A.N. We continue with Part 3 of the Anime Cinematic Universe! This time, Tai hunts down the woman-beater, Bernard Iokal, but will Night Raid's presence complicate the investigation? Meanwhile, the League of Shadows begins to mobilize in New York.
Let'sgetiton!
Disclaimer: OCMixmaster27 does not own any of the franchises represented in this story apart from original characters. This work is made for nonprofit entertainment purposes only.
"Hello there!": Speech.
'This is gonna be fun': Thoughts.
[All systems are go!]: Mechanical Speech
{The Master awaits you.}: Foreign Speech
"How Dare You!": Monster/Demon Speech, Special Technique
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Night Raid: Assassin's Ball
Chapter 2: A "Typical" Investigation
Location: Infinity Island
Date: June 28th, 2016
The assistant of Ra's al Ghul walks through the imposing complex that is Infinity Island. The numerous soldiers and assassins that also call the place home quickly move out of the assistant's way, knowing that the simple robed man is doing Ra's al Ghul's business. They all know from experience not to get in the way of The Great One's business.
The assistant pays no mind to the assortment of trained killers he passes by. He's worked with Ra's al Ghul long enough to be unfazed in the presence of killers, even if they have become more extreme in the last few decades.
The assistant stops outside a set of doors, from which he can hear the sounds of combat. He opens the doors and casually enters the room, just as an assassin grunt flies into the wall right next to him, which he calmly ignores.
The assistant's focus is on the center of the room, where a young woman easily fights off two assassins using a wooden sword. The woman is tall and slender, with pale skin and long ice-blue hair that matches her eyes. She wears a white and black general's uniform, which includes a white cap and thigh-high boots. Her shirt is opened slightly, revealing a black tattoo that rests over her impressive bust.
A couple of swings from the woman's wooden sword send her two opponents down to the ground. The strikes are hard enough to spill blood, which stain the woman's outfit, though she pays it no mind. What she does notice is another grunt crawling for his own wooden weapon.
A heeled foot crushing his hand stops his advance.
"How pathetic," the woman mutters as she looks down with contempt at the screaming grunt. "You call yourself an assassin? Your poor combat abilities are an embarrassment to Ra's al Ghul! Such embarrassments must be ground out of the League!" She emphasizes her last sentence by grinding the heel of her foot into the grunt's hand, causing him to scream even louder.
"Pardon me, Al-Liwa'," the assistant says, interrupting The General's impromptu torture session.
"I assume that the Great One requires my presence," The General states in a calm yet dangerous tone. "That would be the only reason you would dare to interrupt my training session."
The assistant is unfazed by The General's hidden threat. "You are to meet with the Great One immediately."
The General pulls her heel out of the grunt's hand and faces the assistant, allowing the grunt to clutch his bleeding hand in pain.
"Lead the way," The General orders.
In a short amount of time, the assistant and The General arrive at their master's office. They see Ra's al Ghul staring out his window, wine glass still in hand.
"Al-Liwa' has arrived as you ordered, Great One," the assistant says as he gestures to the blunette.
"Thank you, my assistant. That will be all," Ra's says, not bothering to look behind him.
The assistant bows and leaves the office, while The General goes down to one knee before her master.
"What is your will, Great One?" The General asks.
"Zank the Executioner has been slain tonight in New York City by the traitorous group, Night Raid," Ra's states, getting right to the point.
"How disappointing. His skills were weaker than I imagined for him to be killed by those cursed defectors," The General says, showing no remorse for her fellow assassin.
"Those cursed defectors have cost us too much as it is, and for my plans for New York to succeed, they must be eliminated," Ra's continues, "and that is where you come in, my Strongest General."
"What would you have me do, Great One?" The General asks.
"You will gather a team from my forces that is suitable enough in power to defeat Night Raid. You will personally lead this team to New York, where you will hunt down and destroy the traitors with extreme prejudice. Leave not one of them alive. That is my mission for you, General," Ra's explains.
The General's face gains a slightly offended expression. "Great One, with all due respect, I alone am powerful enough to crush Night Raid. I do not require a team to assist me."
"It is not just Night Raid that you must take care of, General."
The General is confused by her master's words.
Ra's explains further, "My sources have confirmed that there is another traitor living in New York. Al-Rami. The Archer."
The General's heart stops for a moment as her confused expression morphs into shock. The smiling face of a blond-haired man enters her mind.
"…Tai Nguyen…is alive?" she asks with a breathless voice.
"Indeed," Ra's answers evenly. "He has become a vigilante hero that goes by the name of 'Night Arrow'. It is not confirmed whether he and Night Raid are truly allies, but he will be a great hinderance to my plans, nonetheless. You of all people should know how dangerous he is."
"I do," The General answers, before rising from her kneeling position. "I will assemble the team at once. By your leave, Great One."
The General bows to her master and turns to leave the office.
"Esdeath."
The blunette stops her departure at the mention of her name. She can feel the Head of the Demon finally turn to face her with a stern look.
"I trust that no…past history…will interfere with your mission?" Ra's asks his subordinate.
Esdeath turns to her master with an equally hard look. "None whatsoever, Great One," she says, before leaving the room.
Ra's al Ghul looks back out the window. "We shall see."
Outside the office, Esdeath takes three steps away from the door before she collapses against the wall clutching her heart. Her breath is heavy, and her face is flushed, yet she smiles.
"Tai…my Beloved…even after all these years, you still make me feel such emotions with the mere mention of your name," Esdeath mutters with affection in her voice.
She then begins to chuckle. This chuckle has no joy in it, however, nor any humor. It is a dangerous chuckle that promises pain.
It's a chuckle that causes the hardened, merciless assassins around her to run as far away from her as physically possible.
The blunette rises to her full height, her smile maniacal, her eyes wide and fierce.
"I'm coming for you, Tai," Esdeath declares, "and I will MAKE. YOU. MINE."
Location: Central Park
Date: June 29th, 2016
Tai lets out a monster of a yawn as he sits on a bench in the middle of the park. His tiredness today is unorthodox. He usually gets enough rest between his day job and his nightly activities, but last night was different. He kept getting woken up by this strange sense of foreboding, as if his very soul were in danger. The only thing he could think of that can make him feel this way is…
Tai shakes his head to remove that dangerous thought.
He idly looks around and notes all of the civilians enjoying the sunshine today. Friends, families, couples, innocent people peacefully living their lives, blissfully unaware of the near constant battles against crime and villainy that occur in the shadows, and the war that Tai can see coming in the distance.
"Rough night?" a voice asks in the distance.
Tai turns and sees Patty approaching him with two cups of coffee in his hands.
"Maybe you should take a break from working nights," Patty suggests as he takes a seat on the bench and hands Tai a cup.
Tai chuckles. "Maybe I should." He takes a sip of coffee and lets the caffeine invigorate his body. He turns to look at his friend and notices some faint dark circles around the sergeant's eyes. "You look like you had a long night yourself."
"Well, someone left quite a mess on a rooftop last night, and my men and I had to go out in the middle of the night and make sense of it," Patty says, giving his friend a pointed look. "I was rather hoping you can help with that."
Tai sighs and nods. "Right. Well, where should I start?"
"How about the beginning?" Patty suggests.
Tai quickly looks around to make sure no one is eavesdropping, then leans in close.
"Alright then. The beginning," Tai says. "So, around six-hundred years ago, a man was born. Nobody knows his real name, only his title; Ra's al Ghul."
"Ra's al Ghul?" Patty asks.
"It's Arabic. It means, 'Head of the Demon'," Tai says. "He formed an organization of assassins called the League of Shadows, an organization he runs to this very day."
"Wait, wait, hold up," Patty interrupts. "You're saying he's still alive? After six-hundred years?"
"He has access to the Lazarus Pits. They're pools of noxious chemicals that reverse the effects of aging on whoever bathes in them, bringing them back to their prime. It's said that they can also bring the dead back to life, but that's never been confirmed," Tai explains.
"Holy crap," Patty mutters with disbelief.
"Anyway," Tai continues, "Ra's has this idyllic agenda of bringing humanity to a Golden Age of prosperity, and he wants to do so by purging humanity of its corrupted elements. He's been using his League of Shadows to do so, manipulating the world for centuries and eliminating everyone that gets in his way."
"Well, I think it's pretty obvious that he's not doing a great job of making a Golden Age," Patty comments.
"You and me both," Tai agrees. "The Pits may keep his body fit, but I don't think they're helping his mind that much."
"So, the dead guy on the rooftop. He worked for Ra's al Ghul," Patty asks as he sips his coffee.
Tai nods. "Zank the Beheader. He was Ra's al Ghul's personal executioner."
"So, you're saying that Ra's al Ghul sent this Zank guy to kill Black Mask?" Patty asks.
"I honestly have no idea why Ra's sent him here. And that has me concerned," Tai admits. "Ra's can be destroying a crime syndicate one moment, and then endorsing one the next. He would make whole empires collapse just to get rid of a few bad apples, and he has no qualms to letting innocents die to get the job done."
"Jesus," Patty mutters, before giving Tai a questioning look. "How do you know so much about this guy?"
Tai gives a painful sigh. "…Because, long ago, I used to work for him."
Patty's eyes widen with shock. "You were an assassin?!" he cries out in a hushed voice.
"Not by choice," Tai answers quickly. "My parents were assassins themselves. They practically forced me into the League, my father especially. I never agreed with Ra's al Ghul's ideals, but I couldn't just quit the League, not if I wanted to keep my head. I had to bide my time and get strong enough that I could escape alive. Eight years ago, I got my chance. I teamed up with several others who wanted out, and we planned our escape. The plan worked, though not all of us got out unscathed. It didn't matter, though. We were free. I was free…or so I thought."
"What do you mean?" Patty asks in a concerned tone.
Tai gives a tired sigh and takes a sip of his coffee before continuing.
