A stunned silence ensued, broken only by the pants of the man bound to the wooden chair and the gentle monotonous tick-tock of the clock suspended from the nail on the wall.
"Does this Dr. Willis have any motives for wanting to take over Capsule Corporation?" Sashima asked. "It seems highly unlikely that a medical doctor would want to take over a technological enterprise…" she mused, slowly beginning to pace back and forth at the foot of the bed.
Bulma shook her head, murmuring, "We run a background check on every employee before they enter Capsule Corporation, and there was nothing discovered that would indicate Dr. Willis had any reason to pose as a threat to C.C. His previous jobs as doctors in other hospitals throughout the country had given him an excellent reputation, and his record is fairly clean as well."
"Well in that case…we have this guy's statement as evidence, but more is required before the police can make any possible arrests, though I suspect that they'll already be charged for breaking and entering, threatening with a weapon, attempted robbery and attempted murder and a bunch of other--"
A sharp rap from downstairs cut her off from the recitation of their crimes. "Open up, it's the police!" Voices from outside could be heard, as well as the scuffling of many pairs of feet.
"Police are here just on time for once," mumbled Bulma, exiting the room and hastening down the stairs. "Boy is Vegeta going to be happy once they come up here…" Within a moment she returned, followed by six officers and their sergeant.
"Everyone, this is Sergeant McIntire." Bulma introduced the sergeant, who was tall and lanky, with dark brown hair and tender green eyes. After shaking hands with the elder Briefs and Sashima, he sat down on a wooden chair, giving instructions as he did so. The six police officers who had arrived in the room with him handcuffed the five suspects, whom only one was conscious--the rest were still knocked out cold from the blows dealt to them.
"Now," Sergeant McIntire began, facing Bulma, "What happened here? Start from the beginning and leave out nothing. A small detail could be worth something major later on in the case, Ms. Briefs."
Bulma gulped, taking in a deep breath before replying. "Well…I was asleep when I heard banging on the door to my room. I went to open it and my parents were there and they told me an intruder had entered the house and to get up and take the back way out as quick as possible."
Mrs. Briefs nodded, adding, "We had heard our alarm go off and then some sort of crash downstairs, so my husband and I left our room. We met Miss Sashima and Mr. Vegeta, who're staying with us, in the main hall on the second floor, and we were told to get out of there at once while they find out what had caused the alarm to go off."
"Oh? Is that so?" McIntire raised an eyebrow skeptically at the young woman who leaned against the wall casually, a bit off to the side. "You seem like a nice young lady…Miss Sashima…"
"Makimoto," she finished for him, bluntly.
"Miss Makimoto…may I ask how old you are? Twenty-four? Twenty-five?"
"Twenty-two, and I don't see how that has to do with the case, Sergeant," Sashima said, a trace of sarcasm in her voice.
He frowned slightly at her tone, but continued on. "I just wanted to know a bit more about who was at the scene of the crime, that's all, miss," he proclaimed, jotting down a few notes on his notepad. "According to you, how would you explain the turn of the events here tonight?"
Secretly she rolled her eyes. 'These cops are more annoying than I am…' she muttered to herself. "Okay, I was asleep and woke up at about 11:50 P.M.--"
"Why did you wake up at that time?" he interrupted her.
"I had a dream and woke up, you happy now? I had a dream, woke up and heard a ringing sound. I realized it was an alarm so I got out of bed and heard a crash downstairs. Went into the hallway and met up with Mr. and Mrs. Briefs--Vegeta as well. I told Mr. and Mrs. Briefs to wake up Bulma and get out of there as quick as possible--"
"Hang on a second, you said you told them to get out of the house? Why didn't you yourself and Mr. Vegeta leave with them as well?" McIntire inquired, scribbling furiously on his yellow pad.
"Look, I have concerns for the Briefs family and everyone who resides here in Capsule Corporation, and from my point of view, if you're able to do something, then by all means go ahead with it. It is much better than doing nothing at all, do you not think so?" said Sashima, a scowl forming over the features of her face. Obviously the sergeant's attitude had begun to take its toll on her patience.
McIntire cast a split-second glance at her before continuing to jerk his rough hand wildly over the paper. "But what could you have done?" he asked absently. "From what we saw and confiscated, these five men were armed and dangerous. Surely you wouldn't have risked putting your life on the line for a brief act of heroism?"
