Outrun – Cyberpunk LitRPG

Chapter 193

As soon as I entered the Blue Crusade, I could feel the tension in the air. Everyone was hustling and bustling, moving around and trying to get whatever they were working on done. It was also quiet. Too quiet. I was used to the Crusade’s constant chatter, so actually having all the Crusaders quiet and focused for once was incredibly weird.

It was almost as if I was in a normal workplace environment where everyone just focused on their jobs. Honestly, I'd rather have it back the way it was. The environment felt heavy compared to usual. It was frankly uncomfortable.

I headed for the Inquisitor’s office first. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure what I was expecting after the order came in, but It definitely wasn’t to find his office crammed full of people.

I recognized the ever-drained, yet still somehow aware of everything, Hope sitting in the seat across from the Inquisitor. She had the full Crusade get-up, just missing the helmet that would mark her transition from Squire to Inquisitor. She brushed raven locks of hair out of her face as she put on what was probably supposed to be a welcoming smile. She failed horribly, as per usual.

The other seat was taken up by a twitchy-looking fellow. As soon as I stepped in, his head snapped back to glance at me. Dark bags hung under his eyes, reminiscent of Hope. I recognized an almost feral twitch in his eyes, one reeking of paranoia. It was an unfortunately familiar look.

The squire himself would’ve been quite handsome at one point, though his stooped posture, hunched back, and gaunt face destroyed any remnants of handsomeness left over. He shifted in his seat slightly, ensuring he had vision of me at all times even though he'd already long shifted the seat so he could watch the door and everyone else in the room at the same time.

He was adorned in almost full Crusade regalia, just missing one of the greaves and, of course, the helmet. He seemed likewise as accomplished as Hope, and yet their armor was entirely different.

This paranoid-looking guy had opted for the fullest protection Crusade armor could offer. Almost every bit of his body was covered in the silver heavy armor of the crusade. He looked closer to a Knight than an Inquisitor. What wasn't covered by armor? Filled with bullet-resistant padding like some kind of knock-off bomb-suit.

As I passed the door frame, I noticed a fourth member of the group sitting back in a shadowy corner of the room. He looked quite shifty as his eyes, partially hidden by a pair of sunglasses and a hood, drifted past all of my pockets. It was the gaze of a thief through and through. No way I wouldn't recognize it.

The guy was careful to hide his features with a combination of shadows, sunglasses, and his hood. From what I could tell though, he looked perfectly average. He had the kind of face that could blend into a crowd without any issues. The most standout feature was dark eyes and even darker bags weighing under them.

He had just two silver bracers on. Somehow, despite being quite shiny, they were a bit hard to focus on. Almost as if my subconscious didn’t even want to register his hands. A bit similar to Hidden Hands, though it didn't feel nearly as powerful.

I immediately recognized the effect as some kind of aversion enchantment. If anything, it failed its job spectacularly as I watched him closer. Such an enchantment would greatly empower pickpocketing or anything else a kleptoid would do. Not that I would need such an echatment.

This job seriously seemed to take it out of people. Or maybe it was just the Inquisitor? Either way, I had a feeling it was only a matter of time till I joined in the baggy eye train. I mean, the three of them were already there.

“Ah, Zuku. It’sh about time.” The Inquisitor called in his typical cold voice with little variation in tone.

“Sorry, sir. I came in as soon as I got your message.” All the seats were taken, so I opted to sit on the table against the wall. My legs kicked slightly as I leaned back.

“Squires, Zuku. Zuku, Squire Dev.” The Inquisitor pointed to the twitchy guy in the chair. He flinched as his name was called. “And that’s Squire Joshua in the corner. The other two are out at the moment.”

I nodded to the two. So he had six Squires total? “Nice to meet you.”

“I’m sure it’ll be a pleasure to work alongside you.” Joshua smiled at me. There was a hint of recognition in his eyes. Like recognized like, I guess. He seemed quite suave too, the type that could talk his way into anywhere.

Squire Dev just nodded back, though he seemed to sink further into the chair as if to put a barricade between us. The poor guy looked like he’d been through quite some shit. Note to self: always make footsteps when I approach him. Wouldn’t want to get shot accidentally taking him by surprise.

Inquisitor Strumgard pulled a device from his desk and set it up. Scrambler. “What I’m about to shay needsh to stay between us, got it?”

There was a moment of silence as all of us nodded. Some more hesitant than others. Dev in particular looked particularly put out by being brought into some secretive mission. The guy looked like he would want nothing more than to dig a couple of trenches and lace the surrounding area with landmines.

”There was an attempted attack on Downtown not too long ago. I happened to be in the right place at the right time and shtopped it.” The Inquisitor paused to drink something from a water bottle. Probably not water.

Also, in the right place at the right time… that seemed to always happen to the good Inquisitor? It was kinda weird. Almost as if he was constantly led to the right place at the right time. Was he some eidolonic enforcer? Were those even a thing? Surely, right?

Dev raised a hand. “It was the Circle, right?”

”Indeed… shince it was the circle, the Commander has been assigned himself to help in the inveshtigation. I have to let him follow me around.” His voice dipped colder, showing off slight annoyance for once. “I need you guysh to help out. Fill in the gapsh. We’re the lead investigators for this one.”

