Angels With Newfound Hope

Act 2 Chapter 18: Assault

Police Station - Day 7, 8:29PM

After being dragged over straight from Tatsu Park by a certain runner, Alex sat in the police locker room. He was currently in the middle of a briefing by Sebastian and Naomi as they checked some gear.

"So apparently, there's been talk of a kidnapping alongside this murder." The anthro stated to her colleague. This admittedly caught both of the others' interest. The human knew exactly what she was talking about, and of whom.

"I wasn't informed of that. Do we have anything on it?" Sebastian questioned, more than intrigued about the details.

"Not much. Someone just saw a scientist being carried by this... thing." Naomi's reply really wasn't satisfactory to Alex, so he decided to engage next.

"Did the person give any kind of description?" The question seemed easy enough to answer. All he had to do was wait and see.

"The literal only thing we've got is 'pitch black', and 'human'." The female spoke further.

"Human? Now that just sounds ridiculous." Sebastian jabbed, leaning over to give her a friendly punch. Doing so ended up revealing what looked like a ballistic vest.

"Hey Sebastian, what's that vest in your locker? It looks like something from back home." The human pointed it out amongst everything else. His escort pulled it out so he could look.

"This thing? It's a bite-resistant vest. It's supposed to protect you from even an earth dragon's bite force." The runner explained, knocking on the sturdy material underneath. It sounded quite heavily padded in spite of its thinner look.

"That sounds handy. Maybe it could protect me better from one of Reza's bullets." Alex suggested. His company looked at him as though he'd grown a second head.

"You'd better not be planning on confronting him again. The last thing we need is you dying." Naomi interjected. He understood why they were so worried, but at the same time...

"I'm not. I was saying It'd be nice to have one in case." The ambassador argued, awaiting any kind of rebuttal. He breathed a small sigh of relief when none came. "Being honest, I don't even think that would fit me anyway. It looks way too small."

"I could let you try mine on so you know if it does." Naomi offered. Her vest looked a bit small for him, but he wasn't about to let something like that go to waste...

"I appreciate the offer, but I don't think I'd be able to get out of it." ...Or was he? It wasn't like he didn't already have gear for that anyway, so why keep duplicates?

"Oh well. It was worth a shot." The officer placed her gear back in the locker, closing it tight. Her colleague did the same with the subtraction of a headlamp.

"Alright Alex. Let me compile a list for you, so you know what to do." Sebastian requested once they split from Naomi. He led his escortee over to the main desk, where he promptly jotted everything down in a notebook. Alex silently took the sheet and bid him farewell.

That list was about the same as last time. The only thing different was a lack of interrogation for anyone important. It was the kidnapping victim herself who found Damion's corpse. The human felt sorry for whomever that may have been. He did have something different in mind, however...

The production facility loomed ominously over the vigilante; a solemn reminder of his actions the night previous. The postman from his first day stepped out right as he arrived at the door. He seemed to be struggling to keep balance, teetering on the edge of falling. It was only when he hit the first step down that everything failed. Both box and dragon were sent sailing toward the ground. That was, until someone took a firm grip of them. The little blue flier was about to profusely thank his savior until their face was revealed.

"Oh, it's you." Was all he said.

"Are you alright?" Alex asked calmly after collecting himself.

"Why do you care? You slammed a door in my face." The postman fired back with much ire, and rightfully so. That was a serious impact that was delivered.

"I never meant to. I actually wanted to apologize for that. It was stupid of me to take my emotions out on a random person. Just because I lost someone doesn't make anything okay." The larger male tried to show his regret to no avail. This little dragon wouldn't have it.

"Look, I gave you a chance to apologize. You ignored it. That's all there is to it. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get that box back home." The flier tugged away from Alex with that last statement. It admittedly hurt a little to see he wouldn't be forgiven. One final thought came to light as that small sky blue frame disappeared.

'Was it just me, or did he sound very feminine just now...?'

The hallways he lured Anna through just one night ago seemed far too quiet. The air whispered a silent lament to Damion. Each soft step taken replaced it with a building tension for what was to come. If he wasn't careful, he'd have one very temperamental raptor to deal with.

Anna herself sat analyzing data when two light knocks erupted. She cursed whomever decided to annoy her under her breath leading up to her opening up.

"Alex? What do you need? I'm in the middle of some important work right now." The runner immediately brought her guard up.

"I'm here on behalf of the police. I just need to ask a few questions. May I come in for a moment?" Alex gravely, but calmly, asked. He wouldn't let this be anything like last time.

"This is about Damion's murder, isn't it?" She guessed to an affirming silence. Her stepping aside finally granted him his wish. "Let's make this quick. What do you need to know?"

"Let's go in chronological order, starting with what happened prior. Was anything at all going on to separate you two?" The brunette questioned simply. His host seemed a bit reluctant to answer, but came through regardless.

