"What do you want?" The commissioner frowned, and Caroline stopped in her tracks.
"You heard ," Dante replied. "There are things I want, and until I get them, there won’t be any deal."
"Greedy brat," Caroline turned around. "Didn’t you just ask for a fortune?"
"That’s the price. These are conditions that you want the sale."
Soone much smarter had thought him that trick, and this seed like a good place to make use of it.
"Alright," The commissioner leaned on the table, holding a hand to his forehead. "Let us hear them."
Not bothering to hide his smirk, Dante started.
"First of all, I really like the way you reported on what happened to the Daggers." He said. "I want that to remain the official story."
"That is... doable..."
"Second, I want you to keep your freaks away from ."
"You can avoid that by telling us what you know," Caroline said.
"Let rephrase that," Dante said. "I don’t want to hear anything about them dying or disappearing. If you want to go through the trouble of covering it up when that happens, be my guest. I gave you a warning. It’s up to you whether you want to follow it or not."
Fixing him with a glare, Caroline walked over with quick steps. As if sensing what she’s about to do, the commissioner backed away from the table. An instant later, it was kicked into the wall. The red-haired woman stepped in its place, and her hand shot out, grabbing Dante by the neck. As if he weighed no more than a feather, she lifted him up from his chair.
"I don’t think you get it, kid," She said. "You have just confessed to being involved in so of the worst Enhanced Human incidents to date. There is no coming back from that. You think whoever is backing you up can do that for long?"
Dante looked down at the woman, his feet dangling, his hands still in the pockets of his red jacket.
"You know I can snap your neck before you can snap mine, right?" He said.
Caroline glared at him, and he glared back at her. Seconds passed before she finally let go of him and walked away. Dante sat down, rubbing his neck, looking as annoyed as she was. The commissioner looked between them, then sighed.
"Sorry, but... your second request isn’t feasible." He said. "You aren’t exactly an unknown figure anymore. Even if we erase this last incident, there is enough evidence of you being a dangerous EI available to the public. It is already a known fact that you are Red Rage’s new boss."
"And?"
"A hero team will be stationed in Hollowgrid to keep an eye on you, whether you like it or not."
"You’re right. I don’t like it." Dante said. "My demand still stands. I don’t want any of your freaks near ."
"I’m afraid that can’t be done." The commissioner replied.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Seeing that the commissioner refused to budge, Dante got up.
"Guess we won’t be having a deal."
He walked past Caroline, not sparing her a glance, and made his way to the door. The massive block of tal didn’t move, however.
"You gonna open this up, or do you want to break it?"
"... We will discuss your demands with the board. Please give us a couple of days."
"You have twenty-four hours." Just as Dante said that, the door blocking his way opened up. Stepping out of the room, he ca to a stop and looked up at the ceiling. "Oh, one more thing." He looked over his shoulder. "You should check the contents of that phone you confiscated, in case you’re having trouble making up your mind."
~[ ]~
Dante walked out of the NVPD headquarters and stretched his limbs. Soon after, a car stopped near the entrance, and he went and climbed in the backseat.
"Hey, Boris. Very nice of you to co pick up."
"I’ve been here for almost half a day." The big guy said. "What took you so long?"
"Hey, it’s not like I wanted to be trapped underground or anything. They just kept on wasting my ti."
The car drove off.
"So, did you get to et him?" Boris asked.
"Who?"
"Paragon! Didn’t they bring him to interrogate you?"
Dante looked over his shoulder.
"The building was still in its place, right?"
According to the news, the world’s strongest hero was back from whatever mission he had been on. Dante was afraid the bastard would show up in the interrogation room, mainly because he didn’t know whether he could hold back if that were to happen. Thankfully, that disaster had been avoided, and things progressed as planned.
Boris drove them back to Hollowgrid, stopping at the entrance to a little establishnt that was once known as the Red Fist Bar. The big sign had been taken down, but because the new owner has yet to decide on a na for the place, it was still unmarked.
As he walked in, people gathered to greet him, lining up on either side of the door. Dismissing them with a wave of his hand, Dante walked to the back of the bar and took the stairs to the second floor, passing the desolate gym and arriving at the office in the corner.
