AN: No I haven't lost interest in the story, quite the opposite actually, but I got a review today and it just reminded me that I should update. So to find out where I've been just look at the Q&A at the end as usual, that will fill you in.
"Oh, with all that I've done wrong I must have
done something right.
To deserve your love every morning and butterfly
kisses-I couldn't ask God for more, man this is what love is.
I know I gotta let her go, but I'll always remember
every hug in the morning and butterfly kisses."
-Bob Carlisle "Butterfly Kisses"
Chapter 11
"Now You Know"
By Sparky16
Amon leaned against the vanity. He had gotten an ear full when he had returned to Robin. It was well past midnight now. Kanna was fast asleep in the middle of the bed in merely her diaper. Robin, now changed into a night slip, was proceeding to dress her daughter into her pajamas while chewing her hubby's ear off.
Robin was quietly going on about all the words Kanna had been saying ever since he had left and poor Amon was trying to keep a straight face though it all. Trying to act concerned about his wife's rantings when really all he wanted to do was lose it himself, and if Robin didn't stop soon he was going to start laughing.
"So why are we here?" Robin said in a sudden change of subject. Apparently she had ranted enough for the night. He was thankful. Amon moved from the vanity to get his sleep wear from the duffle bag.
"What do you mean?" he asked, wanting her to be more specific.
"First your apartment, then a resort, now this death trap?"
"Because tomorrow we work." Amon said being vague in reply.
"What?" Robin asked in both panic and what sounded something similar to anger.
"I mean," Amon started as he removed his jacket and shirt, "That we are returning to work as hunters."
"What!" Robin couldn't believe her ears. "Are you mad?" She accused. "What about Kanna? What will they do to her, h-hell, us-!"
"Robin." Amon cut her off "Let me finish. It's not official. We're going to work with our old coworkers to eliminate Lu and this second party threat so we can go back home. Solomon will have no knowledge of this what so ever. Once the threats are eliminated, we go home." He smirked at her in good humor, " Anddon't swear in front of the baby." Robin pouted at him slightly as he climbed into bed and adjusted Kanna so she could sleep comfortably between them.
"So it's voluntary. We're really just using their resources and help?"
Amon nodded "For what I hope will be a short period we will become hunters once more."
"What about Kanna?"
"Things will be slightly different this time around Robin. There is no need to worry about Kanna. She'll be with us."
Robin's eyes widened in shock "But-" she was shushed by Amon's finger on her lips. She looked at him.
"Trust me." Was all he said and removed his finger so he could go to sleep.
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The streets within the island of Walled City were deathly quiet in the moonlit night. there was a small chilly wind that blew a wrapper across the streets, letting the sound of its scraping echo along the walls of the buildings.
It was interrupted by the sound of booted feet running down the alley. Soldiers clad in black darted through the streets carrying rifles, pistols and semis. They were hunters of a different sort. Lu was following behind them at a casual pace.
"Make this quick. The boss needs them now. In and out. Don't get greedy, we can only take so many." Lu commanded to his black clad hunters and with a signal of his hand, away the hunters went.
They ran into the homes of the unsuspecting, kicking in the doors, aiming their guns and shooting, slaughtering and picking a unique few to bring back with them for their needs... whatever that may have been.
Within thirty minutes the slaughter was over and Lu, with is crew of hunters, had left the bloody scene and the serene peacefulness befell the area once more. The difference was that n one was alive to enjoy it.
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Amon stepped into the office bright and 'semi' early the next morning. 9:30 would not have been acceptable to him but granted the week he was having he thought it perfectly understandable.
"Good Morning, Amon" Michael greeted him.
Amon nodded "Is the chief here?"
"No, he won't be here for another half hour. He always makes rounds to the police station first for any information or orders the station commander may have for us."
"You run through the JPD first? Should've figured. Did you get those numbers I asked for."
"Sure did, and you're going to be shocked. His body count for hunts is well over 20,000 which is unnaturally high but I learned something. Only 346 of them are actually seeds and witches. The others are all humans."
Amon looked like he had seen a ghost. "And they still let this guy roam free?" Amon took his old seat and rolled up next to Michael.
"Yeah, but he's on thin ice right now because of his high body count of killing so many humans. Apparently he's one for mass murder and when he kills a witch he eradicates the rest around that witch whether they are involved or not."
"So he's essentially a witch himself then."
"In the STN's books he sure is. We get on a witch's case the moment they kill one person. But Solomon has keep this guy cause he's so efficient at gathering information." Michael explained.
"Have you been able to pull up a picture of the witch?"
