Disclaimer:
All DBZ characters belong to Akira Toriyama.
The other ones belong to me :p
YELL
" Someone has taken the idea of revenge a little bit too far "
Chapitre SEVEN: Sleep Molecule
Saturday, 16h34 - Capsule Corporation
" Do you have enemies who could have attacked your son? ", Hayden asked to Goku with a monotonous voice.
He had come back rather quickly to question the whole team. Bulma was considering his attitude cheeky, but on the other side, as long as the real murderer was not caught, Trunks would be always more or less suspected. She feared that after a long time, this would affect seriously the mental state of her son. She could already perceive some signs of unusual irritability in his behavior.
Lee had sat beside her partner, and her presence had been a significant factor to decide Bulma to let Hayden enter. She knew that the young woman was rather there to slow down Hayden than for really inquiring. She here, Peter Hayden, relentless inspector as cold as the iceberg which had sunk the Titanic, would have difficulty to exert an abusive authority about a new Trunks arrest.
A horrible thought crossed Bulma: *How would she react if they discovered that Hayden had been right since the beginning ? What would she do about Trunks ? She couldn't give him up to the authorities where he would be sentenced to death... Could she take him far from here, to protect him ? What... *
She shivered, driving back this dark thought. It was the second time that she was loosing her trust in her son. She had the impression to be a puppet whom an external force had fun with. Would she have the force to break these strange links and to think by herself?
She blinked her eyes to fix a scene which made her instantaneously forget her dark small mental monologue: Goku, the look still a little bit sleepy, rings reaching the medium of the navel, answered while yawning Hayden's question : " Are you kidding ? If we must seek among my enemies, we're not ready to see the end of it soon… ! ".
Hayden raised an eyebrow, stopping for a moment to take notes on his notebook. Bulma made large eyes towards Goku to stop him to say more about his exploits to Hayden, but he seemed too much in the haze to notice anything. Yamucha didn't seem neither to notice the constant glance of his former girlfriend, as he added: " If you want to have an investigation even more complex than the assassination of President Kennedy, go on this way ! ", he said with a small laughter.
Hayden frowned : for the past three hours, it was the second time that the name of Kennedy was intervening. Adding to that, the fact that Pan and Trunks have both had the same reflex : to bluff by giving a name to the killer, and the strange coincidence of the disconnected phone… Lee who was looking at him thought that he was going soon to think that ALL the family was in the plot... She had to restrain herself in order not to burst laughing.
Bulma looked turn to turn Yamucha and Goku with large eyes. It was Chichi which restores the situation: " I don't see what is funny!".
She stared coldly at Yamucha: " It's clear that you never had a child! You don't know what it is to lose a loved one ! ".
Yamucha bit his lips. Bulma thought that he had understood that he had blunder. But Chichi ignored him to turn to Goku: "And you ! How can you joke on this subject?!". Her glance was brilliant of anger and sorrow.
Hayden scanned them all with his piercing and suspicious glance. Trunks was about to have an nervous laugh, but thought that it wasn't the good moment. Therefore he turned his beginning laugh into a coughing fit.
Lee turned his head towards him, and their glance crossed. They also quickly turned their eyes away not to burst of laughing. Trunks coughed worse then ever, and Lee tried to discreetly wipe the tears which had appeared at the corner of its eyes. It was really not the right time, and not the right place...
Everyone became silent when Chichi started to cry. Hayden, understanding that he wouldn't obtain any info from them for today, rose on his feet to go away. "I'll be back later ", he said with a calm voice. "until that, I will ask someone to place all your phones on taping. That will be easier to know who does all these phone calls", he added, bringing his glance on Trunks. The latter returned him his glance. Bulma rose and accompanied Hayden and Lee back to the exit.
They walked the corridor, and whereas they were on the point of crossing the door, Hayden turned to Bulma: "but by the way... Where is Trunks' father ? "
Bulma breathed deeply: " I don't know, he disappears sometimes for several days without giving news... It's not unusual... "
She tried to take a unconcerned and untouched air, but Hayden guessed that she was a little hurt. He went on: " It must be hard for Trunks to grow with a father so often absent... Goodbye, Madam " And he left, following Lee.
