Disclaimer: Noblesse isn't mine.

I Am Tao (Part 36)

"It's just a little farther." Yuna whispered, leading the boy by the hand. His eyes looked glassy, but he followed without a struggle. "Oppa, Principal Lee told me to call you."

"The boss did?" Tao slid into the chair, careful not to touch anything on the desk least Frankenstein notice that something was misplaced. "What do you need?"

"I need to go to the hospital, but Suyi called me earlier and told me not to go there. She was really worried about the strange message they left on her answering machine."

What did Suyi know about the hospital? Tao met Takeo's eyes and mouthed for him to grab his laptop. "Yuna, are you alright? What's going on?"

"I'm fine. It's not me." She stopped on the sidewalk and smiled back at the boy. He seemed okay so far. His pace was slow, but the walk hadn't tired him out. "He's a student from our school. He's sick, and I think he needs to go to the hospital. It's just that Suyi was so worried about the hospital when she called me earlier. I tried to ask Principal Lee about it, but he told me to call you."

Takeo reappeared with the laptop. Tao quickly took it from him and searched through the hospital database. "So, the boss told you to call me? Must be important. What's wrong with this boy?"

"I think he might be delirious. He's trying to focus. I know he is, but everything he says comes out as a mumble. Here, listen." Yuna held up the phone to the boy's ear. "Say something. How do you feel?"

His eyes gleamed red in the streetlights but softened as the words eventually processed in his mind. "M-em I-memmm I'm memem-mem."

The phone slid from Tao's hand.

"What's wrong?" Takeo rushed to his side and clasped his hand on his friend's shoulder, gently shaking him. "Tao, is it?"

"It… happened again."

Takeo grabbed the phone from the desktop. "Yuna, are you okay? What happened?"

"Memme-mem-me."

"Yuna!"

"Yes?" She took the phone back from the boy and continued to walk.

"Get away from that kid!"

"I know he's contagious, but I can't just leave him all alone on the street if he's this sick. I'll take him home. The address on his ID is near mine. I can at least take him home and call an ambulance. Thanks for helping, Oppa. I'm sorry I bothered you."

The call fell silent. "She hung up?"

Tao's eyes flashed up.

"I know what you're thinking, and I'm not going to let you do it." Takeo dumped the phone into the receiver and stomped through the door. "I'll do this."

"I'm going!" Tao instantly chased after him, catching his arm just as they reached the living room. "I'm going with you."

"You're needed here, Tao."

"Takeo, I…" The words trailed off as his voice filled with vulnerability. "I know what to do. How to handle the infected kid. I made a mistake last time, but I know how to handle this now."

"Think this through. What about that lead you found? You are needed here. I can't do what you can do, but I can go collect one child. I'll bring him back here."

"I can help you."

"Tao, I'm not going to let you go through this twice."

He nodded in resignation. "Wear your headset. I'll entrust him to you."

[-] [-] [-]

What a scary guy! Mark panted outside the police department and collapsed onto a bench. Whatever that principal was, he was a frightening man. How could someone like that head a school? The police must not be aware of this. If they were, they would be trembling just as he was now. Scary, scary guy. No wonder the boss wanted to keep him distracted. Whenever that man grew tired of going along with this charade there would be hell to pay, and no way was he going to stick around to see that. That man outmatched him. There was no doubt about it. He didn't stand a chance in fooling him.

Mark closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing slowly. He didn't have much time before the police officers realized that they had been played against each other, and when they did, they would find him at the center of everything. Lies could only last for so long. His part in this had to end tonight.

As an informant, it was his duty to gather and spread information. As a double agent, he had access to important data from many sources. As an Union member, he only operated in half truths and boldfaced lies. As all three of these, he would give the principal one final blow and then run for his life.

He dialed the number to the tip hotline, and the call was answered on the first ring. He had called in false information before regarding Jameson. It wouldn't be difficult to fabricate another series of lies. This was only to create time. It didn't matter what happened in the end. He wouldn't be there to watch it fall apart. "I have information regarding the experiments… all those kids. I know what happened to them. Who's behind it."

The sound of a chair scraping against the floor screeched through the phone, and a deep voice coughed with surprise. "What do you know?"

"Listen carefully, and don't interrupt me. I don't have much time. I'm in a bad situation, and if they found out… This isn't safe for me." Mark lowered his tone to a whisper as if afraid that someone would overhear the conversation, and the fear that he still felt from the brief encounter with the principal caused his voice to quiver. "The stories about biological warfare on the news… those kids just started on a rampage. I know why. He… a man like that… He's wanted in so many industries, and he works at a school? A man like that? He just needed access to children."

"Who is-"

"Just listen. The children involved in the biological warfare were part of a pilot series of experiments. They were targeted through their interest in a comic that was specifically designed to train the children how to be experimental material. The internet popularity of the comic was a means to study potential specimens. This greatly reduced the amount of evaluation required, and the outcome was considered successful. The next step of experimentation was started. The comic was converted from an online resource to a physical convention. While the internet was used to select specimens on an intellectual level, the convention was intended to select specimens based on a physical level to be used for future combat. This was interrupted, and the results were inconclusive. The lab was discovered, and the experiments were thwarted. This is where the police are incorrect. The lab was discovered, yes, but the experiments were simply moved elsewhere. The children that have gone missing over the last few hours were all taken from the same school. The kids in those experiments. The kids missing now. The principal of Ye Ran knows where they are. He arranged all of this. He-"

"What did you say?!"

