Chapter 27
Meanwhile, after confirming that their boss, Nickel, was dead, the mafia members fell into utter chaos.
After weathering the initial commotion, they seriously began discussing who had killed their boss.
During that discussion, one member stepped forward and proclaimed himself a witness.
The witness’s name was Valdron Mekalana.
At the time, Valdron had been smoking beside an open second-floor window when he saw a woman leap down from the third floor, where the boss was.
At first, Valdron wondered if he had seen wrong, but after hearing that the boss had been killed inside the room, he became certain that the woman was the assassin.
Valdron told the other members, and the enraged gangsters united in their resolve to find the woman and avenge their boss.
And now.
Valdron frowned as he examined the restaurant’s fifth-floor windows through a folding telescope.
‘She has brown hair and is wearing a pure-white knit sweater. A brown coat is draped over her knees, and she has a plain-looking shoulder bag beside her chair. She’s wearing black flats. And she’s tall for a woman…….’
Aside from the sunglasses, her appearance perfectly matched that of the woman who had killed the boss.
After searching the nearby streets, they had finally succeeded in finding the woman who had assassinated their boss.
‘That damned bitch…….’
Valdron lowered the telescope and ground his teeth.
How dare she kill their boss and then sit in a restaurant enjoying a lavish meal? It was utterly unacceptable.
Wasn’t she practically mocking his entire organization?
Forcing down his anger, Valdron folded the telescope and tucked it inside his coat before pulling out a radio.
While glaring at the woman cutting into a steak on the restaurant’s fifth floor, Valdron pressed the transmit button.
“I found the woman who killed the boss. She’s at Das Aventlicht Restaurant on 22nd Street in Raven. She looks like she’ll finish her meal and come out soon, so I want all members to converge here.”
*
After finishing their meal and stepping outside the restaurant, Katman bowed deeply.
“I committed a terrible discourtesy toward you, miss. I have nothing to say, even if I had ten mouths. Please allow me to apologize once again.”
While Lucy remained silent, Daniel answered on her behalf.
“There’s no need to keep apologizing. Doctor Myrin understands perfectly well. Isn’t that right, Doctor Myrin?”
At Daniel’s prompting, Lucy reluctantly nodded.
Seeing that, Daniel smiled with his eyes and began speaking.
“Then we’ll be going now.”
“Ah, yes. Please do. It was an honor to speak with you, Captain.”
“It was a great honor for me as well to speak with an inspector who is always devoted to the Empire. Then, farewell.”
Daniel bowed deeply, then turned and walked away with Lucy.
After they had walked a fair distance, Daniel glanced back. Katman stroked his chin a few times, then turned around and walked in the opposite direction.
Thinking they had escaped trouble, Daniel let out a sigh of relief.
“You may speak now.”
Having regained her freedom of speech, Lucy paused for a moment before speaking.
“……So you treated me like an idiot.”
“Not like an idiot. I treated you like an aphasia patient. And I believe I told you—I only stepped in to save you from the Security Bureau police officer.”
There was no lie in what he had said.
Without Daniel’s help, Lucy would have had to bear the full brunt of Katman’s suspicions.
Lucy’s pride was wounded at having received help from an enemy, but she had to acknowledge the truth.
“I’ll repay this debt someday.”
At Lucy’s quiet whisper, Daniel broke into a cold sweat without realizing it.
He could not tell whether repaying the debt meant ‘I’ll help you’ or ‘I’ll kill you.’
Since there was no way to see into Lucy’s heart, Daniel nodded awkwardly.
“……I appreciate the sentiment, but you really don’t need to repay me. More importantly, why don’t we go our separate ways now?”
If they delayed any longer, the dessert shop would close.
Daniel wanted to heal himself with dessert even at this late hour, but Lucy shook her head.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think that will be possible.”
What did she mean all of a sudden? Daniel blinked uneasily, and Lucy glanced around before speaking.
“Listen while you walk. We’re being followed. There are people watching us behind us, across the boulevard, and on the street one block ahead.”
Followed? Daniel immediately narrowed his eyes and examined the pedestrians walking along the street.
Just as Lucy had said, he spotted several people in suits behaving suspiciously.
Some of them had their hands inside their clothes, making it seem as though they were ready to draw their guns at any moment.
Their movements were too clumsy for intelligence agents.
Yet they were clearly organized. In other words, they were members of a private organization.
If members of a private organization were carrying guns, there could be only one answer.
‘They’re mafia members.’
Since it was obvious they were targeting Lucy, Daniel frowned as he felt a headache coming on.
“……Doctor? Just what have you been doing to make mafia members follow you around?”
However, Lucy did not answer.
With her characteristic sharp gaze, she quickly assessed the situation and merely gripped Daniel’s hand tightly.
Her grip was cold, yet gentle.
“Captain. From now on, I’m going to dash into the alley twenty paces ahead. Since you’re with me, you’ll be their target, too. If you want to live, you must follow me.”