Bulma activated the closing of the sliding gate and locked it. She didn't want any more Hayden to come inside her propriety unexpectedly, she would equip the other door with the same system very soon, remembering that it was the gate that Hayden had taken to find Trunks this morning. She remained however a moment the hand against the pane of the gate, her head leaning in a pensive attitude. Hayden's words were still resounding in her head. * It must be hard for Trunks to grow with a father so often absent... *
No, he was present most of the time, and Trunks could boast to have seen his father much more than Mirai-Trunks. And while Mirai-Trunks had to wait to be seventeen to meet him, and had to fight hard to be finally recognized by his father, Trunks had known his father since his childhood and had received from him both consideration and a warrior's training.
Yes, Vegeta and Trunks were close... Hayden was wrong... Trunks could not be the murderer of Gohan.
After one moment, Bulma realized what she was doing and came back to the meeting room.
When they saw her coming back alone, the members of the team knew that Hayden was temporarily away. They could from now on start to speak seriously.
Krilin took out a file from a case and explained: " I tried to note all the enemies we met in the past... It was hard, and Yamucha helped me on this point, and among these, I tried to find those which could eventually have a reason to kill Gohan. Here we go."
He took his breathing. Katrina guessed that there was it was a hell of a list.
"Then, there is Raditz, Nappa, Broly... ", he stopped in front of the expression of some of the people : "Do not laugh! I know that they died, but it is possible that somebody has resurrected them in a way or another." They thought all of Doctor Gaiden. " I go on ", Krilin added: " Cell, Freezer, the guinyutokusentai, the super namek, Garlic and his son, Magin Buh, Babidi... "
With the passing the enumeration of names, Bulma noticed that her son was relaxing. Finally, people were paying attention on someone else than him. Something surprised her : Had Katrina felt the same thing ? Anyway, she took Trunks' hand and tightened it.
Bulma began to consider Katrina with more attention. Only one girl had appeared to be important for Trunks: Kirsten. But never had she taken part in some meeting of the team. Katrina seemed, as for her, at ease, although still a little bit lost. But it was like this that Videl had once entered the group when Gohan was a teenager. It is in the hard times that each one can see whether his partner will be able to hold out. Bulma smiled slightly while trying to imagine Katrina as a her daughter-in-law.
"... That makes a hell of a list... ", Krilin concluded.
What did the killer tell you exactly? ", Goku asked Trunks. Katrina thought that Goku seemed to take the death of his son rather well, but she supposed that it was because of the existence of the crystal balls about which one of the team had told her.
Trunks took a deep breathing, his look became far, and the anxious and sad expression which had left him for one moment returned on his face.
" He said... ", he closed his eyes to remind the fateful sentence, " There's no hope... There is no place where to hide, and no to help to hope... You will all die... "
His voice seemed to resound in the silence of the room. Goku crossed Bulma's glance of Bulma, then Krilin's, and finally Yamucha's, and they knew that they all had just the same thought.
" It can't be... ", Bulma murmured with a pale face.
"What's the problem ? ", Chichi asked, a little bit calmed down.
"The word 'HOPE' is used twice ", Goku said. After one moment, he continued: " That reminds me what Mirai-Trunks had written on his chronoporting. "
" This machine represented for him the last hope of the whole humanity in the future ", Yamucha specified for those who were not present at that time of their history. " And he had engraved the word " hope " on its wall before travelling in time."
" I wonder... ", Goku said, "... if it couldn't be someone wanting to take a revenge on Trunks... I mean, on Mirai-Trunks... ".
" And who would have attacked Trunks thinking he was the other one, right ? ", Krilin told, diving again in his files.
" I hope that it is not Mirai-Trunks himself ", Yamucha murmured. Bulma was about to burst his eyes : " Mirai-Trunks wouldn't have any reason to kill Gohan! ", she retorted curtly. And then, an unpleasant thought returned: if Hayden were right about Trunks, and that this one, by revenge, was achieving these murders and redirecting the tracks on Mirai-Trunks?
She shook her head vigorously. Trunks imperceptibly turned the head towards her, and threw to her - through purple brand - a dark glance.
" Why you do not resurrect simply Gohan to ask him? ", #18 suggested, which until then, had remained quiet. "It is true, you know... It would be simpler... "
" No ", Trunks said, his head still lowered and curled up, elbows on his knees, eyes glaring the ground. " I don't think it's a good idea right now... "
" Why?! ", Videl burst.
