Chapter 14: The Clocktower and the Brother
"Alright. Let's focus on the mission. But Hana, if you're not planning to take your painting back, then I'll take it instead."
Hana blinked in response then decided to shrug it off. "Fine. Those are just old scraps anyway. Nothing but pieces of trash."
She thought specifically of her mother and her brother Matthew. They had already touched the art with their bare hands. To Hana, her art wasn't pure or innocent anymore. Night just smiled emphatically.
"Then, why don't we go back to the cabin and talk about the mission while we eat? Let's go," Lunx suggested.
The three of them returned to the cabin. "Tadaaa! I made vegetable casserole. It is a baked dish that combines mixed vegetables in a savory sauce, topped with cheese and crunchy breadcrumbs."
Hana looked at the table. It looked good and savory. She took a spoonful and gave it a taste. "Hmm. It tastes good," she lied.
This made Lunx smile in satisfaction. "Glad you liked it. I simply followed the instructions in this cookbook that I found."
"Wow. You're right, Lunx. You're really good at this," Night commented, earning a proud nod from the older woman.
"Hah! Which reminds me, you're a better cook than a Death Angel..." Night didn't get a chance to finish her sentence. Lunx delivered a quick smack to the back of her head. The sight was amusing to see, though Hana felt she had lost her sense of humor long ago.
Base Clocktower, 11:00 PM
Two hours later, the comfortable energy of the cabin was replaced by the cold machinery of a mission. The sleek, matte black sports coupe sliced through the deserted avenues of the city center. Ahead stood the Clocktower. It was a gothic structure over a century old, now retrofitted with state of the art surveillance. It was the perfect stage for a secret transaction.
Night pulled the car into a private garage three blocks away. Her movements in her Goth persona were fluid and sharp. Hana sat beside her, clutching her plush doll. Her face was a porcelain mask.
Lunx's voice crackled through Night's in-ear comms. "You have fifteen minutes until the buyer and seller are in the lounge. Thermal analysis shows only routine guards on floors one through fifty. Nothing unusual... yet."
"Understood," Night replied. "Hana, let's go over the scenario. You are the distraction, but you are also the insurance."
Hana spoke in a clinical monotone. "I am Miss Ophelia Vane. I am meeting the manager to discuss the exhibition space. My attire and credentials grant me access to the seventy-fifth floor. I will use the observation deck bathroom to place the comm jammer."
"And if the transaction deviates?" Night asked.
"I initiate Protocol C," Hana said. "I cause a dramatic public commotion. I become the spectacle."
They moved quickly. Hana, elegant and unsettling in her doll-like dress, took the main entrance. Night pivoted toward the back alley. She defeated the electronic lock on a service door and stepped inside. She stood before the elevator shaft.
Night initiated her proportional shift. Her tall Goth form shimmered and shrank. In an instant, she was replaced by the figure of a small, silent girl with faint cat-like features.
"I'm in the shaft. Deploying comm jammer now, Lunx," Night whispered. She moved with frightening speed up the metallic runners. She ascended fifty floors in minutes.
As she reached the seventy-second floor, a cold, unnatural scent hit her. It was a cloying sweetness like rotting fruit mixed with antiseptic.
"Lunx, I have a complication," Night said. "I'm not alone in the ducts. This smells like something that enjoys being trapped."
"Night, pull back!" Lunx whispered in horror. "That's a Silencer. A Rank 3 Assassination class. It is programmed to kill the moment its target registers dread. If it saw you, it already knows your worst fear."
Night's spine locked. Her inner voice whispered, "My worst fear? Losing my chance at redemption?" A chilling, wet laugh echoed down the metal tunnel. The Silencer had detected her. Night immediately initiated a high-frequency counter-disruption through her comms. It overloaded the entity's fear-sensing network just long enough for the final breach.
The Capture and Interrogation
The sonic disruption faded. Matthew was paralyzed by a motor-lock strike. Night, in her small form, stood beside Hana. Hana held the stolen chip and ledger.
