"Alright, you can either explore or follow me inside, your choice,"
"I think I'll go exploring since it's my first time,"
"Okay I'll be back in a few minutes."
With that he left her to her own devices and headed towards his rooms. Going through the motions he repacked his go bag and changed clothes for their visit to the crime underground. Ten minutes later he emerged dressed head to toe in all black to find her on his couch surfing TV channels.
"All set to go kitten, or do you need a few more minutes," he asked amusedly.
"I'm coming," she hurriedly turned everything off and ran to him.
They locked up and headed out to her home so that she could change clothes as well due to the nature of the assignment.
***************************************
After getting changed and picking up some additional gear, Rainbow and Ethan headed out to the most remote area in the city. One would call it a black market due to the nature of transactions that take place there, however the only important part is whether you can get what you want or not.
Heading down the alleyway with him in the lead, they made their way to a two-story brick building called Mickey's. He took her hand and pulled her inside straight to the hidden staircase leading to the second floor. She kept her eyes glued to his back, avoiding the other patrons, trying to keep a low profile. It was obvious that the best course of action would be to stay lowkey and not catch anyone's eye.
Upon arriving on the second floor, she was led to a room at the end of the hall. Ethan knocked three times slowly and then twice rapidly. The door opened silently and we entered. Inside there was only one chair that was occupied by a small figure.
"What services does the great scourge need from me today?"
It wasn't until the question was asked that they further entered the room. He kept his face blank and faced the chair before finally answering the question.
"Only information."
"And what do you offer in return?"
The figure finally looked at them, and she was able to see just who they came to seek out. It was a goblin.
"A chance to call upon a favor, but it must be morally acceptable."
"What do you seek boy?"
"How to stop the massacres and to find the one responsible."
The goblin was quite surprised after his answer, animating his otherwise dull appearance further.
"I expected you to ask who is behind it all."
"Decided not to push my luck."
After his response, the goblin leaned back in his chair with a thoughtful expression. He was silent for quite some time before responding.
"It will take at least three days before I can give you any information."
"Whatever you are able to do will be appreciated."
"You may leave."
Having said his piece, the goblin gestured for us to leave and no longer acknowledging our presence. We exited the house as quickly as possible before returning the vehicle to regroup. After a few twists and turns, we managed to navigate our way with little to no trouble.
"So, who was that exactly?" I asked him now that we were alone.
"That was a goblin that deals with requests. We have no name for him, choosing not to pry into his life and he's normally very accurate."
"Alright so in the meantime we can look at other means of finding out what's going on then I presume?"
"Yes. I have one more spot we can hit as well, however are there any places you can think of going kitten that could help our cause?" Ethan asked while pulling her into his arms and nuzzling her ear affectionately.
"Sure, but we'd have to wait until nightfall at the least." I responded, snuggling into his embrace.
"We have at least two hours to ourselves until it's time to go to my second location. Anything you want to do until then?"
"Tell me about you, well namely your family situation. Is there anything I should know or landmines to avoid?"
His arms tightened briefly around her before he slowly exhaled.
"Alright Kitten, I'll spill."
***************************************
"Apologies for the extended wait, I wasn't expecting company,"
"That is quite fine. I am only here to meet up and ensure we were all on the same page going forward,"
"Great. Well, let us get down to business."
After getting all the pleasantries out of the way, Paris proceeded to get an update from Micah to ensure that they were on the same page.
"Alright, I can confirm that we are all on the same page. I would just like to also confirm that besides Ivan, there are no other family members that could be used as a bargaining chip against you."
"Yes, Ivan is my only relative at the current moment and as you know his safety is assured."
"Great. I will be keeping you in the loop on a daily basis with any updates."
"And I will do the same."
"I won't take up anymore of your time, so I'll be heading out now to meet up with Titan."
"Pass on my regards and you all should take the necessary precautions as well."
"We will."
With that said, he left the house and headed out to meet up with his parents. On his way he made a call to Mist inquiring about his progress.
"Hey, I just left the director's residence. Have you made any progress on your assignment?"
"Ivan and I just wrapped up our meeting. We're going to regroup in about an hour before heading to the lab to look at the results processed from the last scene."
"Meet up with our parents and I at home and tell me in person."
"No problem, I'll be there in ten."
"Roger that."
He returned his focus to the road ahead after ending the call and firing off a few texts to his younger siblings, ensuring that he checked on them. The warning given by Micah crossed his mind, setting warning bells off. He forewent dwelling on it until he got more information. He got home within a few minutes and checked his phone for updates.
Dulce & Light: Everything is good on our end. No creepy or overly dangerous persons around. Oh and tell the rents that everything's a dead end on our side.
Rainbow & Ethan: Things are quiet, just have another hour's wait before the next location.
After responding to both messages, he went inside to wait for the others. Igor greeted him at the door informing him that a simple lunch spread was in the dining room for everyone. He thanked him and sat down to refuel.
***************************************
"Not that I am aware of. I haven't offended anybody that would do something this large scale. My mother is not in the picture so even if she did have enemies, I wouldn't know. My father is more complicated but still, nothing rings a bell."
"Alright, run me through everyone who can be considered a suspect in your circle."
"Okay."
"Let's head to the car and chat."
They chose Mist's car due to its closer proximity and Ivan followed his lead. After settling in and taking out his notepad and pen, Mist began.
"Just to confirm, both you and Micah have no information regarding your mother?"
"To my knowledge, that is correct."
"Are there any relatives on his side?"
"I believe he had maybe one other sibling, however they've been out of touch even before I was born."
"Any friction among colleagues?"
"I stay out of everyone's way if I can help it. My father has ruffled a few feathers over the years but not enough to warrant revenge as far as I know."
"And what about his private life, any partners of note that might fit the bill?"
"He is a very private person in regard to those matters, however I haven't noticed anything off thus far."
"Have you tried researching your mother at all and were there any leads?"
"I questioned him just once about her, you know the usual stuff, like her name, what she was like and so on. Simple things."
Ivan's expression visibly darkened after answering and his hand curled into fists before he continued.
"He withheld answers and then blocked me from ever finding her information and when I demanded the reason, he actually backhanded me and said that the past had nothing to do with me, and I should forget everything about her."
It was clear he was pissed off because of how it played out. Mist placed his hand on his folded fist softly apologizing for bringing up a terrible memory. It took him a while to snap out his funk before he could continue answering his questions. After snapping out of it and apologizing, they continued their Q&A session for half an hour more before wrapping up.
Ring! Ring!
Ivan's phone rang, breaking the silence that had enveloped the car. Noticing that his hand never left his, he cleared his throat, pulling away to answer the call.
"Hey... Sure, no problem... Are you sure?... Alright I'll meet with you in an hour...Alright bye."
"What's up?"
"That was the lab, they found some new aspects different from previous scenes and told me to get down there. You are invited to join me."
"Cool. I will meet you there in an hour and no worries, if I get lost, I'll hit you up for a rescue."
Ivan surprised himself with a laugh after his reply and playfully shoved him and agreed to see him in an hour before leaving. After sending him off in a better mood, Mist prepared to head out when he received a call from Paris instructing him to head home and trade information.