Chapter 38.2

Raphael grimaced as he looked at the remains of several mercenaries. He tasted bile in the back of his mouth and he forced himself not to retch as forensics studied and bagged the pieces and chunks of sliced bodies that were in front of him. The police were the first to arrive but they alerted AEM immediately when they found the corpses; it was too horrific and they realized that this wasn't a normal case. The mercenaries were sliced clean multiple times, and their innards such as intestines and stomach fluids coated the floor. Raphael turned away and walked back to his team that was standing away from the bodies.

"And?" Raphael asked.

"Looks like - mrph!" Suni tried to explain but stopped and heaved. "Same perpetrator - mngh! - as the docks."

Raphael gestured at them to distance themselves from the corpses and the others quickly followed him away.

"Any footage or witnesses?" Raphael asked and Junco stepped up while Suni tried to stop himself from retching.

"No footage. But there are some witnesses that are alive. Barely," Junco responded and Raphael grimaced.

"That bad?" Dhole asked.

"Most of them have at least one limb that's been disabled. Most ..." Junco sighed. "They'll never walk or use an arm again."

"Seriously, who is this guy?" Suni asked speaking quickly so he wouldn't heave in between his sentences again. "The dude sliced people up like the Predator - no seriously, look at it. And the survivors claim he has big sharp teeth. Like - mph - like a monster or something."

"He is a monster," Raphael said while gesturing at the direction of the corpses. "No sane human would slice people up like a meat grinder."

"Oh, now I won't be able to eat meat for a while," Suni covered his mouth and turned pale as Raphael turned to the group. "Did you have to mention - mprh - beef right now?!" 

"This is the third place to be hit tonight," Raphael said seriously, ignoring Suni who nearly retched again. "Each place had a common modus though: the perpetrator was targeting illegal mercenaries that snuck into the city and were hiding in abandoned areas."

Raphael turned back to Suni, the team's tech expert. "I need a list of every place, every decommissioned warehouse, every abandoned building, every place that's obscure and send a drone to every one of them! You find anything off, send a team to investigate."

"I'll contact headquarters and requisition the drones," Dhole said and both he and Suni moved away, giving space to Raphael and Junco.

"Michelle?" Raphael asked Junco. There was a hint of concern in his voice and it was obvious that he was worried for her.

"Back at headquarters," Junco answered before hesitating. "Major … sir. Don't you think it's strange that there are so many mercenaries hiding in the city?"

"Yes, I'm concerned about that as well," Raphael turned his head and looked around carefully before saying quietly. "This … this is like an invasion, and it's hard to tell which country is involved. And the ... perpetrator to these murders …"

Is probably one of us, Raphael thought. The cocky look of Jason during the day flashed across his mind. Isn't that right, Jason?

Raphael was now certain that Jason had a hand in the attack at the western pier's dock last night. He had a feeling that this attack was connected to him, probably it has something to do with his daughter, Alice, and the mysterious assassin who appeared to be the mother of the girl.

Putain d'enfer Jason, Raphael thought. Couldn't keep it in your pants? You had to do it with an assassin?

"Uh, Angel? We've got a situation," Suni came back with a grim face. "A Council member was just killed."

Raphael's eyes widened as he swore and Junco turned to look at Suni sharply. A Council member being murdered was the same as a world leader like a president or prime minister being assassinated. And at the exact time as AEM was busy with multiple attacks throughout the city? Hardly a coincidence.

"Was it those hooded Practitioners?" Raphael asked grimly as he walked to Suni. "The assassins from the carnival?"

"Hooded, yeah," Suni shook his head as he continued. "But no. I don't - it - it's better if you see it."

Suni handed a tablet to Raphael who took it with a grim look. He saw it contained security footage of the events that happened at the party. At first, everything seemed normal but the screen turned static, like an old television screen, before a hooded figure appeared out of nowhere. Even though he was watching from the screen, shivers went down his spine and he shuddered as he watched everyone calmly proceeding with the party despite the intruder. Minutes later, Raphael watched in shock as the crowd finally saw the figure but it was too late. The Reaper conjured a scythe from a black mist and began slicing away at the crowd. With one swipe, several people died and soon there was no one standing. The Reaper turned to pursue the people who fled, he disappeared and reappeared behind them before slashing again.

"The Reaper …" Raphael muttered before handing the tablet to Junco and turning to face Suni. "Cancel my previous order. The police can take care of these mercenary attacks, we've got a ghost to hunt."