Chapter 2 – Millennium
“Man, how did we get stuck with such a crappy job?”
Kane sighed in the bathtub.
After the completion of today’s search, Kane submitted his report to the Sword Breaker and took a nice bubble bath in the hotel.
“However, what kind of people have I got myself mixed up with?”
He then took a drink from his ice-cold cola.
Kane likes to take warm bubble baths while drinking ice-cold cola.
As Canal would always say, “Kane, you’re old-fashioned”.
Clay Roberts.
According to the information Rail gave to him, his father is one of the planet’s local councillors. Although he didn’t have the right to do so, Kane still wanted to make some more profit.
——Could it be that this Clay and that organization are tied together by money somehow?
Although he thought about it for a little while, Kane didn’t think this was true.
“Hmm……”
He loudly sighed.
……Ring, Ring……
Kane suddenly became aware that the phone was ringing.
“Ah!”
He ignored it for a moment, but the phone continued to ring, forcing him to leave the bathtub.
He was naked and his body was soaking wet, Kane then put on a bathrobe and anxiously went to pick up the phone in the hallway.
“Who’s calling?”
“Reception services.” (Front Desk)
Kane heard a fat little man’s voice.
He thought about this fat man sitting at the reception desk, for some reason he had an indifferent look on his face. Every time he would check in he would show his business-like smile, but this time he had a cold expression.
However, even from the old man’s point of view, there was no reason to suspect that the guy he was talking to was the one who was running around in a black cape.
“You have an inbound call.”
“——Who is it?”
“It’s a woman. She never left a name. When she tried to call you I heard some commotion in the background, do you want to take the call?”
Kane didn’t give an answer right away, he directly switched the telephone lines himself.
“——I’ll patch the call through myself.”
Kane straightened his back and prepared himself for whatever may happen next.
“If this is another pyramid scheme or some weirdo trying to persuade me to join their religion, then you can count me out.”
And with that came a young woman’s voice.
“You are a suspicious one, I presume you’ve been looking for Clay Roberts?”
“Talk about changing the subject, you’re the suspicious one here.”
“Never mind about that, listen here……”
For a moment the woman’s voice was very low, Kane listened closely.
“Stop looking for him.”
“Hey……”
Kane’s tone instantly changed, it became harsh.
“Are you one of those guys who attacked me today?”
“……Ah.”
The only reply Kane got was silence, after a while the woman answered back.
“No, not at all. Why would you suspect that I was?”
“Alright, then who are you?”
“Although I don’t know why you want to find Clay Roberts, you aren’t helping me by going around and talking about him.”
(Helping you?)
“I’ve been entrusted to return him safety, he’s run away from home.”
“If it was up to me, I wouldn’t let him suffer.”
(Is he currently suffering?)
“Are you some kind of detective hired by Clay’s father or something?”
——On the other side of the phone was silence.
“……Why would you want to know that?”
(——I’m looking for an honest answer, or should I play around for a while.)
Many thoughts ran through Kane’s mind.
“You don’t sound like you could be a detective anyway, are you?”
“Oh, shut up!”
Kane struck a nerve.
“Outsiders like you have no right sticking your nose into our business. I’m hanging up now!”
After such a declaration, she hung up.
“……You sound more like an outsider than me, lady.”
Kane watched the phone make all kinds of beeping noises, he wondered who it really was.
“Clay Roberts? I’ll check out more places to find his whereabouts.”
Kane got the answered he desired on the fifth night.
“Minos?”
Kane got a straightforward answer, he didn’t know if it was legit or a trap.
“Yes. It’s the 11th Street bar, it’s a relatively small place.”
The man around twenty years said, as he exposed a wretched smile.
“Here, thanks.”
Kane handed the man a few bills, however the man had no intention of accepting them.
“Compared to that sort of thing……young lad……I think I’ll need a closer feel of your personality before I accept any kind of payment.”
The man said as he reached out and groped Kane’s ass.
——He was gay.
In an instant, Kane’s elbow smashed the man’s jaw.
“——Thank you for your assistance.”
Kane thanked the fallen man before leaving for the bar.
After he opened the door, a wave of smoke and alcohol bombarded him.
The bar’s odour was quite intense.
As soon as the bar’s patrons saw him, they immediately moved away from the bar to the tables.
It seemed the bar’s patrons were wary of Kane.
——Of course, you wouldn’t say a guy walking around in a black cape was normal.
“……I wonder……”
Kane whispered as he observed the bar and its patrons.
He took a look, but he didn’t find who he was looking for.
“——Hey, you going to order something?”
The bartender asked Kane.
Before sitting down, Kane ordered a bottle of beer that wasn’t watered down.
“I’ve heard of a guy called Clay Roberts, do you know the guy?”
Kane thought the bartender would complain before answering, but he silently gazed towards a corner of the bar.
There was four punks in the corner.
“Hey?”
Kane couldn’t help but call out to them.
One of them turned around, it was the man he had been looking for——Clay Roberts, although he looked a lot different from his photo.
He gave Kane a hundred yard stare.
Kane took his drink and walked towards him.
“Hey, Clay! Why the long face, are you imitating a stray dog or something?”
After listening to Kane, Clay’s face changed instantly.
“——Who do you think you are?”
The other three punks stood up.
“……Don’t get angry.”
Clay stopped them from taking further action.
“I’ll need a moment alone with this guy.”
The three punks looked at each other.
“If that’s what you want, then so be it.”
Clay nodded at them and they left him alone with Kane.
“Interesting friends you’ve got.”
Kane said with a smirk.
“Clay! If anything happens, we’ll rush right over!”
The three punks shouted.
While this might have not been the smartest choice, this made talking to Clay less troublesome. In addition, two of the three punks were standing outside.
“——Why are you looking for me?”
Clay spoke first.
Kane could see fear in his eyes.
“What does nightmare want with me?”
A moment of silence enveloped the bar.
“……What?”
Kane said in a high pitched voice.
“……What are you saying?”
“Why must you still play the fool?”
Clay issued a sigh.
“They’ve been looking for me everywhere, to be honest I thought they’d find me sooner. This bar is usually a place you hide before the spies of nightmare find you.”
Clay began panting.
Kane silently scratched his head.
“When will the people from nightmare arrive?”
“Shouldn’t you already know that?”
“What?”
Kane was dumbfounded.
“Hey, wait a minute. Why are nightmare after you?”
“Everyone knows why!”
“I am an acquaintance of your fathers, let me take you back to him.”
“Don’t touch me!”
“Listen to me!”
“If you are who you say you are, then prove it.”
“Proof, what kind of proof?”
“Anything, otherwise I’ll think you’re from nightmare.”
Both of them debated for a moment like two children, until Clay realized it was useless.
“I doesn’t matter anyway……”
“Listen, I’m here to bring you back and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“I’m not going!”