It was as if she had been struck in the face by a steel claw. Her rage almost boiling over, her voice shook with fury and even the beams on the roof seemed to tremble and bend as she hissed out her words. "Are you accusing ME, Sergeant, of having ties with these suspects? Because you are coming dangerously close to saying something you may regret later on; I remind you--you have no right to accuse me without solid proof, so says the law--"
"Let me tell you this, miss," his tone of voice becoming edgy as well, "If you are threatening me--threatening a law enforcement official--if you are threatening me, I can send you to jail right this instance. Your hostile attitude and un-cooperation would do no good in the Briefs' investigation--"
"Sergeant," Bulma cut in, mildly annoyed at the officer herself, "please continue on with the investigation and not waste our time on this issue. Sashima is a friend of mine, and I trust her very much--she would not do anything that would harm my family or myself."
He seemed highly dubious still, even with the famous woman's statement of trust and credibility. He squinted at her through narrowed eyes, as if attempting to pierce her cold gaze. "Alright, Ms. Briefs…" Sergeant McIntire sighed and resumed questioning. "After advising Mr. and Mrs. Briefs about the situation, what did you then do?"
"Mr. Vegeta and myself headed downstairs, in the direction of the alarm. We didn't turn any lights on for fear of alerting our intruders that we were onto them, until we got to the kitchen, where the alarm was. Vegeta and I turned to alarm off, only to hear a scream and then a bang like a gun going off. I didn't know what had happened upstairs, so I ran there as quickly as possible."
"Where was Mr. Vegeta at this time?" inquired the sergeant, raising his eyebrows. "To come of it, where IS this Mr. Vegeta right now?"
She snorted, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. "Vegeta--I presume he was still downstairs when I left. He didn't come up here until later."
"I don't think you want to disturb him at the moment, Sergeant," Bulma added, "he was in a terrible mood from being woken up so abruptly in his sleep, and I daresay he'll be er…extremely hostile, if you wake him up now." She shifted slightly in her chair, thinking of what Vegeta would only do if the police had begun to interrogate the sleep-disturbed prince.
"Then we will come back tomorrow when he is awake to get his part of the story," McIntire said shortly. He now turned to face Dr. Briefs. "From what Miss Sashima said, she had heard a scream upstairs. Do you verify that there was a scream?"
Both the elder Briefs nodded. "When we went to Bulma's room, we had woken her up shortly until three men stormed inside. They must've used a back staircase to have gotten by both Miss Sashima and Mr. Vegeta." Dr. Briefs stated, while Mrs. Briefs continued along, "Bulma screamed and hurled a lamp at them, which caused the noise. They pointed their guns at us and told us to be quiet or else they would kill us, and tied up my husband, Bulma, and myself. When we heard someone at the doors to the room, we knew that either Miss Sashima or Mr. Vegeta had heard the scream, so the intruders stuffed my husband and I into the closet and two of them dragged Bulma into the bathroom. Oh I was so worried! I was afraid for Bulma's sake…what with two hostile men and she utterly defenseless--"
"Mom, it's okay," Bulma laid a hand soothingly around her mother and embraced her. "They're gone now, and we're all fine now, aren't we?"
"You're right Bulma--I shouldn't be upset all over again now," Mrs. Briefs wiped the tears threatening to fall with the back of her hand. "Anyways, one of the men had hidden himself behind a bookcase, and when Miss Sashima broke open the door…she found us…but then he struck her over the head and--"
Sashima had been listening intently all this time, her keen ears taking in every bit of detail accounted for that night. At Mrs. Brief's last words, she knew the older woman was close to revealing information she herself did not want the police to know. From behind the sergeant, she mouthed to Mrs. Briefs her message, and shook her head vehemently.
"And?" Sergeant McIntire knitted his brows. "What happened next?"
Obviously getting her message to leave that part of the story unspoken, Mrs. Briefs hesitated and replied, "Well…Miss Sashima then managed to trip him…and uh…he fell onto the ground and slammed his head, knocking himself unconscious…isn't that right, dear?" Quickly she elbowed her husband.
