Ch.158Work Record #022 – No Cradle Lasts Forever (2)

The security team from Fitz & Morrison standing behind Jimon gave me a brief salute and cleared their throats. I returned a three-finger Belwether-style salute.

“Good morning, Freelancer. If you’re escorting a mercenary company, I’ll send you a liability waiver. Once you sign it, we’ll clear out.”

“Thank you for your consideration. It seems related to escort responsibility… Yes, no problem. Here you go.”

The content was straightforward. It was a document stating that I would take responsibility for any damage Kanun Company might cause inside the Fitz & Morrison building.

After signing and returning the document, even the security staff left the meeting room to wait outside. Jimon watched them leave, shook his head, and said:

“Man, the respect you get… Damn, I’m jealous. Still, thanks for bringing the kids. Freelancer. Ah, there’s something I’d like to ask.”

“We already agreed to do a job together at lunch. Is this a different request?”

My response seemed to put Jimon at ease. He appeared to momentarily forget about his foolish mistake as he breathed comfortably and pulled his chair closer to me.

“No, that’s the request. They’re still flawed kids. But they’re definitely rough gems. If someone with Freelancer-level talent nurtures them, they’ll definitely improve. And… please take care of them. You know what I mean, right?”

Noah had turned his head away from our conversation, but it was obvious who Jimon was talking about. Noah is a good person. But in this high-speed era, being just a good person isn’t enough.

One must be both a good person and a capable person. Being a good person creates unexpected breakthroughs, while being capable creates breakthroughs in most situations.

“I understand perfectly. Noah will become an excellent offline mercenary. The problem is… I need to say the same thing. You know what I mean, right?”

“Sigh… I’ll try to convince him about that, so just teach him the job. Got it?”

I nodded briefly. Jimon looked up at me and smiled like a father who’s usually casual about everything but occasionally reliable. I turned toward Noah and the Kanun Company employees.

He hid what seemed like a troubled expression and helped with the review by going over materials that Kanun Company hadn’t covered. Although it was just a review where everyone got scolded… there was somehow a bustling atmosphere.

I didn’t expect to feel lonely. As I leaned against the back wall watching them, a blue silhouette approached the meeting room. The blue lobster was a device controlled by Talos, Mr. James.

When he lightly knocked on the door, everyone’s attention turned to him, but I gestured for them to continue their conversation comfortably before opening the door. The blue lobster began outputting a voice.

“Let’s have a quick chat, Freelancer. I’ll be waiting in room 3… Did you read all the detailed clauses of the liability waiver?”

“Regarding exception clause 7. If problems occur while I’m away due to a summons from Fitz & Morrison’s security team, Fitz & Morrison will primarily take responsibility for such incidents.”

“Average. For a 60th Special Operations Division member.”

Responding to his lackluster joke with an equally lackluster one, I entered visitor center room 3. Inside sat Mr. James, who had a human silhouette but not a human appearance.

“Yes, yes. I brought them here with a feeling of looking after grandchildren. Fortunately, it seems we won’t need to discuss dark matters from the start.”

“We don’t have to. I’m just easing the tension before getting to the dark stuff. It’s good to bring the kids around, but cover them properly. Can I be a bit direct?”

I nodded briefly, but Mr. James deliberated a bit more. It seemed he wasn’t asking for my permission but rather preparing to use harsh words to intimidate me.

“These mutant bastards from the Joint Forces are such a… Hah, fine. If that Noah kid tries to storm Fitz & Morrison with a gun to avenge his mother or something, he’ll die the same way as his mother. Got it?”

“I’m well aware. That’s why I signed the liability waiver today. I’ll cut him off myself if Noah causes any trouble. At the very least… I don’t think I should let something like what you mentioned happen.”

Mr. James seemed to briefly consider whether to reveal what he knew about the incident, but ultimately swallowed it back. What followed was only frustration output as a sigh.

“As a Belwether man, you probably wouldn’t feel more compassion killing criminals than stepping on ants, but killing someone you know feels different, kid. Remember that well.”

“I do know that. Still, I think what I’m doing is right. I’ll help Noah avoid using hatred or tragedy as his guide for the future… but if Noah chooses that path, I’ll have to choose mine too.”

It’s better to plan what action to take when your best efforts are betrayed, while still doing your best. I was prepared to subdue Kanun Company if necessary. Mr. James output his voice at a lower volume.

“The role of a Freelancer?”

“The role of a Freelancer.”

A clicking tongue sound was output.

“You’re living life the hard way. Living life the hard way. Doesn’t it tire you out?”

That statement perhaps meant I was living according to the Special Operations Division’s teachings that had given me small evils. It meant I had decided to live without committing even the small evil of preemptively eliminating potential threats.

“Tired? There are few people who can talk about being tired while wearing a Posthuman Type IV.”

Mr. James stood up first. He pushed a virtual screen toward me showing surveillance camera footage from inside the meeting room. Kanun Company was also preparing to say goodbye to Jimon.

