Author's Notes: Second round of internship has begun. Here's another chapter and I have to say that the next chapter will come out really slow. One is due to the fact I'm working 6 days a week (With a large amount of overtime) and secondly is that a new chapter had to be inserted in between my original plot planning. I find that addition essential so it will take a greater amount of time before a release. Things aren't looking so good these days but i'll try to keep the chapters rolling. I hope you enjoy the read and review.

Chapter 15: Pay Day

Welcome to ACN, I'm Nori Chiasa.

Last night, Anti-Skill has found the remains of what is to be a series of murders. Six men are dead with one horribly mutilated. Cause of death is confirmed by ballistics to be a shooter. Anti-Skill warns the public to remain calm and to lock your doors.

Click

"You have already heard about it, Mr Anthony." Kihara Jiro's voice entered the office of Anthony Hugh via the loudspeaker of a telephone. The TV that was once playing the news is now turned off with its black face.

Anthony relaxed his crossed legs on the desk as he lied back against his chair. "It's top news, seeing how a series of murders shouldn't be happening in the most technologically advanced city in the world."

Jiro lectured. "Technology is not directly equivalent to safety. The human aggressive nature is unavoidable. Additionally, the trap that has been set is clearly successful."

Anthony demanded politely. "What's the proof to that?"

"You are already looking at it."

"Is she going to be alright?" Saten asked with Uiharu and Misaka beside her in their second visit to the hospital. They are carrying a hand basket filled with flowers and fruits. A small get well note was tucked nicely on the fruits as well.

The doctor Heaven Canceller nodded. "She's recovering slowly but steadily. It will take about two weeks to fully recover should there be no complications. She is still asleep so it'd be unwise to visit her at this time."

Misaka gestured to their basket. "Then can you put these into the room for us?"

"That, I can do. I'll be checking on her now anyway." The doctor went on to his duties, basket in hand. The ICU unit is only several wards away. He opened the specialized ICU room for Kuroko. He closed the door and realized the danger he is in. The monitoring nurse is knocked out, face planted onto the table. Papers and documents were scattered across the floor. The young man that stood behind the door right behind him held a gun to his head. The doctor did not move as he spoke. "Are you planning to kill me?"

The gun was withdrawn. "I was just being sure. The nurse is asleep. The medicine will wear off in twenty minutes." Yori stepped beside the Heaven Canceller as they watched the injured girl breathing slowly with the assistance of machines. "How is she doing?"

The two observed the profoundly bandaged Kuroko. "She will live and make a full recovery in two weeks if no complications arise. I presume yesterday's news is because of you."

Yori was guilty on that one. "Smart as usual doctor. I was giving some payback."

The doctor gave a faint smile. "I know you well. After all, you were a patient of mine."

"Yeah, that was two years back." Yori admitted.

"What are you planning to do?" The doctor asked for the kid's next move.

Yori gave his next goal. "The true conspirators behind this are probably out there. My job isn't done." It was based on simple deduction by Yori. Every person's action has a goal to it. Whether it may be for a step forward up the corporate ladder, a reward of any forms or for plain fun, there are no actions that are taken for being truly stupid. Nao had an intention with giving his tip. Yori suspected it was money given the traces of large change that was scattered in the room which became the deathbed.

The doctor chuckled. "It's ironic that you are like the city's Knight and its Demon."

Yori shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe your Hippocratic Oath rubbed off me back then."

"I still remember when they brought you in." Heaven Canceller recalled. "You were only twelve, having injuries that could easily kill a man several times."

"I have your skills to thank for that. I came out of it pretty much scar-less too. I won't let that happen again." Yori tightened his fist. "Otherwise, a good number of friends will be mad at me." Yori turned around. "I'm off to my mission doc. Keep her safe." The door opened and he's gone.

The doctor gave a smug to no one as he put the basket onto the table. "You've changed Yori. You've changed for the better."

