Corpo Age

Chapter 248: Aegis Port Authority

With the Aegis Port Authority setting their sights on us, we could only reluctantly accept their demands, as they were the force in charge. Without their consent, our ship would be seized. If we went against their orders, we could also be arrested or put on their wanted list even if we escaped.

They weren’t the same as the corrupt forces down in Elevate City. While for most things, they could still be reasoned with, as long as you had the right incentives. But when they carried out their official duty for the consortium, there was no leeway anymore. Unfortunately, port security for Aegis fell under these official duties.

Very soon, a squad of consortium soldiers entered our docking area. They weren’t armed to the teeth, decked out in power armors, which was a good thing, but it still irked me that we had been selected for inspection.

They slowly strode toward our ship and we lowered the ramp for them to enter.

“You’re all to exit the vessel and wait outside while we carry out our inspection,” one of the officers in jet black combat gear ordered.

“Officer, is there really a need for an inspection?” I asked. “This is our Halls Corporation’s prototype, so there are many proprietary technologies in it that we can’t afford to leak. We’d be happy to make other concessions if our privacy concerns could be accommodated.”

These inspections were the port authority personnel’s way of asking for bribes. It had never happened to me before, but I had heard about enough instances of it to know what to do.

“Are you saying we’re purposely stopping you to steal your trade secrets?” the officer replied, sounding offended. “We’re professionals and serve for the peace and prosperity of Aegis. No matter what corporation you’re from, we still have to carry out our duty.”

Is this one of those new officers who only knows how to do things by the book? If that is so, then my luck can’t get any worse.

I gave a pleading look to the other guards standing behind, hinting at my willingness to pay the bribes. If the person I was speaking to didn’t care for money, the same couldn’t be said for everyone in his party.

However, the response I received was completely different from what I expected. They all stood straight as a rod, which filled me with unease.

It was just too different from the norm. Corruption and bribery were bread and butter in the corporate world. Everything could be brought with money.

The only instances where the rank-and-file like these port guards would take on such a serious demeanor was when they were in the presence of their superiors. And not just any superiors, but one of the executives of their organization.

While I outwardly continued to try to tempt these officers with bribes, I secretly glanced around and scanned our surroundings. There was nothing in our immediate surroundings that was waiting to lash out at us, but it didn’t make me feel any better.

Before I could dwell on it further, the guards made an alarming demand.

“As per procedure, all of you will have to be restrained while we carry out the inspections. Please turn around and put your hands behind your back.”

His words understandably made Thorne agitated. I had to signal for him to calm down. If things got out of hand, I didn’t doubt we would prevail. We had both numbers and ability.

It wasn’t only the three of us present. Thorne, Claire, and I were accompanied by the crew that manned our ship. We almost had double their numbers, but there weren’t that many combatants among us.

In the first place, fighting with the consortium’s forces was a horrible idea. This was especially so with an imminent fight against the top-level corporation hanging above our heads. These forces were even more powerful than anything we had faced before.

Companies like Nova Tech and Aerodynamic may be an A-Class goliath, but the truly top-of-the-line corporations were even beyond that. They were the ones that ranged from S-Class to Triple S-Class. When they reached such a level, the class assigned to them was largely ceremonial.

That meant the strength of an S-Class company may not be that inferior to an SSS-Class company. It only denoted how much the people in the consortium liked them or their diplomatic prowess. This fact made them an even higher threat in my mind.

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Not being able to accurately assess their strength created a lot of unknown variables. There were too many things that could catch us off-guard.

Seeing how the port authority guards dead set on restraining our movement, I decided to reveal my identity. It wasn’t something I wanted to do, as it would mean they could extort us for even more money, but it seemed like it was the only way to receive better treatment.

“Just so you are aware, I am Rollo Halls. The owner of the C-Class Halls Corporation. My identity should assure you that I am a law-abiding member of the consortium.”

Despite revealing my identity, the soldiers continued to close in on us as if they didn’t hear my words. They whipped out bracelets restrainers, similar to what we regularly used.