(What a troublesome guy!)
Kane couldn’t help himself, he wanted to hit Clay.
Even though he might have to overcome the three punks guarding Clay, he didn’t hesitate to strike him with his elbow.
“Do what you have to do, but I’m not going back to my worried father?”
“Oh? Why?”
Kane revealed a faint smile.
“Because I’m the son of his wife, he doesn’t really care about me.”
“It seems your future was already set in stone……”
Kane guessed that Clay’s father already has his life planned out for him, he would impose his values upon him whether he liked it or not. His life would be on a fixed route, a high class school and education would allow him to enter a high level business. Clay Roberts was more or less a gear in the wheel of economics.
“Is there anything else?”
Kane spoke in a cold tone.
“Well, got any advice?”
Clay tapped his shoulder, Kane brushed his hand off.
“Nope, fools don’t get advice.”
“Asshole, have you no compassion.”
“Of course I do, but you’re a fool.”
Both of them argued like children.
“You were the one who ran away from home! You must have some confidence if you think you can live in a bar like this, just what were you thinking? I’m the one who had to travel to Mars to rescue your ass, you should show me compassion.”
Clay went silent for a moment.
Kane then continued talking.
“Regardless if you argue with your parents or not, this kind of revenge on them isn’t right.”
Although Kane didn’t really know what he was talking about, but with Clay’s silence, he knew he was right.
“Anyway, I’m sure you relied on your parent’s money, and now you’ve had to rely on that organization. Can’t you see how foolish getting mixed up with them was?”
“……I……”
It seems like he wanted to say something, but was obviously holding it back.
“I’m entrusted to bring you back home, anything else you’ve got yourself into is your own fault and none of my business.”
Kane was blunt.
Someone then entered through the bar’s front door.
“……I……”
Thud…
A voice interrupted them.
“Sorry for the interruption.”
After they heard the guy talking, both of them turned their attention to him. Clay’s body instantly went stiff.
“Mr Zenan.”
The man stood in the doorway like a general of an army, tall and proud. He was a little more handsome than the average male, but his cold dead like eyes would naturally make him inaccessible to others.
Kane’s attention then turned to something else, a small box was tied to his belt.
It was a lightsabre amplifier, the same type used by Kane.
“Well, well. Besides the stink coming from the bathroom, this bar is pretty cool.”
Zenan completely ignored Kane.
“The vessel called Sword Breaker, it belongs to nightmare.”
He spoke in a suave tone.
“You got the name of the ship right, but not its owner.”
Zenan then pulled a lightsabre out from beneath his cloak, Kane did the same.
It became apparent that this man was a professional killer, it was unclear whether this battle was winnable.
This slowly dawned on Kane.
“Mr Zenan……I……”
Clay tried to speak, but Zenan raised his hand to silence him.
“You must be that guy nightmare sent to assassinate the boss, Kane Blueriver and the Sword Breaker.”
“You must be mistaken!”
Zenan ignored Kane’s plea.
“What’s going on?”
“Either way, suspicion of being a member of nightmare is reason enough for me to kill you.”
“So, after the first guy tried to kill me they sent another. Where’s your buddies? Last time there was more of you.”
“A large group of people isn’t necessary to eliminate you.”
Kane took a defensive posture.
Zenan calmly took out a metal tube from his pocket.
Whoosh…
It generated a 70-80cm blade of light.
“I think I’ll play with you for a while.”
Then, Zenan laughed.
At that moment…
Kane took out his own lightsabre.
He dashed towards the pipes near the bathroom and slashed them.
The pipes were cut, water was sent flying everywhere.
Zenan’s view was obscured, he retreated back towards the door.
Kane took this opportunity to run to the other side of the room.
There was no exit on his side of the room, naturally he thought of creating his own exit.
He stuck his lightsabre into the wall, carving an oval shaped door.
However, he knew he had to get Clay out of here too.
But, he knew that if he started fighting in the bar that Clay would probably get hurt.
Nevertheless, Kane kicked the hole he cut and looked through it.
It was night outside.
He didn’t hesitate to jump outside.
In that moment, someone with scorching murderous intent was behind him.
“——!——”
Kane looked behind himself, it was Zenan with his glowing lightsabre.
It seemed he fired an energy projectile from his lightsabre, scorching Kane’s cloak.
“He went outside!”
Zenan shouted behind himself, it seemed he wasn’t alone.
But Kane didn’t stop to find out, he just ran without knowing where he was going.
(Damn it, that bastard has men with him! He even left a hole in my cloak! I doubt much places on Mars even sell cloaks, if at all.)
Tap! Click!
He didn’t have time to complain, a series of noises came from behind him.
(——A pistol?)
If they’re guns fired normal bullets and lasers it would prove troublesome if Kane took a hit, mostly because bullets are more lethal.
Bang!
(Asshole! I’m the one who delivers the opening attack!)
Fortunately the shot missed, but he wouldn’t be so lucky next time.
Though he wanted to fight back he couldn’t, because he didn’t know how many people he was up against or their firepower.
All he knew was the he had to blindly go forward.
Bathed in the light of the night, numerous men with murderous intent continued their pursuit.
(……These guys just won’t give up……)
Kane felt that he could only run for a few minutes more. Although if he stopped right now he would risk being shot while turning to face his pursuers.
He knew that he couldn’t run forever, but finding a hiding place wasn’t an option right now, because if he was found it would be over for him.
(If I bring them into an open street they might give up.)
Kane opted for an open street instead of being chased through alleys and the back streets.
“Ah!”
Kane yelled as he rushed onto an open road.
The road he ran onto had numerous dazzling lights——they were cars.
“Damn it!”
Among the noises of the cars Kane heard a familiar voice.
“Come on, get in!”
After hesitating for a moment, Kane got into the car.
Kane sat in the passenger seat, she then started the car.
The men chasing after Kane were catching up with them.
“Friends of yours?”
“Just drive!”
“He’s getting away!”
Behind them they heard numerous shouts and gunfire being directed in their direction.
Even if they were to drive after them, it would be impossible to catch up.
“——It’s you. Thanks anyway.”
Kane said to the female driver.
“The name’s Millennium, but you call me Millie.”
It was the same person who Kane had a phone call with earlier, he could tell from her voice.
She was almost the same age as Kane, she was wearing a red jacket and her blonde hair was shoulder length.
“——It isn’t over yet!”
She shouted while turning the wheel.
“Didn’t I tell you to back off?”
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter now because he’s not here. Hopefully he was able to escape.”
As they were driving, a familiar looking car was parked on the side of the road——it was Zenan and his cronies.
“Ah! You’re going the wrong way!”
“You idiot! Why didn’t you tell me earlier!?”
Millie panicked as she operated the steering wheel.
