Chapter 37 Tracking
It was already afternoon when Angel returned to Zouteland Street by public carriage. The setting sun was slightly dim, as if covering the street with a layer of gold powder.
She tucked her left hand into the sleeve of her windbreaker, holding the dagger left by the "assassin" in her hand, and carefully jumped off the carriage. This posture could easily cut herself, but she couldn't carry a weapon around on the public carriage. If she did that, she would be asked to get off after only two stops, or even attract the attention of the patrol.
She hurried back to the Blackthorn Security Company from the public carriage station. The door was half-closed, just like when she left at noon, and faint voices of conversation could be heard from inside.
Sitting on the sofa in the reception room was Xiga Teong, a woman with white hair and black eyes. She was holding a palm-sized notebook in one hand and a pen in the other, writing and drawing on the notebook.
Sitting opposite was Luo Shan, who looked helpless. She had obviously just been pulled to the sofa. There was a cup of steaming tea on the reception desk.
Seeing Angel push the door open, Luo Shan jumped up from the sofa excitedly as if she had seen a savior: "Angel is back, why don't you just ask her directly!"
After saying that, without waiting for Xiga Teong to react, she ran back to the reception desk, curled up in the large armchair, and refused to move.
Angel looked at the white-haired lady in confusion. The latter put down her notebook helplessly and explained, "I just got back from Hoy University and heard from Rosanne that you and Mr. Moretti received a commission and used divination to solve the problem. Hmm... I think it's a good idea for a novel, so I wanted to ask her for the specific details."
Novel ideas?
Looking at the notebook she had placed on the table, Angel remembered what Brett had mentioned during their lunch conversation about "novel sources" and understood.
"Detective, divination, reasoning, these elements combined will definitely make for an engaging story. If there's a wonderful battle at the end, it will be perfect."
When Xiga talked about novels, his eyes seemed to shine.
"If it's convenient, could you tell me about the divination process? I've never quite understood the principles behind it, and Old Neil is always so mysterious..."
"Of course, but I have to meet the captain first. I have something to report to him." Angel finally understood why Luo Shan looked helpless just now, because the same expression appeared on her face. "If there is still time later, I will talk to you in detail."
The excited writer stared at her for two seconds, and after confirming that she was not just being perfunctory, she nodded.
"Well, business first."
She pointed to the room divider: "The captain is in his office, probably taking a break. Remember to knock on the door."
"Thank you." Angel nodded.
She walked around the partition and came to the door of Dunn Smith's office. She did not knock on the door immediately, but stood at the door and recalled the whole process from receiving the commission to escaping from the dock warehouse, organizing her words to make sure there was nothing missed.
"Come in, the door is not locked."
Dunn's deep voice came from inside the door.
I haven't knocked on the door yet...
Angel was stunned and pushed the door open and walked in.
Dunn Smith was sitting behind his desk, his windbreaker hanging on the back of his chair and his top hat casually placed on the table. He looked a little lazy. Seeing that it was Angel who came in, he nodded and asked, "Have you completed the commission, or did you encounter any difficulties?"
"You already know..."
Angel had already prepared a speech and was ready to introduce Mrs. Green's commission first, but she didn't expect Dunn's first sentence to disrupt her plan.
"Roxanne told me."
Dunn's gray eyes shone with a smile as he said, "As long as it doesn't affect their primary duties, I don't object to new members taking on some simple commissions so they can quickly integrate into the work. However, it's best to consult with others before taking any action."
Then he changed the subject.
"But it's a commission worth 120 pounds, and even I'm a little tempted. It's normal for you to be unable to hold back."
It doesn't sound like I'm to blame...
Angel breathed a sigh of relief, pulled the dagger from his sleeve and placed it on Dunn's desk.
"The commission has been completed. Mrs. Green... well, the client. The information she provided was correct. Thanks to Mr. Klein Moretti's precise divination, the process of retrieving the ring went smoothly, but..."
She skipped the preliminary preparations that the captain should have known and started directly from entering the warehouse to search.
"In the president's office of the Labor Mutual Aid Association, I found a notebook that recorded the association's various illegal activities. In addition to some of the gang's 'traditional projects', it also contained evidence of suspected human trafficking. As I was about to leave with the notebook, I was attacked by an 'assassin'. It was a Beyonder who had taken an assassin potion, not an 'assassin' in the literal sense..."
Angel described the battle between the two men in detail.
When she took out the dagger, Dunn Smith's laziness had all faded away. He sat up straight and listened carefully to Angel's narration, his expression gradually becoming serious.
"Are you sure that the hooded man is a Beyonder who's taken the 'Assassin' potion, and not an ordinary person with extraordinary skills?" He asked with a frown after listening to Angel's attack. "This is very important. It determines whether this incident will be handled by the police or by us."