Right, that makes sense. He was probably being slowed way down by having his boss follow him around. Even if the Crusade Commander wasn’t getting in the way, I’m sure it’d still slow him down. I knew from first-hand experience how having an unwanted boss follow you around could mess stuff up... or they'd claim your achievements as their own... why am I helping Ligh again?

”You’ll shplit up into two groupsh of two and check out POIs I’ve marked down. Should be something. Came from looking through the documentsh Zuku and Hope secured from the raid on the Circle outpost Underground.” The Inquisitor paused. “Any questionsh?”

”What’re the teams?” Joshua asked.

Surely I’d still be paired with Hope, right? I mean, we were the dream team at the moment. We took down that Circle outpost nearly single-handedly, after all. And if not Hope, then Joshua would probably be fine. As long as I didn’t get stuck with the paranoid one-

“Dev and Zuku go together. You’ll be reshponsible for the more investigatory POIs. Hope and Joshua, expect combat. Feel free to take whatever you want from the armory for this one.”

“Anything I- we want?” Joshua asked. I could practically hear the joy in his voice. Of course, I recognized it was the same one I had when approaching a heist. No one else seemed to notice. Seriously, why couldn’t I go with him?

Inquisitor Ligh seemed to think of something as he cocked his head. “Anything. Hope, keep an eye out. Oh, Knight Persha and her Squires are on call if any of you need backup.”

Knight Persha… I don’t think I’ve met her yet. Hopefully, we wouldn’t need backup. I glanced toward my partner for this one, Dev. He looked as though he was about to have a full-blown panic attack.

The guy shakily raised a hand. “Sir? I think it's b-better I go with someone I trust. Like Josh-“

”Not for thish one. Joshua and Hope are the best fighters amongsht you lot. At least, conshidering your current shituation.” Inquisitor Ligh immediately shut down the Squire.

To be honest, I really couldn’t blame the guy. I would much rather go with either Hope or Joshua. Dev seemed… unstable? I was probably just seeing things. I hoped I was seeing things, at least. His paranoid twitches didn't instill any comfort in me though.

Still, might be nice to work with someone else? The Crimson Company had really broadened my horizons when it came to working well with others. It might not be that bad. Then again, it could go horribly and irreparably scare me away from working with a team…

I raised my hand. I had a couple questions in mind, though only one was major. “What’re we looking for exactly?”

“Anything and everything related to the Circle’s plan. They’re working on shomething in Aythryn City. Shomething wicked.” Inquisitor Ligh paused to drink from his water bottle again. Definitely not water. I barely caught the scent of alcohol. “I’ve got a bad feeling about it…”

Or the effects of alcohol were finally starting to kick in for him… I also had a bad feeling though. Not quite a warning from Insight as much as an instinctual weariness towards the whole situation. Especially after venturing out to New Tress City and seeing all of… that.

I highly doubt they’d be capable of doing the same thing to Aythryn City. Not with how many people lived here. Not to mention the Big 7 would probably have some strong opinions about the whole thing. It would ruin their investments, after all.

Still, for now, it was safe to assume they might want to spread their plants further. To what end, I had no idea. But if it happened there, it might happen here. Or at least, they might attempt it here.

Inquisitor Ligh drew me from my thoughts as he pulled a holopuck from his desk and tossed it out. The puck projected a large pop-up of the city. He pointed to an arcology standing tall and proud against the city surrounding it. ”Dev and Zuku, head for Lang Tower in Old Town. I’ve got reports of disappearances around that area. Might be unrelated, though there has been a noticeable acceleration of plant life in the area.”

”What about us?” Hope asked.

”Back Underground. A CI brought information about a shady group moving a bunch of fertilizer between Bricktown and East End.” He pointed to a spot on the map. “It lines up with a location on that map you guys brought back.”

“Roger.”

Inquisitor Ligh straightened up, his voice turning the most sober I’d ever heard him. “Remember, don’t do anything to endanger yourshelves. I don’t have time to find a new Squire with all that’s going on. Dismissed.”

We all got up to leave. Hope gave me what she probably thought was a reassuring smile as she split off and headed down the hall with Joshua. That just left Dev and I standing outside the Inquisitor’s door.

The guy twitched towards a shadow, his hand dropping for a pistol at his hip. He barely stopped himself and tried to hide the motion as if he was just sticking his hands in his pockets. Real smooth.

”So…” I tried to think of something to say to the guy. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind. There was an awkward silence in the air for several moments.

”So…” Dev replied. He seemed to have the same issue as I did.

We both went silent as a shadow approached from down the hall. It took a second to realize it was the Commander. He nodded to us. “Squires… is the Inquisitor in?”

”Yes, sir.” I replied nervously. The way his hood completely hid his face in shadows made me extremely uncomfortable. That, or the Commander had a stronger variant of the fear enchantment that the rest of the Crusaders had.

The Commander didn’t spare us a second glance. He immediately headed for the Inquisitor’s office and slipped in.

Dev seemed to find his voice as the Commander vanished from sight. Glad to see I wasn’t the only one intimidated by him. “Let’s uh, let’s just get to work? I’ll meet you at Lang Tower?”

I nodded my head. “Nova. See you there.”

We split up, each going our own way. Hopefully, this would be a quick and easy job. I’d rather not get sucked into some crazy adventure so soon.