“Huh, then which way is the right one?”
“Go right, right!”
“Are you sure?”
“Who knows, ah!”
The car went into another lane, this time it was a relatively large road with very little vehicles.
Looking into the rear mirror, Millie spotted two vehicles gaining on them.
“This isn’t the time to play hide and seek.”
Millie quietly muttered.
Pop!
It was a sharp sound, a small hole appeared in the front and rear window of the car.
“They shot at us!”
“Those bastards! They must really want to kill us!”
“Damn it, this car is a rental!”
“Don’t worry about such a thing, just accelerate and get us out of here.”
“If you say so!”
Millie put her foot down on the accelerator.
But——
The reflection in the car mirror was getting closer.
It wasn’t a technical problem, it was because Zenan’s car’s had better engines.
“No, we can’t go any faster!”
“……Forget it! We’ll just have to fight back!”
“Ah!”
Millie desperately screamed as bullets flew overhead.
They were being pursued by floating vehicles, it was a specific type that was powered by electricity. It affected their aiming since it vibrates when moving, no matter how good their aiming was it would be difficult to fire an accurate shot.
“How are you going to fight them, do you even have a gun?”
“No, but I’ve thought of something.”
Kane said as he took out his lightsabre, he then began cutting the passenger’s seat door.
Rattle! Rattle!
After a loud thud, the car door came off. It went flying towards the cars pursuing them, whacking one of the cars.
“My goodness! You used the car door against them!”
“Ah ha ha ha! At least it stopped one of them!”
Millie couldn’t help but feel angry.
“Didn’t you hear me, this is a rental car!”
“So, it’s not like it’s worth much.”
“You better be paying for the damages.”
“Oh, please.”
“……Argh……”
She stepped on the accelerator with tears in her eyes.
Although it wasn’t obvious to them, the distance between them and the remaining car was closing.
Kane thought for a moment.
“……It doesn’t make sense to use the back seats. However, I could use the trunk against them.”
“——H-Hey, stop! Please!”
Millie cried out.
Kane ignored her pleas and began to cut off the trunk.
The driver tried to avoid the impact but was struck dead centre.
“——Bullseye! Hopefully he’ll die in a fiery inferno.”
“Asshole!”
She shouted from the bottom of her heart.
It was very dark, the scene shifted to a large room.
Painted on the floor was a huge inverse pentagram.
In the centre of the room was a mysterious man.
Albert Von Stargazer.
The leader of the galaxy’s largest criminal organization, Nightmare.
He stood in silence in the middle of the room, there wasn’t even a table in sight.
It was almost as if he was meditating.
His white hair was like a silver flame. He had a lean face which was reminiscent of a bird. His entire body was covered in a large black cloak.
It was an ancient sorcerers dress.
“Stargazer.”
He didn’t know where the voice came from, he slowly opened his eyes.
“Come.”
His words reacted with the door, which made no sound as it opened.
A man dressed in black entered.
“We are now planning an invasion against system 1-3-A, the solar system, Dugole Connection among other things……”
The man said as he stood near the entrance, his voice trembled a little as he spoke.
“We pulled some strings inside the interstellar police and have caused some friction between them and the Dugole Connection.”
“And?”
His expression didn’t change.
“According to the staff report, they would seem to have a great deal of trouble if they tried to topple them. We have the opportunity to either support or destroy one side.”
No matter how much trouble nightmare was causing, it wasn’t enough to push the balance in anyone’s favour without getting directly involved.
“Is there any information relating to that trouble contractor?”
“Yes, here it is.”
The man in black slowly walked towards Stargazer.
He handed him the information, regardless of how much his hand shook.
Then he went back to the door, the man in black couldn’t help but shed a cold sweat.
Every single time.
Every time he was near the old man a wave of nausea or some strange type of pressure came over him.
Normal humans cannot withstand it for long.
If this man was a realist, he might describe it as——miasma.
The old man began to turn over the report.
“——Is the content of this report correct?.”
“Yes, five pirate ships were sunk by……”
The old man interrupted the man in black with a rough tone.
“The Sword Breaker, I’ve had my eye on this spaceship and its central control system……”
“You are referring to Canal Volfield.”
“Obviously.”
The old man whispered.
The man in black couldn’t help but flinch.
Not because he was shocked, but because the miasma in the room had become more intense.
“What are the energy supply levels on docks 1-5?”
Although the topic of conversation had changed, the man in black didn’t panic.
“They haven’t changed much, they average around thirty percent. Dock is at thirty seven percent though.”
He replied.
After a moment of silence, Stargazer slowly spoke.
“——Open the doors to dock number two.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll hand the orders down personally.”
He then saluted Stargazer.
“——Is there anything I should know?”
He reluctantly asked.
“It’s a spaceship.”
Stargazer said in an emotionless voice.
“Who’s the pilot?”
“A pilot isn’t necessary.”
When travelling through outer space, a human spirit is necessary.
If no one was aboard the ship, then it would be impossible to enter superluminal navigation.
He knew better than to ask any more questions.
“Understood. But what about the Dugole Connection?”
“Use your contact in the Interstellar Police to apply pressure on them, eventually it will escalate and they will be forced to intervene. Then we’ll force them into submission.”
“Understood.”
He saluted and left the room.
Stargazer was left alone once more.
“This must come to pass, nightmare will spread across the universe……”
Millie walked alone in the night, neon lights lighted up the area.
The night wind was cold, very cold.
Regardless of how much of a bargain the rental car was, she didn’t have the money to pay for the damages.
She had to contact the Director of her department to get the necessary funds, but this resulted in a pay cut as punishment.
For a new recruit on the job for less than a year, it was a mighty blow.
“Helping that guy was a mistake……he walks around in the street with a cape of all things, I should have knew he was trouble.“
Millie said, but she needed his help to find Clay because her Director kept telling her to hurry up and find him.
If her information is correct, he should be in this bar.
The place was noisy and full of smoke, a drunken man approached her.
“Yo, foxy lady. How you doin’?
She ignored him and went straight to the bar, hoping to find Clay.
“He’s not here, right?”
“He’s here alright.”
“You are……”
It was the man she was looking for——Clay Roberts.
“Why do you want to help me?”
“——It doesn’t matter.”
Clay said, he then waved over the bartender and ordered some cocktails.
He gave one to Millie.
“Because……I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I just let you disappear.”
“Is that right?”
Clay said, as he sipped her cocktail.
“Anyway, how can we bring you back home? You’re not interested in your father’s cause, you just want to escape from reality. Maybe there’s some way we can get both of you to come to terms with one another?”
Millie stopped preaching.
“Although, I think it might be a bit too late for the unpromising son to return home.”
Clay said in a sombre tone.
For a while they were silent, both of them stared at their glasses.
“I’ve…..thought about it a lot.”
