An hour before his shift started Magister Tennyson informed Rook that he was going on patrol with Ben. As they met again, Rook noticed that Ben's hair was much shorter. He also realized that she seemed to try to hide her new body with her hooded jacket. Besides this; her breathing was flat and short. With deep worry Rook regarded his partner out of the corner of his eyes. "Ben? Are you sure that you are rested enough to go out on patrol again?" he asked her as they cruised Undertown.
Ben rolled her eyes at his question, "Of course I am fine. I changed my sex. I'm not sick.".
He was silent for a few seconds, thinking. "You seemed quite upset back in Greece.".
The brunette chewed her lower lip "I'm just fine, okay? I feel great. Besides, this is just temporary. Azmuth will get over it sooner or later and just change me back. It shouldn't be rocket science.". Though, rocket science was easy for the Galvan, she added mentally.
It was quiet, she noticed, too quiet. Even the most rowdy part of Undertown was unusually quiet tonight. "This is not right.", she whispered under her breath. Something strange was going on tonight and it made her feel queasy. She thought about the missing girls and an idea jumped into her brain and took a comfortable seat inside her frontal lobe.
"We should do something more." Ben mumbled, before looking from the drivers window to Rook who was still fixated on the road. She leaned towards her partner. "We should investigate those abductions." she suggested.
Rook perked up, "What?".
Ben frowned, "You don't know about them?".
"I am aware of them. But, Magister Tennyson stated that we are here to patrol the streets and not to investigate on our own.".
"But he also said that we should keep an eye out for anything." she added. "Besides" she continued, "he told me about it. He must want us to investigate or he'd never told me.". This was quite a stretch in logic. After much back and forth, Rook was the one to give in to Ben's desires. They drove to the place in Undertown where Nicole was last seen.
...
They came to the place of Nicole`s disappearance. It was adjacent to a high-class restaurant, situated in the slums and yet completely misplaced. The dishes were made out of the finest china. Frequenting it were guests who were affluent enough to afford the most opulent of foods and drink vintage wine out of crystal stemware. On the menu were exotic meats, fruits and vegetables coming from all parts of the world. They hadn't expanded, yet. The glass front was completely dark, not a single light was glowing in the utter darkness of the dining room. Well, it was way past midnight. The restaurant had been closed for at least two hours by now.
"So," Ben concluded, "she was last seen here?". Ben pushed her face against the glass front. Not a soul. Behind her Rook pulled up his tablet and scrolled through it. Out of the corner of her vision Ben could make out the text scrolling past from the translucent back. She never got why they made it that way.
"Eyewitnesses had observed a young female human in the area, two days ago, on a Monday, in front of this restaurant. The human was blonde. She wore a school uniform and carried a black backpack with her.", Rook recited the report. In effect, he wouldn't even need the text in front of him at all.
Ben put her hands on her hips, leaning back a little. It was time to play Sherlock Holmes and she was going to put on her deerstalker and stalk some clues to find the meaty deer at the end of the woods. A finger found its way on her, now estranged, chin, which she stroked intentionally. "Isn't that- weird? This restaurant is closed on Mondays." she pointed to the closed sign and right next to it to the opening hours.
"Maybe she was not aware that it was closed on Mondays?" Rook suggested. As astute as always Watson, she mused, but you're missing a piece here.
"Yeah, that's possible, but even then, why would a little girl come in this part of town, to this place? Even if she was able to visit a prestigious private school I doubt she was here for fine dining, alone. Besides, the obvious, this is part of the red-light district." she pointed out. Her hand motioned to a larger house, not even 50 meters away from the restaurant. Heavy red drapes obscured the windows of the upper two floors. On the ground-floor the artfully red and orange stained glass of the windows had been tampered with. It created a structure on the surface which obscured what happened inside, but created a warm and inviting light on the outside. Leaning against a lamppost was a skimpy dressed, green-skinned alien looking to be waiting for someone. Ben suddenly had an idea, and turned towards her partner, who wanted nothing more than to leave.
"There are a lot of people working there." she mumbled. The gesturing hand moved to her chin. She stroked it, thinking. "I mean, they must have seen a lot, heard a lot. Right? A little girl in this part of town, seems strange. She must have raised some attention at least. Let's ask them." she suggested. Her hand sunk down and her head motioned to Rook. Her alien partner looked at the brothel. The alien drew his eyebrows together and chewed his inner cheek. His eyes darted around.
