“Hello?” Ryuji answers.
“Hey, I got the information on the heads of the Templars; they call themselves the Council of Five.” I inform him.
“How many members are there?” Ryuji asks.
“Five.” I reply.
“Oh, so it’s not one of those ironic names, like the nine Pieces of Eight.” Ryuji says. 2
“No, it’s not, and a piece of eight is actually a silver Spanish dollar. Anyway, I’m planning on taking out the whole council before morning. I have names and faces, but no addresses.” I tell him.
“Alright, why don’t you come to my apartment and we’ll get some information on these guys. Oh, you’ve never been here huh? The address is…” Ryuji replies.
“Alright, I’ll be there in a few.” I say and hang up.
I use satellite maps to find an alleyway near Ryuji’s apartment building and I port there. I walk around the building, ignoring Seattle’s trademarked drizzle, to the front of the newer downtown apartment that I realize isn’t all that far away from The Agency’s office. Ryuji’s name is on the directory so I press the call button and wait; the door clicks open a few seconds later and I head up to apartment 502.
“Hey Cole. Please, come in.” Naia greets when she answers the door in her wing-modified flannel pajamas. I wasn’t aware that they had been living together, but it does make sense; where else was she going to go?
“Ryuji is back in his office.” Naia says while walking away, indicating that I should follow.
Naia leads me to Ryuji’s office, which looks more like a command center with all the computer monitors in here, along with two water-cooled desktops, a laptop, and a Mac Book. I look around and see that something Ryuji should have is completely missing.
“Hey, Naia? Could you get me a glass of water please?” I ask to get her to leave the room.
“I will be right back.” Naia replies and exits Ryuji’s office.
“So what did you do with all your dating sims and various paraphernalia?” I ask in a hushed tone.
“Reggie, another analyst, is hanging onto most of the stuff for me, but a few things I put in a safety deposit box.” Ryuji replies in a similar fashion. I’m about to ask about the safety deposit box when Naia walks back in with a glass of water.
“Thanks. Naia, how do you walk around here with your wings and all?” I ask.
“I use illusion magic to camouflage my wings and tail. It takes a fair amount of concentration so I do not continue it when we are home.” Naia replies.
“What about you, Ryuji? You said you grew up in San Francisco so how did you keep your supernatural identity a secret?” I inquire.
“Dragons can take a human form, but like Naia’s illusion magic, it also requires quite a bit of concentration. My parents found another dragon in Chinatown and they taught me about being a dragon since my birth parents were supposed to, but didn’t. They taught me to conceal my wings and tail when I was seven years old and trained me so that I could keep it up long enough to go to school. They told me that I can also turn into a full dragon, but the ability won’t manifest itself until I hit my late twenties.” Ryuji explains.
“What about your adoptive parents? They’re imps, right?” I question.
“My parents don’t have any problems because an imp’s wings can fold in a certain way so as to be hidden, even by a t-shirt; and their tails are easily hidden in pants.” Ryuji answers.
“Huh… so let’s get back on task. The five names are Winston Weatherly, Vera Minamoto, Regis Caputo, Alistair Tinpinny, and Jack Evari, who appears to be the leader.” I say as Ryuji’s fingers hit the keyboard in a flurry. Three minutes later, he has four bios pulled up, each on a different screen.
“Yeah, their pictures correspond with the memories. What about Jack Evari?” I ask.
“I can’t find anything on him… Are you sure the name is right?” Ryuji asks.
“Yeah, I’m positive, but his last name may be spelled A-v-e-r-y; I only heard the name, but the E-v-a-r-i spelling came up in Michael Alejo’s mind.” I reply. A few minutes later, Ryuji pulls up about ten photos, but none of them match.
“Nope, it’s not any of them.” I say.
“I figured as much; none of the backgrounds fit with that of a Templar.” Ryuji responds.
“Well, what do we have on the others?” I inquire.
“It appears they were all in San Francisco on the 2nd; looks like we just missed them. Winston Weatherly actually lives on the outskirts of San Francisco though. Here’s his address. According to building plans, his entire house is fortified enough to withstand a plane crashing into it. He has no family to speak of and lives alone.” Ryuji informs me.
