21. Book I: Imprisoned in the Body of a Murderer

"My statement?" Noel asked back with an unconcealed look of confusion on his face.

The man named Marty Bowen called out to his partner by tapping him lightly on the shoulder. "You explain!" he demanded. Making his partner turn around.

Noel rounded his eyes, staring at the man through an expression that seemed incredulous at who was standing in front of him now.

"Cody ..." The name simply escaped Noel's lips, as if to imply something profound.

The man called Cody was a little confused by the expression that the man in front of him was wearing, as if the man named Nate had known him for a long time.

The sun slowly set in the western horizon, burning the embers of twilight on the horizon. The shadows of the city crept in slowly, hidden behind the skyscrapers. From the east, the darkness began to thicken, a sign that night was beginning to settle into the sky.

"Mr. Bendrix!"

Noel gasped, his eyes rounding. Coming to his senses after what had been a blank stare as a pair of hands swung several times in front of his face successfully broke his reverie.

Noel looked at the two men in front of him in turn.

"We don't want to waste time, answer everything you know," Marty Bowen pleaded with a short sigh.

The Noel being spoken to paid no heed to the man's words at all.

Noel's sapphire eyes kept stealing glances at the man named Cody Alexander. How could he not, Noel missed his best friend. The desire in his heart was to hug Cody right now-to just let go. He wanted to tell him what had happened to his all this time. But Noel couldn't, not now or later. Circumstances forced him to remain silent. Even if Noel told all the truths that didn't make sense to some people; the soul that transmigrated into the body of a hitman named Nate. Cody would never believe it. Instead, it would only make things more complicated.

As Noel was lost in his thoughts about Cody, the twilight was getting older.

Unexpectedly, Noel felt his head throbbing with pain. He reflexively fell to his knees while holding his temples. As Noel tried to focus on what he was seeing, his vision became blurry. His head swam, Noel winced as he felt the pain.

"Are you all right, Mr. Bendrix?" Marty Bowen was puzzled by the sudden reaction of the man in front of him. So he lowered his head slightly, checking on the man who now looked pale. Similarly, Cody was watching with an unreadable expression.

Noel was about to respond, but his speech was stifled by an unnerving dizziness. His five fingers pressed against the area around his temple. After a few seconds, the pain unexpectedly subsided. Noel finally breathed a sigh of relief and returned his gesture to its original position, facing the two men in front of him.

"Yes, I'm fine."

Wait, something's wrong.

Noel had obviously said something, but why wasn't his mouth moving at all? And now what surprised Noel was that his body wasn't listening to his commands.

What was going on? Noel was confused. He looked at the man in front of his who was already standing tall. A look of confusion flashed briefly across their faces as they witnessed how the aura of the man in front of them changed in an instant.

Sensing something was wrong, Marty's hand was about to reach out, to make sure the man was okay, but in an unexpected move, his wrist was gripped tightly by the man.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied in an even tone.

Marty sighed in reply, as he felt the fingers wrapped around his right wrist begin to tighten, Marty said, "Can you let go of my hand."

"Nate, are you back?" Noel asked.

Nate had regained control of his body and released Noel's soul control completely. Only Nate could hear Noel's voice, as Noel's soul was within him.

As if not listening to Noel's voice, Nate released his grip on Marty's hand a little roughly.

Cody squinted at the change in attitude that this man named Nathaniel showed.

Through an unspoken gesture, Nate invited the two men to enter. While he stepped his feet closer to the apartment window trying to keep his distance from the two people who were just standing in front of the door.

"So what's the topic you guys want to ask about?" Nate asked flatly.

Cody took a photo from his bag and handed it to Nate. "This car is yours?" he asked.

Nate took the photo and looked at it carefully. "Sort of," he replied simply.

"A few weeks ago we found your car washed up in the bottom of the Hudson River just east of New York with a dead man inside," Cody began to explain. "The police are still investigating, but it's suspected that the man was murdered because the hospital that autopsied the body found a bullet lodged in the head. It is strongly suspected that the man died before being drowned in the riverbed with your car."

Nate gave his a quick glance. "So, you think I killed him?"

"Whoever did it, whether it was you or someone else, we still don't have solid evidence so we're asking for your statement."

"So that's why you came here?"

"By the way where is that friend of yours named Gregory Illéa?"

"I haven't been with him since Ottawa," Nate replied apathetically.

Marty took a quick scan of each room in Nate's apartment. It was quiet overall, there was no one else but this Nathaniel.

"This case is also connected to the shooting at the club and the apartment you lived in in Manhattan."

"That night I went to the Cock and Ball club, and parked my car carelessly, when I entered I heard gunshots. Many people there were running away and so was I, when I came out my car was gone, I thought it was towed by the police."

"Why didn't you report when your car disappeared?" asked Marty.

"It's just a junk car, I can get a car easily if I need one." For Nate, getting a real car was as easy as buying a toy car.

"Rich people are always good at spending money," Marty sneered.

Nate continued, "I wonder how much a country dog like you makes to bother investigating this case."

"It's not about money, it's about justice." Cody answered firmly this time. "We're doing it because the law of the land, whoever is guilty will be judged fairly."

Justice, huh?

"You speak as if you can uphold justice, but in fact it ends up being nonsense. So many people speak out for justice in this world, but all they expect is praise and accolades, as if they were heroes."

Like Nate who hides his true self behind a white rabbit mask and earns the nickname Killer Rabbit. Every human being must also hide their true selves behind an invisible mask that cannot be easily removed.

