"Major!" Junco called out to Raphael. Junco and Dhole had just reached the western docks and encountered Raphael and Suni in their civilian clothing; the latter two had both reached the site earlier than them.
"Lieutenant," Raphael answered in response while nodding at Junco. Despite having codenames, Raphael and his team preferred calling each other by rank, especially in public.
"Anything, sir?" Junco asked after nodding at Suni while Dhole stood some distance away studying a steel support pillar.
"No, we just got here ourselves," Raphael answered. As Raphael spoke, he gestured at the forensic investigators who were collecting evidence. "They're still in the middle of gathering evidence but this looks like the work of a single person."
"Ar-are you sure?" Junco asked. It was unbelievable that one person could carve up so much destruction in less than twelve minutes.
"Pardon," Raphael walked to one of the corpses and stood right behind him while apologizing to a nearby investigator. "See the arterial spray on the container? Straight, one-way splatter. That means the killer stood right behind the victim and stabbed him."
Raphael moved into an offensive position, pretending to hold a sword with two hands and stabbing it forward at an imaginary target.
"And then, based on the wound, the killer twisted the blade … counterclockwise," Raphael stood still in that position while pondering over why the killer did that. "Then, somehow, the second victim over there gets diced. But how? Telekinesis? … Peut être …"
"Boss. Over here," Dhole, who was done studying the steel pillar, called Raphael.
"You found something?" Raphael asked as he and the others approached Dhole.
"Not sure," the latter responded with a frown. "See these marks? There's something lodged in the steel."
"The knives used to kill the second victim," Raphael concluded after thinking for some time. Soon after he called an investigator to try and pry the objects from out of the pillar.
"This is five o'clock from the second victim," Suni muttered as they watched them cut into the pillar. "If it's a blade then wouldn't it just continue traveling a straight trajectory? Why would it end up here?"
"It would move in a straight line if it was a straight blade," Dhole answered, a bright light in his eyes as he realized something. "The blade was curved. This would also explain why the cuts were deep in the beginning but shallow at the end."
Soon after, Dhole was proven right as a blade with a curved end was taken out from the pillar. Raphael witnessing it all walked back to the position he was in previously. He stationed himself like how the killer was but still didn't understand how the latter was able to kill the second guard when he was wielding the sword with both his hand.
"Excuse, sirs and, uh, ma'am? I'd like to report something," a nearby forensic analyst came forward and interrupted them.
"Go ahead," Raphael answered.
"Judging from the height and wounds of the victim, and in accordance with the trajectory of traveling blades, I'm guessing the killer had some sort of blade shooter-thingy. See the slight curvature of the wound? The blade was traveling upwards while spinning. Meaning, it was launched at a slight downward angle."
"What do you mean by launch?" Junco asked.
"Based on how deep the blades cut into the metal, I'd say it was traveling at ten times the strength of what an average human can do," Dhole explained.
"Also, as you were demonstrating, he was holding the Katana with both hands, meaning the killer either has three hands or an accomplice, but both are unlikely so ..." the analyst nodded and agreed while looking at Raphael.
"Katana?" Raphael asked.
"The wounds on the first victim match a pointy, single-edged blade, so I'm thinking Katana," the analyst replied. "And the blade launcher or shooter, whatever you wanna call it, would explain why he twisted the blade while stabbing the first victim."
"How do you mean?" Dhole asked.
"He twisted his wrist to angle his arm and target the second victim," Junco answered as the analyst opened his mouth. The latter nodded and gestured at Junco, indicating that she had said it correctly. As a sniper and recon specialist, Junco was able to connect the dots quickly after observing the scene with a quick glance.
"Also, I'm sure that if we checked them, they'll be tightropes all over the cranes. It's likely how the killer was able to sneak up on them so easily," the analyst said while looking up.
"Tightropes? Really?" Suni asked incredulously while Junco and Raphael looked up; Junco nodded at the latter, confirming the CSI's suspicion. "The fuck we dealing with? Batman? Cirque du Soleil?"
"Have you managed to access any potential video footage?" Raphael asked the investigator while ignoring Suni.
