Persona 5 x persona 4

chapter 26

December 5th Monday

'...because of the broadcast last night made by the Phantom Thieves, the government building is under lockdown against presumed terrorist attack. Anyone who has to drive within 6 blocks of the building is advised to find an alternative route, anyone who works in that area should arrive an hour early to get through the security checkpoints Tokyo PD has set up. As of now Congressman Masayoshi Shido has not yet made an official statement about the accusation from the announcement made by the Phantom Thieves last night but is expected to soon...'

Ren glared at the large plasma TV in front of him. They had expected a little bit of push back by Shido's forces but a 6 block lockdown? How were they going to get close enough to the Palace to infiltrate it now? No doubt there be officers there that knew his identity and that meant back to jail and probably a bullet to the head. Shido was flexing his influences as if he knew that if he kept the Thieves away for one day he'd be safe. There could be no second calling card. They needed a plan fast, but with half their forces at school, Ren knew he'd need to rely on the adults to help him come up with a proper plan.

"This sucks..." Futaba sighed as she leaned across the counter-top next to him. "I didn't think Shido would be this paranoid."

He and Futaba sat upon the tall back chairs of Café LeBlanc. Ren had just woken up 5 minutes ago before he heard Sojiro call him downstairs. The news report had been playing on several news stations warning early morning Tokyo commuters to stay away from the area around the Diet building. Even the subways were affected and checkpoints had been set up in them. Ren just sighed, running over facts in his head to try and figure out a way to get close enough to the diet building for the MetaNav to work.

"Powerful men are always a little paranoid. This honestly doesn't surprise me." Sojiro explained as he glanced towards the TV. "You don't become as powerful as Shido without a bit of paranoia... Those without it typically are caught early."

"But what do we do about it. We need to get to the Diet building..." Futaba groaned.

Ren didn't know how to answer Futaba's question. For now, he was at a loss for what they were going to do. Moving behind the counter Ren started a batch of coffee, picking out a blend among the varieties Sojiro had stocked on his shelves. Over this past year, Sojiro had taught him a lot about coffee and it was the knowledge he'd probably keep for the rest of his life. This blend was known for its high caffeine but bitter taste. That was something Ren wanted to wake his brain up to work on fixing their current predicament.

"That's a pretty high dose of caffeine. Add some warm milk to that. It'll help fight the jitters." Sojiro eyed Ren from his spot next to the cash register.

Ren nodded as he poured himself a cup, adding some milk as he had been instructed to do. Taking in the warm liquid, it wasn't the smoothest or the best coffee he had ever tasted but the warmth alone was enough to start the process of waking him up fully. As he savored the feeling, the gentle jingle of the bell above the door echoed. Yu stepped inside followed closely by Chie and Naoto. Ren nodded to them as they entered. No doubt they had heard the news this morning and were coming to discuss what to do about it.

"Coffee... Please." Naoto bluntly said as she slid onto the first available high back chair at the counter. "Strong and black."

The expression on Naoto's face seemed to indicate she hadn't had her coffee that morning. Something that Sojiro also seemed to pick up on. He gave the woman a good-hearted chuckle before he poured a cup from the batch Ren had just made. He setting it down in front of the disgruntled detective. Naoto swooped it up as soon as it was set down. Ren caught the look Yu gave his partner before he and Chie sat down.