Chapter Text
Finding Jaime and flying out of Solace was an easy task. Telling him Cheryl declared me as the new Apex Legend, not so easy. He's been asking what the hell happened on Kings Canyon since we left the city, I doubt I can stall for much longer now that he found us a small town to hide in.
“Loba,” he sighs after landing, the annoyance in his voice drawing. He lets go of the controls and slowly turns to me in the passenger seat. “This is the third town we've been to, I assure you Hammond can't reach us here. Please, tell me what happened.” He knows it wasn't good, probably that the demonio is still alive too.
“I messed up-”
“Obviously,” he cuts me off sharply. “Why else would you demand me to fly from city to city?” He rests his head on his finger tips, trying to calm down. Cheryl will have his head for helping me, I have a feeling he knows she was there.
I stand up, putting my hands on my hips and explain with a heavy sigh. “The source code got away. I was caught up in the moment and shot the head too early. I planted the grenade, everything came tumbling down and when I made it on the other side,” I pause, but he's ready for what I'm about to say. “Hammond was there, they knew what I was after.”
“Just say what I don't want to hear,” Jaime groans, eyes closed. “Cheryl made a deal with you and you took it.”
“Tomorrow she will, and I'll accept it.” I fold my arms defiantly, but he doesn't respond, shaking his head in disappointment. “She's not gonna know you're working with me.”
“What does she want from you?”
“I don’t know yet.” I start to pace, ignoring his disapproving grunts.
“Did she promise you the source code?”
“No.”
He sits up, scrunching his eyebrows. “How the bloody hell aren't you arrested?”
I blush, amazed just as he is. “I'm actually an Apex Legend now.” He stumbles, smiling widely, then confused, trying to get any words out that he can. “Under normal circumstances, I know this would be a dream come true for you.” I pull the red card from my pocket, throwing it his way. He catches it exhilarated, flipping the card like he couldn't believe it was in his hands.
After much back and forth of emotions, he finally gets out a stuttered, “how?”
My pacing slows and I stare out the front window. A storm is coming along the horizon. “Cheryl gave it to me. Told Syndicate I had nothing to do with the explosion, and my reputation will bring lots of new fans.” Which is very true, especially if they use my vendetta against Revenant in their marketing.
Jaime responds quietly, sadness filling his voice. “You're willing to be her new puppet then?”
I look down at him, his eyes drop with sorrow. What they took from him, what they took from me, is why I have to do this. My success is built from my parents dreams, I cannot throw away what I promised them. “If she can give me the source code, I'll do anything.”
Jaime stands, placing his hand on my shoulder. He speaks softly, scared of the decision I've made. “She knows how desperate you are for this. The lengths you've gone, and are willing to go. Don't let it blind you, Loba.”
Once, I gave up searching for this demonio. No one knew how to kill him and I interrogated every person I could in this galaxy. I never thought I would have a slight chance until Jaime found me. I don't care what I need to do, but I care about what happens to him. “One more deal with the devil,” I sigh, looking through his empty eyes. “Are you helping me or not?”
I sincerely expect him to deny me and walk away. But what does he have left? Where could he go? He nods slowly. “What do you need me to do?”
I smile back, biting my lip. “How do you feel about black mailing the Apex Legends?”
Jaime laughs weakly, grabbing his laptop from a cupboard above our heads. “I've already started, from an old assignment in my Hammond days.” We sit in our designated chairs again and he continues, loading up his notes. “Right before I left, Cheryl wanted to know about Hyeon Kim, a Legend in the Games who goes by Crypto. She said something about him seemed fishy.”
A picture at the top of the page shows a slim man in a long black coat with silver accents. A drone hovers by his head. I remember seeing that in the matches I attended. “And what's his story?”
“Well for starters his real name isn't Hyeon Kim. He's wanted for murdering his sister.” Perfect, hopefully the others will be just as easy to manipulate.
