XXXVII: following the dealer.

"Got you," Raiden muttered, his gaze locking onto a man who was moving from person to person in the crowd below.

"That's not him," Kaina corrected, her arms crossed as she leaned lazily against the rooftop ledge. "That guy's just begging for money. Real dealers are a lot more subtle. At least the good ones are. They don't just approach random people. They have specific contacts, so keep looking, we had time, so just watch."

Raiden nodded, refocusing his attention on the sea of faces below. As he scanned the crowd, a thought popped into his mind. "Wait… if you already know that guy isn't the dealer, does that mean you've found the real one?"

Kaina shot him a knowing smile.

"I didn't know before we got here," she said, the hint of a smirk tugging at her lips. "But I've figured it out by now,"

Raiden frowned, eyes narrowing. "And I have to figure it out myself to find out, right?"

"Exactly," Kaina replied, stretching out comfortably on the rooftop like she had all the time in the world. "Take your time and keep working."

Raiden sighed but turned his focus back to the crowd. He leaned over the edge of the building, his eyes following the ebb and flow of people below.

Most of them were just going about their day—chatting, shopping, entering and exiting stores. Nothing about any of them seemed out of the ordinary. No one stood out.

Except…

Raiden's gaze settled on a young man pushing an ice cream cart. No older than twenty, he casually offered cones to passersby. Some people bought from him; others didn't. But it wasn't the seller that caught Raiden's attention—it was the way some of his customers acted.

They glanced around before and after making their purchase, checking over their shoulders like they were afraid of being watched, one twice, some even trice, and if a guard passedby their side, they didn't approached the young man.

"Kaina, I think I've found him," Raiden whispered, keeping his voice low.

"Where?" Kaina asked, not even bothering to open her eyes.

"The ice cream vendor," Raiden said. "I think he's passing drugs through the cones—or maybe the napkins, or maybe even inside the icecream?."

Kaina's lips curved into a smirk. "Close. It's the cones. He's got two batches—one with drugs wrapped in plastic hidden underneath the ice cream and another with normal cones. Now, keep watching. Once he moves somewhere, we follow him."

Raiden nodded, eyes still fixed on the vendor. At first, the wait was tense, filled with sharp attention. But as time wore on, his patience began to fray. One hour. Two. Three. Four.

Five hours passed before the dealer finally packed up his cart and started to leave.

Raiden nudged Kaina awake, his voice was soft but urgent. "He's moving."

Kaina stretched lazily, her demeanor unchanged by the long wait. "Good. Let's go."

The two of them followed the dealer as he made his way toward a parking garage attached to a nearby building. Without hesitation, Kaina leaped from the rooftop, landing effortlessly in the lot below. Raiden's eyes widened as he watched her descend—fifteen meters, easy—and she did it all without using a Quirk.

He had no choice but to transform before flying down beside her.

"Good. Flying keeps you quiet," Kaina commented as they moved ahead. "The key to staying unnoticed is keeping quiet and maintaining distance. Once we figure out which car he's getting into, we'll follow him from the rooftops. That'll give us the edge."

The dealer climbed into a gray van and drove off, and Raiden and Kaina quickly returned to the rooftops, keeping a careful watch from above.

Raiden considered offering to help her fly, but it became clear that Kaina didn't need it. Despite lacking a Quirk, she moved effortlessly from rooftop to rooftop, keeping pace with him without even breaking a sweat.

At first, Raiden expected the van to head toward a dock or some isolated warehouse—places usually associated with shady deals—but instead, it stayed in the heart of the city.

The dealer pulled up to a house, got out with a backpack, and disappeared inside. A few minutes later, he emerged, still carrying the backpack—but now, it was noticeably smaller.

"He left the money, didn't he?" Raiden asked, his suspicion rising.

"Most likely," Kaina confirmed. "Now, what's the plan? Do we keep following him, or stay here?"

Raiden thought for a moment. "I say we stay. If this is where he drops the cash, then these people are either suppliers or tied to the real players. Sooner or later, they'll lead us to the source."

"Good thinking," Kaina replied, her voice calm and confident. "So, where do you think he's headed next?"

Raiden considered it. "Probably to restock on ice cream... and wait a second. One trail leads us to the money, and the other to the product. Which one should we track?"

Kaina didn't hesitate. "The product. The money's probably laundered through fake businesses by the time it moves—it's clean. The dealer likely doesn't even know who his real boss is. But if we track the product, we get to the heart of the operation. Still, we need to mark this location and come back to it later."

With that, Kaina sprang into motion, seamlessly continuing her pursuit of the van.

Raiden followed her, but as they moved across the rooftops, a thought nagged at him. He hesitated before speaking up. "Can I ask something?"

His voice didn't come from his mouth this time—it echoed directly in Kaina's mind.

Kaina raised an eyebrow, her surprise briefly visible. "That's a neat trick. Go ahead."

"I get that this is important hero work, but shouldn't we be training for something else? You know, after the recent attack?"