It wasn’t that Lucy particularly wanted to save Daniel.
But if Daniel died, the Empire would investigate the circumstances, and Lucy, who had been with him on the day of his death, would be caught in the Empire’s investigative net.
She wanted to prevent that above all else, so Lucy did not let go of Daniel’s hand.
“Wait a moment, Doctor. If you have a plan, let’s discuss it together……!”
When they had taken twenty steps, Lucy abruptly spun around and kicked off the ground.
Daniel had no choice but to run along, pulled by Lucy’s hand.
“Fuck! They’re getting away!”
“That damned bitch realized! Chase them!”
“Kill them!”
Shouts rang out from behind as gunshots erupted.
Whoosh! A stray bullet sliced through the air past Daniel’s ear.
Daniel instinctively ducked, then accelerated his pace as he glared at Lucy.
‘……What kind of grudge did she incur? Did she kill a mafia boss or something?’
He was confused, but this was no time to leisurely satisfy his curiosity.
“Left!”
Following Lucy’s instructions, Daniel turned the corner into an alley.
After running about halfway down the alley, Lucy suddenly ducked behind an industrial dumpster.
Daniel reflexively hid there with her and caught his breath.
“……Why are we suddenly hiding? Are you planning to take on all of them here?”
Lucy nodded and pulled a detonator with a red button from her shoulder bag.
She had planted bombs inside the walls on both sides of this deserted alley in case she was pursued by the gang members, and now she intended to use them.
‘Huh. Talk about thorough preparation…….’
Understanding roughly what Lucy intended to do, Daniel held his breath and waited.
“They went into a dead end! Chase them!”
“Shoot them the moment you see them! Kill that bastard who was with her, too!”
The members who had shouted rushed into the alley in a group.
However, Lucy and Daniel were nowhere to be seen.
Unaware that Lucy and Daniel were hiding behind the dumpster, the members looked around in confusion and proceeded farther inside.
“What? I definitely saw them go in.”
“Did they climb over the wall? No way they got over something that high, right?”
“Fuck. Did you check behind the dumpster?”
Just as the members’ voices drew close—
Lucy pressed the detonator’s button without hesitation.
Immediately afterward.
KABOOOOOM─!
With a tremendous explosion, the wall burst apart and flames billowed out.
The shock was powerful enough to shake the ground, forcing Daniel to squeeze his eyes shut without realizing it.
“Ugh. Damn…….”
A ringing sound filled his ears.
After taking several deep breaths, Daniel slowly opened his eyes.
Having barely come to his senses, Daniel clenched his teeth and rose to his feet.
When he looked toward the site of the explosion, he saw mafia members lying amid the collapsed bricks.
Nearly thirty members were sprawled there, bleeding and groaning.
“Ha…….”
As he stared blankly at the sight in disbelief, new footsteps sounded from beyond the alley.
Thinking they might be the remaining members, Daniel placed a hand on his pistol holster, but the footsteps were light and brisk.
“An explosion! Did you hear that explosion!?”
“What happened? Did a pipe burst or something?”
“I don’t know, but let’s go take a look! It might be a scoop!”
They were clearly reporters who rushed anywhere there was an incident.
Once his tension eased, Daniel removed his hand from his pistol holster and spoke.
“Do you even realize what you just did……?”
He spoke as he searched for Lucy, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Had she leaped over the wall and escaped the moment the explosion occurred? That high wall?
While Daniel let out a hollow sigh, the reporters came rushing in.
At the same time, the reporters froze.
Nearly thirty people were lying in the alley bleeding, while a person in a military officer’s uniform stood unharmed before them. The sheer intimidation was overwhelming.
One reporter, frozen as he tried to understand what was happening, lowered his gaze and opened his eyes wide.
“These aren’t Nickel’s men?”
Every one of the fallen men had a hyena tattoo on his neck.
That meant they were members of the organization belonging to Nickel, one of the mafia bosses.
The other reporters belatedly confirmed the fact and looked up.
Only then did they realize the officer’s identity, and smiles spread across their lips.
They had caught the scent of a scoop.
“It’s Captain Daniel Steiner!”
“……What? Good heavens! It really is Captain Daniel!”
While the reporters made a commotion, citizens who had heard the explosion also began gathering one by one.
The citizens who arrived at the alley wore the same expressions as the reporters and looked around, whispering among themselves.
As a result, Daniel sensed an ominous premonition and raised both hands.
“Everyone, you seem to be misunderstanding, but I didn’t do this—”
“Everyone, gather around! Captain Daniel Steiner has once again devoted himself to the Empire! He’s wiped out an entire mafia organization!”
The reporter’s booming voice drowned out Daniel’s words.
The citizens, believing the reporter, soon began cheering and chanting Daniel’s name.
As applause began pouring in as well, Daniel closed his eyes, half resigned to his fate.
‘This is driving me crazy…….’
By now, it wasn’t even surprising anymore.