Midnight
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Rain falls from the skies like an attack on those who walk the earth—a heavy storm brews closer to the city—each and every drop making the roads empty of life, and to those who still wished to try their luck, all after the other, consumed by the forming puddles—a different type of life.
Small insects drown in them while seeking shelter; bee wings get struck by the heavy liquid, stealing their ability to fly, rendering them to a terrible fate; and the bigger ones are washed away by the current to never be seen again.
The three agents, safely tucked away from the new enemy in the skies, sit inside the car quietly, bathing in the fickle warmth the SUV running engine provides to their cold bodies; Dalia holds a book in hand as usual, consciousness lost and captured by the words as her eyes scan them methodically, chronically, foraging through the many cracks that form the book's old leather body, something she gravely needs; peace of mind, away from the hard choices that befall upon her weary mind and the pain they generate.
On the backseat, Yui shuts off the world as far away as they can with their earphone lodged deeply in their ear canal, trading the natural sound ringing outside the car infuriatingly for music, and on the screen of their phone, they play a popular mobile game in which the main character jumps over trains and police barricades to escape an inspector and his dog—the light it produces rivals the one from the thunder that crosses clouds casually.
There's only one of them whose eyes aren't lost on something of little importance: Agent Colette hunts through the rain-slick window for every shadow visible on the street with her sharp eyes, her own reflection hunting the view, revealing to herself how tense she is.
She scouts every rooftop for any sign of movement—especially since she can't count on her sensitive scent on account of the reeking smell of wet dirt lingering all around the air—and spies on the light coming from the detective's room, a light that at this late at night should be dead and gone, but instead, it continues to boom with life. From left to right, the detective walks inside her room, unaware she is being watched by the attentive agent; on her hand is the clear outline of a flip phone being opened and closed in a constant cycle.
A brief moment of the detective's face and wear choice is given to Colette as, out of nowhere, the woman comes to a full stop, gaze locked on the phone in hand the moment it comes to life; something she sees catches her attention so profoundly that she can't help but freeze while her fingers rest on the navigating buttons of the device.
It is clear that the detective didn't dress herself knowing someone would see her; after all, she is in the quiet solitude of her bedroom, and with the rain, no one would be crazy enough to stand out there to look at house windows, so it doesn't come as a surprise that she would be wearing something less thought out and more casual.
Her hair is tied up in a messy ponytail of curls and lose strands; her two brown eyes resemble strongly the mud forming on the dirt around the sidewalk, monotonously common yet vividly unique; bright even in the darkest night that is the circles underneath them, evocative despite the clear hints of stress on her expression.
A simple white tank top with a skull wearing a crown of red prickly roses beautifies her body; the black bra she uses underneath is visible from the open area the shirt leaves on the side; easy to notice it is not something she commonly wears; even so, she does with such a familiarity that assuming that to be her most used nightwear choice becomes effortless.
"Damn Colie, you should have told me something interesting was happening; even if I'm not the type to spy on people through their windows, I'm a fan of happy accidents." Expeditiously putting the phone and earphones away, laying them on the empty space on the backseat beside them, Yui, in a flash, moves to the window giving a view of the detective's house, and grins widely, mischievously. "Oh, wow; who would have thought our detective had such a punk rock side to her style? And those shorts? They do bring out her legs nicely. If only I could rip them off her."
A sigh escapes Dalia's lips as she is forced to hear those words, which compels her to put down the book she was reading and turn in her seat to talk the agent into stopping. "Yui, I understand you're very 'enthusiastic' with some people; nonetheless, I feel like I should remind you that spying on her is very unprofessional. We are not here to creep on the detective; we came to keep her safe from our target, knowing that he surely will try his luck to capture her, using this bad weather to his aid. That said, we can't lose focus on our objective." On the last words of the woman, the shift in her tone to a certain, uncharacteristic seriousness; the words exchanged on the beach between Colette and her bring out of her a new resolve.
"Just to be sure, our main objective is capturing the bad guy, right? Because by the way you're acting, I'm starting to think saving our little detective is a little high on your priorities list; just saying."