"After we escaped, my companions and I formed our own group. We called ourselves 'Night Raid'. We recruited several others into our ranks, and we set out to do what Ra's couldn't; save the world. I was under the impression that we would do so without resorting to murder, that we would take the moral high ground. I soon discovered otherwise," Tai says sadly. "My friends may have quit the League of Shadows, but they didn't stop being killers. The only thing that changed is that they wouldn't answer to anyone but themselves. The worst part about it was that they weren't ashamed in the slightest at how many bodies they piled up. I eventually called them out on it and pleaded with them to find a different way. A better way. But they refused. So, I quit them too. I never saw them again…until these past few days."
Patty's eyes widen with understanding. "So, those other assassins that showed up out of nowhere were…"
Tai nods, "Night Raid. Having them or the League of Shadows around is bad enough, but if both of them are in the same place…"
"The whole city's screwed over," Patty mutters with fear in his voice.
"Exactly," Tai confirms.
"What do we do?" Patty asks.
"I already have a plan for Night Raid in case they interfere again. It's the League of Shadows that'll be the real issue. They're bigger, and unlike Night Raid, they make absolutely no effort to prevent collateral damage. For now, the best thing to do is to keep our eyes and ears open for anything too out of the ordinary going on. The sooner we can find a lead on Ra's al Ghul's plans, the better," Tai states calmly as he stands up from the bench. "In the meantime, I have a city councilman to investigate."
"You need any help with that? I can pull some strings and hook you up with some surveillance tech," Patty offers.
"I've already got that taken care of. Thanks for the offer, and the coffee," Tai says. "Be careful, Sergeant."
"You too, sharpshooter," Patty replies.
Tai heads out of the park, leaving Patty alone on the bench.
Patty sighs. "I need a vacation after all of this," he says as he continues to drink his coffee.
He's completely unaware that the back of his head is in the dead center of a sniper scope. The scope then shifts to view the blonde man leaving the park.
Sitting in a tree a good distance away, Mine puts down her weapon and glares daggers at Tai.
'We don't need that traitor's help. We can handle the League of Shadows all by ourselves,' Mine thinks to herself, before smirking. 'And we'll prove it.'
Location: Bullseye Electronics Store
With a jingling of a bell, Tai walks into the small unassuming electronics store and appears to be looking around at all of the electronics in the store with an appraising look on his face.
The jingle gets the attention of the man working behind the counter. The man is young, lanky, and African American. He wears a pair of reading glasses, a T-Shirt with a video game design on it, jeans, and tennis shoes.
This clerk and Tai are the only two people in the store.
"Hey man! Can I help you find something?" The man behind the counter asks.
"Yeah. I was looking to get a security system installed for my place. You see, I have a bit of a rodent problem at my apartment, and I wanna catch the bastard as soon as possible," Tai explains nonchalantly.
"Sure thing," the clerk replies. "We've got a set of three cameras here that are the size of marbles that you can set up all around your apartment. We've also got one disguised as a smoke alarm."
"Interesting, though not quite as good as what I'm looking for," Tai says as he walks right up to the counter. "I need to see something much more advanced. I'm talking 'James Bond' super-spy kind of tech. You wouldn't happen to have anything like that around, would you?"
The clerk gives Tai a once-over. "You must have some slippery rats, my friend."
"Very slippery," Tai replies.
The clerk looks around shiftily. He turns off the OPEN light sign before nodding his head towards the door behind him. Tai rolls his eyes but follows the clerk to the door, nonetheless. The clerk opens the door, revealing a set of stairs that go down below the store. The two men go down the stairs, leaving behind an empty store.
As the two descend down, Tai asks, "Okay, seriously Jerome, do we have to do that code-phrase nonsense every time I go to you for tech?"
"Come on, man. We've gotta keep up appearances in case somebody's snooping around the shop and listening to something they shouldn't," Jerome responds.
Tai gives his friend an 'are you kidding me' look. "And who exactly is gonna be snooping around a rundown electronics store in some forgotten corner of town?"
"Not anybody with good intentions, that's for sure," Jerome replies. "We're hunting criminals, Tai, which means sooner or later, criminals are gonna be hunting us. It pays to be a bit paranoid."
"I'm sorry, but 'we're hunting criminals'?" Tai ask incredulously.
"Yes, Tai. 'We are'," Jerome answers as they reach the bottom of the stairs.
The room they enter is lined with monitors and screens all across the walls, most of them showing the outside of the store. At the center of the room is a desk with a homemade complex computer system set up underneath and a large monitor on top.
"I'm the one giving you my tech that I made myself to help you get evidence on criminal activity. Therefore, this is a joint operation between you and me," Jerome says with force as he sits down behind his desk. He then turns in his chair to give Tai a pointed look. "And by the way, I am upset that you didn't include me when you went after Black Mask."
"To be honest, I didn't need advanced tech to take him down," Tai defends. "Kinda disappointing that it was such an easy bust, actually."
"Yeah, well, next time you go after a big-name crime boss, you better include my ass," Jerome demands.
"Well, I can't hook you up with a big-name crime boss right now, but how about a corrupt sex-trafficking city councilman?" Tai offers.
Jerome adopts a thoughtful look on his face before shrugging. "I can work with that."
As Jerome turns to the screen, Tai explains, "Alright, so our new target is Bernard Iokal. The NYPD's been investigating him for several months now on several heinous charges, including kidnapping, rape, and sex trafficking. Unfortunately, all of the evidence they've obtained so far is circumstantial at best. It seems the man can cover his tracks well enough to slip past the law. That's where we come in."
"Pulling up his info now," Jerome states as he types away at his computer.
Bernard Iokal's picture pops up onto the monitor, along with other documents describing the man's personal info.
"Damn. This guy's a tool with a capital T," Bernard says as he reads the information on his computer. "Apparently, the only reason he became a city councilman in the first place was because his rich uncle pulled some strings to get him his position. He tries to play himself off as the nice guy by making a whole bunch of public donations and throwing charity parties, but there are definitely some skeletons in his closet. Multiple reports of sexual harassment from female coworkers and employees. One charge of rape from a former secretary, but the charge was dropped after the victim was paid a small fortune, only for said victim to disappear a week later. Iokal's been accused of so many crimes, against women especially, but nothing sticks."
"The NYPD needs something concrete to pin on Iokal, and that's what we're going to give them," Tai says.
"Well, I got you covered for surveillance tech," Jerome states as he pulls something out of a drawer in his desk. He hands it to Tai, who gives the item a critical look.
In Tai's hand is a plastic case with a clear plastic lid. Inside the case are three tiny circles resting on some white foam.
"What am I looking at?" Tai asks.
"Better question; what's looking at you?" Jerome asks back as he points behind him.
Tai looks over at the wall behind Jerome and sees three monitors showing his own face up close, each of them showing a different angle of his face. He looks down at the circles, then back at the monitors.
"Impressive," Tai says with a smile.
"And durable. You can hit them with a hammer, and they won't break. And they're undetectable by metal detectors, so you can smuggle them into anywhere without any problems," Jerome explains.
"You've really outdone yourself this time," Tai praises.
"You always say that, and yes, I always do," Jerome says with little modesty in his voice. "The trick is to get them placed in the right spots to get some good intel. You'd have to get one in his home, one in his office, and you have an extra one for good measure. You think you can get close enough to place the bugs?"
Tai pulls out his smartphone and pulls something up from the internet.
"Well, if you can hook me up with a fake identity, I can definitely get close enough," Tai says as he shows Jerome his phone.
Jerome's eyes widen as he sees a job opening for a bodyguard, posted by Bernard Iokal himself.
Jerome nods. "…That'll work."
Location: Office of Bernard Iokal, City Hall
Date: June 29th, 2016
A stout man with black and purple hair works diligently on his computer in his office. He's flanked on either side by gruff men wearing black suits.
A knocking on his door interrupts his work.
The man sighs irritably and adjusts his glasses. "Yes, what is it?"
A woman peaks her head through the door nervously. "P-Pardon me, Mr. Iokal, sir."
"Well? Get on with it, woman!" Iokal demands.
The lady flinches from fear. She gathers the remainder of her courage and says, "The applicant for the new bodyguard position is here for you, sir."
"Then what are you waiting for? Bring him in!" Iokal orders.
"Y-Yes, sir!" the woman answers. She opens the door fully, allowing the man behind her to enter the room.
Tai approaches the councilman's desk with an aura of confidence and danger around him. His black suit and tie give him a look of sophistication that differs from the casual wear he usually goes with. The most notable changes, though, are his green eyes, his black-dyed hair, and a dueling scar on the right side of his face.
Iokal seems to be underwhelmed by the appearance of the young man, though the councilman knows that appearances aren't everything.
"You got here earlier than I expected, Mr. …" Iokal probes.
"Crock. Lawrence Crock," "Lawrence" answers smoothly. "I figured that I should be as punctual as possible if I want to work for a city councilman. I like to make a good first impression."
"…I see," Iokal says warily.
"Lawrence" reaches the desk and immediately takes note of his surroundings. He subtly notes several possible weapon choices, including a stapler, several pencils, and a letter opener.
"I'm not so sure about this guy, sir," says the guard on "Lawrence's" left side. The guard gives the younger man an analyzing look. "He looks too…scrawny to be a fighter. I don't think he's really built for this job."
The guard reaches for "Lawrence" in an attempt at a shakedown.
This is when "Lawrence" makes his move.
The first strike from "Lawrence's" left hand swats away the guard's arm. The second strike jabs at the guard's throat, causing the man to choke. The third strike slams into the guard's gut, making the man double over.
"Lawrence" doesn't stop there. He takes the letter opener in his right hand and spins around behind the debilitated guard, grabbing the bigger man's right hand in the process.
In a matter of seconds, "Lawrence" has the guard's right arm twisted behind the older man's back with his left hand, and holds the letter opener in his right hand, with the surprisingly sharp blade pointed at the guard's wrist.
"What do you think now?" "Lawrence" asks in a challenging tone.
Both Iokal and the other guard are stunned at how quickly their associate was incapacitated by the shorter, leaner, and younger man.
The other guard moves to pull out his gun.
"Not so fast, pal," "Lawrence" warns, stopping the other guard's movement. "By the time you pull out your gun, I'll have sliced this man's arm open from wrist to elbow and cut every artery along the way. Should be easy since your boss decided to sharpen his letter opener for some reason. I'll then use this idiot as a meat shield as you try and shoot me dead. If the bullets in his body won't kill him, then he'll bleed out long before the ambulance arrives, even if your boss pushes the panic button under his desk."