"We were caught up in an argument." She hoped he wouldn't press for details. It was already bad enough reliving that memory in vagueness. But sadly, the world doesn't work that way. His motions to go on attested to that solemn fact. "He told me to drop dead right before I stormed out. Happy?"

"That helps. What about after? I heard there was a kidnapping here on the same night." Alex kept on her with that passive mention. Her gaze hardened even further, if that was even possible.

"Yeah. I was the victim. What's weird is that I was taken back home. I wholly expected to wake up in some dingy basement, not on my sofa with a glass of water." Anna revealed. He already knew the other details, but it was nice to have them recorded.

"Let's keep it in sync here. What happened after the argument?" The human set everything back on-rails. Gathering evidence was a rather rough job when the interviewee wanted to go off topic.

"Right. So I stormed out for some coffee when someone broke some lab equipment. I only gave chase when they started messing with the lights alongside that. Then they jumped onto the ceiling." Anna recalled to her own chagrin. Her guest could easily see the frustration toward Viper building as she spoke. And yet, he couldn't help himself.

"The ceiling? Are you sure you weren't just chasing after a spider that crawled on your mug?" Alex cracked a joke that fell completely flat. He knew it would, but still...

"Do I look like I'm joking?" The raptor questioned with an intimidation factor of ten. It was surprising how much a pink reptile could put you off if she wanted to. "Anyway, this asshole jumped on a pipe on the ceiling. They lured me over to an empty lab where I thought I had them. I almost did when Damion let out this awful shriek. Turned my blood to ice, it did. I didn't get two feet further when this... figure kicked me down. The last thing I remember seeing before passing out were two bright blue slits." Alex took a moment to process everything and choose his next words.

"Two blue slits... Well that doesn't sound creepy at all. So that's about it? You heard Damion get killed, then you woke up back home?" The man asked a little further. His target gave a subtle nod before speaking again.

"Yeah. In a way, I'm glad whoever that was got me away. It would've been me in a casket otherwise." The scientist mused as though that were a funny thought.

"Yeah..." Alex reminisced on the other scenario. If only she knew how close she came. "So what was your relationship to him anyway? It seems as though you two didn't particularly like each other." Alex fired off another question that seemed to get his company's attention.

"That's not unusual. I don't like most people. But him and me? We were colleagues, and nothing more. He really didn't like me, though." Anna grumbled. Her interrogator knew the feeling. There was always one woman going to his shop with tiny problems. She'd get irritable and uncooperative whenever he tried asking for clues, and then leave them there for him to fix without paying. It was rather bothersome for the police as well, whenever he had to call them to come make sure she paid.

"I know the feeling. So what's the reason behind that?" He asked simply.

"He was jealous of my success, and it showed." It seemed the scientist would only leave it at that. Her company decided on one more topic to round everything off.

"I see. So what happened when you found him?" The brunette pressed further, brushing a lock of hair out of his eye.

"That... Well, to make up for my unintentional clock-out, I went in early. i was just coming up on my lab when I found him dead in a pool of his own blood." The runner spoke no more than that. At least Alex had everything he thought he needed now.

"Looks like that's all, then. I'm going to warn you to be careful from now on. Reza's still on the loose. I should be going now, so stay safe." With that, he closed his recording and made way back home...

That note was slid under Alex's door again when he returned. He ignored it instead and just went in to change clothes. His previous knowledge of Reza being at the portal would come in handy this time around. All he needed was some armor to protect from gunfire.

It took all of five minutes to get changed. Disguising his graphene-infused ballistic shirt as his streetwear was rather easy. Fooling the administrator, however, wouldn't be. It was still better than taking more bullets any day. All he had to do now was go over...

Portal Hill - 9:50PM

The walk over was shockingly devoid of life. Perhaps the Administrator decided not to attack for now. Either way, Alex was fine with it. There was some unfinished business anyway. He didn't know what he'd do if she showed up...

Reza's silhouette loomed under that of the portal as he approached. The smaller man was working away at its innards, cussing up a storm. Alex made sure to keep silent in his further encroachment. This would be a simple job if done right: get up close and deliver a message.

But that's when things got complicated. A little 'friend' of his decided he had the same idea. Both of them spotted each other several feet from the murderer. The ambassador signaled for him to leave to no avail. His stubborn refusal was met with a loud crack that landed him yet another bullet wound.

Reza whipped around just in time to see his once-partner grappling with some girl over a revolver. He ended it by flipping her over his back, ramming her head into the ground. That was when his focus shifted...

"Funny greeting you have there, Reza." Alex growled with a sinister glower. He lifted his new firearm to deliver a killing blow that never came. The criminal ducked out of the way right in the nick of time, evading a sparking bullet that burrowed into their only escape.