"Cameras are offline, probably the guards that did it," Suni answered immediately. He was the technical guru amongst them that specialized mostly in hacking and explosives. With one look, he was able to tell that the nearby security cameras were disabled. "They were shut off so there'd be no evidence of the shipping containers being loaded."
Junco nodded at the analyst, requesting him to politely leave now that he was done explaining things. After he left, Raphael cleared his throat. "Do we have an idea who did this?"
"From what the kids described, a predator. Like, literally, a Predator. Just not blargh mouthed but wolf teethed instead with huge, muscular, high tech armor and a penchant for ripping limbs off and hanging corpses," Suni answered while using his computer armband to check the updates. His eyes traveled to the two hanging corpses as he spoke. "I would hazard a guess and say werewolf, from how they described the teeth, but the victims don't have bite marks and wolves don't have glowing blue eyes. That's definitely artificial."
"That's not much to go on," Raphael said with a frown. Wolf? Why is this reminding me of that jackass? "How about the survivor? Uh, the accountant lady?"
"Already in route to a precinct, Major," Junco answered.
"More importantly, what do we do with the kids?" Dhole interrupted while jerking his head to a specific location.
The area in question was a tent where the children were resting. Even though the flaps were open, the tent provided the children with a place to sleep peacefully. Some of them were still awake, others were eating, and a few, that weren't wary, were talking to the police officers.
"Nothing, the Colonel has already accepted a Phantom's offer and the children's ... situation is being transferred to them," Raphael answered.
"Which Phantom?" Suni asked curiously.
Raphael hesitated before answering slowly. "Viperess."
His entire team stood in stunned silence for a while minute before Junco roused herself.
"Sir, with all due-" Junco began, protesting.
"I know, Junco. I know," Raphael cut in. "And don't worry, I'm not about to let them go alone with her."
"You mean …"
"We've done all we can here," Raphael continued. "There's nothing else to gather here and we'll be receiving a copy of the forensics report anyways. I suggest we escort the children, instead."
The team nodded enthusiastically while Junco sent Raphael a gentle smile.
"Alright people, let's see if the kids need anything," Raphael said and the four moved to the tent. A few seconds after moving, however, Raphael stopped as his comm went off. Conversing for a while, he hung up with a sigh.
"I've just been ordered back to base," Raphael told his team. "You three can handle yourselves, right?"
"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Junco replied. "I'm a little surprised though. Why only call you back, sir?"
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"Not sure, but I'll find out soon," Raphael said. "Bonne chance."
Raphael left the scene as the other three reached the children; they realized that Viperess was already approaching their location from the opposite direction.
She was wearing very casual clothes, black leggings, and a simple jacket, her copperish hair was styled messily making her appear as though she had just woken up. Her bright brown eyes fell on the children and she smiled at them. Specifically, she smiled at a little girl who was taking care of the other children.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you all," Melanie said to them, her sweet and angelic voice captivating the children, who looked up at her in awe. "I'll be taking care of you all. My name is Melanie, mmkay? Now, let's get you all into some nice warm clothes."
As she spoke, the little girl's eyes widened with recognition and Melanie sent a wink her way; this little girl was the same one who stood up to Fenrir. Junco, who was the most observant, noticed this small little interaction but before she could consider what it meant, Melanie turned to her and smiled. Junco shuddered as she felt the killing intent aimed at her and decided to look away, ignoring Melanie's interactions with the children.
That psychopath is younger than me, but she can still scare the shit out of me, Junco thought. She couldn't help but think about how many people Melanie killed in order to develop such a frightful intent.
***
An armored AEM transport slowly drove through the empty roads of Sanctuary. The vehicle was similar in design to the INKAS Huron and the dark grey blast-resistant paint only made it look more menacing in the dark night. Traffic lights near the junction were red, preventing any car from using the street while allowing the transport to move freely without traffic, a situation made easier due to the fact that they were barely any cars at this time of the night.
Inside, two heavily armed policemen and one AEM soldier sat in the back. The AEM soldier stood in front of the one-way door that led to the driver's station, while the two policemen sat opposite of Debra; one watching her carefully to prevent any mishaps while another kept his eyes on the backdoor. Due to the presence of AEM, the police officers did not slack nor speak and only the engine in the background conversed with them, it's rumblings and grumblings heard clearly in the silence.