“So an assassination from outside of the house is out of the question… Looks like I’ll be going to pay him a visit. Can you keep looking for info on Jack Evari?” I request.
“Sure. I’ll keep you updated.” Ryuji answers.
“Thanks.” I reply and touch my Haglaz rune.
After porting to Jason’s bedroom, I wait a minute before porting to Jericho’s armory. I slip a new glove onto my right hand and help myself to the use of Jericho’s reloading bench to make five messages.
(What would you like them to say?)
“1: How long did you think I would allow you 2: to harm my friends and family without retaliation? 3: Well this, this is my retaliation. 4: If you keep coming after me, 5: next time, I’ll kill every last Templar.”
Five bullets form in my left palm, numbered on the tip. I take five .460 S&W rounds out of the box on the bench, dismantle them, and load my message bullets in the casings. I slip the rounds into my pocket, pull up maps of San Francisco on my phone, and enter in the address. It appears that Winston Weatherly’s house is near a forest, which is perfect for me. I touch my right shoulder, port to the forest, and pull out my spotter’s scope. Winston’s house is a large cylindrical concrete structure that looks not unlike a flying saucer due to the modern architecture. The light from a TV illuminates the living room through the windows that serve as walls; no doubt that they’re made of bulletproof glass.
I’m definitely more than a hundred meters away so I draw my .460, load in the first message bullet, engage my helmet, and port into the living room. Winston is startled by my sudden appearance and tips over his glass of scotch.
“Do you know the rumor that there’s a special circle of hell reserved for those who waste good scotch? I guess you’re about to find out whether or not it’s just a rumor.” I tell the forty year old man as he frantically reaches for the gun on his hip; I fire my message into Winston’s head before he can draw it. Since a couch doesn’t have the same ricocheting properties that a hardwood floor has, not a single drop of Winston’s blood gets on me.
Since Winston’s house is really far out of the way and I don’t want his body being found after the others, I pick up the phone and dial 911.
“911, what’s your emergency?” the operator asks.
“I just killed someone in this house.” I say with my helmet-modulated voice and hang up.
Now, to plant some evidence that connects this and Michael Alejo’s murder. I walk into the adjoined kitchen as the phone starts ringing. I grab a kitchen towel with my left hand and wipe off some of Mr. Alejo’s blood from my jacket. Now that that is taken care of, I touch my left shoulder blade and port back to Ryuji’s place.
“Next.” I announce as I appear in his office.
“AH!” Naia yelps and hops off of Ryuji’s lap, whilst topless.
“Sorry for interrupting.” I say while averting my eyes as Naia locates her shirt.
“You weren’t! Naia was just sitting on my lap to help me look for info on Jack Evari!” Ryuji exclaims in a nervous fashion, making completely obvious excuses.
“Topless?” I ask.
“She said she was hot!” Ryuji exclaims.
“This is Seattle… and it’s November…” I argue, you know, just to be a dick.
“Alright so Regis Caputo
lives in the only penthouse of an upscale apartment in Chicago. He also lives there alone and seems to have done some private contracting on the windows; most likely bulletproof glass installation. There is also a security checkpoint in the lobby of the building and a card key is required for the elevator. You could requisition a key card cracker, but that won’t help with the security checkpoint.” Ryuji informs me, changing the subject.
“I can just port in after seeing into his apartment.” I reply.
“Only problem is that the apartment is on the top floor and is the tallest building around for a couple miles. You also most likely won’t be able to see through the glass.” Ryuji explains.
“Hmm… is there roof access?” I inquire.
Ryuji taps away at his keyboard and a satellite map of the roof pops up on a monitor a few seconds later, showing that there is roof access.
“Alright, I’m off. After I’m done, should I just call or come back?” I ask with a smile before engaging my helmet and porting to the roof in Chicago.
