Chapter 52: Chance Meetings (1/2)

No matter what Wyvern said, Enrique ‘Blackthorn’ Manada had to be a sinister criminal mastermind.

As he waltzed into the man’s office, Ryan realized it wasn’t just his fashion sense or icy behavior. Almost all the plants the Green Genome collected were poisonous, and one of the fish in his Japanese pond was a fugu pufferfish, infamous for its neurotoxins. Though Ryan knew from experience it tasted wonderful, if prepared well.

Yeah, nothing suspicious about this man.

“I am Enrique Manada, Dynamis’ CBO and Head Manager of the Il Migliore program. Though you seem to already know that.” The manager shook Ryan’s hand after rising from behind his desk. “I am surprised you agreed to meet with us. Wyvern wasn’t very optimistic after your last exchange.”

“Well, I thought I should ask you directly why your organization hired the Meta-Gang,” Ryan said bluntly. “I figured we would lose way less time this way.”

His sheer frankness silenced Blackthorn on the spot. It seemed Wyvern hadn’t informed him of Ryan’s ‘conspiracy theories.’

Enrique hung back in his chair, quietly angry. He didn’t invite Ryan to sit, but the courier did so anyway. “Where does this nonsense come from?”

“I saw them with dozens of crates filled with Dynamis-made knockoffs. It looked like a Black Friday sale.”

“Seen, Mr. Romano? With your own two eyes?” Enrique’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Do you have any tangible evidence? Photos, samples?”

“I have this,” Ryan said, happily giving the manager a paper file he had prepared just for the occasion. “Here is the proof that some of your knockoff Elixirs went missing, disguising off-the-books deliveries to the Meta-Gang.”

The manager all but stole the documents from the time-traveler’s hand. Now was the moment of truth. If Enrique had Ryan killed on the spot or later that day, then he was clearly corrupt.

Blackthorn carefully reviewed the files without a word. However, the flowers in his office seemed to become more and more agitated as he read. Like Matty boy, his power seemed to automatically react to his emotional state, no matter how hard the Green Genome tried to hide it.

“How did you obtain these documents?” Enrique asked while halfway through his review, his tone sharp.

“I hacked into your databases,” Ryan replied. Well, technically, Shroud did it, and the courier borrowed the documents.

“You know I could have you jailed for this?”

Jailed? Not killed? “Don’t whistleblowers get legal protection in New Rome?”

“No,” Blackthorn replied, putting aside the documents. “Any other information you stole from our company?”

“Now that I think of it, some of your doggy drones ended up in the Meta-Gang’s hands,” Ryan remembered. “You shouldn’t leave that stuff laying around.”

Enrique looked at his guest without a word for a few seconds, then brought a cell phone out of his suit. He typed a number and called, though Ryan didn’t hear the person on the other end.

“I have been informed some of our drones have gone missing lately, probably repurposed by the Meta-Gang,” Enrique asked. “Do you confirm? Uh-huh, uh-huh… why wasn’t I informed? I see… I understand, don’t worry… pack your things, you’re fired.”

The last part was said so casually, to the point Ryan almost didn’t catch it.

Enrique ended the call and focused back on the courier. “Alright, Mr. Romano, let’s cut to the chase,” he said, done with the niceties. “What do you want?”

“For Hannifat Lecter to have a botched lipo.”

“Why? Revenge? Your psychological profile tells me you are no selfless vigilante.”

“You know, if you had asked me a few weeks ago I would say it isn’t personal, that it’s just business,” Ryan said, before remembering Len and countless others vanishing as the Bahamut’s light struck New Rome. “But it is personal now. It really is.”

“I see,” Enrique said, doing a mastermind’s pause. “I do not appreciate the methods you used to gather this information, but I will admit, it worries me. However, you understand that if the Meta-Gang has a sponsor inside Dynamis, it is someone in a high place. Probably from the board.”

“You say it like I should be worried.”

“Yes, because it means people in my own department could be compromised. For all you know, I could be involved. So why did you come to me?”

Ryan shrugged. “Frankly Greenhand, I thought it was a coin toss. A lot of people thought you were clean, but if you tried and failed to have me killed, at least I would know where you stood.”

And Ryan remembered his last discussion with the man, before Ischia Island’s destruction. Whatever Blackthorn may be, he seemed to have a vision of the future that didn’t involve people like the Meta or Augustus.

“Hmm, arrogant aren’t you?” Enrique said with a snicker. “Now, how does Len Sabino fit in this? I know you established contact with her shortly after your arrival in New Rome.”

“Wait, you had me followed?” It wounded Ryan, who thought he had mastered counterintelligence tactics.

“Dynamis keeps the Underdiver under close surveillance,” Enrique explained. “We know she went to that orphanage in Rust Town a few hours before this meeting, and you visited the district around the same time. I do not believe it is a coincidence.”

