Back in Kituso after saying goodbye to Pokkle, I head to the room Nicholas and I booked up when we arrived, and upon opening it I witness my fellow Blacklist Hunter typing on his laptop screen with several documents around him.
"Boss, you're finally back! How was Pokkle's training?" Nicholas asks very happy at my arrival.
"I gave him instructions for practicing the advanced principles and stressed the importance of practicing them consistently for several hours." I answer, closing the door.
"And you? How's the investigation into the crime in this city going? From what I see of these papers on the table, it seems you've been working hard on it in my absence. What have been your deductions?"
"I met up with local authorities, and I've also reviewed police reports, quarterly crime statistics, and background information on the area by questioning several residents. I have some leads on a drug smuggling ring and also a case of serial kidnappings." Nicholas replies.
"There are also cases of unpunished murderers and acts of illegal extortion in poor areas, but these are less relevant and easier to address."
"We can deal with those later. Tell me about the kidnappings." I ask, standing next to him.
"It's been happening for the past two months. Women between 30s and 40s have been disappearing in the area between the Rail Infrastructure Commission, the Jack Colister law firm, and the Senquindar Entertainment Agency, which covers a large portion of the city's northeast corner." Nicholas begins to explain by displaying the data on the screen.
"Was there any correlation between them other than age?" I ask.
"Only that they were all single, although according to testimonies from family and friends, not all of them were looking for a partner, so the seduction strategy doesn't seem viable, and so far no body has been found, so homicide cannot be alleged." Nicholas answers.
"What about the security cameras and witness testimony from before the victims disappeared?" I ask.
Nicholas for his part taps into the security feed of several streets and buildings, displaying them on his laptop. "There are some images of the victims before they disappear, but they always end up in a blind spot in an alley or a building, and after that, they never reappear. They simply vanish."
"That means there must be more than one person involved. Studying the victims, the location, meddling with the cameras, luring the victims, and then taking them away. Too much for one person." I say looking at the recordings.
"Have you been able to get anything from the police that can help us track down the culprits? You know, things like psychological profiles and interrogation records."
"The police gave me a couple of files with information on the 6 victims, but they weren't very cooperative about sharing their procedures despite using the Hunter trump card, and the information didn't seem very insightful, so I decided to use my Nen ability to distract the main agents while I hacked their servers. This is all I got." Nicholas says, handing me some papers with information about the missing women.
- An interim clerk trying to convince the court to change a defendant's charges from self-defense to first-degree murder.
- A model on a publicity tour to accredit various sponsors.
- A middle school teacher looking for a couple on online dating sites.
- A self-advocacy group coordinator with multiple account embezzlement lawsuits.
- A waitress at a restaurant who wore flashy clothes and lived with a roommate.
- And a shy florist with a dog now cared for by her parents.
"Okay, I'll take a look and thoroughly investigate its fillings to see if I can find any clues. Nicholas, do you think you can observe all the city's cameras in the meantime?" I ask.
"No problem. I can develop an algorithm that analyzes changes in behavior patterns and body language. That way, I can focus on the areas with the highest probability of kidnappings based on previous cases and notify you when I detect something awry." Nicholas answers very willingly.
"I'm counting on you then. I'll grab my laptop and get started on the investigation into the victims." I reply doing so.
For the next couple of days, both Nicholas and I work hard to find clues to solve the serial kidnappings.
Nicholas watches security cameras for discrepancies and searches the websites of the victims, their friends, and family members to give me. I research the backgrounds of the victims and the city we are in, and go out several times to do fieldwork in the city.
Walking through the streets, I can appreciate both the bright side of the city, which attempts to focus on its distinctive artistic expression and from where I can get more information about the victims, and the dark side, where the scumbags gather and discuss the shady dealings that the general public isn't aware of.
Over the next few days, I visit the victims' families, friends, and coworkers to ask them about the victims, their relationships, unusual behavior patterns before the disappearance—basically anything they can give me or a clue or something I can use later.
