𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔⭑.ᐟ 𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐔 (✔)

chapter 16

The atmosphere shifted the moment we stepped into the main room, as if whatever lingered in the hallway had been left behind the second we crossed the threshold. The quiet from earlier didn't follow us here, replaced instead by something sharper, more deliberate, something that settled into the air and made it clear that whatever came next had already been decided.

Everyone was already there, positioned in a way that felt intentional rather than casual. Ran stood off to the side, his posture relaxed but his attention unmistakably focused, while Sanzu leaned against the table with an impatience that didn't spill over into movement, contained but present. Takeomi remained still, his gaze observant, taking in everything without needing to speak.

At the center, Mikey stood with his usual stillness, the kind that didn't demand attention but held it anyway.

"Sit," he demanded. 

I stepped forward, taking a place near the table, aware of Rindou beside me without turning to look at him. The awareness hadn't faded since earlier, but it didn't need to be addressed either. It stayed where it was, quiet and steady, threading itself into everything without interrupting it.

Mikey placed a phone on the table, the device visibly damaged but still functioning, its cracked screen lighting up as he tapped it once. The display shifted to a map, dim but clear enough to recognize, marked with multiple points that connected in a pattern too precise to be random.

"We pulled this from him," Takeomi spoke, his tone even. "Encrypted, but not beyond recovery." Sanzu let out a quiet scoff, though there was no real humor behind it. "So he was sloppy."

"No," Takeomi replied, his gaze steady. "He wasn't in charge." That much was obvious.

I stepped closer to the table, studying the map more carefully as the pattern became clearer the longer I looked at it. The locations weren't scattered, they were structured, built around something intentional.

"...These aren't random hits," I said slowly. "They're mapped."

"Supply routes," Rindou added beside me, his voice calm, aligning with the thought before I had fully finished it.

"And safe points," I continued, the realization settling more firmly now. Mikey nodded once, his gaze shifting slightly across the map. "They've been watching longer than we thought."

"That warehouse wasn't the beginning," I mumbled.

"No," he replied. "It was a test."

The word lingered, heavy enough to settle into everyone at once. A test meant observation and preparation, and that this wasn't over just yet. Sanzu pushed himself off the table slightly, his irritation sharpening into something more focused. "So what, we wait for them to try again?"

"No," Ran said smoothly, his tone calm but certain. "We move before they do." Mikey tapped the screen again, and one of the marked locations brightened, separating itself from the others.

"This one,"  I narrowed my eyes slightly as I studied it. Compared to the rest, it was less exposed, less obvious, almost like it had been intentionally left untouched.

"They skipped it," there was slight curiosity in my tone. "They didn't skip it," Rindou replied quietly. I glanced at him briefly.

"They're holding it," he continued. "Or using it without drawing attention." Takeomi nodded. "We've tracked irregular movement through that area, but nothing direct enough to confirm."

"So we confirm it," I said. Mikey's gaze lifted, settling between us.

"You and Rindou go," he said. "Everyone else stays ready."