He whispered, then fell silent.
Mille wasn’t in a hurry to ask.
“——I.”
“——Your ideals are simply irrelevant.”
A voice came suddenly from the side.
(——Crap!)
Millie instantly stood up.
They hadn’t realized it, but they were surrounded by five or six men.
Although Millie didn’t know, one of the men was Zenan.
“I’d like to hear more from this lady.”
Zenan smiled and ordered his men to grab Millie.
“……Wait a second! You must be joking?!”
Clay revealed a look of desperation, however he didn’t have the courage to help.
Millie was pulled out of the bar, eventually she was taken to an underground parking lot.
The lights of a car lit up the parking lot, she was being held down on the car.
“Where is Kane?”
“I don’t know.”
Each time Zenan asked, Millie let out a cry.
“You are his associate! What are nightmare planning?”
“Nightmare……I’m not……”
“This isn’t working.”
Zenan coldly looked at her.
“If you won’t give me the answer, then I’ll have to force it out of you. How does 1.5 volts sound?”
One of the men revealed a wicked smile, as he moved close to Millie.
“Wait! Wait! Ah!”
Her voice was strained.
“I’m just a detective! I was commissioned by Clay’s father to bring him back!”
The man slowly climbed on top of her.
“I called Kane and nightmare has nothing to do with this!”
The man grabbed Millie’s’ clothes.
“I have proof! Please, listen to me!”
“…Proof?”
Zenan whispered, and then the man stopped in his tracks.
“——Well, we’ll see about that.”
As he spoke, the man reluctantly got off of Millie.
However, the crisis wasn’t over, she was still strapped to the car.
“Well, where’s this proof?”
“There’s proof that I’m a detective in my wallet.”
“You do realize people can fake that kind of stuff.”
Millie went silent.
“……Well, you can call the detective agency and give them my number.”
“Hmm……”
Zenan thought for a moment.
“Okay, but you’ll be doing a video call——there’s a device in the car.”
The car was equipped with a small video camera.
“No funny business, or you’ll get it.”
Millie started dialling the agency.
Although her hands were free, she had a gun pointed at her back.
Even if she had an opportunity to escape, the odds of her escaping alive were very low.
After a considerable amount of time, the agency finally picked up.
A woman appeared on the video screen.
“Hi, Cynthia.”
“Millie? What’s wrong? Your calling of a sudden, is it about the case?”
“Yeah, but first I’ve got to speak to the director.”
“Understood.”
A moment passed.
Then a silver haired middle aged man appeared on the screen.
“What is it this time, Millie?”
“You don’t want me renting a car since I trashed the last one, right?”
The man revealed a bulldog like expression.
“Get to the point!”
“Remember how I was going to bring back Clay Roberts to his father on Mars?”
The director frowned. He then carefully looked at Millie’s face.
“Have you lost the relevant information?”
“No, I still have it.”
The man behind Millie suddenly pushed her out of the way.
“Who is that man?”
“Well……”
Millie pondered for a moment.
“He’s a member of a local organization.”
“What?”
“Ah, you see I am part of a local organization that does odd jobs. We suspect this woman to be part of a hostile organization.”
“And?”
The director said in a rude manner.
“They were wondering if you could verify my identity as a detective.”
“Can’t you do anything right? Since you can’t man detailed in your assignment, I think it’s best that you don’t phone back here again.”
“No, wait!”
“Goodbye, Miss Millennium Feria Nocturne.”
The connection on the other side was cut.
Millie was speechless.
“……Ahhhhhhh!!!”
Screams could clearly be heard in the vehicle.
“My life! My new life! I haven’t paid off that five month loan on my VCD machine yet!”
“……This woman is still worried about her loan……”
Millie couldn’t help but shed tears.
“It’s clear that she’s not from nightmare.”
“Mr Zenan, what do we do with her?”
One man said in a disgruntled voice.
“The director saw my face. If this woman’s corpse is found, naturally the first suspect will be me.”
Zenan sighed.
“I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way. Whether you are from nightmare or not, you did disturb our work. Dumping your body into a bathtub full of dissolution acid should do the trick, there won’t be anything left of you to find.”
“No!”
“——Get her!”
Whack, Millie hit one of the men and tried to make a break for it.
However, Zenan’s men were closing in on her.
“Stop……please!”
One grabbed Millie by the wrist, it was impossible for her to resist.
Whoosh!
Then suddenly——a beam of light flew out of the darkness and struck the hand hold Millie, she was free.
“Run for it!”
By the time the voice reached Zenan, it was too late.
At that very moment, a bright light shone in the darkness.
“Ahh…”
“Ohh…”
Two of Zenan’s goons fell to the ground, both of them had been struck by something.
“——Nobody move!”
The voice came from the darkness.
“It’s that guy……”
Zenan whispered.
“Move and you get shot!”
Millie didn’t understand what was happening.
Then——
Out of the darkness appeared Kane, with his cape and lightsabre in tow.
“Millie, you okay?”
“——Yes, thank you.”
“I know where you’re hiding, Zenan!”
Kane motioned for Millie to move closer to him, she moved accordingly.
“We’ll get in the car and go.”
He said, while watching for any signs of movement.
Zenan was in no hurry to attack.
He had seen what Kane did to his men.
From the way he had shot at his men’s joints, he could easily tell that Kane was a skilled shooter.
If he casually walked out from behind the stone pillar, death was certain. But if he could use the other men as a distraction, then he might have a chance to move.
Just as Zenan had been thinking about what to do, he hear a car driving away.
“Damn!”
Him and his remaining men rushed out from behind the pillars.
“Mr Zenan……”
He ignored his men and rushed straight towards the car.
Running past the injured men on the ground he rushed towards the parking lot entrance.
“Shit!”
Zenan shouted.
But——
After a moment of silence, he smiled.
“……Well, this isn’t over one bit……”
“You saved me, thanks a lot.”
Millie said, as she sat in the passenger seat.
“We’re not friends anyway, so I don’t owe you a favour.”
“Why do you say that?”
Kane revealed an unhappy look.
“Don’t be so narrow-minded. Men, they should be more open-minded.”
“All in all, you only escaped because of me. If I was narrow-minded I wouldn’t have saved you.”
Millie ignored the irony of his words.
“So! You were the one who got me into this mess.”
“And you were the one who told me to get into the car!”
“You argue like a child.”
“Just shut up, where do you want me to take you? To your hotel or to Clay?”
“……I just remembered something……”
Millie quietly murmured.
“……What is it?”
“……The detective agency I worked for fired me……”
“Damn. Why were you fired?”
“The director scolded me for not being able to find Clay, he said not to phone back.”
“Well, that sucks.”
“……What will I do now?”
Millie though about what to do. Meanwhile Kane kept driving on the road, ever watchful for signs of someone following them.
