A/N: This is the one I spoke about having a title that fits better… it's not really smart as it turned into a bit of a multiple-part chapter arc kinda deal... but it is thematic for what I wanted to do with this chapter. And the others. Sorry also for the delay, I'll explain more in the bottom A/N, but for now, let's get back to it.
Beta: Genatools (In Spirit)
Chapter 22: The Swan's Trail (Part 1)
After escorting Kayden to a safe place, he was more than happy to give information to The Outlaws regarding Master Xiu. As it turned out, Xiu had four residencies where he could be found, one in each corner of the Kingdom. If they were to find him, they would need more information, but Kayden also gave them details on a couple of prominent huntsmen and tournament champion families that might know more.
It was a step in the right direction, but only one. They still needed to do more if they were going to take the fight to Sangria and defeat her. And as Cinzent had said, the families were still making their moves. They had their own little way to spy on the criminal underworld, but they needed more if they were to find anything. And so… they decided to ask around. Well… the plan was more to pressure and intimidate. But they needed someone new… they would rather keep their unaware whistleblowers unaware, and so they needed someone they hadn't met yet.
They asked both Lionheart and Lieutenant Bleu if they had any suggestions. Lionheart knew of the Spiders, a powerful syndicate that operated similar to other groups like The Wave and The Hana in Kuchinashi. And the Spiders were the most powerful syndicate in Mistral. Lionheart advised against dealing with them if necessary, and they agreed. Instead, Lieutenant Bleu suggested someone else, an information broker called Júzi, who had deals with smugglers and the Accard family. They didn't know where to find him, but Bleu's precinct had someone looking into a dealer of narcotics and dust that seemed to have had contact with Júzi, and were having a hard time finding said dealer or pinning anything on him for that matter. But he was confident that The Outlaws could find a way to change that.
Tempted with the possibility of taking care of two birds with one stone, they decided to go for it. They formulated a simple plan. Bleu's colleague wasn't able to get solid proof of the drug and dust dealings, but he had already spied on the dealer, taking pictures of his meetings with Júzi. They were told Juzi appeared in that location more than a couple of times, even if they didn't know when Juzi would show up, but they now had a lead on him, and that was enough. From there they would tail him to his residence and either "ask" questions or simply rummage through what Júzi had to get something on the dealer and anything else he might have.
Bleu was honestly confident that they would be able to track and find Júzi eventually, and told them that as long as they could get what they needed for the dealer, and they didn't kill him, they were free to interrogate him themselves on what they were looking for. And so, the four of them were now looking for the broker in Dìxià Market.
"What are the chances he happens to show up today?" Morgan asked through her scroll to the others.
"Don't know. But waiting is honestly too much of a chance. We are better off asking people around about him." Aiden responded first.
"And you think people are just gonna tell us? Or know where he is or went?" Jack asked.
"We are far enough down on the lower levels. People here either pay attention and choose to ignore it, or they decide to not stick their noses in no matter what. One of them must know him." Aiden responded.
"Asking around shouldn't be hard, just act casual and maybe throw some Lien if it seems like someone knows something. Who knows, maybe convincing them could be as easy as being friendly to them. Bet one of them has been asked about Júzi before." Cole said.
"Hmm… I guess this means we should not press too hard. If we're being casual. Or start anything for that matter." Morgan commented.
"It goes without saying. Unless of course… they start something first." Aiden said back. "If the name doesn't work, I'm sending the photo again. If they don't know him, they must have seen him." Aiden sent Juzi's photo to all of them again through their scrolls.
"Got it." Jack confirmed he got the picture. "All in all it sounds simple enough."
"Mmm." Morgan hummed in agreement, the four of them ending the call and splitting through the market to try and find someone who could point them towards Júzi. They perused, they wandered, they window shopped, and they actually bought a couple of items while looking for someone that could possibly have a good idea of who Júzi was and where he lived.
"Ah, hey. What you got here?" Jack approached a lady selling sets of cheap scroll attachments.
"What does it look like? What you see is what you get, genius." The lady responded.
"Rhetorical question. No need to be pissy about it." Jack huffed.
"Uh-huh… so you are buying something?" The lady asked.
"Maybe, let me keep looking." Jack looked through the items that the lad had, and settled for some wireless headphones.
"That it? You could get some of the other stuff I got. You won't find it cheaper." The lady tried to convince Jack to keep buying.
"Mmm… maybe. Actually, I was wondering if maybe you'd see this guy. If you help me I can help you back by buying more." Jack looked at the other wares while holding out his scroll and showing Júzi's picture.
"Huh? Wait… are you a cop?" The lady asked, suddenly a bit more worried.
"Uh, Nah. But I gotta find him. So you know something?"
"Uh uh no. No way. There's no way I'm talking to a cop or investigator or whatever… Even if you are a huntsman or something. I'm no snit- I mean uh… look I don't trust you. If you are not one of those, then you are some guy trying to kill him!" She accused him.
"I... could be just wanting to talk to him." Jack retorted.
"And why would you? Eh?" She insisted.
"Look. You know him, yes or no? It's a simple question and I'm on my way. If you want to tell me more I can make it worth your time. I promise. Also, you probably shouldn't raise your voice about this stuff…" Jack nodded behind himself to some people giving them odd looks.
The woman looked away. Making sure not to meet his gaze up until the people staring at them stopped and went on about their business.
"So…? Anything? No…?" Jack asked again.
"I'm… no. I'm not dealing with you or giving out information on nothing. Can't risk it getting back to me somehow. So beat it." She told him.
"Alright, it's fine. I get it." Jack said as he was about to reach for his pockets to get the Lien for the headphones.
"Hey, I talked, are you buying something else?" The lady suddenly questioned him.
"Er… what?"
"You said you would buy something if I said something."
"If you said something or helped me. You said you won't talk so… that means no deal." Jack argued.
"After letting you browse and talking to you? And letting you off just saying I won't talk? I'm offering the best stuff you can find. You should be thankful I'm still letting you buy. ANd you can spare it for… whatever you are doing, right?"
"Uh…"
"You come to my little stall and you expect me to give the goss without you putting in more effort, and then you don't actually stick to your word? You know how much others would these for?" She said while pointing at some scroll chargers.
"..."
"Don't go asking questions around and offering stuff if you don't really mean to uphold your end buddy. That's why I don't trust your types… now if you are gonna buy something then you take something else, because those headphones aren't gonna go without something el-" The lady got interrupted as Jack placed the headphones back on the stand and began to walk away.
"Wha- what? Hey! You can't… Hmph. Fine. You see that's why we don't deal with investigators or those that ask questions. Can't trust them." The lady complained to herself.
"... Could have gone better I guess." Jack meanwhile sighed as he began to look for someone else to get some information out of.
On the other side of the market, Aiden decided to try his own luck with another person. A food stall vendor. He seemed like one of the most likely people to have spotted someone. Plenty of people stop to eat or grab a bite after all.
"Hey, is it alright if I just get one of the energy drinks?" Aiden asked the vendor.
"Sure, which one you want?" The vendor opened the refrigerator.
"The blue one," Aiden answered, getting handed a bottle of blue Seilfor. Aiden taking a seat on one of the fre stools that the man had available at his stand.
"Mmm… seems like the business is working out for you," Aiden noted as the stand was rather large, it competed in size with a noodle shop, and it was fairly large for being an outdoor food stall. Pretty clean as well.
"Took time, but I'm doing fine." The man said as he finished cleaning a bowl.
"Hmmm… you've been here long? Know the people here and also who comes through here?" Aiden asked.
"I've been here long enough. But why do you ask?"
"I'm looking for this guy…" Aiden showed the vendor Júzi's picture. "... Do you know him?"
"Hmm. Yeah. That's Júzi… I know about him." The vendor answered. "He passes by and meets others around here. I think I served him food once or twice."
