Grand Larceny

Jonathan sat in the corner of the Operations room. He watched the procession with the detached grace of an onlooker. It was a shock to him that they had let him in. This was the epicenter of all of Console Ghost's plans, at least for the cell he was involved in. There were blueprints and schematics for nearly every building and security feature in Clifton. Jonathan saw plans to hit Vaults, Prisons, and Armories. Not everyone was on board with him seeing this room, but the decision was made.

He was a part of the conversation as a technicality. They needed him here in case their plan had any flaws. Blink, Switch, and a few members that Jonathan had yet to meet stood around a table in the middle of the Operations Room talking with their boss, Legend. Legend was the kind of man that inspired courage, inspired confidence, and embodied both perfectly. He would have made a great commander in the Security Force, but for whatever reason he ended up on this side of the conflict.

The things Console Ghost was talking about, they were the kind of things people were jailed for just talking about. In their defense, these people would be jailed for simply existing. They all had records and outstanding warrants. He knew that Blink did, he knew that Switch did, and he knew that Legend did. It was an averages game and Jonathan figured he was right. The problem with what they were planning was that it made sense. It was a logical progression due to what they were up against. It was logical, but it was also exactly what Moira Singh had warned Jonathan about months ago.

Legend was hesitant, Jonathan admired that. The plan they were setting out, it would change everything. Console Ghost was Robin Hood to some of the less fortunate districts, but if they enacted this plan… Well the Sheriff of Nottingham would burn a village to catch Robin Hood. Moira Singh would do worse to Clifton and now Jonathan was standing on the wrong side of the law. Looking at the table, Jonathan knew that Legend felt the same as he did. He knew that they were two sides of the same coin. If Jonathan stayed with Console Ghost, he would become Legend.

But Jonathan still believed the problem could be fixed. He saw those clouds creeping over the mountains, he saw the snowfall on the banks. He saw the determination in Moira Singh's eyes. If the system was truly broken, if there was no hope for Humanity as it currently existed, Jonathan would have hunkered down with Console Ghost and took part in the revolution.

The problem was that Jonathan still believed the problem could be fixed. Right or wrong, laws existed for a reason. Golden Lion and the other companies, they were the order that controlled the chaos. Clifton might not be the peaceful land of Amberlee, but they were leagues ahead of the drug and crime fueled DevTown.

People might suffer in the meantime, people might claim that rights are being infringed, but there were peaceable ways to deal with that. Revolution was not necessary. Bloodshed was not necessary. If Jonathan did nothing, that is what they would have. If Jonathan did nothing, they would be one half of the coming storm that leaves the world pure as glass.

Legend seemed to be the last one holding out against the idea of striking the Security Force Armory in Arcadia. He was the last one against breaking that glass ceiling to steal fire from the gods. He was the last sensible member of Console Ghost it seemed. Even Blink, who was against violence from the beginning of the conversation was trying to come up with stealth alternatives to a front door robbery. Legend was beginning to crack. His reasoning drown out by the cacophony of good plans for a bad idea.

Jonathan stood up from his seat and walked over to the table. A spot between Blink and a wizardly member called Feedback opened up for him. Blink looked up reassuringly at him, "What do you think?"

He gave her a smile because he appreciated the question. It fell too quickly to a frown when he thought of his answer. Blink let out a low sigh and looked over to Legend, "He doesn't like it."

Legend smirked, "Let him speak for himself."

A murmur of discontent came from the others around the table. Legend silenced them with a question, "Do I need to replay the footage from the Lift?"

Then he continued, "This man, Jonathan Bassett, deserves to speak here and now. He is everything we hope to be, he is everything we should be. Brutal, accurate, careful, compassionate. No one embodies Console Ghost's desire more than him."

Jonathan could still feel some discontention around the room. No more voices, but shifting eyes and tight-lips betrayed their thoughts. Blink spoke up once Legend stopped, "I dug around more about our new friend. He isn't just a former member of the Security Force. He's an orphan because his father protected us to the end. Twenty-ish years ago, the report is mostly corrupted, an Agent of Golden Lion went into a digitally clean bar that Maverick, a Console Ghost lieutenant of that time, used as a meeting place. That Agent tortured and killed the bartender while his son, Jonathan Bassett, hid behind the bar."

That quieted the discontentment. Now it was replaced by things that teased Jonathan's anger; pity and regret. Jonathan cleared his throat, "Stop it. Console Ghost is not to blame for my father's death. If I thought you were, we would be having a different conversation. I joined the Security Force to find my father's killer. I left to honor his memory. If you want to honor the memory that Console Ghost stands on, you'll abandon this plan."

Jonathan took a breath, he could feel their attention like a physical weight on his shoulders. "I can help you get in, I can get you passed security without a single shot being fired. I can get you a container of ordinance, a container of guns, and a container of robotics before anyone at the Armory is any wiser… but if you do this, you're playing into their hands."

Blink whispered, "You really don't mean Those On High when you say that?"

Jonathan shook his head, "From the beginning, I warned you that you're being manipulated. This is our last chance to step back from that ledge. Let me fix this or I will walk."

Legend set his hands against the table, "I'm sorry, Jonathan. I was on Maverick's security detail the night we got the call about your father. I was there at the hospital while you waited on the doctors. I watched you break as you lost your father. I saw your resolve from that moment you realized someone was to blame for it. I told Maverick to recruit you but the old man saw into you something that I missed. I see it now and I know that you cannot come with us. Give us the intelligence you have on the Armory and we will let you walk away."

Blink's jaw dropped.

Jonathan nodded, "You have your people to look out for. After my actions at the Lift, the Security Force in all districts has been reinforced… They've been upgraded, outfitted, and informed on all ways to deal with you guys. They are coming. You need to be ready. All you can see is war."

Jonathan knew that Legend was thinking the same as him. With a heavy heart, Legend asked once, "The intel, please?"

Blink cut in before Jonathan answered, "He's not lying, Legend. Everything is too neat. Everything is too good. We're being manipulated."

Legend frowned, "Even so. There is only one option for us. We can either be manipulated into a war or we can sit down and be slaughtered."

So it was that Jonathan gave Console Ghost the access they would need to break into the Armory in Arcadia. He gave them the security codes, camera locations, drone movements, station requirements, and everything else he could remember for the Hazard Analysis and Control Point plans for all Armories as well as the specifics on Arcadia's Armory. Jonathan gave them everything they would need to steal three containers worth of death from the Security Force.

He gave them everything they would need to wage a real war.

Moira Singh was right, Console Ghost was turning into something else entirely. They were becoming something that Blink could not recognize, something she could not stand behind. When Jonathan left the old hospital and headed nowhere in particular, Blink went with him and told him of a place where he could lay his head for a while. She told him about the Graveyard.