Chapter 2 – Millennium
“Man, how did we get stuck with such a crappy job?”
Kane sighed in the bathtub.
After the completion of today’s search, Kane submitted his report to the Sword Breaker and took a nice bubble bath in the hotel.
“However, what kind of people have I got myself mixed up with?”
He then took a drink from his ice-cold cola.
Kane likes to take warm bubble baths while drinking ice-cold cola.
As Canal would always say, “Kane, you’re old-fashioned”.
Clay Roberts.
According to the information Rail gave to him, his father is one of the planet’s local councillors. Although he didn’t have the right to do so, Kane still wanted to make some more profit.
——Could it be that this Clay and that organization are tied together by money somehow?
Although he thought about it for a little while, Kane didn’t think this was true.
“Hmm……”
He loudly sighed.
……Ring, Ring……
Kane suddenly became aware that the phone was ringing.
“Ah!”
He ignored it for a moment, but the phone continued to ring, forcing him to leave the bathtub.
He was naked and his body was soaking wet, Kane then put on a bathrobe and anxiously went to pick up the phone in the hallway.
“Who’s calling?”
“Reception services.” (Front Desk)
Kane heard a fat little man’s voice.
He thought about this fat man sitting at the reception desk, for some reason he had an indifferent look on his face. Every time he would check in he would show his business-like smile, but this time he had a cold expression.
However, even from the old man’s point of view, there was no reason to suspect that the guy he was talking to was the one who was running around in a black cape.
“You have an inbound call.”
“——Who is it?”
“It’s a woman. She never left a name. When she tried to call you I heard some commotion in the background, do you want to take the call?”
Kane didn’t give an answer right away, he directly switched the telephone lines himself.
“——I’ll patch the call through myself.”
Kane straightened his back and prepared himself for whatever may happen next.
“If this is another pyramid scheme or some weirdo trying to persuade me to join their religion, then you can count me out.”
And with that came a young woman’s voice.
“You are a suspicious one, I presume you’ve been looking for Clay Roberts?”
“Talk about changing the subject, you’re the suspicious one here.”
“Never mind about that, listen here……”
For a moment the woman’s voice was very low, Kane listened closely.
“Stop looking for him.”
“Hey……”
Kane’s tone instantly changed, it became harsh.
“Are you one of those guys who attacked me today?”
“……Ah.”
The only reply Kane got was silence, after a while the woman answered back.
“No, not at all. Why would you suspect that I was?”
“Alright, then who are you?”
“Although I don’t know why you want to find Clay Roberts, you aren’t helping me by going around and talking about him.”
(Helping you?)
“I’ve been entrusted to return him safety, he’s run away from home.”
“If it was up to me, I wouldn’t let him suffer.”
(Is he currently suffering?)
“Are you some kind of detective hired by Clay’s father or something?”
——On the other side of the phone was silence.
“……Why would you want to know that?”
(——I’m looking for an honest answer, or should I play around for a while.)
Many thoughts ran through Kane’s mind.
“You don’t sound like you could be a detective anyway, are you?”
“Oh, shut up!”
Kane struck a nerve.
“Outsiders like you have no right sticking your nose into our business. I’m hanging up now!”
After such a declaration, she hung up.
“……You sound more like an outsider than me, lady.”
Kane watched the phone make all kinds of beeping noises, he wondered who it really was.
“Clay Roberts? I’ll check out more places to find his whereabouts.”
Kane got the answered he desired on the fifth night.
“Minos?”
Kane got a straightforward answer, he didn’t know if it was legit or a trap.
“Yes. It’s the 11th Street bar, it’s a relatively small place.”
The man around twenty years said, as he exposed a wretched smile.
“Here, thanks.”
Kane handed the man a few bills, however the man had no intention of accepting them.
“Compared to that sort of thing……young lad……I think I’ll need a closer feel of your personality before I accept any kind of payment.”
The man said as he reached out and groped Kane’s ass.
——He was gay.
In an instant, Kane’s elbow smashed the man’s jaw.
“——Thank you for your assistance.”
Kane thanked the fallen man before leaving for the bar.
After he opened the door, a wave of smoke and alcohol bombarded him.
The bar’s odour was quite intense.
As soon as the bar’s patrons saw him, they immediately moved away from the bar to the tables.
It seemed the bar’s patrons were wary of Kane.
——Of course, you wouldn’t say a guy walking around in a black cape was normal.
“……I wonder……”
Kane whispered as he observed the bar and its patrons.
He took a look, but he didn’t find who he was looking for.
“——Hey, you going to order something?”
The bartender asked Kane.
Before sitting down, Kane ordered a bottle of beer that wasn’t watered down.
“I’ve heard of a guy called Clay Roberts, do you know the guy?”
Kane thought the bartender would complain before answering, but he silently gazed towards a corner of the bar.
There was four punks in the corner.
“Hey?”
Kane couldn’t help but call out to them.
One of them turned around, it was the man he had been looking for——Clay Roberts, although he looked a lot different from his photo.
He gave Kane a hundred yard stare.
Kane took his drink and walked towards him.
“Hey, Clay! Why the long face, are you imitating a stray dog or something?”
After listening to Kane, Clay’s face changed instantly.
“——Who do you think you are?”
The other three punks stood up.
“……Don’t get angry.”
Clay stopped them from taking further action.
“I’ll need a moment alone with this guy.”
The three punks looked at each other.
“If that’s what you want, then so be it.”
Clay nodded at them and they left him alone with Kane.
“Interesting friends you’ve got.”
Kane said with a smirk.
“Clay! If anything happens, we’ll rush right over!”
The three punks shouted.
While this might have not been the smartest choice, this made talking to Clay less troublesome. In addition, two of the three punks were standing outside.
“——Why are you looking for me?”
Clay spoke first.
Kane could see fear in his eyes.
“What does nightmare want with me?”
A moment of silence enveloped the bar.
“……What?”
Kane said in a high pitched voice.
“……What are you saying?”
“Why must you still play the fool?”
Clay issued a sigh.
“They’ve been looking for me everywhere, to be honest I thought they’d find me sooner. This bar is usually a place you hide before the spies of nightmare find you.”
Clay began panting.
Kane silently scratched his head.
“When will the people from nightmare arrive?”
“Shouldn’t you already know that?”
“What?”
Kane was dumbfounded.
“Hey, wait a minute. Why are nightmare after you?”
“Everyone knows why!”
“I am an acquaintance of your fathers, let me take you back to him.”
“Don’t touch me!”
“Listen to me!”
“If you are who you say you are, then prove it.”
“Proof, what kind of proof?”
“Anything, otherwise I’ll think you’re from nightmare.”
Both of them debated for a moment like two children, until Clay realized it was useless.
“I doesn’t matter anyway……”
“Listen, I’m here to bring you back and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“I’m not going!”
