Okumura Syndicate

Chapter 43: A needle in a haystack

Aster's group were out on field, marching toward a victory, the difficulty to obtain this however, was still unknown. "The hell is this map?! You're telling me that Rou expects us to find one of three people in this massive radius? Impossible!", Tamara hadn't stopped complaining about Rou throughout the whole journey, the others were annoyed too.

Aster's other teammates were Hayden and Simone, two people on the regime he hadn't met yet. "So are you two gonna talk or what?", Aster asked the silent soldiers. "Oh sorry, I apologise. You see, when Rou takes us out we don't normally talk much, we're normally put on assassination assignments you see.", Hayden declared.

"I wonder why they never bring the sorcery department out on the field. I talk to them a lot and they're just confused on why people are making a big deal out of Edward going out after 5 years. Some people there haven't been out for longer than him, as long as 10 years.", Simone stated. Aster had never met a combatant that was so invested in other departments than she was. Maybe he needs to explore more when he gets back to the mansion...

Aster's group began to head towards a more public area. "Stay quiet around here, you never know who could be lurking nearby.", Aster warned. "You don't need to worry about me, I have this covered.", Hayden remarked before turning himself invisible. "In this kind of operation, stealth is key.", he whispered. Tamara held onto Aster in the crowded street, the black haired boy was confused by her action.

"What do you think you're doing kid?!", Aster yelled at a volume that couldn't be heard by anyone but the group. "If Rou found out we were in an area this crowded, he'd hit us with the stick.", Simone muttered. Aster began to understand the difference between his plans and Rou's. His capo always made sure to avoid crowded areas, whereas he thought they were a good place to bend in.

"I wonder how the other groups are getting on, they have to be having more luck than us.", Aster exclaimed, still trying to keep his voice inaudible to anyone who could attack. "No ravens have sent messages, so we can assume they're fine.", Hayden commented. The group then continued to navigate the busy roads.

Meanwhile, Fleur's group were searching in a slightly more rural area, with less likelihood to be spotted since so little people went near their location. "Craaq, can you check the map please? I need to check if there are any kind of caves up ahead.", Fleur exclaimed. "Yes ma'am, there's a cave system about 3 miles away from here.", replied Craaq.

The squad sat down for a break, they had travelled 15 miles away from the mansion and they were exhausted. "I don't believe any of the groups will have found any of the suspects yet, Fleur. Are you sure that this large of an area was needed?", continued the anthro bunny. "We can't be sure whether they'd be closer to our mansion or the Renegard mansion. So I guess the best option is to ruin our legs...", Fleur informed.

Before Fleur could hyperventilate due to all the walking, a raven flew toward the squad. With a purple ribbon around its leg, they could tell it was from Edward's group, there was a message attached. "To the nearest group, there is commotion coming from the caves at coordinates, (56, 14), we require backup."Craqq, please check for me, the numbers are confusing...", Fleur asked.

"Seems we're quite lucky ma'am, the coordinates match perfectly with the caves 3 miles away, we'll be there before lunch!.", Craaq announced. "Okay squad, let's go find Sir Edward!". The group of 5 marched down the hill and headed for the caves. What could be going on inside? Where is Rou's group? The stakes were rising so nobody knew what was going to happen next.