“I’m too much of an old fogey to give good advice, but, well… Try to get him interested in something other than revenge. Money, women, romance… you know.”

Speaking of romance… it seemed Noah and Riley might have feelings for each other. Riley had thrown a punch at me as soon as she learned I had come to capture Noah.

Or maybe not? They might have a sister-brother relationship. Either way, I couldn’t focus on someone else’s romance when my own love life was barely surviving on a horizonless sea.

Instead, I decided to focus on what I could do. I could at least make him doubly admire a Freelancer who enjoys privileges and shows the ability to repay those privileges.

“For now, I’ve made him aim to become an excellent mercenary and then an excellent Freelancer… but the problem is his emotions still surge up.”

Mr. James muttered a word that he usually didn’t use with bad intent, but now with a slightly negative connotation. It was also what I wanted to say.

“How human. Very human indeed. Let’s go in, Freelancer.”

“Have a trouble-free day, Mr. James.”

My exit from room 3 coincided almost exactly with their exit from the meeting room. Noah’s expression seemed somewhat improved.

As we returned to the parking lot to head back to Kanun Company’s office, Noah began hesitantly approaching me. His movements were sluggish as if trying to buy time.

Only after Riley pushed his back did Noah bow deeply before me. This was because he had seen that Jimon was not only fine but even scolding the Kanun Company employees during the review.

“Really, I’m sorry for growling at you, Arthur, just because I overlapped my dislike for Fitz & Morrison even though he was fine. It’s just that he’s one of the few family members I have left.”

As far as I knew, I had no family. The phrase “few family members left” sounded as unrealistic as having too much money. Nevertheless, I nodded.

“You don’t need to apologize twice. Instead, let’s hear the briefing for the job we’re doing at lunch. How about it?”

I briefly boarded the passenger compartment of Kanun Company’s armored van. The hologram projector inside activated, and the assignment he had received from Belwether appeared on the page. Another gang elimination.

“Um… Briefings were usually done by Uncle Jimon, so… What should I do for a briefing?”

I recalled what Mr. Enzo had said when giving me a Christmas present—that there would be times when I’d need to hire and use other mercenary companies. It was foresight. I mentally reviewed President Yoon’s briefing style.

The important things were… probably two: boost morale and clearly convey information that needs to be shared. After a moment’s thought, I gave the cleanest answer I could offer.

“It’s simple. You need to convince the employees what we’re going to do, why we need to do it, and how we’re going to do it. Should I handle it today?”

This time, Noah looked at me with eyes containing a bit of admiration rather than jealousy, and made way for me. I first read through the contents of the request. This time too, it was about clearing out a minor gang.

It was a gang that collected protection money and provided security services in a slum area that Belwether didn’t properly manage, citing low law enforcement efficiency. It’s not a good thing. Their presence doesn’t really improve security.

Of course, other minor gangs that don’t want to cause trouble in that area either avoid it or cause less trouble there… but the ones maintaining security are still gangs after all.

Unlike Belwether’s basic security services that are provided almost for free, these require protection money, aren’t very capable, and you never know what kind of trouble they might cause.

So… their disappearance is much better than their existence. This is exactly the security service Belwether provides to such minimal security zones—hiring mercenary companies to sweep them away.

“This job looks decent and good. So, we’re clearing out a gang that calls itself a vigilante group. They provide security services in a slum not far from Kanun Company’s office…”

I flipped through the hologram screen to show photos. They showed men and women with both arms modified into mechanical silver-metallic prosthetics in the act of throwing grenades into a store, and the aftermath.

The reason was unknown. It would be trivial. Something very natural, like refusing the absurd demands of a gang that barges in and demands protection money. Those who deny them must die.

“We can’t call this a security service. They’re not smart enough to care about their surroundings, nor sharp enough to know that Belwether provides minimum security guarantee services to that area.”

If they had been more attentive to their surroundings, they would have somehow drawn a line by creating a mercenary company with a plausible name and contracting with local residents. That would have been the only way to survive.

If they had done that, they would have been shot dead by official partners like Nightwatch, but they didn’t even do that, making them weak enough to be swept away by unaffiliated mercenaries like Kanun Company. Procedure is power.

“And the residents have also expressed their willingness to cooperate. They stopped paying protection money when they heard a mercenary company had been assigned, and the gang sent them an ultimatum.”

I displayed a captured threatening message demanding double the overdue protection money at a specified place and time. The when and where were determined by this one message.

The specified location was listed as an abandoned building, but Belwether’s shared surveillance camera records suggested it was the gang’s hideout. It wasn’t that well hidden.

It was just a two-story building with only one entrance at the front. There were rooms on both sides of the corridor, but the gang was only using the rooms on the left. This would be easier than subduing Osgard Company.

After displaying the building map, I circled one spot at a second-floor window and another at the main entrance. I decided to take the infiltration team again.

