Nathan watched the screen as data from Xavier's wristband got transferred to the computer. He looked at Luna who rose from her chair.
"W-Wait here. I'll go get something," Luna says, heading towards the shelves. Xavier waits with Nathan, monitoring the upload progress on the computer screen.
After a few minutes, Luna returns with a folder of her translated manuscripts and poems, and an extraordinarily rare artifact-a Sanguinius dictionary. The term 'rare' doesn't adequately describe this book; most people aren't even aware of its existence.
"How do you have that?" Xavier queries, eyeing the book suspiciously. He's astounded that a Sanguinius dictionary is available in a public library.
"It was donated along with other books by a charity organization," Luna explains, "It's not the latest edition, but I believe we could find some clues to translate the letters." She flips through the pages, comparing the symbols in the letters to the ones in the dictionary.
Xavier assists her, observing patterns between the letters and beginning to transcribe on a piece of paper Luna provided.
"Location? That's q-quite challenging to translate. S-Sanguinius numerics are easy to recognize, b-but the name of the address will be difficult to decipher." Luna says, scanning through the pages and attempting to construct a coherent sentence.
"I think I've got it." Xavier announces, surprising Luna and Nathan with his analytical prowess.
"12... communion, gathering room, discussion. These words appear frequently in these letters..." he says, comparing the letters to the translated text.
"I believe the location is on 12th Avenue and serves as a meeting place for them," Xavier deduces, noting the recurring pattern in the letters.
"12th Avenue? T-That's quite far, on the other side of the city." Luna says, questioning the accuracy of Xavier's translation.
"It's still a possibility. We have to take the chance." Xavier responds, his voice serious on the decision he's making.
"I'll go to any lengths to catch that corpse." Nathan says, his voice filled with disdain, haunted by past events.
"I think we'll investigate it. Thank you for your assistance, Luna." He expresses as they begin to leave the library.
"Y-You're welcome... please visit again!" Luna calls out as they exit the library, stepping back onto the streets. As the two men walked farther from the library, Luna Sighs recalling the last time she had people visiting the library. 'Maybe this time I'll finally meet someone I can call a friend...' She thought to herself as she smiled softly.
As they started their walk, they noticed the sky darkening.
"Seems we lingered in the library too long," Xavier remarked, glancing at Nathan.
Checking his wristband, he saw it was already seven in the evening. Upon hearing Nathan's stomach growl, he suggested, "We should stop for a bit." They entered a restaurant, a neon sign reading 'Noctua Boulangerieʼ illuminating the doorway.
The restaurant's ambience was soothing, with a projector above creating a classical fine dining scene for its guests. A waiter guided them to their table. Nathan ordered a meal large enough for a family of five while Xavier, contemplating his life choices, opted for steak and fries.
A suspicious-looking man entered the restaurant. His face was hidden by his black trench coat's collar. After removing his fedora and speaking briefly with the waiter, he ascended the stairs, failing to notice Xavier's watchful gaze.
Setting his fork down, Xavier asked, "Did you see that guy?"
"Yep," Nathan responded uninterestedly, continuing to consume his large meal as though he hadn't eaten in years. Despite his outward calm, Xavier was inwardly annoyed by Nathan's behavior.
"I'm going to investigate..." Xavier says, standing from his chair. Nathan nods, his gaze shifting from Xavier to the plates of food in front of him. Xavier attempts to follow the suspicious man to the same floor, but an employee stops him.
"I'm sorry sir, that area is for employees only." he said, blocking Xavier from advancing up the stairs.
"Listen kid, move aside. No one will notice." Xavier retorts, his tone brimming with annoyance. He discreetly hands a gold coin to the employee and continues up the stairs.
Upon reaching the upper floor, Xavier is met with a corridor. He carefully proceeds, alert for any disturbances or suspicious activity. A lone metal door at the end of the corridor stands out among the rest, which are all wooden. Xavier puts his ear against it, listening for any sounds from the other side. He hears a man's voice, laced with malice and accompanied by the sound of a fist hitting a table.
"We've given you enough time. Cough up the money," he demanded loudly.