"Uh-huh. Then what can you tell me about him?"
"In all seriousness? Nothing." The vendor deadpanned.
"... Seriously?"
"Yeah."
"You must know something. When he comes around? Where he goes… Maybe where he lives? Or more or less where." Aiden insisted.
"..." The vendor seemed to pause for a moment before looking directly at Aiden. "You know that people around here are four types?"
"Four types?"
"Yes. There are the idiots and hotheads looking for trouble everywhere they go. Sometimes in a crowd, sometimes alone. Then there are those smart ones that at least know what they are doing, whether they are cops or criminals or whatever. Then there's those ones that gave up on everything and are drowning their sorrows in some way. And then… there's the people that just want to live a normal life." The vendor explained.
"Aaand I assume you are the last one." Aiden guessed.
"We are not exactly in the best of places. I decided long ago that the best way to get a normal life was to not get involved with many of the things that happen around here. As they say, "better not to play stupid games", hmm?" The vendor shrugged.
"Yeah. Don't worry… I get it." Aiden nodded.
"I don't chat with anyone looking for trouble. I might know some names… but otherwise, I don't involve myself in whatever deals others here might have. And that also goes to whoever passes through here. I don't know anything. I don't bother to try and keep tabs on them or anyone." The vendor said.
"Are you sure you got nothing?"
"Nothing at all. Your best chance is to wait and see if you can find him. Ask him questions yourself. Or maybe try someone else."
"Hmm… Okay. Thanks anyways." Aiden said as he stood from his seat with his beverage.
"You want my advice. Like I said. Don't play stupid games." The vendor gave Aiden a final tip.
"Heh… too late for that." Aiden chuckled. "And honestly, wouldn't have it any other way." He said to himself.
On another corner of the Dìxià Market, Morgan was having her own streak of bad luck with a talkative, but not really helpful, clothes store owner. It seemed he knew a bit about different people on the Market. But in terms of Júzi…
"Oh him… uh… I heard he comes around here. He talked to the one that owned the perfumes shop. Before it got taken over by the lady that has the manicure place. It's the same place, only remodeled. Don't know what happened to him… but he looked scared before he disappeared. We bet around here that he's somewhere underground… or actually probably skipped town. But… he wasn't a nice person, he was really nasty sometimes, probably why he got into a mess in the first place." The man that owned the shop told her.
"Okay… Was Júzi responsible in some way?" Morgan questioned him.
"I don't know. I don't got the slightest clue… but maybe. You know those brokers, he's one of them. They exchange information and set up deals and stuff. Bet old Terrance had something going on the side. Maybe… Ooooh, you think he was selling stuff through his perfumes, or… mixing stuff…?" The store owner gasped at the possibility.
"I wouldn't know. But again, do you know anything about Júzi? Like where he goes? Who he talks to? If you happen to know anyone that knows where he lives. Do you?" Morgan asked again.
"Oh uh… okay I've seen Jean talk to him. But once maybe… I think… I think he was just buying something. And once he talked to that fruit lady but… eh I don't know. I… I haven't talked to him. They say he has deals with one of the families, you believe that? The families? Well I mean if you are a broker… But I don't know anyone that might know. Maybe he lives southwest. I think I've seen people walk there more than a couple times... I think. Wait, why do you want to find him?"
"That… shouldn't matter really. I just have to find out-"
"Find out what?"
"You didn't let me finish."
"But… I mean… People that try to meet him are usually clients of him or other people and they always meet him on time. They always appear together… at least that's what I saw. So… are you… trying to arrest him? I mean uh… uh… Look uh… if someone rats out something here. People will know. Especially if it's me. I know nothing but still..." The vendor began to panic.
"It's not exactly what I'm here for."
"But then what… wait wait… do you work for maybe- No that doesn't make sense he's a broker, he doesn't align himself with no one or no group I know. I don't know any groups. I just like to talk about what happens around here-" The vendor suddenly gasped and began to back away. "Have I been talking to others about this stuff? Hey have I…"
"Calm down. You don't need to worry." Morgan tried to calm him down.
"But… but… Look, I don't know if you work for somebody. Oh no… have I figured it out? Oh no… No! Please! I… I'll shut up from now on, if you are an agent or something for someone… know that I won't say a thing. Please don't trash the shop and don't kill me!" The store owner continued to amble in a fearful state.
"I'm not even…"
"I swear to The Brothers I'll never gossip anymore and that… I… won't try to get into swing parties anymore! Please!" The man continued to beg.
Morgan sighed and facepalmed. How it had gone in the man's head from thinking she was a cop to be some sort of mob enforcer she didn't know. She didn't even know if he saw her as a mob enforcer or something else really, as he seemed to be now begging for some sort of repentance. He had figured some details correctly though… Perhaps the man had simply too much of an imagination on top of racing thoughts. Funny… as the truth was even weirder than his theory…
As she wondered what to do about the panicking store owner, her scroll vibrated. Cole seemed to be calling all of them.
"Hey, got something. Or someone actually, you guys are gonna want to hear this probably." Cole said through the call.
"You didn't find him, did you?" Jack asked.
"No, no. But hey… this guy probably did. In the alley of the dumpling place, this guy's there, I'm with him." Cole said and the call ended soon. Morgan pocketed her scroll and turned towards the store owner, who hadn't heard anything from the call.
"Please, please… I swear I know nothin-"
"It's alright!" Morgan raised her voice to stop his begging. "I'm not here for that. Besides, I'm done here."
"What? What does that mean? Will someone come visit me and-"
"No. Nothing will happen to you. You don't have to worry… and I was never going to do any of the sorts for any reason. If it helps… think of it as if nothing happened. Okay?" Morgan said softly.
"Uh… Oh. I get it, you were never here, got it. Yeah… sure. My lips are sealed." The man replied.
"... Right. You'll be ok, so don't worry. Have a good day, right now I've got to get going," Morgan told him as she stepped away and waved goodbye as he walked out the door of the shop. She guessed that the man had taken it the wrong way, as he probably did other things. Maybe she would have to try and weigh her words more carefully… at least in misunderstandings like this.
In less than five minutes, Aiden, Morgan, and Jack reached the alley that Cole had spoken about. He was there at the entrance of the alley leaning against the wall, and right next to him, there was a beggar. His eyes seemed to widen as the three of them arrived almost in unison.
"Cool, you are here. So, this is Jing." Cole presented them to the man huddling against the wall next to him. He had a large beard, a black beanie, and a blue jacket with a dark grey sweater underneath. Overall, he seemed like what you could expect from a hobo, if a better kept or a bit more clean than one might expect. But still overall disheveled.
"Hi, Jing. You're doing okay?" Morgan asked him with a smile as she leaned closer.
"Uh… I guess…" Jing didn't seem to be too sure about the situation.
"So… he knows something about Júzi?" Jack asked Cole.
"Hey uh… I didn't think your friends would be here so quick... uh… I didn't agree to any of-" JIng began to speak to Cole.
"Don't worry, it's fine. We just want your help, that's all and we won't bother you." Cole said. "But you see things around here, right?"
"Y-yeah… nobody pays attention to me, and I got nothing else to do here other than beg." Jing gruffly said.
"Makes sense. So… what do you know about this guy? Júzi." Aiden crossed his arms. Jack knelt next to Jing and showed him the picture on his scroll.
"No, yeah yeah. He showed me the photo already. I know the guy…" Jing perked up.
"Been a while since I could show a picture on something like a phone… feels nice." Cole grinned as he held his special scroll.
"What do you know about him?" Morgan asked Jing.
"Well… he passes around here. He deals with those guys from the Accard family. Do you know em? Well, he also deals with the Iris and the Alger. You can spot those guys and gals, they always have those grey… scarf things… like neck napkins. And yeah he passes around here."