Iokal stops his subtle reaching for the button under his desk.
"Lawrence" gives Iokal a deadly smirk.
"So, would you need to see my references?" "Lawrence" jokes.
Iokal's stunned face morphs into an impressed look. He grins and begins applauding.
"Haha! Magnificent! That's exactly what I'm looking for!" Iokal cries out with delight. He turns to his other guard. "Henry, there's no need for a gun." Iokal then turns back to his newest hire. "And Mr. Crock, if you wouldn't mind letting Mitch go."
Henry puts his hands up, showing "Lawrence" that he won't pull out his gun. Seeing this, "Lawrence" releases Mitch, though he still holds on to the letter opener.
Mitch nurses his injured shoulder and glares at "Lawrence".
"You won't be doing that again, punk," Mitch declares.
"Lawrence" doesn't miss a beat. "Unless I want to."
Mitch growls and moves to attack "Lawrence" again, but his boss's hand stops him.
"Now now, Mitch. Let's not fight with your new coworker, okay?" Iokal says.
"Coworker?!" Mitch asks incredulously.
Henry shares his partner's surprise.
Iokal faces "Lawrence" and holds his hand out to the younger man.
"Congratulations, Mr. Crock! You're hired!" Iokal announces.
"Lawrence" smiles and shakes his new boss's hand. "Thank you very much, sir, and call me Lawrence".
"Now then, Lawrence, my lunch hour should be right about now. Care to join me?" Iokal asks. "I'd like to get to know my new employee better."
"Sure. I can go for a bite," "Lawrence" replies.
"Lawrence" quickly sets the letter opener back into its case. His hand seems to twitch slightly over the desk, but nobody else in the room seems to notice.
"Let's go to the sandwich shop today. I'm craving a nice tuna melt right now," Iokal declares.
With that declaration, the four men head out the room, with Henry taking point in front of Iokal, and Mitch and "Lawrence" taking the rear.
As Henry and Iokal leave the room, Mitch turns his head to address "Lawrence".
"You better watch yourself, punk," Mitch warns before heading out to join his boss.
"Lawrence" smirks. "Thanks for the tip," he mutters quietly as he leaves the city councilman's room.
And the small circle resting inconspicuously amongst the corrupt man's desk clutter.
Location: Downtown Manhattan
"Hey, peeping tom! Hurry up!"
Tatsumi cringes at the call from his pink-haired teammate, causing the stack of colorfully wrapped boxes he's holding to sway slightly. He gets them under control and ducks his head to avoid the judging looks and chuckles being sent his way from the crowds of people around him.
Today has been less than stellar for the rookie assassin. First, he was asked to wake up Mine for the morning meeting, which he did with enthusiasm. Unfortunately, he was so enthusiastic that he didn't think to knock before walking right in, resulting in him seeing Mine in just her underwear. This led to Mine trying to shoot the poor lad dead with her gun.
After that little episode, and the chewing out he received from Mine right afterwards, Tatsumi was dismayed to learn that he would be training under Mine for the day. Mine had decided to train Tatsumi in "information gathering" and "getting a feel of the land".
Translation: he was going to be her shopping mule.
"Remind me again, what part of this involves gathering information?" Tatsumi asks his teammate as he approaches her with the stack of boxes.
"Seriously? You haven't figured it out yet, you hick?" Mine asks back in a condescending tone.
"You little…" Tatsumi growls, gritting his teeth with frustration.
Mine ignores the anger and spreads her arms wide, gesturing to the hundreds of people walking around them.
"Look around, Tatsumi. Hundreds of people walk around us on a daily basis, all of them chatting and gossiping and spilling their dirty secrets, not caring in the slightest who's listening in. Mingling with the civilians is the perfect way to gather information about potential targets in the most inconspicuous manner possible." Mine explains with a proud smile. "Besides, it's good to get out of the house once in a while."
"…You're just making that up as an excuse for you to go shopping, aren't you?" Tatsumi asks with a deadpan look.
"Take it as you will," Mine answers nonchalantly. She turns around and points forward. "Now then, onwards we go, my minion!"
"Stop calling me a minion!" Tatsumi shouts, though he reluctantly follows anyway. He starts grumbling, "Stupid pink washboard pixie."
He only gets ten steps in, however, before he bumps into Mine's back, causing the boxes in his arms to sway more. He quickly gets the boxes back in order, then glares at the unmoving pinkette in front of him.
"A little warning next time?" Tatsumi asks with an annoyed tone.
Mine shushes her minion before discretely pointing across the street. Tatsumi turns to look where she's pointing.
Walking on the opposite sidewalk is Bernard Iokal happily chatting with "Lawrence", with Mitch and Henry flanking them.
Tatsumi turns to Mine with a raised eyebrow. "What about them?"
"That guy talking to the fat man with glasses? That's Tai!" Mine whispers.
Tatsumi's eyes widen. "What? But he looks so different," he whispers back.
"It's called a disguise, idiot!" Mine chastises, causing Tatsumi to glare at her. Mine turns back to the four men across the street. "That guy talking with him looks like a total greaseball, especially with those goons next to him." Mine's eyes widen with realization. "Of course! Tai must be investigating the man by going undercover!"
Tatsumi gives Tai an appraising look. "Getting evidence right under the guy's nose. Clever, I guess."
Tatsumi suddenly hears snickering right next to him. He turns and sees Mine with an evil grin on her face.
"…Uh, Mine? What's with that look?" Tatsumi asks nervously.
Mine turns to Tatsumi and puts her right hand next to the left side of her face.
"I'm just thinking how 'unfortunate' it would be if someone ruined his little investigation," Mine answers, before giving a haughty laugh.
'She's a devil!' Tatsumi mentally declares, dreading what Mine has up her sleeve.
Location: Mo's Sandwich Shop
"Lawrence" watches from across the table he's sitting at as his new boss happily munches on a tuna melt. "Lawrence" himself has a turkey club in front of him, which he idly eats. Mitch and Henry sit on the other two sides of the square table, not even touching their food.
"I must say, Lawrence, you don't look much like a Crock," Iokal comments as he takes a bite of a pickle. "No offense."
"None taken," says "Lawrence" with a small smile. "I'm proud to say that I take a lot after my mother."
"Let me guess; Korean?" Iokal asks.
"Vietnamese," "Lawrence" responds, causing Iokal to snap his fingers. "Yeah, my folks were hired by the same security company. That's how they met."
"And now, you're working security in the private sector yourself. It looks like you joined the family business, huh?" Iokal jokes.
"Lawrence" groans. "Don't get me started on that 'family business' crap. My father was an absolute menace with that, practically forcing me to become a soldier, training me until my bones ached."
"I know quite a bit how that feels," Iokal says. "My uncle was over my shoulder for pretty much my entire life, making me focus on my career in politics above everything else. Even to this day, my uncle keeps pestering me about keeping a respectable image. It's agonizing!"
"Well, you're a wealthy, respected city councilman now, so things worked out pretty well for you," "Lawrence" comments.
"Oh, I'm not insulting my uncle in the slightest," Iokal quickly defends. "He helped quite a bit in my rise up the political ladder, and all of the perks that I've earned along the way."
He says this right as the waitress walks by. Iokal smacks the woman's butt with no amount of shame. The waitress turns around to yell but stops when she sees Iokal's smirking face and the two older bodyguards giving her challenging looks. She instantly backs down and walks away with a nervous look on her face.
"Lawrence" watches all this happen with an inquisitive look on his face. "Huh. Usually you get kicked out of restaurants if you do that."
"Oh, the people here know better than to complain. I am a very influential regular here, after all," Iokal says smugly, still eyeing the waitress walking away. He turns back to his newest employee. "So, you served in the military?"
"Two tours in Afghanistan. Second tour, I went home with a Purple Heart after an IED went off right next to me. I still have the ringing in my ears," "Lawrence" explains.
Iokal gives his bodyguard a look of concern. "Nothing too damaging, I hope."
"Nah, it's a little annoyance, really," "Lawrence" says as he idly glances out the window. "Usually, I can just put my earbuds in, and–"
"Lawrence" pauses as he sees a glint from one of the rooftops across the street.
Acting on instinct, "Lawrence" quickly rises from his seat and hard shoves the table forward. This causes the table to hit Iokal's gut, making the stout man fall backwards in his chair.
As Iokal falls, a thin beam of energy zips in front of his face and hits the ground next to him.
Mitch and Henry are shocked for a second at seeing "Lawrence's" split second movement. When they recover, they see their surprised boss laying on the ground, a broken front window, a screaming waitress, and a smoking hole in the ground.
The two men turn to "Lawrence", who's pointing across the street.
"Rooftop! Sniper!" "Lawrence" shouts.
Mitch and Henry need nothing more. They pull out their pistols and start shooting at the rooftop.
"Lawrence", meanwhile, flips the table onto its side and pulls Iokal behind the table.
"W-What the hell is going on?!" Iokal cries out.
"Obviously, someone wants you dead!" "Lawrence" answers. He turns to the waitress cowering against the wall. "You! Waitress!"
The waitress lifts her head up nervously.
"Backdoor! Where is it?!" "Lawrence" demands.
The waitress quickly points towards a door next to the back counter. "Through there! Straight through the kitchen!"
"Lawrence" pulls Iokal to his feet. "Come on!" he yells as he pushes Iokal towards the door.
Mitch and Henry see the two moving behind them and quickly follow them.
Location: Rooftop
Mine peaks back out from her perch after hiding from the gunfire and tries to get a lock on her target again. She curses when she sees neither the man nor his entourage still in the restaurant.
It was supposed to be a simple kill. One shot, the man would be dead in an instant, and Tai's investigation would be ruined. Mine wanted to prove to Tai how bullshit his "higher ground" philosophy is when one can just kill the bad guy and be done with it. How Tai saw her weapon is beyond her.
"Come on, Tatsumi. Don't screw this up," Mine mutters as she now has to rely on the rookie to get the job done.