It couldn’t have been communications monitoring, or he would have learned about the time-loop. In all likelihood, Dynamis surveyed Shortie’s underwater base and trailed her wherever she left it.

“Wait,” Ryan said, making a connection. “That’s how Adam knew about the underwater base, you paranoid dicks!”

“I am not sure I understand, but if we assume the Meta-Gang benefits from a Dynamis executive’s assistance as your evidence implies, then… yes, they probably know about her underwater base. I assume you want to protect Miss Sabino?”

“Yes,” Ryan conceded, his voice turning serious. “But if you think you can threaten her to make me behave, you’ll die the way of the dinosaurs.”

“I have no such intention,” Enrique replied, though the courier couldn’t tell if he was honest. “But I want to know your motivations, and if I can trust you. You possess a useful power, but are also psychologically unstable. I have to see if you are worth the risks. Considering your motives, I do not think you are a long-term asset either.”

“I like to think of myself as a speculative investment.”

Enrique adopted a diabolical mastermind pose, making Ryan really wonder if he was truly clean. “You put me in a difficult position,” he said. “The circumstantial evidence you gathered implies corruption in my organization, and the responsible party might be someone with more clout than I. Investigating the matter will necessitate a high degree of trust, and with a few exceptions, I am not sure on whom we can rely on.”

“Say no more, I can be your semi-loyal secret agent!” Ryan happily suggested. “My car is even classier than an Aston Martin!”

Enrique considered the offer, before reaching a conclusion. “I will be honest, I do not like you, Romano,” he said bluntly. “But you seem set on investigating this, and I have the intuition it will cost Dynamis to let you act without supervision.”

And he was probably right.

“Here’s how things will work between us, Romano. You will join Il Migliore’s junior division for a six month trial period, under my direct supervision. We will not apply a DNA tracker until we have recovered the lost drones. Considering your reputation, nobody will blink at these conditions. But make no mistake, our association will be on my terms. Every piece of information you uncover will find its way to this desk. You do as I ask, no questions asked. And you will not hack the company's assets without my authorization. Am I clear?”

“Under three conditions,” Ryan replied, raising his fingers. “First, I keep my name. It’s a copyrighted brand.”

“I doubt you will be with us long enough to become a team mainstay, so you can call yourself Timestamp for all I care,” Enrique replied dismissively. “What next?”

“You don’t mess with the Underdiver. Ever.”

Enrique hesitated for a few seconds. Ryan was starting to suspect something was up; she was too minor a player for Dynamis to care so much about her. “Granted, unless she or you call for our help first,” the manager said, though with great reluctance. “And the last condition?”

Ryan looked at the man dead in the eyes. “I want a purple cashmere suit. With a matching tie.”

Enrique Manada joined his hands and considered the courier’s words. His response was swift and merciless.

“Denied.”

“One just doesn’t say no to cashmere,” Ryan warned, his tone turning dangerous.

“You will meet with Wardrobe tomorrow, and she will make you a hero costume,” Enrique replied dismissively. “She will be your goddess as far as fashion goes. She will decide.”

“And if I’m a nonbeliever?”

“Then the kids marketing subdivision will design the costume,” Enrique said. “Over the years, they have learned to do their job with ruthless efficiency.”

That… that was unbelievably cruel and wrong! “I knew you were soulless, but I didn’t understand how much!”

“That’s part of the job,” Enrique replied dryly, before calling his secretary through an interphone. “Summon Devilry and Wyvern for a meeting, and inform the vice-president that I want a call. Tell them this cannot wait.”

“Sir, you already have a rendezvous with a new hero candidate planned,” warned the secretary.

“Who?”

“The Panda.”

“Who?” Enrique repeated though the courier had the feeling he was merely playing coy.

“The Panda, defender of the innocent,” Ryan declared, offended by the corpo’s utter lack of knowledge. “He can fly and shoot lasers from his eyes!”

“I doubt that,” Blackthorn replied dryly.

In response, Ryan joined his fingers. “You don’t know much about pandas, do you?”

“Is that so?” Enrique replied, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Then I guess you won’t mind taking him under your wing? Considering his poor track record, I was considering giving the Panda a chance to impress us, but certainly surviving your presence will be a test in itself.”

Huh? That explained why the Panda ended up picking a fight at Vulcan’s factory. Greenhand must have asked him to capture a villain or something. “So you do know him.”

“Wyvern believes he has potential, and Dr. Tyrano thinks his power has interesting applications for his work. However, he seems… incompetent. I worry he might make any team he joins look bad.”

“Trust me, sir,” Ryan said, “When I’m done with him, you will never look at pandas the same way ever again.”

“Well then, the both of you will be a package deal. If he proves lacking, it will look less damaging if you were in charge of him than Wyvern. If it works, then all good.”

Fail and take the blame, succeed and share the credit. “But do I get to choose the team’s name?”

The manager clearly couldn’t care less. “I will summon you again shortly. Until then, you behave.”