A certain young doctor was chilling back with earphones in his ears. Rock music was playing before he was interrupted by a blow of the newspaper in the face by another older doctor. Along with age comes greater experience. The examiner gestured to the young intern. "Come on, we got a job to do."

The newbie pulled the earphones off. "What do we have doc? Don't tell me it's another floater, not especially a cat."

The forensic examiner brushed him off. "No, haven't you heard the news?"

"No. Why?"

The aged man sighed. "Kids these days…all the technology in the world and they won't even watch the news." He threw the newspaper at the intern. "It's top news."

The younger student read the headlines. "Woah…a total of six dead men...that's quite a sicko."

"We'll find out everything when we dissect the body." The doctor was already moving on to prepare for the autopsy. The youth was forced to catch up heading into the Pit.

The Pit is what the medical examiners like to call the autopsy room. In here, there can be several autopsies occurring at one go depending on the circumstances. However in Academy City, there usually are few actual deaths due to several facts such as having one of the best medical technologically advanced facilities in the entire world. Second is a certain frog faced doctor but we'll not talk about him now. Third of course is that Academy City comprises mostly of students which have generally better health and less privy to murders and so on.

However, death still occurs and this is what the doctor of thirty years has been doing. He deciphers the clues and causes of death. From there, he places the cards together and determines the truth. Behind him fumbling about is his still relatively new assistant for another year or so. So far…it hasn't been as promising as it optimistically can be. Well, kids these days after all…are kids. The forensic examiner noted. "We won't need the suits as these are obviously murders. We'll go in with normal scrubs."

The two entered the autopsy room, the black bags on the several stretchers at the ready. "Let's begin with the most detailed corpse." The lead opened each body bag one by one until the fourth where his intern recoiled a little from surprise.

"Oh god…what happened to him?"

The experienced man wasn't fazed at all. "We open him up and we find out." The autopsy began as the body bag is removed and the corpse is laid onto the table. The full extent of the damage is fully known. It took the new guy some moments to not lose his lunch just twenty minutes ago. As soon as his assistant is ready, the examiner began the autopsy. His assistant will hold the camera and take shots at points of interest while he will excise or extract accordingly.

He started off from the surface. "Black burn mark, most likely caused by flames." He moved from right to left. "A deep diagonal cut across the upper chest below the scapula." His fingers moved deftly but gently to not lose evidence. "Another burn mark below the cut, most likely caused by chemicals."

"Hold a second doc." His intern interrupted with a flash of the camera. "How can you tell the difference?"

The examiner smiled as he pointed out with a finger. "Can you see the red marks? That is the inflammations that come with a chemical burn. The previous case had a black mark, since there are no black marks here, it would have the same black tinge to it. The inconsistency of the dabs is also a mark of such. Satisfied with the explanation, his assistant allowed him to carry on. "Here's another cut, by a smaller sharper object."

"Let me guess this one. It's due to the width and depth of the cut right?"

"Correct. A smaller blade has a smaller width but it can have a cleaner and greater precision of the cut. This cut looks very familiar." The doctor pressed his forceps deeper into the wound. "As I suspected…" He pulled out a small fragment of bloodied metal.

"What could it be?"

"That is the fragment of a scalpel broken during a cut." That meant he's holding a stainless steel fragment. That is a strong material for general usage.

His assistant was puzzled. "How can you tell from that? It looks like any piece of metal to me."

"I've done my fair share of cutting using the scalpel. You see the same cuts over and over. Apparently this one isn't very well acquainted in medical surgery for he cut too deep."

"He cut too deep?"

"He used an improper tool to cut all the way down into the bone. It's natural for it to break at the bone line."

"Wow…you really are just so good in this."

"I have over twenty eight years of practicing forensics. It is only natural I have my abilities."

"So, what do you think of the culprit?" His student demanded more information in a really excited manner.

