I want to seriously apologize for the lack of updates the time quite literally flew by.
Thank you to anyone still interested in my story and I hope to finish it eventually.
Chapter 2: The Reaper and the Cat
About two hours earlier
"All you freaks know what to do let's get it done"
Huang, ever the people person, barked into the radio as he watched the bank from a
rooftop position through the lens of a sniper scope.
"Copy that, moving to enter now" Hei replied, wearing his full Reaper gear.
His cotton-soled shoes made no noise as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop approaching
the bank.
"The two contractors are inside moving towards the vault."
Yin spoke up from a nearby canal, her pale feet sitting motionless in the water. Her
specter watched them from a water cooler, fading once she had spoken so as not to alert
them.
"Copy that Yin, I'm almost inside." Hei's rooftop run was almost complete, he was right
across from the planned entry point.
"Hei why do you have to move too damn fast you know these cat legs can't keep up!"
Mao chimed in between huffs and puffs.
Hei chuckled behind his mask as he readied the glass cutter he had brought. He jumped
the gap between buildings, landing perfectly on a window cleaning platform in front of
him. He attached the glass cutter and started making a square shape, just big enough for
him to slip inside without making a sound.
"The hole's done entering the window now."
He removed the square carefully and put the glass on the platform beneath his feet, then
climbed inside. Mao jumped in behind him, his collar bell making a small jingle that
earned him a side eye from Hei. Even though the mask covered his face the emotion was
still there somehow. Mao looked sheepish.
"You entered on the fourth floor, the vault is on the first. The contractors killed the guard
on duty."
Hei thought he detected a hint of sadness in Yin's voice, but he couldn't stop and think
about it at the moment.
"Copy"
"Hei the cameras are probably still rolling but there's nothing uploading I checked. As
long as we don't leave a way for them to track you down on the cameras it's not worth the
time to take them out."
Hei nodded and the odd-looking duo moved silently farther into the dark bank, the office
cubicles looking oddly creepy dark, and empty. Hei's cotton-soled shoes made no noise,
and Mao was purposely being more careful with his bell.
Huang's voice broke the silence.
"Remember Hei this isn't an assassination we just need the package they're after from the
vault. If they get away or get caught it's not our problem as long as we get it."
"Understood"
Hei and Mao found the stairs and moved to the first floor. As they neared the bottom they
started to hear voices.
The two contractors were dressed identically, wearing the all-black garb of thieves in the
night. If no one knew any better they would look like two run-of-the-mill bank robbers.
"I can't believe they put me on this. This is a job for some human burglars or even a
network team. I'm torn. On one hand, I like free money, but on the other hand, I can't help
but feel a little disrespected. I could level a city if I wanted to and this is how they want
me to spend my time."
"I know it's like using one a chainsaw to do surgery or a hammer to crack an egg. I don't
get it either but I am used to the disrespect, I'm not used to the money though. Whatever
they want this for it must be important to someone."
The Reaper and the Cat snuck a bit further into the first floor, moving into the main lobby
area. They got as close as they could to the back vault room, without actually entering it.
"So you think he'll show?"
"Beats me. From what I've heard he's as unpredictable as he is deadly. They said it'd be
about fifty/fifty. But honestly... I want that bonus."
"You really think we can take him? Didn't you hear the rumors about South America? All
of the contractors are monsters, sure; but that guy is a different beast."
"I don't know where you're getting we from... maybe it's a Russian fixation on the
collective. No, I don't think we can take him. I KNOW I can. You can go invisible and
watch, Yuri."
Hei, behind his layer of cover, made a mental note that one of them could go invisible.
"Hey, asshole just cause I can't throw a car with my mind doesn't mean I'm not
dangerous."
Hei's face betrayed a small smile behind his fearsome mask. Invisibility and telekinesis.
Easy as twelve bowls of ramen.
"Yeah yeah okay I'm getting bored move out of the way I'm just going to rip the door off
we'll be long gone by the time the cops get here."
Hei could tell by the sounds of tools moving the invisibility contractor was obeying.
There was a moment of silence before the wall in front of Hei, across from the vault room
doorway was awash in a familiar eerie blue glow. The glow was followed by the sound of
metal straining, like a ship with hull damage.
BANG
The door hit the other side of the wall Hei was using as cover. If it hadn't been at least a
foot of pure concrete he would probably be dead, flattened into a paste by the heavy vault
door.
"Okay what was that box number again? 201?"
"203. Should be an envelope. All we need to do is get it and deliver it. Like couriers but
massively overpaid."
Hei heard another smaller version of the metal groaning.
POP
"There it is let's get out of here."
Hei grabbed his blade and readied himself to strike when they walked through the door.
"Hang on comrade it seems we have company. The Black Reaper himself. Come on out
mister Reaper!"
Hei slowly walked away from his hiding place and entered the doorway.
"Give me the envelope and I'll let you both live."