Jaime smiles faintly, reading about another Legend from the Games. A short woman with pink space buns. She also has a drone, but much bigger and flatter. It heals wounds rather than surveillancing enemies. “Ajay Che, her parents funded weapons for both sides during the war,” Jaime explains before excitedly pointing at a different picture in his notes. It shows a hefty man with a grenade, seeping with green smoke. “He faked his own death, and also joined the Games under a fake identity. Not that Hammond cares about that. They’re keeping an eye on him because he aspires to be the next simulacrum.” I furrow my brows, but try not to unpack that information. “His goal is to test contestants like lab rats. This gas is dialed down from what he usually plays with, I'd still be careful around him.” I've heard horror stories of gasses causing blood to ooze out from the eyes and mouth, filling the lungs to suffocate you.
“Right,” I reply, struggling to get the images out of my head. “Well, this seems to be a good start.” Jaime doesn't look away from the computer, taking in all his notes from the past with eagerness. “Do you feel at home again?”
“Hm?” He looks at me as if I pulled him from a deep sleep. “Oh, no. Hammond was never my home, but it is nice to have a comfort from my old life.”
“You enjoy blackmailing people then?” I ask, leaning back in the chair. It's getting windy by the second, soon we won't be able to fly to a nice hotel. I definitely can't sleep here if the sandstorm drums against my ship all night.
“I didn't enjoy helping Cheryl ruin lives,” Jaime replies, “but I won't say I'm not proud of what I can do.” He is one of the smartest people I've ever met, I can't deny that.
“You have no idea what she would want from me?” Surely they started something together before he left. “Hammond is quite powerful, I struggle to find a job they can't do themself,” I add.
“What can we do that they can't?” He ponders aloud. “They probably view the Legends as disposable yet capable. It must be dangerous, but I have no clue what Cheryl has in mind.”
“I'd like to make it to a hotel before it's too late.” I slide the computer over to my side of the dash. “How long will it take you to do this?”
We switch seats and he immediately starts typing away. “Not long. I've got a good amount of information already. Even if I can't find dirt, I can find something they won’t be able to refuse.” He smiles excitedly, eyes moving faster as he reads. Blueberry enjoys anything to do with the Legends, even if that is finding their darkest secrets.
“Confident, are we?” I snicker, starting up the ship.
He shrugs, adding more notes quickly. “What can I say? I'm an excellent dataminer.” That's what every good thief needs.
It was hard to sleep last night, even in one of the best hotels on Solace. I don't get nervous often, but meeting in private with Cheryl Amacci about attempting to kill her company's biggest success sure puts me on edge. I've grown to care about Jaime quite deeply, I couldn't bear anything to happen to him. I can't tell if the same stress is eating at him too. This morning he was passed out sitting up, laptop still on his thighs. I was hoping to refresh with him about Cheryl's tactics and lying cues. For now I'll have to stick with what I'm good at; distractions. Make it seem like I know less than they think. Confusion is key until I can't get the upper hand.
Cheryl's secretary shows me to an empty, bare room. Mainly white and gray with a glass desk and simple computer on top. There's three black chairs, one where Cheryl would be and two on the other side. It's a surprisingly small room for such a powerful woman. I assume she doesn’t like spending time in the office, rather be hands on.
Yoko follows in shortly after, rummaging in a beige computer bag. She barely acknowledges me, placing a recording device on the desk, blinking red to indicate it's on. “Take a seat Miss Andrade. This won't take long, should you cooperate. Cheryl doesn't like to waste time, so let's get right to the point. We know what you did, we saw your every move. You'll need to sign a contract, as you probably know.” She speaks quickly and bored, as if reading from a script. She neatly lays a pen and papers from her bag on the desk and I lean over the chair to read. A Non-Disclosure Agreement. Not surprising, but it won't be that easy for them. The assistant continues, hugging the bag to her chest. “Your standard NDA, release to be recorded while in the building, the usual.”
