Chapter 75

The post-nut clarity hit me like a train the next morning upon waking up. I wearily opened my eyes and saw Shinso asleep next to me, gripping his pillow tightly.

"Morning."

I whispered as I ran a finger through his hair, causing him to stir a little before he returned to his slumber. I heard rain outside, and distant thunder, and I turned my head to look at the analog clock in the corner of the room.

The clock read that it was only 6:39 in the morning, meaning I still had about 5 hours left to sleep before Demetrius would rip the covers off my body and force me up like he always did. The floorboards creaked under my feet as I stood up and changed into casual clothing, before stepping out of Shinso's bedroom and into the main section of the lobby.

I saw Aizawa and Officer Palau sitting at the main table, their faces both buried in the piles of files they collected the other day. 

"You do know the whole Nullifying bullet scheme was a ruse, right?"

I said with a sarcastic tone as I sat down and glinted towards the 2 of them. Aizawa raised his head from his papers and mumbled something, but he didn't pay much attention to my words. I heard another door open behind me, and Raymond stepped out holding a cup of chamomile tea, the steam fogging up his round glasses.

"What are you losers doing?"

He asked as he sat down at the table, glaring at us from afar. Officer Palau raised his head in confusion at Raymond. Just then I suddenly remembered that Officer Palau had never seen Raymond before, so I understood his sudden bursts of confusion. 

"That's Raymond, he's temporarily here with us."

Officer Palau nodded slowly for a few moments, his eyes narrowed with suspicion before he went back to his files. 

"Words of Madame Fitzgerald's death spread quite fast around town, and they're already looking for her killer."

Raymond chortled as he shot a quick glance towards Aaron, who sighed in annoyance. I grabbed a leftover pastry from the tin that we brought to Madame Fitzgerolds, but immediately spit it out due to the growing mold from the hot conditions within the metal container. 

"I didn't know they'd go this bad already..."

I grumbled as I tossed the container out. I then turned to look at Aaron, who was leaning against the wall sipping his morning coffee.

"Mind if I head out for an hour or two?"

"No."

Even if the question was focused towards Aaron, I heard Aizawa reply coldly. I turned to look at him and rolled my eyes.

"I'll have Shinso accompany me, we're just going to the shooting range."

Aizawa rubbed his glabella before sighing, looking back up at me and rolling his eyes.

"I suppose, but you'll have to wait for him to wake up."

I nodded my head in acknowledgement before approaching Shinso's room and opening the door slowly, only for him to turn to look at me, he was completely naked.

"Shit, sorry."

I immediately closed the door, my face was flushed like a baby tomato. Aaron looked at me and laughed, amused by the current scene.

"You should knock."

I heard Aizawa say, his face stern, but I could see a small smile tear at the corners of his lips. I turned away and entered the bathroom before locking the door. The mirror was cracked, which prevented me from looking into it completely, but I made due and was able to comb my short wavy hair and wash my face with the frigid water from the tab.

After about 5 minutes I stepped out and saw Shinso leaning against the doorframe, looking down at me with a neutral expression. I looked up at him in his purple eyes and chuckled.

"You should lock the door, idiot."

Shinso seemed taken aback by my words and playfully nudged me in the elbows.

"You shouldn't be so curious, dumbass."

"Anyways I had plans of heading to the shooting range, and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me."

Shinso's eyes flickered with joy as he nodded, before popping his shirt collar and taking me by the arm, before we both headed out of the headquarters. The streets were packed, not with people, but rather lots of overground police officers that wandered around.

"What are they on about?"

Shinso leaned into me and whispered, I looked back up at him and sighed.

"They're looking for the individual who killed Madame Fitzgerold."

"S-she was killed?"

Shinsi's eyes suddenly widened as she looked around.

"What if it was Isaiah?"

I shook my head and chuckled, even if it wasn't really the time to be doing so.

"Madame Fitzgerold and Isaiah used to date, and from the information that Aaron told me they didn't end up on bad ends."

After hearing this Shinso nodded, before he looked into the distance and saw a carriage being inspected by a few officers, ones with magnifying glasses, rags and even a few artifacts. The carriage looked like the same model that me, Aaron and Raymond took from Madame Fiztgerold's house, which made my gut sink to my feet.

"Stop please, a mandatory inspection is required for citizens passing within this given area."

A police officer boomed in a monotone voice as he approached us and started to dig his hands around our clothing, and even under our clothing. After a good 5 minutes of useless patting, he felt something in my chest pocket and took it out. It was the sun-charm.

"What's this doing here, pup?"

His voice suddenly grew serious as he glared at me in suspicion. The tension in the air was almost palpable as he continued to glare us down, but I slowly took the sun-charm back from his hands and stuffed it back into my vest pocket.

"It's just a trinket I stumbled across. I found it one day whilst on a walk."

I nonchalantly said as I put it in my pocket, before taking a deep breath in. The police officer pushed aside his black bangs and continued to glare at us, before his black eyes shone with a glint of suspicion.

"You can move along, but we might question you later."

