Instead, the field has now evolved to the point of enticing valuable employees to switch their loyalty from one company to another and arranging for their escape ― a highly dangerous endeavor, given the tight security in place around such individuals.

Two male free-lance agents, Fox and the unnamed narrator, have been hired by the Japanese firm Hosaka to bring genetic researcher Hiroshi Yomiuri over from Maas Biolabs GmbH, a German rival.

The company sends its top researchers to the lab to meet with Hiroshi, only for everyone there to die or suffer permanent brain damage in a sudden outbreak of disease.

Hosaka wipes out the bank accounts of Fox and the narrator, cuts off their business connections, and sends assassins to kill them, blaming them for the deaths.

One week later, the narrator is still there, contemplating suicide, pining for Sandii while berating himself for overlooking the disk and her treachery, and waiting for Hosaka forces to arrive.