Chapter 10 - Prisoner Cell 152

Only a day had passed when I found myself on the hunt again. After explaining to Ivan all that had transpired in that office, he was able to track down everything that happened after I left the scene - including where the police were currently keeping Purveyor locked up. Truth be told, Ivan was pissed at me when I told him what I did to Purveyor. Saying something about how I was a full time job, but nonetheless said that he'll keep an ear out for any whispers that made their way onto the web about my new power. He was even willing to help me gain access to Purveyor, but I only had a few minutes before Ivan's control of cameras ended and I was on my own. Considering I had no way of contacting him when my soul was out in the world, we decided on a time that I should be there by and Ivan would begin the loop on the cameras, giving me a precious few minutes of unrecorded privacy. Well, not totally private. Ivan would be listening in. The guy was curious too about what the Purveyor had to say.

So that's where I was - flying through the city's high security prison in search for Purveyor before my allotted time started.

"Cell 152. Cell 152. Cell 152." I murmured in my head on repeat, counting down the cell numbers. Ivan had managed to find the exact cell Purveyor was being held in, eliminating my need to hunt through all the various cell blocks and thus saving me time. I reached the glass screen with the numbers "152" printed in a large red font across the front.

"Bingo."

I was invisible, so I knew Purveyor couldn't see me just yet. But I couldn't help but be nervous at seeing the man stretched out relaxed on the cot, his signature gas mask now missing from his face. The man had gotten under my skin so easily that upon seeing him again I felt my blood grow cold.

But I had come here to get answers. There was no one to save, no one to protect. It was just him and I, and he wasn't going anywhere. I took a deep breath to calm myself and watched as the clock ticked to be 1:15 pm - the designated time Ivan had set up for me. With a single step I passed through the glass to the inside of the cell.

"Hello again." I announced myself. I kept myself invisible. While Ivan could control what people saw on the cameras, he couldn't help the stray guard's eyes if they passed by.

"What a pleasant surprise." Purveyor grinned, sitting up. But his voice told me that he wasn't shocked in the least to have an unanticipated visitor suddenly appear in his cell. He had been expecting me, and that sent a warning chill through me.

Without his gas mask hiding half his face I could clearly see all his features for the first time. His face was angular with a ugly scar running across the bridge of his nose. If I had to guess his age, I would place the man in his early fifties. There were tiny wrinkles around his eyes and forehead that had begun to set in with age.

"You know why I'm here." I stated, getting right to the point.

"You're here to find out about your friend. You want to know what happened to him." Purveyor got up, his ears allowing him to hone into where I was standing in the room. "I have been thinking a lot about our conversation ever since I woke up."

"Then you should know the answer to my question by now."

"Hmm." He stopped a few feet before me, looking down at the space where he guessed my face was. It was slightly concerning how accurate he was in his estimate.

"I wonder what would happen if I told the police all the little details about our conversation? About your little power?" He spoke suddenly. "They don't know yet that I have lost my quirk. That's why I'm in here." He gestured to the solid four walls that surrounded us. "And I haven't told them...yet. But I'm curious to see how they would react when they find out the Ghost is in fact real, and is a criminal with the power to kill quirks. These people, these self proclaimed heroes, are very touchy when you threaten their power. How long do you think you'll last with the combined force of the police and heroes after you? A day? A week? A year? The police and heroes are nothing if not annoyingly persistent."

He was playing on my fears, but it wasn't anything that I hadn't already thought of. My mind could torture me well enough on its own without outside help. I was prepared to live on the run again if it meant I was one step closer to finding Natsu. I did it before, and I could do it again.

I stayed silent as he spoke. Precious seconds ticked by before Purveyor spoke again.

"Rest assured your secret is safe with me." He said, catching me off guard. "After all in my line of work knowledge is money, and I know quite a few people who would pay a king's ransom to get their hands on your abilities. I plan to collect you soon enough."

It wasn't a threat. It was a promise.

"You are welcome to try and catch me first." I said with a sneer in my tone.

Purveyor gave a wide grin at my challenge.

"But I'm not here to talk about me." I said. "I'm here to find out where you took Natsu."

"Ah, yes. Your friend the warp user. I owe you an answer since you've come all this way to visit me. It's only polite."

My heart skipped a beat in a hopeful flutter. He had remembered Natsu and the nature of his quirk. If he could remember that, then he knew where he took my friend.

"The buyer who purchased your friend was Titan Alliance."

"Who is Titan Allia-" I was cut off by an electronic voice flooding into the room. It was distorted to hide the speaker's identity, but I knew who it was.

"Time's up, Ghost." Ivan spoke through the intercom in the room.

I gave a nod in confirmation, but neither Purveyor or Ivan could see it.

"Such interesting friends you keep." Purveyor grinned while looking up into the cameras with a keen attention.

I didn't say anything back for fear that my voice would now be picked up on the cameras. Instead I walked back through the glass feeling lighter than I had been in years.

