Angels with Newfound Hope

Chapter 12: Hunt

Alex checked the list Bryce had given him. There were about three places the police deemed relatively significant: the Production facility he made the trade at, a convenience store Reza frequented, and the city archives. He was about to pocket the paper again when something fell out from behind it. A closer inspection revealed it to be a note with the word 'tatsu' written on it.

"How did I not notice that?" The glistening man thought aloud. He recognized the name at least. There was a park he and the chief went through the other day that shared the name.

'But how did it get there? The only people handling the list were me and Bryce. Maybe whoever's coming after me slipped it onto one of us during the firefight. Either way, the park could either be their hideout, or a trap set for me. It would still be worth checking out either way.' He put both notes away again and thought about where he should go...

Alex found himself in the park pavilion. As tempting as the other places were, there could've been something vital that this thief could be keeping there: such as his bag.

"Okay. Now where to start..." The brunette trailed off as he checked around. He just searched aimlessly before coming across some sort of orb. It looked to be made of pure crystal with a small indent of some kind. It was a bit strange for something like that to be there, but there was also no way for him to store it. He put it back and kept searching...

There wasn't anything else in the pavilion aside from a few dragons hanging around. They exchanged waves before he went north towards Tatsu Avenue. Surely there had to be something there. He decided to take a seat on a nearby bench to think for a bit.

There wasn't much to do at the current location aside from look at the flora and admire the view. At least he was physically recovered from the incident. Mentally, however, he'd never fix from all his days as his alter-ego. He was about to stand back up when someone caught his eye. He flinched in his seat, completely startled.

"Whoa! You scared the hell out of me." The startled human chuckled. The reptile next to him didn't even move a muscle. "Hello?" He waved a hand in front of them. Even the most obvious action to get their attention did nothing. This person was so focused that they've completely shut down.

"O-kay then..." Alex got up, weirded out. He took all of two steps before tripping on a maintenance hatch. It initially didn't catch his interest until some noise came from below: footsteps.

The human examined the hatch more closely. It had a single knob and two buttons, a clear combination lock. Now all he had to do was figure it out and get inside. Who would be down there with the hatch sealed anyway?

The ambassador tried various combinations for a bit. There were a total of about sixteen combinations if he was correct. He got more and more annoyed as everything he tried failed. But, being a techie, his patience hadn't worn down just yet. Alex finally got it by pressing the left-hand button, turning the knob and then pressing the right-hand button. The hatch unlocked and creaked open. He pulled the hatch open more to find nothing more than something white on the ground below. He decided on investigating and began the descent.

It was pitch black and smelled rank inside the tunnel, but Alex had an objective. His boots clanking against the rungs filled the otherwise dead air until he hit solid ground again. There wasn't much telling what was even there in the tunnel. The human flipped on his night vision and examined the object of his interest. It was just a blood-stained bandage: one in a rather suspicious place. He went to pocket it when someone hit him in the back of the head. He crumpled to the ground, feigning unconsciousness. The person flipped him over and was met with an open-palm slap that staggered them.

The man sprang up and squared up for a fight. Who he didn't expect to be taking on, however, was his own alter ego. Or rather, someone who stole his armor. This faux Viper threw a blistering punch in the hope that they'd take him out handily. What they didn't expect was for him to counter it. He thanked Mongoose for sparring against him in his own armor so he'd be able to fight like this.

Blow after blow was thrown, with either a dodge or counter to match. Viper was starting to run out of stamina whilst Alex was still going. He could see them reaching for the pistol on their leg and tried to take them down before they could try to shoot. Unfortunately for him, he had no such luck. Two bullets grazed his neck with one coming close to his carotid. He fell flat on his back whilst Viper got away relatively unscathed.

'Dammit. At least I have some evidence now. This could be anyone's, but why would it be down here to begin with? I'll bet Sebastian will be interested at least.' The frustrated brunette thought to himself. He let himself recover from the wounds before ascending the ladder once again.

Nothing else felt better than some much needed rest right then. The ambassador had had enough action for one day, but still had a job to do. He checked the list again unenthusiastically. There were still the three places Bryce had written down. The convenience store seemed a little odd to be on the list, but maybe that was where Reza got the lemons for his message. There could be a bit more to this than Alex was thinking. In the end, there was only one way to find out...

The store itself wasn't really anything special to begin with. It was just your average everyday shop with more windows than the ones back home. He wasn't sure how he could even ask about Reza without sounding weird.

"I'm sorry, but your mother's prescription has expired. I can't fill it like this." A familiar voice reached Alex's ears as he glanced toward the register. Standing there was the barkeep and that little dragon who ran him over the other day. "You'll need to tell your parents to visit the doctor. He can write a new one then." He solemnly finished. The poor downtrodden kid bolted for the door, nearly bowling the human over again in the process. He regained his footing and walked over to the dragon.

