Once his call with Flint ended, Mark checked the time. It was nearing 8:00 pm, and he had to prepare for his meeting with the vultures. Meanwhile, Bart and Jack would soon finish their preparations. With this in mind, the young man decided to seek a lawyer as well, since he needed help dealing with his GACT problem. The sleazy man had wormed his way into his virtual business, and Mark could not afford to leave him be.
The young man enters the design lab and heads to the catalog. After a few minutes, he assigns temporal permissions to all 20 lottery winners. Once finished, he logs out of A.M.S.
True to his intent, he browses his inventory. Although Mark did not expect conflict during talks with the Vultures, preparation always proved wise.
He was distracted by the sound of Melly's hover chair in the hallway. Not wanting her to find out about his late-night meeting, Mark quickly shifted his attention back to the mech designs in the event. As the image of the golden-eyed Girl flashed in his mind, he forced his thoughts to focus just as Melly approached. "Melly, come in, the door is open."
The automated door slides, and Melly entered the room. "Hello, Big Brother, I want to show you something. I have been practicing the exercises my physical therapist said, and I made progress."
The Girl used her legs to push the hover chair's leg rests away. She then placed her hands on the armrest and, with a slight struggle, stood up. Noticing this, Mark looked at her, surprise showing in his eyes; he had not expected Melly to stand so quickly. As she stood on her feet, her face relaxed a bit. Smiling at her Big Brother, she issued a request. "Can you stand over there?"
Mark complied with her request. After he stood from the bed and moved three steps away from Melly, he had an idea of what she wanted to do. "Ok, Melly, whenever you are ready."
With unsteady legs, she releases the hover chair and takes a tentative step. Struggling forward, she manages a second. With one final, wavering step, she reaches the arms of her big brother. The small victory fills her with immense pride. "Phew, I made it. ...what do you think, Big Brother?"
Mark's eyes were full of pride; he was happy that Melly was able to walk a few steps on her own two legs. "You are doing great, Melly. Keep it up." As he encouraged her, his mind suddenly drifted back to the mess of plates he saw around Melly's bed when he went to check on her. "However, you are turning your room into a little pigsty. Remember to pick up all the plates you have around your bed."
Melly's cheeks were flushed with red. "Ho, ...you saw that."
Mark pinches her cheek. "Of course I did. I hope you are not expecting Mom to clean it for you."
The Girl pouted and caressed her cheek while Mark carried her back to the chair. The young man noticed that Melly had gained weight. Her skin was no longer as pale as before. The golden-eyed Girl looked full of vitality, and he felt happy for her.
Melly noticed her big brother's smile. The Girl stopped pouting and smiled back. Thank you, Big Brother. Without you, I would have been stuck in that lab forever." Melly hugged the young man as he placed her back in the chair."
Mark's heart filled with joy. "I was glad to do it." Then his look turned suspicious. "You still have to clean your room, though, and stop hanging out with Scarlet."
Melly laughed awkwardly, the same way Scarlet laughs. "I can not promise that Big Brother." Before Mark had another chance to pinch her cheeks, the Girl rushed out of his room.
With the Girl gone, he resumed selecting inventory, each item chosen with tense precision for tonight, and half an hour ticked by before the young man completed his choices. This gear wouldn't just help him; it was his safeguard for Jack and his grandfather.
He paused, tension knotting his shoulders as he turned to his comm-pad, fingers hovering before he could search for a lawyer to untangle his GACT problem. Suddenly, the device vibrated. An incoming call. The display read Akaji. Mark didn't hesitate; he snapped it open, eager to talk with his old friend.
As Akaji's face showed on the screen, she smiled in a teasing way. "So that is how you look in real life. You are quite dashing."
Mark had forgotten, for a moment, that he was in the real world, lost in his thoughts, until Akaji addressed him. He even blushed a little at first, but he remembered the trust he had in this woman. To him, she would always be his old friend Nivea. Nevertheless, he kept in mind that Akaji was unaware of their friendship. Snapping back to the present, Mark replied, "Yep, this is little old me. What can I do for you, Akaji?"
The woman had an uncomfortable expression on her face. "I've heard about Flint. I'm sorry he sold us out, but after hearing why, I can not blame the man."
Mark relived the conversation he had with Flint. "I know, I have already talked to him, and the man apologised. I can not blame him either."
Akaji remembers why she called him. "Oh, by the way, if you need a lawyer, I know a good one. He handled my recent divorce. Thanks to him, I got to keep my Workshop." She sent the young man Denis Quad's contact information.
Mark felt grateful for the effort. "I will give him a call tomorrow. Thank you for this, you just saved me a lot of time."
Their call ended soon after that. Mark resumed his inventory browsing, checking for any last-minute changes. Before he knew it, it was already 10:30 pm. His comm pad rang again. This time it was Bart. Receiving the expected call, he left for the military surplus shop.
As he went down the elevator, he saw the light in the droid workshop was still on. His mother was working on something. He hesitated. Should I say goodnight? But quickly shook his head. No, better not. Trying to avoid her, the young man decided to ignore the woman for now. Leaving through the front door, Mark stepped into the night.