After turning a corner, the lights within the transport started flashing as the engine stalled. A moment after, the lights returned but another figure sat between the two policemen causing Debra, who noticed the intruder first, to scream. The brown hood and mask obscured her face, but the feminine curves were apparent underneath her leather armor.
The two policemen, while shocked, turned to confront her but the assassin stabbed one with a Kukri while kicking the other away. As the officer stood back up and confronted the assassin, the AEM soldier knocked on the door, tapping his knuckles in code to inform the driver before he also joined the fray by pulling his handgun and aiming it at the assassin. The assassin, in response, positioned the surviving police officer in between her and the AEM soldier's line of sight, effectively preventing him from shooting her. The struggle between the three increased when the driver began moving the steering wheel erratically, disrupting everyone's balance. Shoving the police officer forward, the assassin closed the distance between her and the soldier, while slicing the officer's throat with a second Kukri. Dropping both Kukris, she grabbed the soldier's helmeted head and slammed her knee into him, dazing the latter as he fell on his back. She then grabbed her blades from the ground and threw one at the soldier; the blade cut through the AEM soldier's helmet and dug into his head, killing him. After killing the soldier, the assassin turned to Debra while raising the other dagger in her hand.
"Please, don't … I won't say anything … I promise," Debra begged as the assassin slowly approached.
The assassin paused and tilted her head when she heard a clicking sound. Turning around, her eyes locked onto the driver who had turned back to face her with a raised gun. The AEM uniform on him slowly broke as the hologram surrounding him faded away. Sitting in the driver's seat was Jason, clad in his Phantom armor and leather jacket. The red eyes gleamed as he aimed his gun at the assassin; the previous clicking noise was him turning off the safety.
"Surprise, bitch," Jason said to the assassin before firing his gun through the door and at her.
The assassin, unsheathing a second Kukri, deflected the bullets he fired but every hit sent her stumbling back from the force of impact. Each bullet was a 5.45X39 caliber rifle bullet, and the force was twice as strong an AK-74 due to being fired through a magnetic coil while being reinforced with magnetic energy from Jason's Esper powers.
Eventually, the assassin was pushed to the very end and, with her back against the door, a Kukri shattered from the force of the bullets. Throwing it aside, she whipped a small vial and threw it on the ground; it turned out to be a smoke grenade. Jason braked abruptly as the smoke filled the car, hoping to send her flying to the ground, but Debra was the only one who slid to the front.
Damnit.
Jason got off the seat and kicked the bullet sieved door that connected the driver's station to the holding cell. He reloaded his gun and held it with two hands as he slowly walked through the smoke. This smoke was evidently made by an Alchemist as his spiritual, Esper, and technical vision and senses were all blinded, leaving him vulnerable. Judging from how the smoke flowed to the back, Jason grimaced: he realized that the assassin jumped out of the vehicle through the entrance at the back as soon as she threw the grenade.
He slowly made his way to the back, checking for traps or signs of an ambush, after knocking out Debra. Reaching the end, he also jumped out of the vehicle but ducked his head immediately as a swish of air flew past where his neck once was; the assassin had been waiting for him while hiding behind the door and tried to sneak attack him when he was unprepared.
Unable to distance himself, Jason engaged in close combat with the assassin. He held the gun by the barrel while using his butt-end of the handgun to try and pistol whip her. The assassin dodged and tried slashing at him in return. The two kept exchanging blows, their strengths were evenly matched as Jason used only his Esper powers to augment his strength while she used the full strength she had as a Practitioner. While using his arm to block her attack, Jason allowed the assassin to knee him. He used the blow to distance himself and then pulled out a second gun. Aiming both guns at her, Jason fired at her discriminately and the assassin kept backing away as she deflected the bullets.
After emptying his entire clip, Jason pressed a button on the primary handgun. Two thin robotic arms extended from his waist and in their grip was two new clips full of ammo. Jason released the clips in his guns and smashed them down and into the new clips. With a clicking noise, the guns were loaded once more. The reload took less than two seconds to occur and before the assassin could react, Jason started firing again.