Location: Alley
"Lawrence" pushes Iokal out the door and into the alley, with Mitch and Henry following right behind them. Iokal bends over to steady himself, while "Lawrence" puts a hand on his shoulder to help. Mitch and Henry, meanwhile, check both ways for any other attackers.
"I can't believe this is happening! Why would someone want to kill me?!" Iokal asks terrified.
"Well, whoever they are, they can afford an assassin with some strong firepower. I've never seen a weapon like that before," "Lawrence" lies to the councilman.
Iokal suddenly gasps. "This couldn't possibly be his doing, can it?"
"Who?" "Lawrence" asks.
Before Iokal could answer his youngest bodyguard, Mitch and Henry approach them.
"Looks clear," says Mitch.
"Same here," says Henry.
"Let's get out of here," "Lawrence" says.
The group starts running down the alley, with Mitch taking the front, Iokal and "Lawrence" in the middle, and Henry in the back.
"Tell me you have a gun, "Lawrence"," Iokal desperately asks as he runs for his life.
"Lawrence" gives him an incredulous look. "Why would I carry a gun if I was meeting a city councilman for a job interview?!"
"You must have something!" Iokal pleads.
"I've got this fork from the restaurant," "Lawrence" offers, holding up the utensil in his hand.
"WHAT GOOD IS A FORK GOING TO DO US?!" Iokal shouts.
The group soon reaches a T-shaped intersection. "Lawrence" looks ahead and sees a shadow moving near the right turn of the intersection.
With all of his strength, "Lawrence" throws the fork as if it were a throwing knife at the right corner.
Just as Tatsumi lunges out with his sword.
"TASTE MY BLA–"
SQUELCH!
"GAH! MY EAR!"
Tatsumi halts his attack and clutches his bleeding left ear, which now has a fork sticking out of it.
This allows for Mitch and Henry to recover from the "surprise attack" and fire on Tatsumi, who quickly ducks around the corner to avoid the bullets.
"Other way!" "Lawrence" calls out, pulling Iokal to the left turn, with Mitch and Henry following and shooting behind them.
"Well, color me impressed! I never thought you could use a fork like that!" Iokal says in a proud tone. "I should try that out in the dungeon sometime."
"Lawrence" gives his boss a WTF look. "What?"
The group suddenly hears sirens ahead of them. They see several police cruisers pull up at the entrance to the alley.
"Thank God! I never thought I'd be so happy to see the police in all my life!" Iokal shouts with joy as the four men approach the police cars. "We're saved!"
Then the policemen get out of their cars and point their guns at the group. "FREEZE!"
All four men immediately stop running.
"DROP YOUR WEAPONS! GET ON THE GROUND, NOW!"
All four men immediately do as they're told.
Laying on the ground, "Lawrence" turns to his boss. "You were saying?"
Location: Bigsby Manor
WHACK! "OW!"
Mine cries as she nurses the lump on her forehead she received from the irate white-haired woman in front of her.
"That was the most amateur assassination attempt I have ever seen in my life! What were you thinking?!" Najenda berates the pinkette.
"I had an opportunity, and I took it!" Mine defends herself.
"And look how that turned out! Look what happened to Tatsumi!" Najenda yells, pointing at the brown-haired young man having his ear bandaged by Akame.
"It's not my fault that he got taken out by a fork of all things," Mine says, crossing her arms.
"Shut up, you damned pixie! That's the last time I ever go shopping with you – OUCH!" Tatsumi cries out, then yelps when he gets stabbed by the needle.
"Hold still, Tatsumi," Akame says as she continues her stitching.
Sheele then walks in holding a bottle. "I brought some more alcohol."
Akame looks at the bottle for a moment, then gives Sheele a deadpan look. "I need medical alcohol, not vodka."
"…I'll be right back," Sheele says evenly as she heads out of the room.
Najenda sweatdrops at Sheele's antics, then turns back to Mine. "Tatsumi's injury doesn't change the fact that you took it upon yourself to assassinate somebody that you had no idea whether or not they were a criminal in the first place."
"Of course, that guy was a criminal! The way he looked, the way he acted, the two thugs he had protecting him. Plus, Tai was disguised. He'd only do that if he were investigating a criminal," Mine defends.
"You tried to kill a man over assumptions, and Night Raid doesn't operate on assumptions," Najenda tells her subordinate.
Mine turns her head and pouts.
Najenda sighs. "I've done some research on the man you tried to kill," she says, getting everyone's attention. "His name is Bernard Iokal. He's a city councilman that's been accused of kidnapping women and torturing them to death, along with other related crimes. He's used his wealth and influence to impede any investigations against him so far."
"Tai must be helping the police gather evidence against Iokal," Akame muses.
"See! I told you so!" Mine declares in a proud tone.
"Except now, thanks to your actions, Iokal will have security up the ass, if he even stays in the city," Najenda points out.
"Which is why I should go ahead and kill him now while we have the chance," Mine suggests.
Najenda narrows her eye at the pinkette. "And why should I let you be anywhere near Iokal after what you just pulled?"
Mine gives her boss a hard look. "Because I need to finish what I started."
Najenda stares at her subordinate for a few moments, before giving a tired sigh, knowing she's going to regret this decision.
Location: NYPD, 1 Police Plaza
Timeskip: Late Afternoon
"This is ridiculous! How long are you going to keep us here?! I want my lawyer here NOW!"
"Lawrence" watches as Iokal continues to chew out the officers in the precinct. The two of them are currently sitting in a holding cell along with Mitch and Henry. They've been sitting here for the past 4 hours, only leaving for trips to either the bathroom or an interrogation room, both of which involving a police escort.
Iokal huffs and stomps over to the bench, where he joins his employees.
"This is a conspiracy, I tell you," Iokal mutters. "These police officers are out to get me. I know it!"
"Why would they do something like that?" "Lawrence" asks with an innocent tone. "Aren't you guys on the same side?"
"You'd think so, but apparently, I'm some kind of villainous man to them, even though I help keep this city together!" Iokal says, yelling the last part at the officers.
"And you're so humble about it, too."
The four men in the cell turn and see Sergeant Shaw approaching the door.
"Lawrence Crock. Step forward," Shaw orders as he opens the cell door.
"Lawrence" groans as he stands up and heads for the door. "Seriously? How many times do I have to give a statement? You're treating us like criminals for crying out loud!"
"Well, two of you were shooting around in public," Shaw points out.
"In self-defense! We're the victims here!" Iokal defends.
Sergeant Shaw leads "Lawrence" out of the cell and to an interrogation room.
"If you harm a single hair on my bodyguard's head, you'll be out on the streets faster than you can say Manhattan!" Iokal declares.
Location: Interrogation Room
"He certainly likes you," Patty comments as he and Tai enter the room.
"Well, that may have something to do with me saving him from certain death." Tai replies.
"Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that, actually. That shootout downtown wasn't part of your plan to infiltrate Iokal's inner circle, was it?" Patty asks.
"Absolutely not. Somebody decided to take matters into their own hands," Tai defends.
Patty sighs. "Night Raid?"
"Safe bet," Tai replies.
Patty rubs his eyes with frustration. "I swear, if they screw this investigation up…"
"Actually, they might have just secured my cover. Iokal certainly sounded like he trusted me more. He might be more open to sharing some of his dirty little secrets around me," Tai states.
Tai stops talking when he notices his friend's haggard-looking face.
"You alright, Patty?" Tai asks his friend with concern.
"Huh?" Patty shakes his head to pull himself back together. "Yeah…yeah, I'm fine."
"You sure?" Tai asks.
"Yeah, I just want to get this investigation over with," Patty reassures the younger man.
Tai narrows his eyes with suspicion but moves on to the main topic at hand.
"Well, I agree with you on that. If Night Raid is getting themselves involved, then we need to step up our timetable. We may be forced to pull this off by tonight," Tai states.
"What do you have in mind?" Patty asks.
Tai rubs his chin in thought as he ponders a plan of action, before smirking as an idea hits him.
Location: Iokal's Mansion, Private Office
Timeskip: Evening
Iokal's mansion is nestled within a sea of trees, with a large lawn acting as a border between it and the surrounding forest. It would seem like a peaceful place to live, if it weren't for the dozen security guards surrounding the place.
Iokal himself is sitting in his private office, with Mitch and Henry flanking him. "Lawrence", meanwhile, is keeping a watchful eye out the window. At the door are two women standing at attention with blank looks in their eyes.
The four men were released by the NYPD several hours ago, after which, Iokal called it a day and had everyone head straight for his home. Once they got here, Iokal had the entire building be placed on high alert, while he holed himself inside his office for the night.
"Lawrence" was miffed by this, since it made the little tool he left in Iokal's workplace completely useless. Luckily, he has two more to make use of, one of which he already secured in Iokal's private office, while the other one is secured on the front of his jacket. He also has several other gadgets on his person to help with the upcoming bust.
For now, though, he's biding his time, waiting for the right moment to spring the trap.
"Lawrence" takes a glance over at Iokal and notices the stout man open a drawer in his desk and pull out a glass bowl full of candy.
"Lawrence" raises an eyebrow. "Hershey's Kisses?
"I shouldn't be drunk at a time like this, and I need something to help me relax. This is my third option," Iokal explains as he opens one of the chocolates.
"Wait, what's the second option?" "Lawrence" asks.
Iokal gives "Lawrence" a lecherous smirk. "Women, of course," he says as he pops a candy into his mouth. He then gives "Lawrence" a look. "You know, I never thanked you for saving my life earlier today."
"There's no need, sir. I was just doing my job. Besides, Mitch and Henry helped quite a bit," "Lawrence" says, trying to wave off Iokal's thanks.
"True, but the fact that you went above and beyond to protect me, especially on your first day, is worthy of praise. Especially the way you used that fork against that fool with the sword! Haha!" Iokal praises, giving a hearty laugh at the end.
He then looks at the two women in the office. Getting a naughty idea, Iokal claps his hands twice, causing the women to stand straighter.
"I like to reward my employees, especially those with talents such as yours. These two lovely ladies can take you to one of my guest bedrooms. They'll be more than happy to give you your reward for hours on end."
The two women robotically approach "Lawrence", following Iokal's orders, but "Lawrence" puts a hand up to stop them.
