Chapter 9
It was getting late and the sun was fading away in the distant horizon. Streetlights flickered off and on, illuminating the twilight city. Damage crews still flocking to the old warehouse picking up what was left of it. A traumatized society still recovering from what happened the day before, was once again set on edge with the events of today. But one person wasn't phased by any of this. One person was determined to do what she knew she had to do. She didn't even know how to find who she was looking for, but she knew who would.
The police station was already in a state of panic over everything that had happened at the warehouse, but Videl had been there many times before and had no trouble finding her way around. She simply walked in and took the stairs up to the chief's office, passing all the busy officers trying to get their work done. It was like trying to get around in a mall during holiday seasons, but Videl didn't seem to notice as she shoved everyone out of her way and barged into the chief's office. He was on the phone.
"I don't care what you had planned tonight, you put that shit on hold until we get this sorted out!! Now don't even talk to me until you're done working!!", he yelled through the receiver. He promptly slammed it down knocking some papers off of his desk. He didn't seem to notice. He did notice Videl, however, and his mood didn't seem to change towards her from when he was yelling at the guy on the phone.
"Videl, where the hell have you been!!", he shouted from across his desk. "This place has been like a madhouse and you just disappeared from the crime scene. We didn't know..."
"I need to see any criminals apprehended from the warehouse.", she interrupted, her eyes stone cold as they broke through the chief's barrier of hostility.
"There weren't any. They all died in the explosion. All we have is one guy who was in on the shooting yesterday.", the chief explained in a less aggravated tone.
"I'd like to see him then.", she responded. The chief nodded and quickly led her to the interrogation room. A new desk and chairs had been put in there after what Gohan had done earlier this afternoon. The chief brought the man in and left the two alone.
"Now I've got work to do so I can't watch over you two, but I don't think I'll have to. The officer in the holding cells will tell you where he goes when your done.", the chief explained as he walked out and closed the steel door. They were all alone. The guy still a little bugged out after his interrogation with Gohan so he wasn't quite as cool and confident as before. He quickly took his seat and waited, twiddling his thumbs nervously on the table. Videl took her time as she paced around the room, thinking about how much she just wanted to kill him. But she had to get some information, and the chief surely wouldn't be happy if he came back and found the guy dead. He finally stopped pacing and walked up to the desk, slamming her palms and leaning into the guys face.
"Are you the one that shot my father?", she asked with a tone that suggested that he had better hope it wasn't him.
"N...No way. That was Lou, he's the one that took him out, honest.", he blabbered trying to spit out the right words.
"Do you guys have any idea what you've done?", she said, not shifting her tone the least bit. She began to walk around the table to the other side where the guy was still staring at his thumbs making circles around each other.
"I dunno. We just did what we were told, alright?", he said thinking it was some kind of excuse. Videl quickly ran up beside him and slammed her fist into the table.
"HE'S DEAD!! YOU HEAR ME?! HE'S DEAD!!!", she yelled into his ear with a deafening voice that left a ringing in his head. Even though he wasn't looking at her, he could feel her eyes piercing through him. He couldn't bring himself to say anything to her words.
"Now you're going to tell me where your boss is hiding, and don't tell me the old warehouse. He already blew it up.", she commanded.
"I can't tell you that.", he replied. Videl didn't even think before she grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face into the table. She lifted him back up, still holding his hair as if threatening to do it again if he didn't answer her question.
"Really, I can't tell you. He'd have my balls in a jar on his desk.", he strained through the pain. Videl quickly repeated her last action only harder, giving him a cut on his forehead that left a red stain on the wood. She quickly pulled him back into the wall and grabbed his throat, picking him off the floor with one hand.
"Okay! Okay! He has a mansion outside the city, just north of here!", he wheezed trying to get it all out as fast as he could. Videl dropped him and he fell in a heap on the floor coughing and rubbing his throat. Videl grabbed him by the back of his shirt and hauled him to the door leading to the holding cells. She opened it up and tossed him in, motioning to the officer to take him back to his cell. She gave him one last look of disgust before she turned around.
"I'll give your regards to the boss.", she said as she walked out, closing the door behind her.
