Witch Hunter Robin

Change

By Golden-sama

A.k.a.

The Amazing Brando

Disclaimer: My ownership of WHR isn't even a joke. I own nothing.

Author Notes at End of Chapter.

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Chapter Two . . .

"Dihn Van Quan."

It was nearly seven-thirty in the morning when the STN-J convened in the conference room. Michael was sitting behind his computer, typing away and broadcasting images of a man with black hair and a pony tail. Haruto was hanging off his chair as he stifled a yawn. Sheila sat with her head in her hands and a look of someone who was inches from a deep sleep. Daisuke was asleep; and Doujima had a black marker and was doodling a small mustache on his face. Karasuma finally appeared at the door, walked to her seat (the one Zaizen had sat in years before) and then Michael looked up.

"Michael." Haruto sighed. "Why did you call us all in here so early?"

"I have our killer." Michael replied. Instantly Karasuma's eyes flicked to him, Doujima slipped her marker and it drew a line over Daisuke's eye; causing him to wake up right away. Sheila lifted her head and seconds later everyone in the room was looking at Michael. Michael's eyes which were hidden behind the orange glasses began to slide over the screen and look at all of the information pouring in from SOLOMON's databanks. Since five, he had been reading and re-reading this information and now he had it memorized.

"This is Dihn Van Quan. Approximately forty-seven years old, Vietnamese decent, and one of SOLOMON's top twenty most wanted witches in the world."

This instantly brought the attentions of everyone to a new level. The selective top twenty most wanted witches list was reserved only for the most elusive and most dangerous witches on the planet. Michael typed in the keys and the list appeared. Twenty names; some with pictures some without. At the top of the list, in number one was a picture-less name called 'Masaki Mino Maiji', wanted for using her craft to commit terrorist acts of violence that results in the deaths of over four thousand people. Below that in number two was a man with short black hair and a smug smile with the name 'Jackson David Rica' plastered below, and over one hundred and eighty counts of first degree murder to his record. And down below Rica, in the number three slot was the man whose picture Michael had posted on the screen before. Dihn Van Quan was wanted for sixty counts of murder in the first degree using the craft powers of a witch. Nearly half of the sixty people he'd killed had been SOLOMON hunters and other officials.

Sakaki whistled as he read the charge below the picture. Sixty counts of murder. Michael quickly typed fasted and suddenly a picture came up. It was a picture from SOLOMON's file on him. A picture of city that looked as if it was once peaceful. The city may have been peaceful before the picture was taken. However this picture displayed bodies lying on the ground as flames burnt the houses down behind them. Michael began to read.

"That's a small settlement in the woods near Salem. The only witch safe haven in the world, and the site of SOLOMON's biggest witch hunt in history. SOLOMON allows witches to live in this area near Salem without being hunted as long as they never leave and they never use their craft on one another. Dihn Van Quan passed the exam to get in. Less than six hours after he was allowed into the safe-haven he grabbed a gas station pump and a lighter and made his own torch. He burnt down half the town and killed thirty of the witches living in the town. SOLOMON showed up and he killed six of their agents too."

By the time Michael had finished explaining this, everyone in the room was so quiet and focused on what the ex-hacker turned hunter was saying that not even Doujima's sarcasm or Sakaki's slacking off was alive here. The horror of Dihn Van Quan's murder spree was enough to keep even those who are best at slacking off on the job this time. And it wasn't even half over.

"Two years later he showed up in Dublin, took out two SOLOMON agents and an innocent civilian who got in his way. A nine year old civilian. Three years after that he killed nine people in Berlin, and four years after that he took out a SOLOMON special forces team in Hong Kong. No one has seen him since. Until now. His DNA was on Mr. Sloper's body."

"Damn." Sakaki whistled. "And you think this is the guy?"

Michael nodded. "His craft is an adrenaline accelerant, instead of the usual special power. It makes him stronger and faster than any human being. He could swim the English Channel in a matter of hours, jump the Grand Canyon in a single bound, and punch through steel without breaking a sweat."

