Chapter 8: Work of art
Crime war has finally broken out between the Carlino and Castagella Families, for months both sides have been pounding at each other but war became a stalemate. As the battle rages on at Casino, protection rackets and business establishments, the press begins to run headlines on the gang war and mayor Wilson was more than happy to cash in on the matter with promises of cleaning up the city. The other crime Families decided to stay neutral on the matter since joining the fight would harm their businesses unnecessarily. Some journalists and other gossipers said that mayor Wilson may have a hand in sparking the crime war but rumors were brushed aside by the mayor. Manda was clever enough to give the rumors a hand by feeding the reporters with vague details about DA Elizabeth's death, this gives breathes new life into street gossips.
Pacing back and forth in the office of don Carlino, Kiryu was waiting anxiously for Manda to come in through the door with some breakthrough about mayor Wilson's publicity. "You're sure that this would work?" Kiryu asked Carlino who was discussing strategy with his caporegimes. "Of course, I've seen politician with their career ruins by bad publicity. Just give him a major stinker in his career then his election will be cancelled." Carlino calmly answer Kiryu's nervous mind but then Manda came into the don's war room with a worried look on his face. "Don Carlino, I got some bad news from our mole, mayor Wilson is ordering the disposal of Elizabeth Townley's corpse." Kiryu and Carlino both gave a disbelieved expression to Manda, Kiryu was quick to dig deeper into what Manda knows. "Who did he order to do this job?" Manda clench his teeth for a moment then gave his answer. "He gave the order to...The Scissor." The Scissor, that name sends fear and shiver up everyone's spine. The Scissor, or as known to the public, Dr Gigan PhD. An expert surgeon in Atlantic City, he was also the the one that manage the autopsy of the morgue. "Him? That doctor? How much did Wilson pay that sadistic psycho?" Kiryu asked further. "I don't know but I know one thing. He's going to get rid of Elizabeth's corpse faster than you can say dollars."
"I'm going over to the morgue, Elizabeth deserve a funeral with full respect. As for that psychopath, he'll sleep with the fishes." Kiryu quickly ran out to his car and punch the gas, Manda was quick to run after him and hop on the passenger seat next to Kiryu. "Wait a minute! Kiryu! S...Stop it! What are you doing!?" The dragon secured the brake in position, he holds Kiryu's hand back away from the steering wheel. "Doing what I have to do." the mechanical dinosaur responds. "Well you're not doing it in a good way. What do you think you would do when you get there? Shoot your way in and grab the corpse, or walks in and say that "Hey guys I need that lady's dead body to get a funeral done"? It ain't gonna work genius." Kiryu gave a low growl at Manda, annoyed by the lawyer's pen pusher way. "Then how do you get this done? Punch down your pen and give them a subpoena or maybe file a request..." Manda use his hand and restrained Kiryu's mouth, stopping the mech from talking. "Trust me on this one. When Elizabeth is six feet under, I'll buy you a shot. If not, give that sucker two in head. Now, let's hit the road." Manda then gently release his grip on Kiryu's snout and let the mech drive his car. "So where are we going first?" Kiryu asked, feeling defeated by the dragon's quieter approach to thing. "I need to meet an undertaker in person. He's the boss's best friend ever since they're off the boat from Sicily. Go to the 24/5 A Hoskins Avenue." Kiryu then drove off to the city, they went pass the toll booth, exchanging with each other on their personal lives and points of view on their respective jobs and methods. For Kiryu, he doesn't like lawyers or politicians, in his language, they're all "Poli-chicken". For Manda, he views Kiryu's vigilante and rogue cop style is brainless, foolish and practically playing the role of a hired pawn voluntarily.
