Prologue
From the end of the railside road, Chief Enma of City PD watched the Rail-Road Amusement Train dive locomotive-first into the North District Sea. Meanwhile, the decoupled train cars slowly came to a halt, stopping short of the decommissioned North District rail bridge. Gamblers, guests and stray gangsters rushed out of the cars, skittering away like frightened rats.
City PD officers ordered the passengers to evacuate the decoupled cars. Chief Enma herself, meanwhile, made a beeline for the baggage cars with a handful of her most trusted officers. They made a beeline for the baggage cars. There, they found crates of the Pekoland chemical weapon HALU in mint condition.
A pair of figures appeared behind the police chief.
Bloop and Death-sensei.
The two Lieutenants were bruised and covered in bandages, masking wounds from glass shards and splinters. However, they still walked the surface of the earth.
Unlike their Queenpins - and the detectives that charmed them.
"Excellent work, boys." Enma praised, adjusting her glasses with delight, "I told you we could get them all in one fell swoop."
"We couldn't have done it without your support, Chief." Death-sensei addressed her courteously, "Now, this half of the HALU shipment is yours!"
"And the other half?" Enma asked.
"Already in position." Bloop answered, "It took us a while to get everything ready. Sergeant Oozora's units were patrolling relentlessly."
Death-sensei folded his arms.
"Would have been nice if we didn't get so many interruptions though." Death-sensei hummed, "Your suicide squad was more competent than we thought. The rat jumped ship and helped them out. Even your 'favorite' turned tail in the end."
"Favorite?" Enma scoffed, "Detective Ouro was just a useful, lovestruck idiot - just like all the rest." She turned to the two, "The plan worked. That's all that matters."
Bloop and Death-sensei nodded. The two men looked at each other and turned to Chief Enma.
"The deal's still on, right?" Death-sensei asked, "We're still gonna be the Kingpins of the North and the South. That's what you told us."
"That depends on the rest of your performance today, boys. I still have a few more thorns in my side." Enma leaned against the crates of HALU and smirked, "Plus - this party's only just getting started."
…
Back in City PD Headquarters, telephones were going off in the command center of Police Dispatch. Sergeant Subaru Oozora and Dr. Ina'nis Ninomae, the two highest ranking officers still in the station, scrambled to get the situation under control.
Moreover, they were trying to figure out what was going on in the North District - and throughout the entire city.
Reports from regular beat cops and citizens were pouring in. Some of them said that a massive shootout happened along the train tracks by the Harusaki Freeway. Others claimed that the Rail-Road Amusement Train flew off a decommissioned rail bridge and flew into the North District Sea.
Then, there were reports of fleets of City PD cruisers charging through the streets of North and South District like some sort of expeditionary force. Their presence en masse riled up the Shrimps and the Deadbeats alike.
Dr. Ninomae rubbed her temple while she listened to one of those reports, absolutely bewildered by what she was hearing.
The report ended and Ina set down the phone. The doctor sank down into her seat. Many more phones continued to ring around her, but she had neither the strength nor the heart to pick up another one. Her imagination was already running wild, painting a pitch black picture.
"Ame…" Ina furrowed her brow, but her expression soon softened, "Please tell me this is just some bad dream."
Subaru walked over to Ina and tapped her shoulder.
"Cops loyal to me confirmed the reports just now." Subaru revealed with a frown, "The Casino Train's sinking in the North District Sea."
The irises of Ina's eyes trembled.
She gagged.
She felt like she was going to throw up.
Her entire body was in pain.
It took a tremendous amount of willpower for her to not throw up her guts onto the command center floor. When the nausea passed, sorrow and anger took root in her heart.
Now, he had to fight back the tears.
"Damn it!" Ina slammed the command center desk. The notepad of Detective Kiara Takanashi flipped over from the impact and caught Ina's eyes. She picked up the notepad and held back her tears, "If only we had more time to plan, then we could have…"
"We didn't have time, Ina." Subaru reminded as gently as she could, "Mumei Nanashi already knew about Ame and Kiara being detectives. The Lieutenants would have made a move…" She frowned, "Even with Detective Ouro and Miss Hakos chiming in, we were running against the clock. We didn't have a choice."
"I know…" Ina started sobbing, "But still… I always told Ame that all the risks she's been taking would catch up to her. She's already been hospitalized twice." Tears slid down Ina's cheeks, "I was always worried that the third time was gonna be the charm - and now…"
Images of the blonde detective flashed in Ina's mind. All of the memories she had of the old Amelia Watson from before the war surfaced, forcing Ina to stew in agony.
Subaru saw Ina's plight. Her frown soured. She wanted to comfort Ina, but she didn't know how. Not when the sky seemed to be crashing down with every ring of a telephone. All Subaru could do was lay a reassuring hand on Ina's shoulder.
It was at this time that the Dispatch operators called Subaru's attention.
"Sergeant, we're getting new reports." The operator explained to Subaru, "There's increased activity of the Shrimps and Deadbeats gangs along the Old City Sewer lines. Beat cops along Parliament Road saw gangsters going down there."