"We know you are a creature of logic, Matthew," Hana said. "You have nothing left to trade except information."
Matthew's eyes were fixed on Hana with cold defiance. "Go to hell. You think this ambush means anything? My brothers will burn this city down before they let you walk away with our product."
Hana sighed. "I see. You still believe in the illusion of family loyalty. Night, the surgical approach is cancelled. He is useless."
Night quickly reverted to her tall Goth form, though the effort caused a flicker of pain across her brow. She hoisted the paralyzed Matthew over her shoulder. They smashed through the observation glass and landed on the rooftop below, where their car awaited.
They sped through the darkness to a derelict warehouse to meet Ava, the youngest Angel of Death. Ava held a rope tied around an unconscious woman named Miss Valen, the original buyer.
"Protocol Alpha successful," Ava said with a voice devoid of emotion. Night showed her the crimson bracelet. They loaded the assets into the car and drove back to the secluded cabin.
The Confrontation
Hours later at the hideout, Matthew slowly regained control of his body. He found himself secured to a chair. Standing over him was the woman he knew as Miss Ophelia Vane. But the mask was gone. She was wearing a simple t-shirt and slacks. Her dark navy eyes were filled with surgical disgust.
"Hello, brother," Hana said.
Matthew whispered in terror. "Hana? You're alive? You were supposed to be safe." His face twisted into an expression of intense, predatory desire. "I knew it was your scent. My little doll... you've grown up. You ran away, but you came back to be found."
Hana's smile was cold. "I came back to end the Swines, Matthew. I always finish my work."
"No. This is a game," Matthew wheedled. "You want control. I can give you the entire network. You belong with us. I'll make you mine. What do you want? Money? Fame? I'll give you everything."
"I already have what I want," Hana replied. "I have your logistics. And I have the certainty of your destruction."
Matthew frowned, clearly annoyed. "Darling, that goth bodyguard won't understand you. But I do. I know your secrets. That room of yours, the one with the dolls, it was empty without your scent. I used to go in there sometimes... just to remember what you were. I wanted to leave my own mark."
Night watched from the shadows. Her inner monologue burned with rage. "Disgusting pigs. He was marking his territory. He was in her room... contaminating her sanctuary."
Night stepped out of the shadows, her tall form looming over the man. "We're done, Hana. His motivation is confirmed. This man won't say anything useful about their organization. Let's leave him for now."
Hana ignored Night's command and leaned closer to Matthew. "Tell me, Matthew. About that floral scent. It's the smell of death masked by an innocent form. Are you sure you smelled me? Or were you just smelling your own end?"
Night crossed her arms, her purple eyes narrowing. She felt a mix of angelic purity and personal jealousy. She needed to remove Matthew from Hana's presence immediately.
"The cabin's basement is the only secured area for the final analysis," Night said, a transparent lie. "We need to move him now, Hana."
Hana's smile widened. She recognized Night's jealousy. "Oh well. As the Angel commands. Don't worry, Matthew. We'll pick up right where we left off."
Night wrenched the chair from the floor with fury, lifting both Matthew and the heavy seat effortlessly. She disappeared down the steps to the basement. Her heavy combat boots made a rhythmic, sulking stomp.
Hana watched them vanish. She returned to her serene, cold control. She picked up her silver scalpel and walked toward the unconscious Miss Valen.
"Miss Valen," Hana whispered to herself. "A woman whose desire is so immense she requires human suffering to satisfy it. Another piece of corruption I must surgically remove."
Hana pressed the cold edge of the scalpel against Miss Valen's cheek. The woman's eyes fluttered open in a panic. "Who are you? Where are the Monscheins? I paid them!"
"The Monscheins have been indisposed," Hana said with a shrug. "I am your new partner. Tell me the location of the safe house where your asset was being held. Tell me the name of the handler. If the information matches what we took from Matthew, you might live."