Kenji and Kiri left the office together.
For now, the normal work had been slowed down. etings were stopped for a few days. New deals were not being chased.
Senju had taken the governnt notices with her. She was going to speak with the legal side and see if they could slow the agencies down through docunts or a court order. If the agencies had already decided to attack Aster Core, then she wanted to know that clearly too.
That left the manufacturing unit.
Kenji held the address Wil had given him.
Kiri drove.
Neither of them spoke much on the way.
The address did not lead to a proper factory area. It led them toward an apartnt building in a quieter part of the city. That alone made Kenji uneasy.
"This is the place?" Kiri asked after parking.
"This is the address," Kenji said.
They went inside.
The door opened into a plain apartnt. The inside no longer looked like a normal room. Space had been cleared. Heavy equipnt stood in the middle. Thick parts were joined together, and cables ran along the floor. tal chambers and control panels made the whole place look far more serious than anything Kenji had expected.
For a few seconds, both n only stared.
Kiri walked closer first.
"This is real," he said.
Kenji did not answer.
So parts still had covers on them. A few cables were rolled near the wall.
He had known Wil was not normal. He had seen money appear and companies bend. He had seen Aster Core rise from almost nothing.
Even then, this was different.
A short while ago, Aster Core did not even have one proper machine.
Now a real manufacturing unit was standing in front of them.
It made the company feel different in Kenji’s mind. Before this, Aster Core had looked like a fast company with a mysterious supply line. Now it could beco sothing that made its own product. That was a much bigger step.
Kenji slowly moved around the machine.
"Can it run?" he asked.
Kiri looked at the control panel, then at the cables.
"I do not know."
That was the first real problem.
Wil had given them the machine. He had not explained how to operate it.
Kenji could not even bla him properly. Wil had been moving from one crisis to another. Maybe he had expected them to find people for the unit themselves. He had only wanted to place the machine here first and let them solve the next part.
Of course, Adam had not thought that far either. He had brought the machine here and placed it. Now Kenji and Kiri had to figure out how to run it.
The labels on so panels were not enough. A machine like this needed people who knew what they were touching.
Kenji touched the side of the tal fra and pulled his hand back.
"Do you know anything about this kind of setup?"
Kiri gave him a look.
"I know how to sell what cos out of it," he said. "That is not the sa as running it."
Kenji did not laugh.
The machine was standing there like a promise and a burden at the sa ti.
"Then what do we do?" Kenji asked.
Kiri looked around the room again.
"First, we decide who takes responsibility."
Kenji nodded slowly.
That was the right place to begin.
"The main office still needs soone," Kiri said. "Governnt notices are still active. Senju will need papers from our side and quick answers from the office."
"So I stay with the main office," Kenji said.
Kiri nodded. "You should. The office listens to you first."
Kenji looked at him. "And you?"
"Sales work is stopped for now," Kiri said. "There is no point chasing deals when Wil told us to hold etings. So I will handle this place."
Kenji looked toward the machine again.
"You and Davin?"
"Yes," Kiri said. "Davin can help with hiring."
He looked back at the machine.
"We need people who understand this type of machines. Even if they do not know this exact unit, they should know enough not to damage it on the first day."
Kenji nodded. "Then make a list today."
"I will," Kiri said. "Engineers first. Then people who can handle the site. Davin knows a few nas from the factory side. I will call him."
Kenji breathed out.
The plan was not complete. It gave them a start.
"We cannot call Wil for every question," Kiri added.
Kenji’s face tightened.
He knew that.
Wil was dealing with the larger problem. The outside pressure had landed on every side at once.
They could not call him over every small thing. Wil had trusted them with responsibility. Kenji could not keep acting like a student waiting for answers.
Kenji looked at the machine again.
"He gave this to us because he expects us to carry it."
Kiri folded his arms.
"Then we carry it."
The words were simple.
When they left, Kenji looked back once before closing the door.
The scene shifted later that day.
John was returning ho from college.
His car moved through the usual road and entered the quiet street near his house. Nothing around him looked strange. The guards at the gate were the sa. The cars outside the houses were the sa. Even the people walking on the street looked normal.
One man had followed from a distance.
He did not stay too close. He did not look directly at John’s car for long. He stopped near a small shop and watched through the glass reflection.
When John’s car entered the gate, the man did not move at once.
He waited.
For so ti, he stayed near the street and noted how the gate worked.
Then he left.
A few minutes later, another man arrived in a different car and parked on the other side of the road. He did not get out. He only sat there like a driver waiting for soone.
These n belonged to Bruno’s side.
Bruno had not placed one man on John for the whole day. He had beco careful after Wil’s warning. One watcher stayed for only two or three hours, then another took his place.
Even if one man was noticed, the line would not lead far.
Bruno had rembered Wil’s order clearly.
They must not co into John’s sight.
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