"Feel free to visit again. I enjoy our little chats." Purveyor called out to the empty air.

I very much hoped that wouldn't be the case. I didn't ever want to lay eyes on him again if I could help it.

I rushed back to my apartment and body so I could talk with Ivan. No doubt he was already on the case traversing the internet for any reference to this Titan Alliance, whoever they were. My body gave a sudden inhale as I jumped back inside it. My eyelids snapped open and I was already opening my laptop before my body could adjust to being moved about so suddenly.

"I'm back, Ivan." I spoke breathlessly to the laptop in front of me. "What did you find out?"

"While I'm deeply flattered by your faith in my abilities," Ivan huffed through the speakers, "I got nothing for you. They don't exist."

My face and spirit fell dramatically before I had time to blink. It was interesting to experience the emotional rollercoaster I found myself on within these recent days. Through absolute chance I had encountered the one person who could offer me answers after fifteen years of searching, to be given a clue to where I could find Natsu, and then for that hope to just up and vanish with three simple words. I was back to square one with nothing to show for it.

"What do you mean they don't exist?" My face darkened as the wheels spun in my head. "Wait, don't tell me - "

"We have to consider it, Eve," Ivan confirmed as he watched me from unseen cameras, "that Purveyor lied to you so you would have to go back and talk to him."

"Well, I'm not doing it. I'm not playing that game with him. I refuse. He can rot in that prison for the rest of time." I crossed my arms over my chest in anger, leaning back against my bed's wall with a hard thud.

"I agree. It would be very dangerous if you went back. He's a cunning manipulator who has his sights set on you. Did you notice how he dropped the fact that he was so sure that he was going to collect you. It's like the high security prison means nothing to him. You didn't have to taunt him by the way." The disapproval was clear in Ivan's voice.

I pursed my lips at the reprimand, tilting my head away from the laptop to avoid looking at the screen. Ivan was right. I had risen to the bait far too easily. Whenever I was in my ghost form I took on a bolder, more confident personality, fueled by the knowledge that no one could hurt or catch me when I was in that state. Though sometimes being bolder wasn't necessarily a good thing - it often made me take risks that I didn't need to take in the first place. Take last night for example. I could have knocked out all the villains before things ever got out of hand, rescued the girl without injury, and have just interrogated Purveyor later when he was firmly behind bars. It was simple, no mess, and no fuss. But no. I was reckless, acting without a clear plan and the little girl got hurt in the process. She's fine, by the way. Ivan had hacked into the hospital records and got the girl's charts. She's a little short of breath, but is expected to make a full recovery within the next day or so.

Ivan sighed, seeing the self admonishment in my face, and spoke a bit more gently. "The guy clearly has connections given his line of work. We'll have to keep a close eye on him for sure."

Great. Yet another thing for me to constantly look over my shoulder for. Now there was one more person after me along with whoever Purveyor knew. And we had no clue who or where those connections were. The most dangerous enemy was one you can't see coming. But I had to remind myself before I could let my anxiety flare - Purveyor was in the highest security prison the city had to offer, and I had rendered his quirk inoperable. But that didn't make him any less dangerous in my eyes - that much was clear after today's visit. He had made a promise that he was coming for me, which implied that he was sure that he was going to get out. And that begged the question - when exactly? I leaned forward suddenly, clutching my shirt over my heart as it began to flutter irrationality underneath. My anxiety had taken hold. So much for trying to avoid having a panic attack.

"He can't escape, right?" I looked back at the laptop for reassurance, panting while I struggled to get my breathing under control.

"Not without me knowing about it."

And there it was - the reassurance. Ivan monitored anything and everything that had a digital footprint. He would be my eyes and my shield, giving me fair warning so I could always be one step ahead. I was not alone in this.

"Good." My heart calmed, and my body visibly relaxed as I sat back up.

"Don't worry, sunshine." Ivan offered encouragingly through the speakers. "I'll always protect my favorite cash cow."

"I'm just a piggy bank to you, aren't I?" I gave a small smile at his attempt to draw me out of my own mind. He knew me too well.

"The biggest." I could hear the smile in his voice, and I knew he was only teasing. With every paying job I took on, Ivan took a small cut. I didn't mind. I considered it a fair arrangement considering all that he did for me - continues to do for me.

"I've just had a thought," Ivan spoke up, catching my attention. "Purveyor might not have lied at all. There's a special network that upper law enforcement officials use to collaborate and talk to other agencies around the world. There could be a database in there where we may be able to find out about Titan Alliance. But the problem is that I can't access it from here."

"And why can't you access it? I thought you were able to hack into anything, Mr. I Am Everywhere."

There was a moment before Ivan chose his words carefully. "It's...special."

I frowned. "That's not helpful."

"Hmm." Ivan shrugged, not offering a better explanation.

I sighed heavily, somehow knowing what was coming next.

"So what do we need to do to get into it?"

"How do you feel about breaking into the Hero Public Safety Commission headquarters?" Ivan asked, not bothering to hide the excitement in his voice.