“Yoko, is it?” I ask with an airy tone, looking her up and down. She wears a charcoal gray, silk, blouse and a black, knee length pencil skirt. Her clothes and dark, silky hair compliment each other, but contrast against her pale skin and bright blue irises. She’s beautiful, but not my type. I smirk when I gaze at her lips, slowly going back to her eyes. She blushes, but I doubt I'll get any more out of her. Doesn't mean I can't try. An ally close to Cheryl Amacci will always be useful. “I only sign for deliveries and autographs, sorry. That is a lovely color on you, by the way. The contrast with your eyes is breathtak-”
“Miss Andrade,” Cheryl storms in, annoyed from the sound of her voice. She takes her seat quickly while speaking. “If you're about to comment on the shade I'm wearing, don't. Let's get to it. Take a seat, this may take a minute.” She points at the chair opposite of her, glancing at the unsigned NDA. Yoko stands in the corner, still clutching her bag.
“No foreplay,” I joke, folding my arms. “A woman after my own heart.” She stares back blankly, not in the mood for games. Odd, considering that's what she does for a living.
“Do you know what a source code is?” She asks, interlocking her fingers on the desk. We all know I do and what I'm planning to do with it. If beating around the bush is what she wants, who am I to deny? White lies and empty promises is her best quality, I can do that too.
I bite my lip, twisting my lips into a grin. “I'm tingling with anticipation to find out.”
She offers a tight smile before explaining. “It's every experience, memory, desire, and personality trait you have, encrypted in the neurons of your brain's gray matter. Which we use to rebuild you into a simulacrum after you die.”
I'd really rather not talk about Revenant being human and how he came to be, but if it gets me his source code, I'll have to listen. “Crimes against nature are a bit of a turn off to be honest. I think I’ll stick with death.” I inspect my nails, I can see Yoko watching me intently.
Cheryl barely moves, looking at me with purpose. “Our security system phase tech'ed Revenant's to another facility after you shot it.”
“Don't go so dominant on me,” I glance down at her with another smirk. “I thought you said we were skipping the foreplay?”
“We have a proposal.”
“Cheryl,” I respond, more seriously this time. “If you're about to get on bended knee, you better have the rock to back it up.” I'll never be her puppet until I get what I want. She’s powerful, but enough to give me just what Hammond has been working so hard to perfect?
“We know what you want, Miss Andrade, and that's the source code.” She leans back in her chair, folding her arms. “Fortunately, we know it's location. We'll give you the coordinates, but you have to do something for us.” I perk my eyebrow for her to continue. “Collect an artifact buried underneath Kings Canyon.” I can't help but laugh. They need help digging in that arena when I already blew up their underground facility? “May I ask what's so funny?” She adds angrily.
“Anybody else experiencing deja vu right now? The last time I went treasure hunting under Kings Canyon, half the island was blown to the bottom of the river. But I can see how you might have missed that detail when we first met yesterday. At the blast site, right after it happened.”
She clearly doesn't appreciate my sarcastic tone, but her scowl quickly turns into a sneer. “That's not the island I was referring to.”
“You say that as if there's more than one Kings Canyon.” I put my hands on my hips.
“You say that as if there isn't.” Hammond has had their fair share of interdimensional work, I wouldn't put it past them sending me to another universe. Though human travel between worlds hasn’t proved to be safe nor predictable. The business I could do, not to mention a possible chance to see my parents. That's a deep thought I'm not ready for. My silence feels exposing, she knows I never saw this coming. “Come on,” she adds. “If our Kings Canyon was so easy for you, what could be difficult about another one?”
“Consider my interest piqued,” I reply, stepping into dangerous grounds.
Now it's her turn to smirk, she knows I'm about wrapped around her finger. “I believe Yoko has something for you to sign first?”
Her smug face makes me want to vomit, but for now I must swallow my pride. They have the one thing in this world that I want, and quite possibly someone from another dimension that I never thought I’d see again. I feel vulnerable and desperate, but that's exactly what I am. “You guarantee this sends the demonio to hell? I'll sign my life over to you.” Just as he once did.
When you're after a big prize, you don't just walk in and take it. First, you have to do the legwork. I can't say I was pleased with how deep Jaime dug into my past; a lady deserves her privacy, and her secrets. But I can't argue with results. He found out so much about this thing. This demonio that took all I ever loved from me. Not enough, and a lot of it made no sense, but it was enough to get started. I learned as much as I could about the sim, but nothing could prepare me to see him again. I followed the leads Jaime dug up, I made a plan, then I made my move. It wasn't easy, I just made it look that way.