Despite jotting down and reviewing everything for clues or inconsistencies, I'm still making little progress. Detective work is harder than it looks on TV, with its contacts and cutting-edge technology. That's where my foray into the underworld comes in.
Seedy bars, abandoned or dilapidated buildings, slums, or simply people who look suspicious. I scan and approach each of these scenarios when I can't find anything, listening to conversations and observing body language for the slightest clue I can follow, be it a phrase, an exchange of money, a bruised area of the body or even minimal changes in facial expressions.
This is how I spend the next days. Going from here to there, building a foundation of the city's situation and internal business in my head through my eavesdropping, and following up on any leads in the hope of finding something.
I follow this routine day and night without rest, only stopping to contact Nicholas for consultation or assistance regarding something that catches my attention, or when I apprehend a criminal or group who is about to commit a crime, quickly dispatching them and taking them to the police for arrest.
Even with these small victories, I feel stuck and frustrated by the disappearance cases.
Date: August 7th, 2011
I'm currently at a nightclub where I've verified that several thugs and people doing business "under the radar" are meeting to discuss their plans. My current strategy is to drink some alcohol while I walk around and try to start a conversation with strangers while adopting a different persona to go unnoticed.
Normally it would be harder for a 17-year-old to walk into a place like this alone without attracting attention, but thanks to my mature appearance and the fake IDs I whipped up during my stint as a solo Blacklist Hunter, I'm able to blend in with these people and listen to them for incriminating things to target.
Of course, they tend to speak in code or with phrases that don't give much away, so it's not that easy to judge whether they're talking about an illegal operation or not, and trying to act just because they're meeting could waste my time or put me in a bad situation (it's another thing I learned during my season as a solo Blacklist Hunter).
After about an hour, as the performers are attracting the attention of the venue's attendees, I notice a newcomer with a very serious expression walk directly to the table of a man who has been waiting next to what appears to be a footman for over half an hour.
Feeling that I might be able to get something out of them, I get as close as I can and focus my aura on my ears to enhance my hearing with Enhancement.
"I heard your son's team won a big trophy in their last football game?"
"Oh yes, it was a great game, no doubt. The best part was when he broke the 30-yard line in the third quarter before passing it to his teammate for a touchdown."
"No, no, you're mistaken. The touchdown happened at the very end of the fourth quarter, and it wasn't by your son. In the third quarter, he and his teammate Rakuten got a safety, but they ultimately failed to reach the end zone."
"Wow, thanks a lot for ruining my memory. By the way, how are things going with that girl you were seeing?"
"Nah, we broke up four days ago. On our sixth date, she goes and tells me she wants to fly free and experience life as a backpacker in the West. And you? How's your wife doing?"
"Oh, she continues as always, focusing on her profession as a lawyer for her law firm. She is currently preparing her defense for the hearing that will take place in two days."
"Wish her lots of luck from me when you see her."
As I listen carefully to the conversation between the two men, I begin to get an idea of the situation.
Although it might seem like a typical irrelevant conversation between two old acquaintances if transcribed, thanks to my previous field research practices I am able to realize that it is the delivery of the details of an operation shared in code, so I make sure to remember everything.
After a few more minutes of pointless chatter, the man who came to deliver the information finishes his drink and, with a respectful gesture, leaves the club. I also get up and prepare to leave, but so that the two guys still at the meeting don't become suspicious and raise the alarm, I take a different route from the exit and, in a corner where no one can see me, I use my Wormhole Orb.
Crossing it, I appear at the top of a building near the club, and as I look towards the place I take note of the informant walking down the street and decide to follow him in Zetsu state.
In the past, when I was following the trail of another criminal case, I immediately arrested someone involved who seemed to have information and tortured him to extract it, but in the end, my premature action alerted the gang he was involved with, and they disappeared without a trace.
So for now, I'll just keep an eye on him, and when I'm confident enough that I have a clear path, I'll make my move.
I make sure to follow the informant's route, remaining a soundless entity hidden by the dark cloak of night that covers the environment, and after almost an hour of walking and 2 bus trips, the aforementioned arrives at an apartment complex.