(What a troublesome guy!)
Kane couldn’t help himself, he wanted to hit Clay.
Even though he might have to overcome the three punks guarding Clay, he didn’t hesitate to strike him with his elbow.
“Do what you have to do, but I’m not going back to my worried father?”
“Oh? Why?”
Kane revealed a faint smile.
“Because I’m the son of his wife, he doesn’t really care about me.”
“It seems your future was already set in stone……”
Kane guessed that Clay’s father already has his life planned out for him, he would impose his values upon him whether he liked it or not. His life would be on a fixed route, a high class school and education would allow him to enter a high level business. Clay Roberts was more or less a gear in the wheel of economics.
“Is there anything else?”
Kane spoke in a cold tone.
“Well, got any advice?”
Clay tapped his shoulder, Kane brushed his hand off.
“Nope, fools don’t get advice.”
“Asshole, have you no compassion.”
“Of course I do, but you’re a fool.”
Both of them argued like children.
“You were the one who ran away from home! You must have some confidence if you think you can live in a bar like this, just what were you thinking? I’m the one who had to travel to Mars to rescue your ass, you should show me compassion.”
Clay went silent for a moment.
Kane then continued talking.
“Regardless if you argue with your parents or not, this kind of revenge on them isn’t right.”
Although Kane didn’t really know what he was talking about, but with Clay’s silence, he knew he was right.
“Anyway, I’m sure you relied on your parent’s money, and now you’ve had to rely on that organization. Can’t you see how foolish getting mixed up with them was?”
“……I……”
It seems like he wanted to say something, but was obviously holding it back.
“I’m entrusted to bring you back home, anything else you’ve got yourself into is your own fault and none of my business.”
Kane was blunt.
Someone then entered through the bar’s front door.
“……I……”
Thud…
A voice interrupted them.
“Sorry for the interruption.”
After they heard the guy talking, both of them turned their attention to him. Clay’s body instantly went stiff.
“Mr Zenan.”
The man stood in the doorway like a general of an army, tall and proud. He was a little more handsome than the average male, but his cold dead like eyes would naturally make him inaccessible to others.
Kane’s attention then turned to something else, a small box was tied to his belt.
It was a lightsabre amplifier, the same type used by Kane.
“Well, well. Besides the stink coming from the bathroom, this bar is pretty cool.”
Zenan completely ignored Kane.
“The vessel called Sword Breaker, it belongs to nightmare.”
He spoke in a suave tone.
“You got the name of the ship right, but not its owner.”
Zenan then pulled a lightsabre out from beneath his cloak, Kane did the same.
It became apparent that this man was a professional killer, it was unclear whether this battle was winnable.
This slowly dawned on Kane.
“Mr Zenan……I……”
Clay tried to speak, but Zenan raised his hand to silence him.
“You must be that guy nightmare sent to assassinate the boss, Kane Blueriver and the Sword Breaker.”
“You must be mistaken!”
Zenan ignored Kane’s plea.
“What’s going on?”
“Either way, suspicion of being a member of nightmare is reason enough for me to kill you.”
“So, after the first guy tried to kill me they sent another. Where’s your buddies? Last time there was more of you.”
“A large group of people isn’t necessary to eliminate you.”
Kane took a defensive posture.
Zenan calmly took out a metal tube from his pocket.
Whoosh…
It generated a 70-80cm blade of light.
“I think I’ll play with you for a while.”
Then, Zenan laughed.
At that moment…
Kane took out his own lightsabre.
He dashed towards the pipes near the bathroom and slashed them.
The pipes were cut, water was sent flying everywhere.
Zenan’s view was obscured, he retreated back towards the door.
Kane took this opportunity to run to the other side of the room.
There was no exit on his side of the room, naturally he thought of creating his own exit.
He stuck his lightsabre into the wall, carving an oval shaped door.
However, he knew he had to get Clay out of here too.
But, he knew that if he started fighting in the bar that Clay would probably get hurt.
Nevertheless, Kane kicked the hole he cut and looked through it.
It was night outside.
He didn’t hesitate to jump outside.
In that moment, someone with scorching murderous intent was behind him.
“——!——”
Kane looked behind himself, it was Zenan with his glowing lightsabre.
It seemed he fired an energy projectile from his lightsabre, scorching Kane’s cloak.
“He went outside!”
Zenan shouted behind himself, it seemed he wasn’t alone.
But Kane didn’t stop to find out, he just ran without knowing where he was going.
(Damn it, that bastard has men with him! He even left a hole in my cloak! I doubt much places on Mars even sell cloaks, if at all.)
Tap! Click!
He didn’t have time to complain, a series of noises came from behind him.
(——A pistol?)
If they’re guns fired normal bullets and lasers it would prove troublesome if Kane took a hit, mostly because bullets are more lethal.
Bang!
(Asshole! I’m the one who delivers the opening attack!)
Fortunately the shot missed, but he wouldn’t be so lucky next time.
Though he wanted to fight back he couldn’t, because he didn’t know how many people he was up against or their firepower.
All he knew was the he had to blindly go forward.
Bathed in the light of the night, numerous men with murderous intent continued their pursuit.
(……These guys just won’t give up……)
Kane felt that he could only run for a few minutes more. Although if he stopped right now he would risk being shot while turning to face his pursuers.
He knew that he couldn’t run forever, but finding a hiding place wasn’t an option right now, because if he was found it would be over for him.
(If I bring them into an open street they might give up.)
Kane opted for an open street instead of being chased through alleys and the back streets.
“Ah!”
Kane yelled as he rushed onto an open road.
The road he ran onto had numerous dazzling lights——they were cars.
“Damn it!”
Among the noises of the cars Kane heard a familiar voice.
“Come on, get in!”
After hesitating for a moment, Kane got into the car.
Kane sat in the passenger seat, she then started the car.
The men chasing after Kane were catching up with them.
“Friends of yours?”
“Just drive!”
“He’s getting away!”
Behind them they heard numerous shouts and gunfire being directed in their direction.
Even if they were to drive after them, it would be impossible to catch up.
“——It’s you. Thanks anyway.”
Kane said to the female driver.
“The name’s Millennium, but you call me Millie.”
It was the same person who Kane had a phone call with earlier, he could tell from her voice.
She was almost the same age as Kane, she was wearing a red jacket and her blonde hair was shoulder length.
“——It isn’t over yet!”
She shouted while turning the wheel.
“Didn’t I tell you to back off?”
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter now because he’s not here. Hopefully he was able to escape.”
As they were driving, a familiar looking car was parked on the side of the road——it was Zenan and his cronies.
“Ah! You’re going the wrong way!”
“You idiot! Why didn’t you tell me earlier!?”
Millie panicked as she operated the steering wheel.
