MC parked his car in his usual parking spot and threw the keys onto the dash in front of him. He put his face into his hands feeling an overwhelming sense of numbness, guilt, shame, and several other things he couldn’t quite distinguish. What am I gonna do? That look on her face. She hates me. He sat there for an hour before bringing himself to get up and go inside.
MC stumbled into the clubhouse. His clothes were tattered and burned. Dried blood smeared across his skin in various exposed areas. He was more than a mess. Sora, sitting on the couch, looked up from her laptop and gasped. “MC what happened? Are you ok?”
“He stood in the doorway and stared at the floor for a second. His hair draped over his face hiding his pathetic expression. “I’m alright,” he mumbled.
“You certainly don’t look alright.” Sora stood up and walked over to him, examining his state a little closer. “I’ll get the med kit just hold still.” She hurried off to a cabinet across the living room and retrieved the supplies.
“I’m fine. I’ll patch myself up. Just ran into a bit of trouble is all. I want to be alone right now.”
“Uh, huh. Seems like it was more than a little trouble. Are you sure you don’t want any help?” she asked, passing the med kit to him.
Instead of responding he just walked to the bathroom and shut the door behind him. Sora was feeling a bit worried so she sent a message to GM warning him of MC’s condition. It seemed like he was more than hurt physically. Something happened that upset him. As the night went on there was no reply from GM. She figured he was likely at a bar ignoring his phone.
A while later, MC emerged from the bathroom. He was showered and had a towel wrapped around his lower half. He was covered in bandages and burn cream. There were a few particularly deep wounds that would in time age to go along with his collection of scars. He’d done a good job of taking care of his injuries.
Sora didn’t want to bombard him with questions but had to at least try and pull some more information from him. He often came home covered in cuts and bruises, but this was pretty extreme. In addition, when he did come home like this, he was never this quiet and usually welcomed the help.
She stopped him on his way to his room. “MC what happened today? I’ve seen several reports online about a gas explosion today. Were you involved with all that?” she asked.
“I’d rather not talk about it,” he said as he kept walking past her.
Red and blue lights coated the scene of the crime and became more apparent as the sun began to set. The detectives grouped up and watched from afar as the fire department slowly stopped the spread of the fire. Police surrounded the area and helped evacuate anyone who was still within the surrounding area. The police discussed that luckily, aside from the gas station and the church, there weren't many other buildings nearby meaning there weren't many people in the area to begin with. The explosion itself had not resulted in any casualties.
The detectives tried to collect themselves under clean white blankets and warm coffee. It was little comfort to match the atrocities that had occurred. Nobody said much, but it was clear they were all on the same page. They had just lost several of their members in the shootout and practically failed their mission. The Black Diamond members were gone. There were no arrests made and there was no information collected. All that remained was a trail of dead bodies.
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Emi remained a strong leader as usual. It wasn't like her to sulk after a loss. She kept a fairly even baseline even in times like these. Since joining the team she’d seen many comrades die and always pulled her head right back into the game. That’s why she was the leader. Not a soul blamed her for the losses. They were unavoidable and truly unforeseen.
Aiko cried quietly along with some of the other detectives, but her reasons were mixed. She was saddened at the thought of never seeing MC again, but more than that she felt angry. Her trust in him was betrayed. How could MC be a criminal? She kept repeating the question in her head. He killed people, but he also saved people. If he hadn’t helped us defeat the Black Diamond and warned us about getting out of the building, it's likely we would have all died. But he betrayed my trust. He’s literally on the most wanted list. Even if he did help us, it doesn’t change that fact. I’ve been so stupid not to see this. How couldn’t I have known that he was the Flash Bang? Thoughts kept rolling over each other as her brain tried to make sense of the events that had transpired today.
When it was finally time to go home it was hardest for those who went home by themselves. Those with families waiting for them were greeted with concern and support. For Aiko and Emi, they had no one but themselves.
Emi was strong and maintained, but for Aiko it was harder. She was inconsolable. She went home and showered. Shampoo took the smell of smoke out of her hair and comfy clothes reminded her that she was safe at home. She got in bed and couldn’t stop crying. It took several hours tossing and turning before her body gave out and graced her with sleep.
Emi spent the next few days arranging funeral plans with families of the lost ones from their unit. Everyone else filed what seemed to be endless reports about the incident. It was surely not the first time that a detective lost their life on duty, however it was not often that so many were lost all at once.
The entire justice system was shaken by the incident. The Vampire had done exactly what he intended to do: spread chaos. The police force was furious and spoke aggressively about the devastation that had occurred. Going up against the Black Diamond or The Organization never seemed to end well, but this mission had proven just how violent the city had become.
Word of the true identity of the Flash Bang spread through the agency. Of course people had heard of him before, but now they had some real evidence. They had a face and a name. MC was put in their system as a known criminal and member of The Organization.
The next day, MC met with GM and Sora. He hesitantly explained what happened with the detectives at the church the day before. GM, given his nature, wasn’t the best emotional support, not that MC needed support very often.
“You’ve really done it now, haven't you?” said GM.
MC sat on the couch and dropped his head into his hands.
Sora was floored. She’d seen and heard a lot of things over her years in The Organization, but this was up there in absurdity.
“Sounds like you miraculously managed to save her life, but you’ve also blown it with your little girlfriend or whatever,” said GM. “There’s just one thing I know for sure and it’s that these events are likely to complicate things. You’re going to have to be careful from now on. There’s going to be a warrant on your head. You’re going to have to lay low unless you want the law to get their hands on you. Not that I really think they could take you in if they tried.”
MC emitted a long sigh and took on a more serious face. “This is the path I’ve chosen. In a way, I always knew it would come to something like this. I always knew that my game of playing normal with Aiko would end eventually. My goal of finding and killing Jin has always been the same. This is for the best. Now my distractions are gone.”