The sun hadn't yet broken over the horizon. From the rooftop, the city below looked like a sea of dark shadows awash in a quiet orange glow.
Gantsuke stepped out into the chill air, the damp sea breeze brushing against his skin. He sipped his coffee, warming his throat, and made his way toward Limo, who stood near the far edge of the rooftop wall.
From up here, Gantsuke could see the smashed truck still jammed into the outer lot of the police station across the way—angled left from their vantage point. The sight brought back memories of the night he escaped from that very place. The night he'd met Mari and Molly.
"This just happened last night. Around eleven, I'd say," Limo said, offering him a tablet over the waist-high wall. His red silk robe fluttered in the salty wind, the black dragon pattern rippling like it was alive.
For the past few days, Limo had been using a hacked military surveillance program he'd stolen before quitting the force. He'd backdoored into the city's CCTV grid—and even the home systems of any family naive enough to link their cameras to the public net.
All of it, just to find Cameron—his short-haired, gray Persian mix. A cat.He knew the thing had been infected. He'd made his peace with that. But part of him still needed to know. To see what had happened to it.
He'd modified the program's facial recognition algorithm, swapping out "human" for "feline."
"What am I looking at?" Gantsuke asked, squinting at the screen. The footage showed a well-furnished living room. Expensive couch. Hardwood floors. Not much else.
"Hold up. That's my cat. Cameron."Limo pointed at a patch of grey fur circling the red carpet in the frame.
It was subtle—but once you noticed it, the cat's presence popped against the deep red.Gantsuke leaned in.
The cat looked... fine. Healthy, even. Just pacing around like any other spoiled house pet.
"Shit."His eyes went wide.
From the lower-right corner of the screen, a purple-skinned, bald-headed monster walked into view—calm, deliberate. A second later, the crystal-clear video feed glitched and snapped to black.
Gantsuke looked up at Limo. Despite the cold morning air, sweat was pouring down his neck and temple.
"That's all I got. Looks like the thing's giving off some kind of energy. Fries anything electronic that gets too close."
"Where was this?"
Limo swiped across the tablet, pulling up a map of the city.
"Here. West of us. Roughly thirty clicks out. Close to where you're supposed to drop off the karaoke girl."
"You're kidding me…"
Gantsuke ran both hands down his face.
"You don't have to go if you don't want to. I doubt it's dangerous during daylight."Limo lit a slim cigar and puffed. Honestly, he cared more about why Cameron was there than where the purple freak had gone.
"I'll go," Gantsuke muttered. "If it shows up, maybe the Barrett and some armor-piercing rounds can finish the job."
He remembered the scene—some black guy blowing the thing's head off with a shotgun. It had healed almost instantly. But still, it bled. It wasn't bulletproof.
Armor-piercing would hit harder than a scattergun.If he ran into that monster again—and God, he hoped he wouldn't—he needed something that could punch through.