The City's Surveillance room showcased every camera, hidden or obvious, in the city. A massive room with small supercomputers filled with highly classified data, and access to any camera within the city.

These supercomputers were the size of standard PCs. It could fit under a desk and leave plenty of legroom. Avery didn't know the technology behind it. He tried questioning employees in the past, but it was classified information.

Avery didn't have access to these computers. Only Ertz's team did. Avery knew this, yet still made his way here.

He walked over to a random person on a computer.

"Hey… my name is Avery, the Chancellor's son. Do you mind if I can use that… for a quick second?"

The supercomputers didn't only connect to every camera within the city. It also had access to individual files from anyone within the walls. Avery wanted to find Tim's files and search for his residence. His plan only extended that far. If he were to obtain Tim's residence, he would have to think long and hard about how to approach it.

The guy looked up. He pushed his glass up the bridge of his nose. His long hair blocked half his face. "Erm… no can do. Also… you aren't allowed in here…"

"Yes, yes, I'm aware. I just want to do something really quick, then I will make my way out. I just need to use the computer."

"Erm… there are community computers at the library…"

Avery sighed with a friendly smile. "Thank you for your help."

There was no point in asking for permission. Employees were under strict rules on letting others use the computers. It was worth a shot. He walked towards the exit.

On second thought…

"2A, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Please do not be so careless."

"Heh, sorry to disappoint you, 2A."

Avery turned back and went to the same person.

He went to the other side of the chair, closer to where the supercomputer was positioned. He leaned onto the table with one arm. "Y'know… I always wondered what was in my government files."

"Erm… I will not show you."

"Oh, you don't have to. Though… it would be pretty cool."

Avery discreetly positioned his other hand under the table. 2A morphed into a thumb drive and was inserted into a proper connection.

Avery needed to buy some time for 2A to search and file Tim's files. Around 45 seconds should be enough.

"Erm…" he pushed his glasses towards his face, "I cannot do that."

Luckily, this guy spoke slowly.

"Yes… I know." Avery plastered a fake smile. "I'm saying hypothetically. Like… how cool would it be to see your government files? I'm sure you check your own from time to time."

Around 25 seconds left.

He responded. "Erm… no… I do not."

"Uh… oh… ok."

Roughly 15 seconds left.

Before Avery got the chance to speak, the man opened his mouth. "Erm… you should not be here any longer. You must leave."

Roughly 8 seconds left.

"Yes… I'll leave. It was nice talking to you… uh…" Avery read the nametag on his shirt. "Glakilter…?" He was unsure of how to pronounce the unusual name.

Avery pulled 2A out, stuffed it in his pocket, and left the room. Once the coast was clear, it reverted to a watch.

"2A, did you get it?"

"Obtaining information regarding Tim is a success. Files copied: 3,784."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"3,784? What—I only need one file."

"I apologize, I was not sure which 'Tim' you needed."

"Oh… ya… he doesn't have a last name. Hm, ok then. Guess we will sort these files when I get home."

Avery took a taxi back home. Minimal traffic allowed him to reach home faster than expected.

He unlocked the front door and entered. The lights were off. He checked the time and clicked his tongue in disappointment. His father wouldn't be home for another three hours or so.

He raced up the stairs and barged into his room, and the lights automatically turned on.

"2A…"

2A morphed into a thumb drive. Avery stood in front of his massive walk–in closet. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

There it was.

Something so beautiful…

…Yet so deadly.

Something that represents power and intelligence itself.

The figure loomed in the dark closet, its presence unmistakable. A honeycombed visor, glowing yellow, that can be seen in the darkest abyss. The armor, a deep lapis blue, was built for war—bulky and reinforced from head to toe. Black strips ran down each sleeve, marking the wearer with a fearful insignia: SCAR. A name that carried the weight of fear, of absolute authority, of those who enforced the City's brutal law without hesitation.

This was no normal SCAR suit. It was one of the more powerful ones, gifted by Ridley.

An A–tier wearable suit. Usually, A–tier agents are robotic. However, this one was special.

Ridley's team crafted it as a gift for Avery. A wearable A–tier suit was unheard of. It was the first of its kind.

Every time Avery stood before the suit, there was a temptation to check the stats. He's seen its stats many times, yet it still awed him each time.

Avery turned on the light. He held 2A tightly. All he had to do was insert 2A in the side of the SCAR suit.

He shook his head and exited the walk–in closet.

"I don't want to use that."

Avery's initial idea was to use the SCAR suit to display holographic images and information at a larger scale than 2A could. Something about that suit made him turn away. He disliked SCAR and what they stood for, and didn't want to be associated with them. Yet, he was good friends with Ridley, who was Archon's right–hand man.

"Kinda weird… my thinking."

He shook away his thoughts and placed 2A on the dressing table. He commanded 2A to run through the files and display holographic images and information of every file it scanned.

"Ok… set the age range from 12 to 18—no—20. Realistically, Tim is probably only 14, so even having 20 is a stretch. Whatever, though. Also, eye color. Filter eye color to blue only. Height—I'm not sure. Leave it as is. Ya, just filter age and eye color."

2A ran through the files.

"Filtering files… success. New number of files: 731."

"731? Are these names just Tim? Or is it Timothy or something?"

"Names with the common prefix of 'Tim' are included. That goes for names such as Timothy, Timmy, Tima, Timberly, Timur, and so forth."

Avery was visibly shocked. "Tima, Timberly? No—No! Tim is a male. Filter out the female sex."

"Filtering files… success. New number of files: 703."

That didn't help at all!

Avery collapsed on his bed, his stomach facing up. He sighed, knowing that he had to manually review 703 files to find one person.

"There has to be an easier way."

"Facial recognition is recommended. I have previous data on the 'Tim' you are searching for."

Avery shot up on his bed. "Facial recognition? Why couldn't you do that earlier?"

"Facial recognition would not have been time efficient."

"Is that so? Ok, then, run it."

"Running facial recognition on 'Tim', from the outsider world. Estimated time till completion: 3 minutes."

Avery collapsed on his bed while he waited for 2A to finish its job. He lay with his nose dug deep into the pillow. Avery needed to formulate a plan for this situation. He didn't know what to say to Tim or how to approach him.

Maybe bumping into him 'accidentally?' That would be weird. He couldn't approach his house or apartment, assuming Tim had a place to live.

Avery didn't know what to do, and there was no one he could ask for advice. He had to do this on his lonesome.

He groaned and hammered another pillow beside him. "This is going to be a pain in the ass."

"Scanning complete. Displaying Tim's files."

"Heh? Done already? That felt like only a minute."

Avery stood and examined Tim's files. The picture, his height, and eye color were all accurate. Now, the bigger question was who created these files for him? Tim couldn't have possibly walked into the government office asking for a new ID card without showing his older one—lots of unanswered questions with minimal impact on Avery. For now, he focused on where and how he could reunite with his half–brother.

The issue date of the card was a few weeks ago, around the same time Avery himself returned.

"Let's see… he lives in Centail? That's a wealthy area. He can't afford a house there without significant financial assistance. Or, maybe he's living with someone? There is a large activist group that supports the idea of outsiders living within the walls. Maybe someone from there?"

"I do not have any access to that information."

"What? No, I'm talking to myself. Uh, ok, write the address down in my notes section. I'll be visiting Centail within the next few days."

"Address successfully written in the notes section. Anything else required of me?"

"No, I think that's enough for now." Avery sat on the edge of his bed, looking at the wooden floor. "How do I play this out?"

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