"Nope." Michael answered. "I tried all night. Most of his files are pretty tightly locked up. I only got most of the information we have now by luck."
Doujima and Karasuma walked into the office chattering quietly amongst themselves with coffee in hand. They gave a small acknowledgment to Amon and Michael as though it were an everyday occurrence then continued right along to the small kitchenette. Sakaki came in not long after.
Amon briefly glanced at his old computer. "Did you ever get a replacement?"
Michael shrugged "Yeah. She wasn't to keen on it here. She hated our free way of thinking so she just up and left. We've been waiting for another ever since," Michael chuckled, "which I doubt we'll get. I don't think Solomon wants to be friends with us anymore."
"They're afraid you'll set a bad example. 2 wayward hunters are 2 too many for them to be comfortable with."
"Oh well." Michael grinned "Their loss"
"Daddy!" came an all to familiar squeal to Amon.
"Kanna, how did you get up here?" he asked, hoping someone would provide an answer. Everyone shrugged. His question was answered when Robin walked in half asleep.
"Morning, Robin." Michael said with a smile. Robin mumbled something and was off into the kitchen.
"Don't bother." Amon said to him with a slight grin. "She's incapable of any coherent thought until she's either had coffee or sex."
Michael blinked. "Coffee is on the top shelf to your left Robin!" all he got was Robin's small hand wave from the corner of the doorway in acknowledgment before disappearing again.
Kanna sprinted around the office a few times, stopping once or twice to investigate an object or room before vanishing under Amon's chair, his trench coat acting as a curtain for such a good hiding place.
A familiar sound was booming in the hall outside the office. In fact, it was all to familiar to Amon, he had heard it for about 14 years of his life, and by the way Doujima was turning tail to hide in the kitchen was a good indication to him who the person out in the hall was. Kosaka.
"Hey Boss." Michael addressed Kosaka as he came roaring into the room with Hattori behind him, taking all the wrath with a silent tongue.
"Hello Michael" Kosaka said as he walked into the office and headed straight for his, ignoring to address Michael in his anger and not even noticing Amon.
"Hi Boss," Karasuma said, "Things not go well down at the office?"
At this Kosaka turned around and frowned "Go well? now why would they ever go well? Because of them we can't even touch that new case until-" Kosaka blinked, finally noticing the dark hunter sitting in his old chair next to Michael. "Amon?" Kosaka blinked in astonishment, more than surprised to see his formally deceased hunter sitting there staring at him with that same masked expression he always wore and arms crossed lazily over his chest. "Y-You came back?"
At that moment Robin stepped out from the kitchen, coffee mug to her lips, and tired eyes looking at the former chief. Kosaka at that moment seemed all to delighted. "This is great! And Robin too. It's about time, where have you two been. I've been up in arms since you've been away. Honestly, leaving work without notifying us, for the longest time we thought you were dead! What was I suppose to tell Sol-"
Robin, with lips still not leaving the cup, raised her eyebrow, her look saying 'why now?' and did an about-face and walked straight back into the kitchen. She was not awake enough to deal with Kosaka. Not yet.
Amon shook his head. Kosaka stopped his rant. Amon had already thought up of a lie. "We no longer work with the STN-J branch. Solomon has sent us here to hunt a dangerous witch in the area. Once he is done, we are leaving. These are our orders."
Kosaka sighed. "Shame really. It would've been nice to have you two back."
Amon shrugged, the former chief could take that gesture anyway he pleased but as far as Amon was concerned, he wouldn't return back to this line of work even if his life depended on it, and to some extent, it did.
"So how long will you be here for?" Kosaka asked.
Again, Amon shrugged. "Until the witch is hunted. As for the other witches the STN is currently after, they are to be back logged until this one is brought down."
"That dangerous, huh?" Kasoaka asked.
"This witch's body count is unreal boss. We're talking in the tens of thousands" Michael said, "and not just other witches but humans too."
"So be it then. I won't question Amon's call on that. If this witch is truly that deadly then it is first on our to-do list. Now don't just sit there, get cracking!" Kosaka commanded and started for his office to deal with his own commitments.
Michael was stunned. "I can not believe he just bought that without question."
"Think about it Mikey," Doujima said as she walked out from the kitchen with Robin, still drinking her coffee, in toe. "Who will question Amon, let alone say no to him?"
Without missing a beat, Robin raised her hand.
She took her old seat and was typing away at the keys in a matter of seconds. "There we go." She smiled to herself and surveyed the information she had brought up with mild interest. Amon leaned back slightly to see the website Robin was looking at. He shook his head. This did not go unnoticed by her and she turned to him. "Then maybe you should start doing the laundry. Clean clothes don't grow on trees, especially childrens clothes. And as much as I'm sure you'd love it, Kanna can't keep wearing the same three outfits forever. She's already nailed 2 of them with muck, this last one isn't going to last the day either."
