Chapter 14 Blackthorn Security Company
Zouteland Street, North District, Tingen.
A four-wheeled police carriage with a pattern of "crossed swords and a crown" slowly drove into the parking lot on the side of the police station.
"Are you working in the police station in Tingen?"
Angel put on her hood before getting off the carriage. She looked around. The parking lot was next to the police station in the North District. There were five identical black four-wheeled carriages parked neatly there. There were many empty spaces between the carriages, which showed that the actual number was far more than the current number.
"Of course not. We're just borrowing the police carriage. They can't intervene in Beyonder cases, so we're often needed," Dunn Smith replied, jumping out of the driver's seat. Seeing the driver guarding the parking lot approaching to retrieve the horse, he abruptly changed the subject: "Our 'company' is at number 34, in the three-story building diagonally across the street."
The driver seemed to be familiar with Dunn and the others. He greeted several Night Watchmen and went straight to take care of the horses without even looking at Angel.
Four people walked out of the parking lot, with Dunn leading the way, followed by Daly holding a glass of wine, Angel looking around curiously, and Leonard bringing up the rear.
The North District was undoubtedly the most prosperous area in Tingen. It was the morning hour when the flow of people was the heaviest. Carriages were constantly passing back and forth on Zouteland Street. The few of them waited for a while before they found an opportunity to cross the road together.
The first floor of 34 Zouteland Street was a street-facing shop, but the door was closed and there were no signs around. It looked like it hadn't been open for a long time. Dunn and the others took Angel up the nearby stairs, turned a corner, and arrived on the second floor.
A vertical sign hung on the wall: "Blackthorn Security Company."
This is exactly the name Dunn mentioned before. It seems that the base of the "Nighthawks" is here. This name has a classic "mercenary gang" style. Considering the long historical heritage of the Church of the Goddess of Night, perhaps this name has been used for many years.
Dunn Smith pushed open the main door and waited for the people behind him to go in before closing it again.
Angel was greeted by a spacious reception room. Compared to the simple sign outside, the interior was quite luxurious. On the reception desk facing the main door were paper and pens for guest registration, along with scattered documents and newspapers. To the side sat a wooden coffee table, surrounded by a sofa and soft-backed chairs. A large gas lamp overhead cast a soft glow. If it weren't for the absence of anyone at the reception desk, she would have thought she had arrived at the lobby of a high-end hotel.
"It's Sunday, otherwise the front desk wouldn't be manned." Dunn explained, seeing Angel staring blankly at the reception room, "So you'll have to make your own tea."
He turned to Leonard, who was trailing behind him, and said, "Go and send the seal back downstairs first, then go to Frye and Luo Yao's house to inform them that there will be an operation tonight and their leave is cancelled."
The young Nighthawk nodded, took the copper wine cup called the "Seal" from Daly, walked around the hall and left through the door at the side.
"Daly, what are your plans? You don't need to participate in tonight's operation..."
"I'll stay here with you at night, but I need to get some rest during the day. I don't have the privilege of not needing to sleep like you 'Insomniacs'." Daly, the 'psychic' in a black robe, yawned, and her fatigue was evident after she handed over the copper wine cup.
Dunn nodded in agreement. "Then go to the duty room on the third floor and rest for a while. I'll wake you up before the operation."
After Daly left through another door, Angel and Dunn Smith were the only ones left in the hall.
"As for you," Dunn seemed to have just remembered that there was someone beside him. He patted his police hat and said to Angel:
"Before we launch an operation to capture Madam Sharon, it's best for you not to leave here. This will ensure your safety to the greatest extent possible. Even if Madam Sharon escapes capture, she won't have the courage to come to the Nighthawks' base and cause trouble."
He pointed to the partition in the middle of the hall. "That room in the middle of the corridor over there is the lounge. It's not usually crowded on Sundays, so you can rest on the sofa bed. I'll have a female Night Watcher accompany you later. If you need anything, you can ask her. But don't wander around the other rooms. The other Night Watchers don't know you, and if they mistake you for an intruder, they might cause you unnecessary harm."
Accompany me? Or perhaps you're monitoring me?
Angel grumbled to herself, but she nodded to show that she understood.
Seeing that Dunn had nothing else to do, Angel prepared to leave the hall and go to the lounge he mentioned to catch up on his sleep during the day.
"Wait, there's one more thing!" Just as Angel walked to the door on the left, Dunn called her from behind.
"I almost forgot. First, tell me what you learned from Cole Granger about Madam Sharon's extraordinary abilities. Tell me as much as you remember."
Dunn Smith pulled out a palm-sized notebook from his police uniform pocket and sat down on the sofa in the reception room.
"Why don't we talk in a dream? Do you trust me so much?" Angel returned to the center of the reception room, sat opposite Dunn, leaned back on the soft sofa, and relaxed his whole body.
Dunn stared at her with his gray eyes and said slowly, "I do believe you, and our interests are aligned. You don't want Madam Sharon to escape punishment, do you?"
Believe me, or believe in that "sealed object" from earlier. I will remain in the dark for now...
From his interactions with Leonard and Daly in the carriage just now, Angel guessed that the copper wine cup called the "Sealed Object" might have a function similar to a lie detector, allowing the holder to judge whether what the person in front of him said was true, at least he believed it was true.
However, she had no intention of lying now. Dunn's judgment was correct. Madam Sharon was indeed in their common interest, but there was also a slight disagreement: for the "Nighthawks", capturing Madam Sharon alive was definitely the best outcome. This would not only help them deal with her, a Beyonder outside the law, but also allow them to obtain information about the "Witch Cult" from her. Perhaps this would lead to the discovery of more of her collaborators and destroy all the "Witch Cult's" plots in Tingen.