I approach the door to the stairwell, finding that it’s unlocked, and head down one floor. I walk down the hallway and stop in front of Regis Caputo’s door, listening for signs of him being awake, which is doubtful when it’s 3am here, but nonetheless. Hearing only gentle snoring in the penthouse, I get to work on figuring out how I’ll get inside.
(You may wish to hurry, Master; there is a security camera on the wall)
I look over and see that Airi is correct. Shit, this cuts my time short. I reach out and place my left hand on the door.
“I create nothing. I preserve nothing. I only erase.” I whisper as the silver in my arm flushes to black and my eyes get that bizarre feeling again.
The entire door loses substance and fades into smoke as the black in my arm reverts to silver. I stride through the doorway while drawing my .460 and loading the second message bullet into the chamber. I walk down the hall, kick in the bedroom door, and fire my message into Regis Caputo from the doorway. I grab a nearby t-shirt and wipe off more of Michael Alejo’s blood from my person and leave the t-shirt on top of the dresser to the left of the door.
“Well that was less than satisfactory, but at least I killed him.” I say after porting back to Ryuji’s office and disengaging my helmet.
“What happened?” Ryuji asks.
“A security camera caught a shot of me. Anyway, next.” I reply.
“Alistair Tinpinny is a resident of Miami and lives in a two-story house on the beach. He doesn’t appear to have a wife or kids, but more women use the facebook check-in feature at his house than at… abortion clinics?” Ryuji says.
“You were trying to think of places women frequent and the first thing that comes to mind is an abortion clinic? What in the hell is wrong with you?” I ask with a mocking tone.
“Alright, then you tell me; where do women frequent?” Ryuji asks.
“My bed.” I say without missing a beat.
“Nice.” Ryuji admits, trying not to laugh.
“I try. So are there any defenses around the house?” I inquire.
“There don’t appear to be, just the seemingly standard bulletproof windows.” Ryuji replies.
“Alright. Can you pull up a map of the beach near his house? I need a spot that’s further than one hundred meters away with a clear line of sight.” I request.
“Here is probably your best bet.” Ryuji says while pointing to a stretch of beach.
“Okay, be back soon.” I say and port to the beach.
Upon arriving, I remove my spotter’s scope and realize that I have no idea which house it is. I pull out my phone and place a call to Ryuji.
“What’s up?” Ryuji asks.
“Well it’s 4:30am here and all these houses look alike!” I reply.
“WHO’S THERE!?” I hear a woman shout from the house nearby.
“This is a private beach; you can’t be here!” the older woman exclaims; luckily it’s still dark so that she can’t see my face.
“Relax ma’am, I’m just trying to do my job. I’m a private investigator who was hired by Mrs. Tinpinny, the wife of your neighbor Alistair. I’m investigating to see if he’s guilty of adultery. My partner told me to go to the back of the house via the beach, but I have no idea which house I’m looking for.” I reply, thinking quickly.
“I wasn’t aware Mr. Tinpinny had a wife. Well, I suppose since those in your profession helped me to get this house in the first place, I should return the favor; the house you’re looking for is five doors down.” The woman replies.
“Thanks!” I reply while hanging up on Ryuji. I point my scope in the direction and see movement in the bedroom.
“It looks like I finally caught him in the act. Thank you ma’am, you were a big help. I need to go write up my report to Mrs. Tinpinny now.” I say and head down the beach, away from the house.
Upon hearing the click of the woman’s door shutting, I engage my helmet, draw my gun, load in the third message, and port into Alistair Tinpinny’s bedroom.
“Congratulations, Alistair; you’re number three.” I announce.
Alistair responds by freaking out and tripping off of the bed, onto the floor. I deliver my third message, causing the girl on the bed to start screaming her head off.
“Would you relax?” I ask, but she just continues screaming.
“SHUT UP!” I shout while pointing the gun at her.
That cuts her scream off, but it also makes me feel bad. I holster my gun, walk over to the bedside table and turn on the light.
“Listen, I’m not going to hurt you. I need you to give my description to the police when they come by; speaking of, you should probably call them.” I inform her and she moves to get out of bed.