"Uh yes, that's what happened," Dr. Briefs said sheepishly. "The two men who held Bulma came out of the bathroom wondering what had happened, and one…tripped over his own two feet and crashed into the wall, and dropped his gun while the--the--other…er…went to help him and Miss Sashima just slammed a chair over their heads…and that's how we managed to round up these men…"
"I…see…" Sergeant McIntire said suspiciously, making a note in his book. "But there were five men here, and you only described three? How is that possible?"
"Well you see, Vegeta was still downstairs, and apparently he found two others searching the area and he took care of them for us," supplied Bulma. "Anything else you want to ask?"
"Do you have any idea why these men wanted to break into your home?"
"Yes. They said they wanted to take Capsule Corporation's ownership documents and the plans for our technological projects," said Bulma, a bit sour.
"Really? Did they mention why they wanted to take them?"
"They didn't really say…although they did mention that they were paid to do so; they also seemed extremely terrified of the person who had paid them. It was as if they had failed, and they KNEW he was going to come after them or something…"
"Did they say who this person was?"
"We aren't certain, but hang on…Sashima, did they really say Willis? Or did I imagine it all?"
"No, Bulma…they did say Willis…"
"Okay. They mentioned a man named Paul Willis, who is also a prominent doctor at our Capsule Corporation hospital."
"Any motives you can think of for Dr. Willis?"
"No, not any that we can think of."
"Any other people the suspects mentioned?"
"No."
"Back to Dr. Willis--did you do a background check on him when he began working for you?"
"Yes. It was a clean record."
"We'll put him down as a person-of-interest in this case until we find further evidence to warrant an arrest then, Ms. Briefs."
"That's fine, Sergeant."
"Oh yes, for what reasons are Miss Sashima and Mr. Vegeta staying in your home for?"
"You just had to get back at me, did you?" Sashima scowled, barring her teeth. She clenched her fists tightly at her sides, and noticing this, the sergeant hurriedly turned to Bulma. "Well?"
"That is prying into my personal affairs, Sergeant, and it is a violation to be asking about every single person who happens to pass through my door," Bulma replied, rising from her chair immediately.
"I'm sorry, but this is the procedure for an investigation, and if those two are in the clear, then you would not mind disclosing that information to us," he replied smoothly.
"Both Mr. Vegeta and Miss Sashima are friends of mine who are staying with me for the time being. I see no reason why you should suspect their honesty."
"I see…" Sergeant McIntire rose from his chair, striding over to Sashima, who was still leaning casually against the wall. At 5'6", Sashima was of average height, yet the sergeant towered over her by at least six inches, almost menacingly. "There was an incident today which involved a woman and several members of our Satan City's notorious gangs. The suspects gave a description of this woman and we have compiled a composite sketch…which looks remarkably like you in fact…"
Take up a file case which he had brought along, he flipped through its contents until he had drawn out a newly composed sketch, of a woman who indeed posed a striking resemblance to Sashima. "I suppose this face is familiar?" he questioned.
Sashima took the picture into her own hands, glancing over the details of the face and hair. "This picture could resemble many women--why are you giving this to me specially?"
"Because not many women in that case have the red eyes and red hair every one of the suspects had described…and with the incident at Capsule Corporation this morning involving yet ANOTHER red-eyed, red-haired woman of about the same age range, this coincidence may cause for some concern--"
"Sergeant!" Bulma said sharply, stepping in between him and Sashima, "If you do not stop accusing a fairly innocent person, I would have to call my lawyer! Please focus on the investigation on hand and not deter from other matters. I've said this before, I'm going to say this again--Miss Sashima is a friend of mine, and I will take full responsibility for her actions!"
McIntire was highly taken aback, and that was the last time that morning he attempted to start any more new accusations. By the time the police left the Briefs' residence at 1:30 A.M., no more leads had turned up. All five of the suspects were driven off to custody, their weapons taken as pieces of evidence. A search of the house and grounds of Capsule Corp. had revealed that they had bypassed the security on a side gate, snuck across the grounds, and had gotten in through the patio doors, which they had pried open and enabled the alarm to be set off. A search of the house showed that the intruders had not taken anything, and Sergeant McIntire, before he exited through the front doors, promised that they would call them if further leads turned up in the investigation.