At his request, the place had been expanded a bit. It was now big enough to fit a coffee table and a set of sofas. At the mont, only one other person was in the room. A middle-aged man with long hair and ssy clothes, appearing as if he had just woken up from a coma.
"Seeing as they let you go..." Victor.
"They don’t know." Dante shook his head. "The BEO commander was there, and she didn’t even ask."
"Caroline?"
"Yeah."
Dante went on to recount everything that happened during his arrest. The more he listened to him, the more convinced the fixer beca of the conclusion Dante arrived at.
The goal of allowing his arrest to happen was to confirm how much the authorities knew. At this point, Dante was operating with the assumption that whoever was looking for VOLCAN already knew its host was the one behind the Geno murders—Paragon’s relocation was enough proof of that. What they don’t seem to know is that the relic was in his possession.
At the very least, the people who are supposed to be in charge didn’t seem to have any idea. Just like the Daggers, they have yet to figure out that he was the Ghost they are looking for.
"Did they agree to your terms?" Victor asked.
"Does it matter?" Dante sat down. "It’s not like we’re expecting them to keep their word."
"So they didn’t?"
"We will hear from them by the end of the day."
The two of them sighed simultaneously.
"Let’s just hope they don’t blow up the building over your head."
"I’m not worried about that," Dante said. "I left them a little present just in case."
~[ ]~
Back in his office, Jordan held his head in his hands, sweat beading his pale face. On his empty desk was a single device the size of one’s palm, a relic from the past that very few use nowadays. Its screen had been turned off, but the video that had been playing on it had already engraved itself in the commissioner’s mind.
He had long since replaced his stomach with a bionic implant, so it should have been impossible for him to vomit. Despite that, the sensation lingered at the back of his throat, and try as he might, there was no getting rid of it now.
After much hesitation, Jordan picked up the phone and unlocked its screen, forcing himself to watch despite the disgust filling his heart.
The video showed a middle-aged man in a rather expensive suit. Standing in front of him was a child, and seeing the clothes she was undoubtedly forced to wear, one could tell why her face had been blurred out.
[What is your na?] The man said.
The girl’s reply was censored.
[****, huh? That’s a beautiful na. ****]
The man continued to give her a disturbing look, and what he did next removed any chances of the whole thing being a misunderstanding. The man stepped back and started taking off his clothes.
[Listen very carefully, ****. Uncle here reeeeeeally likes good girls. Are you a good girl?]
[Good girl, listen to what they are told, right?]
"Great." Left with only his underwear on, Starr turned to face the girl. "No need to be scared. Uncle just wants to have so fun with you, that’s all." He said. "If uncle has fun today, he will make sure you are always taken care of, do you understand?"
[Great. No need to be scared. Uncle just wants to have so fun with you, that’s all. If Uncle has fun today, he will make sure you are always taken care of. Do you understand?]
[Good. Now, take off your clothes, and get on the bed.]
Jordan couldn’t bring himself to watch the rest. Before he knew it, his breathing had grown ragged. He recognized that man. He had t him many tis before, and he had shaken his hand as well. That man was now dead. He had been killed in the Red Garden incident. Death might have helped him escape the consequences of that cri, but that was far from the end for those who were left to deal with the aftermath.
Jordan could already see the implications, but there was still one video stored on that phone, and it was entirely different from the ones that ca before.
[Didn’t know Eidolon’s dogs licked gang boots as well.]
The video seed to be a recording captured using an OAM, and the one depicted in it was soone Jordan wouldn’t show up. Alas, there was no denying it now.
[The hell are you talking about? You’re a wanted villain, I’m a hero. Do I need any reason to co after you?]
[Did you know?]
[Now, what could it be you’re talking about?]
[You knew and did nothing? And you call yourself a hero?]
[Like I said... WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!?]
The video cut right there, but there was no need for more. That was the last conversation Red Bull had with the villain behind the Red Garden incident, but if anyone were to see it, especially after watching the other videos, it was easy to see them changing their impressions.
If those videos were to get out, the heroes would undoubtedly lose their credibility. The entire world would turn on them in a single day, and before long, it would be cheering for whoever had the guts to take them down.
User Comments
0 comments from readers