The Wolf's Pup
BY: Asura136
CHAPTER 3: We're Going Where!?
Though still dark out in the city, some life began to awaken and start the heart of a never resting bubble. The wheels and honks of cars could be heard, the tapping and stomping of feet bouncing off buildings, and the roars and whistles of monsters making the music to the city. Within an apartment complex, sleeps a woman with a raven bob hairstyle. Beneath the blanket she wears a long and warm blue pajamas. Light seeps through covered curtains and closed blinds. The woman stirs from her sleep, though still very early in the morning.
To start a day off, one must be up early. In this city, no one waits for you and no one will protect you, especially when sleeping. Not to mention, a simple apartment complex could soon be turned into a hotel and and its penniless tenants kicked out before you know it.
On her nightstand to the left of her bed, sit her phone and alarm clock. Phone fully charged for the day and the clock silent with no noise to make. The room still dark but clear enough to see and the sounds barely noisy. A perfect way to start off the day.
*Chains POV*
As my eyes open, I see the time on my alarm clock, 4:30 am. I never did set it up to alarm me to wake up; there was never a real need since I always wake up very early in the morning. I always find it funny when people ask me why I wake up at such an ungodly hour, my only response is that "it must be a werewolf thing." I get up whether I want to or not, this has become a daily routine by now and gives me time to rest before heading to work.
Leaving the comfort and warmth of my bed, I head to the bathroom. I pick up my toothbrush and begin my morning routine. I'm not really tired, but I' not fully awake either. After cleaning my teeth, I turn on the shower. Testing for the right temperature.
*~10 Minutes Later~*
After getting out of the shower and having gotten dressed in my usual work attire, I take a look at my phone, incase I missed any phone calls or text messages. There was nothing and I'm glad to say I'm relieved, it would have been a bother if it was the shit monkey. Putting it down, I make my way to the kitchen. While I usually have coffee this early in the morning, after what happened yesterday I don't think I'll drink it for a while Instead, I decided on brewing some green tea, specially imported from Japan. I've got to remember to thank my parents before the end of this month.
I grab the bagels on top the fridge while I wait for the tea to finish warming up. Grabbing one from the bag, popping it back into my mouth and putting it back on top the fridge. The whistle soon goes off, signing the tea is done and ready. Holding a different mug from yesterday, I pour some of the tea into it and head to the kitchen to table for a seat. I take a look at the alarm clock, 4:45 am, five minutes spent on breakfast as always. Still time before I head to the office, always leaving at around six am.
I decide to turn on the TV and take a look at the news. Troublemaking is the background music to this whole city. Taking a seat in the armchair and tea in left hand, I grab the remote and turn it on. Sure enough, something happened. There's a fifty-fifty chance that something good or bad will occur. Hellsalem's Lot is know for its sinister activities, but not without its miracles either. Today's top news are a mixture of both. A woman paralyzed from the neck down was able to regain function and continue the life she put on pause, the other was nothing new. Apparently another robbery caused by a group of beyondians and humans, caught twenty minutes later, no casualties. The HLPD has gotten slow and more slacking, Libra seems to be doing more of their work, meaning more overtime for us.
*~1 Hour and 15 Minutes Later~*
I spent most of the time watching the news and going over some files I had. I might end up doing overtime tomorrow. At the very least, most of my work will be done so I can relax for some time.
I jump from building to building, lamppost to stoplight, fountain to cart and so forth, until I reach my destination, headquarters of Libra. A tall building that blends into the background of this city. There's a window open to let some breeze in as well as an entrance for me. I don't see S.S. and Leo isn't present either. I'll see if Leo is okay later, right now I got to make sure I'm there on time. I leap from the building I'm on and into HQ. Klaus was the first to notice my arrival besides Gilbert.
"Chain, I hope you had a wonderful morning so far." I walk to over one of the twin couches and take a seat.
"It was pleasant." He nods and goes back to typing away on his computer.
I hear the rush of they keys as they're being pressed on. He must be trying to update any reports we have right now and close the cases now finished. For him to be in a rush, must mean he wants to play prosfair.