The question was screamed from behind him. Mark abruptly ended the call. He wasn't able to incriminate the principal as thoroughly as he had intended, but the man he was speaking to would have heard the shout and believed that he had been discovered. That was valuable by its own right.

"What did you say about Principal Lee?!" The voice belonged to a young man with red hair, a Ye Ran student from the uniform, and by the way he ran towards the bench, the boy already knew the answer to his question.

How inconvenient. Mark walked away from the boy as if he hadn't heard his call. Too much time had passed as it was. He couldn't afford to waste it on something like this. His purpose here was complete. It was time to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

A hand grabbed his shoulder and swung him around. His coffee cup fell to the ground. Mark knocked the hand away and jumped back, landing in a fighting stance. The young man matched him effortlessly. "You have good form."

"So do you." The boy brought his fists up to his chin, ready to block or strike at a second's notice. "I heard what you said about Principal Lee. I don't know your intentions, but I don't like people lying about my friends."

"I don't know what you're talking about. The principal's your friend?"

"I know him well enough. He didn't do any of that stuff. I see him all the time. I was at that convention. He has nothing to do with it."

"Shinwoo, what are you doing?" A shorter boy ran up to them, out of breath.

"Woo Ikhan?" Mark lowered his fists. It would draw less attention to handle this diplomatically. If Ikhan was here, then that should be simple to accomplish, but the boy was too smart. Best to keep his focus misguided. "You know this delinquent?"

"Yeah, he's one of my friends. The idiot's always jumping into fights."

"Attacking a police officer is a little more serious than just a simple fight, but if he's your friend, I'll let it go this time." Mark crouched down and picked up his cup. "He made me spill my coffee."

"Ikhan," Shinwoo did not lower his defenses, "how do you know this guy?"

"Everyone knows Mark. He's really popular."

"Haha, you're embarrassing me! I'm just an intern. That's all. No one really cares about what I do." Mark smiled at the boys, disarming Shinwoo's apprehensions. If he showed no signs of aggression, the boy would feel like he was the provoker rather than the defender, and it looked like that idea didn't settle well with the kid. "But what are you doing here? Checking on the computer system or visiting the chief?"

"My uncle's here?"

"Yeah, one of the detectives got caught giving confidential information to the principal of Ye Ran. I was passing that information along to another officer when your friend attacks me out of no where."

"Shinwoo," Ikhan sighed, "did you really do that?"

"It's not a big deal!" Mark laughed, checking his cup for cracks. It seemed to be okay. "It was just a misunderstanding, right?"

Shinwoo finally lowered his fists. "But your information on Principal Lee was wrong."

"I didn't verify it. I was just passing it along, but I can't really talk about that. I don't want to end up like Detective Kim."

That caught Ikhan's attention. "What happened to Detective Kim?"

Mark shrugged. "I can't talk about that, either, but the detective is with your uncle now. Go ask him."

"Alright, we will."

"Hey, what about Principal Lee?" Shinwoo interjected before Ikhan could go inside. "We can't just let people accuse him of stuff like that. He's a nice guy."

"Yeah… he's nice." Mark cringed at the compliment. A nice guy with a creepy presence. "The principal is inside, too."

"He is?"

"Yeah." Mark shrugged and placed his cup in Shinwoo's hands. "You made me spill my coffee. The least you can do is wash this for me."

"Number one dad?" Shinwoo looked at him and back to the cup. "You have a kid? You're not that much older than us."

"That's what it says." Mark smirked. "I will offer you one bit of fatherly advice. If you make a habit of showing off that talent of yours, sooner or later someone will take notice. Keep that in mind when you fight."

"Um, thanks?"

"You boys stay safe." Mark waved as he walked away. "I'd hate to see either of you in my line of work. I mean that."

[-] [-] [-]

"Good evening, Principal Lee." The man sat down across from him at the table and slid the cold cup of coffee out of reach. "I see Detective Kim has kept you quite comfortable. Was this part of your arrangement? Pay him off for information and special treatment? You will not find me so complaisant."

"Detective Kim is merely an acquaintance." Frankenstein answered calmly, allowing his tone to recompense the officer's stern words with indifference. "Care to tell me why I am here?"

"Hand over your cell phone."

Frankenstein obediently set it on the table but did not give it to the man. "I came here as a courtesy. The officers at this police department have worked closely with Ye Ran to ensure the safety of the students. I believe we have had a beneficial relationship in the past. Considering this, I would like an explanation of my current treatment."

"You think you can just push me around? I've dealt with suspects like you before." He huffed and bared a cocky grin. "I've got your accomplice in the other room. He's saying some pretty interesting stuff about you."

"I'm afraid I don't know who you're talking about."

"Eric Jameson."

"I don't know the man."

"We'll see about that."