"I see it." Kurome spoke into the phone, staring acutely at the small little window near the top floor.
"Right." Lonk's voice was as playful as ever, yet there was this hint of certainty hidden beneath the usual flirty attitude. "Now, if I'm seeing this correctly, you should be able to see a dumpster just below it, down on the street.
"I'm already on it."
"Oh, well you're halfway there; good job!" Kurome rolled her eyes as she stared upwards at the window, speaking into her phone lowly, on the off chance somebody came from around the corner; not that it would do much to lower suspicion, given she was standing on top of a dumpster staring at the roof - not exactly the most subtle play, honestly.
"Look, do you have a route for me or not? I'm half tempted just to jump up right about now." She could do it too: it was only around two stories up.
"Ah ah ah, see, this is why I make the decisions: you hop up right now and you'll end up spotted by the lunch lady - she's currently dashing to the freezer."
"Then what's taking you so long?" Lonk had eyes on every camera inside, and with that in mind she'd expected him to be a bit quicker than he was. So far the past half hour had been waiting around outside around the back, and if anybody passed by, she was certain they'd wonder what the local chain-smoker was dumpster diving for - Kurome was a little ticked when he'd called her that, but considering he was the boss and coupled with the fact that he tried to make it sound cool, she let it slide.
"Give it another five minutes, okay? They'll be swapping out shifts, and the upper floor will be mostly empty. Hold on a second." Kurome waited on the line as she heard the sound of clicks coming through, followed by a quick 'yes'. "Okay, once inside you'll see a door immediately to your right, just down the hall. Make a dash for it and flick off the lights inside. Hide behind the desk to the left near the back, but make sure you take the pencil holder from the drawer and stick it on top."
"What?" Kurome spoke casually, not at all confused about why she was ordered to do so.
"Our target routinely forgets her stuff during the switch, to the point it seems to have become a joke amongst the other employees. Her next shift has her signing off some paperwork, and once she loses her pen again she'll head into the room you'll be hiding in to grab one; it's the closest to the office she'll be working in, so you should have just enough time to get inside."
"Uh huh... right."
"Just trust me 'kay?"
Oh, she trusted him alright: trusted him to flub it all up. Kurome said none of this however, deciding that her inner opinions best remained inside her mind, as opposed to waggling out in the open. Lonk was the boss, and like it or not - regardless of how ridiculous it sounded - he knew best, at least for the current situation at hand. He was the one with an active camera feed over the inside of the building anyway, so who was she to deny a second pair of eyes?
"Whatever."
"Okay now."
"Wha-" Kurome's ear was quickly ringing less than a second later.
"I SAID NOW!"
Not bothering to respond, and with a near splitting headache, the unsavory woman obeyed without question; questioning might risk another shout, and her head was already hurting from the first - damn, that guy had some lungs. Leaping up, Kurome slipped inside the unlocked window - as Lonk had claimed back when she humored his help, which she was nearly regretting now - and found herself in a hallway. White, sanitized, and with a gray furry rug; Kurome ignored it all and started off in the proper direction, soon slipping into the chosen room.
Hold on...
"Didn't you say our target worked in an office nearby?"
"Yeah, what of it?"
"Who uses this one then?" Kurome took particular notice of how clean and generally well kept the office was, with not a hint of dust anywhere to be seen.
"Nobody; the last worker who used it was fired for sneaking his wife inside for erotic roleplay."
"Huh?"
"Yep." Lonk confirmed, as if her little spit was a directed question; it was not, no, she was just held up on the fact some guy had the balls to actually try that sort of thing at work. Her boss, it seemed, was keen to get into the nitty gritty though. "It's a shame too: he was one of our fastest editors."
"Okay..." Kurome didn't ask, and she didn't particularly care. The woman shut off the lights and made her way over to the desk, stepping around back with nothing but the light of her cell to guide her hand.
"It's weird really. He knew we had cameras, but he never bothered to cover them when he did the deed." Again, Kurome really didn't need to know, but still she stayed quiet, smirking a little as she found the object of her needs in the drawer. Taking out the small plastic cup, she placed it atop the desk, and lowered herself behind, dampening the brightness of her phone screen as to play into the dark; making sure to angle it low as to remain hidden for when the target came in.
"I'm in position." She said, only for Lonk to ignore her and continue with his tale.
