Sometime in the early morning after most people groggily dragged themselves out of bed and reluctantly started their work day, the banks started opening. Things were going smoothly as they should be, just like any other day, so no one could have expected that something was lurking just outside through the hustle and bustle of the city. An unseen enemy walked down the sidewalk, wading through the crowd like every other person was doing. In fact, even the enemy seemed to be in a daze. They weren't quite aware of their surroundings, but anyone could have written that off as being a rough morning.
Casually, they walked through the glass doors of the bank and headed toward the desk. Their baseball cap obscured part of their face from the camera, but no one would be looking at them until this man was long gone. Unaware of what was to come, the woman at the front desk smiled and greeted him politely, welcoming him to the bank and inquiring what she can do to assist him.
"I'd like to cash a cheque." the man said before handing her the piece of paper.
"All right, I'll get on that." the woman cheerfully replied in only a way that someone who worked in customer service knew how. As she read the words on the paper, however, her smile dropped and her eyes glazed over. She slouched somewhat as her mind went blank and reprogrammed itself. Then, in a dazed state, she reached under the counter and started placing large amounts of money on top of it, which were grabbed by the other.
These people did not know each other and these two were people who were law-abiding citizens on a normal day. Yet here they were, dazed and confused as they were in the process of cashing a check that was nothing more than a piece of paper with the word "Skeleton King" written on it in red ink.
You see, this woman had a rather unfortunate run-in outside her workplace only two days before, where she was confronted by a man wearing a hood that obscured his face. He instructed her to tell him when she worked, and against her better judgment or will, she told him. She was then instructed to wait for a man in a red ball cap to come into the bank at a specific time on a specific day, and when handed a piece of paper with the words "Skeleton King" written in red, she would give him all of the money under the desk and in the drawers. Naturally, she ran away from this man at the quickest opportunity, brushing it off as the ramblings of a crazy man. She went to the police, but there was nothing they could do, as no crime had been committed. Her coworkers believed her and agreed with her that it was probably just some creep. They even agreed to walk her to the station so she could get home safely. She did everything right and yet, she had no control over herself. She was helpless, and from the look in the eyes of the man across from her, so was he. He was just another pawn in whoever's plan this was as well.
The intention was for this to go without anyone batting an eyelash. No one would pay any mind to a seemingly ordinary exchange. If no one was panicked or violent, then nothing was happening. However, someone did notice. A man wearing a white shirt and a red tie stood behind the woman, watching as he did this. He looked like a manager of some sort and signaled for two others dressed like guards to apprehend this person. They waited for the transaction to be complete so that the clerk waas released from her trance before grabbing the man and dragging him off, leaving the bag of money behind. Reaching up to turn on the microphone hidden around his neck, the "manager" spoke.
"This is team sigma-twelve, we have apprehended a suspect." he informed. "Doesn't seem like Skull Mask. He was under somebody's control as well."
"Excellent." answered the voice in his earpiece. "Stay there the rest of the day just in case. Any casualties?"
"One clerk was influenced, triggered by a code. She's the one who claimed contact with a strange man prior to this. We're verifying her condition now."
"Good. Keep me posted." Elizabeth said before turning off her own radio. She folded her hands on top of her desk and looked out at those in the room with her, seated in her chairs.
"Your plan seems to be working." she informed, causing the demons to perk up slightly.
"Well, if I had Skull-face's powers, needed money, and had no regard for anything, I'd rob a bank." Alois replied while turning his head to face her. Reaching out, he moved the position of the knight piece on the chessboard in front of him. "But, most bank robberies don't turn out too well because it's hard to get away, so, you make it look like nothing's wrong. Simple."
"Clever, but how is this going to help us catch Skull-face if he uses proxys?"
"Well, the key to winning any war is to simply bankrupt the other side." Ciel stated while staring at the board with a furrowed brow. "If they can no longer sustain their operations, they crumble. While he can influence people in person, he cannot influence people through phones and recordings. Most lab equipment and such is ordered via telephone or online. Since Skull-face is so desperate to continue, he'll start making rash decisions. What does someone aggressive like this do in times of desperation?"
"Take matters into his own hands." answered Elizabeth. "So you're hoping to draw him out by foiling his fundraising schemes and crippling him financially. How do you intend to capture him, however?"
"Same as always. I go up to him, pull a gun on him, and make him submit."
"And you trust that Martyr's information is accurate?" the Hellsing questioned. "She's typically not very coherent..."
"She is perfectly coherent when not under stress. She has to be made to feel safe, first." replied the Watchdog. "Besides, she's the one who gave me the idea for this."
"Why hasn't she told us anything before?"