Dr. and Mrs. Briefs, along with Bulma and Sashima sat in the sitting room, sipping glasses of iced tea around the antique coffee table. Sleepy-eyed and yawning profusely, the first things the elder Briefs asked were of Sashima's unique abilities. At first they seemed mildly frightened, yet as they continued to talk into the wee hours of the morning, they realized she posed less of a threat than Vegeta, owing to her polite manners and her actions of that day.
When her parents had retired for bed, Bulma sat facing Sashima once more, much like the scene several hours earlier. "That sergeant was real arrogant, I'm sorry Sashima," she apologized.
"Don't apologize for him, Bulma. I've been around enough police officers to know what they're like, and how worse they can get. That sergeant won't get too far on the case, believe me." Putting her glass of iced tea to her lips she took a long sip before continuing. "What are you going to do next, Bulma, since this doctor works at C.C. and all…?"
Wrinkling her forehead, Bulma said, "If he shows up for work tomorrow, I guess I should confront him…those suspects might have been lying though…"
Sashima nodded. "I suggest you re-read your information on him, and find out as much possible. Keep him under high surveillance at all times while he's at work and contact the police frequently for leads. I might do a bit of investigating myself, since I have nowhere else to stay. I highly doubt your city's police force…"
"I'll be safer with you helping on this case, to say the least," Bulma yawned. "It won't be the first time they've failed a case…" She rose to her feet, stretching out her exhausted limbs. "Wow this is the first time I've noticed it's this cold during the mornings--it's so hot in the daytime!"
The other woman chuckled, feeling the cold for the first time that morning as well. Looking down, she finally remembered that she had jumped out of bed a little too hastily, still only in her pajama bottoms and tank top. "We should better get to bed--there's probably many things to be done tomorrow."
Bulma groaned. "Damn press is going to be at the door for the 6:00 A.M. news I bet…" Shutting the lights and rechecking security, they made their way up the staircase and down the main hall. "Reporters are so damn annoying!"
"I know what you mean, but just ignore them when they come at 6:00 A.M. I'll disconnect your doorbell or something to keep them from waking everyone," said Sashima. "Oh and speaking of things…er, I'm sorry about your wall--I didn't mean to slam him that hard…"
"Forget about it, and besides, I still need to thank you again for saving my parents and me. I'll just get a carpenter to repair it."
They reached their separate rooms and bade each other goodnight. The whole of the residence slept soundly, until about 6:00 A.M. when a group of men and women, loaded with cameras and equipment of all sort, rang the entrance bell for Capsule Corporation. What the perplexed people got back was utter silence.
* * * * *
Unbeknownst to the world around them, two figures sat in complete silence around a blazing fire. The residence was a fine brick home of middle-class status, a normal house of all being--at least from the outside. But once a person took a step into the interior and chambers within, it was darkness to the highest degree. The only sources of light were the raging fire atop the glass tray and the candles that surrounded the two figures. The rest of the house was unlit and had a peculiar odor to it.
"She's turning out real fine, isn't she?" the younger of the figures inquired, massaging his right ear delicately.
"The angels have contacted her again, but it seems as if it's too late. The demon within her is growing steadily stronger."
"Have not the angels been trying to get her to rid the demon within and ascend safely to Heaven?"
"They have, but obviously their plan has failed. They fear she would discover the great power and destroy them all with it."
"Is that even possible?"
"She is a hybrid, no less, and whichever side possesses the body, whichever she will become. At the moment, the angel side has kept her demon in control--thus she remains a human and possesses no threat to the angels above. I have no idea in Hell how the angels expect her to annihilate the demon without having her go through the entire cycle--and we know that is extremely risky…"
"Shall we proceed with the plan we were instructed with?"
"I think we should. Her outburst toward that man this morning…pure evil…she needn't have tortured him; she had other methods she could have used. Yes, it is best to proceed. Once we get her onto our side, it would be us who will be victorious! It would be us, I say! Angels…heh heh heh…in the war a thousand years ago we may have lost, yet now the greatest prize of all is within our reaches! We carry out the plan tonight!"