* * *
The night sky was closing in, almost completely taking over the city. A pair of floodlights blazed through the skies heading north out of the city. Her map was of no use, so her eyes wandered across the black terrain for any signs of the mansion that the man had talked about. There didn't seem to be anything in sight and she had been flying for some time now. She almost thought that maybe he had lied to her just to get out of her torture until she saw some lights in the distance. She turned her lights off as not to be seen. She landed just outside the barred fence behind the house and hopped out on the lawn. She looked for a possible place to enter and quickly climbed over the fence, landing as softly as she could. A guard came out of the back door to have a smoke. Videl decided this would be the perfect opportunity to get inside. She noticed he was wielding an uzi in his hand, but when she was close enough, saw a 9mm in the back of his pants. When he had his back turned to her she quickly ran up and grabbed the the gun from his pants and hit him in the back of the head with it, knocking him out cold. The door was still wide open, and so she walked right in.
She slowly walked down the extravagantly decorated hallway, paintings centuries old hanging from the walls. She didn't even want to think about what he did to get all this money, how many banks he had robbed, how many people he had killed. He had killed the two most important people in her life, and that's all the reason she needed for what she was going to do. She held the gun tightly in her hand as she turned a corner down another hall. There were doors on either side all the down where it ended with a stairwell leading to the second floor. As she walked she heard the sound of a TV and guys yelling at it in a nearby room. She peeked around the doorway and saw three guys sitting in easychairs watching a football game. She was able to walk past without them noticing her, but as she passed by she overheard one of them.
"Hey man, I'm goin' to the kitchen for some more booze. You guys want anything?", one guy said, getting up out of his chair.
"Nah. I still got half of this one left."
"Yeah, I gotta watch this game."
Videl rushed to the next room she came to and tried to find a place to hide. The light was off so finding a spot wasn't easy. She got under what seemed to be a log table in the middle of the room. She held her breath as she heard the man coming down the hall towards her. She was terrified when the lights in the room came on. She was hiding in the kitchen. The guy walked to the refridgerator and rooted out some beers. He didn't seem to notice Videl under the table as he walked out and back down the hall. She exhaled after holding her breath the entire time he was in there. He hadn't turned off the lights so she decided to take a look around after she got out from under the table. Something caught her attention. An old gas stove, something of an antique. She got an idea.
* * *
"Man, the boss has been real stressed out since he got here. I heard he almost got busted today and had to blow up the old warehouse.", said one guard as the two walked down the hall towards the boss's room.
"I dunno. But whatever it is, I don't wanna mess with it. I don't even wanna go in there.", said the other.
Videl was watching them from the stairwell, and figured they would be the ones to lead her straight to the one she wanted. They walked through the door at the end of the hall, and Videl could just make out one of them saying, "Hey boss.", just before the door closed. She checked out the second floor to find that there was no one else there. It was just her, the two guards, and the boss. She walked down the hall towards the room at the end. Her mind clouded with all her anger and gun in hand she stood just outside the door. She could hear them talking and could distinguish where each person was from where their voices were coming from. She put her hand on the knob, shut her eyes and prepared to unleash hell.
None of the guys even saw it coming before Videl busted through the door. She immediately shot the two guards before they could reach for their weapons. She quickly pointed the gun at the boss before he could even stand up from behind his desk. The look in his eyes didn't even begin to tell how shocked he was. He couldn't believe who was standing before him. His shock was soon mixed with intense fear as he realized that his life was hanging by the tip of her finger.
"No. You're dead.", he managed through his state of trepidation.
"Wrong. You're dead.", she threw it right back at him. She didn't want him to live another second, the sight of him only fueled her anger. So she pulled the trigger.
*click*
Her heart skipped a few beats as the sound of an empty barrel bounced back and forth in her ears. She pulled the trigger again and again, only to get the same sound every time. The boss started to breathe again and even started to chuckle. Videl didn't know what to do, all of her emotions had brought her to this very moment, only to fail at the last instant. She didn't even move her arm, still holding the gun pointed at the boss's head.
"Looks like your luck ran out little girl.", the boss laughed as he stood up out of his chair. He slowly opened a drawer in his desk revealing a revolver. Videl still seemed to be in a state of disbelief as she stood right in front of him. But Videl was watching him, she noticed him open the drawer, and when he reached for the gun she quickly made her move. As he lifted the gun to shoot her, she dropped the gun and jumped up towards the boss. Using the desk to boost herself, she kicked the gun straight up and used her other foot and kick the boss back down into his chair. She caught the gun on its way down and landed on top of the desk, looking down at him, gun aimed between his eyes. She didn't hesitate for a second as she pulled the trigger and every bit of anger, her rage and hatred, went with it. Her mind was perfectly clear. She felt liberated.