"I'll remind you, our work here is to capture our target and ensure the detective doesn't find out the truth; for that, she has to stay alive; she's our responsibility until this is over." Dalia's words are motivated, different from before; truth laced in each sentence; this is the reality as she sees it.
"It is so cute seeing you trying to warp your words into something that sounds less like you care and more like this is just work for you; you could just say you want to say her nice ass—"
Smack
One of Colette's hands hits the car, almost smashing the space above the glove compartment with its strength, a real test of endurance to the material used; almost hard enough to activate the airbag function; the sound and force shake the car for a fleeting moment, capturing as intended the agent's attention fully and acceleration their hearts to a different melody with the sudden scare.
When both hurriedly look at her for any words or signs of why the sudden motion, expecting her to say something, they are met with a growl so deep and primal that could put even the most fearless man into a shaking frenzy; her eyes shine in a low yellow light induced by anger, not directed at the agents, as they manage to find out, noticing that Colette's gaze doesn't fall on them, but instead, it locks at the detective's house direction.
The light that was turned on before now is completely dead; only the darkness is visible through her bedroom window, and that darkness brings out a silhouette standing right above the rooftop, crouched menacingly, watching not the house but the agents.
The figure's form is night, accompanied by two shining red moons for eyes, hungry and deadly; an invitation—a warning. Whatever it is, the figure standing atop the woman's house appearing out of nowhere shows that they either were there the whole time, using the flashy light the bedroom was casting to be out of focus, or they have grown faster from the last time they fought; this is a clear threat, showing that at any time he can snap the woman out of her room and disappear, something the agents won't let happen that easily.
"So, boss, what exactly will be our plan now, huh? I can't see a universe where any decision we take doesn't lead to a fight, so... I don't know what to say anymore; do we take the bait or not?"
"Our target is not giving us any other choice; he is letting the fact be very clear to us." The woman spends a good time thinking before her face steels from any expression and her hands rest on the car wheel, ready to pursue and fight. "That said, I don't see why not take such an arrogant invitation with an open mind. If he had to spend all this time gathering enough courage to ask us to dance again, we sure wouldn't want to be rude and decline in respect for that."
"Hehe, round two, baby; this time I'll break every bone I can find on him so he can't play us for fools like last time. Tonight will be one that he will wish to not have gotten out of bed, or whatever he sleeps on."
Making a show of cracking all of their fingers at once, Yui grins maniacally as their eyes shine with bad intentions, only different from Colette's as they grow a deep orange color; with their shoes, they kick the SUV door open and start motioning to leave, except that before they are fully able to, Dalia coughs to add one comment.
"We want the target alive; keep that in mind when confronting him; that is more for you, Colette. I understand you want payback for the broken jaw he gave you, but let us be smart about this."
"That thing will be alive enough when I'm done with it," Colette replies in between growls, pushing their door open with such rage that the rapidly growing, deadly claws on to replace her fingernails scratch the metal deeply, leaving a mark that won't be fixed so soon and sure will earn them a mouthful with their handler once they are back to base.
While the two agents are out of the car, eyes locked on the target, just waiting for the moment when the fight will start, Dalia keeps her grip tight on the wheel's rubbery surface, making sure to keep the engine warm as it is the only means she can keep up with the chase if the necessity to go after all of them arises; no sweat builds in her palm, her breathing pattern stays the same, and why would any of that even happen? This isn't something new to any of them; this is what they are used to doing.
The man standing proudly atop the house smiles disgustingly, hands hidden threateningly in the pockets of his lab coat, any intentions behind his expression well masked as he stares at the agent's bellow, acting in such a way that he seems imposing—untouchable.
The moonlight reflecting on his sharp fangs is redirected to the agent's faces precisely, almost as if to blind them, except it doesn't do a very good job at that, serving more to anger them further. Speaking any words at this point would be futile; there isn't a way they could communicate in the heavy rain, especially if they want the detective to be kept out of this, unlike last time; one who seems to be aware of that very well is the target, who raises one hand and gestures for the agents, a message very clear at first glance: "Come after me."
