Winter Song
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4| Needle in the Dark
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The festival was in twenty-four hours.
Yet, they were nowhere near to finding their subject than they were yesterday afternoon when they arrived to town.
"Anything in the south perimeter?" Natsume asked Lee through his Bluetooth commset, while he leaned on his bike, casually watching the pedestrians in the market district.
"Nothing unusual," he heard his partner answered followed by faint tapping sounds of his keyboard in the background.
It was the same yesterday when they started their reconnaissance. Lee stayed at the hotel to man the feeds from the cameras, while Yojiro and Natsume visited the most crowded places to scout on foot. Today, Yojiro was assigned to the park where the festival will be held tomorrow, while Natsume checked out the market district.
The tracer did detect a few Alices, but the signatures were not exactly the same to the ones detected by the satellites relating to their unknown subject. With the size of the crowd, this occurrence was something to be expected.
That actually also brought up the flaw to their plan, which was unless the subject used his—or her—Alice, they won't have a chance of finding him—or her.
"This is a dangerous thing we are hoping for," Lee had commented last night when they discussed this.
"Why do you say that?" he had asked. Lee did look troubled—even more than usual.
"Correct me if I'm wrong," he started to explain. "But this person we're looking for has been trying to live under the radar. He's probably aware that he can be tracked, so he will avoid using his Alice—as much as he can help it. So those markings up there," he motioned to the maps on the wall. "Were maybe his slip-ups. As if something happened that obliged him to use his Alice."
He paused, looked at his partner, and then to their newest member. "From what I gathered, this subject could be the most powerful being in the world, and we're hoping he makes a mistake—use his Alice—so we can trace him." He shook his head, and then mumbled, "Sounds pretty dangerous to me."
Natsume agreed. Lee had a point. This was a dangerous thing they're hoping for to finish this mission. The subject's Alice is dangerous—maybe even more dangerous than the Black Cat's—and more powerful.
More powerful than him.
Something about that has been bothering Natsume. It wasn't about his pride, at finding out there's someone out there who was immensely more dangerous than him. It was the shape of the subject's Alice that was not sitting well with him.
"Man, this festival is really like a big deal, isn't it?" the amusement in Yojiro's voice broke through Natsume's thoughts. "With the preparation they're doing, you'll think it's the Olympic season or something."
"What do you know about the Olympics?" Lee chuckled, unable to let an opportunity to bicker with the youngest of the team pass.
"I know more than you think I do, old man," he replied taking the bait.
"That's enough, you two," Natsume interfered letting the authoritative tone coat his voice. He knew if he won't, the two kids would start squabbling again like they always did ever since Yojiro came to the Academy. "Yojiro, focus on the mission and ignore Lee. And Lee, stop egging him on."
Both mumbled an apology.
Natsume briefly wondered what would happen with those two after he graduated. There will be no one to act as a referee when they get started with their usual arguments. He knew Lee never meant to bully the kid, but Yojiro was too defensive at times that the older man couldn't resist pushing his buttons more. Didn't he know that the best way to shut Lee up was to shut up?
"Check out Trouble in the flesh," Natsume's ears perked up automatically upon hearing two giggling voices close to where he was situated. They were actually speaking in French, so Natsume wasn't sure if he heard them correctly.
"Shh," the other girl chastised the first speaker, but not so convincingly. Obviously, he found her friend's comment quite amusing as well. "He might hear you."
"What could be the odds of him understanding French?" the first girl challenged.
Natsume's brows furrowed. Could they be talking about him?
Out of curiosity, he angled his head a little towards the two and, with the help of his dark sunglasses, observed them subtly in his peripheral.
Definitely tourists. Both girls were like Barbie-come-to-life with their height and their slim built. One girl was fair-skinned, with wavy sandy blonde hair gathered to one shoulder; while the other girl, slightly tanned, but with longer hair in reddish brown color. Her hair also flowed in waves around her shoulders with the tips almost reaching her waist.
"Hey, it's the modern world," the brunette said. "For all you know, he can actually speak seven languages fluently."