"Ben, do you think that it would be wise to go there?". If he didn't have fur Ben could see how the blood was shooting up to his head. The prospect of interrogating some ladies of the night, didn't fancy him in the slightest.
The brunette shrugged her shoulders. It was obvious that Rook's shame filled her with joy. "Why not?" she asked, a sly grin spreading over her cheeks.
She walked casually over to the brothel, Rook trailing behind her. His shoulders slumped down further with every step. As if his self-confidence was slowly desecrating.
"Hey." Ben greeted the woman by putting up her hand and waving. From afar she hadn't noticed, but she looked adolescent. It was a little disturbing. She couldn't be older than her, Ben assumed. Yet, the alien hailed from Tack's home planet and Rokurokubi, by nature, always seemed younger than their actual age suggested. Their name called to mind a certain type of Japanese ghosts, who shared the ability of neck extension with them . What they called themselves was unknown to her.
The girl squinted at them, especially at Rook. It didn't took her long to figure out he was a Plumber. Her clear neutral and casual stance changed into a more hostile one.
"What?"she snapped at them. Obviously having the wrong idea of why they were there and assuming the worst. "I'm 18, what I'm doing here is completely legal!" she defended herself. The working girl crossed her arms in front of her chest. This motion caused her short jacket to slip off revealing a scar on her shoulder. It looked fresh.
Ben tried to placate her, holding up both hands in front of her chest, "Jeez, I'm not sure why you think we're here. We're just here to ask" she pulled out a data-pad scrolling to the photo of Nicole Steel, "if you've ever seen this girl? She came to this place over there on Monday and hasn't been seen since."
The girl went up close to the picture and squinted. It was obvious that she had bad eyes but evaded glasses out of vanity. After a while she shook her head. "I haven't seen her.", she looked around and all of the sudden she seemed curious and took a little step forwards. "But there have been quite a few human girls going missing…" she whispered. The alien was getting into the mood for gossip but restraining herself out of self-perseverance.
"That's all?" Ben inquired, while the working girl laid her head queer and rolled her eyes. It was a peculiar motion. Ben didn't know how to interpret it.
"If you really want to know-" she looked around, and put out her hand. The alien tried to not to be too obvious about what she wanted. Though Rook and Ben just stared at the open hand. Their lips were thin and their eyebrows drawn together. They looked at each other and then down again. After a while, the more street-savvy girl groaned. She put a hand on her brow and massaged it. "Money.", she hissed between clenched teeth, "Money-information. Is this your first time?". Her hand made a short grabbing motion and became flat again to accept payment. She looked downright offended at the ten-dollar bill. She pursed her lips and looked up at them with squinted eyes. With a sigh Ben, shoved twenty more dollars into her direction. That must be enough!
"That's a lot better.", Ben watched thirty dollars disappear. The alien stuffed it into her jacket. Ben could tell it was a cheap one. The leather was fake too!
Finally the Rokurokubi smiled at them, a big change from her aforementioned hostility. Her stance became more welcoming. "You know- that Restaurant had opened just, like, well, like not long after it started and- they're very expensive. I mean, I make a lot of money, but even I couldn't afford to dine there. Not like I wanted to anyways. Sometimes- I heard- there' a group of humans coming around- 'connoisseurs'?" she tried to twist the word around in her mouth into something that sounded halfway right. "Something like that- they close down the whole Restaurant and just they eat there. They're rich! At least I think they are-".
She drew a hand through her green, short hair. And then scratched at her scar. "My boss doesn't really want me to talk about this. It's just a rumor anyways. But I believe it. People think it's ridiculous to think this way. Humans don't eat other humans, right?". For a moment the alien fixated Ben. It was an unexpected question and Ben didn't know how to answer. After no answer came the working girl continued.
"All right, they eat those girls. I ain't got proof but some things you just know. Intuition!" the girl yelled and raised up her arms. Ben and Rook twitched at that unexpected action.
Then the alien became silent and put a finger on her lip. As if remembering something. "Anyways- that's all I know. Now scram red-spots, you scare away my clients!".
As they were gone she leaned back against the lamp post.
...