"As much as I appreciate your wanting to reward me, I'm already spoken for, and I don't think she'll take kindly to me coming home smelling of other women," "Lawrence" says smoothly.
Iokal perks up at this. "Oh? You have a woman? What's she like?" he asks while motioning the two women to stand down.
"Lawrence" smirks. "Hell, frozen over, in heels."
Iokal gives a whistle. "Sounds like quite the hellcat."
"Lawrence" nods. "In and out of the bedroom. I once saw her take out four men in a bar without breaking a sweat. She was smiling the entire time."
"Sounds like a dangerous woman," Henry comments.
"Which is why I'd rather not get on her bad side. Especially with how territorial she is," "Lawrence" replies.
"Well, I personally think that a strong man such as yourself shouldn't let a woman like that walk all over you and push you around," Iokal says. He leans closer to "Lawrence". "May I give you some advice?"
"Feel free," "Lawrence" responds.
"If I were in your shoes, I would make it a point to show your woman who's really in charge in the relationship," Iokal says.
"I doubt she'd take to kindly to me just ordering her around out of nowhere," "Lawrence" states.
"No, my boy! I'm talking about in a more physical matter, with your own two hands! Don't be afraid to give her a few good hits to show her her place if she ever tries to challenge you. Enough smacking around, and she'll be a docile little creature in no time," Iokal lectures.
"Lawrence" gives his boss a questioning look. "It can't be that simple."
"Of course! How do you think I got these two to be so well-behaved?" Iokal says, motioning to the two women next to him.
"Lawrence's" keen eyes are able to see the slightest trembling from both women at Iokal's words.
"In fact, all of the women working here have been disciplined by me personally. I take a great amount of pride and enjoyment in it," Iokal continues, "although, I suppose in the case of your lady, you might need something more than your hands to get the job done. Luckily, I have plenty of tools that I'd be happy to loan to you."
"You mean like that wall art right behind you?" "Lawrence" asks, motioning to the large whip mounted on the wall behind Iokal.
"You mean 'Old Faithful'? Nah, that trusty tool is my personal go-to weapon of choice." Iokal sighs fondly. "I've broken many bitches with that work of art. I have plenty of others you can use, though, and not just whips; chains, paddles, I've even got some blades handy if you're into that."
"You mean like that extra-sharp letter opener in your office?"
"Exactly! I've got plenty of tools like that strewn about my office. I have to have something to train my secretaries, after all."
"Aren't you worried that you might go…overboard?" "Lawrence" asks.
"Well, occasionally, my treatment causes a woman to…expire before her time, but I can easily get any messes cleaned up smoothly," Iokal says as if he's talking about the weather. "My uncle also helps to make sure nobody snoops around where they shouldn't."
"He sounds like a caring guy," "Lawrence" comments.
"He sure is. He raised me since I was a teenager, taught me everything I needed to know to succeed in this world. He even trained me in the art of bitch-breaking. He's like the father I've always wanted," Iokal says warmly.
"Lawrence" raises an eyebrow. "What about your real dad? Or your mom? What happened to them?"
Iokal gives "Lawrence" an evil smile. "Nothing the cops can prove. My uncle and I made sure of that."
"Lawrence's" eyes widen at this information.
"Hey, boss, you sure you should be sharing all this stuff with the new guy?" Mitch asks with concern.
"Oh, honestly, Mitch! I think after everything that's happened, he's earned my trust," Iokal admonishes Mitch, before turning back to "Lawrence" with a grin. "You won't be foolish enough to blab, will you, Lawrence?"
"Lawrence" smiles back. "Lawrence Crock's lips are sealed, sir," he says as he stands next to the curtains.
Only he is aware of the small circle secured on the curtain next to him.
Location: Outside Iokal's Estate
Just off the property, several unmarked vans sit in the darkness undetected, along with a few police cruisers. The biggest of these vans has a square body and appears to be reinforced to protect against gunfire.
Inside this van sits Sergeant Shaw, along with several other officers and some technical analysts. They're all siting in front of a row of monitors and keypads, watching the footage from inside the mansion and listening in to the conversation.
They hear Iokal's voice through the microphone. [Seriously, though, I'd be happy to loan you some gear if you want. Just make sure you get me some video footage of you using them. If your woman is half as tough as you say she is, then I'd love to see her break before my eyes.]
Patty glares. "Got you, you bastard."
Location: Iokal's Mansion, Private Office
Iokal pops another chocolate into his mouth. "You know, Lawrence, for a moment there, I thought that you were somehow involved with that assassination attempt," he admits.
"I suppose it's natural for you to think that way," "Lawrence" says, "although, if I wanted to kill you, I would have had a dozen opportunities to do so, none of them in a public place."
"You seem pretty sure about that, tough guy," Mitch says, glaring at the younger bodyguard.
"Lawrence" gives him a look. "You've seen what I can do with a letter opener and a fork, remember?"
Mitch's glare intensifies.
"Lawrence" ignores the glare and looks at Iokal. "While we're talking about that attempt, do you have any idea who would send assassins after you?"
Iokal thinks for a moment. "I do have an idea of someone, but he's already dead."
"Who?"
"…Sionis," Iokal answers.
"Lawrence" is shocked by this information. "Wait. Sionis? As in, Roman Sionis? The Black Mask? What, did you piss him off or something?"
"I sure as hell hope not," Iokal mutters. "The thing is, Sionis and I had an arrangement with each other. You see, I've always enjoyed the process of breaking women, but once they're already broken, it's not long before I get bored with them. So, every once in a while, I would send a couple of these empty husks over to Sionis for him to sell off to someone else, and I'd get a hefty sum in exchange. We've had this arrangement for a while now, and it seemed like it would go on for a long time…"
"But then Sionis got busted by the police," "Lawrence" says.
Iokal nods. "It's possible that Sionis hired some assassins in order to tie up any loose ends, including me."
"Lawrence" looks out the window with a thoughtful expression. "But Sionis was killed himself days ago. Wouldn't that cancel the contract or something?"
Iokal throws his arms up. "I don't know! I don't deal with these kinds of things. Usually, my uncle does the hiring of assassins. For all I know, the goddamn police finally got fed up with trying to frame…me…" Iokal trails off as he notices his youngest bodyguard staring outside intensely. "…What is it?"
"…Do we have anybody patrolling the actual forest?" "Lawrence" asks seriously.
"…No, I told the guards outside to stay on the lawn," Iokal responds, a nervous feeling forming inside him. "Why?"
"Lawrence" appears to be looking for something. "I thought I just saw…"
Iokal's anxiety is growing. "Saw what?!"
A look of determination appears on "Lawrence's" face. "I'm gonna go check outside," he declares as he heads out of the room.
"Wait a minute!" Iokal demands, stopping "Lawrence" in his tracks. "You're not seriously thinking about going out alone, are you?! What if those people are out there?!"
"Lawrence" smiles and pulls out a pistol that was given to him by Iokal when they arrived at the mansion. "Don't worry, boss. I've got more than a fork this time."
"I'm not taking any chances!" Iokal declares before turning to the two guards next to him. "Mitch! Henry! You go with him!"
Both guards give their boss a surprised look.
"But sir, what about you?" Henry asks.
"Boris and Shaun are right outside. I'll have them come in and watch over me while you three are gone," Iokal answers.
Mitch and Henry give each other a look before heading over to join "Lawrence".
"Make sure you use your walkie-talkies!" Iokal orders.
"Lawrence" nods. "We'll be right back, boss," he says before leaving the office, with Mitch and Henry right behind him.
Location: Forest
Tatsumi looks through his binoculars and sees Tai leave the mansion and head into the forest a distance away with two other guards.
"Looks like he's heading for the woods with Iokal's other lackeys," Tatsumi states.
Mine smirks next to him. "Perfect."
Their position on a hill near the mansion allows for a side-angle look into Iokal's office. This gives Mine a perfect view right at the corrupt man's desk.
She looks through the scope of her sniper gun and lines her shot up directly at Iokal's forehead.
"One shot is all I need," Mine declares cockily.
"Yeah, one shot is all you needed last time, too. Look how that turned out," Tatsumi mocks.
Mine turns and glares at Tatsumi. "You really want to talk about screw-ups, Fork Boy?"
Tatsumi returns the glare, rubbing his bandaged ear. "I'm a hopeless newbie, according to you. What's your excuse, Little Miss Seasoned Assassin?"
"Tai got lucky last time. It won't happen again," Mine grumbles.
"Luck, huh? Sure. Right," Tatsumi says sarcastically as he looks back into his binoculars.
Mine growls at Tatsumi. "I swear, if we weren't on a mission right now, I'd–"
"Shh!" Tatsumi shushes Mine.
"Did you just–"
"Quiet!" Tatsumi orders in a hushed voice. "Look at Iokal!"
Mine grits her teeth but does as Tatsumi says. She looks through the scope of her rifle and sees Iokal talking into his walkie-talkie with a look of panic on his face.
"What's got him so spooked?" Tatsumi muses.
Mine scoffs. "Who cares? I just need to pull the trigger, and–"
All of the lights inside and outside the mansion suddenly go out at once.
"What the hell?!" Tatsumi cries out with surprise.
Mine shares in her partner's surprise. That surprise quickly morphs into annoyance.
"Dammit!" Mine curses. "Now I have to switch my scope to night mode, and–"
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Both Night Raiders flinch at the sudden noises.
"Gunshots?" Tatsumi asks bewildered.
A large tic mark forms on Mine's forehead. "What the hell is going on here?!"
Location: Forest, Different Section
Several Minutes Earlier
"Lawrence" methodically scans the forest around him with his flashlight, appearing to look for any signs of intruders. Mitch and Henry are right behind him, looking around with their own flashlights.
Mitch gives "Lawrence" a look before smirking. He subtly pulls out a knife from his shirt.
Henry notices his coworker's actions. "Mitch, what are you doing?"
"I figured I'd take the opportunity to have a little chat with the new guy," Mitch answers quietly.
"A chat?" Henry asks incredulously.
Mitch pulls Henry in close and turns them both away from "Lawrence".
