Chapter 14: To Organize the Mayhem III

“Whaaat!? You mean… When we found Vince…”

«Yes. Just so we’re clear, this seems to be the work of a single individual, not any kind of group or organization. For lack of any further information regarding their true identity, and taking the nature of their crimes into account, we have officially aliased them ‘Subject-Ripper’. I understand you’re all sad for your fallen comrades, but these unthinkable tragedies have been happening throughout the whole district and only recently the culprit seems to have moved towards you. With the recent setback we’ve had in terms of resources, there wasn’t much we could do considering the scarcity of patrol units.»

“Oh, it’s okay! It happens sometimes.”

«Indeed. I assure you, however, that they mustn’t be that great of a threat. Even as you are, the White Phantoms you could easily take them down… once you locate them. Since they’ve moved to Seagate, we will consider them to now be officially in your jurisdiction to detain. How does that sound, dear? »

“Hehe, it’s wonderful! We will do our best. In fact, we had already been looking for the perp even before, since we were already expecting you to ask us something like this! There’s only a minor problem so far though, Mr. Chairman.”

«And what is that? »

“We seem to have a slight lack of concrete information about this invader, and since you’ve got access to all those cameras and city records I’d like to ask you if you could give us some pointers on what kind of criminal he is? We’re just a teeny bit lost.”

There was a brief silence, which was soon broken by the man’s uninhibited laughter.

«Oh, how could I forget? I am quite silly sometimes. Of course, I need to provide you with everything you need in order to properly carry out your investigation! Please don’t mind me, you will have everything you need by the time the sun rises today. I am willing to share with you all (just on this occasion, so long as you behave well) the few files we have in regard to this prowling murderer’s crimes. I am also aware that you have tried contacting your other colleagues from other cities, but as you could only expect, they must naturally be reserved about their own personal affairs. Rules are rules, honey. This criminal has caused a whole lot of damage, not to mention loss of manpower, on their own respective turfs, so please do not blame them for withholding these things. They have been very nervous as of lately, haven’t they? But you will be able to analyze this specific offender and their movement in order to develop a proper method of contingency. The board demands you capture him, preferably alive. Understood? »

The girl could feel her own teeth grit tightly at some point. Something in the man’s words had gotten to her, but she wasn’t sure what, or why. Nevertheless, she maintained her composure, audibly if nothing else..

“Loud and clear, sir! May our Society last!”

«May our Society last! Stay safe, young ones. The board will be expecting to hear from you soon. »

“Yes, Mr. Chairman, sir! You have my utter gratitude…”

The man hung up without uttering a single word more.

“… you goddamn, moronic, mouth-breathing son of a –”

It sickened her to the core having to stoop as low as talking to someone in such a way, but she knew from experience that with people like those, playing hard into the established hierarchy was sometimes the only way to get what she wanted. Bootlicking was just another part of the job.

Thinking she was too much of an imbecile, utterly incapable of critical thinking, the old man wouldn’t often trust her to carry out important tasks, on one hand, but on the other, it kept the board’s wrathful eyes far and pulled away with them any suspicions one might have possibly had of her, of either betrayal or withdrawal of information. It was a sloppy blind spot she’d arranged. Not the most practical, she was sure, but at the moment it was the best she could come up with. Figures among the board such as the chairman and others were far too busy to bother with one of their sub-sub-sub-bosses, a useful, yet childish hyperactive mess, too dumb not to blindly obey.

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Forcing herself to channel her inner Armetta just like that made, of course, for a cumbersome experience talking to her superiors, but it at least gained her further sympathy and favor. She was able to request information with far more ease, therefore saving her precious time.

On occasion, she doubted they actually believed her, that the board was only playing along with her little teatric until she outlived her usefulness and then… Disappeared. Just like the leader that had come before her. Just like everyone else. She would be only another one added to the piling amount of missing people in Seagate, and the remainder of the West as well.

Emily got up and, taking a few steps along the edge of the roof, her gaze fixed on the streets down below, bustling with people. The misery party of usual was still ongoing, just as expected. The night was but a child yet.

She jumped down the tall building, stabbing her feet onto the hard pavement several meters below. She nearly screeched bloody murder at the intense pain in her knees, but barely managed to keep her calm. It was probably just a few fractures, they would heal in a couple seconds. For the time being, she braced herself against the pain, pounding away even as her legs bobbled around, making her struggle to keep her balance. Not that it mattered. The girl was too absorbed in her own musings to even care about the pain anymore.

The long dreaded boredom had returned, and it had come to stay, she thought. Not even the pain would help her ignore it nowadays.

She looked around as she staggered. Some salarymen overhead. Some office women in a corner. Some four or five people were going at it in an alley entrance. They could all be either kissing or eating each other’s faces, she couldn’t really tell from there. Neither did she care, though.

Some drunken old man tried to offer her some beer. Then a girl from some cabaret appeared along the way, trying to sell ‘coke’ to everyone within sighted distance. Emily wasn’t sure if she meant the drink or the drug, but it was whatever. Those people had no semblance of shame, anyway, so nothing to act surprised about.

Random pairs of men, women and who knew what else fucking and humping right in the middle of the road again, some of them yelling out about how rude everyone was and how they just wanted some privacy. Arguing with them was useless. The girl had already gotten used to circumventing these types, but that did not make it any less annoying.

(What a paradise, indeed…)

Fighting and breaking things would usually brighten her mood somewhat, but that night it just wasn’t working.

She grimaced, looking down at her knees. They were already fully healed, allowing her to walk upright like usual once again. As she raised her head further up, resuming her aimless path, the girl had already forgotten what the hell her manic mind had been trying to forge this time.

There was nothing left for her to do out there now, though. The nights were becoming as tedious as the days, and she could no longer even look forward to them anymore. On the contrary, she found herself longing for those horrible, scorching hot days instead, which while similar to each other, at least required far less effort to deal with, from her part.

And, of course, there was the library ribbon girl. Kay could be a little grumpy, school could be shit, but as long as she could spend a little time a day with Armetta then it would have been at least slightly worth it. Not that she liked her particularly. She was just as slow, weak and pathetic as everybody else on that city’s lit side, and the superficial crap she constantly spewed pissed her off even more, just thinking about it.

It was undeniable, Maya Armetta was a dumbass, and that was it. That was how it should be. But she was an interesting dumbass, if nothing else, and no matter how much she fought it, the ribbon girl would constantly pull her back like a magnet. It almost scared her.

Regardless, she had already discovered what the real problem was, deep inside. No amount of yelling or arguing or fighting or anything else would solve it, that was how much of a lost cause it was.

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