"Uh-huh, and you said you knew more or less what he did during the day right? You told me that." Cole reminded him.
"Uh… yeah." Jing seemed a bit apprehensive about giving the four of them more information.
"Is there a problem?" Aiden asked.
"What are you gonna do if I tell you? Hmm? Who you telling? Why should I, eh? I mean… he doesn't bother me. And I don't know you." Jing pointed at them.
"You know he is a broker. And that he helps the families with their stuff." Jack pointed out.
"Uh…"
"Come on Jing. You said he always goes to the south when he leaves, comes from there, and leaves towards there… What's so hard about saying that now? Hmm?" Cole asked him.
"I just…" Jing wanted to protest, but he didn't have the courage to try and face the four people asking them questions in any way. From his perspective, they seemed quite serious. "... I feel I'm giving this away for nothing. And it's… it's not easy telling this stuff knowing that. Well… I know you four are gonna do something… and I told you before because I didn't think it was gonna be something big, but now it is. It's real… serious stuff, and… you are gonna what? Kill him? I don't wanna have a part in that, you understand that right? It's wrong, it ain't right if I help you kill someone and… and if someone finds out then I don't know if I'll go to prison or… or if someone one is gonna come and kick my teeth in or kill me. It's not worth the risk, man. I… I don't know."
"Hey, hey. Relax. We are not gonna kill him. He just has been dealing some stuff with some guy, and we have to ask him about that on top of other questions. But we are not gonna kill him." Jack said as he placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I mean… I guess that's better… if it's true."
"Don't know what we'll need to convince you to believe it. But it is the truth." Aiden said.
"Well uh… I guess maybe I can. -you've been nicer to me than the ones that sneer at me I guess." Jing commented.
"Does someone cause you trouble?" Morgan asked him.
"No, it's just... No one likes a beggar. Know what I mean? They see you and either pass by or… look at you as if you are like one of those rats that are a couple stairwells down. Not many people here can offer me anything either. Though I guess they themselves have issues…" Jing sighed, it hadn't been going well for him, even for the standards of a homeless person. But then, he felt something tap his shoulder.
"How about this then?" Cole handed him two cards of ten Lien.
"Wha- What?" Jing looked at Cole and then back at the Lien cards, he barely had ever gotten a card. At most he could expect a couple of coins.
"That one's for the sake of it. Think you remember more about Júzi now?" Cole asked him.
"I… I guess. I mean he always goes away through the south part and then walks one stairwell up. He lives here in Dìxià, and I happen to know that... he lives around the Fennic street." Jing said.
"... You know a little bit more right?" Aiden could see that Jing was still a bit unsure about them, hiding some details.
"Well uh…"
"Here, we can make it worth it for you," Morgan said as she was handing him a card of twenty-five Lien.
"Ah…" Jing was surprised, but weary. "I… you said you are not gonna kill him right? Or… I don't know… something horrible. I'm not taking a bribe if it's gonna be like that."
"It won't be something too horrible," Aiden admitted. Omitting some details while keeping it as truthful as possible. Luckily, it seemed to work.
"Well… then I guess so. And yeah, I know where he lives. His house is at 8672 Torben. You cross at Fennic and find Torben, and then it should be right next to the house with the yellow roof. Can't miss it. Ah, it's not the one with the yellow roof, it's the one next to it. 8672." Jing spilled the info.
"Now that's more like it. Man, we could use details like that more often when dealing with the families or their buddies." Cole stepped away from the wall he was leaning against.
"We make do," Morgan smirked at him.
"Wait… dealing with the families? No… no, not working for them you said that like… oh shit!" Jing suddenly noticed some small details about the four of them. "I have a friend that knew those huntsmen that were sticking it to the families recently. saw them and… he said three men and a woman, one in a dark coat, two with grey shirts and… the girl in purple. Oh shit! You four are those huntsmen… a-and huntress too… uh…"
"We are not huntsmen actually… or huntress in case of her," Jack said while he nodded towards Morgan.
"No, but… you are the ones… If I had known. Oh… wait, wait. He also has a girlfriend he visits, I think I remember going around and seeing where he picks her up. Aaa-and I know he meets with some Accards on Wednesdays on plaza too, always at the same hour and uh… I think I know of some others that might know of him."
"Relax! It's fine. You've told us enough." Aiden calmed him down.
"It's just… you know how rare it is to make the families scared? All my time, I swear to my drunk mum that I never saw them or heard of them as afraid as they are now! It's… a fucking miracle really. I and some of my buddies thought there would be more dumb kids going around with bats and pipes around soon enough if the Taupes or others came… but we know somehow the police and huntsmen are getting their shit together. And we know it's because of you. I… if you need more… well you've made my life easier not having to word about some Iris that lived around here. Heard they got arrested on one of those massive raids… t- the ones you guys did uh… uh…" Jing was barely able to form some of the words. The Outlaws looked at each other somewhat in disbelief and bemused, it looked like they had a couple of fans. At least amongst the beggars and hobos.
"Hey, listen Jing, thanks. You've done more than enough, okay pal?" Cole tapped him on the shoulder.
"We can take it from here, trust us. We can handle one broker." Morgan added.
"Yeah… yeah, uh he lives alone, and… I don't think he actually has any friends. He works with the families but… he doesn't have anyone around to keep him safe. So he should be alone." ing added.
"That's actually pretty useful." Jack said.
"It is… not bad at all." Aiden then pulled another Lien card. One for fifty Lien. "Consider that an extra tip. Thanks Jing."
"Should we get going then?" Cole asked the others.
"I guess we should." Morgan nodded.
"Mmm… thanks again Jing. You seem alright." Jack said as he stepped up, the four of them ready to go directly towards Júzi's house.
"I… I hadn't had this… ah… wait! If you need something or you look for something around here. Just ask me! I can help if… well if you bring more of this I'm sure I can help!" Jing said to them.
"Mmm… we'll keep it in mind." Morgan said, the other nodding or quickly waving Jing goodbye as they crossed Dìxià looking for the Fennic street.
It took them ten minutes to find the street, it was some distance away. But it was relatively easy to find. From there they followed the street until they found Torben, and soon enough they found themselves right in front of Júzi's house. Seemingly a simple house for the people that lived in the lower levels. If a bit bigger than some others.
"So this is the place then. Doesn't look like anybody is home. So we wait now? Or track him down from here like we usually do?" Cole asked.
"Think we are using that too much? Not saying it doesn't work but… wonder what we'll do when it doesn't." Jack pondered.
"Since when do you care about stuff like that?" Cole asked him.
"Hey, all I'm saying is that we can practically cheat. But doesn't feel good if it's the only thing we do… you know, not being a one-trick pony. Wanna try something else, maybe do something even better." Jack responded.
"Well look at you being creative. But yeah, true… What you got in mind?" Cole crossed his arms while raising an eyebrow.
"Alright, we both can look into the past in some ways, or sense stuff too. That's all fine and good, but is there something that works better?" Jack brought a hand to his chin.
"Doubt it, looking into the past is pretty much the best detective tool you can get. Well, it depends… have you tried warping through time or something." Cole tried to think of alternative uses.
"Uh… guys." Morgan tried to get their attention.
"No, not doing that. Never again." Jack shook his head.
"Wait… again? Or right you did some weird self travel thing." Cole remembered.
"And time was breaking, I don't want it to be breaking again or be responsible for it. How about you… can't you sense some… static signals or some shit?" Jack asked back at Cole.
"If you are saying stuff like the waves that are in the air… eh… technically that's how I sense, but I don't see like, arrows pointing in a direction. The echos work because that's a person's synapses." Cole began to wonder if there was something else he could do.
"Hey…" Aiden joined in trying to get Jack and Cole's attention.