"I'm sure that even if he didn't admit it verbally, the abilities he used revealed his identity, just like this."
Angel held the dagger in both hands, retracted it to his chest, stood with his feet apart, knees slightly bent, and launched the assassin's "charged attack" in front of Dunn.
Her legs first exerted force, transferring it to her waist. The energy from the twisting muscles of her torso was then transferred through her shoulders to the arm holding the dagger. Finally, the muscles in her arms thrust forward. All the joints in her body worked together, the explosive force concentrated on the short dagger, and it struck out like lightning.
This is also the reason why the assassin needs to throw his whole body forward when launching a "charged attack".
Of course, Angel didn't intend to stab his captain to death and then be wanted by the entire Church of Evernight.
After demonstrating her assassin's abilities, she stepped forward with her right foot, hitting the floor with a thud, and just in time, she stopped the force of her body moving forward.
At this moment, Dunn realized it belatedly and tilted his head back, as if to avoid the attack.
"I see..." He sat back down and raised his eyebrows. "Then is it possible that this 'assassin' also received a commission from Mrs. Green and just happened to run into you?"
"No, he went for that notebook."
Angel shook his head and denied Dunn's statement.
"He would rather get hurt, even risk death, to take the notes from me at gunpoint. He didn't care about the other valuables in the room at all. He didn't even ask."
"So, the most likely scenario is that he's also involved in the labor union's human trafficking?" Dunn analyzed. "Their president has been away for a week. Maybe something happened to him, or he ran away, and he's here to take the evidence."
"I think so too. There may be a larger organization behind him. He is just an executor of the organization, not a participant or leader in the human trafficking."
Angel added.
"If I was just trying to destroy the evidence of my crime, then when my life was in danger, I should have fled instead of risking my life to retrieve the evidence. If I was wanted by the police, the worst that could happen was that I could leave Tingen, or even go to another country. But if there was an organization above me, that would be a different matter."
She tried to think from the other person's perspective.
Dunn Smith nodded approvingly. "That's a very reasonable analysis."
"The Beyonder's online companion is likely another Beyonder. If we can find this assassin, we might be able to wipe out the illegal organization behind him that's behind the human trafficking."
Angel continued speaking, encouraged.
"I still remember his appearance and can draw a portrait. This dagger might also be able to reveal some clues. If..."
Dunn smiled and placed his hands lightly, causing her voice to gradually lower.
"Sorry, I got a little excited."
"It's okay, it's not a bad thing. I was like that when I was young, but now I always have to think about things more."
Dunn narrowed his eyes, as if recalling something. After a while, he continued, "The docks are under the jurisdiction of the Mandated Punishers. Conventionally, this case should be handed over to them. However, we discovered the clue, so I'll try to get it. At least we need to work together."
"You just said that most of the people traded in the notes were from Jianhai County? This also requires the cooperation of the police there in the investigation. We need to find out how many people are missing, and they will also be the ones to issue the wanted warrants. First, draw the assassin's appearance and give it to the police to print the wanted warrants. You can let Old Neil do the divination. I will take the dagger to him later. I hope he can find more clues."
"Since this case may require assistance from other jurisdictions, I have to inform the church and let them decide whether and when to take action."
Dunn's low, steady voice gradually calmed Angel down. Only then did she realize that cases involving Extraordinary People actually involved so many aspects.
After all, in Tingen City alone, with a population of less than 200,000, there were three Beyonder armed forces belonging to the church. Although they were nominally part of the same system as the police, they often operated independently. They were fine handling small cases on their own, but when cooperation was required, coordination became a headache.
Fortunately, there are tall people to handle these problems...
Thinking of this, Angel felt relieved.
She took the pencil and white paper that Dunn handed her, and based on the impression in her mind, she spent a few minutes sketching the "assassin". Although Angel had never learned to paint in her two lives, her memory and body enhanced by the potion still allowed her to draw well.
Angel handed the sketch, which bore a 90% resemblance to the young assassin, and the dagger she had found to Dunn Smith. Angel's mission was complete. As she was about to leave, she suddenly asked, as if possessed by a strange force:
"By the way, Captain, do we also need to hand in half of the other items we obtained during the commission?"
She took Mrs. Green's lost ring from her pocket, and the other jewellery she had found, and placed it on Dunne's desk, along with a wad of about twenty pounds in old notes.
Dunn Smith looked at the "trophies" before him, was silent for a moment, and then said with a smile:
"You can actually keep these things. If they don't involve supernatural powers, you generally don't need to hand over other property obtained from commissions."
"But since you're such a team player, I'll hand these over to Mrs. Orianna. She'll estimate their value and take half as funds for the team's activities."
Roxanne hadn’t said that before…
Angel opened his mouth, wanting to take the things on the table back, but finally held back.
The remaining half is still 60 pounds, which is more than enough!
She comforted herself in her heart.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