"Because she's a kid who's scared." Alois suggested, reintroducing himself into the conversation. "She's being hunted by a maniac with no qualms about locking people up and torturing them and she doesn't want to go back. Can't say I blame her. I'd do the same thing, or at least something similar. Besides, it's like he said: She has trouble talking when she's stressed or uneasy. It causes her to freak out a bit. She also said she doesn't like her therapist and thinks he's not listening, so that could be something. Why would she tell anything to someone who she thinks isn't listening?"
"I see… I reassigned her a different therapist, already, so hopefully, she feels more comfortable with this one." Elizabeth said. "She seems to be doing better after talking to you."
"She's lonely." the menace stated. "She doesn't get to visit her demon friend- the one that was with her. The demon also seems to care about her. I don't know whether we can trust that or not, but..."
"Perhaps we could try reintroducing them at some point?" Ciel suggested, causing Elizabeth to relent.
"Very well, then." she answered, putting her hands up. With a smile, she jested: "Just subvert all of my authority, why don't you?"
"It's not intentional, I assure you." the bluenette chuckled, but while they were chuckling, someone else who was important to the mission was frowning deeply.
Staring out the window of the new apartment that he had commandeered, Skullface pondered. Something was amiss. Thinking aloud, he inquired: "Why haven't they come back yet?"
Being alerted to his question, his underling, Gus, with his hand now bandaged did not speak and instead waited to be addressed personally. If he was not questioned, he would not answer. He had learned his lesson.
"Were they captured?" Skullface inquired, never taking his eyes away from the window. "Gus, where is that investigator?"
"He's at home, I think. I can contact him, if you want." the underling answered.
"You do that. Tell him I want him here. Now."
"Yes, sir." Gus replied before leaving to do just that. Skullface said nothing and sighed, resting his chin in his palm.
An uneasiness came over him as he looked down on the world below through the glass. Could this be the involvement of the same people who hired those soldiers at his former base? Had they caught on to his plans? That man who he killed whose name he did not know must have been a spy working for them. But just how many more were there? How many of his people were spies? This was going to be a problem. He would have to purge them all and he really didn't have the time or energy. Couldn't these idiots see what he saw while peering out this window?
In half an hour's time the investigator that he ordered had arrived and was let in by Gus, only to be left alone in the room with Skullface, now wearing his mask. The man wore a trenchcoat, jeans, and an ill-fitting, untucked dress shirt with a tie that wasn't tied quite right. The most offensive item on this man, however, was the fedora on his head. Kyle Brykle, private investigator extraordinaire was now on the scene. He was sweating bullets as he was back in the hot seat again.
"Wh-what can I do for you today, Mister… uhm… Skully?" the man nervously greeted, earning nothing but a stare from the other at first, but then the towering man spoke.
"You did a good job finding Phantomhive's house." Skullface said. "I have another job for you."
"Oh! Well, if that's the case, as you recall my hourly rates are..." Raising his eyebrows, Kyle cut himself off after his "employer" didn't seem too impressed. "Well, actually, I'm having a limited-time special where I do a job... for… free."
"I need you to go and check on something for me. Stay out of sight. Don't act suspiciously. I might just reward you sometime."
"Oh, sir, there's really no need!" Kyle replied. "I'll get right on it. Where do you want me to go."
"Here." the taller man said, handing Mister Brykle a piece of paper with an address on it. "It's a bank, so don't do anything stupid. Report back to me anything out of the ordinary you see."
"Understood. Anything else?"
"No. Just go."
"You can count on me!" the man in the fedora answered, offering a small salute. He turned around to walk out, only to be stopped.
"Oh, and Mister Brykle?" called out Skullface, prompting the other to look back over his shoulder. "Do not tell anyone where this place is, or who you're working for. If you do, the price will be steep."
With a large gulp, the investigator replied: "U-understood..." and practically ran out, leaving both Skullface and Gus alone. The other underling, arched an eyebrow before looking to his boss. He was too afraid to ask what was on his mind, but he didn't really have a choice.
"You're wondering why I didn't use my abilities on him, aren't you?" the boss questioned, earning a small nod. "There was no reason to, of course. He's compliant. Too compliant for his own good, really. He's not going to make it long in this world."
Turning back toward the window, he sighed again while taking off his mask. Looking down at the people below, he added: "Not when I'm done fixing it."
"Sir?" Gus looked on with wide eyes. His stomach dropped upon realising that he had spoken without being prompted. Quickly, he covered his mouth and braced himself for his punishment.
"No, no… It's alright, Gus." the other insisted. "I am stressed right now, but there's no need for me to take it out on you. It's not really your fault. You can't help that you haven't evolved yet. That's exactly why I gotta fix things."
Looking back in his underling, Skullface addressed him with a sure expression. "The human race as we know it right now just ain't built to last. It's broken. You're all just too primitive to get that."