"Maybe I can do something and push back the time of your pulse, see previous stuff in some way. Or maybe your mind… no that's more of Morgan's thing. Although maybe…"
"You wanna mess with the time of my brain? Actually, if we do that, do it inverse, we mess with yours. I think that one has already been through the time jumbo." Cole suggested.
"Hey… you could still fry it!" Jack pointed out.
"I have better control of that, I've done something like it before... better than you reversing my brain time or whatever and leaving me as some fucking vegetable." Cole raised his voice.
"Guys!" Both Morgan and Aiden said in unison, both of them getting their attention booking their shoulders. Once they had said attention. They pointed towards the house and they now could see that Júzi was home.
"Huh… never mind then. We'll leave that for later." Cole said.
"Yeah. Agreed." Jack nodded. The four of them then walked up to Júzi as he was entering his home and twisting the key, the door already open. He barely noticed them just as he opened the door.
"Hey! What are you doing? You can't just enter and-" Júzi tried to shoo them away.
"Sorry, you don't have a say in it, pal." Cole entered first and pushed Júzi back with a shove. Lightning and electricity crackled around him as Júzi tried to push back, scaring him away.
"What the fuck! Hey, get out of here or I'll call the cops and-"
"You won't though," Aiden said as he brandished his baton.
"Wha-"
"I mean you are a broker and deal with the families. Maybe you got friends. But they won't save you." Jack said as he suddenly appeared behind him on a trail of fragmented orange particles.
"Who… who…"
"It's simple Júzi…" Morgan said as she made some psionic energy on her hand. "We don't want to kill you. But we need some answers. And you don't have a choice."
"You… you four are…" Júzi could now more or less guess who they were.
"For your sake. Do not try anything." Aiden said as he closed the door once everyone was inside, his semblance began to come through as dark smoke began to fill the entry hallway.
With now another well of information thanks to Júzi's knowledge, and with another dealer of illegal goods behind bars in just one day. The Outlaws were ready to venture into more dangerous territory.
Júzi was kind enough to spill the location of certain individuals in Mistral. Willing or otherwise. Other brokers that might know more about the families affairs. A couple of higher-ups from the different families that were crucial at least for the Accard and the Alger's. People that organized the criminal presence in the capital. There was also a Taupe informant that seemed to be hiding in some part of the upper levels. The names that Júzi could provide weren't all new when compared to the information that Lionheart and Bleu had. Some were new, others wanted by the police, and a couple had bounty missions assigned to them. But, thanks to some documents, some small pieces of information, some messages that probably should have been deleted, and some payments due to deals that Júzi helped set up. They now had a fair guess as to where some of these higher-ups and enforcers were hiding in the city. The beauty of paper trails.
With that information, they decided to take on one of the more dangerous. An Accard that only went by a pseudonym, meaning that he did his illegal activities hiding under that pseudonym, and then lived a second life with a hidden identity. Júzi seemed to have had enough information on him for them to be able to piece together that the Accard higher up was a businessman of sorts. The receipts between him and Júzi seem to lead to a business in the upper levels, dedicated to candle making/selling, interior decorating, and finance. Fronts more than likely. The meetings Júzi had set up were between the smugglers and dealers, and a man called Dýo. He and the owner of the business were one and the same.
This man had a bounty on him for crimes of corruption, extortion, smuggling, and possible connections to certain gang fights and some murders that occurred on the lower levels, and outside the city. Lionheart offered them the bounty mission, and they took it eagerly. They had focused on the Taupes for a bit, but it was about time they made sure to hurt the other most dangerous family in the city. Make sure that no one could feel the vacuum in power that the families left behind. And Dýo seemed to be important enough that the Accard's would struggle without him.
Their first order of business was figuring out how they would take on Dýo. They needed him alive, and there were two spectrums for the situation. Either it would be as easy as arresting him with no resistance, or there will be a battle against him and many other Accard thugs. They decided to scout during the first hours of the day atop a building across the street, up until midday.
"There's definitely a couple guys that we aren't seeing in there," Cole said as he sat with his feet dangling off the ledge.
"Yeah… but Dýo seems to be home today. His office seems to be on the third floor." Aiden said as he stopped using his scroll as binoculars.
"Okay. We got the people that are downstairs, like four to six people, on top of three that are attending the customers. Though maybe we shouldn't worry too much about the people downstairs. Three people on the second floor that may be involved, maybe armed. Three that are just working… Some guys on the fourth and fifth. How many?" Jack began to recount.
"Between four and five." Morgan reminded him.
"Okay yeah… and then there's him on the third floor with his two creepy secretaries that follow him around." Jack finished.
"Those two are bodyguards. Weird one at that. They move like robots. In perfect sync." Cole said.
"They seem to be going for a doll theme. With the tight office outfits. Somehow they make it look intimidating in some way. I'll give them that." Morgan commented.
"Those two are the most likely to fight. And we have to announce ourselves." Aiden said. As for the rules of the bounty mission, they had to tell Dýo why they were sent after him, why he was considered a threat that needed a bounty mission, and give him a chance to turn himself in. Whether or not Dýo would cooperate or not, they were already prepared for the police to take him in. Lieutenant Bleu assisted them with a TTU squad ready to apprehend him and send him to the precinct once he was secured.
"If they are gonna fight, then how do we go about this? Where should we enter?" Cole wondered.
"I say right where he is. The third floor." Aiden suggested.
"Get to him immediately? I get the feeling that will only startle him and guarantee there will be a fight. We are intruding after all." Morgan noted.
"If we sneak in and make him realize he's surrounded and outnumbered before he can do anything, then we can possibly force him to surrender. If not… we'll at least have the advantage." Aiden responded.
"Are we allowed to do that? Get in that close?" Cole wondered.
"We only have to say why there's a bounty on him and give him the chance to surrender before attacking or apprehending him, the rest… he's still considered a dangerous criminal. And the bounty mission is its own warrant, and then some too." Morgan explained. "The plan could work though." Morgan began to think.
"We should probably separate and corner him from all angles, give him and his dolls no room to run or call for help." Cole quickly added.
"If nothing else I can at least freeze the dolls in time. I'm not technically attacking." Jack offered.
"I don't think "technically attacking or assaulting" matters at that point. As long as he can't get away and we don't escalate into a full fight or worse, we should be alright." Aiden said.
"So almost a normal bust. Only with a few extra steps." Cole said.
"Sounds like it." Jack agreed.
"In a way it is… does that mean we are ready?" Morgan asked them.
"I don't think we can scout much more from here. We already mapped out the third floor and who's around, the best can of course." Aiden said.
"And the more we sit here the more that can change. No time like the present I say." Jack added.
"Sounds like we are ready." Cole gave Morgan a thumbs up and a smirk of confirmation.
"In that case, let's do it. Let's see if we can do this nice and clean." She said, the others quickly stepping right next to her as she prepared an angled Lift Field around herself and them.
With a bit of additional power from Cole's lightning, the Lift Field summoned enough force to launch all of them from one building to the other at a perfect angle. They landed on the roof in their respective ways as quietly as they could, and then they began to descend to the third floor in the same ways. Jack jumping down and using a Time Stop to catch himself before going through a window. Morgan jumping down and morphing into a leaf to pass through another window on the opposite side. Meanwhile, Aiden and Cole descended from the side of the building by quickly climbing downwards. Cole used his skill as a free climber to catch himself right on the third floor and then going through an open window, while Aiden jumped down from a window, into a ledge, and then transformed himself into a mass of dark smoke to pass through another ajar window.