"Hello again, Alex. How can I help you?" The clerk asked once he got up to the counter. The human was ever familiar with the robotic tone of a customer service worker. Polite, yet rehearsed endlessly. Secretly growing more disinterested with each passing customer as the clock ticks by. It was all too familiar for him.

"An introduction would be nice. Everyone seems to know my name around here and it's getting kind of weird." Alex scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. The clerk took his hand and went to kiss it, stopping himself upon remembering his job.

"My apologies. You may call me Zhong. I guess I'm not the first dragon you've asked that, huh?" They both shared an awkward chuckle. The conversation was derailing a little quick, so the black-clad human decided on getting it back to business as quickly as possible.

"Nah, you're good. So how did you find out anyway? I imagine you have a lot of sources." Alex commented.

"Oh that's easy. Bryce mentioned you the other day when we were chatting. It sounds like you made a rather good impression from what he said." Zhong explained happily. His 'customer' wanted to dunk his head in an ice bath again the moment the chief popped back into his head.

"I hope I did. He's a real stand-up guy from what I've seen so far. Anyway, I need to ask if Reza was here recently at all." The cashier cocked his head ever so slightly at the question. At least this guy appeared to know something.

"He actually has. It's only been a few days since he was in." The olive anthro stated. Alex was beyond glad the dragon was being helpful instead of asking for a lawyer.

"Fantastic. Any chance you could tell me what exactly he's been buying?" The brunette questioned with hesitation. He hoped Zhong wouldn't be weirded out by the request and ask him to leave.

"Like his whole purchase history?" The reptile started, to which he was given a silent nod. "I guess. Just give me a second..." He stepped with Alex over to the till and started punching something in. Seconds later, Reza's entire purchase history of receipts was handed over. He thanked Zhong with grace and headed out...

The afternoon sun hung low in the sky above. It wasn't the creamy-clouded dusk Alex always loved, but in a few hours, he could go out and just watch the clouds roll by. But he had a mission for now. There wasn't much evidence besides the bandage he found in the sewer. All that was on the receipts were just various groceries. Though, the purchase of lemons every time did warrant a raised eyebrow. That could mean Reza was sending hidden messages every time the portal was used.

But to whom? The man made portals back in Terra were all dismantled after the accident. Either way, he didn't have time to reflect right now. He had to hurry back before he was missed.

"Well look who we have here." A familiar gravelly voice assaulted the human's ears. He whipped around to find none other than Maverick and his typical glower standing in front of him. He suddenly felt completely alone, even with the civilians passing by in the background.

"What do you want?" Alex asked calmly in a low tone.

"Answers." Maverick grumbled.

"What kinds?" The smaller male posted himself against a house. He had a feeling he'd be standing there a while.

"The kind only you have. Tell me something: Why? Why arrange this kind of business relationship in the first place? Why even come here?" The silver officer pressed. His human company took a long moment to think. His alibi would have to be flawless if he wanted to get this guy off his back.

"The trade wasn't the only reason I was sent here. Humanity was suspicious of Reza's intentions the moment he volunteered. I was selected to accompany him later on and make sure he didn't do anything stupid." Alex prayed his adversary would take his word as is without question. Unfortunately, it's never so simple.

"So your people knew he would do this, yet they sent him anyway?" Maverick snarled. The brunette had a feeling that would happen. He'd honestly swear on a bible that the only emotions that damned dragon ever showed were annoyance, or anger.

"I never got to say who qualified, just that I would accompany them. Only those who had the right experience, and could demonstrate crucial survival skills in case things went haywire got nominated." The ambassador checked his watch. It was half past three and he still had places to be.

"I take it, that's why you brought your gun. But whether you want to use it or not is another question entirely." The blood-eyed male grumbled.

"In case you're wondering, no, I won't use my weapons on anyone who isn't an immediate threat." Alex crossed his arms to match his tone.

"So what am I then?" Maverick asked. There was a touch of something new in his voice that Alex hadn't heard before: worry. What was he even worried about? He never hurt any of Onyx's officers when he was out doing his thing. Being in a new world wouldn't change that in the slightest.

"You're police. I wouldn't dare attack with lethal force, even if you tried to kill me several times over." The man's words seemed to calm the dragon a little further. Now all that was left to do was make a way back to the station.

"You'd better pray you stick to your word. Else you'll have something far worse than Reza to worry about." With that, Maverick lumbered past him and off to who-knows-where. At least he could get back to Sebastian without issue...