Just five actually, Natsume corrected silently, conceding to the very possibility that they were talking about him.
"Who cares?" the blonde shrugged. "All I'm saying is he's hot, and don't even tell me you don't agree."
Natsume felt a tinge of warmth from his neck creeping up to his jaw.
The blonde continued her tirade in fluid French, "Just look at that height, and those lean muscles underneath that leather jacket. And that hair! It has that just-out-of-bed look, making your fingers itch so much of wanting to run them through those locks."
"Lucy!"
"Oh, and if he offers me a ride in that big red bike, I'm sorry, Ave, but you'll have to find Rafe alone."
"You're incorrigible," the other girl spat, even crossing her arms under her chest. Then, after a moment of silence, the two girls burst into fits of laughter like the whole thing was one big joke.
"Fine," the second girl conceded, still clutching her hand over her stomach from laughing so hard. "I admit that he's hot."
"And you won't mind a ride in his bike,"
The brunette's tone sobered when she said, "Let's not go there."
Natsume stayed where he was like a statue. After the girls were long gone, swallowed by the rest of the crowd in the market district, he cleared his throat and fidgeted involuntarily.
He wasn't used to being ogled. Yes, a few—alright, a lot—of girls were crushing on him in the Academy for reasons he couldn't really grasp, but they never bothered him. They were really just silly and childish infatuations. He knew they'll outgrew them eventually—like in the case of Permy, who used to claim she's the president of the Natsume-Ruka fans club. Eventually, she realized that her attraction to the Black Cat was really just superficial.
But those two girls—ladies—made him uncomfortable in so many levels. Could it be an indication of how unprepared he was to be back in the outside world indefinitely?
Despite of his eagerness to graduate, he did consider sometimes whether he was mature enough to live outside the walls that protected them for over a decade.
Then, he thought of Mikan. For her, he would be. Maybe he's not hundred percent ready, but for her, and their future, he'd do his damn best—that he could be certain of.
With that thought, Natsume pushed the comments of the two girls aside, and went back to people watching. He'll give the place about half an hour more before transferring to another hot spot.
Ten minutes into the half hour, however, the tablet computer in his jacket pocket started beeping. Natsume casually took it out. It could be similar to the ones they've been getting since yesterday. Powerful enough, but not exactly the same Alice signature they're looking for.
Natsume fumbled with the screen, and located the blinking red dot.
"Lee," he called to his partner through his earpiece. His partner should be able to compare the data from the previous findings, and verify whether the trace was valid.
"I'm on it, H," he heard him typing away. "Give me a sec."
Natsume decided to might as well check it out, seeing that it's in the market district—just a few meters from where he was. So he left the bike and started walking, following the direction from the map in the feed.
"Pretty powerful, don't you think, Lee?" usually, the trace they've been picking up would only last a few seconds, not more than a minute—indicating that the Alice energy used wasn't significant.
This realization made the Black Cat pick up speed until he was sprinting to get to the location. Maybe it's not their subject, but whatever it was, there should be no reason a person released or was releasing such an Alice unless they were in danger or causing someone harm.
In less than a couple of meters from the spot, the beeping stopped, and so did Natsume. He looked at the screen, perplexed. Then, one continuous shrill sound emanated from the feed, and suddenly disappeared, completely.
"What the—," he heard Lee curse from the other line. There was supposed to be a resonance. The trace was supposed to fade, not just disappear.
The signature! Natsume was sure of it. He found their subject. He dashed to the remaining distance to where the tracer detected the Alice.
"What's going on?" Natsume heard Yojiro's question over the commset, but he ignored him for the time being. Finding the subject was more pressing matters than his inquiries.
"It's a match, H!" Lee announced confirming his conclusions just seconds ago.
"You found it?" the excitement in Yojiro's voice was obvious, but none of his team paid attention.
"Where are you now?" Lee asked. Natsume has just reached the spot in the feed, but with the scene he was welcomed with, it would be hard to tell who triggered the tracer.