They were met with an ostentatious large office with a tall ceiling that had enough room for a middle fountain surrounded with lounging, on top of desks and terminals neat and orderly arranged for people to work by the side, a sign revealed that the third floor was the floor dedicated to the finance section of the company. Dýo had his own office in the middle of the floor, his private desk behind a wall of glass, and his two bodyguards at his side. It seemed that regardless of the building being a pseudo-front, Dýo still wanted something fancy and glamorous for it. The floor would usually be busier with people working and with Dýo directly managing or assisting in some issues himself. But luckily for The Outlaws, it was only Dýo and his bodyguards on the floor today.
Dýo worked on his terminal while his bodyguards stood by his side, almost immobile. However, they soon tensed up when they saw a man walk in clear view of them. The man waved at them behind the glass as he strolled directly at them. They were ready to draw some weapons when suddenly both bodyguards were frozen in Time Stop bubbles.
"What the-"
"Uh uh." Jack appeared by his side, leaning on the man's desk. "Don't try anything. You don't really have an option here."
As soon as Jack said that, he pointed behind Dýo. Morgan was behind him, helping Jack sustain the Time Stops while Aiden appeared on the other side of his desk, pointing one of his handguns at him. As Dýo raised his hands slightly, the situation seemed to be mostly under control, and Cole soon joined them inside the office after doing his part as the distraction.
"You are Dýo right? Man, a finance and candles guy sure has some interesting bodyguards." Cole strolled right in front of him.
"If some bastards are gonna break in an enter then might as well have them. Can't never be too careful." Dýo responded.
"We are here for you. Can you guess why?" Aiden asked next as he walked from side to side.
"... Who sent you?"
"The council. There's a bounty mission on you." Aiden responded.
"That's impossible! I've done nothing… You are all gonna hear from this I swear I'll-"
"Well, Dýo might not have a bounty on him. But the Accard Stocker does." Morgan said right behind him before he could continue.
"Did you really think it would last much longer? If you ask me, you knew a bit too many people." Jack added.
"Y-you… You don't-"
"Gonna stop you right there. We know, it is you. A couple of brokers gave you away, even if they didn't know who you really were. Everything else just fits." Cole said.
"You can't do-"
"We actually can. The mission gives us a green light, and the police already know who you are. This is just for you to get one last chance to come willingly. But one way or another, you are coming with us, even if we have to make you submit." Morgan explained to him.
"TTU is already here, ready to take you in. An entire squad that just needs the go ahead" Aiden added.
"And I don't think anyone here is gonna help you. Well, not like this." Jack pointed with his thumb at the two frozen bodyguards. "So don't try anything, I think we are more than enough to take you alone."
"So then… what will it be?" Cole placed his hands on Dýo's desk as lightning and sparks crackled around his arms and hands.
Dýo could clearly see that he was surrounded, and by people that were capable. Clenching his teeth he tried to think of options, wondering if his lawyers or the Accard ones could pull him out of this one… but it had been a tad bit too sudden for them to plan anything. And it was even worse if they had actual proof that he was The Stocker.
"I…" He was about to respond. But then something unexpected happened. And Morgan was the first to realize.
"Cole!" She shouted and used dust to create a hard light barrier. A missile aimed in Cole's direction appeared inside the office and impacted the barrier, destroying it and sending them scrambling as the glass around them shattered.
"Shit!" Jack cursed, the four of them immediately trying to assess the situation.
"There!" Aiden pointed and began to fire as he spotted the one that had fired at them, a man with a black leather hoodie and a yellow mask, holding a slim rocket launcher. He and everyone else fired at him with both guns and powers. Aiden and Jack split off to try and ambush the rocketeer, dashing out of the office as a mass of dark smoke, and as a trail of orange Chronon particles. Aiden distracted him with gunfire, lest he tries to fire at all of them again. Jack meanwhile moved in to take him down. That was when he was tripped out of his Time Dodge by a sword swing. One he barely was able to narrowly avoid.
"Fuck! Errgh!... eh?" Jack was slashed at the ankle and forced to roll on the ground, but it wasn't a crippling cut. He immediately had to dodge out of the way as a woman tried to pierce him with two blades. Getting up and countering with a shotgun blast, one that forced his opponent back as her blades couldn't block all the pellets, making her aura flare up.
"Jack?-Argh!" Aiden grunted as he was tackled to the ground by another person.
He immediately tried to shoot at the one that had tackled him, but that person twisted his wrist and forced him to drop his gun, and used his other hand to try and drive a dagger through Aiden's skull.
All the while Jack fought his own attacker, evading and blocking her attack with both the D12 and his axe. He blocked one swing and hooked the sword with the axe, he then dashed in a Time Dodge practically pulled her with him before unhooking the axe and dashing in the opposite direction. Aiden just then managed to block the dagger though, and kneed him on the stomach before using his own weight to roll his attacker over and get himself free, he also got behind him and pressed a green burning hand on the back of his head and against the floor
"Aharrr!" The man screamed, quickly fighting back against Aiden's grip and freeing himself. He tried to shank Aiden again, but Aiden blocked the attempt and pulled out his baton and his second handgun. He hit the man on the arm with the baton, shot him on the leg, and then sent him skidding away a couple of meters with a fire-enhanced roundhouse kick. Jack had by now hit his assailant multiple times with axe swings and with a shotgun blast that forced her to skid back, aiming to end her with Time Blast. But much to his surprise, she instead ignited the blades and sent forward a cross slice of fire, one that impacted the Time Blast before it could reach her.
Jack had to dodge and block as the attacker jumped through the explosion with a flurry of blade slashes. Meanwhile, Aiden tried to chase down his attacker, but instead, the attacker managed to send him back with a kick of his own. Instead, Aiden picked up his other gun and continued the fight as he threw an explosive at the man. Meanwhile, however, the man with the rocket launcher fired again.
"Oh no-no," Cole said as he used a shockwave to send the missile back. The man narrowly rolled out of the way of the explosion.
"There won't be-" Cole didn't get to finish his sentence as both his and Morgan's instincts flared, they both looked to the side and saw a woman aiming a strange long rifle at them.
"Watch out!"Morgan called and both she and Cole created a panic barrier with lightning, psionic energy, and hard light dust to protect themselves. They didn't expect rapid-fire dust rounds, however. Two bullets impacted the barriers they formed and pushed them back but otherwise did little. Then a third more powerful shot in between them, the round exploding into concussive force as it pushed Morgan, Cole, and Dýo on their backs. Cole and Morgan recovered quickly, Cole immediately using a lightning hook to pull the woman towards them while Morgan wrecked her mind with a Psychoshock.
They both forgot something, however, with Jack distracted, and Morgan no longer in maintaining the Time Stops, the bodyguards were now free.
As the two women became free, they stared at the scene in front of them. Noticing the table now destroyed, their boss scrambling on the ground, and three other individuals with them. All of them now in a tense staredown. Morgan and Cole looked at each other and the bodyguards did the same.
"Get them!" Dýo ordered them as he recovered his senses, and the bodyguards did just that.
They launched themselves in incredible speed towards them, one brandishing a collapsible quarterstaff out of her pockets and the other unstrapping a three-section staff from her belt. Morgan got tackled to the wall immediately by the one with the three-section staff while Cole used his arms to block several strikes from the one with the quarterstaff. Morgan kicked her opponent back and then ducked a swing of the three-section staff, narrowly avoiding and then rushing the bodyguard with a knee to the stomach and then pushed her back with a Kinetic Blast. The blast also did enough to knock over the bodyguard attacking Cole, who took advantage of her sudden imbalance to grab her by the face and smash her against the ground, hitting her and pushing her back with two lightning bolts for good measure.