But for Angel, Mrs. Sharon being captured alive was not a good thing.
The worst outcome is that Madam Sharon escapes from the siege of the Nighthawks - although with the participation of Extraordinary people like Dunn Smith, this possibility is very low. Once this happens, Angel will inevitably face endless revenge from Madam Sharon and the forces behind her.
Secondly, if Lady Sharon is captured alive as the Nighthawks expected, with just a little questioning, the fictitious identity of "Angel Granger" will inevitably be exposed, and what awaits Angel will be an obscure fate.
The best outcome is that Mrs. Sharon dies while resisting arrest.
This is very common in conflicts between extraordinary people. Once both sides stop holding back and use their extraordinary abilities to fight, it usually ends with one side dying.
This is also the reason why Angel tried to participate in the battle. With the "Storm Gathering" bullets and the assassin's combat ability, although she could not control the direction of the battle, she could still find an opportunity to kill Mrs. Sharon when the battle was about to end.
Unfortunately, the "Nighthawks" did not seem to want her to participate in the operation to capture Mrs. Sharon. Perhaps it was because they did not want the "witness" to be harmed, or perhaps they simply did not trust outsiders.
At this time, we can only settle for the second best and ensure that Mrs. Sharon does not escape.
If he held back and the capture operation failed, not only would these "Nighthawks" fighting against evil be likely to suffer casualties, but the subsequent revenge in the dark would also be unbearable for Angel.
"I'm not sure if she has retained some abilities, so I only told you what Cole has seen." Angel first gave Dunn a shot of prevention to prevent him from trusting the intelligence from him too much and causing accidents in the battle.
Dunn Smith nodded, his expression becoming serious as he listened attentively.
"First, she was promoted from an 'Assassin' and possesses all the extraordinary abilities of an 'Assassin'. These abilities are enhanced with the promotion, including dark vision, enhanced eyesight, nimble limbs, a lithe body, and the explosive power to kill with one strike in close combat. If you, the 'Nighthawks', don't have members who are equally adept at close combat, it's best not to attempt close combat with her."
Dunn took careful notes in his notebook, occasionally raising questions about a certain ability and asking Angel to answer them in detail.
"Next is the 'Instigator.' It doesn't provide any additional combat capabilities, but simply enhances the abilities inherited from the 'Assassin.' However, the 'Instigator' excels at charm and misleading others, using her eloquence to sow discord, induce inner desires, and create conflict. If she fully utilizes these abilities, conflicts may arise among your team members. Hmm... you're asking about how to deal with it? You don't have to worry too much about that. It won't be very effective in direct combat. Just keep her busy and don't have a chance to speak. You can enter someone else's dream and trap Madam Sharon there. Have the rest of your team sneak into the room and shoot her in the head. No amount of provocation or misdirection will work."
During the conversation, Angel recalled the many murders caused by Cole Granger through the ability of "Instigator". His hatred for the deceased Cole and the living Mrs. Sharon deepened a bit, and he couldn't help but have some emotions at the end when introducing the ability of "Instigator".
"Ahem... Nightmare's abilities aren't that strong, but thank you for your advice. It's given me a lot of inspiration." Dunn Smith's face looked strange, as if he had remembered something unpleasant. He paused for a moment before taking notes. "Please continue."
So your potion is really called "Nightmare"... Is it Sequence 8 or Sequence 7 of "Sleepless"?
Angel thought for a moment, and at Dunn's urging, continued to introduce Mrs. Sharon's abilities.
Meanwhile, a young night watchman, Leonard Mitchell, returned from the adjacent reception room. Intrigued by the conversation, he attempted to listen in, but Dunn dismissed him to gather the rest of the team. He looked bright and energetic, none of Ms. Daly's tired, all-night look. He resembled Dunn quite well, and Angel suspected he, like Dunn, was a "sleepless" individual, and working all-night cases was commonplace.
"Then there's the Sequence 7 Witch. For the Assassin, this stage represents a qualitative change. Just from the potion's name, it provides a variety of mystical offensive and defensive abilities. Madam Sharon once demonstrated conjuring a spear of frost in her hand, hurling it with extraordinary force using the Assassin's body enhancements. Then there's the Witch, who possesses invisibility and a Mirror Double. The methods of activation are still unclear, so we can only guess at their purpose based on the name. The Witch is also adept at casting curses through the blood or hair of others, requiring props to prepare, so they're unlikely to be very useful on the battlefield..."
By Sequence 7, Angel, or Cole Granger, knew very little about Madam Sharon's abilities. After all, Cole was only Madam Sharon's apprentice and bedmate, not a formidable opponent. Madam Sharon rarely displayed high-level combat abilities in front of him.
Finally, Angel concluded, "That's all. But Madam Sharon was already a Sequence 7 Beyonder before Cole met her. It's very likely that she's close to or even advanced to Sequence 6. You'd better treat her as a Sequence 6 Beyonder. Don't take any chances, it's very dangerous. Bring more people..."
Dunn Smith quickly wrote the last few strokes, closed his notebook, and said with a smile, "Thank you for the reminder. We will be careful during the battle. In fact, from the beginning, I intended to deal with Madam Sharon using the same methods as I would a Sequence 6. We will dispatch four Nighthawks, equipped with the appropriate Sealed Artifacts, to apprehend her. Please rest assured and wait for good news."
Why do I feel a little uneasy when you say that?
Angel hoped to hear some real "good news" tonight, such as "Mrs. Sharon unfortunately died while resisting arrest," but she couldn't express this thought, so she could only smile bitterly.
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