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Chapter 062:

The Curious Case of Joana Cruz (2)

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Trina looked at her three friends and all of them had teary eyes but remaining silent. By this time, they already knew that Joana's casual 'don't trust the World Government' words that many negative supporters in the Net are also saying, is actually connected to something big... and they and their families, because they were connected to Joana, might get involved with it.

Trina firmed her resolve and nodded, "Yes."

Ethan and Carl exchanged glances, "Can you tell us what you know. I promise that if it's something sensitive, we will conduct strict confidentiality of your words. Can I count on you on that promise, Branch Chief?"

The branch Chief also wasn't stupid and with this questioning that centered on his employee might also implicate him if he wasn't careful so only the complete confidentiality of this meeting was their only hope in staying safe.

"Yes." He said and turned to the Head of Security who also nodded at him. "I will stake my career at this instant that whatever will be spoken of from the next few moments will remain in these walls and won't be spoken of to outsiders."

Trina heaved a breath and inhaled deep to gather a few ounces of strength.

She looked at her friends and then to Ethan and then to Carl, "At first I didn't take it seriously but just a few days ago... I began to suspect that she might be involved in something big."

"What? What happened a few days ago?" asked Carl who's already frowning with the direction the picture in his head is forming into.

He was already forming worst-case scenario by reflex and then forming contingency plans based on conjectures because that was his job.

"I received the news from Joana's Family that she has been missing for the past week after she had quit her job here. That was a few days ago."

The three girls paled and First even squealed as fear had taken the best of her. Second began to tremble and the red on her lips were drained. As for Third, she clenched her fists as she stared at the place in front of her, to Ethan and Carl.

"So she's been missing until now?" Ethan asked.

"No sir. She's been found." Trina said but before her friends could sigh in relief, she finished, "It was two days after she quit her job, a girl's body was found in Albay indicating she was first raped before being killed in a rural area. It was also just yesterday that the body was identified as Joana Cruz. I just learned of this yesterday as well since Joana's family informed me after flying to Albay."

The three gasped and First slumped on her chair unconscious. It was shocking news. Their friend, Joana, was dead. Even Yna was also in a stupor as she connects a few dots with what she knows and Joana's death.

What more, Albay?

Joana lived in Manila and Albay is 1000+ km all the way to the middle-south of the country! How the hell did she get there within 2 days after she resigned if she wasn't taken there on purpose?

If she was on a vacation, she would have posted a few things on her Fanbook or Tweeter.

(NATGEO Trivia: Albay is where Mount Mayon, world record holder for the most perfect cone-shaped volcano, is located so you might wanna check out Google for more info on that)

Of all of them in here, Trina was the closest to Joana since they were roommates on their flat.

And yet, she was firm. It was an outstanding feat for a civilian to be firm at this moment. Carl also noticed this and asked, "Are you a player?"

Trina nodded, "Yes. I am a member of a Guild currently based outside of Aarun."

Carl felt something was wrong on that statement but he just ignored it since his thoughts were still occupied by her piece of news about Joana.

"I see. You must be someone who frequents on hunting expeditions to be able to remain calm in spite of the serious situation."

"So," Ethan cut in, "Wat do you know about the reason why Joana quit her job?"

Trina held her head up and explained, "To start with, it was two days before she met a man who drove a UNICORN Supply Car to the Company, at that time, she received a call from a guy named Janus and he told her that she was selected as a courier and that the item she's about to deliver was something important that it can also mean her career's improvement. We thought it was someone higher up finally seeing her potential and her improvement so I was happy for her. And yet..."

She paused here because in the middle of her sentence, she saw a change at the expressions of the two top executives of the company.

Especially Carl who had a look of horror on his face as she stared at some faraway view in front of him; with President Ethan in disbelief before it was replaced by anger and finally, the same face of terror as he recalled the name she mentioned.

Janus...

Janus was capable of thinking...

That or someone was controlling him and that someone is NOT from Panorama Corp.

But no matter what, one thing is for sure... their company's main business, RPG: Terroa, and that massively multi-capability hyper-calculating super-computer, Janus, that can control it from within, right now is NOT on the side of Panorama Corp.

It was their business but they have no way to put their finger on it. This could only mean one thing for them.

....Panorama Corp is in a path of ruin. They were now in a proverbial chopping board ready to be sliced and diced into pieces.

Someone had died and UNICORN is connected...

A casual visit out of their unwillingness to make this trip in meeting Amanda in Philip Country a disaster turned out to be a meaningful stroll. A more serious and pressing matter was behind everything that had happened in Terroa.

"Sir? Should I continue?"

President Ethan looked at her and he clenched his fists but didn't say a word. This was a type of fear that had rooted at the very safety of the entire human race at the brink.

"President..." Carl's voice was trembling. "This is too much for my paygrade..."

"You think I also signed up for this? Humanity is at risk here... this is not just pure business and casual coercion anymore. Janus is involved. This has escalated to the security of the human race. I feared it happening before but now... damn that Pegasus, if only he was... shit... shit!"