_____________________________________________________________________________________
AN: Wahhh! I haven't written in over two weeks! Ah!! No worry, I'm back. And who are these mysterious people and what are they plotting? Th-they aren't plotting against who I think they are, are they? Uh-oh…I have a bad feeling about this…
"Does this Dr. Willis have any motives for wanting to take over Capsule Corporation?" Sashima asked. "It seems highly unlikely that a medical doctor would want to take over a technological enterprise…" she mused, slowly beginning to pace back and forth at the foot of the bed.
Bulma shook her head, murmuring, "We run a background check on every employee before they enter Capsule Corporation, and there was nothing discovered that would indicate Dr. Willis had any reason to pose as a threat to C.C. His previous jobs as doctors in other hospitals throughout the country had given him an excellent reputation, and his record is fairly clean as well."
"Well in that case…we have this guy's statement as evidence, but more is required before the police can make any possible arrests, though I suspect that they'll already be charged for breaking and entering, threatening with a weapon, attempted robbery and attempted murder and a bunch of other--"
A sharp rap from downstairs cut her off from the recitation of their crimes. "Open up, it's the police!" Voices from outside could be heard, as well as the scuffling of many pairs of feet.
"Police are here just on time for once," mumbled Bulma, exiting the room and hastening down the stairs. "Boy is Vegeta going to be happy once they come up here…" Within a moment she returned, followed by six officers and their sergeant.
"Everyone, this is Sergeant McIntire." Bulma introduced the sergeant, who was tall and lanky, with dark brown hair and tender green eyes. After shaking hands with the elder Briefs and Sashima, he sat down on a wooden chair, giving instructions as he did so. The six police officers who had arrived in the room with him handcuffed the five suspects, whom only one was conscious--the rest were still knocked out cold from the blows dealt to them.
"Now," Sergeant McIntire began, facing Bulma, "What happened here? Start from the beginning and leave out nothing. A small detail could be worth something major later on in the case, Ms. Briefs."
Bulma gulped, taking in a deep breath before replying. "Well…I was asleep when I heard banging on the door to my room. I went to open it and my parents were there and they told me an intruder had entered the house and to get up and take the back way out as quick as possible."
Mrs. Briefs nodded, adding, "We had heard our alarm go off and then some sort of crash downstairs, so my husband and I left our room. We met Miss Sashima and Mr. Vegeta, who're staying with us, in the main hall on the second floor, and we were told to get out of there at once while they find out what had caused the alarm to go off."
"Oh? Is that so?" McIntire raised an eyebrow skeptically at the young woman who leaned against the wall casually, a bit off to the side. "You seem like a nice young lady…Miss Sashima…"
"Makimoto," she finished for him, bluntly.
"Miss Makimoto…may I ask how old you are? Twenty-four? Twenty-five?"
"Twenty-two, and I don't see how that has to do with the case, Sergeant," Sashima said, a trace of sarcasm in her voice.
He frowned slightly at her tone, but continued on. "I just wanted to know a bit more about who was at the scene of the crime, that's all, miss," he proclaimed, jotting down a few notes on his notepad. "According to you, how would you explain the turn of the events here tonight?"
Secretly she rolled her eyes. 'These cops are more annoying than I am…' she muttered to herself. "Okay, I was asleep and woke up at about 11:50 P.M.--"
"Why did you wake up at that time?" he interrupted her.
"I had a dream and woke up, you happy now? I had a dream, woke up and heard a ringing sound. I realized it was an alarm so I got out of bed and heard a crash downstairs. Went into the hallway and met up with Mr. and Mrs. Briefs--Vegeta as well. I told Mr. and Mrs. Briefs to wake up Bulma and get out of there as quick as possible--"
"Hang on a second, you said you told them to get out of the house? Why didn't you yourself and Mr. Vegeta leave with them as well?" McIntire inquired, scribbling furiously on his yellow pad.
"Look, I have concerns for the Briefs family and everyone who resides here in Capsule Corporation, and from my point of view, if you're able to do something, then by all means go ahead with it. It is much better than doing nothing at all, do you not think so?" said Sashima, a scowl forming over the features of her face. Obviously the sergeant's attitude had begun to take its toll on her patience.
McIntire cast a split-second glance at her before continuing to jerk his rough hand wildly over the paper. "But what could you have done?" he asked absently. "From what we saw and confiscated, these five men were armed and dangerous. Surely you wouldn't have risked putting your life on the line for a brief act of heroism?"