It was getting late and the sun was fading away in the distant horizon. Streetlights flickered off and on, illuminating the twilight city. Damage crews still flocking to the old warehouse picking up what was left of it. A traumatized society still recovering from what happened the day before, was once again set on edge with the events of today. But one person wasn't phased by any of this. One person was determined to do what she knew she had to do. She didn't even know how to find who she was looking for, but she knew who would.
The police station was already in a state of panic over everything that had happened at the warehouse, but Videl had been there many times before and had no trouble finding her way around. She simply walked in and took the stairs up to the chief's office, passing all the busy officers trying to get their work done. It was like trying to get around in a mall during holiday seasons, but Videl didn't seem to notice as she shoved everyone out of her way and barged into the chief's office. He was on the phone.
"I don't care what you had planned tonight, you put that shit on hold until we get this sorted out!! Now don't even talk to me until you're done working!!", he yelled through the receiver. He promptly slammed it down knocking some papers off of his desk. He didn't seem to notice. He did notice Videl, however, and his mood didn't seem to change towards her from when he was yelling at the guy on the phone.
"Videl, where the hell have you been!!", he shouted from across his desk. "This place has been like a madhouse and you just disappeared from the crime scene. We didn't know..."
"I need to see any criminals apprehended from the warehouse.", she interrupted, her eyes stone cold as they broke through the chief's barrier of hostility.
"There weren't any. They all died in the explosion. All we have is one guy who was in on the shooting yesterday.", the chief explained in a less aggravated tone.
"I'd like to see him then.", she responded. The chief nodded and quickly led her to the interrogation room. A new desk and chairs had been put in there after what Gohan had done earlier this afternoon. The chief brought the man in and left the two alone.
"Now I've got work to do so I can't watch over you two, but I don't think I'll have to. The officer in the holding cells will tell you where he goes when your done.", the chief explained as he walked out and closed the steel door. They were all alone. The guy still a little bugged out after his interrogation with Gohan so he wasn't quite as cool and confident as before. He quickly took his seat and waited, twiddling his thumbs nervously on the table. Videl took her time as she paced around the room, thinking about how much she just wanted to kill him. But she had to get some information, and the chief surely wouldn't be happy if he came back and found the guy dead. He finally stopped pacing and walked up to the desk, slamming her palms and leaning into the guys face.
"Are you the one that shot my father?", she asked with a tone that suggested that he had better hope it wasn't him.
"N...No way. That was Lou, he's the one that took him out, honest.", he blabbered trying to spit out the right words.
"Do you guys have any idea what you've done?", she said, not shifting her tone the least bit. She began to walk around the table to the other side where the guy was still staring at his thumbs making circles around each other.
"I dunno. We just did what we were told, alright?", he said thinking it was some kind of excuse. Videl quickly ran up beside him and slammed her fist into the table.
"HE'S DEAD!! YOU HEAR ME?! HE'S DEAD!!!", she yelled into his ear with a deafening voice that left a ringing in his head. Even though he wasn't looking at her, he could feel her eyes piercing through him. He couldn't bring himself to say anything to her words.
"Now you're going to tell me where your boss is hiding, and don't tell me the old warehouse. He already blew it up.", she commanded.
"I can't tell you that.", he replied. Videl didn't even think before she grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face into the table. She lifted him back up, still holding his hair as if threatening to do it again if he didn't answer her question.
"Really, I can't tell you. He'd have my balls in a jar on his desk.", he strained through the pain. Videl quickly repeated her last action only harder, giving him a cut on his forehead that left a red stain on the wood. She quickly pulled him back into the wall and grabbed his throat, picking him off the floor with one hand.
"Okay! Okay! He has a mansion outside the city, just north of here!", he wheezed trying to get it all out as fast as he could. Videl dropped him and he fell in a heap on the floor coughing and rubbing his throat. Videl grabbed him by the back of his shirt and hauled him to the door leading to the holding cells. She opened it up and tossed him in, motioning to the officer to take him back to his cell. She gave him one last look of disgust before she turned around.
"I'll give your regards to the boss.", she said as she walked out, closing the door behind her.
