Standstill (Erityian Tribes Novella, #3)

13 : Three-way Fray

Hayate came back after a few hours. He sneaked into the campus to connect the Intelligence department database to our servers so we could find our targets easily.

"Lock the searches to sudden abnormal high-pressure areas near chakushoku schools," I ordered.

From our last encounter with those Shinigamis, I'm sure they are either hunting down Ariel Andrada or finding Sir Hideo's daughter.

We started preparing for our mission and thank goodness Kana has finally recovered from her injuries. She seemed calmer now and I guess sharing the burden she was feeling about her clan helped a lot.

I still couldn't believe how a single humdrum managed to hide from Erityians. We were sure Ariel Andrada is a humdrum but he just seemed too skillful that I'm having doubts.

"But why is Ariel Andrada in your village?" I asked and her shoulders tensed.

"I don't know his motives or why he had to involve himself in this mess, but one thing is for sure, he shares the same crime of murdering hundreds of innocent people and I will never forgive him for that."

I see. Kaya pala gano'n ang reaksyon niya noong nakita sa cctv sa una naming case si Ariel. She had been tracking her the moment she got in the FBI but that guy was always one step ahead of everyone chasing him.

"May I remind you again," biglang sabi ni Hiroshi habang ina-adjust ang salamin niya. "Don't turn on any of your communication devices besides this one. The Technology department might track us and with our limited resources, I won't be able to hide our location."

"Alright."

"Copy that."

While the search was ongoing, we readied our weapons and started dividing our tasks. Hiroshi would be our brain and backup while Hayate would act as our eyes, fully utilizing his sixth sense. Kana and I would be the frontliners, and somehow, I felt happy that we were finally becoming a real team.

We wore the contact lenses that directly projects the readings on Hayate's program and headed out. Malalim na ang gabi at paniguradong mas mahihirapan kaming kumilos pero mas magandang ngayon na kami umatake kaysa hintayin pa namin ang umaga.

"So, you can finally fight without holding back," I commented while we were running through the buildings.

She smiled. "I guess."

She was holding back her real strength for a long time and I only saw that twice—when she was facing some Shinigamis. Having a dependable partner would definitely give us a boost.

Habang tumatakbo kami papunta sa mga lugar na maaaring magbukas ang Black Dimension ay hindi mawala sa isip ko si Ariel Andrada. He was there during the annihilation of the Hansen Clan. He was with the Shinigamis, and that means they were allies. Yet, a few days ago, he almost revealed the existence of our race that pissed off two Elites. He was also an international criminal due to his terrorist acts, mainly murders by explosives and illegal trades in the black market, yet even the Shinigamis, who are known to eliminate unnecessary people, couldn't touch him. Why?

'Your thoughts are leaking out, J,' Kana suddenly said.

'Oh. Sorry. I wasn't—'

'But I, too, have the same questions as you.'

'I mean, he's just one middle-aged man and he seems like the type who can't win a physical confrontation. I wonder how he survived both the FBI and Shinigamis.'

'He must be really smart, then,' Kana paused and turned serious. 'Or he has been deceiving us with some kind of trick.'

"Be careful, you two," biglang sabi ni Hayate sa earpiece namin. You're entering a high-pressure area."