A Hindered Investigation, UEG High Command

The night pressed onwards, and dawn was only a few hours from arriving, the scene within the Gutter Zone is now one of silence as even in these desolate districts the people needed a good night's rest to deal with the day's activities.

As the colorful lights of the bright stars, dazzling moon, and mysterious Universe Ring loomed over the night sky, their radiance beamed down onto even these rejected neighborhoods, shining down in full splendor upon all reaches.

At this hour, the streets were typically empty, filled with only a few disordered bottles that rested in pools of liquor and other liquids. A foul stench wafted through the nightly air, capable of turning off and leaving a mark on all who ventured from a more refined background.

Nevertheless, despite these factors, there were those brave enough to roam these streets, a party of two who drove in a simple-looking black car.

As this car drove through the streets, its headlights gave off a luminescent ray, bringing most of the road before. Occasionally, they would bypass a few vagrants that slept openly in the chilly winds, lying down on cardboard boxes with newspaper covering their coarse bodies.

Sera looked at the scene from the corners of her beautiful deep-set eyes that stared through the windows, her expression one of pity as she muttered, "It really is unfair to treat them like this..."

As if he heard her mutterings, a slight puff of smoke came towards her direction as Osbon spoke while driving and smoking, "Tsk! What do you know? This is how society works. They've been given their opportunities just like many have, the reason they like this is because of their own bad decision."

Sera frowned at this and replied, "Inspector Osborn, while your statement holds some truth, I'll have you know that this isn't the same for everyone. What happens to those who strive for better but simply can't do so because of their background?"

Osbon hearing this shifted his eyes to the corners of the street, his expression shown an odd look, as if recalling scenes from the past as he saw an image of a skinny weak youth, struggling to rise from a harsh life.

After a short while, Osbon replied, "Sera, destiny isn't as simple as you make it. Luck is another factor of life; without it, one can never achieve a certain standard. It would help if you always remembered that not everyone is born equal, and not everyone who works hard can catch up to those born with a superior livelihood. It's like trying to compare the son of a king and a malnourished child of a low-income family, even if they put in the same amount of work, the one who will rise highest will naturally be the son of the king."

Sara fell silent; hearing those words, she snorted, not saying anything as while she knew his words held through, she had her own beliefs.

'Hmph! Even if so, there are miracles that can only be achieved by those who rise from the grounds up, I refuse to believe that no one can climb to a higher standard than a king's son...'

Osbon glanced at her pretty face that was now pouting with a smile as he chuckled while in thought, 'Haha... such a stubborn little lass, I guess it's children like her that have the personality needed to rise above all challenges... heh, just like he did...'

As Osbon said this, he began to recall another figure, a friend he hadn't seen in a very long time. Soon, he shook his head as he noticed that they were already arriving at their target destination.

"Get ready; we're here..." Osbon said as the car slowly pulled up near the destination and came to a stop.

"Right," Sera replied as she cocked her standard-issue Glock with a sharp look on her face.

It was a small compound with a similar small two-story house with a broken wooden fence and untrimmed grass. Looking at it, one would even see vines growing around its walls and posts.

As Osbon and Sera left the car, they looked around the compound with interest as Osbon spoke, "We've finally found our first lead to these strange Vanishing Victim cases. We absolutely must not let it slip away this time..."

"Yes, Inspector," Sera replied with a firm look in her eyes.

Not wasting any more time, the two then entered the compound and slowly made their way towards the door. While doing this, Sera looked around cautiously as she spoke, "Inspector, does anyone really live in a place like this?"

Osbon looked at the windows and saw the small amount of light coming from within; he even noticed that the overly grown grasses had depressions forming a pathway to the door. He replied with certainty, "It's a fact, not only are their obvious signs, they've even gone ahead and registered this as their public address to the City Center. Now come, save the questions for when we bring them in for..."

Osbon was about to say something, but right at this time, from the corner of his eyes, he saw someone leaning against the edge of the house.

Osbon was so shocked he jumped backward, as did Sera who almost screamed, but covered her mouth while retreating a few steps as she shakily pointed her gun towards the figure.

"You... who are you? What are you doing on these premises?" Sera asked a bit flustered.

Osbon also recovered from his shock, he held the gun on his waist and spoke in an icy ray, "You there, I'll have you know that you are interfering with an official case, report your name and I'll consider letting you off."

"..." The person who heard this didn't even say anything; he slowly made his way from the darkness revealing his shrouded features.

It was a familiar-looking man that wore an overcoat with a hat over his head and dark glasses. His figure was towering as he looked even larger than Osbon as both of his arms were in his pockets.

Both Sera and Osbon felt a bit intimidated by the man's size, but before they could even say anything, the man's hand flashed like a blur before returning to normal.

"Hmm? What was that just... eh?" Osbon was a bit confused just now, but soon, he made a surprised expression as his arm, which held the gun in its holsters, felt lighter.

"What the hell?" Osbon said as he looked down and saw that his gun had vanished, not only himself, even Sera was in a shock as she saw her gun similarly vanished from her hands.

'How could this even be possible? What the hell just happened?' Sera asked in her mind that was now in chaos.

Suddenly, as the two were in a state of confusion, a light chuckle sounded from the man nearby, causing both Osbon and Sera to look at him.

As they did this, their eyes widened yet again when they saw that their guns were held in the man's hand, he even held them out towards them as if handing it back to them. While they couldn't see his facial features clearly due to his garments, they noticed that his mouth on his chin that had a stubble of beard was curved in a smug smile.

Osbon and Sera were both frightened as they shakily took their weapons away and looked at the man in silence. The man seeing that they finally understood their position looked to the house's door and gestured at it with his thumb by slanting his palm sideways as if saying - you see this door?

Osbon and Sera seemed to understand this man's words even if he didn't say them; they concluded that he was a man who spoke few words. They nodded while looking at him fearfully.

The man nodded in delight, seeing that they were smart, then made a different gesture with his hand, by making a thumbs up expression before placing it against his neck and sliding it across as if using a cutting knife.

As he did this, his shades shimmered in a cold ray that reflected from the lights in the surroundings, filling both Osbon and Sera with a hint of dread as they know the exact meaning.

The man did nothing more but turned his eyes towards their car parked nearby as if awaiting their decision.

Osbon looked at Sera, who looked back at him, the two staring at each other before sighing as they turned and walked away.

Osbon was about to reach the car, but he heard a finger-snapping noise behind him right then and there. He turned and saw that the man was looking at him as he tossed something over.

Osbon caught the object in a hurry, but when he looked at it, his eyes couldn't help but shrink as he saw that it was an exceptional looking badge with a star inside of a diamond and the letters UEG.

"This... this is a Special Emissary Badge of the United Earth Government's High Command! How did he get this?" Osbon exclaimed as he hurriedly looked towards the man, but as he did so, he noticed the man had already vanished.

Osbon felt the chilly feeling in his heart as he gritted his teeth while thinking, 'Damn, this shit is far over my head, it looks like I'll have to find a more peaceful solution to get what I want...'

"Inspector?" Sera asked as she saw Osbon's complex expression; she wasn't feeling good herself now that they had encountered such a thing.

Osbon looked at her and shook his head as he spoke, "It's nothing, let's go..."

Sera nodded as the two then got into the car and drove off, but as they did this, little did they know, that at the topmost floor of the building, a slender silhouette stood quietly at the window, her thin almond-shaped eyes gleaming with a cold ray as she muttered, "So they were non-threatening... that's good; I can rest at ease..."

As the woman said this, a strange card that flickered with 0's and 1's vanished as she faded from the window, returning to dark as the night slowly transitioned to the dawn.

****

Author's Note:

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