Jacco's New Ability

"Excuse me," Ivo walked past several people who were standing in the entrance.

The people there were busy chattering and talking about the incident that had transpired there. A dead body had been found earlier that morning, which would surely shock the neighborhood. Despite having read the same thing in the newspaper, when it actually happened around them, the surprise was still very real.

"I read on the news that the victims were all spread around. None of them were from the same area. So when something like this happens, the situation is always the same everywhere: people flocking the scene to find out what happened," Ivo said, as he shoved a man out of his way.

The man seemed irritated, but seeing Jacco walking closely behind Ivo, he didn't dare to do anything.

"This place is also close to where the blood-sucking monsters live. I'm sure they are mixed in with these people right now," responded Jacco, remembering one of the missions he did with Graham and Luuk. He also still remember clearly the terror he felt from the mysterious man coming from behind them.

"What monster?" asked Ivo curiously. He turned back to see Jacco.

"Not important. I'll tell you tomorrow. Now, we need a way to get into Louis's room. Those Police suckers are blocking the way." he commanded.

Past the wall of people's backs, at the end of the hallway, there was a room that was guarded by an officer in a blue coat. Several people were trying to take a peek into the room through the open door, but the officer sternly stood his ground to prevent them from getting closer.

"Move aside," Jacco shoved a man with his strong arm. His voice was like someone who owned the place.

Finally making their way across the hallway, Jacco and Ivo, just like the other curious bystanders, were stopped by the officer in blue. The man didn't even seem to care about the gang leader's menacing tall and muscular body.

"No entry beyond this point," the officer said shortly but authoritatively.

"I am the boss of the guy who died here. I need to look at his belongings," Jacco tried to come up with an excuse, speaking with confidence as if he had practiced the line before in his head.

The officer shook his head firmly.

"There is no exception. Even if you live here, you'll need to wait until my superiors give this place a clear," he added, still with an authoritative tone.

"Damn it!" Jacco cursed.

He then dragged Ivo to the farther end of the hallway, where there were not as many people. That way, the two of them could speak more freely without fear of someone eavesdropping. Sticking to one of the walls, Jacco began whispering to Ivo.

"Did you see anything inside? Was there another officer there?"

The blonde man shook his head and said in a low voice, "No, boss. Everything must have been taken by the Police. There is no one inside the room as far as I could see. Although, I couldn't see the whole place,"

"That's good enough. That guy said his superiors will give the clear, which means they're not here right now. It's our chance to get in and find out what happened," Jacco replied.

Ivo looked like he was amazed by his boss's remarks. His eyes were wide open for a second.

"Wow, boss, when did you get this smart?"

Smack!

Jacco slapped the back of the man's head with slight force.

"What the fuck do you mean I was stupid?!"

"No! I mean..."

Smack!

Before Ivo could finish his sentence, Jacco interrupted him with a palm greeting on the back of his head, hard.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, boss!" the blonde man protected his head with his two hands, expecting another slap that didn't come. When he was sure he was safe, he opened his mouth again, changing the topic, "Anyway, how are we going to investigate once we're inside?"

"I don't know. We'll just have to take a look around. And don't touch anything," Jacco answered.

"Alright, alright. Don't worry, boss. Besides, I'm a Thief now. I can just steal the fingerprints back if I accidentally touched something."

"Wait, can you?" Jacco seemed surprised. He had never seen or heard Luuk van der Meer do something similar. Although, the young man had always worn a pair of gloves, so there was really no need for him to do so in the first place.

"Yes, boss. As long as it's a physical object, I can steal it if I'm in range. Granted, I know the object. So if you ask me to steal your fingerprints, I might not be able to do that. It's too 'you', after all, if you know what I mean. But if it's anything the human has created, then chances are, I can steal it," Ivo explained.

The explanation somehow blew Jacco's mind.

"That sleepy Thief never said anything like that, and he seems to be able to steal just anything," Jacco argued.

"Maybe you never asked? And if he's stronger, then it's normal if he can steal more things than me. I just became one, after all," Ivo shrugged.

"You said if you knew the object, you could steal it. That sleepyhead is a medical student, does it mean he can steal organs?" Jacco pondered.

Ivo gave his boss's question a thought. He leaned back on the wall for a few seconds while thinking before finally answering.

"I don't know, but I don't think so. Stealing the physical parts of a living being is impossible. I don't know about stronger Thieves, however, but I've tried it and what I got was only pain in my head."

There was slight relief on Jacco's face upon hearing Ivo's answer.

"That's reassuring then. Anyway, let's just get in. We're wasting time here!" he commanded.

"But how are we going to get in?"

"Just trust me!" Jacco made a beckoning gesture behind him as he walked back towards the room with the Police officer.

The man in the blue coat uniform was standing resolute, without any signs of wavering despite the constant waves of people trying to get a glimpse inside the room. It was apparent that the man was well trained, just like most other members of the Police force in the Republic of Tulp. After all, for the people in the Republic to live in peace like that despite the existence of Contractbounds and monsters, there must be a party that was busy maintaining that.

