"Why'd you sneak up on me!?"
You leave the bar shortly after, get back in your car and make for the police station. It was a long-shot, especially after that kangaroo court but you hoped you at least still had some friends. While there were none you were seriously considering recruiting you were hoping someone would let you have access to the criminal database.
The night crew that ran the station after hours had always been slightly friendlier than the day people. Being out of sight by management had its perks and the night crew took advantage of that. A lot of the higher-ups saw working nights as a punishment while the day-officers were the ones that 'kept the city in check'. You never really cared so long as you got results, occasionally changing from days to nights.
The NCPD had an extensive program called the "Leaderboard" that contained tons of information on various criminals and the intel surrounding them. It was through that database that you were able to find unsolved cases and in turn find targets. And it would be through that database you would find potential allies. It was thoroughly kept, consistently having good results.
Ultimately you didn't care if they'd deny you. Worst case scenario they would just throw you out. You had a cover story anyways. You merely wanted to check for unsolved crimes as part of your new PI business. If anyone asked about your security detail you'd just say it was a temporary gig.
A tall brown-bricked building rose up indefinitely. It was also all quiet, the only sounds catching your ears were distant cars and the hum of the fluorescent lights. It was definitely old-school, an aesthetic the higher-ups refused to compromise. Like you had done so many times in the past you pull open that door and step in.
Almost immediately you were given some suspicious looks. None seemed too concerned at your presence, moreso the fact you were alive. You notice one of the people starring was none other than the chief, your former boss. He watched through his office window, getting up and entering the lobby. There was an expression of curiosity on his face. Whether it was positive or negative was unknown to you.
What was he doing here? At this hour nonetheless?
He walked up to you.
"Fancy seeing you here." The grizzled old-chief said. There was nothing discernable about his appearance. You think at one time you'd have described him as a good leader but those time were long gone.
"You too, since when do you work nights?"
"Since a few weeks ago." He said coldly. Clearly your 'suspension' wasn't the only change that had occurred. "I think I left something here. Could we talk?"
"My office. Come." He said. You couldn't read him.
You find yourself in the chief's office, blinds down alone with him.
He was an older man, face weathered from having to face crime. He always had a stoic look on his face. You admired him at one point, though not anymore. Looking at him again you just saw betrayal and all the negative aspects of him amplified.
You thought of him as the strong-silent type who was like a father to the department. Looking at him now, he was just another cop, silent only in the face of injustice, content to let a corrupt system run.
He'd always been an 'old-school' kind of guy, enjoying whiskey and cigars while dressing like a reporter from the 20s. The same blue/white striped dress shirt, coloured tie and dress pants. Like you'd seen him a lot before, he had a cigar, though it wasn't lit.
You take a seat.
You were expecting him to start chewing you out any second now. Want a drink?" The chief asked.
"No thanks. I'll be driving later."
"Ehn. Suit yourself." The chief said, reaching down into his desk. He pulled out an empty glass and a near-empty bottle of rye. Pouring the amber-coloured drink into the glass he sighed.
"It's a damn shame it came to this (Y/N). How's the job hunt been?"
You found yourself a little disgusted with the chief now, seeing him for what he truly was. You try your best to ignore it.
"I'm thinking of becoming a PI, doing what I did here, just privately."
"That's good work. Lotta money there. You aren't still trying to go after our 'friends' are you?" He took a small sip. The way he enunciated friends was annoying. As if that 'friendship' was two-ways.
"No sir. More, of, uh, what I was doing before, unsolved cases and all that."
"Ah, well there's no shortage of them out there. Sorry for what happened to you."
"It's fine."
The chief took a break from drinking, re-arranging some papers scattered on the desk. "I did you a favour you know. If you'd have seen what they originally had in mind...wew..let's just say you got the good end."
"Right." You figure they were just planning on having you killed but after seeing Tabi you weren't sure anymore.
They were a cruel bunch. You clear your throat, hoping to indicate you weren't interested in discussing the family.