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Colette and Yui exchange knowingly gaze; this is the most obvious trap, and just understanding that would be a clear sign to rethink the next steps they will take, only that now it doesn't matter; while he stays close to the detective's house, the chance the truth is exposed to her stays high; that isn't an outcome they can accept. Readying their form for the chase, the two agents plus Dalia on the car all focus their attention solely on the shadowed figure of what was once a man—now a bogey—while they are locked in this cowboy-ish standoff, only waiting for the moment he makes his move so they can act.
The moment doesn't take long to happen, triggered by a flash of lightning that scratches the sky, identical to a revolver shoot, tearing the clouds apart, falling so far away into the distance, yet roaring nauseatingly, as if it did very near; it takes only a third of a second for it to kick off.
The two agents, showing they aren't playing anymore, reach the maximum speed they are able in the split of a blink, jumping to the nearest rooftop to race the target into the night; as for Dalia, she watches this with a deep frown, phone tightly grasped in hand, on the screen a display of Yui's position being tracked by a mutual app they set up beforehand.
Driving away from the residential area, the agent keeps her attention split on the empty, late-night road, watching for any animal or person who can be attempting to cross as some of the light poles fail to work properly, blinking away, barely managing to bring light to the darkness of the streets, and her phone that shines a light of its own on her face, trying very hard to steal her concentration away; it comes as a surprise when she focuses on her phone and see that the chase has ended at a maximum of what feels like a minute, with the location displayed on her phone dragging a click of her tongue out of her—knowing she has to get there as fast as possible, she ignores any laws that become inconvenient to this situation and speeds away.
What once was the beginning of a storm now fully blooms to its maximum potential; the gasp of wind that moves around becomes strong enough to get people to lose their footing, the heavy rain falls so hard that it is bound to hurt someone's back eventually, and lastly, the light that crosses the clouds becomes more insistent, falling on the mountains at the edge of the city, opposite to where the agents lie.
A familiar air passed by the agents, carrying with it a scent heavily coated in salt and water, strong enough to shift the rain falling on them, wetting their clothes and hair as much as it is capable; one gaze around and they can see where they stand; stacked containers of different colors blurred in the distance; the tall warehouses that bring a sense of paranoia to their system with how foisted it stands, especially as no light illuminates around them; and the worst of all by far is the lack of a single human soul in the whole harbor that put both on their guard.
"Three whole nights, it truly is respectable how your people can't let go of a bone once you caught it, seriously; good little soldiers like you both are the kind I hate the most." The man wearing the lab coat screams to reach the agent who pays no attention to his words and attempts to move in so they can start the rematch they waited so long for, only that they are stopped suddenly when the man snaps his fingers with an undying smile. "Perhaps you would like to know that, this time, I bought some friends to play as well; please don't let me down by losing so easily to lowly people."
From the man's shadows, hidden in the tight passage between warehouses, many people walk out of it like so—at least ten. Many have their eyes turned around on their skulls, habiting a state of half awareness and half unconsciousness; to them, this may all be a dream, but to the agents, this is reality, pure and cruel. Something easy to notice as soon as they come to view fully is their clothes: harbor workers, as they saw earlier on the day, all going through the process of becoming ghouls, better known as undead servants of a vampire.
"Really? Transforming the workers into your little playmates? That's fucked, even for your ugly ass, bro." Yui shrugs and shakes their head in clear and exaggerated disappointment, trying very hard to attack the man's ego. "What? Don't you want to face us hand-to-hand because you're afraid to lose like last time? Cause I'll tell you, I wasn't even in the fight that time, and you still lost pathetically."
"Tcks! We'll see who will be begging for their life in a moment, monster." The vampire clicks his tongue irritatedly and moves in between the ten transforming workers who march ever so close, ready to attack the agents; soon, he disappears from view, using the low light and mess to do so.
"Okay, you're kinda the boss right now, Colie; so, you mind sharing with me what the plan is, pretty please?" Stepping back, almost behind the other agent, Yui gives the middle finger to the disappearing vampire while keeping a wandering hand on Colette's side, not even attempting to be subtle with it. "I really don't dig the idea of having to kill all of these people, especially since they aren't even monsters yet; you know, worse than that would be to explain that to JB."