"The Old City Sewer lines along Parliament Road…" Subaru furrowed her brow, "Those have been sealed off since the War. They were gonna be used as bomb shelters in case the Pekolanders came to our shores."
At the mention of the Old City Sewers, Ina was pulled out of her rut.
"Wait a second…" Ina rubbed her chin, "I need a City Utilities map."
"Someone go get Doctor Ninomae a City Utilities map!" Subaru urged.
Officers who weren't manning the phones rifled through the command center for the map Ina needed. Meanwhile, the Dispatch operator continued her report.
"Our Uniforms are requesting reinforcements, madam Sergeant. All Code Threes. Active combat. There's not enough of them to clamp down the gangsters."
"We don't have any." Subaru lowered her head and apologized, "We're already stretched thin. Tell them to make do with what they ha-"
All of a sudden, the Dispatch operator's face went pale.
"Hey." Subaru urged, "What's wrong?"
"The line got cut just now…" The operator explained, "I heard a crackle. Then the line went quiet on the other end."
One by one, other Dispatch operators started reporting the same thing - calls from Parliament Road phone boxes being abruptly cut.
"I've got it." Ina broke her silence and declared, "The Old City Sewers run underneath what used to be Owl Pal territories." She tapped on the map, "And get this - the Old City Sewers…"
Before Ina could complete her sentence, the ground beneath the City PD Headquarters shook violently.
"An earthquake?" Subaru gasped.
"No…" Ina's heart sank, "The Old City Sewers run straight through City PD HQ." She cried out at the top of her lungs, "Everyone! Stop what you're doing and take cover! Brace for impact!'
Everyone in the command center obliged. They huddled underneath their work desks.
Moments later, a chain of powerful explosions rocked the streets around City PD HQ.
…
From her desk, Ina saw sewer manholes blow up like volcanos through the windows. Shockwaves shattered windows left and right, forcing Ina to shield herself.
Warning bells rang throughout the headquarters. Wails of emergency vehicles throughout the entire city flooded the room soon after. All the while, the Dispatch switchboard was flooded with even more incoming calls - more than their equipment could handle.
Officers and operators helped each out and assessed the damage. Ina and Subaru too emerged from their desks and looked out the shattered windows. There, they saw plumes of blue smoke from the sewers were spreading throughout the city, spread around by the blowing winds.
Subaru shuddered.
"That ain't normal smoke, is it?" Subaru dared to ask.
"HALU. A Pekoland wartime chemical weapon." Ina determined in a heartbeat, "That stuff can drive folks into a frenzy."
"The wind's gonna blow that gas to the parts of town where City PD's clashing with the gangs." Subaru looked up to the sky and shook her head, "They're gonna be bloodbaths!"
Ina lowered her head. A shadow formed over her eyes.
"What would Ame do in a situation like this…?" Her honest thoughts escaped her lips.
A memory of Amelia Watson came to Ina's mind. The blonde detective's phantom smiled at Ina and shook her head. Ina, meanwhile, clenched her fists.
No. I can't keep clinging to the past. I have to think for myself. I need to stand up on my own two feet.
Ina furrowed her brow and racked her brains. Then, she remembered the case files that she had been going through before Chief Enma left the building. In particular, the case file of Vesper Noir came to mind.
"Subaru. Could you please take some officers and check on our prisoners on the jail floor?" Ina asked, "I have an itching feeling that the person who synthesized this HALU might be our inmate."
"Really?" Subaru was surprised, "Alright - I'll do that. But what about you? Aren't you gonna come with me?"
"I will. I just need to make some phone calls first" Ina reassured. She took Kiara's notepad from the dusty desk and showed it to Subaru, "Her eyes shone brightly with innate fire, "I want to do this right. For Ame's and Kiara's sake."
…
Minutes later, in the midst of blaring alarms and distant emergency vehicle sirens, Ina hurried down the damaged halls of City PD Headquarters. She crushed shards of glass and chunks of debris beneath her boots and climbed down the stairs to the underground jail.
There, Ina saw Subaru and a handful of police officers sweeping through the jail with their guns drawn and batons at the ready. One quick look around the jail and Ina saw signs of damage on the walls. Cracks snaked through the concrete, but the damage wasn't extensive. The few holes leading to the Old City Sewers that formed were too small for anyone to fit through.
Vesper Noir stubbornly tried to fit through the hole in his cell, but his efforts - just like that of the other inmates - were in vain.
"Hold it right there!" Subaru warned, pointing his pistol at Vesper, "Stick your head out of that hole and sit down if you know what's good for you!"
Vesper saw the two cops and froze in fear. He followed Subaru's orders without question.
"Looks like your prison break plans were half baked, 'Bailiff'." Ina folded her arms, "If you want to fit through that hole, you'd have to chop yourself up piece by piece." She furrowed her brow and cracked her knuckles, "I could help you with that if you wanted. I know how to do autopsies. I've always wanted to one on a living person, you know."
Vesper's face went pale. Then, he hummed.
"You're not a detective." Vesper noted.
"I'm not." Ina admitted, "But I learned from two of the best detectives on the force."
Vesper gulped.
