After yesterday's incident, I've been reading the reports Summer has collected. Which she never bothered to show me.
All in all, it seemed that many people dragged Victoria, whether they were traffickers, playboys, or even a few women who thought she was perfect prey.
And each group took her into the hollow, where normal people couldn't follow them. Though what made me curious was how she was able to leave the hollow without help.
"Summer, was there anyone helping her?" I asked, looking through the many files placed in front of me.
"Hmm, let me check." She then had one of her drones pull up a few screens, which played past security footage.
"Oho, seems a certain rat lady helped her." All the screens paused, showing the same woman who tried to ambush me.
"Seems Victoria found a guardian angel." I murmured, staring at the paused video. "Can you run-."
"Sorry, didn't come up with anything." She cut me off with a bored look on her face. "She's a ghost, so I can't really tell you."
I only hummed at the information she gave me, making things a bit more difficult. "Can you track her current location then?"
"Yeah, but not with the cameras that are around the city. She knows where the blind spots are, so it'll take some time to find her." She then typed a few commands on her keyboard, and multiple drones flew out of the base.
"How long until you find her?" I asked, but a new screen popped up, and I saw the woman leaving what looked like a hospital with a small blood bag in her hand.
"Just now, want me to send you the location?" She didn't even bother looking as she asked, instead, she kept typing away.
"Please, I'll have Hecate and Hella, including K.K and Bai Yi come with me." I said and grabbed my coat.
As I left, I pulled out my phone to contact Wise. "This is Random play, where you can rent any tapes. How can I help you?"
"Evening Wise, is it all right if I come in person?" He stayed silent for a few seconds, but he spoke up.
"Meet us after hours, I'll have the back fence open." He then ended the call and I knew I had their attention.
I felt a bit bad, but after remembering their financial situation, the guilt vanished. I soon found both Hella and Hecate in the main lobby, where they were both playing a game.
The screen showed what looked like a fighting game, and the character Hella was about to die.
"GHRAAAAA! How do you keep winning?!" Hella screamed, mashing the buttons on her controller, while Hecate pressed them in quick succession.
"Skill." She answered and pressed the buttons a few more times, initiating a combo, and winning the match. And a large 'perfect combo' could be seen.
"THIS IS BULLSHIT!" She shouted, throwing the controller at the ground, but before it could land, a shadowy hand grabbed it.
"Skill issue." Crache then sat next to Hecate, picking a different character and challenging her.
"Sorry you three, but we got another mission." Hearing this, Hella was the first to react, jumping up with a smile.
"Oh oh oh, are we going to beat some more ethereals?" She said, grilling my sleeve with a smile on her face.
"Most likely, though, there's another reason why we're going inside a hollow." I said and soon showed her the file.
As Hella took it and skimmed the file, she clicked her tongue and looked annoyed. "Out of all the sinners it had to be Victoria."
"Well, compared to the more dangerous ones, she is easy to handle." I said, but that didn't make her feel any better.
"I know, but all she says is: oh, I love you chief, let me show you my love chief. Chief why won't you love me?" She said, pretending to act like a shy girl.
"Ugh, I feel so icky." She shivered and began to rub her arms. "Do we have to find her? She can take care of herself."
"If we didn't she would attract too much attention, and she would most likely speak about me." I reminded her.
"We already have one group observing us, we don't need to attract more." I then went off to find K.K and Bai Yi.
Who were still playing cards, with Bai Yi losing. "Again, how?!" She tossed her cards in the air, looking desperate.
"Luck I guess?" K.K asked with a smug smile on her face. Yet, the second she saw me, she narrowed her eyes and stood up.
Seeing this, Bai Yi then appeared by my side with a smile on her face. "So, what job do we have?"
"Rescue mission, Summer was able to find Victoria and has kept tabs on her." Hearing this, Bai Yi only cared about one thing.
"How much is the payment?" She asked, placing her head on her open palm. The next second she raised her free hand, catching a bag that was heavy.
"This is half of nine hundred thousand, complete the second half, and it's yours." Was all I said.
Seeing the bag, Bai Yi smiled and soon began to walk away. "C'mon K.K we got a commission from the chief."
K.K only sighed but followed, packing the cards away. "At least the pay is good." She muttered and soon went to collect her tonfas.
"Chief, is it wise to bring Bai Yi?" Hecate asked.
"Not really, but Crache would take a nap mid-way, making it a bit difficult." I said and soon glanced at the shadows.
A bit warbled, but it then went still, signifying that Crache had followed us. "Have the people I chose meet up at the entrance."
But before I left, I felt Hecate grab my sleeve. "Chief, even though there isn't much mania here, please be careful."