"Come on, Henry. Don't you feel like there's something up with this guy?" Mitch asks Henry. "He just shows up out of nowhere and shows off some flashy moves. Then, when some "assassins" pop up to kill the boss, this guy miraculously saves him. Now the boss is spilling all of his dirty little secrets right in front of the guy. You don't think that's weird at all?"
"Well…" Henry mutters.
"Just give me five minutes alone with this guy to get some answers. If anything happens, we say the assassins did it," Mitch proposes.
Henry considers the offer for a moment, then gives Mitch a look. "Fine. But I'm not covering for you if we get into trouble."
"Fine," Mitch relents.
With that, the two turn around to start their interrogation of "Lawrence".
Both of them blink dumbly when they see "Lawrence" nowhere in sight.
"Hey, where'd he go?" Mitch asks, quickly looking around for the young man.
Both men suddenly feel a hand on each of their heads, before they're clonked together with great force, sending both men down to the ground.
Mitch is still barely conscious as he lays on the ground, groaning in pain.
"A little chat, huh?" "Lawrence says from above Mitch, who looks up just in time for a boot to meet his face.
Location: Mansion, Private Office
Iokal has been anxiously waiting for a couple of minutes now for the three bodyguards to return. Two more bodyguards are now flanking him at his desk.
"Oh, screw this!" Iokal exclaims as he knocks the bowl of candy to the ground. He reaches into another drawer and pulls out a bottle of liquor. "I need this badly."
[Mitch! Henry! Can you hear me?!] "Lawrence's" voice erupts from the walkie-talkie.
"Gaah!" Iokal shouts with surprise, fumbling with the bottle in his hands. Once he gets the bottle under control, he gently sets it down on the desk.
[Mitch! Henry! Where are you?!] "Lawrence" calls out again.
Iokal quickly grabs his walkie-talkie. "Lawrence! What's going on out there?"
[I can't find Mitch or Henry anywhere,] "Lawrence" says. [I turned my back for just a few seconds, and they're gone. I…wait a minute.] Iokal hears some rustling in the background. [Shit!]
"What?" Iokal asks.
[I found two flashlights here. No bodies,] "Lawrence" responds.
"Oh shit!" Iokal curses.
[If you have some kind of safe room, I suggest you get to there now,] "Lawrence" suggests.
Before Iokal can answer, all of the lights in the room suddenly go out.
"What the hell! Who turned off the lights?!" Iokal cries out.
[Sir! Get out of the office now!] "Lawrence" yells through the walkie-talkie. [You need to get…OH SHI–]
[KRSSSSSHHHHHT!]
"Lawrence?! LAWRENCE!" Iokal yells.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Iokal and his two bodyguards flinch at the sound of gunshots.
Iokal turns to the guards. "You heard the man! Let's go!"
Location: Mansion, Outside
"Welp, that should get the ball rolling," Tai says, pointing his pistol straight up into the air.
He looks over to the electric box next to him, with an axe sticking out.
"Power's out," Tai notes.
He then looks at a device with several antennas sitting on top of the box.
"Signal jammer is working. Thanks, Jerome," Tai states, doing a mental checklist. "No all I've gotta do is take care of the help."
Tai then spots a glint on the hilltop nearby. His eyes narrow.
"But before that…"
Location: Forest
"Dammit!" Mine cries out, still looking through her scope, which has been adjusted to night vision. "Iokal's gone! He's not in his office!"
"Mine, we need to leave. This mission is a failure," Tatsumi advises in a serious tone.
"No! I'm not letting Tai beat me again! I'm not leaving until that bastard Iokal's dead!" Mine declares. "You look out for Tai, while I get a lock on Iokal again."
Tatsumi sighs in defeat. He stands up and looks through the binoculars. He sees the rest of the outside guards scrambling the perimeter with their flashlights, searching for intruders, but no sign of Tai.
"Where could he be?" Tatsumi mutters.
He then feels something taps his shoulder. He quickly turns to face whatever's next to him.
Only for some powder to be blown right into his face.
Mine, meanwhile, is busy looking at the windows and doorways of the mansion, searching for any signs of Iokal and his men.
She starts hearing Tatsumi coughing next to her, causing her eyebrow to twitch.
"Will you keep it down, you hick? I can't concentrate," Mine demands.
She then hears a thud right next to her.
Mine turns to face her partner. "Tatsumi, what the hell–"
Mine stops talking when she sees Tatsumi lying down next to her. His body appears to be frozen stiff, and his face is stuck in a pained, shocked look.
"Nice spot you picked. Clear view, no obstructions," Mine hears on her other side.
"Tai!" Mine calls out, quickly turning with her weapon to face the newcomer.
Only for an entire fistful of dust to hit her square in the face.
Mine can't help breathing in some of the dust as she coughs uncontrollably. "D-Damn you," she mutters, before she too falls to the ground paralyzed.
"Figured you can use an extra dose, Pinkie Pie," Tai states as he walks above the pinkette, a ski mask on his head.
He takes her spot on the hill and looks out towards the mansion.
"Anyways, I'll go ahead and borrow this hill of yours for a moment while I do my job, without anymore outside interference," Tai states casually. "But first."
Tai pulls out his phone and earbuds. He puts in his earbuds and starts scrolling through his music.
"You'll pay…for this…you bastard…" Mine growls as she glares at the man above her.
"That's nice," Tai mutter nonchalantly as he picks a song. "Perfect!"
(Insert Music: Dolly Parton – 9 to 5)
He puts away his phone. "Time to go to work."
Tai pulls out Hyperion and opens it up with a flick of his wrist. He pulls back the light string and aims right at one of the guards wandering around the yard.
Tai smirks. "Don't blink."
Tai shoots a light arrow at the guard. In just a second, the arrow shoots out of the forest, across the yard, and hits the guard right in the chest, causing the guard to collapse on the ground twitching.
Tai wastes no time in loading another arrow and shooting another guard down. Then another. And another. And another.
After the fifth guard drops to the ground, the rest of the guards outside notice the commotion going on. One of them notices a glow coming from a nearby hill.
"Over there!" The one guard shouts, quickly pointing his flashlight at the hill.
The light shines on the hill for barely a second before a light arrow shoots past the guard, who ducks to avoid the projectile. As the arrow lands behind him, the guard gets up and points his flashlight back on the hill.
But the archer is nowhere in sight.
"Where did he go?!" the guard cries out.
The guard hears a whistle from behind him, causing him to turn around.
Just in time to receive a bow to the face.
Before the guard's body can fully drop to the ground, Tai's already loaded another arrow in his bow. He fires the arrow at the feet of another guard, who stumbles away from the impact. When the guard recovers, he sees an arrow pointed right at his face.
Fwip! "PBPBPBPBPBPBPBPBPBPB!"
Tai turns away from the twitching man to see another guard running right for him. He fires another arrow at the guard's feet, causing the man to tumble to the ground.
The guard barely has time to get on his hands and knees before a boot hits him square in the face, knocking him out cold.
Tai then sees a guard staring at him for a moment before the latter drops his gun and flashlight and starts running away.
Tai shakes his head. "Smart move, but too little too late."
Tai fires an arrow right at the guard's back, who looks back with a scared expression right before the projectile hits him.
Location: Forest, Hill
Mine and Tatsumi are forced to watch from their paralyzed positions as Tai systematically takes out the outside security forces one by one in the cover of darkness. They observe how efficiently Tai works, as every single arrow he fires results in a downed guard.
"This guy is amazing. No wonder Najenda wants him on the team," Tatsumi murmurs.
"…Tatsumi…I'm going to kill you," Mine mutters with a glare.
Location: Mansion, Outside
Tai brings another guard down when he sees two flashlights shine down on him from the rooftop. He quickly runs to avoid the bullets being shot at him from the two guards above him. He leaps forward and quickly draws two arrows. The arrows hit their marks, sending the two guards flying back onto the roof twitching.
Tai rolls into a crouch. He looks up and sees the last outside guard ready to punch his lights out. Tai easily grabs the guard's fist and judo throws the guard over his shoulder and onto the ground. A boot to the face sends the last guard to La-La-Land.
Tai quickly takes a moment to mentally make sure that all of the outside guards are incapacitated. After making sure that he's taken care of all of them, he takes his bow and fires an arrow up into the air, resulting in a burst of light and sound in the sky.
(End Music)
Location: Outside Iokal's Estate
An officer in a police cruiser spots the makeshift fireworks display and quickly gets on the radio.
"Sergeant! Something just exploded high above the mansion's position! Some kind of bright fireworks or something!"
Inside the van, Patty hears the call from the officer.
"That's the signal!" Patty declares. He gets on the radio himself. "All units! Move in! I repeat; all units, move in now!"
At the Sergeant's command, all of the cruisers' lights and sirens blare to life. Every last vehicle begins speeding towards the estate, the police driving them eager to catch some criminals tonight.
Location: Mansion, "Panic Room"
[Kill this motherf – KRSSSSSHHHHHT!]
[Night Arrow?! Oh shi – KRSSSSSHHHHHT!]
[Back up! Everyone back – KRSSSSSHHHHHT!]
Iokal holds his walkie talkie with trembling hands, listening to his men get taken out one by one. His last four guards surround him and point their weapons at the steel door, waiting for any intruders to try and enter.
A whimpering sound nearby gets Iokal's attention. He quickly turns to the source of the noise.
"Will you be quiet, bitch?! Can't you see I'm panicking here?!" Iokal yells.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Everyone flinches at the sound of the door banging. They brace themselves for an attack.
[Boss?! Boss, are you in here?!]
Iokal recognizes the voice coming from the walkie talkie.
"Lawrence?! Is that you?!" Iokal asks through the device.
[Boss! Let me in!] "Lawrence" cries out.
"Boss, what do we do?" One of the guards asks Iokal.
Iokal struggles to decide what to do. On the one hand, "Lawrence" saved his life. On the other hand, this could be a trick by Night Arrow to get to him.
BANG! BANG! [Boss! C'mon, let me in!]
Screw it.
"Open the door," Iokal orders, "but keep your guns ready!"
Two guards hesitantly approach the door. One guard points his gun at the door, ready to fire, while the other begins opening the door slightly.