Prosfair is an alterworld board game that grew popular after the Great Collapse. Rivaling Chess, Go, Gomoku, Chinese Chess and even much that we hear lots of cases in which information and supplies are decided by playing the game. The game has multiple layers meaning multiple boards to which to play on. The longer one plays the harder it becomes. People have died playing the game and some have become masters. I've seen both Klaus and Steven play the game together every so often. Klaus usually wins, leaving Steven to think of new strategies. Gilbert once told me that Klaus is a bit of prodigy when it comes to prosfair. I'll take his word for it, after all, the proof is here in front of me. I play the games once in a while, win or lose, I have nothing to gain except for a few strategies and some information.
I take a look around and see Steven reading over files by his desk. K.K. nowhere in sight and Zed by the bookshelf. I hear the wheels of cart and turn my head to the left and see Gilbert coming towards me. He soon stops and begins to hand me tea.
"I saw you sit down and I immediately knew something was off. Whether you're tired or not, here is some tea. It might help you calm down if you're feeling jumpy today." He hands the cup to me and I gladly accept even though I already had tea before coming here.
"Thank you, Gilbert." He nods and goes about his daily routine. The doors soon open and in comes K.K., looking a bit tense. There's two reasons, one she broke a promise to one of her two sons or she found something interesting and that could mean trouble.
She comes to a halt besides me and Klaus' desk. She takes one look at me, eyes showing a look of interest and confusion before turning away to face Klaus. She lets out a sigh before speaking. I just hope this doesn't mean overtime.
"On my way, I found some information that might just intrigue you." Everyone present stopped what they were doing and turned to face her. Klaus was the first to speak.
"What information would this be?" His voice showed some concern.
"If you can recall, there was a case we had not so long ago. A small time mafia group dealing weapons into and out of Hellsalem's Lot." She tensed up a bit. "There's more to it than we knew."
I decide to speak up this time. "What was it that we missed?"
"This small time mafia was in fact a small branch of the yakuza and to an extent. The leader is described to be young in age, but older than they look and a thirst for blood."
Everyone went silent. Who would have thought that this case lead somewhat deeper than we expected. This would most definitely mean overtime and to the very least no days off until we catch the blood breed if that's what the leader really is. Looking at Klaus I can see he's deep in thought. With this information, it means we must now go and try to gather any more information.
Klaus stood up from his desk and walked to the left side of his desk and besides Steven.
"Normally, I would let you all go individually on gathering intel. There must be small groups of the yakuza still roaming. Though not as dangerous, we might be able to take down any bases they have but because of the circumstances we may not know if there are newly made blood breeds present." He took a breather before continuing. "We will go in groups to investigate this you find any information that might seem helpful call or wait until we can gather as a team again." He leaves to probably tell Gilbert of our situation and plan. As he leaves Steven takes the stand.
"Alright. The teams will Leo, Zed and Zapp. Chain and K.K. Lastly, Klaus and me. We'll leave Gilbert and Phillip to hold down the fort." Everyone nods without complains. "Let's roll out."
I put down the cup of tea, still full as when Gilbert gave it to me. I hope he doesn't take it the wrong way. I stand up and follow K.K. down the elevator, a rare occurrence for me, but not unheard of. Arms folded and waiting for us to reach our destination. I could feel K.K.'s gaze on me but I chose to ignore it, that is until she broke the silence.
"You were sitting once I came in. Is there anything wrong?"
She's always been very motherly.
"Nothing."
"Different morning routine?"
"Same as always."
"Love interest?"
"No."
"Hmmm." I don't see why me sitting on the couch is any different from me coming in and then leaving the office, she continued.
"There's obviously something different."
I turn my head to my left and face her. Eyes meeting.
"I don't feel any different."
"I figured, but it seems or rather feels that you're admitting a different aura. Did anything happen to you? Please be honest with me, Chain."
"I promise, nothing happened to me and nothing will. There's nothing to worry about." I turn my head back just as we reach the lower floor and open the right door and into an ally. "Shall we get going?"
"Couldn't have said it better, but we're continuing this talk later."
She walks over to her red shiny bike, puts on her helmet and rides off. I jump onto the nearest lamppost and chase after her. Something tells me this might be one tough case.
*~25 Minutes Later~ *
We eventually stop at a rundown shop on the quiet but troublesome part of town. I jump down and land besides her bike just as she gets off, helmet included. The windows are board up except for a blue paint and white rim on the windows is flaking down. The raven umbrella overhang has holes and rotting away. Must have been made out of cheap materials.
