Page 81 of Pandion

“Tsuyoshi-kun.” He didn’t turn away from what he was doing.

“Seems you’ve been busy.” Kagesawa sat on the bed.

“Yep.”

“I think it’s time you let me in on it.”

“You know I can’t do that.”

“You’re not here to tag along for a safe place to sleep. I owe it to Satoru to make sure you’re not going to stir unnecessary shit while on his turf.”

“Trust me. The shit’s necessary.”

“I have something useful for you, if you can convince me it’s necessary.”

This made Yajima turn to look. “Trust you to tempt me with something when I’m frustrated. Man, I miss the old days. You were flaky and messed up, but oh, so helpful. I loved it.” He sighed. “It’s too bad I can’t take you up on that offer.”

“I have access to the servers.”

“You don’t waste time, do you? I’m still struggling to get through. These people have money to throw at security, and sadly, that seems to come with a moderate level of competence. They have a custom gateway derived from the TRX6400, and they’re keeping their stuff up to date.”

“I know.”

“So you finally got over your aversion to hacking? Good for you.”

“Not really. I’m an opportunist at the core. I don’t have the patience to smash my head against the wall.”

“What do you have patience for?” Yajima laughed. “All right, fine. I’m working on something to throw at JufO. They’re officially unaffiliated with the raids—they have their hippy love-and-peace image to uphold—but I have a few sources on the inside saying this was the plan all along.”

“You’re going to avenge Takazaki’s death? Aren’t you always busy with something more important?”

“Sure, but the opportunity did pop up.”

“What are you looking for exactly?”

“Student records. Did you know there are deep ties between JufO and the SEU? I need some names to pass on to certain people.”

This presented an uncomfortable ethical dilemma for Kagesawa. Even phrased as vaguely as it was, he could tell what Yajima was hinting at. If he aided the process, he would be an accessory to murder.

On the other hand, he would also merely be serving justice. There was a vast grey area associated with the uncertainty that his actions would lead to the desired outcome without getting distorted along the way. He could not control all the variables. He could wilfully turn a blind eye, but it would not excuse him from responsibility. Yajima knew this.

“You could have lied.” Kagesawa sighed again. Thinking through this stuff for any sort of an acceptable compromise was such a chore.

“Right. You never were the sharpest tool in the box detecting lies, even with the link. I don’t know… I was relying you’d have enough beef seeing as Takazaki was your friend.”

“It is tempting.” There was an ample serving of anger included with the grief he was trying to keep under wraps for now.

We could keep tabs, make sure it goes right. Would that make it easier?

“I don’t know. How do I make sure you won’t get carried away?” Kagesawa asked. Yajima shrugged.

“I’m not as pumped up about these things as I used to be. We’re getting older.”

“You said you weren’t that close with Takazaki. Why bother?”

“Ah, you know that’s just the shit I say. The man was linked to me. There’s no way that’s not going to be personal. I was there when he died.”

As far as experiences went, it was not one Kagesawa wished on anyone. Yajima would have had to be a psychopath to not care, and ASPD was another common disqualifier from the empath profession.

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