“I’ll jump up to the second floor, break through the window, and subdue the gang members on that floor first. Kanun Company should approach through the main entrance on the first floor and handle the remaining half who will be gathered to collect the protection money.”

They won’t think I’m taking on too much. My job is something I need to consider on my own, so I immediately zoomed in on the entrance area.

The structure was simple. After passing through a glass door and walking a few steps, there would be another door.

“The door probably won’t be locked. Those guys are expecting someone to come pay the protection money. So you won’t need any serious breaching, but can you bring flash grenades?”

Noah pulled out half a box of flash grenades made by the Nationalist Arsenal from under the van seat. I examined one of the cylindrical objects—it was designed to detonate three times.

My vision displayed the product reference from Chance. The flash and bang weren’t particularly strong, but more than enough to incapacitate civilians. I handed one to Noah and one to Riley.

“Throw both in simultaneously, then enter only after they’ve definitely exploded. And Wilder, don’t look directly into the open doorway. You know the power of flash grenades, right?”

“Ugh. Last time one went off wrong, I really thought I was going to die. Got burns all over…”

Wilder spoke with disgust. I had something to say to him, who would be entering first. I took a deep breath and said:

“Wilder, can I see one of the spare armor plates for your shield?”

He pulled out a metal armor plate large enough to cover his torso from under his seat and handed it to me. Supporting the armor plate with one hand, I tensed the tendons replaced with metal coils and lightly struck it with my fist.

A significant fist mark remained on the metal armor plate. After tossing the deeply dented armor plate onto the van floor, I said:

“While it might block pistol or submachine gun rounds to some extent, just holding one doesn’t mean you can take all the incoming bullets and do something on your own. Understand?”

“Ah, yes. I understand.”

People generally respond politely to someone who can leave fist marks on metal plates. Since this wasn’t my intention, I waved my hand.

“No, I’m not threatening you. If you’re going to be at the front, don’t just rush in blindly trusting your shield. You need to absorb fire for the teammates following behind you. Remember that properly.”

“Oh, not a threat… Yes, I understand! Since my teammates are precious and they don’t have anywhere to take bullets, I should take them instead. It’s always the big guy who suffers, I tell you.”

Wilder lightly tapped his logistics prosthetic. While logistics industry prosthetics had clunky designs, their performance was excellent, often used as affordable alternatives to combat prosthetics.

Kanun Company’s biggest problem was the point man who charged in recklessly. The second problem was… Riley, who threw punches even at Freelancer mercenaries. I looked at her with two submachine guns tucked at her waist.

On the surface, she seemed quite normal. Even now, as my gaze fell on her, she avoided eye contact but then remembered I was essentially her superior and looked straight at me—perfectly ordinary behavior.

And just by that look, she revealed her problem. Scratching near the back of her neck where a drug injector was attached, she averted her gaze again.

“Ah, for this job… I’ll try without injecting adrenal stimulants… But without the injection, running toward a hail of bullets is…”

Adrenal stimulants increase adrenaline production. She was someone unsuited for mercenary work forcing herself to stay in the field. I briefly wondered if Nightwatch had started out this way too.

The solution was simple. The cause of the second problem was the first problem. Because Wilder rushed in recklessly, Riley who followed him couldn’t help but worry about getting holes in her body.

So I could throw Wilder as the solution to the second problem. Since he cared about his teammates, seeing Riley’s anxious expression would make him feel the need to do things properly.

It would also teach Wilder about responsibility. Someone proud of his logistics prosthetics that gave him strength and his large size wouldn’t leave Riley demoralized because of him.

“It won’t be that dangerous. Since Wilder said he’ll properly do what a point man should do this time, bullets won’t be flying that much. You trust your body armor, right?”

She nodded, looking uncharacteristically dejected. And as expected, Wilder stood up and thumped his armored chest a couple of times.

“Even if you wear three layers of body armor, there’s no problem hiding behind me, Riley. You won’t go crazy like when you injected those adrenal stimulants, so you don’t have to worry about bullets hitting my back. It’s all good.”

“That was a real mistake, I tell you! Alright, alright. I’ll try. It’s an adrenal stimulant, not a confidence stimulant… Fine. I’ll trust you. But if you mess up again, I’ll shoot you in the back while sober this time.”

What made them accept my advice wasn’t the authority of a Freelancer but the camaraderie among Kanun Company employees. Authority creates resistance. It’s better to find a roundabout way like this.

I’m learning how to use people, as Mr. Enzo said. I can make all the decisions, but following them must be the will of the person listening to me. Then people somehow make those words their own.

What other roundabout methods could I use besides camaraderie? This time I could go with what first came to mind, but next time might be different. I decided to review and think of more options on my own.

I needed to become a better person. Kanun Company’s armored van departed for our destination. I needed to learn from Kanun Company as much as they learned from me. I steeled my resolve.