“Huh, then which way is the right one?”
“Go right, right!”
“Are you sure?”
“Who knows, ah!”
The car went into another lane, this time it was a relatively large road with very little vehicles.
Looking into the rear mirror, Millie spotted two vehicles gaining on them.
“This isn’t the time to play hide and seek.”
Millie quietly muttered.
Pop!
It was a sharp sound, a small hole appeared in the front and rear window of the car.
“They shot at us!”
“Those bastards! They must really want to kill us!”
“Damn it, this car is a rental!”
“Don’t worry about such a thing, just accelerate and get us out of here.”
“If you say so!”
Millie put her foot down on the accelerator.
But——
The reflection in the car mirror was getting closer.
It wasn’t a technical problem, it was because Zenan’s car’s had better engines.
“No, we can’t go any faster!”
“……Forget it! We’ll just have to fight back!”
“Ah!”
Millie desperately screamed as bullets flew overhead.
They were being pursued by floating vehicles, it was a specific type that was powered by electricity. It affected their aiming since it vibrates when moving, no matter how good their aiming was it would be difficult to fire an accurate shot.
“How are you going to fight them, do you even have a gun?”
“No, but I’ve thought of something.”
Kane said as he took out his lightsabre, he then began cutting the passenger’s seat door.
Rattle! Rattle!
After a loud thud, the car door came off. It went flying towards the cars pursuing them, whacking one of the cars.
“My goodness! You used the car door against them!”
“Ah ha ha ha! At least it stopped one of them!”
Millie couldn’t help but feel angry.
“Didn’t you hear me, this is a rental car!”
“So, it’s not like it’s worth much.”
“You better be paying for the damages.”
“Oh, please.”
“……Argh……”
She stepped on the accelerator with tears in her eyes.
Although it wasn’t obvious to them, the distance between them and the remaining car was closing.
Kane thought for a moment.
“……It doesn’t make sense to use the back seats. However, I could use the trunk against them.”
“——H-Hey, stop! Please!”
Millie cried out.
Kane ignored her pleas and began to cut off the trunk.
The driver tried to avoid the impact but was struck dead centre.
“——Bullseye! Hopefully he’ll die in a fiery inferno.”
“Asshole!”
She shouted from the bottom of her heart.
It was very dark, the scene shifted to a large room.
Painted on the floor was a huge inverse pentagram.
In the centre of the room was a mysterious man.
Albert Von Stargazer.
The leader of the galaxy’s largest criminal organization, Nightmare.
He stood in silence in the middle of the room, there wasn’t even a table in sight.
It was almost as if he was meditating.
His white hair was like a silver flame. He had a lean face which was reminiscent of a bird. His entire body was covered in a large black cloak.
It was an ancient sorcerers dress.
“Stargazer.”
He didn’t know where the voice came from, he slowly opened his eyes.
“Come.”
His words reacted with the door, which made no sound as it opened.
A man dressed in black entered.
“We are now planning an invasion against system 1-3-A, the solar system, Dugole Connection among other things……”
The man said as he stood near the entrance, his voice trembled a little as he spoke.
“We pulled some strings inside the interstellar police and have caused some friction between them and the Dugole Connection.”
“And?”
His expression didn’t change.
“According to the staff report, they would seem to have a great deal of trouble if they tried to topple them. We have the opportunity to either support or destroy one side.”
No matter how much trouble nightmare was causing, it wasn’t enough to push the balance in anyone’s favour without getting directly involved.
“Is there any information relating to that trouble contractor?”
“Yes, here it is.”
The man in black slowly walked towards Stargazer.
He handed him the information, regardless of how much his hand shook.
Then he went back to the door, the man in black couldn’t help but shed a cold sweat.
Every single time.
Every time he was near the old man a wave of nausea or some strange type of pressure came over him.
Normal humans cannot withstand it for long.
If this man was a realist, he might describe it as——miasma.
The old man began to turn over the report.
“——Is the content of this report correct?.”
“Yes, five pirate ships were sunk by……”
The old man interrupted the man in black with a rough tone.
“The Sword Breaker, I’ve had my eye on this spaceship and its central control system……”
“You are referring to Canal Volfield.”
“Obviously.”
The old man whispered.
The man in black couldn’t help but flinch.
Not because he was shocked, but because the miasma in the room had become more intense.
“What are the energy supply levels on docks 1-5?”
Although the topic of conversation had changed, the man in black didn’t panic.
“They haven’t changed much, they average around thirty percent. Dock is at thirty seven percent though.”
He replied.
After a moment of silence, Stargazer slowly spoke.
“——Open the doors to dock number two.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll hand the orders down personally.”
He then saluted Stargazer.
“——Is there anything I should know?”
He reluctantly asked.
“It’s a spaceship.”
Stargazer said in an emotionless voice.
“Who’s the pilot?”
“A pilot isn’t necessary.”
When travelling through outer space, a human spirit is necessary.
If no one was aboard the ship, then it would be impossible to enter superluminal navigation.
He knew better than to ask any more questions.
“Understood. But what about the Dugole Connection?”
“Use your contact in the Interstellar Police to apply pressure on them, eventually it will escalate and they will be forced to intervene. Then we’ll force them into submission.”
“Understood.”
He saluted and left the room.
Stargazer was left alone once more.
“This must come to pass, nightmare will spread across the universe……”
Millie walked alone in the night, neon lights lighted up the area.
The night wind was cold, very cold.
Regardless of how much of a bargain the rental car was, she didn’t have the money to pay for the damages.
She had to contact the Director of her department to get the necessary funds, but this resulted in a pay cut as punishment.
For a new recruit on the job for less than a year, it was a mighty blow.
“Helping that guy was a mistake……he walks around in the street with a cape of all things, I should have knew he was trouble.“
Millie said, but she needed his help to find Clay because her Director kept telling her to hurry up and find him.
If her information is correct, he should be in this bar.
The place was noisy and full of smoke, a drunken man approached her.
“Yo, foxy lady. How you doin’?
She ignored him and went straight to the bar, hoping to find Clay.
“He’s not here, right?”
“He’s here alright.”
“You are……”
It was the man she was looking for——Clay Roberts.
“Why do you want to help me?”
“——It doesn’t matter.”
Clay said, he then waved over the bartender and ordered some cocktails.
He gave one to Millie.
“Because……I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I just let you disappear.”
“Is that right?”
Clay said, as he sipped her cocktail.
“Anyway, how can we bring you back home? You’re not interested in your father’s cause, you just want to escape from reality. Maybe there’s some way we can get both of you to come to terms with one another?”
Millie stopped preaching.
“Although, I think it might be a bit too late for the unpromising son to return home.”
Clay said in a sombre tone.
For a while they were silent, both of them stared at their glasses.
“I’ve…..thought about it a lot.”