"About my work, is it possible to get access to Leaderboard? I want to pull some cases from it."
"What kind of cases?" The chief raised an eyebrow.
"Unsolved ones, criminals at large, that stuff. I need to get started somewhere."
"Ah, most wanted. Sure. You're desk and computer should still be there. Your login should still work too. Nobody has touched it."
"Thanks. I'll go do that right now." You begin to get up.
"One other thing." The chief said, stopping you. He had since finished his glass of rye.
"IT will be monitoring your searches. We just want to make sure you really aren't barking up that tree. You know?"
"Understood sir." You leave the office. Before you get out the door you turn back and say "Thanks for sticking up for me the other day. I appreciate it. It won't happen again."
The chief just smiled back, understanding you knew your place. "Best of luck (Y/N). Again, if you need anything realistic, don't hesitate to call. You got talent."
You leave the office and go to your old desk. It occurs to you that if you proceed down this road you'd need to inevitably face the chief again. You had only one thought regarding that. Take him down if he interferes.
While you weren't a fan of the chief anymore, you were at least grateful he had your back.
That anger still remained, quietly burning. "When the time comes, you better not miss." You just hope that personal feelings and misplaced loyalty won't get in the way. He did hand you over in the first place.
You get a few odd looks from the other cops as you take a seat at your old desk. Mostly from confusion, many having figured you quit. Some were staring with malice, glad you had gotten that treatment. You just glared back, happy you knew the truth now and a fury for your revenge.
Regardless, none of those faces wanted any confrontation. Especially not here.
After a few minutes, Leaderboard opens. You decide to start searching for cybercrime suspects, sorting by most recent. As it begun its search you begin to think what other sorts of people you'd need. Without the floor plan you decide to make guesses as to what you'd need.
Before you get ahead of yourself you remember what Displo said. You needed a cybersec person. The board finishes loading.
You start scrolling through. Being cyber criminals very little information was known about any of the people, especially faces. There was no indication any of these people were even in the city. You start to realize that if you're going to get a hacker it would have to have been someone scorned by the Family. You try to recall the people you met during the investigation but can't recall anyone other than Displo with a noticeable tech presence.
As you scroll through a few pages you eventually find someone with a possible location in the city.
Alias: DOXX13
Real Name: [withheld by order of the minors act]
Accused Of:
- Online Extortion
- Exfiltration of Information
- Online Harassment
- Home Invasion*
Status: At Large / Location Unknown
There was a bit more information as well but nothing that stood out. You check the home invasion claim. Apparently this person had broken into someone's home and forced them to rap battle. Due to the age of the accused no further information was given. You decide not to print it out, hesitant that adding a child to the crew would cause too many problems. You continue scrolling.
You find a potential candidate called Arch, only to find he had been imprisoned on a laundry list of charges and wasn't getting out ever. Another one comes up.
Alias: monika.chr
Real Name: Monika [last name withheld]
Accused Of:
- Stalking
- Hacking
- Identify Theft
- E-mail / Social Media Fraud
- Banking Fraud
- Spyware Distribution
- Attempted Murder
- Several Counts of Manslaughter
Status: At Large / Potentially Deceased
Last Known Location: Doki High School
You decide to skip that page too. She seemed way too crazy for a team-up. Skimming through several more pages you decide to give up on that search. You weren't a specialist in cybercrime but slowly come to realize that the only way to find someone like this would be on the dark web. You decide you can do that tomorrow.
Curiosity pending you do a search for any gangs, circles and at-large groups. An already organized group could be beneficial for the team, if you could convince them to do the heavy lifting.
Though that thought vanishes quickly. You had arrested at least one of each member once in time. There was zero chance they'd help, if they didn't try to take you out at the same time.
One new group piques your interest, an anthro gang called the 'Seven Deadly Sins'. New enough that you hadn't arrested any of them and there wasn't any apparent connection to the Family.