"Don't worry, I have you and Hella to protect me." I smiled while patting her head. Hecate lowered her head, but a small smile formed.
"Yes." She whispered while clutching her sketchbook.
After everyone had gathered their weapons, we made our way outside, where a different vehicle waited for us.
It resembled an armored vehicle that we used back in our world, its tires and armor were thick and strong enough to resist any gunfire and potential explosions.
Inside was the same, large seats were bolted to the side where the sinners and I would sit, while the front had multiple buttons to activate defenses.
"Huh, guess Summer had some free time to build the armored cars." Bai Yi commented, stepping through the back and sitting down, extending her legs while stretching.
"Ohhhh~ and these are padded. Summer really outdid herself this time." Bai Yi pressed her hand against the seats, which I could see were made of leather.
"I'm not surprised." I sighed and made my way to the passenger side, while K.K herself hopped onto the driver's side.
Once the five of us were seated, K.K turned on the car and soon drove to where the last location of the woman was seen.
"So, what can we expect when we arrive?" Bai Yi asked, fiddling with her sword. "Anything dangerous?"
"Looking at the recent patterns, we're either facing some traffickers, or some gangsters." I said while staring outside.
"Either way, don't let your guard down." Bai Yi only rolled her eyes and soon lay on her side, yawning and proceeding to take a nap.
"So, we're meeting with Phaothon?" K.K asked while turning the key, letting the car rumble.
"Yes."
"Missing Belle already?" That… was an odd question, I was curious as to why she was asking that.
"Never mind, forget that I asked." She then muttered something about feeling sorry for Belle, which confused me.
'I'm confused.' Was all I thought, but I didn't bother to entertain the idea. After driving a few minutes, we soon arrived at Sixth Street.
When we were close, I noticed Belle was outside waving at us, though she froze when she saw the armored vehicle.
K.K then rolled down the window and stuck her head out. "Hey, got any space for this?"
"Y-yeah, next to our car." She then motioned to the few spaces that were available, once parked, everyone began to exit.
"Is… this street legal?" Belle asked, staring at the armored vehicle.
"Not really, but since our encounter with the H.A.N.D.S Summer made a deal with them to allow us to have our own, including allowing entry to any hollow. As long as we return to deal with the other immortals." I said.
"Oh, that's neat." Belle said with a strained smile. "And… so you need our help when you go back in?"
"It would be for the best, but we came here for a different matter." I then walked past her and made my way inside.
All the while Bai Yi patted Belle's shoulder, whispering something in her ear, causing Belle to blush.
As I entered, I saw Wise by the counter with his arms crossed. "Eros, can I get you anything?"
"Just some water, I don't want to take too much of your time." I said, Wise nodded and soon left, while I took his place to tend to customers.
Though, there weren't any at the moment, so I was glad. Though, I soon snapped my head to the side as I saw something flash.
Looking at where it came from, I saw no one there. 'Odd, I thought for sure I saw a camera flash.'
I then dropped the thought and blamed myself because of exhaustion, I had to deal with finding Victoria.
[Odd, she wasn't supposed to find this place till much later, oh well, not my problem.]
Wise came back carrying a small cup in one hand, and a snack in the other. "Here, you must've skipped lunch."
"Thank you, and you're right, I skipped breakfast as well." I took a sip of water and a bite.
"I had some sinners barge into my office, some giving me small sweets and snacks, while others brought me breakfast, lunch, and dinner." I chuckled, recalling how many would bring me food.
"Guess you got used to it." He observed me smiling, lost in my memories before all of this happened.
"Well then, let's get on topic shall we?" I said, finishing the snack and soon focusing my attention on him.
"Of course, so, what's the commission?" He asked, but before we continued, the front door opened.
"Welcome to random play." We both said in unison, and we saw a group of girls come in. Yet one stuck out and looked familiar.
'It's that sea creature thiren.' I thought, but I moved my gaze and signaled to Wise to ask if we could speak in the back.
"Belle, mind if you handle up front? Eros and I are going on break." The second Wise mentioned my name, and the girl glanced in my direction.
'Definitely keeping an eye on her.' I thought and we soon entered the back.
"The commission I have, is for you to accompany us in a rescue operation." I said as soon as the door closed.
"I see, and who are you rescuing?" I then pulled out my phone and connected it to their computer.
"Fairy, can you download the information?" What happened next was not surprising, a few of the screens showed different images.
"Victoria, rank-A." I said while staring at the image.
"A sinner." He observed for a few seconds before speaking again. "Are you sure you want us to help you? You could ask H.A.N.D.S for help."