I turn to K.K.
"What's the plan- or do we just barge in?"
She looks at me with a smile.
"We're going to to walk in and gently talk to who's ever in charge." She took out her guns. I smile back, as I got out mine.
"Alright. I'll make sure to show the utmost manners."
With that we walk down the stars as quiet as possible and look at one another, smiles plastered on our faces. We nod and barge in through the door.
A couple minutes later we have the whole place tied up. The lackys have all been defeated and all that's left is the boss. I turn my head to him and see that he's quivering in a corner between a table the wall. He's of Japanese descent, almost if not, all Yakuza are. He's dressed in a black suit, coal hair combed back with jell, sunglasses covering his eyes and a skinny mustache. On his left hand is a golden watch. Though the design is simple and it looks like it'll break any second, a waste of money if you tell me.
"Care to have a nice chat?" I ask.
He simply stares at me and quivers at my question. I sigh. This is going to be a long day. I point my gun at him with my right hand.
"We could go the easy way or I can fill you with holes. The choice is yours."
K.K. jumped in to this "conversation."
"Listen here, you pathetic excuse for a mob boss. Compared to what I plan to do you got two nice choices to choose from."
The man jumps for the last time but answers as he sees my finger pressing on the trigger. Maybe I should have at least put one hole in him just to speed things up.
"Wait! Wait! I'll tell you anything. Just please don't shoot me."
K.K. responds for both of us. "Then speak unless you want the alternative."
Not wasting a single second, he began to speak. "I didn't want to come here. I had two choices from my boss, die or come to this city. I was originally supposed to be here for six months before heading back to Kanazawa, Japan. Once we heard that Libra raided our biggest hideouts, we then thought we were done here and considered a failure. That wasn't it."
He took a big breather this time before continuing his tale.
"Once the boss was informed, we thought were heading back home to face our punishment. Instead we were told to continue our operations or meet a fate worse than death. Needless to say, most of us decided to stay in this hell of a city."
This was intriguing. Usually the Yakuza would come back to their boss and face punishment for what a they failed to complete. For them to stay after a failure could mean this is much troublesome than we thought. I had a question and I need the answer.
"Yakuza face punishment either by seppuku or a lost finger. What could be worse than death?"
He was reluctant to answer. K.K. repeated the question.
"Answer the question. What could be worse than death?" He spoke.
"We don't know, but one thing's for sure. Once you meet the boss, you'll never be heard of again. There are rumors spreading among us and even the higher ups are confused by the boss and the way he looks." Rumors? Could he mean the never aging and the blood thirst?
"What kind of rumors?" He froze at the mention of that.
"Our boss was a man in his sixties, but one day he left and never came back. Two weeks passed and he appeared out of nowhere. The Problem wasn't that he returned it was that he sounded much younger and different. He was all covered up in heavy clothing even his face, to make it strange, it was June and it was blazing hot. It's not just that."
He gulps before he continues. "Every once in awhile when you where in the same building as him, you can hear screams of terror and then silence. The next day, we see a squad of our own blood units come and clean a room. We are then informed that the boss killed someone that failed him for the last time. The scary part is that the corpses are always drained of blood."
K.K. asked the next question.
"When did this start?"
"Around November of last year. Our major hideouts were raised in December."
With my gun still pointed at him, both K.K. and I look into each other's eyes. We know understand the connection between this situation and the one in Japan. The boss, the Yakuza still present in Hellsalem's Lot. The dealing of weapons and drugs into and out of the city. The cases of missing people and beyondians that have been piling up. The missing cases are dead now and there's no use saving them. The boss isn't actually their boss. Whatever he did or where ever he went, he ran into a blood breed and now that vampire is running the show. We eventually hear the sirens of the HLPD. We left him be as he's useless and defenseless not to mention shaken up. I turned to follow her out of the door.
"あなたはその洞窟で死ぬだろう." (You'll die in that den./Anata wa sono dōkutsu de shinudarou.)