"I'm pretty sure he was teasing me too; showing off what he was packing - went out of his way to look right at the camera as she bounced on him."
"Stop." The ex-divine paused him there. "Are you telling me you watched them?"
"Oh, yeah, I did."
"Lonk..." She took a solid breath, steadying her mind for a second as she focused on keeping her disappointment levels fair. "What the hell was going through your mind at the time?"
"Well, I was thinking the position they used was a little bit uncomfortab-"
"No no no." Kurome stopped him. "I'm asking why you were watching them in the first place."
"Oh, that!"
That better not be a cheer I hear.
"Well, you see: I like to take a peek at the cameras every now and then to make sure the people I pay aren't actually undercover cops trying to ruin our gig."
"And this relates to creeping on people, how?"
"To be fair, I didn't flick on the cameras trying to catch a pair in the act."
"And yet you watched it all the way though." Kurome stated, and Lonk chuckled.
"Guilty, as charged. So, what gave it away?"
You literally just told me, you dunce. She just felt gross now, but made sure to swallow the queasiness in her gut, and instead press him with something different.
"That doesn't matter right now." She bit her lip, shoving away the desire to kick his ass for being a bloody weirdo. "We're not talking about this anymore. In case you've forgotten, I'm in the middle of a kidnapping, so how about we get back on that, shall we?"
"As you desire, oh lustrous shard of midnight~" And now he was hitting on her... great.
Kurome blocked any more irritation from springing to life, recalling how Lonk had a habit of teasing, and was loyal to Zaeda; that better have been true, otherwise there would be more than a simple talk soon to come - specifically with the woman who made such claims. Speaking of soon, the squeaking of the door hinges had Kurome settle down in the darkness, her free hand lightly pulsing with shadow and ready to strike.
She still couldn't access share energy yet, and so the more contemptible counterpart would have to do, otherwise the target was in for a beating - at least until she lost consciousness.
Kurome knew it wouldn't come to that, as despite her apprehension to the power, she could still feel the way her delusions flowed around and through her fingertips, proving her command over the enslaved power remained absolute. Still as stone, Kurome waited for the footsteps to come to a stop, and the very moment she heard the ruffling and clinks of movement in the cup above...
She pounced.
"Shh..." Kurome gripped hard around the woman's mouth, staring hard into her eyes as her other free arm wrapped around the shocked one's back. The phone was dropped during the movement, however it made only a quick clink against the floor as she pumped her prey full of darkness. Wrapping her delusions around the strings of her target's consciousness, she clenched, and like that the woman went limp in her arms - motionless, but breathing.
A trouble-less slumber was what looked to cover the woman, which was good, because Zaeda seemed the type to appreciate a clean job, and Kurome was itching to impress. Don't be mistaken however, she didn't give a rat's ass - not even Warechu's - about what the wench thought of her, however she still wanted to ace the job; if for nothing else than to stick it to the bitch.
Kurome leaned back, ducked, and heaved the woman over her shoulders, taking note of how her skirt seemed to just barely cover her backside. Personally, Kurome wouldn't comment, and looking at her sleeping form, kind of felt a little guilty for having to take her - she was the woman who'd confirmed how both her partners failed to arrive at base.
Why Zaeda wanted to kidnap one of her own grunts was beyond Kurome though; she wasn't being paid to question the gang leader's reasons, she was being paid to do the job, so do the job she would. With this set firmly in her mind, Kurome turned around, swiping her still open and in use phone up off the floor, and speaking into it one last time.
"Target acquired. Now, send me the location of the drop-off point."
"Nice one." Lonk's comment was smooth, but Kurome made no efforts to show appreciation; the stupid cameras probably had night vision, and she decided she wasn't affording him positive reinforcement - not after the creep show confession from before. Lonk apparently didn't care, and kept a skip in his voice as he laid it all out. "Okay, I'll have a van ready for you outside in the parking lot. Wait around back for fifteen minutes or so. Van's red, with the phrase 'Crimson Crusaders' written on both sides - my personal manga club name."
Kurome ignored him again, knowing this was a prompt for further conversation.
.
.
"Is it real this time?" Linda was being extra cautious now, and only dropped her guard a little when Anny behind her chalked up an answer on the board.
"As far as my scanner's concerned, what we see before us is physically present, which is to say: yes, it's real."
"I don't know, chu. It looks mighty suspicious to me."
