The
main character reads a news report about
Heirson Health Products that downplays the role of NXX in the situation; responses from the public are mixed and confused. The MC notices her social media history is being dug up in connection with the case, and
Artem calls to recommend she not come to the office the following day to avoid a swarm of journalists.
The next day at the regular NXX meeting, Vyn and Marius uncharacteristically skip the meeting due to personal business. Luke and Artem discuss the transfer of NXX investigation to the National Security Bureau, with Luke noting that all cases that appear related to Heirson on NXX have been access-restricted from the team. The remaining investigations appear to be unrelated to NXX; Luke points out a specific case the Big Data Lab has sorted to the top of the list.
The new case is a disappearance from a year ago that the Data Lab has only recently determined was anomalous -- that of
Gerard Boone, a 14-year-old who escaped from the
Third Juvenile Correctional Facility and has been missing since. The three find its sorting near the top to be unusual despite it having no apparent link to NXX. Artem declines the case due to an influx of Heirson-related cases, leaving the MC to work on it with Luke.
AP x10 (First-Time Cost)
S-Chip x40