After another volley of shots, the assassin couldn't deflect them all and two bullets hit her hard, one hit her chest while another in her ribs. With his sharp eyes, Jason noticed that her armor was stronger than it looked and intentionally shot her where the armor was thickest. Before the assassin collapsed, Jason saw how the bullet lodged itself into her vest but didn't leave any wounds. By his estimate, the assassin would only suffer from some intense bruising.
Holstering his guns, Jason walked up to the assassin casually without a hint of caution. As he moved towards her, he pressed a specific spot on the side of his neck and his mask pulled itself away, disassembling itself into small squares and moving downwards to his suit. As soon as he got close, the assassin tried stabbing him with a hidden knife, but this time he was prepared. He stopped her arm and disarmed her effortlessly.
"Fooled me once," Jason said as he held the knife to the assassin's throat while unmasking her. He pulled her hood off before ripping the mask away.
Jason's eyes widened and he took a step back, completely shocked at the person in front of him. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back to prevent it from falling forwards and blocking her view and stunning blue eyes looked back at him with such grief and hate that Jason mentally recoiled from her gaze.
"Katelyn?" Jason stuttered as he asked. He mind was a blank as he didn't know what to say or do. The guilt and self-loathing he felt for himself combined with the confusion and hesitation at her appearance prevented him from moving and Katelyn used that opportunity to jump and run up a building's wall.
"Wait! Katie!" Jason called out as he prepared to pursue her.
He bent his legs and empowered himself with his Esper powers when he fell to his knees and spat out blood. With a pale face, Jason could only watch her leave as he tried to suppress the backlash from his Esper abilities. Like Silvia had surmised Jason's Esper power, Energy Manipulation, was actually killing him by taking his lifeforce. Usually, he used the spiritual Qi and lifeforce he gained as a Practitioner to prevent the Esper power from going berserk but he had exhausted his Qi when he refined the poultice early that night. In fact, since waking up in the hospital, Jason hadn't rested at all.
With a sigh, Jason shakily stood up and stumbled to a corner where his motorbike stood, humming quietly. When he had infiltrated the transport, he instructed A.V.A to autopilot the bike and silently follow him while it's holographic camouflage was active. Right now, A.V.A had deactivated the cloak and, since he was too weak, drove him away towards the loft; he wasn't in the mood to stay, especially since he knew AEM would arrive in minutes.
In a daze, Jason forgot about the pain he was feeling from his body breaking down. Instead, he kept replaying the scene of Katelyn in his mind, trying to convince himself that it wasn't possible, that she was someone else in disguise. Yet the facts were undeniable, and the reason why she felt so familiar was now apparent to him.
Without realizing it, Jason found himself in the Loft on the first floor, having arrived while thinking about Katelyn. The Phantom case slid out from the floor and he changed his clothes absentmindedly, only stopping when he whispered Katelyn's name and thought about Alina.
Alle … He thought. There was an empty feeling in his chest, a stab of pain that wouldn't stop. He didn't know how to even tell Alina that Katelyn was alive. If she knew what I had done …
For the first time, Jason felt fear. He was so scared of seeing the sadness in Alina's eyes, the pain of betrayal she would feel, and most of all, the hate she would have for him. Just imagining how she'd look at him, that look of not just anger but disappointment, was painful and unbearable.
I … can't. I know I should tell her … I need to tell her ... but I can't. I just ... I'll tell her later when she's … when there's no other choice, I'll tell her. For now, I'll just drink and … avoid … it. Avoid it all.
Jason went to get a strong drink when he saw Captain Ducky, Alice's toy, lying on the sofa. A bolt of shock stunned him and he could barely move. In his mind, the image of Katelyn and Alice overlapped each other and a new wave of dizziness struck him.
"A.V.A, I need the report," Jason said hoarsely. "Give me the real results of Alice's DNA test. Give it to me now!"
A holo-document formed above Jason's arm and the latter grabbed it and quickly skimmed through it. A moment later, he collapsed onto a nearby recliner, not an inch of life left in his eyes.
Of course … the blonde hair, blue eyes … why didn't I notice it before? Jason thought bleakly. No, I did. I did think about it, suspected it, I … I just didn't want to admit it …
Jason rubbed his eyes with his index and middle finger as he leaned back and closed the holo-document.
It all makes sense now. She was never after me or the others in the park. She was after Alice, after … her daughter. No … our daughter. She was after our daughter ...