Doujima sighed. "So how do we take him down?"

Michael stripped his glasses from his head and rubbed between his eyes with his thumb and index finger. After a moment of rubbing his face he turned his gaze up and faced the curly haired blond.

"I started a trace on him. I think he's staying at the Hilton downtown in room 2070. Daisuke, Doujima and Sakaki will go in through the front door. No body armor, since we think he's using bladed weapons and he'll go for the throat anyway. The forecast calls for rain, so Sheila, you're on the fire escape. If he tries to get out the window do your thing and slow him down. I'm going to be on the room with an assault rifle. If he makes it that far I'll try to take him out. If he does get on the roof he'll be able to jump to another roof and we'll lose him."

----

Dihn was in his room, lying on his back on the bed. The sheets were an ugly color of brown and the walls were covered in old, peeling wallpaper. For a fancy hotel it was horrible to the ascetic part of the brain. The phone, which was manila, suddenly started to ring. Dihn reached his hand over and clicked the speaker button. A voice, harsh and cold, filled the room.

"Mr. Van Quan, your job is almost complete. My agent in SOLOMON tells me the STN-J has found you and is coming after you. Today. They're on route now. You know the plan. Keep to the code."

Dihn didn't say a word. After the voice spoke those words a dial tone filled the room in its absence. Dihn slowly rose to his feet and crossed across the room. He dressed quietly in a black suit filled with pockets and clasped; the kind used for covert operations. He opened a small chest that sat on a chair by his bed and removed a long, silvery machete with a brown handle. He also removed an old bayonet. He placed the machete on the belt across his chest and he packed the bayonet into his belt around his waist. Then he walked over to the edge of the bedroom and sat down in a chair by the window, not moving and not speaking. Just sitting and waiting for the STN-J to show up and do what it was they do.

----

"Your passport is ready." Frank Graham's voice filled Amon's ears as the tiny black phone was raised.

"Good." Amon replied curtly. "And Maiji?"

"She'll be in Tokyo in a week. I don't know where, you have to find her yourself. But if you get a hit let me know and I'll run my sources."

"Thank you Frank." Amon's cab had arrived. His dark fingers clasped around the handle of the silvery suitcase and he stood and exited the car as continued pressing the phone to his ear. The cab driver gave an angry shout that Amon had not paid him. Amon turned and glared at the man in stare that could have frozen fire before setting down the briefcase and pulling a few dollars out of his pocket and handing the man the American brand of money.

"No Amon, thank you." Frank finally responded. He was obviously distracted wherever he was. "You're about to do me one hell of a favor. I can't repay that."

Amon's voice was full of disapproval. "You're wrong. You've already repaid it. If I find Robin, I'll be in your debt."

Frank sighed. "I'll call you back when it's done."

"Fine. I'll be ready."

Amon clicked the phone off and pocketed it. Afterwards he stepped forward off the curb. He was in the "Dark Side" of New Orleans. The side of the city that was full of booze, hookers and poker. It was also the side of the city that had for hundreds of years been the home to spies and vampires in the novels of the American Culture. If only people knew that this was the home of things far worse. Spies and Vampires were nothing compared to SOLOMON and Witches. And this was a witch City.

The casino he stepped into was run by a man named Tony Graffiti. He was human but he was also such a ruthless mob boss that he could hold his own against witches. He had witches on the payroll. He also had an illegal side of his casino that allowed the betting to get pretty heavy and the prices for not paying even heavier.

The walls were white and covered with portraits of the different people who had been in the casino. Actors, Politicians, Foreign Dignitaries and the like. The floor was a pink marble on the walkways and a green shag carpet underneath the gambling areas. Amon cashed in for a single, hundred dollar chip and walked over to the roulette table. He put all of his money on number six, black.

It was red twenty-five that won. The man in white who had spun the roulette wheel looked up at Amon; and Amon nodded.

"Mr. Amon, I presume?" The man in white asked.

"Yes. Does our deal still stand?"