After they were a couple of meters away they slipped into a dark alleyway and disappeared from prying eyes. Rook and Ben were relaxing for a minute. The Revonnahgander noticed that Ben appeared withdrawn and looked to be deep in thought.
Ben remembered Tetrax and what he had said to him, way back, 'Human's are a delicacy'. After finally realizing that Rook called her name she looked up. "Yes?", she inquired searching for his eyes.
"Those were bought words. Are you sure you can trust them?". Rook looked out of the alleyway. The brothel's lights were still burning. Their witness disappeared with a gray skinned, bulky alien into the warmth. He could hear her laugh as she leaned against him.
Ben's gaze traveled towards the dark restaurant, "There's one way to find out. We just check for any human meat, in there."
"Ben, are you suggesting that we break into this establishment?" Rook asked, his eyes widening in uncomfortable surprise.
She shook her head, "Not we. I will be going in. I transform into Ghostfreak, phase through the walls and check for myself.".
He partner started protesting, "That is against protocol!". But Ben was already scrolling through her watch.
"I'll be going in and you stand watch." she ordered. She pushed down the dial. In a flash she transformed into Ghostfreak. As she looked down she noticed her more feminine form. A little strange that a ghost could have a feminine form at all.
Defeated, Rook had no choice but to take part in Ben's scheme. They flitted over to the restaurant. While Ben phased through the wall, Rook went to the back entrance. He reprimanded himself for not being more headstrong. Surely, next time, he would not be so easily persuaded.
...
Meanwhile Ben went through the kitchen and the pantry and then realized that she had no idea how she was going to figure out there was human meat. Maybe searching for organs? What did a human heart looked like. Maybe she was going to find a hand or something? But deep down she hoped, that it was just a rumor. It was just- sick and twisted and disgusting. Still, it was true, some aliens ate humans. And some humans-
The dripping of liquid dropping on the floor interrupter her train of thought. In the freezer hung a slaughtered pig, a little bit of blood plopped down in a steady rhythm and forming a puddle of red. Despite the morbidity there was something oddly satisfying about watching it move. On the wall gleamed a little saw and shelves with a variety of packed meat, air-sealed lay silent and waited.
She went through the vacuum-packed pieces of meat and organs. One thing made her attentive, all of them were sorted after type. There was one space for each of the common meats. Each were stacked in an orderly fashion. All the shelves labeled and clean. But then she came across one rack which had not been labeled. On it was a single heart. Attached to the package: a note to call the delivery-service and an address. She was startled as the light went on in the other room. It was too late to turn into Big Chill. Furthermore, Ghostfreak couldn't phase through the wall with any items. She just had to remember the address and get out of here.
Back as she was outside she told Rook the address. He wrote it down on his pad with haste. "Are you sure that this is the right address, Ben?".
She affirmed his question.
Rook went to his data-pad and pulled up a map. "According to my sources it is an old, unused warehouse. It had not been in use since 2005. Are you sure it is there?" he inquired again. He showed Ben the map. The warehouse was located fifteen minutes away from Bellwood.
"Yes, yes it's there. I know what I've read Rook." she replied. Her tone was harsh. What did he think? That her change had hurt her short-term memory?
The Revonnahgander lowered his voice. "Maybe we should tell Magister Tenny-" he started to suggest but was interrupted.
"No. We go there now! Right now!" she demanded. "Come on, Rook." Ben started to beg, "Just you and me! We find out where the girls are, fight some bad guys and are back home before the sun sets!".
Why didn't Rook just say no? It was not that hard!
...
They drove out of Undertown. They had traveled for half an hour as they reached the abandoned building. The warehouse stood gloomy against the starry night. It was surrounded by gnarly and knotted ugly trees. Even though it was spring they were leaf- and bud-less. "Perfect place for a horror-film setting.", Ben commented. This place was creepy.
Ben and her partner were unaware that someone was watching them. A camera zoomed unto them. Their picture showed up on a discreet screen in the hidden basement of the warehouse. They could flee through the tunnels. Later, they'd figure out how anyone was able to find them.
The two Plumbers entered the warehouse. Rook activated the flashlight-function of his Proto-Tool. "It seems as if there is nothing in here.". He let the beam of light dance around the room, while Ben went through her Omnitrix. Another flash and she turned into Wildmutt. The alien had now lighter colored fur but she did not mind, the different scents distracted her too much. Ben started to sniff around searching for a specific one.