The second guard peaks through the door, then turns to Iokal. "It's him."
Iokal breathes a sigh of relief. "Let him in!"
The second guard opens the door, allowing "Lawrence" to stumble into the room. His clothing is covered in cuts, his face is bruised, and he's clutching a bleeding left arm.
The guards quickly re-close the door as "Lawrence" approaches Iokal.
"Lawrence! What the hell happened to you?!" Iokal asks.
"Night Arrow came out of nowhere and attacked me," "Lawrence" explains. "I tried shooting him, but he knocked the gun out of my hand and started beating the crap out of me. Luckily, I was able to fake getting knocked out, and he left me alone. After he was gone, I headed for the lower levels of your mansion, since I figured that's where your panic…room…would be…"
"Lawrence" trails off as he takes in the room's interior. The walls are lined from top to bottom with tons of sex toys, torture devices, restraints, and bundles of rope. Several restraining devices and crucifixes stand behind Iokal. A distance away, a naked woman is tied to an X-shaped crucifix, her body covered with red marks, her mouth gagged, and her eyes wide with terror.
"Lawrence" gives his boss a look. "…Your panic room is a sex dungeon?"
Iokal looks slightly embarrassed at the question. "W-Well, this is the lowest room in the place, and I figured, 'why not kill two birds with one stone', you know?" he defends.
"Hey, I'm not judging you. This is just a new experience for me, that's all," "Lawrence" quickly says.
"Lawrence" moves to one of the walls and leans back on it, appearing to try and rest up a bit. The other guards retake their positions and watch the door.
"Lawrence" turns to his boss and asks, "Please tell me you have someone coming to help us."
"I've tried calling for help, but nothing worked!" Iokal replies. "I can't call my uncle. I can't reach my other employees outside of the mansion. I even tried calling the police, of all things, but that didn't work either."
"Something must be blocking communications to and from this place," "Lawrence" muses. "Night Arrow must have pulled out all the stops for this attack."
"But why is he after me in the first place?" Iokal asks. "I'm not such a bad guy once you get to – I SAID KEEP IT DOWN!"
Iokal's sudden yell is aimed at the whimpering woman, who flinches and tries to keep her cries down to no avail.
"Damn you," Iokal growls as he moves to quiet the woman down.
"Wait!" "Lawrence" calls out, stopping Iokal in his tracks. "Let me try."
Iokal blinks, then steps aside. "Be my guest."
"Lawrence" stumbles over to the bound woman, who freezes with fright. "Lawrence" reaches the woman and gives her a hard stare.
"I'm going to take the gag out of your mouth, and when I do, you're not going to say a single word," "Lawrence" states with a stern, commanding voice. "Do you understand me?"
The woman fearfully nods.
"Lawrence" reaches behind the woman's head and unlatches the gag, allowing it to drop out of her mouth. The woman takes a few breaths but doesn't speak.
A distance away, a bodyguard notices something lying at his feet.
"Now listen to me very carefully," "Lawrence" says to the trembling woman. "Outside of this room, there is somebody who is out to get all of us. If we're going to survive, we all need to be calm and collected. I need you to take some deep breaths and keep quiet. Understand?"
"I-I'm scared, sir, and my b-body hurts," the woman whimpers.
"Lawrence" reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a flask. He opens it and offers it to the woman.
"Here. This should help with the pain and your nerves," "Lawrence" says.
The woman looks at the flask with trepidation for a moment, before reluctantly accepting the offered drink. She takes a sip of the drink, then flinches at the bitter taste.
"Lawrence" chuckles. "Yeah, it's an acquired taste," he says before taking a sip himself.
"Think you can spare some for your boss?" Iokal asks with a cheeky grin.
"Lawrence" holds the flask up. "It's tea, not alcohol."
Iokal is surprised at this. "Why do you have tea in a flask?"
"Lawrence" opens his mouth to explain.
"What the heck is this?"
Both "Lawrence" and Iokal turn and see a guard about to open a vial full of purple liquid.
"Lawrence's" eyes widen. "No, don't!"
The guard pops the top off the vial.
POOOOOOF!
Everyone flinches as a purple gas quickly fills the room, causing all of the men in the room to violently cough.
"It's – COUGH! COUGH! – poison!" "Lawrence" cries out, before collapsing to the ground.
"COUGH! Dammit! COUGH! COUGH! Open the door!" Iokal orders as he drops to his knees in a coughing fit.
Three of his guards are already on the ground passed out, including the one who opened the vial. The fourth guard reaches the door but is only able to grab the door handle with both hands before he too falls down unconscious.
"COUGH! Dammit!" Iokal cries out before collapsing to the ground, twitching and drooling.
Only the bound woman is still conscious, completely unaffected by the gas. She looks around the room full of knocked out bodies with eyes full of confusion. Why is she still awake, while everyone else fell to the ground coughing their lungs out?
Her inner questioning is interrupted when Tai suddenly jumps up and stands tall with a smile.
"Aaaaand scene!" Tai calls out with his arms out wide.
"W-What?" the woman stutters.
Tai walks over to the woman and begins undoing her restraints.
"It's a good thing I had enough of that antidote for the both of us. I'd hate to have an innocent person choking on that knockout gas," Tai says.
Tai finishes releasing the restraints, causing the woman to stumble onto her feet, her legs wobbling from both lack of use and her injuries. Luckily for her, Tai catches her before she could collapse to the ground.
The woman looks up at the one who released her. "Who are you?"
"Just a guy who works with the police sometimes," Tai answers. "What's your name?"
"S-Stacy. My name is Stacy," the woman answers.
Tai smiles and lifts Stacy up in a bridal carry.
"These men won't hurt you anymore. I promise you that," Tai declares with sincerity in his voice.
Hearing Tai's declaration, Stacy's eyes fill with tears. She throws her arms around her savior's neck and breaks down into sobbing, releasing all of her pain and anguish.
Tai pats her head with his free hand. "Let's get you home."
Location: Mansion, Front Entrance
The police arrived at the scene several minutes ago and are already arresting the incapacitated men around the exterior.
Patty sees two officers loading an unconscious man into one of the vans.
Another officer approaches him. "That's the last of the men outside, Sergeant."
Patty nods. "Alright. Get everyone ready to enter the mansion. Make sure we have a squad of men at every entrance–"
"Sir! Someone's coming out of the front!" an officer calls out a distance away.
Several officers point their weapons at the front doors to the mansion. They see a young man in a torn-up suit walking out of the doors. In his arms is a young woman wrapped in a large blanket.
"Evening, officers!" Tai calls out.
"Stand down, everyone! Stand down!" Patty orders. "He's with me!"
The officers lower their weapons, allowing Tai to approach Patty with Stacy in tow.
"Stacy here can use some medical attention," Tai states, gesturing to the woman in his arms. "I'm pretty sure the other women in there are in need of something similar, along with some therapy."
"Well, let's start with this young lady right here," Patty says, before gesturing two of his officers over. "Good thing we brought a medical van over."
Tai gently sets Stacy down. "These fine officers can help you out from here."
Stacy surprises her hero by giving him a quick kiss on his cheek. "Thank you so much."
Stacy gets escorted to the medical van by the two policemen, leaving Tai behind with a hand on his cheek.
Tai sees Patty giving him a cheeky smirk.
"Shut up," Tai mutters, before gesturing to the mansion. "Iokal's tied up in his 'panic room'. Down the hall, left, and then down the staircase on the right side. You can pick up his goons along the way."
Patty nods, then looks to his men. "You heard the man! Move in!"
At this command, dozens of policemen storm the mansion, leaving Tai and Patty.
"Another job well done," Tai says with a smile.
"Any issues from 'them'?" Patty asks.
"Not this time. Thank the gods for that," Tai says as he looks over to the nearby hill, his eyes narrowing. "Hey Patty, you have any binoculars?"
Patty passes Tai a pair. Tai looks at the nearby hill through the binoculars. He sees nobody on the hill anymore, meaning a certain pair of assassins must have left.
"What do you see?" Patty asks.
Tai lowers the binoculars. "Nothing."
Location: Bellevue Hospital
Date: June 30th, 2016
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The beeping of a heart monitor is the first thing that enters Bernard Iokal's mind as he wakes up. The next thing is a blindingly painful headache.
"Ugh…my head…" Iokal groans as he tries to rub his temples with his hands.
His efforts are thwarted, however, when he feels his wrists are restrained.
"Huh?!" Iokal cries out as he looks at his hands and sees them handcuffed to the hospital bed that he's in.
"Oh, good. You're awake."
Iokal turns to the voice and sees Sergeant Shaw looking at him with a smug smile. He's the only other person in the hospital room. Two police officers stand guard outside the room.
Shaw nods to the handcuffs. "Those are just to make sure you don't wander off during your stay here."
Iokal narrows his eyes at the sergeant. "What is the meaning of this?"
"You had a pretty exciting night last night, Mr. Iokal," Shaw states with a knowing look.
The statement causes Iokal to remember everything that happened the previous night, from the sudden attack by Night Arrow to the explosion of gas that erupted in his 'panic room'.
A sudden burst of realization hits Iokal. If the police found him exactly where he fell unconscious, then that means…
"You…you saw…" Iokal mutters with trepidation.
"Your 'panic room'? Yep. Quite revealing if I do say so myself," Shaw answers, still smiling.
Iokal quickly tries to defend himself. "Sergeant, I can explain–"
"Cut the crap, Iokal," Shaw interjects, his smile dropping from his face. "We've already executed a search warrant earlier this morning of your estate. Your sex dungeon, your office, your bedroom, every square foot of your mansion has been searched top to bottom for incriminating evidence. Needless to say, we've got quite the motherload. We've also taken the liberty of questioning your female staff, including the one you had tied up in your dungeon. They were more than happy to give their testimonies, especially when we told them that we were going to lock you away for life."
Iokal scoffs. "Oh please! As if any of those bitches have the spine to testify in court! As for your so-called-evidence, my lawyers can easily make anything you found circumstantial at best!"
"Even the evidence that you provided yourself?"
Iokal freezes at Shaw's words. "W-What?"