"Of course. I'll take you to see Tony now."

Amon and the man in white made their way over the pinkish floor and into the elevator. Not the elevators that lead up to the customer's rooms; but the lone elite elevator that went to Tony Graffiti's penthouse suite. And as soon they had stepped out Amon found a long brown hallway with a single, green painted door in the wall.

The man in white unlocked the door with a small key on his belt. He then walked inside and beckoned Amon after him. Amon stepped in and as soon as he did two of the three men other than them went for their guns. It wasn't a friendly business.

The suite would have been beautiful. The carpet was stained in different places. Some of them looked like blood, others like pizza sauce and some looked like . . . well Amon truly hoped that Tony Graffiti would do that in the bathroom and not on the floor. The walls were covered in rich pink wallpaper; but there were so many Playboy Centerfolds on the walls it was almost impossible to see the original wallpaper. Two men, both tall and lanky, one with sandy-blonde hair and the other with cherry red, now had guns in their hands. Tony was behind his desk; he was fat and short and he didn't bother to pick up a gun. Instead he just held onto the pizza pocket in one hand and the adult magazine in the other.

"Mr. Graffiti." The man in white said. "Mr. Amon would like to talk to you concerning Frank Graham's debt to our casino."

"I don't care." Tony replied in a guff voice. "Unless you want to pay it off, that is." Tony had noticed the suitcase in Amon's hand and become much friendlier towards him. Amon remained colder than ice.

"I want you to drop the debt." Amon spoke forthrightly.

"Ha." Tony chuckled in a voice that reminded Amon a lot of cheese that had sat in the sun too long. The oily haired man behind the desk scratched his salt-and-pepper shaded hair before leaning back in his chair and yawning. "Fuck you, Mr. Amon."

"Frank said you might say that." Amon replied. In a split second Amon had gone for his gun. The two men who were tall and lanky opened fire and the man in white had twisted around to do the same but Amon grabbed him around the throat and pulled him in front of him. The bullets shredded the man in white (whose clothes were now stained a deep ruby) and Amon didn't waste any time in shooting both of the gunmen down.

Tony began rattling through his drawers. He pushed the pink "snowball" candies and the porno books aside and he ratted for his gun, but Amon fired twice. They both connected with Tony's head and the mob boss fell backwards onto the stained carpet and died on the spot. Amon walked over to the desk and opened the briefcase (which was empty) and then he opened the bottom drawer of Tony's desk which revealed a large stack of money.

Amon loaded the money into the briefcase and then walked back to the door; stepping over the bodies. Amon had no interest in the money himself but Frank had requested that when he go to kill Tony Graffiti so that he himself could live, he bring back some cash so that Frank could play the card tables. Amon had pointed out that poker was the reason a mob boss had wanted him dead in the first place; but Frank had shrugged it off much in the same way Amon had shrugged off Frank's warning about Maiji being a dangerous person.

It was done. Now Amon just had to get on that plane.

----

"Everyone ready?"

Sakaki, Daisuke and Doujima were at the end of the hallway on the twentieth floor of the Hilton in Tokyo. They were slowly making their way across the carpeting and towards the door of room 2070; the door that would lead them to a vicious killer. Headsets and black coats were the standard issue. Guns were held tight in hand and everyone on the floor (except Van Quan, of course) had been notified by hotel security that a drug bust was going on and they needed to remain in their hotel rooms for their own safety. Of course this was no drug bust.

Walking slowly, Sakaki lifted a finger to his headset and pressed the dial until he was on channel one. The static from the rain came pouring though to his ear as he heard a steady dropping on the headsets of both of his companions who had braved the swirling mass of cloud and plummeting liquid to remain in place incase the attack moved to the fire escape.

"Lia', you in place?" Haruto whispered quietly into the microphone.

Outside on the cold, rusted fire escape outside of room 2072, Sheila Douglas was sitting and waiting. Her black dress; in the nun's style, was soaked completely and her dark red hair was plastered to her face. She had a struggle keeping the wet hairs out of her eyes; but she knew how important it was that she did so. Raising her hand and holding the headset closer she heard Sakaki's question; thought it sounded far away and full of static from the rain.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Just hurry up, would you?"

