“Since everything is stored as data, there’s no need for much space.” Gardener stood in front of the chest and opened one of the drawers like he knew exactly what to look for. “I think the documentation for the pollinators should be around here.”
Echika was flabbergasted. There were so many of them. “You’ve memorized what’s in each one?”
“I helped him out a lot during my student days,” he said indifferently. “When I got my aptitude diagnosis results, they said I was no good for corporate management, so I decided to work in the police instead.”
“So you had aptitude for police work, did you?”
“Investigator Hieda.” Harold chided her with a slightly reproachful gaze.
“I mean, I know I’m not very useful on crime scenes.” Gardener shrugged, which made Echika feel a bit awkward. It had been a while since she’d last let such a scathing comment slip. “To be precise, what they said is that I was good for work in the IT field. And since my dad is acquainted with Director Schlosser, I ended up working for the Online Monitoring Department.”
“In other words,” Harold said, “you joined the bureau, thanks to your father pulling strings, like the rumors say?”
“Hey.” This time, Echika had to rebuke Harold with a glare.
“I did go to the academy and pass all my exams,” Gardener said, sulking like a child. “And look, I’d be lying if I said that my dad selling the police drones didn’t help me get my position, but I am taking this job seriously.”
“I’m sorry for the inappropriate question.” Harold gave the most standard apology imaginable. “By the way, Investigator Gardener, you were born in the spring, correct?”
Huh?
Both Investigator Gardener and Echika raised their brows in surprise at the sudden question.
“No, during the summer. My birthday’s in July…”
“Let me guess. The twenty-eighth?”
“Third of July. What’s with all the questions?”
“It must be his malfunction,” Echika said hurriedly. “Don’t pay attention to him.”
“Oh, right, I heard. You’re kind of out of tune, right, Harold? Which is why Chief Smith sent you to maintenance…”
That seemed to convince Gardener. Perhaps deciding there was no point in getting mad at a defective machine, he pulled out some USBs from the chest and plugged them into tablets. Echika felt relief flood her. She looked at Harold and saw that he was walking around the study, like he didn’t have a care in the world. He clearly expected Echika to go along with him. She had no idea what he was trying to accomplish here…
Does this count as getting along with him as a colleague?
“There, found it.”
Gardener handed a tablet to Echika. It displayed a 3D schematic of an agricultural pollinator. Based on the text and the shape of the schematic, this was clearly the bee model Echika was looking for. The write-up was full of technical terms and jargon, but just like Gardener had said, the stinger wasn’t designed to function as a syringe.
Still, she didn’t want to write this off as her theory being wrong.
“Are there any other tiny drones that work like the pollinators?” Echika asked.
“There’s drones used for search and rescue during natural disasters. They’re made really small, so they can creep inside cracks in collapsed buildings and the like.” Gardener opened another chest. “But they’re not hollow units, and they don’t have any syringes.”
In that case, maybe she needed to change her approach. Perhaps the agricultural drones, like the environmental performance robots she’d seen in Al Bahah, could be modified to include a syringe? It was possible, but it would require a great deal of technique, so a novice couldn’t have done it. Of course, if the Alliance had people with that expertise, it would be a different story…
“Is this a schematic of some sort, too?”
Echika and Gardener turned around at Harold’s question—the Amicus opened a desk drawer, pulling out a USB. The drawer had a simple number pad security lock, but the lamp was glowing green and set to “unlock.” Since one had to go through biometric security to enter this room, the desk’s installations were somewhat anachronistic.
“Huh.” Gardener blinked in surprise. “Did my father forget to lock the safe?”
“Yes, it was already open when I found it.”
Echika had to try very hard to maintain her blank expression. Harold’s lie was incredibly bold-faced. It was painfully obvious that he’d asked about Gardener’s birthday earlier so he could come up with the password for the safe.
“Put it back where it was. That USB is probably just for Dad’s personal use.” Gardener blindly believed the Amicus and walked over to him. “…Hold on. I told you to put it back.”
Harold ignored his words, instead plugging the USB into one of the tablets on the desk. Before Gardener could stop him, the screen displayed the files in the USB cartridge. Gardener snatched the tablet out of Harold’s hands, which made Harold look at him apologetically.
“My apologies. My hearing device isn’t working right… Did you say something?”
It took all of Echika’s mental fortitude not to slap him then and there.
“His malfunction is really bad, Investigator Hieda.” Gardener looked very baffled, too. “Is he getting maintenance in the evening? Because honestly, I think he should be sent over as soon as possible.”
“You might be right about that…” She had no choice but to say this.
“No, listen, this is really bad. These are probably my dad’s personal files, and if he finds out we looked—”
Gardener tried to remove the USB from the tablet, but then his hands stopped. His gaze was fixed squarely on the screen. Echika peered at it as well. It showed a 3D schematic of a drone.