(Kasumi Nakumura)
“Did you get him?” I asked Astrid once she got into my car.
“Yep,” She replied cheerfully, despite our situation. She jerked her thumb back. “In the back seat.”
I started the car and sighed. “This appears to be rough upon him, but it’s the only way to stop violence amongst the city.”
“With justice, we could finally shut down those borders.” Astrid added.
“Exactly,” I agreed, turning the steering wheel while pressing the pedal. “I’m glad Fred is giving me a chance. This way, we can observe the diversity among creatures.”
“Especially ones with messed up cases, right?”
I nodded. “Allurix does have many cases, but these four are major since they’re tied to Mira and Ace. I don’t expect him to like this process, but there’s no other way.”
“Gotta love freedom.” Astrid said.
“And,” I added. “To connect with others.”
“The trauma.”
I nodded, taking another turn. “I can understand them. And I can help.”
“Fred is lucky to have you.”
“I am his most loyal assistant.”
“Me too.”
I focused on the road. “He’s dangerous. There’s no way he’d agree with coming with us, so we had to knock him out.”
“Considering he’s not fully human, I brought extra sleeping drugs in case he wakes up by chance.”
“Good call. He probably wasn’t expecting chemicals, right?”
“I figured he was used to physical attacks.”
“You’re right. His scars on his hands. He must know what that feels like.”
Astrid frowned. “Hey, do you think he started the blackout? Or was that natural?”
I shrugged. “Who knows? I’m glad it’s back on.” I let out a gasp and stopped the car immediately as it was about to hit another car. I heard a thump from the back. I turned back. Ace was still lying on the seats, eyes closed. I turned to the front again and let out an annoyed sigh. “Seriously? A traffic jam? Now?”
“Hopefully it won’t last long.” Astrid said.
I tapped my finger on the steering wheel, in irritation. I decided to take a deep breath. It’s fine. We’re almost there. Once the traffic clears up, we’ll be right there.
Just then, I heard honking from another car. Honking. It was one of the things I despised about people. It was a thing they did as a response in a traffic jam. It was annoying. And loud. I then heard the sound of groaning from the back. Then a stir. I turned to Astrid in alarm. “Give the drugs to me, and go shut that car up!”
She looked equally panicked, yet confused. “You’re going to drug him when he’s already drugged?”
“If he’s going to move around and make sounds like that, it means he might wake up,” I reasoned. “And what do you think will happen then?”
I could see the pieces connect in her expression. “Oh! You’re right. Yeah, totally got you.”
“Hurry!” I whispered.
She handed a bottle over and a cloth, with a pair of handcuffs that glowed in red. “Better keep him tied up okay?”
“Don’t get yourself in trouble.” I told her as she was about to leave.
She laughed. “I won’t.”
I got to the backseat. Ace’s words were noncoherent, but I finally got him to keep quiet. I tied the drugged cloth around his mouth and nose, before clipping the handcuffs around his wrists.
I sighed. Finally, Luckily the traffic jam didn’t finish yet. My head perked up. And where’s Astrid? Why is she taking so long? It’s not like I could hear the honking anymore.
The front passenger car door opened. Astrid came in with a smile. “Hey, I’m back. Sorry for taking so long.”
“What were you doing?” I asked her.
“Ahah, someone had to get a black eye.”
“What!?”
Astrid turned to the back. “Ah, you did it-oh….uh…he’s not going to die if he’s like that, right?”
I let out a little laugh. “He’s a crazy kid. A drug isn’t going to kill him.”
Just then, the traffic cleared. “Finally!” I exclaimed, before pushing the pedal again. Now things can be done the right way.
90Please respect copyright.PENANAk13hJbGS9G