Unfortunately info was scarce on them, most of the member's profiles just being silhouettes. The only person who had info was their leader, known only by the initial of R.S. And he had reportedly gone missing in Manhattan.
It also listed their case as being handled by 'external forces' which in lingo meant some other police force had taken the case. Probably NYPD, you think.
You check for another thing you know you'll need. A demolitionist. While scrolling you find two profiles next to each other that catch your eyes. One was for some 'bomb-headed individual', reported as missing months ago, the case also being handled by a third party. "By extreme request this case will be handled by TGG." You weren't familiar with that group.
The second one was...Tabi?
You print off the first page, briefly skimming it. He was a vagabond who potentially detonated several bombs during a concert. He was still at large as a 'suspect'. Due to his rapid disappearance they couldn't determine if it was him.
You read more into his profile.
The investigators noted there was little information on him prior to the bombing. They stated "Tabi may not be his real name. He shares the name of a C-level celebrity musician who went missing a year ago. Though evidence is scarce we believe him to be responsible for the disappearance of that musician". You knew better. They were the same person, the investigators were just too thick to figure that out.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
An additional investigator had theorized that Tabi was behind the bombing of some restaurant. No arrests were made and witnesses were uncooperative. The bomb wrecked the restaurant as indicated by the pictures. Only a few frames from a security camera actually picked up what could be Tabi.
As you stared at it, you noticed something. He was facing two people. Though blurry you determine it had to be...Girlfriend? You tried to remember from the one photo you had during the investigation. It had to be her right? You guess the kid beside him must have been her current boyfriend.
You had never investigated the daughter, known only as "Girlfriend" but judge that was them facing off.
You quickly close the photo and print off Tabi's profile. If you were caught looking at that you figure you'd be in a tonne of trouble. Thinking back to what Tabi said last night that had to have been the last time he encountered them.
That would explain what Displo meant when he referred to "Tabi's firestorm".
Wait, was that his plan?! It occurs to you when he said his plan went south, his plan had to have been to kill them all blowing up the place. The reality finally setting in, you understand a bit of who you were working with. A possible terrorist.
You grab the files you printed and leave. He seemed like a nice guy, but to go to that length, if it was his bomb...You had some thinking to do.
Elsewhere in the city Tabi was on a quest of his own. His nose twitched. Someone was thinking about him. It was a premonition he believed whole-heartedly.
Brisk was the night.
Most of the shops had closed for the day further dimming the street. Most of the light present were that of the street lights, shining from above. Tabi walked quickly, staying out of their glow. He didn't need a map or anything. He knew new exactly where he was going.
He cursed himself for not having ordered something at Displo's. He'd only had a small lunch today and his stomach was in pain. He shrugged it off, only annoyed because his stomach was making noise. At least his hoodie and scarf were keeping him warm. He wanted a smoke but knew there was little time to idle.
This part of the town was silent, the only thing he could hear was his breathing, the quiet rustling in the wind and the sound of his steps.
He was moving fast, not trying to be conspicuous. He knew of the danger of getting too close, positive the Family had some sort of lookout. He just wanted to get in the neighborhood.
Tabi took note. Still quiet out, just his steps, a quiet rustling and...another set of steps. Tabi looked around. Nobody on the block except him. He knew better than that. He was being followed. He quickly pulled out his phone, setting it to silent.
It was time to be quiet.
He ducked into an alley, listening closely to anything. Whoever it was had stopped. Where could he have been spotted? And how long had he been followed? Paranoia had him entirely. There was no guess that it was just another pedestrian. That's when he heard it again. There was someone nearby.
There was no telling what kind of person was around, if it was a coincidence or not, if it was an enemy or not. Figuring it would be best to get away he jumped upon a trash can and jumped to the buildings fire escape. He started climbing up, hoping to reach the roof.
It was easy and with a flip he made it to the top, overlooking the empty street. It was brighter up here, clear skies ensuring the moonlight lit the rooftops.
