Edited by: Waning_Crescents

“Are they here yet?” Vergil asked as he entered the building.

“Yes, Mr. Rivera. Mrs. Lanford already took them to your office,” one of the officers replied.

“Great, thanks,” Vergil nodded and hurried away.

The witnesses, a couple, sat at one side of the desk as they waited for Vergil’s arrival. Elena served them coffee as her partner entered.

“Sorry for the delay.” Vergil moved around the desk and sat down opposite of them. “I really appreciate your cooperation.”

“Of course, we want to help where we can,” the man said.

“If we only had known that this would happen, we maybe could have avoided it…” the woman dug her nails into her dress.

Vergil shook his head. “No, I am glad you didn’t do anything, or we maybe would have four victims now instead of two.”

“That’s right! We are already lucky enough that you have seen them, that already helps us a lot.” Elena encouraged them.

“Alright, tell us again what you saw, please.” Vergil started the questioning.

“As we mentioned before, we saw a man clad in black with one of the victims walking close side by side out of K-Lane,” the man answered.

“We actually thought something seemed off and observed them for a little while. We were even debating if we should call someone, but then we decided not to…” the woman added.

“What do you mean by ‘seemed off’?” Elena asked further.

The couple looked at each other for a brief moment and then the woman continued. “The man who later died kind of behaved abnormally; he staggered and clung to the other man’s arm. He also talked to the person clad in black, but we couldn’t hear what he was saying. He just seemed desperate...I think?”

Her boyfriend nodded. “Yeah, something didn’t seem right, but we weren’t sure at that time. We also considered the possibility that the man was just drunk, and his friend was helping him…that’s why we refrained from calling the police.”

“I see...” Vergil pinched the bridge of his nose. “Did you perhaps see where they were heading to?”

“They were heading further downtown. We…” He stopped for a moment and looked at his girlfriend before he continued. “We actually followed them for a while, but as we saw that they entered a bad neighborhood we stopped.”

Vergil raised an eyebrow. “That is something you didn’t tell us before.”

“Y-yeah because as we realized where we ended up, we knew this was bad, and we were afraid. We didn’t want to get into trouble.” the woman let out with her head hung low.

Elena sighed. “I am glad you came around and told us because this is important information.” Then she glanced with a stern expression at them. “And never do something like that again! What you two did was dangerous, this could have ended terrible for you!”

The couple nodded. “We are sorry.”

“Alright.” Vergil took out a map of the city and placed it on his desk. “Can you please show me where exactly they were heading to?”

The man gazed at the map and then pointed to an area close to Shuri Town.

Originally, only the poor and homeless resided there, but the population increased over the years. The government neglected them, and the people became desperate. Needing money, they resorted to other methods, like selling drugs. This, however, attracted other criminals and in no time, Shuri Town grew into the most popular area for shady business.

Vergil frowned. “Thank you very much, that would be all then.”

The couple got up from their seats and apologized again for withholding information before they left.

“This area is bad news.” Elena said with a serious expression.

“Yeah.” Her partner nodded and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “But what bothers me more is that nothing about drugs was mentioned in the report of the coroner.”

Elena stroked her chin. “I guess the reason was that the cause of death was clear and, therefore, he didn’t see the need to test them for all kinds of drugs, especially the ones you can’t just find with a simple blood test.”

“Yeah, that is exactly what I thought too.”

“Do you think they told us the truth, though?” Elena asked. “They withheld information before, why would they suddenly cave?”

“I don’t think they lied; their body-language didn’t indicate any odd behavior. However, if they did, we will find out, and then they are in serious trouble.” Vergil stated. “For now, all we can do is find out the truth and that starts with a proper check-up of the victims.”

Elena nodded. “I will contact the coroner and tell him to test them properly of any kind of substances.”

Vergil clicked his tongue and got up. “I can’t believe they are so sloppy in this case!”

Then he picked up his jacket from the back of the chair and glanced at her. “In the meantime, you and I are going to check their apartments again. If they did buy drugs, then there is no way to not find any traces in their homes.”

***

It’s finally time, Sigal thought as he got ready to move out, But…

During the day Vince notified Sigal of who his partner would be for this investigation: Asher Griever. Why must it be him!?

Asher joined the organization four years ago. His combat skills along with his perceptive abilities made him an important asset in Section 2. However, the two investigators didn’t get along from the start and their relationship grew even more complicated over time.

As Sigal left the Conciliators headquarters, Asher already waited outside. He leaned against a wall with his eyes closed, his appearance as outstanding as ever. Two piercings draped his right eyebrow and even more his ears, not to forget his short dark green hair. At first glance, he rather resembled a hoodlum than an investigator.

Asher opened his eyes and glanced at the other, whose footsteps drew closer. “Hello, partner!” He grinned.

Sigal, however, only glared at him in disgust.

“Believe me, I’d rather not work with you either, but guess we got no other choice. Let’s make the best of it,” Asher remarked as he pushed himself off the wall.