There, the man goes up to apartment 5D, and once inside, he receives an unknown call. From what I can see of his facial expressions and inmediate access to his computer, I deduce that it must be about the management related to the operation discussed at the club.
'If I could read lips, I could easily transcribe the conversation. Learning that could help me later, but... Where would I find the time?' I complain internally as I watch from the distance of the adjacent building.
After a while, the guy hangs up his phone and laptop, indicating that the matter is settled. He then prepares a ready-made meal for dinner while watching TV, and after finishing it, he goes straight to bed to sleep.
With the target seemingly defendless, I make a quick call. "Nicholas, this is Kai. I'm calling because during my investigation into the kidnapping case, I spotted some suspicious individuals and followed one of them to his apartment. Anoeda Apartments, 5D. Can you take a look into it?"
After waiting a while, .
'It makes sense. Accused of allegedly false charges by the company in which he had invested his efforts and expectations, the guy decides he's had enough of being taken advantage of and uses his access to information about people associated with the company to profit on his own.' I analyze it internally.
"I am in the move to apprehend the suspect. Can you hack the building's surveillance and security systems?"
With confirmation from my fellow computer genius, I jump from my vantage point and begin my infiltration of the building.
First, I land on the rooftop, and Nicholas hacks the electronic lock and alarm system of the access door. After that, I descend several flights of stairs to reach the 5th floor.
Once there, I receive instructions from Nicholas that there is a surveillance camera in the corridor leading to the apartments, but I quickly receive the green light to enter and walk to the administrative assistant's door.
"Are there any security measures I need to be aware of inside?" I ask Nicholas.
With Nicholas's confirmation, I make use of my Barrier Orb to unlock the door, and walking stealthily in Zetsu while carefully looking around the darkened apartment, I approach the bed of the suspect John and prepare to place a cloth soaked in chloroform on his face.
Obviously this makes him wake up and struggle to break free, but I maintain such a strong grip that it forces him to remain lying down, and after a few seconds, he stops moving once again.
After securing the target, I search the room to make sure I haven't missed anything, and once I've confirmed there are no hidden documents or computer equipment that might be relevant, I hoist the unconscious man onto my shoulder and retrieve his laptop before opening a portal.
"Huh? Master Kai? What are you doing here at this hour of the night? And who is that person?" Riven asks, waking up on the sofa as I cross the portal to the offices.
"He's involved in a kidnapping case the agency is investigating, so I've brought him here for questioning. By the way, where's Tetsu?" I ask, not seeing him sleeping here.
"He's on guard duty outside the building. Yawn. We are not taking turns guarding the base. My turn should be in 24 minutes." Riven responds looking at the watch, obviously sleepy.
"Go find him and meet me on the second floor. It's time you both saw firsthand how things work in this industry."
Point of View Switch: Riven
A few minutes later.
In one of the back rooms at the end of the second floor, master Kai is waiting for us with the man he has brought with him, naked, blindfolded, and tied hand and foot on a chair in front of him as I arrive alongside Tetsu.
"Come inside." Kai orders in a dry, firm voice without turning around.
Both of us are dismayed and unsettled by the creepiness of the scene, but we comply nonetheless and enter the room. Then, Kai grabs a bucket full of water and throws it suddenly in the stranger's head, causing him to instantly wake up very agitated.
"What?! What's happening?! Why am I tied?! What the hell is going on?!" The man screams as he writhes, the confusion and panic evident in his voice.
"Shut up and listen. We have some questions and you're going to answer them." Kai says with a cold, sharp look and tone that is quite chilling to witness.
'I have a bad feeling.' I think to myself in a disheartening way.
"What are you talking about?! I got nothing to say! Release me in this instant if you don't want get into...!" He doesn't have time to finish that demand when Kai plunges a long, sharp steel rod into his thigh. "AAAAHHHH!!!"
"I said shut up and listen. We are an anonymous group dedicated to tracking down and purging elements that pose a risk to people, and we have brought you here to extract information from the organization you have ties with, so you are not allowed to speak unless it is to answer our questions. Understood?" Kai asks, his voice and expression still monotonous, but his eyes shining with bloodlust.
