Arasaka Tower.
Susan had just finished a high-level meeting and was riding the elevator back to her office.
In a low voice, she asked the secretary beside her, "What's happening on Caitlin's end? I told her to report results before 9:10. Why is there still no update?"
The woman beside her answered carefully, "Director, Caitlin hasn't sent any message from the field since the operation began. And Trauma Team just sent over a notice. Caitlin's platinum-member biometric readings have gone abnormal. There's a very high chance something's happened to her."
Susan's brows drew together.
If Caitlin had good news, there was no way she would have stayed silent this long.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "Something must have gone wrong. Get me Carter Smith's side of the operation immediately."
The secretary quickly contacted the Special Ops liaison responsible for coordinating with Carter Smith. After hearing the report, her expression changed sharply, and she immediately turned back to Susan.
"Director, Carter Smith never personally led a team to the site. He only arranged for one Counterintel tactical squad to go, supposedly to coordinate with our operation. Carter himself already clocked out and went home. He may have gotten wind of something and run."
"Has that tactical team reported back to Arasaka Tower?"
"Not yet."
Susan fell silent.
She began rapidly piecing together everything she knew, and very quickly she realized a storm was about to break.
Caitlin's silence meant the mission had gone badly.
Carter Smith leaving early likely meant he had already started running, afraid the leak would be exposed and the blame pinned on him.
Everything pointed to the operation having failed.
Caitlin might even be dead.
Who had the nerve to openly attack Arasaka tactical personnel?
The first name that came to Susan's mind was Militech, though she wasn't ready to say it for certain.
The one thing she did know was that Arthur had to have had a hand in this.
And her immediate priority was making sure this storm didn't reach her eyes.
"Hmph. Not maybe. Carter Smith definitely ran."
"Right now he's a ticking bomb hanging over our heads. If Counterintel gets to him first, think about what happens next."
At that point, Susan didn't need to say anything more.
If Carter Smith wasn't eliminated, then they would be.
The secretary immediately contacted the Special Ops commander.
"Deploy every available operative currently on standby. Find Carter Smith. The moment he's located, clean him up. Director Susan wants updates tonight without delay."
Once she had arranged for their own people to move, the secretary placed another call, this time to an Animals contact.
"There's a job. The target is Carter Smith. His file has already been sent over."
"There's a good chance he's gone to pick up his mother. Go to his house. And remember, whether it's the person or the evidence, everything has to disappear."
"Move now."
The Animals boss replied, "No problem. But the fee needs to come first. Fifty thousand eddies. We'll make sure it's clean."
The secretary's expression soured.
Fifty thousand eddies was no small sum, and Carter Smith wasn't some especially difficult target.
The price was outrageous.
But the situation was urgent, and there was no time to haggle. Even if they were being squeezed, they had to take it.
She transferred the fifty thousand eddies remotely. Once the money landed, the Animals contact agreed to move right away.
Only after all of that was done did the secretary finally let out a breath.
A deputy director disappearing in the middle of a mission without any message back...
And the three tactical teams that had gone with her were probably in just as bad a state.
She still didn't know exactly what had happened on the scene, but the situation was already extremely serious.
If accountability came down, it would absolutely reach Director Susan.
So now the only option was to cut out the root entirely.
But without confirmation, the secretary still didn't dare make assumptions too openly.
"Director, we still haven't received reliable information on why the mission failed. The signal at the site was probably jammed."
The elevator reached the executive floor, and Susan stepped out.
"They think they can bring me down, but Arthur's still too green."
"The way I dealt with him back then is the same way I'll deal with him now."
"This time we underestimated him. No one but Arthur would set a trap like this for me."
The secretary hurried after her boss.
Then suddenly she received another message from Trauma Team.
It was bad.
She forced down her shock, steadied herself for a few seconds, and then spoke, her voice already trembling slightly.
"Director Susan, Trauma Team has confirmed Caitlin is dead."
"And the three Special Ops tactical teams she took with her have all been wiped out. The exact cause is still under investigation."
Susan stopped walking.
Her expression was no longer anywhere near as steady as before. She now understood that things were far more dangerous than she had first imagined.
A failed mission by itself wasn't necessarily a disaster.
No operation could ever be guaranteed to succeed one hundred percent.
But a deputy director dead, together with three entire tactical teams?
That was no longer just a failed mission.
That was a full-scale incident.
That was a declaration of war against Arasaka.
Whoever had done it, once identified, would be hunted to death by Arasaka.
Who had the nerve to openly strike Arasaka tactical teams in Night City?
Was it Militech?
The stakes were too high. Without absolute proof, Susan couldn't push the blame directly onto Militech.
Arasaka had no intention of launching a full war against Militech inside Night City.
There was no time to think about the bigger picture now.
What concerned Susan was who would be forced to take responsibility for the failure.
If the matter were investigated thoroughly, even her own seat as director could be at risk.
"Prepare every file connected to this operation immediately. I'm sending an action report to the board members right now."
"If Arthur gets there before I do, then the situation really will turn ugly..."
Susan immediately recognized that if she didn't report the matter to her superiors, especially the divisional vice president above her, before Arthur made his move, her faction would be pushed into a passive position at the board level.
And once that happened, everything would develop in a much worse direction.
She had to win as much support and understanding from the board as possible and reduce the matter before it spiraled.
"Arthur must not get what he wants..."
Her first priority now was to push the main responsibility onto Caitlin, while she herself would voluntarily shoulder a secondary responsibility for inadequate oversight and offer up a penalty, salary cuts, or disciplinary measures to calm the anger.
At the very least, that would keep her foundation from taking too much damage.
If Arthur moved first and exposed the matter of Carter, turning it into a case of leaks and collusion, then the vice president's anger alone would be enough to crush her, let alone the opinions of the board.
And once it reached that point, the board would almost certainly tilt hard toward Counterintel.
So Susan turned around immediately.
The meeting had only just adjourned, and the higher-ups likely hadn't left yet.
She had to report in now, while she still had the chance.
(End of Chapter)
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