For Nate, the parasitic creatures of the world - humans who always shout slogans and act in the name of justice - are just cowards wearing hero masks.

Cody gave Nate a hostile look. He wanted to prove that those who truly uphold justice do not wear masks like Nate said.

"As time goes by, the truth will be revealed, and the person responsible for their actions will pay dearly. Unfortunately, we still don't have permission to arrest you, Mr. Bendrix."

"Be careful with your actions, if you try to arrest something impossible, then it will get you into trouble." Nate warned, but behind it lurked a dangerous threat.

"It's okay, since choosing this path, people like us have devoted our lives to hardship."

"We'll see who smiles in the end." Nate shot Cody a fierce look.

Cody smiled wryly. "I hope you'll be smiling by the time you serve your sentence behind bars." He could see the flash of emotion in the dark sapphire eyes of the man in front of him.

Marty who sensed that things were getting out of hand from the two men in front of him said, "Alright then, we're leaving, thanks for your statement," he said before giving Cody the code to not get carried away.

Unlike Nate, the man still showed a calm look even though his sapphire eyes had flashed.

Noel could see both men through Nate's body. Even though they were one body, Noel couldn't move a finger. Noel didn't feel any emotion in Nate. Noel didn't know if Nate had no emotions. Or was he too good at controlling his emotions?

There was something in Noel's soul that reacted when he felt Nate's hand moving slowly to retrieve something from the drawer of the desk not far from where he stood. Revolver, there was a revolver resting on a small wire there on the ceiling of the drawer.

What else was Nate going to do with the gun in his hand? Did Nate intend to shoot both men? I don't know, Noel didn't dare think about it. The darkness grew thicker, enveloping him in a black fog because the apartment lights had not been turned on.

"No, Nate. Don't do it, please!"

His hand managed to hold the revolver behind his back in a firing position.

"Nate please, Cody's my best friend."

Nate pretended to be deaf to Noel's plea.

"Nate!"

***

"Arrrghh you fucking rabbit, you bastard, you damned Nate!" Dario shouted after slamming the wine bottle he had been drinking. He gasped for breath, cursing the man named Nate with every curse he knew.

The man was now in his father's mansion-right in his room. With half of his face covered in blood-stained bandages, his body trembled with anger and pain. The scratches he received were deep enough to even hit his eyes. As if a knife had been thrust into his eyeball, countless pain pills and bandages had been applied.

"You really should go to the hospital immediately," a man who had just stormed in said to his when he heard the shouting.

"No!" Dario snapped.

"I don't really know how to treat people," Giuseppe said with a frown.

Giuseppe used to be the trusted bodyguard of the boss of Cosa Nostra-Dominico Enzio. However, one day he was assigned to be Dario Enzio's bodyguard. Some of Dominico Enzio's other bodyguards were a little concerned about him-because of his transfer to guard the son of his not-so-useful boss. In that regard, Giuseppe didn't mind too much. Like Dominico said, if Dario listened to his father and was patient not to infiltrate, he wouldn't have to harm himself as much.

Everything had happened, and there was no doubt that right now his father was berating his son's stupidity.

Dario sat on his bed, trying to ignore the pain that shot through his head. He had been suffering from the wound for weeks, the doctor had come to give him pain pills, but the pain was still unbearable. If he went to the hospital, Dario would be constantly on guard - convinced that the Director of Collins & SON. Inc might discover his information and send some bodyguards to kill him.

Although their relationship was bad, Dario knew the bad temper of the Director of Collins & SON. Inc. Dario also can't let the police snoop on his actions, especially after he received a defeat in the attack a few weeks ago.

The Cosa Nostra Mafia is a criminal syndicate originating from Sicily. A criminal syndicate that has the same organizational structure and code of conduct. The basic group is a family. Each family claims to be the ruler of a territory.

Dario thinks of a scary moment, when Nate tried to kill him in the past using large scissors. Killer Rabbit tried to rip open his stomach and remove the contents while he was conscious. Dario turned around just in time, so the sharp object only scratched his stomach. He almost passed out from the pain.

"There's someone here to see you," reported a servant from the direction of the open door.

"Who wants to see me at a time like this?!" Dario shouted.

"Me."

The voice came from the direction of the door, the flat, cold tone managed to silence Dario with its big mouth.

"Father." Dario greeted the middle-aged man with respect and fear.

Dominico Enzio entered the room with a look of arrogance that did not escape his face, slightly glancing at Dario's bandaged face. "You made a faux pas this time.

"I'm sorry."

"So ... Killer Rabbit has returned?" asked Dominico.

"I didn't expect to meet him by chance in the old building belonging to Collins & SON. Inc."

"The building of Collins & SON. Inc? I knew Nate and Walther had a bad relationship," said Giuseppe. The man really didn't expect that Dario met Nate there because Dario didn't say the exact location where the man got into a fight with Nate.

"Maybe he wanted to give his body as protection after what happened in the past," Dario said originally, remembering what Nate looked like at the time. There was a kissmark on his neck, who else would do that but Walther.

"You say that as easily as if you knew him yesterday. If Nate had asked for protection, he would have asked for it fifteen years ago, not now."

Dario was silent.

"That man, he has a high self-esteem that exceeds death, asking for protection from people he hates is an insult, he is a person who would rather die than continue to live under someone's protection."

"So, are we going to arrest him?" Giuseppe asked.

"There's no need to waste effort, he'll come by himself sooner or later." After saying that, Dominico Enzio left. Leaving Dario and Giuseppe looking on meaningfully.