Ben10 & Digimon Tamers

Heroes and Humanity

Part 02: Humanity and Heroes

What Happens in Bellwood... – Chapter 48

Originally Written: July 9, 2016 424PM to 751PM

. . . . .

"Hello lovely!" Jeri sang, brown boots clicking against the tiled floor as she walked towards Ryo.

"Jeri." Ryo spun in his seat, eager to do something other than sit. He sat in front of a large desk placed behind him. All sorts of electronic equipment covered the desk. A large tv screen playing multiple videos of ongoing security footage rested on the far side of the large crescent shaped desk. "How'd you avoid the bench?" He frowned as he ran a hand through his hair, "Monodramon got so bored I sent him off with Beezlemon."

"By not being subjectively biased, of course." She smiled a sugary sweet smile at him as she folded her arms behind her back.

"Naturally." He rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Don't fret. Yamaki is more angry that no one caught it was Albedo when you said he was from Bellwood than he is at you for not even saying that you did so in your report."

"What?" He looked at her with furrowed eyebrows, "I did what now?"

"Apparently," She rocked on her heels, her lime green swing style sweater shifting as she moved.

"Noooo." Ryo shook his head, "I wouldn't do that." He turned around and slumped in his seat.

"Proofreading is a blessing." Jeri kept smiling.

"Why the hell did I do that?" He huffed.

"Subjective bias," she sang.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" He looked up at her.

"Not really," she leaned over him looking at the keyboard on the desk. She rested a hand on his shoulder. "Eat your peed on fried rice, and try again, sweetie."

Ryo looked down at his food. A small plastic Tupperware of shrimp fried rice and mixed vegetables. "I sure hope no one peed in it. This is my lunch." He looked at the container with partial disgust.

Jeri giggled and squeezed his shoulder.

"What brings you down here to the most boring section of Hypnos?" Ryo tapped his fingers on the desk.

"I need to see video footage of floor B12 at, hmm, let's say about thirteen-thirty to fourteen hundred hours."

Ryo raised an eyebrow as he typed on the keyboard, "What for?"

"I'm trying to confirm as much as I can before Mr. Yamaki blows his top."

"Oh man. He's pissed off enough." Ryo sighed. "What happened?"

"Someone placed Albedo in a holding cell. I'm trying to figure out who."

Ryo slowed down typing, "Shit...is that what-"

"Was what?" She looked at him.

Ryo resumed typing quickly. "I won't be able to show footage after fourteen-ten or so. Something took out the cameras. I sent a crew to check things out."

"Yes, they're the ones who notified me. I'd really like to know who the jerk who so blatantly went against Yamaki's direct orders is." Jeri folded her arms.

"What's the damage?" Ryo looked down at his Digivice hooked on his hip, flashing away.

"That should be Henry." Jeri watched Ryo press a button on the device. Almost immediately Henry's scolding voice flooded out of the device.

"What the hell happened?" Ryo muttered.

"Yup, that's Henry."

Ryo looked at her, "Henry, I'm not that good at Chinese. Switch languages or speak slower."

"Albedo somehow teleported from the building," Jeri continued. "The inmates on that floor are now claiming we torture prisoners."

"What the fuck?" Ryo turned back around. He unhooked his D-arc from his pants pocket. "Henry, momentai. Please."

"What the hell do you mean you want me to momentai!?" Henry spat out in Japanese, voice still low in volume, though it sounded as though he were itching to yell. "I specifically asked you, Yamaki and everyone to not place Albedo in a cell!"

"We didn't," Ryo replied, "We're currently trying to figure out who did."

"What part of 'Don't put in a cell' don't didn't you guys get!? I told you he wouldn't react well to that!"

"Momentai Henry." Terriermon spoke in a dejected voice, "If he wakes up in a dark apartment, he's really gonna freak out."

"The first freakout was bad enough." Henry sighed, "Suzie's still crying. What is going on over there?"

"I'm hoping it's just a case of miscommunication." Ryo brought the video up on screen. He stood up from the chair. Jeri sat down and started the video. "How is he?"

"He fell on the floor when he showed up, curled up on himself. He kicked Beelzemon, shoved Suzie, and knocked against the kitchen table when he stood up. Nearly flipped the table over and went into a full blown panic attack when he fell back down and scooted back to the living room couch."

"Dammit. What a mess." Ryo paced around the room.

"For some reason, he thought we were Ben Tennyson and we were trying to kill him." Henry took a shuddering breath. "He only calmed down when I asked Beezlemon to set him down in the corner of the room. Ryo he..." Henry burst into loud sobs.

"He thought we were gonna kick his ass. The permanent way." Beelzemon took over for Henry. "Scared himself so badly he passed out. Last time I saw someone look like that was Jeri when I...you know. What the fuck!?" He snarled.

"Everyone overseeing his case knew not to put Albedo or any one of the others in cells unless they got violent. Swamps got violent, so in a cell he went." Ryo paced as he gripped his digivice tightly. Occasionally he looked at Jeri. "But even then, under no circumstances was Albedo to go into one."

"So how the hell did he get into one?" The digimon snarled.

"I'll get back to you on that." He looked at Jeri.

She waved a hand, beckoning him.

"Another freak out like that and everyone's gonna have a digital heart attack. Least he's asleep now, I think. Geeze!"