"What do you want?" Vesper frowned, acting defiant, "The bombs already went off. That means HALU's already spreading throughout the City as we speak."
"You'd know about HALU wouldn't you?" Ina hummed. She opened Vesper's file and flipped through the pages, "You served in the Army's Chemical Corps. It's a shame that a brilliant mind like yours turned to crime."
"Lots of folks are forced to do things they don't wanna do when they're hungry." Vesper argued.
"Hungry veterans steal some supplies from the military - maybe take a pistol or a service rifle or two." Ina countered, "But smuggling an entire shipment of ex-military chemical compounds for the Owl Pals is another story entirely." Ina looked straight into Vesper's eyes and accused him, "That was the Great Harusaki Highway Robbery - one of the Department's biggest cold cases. The case that ultimately disgraced Detective Amelia Watson and turned her into a pariah."
A fire burned in Ina's eyes while she spoke. It made Vesper sweat bullets.
"That's a bold accusation there, copper." Vesper jabbed back, acting cool, "Why don't you back that up with a source? Some evidence even?"
Ina smirked.
"As a matter of fact, I do." Ina brought out Kiara's notepad. She turned to a page with scribbles in Ina's handwriting, "I've managed to speak with the crew that did the heist back then over the telephone." She raised up her fingers and started reciting names, "Fauna Ceres, Magni Dezmond, Axel Syrios and Altare Regis. You used to call yourselves 'Mother Nature and the Tempus Boys'."
Sweat started to form on Vesper's brow.
"How did you…!?"
"Your old gang members cashed out and sold off their HALU back to the government through third-party cut-outs with no paper trail. They paid off the Owl Pals for their cuts too." Ina continued her tale, "They made enough money to start their own respective businesses. Legitimate businesses. But you, Mr. Noir, held on to your HALU and sold it to the highest bidder. Either Mumei Nanashi of the Owl Pals - or the schemer Enma who would become the chief of City PD. Whichever one of the two is the true puppetmaster of this incident."
Vesper lowered his head.
"Doesn't matter who I sold it to. The wheels have already been set in motion." Vesper insisted, "My benefactor will come here and save me from this place. I'll walk out of here scot free! I'll have my own place in the sun!"
"Do you know who this benefactor of yours launched into the North District Sea?" Ina suddenly growled. Her eyes met with Vesper's and she hissed, "Calliope Mori."
"Dad…!?" Vesper shuddered. His defiant facade evaporated in an instant, "Chief Enma said that…"
Ina closed her eyes and frowned, "So it was her after all."
Vesper snorted and continued his tale, "Chief Enma said that she wouldn't hurt Dad. She said that the Deadbeats would crush the Shrimps in a lightning war - and that the Police was gonna support them!"
"If that's your deal with her, then that deal's probably off." Ina concluded coldly, "The explosives they planted ran beneath City PD. You were lucky that they rushed their plans - and that the daytime Watch Commander had the walls here reinforced years ago." She furrowed her brow, "If they managed to get enough explosives in, then this jail floor would have collapsed and you'd be swimming in a sea of HALU."
Vesper lowered his head. His irises trembled and his glasses slid down the bridge of his nose.
"I can't believe it…" He mumbled.
"You don't have to believe it, but this is the reality we live in, Mr. Noir." Ina faced Vesper sincerely through the bars, "But if there's still even one last shred of humanity left in that black heart of yours, then help us. Help us undo the HALU before it's too late." She looked him straight in the eyes and asked, "Would you be able to look Calliope Mori - dead or alive - in the eyes if you sat here and did nothing?"
Vesper buried his face in his hands. After a moment of silence, he raised up his head.
"I'll help you undo the HALU. But I… we can't do it alone." Vesper finally conceded, "We need all hands on deck."
…
Queenpins
Interlude: Up In Smoke
…
Epilogue
It all happened so quickly. In a single heartbeat, gravity lost its grip on me. I floated up like a feather above the overturned tables and smashed chairs. Gura, Kiara, Bae and everyone else followed after me too.
Then, the floor became the ceiling. Seawater flooded the Central car of the gaudy Casino Train through the smashed windows. Some undercurrent or whatnot swept me up and dragged me out of the room and into the deep, dark sea.
The afternoon sun barely reached me there. The water was awfully cold, and yet it somehow seemed warm. It was like the sea itself was embracing me and welcoming me back to where I belonged - inviting me to finally rest, close my eyes and breathe my last.
The borrowed time I had left on this earth had expired. Third time truly was the charm.
In the end, I couldn't keep my promises.
Not to Ina.
Not to Kiara.
Not to Gura.
I'm a terrible person.
I didn't deserve to be in the sun.
Sinking here in the deep, dark sea, alone with my own thoughts, I truly was at home. I was prepared to say goodbye and goodnight to the cruel world that rejected me many times over.
Yet as my lungs ached and as my vision blurred, I saw a shark swimming in the darkness.
A shark that swam desperately towards me.
A shark that didn't want to let me go.
Not yet.
Not yet.
Not yet, damn it!
…
In the end, I still wanted to live.
Sinking here in the deep, dark sea, I reached out my hand.
I still wanted to be saved.
To Be Continued