Ch.120Complicated! (5)

#120

“This is my first visitation. And it’s also the first time someone I only know by name has come to visit me.”

“…It’s also my first time coming to a prison to see someone.”

In the visitation room of Honeygood Prison, which opens only once a week.

While other inmates and visitors were crying, laughing, or arguing with each other, Himena and Emily were awkwardly avoiding each other’s gaze.

As the awkward silence continued, the guard standing near the door for security and guidance began to look at them suspiciously.

As a secret agent, Himena couldn’t miss such glances.

Scratching her cheek and looking around, Himena spoke first.

“Did you hear anything from Dexter or Jessie?”

“Yes. I heard this visit was arranged to help you, Himena.”

“Then this will go faster.”

Himena pulled up a chair and sat down, speaking in a low voice so other visitors couldn’t hear.

“You know about Orbis Corporation, right?”

“To some extent, yes.”

Himena took out a folder from her briefcase and handed Emily an ordinary-looking pair of black-framed glasses.

“Check inside the folder while wearing these glasses.”

Without hesitation, Emily put on the glasses and opened the folder, revealing what appeared to be ordinary documents filled with black text.

“It’s just regular paper…”

To Emily, it looked like simple documents detailing her charges and case report, so she immediately spoke to Himena.

“Just wait a little longer.”

As Himena raised the corners of her mouth in a slight smile, Emily nodded and stared intently at the documents.

Then something amazing happened.

“This is…”

“Shh.”

The black text gradually disappeared, and bright blue letters began to appear on the paper.

Soon the bright blue letters darkened, eventually transforming into navy blue text.

Not only did the text change, but graphs and even printed photographs that weren’t there before appeared, causing Emily to look at the documents with interest.

“This shows Orbis Corporation’s security system. The security level seems… almost excessive. I’ve never seen a place so heavily protected.”

“How bad is it?”

In response to Himena’s question, Emily tapped her fingers on her palm as she explained.

“To put it nicely, you might prefer living in this prison rather than working as an employee at Orbis.”

“…That’s putting it nicely?”

“Yes. Security guards patrolling the premises 24 hours a day and electronic access cards that only work for the first floor and your department’s floor are just the beginning.”

Emily pointed to something in the documents called the “Varuna System” and explained.

“Varuna. It’s not American-made, but a system with Indian origins. It’s an AI security system running on supercomputers typically used by national weather services, and this AI is extremely important.”

“Why?”

“No one has ever managed to break or bypass Varuna. My grandmother passed away before this security system was developed, so I don’t know how she would have dealt with it.”

Emily stared at the documents, then extended her hand toward the confused Himena.

“Do you have a pen?”

“Yes, I do…”

When Himena handed Emily a pen, Emily drew a rectangle on the back of another document.

“Let’s assume this is the Orbis Corporation building.”

Then she drew five horizontal lines across the upper part of the rectangle.

“Let’s say these are floors… from the 10th to the 14th floor, counting from the bottom.”

“Okay.”

Emily wrote numbers in each section.

Each section was labeled with numbers from 10 to 14.

“If an unauthorized person infiltrates the 12th floor, the Varuna system will send security alerts not only to the 12th floor but also to security guards on the 11th and 13th floors, as well as to Orbis’s security control room.”

“And then what happens?”

“The 12th floor, roof, and lobby are immediately locked down. All exits, elevators, and emergency stairs are sealed off, and no one on that floor can move up or down. Security guards will then patrol the floor, checking everyone’s ID cards.”

“How long does it take for the lockdown to activate?”

Emily tapped the pen on the desk as she thought about Himena’s question.

“Hmm, as far as I know, five minutes.”

“That’s tight…”

It was far too short a time to gather information and escape.

As Himena sighed deeply, Emily added:

“If the unauthorized person isn’t caught, the lockdown extends to the 11th and 13th floors, and if they’re still not caught, it extends to the 10th and 14th floors. That’s how it works.”

As Emily explained while marking X’s with her pen, Himena responded incredulously.

“…Wait, this is a video game company, right?”

“That’s just how the Varuna system works. That’s why no one has ever broken or bypassed it.”

Upon hearing that even professionals would have difficulty infiltrating the company, Himena asked:

“What if I showed up at the lobby claiming to be a government agent who needs to conduct an investigation?”

“They’d obviously ask for a warrant. And in the meantime, they could attempt to delete information.”

“Seriously, is there no way in?”

Blocked at every turn.

Himena whispered to Emily and wanted to pound her chest with her fist out of frustration, but with so many eyes watching, she couldn’t even do that.

“But I don’t think you need to worry about all that.”

Emily responded to Himena with an expressionless face.

“What?”

“There’s this method.”

Emily wrote directly on the document with her pen.

[Identity Disguise]

“If your acting skills are good, there’s no problem. I rarely used this method because I’m not good at acting, but my grandmother used it often.”

“By the way, who exactly was your grandmother…?”

“There are too many people around now, so I’ll tell you later. For now… let’s talk about identity disguise. Our visitation time is running out, so I need to be quick.”

When Himena nodded, Emily began explaining methodically.

