Chapter 41: Almost Caught Red Handed
July 17th. Lars and I were heading to The Hazbin Hotel for work.
"What makes me want to pick you up?" I asked,
"Ehh, just a feeling I sorta have." Lars replied,
Then, we saw Darnell.
"Oh this guy." Lars said, "He's still around…"
We walked to Darnell.
"Hello." He said to us,
"Hey." I said,
"Whatcha doing out here?" Lars wondered,
"Ren, is it?" Darnell asked me,
"Yeah?" I replied,
"Heh heh, don't worry, I won't bite."
"Go on…"
"I feel like you and I should hang out more often. Get to know each other a little more. You still have my number, right?"
"I do."
"Good, excellent."
"I'll let you know when I'm available."
"Or when I'm available."
"Oh yeah, that's what I tried to say."
"Heh heh, I like ya, little man. You're cool."
"Thanks."
Fast forwarding to many months later. Bernie was still interrogating me.
"You know, I'm stunned that you managed to avoid any police forces until today." He said to me, "However, someone associated with the police must have also been associated with The Phantom Thieves, which is why you avoided their network."
I was silent.
"Am I right?" He asked me,
Back to the present moment. A voice spoke to me.
"I am thou... Thou art I…
Thou hast acquired a new vow...
It shall become the wings of rebellion
That breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Hermit Persona
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…"
Me and Darnell have formed a bond together. It's gonna be a unique one, I can tell…
"Right, I'll be heading to work." Darnell said to me, "Got a new case on my fin."
"Take care." I said,
Darnell walked away. Lars took a deep breath.
"Still don't trust his ass." Lars said, "But nevermind all that, let's get to work before Charlie writes us up."
I nodded in agreement as we headed inside the Hazbin Hotel.
Inside, no one was present in the main lobby.
"Weird." Lars said, "Where could they be?"
Then, we heard something coming from upstairs. Lars raised his eyebrows.
"Oh no no no no no no no! What are they doing?!" He shouted as he went upstairs, "Ren, come on!"
I followed him upstairs to my hotel room.
"They're snooping in your room, aren't they?!" Lars shouted,
"Sounds like it!" I replied,
Inside, Charlie, Vaggie and Angel Dust were going through my belongings. Alastor wasn't present during the time as he had some personal business for himself. Charlie was going through my drawers when she found a blank calling card.
"Ah! Bingo!" She shouted, "This is the evidence we–"
"--Charlie!" Lars shouted,
They gasped as Lars and I came into my room.
"What are you guys doing in Ren's room?!" Lars shouted,
"N-Nothing!" Charlie replied, nervously, "We were just reorganizing everything, yes!"
I looked at the drawers that were open.
"There's nothing suspicious, you guys!" Charlie said, nervously, "Let's go back to work, ok?"
"What do you have behind you?" I asked,
"Huh? Nothing?"
"Don't lie, Charlie." Lars said, "That drawer was open!"
Charlie gulped as she showed her hands. She had nothing in her possessions.
"See, nothing!" She said,
Lars and I were silent for a bit. Lars sighed.
"Alright, we believe you." He said, "Sorry for making you suspicious."
"It's fine…" Charlie said as she took a deep breath, "And we're sorry for going into your private possessions, Ren."
"It's fine." I said,
Lars sighed again.
"Well, that was scary." He said, "Come on, Ren, let's get shit done here."
"Alright." I said,
We left the room. Charlie sighed in relief.
"Damn, Charles, we almost got caught red handed." Angel Dust said, "But don't worry."
Angel Dust then revealed the blank calling card in his chest fluff of some sort.
"Almost gave me paper cuts, but I kept it in a safe spot." He said,
"Thanks, Angel Dust." Charlie said,
Vaggie rolled her eyes as she followed along.
"So what's next?" She wondered, "We got the blank calling card. Do we turn it in to the police?"
"No…" Charlie replied, "I feel like this should be the perfect time to explain this to you two."
"And that is?" Angel Dust wondered,
"Here, let's discuss this after Ren and Lars leave."
"Alright, we can wait." Vaggie said,
Fast forwarding to many months later. Bernie was still interrogating me.
"So you're still working in that hotel when you almost caught the Princess snooping around in your room, huh?" He wondered,
I nodded in silence.
"Something seemed off during that time." Bernie continued, "She could have something to do with The Phantom Thieves, yes? Perhaps she was so concerned about your actions that she has to find the truth in that hotel you're staying at."
I was still silent. Bernie sighed as he went over another document folder.
"With all that aside, here's something that leads to some sort of alliance The Phantom Thieves have made with." Bernie said as he showed me two logos, "Basically it all started with a hacker by the name of ByteSmyte66 attacking the internet down here and threatened to expose The Phantom Thieves."
Bernie pointed me to another logo that had the initial, I.M.P.
"Then ByteSmyte66 threatened to expose I.M.P." He continued, "Or The Immediate Murder Professionals if you want to know what it stands for."
I looked at the logos.
"To sum things up more, ByteSmyte66 hacked many sites, including a fanmade site dedicated to the Phantom Thieves." He continued, "Then you formed an alliance with the leader of I.M.P. when ByteSmyte66 threatened to expose you and the other group."
I was still silent.
"Then something else happened, yeah?" Bernie asked me, "Explain to me the aftermath of the hacks and the alliance you have made with I.M.P."