Warechu wasn't wrong, a log cabin it may have been, but it still reeked 'trap' louder than anything. The sewers of before eventually ended up popping them all out in a forest, and without too many gymnastics, Anonydeath was able to confirm that they'd only traveled a few meters from where they entered; hell, they'd took the time to follow the hacker as he lead them back to where they first dropped into the sewers, and again to get back where they popped out.
So apparently they'd been doing laps underground thanks to that stupid trip-wire gas, and to make matters worse, the surface walk to the exit hole was only a ten-ish minute venture. While that may have been insulting in its own right, what was worse was that Sarah chose to take the sewer route, presenting only two possible reasons why she'd take the longer trip instead of the short go across the surface.
Either she knew they were on to her, or she didn't know it was only a short walk across the top; regardless of whether she was stupid or not, it ultimately proved they were hot on her trail.
"A log cabin in the middle of the woods isn't all that weird." Linda tossed out, although looking back on it, she couldn't help but feel a bit disturbed. "Even if it is falling to pieces... and rotting a little... and missing some windows- who the hell lets their place fall apart like this?!"
"You're telling us, chu." Warechu didn't look to approve either, and he scowled hard at the place, as if it were the cabin's own fault that it looked so run down. "You'd think she would keep her home away from home in better shape; cabins like that are stupid expensive if you don't build 'em yourself, chu, and even then they cost a lot of dough."
"Settle down darlings." Anonydeath slipped in. "Regardless of Sarah's apparent lack of responsibility, we still have to catch her, do we not?"
Warechu tossed his head to the side, puffing to himself.
"Even so, to let what was probably a beautiful wilderness escape fall into such disarray is worthy of no less than the utmost punishment our laws can offer."
Anonydeath slowly turned his head towards Linda, who gave a partial shrug.
"He takes cleaning seriously; hell; you should have seen our old run-down place - somehow he kept it alive and bearable."
"Yes, well..." Anonydeath started forwards, now free from the crouching position he held with the others behind the bushes. "We should probably get moving, before she gets away again."
That would be a smart thing, yes, and so after Linda had the time to process that his idea was indeed a smart one - and an essential one, because they needed to nab Sarah - she chased after him. Warechu was a little slower on the draw, however this was due to his fury still fizzling silently within; his very core was disgusted by the sight of such little care being provided to one's home.
Taking up the stairs, Anonydeath creeped his head inside the open hole that was the entrance, with the door of such being nowhere in sight, which had the trio assuming it had either been removed, or was just lost somewhere - not that it mattered, but this tiny detail only added to the mouse's hidden fury. The inside was just as decadent as the outside, with mold covering the corners and splits between the floors and walls, leaving no surface untouched by grime of any sort. The old splintered wood creaked with each step, and as they stepped into the hall they heard a voice call out.
"So you've arrived." It came from the opening on the right, and cautiously the trio maneuvered inside.
Before them sat a living room, dusty and forgotten, with a broken table centered between the couch and fireplace. Unlike the rest of the building however, the couch appeared to be brand new, and before anybody could speak, Warechu took the opportunity to call out.
"Why is the couch clean?"
"Heh." The girl chuckled, completely ignoring the gray one's inquiry. "Look at what the cat's dragged in." She paused, crossing her legs - one over the other - and spitting up a smirk as she started again. "I'll be honest, I never expected you to find your way here so quickl-"
"Why is the couch the only clean thing here?" Warechu asked again, and the girl stumbled over her words a bit, recollecting her composure and continuing on as if nothing were said, completely oblivious to the rat's rapidly rising irritation.
"So quickly. My, you've certainly shown yourselves the speedy lot~ Say, why go through all this troubl-"
"Everything looks like its fallen out of a horror movie, just why the hell is the couch the only clean place?!"
"Excuse me! I'm trying to give a monologue here, if you don't mind."
"Oh, chu, but I do mind." Crossing his arms, Warechu shot out a hard look, and while it wasn't exactly aided by his shorter standing, it still hit like a truck to most who saw it - Sarah wasn't like most women though, so she noticed none of the fiery air swelling all around them. "You let this place fall to pieces, and then, for some ungodly reason, the couch you're sitting on is spotless. Care to explain?"
"Hmm~" Sarah let her eyes fall a bit, and a provocative smirk settled across her lips. "Oh, you mean this old thing?" She gave it a few pats. "Well, since you've asked so nicely, I think I'll oblige."