"How are you not dead?!" The terrified man returned fire to no avail. His own weapon did practically nothing to his attacker. The bullets only stuck in his clothes without so much as a drop of blood. He'd just have to use other methods of escape.

"My secret." The vigilante rounded that last corner to open up on... nothing?! That shouldn't be right. Reza couldn't escape in a mere three seconds.

"Alex..." Maverick's husky voice finally cut through the exchange. Glancing over revealed just where that bullet struck: his throat.

"Shit, Maverick!" The remaining human rushed over, keeping an eye out for any more problems. "Is it deep?" He asked as aid was given. The dragon could only answer with a strained head shake. It looked like it grazed anyway, but one could never be too sure. Alex strapped his watch to his company's wrist to much protest.

That was, until regeneration kicked in. Maverick immediately settled down and let it do its job. His breathing became less labored, movement lulled, and his expression cooled to that typical glare.

"Alex... you're injured too. Go-"

"I'm alright. You rest up until you're fully healed. I won't let you leave until then." Alex sat down next to him. From that perspective, the larger male could see several deformed stubs sticking out of his shirt. The area around each one looked a bit like broken glass.

Come to think of it, that didn't look like the ambassador's regular clothing at all. It was a black, form-fitting top similar to...

"Wait... You're the one who brought Anna- ah!" Something stuck in the officer's neck. His vision grew blurry as the ambassador knelt by him. The last thing he heard before drifting off was a whispered 'I'm sorry...'

Alex's affinity for empty hallways seemed to be growing, as he found himself in one yet again, going to Bryce's office. Sebastian greeted him in a casual manner as soon as he was spotted.

"That's... not a lot of stuff, Alex. Did something happen?" The runner observed with concern. It wouldn't be easy to explain without at least a minute's planning.

"I was on my way home to put what I gathered in a safe place when I saw Maverick running up. He passed out right in front of me, so I dragged him in to rest. That's when I noticed an injury to his throat. Had to spend the rest of the time getting him aid. So that's what ate everything up." The human concocted a mostly believable reason. At least, that's what he told himself.

"I see. I hate to think about what happened before then, but thanks for caring for him in spite of the mistrust." Sebastian seemed grateful at least; a bonus for his companion.

"I wouldn't leave anyone else like that. Why should I start with him?" The man explained simply, opening up Anna's interrogation for listening. Both of them listened in silence. And when the recording was done, the comments started.

"That's rather interesting to hear. Makes me wonder about the kidnapper. That whole 'pitch black' thing lines up with the witness report." The raptor idly spoke.

"I almost forgot about all that. There's only one person I know matches the description, but I'm pretty sure they didn't go through." Alex threw his two cents in... two out of 1000. If he didn't have to hide everything...

"Might as well put it out there. Anything's possible at this point." Sebastian proposed in hopes of squeezing just a little more information out.

"Screw it, then. It's this vigilante back home. They're known by the name 'Viper'. I wish I had more, but that's all most everyone knows." The larger male conceded. He hoped that would discourage any more questions. Lucky for him that it did.

"Damn. At least we have a name. Anyway, that's about it for today. We'll contact you if we need anything." The two finally bid farewell and Alex headed out for one last stop...

Upscale Suburb - 11:14PM

Two dragons walked streets devoid of life. One seemed perfectly fine, whilst the other struggled to keep awake. It would be a rather peaceful spectacle if not for a third stalking them from just a story above.

Alex hopped from ledge to ledge, a hawk's eye on the Minister and her escort. He had zero confidence whatsoever that she'd follow an order from a lowly human. So he instead lay in wait for her residence to come up. It thankfully would only be another block before that happened.

"Hey Chief, are you sure you don't want to rest here for the night? I wouldn't want you in any danger." Emera suggested. The subtle hint of flirtation in her voice made his blood boil like hell. Of course she wouldn't follow orders. What did he take her for? But before making any rash decisions, he decided to listen for his dragon's answer.

"Sorry. There's some stuff I need to get sorted out before work tomorrow regarding a kidnapping that happened alongside the recent murder. I didn't have enough time to even look at it before everything." Bryce refused with good reason. Although now, Alex felt a pang of guilt for gathering as little as he did.

"Oh, you can do that before you come in with me tomorrow." The minister densely brushed him off. It became a question in the human's headspace just how bad she really is.

"I'd honestly rather not. Business before pleasure and all that." The larger male again stubbornly declined to a silent cheer from the stalker, and a heavy sigh from his harasser.

"Fine. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, Emera turned into her house, nearly slamming the door as she went. That won't be the only thing stressing her out tonight either. Alex found her bedroom window as his dragon left with a sigh of relief. He guessed she was on him the whole day

But there was still that sense of pride swelling within his heart as she stormed up the stairs. He knew his job wasn't done, but it would be that much easier if Bryce kept her away...