"Point taken." he said.
Robin sighed looking back at the information on the website then, turning the computer off, she looked around for Kanna. She gave a soft whistle, like a woman whistling for her dog that strayed to far.
"Robin. Under my chair." Amon said.
Robin lifted the edge of Amon's trench coat and sure enough, there was Kanna, starring up at her and slightly disappointed that she had been found. "I wondered why the chief didn't blow his spleen or something." she spoke.
"I said it before and I'll say it again," Doujima said, "Robin, you talk funny." Robin looked at her friend with a raised eyebrow as she crouched down to retrieve her child.
"Take someone with you, Robin." Amon said.
Doujima jumped at the chance. "I'll go!"
"Take this with you too, Robin" Michael said and handed her a communicator.
"Thanks" she said, stuffing the device into her skirt pocket. "I've got an escort and my Lu detector. I think I'm set. You aren't going to come?" she asked her husband.
Amon shook his head. "I want to find Lucifer's whereabouts."
"If you do find anything I want to know. " Robin said and left with her daughter and Doujima.
It had not even been five minutes before Kosaka came back out of the office still grumbling. The hunters that were left looked at him. "I need you people down at Walled City. I just got a call from the commissioner. There's been a slaughter."
----------------------------
Amon held back the urge to whistle. This was not a slaughter, this was a massacre. There were bodies in almost every house and the blood of bodies being dragged down the streets to a connecting street, presumably where vehicles awaited to take them away.
Amon shook his head as he went from room to room, building to building. There were some he knew and some he didn't. There were some that were marked by Solomon and others that were just complete unknowns to him.
"Who ever did this has way to much time on their hands." Sakaki muttered.
"Not to mention a sick mind." Karasuma added as she moved her way across the room to investigate another spot where a pool of congealed blood lay. "Who ever master minded this was definitely not alone. There were 15 or 20 more people with him."
"Him?" Amon questioned.
Karasuma nodded. "Men and woman have a different signature when it comes to their wills, souls and emotions. The one I'm sensing is definitely male."
Sakaki had wondered off to another building to investigate the damages. He scowled slightly as he weaved in and out of police investigators. They were always getting in the way. When he managed to get into the next building the first thing he saw was the exact same thing he saw in every other building. Blood and bodies. The investigators cameras, however, were focused on the wall. Admits all the bulb flashes he could see something written in blood upon the wall. Quickly he turned to call Amon. "You need to see this!" he shouted from across the way.
Amon was quick to join with Karasuma at his side. His eyes were directed to Sakaki's hand pointing at the wall. When the older man scanned the words his face grew hard, his expression cold.
On the wall read "LU WAS HERE"
'So this is what he's capable of.' Amon thought.
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Robin shifted through the sales racks in the children's department. Unlike her friend Doujima, she wasn't swooning over how cute things were. She had gone through that phase long ago when she was seventeen. Now she was just amazed on how fast Kanna grew out of everything. There was no time to pause and see how cute things where on her. She grew out of them just as quick.
Kanna, all the while, was fixated on a bear that was in a crib display and she was trying to reach at it through the bars. Robin turned, she knew where Kanna was and she was only a step away. She promised herself never to turn her back on her baby again, not after what happened in the park.
Deciding she couldn't reach the bear and needed to employ help, Kanna toddled off in Doujima's direction. Robin's eyes followed.
"She's heading your way." Robin said.
"Hello sweet heart." Doujima nearly squealed. Robin smiled, Doujima adored her daughter.
"Can you watch her?" Robin asked as she put some clothes aside. "I just need to use the ladies room."
"No problem!" her companion said and Robin, confident that Kanna was fine, left to find the washroom.
A pair of red eyes watched her leave and turned the stare towards the silver haired toddler. Doujima pressed Kanna down to sit next to her heels then turned back to the clothes." I wonder if Robin will..." She looked back down at Kanna and disagreed with her choice and set it back. "Well your mother was right, you're a hard baby to buy for." Doujima said. Kanna looked up at her with half her fist in her mouth and a river of spit dripping down her chin. "Dribble baby." Doujima cooed and began sorting through the rack once more.
A man, dressed in casual wear, forest green sweater and tan slacks, stood with his red eyes on the baby. Most other days Lu might have been wearing a suit but since his run in with Robin and Amon and gaining that injury from the bullet wound Amon had handed him, suits just seemed uncomfortable.