"The killer implied that he was going to strike again ", Trunks whistled between his teeth without raising the head "The phone call your daughter received is the proof!"
" But... ", Videl leaped of her chair, her good resolutions relating to Trunks falling suddenly. Trunks stopped her before she could continue: "The crystal balls are inactive during one year after their use. If we resurrect Gohan and that the killer strikes again, the following victims will have to wait one year before returning. As long as we have only one loss, it is better to wait! And to keep the dragon balls as last asset! "
Videl raised the tone: " Gohan could say to us who killed him!! " Trunks raised the head towards her, the exasperated glance. He was about to report when his grandfather entered the scene, and saved his situation: " I think that Trunks is right ", he says with a hoarse voice due to the cigarettes he was smoking one after the other, the autopsy report under his arm. He indicated it with his finger: "According to the autopsy report, Gohan was doped some time before its death "
" Doped?! ", was the word spouting out several throats.
Dr. Brief agreed. He quickly scanned the notes which he had taken: " It would be a new molecule, unknown factor of the police-services... And I must say that even me, I didn't know about its existence ". The team was suddenly quiet, awaiting additional information.
" It's the presence of this foreign molecule which drew the attention of the medical examiner. He isolated it for me, and I carried out the tests... They are surprising...! ". The whole team was litterally drinking the doctor's words.
" According to my test, if this molecule was suddenly found in my body, your body Bulma, in yours Yamucha, or in any human, it would not have any effect. I observed the same phenomenon with the animals ". He coughed and went on : " As I had Goku under the hand, I decided to make some tests on him "
Chichi had to retain herself not to howl. Brief made her a reassuring smile: "I had diluted the product to the 1/100th, in order to be sure... ". He made a head sign to Goku, " How you feel, son? ".
Goku choked a yawn: " exhausted a little, but apart that, everything's fine ! " Brief agreed: " Here are thus the effects of this molecule. As surprising as it can appear, it only acts on the Saiya-jin metabolism." He was silent for a moment to leave everyone the time to digest the first information.
"But how...?", Katrina asked, the anxious look, tightening convulsively Trunks' hand.
Brief began again: " It seems that it is the Saiyan DNA which is the problem. As long as it doesn't meet the "key" which activates it, this molecule is inoffensive. And this key… is in the Saiyans' DNA. It is a saiyan DNA sequence which puts this molecule, that I'll call for the moment "sleep-molecule", in its active form, and we obtain... ", he again showed Goku with a sign of head, " a powerful sleeping pill... "
Trunks reacted abruptly: " Could that be the reason why I didn't feel Gohan's ki while he was still alive ?! ".
Brief agreed: " It is exact, my boy. When I tested this diluted solution on Goku, he felt directly asleep, and during a few seconds."
Goku interrupted him: " Eer... I was already worn out from the day before... "
Brief smiles: " Perhaps, but that finished you"
He went on with a more serious tone: " To return to Gohan's case, he had such an important amount of this product in his blood, that even if the killer had not fired on him, he would have died anyway... ".
Videl caught up Chichi who had just passed out. Brief went on : "This molecule does not act like arsenic, for example, it's eliminated naturally by the body, assuming that the body did not receive too much of it at the same time... As for the crime weapon... ". He paused, for nobody was listening to him, half of the team was making air to Chichi, laying on the ground.
"the crime weapon ? ", Trunks asked, frowning. If there were a word which was not expected, it was that word. "Gohan had been killed by a blast, not by a weapon."
" I know what you think, my boy, but sorry, Gohan hasn't been killed by a traditional blast... ", Brief said while coughing.
He took a chalk and moved towards the blackboard while Chichi was returning back to consciousness. He drew a perfect circle while Videl and Krilin were helping Chichi to sit down " This ", he said by closing the circle, " is the shape of the wound which is on Gohan's body. Notice the perfect circular form. This is Art, ladies and gentlemen… ", he declared. " And it is totally unnatural ", he hastened to add in order to avoid a possible rotted flying tomatoes formation.
" While a true blast... ", he plated his hand against the blackboard, the fingers slightly bent, as if he was about to throw a blast to increase the room space, and started to pass the chalk around his hand and fingers, " has rather this shape". He moved away to let everyone see the very vaguely circular form.