It seemed they recovered from the attack, but the bodyguards weren't weak, they recovered immediately and rushed back at them with seemingly no concern for self-preservation. The one with the three-section staff doing large circular whips with her weapon that shattered the glass and parts of the walls around them, meanwhile, the other bodyguard rushed at Cole with a thrust of her quarterstaff as he ducked, nailing him on the stomach and the switching targets towards Morgan and hitting her on the leg as she also ducked the attacks from the other bodyguard. Cole and Morgan fought back with their own strike and their powers. Morgan rolled out of the way of another strike and pulled out her sword, using it to catch part of the three-section staff and knock it out of the air and then used dust to hit the bodyguard with a barrage of icicles, meanwhile, Cole tackled the bodyguard with the quarterstaff with a high kick that was blocked, a reverse spinning elbow that also was blocked, and a roundhouse kick that hit her and left her open to a lightning palm that smashed her against the wall.
The four of them fought ferociously, Morgan using her remote manipulation to throw half of the table at one of the bodyguards, them answering by tearing it in half with a hit of the quarterstaff, Cole throwing thunder and lightning bolts, but the bodyguard with the three-section staff taking advantage of the metal and surface of her weapon to make it act as a shield to the lightning as she swung it around. The bodyguards got repelled at every chance, but they finally got an opening when their boss tried to run away.
"Oh no, you don't!" Cole broke off from the fight for a moment and hit Dýo with a powerful thunderbolt that downed him.
"Uugh Aaagaaahah…" Dýo was electrocuted and was convulsing on the ground, but the little distraction was what the bodyguards used to hit Cole twice with her weapons, and forced him against what remained of a glass wall.
"Cole! Uugh." Morgan immediately tried to attack the bodyguards, but they reacted first and pushed her back against the other wall in the office. She was mostly unharmed thanks to her Backlash, but she had been stunned long enough for them to rush at Cole, one of them climbed on top of him to pin his arm in an awkward position while choking him, and the other made sure to pin his other arm while wrapping around his leg.
Cole tried to push them away by electrocuting them, but they seemed to persist even as their auras flared. Unnaturally resilient they seemed to be. As Cole struggled with the two bodyguards pinning him down, Morgan recovered and was ready to help him, up until another person came and hit her on the back of the head. The rifle woman had recovered and decided now was the perfect moment to attack. The rifle woman quickly pounced Morgan and wrapped her rifle around her arms and neck, forcing her knee onto her back and beginning to choke her out right across from Cole and the bodyguards. Cole and Morgan struggled for a couple of seconds, up until Cole stopped electrocuting the bodyguards and managed to raise one of his pinned hands at an angle, Morgan noticed and quickly headbutted backwards, hitting the rifle woman in the nose and breaking free enough for Cole to get a clean shot. Cole fired a precise lightning bolt right at the rifle woman's head, stunning her and helping Morgan break free.
With one of her arms free, Morgan elbowed the rifle woman twice and Psychoshocked her again before throwing her over her shoulder on the ground and then shooting an Electrostatic Burst at Cole. The raw impact was enough to disorient the bodyguards a bit, Cole being infected and even recharging from the surge of electricity. He managed to break one hand free and throw one of the bodyguards on the ground while Morgan used her Phantom Shift combined with fire dust to charge at the other bodyguard and knocked her to the center of the floor in a fire explosion. Cole then used a shockwave to knock the other bodyguard and Dýo through what remained of another glass wall. They then turned their attention to the rifle woman.
Before she could fully get up, Morgan rushed her with a Phantom Shift and kneed her in the face and then kicked her on the back of the head with a roundhouse kick, Cole coming right after with a lightning bolt, an uppercut, and lightning palm. Morgan passed by her and struck at her aura with a slash of her sword to her back, Cole followed up with a flying roundhouse kick, Morgan then did a spinning hook kick of her own, and then both of them forced their palms at her, the result being an explosion of lightning and kinetic energy that sent her flying through the other side of the office, and through another half-broken glass wall.
As they dealt with everyone in the office, they turned back and noticed just in time that the guy with the rocket launcher was firing at them again. They both looked at each other before dashing out of the office in opposite directions. The office exploded in flames, but both of them managed to evade in time, and retaliated. Morgan hit the rocketeer with a Psychoshock to stun him, and then Cole fired a lightning rocket at him, sending him flying back at one of the walls.
As the office exploded, they joined the fight in the middle of the floor, Morgan immediately going to assist the others, Cole however felt his scroll vibrating.
"What's happening up there? There's explosions!" One of the TTU called through the scroll.
"Got ambushed! Don't know why or who. Get up here quickly, and stop others from joining." Cole answered.
"Already on the building and already on it!" The TTU member responded.
"Good!" Cole called back and cut the call as he saw one of Dýo's bodyguards get up and seemingly zero on him.
The fight turned more hectic and chaotic as Cole, Morgan, the rifle woman, and the bodyguards joined in. But chaotic was something that The Outlaws could deal with. And now that their attackers lost the element of surprise, the tables began to turn against them. Morgan Phantom Shifted and surprised one of their attackers with a shotgun blast, the one with two swords harassing Jack in fact, who was Time Dodging and Time Rushing around to sneak in any hit he could while the fight continued. The woman with two swords got blasted back right towards Aiden, who caught her with a sidekick and knocked her on her back before turning back to the man that had tackled him. He shot at him with both handguns, the man evading his shots by dashing from side to side, up until Aiden baited another dash from him and shot in the direction he dashed to, hitting him right in the chest and then following up with a firebolt that pushed that smashed the man against a pillar, Jack taking advantage of the situation and dropkicking the man right through the pillar as he exited a Time Dodge and then dodging away in another direction.
With him taken care of for the moment, Aiden turned back towards the woman with the two swords, shooting her on the ground until he ran out of bullets and then transforming into a mass of dark smoke, rushing towards her, and dragging her with him into the air, spinning in the air as he reformed into his physical form and exploding into green fire. The woman got blasted towards the man with the rocket, crashing into him and staggering him, just in time for Cole to shock the man with a barrage of lightning bolts and rushed in with a thunderbolt, and a flurry of lightning punches, and then a shockwave that pushed him towards the middle of the room. The man was knocked out of the air by Jack with a shotgun blast, and that gave Cole an idea. He picked the woman with the two swords before she could recover and threw her in the air.
"Jack! Catch!" He yelled as he threw her by the leg with all his strength.
"Wait… let go-" The woman could barely resist as she was flung into the air
Jack obliged Cole, appearing in the air just as she was flying and hitting her with a Time Rush flying kick right in the back. Her spine bent and cracked, whether it had been broken or not, it seemed the impact had been hard enough to break any aura she had left and put her out of commission as she crashed hard at one of the desks. Jack didn't stop moving however, he continued his Time Rush and spotted the bodyguards trying to corner Morgan, he decided to hook his axe around one of the bodyguard's legs and pulled her with him for a ride. Leaving Morgan with the other to deal with.
The other bodyguard panicked as she saw her partner disappear in an instant and be smashed against a wall. She turned back to Morgan and got ready to fight her, but Morgan had different plans as she formed waves of hard light with her sword. She forced the bodyguard with the three-section staff to bat away her energy attacks and forced her back, just as she placed a Superthermal trap right behind her. The explosion staggered the bodyguard forward, but she used the momentum to try and get to Morgan with a thrust throw of her weapon, but Morgan evaded the attack by transforming into a piece of paper and fling towards her.
"What the-!" The so-far silent bodyguard had been surprised for the first time as Morgan morphed back into herself and wrapped her arms around her, doing a flip over her as she did so. She restrained her arms and weapon and the both of them were now essentially locked together and wrestling for control as Mogan used the three-section staff as a wrap around her wrists, but the bodyguard very much did the same with her. But right then, Jack decided to assist a little, kicking the bodyguard's knee as he exited Time Rush and making her scream as he dashed aways to another fight.
Morgan smirked and Psychoshocked her opponent as both of them were still tangled together, she then kneed her twice on the stomach before morphing into a small object and breaking free, she then morphed back, and placed a Lift Field beneath the bodyguard, and combined it with wind dust, the surge of air smashing the bodyguard against the ceiling, right into another Superthermal trap that Morgan made appear.