I turn to look at him and was about to question him further when K.K. grabbed my arm. The police was close judging by their sirens. There's no time to question him further. I continued to follow her out and see her get on her bike with a helmet on and she rides off. I phase myself just enough so the HLPD won't see me and jumped to the nearest building across from the hideout and waited until they showed up. SWAT teams and patrol cars were all surrounding the building. They barged in and started pulling Yakuza members into heavy duty vans for transporting criminals. Among them was the leader of this group that we interrogated. He still looked pale and shaken up, if what he said was true, then he will die himself. If not now, eventually. I continued on my way and pursuited K.K. back to HQ.
*~25 Minutes Later~ *
We were the first to arrive back at HQ. I took a seat on the twin couch I sat on earlier. I saw the cup of tea was still there. I grabbed it and began to drink. It was cold, but it was still good and to be honest I rather have it cold right now. K.K. took a seat opposite of me on the couch and began the conversation we put on pause, before the others show up.
"Before we talk about what we heard back there, is there anything you would like to tell me?"
"Tell? Hmm. Nothing I can think of."
"There's got to be something!" She sighed and relaxed a little on the couch arms and legs crossed.
"There's definitely something different about you today."
"As I said before. I don't feel any different." I pause as I take a look at her. Her gaze meeting mine. "You could be right and I could be wrong. I might be right and you wrong or perhaps it's both."
"Heh. I like the response."
"Thank you."
"You're still not off the hook."
"I wouldn't think so." Just then the door opens and in walks the others.
The first thing I noticed were the scrapes on Zapp, Zed, and Leo. They must have gotten into a brawl as they were out collecting information. I wouldn't be surprised. If you're with that low-life scum, you'll likely get into trouble. Klaus and Steven look as if they seen something disturbing. Gilbert walks in with a tea cart and before the door closes to the kitchen I caught a glimpse of Phillip.
"You all look like you're tired. I made green tea using the finest f tea leaves imported from Japan last month." Gilbert gives me a quick glance. My parents imported too much tea to me. I knew it would last me three months and in those three months they would send more. I decided to give most of the tea to Gilbert. After all, we drink tea and coffee whenever here at the office.
"With Phillip's help. We also made some sandwiches and scones to go alongside your tea. If you have a sweet tooth right now, we also made some cookies. Alongside the raspberry and cheese pie." The sandwiches and pie sound good.
Without even having to turn my head I can hear Leo and the piece of trash watering. While I don't mind Leo, him I do mind. Eventually everyone gets what they want and gather around the coffee table in between the couch and twin couches. During our mini break there was an awkward but tense silence. There wasn't a need to ask and there was no need to answer why. Eventually, once the break was over Klaus broke the silence first.
"Is there any information that you collected that you deem useful?"
There was a silence. I could hear the trouble trio turns their head to each other and back to Klaus. I tuned my head up and saw Steven put his hands into his pocket and lean on Klaus's desk, next to Gilbert. K.K. was sitting with both legs and arms crossed as before but our eyes didn't meet. The trio eventually spoke up. They hit many hideouts but didn't find any leads. Yet, they found so many that their operation can now be called a failure and one job less to worry about now. It seems that shithead is useful for a couple of things and not just a doormat. Steven and Klaus had found some information as to why this happening and who their buyers are but no actual leads. At that moment I turned to K.K. and our eyes met for what felt like the hundredth time today. We had the lead to this case. She spoke up before I had the chance.
"We might have what you're looking for." Everyone turned to face her.
"Chain and I found a hideout containing the person in charge of this operation in Hellsalem's Lot." The shithead spoke up.
"Why didn't you say it earlier?!" I made my voice heard before he continued any further.
"Be quiet monkey. Otherwise you won't hear what we found. Then again that'll just prove how limited your brain is."
He huffed and stood quiet. He would have insulted me back but right now isn't the time and place. I look at K.K., as if telling her to continue. She got the message and went on.
"Their main base isn't here, but in Japan. A city known as Kanazawa."
Steven spoke up. "That's the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture."
She nods and continue snot caring it was Steven who interrupted her.
"There boss went missing sometime in July and the rumors began spreading in November of last year. If anything, I think the culprit we're dealing with here is a blood breed." The fact couldn't be denied. The clues were obvious and the rumors are too many to be false at this point. If he's been feeding the his power would have already replenishment and that means he's at his full potential right now.