"I'm here," Natsume replied in his serious voice.
In front of him was what used to be a neat row of tents with vendors selling different retail products from rare produce to gourmet pastries to knickknacks and souvenirs, but was now a smorgasbord of products, vendors and tourists. It was like something tripped one of the poles holding the tent, causing a domino effect to the entire alley.
"H, talk to me," Lee called sounding as anxious as ever.
Natsume roamed his eyes, quickly assessing both the damage and the reaction of the people involved in the accident. It appeared that no one got seriously hurt.
"I got nothing," Natsume told Lee, gritting his teeth. This was it—they're only chance to catch their subject. Their chance to finish their mission. "Please tell me you got something on camera."
Lee's words came true. It took an accident—a dangerous one at that—to make the subject use his Alice, and in turn, activating the tracer. And he won't likely make another slip-up anytime soon.
"Hang on," Natsume waited while Lee reviewed the surveillance feeds.
He continued to observe the people in the scene. There were kids crying, calling to their parents. There were some who were still obviously shocked, like the two French ladies he saw earlier, who were now standing at the side of the street far enough that they weren't directly involved, but close enough to feel the tension and the fear pulsating from the crowd.
"Nope, nothing. I see the whole thing go down, but no discernible source. One thing for sure, though. Whoever it was, he saved a whole lot of people today."
"Damn," Natsume cursed under his breath.
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Face calm, Natsume fought the frustration he was feeling by pacing the small expanse of the living room of their hotel suite.
They have just lost their window—their only chance of finding the subject. His ticket to coming home to Mikan's waiting arms.
They're missing something, he was sure of it. There was something in the event earlier—another piece in the puzzle of their subject's identity.
"Do you think it's telekinesis?" Yojiro suddenly asked, catching the Black Cat's attention. He stopped pacing and turned to his team.
Yojiro was standing behind Lee as they watched the surveillance feed from a few hours ago for the fifth time since they got back to the hotel to regroup.
"It's possible," Lee replied absently.
Telekinesis?
Natsume considered the possibilities. He, himself, had seen the feed thrice, but he could still not pinpoint what it was that was nagging at him.
Mochu also has that Alice, he remembered. With that, he approached the two and called Lee's attention.
"Can you do a signature comparison from what we have in the database?"
Lee pursed his lips, as his habit when he's contemplating possibilities.
"Anyone in particular as reference point?" he asked their team leader while he sat up straight, and poised his fingers over the keyboard on ready.
"A guy from my class is telekinetic," Natsume answered. "His name's Mochiage. We call him Mochu."
Lee didn't waste any time and went to work right away. Yojiro quietly observed over the tech guy's shoulder.
If the subject was also telekinetic, surely his—yes, he decided to imagine they're subject as a guy until proven otherwise, for easy reference—Alice signature will be at least similar to Mochu's. It wasn't really a good lead, but it was a lead nonetheless.
"Got it," Lee announced triumphantly.
Natsume walked towards them and stood on the other side of the tech guy. The screen showed the two Alice signatures, looking like a type of graph, side by side. The graph on the left is Mochu's Alice signature, while the graph on the right was their subject's. The data on their subject's signature came from the trace that afternoon, so it should be quite reliable compared to the vague signatures the satellites had detected over the years.
The Black Cat scrutinized the two graphs. Although, at first glance, they were not an exact match, there were a few points that landed in the same coordinates in the plane.
"The program says it's a significant match," said Lee interpreting the data summary at the bottom of the screen. "It's not a perfect match, but significant means that it's of the same classification."
One piece of the puzzle, Natsume thought. But there were still more, something that still wasn't clicking.
"Is that only a piece of the signature graph?" Yojiro asked pointing at the graph on the right. Both Lee and Natsume suddenly looked at him, as if he just asked something absurd.
"What are you talking about, boy?" Lee shook his head. "You can't accurately compare signatures if you're only using a portion of it as variable."
"Okay," Yojiro shrugged, uncaring. "I just thought you cut it at an odd point, since the last one looks like half a peak. It went up but it didn't come down."
