Beastars: A Steep Fall From Light

Chapter 34: You Are Who You Are, No Matter How Hard You Try

"The police are doing their best but there's no guarantee they'll catch him by then," Norikata said. "The bombing earlier today and the disappearance of the detective has everyone beyond worried."

"And what about this scandal with the Horns Conglomerate?" Mayor Watsuji asked. "What are you doing about that?"

The jaguar shrugged his shoulders.

"Can we even trust the report?" the DA asked. "Let's consider what the conglomerate has done for us, do you really believe they're criminals?"

"I don't know what to believe," the lion said, leaning on his desk. "My life is on the line, animals are dying and the mayoral elections are coming up. This Razor Killer couldn't have picked a worse time to make himself known. I haven't had time to prepare a speech and everyone's going to be wondering how I'm going to combat this public psychopath. And I have no idea."

He stood in a huff and looked out his window to the city.

"Focus on one thing at a time," Norikata said. "Focus on your campaign, and leave Razor and the conglomerate to me. No one's suing the company yet, though I haven't had the time to swing by my office to see if anyone has. And I won't hear from the city council until later today on whether or not they want to press charges. Currently it's just a lot of outrage with little being done. Personally, I want to press charges. In the end, it'll pass, as these things normally do."

Watsuji looked at his reflection in the glass, like a ghost looming over the city.

"People expect a strong leader," he contemplated. "And I want to give that to them. But he's making me look like an absolute fool."

"I'll speak with the police department today," the DA said. "I'll see how they're doing in the Razor case. Maybe my presence will speed things up."

"I've worked hard to get this position," the mayor said. "I'm not going to lose it to some animal who hides in the shadows."

"I wouldn't say I hide in the shadows," someone said through a mask. "I mean I'm here aren't I?"

The lion spun and saw the leather clad, and gas mask wearing Razor. He wore a clear coverall rain suit over his black leather outfit. He had dropped from the ventilation and had the DA in a choke hold with a syringe in the jaguar's neck. He gently let him fall to the ground and the intruder checked his vitals, giving a small nod of approval.

"That was supposed to be for you," he said, pulling a bottle from his pocket. "Luckily I have extra."

The lion stood his ground, moving to his desk.

"If you press that security button I can make this a lot worse for you," Razor said.

Watsuji paused.

"I mean you're welcome to," the criminal said, drawing the contents of the bottle into the syringe. "But it won't end well for your security detail."

"You alone?" the mayor asked.

"Of course," he said. "I'm not the kind of person who drags my men after me if I can do something on my own."

The lion pressed the button and the animal sighed.

"You know doing that just pushes up the time table," he said, standing from his work and moving towards the mayor. "Now I need to improvise."

He pulled a plastic needle cover from his pocket just as the security came in.

"Get down!" they ordered, aiming their pistols. "On the ground now!"

"I warned you," he said. He slipped the sheathed needle into his pocket and put his hands onto his head as he lowered to his knees on the ground. The two police that were standing guard entered the room, guns still trained on Razor. One grabbed a pair of handcuffs from his belt and locked one onto Razor's wrist.