Sakaki didn't respond. He was almost to the door now. Doujima and Daisuke ran forward and hugged the wall on either side. Doujima's eyes were closed as she waited; her chest heaving slightly as she took in a deep breath and prepared herself for the gruesome battle at hand. Van Quan had never fought a SOLOMON team that he hadn't killed at least one of their agents. Daisuke was holding steady with a determined look on his hazel eyes and his brown haired head waiting to catch a glimpse of the enemy.

"Michael?" Sakaki inquired as he moved into place directly in front of the door, holding his gun steady.

On the roof, Michael was crouched down in the rain. His orange glasses were folded and kept in his pocket because the rain was smudging them horribly. Michael was holding a Steyr AUG 5.56 assault rifle. With Orbo a thing of the past, the STN-J had gone to using two types of hunting weapons. Regular Bullets and regular military equipment; which the Steyr was, and the newly discovered runic bullets. The runic bullets helped seal a witch's power. They weren't nearly what the Orbo had been; they could only diminish the power and only for a few moments. The bullets were also designed in a way that made them hard to get a kill with unless you hit the target in the head or a soft spot. So regular bullets were now used for most hunts.

"I'm ready." Michael replied as his short, spiky hair cut (which was nothing like his old pony-tail look from five years ago, he reminded himself) was now soaked and falling to his face lazily. Michael was ready to fire at Van Quan if he made it this far.

"Alright." Haruto sighed. "Let's do this."

Daisuke and Doujima were still on either side of the door, guns ready and held firmly. Sakaki walked in front of the door and narrowed his eyes. Five years ago he had only just begun showing signs of his telekinetic craft abilities; now he was an A-Class craft user well on his way to S-Class. In a second the door unlocked from the inside and burst open. Sakaki ran into the room and Doujima and Daisuke moved to the doorway to provide cover fire.

They saw Dihn Van Quan for a brief second. The brief second before the bed Dihn had been holding was thrown at them. Doujima and Daisuke retracted to the walls but Sakaki wasn't so lucky. He used his craft to try to stop the bed but he only slowed it down and the mattress hit him in the face. While it was on the mattress, it did send him tumbling backwards where he hit the wall behind him and banged his head painfully. Michael hadn't been kidding about this guy being stronger than ordinary people.

"Rargh!" Daisuke had gone to the doorway and began shooting; but Dihn had thrown the TV at him. Daisuke's craft; a crushing craft, kicked in and the TV smashed into a tiny cube in midair. Daisuke fired once more and the bullet sailed through Dihn's left wrist. Van Quan screamed and then threw a large bayonet across the room. Daisuke stopped the blade with his craft but as he did Dihn smashed his way through the window and began running up the fire escape.

"NOW SHEILA!" Doujima screamed over the headset.

Outside on the fire escape next to the one that Dihn had jumped on, Sheila was staring up at him with her brown eyes full of an icy wrath. Dihn was becoming soaked with the rainwater quickly which was a good thing; if he had been dry she couldn't have done what she was about to do. Sheila's eyes blazed with a blue light and suddenly a silvery-blue burst appeared on Dihn's back. Van Quan grunted but the blue-and-silver light was moving around his body and coating wherever it passed with a thick sheet of ice.

Michael saw Van Quan reach the roof. He opened fired with the Steyr and the smooth stream of metal that was whisked out of the gun's nozzle flew painfully into Van Quan. Van Quan threw himself to the right and the bullets connected with his left shoulder and arm. Van Quan's entire left arm was dragging limply at his side and blood was being washed out like a river. His back and legs were frozen over with a sheet of ice and he growled like a dog.

Michael let the empty clip fall to the ground beneath him like the rain from the sky. He quickly inserted a new round and began to cock the gun; but Van Quan was fast even when he had taken so much damage. Michael twisted the gun around just in time to have the heel of Van Quan's military boot smash him in the nose. Michael grunted and fell backwards with a thud. Van Quan ran to the edge of the roof, panting and grunting the whole way.