“They’ll definitely become suspicious the moment federal or state government is mentioned. So what you need to do is…”

As Emily passionately continued her explanation until the visitation time was nearly over, Himena took notes directly on the documents, focusing intently on Emily.

Emily’s expression remained cold and aloof, and her tone and voice were flat and stiff.

So Himena had initially thought Emily was an unfriendly and cold person based on her face alone.

‘But she’s actually quite kind and cute.’

Despite her expression and voice, she was enthusiastically explaining everything to Himena.

Realizing why Jessie had helped Emily form a relationship with Dexter according to her wishes, Himena finished writing down all of Emily’s infiltration strategy.

“…That’s how you should do it. I don’t know who you’ll work with, but I really hope Dexter participates in that role.”

“Why?”

“Dexter has an incredible intimidating presence, doesn’t he?”

“Ah, I understand.”

Emily wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, glanced at the clock, and asked Himena:

“Do you need anything else?”

“Ah, this isn’t related to the operation, just personal curiosity.”

When Himena leaned in close to whisper in Emily’s ear, Emily nodded after hearing everything.

“Himena.”

“Yes, Emily.”

“You’re quite curious, aren’t you?”

“…I was too embarrassed to ask Jessie.”

“I don’t have much experience either, but that…”

This time Emily leaned in to whisper, and with each word, the tips of Himena’s ears grew redder.

“R-really?”

“Really. You should prepare a lot.”

Emily’s face remained expressionless as she said this, but her neck had turned slightly red.

“Thank you, both personally and professionally. I would have really struggled without your help, Emily.”

“It’s nothing. We’re both doing this for the same person, right?”

“That’s true. Hehe.”

Emily gently took Himena’s hand and said:

“Still, please keep my place. Don’t let other women look at Dexter.”

“…When you say that with that expression, it’s scary.”

“I can’t help my expression. This is the best I can do.”

As the visitation time ended and the guard guided them to stand up, Himena shook hands lightly with Emily and said:

“I think I’ll be eligible for parole in about two months.”

“I’ll be waiting, Himena.”

“Yes, I’ll let you know right away if we succeed.”

To others, it might have looked like they were just exchanging cold formalities before parting, but for both of them, it had been a helpful day, both professionally and personally.

* * *

Steve, the head of the Residency Management Department, wore a serious expression as he looked at the documents Himena had handed him.

“This is almost criminal, isn’t it?”

“Not if we don’t get caught.”

Steve frowned at Himena’s confident response.

“You’re quite confident.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“That wasn’t a compliment, Himena…”

Steve removed his glasses and pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose as he spoke.

“Today is the first time I’ve truly felt I made a mistake in my friendships.”

“…Would my father be disappointed?”

“I’m disappointed in you. Think about my position—I can’t even say anything when I see my friend’s daughter acting like this.”

“Come on! My father is easygoing, so it’s fine.”

Steve looked up at Himena’s expression and said:

“I can see right through your act. Don’t pretend to be clueless.”

Himena, who had been deliberately smiling brightly, changed her expression to her usual polite smile and said:

“…How did you know?”

“I’ve known you since kindergarten! This is torture… I hope Rodrigo clearly remembers what his daughter is like.”

“…That daughter is right in front of you. Enough about my father—are you going to approve the operation?”

Steve sighed, opened a drawer, and pulled out a document which he handed to Himena.

“What’s this?”

“Authorization for the establishment of an OSA Special Investigation Unit.”

As Himena examined the authorization carefully, she saw it stated that a special investigation unit would be created to operate across all OSA branches.

Additionally, it already had signatures from the head of the Residency Management Department and the superior Immigration/Alien Policy Department, indicating that Steve had been preparing this authorization for some time.

“You had the authorization ready all along? You should have told me earlier!”

“I managed to get the Policy Department head’s signature somehow. The problem is the Director’s signature.”

At Steve’s words, Himena examined the authorization and saw that the only blank space remaining was for the OSA Director’s approval signature.

“…Don’t tell me I have to get it myself?”

“The Director is your direct superior.”

The Special Investigation Unit couldn’t be considered an ordinary department or team, as its personnel and operations would be more flexible than other departments or teams.

That much was understandable, but the problem was Himena herself.

Although Himena performed well professionally, she had caused the most trouble this year, and every time she went out on assignment, she returned with all sorts of incidents, causing Steve a lot of hardship—something other department heads had witnessed.

As a result, none of the department heads wanted to be in charge of a team that included Himena.

Consequently, the Special Investigation Unit became a subdivision under the OSA Secretariat, which was essentially the leadership of the OSA, making the Director her direct superior.

“If you had the courage to boldly ask the Director to sign an authorization, I would have prevented my friend’s daughter from joining the OSA in the first place.”

“It really seems like you’re criticizing me.”

“How could I criticize my friend’s daughter?”

As Steve raised both hands as if to say it was absurd, Himena glared at him, feeling like he was mocking her.

“I assume that Hughes will be part of this Special Investigation Unit?”

“Of course. Without Dexter, I wouldn’t have even thought of creating a Special Investigation Unit.”

“Why not ask Hughes to help with the authorization?”

Himena opened her eyes wide at Steve’s suggestion.

“Ask Dexter?”

Thinking this was unlike something Steve would say, Himena could only blink at him in surprise.