"Audio and video of you confessing to rape, torture, sex trafficking, murder, and a host of other crimes. I doubt your lawyers can make that go away, or your uncle, who we'll also be investigating for bribery and tampering with criminal investigations," Shaw explains.
Iokal goes into a full-blown panic. With a ton of work and some well-placed bribes and threats, he could have done away with any evidence the police found in his home, even the stuff in his sex dungeon, and he could have "convinced" the women working for him to keep quiet. If the police actually have a confession from his mouth, however, he's done for!
'But that's impossible!' Iokal thinks to himself. 'How could they have recorded me?! I never talked about my secrets so openly…except for…'
The realization hits him like a ton of bricks.
"LAWRENCE, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Iokal yells, thrashing on his bed in a rage. "YOU'RE DEAD, LAWRENCE! YOU HEAR ME?! YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!" He then focuses his anger at Shaw, pointing a finger at the sergeant. "YOU! YOU FUCKING COPS SET ME UP! YOU BETTER WATCH YOURSELF, BECAUSE I'M GOING TO BURY YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE – GAAH!"
Iokal's cry at the end is because of Shaw grabbing the former's finger and bending it at an unnatural angle.
"You've buried enough people already, you sick bastard," Shaw growls. "You're lucky you're getting a proper trial. If it were up to certain people, you wouldn't even make it out of this damn hospital."
Shaw's words work in terrifying Iokal and ending the latter's tirade.
His piece said, Shaw lets go of Iokal's finger and storms out of the room, leaving the criminal councilor alone in the hospital room.
Location: Bellevue Hospital, rooftop
Patty walks onto the rooftop and takes a deep breath to calm his nerves.
"Need a drink, Patty?"
Patty turns and sees Tai casually standing nearby holding two open beer bottles in his hands, his blond hair and dark eyes returned.
Patty chuckles. "You know it's just past noon, right?"
"In this time zone, maybe," Tai responds as he hands Patty a bottle.
Both men raise their bottles.
"To another job well done," Tai toasts.
Both men clink their bottles and take a big drink of their beer.
"Thanks, Tai. I needed this today," Patty says.
"Something tells me you've needed this for a while now," Tai responds.
Patty gives his friend a questioning look. "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm talking about the fact that you've looked like hell for the past few days, and the fact that you nearly ripped off Iokal's finger a few minutes ago, and my gut tells me it has nothing to do with him or the bullshit going on with Night Raid and the League of Shadows," Tai states matter-of-factly.
Patty turns away and takes another drink of his beer.
Tai's having none of that. "Come on, Patty. Talk to me. Let me help."
Patty gives his friend a look, then sighs.
"…Jack's missing."
Tai blinks with surprise. "Your honorary nephew? What happened? When did it happen?"
"Two days ago. I have no real idea what happened. The Japanese government didn't tell us much, just that an 'incident' happened in a museum and now nobody knows where Jack is. All I keep hearing is that the government's doing everything they can to find him and all that bullshit," Patty explains with frustration in his voice.
"I can do my own investigation right away," Tai quickly offers. "I can pull some strings, and–"
Patty holds his hand up. "No. No, you don't have to do that. Jack's mother already flew out to Tokyo yesterday. I know she's going to tear the whole country upside down to find Jack, so she's got that taken care of."
"Are you sure?" Tai asks. "I can help you find him."
"I appreciate the offer, Tai, but right now, the best way to help me is to make sure his and my city doesn't get destroyed by any assassins," Patty responds.
Tai looks down in thought for a moment before his face hardens with determination.
"How fast can you round up a couple of SWAT Teams?" Tai asks.
"All I need is a phone call," Patty replies. "Why?"
"We can take care of half of the problem right away."
Location: Bigsby Manor
Tatsumi and Mine hang their heads with sadness and shame as they both diligently wash the group's dishes at the kitchen sink.
"…I hate you…" Tatsumi mutters.
"…I know…" Mine replies.
"Cut the chatter, you two!" Najenda calls out from the dining room.
She's smoking a cigarette as she sits at the table with the rest of Night Raid. Lubbock is right next to her playing cat's cradle, Akame is greedily munching on her fourth serving of ham across from Lubbock, Bulat is next to Akame polishing his sword, Leone is picking her teeth next to Bulat, and Sheele is busy cleaning the table.
"Make sure everything is spotless, or you'll be cleaning everything all over again! Sink too!" Najenda orders.
"Isn't that a little extreme, Boss?" Mine whines.
"After that screw-up you call an assassination last night, I think I'm being merciful," Najenda responds. "You're lucky you didn't compromise the team because of that."
BOOM!
Everyone jumps to attention when an explosion occurs in the front yard. Several more explosions go off, as well as the sounds of various traps and weapons activating.
"You were saying?" Lubbock quips.
The members of Night Raid pull out their weapons as the sounds explosions and traps grow closer and closer to the door. Eventually, the sounds outside stop, leaving an eerie silence that makes the group of assassins sweat for a moment.
Then Tai casually enters through the front door in his Night Arrow suit. He calmly closes the door behind him and shakes some dust off of his shoulders. He then walks towards the group without a word, causing Night Raid to tense up. Once he's five feet in front of the group, he claps his hands together and gives the group an eye-smile.
"Okay! Here's how this is going to work!" Tai explains jovially. "You guys clearly aren't going to leave without taking care of whatever the League of Shadows is planning, and I sure as hell won't tolerate any more interference or terrorizing of the local populace. That being said, here's my offer; we combine our resources and actually work together to stop the League and save the city. There will, of course, be some rules. Rule #1: You answer to me and the local authorities at all times. Rule #2: You will be heavily monitored by me and the local authorities at all times. Rule #3: You will not do any rogue missions whatsoever. And, of course, Rule #4, and I CANNOT stress this enough: NO KILLING. Do we understand each other?"
Everyone in Night Raid blinks dumbly at Tai's demand, trying to process his words for a moment.
Leone gives Tai an incredulous look. "You're joking, right? What are you going to do if we refuse? Are you gonna take us down all by yourself?"
Tai smirks behind his mask. "Oh, my sweet summer child, who said I'm all by myself?"
The assassins suddenly hear some more sounds coming from outside the mansion. Sounds more foreboding than the explosions earlier.
Police sirens.
Najenda gives Tai a wide-eyed look. "You didn't!"
"You didn't think that I set off all those traps outside just to show off, did you?" Tai asks. "I was clearing a path."
Everyone in the mansion can hear the police create a perimeter around the front of the building and the marching of boots on the front porch.
Suddenly, a voice calls out through a megaphone.
"ATTENTION! THIS IS SERGEANT PATRICK SHAW OF THE NYPD! WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED! I'VE GOT TWO SWAT TEAMS READY TO BURST THROUGH THAT DOOR AND FILL YOU ALL WITH LEAD! IF YOU DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN, DROP YOUR WEAPONS, GET ON YOUR KNEES, AND PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD! YOU HAVE TWENTY SECONDS TO DECIDE!"
"Well, you heard the man," Tai says nonchalantly, crossing his arms.
"Wait! You're a hero! You won't let us die!" Tatsumi challenges.
Tai shrugs. "Just because I won't kill people doesn't mean I have to save you guys."
"What do we do, Boss?" Lubbock asks Najenda.
Najenda gives Tai a hard stare, who responds with a deadpan look and a raised eyebrow.
"TEN SECONDS!"
"Najenda?" Akame asks.
Najenda and Tai continue their stare-off.
Najenda looks away first and curses under her breath.
"FIVE SECONDS!"
Najenda drops to her knees and puts her hands behind her head, shocking the rest of Night Raid.
"Do it!" Najenda orders.
"THREE! TWO!"
The rest of the team quickly follows their leader's order, dropping their weapons to the ground.
Tai nods. "Good choice," he says as he approaches the group.
Right after he says that, a battering ram crashes through the front door. Two SWAT teams enter the building a second later and quickly surround the kneeling assassins.
Patty enters right behind in full SWAT gear. He's taken back for a moment by the colorful assortment of young people. Part of him wouldn't have pegged them for assassins.
Tai approaches him with a bundle of weapons and strange items in his arms.
Patty looks at the bundle with curious eyes. "Are those…Teigu?"
Tai nods. "I'll take care of the handling of these babies. Some of them are dangerous to the touch." He then turns to the assassins being handcuffed by SWAT. "These gentlemen here will take care of your processing. I'll meet you afterwards once I've secured these weapons."
Tai starts to head for the door but stops right beforehand and turns back again with a smile.
"Oh, and welcome to New York."
Location: JFK Airport
"Welcome to New York!" a customs agent says as he stamps a passport. "Enjoy your stay."
The agent hands the passport to the blue-haired woman, who takes it gracefully. The woman doesn't say a word as she walks past the customs booth to join the rest of her group.
The customs agent looks behind and observes the group for a moment. The blunette was just the cherry on top of a group of weirdly dressed individuals.
The agent shakes his head. "Damn Europeans," he mutters under his breath, before returning to his work.
A distance away, Esdeath Partas meets up with her team and gives them a deadly grin.
"Our mission begins now."
A.N.: And cut! Phew! This chapter was longer than I expected!
Anyway, let's talk about what happened in this chapter.
First, I took quite a few liberties with Iokal, namely his first name, which he didn't have in the manga or anime from what I could tell. Also, it was never mentioned what Iokal did for a living in the Empire, so I made him a city councilman cause that's as close to a nobleman as I could get. Lastly, in this story, Iokal's uncle is not that guy. He won't show up until the sequel story. Everything else about Iokal is pretty much the same as the original.
Second, you all were introduced to my OC Jerome, who acts as the tech guy for Tai's investigations. Tai has plenty of skills, but proper use of advanced technology is not one of them. Don't worry, he'll have plenty of screen time in this story.
Third, the reason that Tai was able to outplay both Tatsumi and Mine twice is that Tai has a greater amount of experience as a fighter and an assassin than either of the others. Mine has plenty of experience herself, but mainly involving firearms, plus she has been an assassin for less time than Tai has. That being said, there are plenty of others out there, including Esdeath and Akame, that can give Tai a run for his money, and he knows that.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this story so far, along with the other stories being written in Phase 1. Stay tuned for my next update!
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