“Unfortunately…” Sigal uttered, “Let’s go, I’ll tell you on the way how we are going to do this.”

“As bossy as ever, Mr. Crawford.” Asher teased as he followed Sigal to the car.

During the ride to K-Lane, Sigal explained his plan. “How I see it, our best bet to draw them out is to use ourselves as bait and with ourselves I mean me. If they know us, I assume they won’t approach carelessly, but if they don’t, they most likely will make a move. While I am inside, you will observe everything that’s going on outside. That way, we have both sides covered and nothing should escape our attention.”

Asher glanced at him and gave it some thought before he replied, “But as I recall, no one saw that ‘mysterious person’ inside the bar talking to the victims. If anything, they might have been approached after they left.”

“Exactly, but we still don’t know the criminal's pattern. So far, we only know that they were after unemployed men with a drinking problem. If this was just a coincidence or not, we can’t say yet, therefore, I will play such a person and see if they take the bait. We must work with what we have for now,” Sigal commented.

“Oh, that’s why you are wearing ragged clothes…I already wondered what happened.” Asher feigned astonishment.

“Shut it!”

“On a serious note, though.” Asher folded his arms. “We have to approach this with caution, there is no way of telling what awaits us.”

“I know that!” Sigal replied, “But—"

“Does Vince know about this plan?” Asher cut him off.

Sigal remained silent at this question.

“I knew it.” Asher let out an audible sigh. “Nothing in the briefing stated anything about going undercover. Vince won’t be pleased to hear you changed the plan on your own volition.”

“I will take full responsibility for that, don’t worry.” Sigal gripped the wheel tighter. “That’s just something I have to take the risk for.”

“That’s not the point!” Asher exclaimed. “You are always too hasty and even though I understand where you are coming from, we can’t be careless!”

“It will all work out, don’t worry about it,” Sigal remarked, “And if by any chance things go awry, don’t think twice, just leave me behind. That’s something you shouldn’t have a problem with, right?”

Asher clicked his tongue. “As you wish!”

Sigal had been on edge for days and that for many reasons. The case caught him off guard and left them with many questions. Even though he tried to stay calm, Sigal wanted nothing more than to uncover the truth behind it no matter the risks or consequences. If it turned out to be an impostor, then everything would be fine, but if the case should reveal something else…it could set his whole world ablaze.

Around half an hour later, they reached their destination. However, to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to them, Sigal parked the car a bit further away; one wrong step and this whole undertaking could end in failure before it even started.

Before Sigal exited the car, he took two nano-transmitters out of his pocket. One he put into his left ear, and the other one he handed to Asher. “Let’s use this, it will make things easier.”

Asher nodded, took the mini device and put it into his ear; with this he could listen in to whatever happened inside.

Afterwards, the investigator made his way to the bar called ‘Moonlight’, a nice mid-sized and rather popular establishment located in the middle of K-Lane. People flocked in one after another which opened an opportunity for Sigal to mix himself into the crowd.

Inside, he sat down at the counter of the bar and ordered a drink. With his ragged clothes, his messy hair and an expression which depicted desperation, he appeared as someone who just wanted to drink his sorrow away. This disguise blended in with some other customers and nobody would even suspect that a man looking like that worked for an organization like the Conciliators. This also made it easier to observe the people in this bar without attracting any attention.

Around two hours and a few drinks later, Sigal grew impatient. Besides people drinking, dancing and just enjoying their evening, nothing out of the ordinary transpired, nor could he catch a glimpse of anyone suspicious. Everything appeared normal, maybe too normal.

I guess the information we received was accurate, I can’t see anyone that would fit the description of the criminal, nor anyone that tried to approach people at random. Sigal glanced covertly around. If no one approaches here, then I hope we can lure them out as soon as I leave, or we are right back where we started.

He finished his drink, rose from his seat, and walked to the restroom. Inside, he scanned the room to ensure nobody listened in before he contacted his temporary partner. “Asher, can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear, these devices are really so convenient,” the other answered over the nano-transmitter.

“Nothing is happening here, anything on your end?” Sigal asked.

“Unfortunately, no. I have everything in sight, and I can see no one acting suspicious or lurking around,” Asher replied, “That means they either know us or…” He paused for a moment. “They don’t know us but found out they are being tailed and went into hiding.”

“Either is possible, but we can’t be certain just yet.” Sigal knitted his brows. “I will stay a little while longer and if nothing changes, I will take my leave. Let’s hope neither is the case, and we can still lure them out, this is our only chance!”

“Alright, be careful.”

Right after, Sigal exited the restroom. He only took a few steps before the bartender approached him. “Hey mister, there is a phone call for you.”

Sigal’s brows lifted in surprise, and he pointed at himself. “Me?”

The bartender nodded. “Yeah, here!” He handed him the phone and walked away.

Sigal stared at the phone with a serious expression before he put it to his right ear. “Hello?”

“Good evening Mr. Crawford, how did you like my welcome gift?” the person on the other end said.