The bodyguard was blasted back down smoking and seemingly unmoving, that was when Morgan noticed the riflewoman, she shot at her with a dust round that exploded and forced her back, her Backlash taking the damage for her. But now with the barrier dissolved, she was exposed. The rifle woman was about to fire at her, but instead, Aiden appeared behind her in a sudden surge of smoke and green fire. The rifle woman sensed him behind her and tried to hit him with her gun, only for him to block the attack and kick the back of her leg to make her kneel. He used his gun and shot her three times at the neck, chewing through her aura, he then kneed her on the back and knocked her into the air, flinging her farther into the air with a fire-enhanced strike of his baton. Morgan joined in and hit the woman with a dust ice spike, and then Phantom Shifted below her to hit her from below with a Kinetic Blast, sending her flying further up as Aiden flew up as a mass of green fire. Aiden finally aimed both his guns and hit the woman with two scorching shots, the powerful shots breaking most of her aura and making her crash against the fountain.
On the other side of the said fountain, the rocketeer was desperately trying to fight back against Cole, but the Conduit kept reflecting and diverging his rockets while shooting lightning bolts. Eventually, the man with a dagger tried to ambush Cole, but instead of ambushing him, Jack instead clotheslined him as he tried to pounce Cole, Cole immediately took the chance to double and blast the man with two thunderbolts and knocked him back. The rocketeer tried to cover his comrade with a rocket, the result was quite the opposite as Jack Time Stopped the rocket.
"Sorry, but no." Jack quickly said as he appeared next to the rocket and redirected it with his hand towards the man with the dagger. The Time Stop broke immediately and the man with the dagger was blasted with the rocket.
Jack disappeared in a Time Dodge and Cole turned back towards the rocketeer, who was now wide-eyed at what had just happened. COle shocked him with a powerful thunderbolt once, then Jack appeared again and punched him on the back of the head before Time Rushing away. Cole then rushed in with a cross slice with his gigawatt blades, knocking him back, and then performing a lightning somersault kick that flung the man into the air. Jack appeared again up in the air with a Time Dodge, and this time he used the D12 to blast the man right into the fountain.
As the man landed on the fountain, so was the rifle woman knocked inside of it by Morgan, who used gravity dust and her remote manipulation to telekinetically hit her with an entire sofa. Aiden dashed by and tackled one of the bodyguards, who seemed fixated on trying to get Jack. He shot her on the legs and then hit her three times with his baton before knocking her away with an aura-enhanced roundhouse kick. The second bodyguard got up from the ground and tried to attack Aiden, but Jack intercepted her by appearing next to her, hooking her arm with his axe, and then throwing her to the fountain with a Time Dodge. As she crashed into the fountain, landed next to the rifle woman and the rocketeer, all of them barely holding themselves together, and as she looked up to try and get out, she saw both Morgan and Cole.
"Sorry," Morgan said first.
"This is gonna hurt." Cole continued as he and Morgan made a powerful field of lightning form around them and electrocuted them and the water they were inside of as lightning and sparks roared around them, it was enough to leave all of them smoking and within an inch of their lives, but not dead.
Aiden parried an attack of the quarterstaff bodyguard with his baton, shooting her with his offhand on the leg and finally breaking her aura. He shot her again on the leg, made her stagger, and then hit her on the other leg with the baton before pushing back with a green fire palm. She rolled on the ground and Aiden could see Dýo scrambling to his feet from behind a desk and trying to run away. He pulled out a gun and tried to fire at Aiden as he ran away, but Aiden sidestepped the gunshots and fired back. He fired six singing shots at Dýo's legs, what little aura he had got destroyed and both his legs were shot through, making him fall on the ground before he could get any further.
"Not gonna happen," Aiden said as the trails of green fire and black smoke around him began to fade. To his surprise, he saw the bodyguard he had fought get up despite her injured and shot legs and face him off.
She gripped her quarterstaff and tried to attack him, but she was knocked out cold before she could even get in range as Jack appeared in a Time Dodge and hit her on the back of the head with the blunt side of his axe.
"That's all, right?" Jack asked.
"I think so…" Morgan said as the four of them regrouped.
"They weren't with Dýo, and I don't think they were in the building," Cole said.
"You sure? Cause they seemed ready and waiting." Jack said to Cole.
"... They wouldn't shoot rockets towards Dýo if they were with him. At least I don't think so." Aiden pointed out.
"True… and there was nobody when we sneaked in here," Jack remembered.
"... What if they were after us?" Morgan suggested. It wasn't impossible after all.
"They chose now of all times?" Cole wondered. Just then, the door to the staircase busted open, members of the TTU busting into the floor.
"Holy shit… are they alive?" One of the officers asked.
"Incredibly, all of them are… some might be better than others." Aiden said to him.
"R-right. Everyone that was an Accard and tried to get up here was detained, we now have just to apprehend these people." The officer said.
"Go ahead." Morgan said to the and the officers began to apprehend their assailants, starting with Dyo.
"We can confirm you were here, once we exit you can verify through scroll and the bounty is yours. These are also Accards?" The officer noted the other knocked out people in the room.
"Two of them are his bodyguards, the others. Uninvited guests." Cole said to him.
"Huh… we'll apprehend them as well then." The officer said, just as the TTU began to drag the knocked-out individuals, the team of four noticed one of them was still conscious, the man with the dagger.
He seemed to be trying to crawl away, and failing. The four of them surrounded him and the man cursed as he saw all of them towering above him.
"Fuck…"
"Alright pal, what's the deal? Why did you attack us? Eh?" Cole knelt next to the guy and made lightning spark on his hands, right in front of his face in fact. The man tried to back away, but Jack pressed his foot on his back and kept him in place.
"You better answer, you tried to kill us, and one way or the other we are gonna find out why," Jack said to him.
"Shit…" The man looked down and then looked back at them, remaining silent, but looking between them.
"You are wasting time. Hey, try probing his head, see if you find something." Aiden tapped Morgan on the shoulder, winking. They all knew Morgan couldn't do that, but the man that attacked them didn't know that, and Morgan immediately caught on to the play.
"Very well then. Do shock him, makes it easier when his brain is being fried." Morgan said to Cole.
"How… how does that-" The man muttered and he began to feel Cole shocking him, but on top of that he began to feel something in his brain. In truth, it was a very light and minute Psychoshock, but it was enough for him to feel a sharp pain inside his brain, and for him to realize that in some way, she was getting inside his head.
"Aaargh…. Aaah… Stoooop. Stooop!" He forced out as he was electrocuted and probed.
"Then talk," Morgan said.
"It… it was… it was Okro… he sent us after you. A girl of ours said she saw you on top of a building, and when we got here… you went inside." The man said.
"Took Okro long enough to send someone else. Are you an assassin or a Taupe?" Jack asked.
"... Assassin… we… We just took the hit. You were just the targets… they told us to ambush you… told us you were dangerous… didn't think they were that serious." The man blurted out.
"They? Okro and who? Zerasmus?" Aiden asked next.
"...Fuck…" The man noticed he had said more than he should have. He became quiet, but changed his mind quickly as Jack pressed his foot down. "I-iii-it was Zerasmus and… someone important, you are in deep shit you know that? You don't mess with someone like them… Do you even know who you pissed off?" He asked them.
"Sangria?" Morgan asked, and the man nodded.
"Got anything else? Or is that all you know?" Cole asked him as he grabbed the man's head and made him look at him directly.
"T-that's all… probably nothing you don't already know." The man said.
"Where did you meet them?" Morgan asked. "You know it was the three of them. You must have met them in some way."
"Heh… sorry not telling that. I can say some stuff but… heh. I say that… I'm a dead man. Heh." The man nervously chuckled.