"Which organization are you referring to? I don't know anything about what you're talking about! I'm just an administrative assist...UUUGGGHHH!" The stranger's argument is interrupted again as Kai twists the bar stuck in his bleeding thigh.
As the scene before me sends shivers down my spine, Kai grabs one of the man's bound fingers with just his thumb and index finger before continuing to speak.
"First question. Who is the group that hired you?" Kai asks.
"I'm telling you, I work for a company that manages stock market investments and insurance policies, and it's not even that..." Once again the man is interrupted by excruciating pain as Kai effortlessly bends his finger all the way back. "AAAAHHHH!!! PLEASE STOP!!!"
"If you want it to stop, then you'll start answering the questions properly, or the session will gradually become more intense. Answer, who do you work for?" Kai asks again in his creepy, monotonous tone.
The man breathes frantically as a conflicted expression forms on his face, and after a few seconds of silence, as Kai slowly begins to bend his next finger, he bursts into a desperate talking.
"I don't know who they are, they've never told me their name! They remain anonymous! All I know is that they're a very powerful group!"
"You're starting to understand the situation. Okay, next question. What is their current objective?" Kai asks a new question.
"Dude, I seriously can't. Those people don't mess around. Seriously, it's not a good idea to get involved in this. I'm telling you, please." The man says hurriedly and frightened as Kai slowly bends his finger again until it breaks and he lets out another heart-rending scream.
Upon hearing him scream in pain for the third time, I feel frustration and unease at the scene I am witnessing, while my mind begins to form the idea of signaling my body to act.
"If you move now, you'll never come back here." Kai says this at the right same moment I intend to lift my foot off the ground, making me stop dead in my tracks.
What was I even intending to do? Try to convince Kai to stop? Leave the room so I wouldn't have to witness this anymore? As I start sweating from the tension in the air, Kai voice rings out again.
"Speak. Who is the next target you've directed those subjects to?" Kai asks again.
Scared and nervous at Kai's questioning, the man trembles for a few seconds before answering. "Ca... Cathreine. Catherine Belster."
Upon hearing his answer, Kai nods before turning around and addressing us.
"Now that we have the name, I'm going to talk to Nicholas about the information we've been able to gather about this guy and discuss a plan of action."
"Depending on how our discussions and planning progress, we could request your assistance on the mission, but until we address the considerations at hand, I'll leave you in charge of continuing the interrogation."
"While he's a weak link in the operation, if we keep pulling maybe we can extract something helpful from him. So I want you to continue in my stead. Okay?" In response to the question, Kai gets a nod from Tetsu before turning his gaze towards me.
"Y-Yes." I answer somewhat uncertainly.
"Great. see you another day then. And by the way, if you manage to get something interesting out of him, I might be willing to reward you with something good, so give it your all. Bye."
Having dropped that little incentive on his part, Kai finally close the door behind me and Tetsu, leaving us alone with the stranger from whom we supposedly have to extract information.
In the closed and poorly lit room, I can't help but mull over the situation as cold sweat begins to run down my head.
'I know Master Kai said we should demonstrate our loyalty and commitment as his employees whenever the occasion arose... But is this really the way to do it?'
'I thought we'd be fighting thugs who opposed the agency's activities, or killing thugs on assigned jobs. But torturing a defenseless, unknown man tied to a chair? That's something that doesn't sit well with my stomach.'
'Since both Kai and Nicholas are Hunters, the legal repercussions won't fall on us as individuals under their contract, so there's no need to worry about charges being filed. Even so...'
"Listen, you still have time to save your necks!" The man starts saying, getting mine and Tetsu attention.
"Do you really think you'll be alright if you follow this madman? Do you really think you'll get away with this kidnapping? Sooner or later, the police will track your movements and lock you up for life, or if they don't catch you, the people I work for will, which is even worse!"