"Hmm…" The eyes of experience viewed the signs. "The cuts show two different weapons. The burns also show two different methods. These marks around the neck show stress inflicted, most likely a form of asphyxia. Ah, there's a rugged cut along the arm as well. It's a crude cut but it's a strong tool since it can cut into the bone. The bone dust shows it's a saw of some kind. The left index finger shows a broken finger at a highly distorted angle. It appears to be twisted very precise as well, probably by another tool. And…"

The doctor pulled out a nail from the exterior skin of the stomach. "There's a bunch of nails along the intestinal line." Blood and juices stained the skin and nails.

The apprentice is surprised. "Damn….your good."

"Judging from all the effort…this is a murder of passion."

"How can you tell?"

"The other three bodies only have a single bullet to the head. This one met a very painful end. Every detail has a cause. These causes lead to another and another until you reach the ultimate truth which is the motive. The clues here already show that the murderer wants what was this man. Only a passion of love or hate could induce the murderer to cause such a feat."

"How can we tell the difference?"

"We don't need to for now. They're both very strong in their own way. If I have to estimate, this is the passion of hate for this guy here was tortured to the extremes. You don't find a lover giving such a treatment right? Then again it is Academy City; even young girls can be very dangerous."

The intern trembled a little. "If this is just the surface, I don't want to imagine the inside."

"It's probably worse than we think. We'll likely need to use the AI Scan to analyse the true scale of the internal injuries. Meanwhile, let's finish off the surface." The examiner moved on. "There are a few more burn marks here and there…Some stab marks and…." The doctor reached into the mouth cavity of the body. "Several broken teeth and a…" He pulled out a flimsy flesh "A severed penis. Last but not least for the rough examination is the decapitated head."

"It doesn't look decapitated to me."

"It is." The doctor pulled the head gently. It came off easily like weak glue. "See?"

ARMASTECH DIGITAL SIGNAL DETECTED

INTERCEPTION IN PROGRESS

SIGNAL RECEIVED...DECODING.

DISPLAYING MESSAGE

Judgment is closing the noose tighter. Stronger security is required. We need to meet to further discuss that. In the meantime, I will break the D752 into our full control and perhaps redeem some of the value back.

Yori left the hospital via the car park. Since it's the afternoon, it was relatively filled with cars but no one's around. Yori flexed his neck as a yellow Kawasaki ER-6 motorcycle pulled to a stop beside him. Yori asked. "What do you want?" The rider wore a red shirt with a black jacket encasing it. The jacket matches with the blue jeans and black shoes. A silver necklace with a skull was wrapped around the neck.

"Ah, I was supposed to be surprise by the fact you're still alive but I'll cut it short. The black jacket man removed his helmet to reveal his red hair. "I'm Wataru Kurozuma, remember me?"

Yori remembered. "You're the guy who dared stood up with us in that covert op eh. I remember you. Now how do you know I'm still alive?"

Kurozuma settled the bike onto its standing position. "Good. As for your status, you have Konori for that. I know that you're the one that killed those six men."

"What makes you think it that way?" Yori asked.

Kurozuma presented his cards. "Konori told me the full story about your case. You performing the murders I presumed from the ballistics reports and the timeline after what happened to the pig tailed girl." It was very precise.

"You're going to arrest me then." Yori predicted out loud.

The former Skillout shook his head. "I'm going to help you."

Yori was bluntly stupefied. "How are you going to help me?"

Kurozuma related. "Do you remember your old friend Charles Kazuo? Along with my job at Anti-Skill, I am also his replacement."

"The Messengers huh..." The Messengers is a human based communications network. These messengers act as node points for communication to anyone by anyone for a small price. Charles Kazuo was a relatively old friend from his days in the underworld. He had met a painful ending from being murdered and mutilated by Takeo. "Who do they know that knows what I need?"

"I can't tell you that unless you first accept my help." Kurozuma held an imaginary carrot before Yori the rabbit.

"Deal." The offer was taken instantaneously. He takes what he can get.

Kurozuma tossed him a helmet. "Get on, I'll explain along the way." Thirty seconds later, the Kawasaki screeched along the tarmac and out the parking lot.