Jacco was now standing in front of the officer, trying to get his attention by waving. The officer gave the muscular man a glance and patiently waited for him to speak.

"Officer, we really need to get in. It's urgent," he asserted.

The man in the blue coat squinted his eyes, "Rules are rules, sir. There is no entry no matter who it is,"

Meanwhile, Jacco was muttering something under his breath and at the same time, extended his arm as if trying to shoot something out of his palm at the officer. Before the officer could react, suddenly, dark orange tendrils came out of his palm and darted towards him, drilling themselves into the man's skull.

People around them didn't seem to be able to see the tendrils; only Jacco and Ivo could. The latter looked amazed by what his boss had done.

Once all the tendrils disappeared into the officer's head, his expression turned strange. He looked like someone whose brain was empty. His eyes were staring blankly at Jacco and drool began rolling down the corner of his mouth.

"Now, officer, as I'm the deceased guy's boss, I'm allowed to get inside to see his belongings, aren't I?" Jacco asked again.

Looking like he was in deep thought but couldn't find fault in the muscular man's words, the officer nodded hesitantly before moving aside to let the two men enter the apartment.

Jacco and Ivo jumped over the police line that had been set up around the door and entered the room.

Seeing that two people were allowed in, the bystanders became curious and pushed their luck with the man in the blue coat whose expression had now returned to normal.

"Officer, I also need to get in. I have some business inside this apartment!"

With a stern gaze, the standing-by Police officer shot down the man's request, "No one is allowed in, sir. Rules are rules."

"But you let those two in!" a man pointed inside the apartment, but the door was already closed from the inside.

The officer looked back and glanced at the closed door for a second before returning his gaze at the man.

"That is not possible. Now, sir, please don't disturb the investigation."

Inside the plain-looking apartment room, with minimal furniture, Jacco and Ivo were busy looking around, seemingly trying to find something. It was a relatively neat room due to the fact that there were only a handful of things inside it, so it wouldn't be easy to miss anything. It seemed that Louis hadn't been the type to care about the place that he lived in.

"Boss, what did you do with that guy, by the way?" asked Ivo curiously. He appeared to have wanted to ask but waited until the commotion outside died down.

"Oh, it's one of my abilities. Cool, isn't it? I can make people make mistakes by lowering their IQ. Since that guy is a normal human, the effect is very strong," Jacco replied proudly.

"Wow," Ivo just let out a word of approval, then quickly changed the topic, "So what are we looking for here?"

"I don't know! Just find something that looks suspicious!"

The two men moved on from the small and barren living room of the apartment and headed for the bedroom, where the body had allegedly been found.

The bedroom, much like the living room, was devoid of objects except for the bare necessities like a bed and a wardrobe. The bed was in a mess, like something that had been there had been taken away. It was probably where Louis's body had been lying this morning.

"So that's where the boys said they found Louis?" Jacco pointed at the bed, then dragged the curtains open to let in the sunlight.

"Yes, boss. The others told me exactly what Carel and Guus told them, and after that, I hurriedly ran to the hospital to find you,"

"What did they say?"

"They said they were going to fetch Louis for work, and after ringing several times, Louis didn't answer, so they tried the door to find it unlocked. They let themselves in and found him sitting on the bed. They said his face was indescribably horrified," he paused as if trying to imagine the deceased's expression upon his death, before continuing, "When they tried to shake him, they found out that he was already dead. That's when they ran as fast as they could and called the Police. This was this morning and I just met the boys earlier, so I found out late," Ivo explained lengthy, only taking a single breath in between.

"That's definitely the same serial killer. That means there is no chance there is a clue here that the Police haven't found already," Jacco concluded, nodding with his arms crossed as if he was proud of his deduction.

"That's... what I've been trying to say, boss. Why do we need to come here anyway, right?" Ivo shrugged.

Jacco glanced at Ivo defensively, "Shut up! One of my boys got killed! I need to see the crime scene for myself, otherwise, I'm not a good boss, aren't I?!"

Suddenly, the corner of Jacco's and Ivo's eyes caught movement from the window that was next to the bed. The iron railings somewhat blocked their vision, but they were sure there was someone or something peeking into the room from the outside.

"Where does this window lead to?!" Jacco asked urgently.

"The back street, boss!" answered Ivo quickly.

If not for the railings, they could just easily open the window and chased the suspicious being quickly. However, because it was protected, they had to run out of the apartment hurriedly.

The two men opened the door and jumped over the yellow police line, leaving all the people around perplexed.

"Hey, you two! Stop!"

Jacco extended his right arm behind him and began muttering under his breath,

"I, in the name of the Deity of Stupidity and Hatred, grant stupidity upon you!"

The same dark orange tendrils shot out of his hand and drilled themselves into the officer's skull, rendering him confused.

"There is a suspicious person peeking in from the back street. We're going to chase them. You stand by here!" Jacco shouted out a command, and like someone in a trance, the officer nodded.