* * *
The night sky was closing in, almost completely taking over the city. A pair of floodlights blazed through the skies heading north out of the city. Her map was of no use, so her eyes wandered across the black terrain for any signs of the mansion that the man had talked about. There didn't seem to be anything in sight and she had been flying for some time now. She almost thought that maybe he had lied to her just to get out of her torture until she saw some lights in the distance. She turned her lights off as not to be seen. She landed just outside the barred fence behind the house and hopped out on the lawn. She looked for a possible place to enter and quickly climbed over the fence, landing as softly as she could. A guard came out of the back door to have a smoke. Videl decided this would be the perfect opportunity to get inside. She noticed he was wielding an uzi in his hand, but when she was close enough, saw a 9mm in the back of his pants. When he had his back turned to her she quickly ran up and grabbed the the gun from his pants and hit him in the back of the head with it, knocking him out cold. The door was still wide open, and so she walked right in.
She slowly walked down the extravagantly decorated hallway, paintings centuries old hanging from the walls. She didn't even want to think about what he did to get all this money, how many banks he had robbed, how many people he had killed. He had killed the two most important people in her life, and that's all the reason she needed for what she was going to do. She held the gun tightly in her hand as she turned a corner down another hall. There were doors on either side all the down where it ended with a stairwell leading to the second floor. As she walked she heard the sound of a TV and guys yelling at it in a nearby room. She peeked around the doorway and saw three guys sitting in easychairs watching a football game. She was able to walk past without them noticing her, but as she passed by she overheard one of them.
"Hey man, I'm goin' to the kitchen for some more booze. You guys want anything?", one guy said, getting up out of his chair.
"Nah. I still got half of this one left."
"Yeah, I gotta watch this game."
Videl rushed to the next room she came to and tried to find a place to hide. The light was off so finding a spot wasn't easy. She got under what seemed to be a log table in the middle of the room. She held her breath as she heard the man coming down the hall towards her. She was terrified when the lights in the room came on. She was hiding in the kitchen. The guy walked to the refridgerator and rooted out some beers. He didn't seem to notice Videl under the table as he walked out and back down the hall. She exhaled after holding her breath the entire time he was in there. He hadn't turned off the lights so she decided to take a look around after she got out from under the table. Something caught her attention. An old gas stove, something of an antique. She got an idea.
* * *
"Man, the boss has been real stressed out since he got here. I heard he almost got busted today and had to blow up the old warehouse.", said one guard as the two walked down the hall towards the boss's room.
"I dunno. But whatever it is, I don't wanna mess with it. I don't even wanna go in there.", said the other.
Videl was watching them from the stairwell, and figured they would be the ones to lead her straight to the one she wanted. They walked through the door at the end of the hall, and Videl could just make out one of them saying, "Hey boss.", just before the door closed. She checked out the second floor to find that there was no one else there. It was just her, the two guards, and the boss. She walked down the hall towards the room at the end. Her mind clouded with all her anger and gun in hand she stood just outside the door. She could hear them talking and could distinguish where each person was from where their voices were coming from. She put her hand on the knob, shut her eyes and prepared to unleash hell.
None of the guys even saw it coming before Videl busted through the door. She immediately shot the two guards before they could reach for their weapons. She quickly pointed the gun at the boss before he could even stand up from behind his desk. The look in his eyes didn't even begin to tell how shocked he was. He couldn't believe who was standing before him. His shock was soon mixed with intense fear as he realized that his life was hanging by the tip of her finger.
"No. You're dead.", he managed through his state of trepidation.
"Wrong. You're dead.", she threw it right back at him. She didn't want him to live another second, the sight of him only fueled her anger. So she pulled the trigger.
*click*
Her heart skipped a few beats as the sound of an empty barrel bounced back and forth in her ears. She pulled the trigger again and again, only to get the same sound every time. The boss started to breathe again and even started to chuckle. Videl didn't know what to do, all of her emotions had brought her to this very moment, only to fail at the last instant. She didn't even move her arm, still holding the gun pointed at the boss's head.
"Looks like your luck ran out little girl.", the boss laughed as he stood up out of his chair. He slowly opened a drawer in his desk revealing a revolver. Videl still seemed to be in a state of disbelief as she stood right in front of him. But Videl was watching him, she noticed him open the drawer, and when he reached for the gun she quickly made her move. As he lifted the gun to shoot her, she dropped the gun and jumped up towards the boss. Using the desk to boost herself, she kicked the gun straight up and used her other foot and kick the boss back down into his chair. She caught the gun on its way down and landed on top of the desk, looking down at him, gun aimed between his eyes. She didn't hesitate for a second as she pulled the trigger and every bit of anger, her rage and hatred, went with it. Her mind was perfectly clear. She felt liberated.