So something loose was in order this time. Lu grinned. It hadn't been hard to track the two this time around. He knew they would return for their things so he followed per say by placing a small tracker, the size of a watch battery, on one of Robin's articles of clothing, then fled the scene before the others had arrived. Early that morning he had traced them to Raven Flats and waited and watched. He had been rewarded by seeing Robin, with another lady, exit the building and go to the mall. He had followed.
He learned his lesson last time, he would need to be more careful. He started this time by not using his powers. So far, Kanna hadn't detected him. He had purposely passed by the child several times and yet nothing happened. Lu walked over to the crib display and reached into for the bear that caught Kanna's fancy. He had a plan and he needed this to work perfectly. Last night he had set the stage once he found out the family had fled to Raven Flats. Lu was not a stupid man, he knew that was the location of the STN Japan branch. He knew they would employ the help of their old friends if they still had it. So, to remove the friends, he filled an order for his boss and slaughtered a few people back in Walled City.
With them out of the way, he would take them down separately. He would find a way to separate Robin and capture her. Lu knew that could be done by taking Kanna and from his estimations, that wouldn't even be a chore. Once he had the baby, he'd have Robin, once he had Robin, he'd have the Father, Amon.
Making a quick purchase of the bear so as not to alarm the store of him stealing what he'd term as bait, Lu returned to his spot to find Kanna had wondered off a few feet from her watch dog. Wandering around behind Doujima so as not to get spotted, he motioned at Kanna to grab the tot's attention and showed her the bear.
Kanna's face lit up like a Christmas tree at the sight of the man offering her the bear and she took off like lighting for it. Lu snatched her up instantly and shuffled off to a far corner, to observe and wait for Robin. As if on que, the woman appeared walking out from the washrooms adjusting the strap to her hand bag and putting in some lip gloss. He saw it then, an STN communicator. There was no mistaken it. He had one just like her's as did every member of Solomon. This was perfect.
Lu adjusted Kanna and made a bolt for the door to get to his car in the underground parking lot. He looked at the baby who was observing her surroundings as they made the dash for the car. Lu smirked. "You can't tell if I'm a threat to you now, can you?" he chuckled. "You little brat." He received a full facial rub of a baby drooled hand.
"I swear you can understand people." He remarked as he threw open the back door to his car and buckled Kanna in, then jumped into his seat and ripped open his laptop. He had an idea. Fishing his communicator out of his back pocket, he connected it with a cable he got from the glove box, to his laptop and started his own search. He was searching for Robin's signal. If he got that then he was going to make a phone call. First off he needed to get the tower that handled the STN communications.
Done.
Now he had to narrow the map down to the mall.
Done.
Now he needed to identify what signal was Robin's. That would be easy. STN signals were labeled, all he's have to do is click one to get information on them. It was protocol. He had discovered his first, the Doujima's then an unknown. He knew the unknown to have been Robin. He nodded to himself. The id may have been unknown but the number was there for the taking.
Now he just had to make one final move. Lu started up his car and pulled out.
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Robin was in a panic. Kanna was gone again! Doujima was upset, feeling as though she had failed her best friend. They had been searching for the missing child for twenty minutes now, and they had the staff searching for the baby and some of the store's customers. Still they had turned up nothing. Robin was beside herself, what was she going to do? She knew what she had to do. She had to call Amon. He would be able to find her with their bond! If Kanna could do it then certainly he could try.
She had just pulled out her communicator when it rang.
"Hello, Amon?" she questioned.
"Missing something?" came a strange voice to Robin's ears.
Robin's expression suddenly turned to anger but she felt nothing but dread in her heart. This person had her baby!
"Where is she Lucifer?" Robin hissed. No one had to tell her who had pulled this off.
Lu chuckled. "If you want your baby back then you will follow my directions. First off, do not alert anyone. I can see you. Next come alone to the roof. I'll give you further instructions from there."
"What do you want?" Robin said as she made her way to the stairs.
"You will see in due time. In the mean time, I suggest you just keep making your way to the roof and play nicely."
"Well I can't say the rules to your game have been very fair Lucifer." Robin said lowly as she slowly strode towards the stairs of the department store.
"You're doing very good."
"Where are you?" Robin spat as her eyes darted around for a man on cell phone possibly nearby.
"Now what would the fun in that be if I told you?" Lu practically purred.
Robin bit her tongue. Being 19, a mother, a wife, a business owner and a far less naive person than she had ever been, she had to keep herself from saying some very uncharacteristic words right about then, but there was nothing uncharacteristic of what she was going to do to this man the moment she found him. He'd be nothing more than a black sooty spot on the ground.