He then stepped aside and allowed us to pass. Me and Shinso continued to walk down the street, but it was only a few steps before Shinso tapped me on the shoulder.

"I'm a little unsure about all this, are the police utilizing this heavy artillery to capture a murderer? Shouldn't they utilize this to find Isaiah?"

I brushed off the question, although a lot of suspicion continued to dwell in my mind.

"Perhaps, maybe Isaiah is causing trouble just to cause trouble. I've never met someone who'd stick to past deals to any extent beyond a few years."

Shinso stuffed his hands in his pockets as he continued to walk, and I could feel Shinso's gaze scanning every aspect of his surroundings.

"You seem on edge, why?"

Shinso's expression suddenly washed over with a tiny glint of remorse, his eyes softened and his brows unfurled.

"Ever since you died...I wasn't able to forgive myself for being so unable to help you. Even if Aaron shot you I don't hate him. Hating people is reckless, and it's the reason even more people grow to destroy themselves."

I raised an eyebrow in awe, taken aback in a good way by Shinso's sudden philosophical expression. After saying that, Shinso suddenly paused and continued to walk without saying anything until we arrived at the bar.

By the time we opened the front door we were greeted by a flurry of police officers which seemed more like hiding from the rain rather than coming here to shoot or have a drink.

"Let's go to the range, we don't want to waste time."

Shinso grabbed my arm and began to pull me but I planted my foot into the ground to stop him.

"I wasn't exactly here to shoot bullets, but rather to pry any explanations from the man who works here."

Shinso raised an eyebrow as he shot a quick glance towards the man who always greeted us when we entered the club.

"Him, why him of all people?"

I didn't say anything as I approached him, before tapping him on the shoulders lightly, he turned to us with a disgruntled and tired expression, but his expression shot over with surprise and a little familiarity upon seeing us.

"I assume you boys are here to shoot a few more rounds?"

He asked in his scruffy voice, puffing a tiny cloud of cigar smoke into the air. I shook my head before pointing to a small booth in the corner of the room.

"We're here to discuss some things."

The man's face shook up a little, confused on why we would need to talk to him. He then casually trotted over to the counter and began to speak to the bartender who was lazily cleaning out shot glasses.

"3 drinks please, on the house."

The bartender's expression remained unmoved as he slowly blinked and extended his arm, hoping that he'd give him some money.

"Don't I work here and get paid? I'll deduct a little for my paycheck of the week if it means I get these for free, what do you say, Barclay?"

His voice suddenly turned a little charismatic as he leaned into Barclay and raised an eyebrow whilst flashing his golden tooth. Barclay nodded without saying a word, before filling up 3 glasses full of fizzy beer.

"That's the golden stuff!"

He took the 3 drinks with a smile and a wink as he approached us, before handing us our beverages.

"Sit down and talk to me, why don't ya?"

The bulky man took a seat, making the booth stool he was sitting on creak and moan under his weight, making him mutter a few curses.

"I know you work at the shooting range, but what other bullets here do you specialize in having?"

His eyes widened before looking back towards a tiny canister near the door leading to the shooting range.

"Well, anything for Aaron's fella's!"

He laughed heartily before walking over and taking the tiny canister of bullets back to the table. He took all of them out and neatly organized them into rows.

"We have regular bullets, steel bullets, copper bullet, nullifying bullets-"

I stopped him mid sentence and picked up the Nullifying bullet from off the table, admiring it carefully.

"Hmm, Raymond did say that these were used by overground police."

"Where do you get these?"

The man sighed, before leaning in closer.

"The Dark Market."

I was puzzled and dumbfounded by this revelation.

"The Dark Market? If the bullets are used by the regular police, what business do they have wandering around down there?"

"I'm sorry, The Dark Market?"

I leaned in closer and gazed into him, he looked back at me with a slightly intimidating expression.

"Indeed, kid. The Dark Market may be explicitly illegal, but that doesn't mean that..."

He suddenly took a sip of his beer, before swallowing it loudly, suds ran down his mouth and leaked onto the table.

"There's a lot of police here, it's better we discuss things elsewhere."

He suddenly grabbed us loosely by our shirts, before making his way towards a room in the back of the bar near the range. 

Upon entering it was a small bathroom, he closed the door and locked it behind him.

"The whole look of a grown ass adult taking a few boys into here, wouldn't that be a little suspicious don't you say?"

Shinso asked snarkily. The man puffed his chest and laughed, taking out his pocket watch to look at the time.

"The Dark Market has many "cables" of operation, one actually is beneath this building as we speak, if you're quiet enough you might be able to hear the clamor."

He suddenly got very quiet, as he knelt down and pressed his ear against the cold wooden floor, listening for any possible noise. It took us a few seconds to realize he was either lying or the floor was just too thick.

"They must be shy or something, huh."

Shinso chirped sarcastically as he stood back up and rolled his eyes. The man shot him a glance, before standing up and laughing. 

"The only reason the police haven't gone to truly investigate this place is because the floorboards are too damn thick for any noise to pass through."

He suddenly stomped his foot on the ground, causing the floorboards underneath him to quake slightly under the weight.

