Going in Circles

[Mr.Ling]

...hack.initiated...connecting.to.Newport.Station.Security...decryption.in.progress...
...Deceiver.Mr.Ling.recognized...beginning.playback...
...uploading.data...

---

"Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't be here."

Ling turned the ace of spades over in his hand, then turned it over again to reveal a joker. "You said it yourself. "Deceiver Mr. Ling". I'm no Assassin, let alone being a Drake or a Scorpius. Only thing I have walking into..." Ling gestured to the general station around them. "... hostile territory, filled with people who want me captured if not dead, and limited reinforcements, is tricks and intimidations."

Ling sighed a little, partially mental exhaustion, and partly simply a hit of Cardamine from his inhaler. "So, when all I have is smarts, and someone comes along to outsmart me, you can probably imagine that it doesn't exactly sit well, right?"

Ling's augment hadn't slowed down since he had come into the room. Hidden behind his sunglasses, the high-power console patched security feeds and it's own camera to record into a file to be sent to Mactan through his ship. Databases were being searched, hunting for information on the three in front of him and the one left behind. As was usual for his experiences in the Inner Circle, Ling was both ready and expecting to die in this place. The cards up his sleeves could only get him so far, as useful as they were.

Nonetheless, it didn't show on his face. His confident smile didn't so much as twitch. There were two masked individuals at this table.

---

...encryption.in.progress...disconnecting.from.network...hack.terminated...