“Long time no see, Zelaide.”
“I was hopin’ it’d be longer.”
“That’s some attitude ya’ve got there.”
“Were ya able to locate the enemy with the intel I gave, Vulcan?” Zelaide asked the bearlike man.
“Yeah,” Vulcan Asymmetry responded, unaffected by his younger kin’s lack of formality. Just like his last name suggested, his eyes were two different colors. Slits at the end of his eyebrows made them look like snake tongues. The man himself looked more like a giant red bull than a snake. He gestured with his chin to the woman in black crouched behind him. “Mizelle, share your intel.”
Mizelle was unusually slender for a Beast Blood, and had a beautiful but narrow face.
“Only two helicopters arrived in this city today. One was quite large and landed on the rooftop of Speyer Building early in the morning,” Mizelle explained in an emotionless voice. “We have confirmed a number of civilians were onboard that one. The other was a small two-seater. It flew north of the city before noon, but I don’t know the landing point.”
The larger of the two was likely the helicopter Euphemia and Ronaldo took from Gothic City.
“We can’t enter the northern part of the city. The area is restricted to VIPs who own holiday homes there and security is tight. The helicopter seems to have landed somewhere inside there,” she finished.
Haydn! Zelaide’s silver hair stood on end.
“There’s more,” Mizelle said, shooting a frosty look at the man about to bolt from the alleyway. “But I’ll leave if you don’t want to hear it.”
“…Tell me.” Zelaide had no choice but to stop and listen to the cut and dry woman.
“I don’t know where it landed, but the car that left the villa zone right after parked at the Speyer Building. The area around that building is my territory. I always have my ears pricked to catch anything out of the ordinary. The car was tinted to prevent prying eyes. But I sniffed out something strange and told the kids to keep an eye on it and the surrounding buildings. This was before Vulcan contacted me.”
“Good instinct,” the skinnier man said.
“Mizelle looks after the parentless Beast Blood kiddos living in this city. Ain’t she admirable?” Vulcan threw in.
Mizelle didn’t even glance his way.
“What was strange ’bout it?” Zelaide asked, also ignoring Vulcan.
“Speyer Building is home to a TV station and normally has a lot of traffic coming and going from it. Suspicious types often mix in with the other humans. It’s impossible to check every vehicle or person, but…that particular car reeked of Nightz.”
“Nightz…?”
“That’s right.” Mizelle held her IHT out for Zelaide to see for himself.
The black car captured on screen was a luxury vehicle that didn’t look suspicious. Why would this vehicle reek of Nightz?
Nightz generally didn’t have a strong odor. The smell given off by the normal stuff available on the black market could be completely hidden by human perfumes, hair products, food, sweat, and soap. But it was not odorless. If there was a large amount in one place or if it wasn’t diluted, anyone with an acute sense of smell would notice it.
And it was believed that Beast Bloods had a sense of smell several times that of humans. Experts said that while their smell wasn’t as good as a dog’s, it was much sharper than any human and some animals. Research had also shown that Beast Blood children had a better sense of smell than the adults. It’s what allowed the children to survive even without parents.
“A lot of entertainers and celebrities frequent the building and some of them do Nightz,” Mizelle explained. “But Amanda said the smell was too strong for that. Amanda has exceptionally heightened senses among the kids I look out for. Either that car is full of pure, undiluted Nightz or it was shortly before showing up here. No doubt about it.”
Zelaide silently pondered what that meant for Euphemia.
“The car stayed parked there for half a day. There were too many people and cars coming and going from Speyer Building for my kids to pick up on this Haydn man or your mate. It was even worse today because they seem to be holding some sort of event. But what I can say is that the car only headed back to the villa zone just before rainfall. One of the kids I had taking watch shifts sent me video of it leaving. I don’t know if your mate was inside or not. This is all the information I can provide.”
Mizelle fell back and melted into the darkness created by the collapsing wall.
“What’s the plan, Silvergray?”
“I’m goin’.” Zelaide’s reply was brief. The other man’s face hardened.
“That zone’s security is topnotch.”
“Luce is right,” Vulcan chimed in. “A private militia protects that zone. They ain’t Guardian strong, but strong ’nough. Basically some rich man’s mercenary team. You’re up against a fat cat, right?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Zelaide responded and meant it.
“Charging in through the front is suicide. They don’t have machine guns, but they’re packing anti-Muta weaponry. Those things work just as well on Beast Bloods. You don’t even know how many are stationed in a single villa, much less the entire complex. Think before you act. If you truly want to save your mate, that is,” the skinny man, Luce, advised in a grave voice.
“I want to save her. Even if I have to die to do it,” Zelaide roared, his throat rumbling.
“Then it’s settled.”
The redhead nodded, followed by the other two.
“Take command, Zelaide.” Vulcan cracked a broad smile.
Zelaide lifted his chin. “I’m going to save my mate. Assist me.”
“Mission accepted.”
“Affirmative.”
The Beast Blood men accepted his request as one.
“Wahaha! Hell yeah! Bein’ able to demand a favor outta ya later is a good feelin’. Ain’t it, Luce, Leo?”
“…Hmph.”
“Oh yeah.”
The skinny man and the young redhead replied in their own ways. They were all Beast Bloods from Romanesque City.
“Leo, go get us a few more guys. Luce, you’re on weapon duty,” Vulcan ordered the men. He was the most familiar with the local area and everyone present. “I’ll take stock of what security is like in the villa zone. Zelaide, you’re with me. No rushin’ things, ya hear me?”
“…I know.”
“Mizelle, gather more intel,” Vulcan instructed the shadows. “A lot of the residents in the villa zone are big cats, so none of the addresses are public. They’re often registered under different names. But we can’t get started if we don’t know where that car went. Likely get reported while we’re lookin’. Can any of the kids do it? Unlike us, they can blend in.”
“…Can try it,” Mizelle reluctantly agreed. “But I’m bringing them back the moment it gets dangerous.”
“Do that. Those kids are your life. Put them first. You all good on your orders? Gather back here once I give the word. There aren’t any eyes here and the back roads will get us to the north quick…” Vulcan turned from the other Beast Bloods to Zelaide when he noticed the dangerously deep lines etched into his brow. “Don’t make that face. Worrying is only gonna drain you of energy that much faster.”
It took tremendous effort for Zelaide to suppress his desire to charge in after Euphemia right away. Throwing away reason to rescue one’s mate was a natural reaction for Beast Blood males. Even more so if their woman was kidnapped. It wasn’t uncommon for a male to go into a crazed frenzy in his position.
He’s got a lot of self-control for a youngster, Vulcan thought. And that’s why we’ve gotta be quick about this.
“Go!”
The Beast Bloods went in four different directions letting out a howl telling the world that the Beast Bloods were on the hunt.