"A blast causes this type of form at the entry, but bursts everything at the exit, a true butchery... While in the case of Gohan, it is the same form at the entry as at the exit. True computer-assisted surgery... ", he stopped, seeing Chichi collapsing again on the ground.
He began again calmly while half of the team was rushing to pick up Chichi: " This, and the Sleep-Molecule, lead me to think that it is probably a simple human who fired... "
"Except if he used all these subterfuges to scramble the tracks ", Goten added.
Trunks then uttered a raucous howl while raising from his seat. Katrina leaped backwards and fell from her seat. Trunks passed a hand in his hair wet with sweat, and told " excuse me, guys... But with all this mess, we'll never be able to find the solution! ". He stroke a fist blow to his seat which started to whirl three times on itself. Silence was reigning in the room.
Goku was the one who broke it with a calm voice: " I will seek the crystal balls to resurrect Gohan ". Trunks closed the eyes, taken by a light giddiness and tried to keep calm while answering in a tired breath: " It is not a good idea, damn it ! If we resurrect Gohan, okay, we'll have one more fighter… okay… But what will happen if we discover who is the murderer after… I dunno… Five deaths, huh ?" He stopped to take again his breath and to open his eyes: " There will be 5 deads ! 5 fighters who won't be able to help the survivors before one year!! There will always be the time to resurrect them when we'll know with precision against *who* we fight !", he almost shouted.
Silence reigned again in the part. Silence broken by Goten who seemed dived in full reflection, fists brought back in front of his face in a ball-shape, as if he was praying. He was biting his nails, thing which was VERY rare to him: " I only hope that it is not one of us, that would be the roof! ".
" Why do you say that? ", Trunks howled.
Goten didn't answer, but continued to bite his nails, a pensive and anxious look on his face. Then he seemed to emerge with an idea: " We can still resurrect Gohan to ask him who is the murderer. That would save us time... "
Katrina spoke at this time: "Don't believe that I defend Trunks' ideas because he is my boyfriend, but I think 'bout something... ", she raised her head and tried to look them in their eyes, but she seemed as at ease as a fish out of its aquarium: " As Gohan-san was doped, it is possible that he didn't see the murderer at all... I believe that Trunks is right... It is better to wait... ".
After a moment of silence, she went on: " We can always try to discover where Gohan-san spent his afternoon and his evening... Perhaps that a witness will be able to give us useful information... "
A silence of reflection came in the room, silence broken by Yamucha: " This seems to be an excellent idea to me! Katrina, Congratulation! At least somebody who has her head on her shoulders! ", he said with a smile.
Much to Trunks' amazement, Katrina seemed surprised, then reddened and diverted her glance, a confused air on her face. Trunks frowned : He wasn't used to see her shy and reddening with the least compliment. What's wrong with her now?
Bulma sat back in her seat and sighed: " I also believe that Trunks is right... In any case, the guy of the FBI will come soon to put all the phones of the team on listening. Everybody, get back to your house to be there when they'll arrive, we'll continue this discussion later "
Whereas some already rose, she went on: " And I ask you... ", and her glance was directed particularly towards Goku and Yamucha, "... not to report all the exploits of your youth on the phone! We perhaps eliminated the enemies of the Earth, but at the eyes of the Law, we are not less than assassins! "
Krilin retorted : " And the self-defense, what do you make of it? "
Bulma sighed: " It's not my fault if the law is badly made... ".
[to be continued... ]
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Soooooooorryyyyyy for the time it took to post chapter seven, but I was
away from computer (afc) for a long time, plus I had to review totally the chapter,
written a few years ago, and I discovered that there were tons of... er.. plenty
of mistakes, so I had to correct everything ^^;
(it(s 02:44 am and I finally finished :p )
There might still be mistaes, but... well... my english is terrible :p
Tell me what you thought of this chapter, new clues were raised, you might
eventually gather new ideas about who *could* be the murderer(s) ;-)
I read all your reviews, some of you have good ideas :p I don't mean that the
solution is among the review yet, but the suggestions I read there, seem logical
and it's the most important thing ^__^
Read you sooooooooooon :p
::Roselyne::