"You think it won't be much worse if you don't tell us?" Aiden asked, and the man looked at him through the corner of his eye.
"You… you wouldn't-"
"Hit him again," Aiden said and Morgan got close again.
"Wait!... We didn't meet them at their home or anything like that. It was the… The Luck of the Mountains. That place.
"See, wasn't so hard." Cole said to him, right before electrocuting and knocking him out.
A day passed, and The Outlaws were able to cash in the rewards for Dýo's bounty, but now they had new problems to deal with. Sangria and Okro seemed to be working together, and sooner or later, they guessed that eventually, someone would find them, possibly even to their apartment. But finding them was exactly what they were working on.
"I could always offer you protection, if it would help you." Lionheart said through his scroll. They were on call with him and with Kayden, the huntsman they had recently rescued.
"Thanks, but we wouldn't want to bother, and especially not if your students are around. Sangria does seem determined." Cole said to him.
"Don't toss away any help you can get, I'm here right now and the guest rooms are honestly quite decent," Kayden said.
"Perhaps we'll think about it." Aiden commented.
"Did you get anything from the assassin that went after you?" Morgan asked him, curious as to what happened with the person they had dragged with them for quite some time.
"... No. He was killed," Kayden answered.
"Excuse me, what?" Jack perked up surprised, so did the rest of the group around him.
"Tch… Remember the van we placed him once we reached Mistral? It got jumped. A faunas with a scorpion tail seemed to pop out of nowhere, and busted inside as it was driving, soon after, he left and all that was left was the assassin with a large infected hole through his neck. It must have used his stinger." Kayden told them. The Outlaws looked at each other as they remembered something.
"Isn't that…" Cole began.
"The guy that went after Laurence? It was another scorpion faunus." Jack continued.
"It could be, we are not sure though. I suppose we could bring Laurence into this." Lionheart said.
"Seems you are gonna have to be careful," Aiden said to Kayden.
"Yeah… but that's why I'm staying in Heaven for now. And also, we can talk about that later. I promised I would help you, well I got a lead for you. Maybe it will be something good… but… kinda hard to tell."
"So you don't know where Xiu exactly is then." Cole guessed.
"No. Even if you know the guy, it will take a while to find him. I'm checking other leads on my end, trying to figure out where he currently is. But this could help, if you want to go and check it yourself." Kayden said to them.
"Remember how I and Cinzent told you of rich or renowned huntsman families that wanted Xiu to help them train their next generations? Well, Kayden happens to know the last family that was in contact with him." Lionheart told them.
"Really, well that's a lead and half right there," Jack commented.
"It is, I actually helped them try to find him. But I didn't know if they did, so I asked them to double-check. Now information about Xiu is kinda private, and people don't usually give it away for free, or even let people know that they got it or met him. But since I was the one that helped them… well turns out they did find him." Kayden told them.
"And who are they?" Morgan asked.
"The Nikos. I guess I kinda now see why the girl's been doing so well."
"The girl?" Cole questioned.
"Oh yeah. Pyrrha Nikos, fifteen or maybe sixteen. She is attending Sanctus Academy in Argus, and she's been doing very well, rising and winning two tournaments already without losing, and many of them without getting hit even. Some are starting to call her the invincible girl."
"Huh…"
"Well, her father is a very capable huntsman, and he is the one that asked me for information on Xiu. He told me did find him eventually. But didn't know where he was now." Kayden said.
"He doesn't know where the old man training his daughter lives?" Aiden questioned.
"We don't actually know if Xiu trained Pyrrha Nikos, he could have trained her when she was younger, but it doesn't seem like he's training her currently. It shouldn't be the case as Miss Nikos is going to the combat academy, and Xiu's training is…requires time, time she wouldn't have if she also was going to the academy." Lionheart explained.
"He could have trained her, or maybe trained him so that he could train her. Whatever the case… they once knew where he was." Kayden said.
"And… did the dad tell you anything?" Cole wondered.
"Aurelius? Well… I told you, he doesn't know, but… well… he does seem to have something on him that can help us a lot."
"And that is…?" Aiden asked.
"Well about that... he wants to know why."
"He wants to know why?" Morgan questioned.
"Xiu doesn't want himself to be easy to find, too many people would bother him otherwise, he likes to go where he pleases as well. And unlike other masters or trainers like him, he moves too much. But he's not against being found… but Aurelius. I think he has earned Xiu's respect in some way… he asked me why I wanted to find him, and I told him about you. I told him what I know about your situation, and said that maybe he can help. But only if you go meet him in person. Xiu seems to have given something physical, like a special scroll or a map, something that can make finding him way easier."
"And… he's willing to hear us out and give that away?" Jack asked.
"Only if you are telling the truth and have a good reason. In respect of Xiu, he won't give it away unless it's truly important. But with what I told him… I think he knows it is, he just wants to make sure. And… it is something physical, so you would have to go and get it from him." Kayden added.
"Hmm… you think he will help us?" Aiden asked.
"I think he will. You are… mysterious, but I do think you have good enough reason to convince him." Kayden said to them. The four of them looked at each other and shrugged, it was the best they were going to get for the moment.
"I say we do it," Cole spoke first.
"Sure we can trust Aurelius?" Morgan asked Kayden.
"Oh, of that I'm sure… he's a bit strict in some ways, but he doesn't go back on his word. Or anything like that," Kaden responded.
"If that's the case we should give it a go," Aiden said.
"Mmm, I mean. It's the first lead we get, and sounds good… a bit too good, but just maybe for once we just got lucky… maybe." Jack said.
"Worst that can happen is that we get attacked again by someone, and that's gonna happen anyway if we just sit around." Aiden pointed out.
"If you take the express to Argus you shouldn't have any issues. I can pay for your fee if necessary." Lionheart offered.
"You are willing?" Morgan asked him.
"I am indeed. Whenever you are ready I can book you a ticket to Argus."
"Hmm… hey, no time like the present?" Cole asked the others.
"Probably better that way." Jack agreed.
"Seconded." Morgan nodded.
"Agreed as well. We are going today." Aiden proclaimed.
"Y-you- Today?!" Lionheart exclaimed in surprise.
"The sooner we get this done the sooner we can put this whole issue to rest, and we better get moving if we want to stand a chance against Sangria and Okro. Otherwise, they are gonna get to us first." Cole told Lionheart.
"Our best bets are finding Xiu, and probably getting more information on Okro and Zerasmus. Zerasmus is probably the best bet, he is the one we use to find Okro in the first place." Morgan added.
"It's true… Hey, Lionheart. We should call Cinzent, tell her and her investigators to look for Zerasmus. He's more likely to appear around than the others. That will probably help her." Aiden told the headmaster.
"I… you are right. I can handle that while you four go and speak with Aurelius. And you better get ready, because the only train available today leaves in four hours." Lionheart told them.
"Okay, then we got about two hours to pack essentials, and then off to Argus. This should be interesting." Jack said as he stretched his arms.
"I hope it is. Argus is one of the better settlements in Remnant, it has grown through the efforts and commerce of both Mistral and Atlas after all. I suspect Aurelius will receive you, guess we'll see if you can convince him." Lionheart said.
"Guess we'll see," Cole said back.
A/N: Oof. Man… this was… late. I'll be honest. I'm hungry and tired... things in college have not combined on the best of dates. So yeah, this was quite late. I will apologize for that… and sadly I'll say it's not gonna get much better in the following months, as work is gonna become harder as… Well, this is my last semester. But do not worry, I Should be able to keep up the monthly schedule, even if somewhat delayed. I'll do my best as well to do that for Essence and Humanity.
Thank you for reading. Follow, Favorite and Review if you so wish, and I hope to see you on the next one. Have a good day. For now though… I need food and some sleep.