She had climbed the stairs to the roof parking lot and looked around, there were lots of cars from shoppers but no Lu. "All right, what now."
Lu couldn't hold back the little chuckle he felt. "Good girl. Now take about fifteen paces forward to that little gray car." Robin complied and walked for the car, all the while turning her head this way and that, to look for Lu. There was still no sign of him. Robin caught sight of her daughter in the back of a small gray car that she had been asked to go to. Kanna was buckled in the back while chewing on the ear of her new teddy.
"Kanna" Robin said under her breath and took off towards the car. She nearly ripped the door right off the hinges when she reached her daughter.
"Mama!" Kanna cooed and held out her tiny little arms. Robin was reaching for the seat belt when she felt something hit the back of her head and everything suddenly went back.
"Tag," Lu grinned as he stood behind Robin's body that had flopped across the backseat. "You're it." He gathered her up quickly and sat her properly next to Kanna so she merely looked like a girl sleeping in the back and rid himself of her communicator on the roof. The last thing he needed to was to tracked. And to make sure of it, he ran it over on the way out.
Lucifer laughed. "Two down, one to go. So far this is working perfectly." He gloated.
A sharp "SHHHHHH!" issued from the back and Lu looked in his rear view mirror to see little Kanna looking at him crossly. "Mommy's sweeeeeeeeeping!" the two year old scolded.
He blinked.
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Amon let out a frustrated growl as a busy tone came through the earpiece on the communicator. He hung up then tried again, only to get 'The person you are trying to reach has either turned off their phone or is not in the range-' He hung up again and this time turned to his coworkers who were gathered around the cars they took to get to their current location. "Is anyone else trying to reach Robin?" he asked.
Sakaki shook his head and Miho seemed to be talking to Michael. "What's wrong?" The young man asked.
"I can't reach Robin. First it was a busy signal, now it's not picking her up."
"Michael lost Robin's signal just now," Miho interrupted Amon, "He's trying to reach Doujima now."
Amon sighed. He had the world's worst feeling in his gut. What was he doing letting Robin wonder though the city with their toddler while there was a killer out there on the loose trying to knock them off!
He knew Robin was not defenseless but her motherly instincts had the tendency to kick in when she needed to be sensible, and those instincts blocked all sensibility she had. Even with an escort, which had been his bright idea, he should've stopped her. Yes, she was just going out to get what they needed but with Doujima being the escort... why didn't he see this as a possible recipe for disaster earlier?
Now that Robin's signal had disappeared, Amon was really chewing himself out about this one.
Amon's communicator rang "Talk to me."
"You need to head over the the shopping center at Townline Road Now! According to Doujima, Kanna had disappeared and Robin not long after. The security is just running its tapes now." Michael said
"Right, we're on our way." Amon said and hung up. "Townline Rd, and now." Amon ordered his crew.
"Amon?" Sakaki asked.
The older man turned to the boy, "Both Robin and Kanna are missing" he said, and got into the car.
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Four of them stood around Michael and a security officer as they ran through the security tapes, starting from the man that took Kanna, to Robin being hit over the head by said man and being placed in his car.
"Why didn't she say anything?" Doujima asked.
Michael pointed to one part of the screen during the search at the start of the phone call. "Right there," Michael said, pointing him out hiding behind some clothes. "He has the perfect vantage point. He probably told her not to alert anyone or he'd do something and Robin can't even see him with all the people around trying to help you two out."
"He follows her right out." Sakaki said as he watched the tape roll.
Inside, Amon was furious with Robin. How could she fall for something so stereotypical as this? Granted she was worried about her baby and she had trusted a certain hunter to watch her and... there was no point in blaming Robin. Still, she seemed to fall for it so easily. Why?
Damn a mother's instincts...
But now Amon had one slight advantage as he glared at the tape. Thanks to Lu's carelessness once again, Amon now knew the face of his enemy.
"Michael, see if you can try and make out the license plate of Lu's car."
"You sure it's Lu, Amon?" Sakaki asked.
"Who else would it be?" Amon said and headed to the roof where Robin had been last to collect the remains of her shattered communicator.
Q&A
Q: Where the hell have you BEEN!
A: It's called Summer Semester in University.
Q: What are you doing?
A: Drawing, Painting and Sculptor.
Q: When will your next update be?
A: Next Sunday. Promise!
Well see you next Sunday! Yes the next part of this chapter is ready to go up by then. I'm just glad to see this story moving again! YAY So like... Review and stuff and I'll air mail you a half nakid Amon. You get to decide which half is naked!
Click Review
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