Book 2: Living free from Jupiter's law - Rising from the ashes of Herbay

A few meters away

The Bisons parked their motorcycles in an inconspicuous alley off the main road and hid behind a row of old, beaten-up cars.

They were in front of the building that, according to Creek and Mike's research, had been purchased a few weeks earlier by a wealthy individual from Tanagura, a low-rise building with a reinforced door and metal grates on the windows, located in a less frequented area. At that hour, the mysterious man owner of an expensive car with tinted windows visited Neal Darts every day. The Bison's goal was to verify if the two subjects matched.

"Do you think Guy is inside there?" Luke asked.

"I don't know," the boss replied. "But if the man with the black car is the same one who bought the building, it's a good lead. It means there's something important hidden in there."

"Like a prisoner," Norris agreed.

"Or a lover, or an illegitimate child," Maxi added.

"If the guy really comes from Tanagura, it means he's an android and can't have children," Riki pointed out, but the entire gang fell silent when Aylin shouted, "Everyone be quiet!" She had extremely sensitive hearing and had heard something.

A few seconds later, in fact, the black car emerged from a curve and stopped right in front of the building. A tall man with black hair, sunglasses, and a long coat that almost reached his feet got out of it. After opening the reinforced door, he entered and closed it behind him. The Bison remained silent for security reasons, and after a few minutes, Sid spoke first.

"He was an Elite, right?"

"Yeah," confirmed Riki. "An Onyx."

"Now what do we do?" Luke asked.

"We stay here and wait for him to leave. Then we'll go in to find out what he's hiding in there."

***

The name of the caller immediately quickened Raoul's heartbeats. - So? What have you found? - he asked impatiently.

- There's footage of Guy parking in the underground of Jupiter Tower and calling the elevator, - Katze said, - then the tape becomes defective. After a freeze frame of five minutes, normal recording resumes, but Guy is no longer visible in the garage or the upper floors.

In a fit of rage, Raoul struck the massive wooden table in front of him.

- I'm sorry, - the former furniture apologized; he really wanted to bring him good news. - But this is not information that leaves us empty-handed. It means the person responsible for Guy's disappearance has access to the tower's security files and can tamper with their contents. It's someone influential.

He was right. Only a few had access to such recordings, and this discovery narrowed down the list of suspects. Raoul felt somewhat reassured.

- Since I'm still logged into the tower's security systems, - the hacker continued, - I'll take the opportunity to view other recordings and gather clues. Did Guy have any enemies in Tanagura?

The Blondie took a few minutes to think.

- A couple of months ago, I caught him with bruises on his neck, as if someone had tried to strangle him. When I asked for an explanation, he told me he had had a harmless disagreement with one of the guards.

- Do you remember the exact date?

- Of course, - Raoul could never forget it. It was the day Jupiter had healed him from the short circuit.

- Okay, send me all the data. I'll check it, and I'll call you back later.

***

Being able to slip his feet into a pair of shoes and have clothing on, so he didn't have to hold the blanket around his body with his neck and teeth all the time, had made a difference, and Guy had fallen into such a deep and restorative sleep that he didn't even wake up when Captain Finn, after entering the cell, approached and stared at him.