"I personally think we should pay them a visit, I have an idea I think I could probably execute correctly if you let me."

I knelt down and ran my finger along the tiny crevices in between the floorboards, feeling for any soft spots of weaknesses.

"You won't get down there my fingering the floor, kid."

The man suddenly approached me before shoving me aside, and stomping his foot multiple times into the floorboards until one snapped. He then lifted up the board and underneath it was a key, covered in sawdust and dirt.

"I'm guessing that's been there a long time?"

Shinso asked as he watched the muscular man pick up the key and blow on it softly.

"It has, The Dark Market's been around ever before you were born, kid."

"How should we address you?"

I suddenly asked him, walking over to him and looking at the key in his hands and a curious expression. The man cleared his throat before pulling aside the collar of his pinstriped suit, revealing a nametag etched into a metal plate.

"My names Sebastian, but the folks down under like to call me Mr. Double life."

He chuckled lightly, and due to how close I was to him I could easily smell the cigarette smoke from his mouth filling my nose. The smell was rank and foul, making me take a few steps back and almost throw up inside the toilet in the corner of the room.

"Someone can't handle strong smells, eh? I'm not sure the place you want to go to will be too nice on your nostrils, it's very heavy on drugs and narcotics."

I wiped my nose with my sleeve cuff, tears welling in the corner of my eyes. I tried to keep a solemn expression, but I couldn't help but grimace at the thought of the last time the man actually brushed his teeth.

"Does The Dark Market invest in mystical toothbrushes by any chance, because you could surely use one."

Sebastian seemed taken aback, as he growled a little and puffed another cigar into his mouth.

"When's the last time you got an ass whooping, cause your attitude could surely use some work."

He growled at me, a teasing smile playing with the corners of his lips. He fell silent for a few moments before erupting with laughter.

"I'm joking kid. Learn to take a joke."

"Learn proper hygiene first."

After a few more moments we all stepped out of the bathroom and into the bar lobby. All the police that had previously gathered in the bar have left, most likely due to their shifts being back on or the rain had stopped hammering down onto them.

"It's empty here, that's a pleasant surprise."

Sebestain took a few steps in front of us before leaning towards the table where we had our drinks.

"Finish your drinks, I didn't deduct my paycheck for a bunch of sissies."

"Aren't we too young to consume alcohol?"

Sebastian seemed confused by my question, he furrowed his brows and shook his head in confusion. 

"No, the legal drinking age in this kingdom is 14, are you guys from somewhere else or some shit?"

"Indun Empire."

He nodded in understanding, picking up the drinkings and handing them to us.

"I heard the drinking age there is 21, sounds absurd. Anyone should be able to hit a pint once they know how to talk and walk."

His eyes flickered with amusement as he handed us our beverages.

"I got the regular so you guys wouldn't get drunk from the overdose of ingredients, it'll take about 10 of these until you can barely speak, nonetheless breathe."

Shinso raised the foamy beverage to his mouth, before taking a light gulp. I saw his expression light up a little as he swallowed the drink and wiped his mouth. 

"Tastes like soda."

"What's soda?"

Sebastian asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. 

"I-Its a special beverage that Father Santon made years ago, and it's enjoyed very frequently across the Indun Empire."

He nodded after hearing my explanation, before walking over to the bar and wiping away the shot glasses that were littered across the counter. He then reached under the bar and dug around for a few brief moments before pulling out a piece of paper.

The piece of paper was yellow, worn and wrinkled, and he unfolded it onto the table and had us come over to look at it.

"This is a tacit approval made by the higher ups in The Dark Market, it allows anyone who writes their name access in."

Shinso narrowed his eyes and his mouth flickered as he scanned the paper, before turning to Sebastian and raising an eyebrow in suspicion. 

"They just have this paper lying around for anyone to see, that sounds like absolutely mind-numbing logic."

"It's actually crafted pretty meticulously, see?"

Sebastian suddenly pointed to a section of the paper, the top left corner. There was a symbol in the corner of the paper, something closely resembling a Routeway sigh, like the ones that I found in that book, and the one on my forehead.

"What's that gotta do with anything, it's just a symbol."

He suddenly turned to me and raised my bangs, revealing the symbol on my forehead.

"Anyone with a Routeway property can see these papers, or atleast anyone that comes into contact with them. It's pretty meticulous, you can have 1 person and 50 other guys behind them, then they could all sign the tacit approval and gain access."

"At this point I think The Dark Market is run by idiots."

Sebastian ran his fingers through his beard, which has cigarette residue laced within it.

"Idiots" is a very broad term, we have idiots all over here who lack all sense of rationality, and other idiots who only lack logic in a few smaller categories."

He folded up the paper after me and Shinso wrote our names on the paper, before approaching the door to the shooting range whilst folding it into his pocket. He turned the handle and walked in, approaching the other door and Carter entered through when me and Shinso both visited here for the first time.

Sebastian then pushed the door open, revealing a crowded, large area. There were lots of cloaked individuals, those in masks, overall it looked like a large cult.

"Welcome to The Dark Market, boys."