Chương 20: The Thorn In the Lion's Paw

Ch. 20: The Thorn In the Lion's Paw

"You're seeing this?" Pedro looked over at his partner, deskbound and burying his nose in a report.

"What is that?" Pedro took it and examined it.

"A report on an Alpha pit? You got too much time on your hands or something?" Gio snatched the files back from Pedro.

"Your god still hasn't gotten into contact with me. I'm not seeing action until then. So yeah, I've got time. I was interested in what our little survivor was up to next."

"Our 'little survivor?' Uhh, you're talking about that guy, right? The one that Spiros helped? What was his name? Derek?"

"Drake. Drake Ramirez. Yeah, he's still active. He went on another raid a week later. Then a day after that, he went on another one."

"A busy bee," Pedro said, "You'd think a guy would need a rest. Don't tell me he was the survivor of another slaughter."

"No, that would be 'flashing-red-sign' suspicious. Hold on, read the abstract." Pedro grabbed the file again and took a look at the summary, "One death. That's rough. I guess Drake's luck had to run out sometime."

"No," Gio countered, "He's not the one dead." Pedro's eyebrows raised as his pupils bounced along the pages as he carefully read through what was happening. There was no perfect system with tech being inert in the tar pits. They had to go old school, which was to take the lead's report as an unbiased article.

"No," Pedro said it simply. Like he rejected what he read outright.

"I know."

"What… how? How could you do this if you're a… so let me get this straight." Pedro took his reading glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Then he slapped the files on the table for emphasis as he said, "This kid… total fuck up. Can't even be a good NPC. He survives a slaughter. One of the only survivors and unlike the retreaters, Spiros saved him. The next raid he goes on… he kills the core? Solo?" Gio shook his head, "I don't like that guy, but there's no doubt something funny is happening."

"You don't like that guy because he was an asshole to you. But you're right. Something is off. Why's this guy a hero all of a sudden? Gio shook his head, leaning forward in his chair and resting his face on his interlocked fingers. Deep in thought, he said, "Something's been bothering me. Something about this guy's story with the massacre never made any sense. Spiros saved him. Healed him. Wrapped him in a bow and delivered him to us. But if Drake watched Spiros die… how did he not remember getting healed?"

"When we found him… No injuries. Champ energy leaking off this guy like he's a sewage plant," Pedro said, as his gaze flitted through the pages, "The lead did not see what happened. She wrote down his recollection of events and mentioned that everyone but him used a returnstone. Story's believable enough. Jumped into the mouth, worked his way through the esophagus and made it to the heart." Gio threw his hands up in the air. Pedro's eyes rolled as he said, "You're trying to give us more work to do."

"You're trying to avoid work," Gio countered.

"There isn't work here."

"Not yet. There's no pattern. But…" Gio held up another file, "The next raid." Once again, Gio read through the abstract to get an idea of what happened, then opened the pages and dissected the words among them.

"What's it say?"

"Jesus."

"What?"

"Insubordination. Calls his lead a tool a couple of times then says, and I quote, 'I'm starting to think you're the whole damn tool box,' then after fighting off some slimes he tells his lead, 'Fuck it. You're all of Home Depot,' And disappears. Then? They try to find him and guess what?" This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Dead in ditch. Please. For the sake of making it to dinner with my wife tonight tell me he died in a ditch."

"The report ends shortly after. White light and everyone's back again. Guess who soloed another core?" Pedro sat back in his chair and said, "Okay. Okay. Two solos in a row. By an NPC. Pretty sure that hasn't happened yet. But… what could that mean? Let's say he's touched. Why would he hide it?" Gio rubbed his scalp. He looked at the three reports he'd laid out and said, "Go to dinner with your wife. We don't have anything. Not yet.

But there's an 'anything' here, and since I've got all the time in the world-""And that guy pissed you off."