"You see, the messengers keep a track of everyone within our network. That means us as well. We've found a possible traitor among us."

Yori mused. "A traitor. That's the first time I heard that to happen to the Messengers."

"It is." Kurozuma put the bike to accelerate. He's spending money like no tomorrow. It implies a large source of funds and possibly could be related to our problem at hand." For Armastech to be able to operate within the city while remaining undetected for some time would require a good influence or persona to deal with any issues with the underworld. This might be the key.

Yori raised a point. "If you all know so much already, why do you need me?"

Kurozuma explained. "That is because one, we're after the same thing. Two, we might…need your persuasion skills." He sounded rather…enforced about the second line.

Yori chuckled. "This is the first time I'm hired for that. I suppose it'll be on the resume now." Yori…please no.

The Anti-Skill passed a photo. It showed a young man, blue short porcupine hair to reveal a small forehead. "This is Kenji Yoichi. He's our possible lead."

"What are we going to do about him?" Yori used his eye to save an image of it.

"We follow, wait and find out."

Kurozuma parked the bike by the roadside. He handed Yori two small electronic devices. "Put these on. We'll be able to communicate by radio." Yori put the earpiece speaker and collar microphone on. The Messenger pointed to the cafe at the front right side of the street.

"Kenji's there right now. I'll be on the move by bike. Stay on your feet." Yori got off before Kurozuma rode away.

"So what cues are we looking for?" Yori asked for the specifics.

"He's supposed to meet someone. It might be who we need." The speaker spoke as though he is just beside Yori. "The place has only one entrance. There aren't any backdoors."

"Then it's a waiting game." Yori leaned against a wall. They just need to keep an eye on this Kenji, find who he's dealing if anyone and take him in. Yori looked around for anyone suspicious. Nobody's loitering around…that's good. He made his move, getting to visual range. He brought up the digitized photo into his computer sight. He scanned inside the café for Kenji. He saw the blue porcupine haired man dressed in a simple white shirt and pants sitting by the back corner.

Yori entered the café and sat by the widow. He ordered a chocolate latte upon arrival of the decently looking waitress. He kept his back to Kenji, observing the man through the reflection of the glass window. His drink arrived shortly and began to drink it. A moment not too soon, Kenji is joined with another young man. Yori observed for further development when words scribbled before his eyes.

Hello there, Machine.

Yori looked around. He couldn't see anyone suspicious or with electronics. It has to be a wireless signal. Yori deducted.

I see you've become quite a bother.

Yori has no idea what to do. He can't backtrack this. He'll have to disable it later.

Your interference has hurt your friends or should I say Master? Oh Machine, how troublesome you are.

Yori flexed his fingers. He didn't like being taunted this way.

Now I must be off. Goodbye Machine.

Yori looked for an escapist's movement. There wasn't any. He turned around to see a small but very bright red light. Yori shielded his eyes as his optical eye read out.

HIGH ENERGY WAVELENGTH DETECTED. INITIATING COMPENSATION.

By the time Yori came to, Kenji and his contact had already vanished. "Damn." He got out of the café, throwing the change of his drink at the cashier. He looked both sides and saw a black Lotec Sirius driving away. That should be it!

Yori accelerated to full speed of 70 km/h in two seconds in pursuit. The car accelerated as well. He heard a screech of wheels behind him. "Get on!" Yori made a high back flip and landed perfectly onto the Kawasaki. The bike revved in chase.

The Lotec Sirius is certainly capable of outrunning Yori on foot but not the Kawasaki. Yori explained. "That Jiro got me distracted."

"I noticed. We can't catch up to them with this." The bike may be fast but the Lotec is faster in the long run.

Yoei disagreed. "You forgot this." He activated his esper ability, doubling their speed immediately. The Kawasaki sped past the car and pulled to a stop in the way.