"Believe me, those people don't leave any loose ends and they have eyes everywhere! You don't stand a chance! You'll be dead if they catch you! If you let me go now and help me get home, we can pretend solve this whole thing and go back to our lives!"
"What's more, I could even convince the men I work for to hire you as thugs or bodyguards! I'm sure they'd treat you and pay you much better than that guy!"
Seeing no way out of his situation, and with Kai leaving the interrogation to us, the man has decided to drop out his facade and begins trying to reach an agreement with us.
Even though I understand that his offer is nothing more than empty words spat out by fear and pain, I can't help but feel them resonate with the thoughts I've been having since this all started, reinforcing my idea that maybe we can solve this another way, like leaving the man locked up here or handing him over to the authorities to deal with.
However, while I continue to rack my brain aimlessly, Tetsu gets moving and starts rummaging through a pile of boxes on one side of the room.
"So what do you say? Do we have a deal? Yes?" The man asks with evident desperation in his voice as Tetsu pulls an iron bar and a blowtorch from the pile.
"What do you plan to do, Retsu?" I ask, somewhat nervously, to the confusion of our hostage.
"I am going to carry out the task that master Kai has entrusted to us, what else can I do?" Faced with Tetsu's clear and decisive words, I get shocked at the same time the nameless hostage jolts in panic.
As the tied subject begins to scream more frantically, trying to convince us to help him, Tetsu puts a gag in his mouth to silence him before continuing to speak.
"From the beginning, we sought to become Kai's disciples to improve our skills, and consequently, we agreed to be hired as mercenaries in his service to achieve it."
"While it's true I had my doubts at first... no, in fact, I still do. A proud warrior like myself doing dirty, despicable work in the darkest shadows of society while having to stay in this dusty and unsightly place. It's hard to process."
"When I offered myself for this deal, I hadn't really thought deeply about the implications, and I didn't hesitate to raise the issue with the master, along with you, when the opportunity arose."
"But then he made it very clear to us: obey my instructions to the letter or you're out. And honestly, I don't want to leave right now. The training methods master Kai has revealed to us are something that I'd never heard of before, and I can feel that they are truly effective every time I try them out."
"If that's what he's willing to teach us right from the start, imagine what he could teach us in the future. We could reach a whole new level as fighters, just like him."
"And that's why, even if the job he asks me to do is unpleasant or undignified, I'll swallow my displeasure and do it without complaint if there's truly a reason to do it."
"You have two options, Riven: refuse to do what you've been asked and leave through that door, never to return, or come with me and undergo this uncomfortable interrogation so you can continue to benefit from master Kai's teachings."
"That's the deal, so think carefully before you answer. Know that I won't judge you if you ultimately find this too much for you."
Tetsu's speech has left me puzzled. While I was muttering in my head about whether doing this kind of thing is acceptable or not, he already had a very firm and clear view on the matter.
As a fellow fighter, I too longed to extend the path of my possibilities in the world of combat, and of course I was able to appreciate that Kai's... sorry, Master Kai's training methods were way more advanced and effective than what I had done so far.
If I were to forgo the opportunity to learn under such an unusual teacher as him, I might never again find the opportunity to tap into my full latent potential.
Thinking about it that way, I feel somewhat foolish, and even ashamed as a fighter for having hesitated to take part in mercenary activities, so nodding in confirmation to Tetsu and picking up a hammer scattered around the place, I swallow my doubts and strengthen my resolve to immerse myself in the way the Tsukimichi Organization works.
Point of View Switch: Kai
Outside the "interrogation room," leaning against the wall right next to the door, I listen to the whole conversation unfold about my employees/students reinforcing their mindset and determination to do the job even if they dislike it, just before I hear the cries of suffering resulting from putting their resolve into action.
Smiling contentedly that they had been able to grow out those troublesome problems of morality and rebellion, I casually put my arms behind my head as I turn around and start walking away from the spot, pleased to have taken a step forward in laying the foundations for the Tsukimichi mercenary organization.
"Even so, I'm going to have to call them out later for revealing our real names in the presence of a stranger to the agency." I think to myself, emphasizing those punctual mentions in my memories.