"Please sir, give us more time... Just please..." a woman's voice pleaded.
"I've heard enough. I'm sure the boss won't mind," he said, followed by a menacing laugh.
"Please... no... No! NO!" A blood-curdling scream echoed, followed by a cracking noise and then silence. Xavier immediately burst into the room, pistol in hand. He glanced at the door, noting the familiar features of red eyes and long fangs. The smell of blood filled the air as the man bit down on a woman's neck.
"Classic, Extortion huh?ˮ Xavier said, The man was shocked by his sudden entrance, he put the woman down and dashed right on to Xavier. Before the man could do anything, he was immediately shot in the head. The body fell to the ground and began to shrivel.
"What a good way to start the evening," Xavier sarcastically comments as he examines the woman's body. He notices a bite mark on her neck. However, upon touching the wound, it's clear her neck was snapped beforehand. He then searches the man's body for any clues or affiliations. As he feels something in the man's pocket, footsteps can be heard coming from outside.
"What the fuck happened?" Nathan asks, stumbling into the room after hearing the commotion.
"You're late," Xavier responds, gesturing for Nathan to come closer.
"We've got another lead on this case," he says as he pulls out a card from the man's trench coat. After a quick examination, he tucks it into his pocket.
"It's a keycard for the same place on 12th Avenue," Xavier confirms on his wristband to check the address of the card as they head back to the ground floor. After glancing at the bill for their meal, he calmly walks to the register and pays. As they leave the restaurant, he makes a mental note not to let Nathan order freely next time.
Xavier quickly orders a Taxi for them both, as they wait they notice the many passerby of the Sector's intersection, showing the livelihood of those who live in the city rather than the slums of the sector. As they got in Nathan leaned on his hand as he watched the lights and buildings passing by.
Xavier quickly took note on his wristband about everything they've unraveled up till now. He examined the card once more, fidgeting with it.
As they continue their way they pass by Sector 5's china town. It was lively and glowing bright red with red lanterns and neon signs. Nathan looked with a glint in his eyes as he continued to ponder what's there for him.
"You've been there?" Xavier said.
"No, it's just... Looks cool I guess." Nathan dismissed. As he looked to the front on to the road ahead.
"We should go there sometime, the food's amazing. I'll show you somewhere nice." Xavier says as he continues to write down notes on his wristband.
Once they arrived at 11 Avenue, they got off the Taxi and continued their journey on foot. The Flickering street lights show the maintenance that this neighborhood hasn't received in a while.
Nathan saw an old poster on the ground, a thin metallic sheet with dim lighting. Advertising the 11th avenue, with the slogan 'The Neighborhood of The Future!' The poster has seen better days as the light slowly dims out a few moments after Nathan sees it. he threw the poster away causing a metallic thud to hit the ground.
Xavier looked back at Nathan observing the source of the noise.
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"What?" He said as he looked behind him before looking back at Xavier.
"Nothing, just making sure it wasn't anything bad." Xavier says, a relieved sigh escapes his chest as he realized the sound was from Nathan.
Arriving closer to 12 Avenue, their expectations of a fancy, expensive-looking cottage were shattered as they navigated through an apparent endless labyrinth of concrete and metal. The tall, gloomy buildings around them blocked out all moonlight from the night sky, leaving them in darkness. The metal doors were marked with symbols and numbers, increasing their unease as the silence intensified.
The streets are filled with individuals wearing black jackets, their masks and goggles shows that they're not here for anything but trouble. People huddled together in separate groups, a somewhat balanced socio-sphere.
"Are we even at the right place?!" Nathan barked, growing irritated by the unending concrete walls that enclosed them.
"We're nearing Twelfth Avenue," Xavier announced, glancing at the holographic map on his wristband. He examined the card he'd found more closely.
"Perhaps we need to find the corresponding number and symbol," he suggested, scanning the building doors for a match. They pressed onward, searching for the symbol and number that would match the keycard.
The people of 12th avenue walk by without a care for their antics, as they seem busy with issues of their own. Prostitution can be seen happening outside some of the doorways and people passing out drunk on the road.