She suddenly stiffened, there was something. It was the odor of fresh blood, hanging in the air. A mix of iron and salty skin. Her nose down to the ground she followed until she reached a trap door, hidden under a rag. Wildmutt scratched on the ground, she could hear faint voices and the strong smell of blood. She transformed back, gesturing Rook to come over. Her scratching didn't seem to have tipped him off.
"It's a trapdoor. Told you we'll find them.", she tried to open it without success. It was locked.
Figuring that out Rook aimed his Proto-Tool and fired a precise shot onto the hinge. Finally Ben was able to open the hatch. It opened with a loud creak which reverberated in the large hall. As did the loud bang the door made as it hit the ground. This was playing out like a horror-movie. Next step, get down and try to not get murdered.
Once they managed to crawl down the rusty ladder hey stood in dirty sewage which reached up to their ankles.
"Ew-" Ben made made a disgusted noise. "I can't believe it! Sewer-water! How will I get this out of my shoes?"
"Let us go further. Maybe we will see more." Rook suggested as he let the light-beam wander further along the large sewer. It was ridiculous how large this place was!
They went through the darkness for a while, until they came across an artificially created cave. They entered with caution. Rook let the light wander over destroyed monitors and cheap plastic tables and chairs. Whoever was here wanted to leave as little evidence as possible. Tapes had been pulled out and torn apart. Some broken discs lay on the ground. There was also ash on the floor and little pieces of paper. As they went further Rook was assaulted by a disgusting, vomit inducing smell. Ben lacked the enhanced senses and didn't smell anything. Though, as Wildmutt she had been able to smell the metallic stench of blood. The Revonnahgander made a retching sound, which caused Ben to turn around. Concerned she reached out for him. "Are you all-right?", she asked leaning down.
Rook held a hand to his mouth, looking a little sick, "It is -the smell. It is- unpleasant...", he stood at the entrance not willing to move.
"I can go on without you, if you can't take it-", Ben proposed, but her partner shook his head. They went in further. Rook tried his best not to vomit.
The stench became insufferable for Rook, while even Ben had to admit that there was something reeking. It was the smell of flesh rotting away laying over the scent of fresh blood. While trying to breath through their mouths after a lot of fumbling and stumbling they found the switch for a light and Ben decided to try turning it on, which succeeded. She wondered where the electricity came from. The cave was more spacious than they had first imagined. And there in the middle stood a translucent tent. It looked like those temporary greenhouses. Ben could make out cages and red smudges from the outside, but nothing was clear. Yet, she could see strange red marks on it. A few brown stains here and there too.
A hand laid down on the handle to the door and she took a deep breath before slamming it open and getting assaulted by the most disgusting stench she had ever experienced. It took away her breath and burned in her eyes and nose. As if getting punched she had to go down to her knees. The stink was a horrible, disgusting mix of shit, blood ,piss, and chloride.
It brought tears to her eyes and she tried to hold her hoodie in front of her mouth and nose to no avail. Her eyes caught the sight of a large cage for big dogs, little bloody tufts of hair clung to the bars of the cage. As if some-thing; some-one; had rammed their head against them repeatedly in a futile attempt to escape.
Lined up at the wall were instruments of torture, scalpels, butcher-knives, saws and clamps. They were starting to corrode under the dried blood they had spilled, which had gone brown from the oxidation.
There was a slab in the middle of the room, where the rust was guzzling itself on the clamps. No willing participant was ever held by those. Pink sweaters and t-shirts with cute animals were in the corner. They had been turned into cleaning cloths. Forced to clean down the instruments which had been used on their past owners.
She stumbled back and swallowed dry. Ben needed air, she needed to breath. It was too much. The horrible smell was etching itself into her lungs to leave a lasting impression. It was impossible to breath in here!
Ben ran out, she heard Rook vomiting in the distance. Air, she needed air. She ran out, grasping at the gauze around her ribcage, tugging on it helplessly, she needed to breath, those bandages were far too tight. It was painfully restricting. She finally was able to loosen the knot, breathing in deeply and then purged into the sewer water. But the smell remained. As if she still stood in that nightmarish room and was looking at the bloody witnesses of a crime, she did not want to think about.