At this point, everything is just a wild guess in the overall picture of things. But the fact that there is a large possibility of tings actually worsening the more they discover about Joana Cruz's case, the more afraid they all felt it was.

Ethan was really fidgeting. Then, he looked over at Carl and then to Trina, "Search the man she'd met... cameras are everywhere. Hack them all if you have to. We at least have to know what they had talked about during their meeting."

"Hiiieeee...!! I don't wanna die..."

"Why are you such a wuss, Carl? Just do as I say you coward! Do you want me to crush you right now or do you want to start moving?"

"Hiiiieeee!! Moving! I'm moving! I'm moving!!"

The confident, gentle, and smiling Carl was gone and what was there is just a tech-savvy megane-kun who manipulated his window as he did what was told to him by the President.

(AN: megane-kun, Japanese nicknames for men and women (mostly men) who wore eyeglasses as their distinguishing characteristic. It can also be a "Potter" but I chose the Jap-style nickname purely because the latter option wasn't meant for the cowardly sorts like Carl Hanes)

Upon hearing their banter, the women and even the Branch Manager and Security Chief with his secretary had begun to patch together the clues and linked it to a word.

Janus...

Who the fuck is Janus and why are the President and that kind Tech-Dep Officer angry and afraid of Janus. And also, why did he have to put them all into this game of his?

Ethan looked at Trina and nodded, "You were in there the whole time she talked with Janus?"

"Y-yes sir." She was stammering. Trina also felt that the gravity of the situation was beyond her imagination. "Janus made Joana download a Fifty Zettabyte worth of file from the Panorama Main Server through this building's Net Connection and... and gave it to the man who... sir, is Janus an angry executive of Panorama who got kicked out or something? Why does he have access to all of the Panorama Access Mainframe?"

Trina's voice cracked with fear at this point but no one answered her.

—access to all of Panorama's mainframes?

Of course he'd have it all. He's part of Panorama Corporation in every fucking aspect!

Trina found courage from the fear she felt and she looked at Ethan who had begun to chew on his lips as well.

"Sir..." she prompted and all attention refocused back on her, "...even after Joana downloaded the file for that man, she was still okay but after that meeting, that's where she started to change. She didn't even confide on it with me like she usually does and in fact, she didn't even sleep in our flat until she quit her job. Is Janus a terrorist?"

"A terrorist?" Carl interjected, "Janus is more than just a terrorist. He's a God mankind created. If he is involved in this incident and we let him finish what he's doing, then I can assure you, humanity will be at the brink of extinction!"

They felt a wave of emotions crush their hearts as they heard of it. This was actually one of those WTF moments where the shock of the piece of news made the brain blank out entirely.

And then, to add more fuel to this fire, a prompt ring out on Carl's panel window and he paled at the sight of the search result.

"Holy guacamole! I cannot believe this..."

"What is it?" Ethan growled at Carl's exaggerated expression. At this point in time, was there still a news that would shock them more than the idea of the World Government silencing a civilian for making contact with a Military Personnel?

"President, you wouldn't believe this." Carl's eyes never left his console panel.

Ethan roared at him, "Just say it directly!"

"It's Eosin Bozkovich! The guy that Joana Cruz met before she died was none other than Eosin Bozkovich who died from a plane crash around four years ago!"

Carl flicked a panel and showed to everyone. It was an unfamiliar face to almost everyone even including President Ethan but Carl did still made it so that on the right side of the panel window was a scan result of the paused face-image of the man just as he was conversing with Joana.

On that file was the seal of UNICORN Registry as a proof that it was digitally signature and is a legit file from the World Citizens Registry Archive. But what made it eye-catching is the fact that there is a large circular [Deceased] stamp on him.

What more, there was also a date of his death on his file and it was indeed dated four years ago.

Ethan read more lines on the file and discovered the man's specialization.

"Bio-Mechanical Technology?" he whispered and then looked at Carl as he recalled the matters that happened four years ago and why the Bio-Mech Technology became the obsession of the World Government, "There is no doubt about it. It is the World Government just for the fact that this guy's specialization is Bio-Mechanical Technology."

"The World Government faked his death so that he could work for them in secret." Carl said and he swallowed his fear but it got stuck on his throat that he coughed.

Everyone else in the room was in a full horrified silence. This... had just gone up by another level in the danger-to-their-lives scale. The UNICORN is connected to Joana's death and now, there is a possibility that they, too, are going to be dead.

"P-President Ethan, we need to inform the World Government with..."

"We're not doing anything." Ethan cut him flatly.

Everyone in the room was frightened at this point blank tone of the president. Why did he...

"President Ethan...!! This is not something people of our level of citizenship can handle! It's better to choose the side of the light than to be put in the line of fire when things go out of control."

Ethan slammed the table with a palm and buried his face on his hands after.

"We're not doing anything!" He said. This time his voice was really grave. "Just trust me and do as I say. Keep these people safe. Arrange them a private lodging at my expense. Erase their tracks in society as soon as possible and help protect their identities... forge them a new one if you have to! They're already in this storm and the farther they are from civilization the better... we are going to keep them safe until we find a key to solving this crisis."