Yuri stripped his clothes faster than anyone could react and with a ghostly blue glow
shimmered out of visibility.
The telekinetic contractor also glowed blue at the same moment Hei threw his blade. The
blade stopped an inch or two from his face and turned towards Hei himself. When the
contractor threw it back Hei dodged perfectly, the blade didn't even cut his jacket.
Hei was thinking through every part of the fight. Yuri seemed to be not too much of a
threat, he didn't even have a weapon when he went invisible. The telekinetic contractor
was the focus of this fight, especially with Yuri unable to physically walk out because of
Hei blocking the doorway. He'd have to take them out fast, the police were probably
starting to mobilize at this moment.
"You thought that was it? No Reaper I can do offense too!"
The contractor glowed blue again and raised his arms. The locks on about ten of the
lockboxes in the vault removed themselves from their metal fastenings and started
orbiting around the contractor. Without any warning, they started to accelerate fast at Hei.
He had to duck and weave some distance in a fashion he hadn't done since South
America, even more than the fight on the top of the skyscraper with Wei. One lock hit his
leg and impaled itself about a half-inch in.
Hei grunted in pain and fell to the ground, somehow his mask was still intact.
"Ah, so you are mortal. You bleed like the rest of us."
The contractor took a step forward closer to the side of the room Hei was in, he had to
dodge out of the doorway.
"Such a reputation, just to go out like this. Rather pathetic don't you think Yuri?"
The contractor looked around quickly.
"Yuri?"
Hei saw an opening and threw another blade.
The contractor caught the blade an hair from his face, glowing blue again.
"A good final effort Reaper very valiant. Unfortunately for you, you've given me the
murder weapon."
The blade turned towards Hei slower than before. The contractor walked another step
closer there was only about two feet between them.
The blade accelerated towards Hei's mask and he dodged at the last second, using the
momentum and movement to throw his last blade, which the contractor caught.
"Wow, gold star for effort here. Truly a-"
The contractor looked down and saw a wire wrapped around his leg. Just when he
realized what that meant a blue glow filled the room once again and he spasmed with
electricity. Hei grabbed his blades and reholstered them, noticing one was missing.
"Nothing to say now?" The voice of the Reaper almost taunted the dying contractor.
"Ha. You win. Congratulations... Reaper"
The contractor's voice grew more faint with every word and he finally passed. Hei didn't
have to look outside to know there was a falling star. He grabbed the envelope off the
ground and held his leg. It wouldn't heal fast and it limited his mobility. He started
walking towards the door when Mao appeared.
"Hei the other one is still in the bank. He's probably trying to ambush you at the door."
"He doesn't scare me Mao. Let's go we don't even need to kill him we have the envelope."
Huang's barking orders came over the radio.
"If you have the damn envelope then move your asses. The cops will be there any
minute."
Hei started limping to the door, the adrenaline wearing off.
"You don't have to tell me twice. Moving towards evac point A."
Hei heard police sirens and knew he was running out of time. He didn't want to deal with
the stairs with his leg messed up or the rooftop exit. That left the back door as his best
exit strategy. He knew Yuri was around somewhere, but he couldn't spend the time it
would take to find him, especially with his leg.
He made it to the backdoor, which was locked, luckily for Hei it was an electronic lock.
A small exertion and a blue glow from Hei opened the door. He and Mao wordlessly split
up, the cat going right and the Reaper going left. He turned a corner and ran right into…
"FREEZE! POLICE! PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR AND KNEEL!"
Saito yelled out as he and Chief Kirihara decided to let the regular police take the front
door as they looped around back. It seems the Chief's bright idea had paid off.
Misaki stepped forward.
"BK-201, we appreciate you saving our lives. Even if it was a coincidental alignment of
our interests. I swear no harm will come to you if you come with us. We need
information, and I believe you have it."
Hei tilted his head slightly, giving the mask an almost questioning look. Saito still
thought it was creepy and didn't move a muscle, keeping his gun trained on his target.
Kirihara lowered her gun.
"I know you're not trying to kill people. If you were, you would used Havoc when you
had the chance. My colleagues don't understand you but we… I want to. We can work
together and get to the bottom of the situation. I know you know something's off."
Hei didn't move a muscle as he thought about her words. He did think he could trust her,
but turning himself in to the police was an easy way to get killed while in custody or be
hunted down for the rest of his life. He simply couldn't walk away. Not yet, and probably
not so out in the open. He finally spoke.
"I'm sorry."
Kirihara was frustrated even further by the lack of answers.
"Sorry for what?!"
BANG
A gunshot came from a nearby rooftop and hit a foot away from Saito into the wall. He
and Kirihara ducked for cover and when they turned back The Black Reaper had
vanished.
"Damn, how does he always do that?" Saito asked, to no one specifically.
Kirihara gazed at the empty alleyway, her mind racing with the possibilities. She was sure
she had reached him behind that mask, she could feel him thinking about her words.
"Let's go see the mess he left inside, there's nothing left out here."