Whoever it was that was nearby was gone. At least for now. Tabi looked around. He had no issue jumping from building to building, though would have preferred to eat something beforehand. He reached into his hoodie pocket, pulling out a few multi-vitamins.
He had found an unopened bottle a few days ago and it had been keeping him alive. Chucking them down his throat he continued making his way towards the compound.
A few buildings later he detected more footsteps. Whoever it was earlier was still pursuing him. He decided fleeing wouldn't work. Whoever this was could only be stopped with confrontation. He decided not to look back, knowing if they thought they had the upper hand it would make them confident.
While still maneuvering from building to building he saw an opening. Ducking behind a rooftop door so as to stay out of sight. He pulled out a hunting knife slowly, waiting to hear the person approach.
And sure enough whoever it was, landed just at the edge of the building. They were keeping quiet but Tabi could hear them approach. He could just barely see the silhouette getting closer. They looked...familiar? Just before they could peer around the corner Tabi rose up and forced them against the wall, holding the knife to their throat.
"Easy man, easy!" The person said panicking. The stalker rose their hands up. Now seeing who it was Tabi put the knife down.
"Damn man. What the hell?" The stalker said. He touched his throat lightly. Though there wasn't a scratch, it had been close.
"Why'd you sneak up on me!?" Tabi demanded. He put the knife away and crossed his arms in anger. It was none other than his so-called 'best-friend'.
A nuisance that called himself Agoti.
Like Tabi he was wearing a hoodie, hood up to conceal his identity. His face was all black, a toothy grin of sharp teeth covering the bottom of his face. His eyes were hollow and glowing white, but slanted in an excited way.
He wore a black and red hoodie with white stripes along the arms with white stomach pockets. To match with his aesthetic Agoti had on black jeans and black and red sneakers with white soles. He had two chains on either side of belt, an addition Agoti had preferred.
Though concealed behind the hood Tabi knew there to be tendrils that extended from his face. Just his face was covered in an inky blackness and neck down he appeared human. Though, unlike Tabi, he always looked like that. Even since they were young. He called himself a digidevil, a species of humanoid Tabi wasn't that familiar with.
"Well I tried calling you but you must have your phone on silent or something. Geez man. You need to relax." Agoti said rubbing his throat.
"Humph." Tabi checked his phone. There were a few messages and a missed call. "Sorry."
"Told you. Where' you running off to anyways?"
"I have something to do. Leave me alone." Tabi said coldly. He turned and got ready to depart. Before he could make his exit, his stomach rumbled.
"You skipped dinner didn't you?" Agoti said smugly.
"Why do you care?"
"Well, I just so happened to bring a sandwich. Be a shame if it went to waste." Agoti said, pulling a plastic bag out of his red hoodie.
He had come prepared. "Fine." Tabi turned back. He was about to reach for the bag but Agoti quickly raised it above Tabi's head.
"Uh-uh. You gotta tell me what's going on first. Why'd you duck me last night?"
"I had other things to do."
"Aren't you gonna ask what happened?"
"No."
"We had a good time, the four of us."
"I don't care."
Agoti stepped back. He had to double take if he was hearing right. "Oh man, now I know something is up." His grin somehow got wider. "You NEVER pass on an opportunity of a sighting." Agoti's grin became smaller. "You aren't...sick are you?" He continued to hold the sandwich just out of Tabi's reach.
He was getting fed up with it now.
"If you're not gonna give me the sandwich then we're done here. I have things to do." Tabi said before turning and running off. He jumped to the next building.
He jumped with little care from building to building. He recalled those first nights he found he was more durable. That simple things and few story falls wouldn't do that much damage. Whatever they had done to him had made him more durable. He no longer had a problem jumping from such heights. He'd even became good at it, having to parkour away from the Family's goons.
Agoti put the sandwich away, finding Tabi's actions to be most perplexing. It was unusual. While it may have concerned close friends, it only made Agoti more curious as to what was going on. He jumped after Tabi, landing on the building behind him. Being a digidevil he had no problem doing such dangerous jumps.