When they were half way to the city, Kiryu decided to turn on the radio for some music along the way. "How about some music along the way then?"; "Sure thing, I heard that the Five Stars are here in the city performing." Kiryu tune the radio station and eventually he hit the Five Stars band performing their hit, "Atom Bomb Baby". They came to the house of the undertaker, it was a small shop with coffins of all sizes and model for a funeral service, it also has a sign in front that said "Auditore Funeral Service". "So this is the place. Is the service good?" Kiryu step out of his car and took a look at the humble shop, "Want me to book your funeral here?" Manda wink and Kiryu felt silent once again. They came inside and found an Italian shopkeeper tending his notebook of customers. "Signore Auditore. (Mr Auditore), it is good to see again. How is your wife and daughter?" Manda shake Auditore's hand and the man return a friendly smile to the dragon and Kiryu. "Si (Yes) it is good to meet you again signor Manda (Mr Manda). My wife and I are happy that our daughter is doing well in college sooner or later she'll win her diploma, something that I didn't have at her age. So who should I help to the afterlife today?" Kiryu came to discuss with the undertaker. "I have a woman who is overdue for her funeral. Elizabeth Townley, now don Carlino will pay for the service fee and everything. Manda and I are going to do some paper work concerning our subject. Once we have our lady we'll call you and book the day of service."; "Very well then good sir. I'll provide a funeral with full respect. Adino Messere. (Good bye sir.)"
"Now to the morgue. Let's hope we're not too late." Kiryu mumbles in his mouth then drove over to the morgue with Manda, when they arrive at the morgue, the two came down to see the doctors and get their paperwork done. But when they came down they found one thing was out of place. Elizabeth's corpse was already taken from the morgue, and the slot where her corpse was supposed to be was empty. "Damn it! I knew it that bastard was always faster than an Alabama Tick!" Kiryu growls when he found the corpse was missing with the removal paper has Gigan's signature on it. "Look at this, he just left the place. That means we're too late just yet." Kiryu scanned the ground and found Gigan's footprints, the time that Kiryu's sensors put the footprints is an hour earlier. "We need to get over to Gigan's house now! Let's go! I have a hunch he's going to toy around with her face before getting rid of the corpse then pass it off as the mob did it."
Kiryu and Manda hop on the car and drives like there is no tomorrow, they went over to the southern edge of the city where Gigan was living, a mansion just in front of the forest and a marshland with alligators living in it. Kiryu park the car in front of the mansion and came through the door with his M1911 lock and loaded, Manda was of course well aware that it was the time to go loud and dumb, so he bring out his shotgun and loaded it with buckshot pellets. "So how hard is it for us to get a body again?" Kiryu asked with an amusing tone. "Simple, just say please." Then the two went in to find Gigan, they noticed right away that the place was playing an eerie orchestra music, the kind of like in Universal horror movies. "Be perfect! Perfect I tell you! Perfect!" The heard the sound of Gigan's voice wailing through the mansion, the sound of flesh being ribbed and scissors clipping away can be heard everywhere. "Why can't you be just perfect? Tell me! I've worked hard to get my degree and now this is how my work looks like?" Gigan screams out as he continues to work on a patient's plastic surgery. Kiryu and Gigan saw the scene of Gigan's operating room and it was full of blood, for Gigan getting his patient to look beautiful was a work of art that none can compare. He toy with his now dead patient, slamming his claws into her harder and harder as his sanity drifts away.
"What? Guests? Don't you know how to knock? Knock the next time you hear me? Knock! All I want was to make them all look pretty but I somehow just can't." Then Gigan switch on the light and show an even more gruesome sight to Manda and Kiryu's eyes, Gigan's previous "Failures" were hung on the wall in an eagle spread position. "This one too big! This one, too fat! That one is too small! Why can't they be perfect? I ask you, why can't they be perfect damn it?!" Gigan suddenly grab his Thompson sub-machine gun and unload a huge amount of lead on Kiryu and Manda, the bullets shattered the glass that separates the two rooms apart then Manda returns with some of his shotgun pellets. They blows off some of the concretes and Gigan ducks behind a pillar then returns with a salvo of his ammo. "Don't you worry Mr. Gigan, I'm sure my insurance can cover all of your losses." Manda shoots a a volley of pellets at Gigan while Kiryu flanks around the mad doctor. Kiryu fires a shot at Manda's chest, the mad doctor received a bullet into his chest but he wasn't going down that easily, he quickly turns around and shoot Kiryu with his Thompson. "I'll make sure you look fitting for a Viking funeral!" Gigan laugh manically, just then, Manda shoot Gigan again with his shotgun, and it sent Gigan flying out of the glass window and into the pool in his backyard. Kiryu and Manda came over and saw the pool's water was now red as blood with Gigan floating on the surface. "Now that's what I call a work of art. Now let's get out of here. We've already overstayed our welcome." Kiryu and Manda was quick enough to secure Elizabeth's corpse intact in Gigan's freezer then beat a hasty retreat back to the don's home.