"Knock them out, leave the bodies to be dealt with by the medics; once we get the target, you call Julia." Conjuring the words out of her throat, the woman takes a step forward, away from Yui's touch and closer to the fight; her expression becomes truly feral, managing to oppose her words of not killing, but what doesn't do that is the retracting claws, restoring her normal, untransformed hands.
"All right, solid shit, I guess; non-lethal mode it is then." Yui frantically looks around for something to help with that task, finding a wood plank. With a mischievous grin, they grasp the weapon and ready their form beside the feral woman. "It will be funny once Dalia gets here; you'll be doing the explanation part, of course. I don't want my ears pulled by her."
The first line of workers come down to the ground with a fleshy thud, unconsciousness setting in; sweat builds in Colette's forehead as each swing of her tightly closed fists has to be thought through so no extra effort can cause unnecessary death to the humans lining in front of her.
As per Yui, they don't mind the strength they possess that much, choosing instead to bathe in the chaos as one of its spawns, grinning like a devil as they swing the wooden plank like this is a baseball game.
As all of that goes on for a minute, no more than that, the last of the workers, a strong man wide as a door, make its final approach to Yui's area, dragging a devilish smile out of them as they ready the wooden plank to put the half-ghoul to sleep; yet, from the shadows of the large man, the gangly man shows a great deal of intelligence as he kicks the worker closer to the agent and closes in while they are left to deal with it.
On their hand, a syringe reflects the moonlight spying from between the dark clouds above, filled with a shadowed liquid that is instantly caught by Colette's scent, who tries—to no success—to stop the attack from happening.
The metal, cold tip of the syringe penetrates Yui square in their chest like a knife, stabbing its way deeply before its contents are splashed inside with no care to what organ it might get in; a hand surges from their side, trying to grab the man's head before he dashes back and uses the worker's body to, once more, buy him time, pushing him to the woman's direction as a laugh booms out of his sore throat.
"Hahaha! It seems all that barking of yours was merely an act; you two might be stronger than me, but my research on our kind has paid well."
His comments travel to both agent's ears as he laughs at the scene playing out in front of his very eyes; Yui, who was booming with joy a moment ago, gets dangerously quiet as they vomit an inky, putrid liquid out of their system, weakening them to the point they fall to the ground motionless soon after.
"This will be my last warning; stay away from my muse; cease this feeble attempt to stop what doesn't mind you, and you'll be satisfied to know only one of your friends had to die for your sins. Don't forget I have more dead man's blood to use on you if you'd like some yourself; so don't dare to follow."
Profaning those words, the gangly man is quick to disappear from view, dancing in between droplets of rain to reach the forest at the beginning of the harbor. Silence stretches as soon as the man leaves, only broken the moment Colette kneels down to grab Yui and lift them up, checking on their condition.
No words or laughs leave their cold lips, their eyes closed as a casket; at this moment, Colette, after a long time, feels fear, one so deep and painful that the only thing she can do is punch the cement ground, breaking pieces of it with sheer rage, one that threatens to steal the driving seat and control her actions—a rage that is interrupted before being able to fully flourish as, from the harbor's entrance, a blinding light shines in her direction. Dalia, driving the car as fast as it can go, slides on the road until she reaches the kneeling woman, holding in her arms their friend's body.
"Get in; we don't have much time; put Yui on the backseat so we can get them to the agency. There's still time to get them help, but only if we hurry." Dalia moves in her seat to open the door for them, only to notice her words don't seem to reach Colette, so with a punch to the wheel, she reinforces her order with a bark. "Colette, NOW!"
That does the trick, silencing the whispers inside the woman's head and bringing her out of the deep anger and back to right now, so without delay, she does as told and carefully places the unmoving Yui on the backseat, jumping soon after into the space beside them. Once the door closes, the car is pushed to its limit as Dalia's feet smash the accelerator; with miles of road in front of them, there's only silence and darkness permeating the car's insides.
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