At that very moment I remember what the mob boss said. Just when everyone was about to disperse, I spoke what he said out loud for everyone to hear.
"Just as K.K. and I were about to leave, the one in charge of the hideout we uncovered said 'You'll die in that den'. I think we should take this into account."
Klaus broke into conversation.
"You might be right about that. If the rumors are true then, he's had much to drink and no doubt he's replenished his powers."
Everyone felt unease. We deal with blood breeds quite often. One of the main reasons Libra exists, but we never truly dealt with a full powered vampire. We have come close, yet, every time we have managed to stop them from reaching their full potential. Sadly, this isn't the case and we can only prepare for the outcome. The question is, what's our next move? And somehow I think I know the answer.
Steven turned his head to Klaus.
"Klaus. From this information gathered, what do you think our next move should be?"
Klaus was silent for a moment, all eyes were turned to him. Creating a tense atmosphere in the office.
"It would now seem that their base of operations here in Hellsalem's Lot has been solved and not likely to restart anytime soon." He took a breather before speaking the rest of his mind.
"We're not done yet. Assuming the boss is indeed a blood breed then we have no choice but to seal them. If we let them go about their wants it could destruction." The shithead interrupts the boss.
"What do you mean, Chief?" I turn my head away from Klaus and back to the cup of tea in my hands.
"We're going to Kanazawa, Japan." Three. Two...One.
"WHAT?!" I haven't hear them all yell in unison for at least two months now.
K.K. was the first to recover from the "shocking" revolution.
"Klausie, are you sure about this? We're not even sure where their base is located or what kind of operations they're really running."
"Yes, I am very sure. We have no other leads and if its a blood breed in charge then we know for sure what this could mean not just for us but the country itself."
Silence followed after. The news still settling into everyone's mind. Though this wouldn't be the first time we've gone to another country to solve an issue and not the first time it was Japan. I will admit that the first time we went to Japan it was just Gilbert, Klaus and me. Everyone else was too busy with their tasks to join us that time. I finished the tea and put down the cup onto the plate settled on the coffee table. I look outside and realize it's dark. One look at the clock and I can see it's gotten late. Who would have thought it would take the whole day? I get up from I was sitting. I was getting tired and I would prefer to leave before the news rested on the monkey's head. Walking to the window I begin to phase and continue on my way home. But first I have to make a small stop.
*Third POV*
K.K. noticed that Chain was missing after finishing her conversation with Klaus. She saw the window closed and concluded she probably phased herself out of this building. She turned her back to the crowd chatting among themselves and spotted Leo alone. She was quick to grab onto him. She grabbed onto his shoulders, making the young man jump in his seat.
"Leo. Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, sure. What is it?"
"Did you notice anything strange with Chain today?" He was silent for a few seconds before responding.
"I thought I was going crazy. Guess not."
"What is that you noticed?"
"Well...Her aura was off. It wasn't her usual color when I first saw her. After taking a good look at her it soon began to fade back to its original shade."
"Hmm."
K.K. let the conversation go after that and took seat next to Leo. Her mind pondering on what she just heard. Is Chain really okay?
*Chains POV*
Once I arrived home, the clock on the wall read 1pm. I'm quite tired after all the running today. I get myself ready for bed. As I brush my teeth, the words the mob boss, I guess yakuza subordinate is the right term, said kept ringing in my ears and my visit to him earlier still left me with some missing information. What happened during the period in which their boss went missing and returned? And where is their main base within Kanazawa?
Walking out of the bathroom I take a look around my flat. It's clean, small and everything seems in place. I can't explain the desire to feel secure when I already am. I get under the covers of my bed and face up at the ceiling. There's many questions running through my head and many things that could go wrong. Not to mention the fact the everyone keeps saying there's something different with me and to be honest I think I'm starting to agree with them. In the past I wouldn't behave the way I am right now. There's no answer for my worries or me feeling more tired than usual.
I turn to my right, pulling the covers up to my mouth and let the warmth comfort me from the cold embrace. I begin to feel drowsy. I don't fight the urge to close my eyes. I lock away my thoughts and let myself begin to lose conscious. I need to get up tomorrow morning and prepare to head to work. Without a doubt, tomorrow we'll be discussing plans on the operation. I'll just worry about this tomorrow, right now I want to sleep.
And sleep I will.
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