The black cab pulls to a stop by the side of the road close to the main entrance of Ascension Tower. I struggle not to scratch my face as the fake beard The Voice had spawned chafes uncomfortably. Along with the fake beard The Voice had provided a cheap pair of departmental store sunglasses and a drab looking trench coat to complete my disguise. Putting them on, I step out of the cab and open the boot, finding one of those spider drones The Voice is so fond of packed neatly in a cardboard box.

I have no idea what I look like now, but from the ensemble The Voice had prepared for me, I suspect that I must look fairly stupid.

"You are sure about this?" I question as I pick up the box, "No one is going to notice The City's most wanted man walking openly about?"

The Voice rumbles with amusement, "Its called hiding in plain sight Transmigrator. The outfit that I have provided you with gives the impression that you are a sex offender with something to hide. Most of the natives around you will instinctively give you a wide berth instead of investigating your presence. The minority who choose to challenge you can be dealt with using your upgraded powers."

Wonderful. From a policeman to a pervert. I am really moving up in the world. As I walk towards the large glass revolving doors of Ascension Tower, I notice that the men and women that were originally milling near my location begin to move away, some with looks of disgust.

"Do I really look so pathetic?" I whisper to The Voice.

The Voice replies, "Actually no. I had woven a subliminal directive into the disguise you are wearing that will affect any native that looks upon you. The directive works by causing the viewer to experience a mild physical sensation of discomfort. That combined with the unsightly nature of your dress, encourages the locals not to interact with you."

I whistle appreciatively and a pair of angel office ladies, thinking I was cat calling them, sneer derisively at me. "So this getup is actually magical?" I quietly ask.

"No." The signature rasp shoots back in my ear, "The disguise is merely a code key to the inanimate matter already transmitting within the locals' bodies. Once the key has been optically consumed by a native, the target's brain chemistry alters my transmission already active within them, adding the desired effects."

I have to admit its a pretty clever idea. Walking through the revolving door, the crowd before me parts like the red sea. I smile smugly to myself. These guys are being played and they don't even realize it. Shows what looking down on someone gets you. I ignore the reception counter and head directly towards the elevators as instructed by The Voice. One of the guards, resplendent in his pure white uniform, notices me not bothering to check in and begins to head in my direction.

I pointedly ignore the guard trying to get my attention and stop in front of an unmarked elevator that appears locked down. The rest of the locals that had been waiting by the other elevators notice the guard marching up to me and begin to start paying attention to the two of us. They probably expect the guard to throw the shady bum out. Let's prove them wrong.

The guard comes to my side, drawing himself up to his full height in an attempt to intimidate me with his admittedly impressive size. The guard's halo quivers threateningly as he snaps at me, "Get out of here. This lift is restricted use."

I once again ignore the guard and draw a pass card from the trench coat and swipe it with one smooth motion across the slot built into the wall next to the elevator. Upon doing that, the bio-metric reader beneath the slot comes to life, demanding that I verify my identity with my palm print. I place my hand on the glass sensor and with an approving buzz, the device lights up with a mellow green and the elevator's doors smoothly open.

"Access granted." a female voice from the elevator mechanically intones.

I glare at the guard and sweat forms on his brow. "Sir." he finally chokes out and bows in apology. I nod in silence at him before stepping into the lift. Face slapping. Feels good man.

.....

As the lift charges up Ascension Tower, I take a moment to review my mission here. Put simply, The Voice had tracked down the codex to the 50th floor of Ascension Tower, a high security area that was serviced only by this restricted access lift. The fire escape to the 50th floor had also been bricked off, separating the floor from the rest of the building. The codex itself had been placed at the very center of the 50th floor and from what The Voice could tell, several automated defenses and guards had been deployed to protect it.

The problem was that the automated defenses and guards formed what could be best described as an outer layer of protection for the codex. The Voice had sensed an additional layer of guards that had been placed closer around the codex's actual location. The problem was that there were no cameras or electronic devices that The Voice could hack in order to get the low down on this second layer of defenses. The guards deployed at the inner layer also never seemed to leave their posts. It was all very mysterious.

