CHAPTER 36

Alice made a promise.

And she was a Kirkland. Kirklands' were many things. They were drunkards; the first ones to start a fight in a pub and the last ones standing at the end; they were dangerous; they didn't get along with many people, least of all their own family; and they were terrible cooks.

But a Kirkland never went back on their promise.

She would never ask Elizabeta and Kiku about Venziano again, but she never promised she wouldn't ask anyone else on the matter. It was a big stretch, yes, but she knew she had to do it. Alice couldn't ask Berwald, he'd already left to Greenland two days after they had talked. Asking Kiku's siblings would be stupid and unfruitful. Asking Antonio, Feliciano, and Ludwig would be pretty much asking for murder.

That left her with one choice.

The British woman took out her crowbar and pried open the old, nastily painted window. It creaked and groaned, making her wince with every noise, but nonetheless opened. She took the crowbar and placed it on the ground, now supporting the window frame with her left hand. Lightly, Alice's feet touched the soft, plush carpet. She took the crowbar and placed it back under the window frame.

You never knew when you'd need a quick dash to safety.

She glanced around the office, frowning. It was filled with thick miasma of herbal incense. Gold and red painted the room, ancient Chinese decorations filled the room. "Aiyah!" A thick Chinese accent called out in alarm. Yao stared at her, pointing and looking surprised. "What are you doing here?!"

"Woah, calm down." Alice held her hands up in surrender. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"You." He glared. "I told you-!"

"Not to come here anymore, I get it." She pushed down the strong urge to roll her eyes. "But listen, I need your help."

"Why the hell should I help you, aru!" The older man cried, eyes in slits. "Your brother-"

"-Is an idiot. Trust me, I know. I have to live with him, after all." This time she did roll her eyes. "But I'm not here to drink your liquor or start a bar fight."

The Chinese man was going to protest, but she cut him off again. "I'm friends with Lovino. Lovino Vargas."

He frowned and backed up, posture softening slightly. "Friends with Romulus' kid…?"

"Uh, yes, we met in Italy a few years back. I saved Ludwig and Feliciano from a gunfight." She said cautiously. "I'm also a friend of your son, Kiku."

Yao had completely relaxed now. "What do you want?"

"I've been working on this case. A serial killer. Originally, I thought it might've been Vash, but…" She didn't continue. "Anyways, there is a possibility that this killer will hurt someone. And by someone, I mean Lovino and Feliciano."

"Hurt Vargas' kids? Pah!" Yao shook his head, "Why don't you just go home, you don't know what dangers you're getting yourself into."

"My name is Alice Kirkland, Mr. Wang." Her voice steeled, "I'm the youngest child of Detective Fergus Kirkland. Name ring a bell?"

Yao's eyes went wide and he began to stutter. "Y-Y-Y-You-!"

"I know what I've gotten myself into, and frankly I don't give a damn. This bastard not only killed four innocent people, he had the fucking nerve to lay a finger on my family and my home." Alice paused to take a deep breath, but her Kelly green eyes were on fire still. "I'm going to get the information I want, whether you like it or not. So, are we going to do this the hard way or the easy way?"

The former Mafia member watched her for several minutes, almost as though he couldn't believe his eyes. As though he was seeing a ghost. Her heart wrenched, but she managed to hide it. "Rúcǐ nǎorén, jiù xiàng nǐ de fùqīn…" He muttered before looking back up at her. "Why don't you take a seat, Ms. Kirkland?"

She ignored him. "You've heard of Venziano Vargas, correct?"

Yao gave a hesitant nod, still watching her warily. "He was Romulus' nephew. I only met him a few times, aru, but he left a…lasting impression."

"I can tell." She muttered to herself, a shudder nearly wracking through her body as she remembered those red eyes. Scarlet red, like blood.

"I don't know the details, aru, but some years ago, the kid stirred up some trouble in the Mafia." Yao continued, "He ended up causing a civil war. Admittedly, he had an army about a third the size of Lovino's, but Venziano still caused quite a bit of destruction. Kiku was gone most of the time during the war, supporting Lovino, aiyah."

Alice tried to keep a straight face. "How long was the war?"

"Around three years." The Chinese man said, "It would've gone on longer, I suspect, but Venziano was abruptly killed during one of the gunfights. I couldn't tell you where it happened."

"Can you tell me who killed him?"

"…" Yao paused. "Vash Zwingli."