It was as if she had been struck in the face by a steel claw. Her rage almost boiling over, her voice shook with fury and even the beams on the roof seemed to tremble and bend as she hissed out her words. "Are you accusing ME, Sergeant, of having ties with these suspects? Because you are coming dangerously close to saying something you may regret later on; I remind you--you have no right to accuse me without solid proof, so says the law--"
"Let me tell you this, miss," his tone of voice becoming edgy as well, "If you are threatening me--threatening a law enforcement official--if you are threatening me, I can send you to jail right this instance. Your hostile attitude and un-cooperation would do no good in the Briefs' investigation--"
"Sergeant," Bulma cut in, mildly annoyed at the officer herself, "please continue on with the investigation and not waste our time on this issue. Sashima is a friend of mine, and I trust her very much--she would not do anything that would harm my family or myself."
He seemed highly dubious still, even with the famous woman's statement of trust and credibility. He squinted at her through narrowed eyes, as if attempting to pierce her cold gaze. "Alright, Ms. Briefs…" Sergeant McIntire sighed and resumed questioning. "After advising Mr. and Mrs. Briefs about the situation, what did you then do?"
"Mr. Vegeta and myself headed downstairs, in the direction of the alarm. We didn't turn any lights on for fear of alerting our intruders that we were onto them, until we got to the kitchen, where the alarm was. Vegeta and I turned to alarm off, only to hear a scream and then a bang like a gun going off. I didn't know what had happened upstairs, so I ran there as quickly as possible."
"Where was Mr. Vegeta at this time?" inquired the sergeant, raising his eyebrows. "To come of it, where IS this Mr. Vegeta right now?"
She snorted, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. "Vegeta--I presume he was still downstairs when I left. He didn't come up here until later."
"I don't think you want to disturb him at the moment, Sergeant," Bulma added, "he was in a terrible mood from being woken up so abruptly in his sleep, and I daresay he'll be er…extremely hostile, if you wake him up now." She shifted slightly in her chair, thinking of what Vegeta would only do if the police had begun to interrogate the sleep-disturbed prince.
"Then we will come back tomorrow when he is awake to get his part of the story," McIntire said shortly. He now turned to face Dr. Briefs. "From what Miss Sashima said, she had heard a scream upstairs. Do you verify that there was a scream?"
Both the elder Briefs nodded. "When we went to Bulma's room, we had woken her up shortly until three men stormed inside. They must've used a back staircase to have gotten by both Miss Sashima and Mr. Vegeta." Dr. Briefs stated, while Mrs. Briefs continued along, "Bulma screamed and hurled a lamp at them, which caused the noise. They pointed their guns at us and told us to be quiet or else they would kill us, and tied up my husband, Bulma, and myself. When we heard someone at the doors to the room, we knew that either Miss Sashima or Mr. Vegeta had heard the scream, so the intruders stuffed my husband and I into the closet and two of them dragged Bulma into the bathroom. Oh I was so worried! I was afraid for Bulma's sake…what with two hostile men and she utterly defenseless--"
"Mom, it's okay," Bulma laid a hand soothingly around her mother and embraced her. "They're gone now, and we're all fine now, aren't we?"
"You're right Bulma--I shouldn't be upset all over again now," Mrs. Briefs wiped the tears threatening to fall with the back of her hand. "Anyways, one of the men had hidden himself behind a bookcase, and when Miss Sashima broke open the door…she found us…but then he struck her over the head and--"
Sashima had been listening intently all this time, her keen ears taking in every bit of detail accounted for that night. At Mrs. Brief's last words, she knew the older woman was close to revealing information she herself did not want the police to know. From behind the sergeant, she mouthed to Mrs. Briefs her message, and shook her head vehemently.
"And?" Sergeant McIntire knitted his brows. "What happened next?"
Obviously getting her message to leave that part of the story unspoken, Mrs. Briefs hesitated and replied, "Well…Miss Sashima then managed to trip him…and uh…he fell onto the ground and slammed his head, knocking himself unconscious…isn't that right, dear?" Quickly she elbowed her husband.