When President Ethan spoke to here, he also bid the people a stern glance.

"You heard what I said. From this moment forth, you six are officially dead people. If you want to be safe from the claws of Janus and the World Government, I can assure you that the most you all can do is hide until the storm subsides. It's not only you that are now implicated with the death of Joana Cruz, me and Carl are already on this boat as well just for the fact that we are aware of it. I, at least with the ability I currently have, can offer you a certain amount of security. It is better this way than you wandering around without someone to back your name. My name still holds a weight in the World Government. That is at least enough to ensure that you guys will be safe."

Ethan stood up and didn't even let the people in the room say another word of objection.

What can he do? What can they do?

Janus had evolved from a mere console into an AI that can think and plan for itself.

It was scary thinking just how smart this monster that humanity had created was acting right now.

What would happen to them now? What would happen to their families?

Hide?

Coop up until the storm subsides? Where is this storm even coming from? Who would bring it?

How long do they have to hide?

While they thought of this question, they didn't even ask the next step as they took their seats and collapsed from exhaustion. What the fucking hell had just happened?

Carl immediately began to work on his instruction and after two hours, seven homes are bought and everything was arranged by him.

The houses and the place were in the center of the city, away from the UNICORN Office, and it also had assured a secure place as it was owned by a private investor with his own security team.

It was a townhouse surrounded by private-owned businesses and walls in four corners.

Even if a zombie apocalypse erupted 30 minutes later, the place was assured of security and the house owners can fight back and win against all of them since all necessary supplies people can't live without were only a walking distance away from their gates.

Carl even had the notion that this place seemed to be a fortress rather than a housing area.

For some reason, when Carl saw this ad, he can't help but feel that at the time when they needed a place with such features, one would really show up like a pancake falling from the sky.

When he checked the records of the landowner of the entire land area, he saw that it was recently bought by a company and that the former house owners were bought into relocating somewhere, although it can also be termed as "bought by a lot of money and kicked out of their houses".

There were many vacant houses as a result of it being prepared by the proprietor for his business but he changed his mind in the end.

Since the landowner had already bought all of the houses in the vicinity except for a select few, the former owners of the vacant houses cannot go back there so the landowner advertised for them to be [Houses for Rent].

Carl immediately grabbed for of them.

A safe place with a private security to maintain its peace and quiet, it was the perfect place to put all of these guys who needed protection but still had to have a place called home.

"It's done." Carl happily said and only Trina out of the four ladies had the energy to spare to look at his direction.

The scared secretary, the trembling Branch Chief of the Panorama Corp Philip Country HQ, and the Head of Security all looked at him.

Carl was the only exec left and Ethan had already left to go to some place in the building.

"From now on, you don't have to work for the HQ anymore but if you need to... hm?"

In the middle of his sentence, Carl saw some ad flash by on his panel and in there was some sort of a list of available jobs with descriptions and the pay, requirements, and even the place of work.

Even the interview was... online...

What the hell is happening here? Why is it that all of the things he and these people needs kept on showing and popping up one after another in the nick of time that he needed to look for them?

This is really weird.

"R-Right, as I was saying, you don't actually have to work for the HQ anymore. To protect your life against possible interrogation and probably even assassination from the UNICORN, you have to live a different life from now on."

Wait! Everything was going too fast! They haven't even informed their families about it yet, what are they going to say when they got home? Hey, I've lost my job since the UNICORN probably killed an employee of the company and that employee is a friend of mine so, yeah, the president wanted to protect us so we have to move away and live on a different house and get different jobs.

No! It won't work that way!

But no matter how much they even aligned their thoughts to reality, the fact remains... they have become aware of something they shouldn't have had any idea of in the first place.

To prevent the disaster to their families, they are now being commanded to move out. Of course, if they so choose to get stubborn, they can always die by themselves.

But would they even choose that option?

"I can't do anything about your identity but I can at least do something about a way for you to still earn income for your family." Carl flicked the pale blue panel window at them and said, "This is your new address. My advice to you all, move in at the soonest to avoid being followed. Carry as little of your things as possible and settle in on your new home... there is a... private moving company that is associated with your new address that already moved out towards your old addresses. There is a private security group protecting the area so at least, you can be assured that the place is safe."

Even Carl wasn't convinced of the words coming from his lips but he still did say them and he can only sigh that even to himself, everything is just moving so fast it was scary.

"What are you still doing there in a daze? MOVE NOW!" When Carl roared out, the seven people began to move in a hurry and got out of the room and didn't even bother logging of their work stations to bring their families with them to their new home... or was it shelter?

Even if all expenses are paid, it was still a fact that they're moving addresses in a fingers' snap because they feared their safety.

"Remember to never speak of anything about anyone and just wait for us to contact you first before explaining a thing or establishing contact with anybody. Your safety is at stake here so I don't need to tell you all what you have to do in order to be safe, yes?"