“Well… We still have the option of checking out this place ourselves.” he admitted even though he didn't want to miss meeting up with Nora and her Bit. “Unless you’d rather be more prepared first.” he suggested, hinting that he wouldn't mind going to check out this mystery location.
Nora sighed inaudibly. They thought too much alike.
"I'd rather be more prepared first," she echoed. Working alone on this would be better - at least for now, she thought. She didn't want to miss Cor that evening either. "In the meantime, it wouldn't be a bad idea to put some more trackers on."
Cor nodded, feeling a small sense of relief that he would be able to see Nora after all. “I can do that.” he smirked briefly. “When do you think we should go on our little scouting trip?” he asked as he put on his code-protecting gloves. He didn't want to take a chance now that he knew that Cyrus was directly involved with these containers.
(That moment when you find the most obscure Tron reference ever in Phineas and Ferb.)
"Soon," Nora replied unequivocally. In truth, she was hoping to spend more time with Cor.
(lol 😆 )
Cor frowned slightly at the vague answer as he checked the area. “You know we still don't have a way to contact each other.” he pointed out, kneeling down beside one of the containers. “Unless you prefer meeting between the same buildings as last time… Or even here.” he suggested.
(Doofenshmirtz guessing a password: Ooh, I know! How about 'reindeer flotilla'?
Me: YES! YES! YES!)
"Here is fine," Nora said, looking around. "As long as Bit keeps guard."
Yes, Bit agreed before zooming off.
(Wow!)
“All right.” he nodded, grateful for having Bit watch out for them while he worked. “Just need to work out a time to meet.” he pointed out as he moved on to the next container. He figured, if all of these were heading to the same location, it wouldn't hurt to have multiple targets.
(Not even the Tron fandom has it on their site 💪🏼)
"Two nights from now," Nora said. "20000 ticks."
(That's impressive 👍)
“I’ll be there.” Cor agreed, smirking a little at her curtness. It wasn't exactly rude, just brief with enough clip to say that she didn't really want to talk.
"Good," Nora said, watching him work. It was admirable, really, but she would never admit such a thing out loud.
Cor glanced up at all the containers and shook his head. He wouldn't say anything but it bothered him how many were here. If all of them held as many repurposed programs and weapons as the first one… “I’m going to do five of these. That should be more than enough for us to track and make sure they're all going to the same location.” he informed Aroura as he moved on to the next container.
Nora nodded. "Are you checking the contents to make sure they don't contain… luxury goods and such? Things that aren't necessarily bad. We wouldn't want to waste time tracking containers carrying energy bound for Gallium, say."
Cor chuckled at the idea and nodded. “That would be embarrassing. Don't worry, I’m checking. The first mostly had weapons, the second… more programs.” he admitted, clearing his throat to get rid of some of the tightness he felt at the thought. “This one has… looks like mostly equipment. If they are building anything out there, they'll need this kind of stuff.”
Nora frowned, wondering what they could be building. It could be another giant Recognizer like the one she'd heard they had in Argon, or a throne ship like Clu's, maybe. She would have to wait and see.
Cor wasn't sure what they could be building either but with a repurposing program like Cyrus, there were multiple ways he could twist things… Shaking his head to clear it of those thoughts, he quickly went back to work, finishing the current container before moving on to the next.
Nora watched him work. Maybe it was because of her earlier conversation, but she kept thinking of Kaira. She and Black Light were both good at this kind of thing, a skill Nora had never been proficient at.
Cor sighed, running his fingers through his hair to keep it out of his face as he turned in Nora's direction. “Something on your mind, ‘Roura?” he asked with a smirk as he caught her stare.
"Nothing," Nora said stiffly. At least 'Roura was an improvement over sweet cubes, she thought.
A thought came unbidden into her mind: what if Cor nicknamed me? She found the prospect not nearly as annoying as she had thought. Black Light, however…
“Just enjoying the view, then?” Cor teased, chuckling as he flexed his arms behind his head, gracefully walking towards her.
"I don't think so," Nora said. "Are you finished yet?"
Cor would have laughed at her response if their situation didn't rely so much on not getting caught. “It’s ok if you were, you know. You wouldn't be the first…” he smirked mischievously. It was just so fun for him to push Aroura’s buttons like this. Of course, he knew there was a limit he didn't want to cross since there was no way he could do all this on his own. “Almost done. Just have to do one more container.” he assured her.
"Good," Nora said, folding her arms. It was a good thing End of Line didn't open until 12000, or she would have been in a hurry.
Cor chuckled softly and walked past her to the last container for this job, making sure to check its contents before placing the tracking data on it. I really hope Cyrus can't do anything to this… he realized, biting his lip suddenly as the worry came to mind.
"What?" Nora asked.
Cor shook his head and resumed his work at the question. “Just a thought… It's probably nothing but with someone like Cyrus, you can't be too careful.” he said, almost softly. “I was just thinking… What if Cyrus finds the tracking data…”
"If you're being careful, he shouldn't," Nora said. Realising that may have come off as cold, she added, "Though I don't think he would be suspecting it. All containers have shipping numbers, so a data tracking system in it wouldn't be abnormal."
“Oh, trust me; I’m being careful.” he assured her, nodding a little. Cor let out a soft breath and was able to relax slightly as he focused back on his work. “Right… Thanks, ‘Roura.” he said sincerely.
"You're welcome," Nora said, a little stiffly; the words were still unfamiliar to her.
Bit zoomed back to them and circled Nora's head.
"Guards?" Nora asked.
No.
"Everything's okay?"
Yes.
"Good."
Cor smiled faintly at the awkward comment… It almost reminded him of the cute way Nora said it. He glanced up at Bit when he heard the two talking. “Good. Cause I just finished the last container.” he informed. “We can get out of here without running into any trouble.”
"Good," Nora said, taking her baton from her hip. She was unsure of what to do now - say goodbye? Or was that too formal? Informal? She didn't know.
"I'll… see you," she said awkwardly, before rezzing in her bike and zooming away.