"Uh yes, that's what happened," Dr. Briefs said sheepishly. "The two men who held Bulma came out of the bathroom wondering what had happened, and one…tripped over his own two feet and crashed into the wall, and dropped his gun while the--the--other…er…went to help him and Miss Sashima just slammed a chair over their heads…and that's how we managed to round up these men…"
"I…see…" Sergeant McIntire said suspiciously, making a note in his book. "But there were five men here, and you only described three? How is that possible?"
"Well you see, Vegeta was still downstairs, and apparently he found two others searching the area and he took care of them for us," supplied Bulma. "Anything else you want to ask?"
"Do you have any idea why these men wanted to break into your home?"
"Yes. They said they wanted to take Capsule Corporation's ownership documents and the plans for our technological projects," said Bulma, a bit sour.
"Really? Did they mention why they wanted to take them?"
"They didn't really say…although they did mention that they were paid to do so; they also seemed extremely terrified of the person who had paid them. It was as if they had failed, and they KNEW he was going to come after them or something…"
"Did they say who this person was?"
"We aren't certain, but hang on…Sashima, did they really say Willis? Or did I imagine it all?"
"No, Bulma…they did say Willis…"
"Okay. They mentioned a man named Paul Willis, who is also a prominent doctor at our Capsule Corporation hospital."
"Any motives you can think of for Dr. Willis?"
"No, not any that we can think of."
"Any other people the suspects mentioned?"
"No."
"Back to Dr. Willis--did you do a background check on him when he began working for you?"
"Yes. It was a clean record."
"We'll put him down as a person-of-interest in this case until we find further evidence to warrant an arrest then, Ms. Briefs."
"That's fine, Sergeant."
"Oh yes, for what reasons are Miss Sashima and Mr. Vegeta staying in your home for?"
"You just had to get back at me, did you?" Sashima scowled, barring her teeth. She clenched her fists tightly at her sides, and noticing this, the sergeant hurriedly turned to Bulma. "Well?"
"That is prying into my personal affairs, Sergeant, and it is a violation to be asking about every single person who happens to pass through my door," Bulma replied, rising from her chair immediately.
"I'm sorry, but this is the procedure for an investigation, and if those two are in the clear, then you would not mind disclosing that information to us," he replied smoothly.
"Both Mr. Vegeta and Miss Sashima are friends of mine who are staying with me for the time being. I see no reason why you should suspect their honesty."
"I see…" Sergeant McIntire rose from his chair, striding over to Sashima, who was still leaning casually against the wall. At 5'6", Sashima was of average height, yet the sergeant towered over her by at least six inches, almost menacingly. "There was an incident today which involved a woman and several members of our Satan City's notorious gangs. The suspects gave a description of this woman and we have compiled a composite sketch…which looks remarkably like you in fact…"
Take up a file case which he had brought along, he flipped through its contents until he had drawn out a newly composed sketch, of a woman who indeed posed a striking resemblance to Sashima. "I suppose this face is familiar?" he questioned.
Sashima took the picture into her own hands, glancing over the details of the face and hair. "This picture could resemble many women--why are you giving this to me specially?"
"Because not many women in that case have the red eyes and red hair every one of the suspects had described…and with the incident at Capsule Corporation this morning involving yet ANOTHER red-eyed, red-haired woman of about the same age range, this coincidence may cause for some concern--"
"Sergeant!" Bulma said sharply, stepping in between him and Sashima, "If you do not stop accusing a fairly innocent person, I would have to call my lawyer! Please focus on the investigation on hand and not deter from other matters. I've said this before, I'm going to say this again--Miss Sashima is a friend of mine, and I will take full responsibility for her actions!"
McIntire was highly taken aback, and that was the last time that morning he attempted to start any more new accusations. By the time the police left the Briefs' residence at 1:30 A.M., no more leads had turned up. All five of the suspects were driven off to custody, their weapons taken as pieces of evidence. A search of the house and grounds of Capsule Corp. had revealed that they had bypassed the security on a side gate, snuck across the grounds, and had gotten in through the patio doors, which they had pried open and enabled the alarm to be set off. A search of the house showed that the intruders had not taken anything, and Sergeant McIntire, before he exited through the front doors, promised that they would call them if further leads turned up in the investigation.
