>>5918828>>5918905>>5918833>>5919110General queasiness, morning grogginess, and considering the options laid before you are good cover for your inability to decide how you want to talk to Kiikoinen about your revelries. You're mad about it and all, but at the same time it's embarrassing. You want answers and at the same time you want to forget about it. You almost don't want to talk about it, but you feel like you have to.
Swallowing your pride because it's important to let somebody know, you begin to speak. "Uh, Mr. Kiikoinen... last night-"
Your mentor interrupts you. "I am aware. I have a report from the security team, a statement from the police - and if that wasn't enough, it's on the news."
It-
Wha-
"Huh?! My stabbing made the news?"
"It was more than just yours," Lalli said as he fished out a paper from a different area on his desk. A very colorful news article, and a few photographs of people - including a rare image of Sumika's eyes.
"Last night there were numerous attempts on the lives of Stormwatch agents across Helsinki," he explained. "The first reported was on L4 Nonoka Sumika. She is fine. Some agents were simply beaten before the attackers were driven off. A few were killed. A good number of attacks were rebuffed by the agents and nearby good samaritans. Most of the targets are Level 3. You are the only L2 to be struck - and I would add that unless their reports on agents status is in <span class="mu-i">real time,</span> they'd have no idea you were L2. Perhaps you were with another higher level agent."
Huh. <span class="mu-b">Kiikoinen seems to be alluding to something.</span> So that man from last night-
"Or perhaps you were with someone who had caused some trouble elsewhere in the world," Kiikoinen is quick to cut off your train of thought. The sincerity of the suggestion couldn't be called into question before he continued. "Sumika claims that her would-be assassin traveled from Nippon to fulfill a contract set by one of Akihabara's underworld clans, a faction totally independent from typical stromdrain squatter activity. The attacks were clearly a majority by squatters, but perhaps other groups had a hand in it."