Linda leaned over to Anonydeath.
"I didn't know she understood grown-up words like that."
"Hush darling, she might hear you."
Linda rolled her eyes, and instead set her sights on Warechu. So far, and to her own personal surprise, he'd managed to keep his cool. She knew how seriously he took basic cleanliness, and to see someone so brazenly brushing off that aspect of housekeeping and not go wild was kind of a big deal when it came to the guy. Of course all of this cool seemed to shatter the moment Sarah made the absolutely idiotic call to keep yapping.
"Little fluffy here is brand new, and perhaps the one thing worth any salt in this whole house."
"You could just clean it." Warechu pointed out through a strained voice, but Sarah didn't seem to notice how stressed the rat was, as she just chuckled.
"And dirty my hands with filthy peasant work. Sorry, but that's an ask far beneath me, although..." She eyed him up and down before smirking harder. "It seems the perfect chore for you."
"And where are your servants then, chu?"
"Why would I bother bringing them out here?" The girl tossed on a confused mask, appearing almost lazy with how her eyelids fell. "This dirty hole is worthless to me. I only bought mister couch here because I was waiting for all of you. Once we're finished here, I'll just mosey on to another more worthwhile place."
"Worthwhile..." Warechu seemed to still, and his head dropped just a little. "But this place is so quaint, so cozy; it only needs a little bit of touching up and it'll be good as new, chu. It's a wonderful home, and you'd just throw it away like garbage?"
"Why are you getting so sentimental? It's just a stupid cabin." The girl huffed, and then bore a devious smirk. "Besides, I can just buy another whenever I want, although, I suppose that's something beyond your understanding; isn't that right, sewer rat?"
Warechu didn't move, he didn't so much as shake as the air plummeted within the room. Linda felt it, Anonydeath felt it, but the girl, their target, Sarah; she felt nothing. Sarah was so self-absorbed in her own certainty over victory that the prospect of how others were feeling was completely lost on her, and it was for this reason that she couldn't even see when she was beaten.
Her eyes went from cocky to wide as vision left her, and as she tried to move, she found that her arms were already restrained. The girl tried to call out, but the cloth was already in place, gagging her from screaming for help, although it wouldn't do any good anyway; nobody could save her now.
Warechu stood, his head still hanging low, and as the rope-bound Sarah slowly tilted and fell on to that precious couch of hers, he ducked down, running his little paw along the old abandoned wood of the floor.
"I'm sorry, chu." The apology would do nothing, because at this point, the boards were already beyond saving. Even so, one could almost feel the appreciation of the home for Warechu's kind words, as if it had never been loved before, and cherished the interaction.
"Um..." Anonydeath was perhaps the most stunned, because turning his gaze, he could see clearly the satisfaction across Linda's face. The girl smiled hard and rolled her shoulders as she spoke.
"Bitch had it coming; you don't mess with us like that."
Clearly he was missing something, but Anonydeath was willing to overlook it because of the results alone. One moment Warechu was restraining his fury, and the next, chaos ensued. He'd moved fast, faster than anything Anonydeath had ever seen. The way Warechu cycloned around the woman alone was insane, but the fact he had her bound in rope was another feat altogether, especially since Anny himself never saw any rope around beforehand - probably best to just let that little detail slide, for the sake of his sanity at least.
"Today is a sad day, chu." Warechu stood again. "Take her, we should go, and leave the poor home in peace."
Anonydeath saw Linda march forth, throwing a wriggling and muffled Sarah across her shoulder. Upon seeing just how stoic the two appeared over all of this, Anonydeath silently hummed, deciding to commit to the play, and put on his best tragic champion walk as they stepped back into the hall and left the cabin.
On that day, Warechu's faith in proper care for the household was reinforced, and with the knowledge that hateful skanks like Sarah existed out in the world, he vowed to uphold his faith in home management, until the day he died and walked the polished floors of the afterlife.
Author's note
…
Here we are yet again, although a little bit late; sorry about that.
Personal life got a little quick, so I didn't have much time to spare - plus I made the idiotic decision to start another story. Either way, we get the somewhat anticlimactic conclusions to the mission… what? This is L what did you expect? Kurome was a badass, and Linda and Warechu did something stupid cool - emphasis on the 'stupid'.
That's it for this one; catch you next time.