Yori leapt onto the car as Kurozuma fired with a small pistol into the car's front. The Lotec Sirius swerved right, throwing Yori of the car and avoiding the bike. Yori was up on his feet but Kurozuma appeared to be done with the chase. "What are we waiting for?"

"It's time we let this one go to bring us to its home."

Yori dusted off himself bits of tar. "You sure are a sneaky man." He understood what's going on.

Kurozuma chuckled. "When you have a clairvoyant girl, you learn the trade."

"Those two are really idiots." Misaka said in frustration.

Touma replied "It can't be helped. No use crying over spilled milk." They are at the hospital cafeteria. Misaka had refused to leave Kuroko until she wakes up at least. Seeing the situation, Touma had been called in by Saten to resolve the situation. Their efforts beforehand had not been convincing enough. Now, it's Touma's turn.

"I'd go after Kihara Jiro. He's lucky for only I don't know where he is!"

"Don't be so rash on going alone like that!" Touma warned.

"I don't care! That sick man needs a lesson from me!" Misaka snapped at him.

"Don't be so hot headed! If you get hurt, how you would think I feel?" Misaka was silenced by that. Touma pushed on. "Even if we're just meant to be friends, I still care about you."

Misaka looked down. "Why did you have to put it that way, baka." Just then, their cell phones rang of a received message. They both read the same thing.

If you want payback, be ready by dawn tomorrow. We have the place.

~Yori~

Touma glanced at his ex. "There you have it. Now get some rest and prepare for tomorrow."

"Fine. He will pay for it tomorrow." The Electro Princess stood up and finally started to leave the hospital. Touma sighed. Things are just going to get much more complicated.

"Are they in?" Kurozuma asked from his office chair.

"I'm sure they will, so give me the details." Yori pocketed his phone. Kurozuma opened a set of blueprints on the screen of his computer. The Anti-Skill noted the details by the side of the blueprints. "The place they went to is a factory outside Academy City. It's a medium sized factory with large scale automated capable manufacturing."

"Medium size would be two by two kilometres?" Yori assumed from memory.

"Yes." Another image appeared, showing the factory entrance. "That's rather daring, putting their company nameplate in public."

"Nobody would know anyway. I suppose the security comes light with the package." Yori gave again another assumption.

Kurozuma was cautious on that. "It looks that way but we can't truly tell. I'll have a strike team ready tomorrow as planned."

Yori complained. "I still feel that we're wasting time and opportunity." He wanted now.

Kurozuma's eyes sharpened. "Despite what you think, I am obligated to ensure your risk of safety. This is especially after that trap."

Yori extended his blade before retracting it slowly. "Damn it then. Everything will then be too late."

"Patience kiddo. Running in unprepared is not cool."

Yori contemplated it before finishing with a sigh. "Tomorrow will be payback." He stood up. "You know your way to get me. If anything happens, let me know." With that, he left the Anti-Skill general office.

Stiyl Magnus waited impatiently in his seat at the Necessarius library. There is nothing he can do for the Anthony Hugh case. He can only wait for the results that are expected beyond the door. His finger tapped the fine oak of the table.

Sherry Cromwell was waiting as well, drinking coffee with obviously greater patience and solitude. "If you keep nibbing at it, you'll drill a hole through the table."

"I'd like this case to end. It's putting Index at risk as you know it." Stiyl and the others have found Anthony's location. Now, they are waiting for the next step of action.

"Perhaps but it appears that boy isn't trying to get her involved in the contrary of your belief."

"There is a chance and I'm not going to chance it." Stiyl discarded Sherry's assurance. The door to the library opened then. Kaori Kanzaki entered the library with an envelope. "What's the choice?"

Kaori opened the envelope and presented it to Stiyl. "The Archbishop approved it. We are cleared to proceed with the plan."

"Good." Stiyl rose to his feet. "We'll begin it immediately." The three took a sprint up to the roof. On top, the Amakusa church is standing with the necessary items in place to form a big circle of Shinto combined with the cross of Jesus. "Are the spells in place?"