He whispered, then fell silent.
Mille wasn’t in a hurry to ask.
“——I.”
“——Your ideals are simply irrelevant.”
A voice came suddenly from the side.
(——Crap!)
Millie instantly stood up.
They hadn’t realized it, but they were surrounded by five or six men.
Although Millie didn’t know, one of the men was Zenan.
“I’d like to hear more from this lady.”
Zenan smiled and ordered his men to grab Millie.
“……Wait a second! You must be joking?!”
Clay revealed a look of desperation, however he didn’t have the courage to help.
Millie was pulled out of the bar, eventually she was taken to an underground parking lot.
The lights of a car lit up the parking lot, she was being held down on the car.
“Where is Kane?”
“I don’t know.”
Each time Zenan asked, Millie let out a cry.
“You are his associate! What are nightmare planning?”
“Nightmare……I’m not……”
“This isn’t working.”
Zenan coldly looked at her.
“If you won’t give me the answer, then I’ll have to force it out of you. How does 1.5 volts sound?”
One of the men revealed a wicked smile, as he moved close to Millie.
“Wait! Wait! Ah!”
Her voice was strained.
“I’m just a detective! I was commissioned by Clay’s father to bring him back!”
The man slowly climbed on top of her.
“I called Kane and nightmare has nothing to do with this!”
The man grabbed Millie’s’ clothes.
“I have proof! Please, listen to me!”
“…Proof?”
Zenan whispered, and then the man stopped in his tracks.
“——Well, we’ll see about that.”
As he spoke, the man reluctantly got off of Millie.
However, the crisis wasn’t over, she was still strapped to the car.
“Well, where’s this proof?”
“There’s proof that I’m a detective in my wallet.”
“You do realize people can fake that kind of stuff.”
Millie went silent.
“……Well, you can call the detective agency and give them my number.”
“Hmm……”
Zenan thought for a moment.
“Okay, but you’ll be doing a video call——there’s a device in the car.”
The car was equipped with a small video camera.
“No funny business, or you’ll get it.”
Millie started dialling the agency.
Although her hands were free, she had a gun pointed at her back.
Even if she had an opportunity to escape, the odds of her escaping alive were very low.
After a considerable amount of time, the agency finally picked up.
A woman appeared on the video screen.
“Hi, Cynthia.”
“Millie? What’s wrong? Your calling of a sudden, is it about the case?”
“Yeah, but first I’ve got to speak to the director.”
“Understood.”
A moment passed.
Then a silver haired middle aged man appeared on the screen.
“What is it this time, Millie?”
“You don’t want me renting a car since I trashed the last one, right?”
The man revealed a bulldog like expression.
“Get to the point!”
“Remember how I was going to bring back Clay Roberts to his father on Mars?”
The director frowned. He then carefully looked at Millie’s face.
“Have you lost the relevant information?”
“No, I still have it.”
The man behind Millie suddenly pushed her out of the way.
“Who is that man?”
“Well……”
Millie pondered for a moment.
“He’s a member of a local organization.”
“What?”
“Ah, you see I am part of a local organization that does odd jobs. We suspect this woman to be part of a hostile organization.”
“And?”
The director said in a rude manner.
“They were wondering if you could verify my identity as a detective.”
“Can’t you do anything right? Since you can’t man detailed in your assignment, I think it’s best that you don’t phone back here again.”
“No, wait!”
“Goodbye, Miss Millennium Feria Nocturne.”
The connection on the other side was cut.
Millie was speechless.
“……Ahhhhhhh!!!”
Screams could clearly be heard in the vehicle.
“My life! My new life! I haven’t paid off that five month loan on my VCD machine yet!”
“……This woman is still worried about her loan……”
Millie couldn’t help but shed tears.
“It’s clear that she’s not from nightmare.”
“Mr Zenan, what do we do with her?”
One man said in a disgruntled voice.
“The director saw my face. If this woman’s corpse is found, naturally the first suspect will be me.”
Zenan sighed.
“I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way. Whether you are from nightmare or not, you did disturb our work. Dumping your body into a bathtub full of dissolution acid should do the trick, there won’t be anything left of you to find.”
“No!”
“——Get her!”
Whack, Millie hit one of the men and tried to make a break for it.
However, Zenan’s men were closing in on her.
“Stop……please!”
One grabbed Millie by the wrist, it was impossible for her to resist.
Whoosh!
Then suddenly——a beam of light flew out of the darkness and struck the hand hold Millie, she was free.
“Run for it!”
By the time the voice reached Zenan, it was too late.
At that very moment, a bright light shone in the darkness.
“Ahh…”
“Ohh…”
Two of Zenan’s goons fell to the ground, both of them had been struck by something.
“——Nobody move!”
The voice came from the darkness.
“It’s that guy……”
Zenan whispered.
“Move and you get shot!”
Millie didn’t understand what was happening.
Then——
Out of the darkness appeared Kane, with his cape and lightsabre in tow.
“Millie, you okay?”
“——Yes, thank you.”
“I know where you’re hiding, Zenan!”
Kane motioned for Millie to move closer to him, she moved accordingly.
“We’ll get in the car and go.”
He said, while watching for any signs of movement.
Zenan was in no hurry to attack.
He had seen what Kane did to his men.
From the way he had shot at his men’s joints, he could easily tell that Kane was a skilled shooter.
If he casually walked out from behind the stone pillar, death was certain. But if he could use the other men as a distraction, then he might have a chance to move.
Just as Zenan had been thinking about what to do, he hear a car driving away.
“Damn!”
Him and his remaining men rushed out from behind the pillars.
“Mr Zenan……”
He ignored his men and rushed straight towards the car.
Running past the injured men on the ground he rushed towards the parking lot entrance.
“Shit!”
Zenan shouted.
But——
After a moment of silence, he smiled.
“……Well, this isn’t over one bit……”
“You saved me, thanks a lot.”
Millie said, as she sat in the passenger seat.
“We’re not friends anyway, so I don’t owe you a favour.”
“Why do you say that?”
Kane revealed an unhappy look.
“Don’t be so narrow-minded. Men, they should be more open-minded.”
“All in all, you only escaped because of me. If I was narrow-minded I wouldn’t have saved you.”
Millie ignored the irony of his words.
“So! You were the one who got me into this mess.”
“And you were the one who told me to get into the car!”
“You argue like a child.”
“Just shut up, where do you want me to take you? To your hotel or to Clay?”
“……I just remembered something……”
Millie quietly murmured.
“……What is it?”
“……The detective agency I worked for fired me……”
“Damn. Why were you fired?”
“The director scolded me for not being able to find Clay, he said not to phone back.”
“Well, that sucks.”
“……What will I do now?”
Millie though about what to do. Meanwhile Kane kept driving on the road, ever watchful for signs of someone following them.