Sheila appeared at the top of the fire escape. She narrowed her eyes and sent a second burst of icy light at Van Quan but she failed to hit him or ignite the clothing to ice over. Knowing her own hand gun couldn't hit him from this distance; she ran to the ground and picked up Michael's discarded rifle. Holding the Steyr up she began firing at the witch; who was now on the next roof. A single bullet connected with Van Quan's back and he screamed in the night; but did not stop.

Sheila dropped the gun and then dropped herself down to Michael's side. "Are you okay Michael-sama?" She asked quickly.

"Did we get him?" Michael asked as he held his sleeve up to his bleeding nose.

"No."

"Then no, I'm not ok."

----

Everyone was going about their duties now. Sakaki and Sheila had gone to hunt a witch in the Walled City who had killed one of Amaz's cops. Daisuke was back at Raven's Flat going over Intel with Karasuma. And Michael had driven Doujima home. She claimed she simply wanted to change because of the rain; but Michael knew if he let her go without supervision she'd skip the rest of the work day. Doujima was now at the door to her apartment and she unlocked it and walked inside. Michael slumped against the wall outside and this caused Doujima to stop and turn back to him with a grin.

"I remember when we used to come here." She said quietly.

"Don't start. Not today." Michael sighed.

"Are you telling me it hasn't even crossed your mind? You don't want to come in even a little?"

Michael glared at her. "It doesn't matter if I want to or not. We both know things wouldn't work."

Doujima shrugged. "That was then. It could work now." This was said in the same flirty voice she preferred around Michael; but the next words she said were in a much quieter voice. "You're really special to me."

"Doujima . . ." Michael sighed and turned away. "You can have the rest of the day off."

Doujima sighed as Michael walked back down the hallway. He was gone already out on his way to the car and Doujima crossed her arms and pouted as she leaned into the door. Just as she turned to go into her apartment, she heard footsteps again and for a brief second she believed that Michael had come back; unfortunately it was only her aged neighbor; Mrs. Kinoto.

"Boy troubles?" Mrs. Kinoto asked.

"What? Oh no." Doujima quickly responded. It was common knowledge that Mrs. Kinoto was more on the adult side of conversations and she usually had something to say that nobody wanted to hear an eighty-five year old woman say.

"You don't really need him." Mrs. Kinoto said. "You could just grab a –"

"As sure as I am that what your about to say is gross." Doujima cut her off. "It has nothing to do with sex, so you can leave."

Mrs. Kinoto quirked a gray brow. "Nothing to do with sex?"

"Yeah." Doujima sighed. "I love him."

Mrs. Kinoto shook her head. "Oh, well I'm no help there. Take care. Oh and tell that Haruto boy to pay me a visit sometime."

Mrs. Kinoto had vanished back into her apartment across the hall and Doujima sighed and slipped into her own; closing the door and sighing at her complete misfortune. She was in love with Michael; and she knew he'd never return her love.

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Current tunes: How Forever Feels – Kenny Chesney

Author's Notes: Here are my replies to your reviews, like I said I would do.

Lea

Aww, why thank you. I'm glad I'm writing again too. I missed writing new stuff.

MusiqMistress

Hey MM! Well, is this soon enough for you? I promise I tried to hurry . . .

Doggeh

What choo mean you never have anything to say? You usual do have stuff to say. And as for your worries about Rica; eh, I thought about it, but decided against it. I just like using New Orleans because it's famous for being a town full of Spies and Vampires. –nodnods-

JCgamer

Indeed! I'm glad you liked the love triangle, but don't forget that Sakaki is in there too. –snickers-

Wolflchik

They do? Wow, I never knew they had laptops that small. Sweet!

TenchiTenryou38

-nods- Thank you. I plan to keep writing as long as people will keep reading.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and sorry for the delay. I'll be adding a third chapter soon. Sayonara