That was it!
Lee met Natsume's gaze, both pairs of eyes widening in disbelief. Yojiro, the newest and youngest in their team, actually pointed out something very significant—something they've forgotten right after they noticed it that afternoon.
A normal Alice energy fades into a small resonance. It was like when a fire is snuffed out, it doesn't just disappear completely. The smoke lingers before it completely dissipates. It's the same with Alice energy. It should slowly dissipate. That wasn't the case with their subject's.
His Alice energy peaked before it just suddenly disappeared, which was why the signature showed half a peak, as Yojiro put it, as its last point.
"Nullifying Alice?" Lee eyed him cautiously. He knew Mikan's Alice was nullification.
Natsume mentally shook himself. He couldn't let himself wander on thoughts of his girlfriend right now.
His expression remained stoic as he spoke, "Maybe, but even a Nullifying Alice fades the same way other Alices do, and its signature reflects it."
"A controlling device?" Yojiro contributed.
Lee's eyebrow twitched in response. Was the boy actually slowly earning respects from the bullying Lee?
Natsume had to admit, even he was surprised. Yojiro was providing significant contributions to this meeting.
"That's the most possible answer behind it," Natsume affirmed.
"That's some controlling device, though," Lee mumbled as he returned his attention to the monitor, playing the feeds once again. "To be able to do that."
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While Lee studied the other surveillance feeds around the market district, Yojiro went out to buy their dinner. Natsume used this time to call in what they got so far.
He stepped out to the veranda, saw the sun slowly setting on the west, and braced himself for the call he didn't want to make. Persona wasn't thrilled with their progress, and he was definitely not ecstatic when Natsume told him of the accident that afternoon.
"Are you telling me, you could have been staring at the subject that whole time, and you didn't even know it?" Natsume didn't like his tone. He never liked his tone.
"Are you suggesting we should have grabbed everyone who was there?" he replied in a voice dripping with sarcasm.
Persona was one of his least favorite people. He wouldn't have cared how important this mission was to their adviser, if he didn't care about the consequences himself.
"I'm sure I don't need to remind you what the implications are if the Anti-Alice Organization gets a hold of it before we do," Natsume gripped the mobile phone dangerously tight. Persona didn't care about the subject. He only cared about its Alice.
Natsume took a deep breath before responding with conviction, "We will find him."
"Make sure you do," was all Persona said before disconnecting abruptly.
He pocketed the phone and exhaled his frustration of his adviser.
Just a few more days, he chanted in his head like a mantra. A few more days, and he was free of Persona. He wouldn't have to deal with the blasted teacher anymore.
He wouldn't have to deal with Persona, nor think about the Academy, and not even worry about the Anti-Alice Organization.
Despite his detestation of the teacher's guts, Natsume knew Persona had a point. They can't let the Anti-Alice Organization get a hold of their subject. That kind of Alice cannot fall into the wrong hands. Who knew what they'll do with so much power?
The Anti-Alice Organization… though it wasn't verified, there was a big probability the Organization was looking for the same person. If the news reached the Alice Academy, surely the same news also reached the counter organization.
An idea formed in the Black Cat's mind.
He walked back in the living room and approached Lee, who was still busy scanning the other surveillance feeds.
"I need you to look at something for me, Lee," he said as he stood right beside the tech guy.
Lee turned his head towards him, and just waited.
"I need you to look at the surveillance feeds again," he continued. "But this time, look for probable Anti-Alice members."
Lee's eyebrow raised, curious, "Any plans on sharing where you're going with this?"
"Something Persona mentioned,"
"Persona?" he knew how much Natsume disliked the teacher, so it was a surprise to hear him acknowledging the teacher gave him any good ideas.
"AA is probably searching like us, right?" Lee nodded in agreement. "If we don't have a lead, can we also simply assume they don't? What if they've seen something during the accident this afternoon that we didn't?"
His partner chewed on that for a moment before speaking, "I like the way you think."
With that, he turned his attention back to the computer in front of him, and started working.