The inner layer of the 50th floor had effectively been meticulously cleaned of any avenues that The Voice could use to gain access. The Voice knew that something was going on inside there, but had no idea what. That was the reason why I had been sent here today, to act as eyes on the ground. Once I scouted out the 50th floor, we would then be able to put together a plan of attack and end the threat to our lives once and for all.

"You are almost there." The Voice says, "Two guards have gathered in front of the elevator to check your identification. Get ready."

Game face on. I activate the core and ready myself as the elevator doors slide open. Before me stand the pair of angels The Voice was talking about, on of them with their palm raised, signalling me to stop. Before either guard can challenge me, I quickly fire off a mental command at them.

Ignore.

The guards immediately lose interest in me, halos dimming as they relax. I walk past them without incident and continue my journey deeper into the 50th floor.

"Patrol heading in your direction." The Voice informs me," Hide in the corridor to your left until they pass."

I slip around the turn as instructed by The Voice and not a moment too soon as footsteps begin to echo from the distance. Taking advantage of the enforced downtime, I cast my gaze about, looking for a vent to deploy the spider drone. Spotting a heating vent located close to the ground further into the corridor, I make my way there and begin unpacking the drone from its box.

"Its safe to do this here right?" I query while working as quickly as I can.

The Voice answers, "Yes. I am tracking all the patrols within the outer defense layer. You have roughly 4 minutes before a patrol heads down the corridor you are in."

The drone chitters to life the moment I remove it from its box and I quickly pry the vent cover loose. The drone duly scuttles into the vent and I close it back up again. Picking up the pace, I scramble back to the corridor I was earlier in, now vacated by the patrolling guards.

"This place is a dump." I comment while continuing my infiltration, following the directions provided by The Voice.

A questioning rumble from The Voice, "How so, Transmigrator? Take the next turn to the right, by the way."

I roll my eyes at The Voice's response, "Have you looked at it? The walls are unpainted. The floor is bare concrete. There are no doors installed anywhere. There are crates and half assembled machinery everywhere. The windows are boarded up. The only things that work here are the lights and probably the security cameras."

"The sentry turrets work as well." The Voice clarifies.

What.

I pause in my tracks as I emerge from the corridor into a wide open space that has kept clean of clutter and junk. At the other end of the room guarding the entrance to yet another corridor are three chainguns each mounted on a tripod and outfitted with what look like cameras. The trio of turrets lazily sweep the room but the moment I enter they swing their barrels in my direction and begin spooling up threateningly. Shit.

"Smile. You are on camera." The Voice smugly taunts.

"Cute." I grumble as the turrets resume their lazy search pattern. A guard emerges from the corridor guarded by the turrets, probably to investigate the noise caused by the guns spooling up. A quick mental command from me and he begins staring emptily into space, vainly investigating the cause of the disturbance.

I enter the corridor the guard had come from and pass a simple security station built into its side. No gear worth taking here. Just a table with a bank of monitors on it, streaming live feed from the security cameras. Well not exactly live. The Voice had told me that looping video would be spliced into the feed once I began my infiltration to prevent me from being detected. The only other thing of note in the security station is a logbook, which is also of no use to me.

"Transmigrator, wait." The Voice says, "I have managed to get the drone into the inner defense layer. Sending the video to you now."

The image on one of the monitors abruptly breaks into static and after it comes back on line, shows the feed direct from the spider drone. Taken from the safety from one of the vents, the feed has a really awkward angle, preventing me from getting a clear picture of what The Voice wants to show me. However, I can see a guard standing in the distance. The drone focuses on the guard and I notice something. The uniform the guard is wearing is not white, unlike every guard I have seen so far.

It also has that signature over the top gold braid.

A SOPO uniform. Worn exclusively by humans. In a high security area controlled by angels.

What in the world is going on?