"And that guy pissed me off… I'm going to find out." Pedro shook his head, "You're probably not going to be the only one. Did you see who died?" Pedro slid the report for the cave raid back to Gio. Gio took a look before muttering, "No shit." Just then, there was clamor coming from the office entrance. A demand rattled through the door.

"Tell me who killed my nephew!" Gio and Pedro both exchanged looks and Pedro said, "Your investigation just got a lot harder." A man whose very presence was a public statement burst through the door. The office secretary followed behind him, telling him he's not allowed to go in there. Shoulders like a barn door, the man stepped sideways into Gio and Pedro's office. His face claimed a big mustache and cop shades concealed his eyes. Flanagan Exley had just walked into the building.

"Will you tell me who is responsible for my nephew's death or am I going to have to break fingers?"

"Reports say it was an ogre."

"Oh bollocks!" The man said, "It was an alpha core! My nephew is an Exley and a follower of Ozid. The weapon we gave him, The Halting Baton, would have saved him. Gods, that cost a fortune. Somebody ruined my precious nephew's chance at a bright future. I want to read that report myself."

"That record is sealed it-," As Pedro spoke, Exley merely grabbed the report off the desk and started reading through it, "-is not meant to be read by anyone not in the union or in law enforcement." Gio stood up and said, "You're not allowed to touch that."

"Oh and what, pray tell, are you going to do about it?" Flanagan stared right down at Gio who tried to hold ranks but backed down. Pedro placed his hand on Gio and whispered, "Look, even if we both had powers… he's a Delta. Might is right. Don't get us killed." Exley had finished leafing through the report, he scoffed, "What sloppy reporting is this? There's a mistake. Says an NPC solo'd the core." Gio and Pedro both exchanged glances; Exley noticed.

"It's true?" They neither confirmed nor denied.

"Where have I heard this name before? Drake Ramirez. Drake… Hmmm…" He looked at Gio, attempting to bully him with just his stare. When that didn't work, he looked at Pedro.

"He's a survivor of the recent Alpha massacre," Pedro confessed.

"Oh, well. Isn't he just the luckiest person in the world!" Exley said, throwing the file into the air. The papers scattered everywhere.

"I think I'm starting to understand exactly what happened. That little rat is only good for one thing, being an inconsequential little rat. He escaped early into the dungeon, and then later killed the mole core. Sounds to me like my beautiful nephew did most of the work early on and then he came in for the last fell swoop."

"Kayla says in the repor-""Oh and don't get me started on her! She swoops in with her talons and rips my boy's first lead role and then gets him killed. But don't worry! She'll make sure the real hero is honored. The nonny who came in at the last minute just to get all the credit." Gio winced at the word, having used it in jest to describe NPCs in the past. He now realized that nonny now described him as well.

"Where are either of them now?"

"They're on a companionship. A Charlie raid."

"So they're working together then. That little tart comes in and saves him and then gives him all the credit so he just gets to climb the ranks. I see their game. I understand the way those two ghouls work. And my nephew is just in the wake of their careless affair. He's not even in the ground yet and the two are celebrating with a Charlie raid." Until the report was declassified, neither Gio nor Pedro could correct him. Neither of them could make mention of the second core that I killed without Kayla present.

But the truth was even if they did try to explain it, logic was not the fuel operating Exley's vengeful engine.

"I think this requires some further investigation to be sure," said Pedro.

"Oh do you think!? Yes, I'm sure if we politely ask the criminals if they did it they'll say yes and throw their hands up. No. The time for talking is done. The people responsible for my nephew's death are out there and I don't plan to stand around."

"We will stop you if you get in the way of our investigation."

"Then stop me. A lion protects his pride and when he can't, he takes revenge. Now, if you'll excuse me."

"Where are you going!?" Pedro asked as Exley brushed past them. Exley ripped his glasses off, revealing the feral yellow eyes of a lion. Large golden iris with two tiny dots. Predator eyes. He growled at them,"Where do you think I'm going? I'm going on a hunt."