Though minor he had also started to worry about the direction his friend was going in.
"If you aren't gonna tell me what's goin' on imma keep following you." Agoti said before Tabi could make another leap. It was enough to make him stop.
Tabi thought about it. Agoti would be relentless. He at least at to tell him something to get off his back. Not to mention Agoti would blow his cover. That sandwich, no matter how lame it was, was stuck in his head too. He needed to eat.
Still facing off the building, Tabi said. "Fine. If I tell you, will you get off my back?"
Agoti, having caught up to Tabi said smiling. "Sure. I'll even throw in a sandwich as a bonus."
Tabi took a seat on the edge of the building. All this running on an empty stomach was tiring him out. Agoti chose to sit beside him, his legs dangling off the edge too.
Despite it being the dead of night, the moon was lighting up everything. It had become colder, their breaths becoming visible. The moon, whether on purpose or not had bathed everything in a faint blue, even skyscrapers in the distance.
"I met someone last night."
"Oh, congrats man!" Agoti said happily. He patted Tabi on the back lightly. Tabi just growled in response. "It's not like that. We're working together on something. I...it's more important than that girl right now."
Friends Stick Together by Hadair-Odaocer [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/5347fd06-56ca-4d36-8584-e8dd38de8e12/dfvluin-39d2844e-5ebd-4b5d-afae-23e41f9c41ed.png/v1/fill/w_1280,h_720,q_80,strp/friends_stick_together_by_odaocer_dfvluin-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NzIwIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvNTM0N2ZkMDYtNTZjYS00ZDM2LTg1ODQtZThkZDM4ZGU4ZTEyXC9kZnZsdWluLTM5ZDI4NDRlLTVlYmQtNGI1ZC1hZmFlLTIzZTQxZjljNDFlZC5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.-hwoDDvIpZmO-sNVsefy0Z6RtmOgr2eFRym9YFxD0uU]
image: https://www.deviantart.com/odaocer/art/Friends-Stick-Together-960080063
"Really? I gotta meet this person. They managed to wow even you?"
"I already said it's not like that." Tabi said, more sternly this time.
"Now. Give me the sandwich."
"You got it chief. Turkey on whole wheat and a good helping of mayo and mustard. Bit cold now." He handed Tabi the bag. The sandwich was a little squished now but Tabi didn't complain. He tore open the bag and started eating it, pieces of it disappearing into his invisible throat.
He wanted to start smoking but knew he couldn't. Agoti always complained.
"So what's the plan now? Off to meet them? What are they like? What's their name?"
"I already met them tonight. And no, you don't need to know who they are yet."
"Ah, well you'll have to introduce me sooner or later. So what're you doing now?"
"Jumping from building to building running from a chuvak."
"Yeah but where are you going? I know you're place isn't this way."
"I can't tell you."
"Why not?" Agoti asked.
"It's none of your business. I've told you what happened. Are you satisfied now?"
"Not really. For one, where you going this late?"
"I grow tired of this."
"C'mon, we're friends. I won't tell anyone. You know me."
Tabi sighed.
"Friends stick up for each other. Plus, you and I both know what's in this direction." Agoti said with encouragement.
Tabi looked at Agoti, his eyes burning yellow as they always did. Agoti just had wide eyes and a large smile. It looked more mischievous than innocent.
"Will you leave me alone if I tell you?"
"Sure!" Agoti smiled back. Tabi didn't believe him but just to get him off his back he said.
"I'm going over there to take pictures."
"That's it? You sure you aren't charging there? No gung-ho? No kamikaze?"
Tabi got up, getting ready to continue on.
"Woah, woah man. Just a second."
"No. I just need photos."
Agoti became slightly concerned. He got up as well.
"How do you know it's not a setup?" Agoti said quickly, before Tabi could leap to the next building.
He stopped. "It's not. I had Sol track them. Former cop."
"Right. Sol mentioned that you were tracking some random person. At least let me tag along. You know how dangerous that place can be."