"Found it!" Nathan calls, waving to Xavier from a higher floor. Xavier nods and rushes towards Nathan, narrowly avoiding some civilians going about their business. They insert the keycard into the corresponding slot, and a door swings open, revealing a narrow hallway leading to an elevator.
"Looks like we're on to something," Xavier says to Nathan as they approach a door with the correct symbol. The door is locked, but fortunately, Nathan has a knack for opening locked doors. After a bit of a struggle, Nathan's strength rips the door off its hinges.
"Well, wasn't that convenient," Xavier retorts, raising his eyebrows. As they entered the room at the end of the corridor, marked by a particular symbol. The room, sparsely furnished with a single bed and a circular red carpet, strikes Xavier as odd. Swiftly, he throws aside the carpet to investigate his suspicion.
"Nice, another clue we don't know about," Nathan said, rolling his eyes and sighing as he examined the unknown symbol on the ground.
"Hmm... it seems like it's from a different organization altogether. We're at a dead end," Xavier told Nathan. Seeing his disappointment, he quickly scanned the symbol with his watch and instructed Nathan to stay alert. In a frenzy, Nathan tore apart the lone bed in search of a clue, but found nothing. Both of them sat on the ground, frustrated and disappointed. For a moment, they lost all hope, their minds racing as they considered their next steps.
Xavier stands up, followed by Nathan. "Let's return to the library, we might find something else," Xavier suggests.
As they leave the apartment, Nathan is alerted by the smell of smoke and looks toward the road below. He notices burning cars and a flurry of gunshots echoing from all directions.
"What the fuck is going on?" Nathan exclaims, as he rushes towards the stairs. Suddenly, he feels Xavier's hand on his shoulder.
"Wait. We shouldn't intervene, it's a turf war," he said, reassuring Nathan who was gradually calming down.
They observed from above as the gang members resolved their dispute. The flash of guns lighting up the night sky was followed by the sound of each shot. They decided not to intervene, letting the chaos resolve itself. The night wore on, the gunfire subsided, and the distant echo of sirens replaced it. They slowly descended the stairs, intently watching the chaos subside.
"It's just another day in Sector 5," Nathan sighs as he walks past body bags and paramedics, Xavier soon followed. He does a cross with his hand as he passed the bodies, paying his respect to those who have fallen.
They ordered another taxi back to the Library. The ride back was awfully quiet, with Xavier deep inside his own mind searching for a clue that doesn't exist. And Nathan disappointed at himself for not adding anything to the search.
As they approach the Library, they see Luna being harassed by two men in black suits.
"I-I had nothing to do with that! I only used the dictionary for E-Education purposes!" She protests timidly, clearly intimidated by the two men. Annoyed by their behavior, Xavier steps in to confront them.
He patted one of their shoulders and said, "Gentlemen! What's with all the commotion here?"
The two men were silent. They glanced at each other before turning back to Xavier and Nathan. After a few seconds, they bowed formally and quickly left the library. Luna sighed with relief as she watched the two men in suits depart.
"What was that all about?" Nathan asked, raising his eyebrow in confusion. Xavier looked at him with disappointment before dismissing him and refocusing his attention on Luna.
"Who were those two men?"
"T-They were from Atlas. They were investigating me for suspected involvement in the commotion near 12th Avenue!" she stuttered as she mentioned their organization.
"Atlas? I've never heard of that organization before..." Xavier looks puzzled, as the organization was not on his radar.
"It's not a vampire crime syndicate," she sighs. "It's a charity organization, the one that donated The Sanguinius Dictionary."
"Why would a charity organization possess such a valuable artifact anyway, seems fishy to me." He questions the authenticity of her information.
"I don't know, it was in one of the many boxes of books they donated... Maybe they didn't know it was there?" She gave her best guess.
Xavier was quiet for a moment, trying to piece together the events they had experienced to find a lead for the case. Suddenly, an image of the recent turf war popped into his mind. He swiftly entered the keywords into his watch, and an article about the same event appeared on a hologram.
"I think the local gangs might help us in this case." Xavier analyzes the articles. Trying to find a suspect but to no avail.