The fake pope Tatemiya Saiji "It's all ready. Nobody will see or sense this."

"Then, you may fire."

Tatemiya Saiji nodded. "We'll begin the ritual." The group of twelve surrounded the circle and the aura of magic began to channel in a helix up to the sky.

The twelve steps of Uriel walks along Jesus's will.

Assist us in co-operating with the graces of our confirmation that the gifts of the

Holy Spirit may bear much fruit in our souls.

Oh holy Saint Uriel, intercede for us that our hearts may burn with the fire of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

May Uriel pass the torch of the holy fire and

May the fire of God cleanse the guilt of our enemy…

A large purple beam of light shot forth from the circle up towards the sky. Its role is clear, to destroy a target in Italy. That target is Anthony Hugh. The method may be crude but it is fast, silent and deadly efficient. It will take only twenty minutes to reach its target. After all, it is a strike from the heavens.

"When is it timed to trigger?"

"It should be just about…now."

Yori walked down a quiet path back towards his hideout when it happened. His limbs froze up. Pain shot through Yori's nerves as his fake eye inscribed.

PROTOCOL OVERRIDE QUICKSAFE INITIATED

RELOADING COMBAT PROGRAMMING D-752

PROGRAM D-752 INITIATED

ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL

He felt his mechanical arm and limbs refusing to adhere to his will. What the hell's going on? His legs started moving forward in small steps. Yori resisted by enforcing his will to hold fast. It worked to slow down the movements. In the seconds he has before losing against his own mechanical parts, Yori traced his memory backwards and put the clues together. It must be Kihara's doing! The light at the café must be the trigger for this. It is the only logical explanation! He forced his arm back and smashed it into the wall. He stomped his foot into the concrete floor. He has to hold on against this. He will not let Kihara Jiro control him!

PHYSICAL OBSTRUCTION DETECTED

ELECTRONIC OBSTRUCTION DETECTED

INITIATING COUNTERMEASURES

ALTERING PROGRAM INPUT FREQUENCY TO 30KHZ

ASSERTING MAXIMUM CONTROL

Electricity pulsed through Yori again, hurting him in pain. The arm pulled itself free from the concrete wall and the leg freed itself easily. He started to move again in larger strides. His further attempts to control were overridden by the sheer amount of constant input being transmitted to the mechanical limbs.

DIRECT CONTROL ESTABLISHED

LOADING TARGET LIST…

KAMIJOU TOUMA PRIORITY 3…

MISAKA MIKOTO PRIORITY 2…

KUROKO SHIRAI PRIORITY 1

NO! NO! NO! Yori has to stop himself from doing this. He must not hurt them especially Kuroko! His struggles are fruitless for now. If he cannot stop himself, he has to warn them at least. His flesh and bone hand reached for the cell phone before his legs started into a full run.

Kamijou Touma sighed as he plopped himself onto the bed. He will need to rest well for tomorrows plan. Index was occupied with her TV show to bother him. That's a good thing he supposed. His cell phone rang. He read the caller ID. It was Yori. He answered the call only to pull his ear back.

"YOU GOT TO STOP ME! I CAN'T CONTROL MYSELF ANYMORE!"

"What's going on?" He's all confused.

"IT'S KIHARA'S DOING! I NEED YOU TO STOP ME BEFORE I GET TO THE HOSPITAL OR JIRO WILL MAKE ME KILL KUROKO!"

He was up onto his feet having understood the full gravity of the situation. "I'm on my way!" Index observed the sudden tension that sprung from Touma.

"Is it buffet boy?"

"HURRY! I ESTIMATE YOU HAVE THIRTY MINUTES!"

The call ended as that. "Yes. I have to save him and Kuroko." Touma's hand was on the door knob.

"I'm coming with you." Index was up on her feet.

"There's nothing you can do! There isn't any magic involved!" With that, Touma was out the door. Index stood still for several seconds before making her decision. They rushed out in order to once again save the boy with the Devil's Trigger.