Chapter Six, here we go!

Murciélago

Chapter Six

A groan came through the room as Artemis tried to open her eyes. She quickly processed what happened, despite her slight disorientation. She walked into the hotel room, she spoke to Murciélago, and was drugged the second after. With a pretty strong sedative, she might add. Opening her eyes was difficult enough.

Blue eyes opened, still, and she found herself staring at stained wood. It took a bit to realize that she was in a sitting position with her head on a table. Once she did, however, she forced her head to lift, no matter how exhausting it felt. It took a bit to get used to the small amount of light that was in the room, specifically because they were dim and came from left and right. Once she did, though, she took quick notice of a man sitting across from her.

He wasn't much taller than she was, 5'6"-5'7" at best. She couldn't see him very well with the light, so she concluded he was covered in black attire. Although unable to see below the waist, the man across from her had on a black leather coat zipped up, a pair of gloves on his hands, a mask that covered every area except his eyes, and a pair of biker goggles to accommodate for it. The final thing she noticed was a necklace, with a silver charm on it that must have been how his name originated.

The next thing she noticed was that all of her files and notes were spread on the table, and he was reading through every bit of them. Looking around, screens were playing the different recordings of her captain, and the clippings were all posted on the wall. She also noticed two other men; one was rather large while the other was tall, thin, and had an eye patch on.

Noticing she was awake, the men approached the table; the large one stood by her, while the tall one stood by the man in black. Said man lowered his head as the latter raised his, whispering something into his ear. The tall man nodded before looking at Artemis. "My boss apologizes, Detective. The anesthetic was only a precaution, but it wasn't meant to knock you out as long as it did. Would you like anything to drink? Some water, or-" The man stopped once Artemis nodded at him. "Just one moment, then."

Briefly, the man left, only to return with a glass of ice water. He placed it in front of her before returning to his boss' side. They remained still while Artemis took her drink. She hadn't realized how parched she was.

Once through with the glass, Artemis set the glass down. "So, you're Murciélago." She stated, looking at the man in black. He nodded once, making the cop sit a little straighter. "Correct me if I'm wrong, then. But I assume you have questions for me." It was another statement, to which he nodded.

The tall man lowered his head again, nodding lightly at receiving his boss' words before standing up and speaking again. "In his words: 'I was a bit surprised that you wanted to meet me, Detective. Even more so when I heard of you from both the Strawberry, as well as Pantera. You passed all of the searches, and every dollar bill you gave us was real. You followed all of my instructions to the letter, and you came here with a lot of information on you. What is it that you want me to do for you?'"

Artemis took in a breath before speaking again. "Let me begin by asking you a few questions, Murciélago. I'm sure you've heard of the Dashing Demon, and I am sure you have your own opinion on him. I'm sure you're also aware of the fact the Captain Kaname Tousen is fronting the investigation." Murciélago nodded at this. "What do you think about the two of them?"

Again, the taller man leaned down so his boss could in his ear. It took a few minutes, but he was soon standing upright. "Quote: 'The Dashing Demon, like most serial killers, is a nuisance to me. Business is now backed up because people are afraid, and there are more cops running around here than I am comfortable with. As for Captain Tousen, I've come to the conclusion that he's using this case to put people away because he finds them scum, and should be keeping an open mind about who the killer might be.' Unquote."

She nodded. "My second question is: in your opinion, would this case; or any murder case, for that matter; go faster if Tousen wasn't calling the shots?" The man was about to lower his head again, but his boss lifted a hand to stop. He then looked at Artemis and nodded solemnly. She smirked. "Well then, we're on the same page with each other."

"What do you mean?" The taller man asked outright.

Artemis smirked up at him. "I mean just that. My captain is a nuisance and an embarrassment to the law enforcement profession. If he keeps it up, no arrest we make will ever stick, and several guilty people will run free. That's why I brought all of this to you." She stated.

Murciélago looked up at his employee, his hands folded. The man lowered himself once more, listening intently before looking at her. "'You want me to end your captain's career?'" He quoted. Artemis nodded. Still lowered, Murciélago's speaker soon stood straight. "'I can easily end his career, but why bring me your case?'"

The detective blinked a few times before responding. "Here I thought that was obvious." The speaker's brow arched, arms crossing. Artemis rested her arms on the table, folding her hands before leaning on it. "I want you to ruin his career, you're right. I want it demolished to the point he could never return to law enforcement, ever again. The Dashing Demon is simply a tool for you to do so." She informed them.

"How do you figure?" The speaker asked.

She shrugged. "I'll leave that to Murciélago. After all, this is his area of expertise, not mine."

It was silent then. No one moved, not even the speaker. Murciélago seemed to have been considering the job, as evident when he grabbed one of her notes and read it with his head tilted slightly. Despite his eyes being hidden, Artemis could feel him shift his gaze to stare at her, making her tense slightly. She kept her expression calm, waiting anxiously for the black-clad male to do something.

A few moments passed, and finally, Murciélago did something. He placed the parchment back on the table, standing up before whispering into his subordinate's ear again. He then moved passed Artemis, leaving her staring at his speaker. "In his words: 'I agreed to meet you because you caught my interest, Detective. Hearing your request, I must say, I'm a bit surprised. I don't usually like digging up dirt on people, but you've given me a way to make it more interesting.'" Artemis' brows rose slightly. "'You will receive more instructions once you get home.'" He finished.

And with that came another prick in her neck, darkness consuming her once more.

Ulquiorra waited in the back seat of the car. After knocking the detective unconscious, he had removed the suspicious attire he was wearing and told Nnoitra to get her into the car. Yammy was left behind to wait for Szayel to clean up, while he left with Nnoitra to drop the detective off in her bed; hence the reason Grimmjow was given her keys.

Nnoitra returned within moments, shutting the car door and starting the engine. "I gotta say, Boss, I didn't expect you to take the job." He commented as they drove off.

"How so?" He questioned.

The taller ebony rolled his eyes. "Well for starters, you don't like cops. You don't like digging up the past, especially if it's by the client's personal agenda. And finally, you accepted her job despite the fact Szayel couldn't look back farther than when she was sixteen. And I know you like knowing about the clients." He stated firmly.

Ulquiorra blinked a few times, silent for a few moments to come. At the next red light, he said: "Where I don't like cops, Detective Yukimura is very intelligent, not to mention very bold. For that, she has my respect. Whether this job was created by her personal feelings or not is irrelevant to the fact that she's correct; Captain Tousen needs to be put down. As for her first sixteen years, I've already made a general conclusion on her life."

"And that would be?" Nnoitra asked, curiously.

Ulquiorra sighed once. "Simple: she lived a regular childhood until the death of one or both her parents, then was left to another relative who abused her." He stated.

He could see Nnoitra's brow arch in the mirror. "What made you believe that?" He asked him.

Ulquiorra almost smirked. "Why would Mila Rose apologize to someone?" At that, Nnoitra was silent. He just nodded before driving his boss back home.

Well, here's the new chapter. The fun begins real soon! :) But for now, CLIFFHANGER! XD