That's as far as your mind lets you remember but there's a weird gap in your memory involving him. Weird.

"Don't know how or why. Somehow, he works here too. Almost certain he worked here longer than us."
"Weird, I don't remember him going missing?" "All I know is a weird man with a weird smile is his 'liaison' in this facility."

"Weird little smiling man has lots of friends. Lots of friends scattered throughout layers. Keeps an eye on us, makes sure we do our job. There's one watching us now."
You turn your head again. You swear you saw someone looking at you but they swerve their head before you could get a good look at them.

God, and you thought being watched by BLACKWELL was bad enough. "Who can I trust, then? You seem to know who's trustworthy."

"Stick to the freaks. The unpopular. The unhinged. Sanity's not a good sign here." She pauses for a moment as she tries to think of any other advice. "Don't trust those who associate with the higher ups. Corporate ladder is stained with betrayal." She continues to tap her fingernails on the table.

"Elizabeth seems different from the rest. Unsure if her heart is fully in it."

"Other advice? Cards close to chest. Only reveal as much as they reveal to you. Gauge their reactions. See how much interest they have in you. Too much interest is bad sign."

You suppose that's sound enough advice. "Thank you, Hidaka." The three people you're able to work with right now are a robot, a melting blob of a girl and a mystery man. You nod along before you move to check up on Kevin. For a kid he's been remarkably well-behaved. He hasn't really caused much of a fuss so far.

Hidaka keeps a watch out for anyone suspicious as you chat. It helps your nerves at least.

"So. Uh. Kevin."
"Yeah, mister?" The kid continues to fiddle with the spoons he took from your tray.

"Who are your parents exactly? They, uh, seem to let you do a lot on your own." You rather not say his parents suck ass at parenting right to his face.
"Uhmmm. They're, uh. Eee-tee-fees?" He's trying his best to remember with that tiny little head of his. "They have cool guns and they shoot the monsters here!!! They're really cool!!! Are you one, mister?"

Oh. No wonder why they leave him to his own devices. From what little you know about ETFs, they seem to do a LOT of field work. "I'm just a researcher." You point at your labcoat. "You sure they're fine with you running around here?"

"Uh-huh! The guards said they'd look after me! My mama said they'd 'pay dearly' if they don't! Money's important, right?"
You smile at the kid, not wanting to tell him his mom probably threatened to castrate someone if her kid got harmed. "Sure. Do you see your parents a lot, kid?"

"Uhm. They're really busy. So I just make friends with the adults here! Not a lot of other kids so..." Kevin shrugs, not really recognizing how worrying this is to you. "Yeah!"

Might as well get something useful out of him. "Who are you friends with?"