"No. I don't want Sol to get angry if something happens."
"Too bad. I'm coming along even if you don't want me."
"Argh. Fine. Let's go. I have work in the morning." Tabi said, finally relenting and jumping to the next building.
Happy at the outcome, Agoti followed, leaping after him.
Still feeling left in the dark Agoti continued to pester Tabi. "So what do you need these photos for anyways?"
"Stop asking questions."
"C'mon you now I can't do that. Is this mysterious person a painter? An artist?"
Tabi merely sighed in annoyance. He wished he could've just been alone now. At least his stomach wasn't growling anymore.
"C'mon man, you've already told me so much, you might as well tell me the full plan."
While trying to think of some response to shut the digidevil up, Tabi fumbled the jump. He quickly did a roll to catch his footing, landing on the next building uncomfortably. This wasn't going to work. Just before Agoti could make some snarky remark Tabi spoke up first.
"Alright fine. If I tell you will you finally stop bugging me?"
"You know it bro!"
Tabi glared at Agoti. "You tell no one of this. Not Sol, not a soul. You got it?"
"You got it bro!"
Tabi looked around, makin' sure nobody was around. Just like the rest of the town, it was dead silent aside from the wind. He tried to rationalize his actions that since you told Displo everything, it would be even to tell Agoti.
Tabi tried his best to summarize the events of today and last night, the first meeting, the crew's formation, the heist idea, that you were different, how he got Sol to tap your conversation with the chief, Displo and you're investigation. After explaining everything Tabi hoped that Agoti would finally get off his back.
Merely seconds after explaining the plan, Agoti's smile grew even wider, eyes showing an extreme interest. He had one thing to say.
"I want in."
Tabi sighed again, he saw this coming from a mile away.
"No. Sol will kill me and then kill you."
"Ah, don't worry about dad. He won't know."
"Uh-uh. Sol has ways of finding out. I don't want to be blamed when you inevitably blow your cover."
"Hey, that's not fair. I'm not the one blowing up buildings and stealing from shops. It's you he's suspicious of, thanks to all the crap you've done."
"He doesn't like me. You know he'll spy on me."
"Hey c'mon, he loves you. Hell, today he praised you, said he was glad you're keeping up at the job. I even told him that you went to bed early last night even after I stayed up. He just wants you to do better."
"More like institutionalize me."
"Ah, you're over-exaggerating it. Plus you'll need someone with my speed anyways."
Tabi thought about it. Having Agoti on the team would be beneficial. There was zero chance he'd flip. Not to mention he had his own run-ins with the family in the past. Tabi decided he'd ask you and worst case you'd decline Agoti joining. At least then Agoti couldn't force his way in.
"Alright fine. I'll ask (Y/N)."
"Ooh, is that the mysterious stranger's name? Never heard of 'em."
"Can we go now?"
"Way ahead of you bro." Agoti said gleefully, running off.
Finally reaching the compound the two friends stood atop the building overlooking the Dearest Compound.
He hadn't been here since that fateful day. It brought back bad memories. He had tried charging in once before, only to get thrown out by security. It was only then he begun to stalk the town for those villains.
There were definitely security around. Cameras, goons, guards, dogs and demons could all be seen. It didn't look like they had anything trained on the rooftops, it seemed a blindspot.
"Yo, after this you wanna come to my place for the nigh? It's closer than you're 'burrow'."
"So your dad can interrogate me? No thanks."
"He's out for the night. Plus it'll look good in his eyes. You know you're allowed to stay over whenever right? And I got this new track i'm workin-"
"Argh, fine. Let's just get this done."
With Agoti in on the plan the two buddies had an idea of what to get pictures of. Entrances, guards, basically any intel they could find got a picture taken.
A hour later, the two had enough intel. They still had no idea how to get in, but this was a start.
The next chapter will be called Digidevil.
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Agoti.
[https://i.imgur.com/YE0GVdC.png]