"Field training is the best training," Kaina replied with a shrug. "Besides, this is your ticket into the underworld. A trafficking ring like this always has connections—someone or something that can lead us to the real problem. They have to be careful. Otherwise, they risk dealing with the wrong people and getting themselves killed. We are really looking for information. "

Raiden's brow furrowed, but he nodded, understanding her logic. It was risky, but the more they dug into the dealer's network, the closer they would get extra information . And that's what mattered.

Raiden suddenly frowned. "But if that's the case, shouldn't the investigation have made more progress in the last two years?" He glanced at Kaina, watching her leap from rooftop to rooftop with effortless grace, barely making a sound.

"The police and detectives have their limitations," Kaina explained, not slowing down. "They can't just barge into a house looking for clues.

Heroes, on the other hand, have a bit more freedom in how we operate.

But even then, only a few of us are willing—or know how—to dig deep like this. That's why, after two years of dead ends, they brought Hawks and me onto the case."

Raiden nodded, finally understanding the gaps in the system. It made sense now.

The van continued its journey through the city, eventually stopping in front of a five-story building that looked straight out of a crime movie—a perfect drug operation front. Several other "ice cream" vans were parked nearby, and every window was tinted, hiding whatever shady dealings were going on inside.

This was no longer a random lead. They had found something big.

"This is it," Kaina said, her voice sharp and confident. Raiden could see the determination in her eyes. There was no doubt—they were about to uncover something important.

"What now?" Raiden asked, scanning their surroundings.

"Now, we go in." Without another word, Kaina vaulted onto the roof of a nearby structure and smoothly slid through an open window. Raiden followed, squeezing through the same opening as she disappeared into the building.

Inside, the air was thick with silence. The top floor was unnervingly clean—too clean. It looked abandoned, with no signs of life, as though the space had been staged for show. They moved down a level, finding a kitchen on the fourth floor, its countertops empty, save for a few dirty dishes.

"Looks like they eat here," Raiden muttered, noting the absence of anything else.

"Let's keep moving," Kaina urged, her tone sharp with urgency. "We don't want to risk being seen."

They moved quickly, descending to the third floor, where they found a few offices with the name of the ice cream brand clearly displayed on the walls. There were four employees working inside, but it wasn't just them that caught Raiden's attention—three security cameras were strategically placed, monitoring the entire area.

Raiden didn't hesitate. Using his telekinesis, he subtly repositioned the cameras, ensuring they no longer faced their direction. He could have disabled them entirely, but that might trigger an alarm if anyone was watching.

Next, he shifted the objects around the workers, setting off a small disturbance. One of the items on a shelf behind them wobbled and fell with a soft crash. The distraction was enough to divert their attention.

"Move," Kaina whispered, her eyes scanning the area as she stepped forward. Raiden followed her lead, slipping past the distracted workers unnoticed. He used his telekinesis to create small disruptions along the way, ensuring their focus stayed elsewhere.

'We could've entered from the first floor,"' Raiden remarked, his voice suddenly filling Kaina's mind, the thought echoing in her thoughts.

"We could've," she responded, keeping her voice low. "But it's always better to take the higher ground. Less chance of running into trouble."

Raiden didn't argue. He understood the need for caution.

"also, the boss is usually on the top floor. We were just unlucky," Kaina complemented, brushing off the setback with a casual wave. She wasn't rattled; if anything, it was just another slight delay, nothing to worry about.

The second floor presented more offices, each with a few workers milling about. Raiden repeated his earlier tactic, using his telekinesis to subtly shift objects, creating enough of a distraction for the occupants to lose focus. The glass doors and limited layout made it easier to navigate undetected.

But when they reached the first floor, things got trickier. The large open hall stretched out before them, with staircases leading both up and down. Raiden sighed in frustration, his fingers itching with the desire to take the shortest path. "Looks like we're incredibly unlucky."

Kaina sighed too, her eyes scanning every corner of the room. They couldn't afford any missteps. This wasn't just a typical operation—it was a drug ring, and the chemicals involved were unstable. A wrong move could mean their end, quite literally.

As they moved carefully, Raiden used his telekinesis to adjust the security cameras' angles, keeping them out of sight. When they reached a corner, Kaina took out a small mirror and angled it just right to peer around the bend. Through the reflection, she caught sight of a door, a camera, and a man sitting in a chair.

"A guard," Kaina muttered, her fingers twitching as she prepared to act.

Raiden paused, his gaze narrowing on the figure. "Is he using a Quirk?" asked the boy.

"No," Kaina replied simply, her voice low.

Raiden nodded and, with a swift flick of his telekinesis, moved the camera out of sight. Then, without hesitation, he stepped into the open just enough to catch the guard's attention. With a quick wave of his power, he flooded the man's mind with a surge of confusion attack.

The guard froze, his eyes glazing over for a moment before he stumbled, disoriented, and collapsed into the wall with a quiet thud.

"Not bad, kid," Kaina said with a grin, clearly impressed by the speed and precision of his move.

With the guard out of commission, the path was clear. Kaina pushed the door open, and the two of them slipped deeper into the building.

The real mission was only just beginning.

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Power stones for an extra chapter 25/80