"I prefer not to, not only will we attract more attention, but I worry that Miyabi may try to kill any sinner rather than talk." Hearing my two reasons, Wise nodded in agreement.
"Fair enough, then I guess we accept, do you know Victoria's current location?" He asked.
"She was taken in the hollow by a thiren, though I don't know what kind." Fairy then pulled the image of the woman who was guiding Victoria.
"I'm assuming you tried to identify her?" I nodded, yet a frown replaced my smile.
"She has no I.D, meaning she's either from the outer ring, or she had her identity wiped from the database." I explained.
"I'm leaning towards the latter. Even if she was from the outer ring, she would still need some identification." Wise theorized.
"I see." I hummed, I guess there are some things I still need to learn. "That doesn't change anything, how much will it cost?"
"Let's see… originally we would charge around ten to twenty thousand dennie's, but since fairy is causing our electric bill to rise, I'd say maybe around fifty thousand" Hearing this, I could only grimace.
"Welllll, I could make you a generator that could produce enough electricity to not only lessen the burden on your home, and you could sell some to the city." Summer entered the conversation.
"As… much as I would love that… we don't want to be attracting attention." Summer only shrugged.
"Alright, your loss." She said and soon left to watch the tapes that were on display.
"Back to the topic at hand, I can pay right now, but we'll go tomorrow if that's fine." Wise and I then shook each other's hands to seal the deal.
Before leaving, Summer wanted to stay behind to see if there were any interesting tapes.
I didn't believe her one bit, so, I had Hecate stay behind to keep an eye on her while the rest of us explored Sixth Street.
Bai Yi and K.K went off to see if they could gain clients, Hella went to the arcade, while I went to get coffee.
"Ah, Eros, good to see you again, your usual I presume?" Looking at the person who spoke was tin master.
An intelligent construct that knows how to make good coffee. "Please, and I'll have to trouble you to make it to go."
"It's no trouble at all, it must be tiresome dealing with your staff." Right, since people here don't know about sinners, I spun a story.
Making the MBCC look more like a private military group, of course, they showed hesitation at first.
Hearing that I was part of a private military, it made things difficult to speak to the people. Yet, bit by bit, they soon opened up, seeing me as if I were part of the neighborhood.
"You have no idea Tin master, I sometimes wish I could be doing your job." I chuckled.
"My, I would be honored to teach you." He replied, his digital eyes showing his joy at the idea.
"Here you are, have a good day." He said, handing me a cup of coffee. Once I grabbed it, I paid the amount and gave a silent thank you.
"Got what you need?" K.K asked, looking bored out of her mind.
"Yup, where's Bai Yi?" K.K nodded her head in a certain direction, where I could see Bai Yi arguing with Nicole.
"Hah?! The cunning hare's always complete the commission whether big or small!" She said, puffing her chest with pride.
"You tell her boss!" Billy said with his eyes showing joy.
"Oh sure, such an honorable saying, for a bunch of scammers." Nicole and Billy gasped, with Anby opening her mouth.
"Gasp, you've insulted the cunning hares, buy me a burger." Anby then held out her hand, as if waiting for something.
"Is… is she serious?" Bai Yi asked, staring at Nicole, who had a smug look on her face. "Oh god she is serious."
"What's… going on here?" I asked, joining the conversation. Hearing my voice, Nicole ran to me and hugged me.
"Oh Eros, your staff is harassing us, calling us scammers." She said, pushing her chest against mine.
"Can you tell her that she's wrong, pretty please?" She said, her lips parted open. 'Hehe, I'll get Eros on my side, wrapping him around my pretty little finger.'
"Yeah, she's not entirely wrong." I said. "Besides, don't you guys have multiple debts?" I asked, causing her to go stiff.
'Huh? What's going on?' Nicole thought, staring at my face with surprise. 'He should be falling for my charms!'
"I'm not surprised." A new voice spoke up, and we soon saw Nekomata with some mackerel fish.
"Nekomata, you traitor!" Nicole shouted, with tears forming in her eyes.
"What? Eros told me women flock to him all the time, he can't tell if a woman is trying to be serious or just playing with him." She said while nibbling on a mackerel.
"Teach me your ways, master!" Billy bowed in front of me, which caught me completely off guard.
"Uh… I'm just… going to go." I slowly walked backwards and soon left them.
"Eros wait!" Nicole shouted, running after me with Billy following behind. Leaving Anby and Nekomata.
"We should follow them." Anby said, turning to Nekomata, only to see her gone.
"Eros, you didn't give me headpats, NYA!"
[Ahhh, don't you just love it when it's a relaxing chapter? It's rare for Eros to have a day to himself, somewhat, but you get the point. Anyways, send those power stones to show support! Bye Bye!]