Dr. and Mrs. Briefs, along with Bulma and Sashima sat in the sitting room, sipping glasses of iced tea around the antique coffee table. Sleepy-eyed and yawning profusely, the first things the elder Briefs asked were of Sashima's unique abilities. At first they seemed mildly frightened, yet as they continued to talk into the wee hours of the morning, they realized she posed less of a threat than Vegeta, owing to her polite manners and her actions of that day.
When her parents had retired for bed, Bulma sat facing Sashima once more, much like the scene several hours earlier. "That sergeant was real arrogant, I'm sorry Sashima," she apologized.
"Don't apologize for him, Bulma. I've been around enough police officers to know what they're like, and how worse they can get. That sergeant won't get too far on the case, believe me." Putting her glass of iced tea to her lips she took a long sip before continuing. "What are you going to do next, Bulma, since this doctor works at C.C. and all…?"
Wrinkling her forehead, Bulma said, "If he shows up for work tomorrow, I guess I should confront him…those suspects might have been lying though…"
Sashima nodded. "I suggest you re-read your information on him, and find out as much possible. Keep him under high surveillance at all times while he's at work and contact the police frequently for leads. I might do a bit of investigating myself, since I have nowhere else to stay. I highly doubt your city's police force…"
"I'll be safer with you helping on this case, to say the least," Bulma yawned. "It won't be the first time they've failed a case…" She rose to her feet, stretching out her exhausted limbs. "Wow this is the first time I've noticed it's this cold during the mornings--it's so hot in the daytime!"
The other woman chuckled, feeling the cold for the first time that morning as well. Looking down, she finally remembered that she had jumped out of bed a little too hastily, still only in her pajama bottoms and tank top. "We should better get to bed--there's probably many things to be done tomorrow."
Bulma groaned. "Damn press is going to be at the door for the 6:00 A.M. news I bet…" Shutting the lights and rechecking security, they made their way up the staircase and down the main hall. "Reporters are so damn annoying!"
"I know what you mean, but just ignore them when they come at 6:00 A.M. I'll disconnect your doorbell or something to keep them from waking everyone," said Sashima. "Oh and speaking of things…er, I'm sorry about your wall--I didn't mean to slam him that hard…"
"Forget about it, and besides, I still need to thank you again for saving my parents and me. I'll just get a carpenter to repair it."
They reached their separate rooms and bade each other goodnight. The whole of the residence slept soundly, until about 6:00 A.M. when a group of men and women, loaded with cameras and equipment of all sort, rang the entrance bell for Capsule Corporation. What the perplexed people got back was utter silence.
* * * * *
Unbeknownst to the world around them, two figures sat in complete silence around a blazing fire. The residence was a fine brick home of middle-class status, a normal house of all being--at least from the outside. But once a person took a step into the interior and chambers within, it was darkness to the highest degree. The only sources of light were the raging fire atop the glass tray and the candles that surrounded the two figures. The rest of the house was unlit and had a peculiar odor to it.
"She's turning out real fine, isn't she?" the younger of the figures inquired, massaging his right ear delicately.
"The angels have contacted her again, but it seems as if it's too late. The demon within her is growing steadily stronger."
"Have not the angels been trying to get her to rid the demon within and ascend safely to Heaven?"
"They have, but obviously their plan has failed. They fear she would discover the great power and destroy them all with it."
"Is that even possible?"
"She is a hybrid, no less, and whichever side possesses the body, whichever she will become. At the moment, the angel side has kept her demon in control--thus she remains a human and possesses no threat to the angels above. I have no idea in Hell how the angels expect her to annihilate the demon without having her go through the entire cycle--and we know that is extremely risky…"
"Shall we proceed with the plan we were instructed with?"
"I think we should. Her outburst toward that man this morning…pure evil…she needn't have tortured him; she had other methods she could have used. Yes, it is best to proceed. Once we get her onto our side, it would be us who will be victorious! It would be us, I say! Angels…heh heh heh…in the war a thousand years ago we may have lost, yet now the greatest prize of all is within our reaches! We carry out the plan tonight!"
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AN: Wahhh! I haven't written in over two weeks! Ah!! No worry, I'm back. And who are these mysterious people and what are they plotting? Th-they aren't plotting against who I think they are, are they? Uh-oh…I have a bad feeling about this…