"Alright, I'll get back to you in just a few. Stay on the line." Ryo muted the sound on his D-Arc. "Whatcha find?" He walked over to Jeri.

"Do you recognize these two?" She tapped at a low window on the paused screen.

Albedo struggled against two tall males. One with short red hair and tan skin, the other pale with long black hair tied back into a low ponytail. Both were dressed in nondescript black suits.

"Huh?" Ryo leaned in closer to the screen.

Jeri enlarged the window, "How about now?" She looked up at him. "I don't think they're plumbers, but they match the description I got from the inmates there."

"I don't think they're plumbers either. Never saw them before. Even if they were and I did, they're not one of the ones assigned to this case. Definitely not the ones assigned to escorting Albedo." Ryo looked at her before returning his attention to the screen. "Send an emergency report out. See if we can catch those jerks before they leave."

"You got it." Jeri started typing away, bringing up another computer window. "How did they get past security? Even if someone let them through, other security checkpoints wouldn't have allowed themselves to get close to anyone Albedo knows, let alone Albedo himself."

"Yea...this is weird. It shouldn't be taking us this long to recover from the Incurseans screwing things up. Security was one of the first things worked on."

"Hello Ms. Riley." Jeri touched the headset hooked onto her ear. "You should have received a notice." She waited for a moment, "Yes, of two shady looking men dressed as plumbers. That one."

Ryo reached around Jeri and typed at the computer. "Yamaki is going to flip his shit."

"I want a notification set out immediately. Anyone who sees these two in or out of Hypnos is to apprehend them on the spot." Jeri looked at Ryo. "S-Rank Order."

"Attack to knock unconscious," Ryo spoke loudly, "at least."

"Yamaki just heard about the incident. He's on the way to floor B12 now." Jeri informed Ryo.

"Magistrate Tennyson gets here tomorrow morning, and Bossman is already weary of everyone's abilities. This is not good."

"Someone peed in everyone's fried rice today." Jeri commented. "Yes, thank you Ms. Riley." She let go of her headset. "What's your game plan? I can see those cogs turning."

Ryo pressed a button on his D-Arc. "Beelzemon?"

"Yea?" The digimon replied with a growl in his voice.

"Who's with you?"

"Henry, Terriermon, Suzie, Lopmon and Monodramon."

"I think it's safe to assume that when Albedo wakes he'll attack you." Ryo folded his arms, and shifted his D-Arc.

"I'm more than enough to subdue him." Beelzemon scoffed.

"Yea, but when you get angry you take out those guns."

"Who the hell do you take me for!?"

"And Albedo still has access to a few aliens from the omnitrix." Ryo continued speaking, ignoring Beelzemon's outburst.

"We're in an apartment full of aliens," Terriermon spoke up. "Him attacking us isn't the big problem here."

Ryo snapped his fingers, "Right! Here's what I'll do. I'll contact Kenta, see if he and MarineAngemon are available. If not, I'll get Dr. Matsumoto. He should have access to a sedative or something to calm him down enough that he's no danger to anyone or himself. I'll personally bring them over."

"Hmm." Jeri hummed, watching Ryo.

"Until then, hold the fort."

"Easy enough."

"Will do." Beelzemon and Terriermon replied.

"Shouldn't be longer than an hour. Talk to you then." Ryo pressed another button on his D-Arc. He looked at Jeri, lips pursed in thought. "For the time being we keep Albedo's location hush hush."

Jeri turned back around. "So you are thinking someone's attacking him."

"If not him, then the plumbers themselves, but I have no proof." Ryo sat in a chair next to her. "We didn't speak of Albedo and the cells outside of you-know-who's apartment. Not even the new plumbers behind the case know. Fridge, Swamps and Hugh are angry at the plumbers for some reason. Which leaves the big unanswered question." he looked at the image of the two males on the screen. He clenched his fists.

"What happened in Bellwood?" Jeri looked at him, propping her up against the desk with a hand.

"Yamaki should have never changed me out." Ryo stood up sharply, "Only a few days and everyone thinks we tortured him." He threw a hand out towards the computer screen, "And these two goons actually did. Albedo's not that big of a nobody in the alien communities. I would have never let this happen." He glared at the keyboard.

"Ryo..."

"No Jeri. If you had seen him when he first got back to West Shinjuku, you would have done the same damn thing I did."

"That bad?" She looked at him with eyes tinted yellow.

"That bad."

"Well then." She spun around in her seat to fully face him. She folded her arms across her knees. "Let's see how much we can get done before Yamaki takes over and my dad calls me for work."

Ryo paused, arms dropping to the sides, "Seriously?"

Jeri smiled a wry smile, "You've already decided you'll be taking Albedo's case back into your own hands. At least with me here, you shouldn't pull a Takato and do something heroic stupid."

"Ouch," Ryo winced, "I need some ice now."

"Run along now." She turned to face the computer. "I need to figure out how to convince Yamaki to shorten some inmates' sentences by a month."

Ryo snorted and smiled, "Thanks Jeri." He called as he ran out the room. "I'm gonna beat the ones behind this to a bloody pulp." He murmured to himself. A part of him hoped he ran into one of the suspicious males on his way to Henry's apartment.