Riggan's Point at night was lively. A large number of people were walking by the stores at night. There was barely any difference from the traffic during the day. It was as if the place never slept. Mark took in the atmosphere as he walked towards Jack's shop. Total Recall reminded him of the desolation after the bombardment. An intrusive thought appeared, "If nothing changed, the liveliness of this place would be gone forever."
After a few minutes of walking, Mark finally arrived. He pressed the doorbell, and a loud buzz echoed through the entrance. Jack's voice called out from an intercom, "Come on in!" Inside, Mark made his way to the back of the shop, where the two were already suited up in their Spartan MK1 power armors.
Bart spoke through the voice modulator integrated into the armor's speakers. "Well, Mark, we are ready to go. Jack and I managed to get two unregistered hover bikes from a friend. Once you change into your armor, you can ride with me."
Mark smiled. He forgot to tell Bart about his hover bike. "Don't worry, Grampa, I got that covered." The Mirmidón armor materialized around him.
Bart looked once again at Mark's armor. A hint of envy showed in his eyes. "What, you got a jetpack for that thing or something?"
Mark smiled. "You will see soon enough."
The three men exited the surplus shop and headed to the garage where Jack kept his hover truck. There, Mark noticed the two hover bikes his grandfather mentioned. They were painted in muted colors, making the vehicles difficult to spot at night. Instinctively, he scanned the bikes using the system's ability and saw their specifications. Although his own hoverbike was superior, Bart's hoverbikes remained elite by human standards. "Grandpa, where did you get these?"
Bart had a smug look on his face. "I know a guy who knows a guy, that is not important. Let's ride this baby."
Mark materialized his own hoverbike. Both Bart and Jack looked at the vehicle in awe. The young man speaks in a smug tone. "I've got my own, but thanks."
Bart looked at the bike with a hint of jealousy. "You have to let me ride that sometime."
They exited the garage, quickly taking to the sky and moving to the warehouse where the Vultures gathered. The vehicles that Bart secured ran smoothly. Barely any sound came from their engines. Mark made a mental note to check their designs and look for improvements after settling the vulture's affair. With the hover bikes, they covered the distance quickly.
Looking at the warehouse, Mark notices that the damaged wall has been replaced. In fact, the Vultures worked quickly to fix most of the building. Only a few damaged portions of the recent gang battle remained. This was a good thing. It meant that the Vultures were efficient when they managed to organize.
As they descended, the three men landed near the main entrance to the building. Handy and some of the gang members came out to receive them. As they approached the hover bikes, the men slightly bowed as a form of greeting. Handy spoke a few words. "Welcome, Specter. We are glad you decided to show."
Mark and the other two men dismounted. They walk up to the gang members, and the young man uses his voice modulator to speak. "We have come to give you my decision. Lead the way."
Handy and the other men led Mark and the other two into the warehouse. Inside, there were hundreds of people. As they walked, the people gathered inside parted to make way for Specter and his companions. The young man saw many new faces.
More than a few of these faces were not members of the Vultures; in fact, some were part of the gangs that attacked this very warehouse the night before. For the moment, Mark decided to ignore this. He kept moving towards an improvised stage placed on a catwalk.
Once at the stage, he comes to a lectern placed at the edge, and faces the crowd. Mark gazes at the large crowd. There were a lot more people than he expected. To gain more impact, he decided to hack the comm-pads of everyone present. Using mental commands and his map function, he selected everyone present and activated the system-hacking ability. The young man spent 41,600 TP doing this.
His face appeared on every comm-pad in the warehouse. Mark took a deep breath to gather his courage and began his speech. "You have gathered all here to await my decision about leading the Vultures. But before telling you my decision, you must Learn where I come from and why."
He paused for a few moments, building momentum. "I have come from the future. In two years, Berant city will be destroyed by a deep strike force from the Stellar Kingdom of Naraland."
Hearing the name of the sworn enemy of the Lishean commonwealth, the crowd fell into silence. It had been a few decades since the last war, but old grudges die hard. All people present had a grandfather or an uncle who was killed during the war.
Yet, his words did not convince everybody. The fantastical story was hard to prove. Besides, mentioning the kingdom could be seen as a ploy to quickly gain support. The only thing in his favor was his technology.
But despite Specter's dazzling technology, some remained skeptical of his claims, even expressing fears about being conned. Suddenly, a voice called from the entrance to the warehouse: "This man is telling the truth!" Everyone turned to see a skinny man in a cheap suit. The Vultures recognized him right away; he was the man the Vulture Queen had imprisoned. Travis tapped his new comm-pad, amplifying his voice to support the claim. The malnourished man nodded, without a doubt, he vouched for Specter. As an actual mech engineer, his words carry some weight.
He had witnessed Specter's technology firsthand and was ready to testify about his experiences. "I have witnessed his technology firsthand. No one at the Lishean Commonwealth wields this. In fact, no one in the star sector rivals it." The man paused, recalling how the armored figure shielded him in battle, and affirmed Specter's claim. "The only explanation is that he comes from the future."