"You want us to mess with drug dealers?!" Nathan exclaimed, showing hesitance about involving humans in their predicament. He feels conflicted about bringing regular people into the world of hunters.
"Relax, it's not like we're cops, we're hunters. We deal in corpses, not criminals." Xavier reassured him. As he continued looking at the article from his wristband's hologram.
Meanwhile, Luna observed their discourse, busy rearranging the books scattered on the ground. She smiled softly at their bickering, reminding her of the good times of her past.
After a while, they approached her, determination evident in their eyes.
"Before we depart, could we learn more about this... Atlas organization?" Xavier inquired calmly.
"O-Oh um... sure! I just need to close the library for the evening." Luna replied timidly.
She moved to the front desk, pressing a few buttons that caused the bookshelves to descend into the floor. Mechanical sounds echoed throughout the now-empty library. Outside, a loud metallic thud signified the library's safety as thick steel doors secured the entrance. Nathan and Xavier followed Luna as she ventured into the building.
The trio traversed a corridor within the library, eventually arriving at a room marked 'Employees Only.' Upon entering, they were met with haphazard stacks of documents, boxes, a lone mattress, and remnants of meals past.
"This is where I've been staying," Luna confesses, slightly embarrassed by the mess. She quickly navigates through the clutter, pulling out a large binder labeled 'Confidentialʼ. In it she flipped through the pages, arriving at the page discussing Atlas's donation to the Library.
"They've donated t-ten boxes worth of books and f-fifteen memory drives." She reads.
"And what were those books and memory drives about?" Xavier asks.
"I-it was on a lot of different things... Biology, physics, Mathematics, History... And pretty much everything." She recalls the time when she organized the books.
"Oh! But the m-memory drives are apparently historical talks between the first president of the U-United Government and The Vampire representatives." She continued.
"All fifteen of them?"
"Yes? T-They were mostly different clips and just videos of s-several countries signing the Unified Blood Act."
"Huh? Unified Blood Act? What's that?" Nathan cuts her off as he was baffled by this event he never heard of.
Xavier rubs his forehead and sighs in disappointment before he explains.
"It's the pact Humanity signed to end the Humano-Vampire war. You seriously don't know this?" He exclaimed in annoyance.
Nathan was silent for a moment, processing this new historical event that was supposedly world changing.
"A-Anyway, They also send money every couple of months as aid for the Library's maintenance. I-I would like to think Atlas is a genuine charity organization." Luna continued to share her thoughts.
"Huh, that's what they want you to think." Xavier scoffs at Luna's naivety.
"There's nothing clean in Sector 5, given enough digging I'm sure we'll find dirt on this." He says as he examines the files for anything Luna might have missed.
As Xavier delved into the files, Nathan examined the surrounding walls of the room. Noticing some posters, family pictures and in the corner of his eye he saw something that interests him, The United Government Certificate of Inauguration. Luna notices Nathan's interest on the certificate.
"O-Oh, that? I got it a few years ago. I had to submit a few paperwork to get the library on a map!" She put on a wristband and tapped a few buttons to show a hologram of a map where they are right now. She smiled warmly at Nathan's interest in her certificate.
"T-This library is recognized by the United Government." She points to the words under the location's hologram.
Nathan seems intrigued by this, never having seen or known how the society works around him even though he has lived for more than two decades at this point. Just then Xavier breaks the silence amongst them with a revelation.
"I think we might have ourself another lead on this." He said as he pointed to a passage on the file labeled encrypted.
Luna was puzzled until she looked at the passage he was pointing to and realized that it was about one of the memory drives she labeled as 'Encrypted'.
"Oh! Yeah... That drive, it was locked and I-I couldn't really find a way to decrypt the encryption..." She said as she walked over to a messy spot in the room to rummage for the encrypted drive.
"I-I think it's somewhere around here..." Luna continued as she dug around the room's messy piles to find the memory drive.
Nathan and Xavier looked over her shoulder as she kept searching for the drive. Xavier looked at his wristband that was displaying the time 03:00 AM It said.