“Wait!” I exclaim, causing her to start quivering. I grab a pillow off of the bed and place it on top of Alistair’s missing head.
“There. Seeing something like that tends to be rather scarring to most people. Alright, bye now.” I nonchalantly say and exit the bedroom.
Once out of sight, I touch my triskele and port back to Ryuji’s office. Ryuji is nowhere to be found in his office, so I bring his computer out of the screensaver and see Vera Minamoto’s address; it’s in Bellevue, on Lake Washington. I bring up the maps on my phone, not wanting to disturb Ryuji’s sanctum.
I port to the street, glad that it’s still only 2:40am here. I walk over to the house and peer in the windows, checking to make sure no one is awake, but I find something that wasn’t present in the other council member’s houses: there are toys. I walk a hundred meters down the street before engaging my helmet and porting into the living room of the house. There are a few toys on a nearby kitchen counter that acts as a divider between the living room and the kitchen. There are children’s DVDs on top of the entertainment system. A mantle nearby paints the rest of the picture; a little girl, a husband, a happy family, a memorial picture of the husband.
Shit! I’m not about to orphan this kid…
(You could always eliminate both of them)
“No, that isn’t an option.”
I go into the kitchen with an alternative strategy in mind. After locating a pen and paper, I write a note:
To: Vera Minamoto
I’ve decided to spare the lives of you and your daughter; isn’t that kind of me? The bullets you found contain the last two pieces of my message to the Templars.
With Love,
Feros
With the note written, now all I have to do is plant the bullets to satisfactorily freak her out. I go to the door and slip off my shoes in the sunken entryway so that I’ll make less noise on the hardwood flooring. I tiptoe down the hall and into the room that contains the softer breathing. After placing the bullet on the bedside table of a young half-Japanese girl who can’t be older than six, I exit the room and go down the hall into the master bedroom. I place the fifth message bullet on Vera’s bedside table and carefully leave her room. I return to the sunken entryway and sit down on the step to pu
t on my shoes.
“Don’t move.” Vera whispers as I hear the clink of metal against my helmet while feeling a pressure as the gun barrel is pressed firmly against it.
“Who are you and why did you leave a bullet by my bedside?” Vera questions with a hushed tone.
“The NRA’s Santa?” I reply.
“You think this is funny?” Vera asks.
“I do find it funny that you seem to think that you were the only one.” I say.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Vera inquires.
“Doesn’t Santa usually come for children?” I rhetorically ask.
“Bastard! I swear, if you hurt my daughter—” Vera quietly exclaims as she presses the gun in harder.
“Had I wanted to kill you or your daughter, I already would have, as every other member of the Council of Five can attest to; except for Jack Evari, but that’s only because I haven’t found him yet.” I interrupt.
“What are you talking about? Who’s Jack Evari?” Vera questions.
“You know who he is; he’s a member of the Council with you, Alistair, Regis, and Winston.” I reply.
“I’ve never heard of Jack Evari.” Vera says.
“Bullshit. I got the information from Michael Alejo and it’s been right so far.” I say.
“You are so full of shit; the head of the Council would never give you any information. What did you do to him!?” Vera demands.
So Alejo was the head of the Council? That doesn’t make any sense; he seemed to be taking his orders from Jack Evari in his memories…
“I’m sure you’ll find out all about it at work in a few hours; make sure you bring that bullet and the one I left in your daughter’s room. I also left a note on your fridge. Bye.” I say and quickly scoot to the left so that I don’t accidentally take Vera with me when I port.
Chapter 14: Kitsune Mysteries
When I arrive in Niflheim, I pull out my phone and text Ryuji.
Didn’t kill Vera, discovered that she has a kid and couldn’t do it. Spoke with her and discovered that she doesn’t know Jack Evari and that Michael Alejo was the last member of the Council. I’m positive Michael Alejo was taking orders from Jack Evari, and that Evari is in his forties, around 6’4” with white hair and grey-blue eyes. Look into that… tomorrow, since you’re probably tired and want to go to sleep.
Cole's Haunting Melody (The Gods' Executioner Series) Page 12