuff from Megacity 13. We disguised ourselves, broke into the stash, took the guns, and got out."
"Who helped you?"
Veronica looked offended. "We did it ourselves. That tech is something else."
"Is there more of it?"
"Probably sold out by now. The scavs barely had any."
"Sold to who?"
Veronica shrugged.
James tapped his tablet in frustration. She was making this too easy, but it made sense. She knew her gang was gone. She knew she was dead. Why hide anything when you had nothing to lose?
Yes, the plan had been to interrogate Veronica, then kill her and wipe out her gang. But he had been expecting for her to put up more resistance during the interrogation. Prompt him to resort to psychological methods. That had been an oversight. Looking at her now, James realized how futile killing the Manhunters would be. The megacity would only be marginally better with them gone. Other gangs would take their place, bolder ones who would do much more than steal Hosaka's guns.
No, he had to teach all the gangs a lesson.
"Give me four of your closest allies," he said, "and tell me how we can reasonably infiltrate each of them."
Veronica gave him an incredulous look. "And I'll do that… why?"
"I need to be thorough."
"You need to be a lot of things. Why would I tell you anything if you're just gonna kill me?"
"If you tell me the truth, once I've eliminated those gangs, I'll let you live. I promise."
Veronica squawked out a laugh. "I know better than that."
"Just tell me," James prodded, knowing she wouldn't. "Don't make this harder for yourself."
"I'm no snitch," Veronica spat. "Kill me."
I guess I have no choice. James turned his tablet towards her, and he felt his heart beat a little faster. "You see this? When I press this button, those electrodes are going to sever your ocular nerve, blinding you. Then they'll stimulate your parietal cortex. Your perception of time will change. Every second will feel like an hour."
James fought back a grin as Veronica's face twisted, trying to comprehend what this meant.
"Your hypothalamus will be monitored," he continued. "If the chair detects that you're about to fall asleep, a stimulus will snap you back awake." James hovered his finger over the button. "The simulation won't stop until you give me all four gangs."
"So you're gonna bore me to death?" Veronica asked incredulously.
James felt his lips part into a grin, partly against his will. He'd taken a while to come up with this method, done his fair share of research. He was dying to see its effects. "Again, I'll wait. A day for you is only gonna be twenty-four seconds for me."
For the briefest moment, Veronica's expression shifted into fear. At the same time, James' smile faltered.
Why do I enjoy this? he wondered. What made me this way?
Then Veronica bared her teeth. "Kill me or turn on your fuckass simulation. I'm not telling you anything."
Permission granted. James pressed the button and the Manhunter's red eyes dimmed as she went blind. His doubts disappeared into the depths of his mind. He was like this because he had to be. Someone needed to extract answers out of Hosaka's enemies, needed to do it efficiently and produce good results. If not James, then some other poor Inspector would be doing it and having to bear the weight of inflicting all that torture. James was saving that person's conscience.
Someone had to do it, so best that it was someone who enjoyed it.