“We know that, Mr. Halls. That’s exactly why this inspection is taking place.”

I was shocked that these grunts had targeted me all along. Various scenarios quickly flashed through my mind as I refused to accept the situation before me.

No, there’s no way the consortium will get involved in fights between their members. These guards aren’t fake either, so why are they targeting me?

With only a few seconds to react, I finally decided to let them have their way without resisting.

If these port authority personnel were out for my life, they would’ve done something already. I would only lose in more ways than one if I resisted.

The consortium stood to lose a lot more than they would gain if they broke their rules just to target a small player like me. It made me believe these men weren’t sent by my enemies and really were just carrying out their job.

The only problem was what caused them to narrow their sights on me. For better or worse, I didn’t have to ponder for long.

They tried to slap their restrainer onto my limbs, but it only bounced off. It was because of the protection of my power armor. Still, deciding to comply, I turned off the projection that made me appear to be wearing a typical corporate suit, revealing the figure of my power armor. Thone did the same.

“Apologies. We are willing to comply, given that you have the authority to arrest an owner of a corporation.”

They said nothing in response, confirming my suspicions that someone higher-up was monitoring their movements. They couldn’t disobey orders, but they didn’t want to offend someone like me either.

Seeing this, I stepped out of my power armor and willingly faced them.

As soon as they restrained me and the rest of my employees, the guards swiftly swarmed into our ship. Lanus was smart enough to quickly cease any suspicious activity, and the ship wasn’t that large in size. The inspection only took a few short minutes.

“Sir, high-specification terminals found as expected.”

“Very good. Take them away.”

“Wait!” I cried out. “What are you doing? We didn’t have any contraband or do anything wrong. Why are members of the consortium taking one of their members away?”

The leader I had spoken with gave me his full attention as his eyes stared emotionlessly into mine.

“Rollo Halls, you’re hereby officially under arrest by the order of the Elevate City Consortium.”

“For what?”

“You’re suspected of violating T7135, sections six through eighteen of the consortium’s rules and regulations, making use of banned technologies. Please comply with our investigation.”

It only took a second for my SAID to retrieve the details of this regulation they spoke of. When I read through it, I could only frown. They accused me of employing AI technology!

While this was true, I had no idea how it came to this. We hadn’t flaunted anything that could give us away. Lanus had a hand in numerous operations within the company, but we made sure to obfuscate the response times to human levels.

There was no use arguing with these low-level grunts, so I complied with their demands. We were taken away to a cell, but we weren’t left there for long. Almost immediately, we were each taken to an interrogation room. I watched as we were each separated, one by one.

I entered a small room with only a table and a few chairs. I was forced to sit down before two additional men entered the room while everyone else left. The newcomers asserted an air of authority, but not like one of an executive. It didn’t take a genius to presume these were the detectives in charge of investigating our crimes.

“Mr. Halls, thank you for cooperating with us. I am Brian Wong and this is my partner, Lex Patal. As you may have already been told, the allegations against you are serious, but that doesn’t mean we’d immediately conclude that you are guilty of any wrongdoing. You have a chance to defend yourself. Answering our questions honestly is the best way to do that. Do you understand?”

I knew the interrogation had begun. I took a deep breath as I prepared myself to exaggerate my emotions. I knew speaking in an emotional tone would make my words more readily accepted. It was like the difference between someone sobbing while telling a sad story compared to doing so in a monotone voice. Human beings reacted differently to small details like that.

“No. Why do you people even think I would break one of the taboos of the consortium? I can’t believe you’re holding me captive based on some unfounded rumors or something. Does the consortium make arrests based on false claims often?”

“Mr. Halls, the claims against you weren’t brought without any reason. We’ll go over those details later, but for now, please answer our questions first. Have you or your company engaged in any research and development of artificial intelligence?”

I tapped my fingers against the table as my mind raced to find what caused people to suspect me. It didn’t take long for a few ideas to pop up as I responded in a firm tone.

“No. Of course not.”