Track 28 - Unmarked Van

Now Playing...

Artist: Noriyuki Iwadare & Yasuko Yamada

Song: Interesting People

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y_Ln5o28gQ

When evening rolled around Tabi finally returned. He'd changed slightly, emboldened not only by his time with Agoti but from the newfound attention from Flashbang.

He, in effect, now considered you a fugitive, just like him.

"That's why you need to tell me everyone you speak to. Friend or foe." Tabi concluded. He tapped the paper he taped to the TV screen as if it were a slideshow.

You weren't sure what gotten into him but his militancy and 'opsec' skyrocketed. Paranoia too.

Tabi insisted that the team needed to step up their security, even with TGG agents watching. Either way, he was now ready for anything. He also texted Theo to come too but he was busy. It didn't help that S destroyed his copter. Slightly angry, he hadn't gotten over it yet.

You'd seen him earlier trying to mow his lawn. At least, for a bit, until he got preoccupied and started tinkering with the lawnmower. Last you checked he was still out there, the lawn still uncut, hours later. Something told you that he was safe, that nobody would try making a move against him anyways.

When the time rolled around, Tabi gave you a whole presentation on new rules you needed to follow. He noted that this was how he'd been since his transformation and that it's saved his life countless times.

"I lived like this for a year and they could never find me. We're all gonna need to be more careful. They have eyes everywhere." He remarked.

As funny as the presentation was you couldn't bring yourself to argue against it. Not to mention, Updike already gave a whole speech about the Family's 'non-existent surveillance capabilities' and you still found yourself agreeing more with him than Tabi.

Arms crossed, and just a tad sceptical you retort, "I really don't think we need to be that worried. They took out Displo and Agoti. Surely for them that's good enough."

"It never is with those people. They're just waiting for another opportunity. I know it!" Tabi said, raising his voice. "Especially since you went and pissed off the police."

"First of all, they aren't mad at me. They aren't going to do jack. And second, I only 'studied' the Family for months. After their target was 'neutralized' they stopped. They never overkilled."

"So what? They didn't even take us all out." Tabi glanced to the window as he saw a car driven by. "They're coming. I know it."

You shook your head. "We've 'lost' in their eyes. They took out our 'leader', our base and to them we haven't even met 'officially' since then. The way they see it our group is done."

You unfurl your arms. "Hell they probably think Agoti's dead, and I doubt they even know anything since the TGG spies were taken out". You vaguely remember Updike saying something along the lines of it being over.

Tabi was about to rebut but you continue. "And hell, IRIS is a complete disaster with their spy issue. So that's another one of their enemies down. The Family's probably popping champagne. All they gotta worry about now is TGG, which haven't done jack except 'fumble' an operation to keep Ruv captured." You shrug. "And Nikusa is 'officially' still after TGG too. They got their hands full."

"I don't know how you can say that. You haven't been on the street like I did."

You sigh but its caught mid-sentence by the doorbell. Tabi acted first, reaching his hand up to the shelf above the TV. He hid guns all over the house, making sure you knew were each one was. He pulled a pistol out of the vase and aimed at the door.

"I knew it!"

Continuing the argument you mutter, "Relax man. It's probably Theo." You said for appearances. Really, after Velseb you didn't trust anyone suddenly arriving in the evening.

You draw your handgun as well and lower it, walking up to the front window. A push of the curtain aside you try to peer at the doorknocker. There wasn't much to see but two people at least and one had to be an anthro. A large scaly tail, green over and yellow under could be seen. It was swishing left and right in anticipation. Regardless, you didn't recognize them. The bell rung again.

You vaguely hear Tabi whisper something about just opening fire but you wave him off. If they were Family goons they would have burst down the front door already. Tabi remained aiming as you get up and check the peephole.

Standing there was an alligator anthro. He wore a gold chain and headphones, blocking most of the peephole. He glanced back at two others obscured by his frame. He seemed to have some kind of baggy t-shirt on.

"Don't seem that confident now, huh." Tabi muttered. "Shut up!" You switch hands with the gun and open the door just slightly.

"What do you want?"

"Hey pal." The alligator said. He had a gruff voice but sounded otherwise cheery. "You (Y/N)?"

Tabi stood out of sight but listened closely.

"I think it is." Someone whispered behind the gator.

"Who wants to know?" You ask. They didn't seem villainous, though they also didn't seem to be Updike's people either. You didn't notice it at first but the gator wore white gloves with black and gold gauntlets around the wrist.

"My name's Vector, and these two are my partners of the Chaotix Detective Agency." He stood aside and motioned to 2 other individuals but from the crack in the door you couldn't see them.

In the midst of everything your phone rang. Tabi practically dove to grab it off the table and answered. Unknown Caller, though they immediately identified themselves as TGG agents, awaiting instruction for a potential threat. Tabi grinned, further energized by the appearance of backup. Speaking to them he assumed the worst and started working with some, ordering them to come round back, just in case.

"Can we talk to you for a few minutes?" He said cheerily.

You glance to Tabi who shrugs. He was too busy getting the cavalry ready.

"Who sent you?" You ask.Why would a private investigator be here?

"We aren't at liberty to discuss our clients. If you would just open the door we can chat."

It was appearing more and more suspicious by the second. You shook your head. "You got a warrant?"

"No. You aren't being accused of anything. We just want to talk."

Unseen to you, Tabi had left the living room and was currently letting in a few armed agents in the back.

"I've got nothing to say." You close the door but Vector jams an oversized running shoe in it. As you look past Vector you notice the car outside was the same one that had tailed you earlier.

"Now hold on pal. It's about your 'buddy' Displo." He said, a hint of sarcasm on the world buddy.

"Displo?" This you weren't expecting. "What do you want about Displo?" Your attitude changed. "Are you with IRIS?"

"No idea who that is pal. We just want to ask you some questions about a few nights ago." He said back. He put a glove on the side of the door, ready to open it for you.

"You with the cops?" You asked, figuring them to be the next possible origin.

Vector shook his head.

"The Greater Good? The Belladonnas?"

"You're just speaking gibberish buddy. If we could just come in, we'll clear everything up. You aren't being suspected of anything. We just have a few questions." Vector said.

You look back, Tabi was standing at the kitchen entrance, motioning people. You figure it was the agents. Damn they were fast.

He was listening to the conversation, and was just as bewildered as you were.

"Alright come in." You open the door, but not before holstering the gun.

Vector was easily taller than you but still fit in the frame. He had with him a pencil and pad. Behind in came fluttering a bee wearing a bicycle helmet and a purple chameleon.

The chameleon gave off the impression of a ninja what with cloak he wore and spiked gauntlets. The bee looked more like a scout than anything with the safety helmet and goggles above it.

"This is Espio, and this is Charmy." Vector said motioning to the chameleon and bee.

They started to look around like you would have a crime scene. You knew the look exactly.

Tabi entered, still visibly holding his gun. The agents were out of the scene, 2 in the kitchen, armed but hidden. Tabi was confused, but not as much as Espio was when he saw him.

"Who the?"

"He's with me. You don't have a problem with that, do you?" You ask the ninja.

Vector replied first, "No. Though I would be lot more comfortable if holstered your weapon sir. We just have some questions. Honest. There's no need to make this dangerous." He said innocently.

"Wait! Vector! I think this is one of other people she said to look out for." The bee shouted.

"Indeed. You were present too then at the restaurant." The purple chameleon noted.

"That's right!" Vector agreed.

The bee whispered something into Vector's ear which he nodded. "Actually we have questions for you as well."

"There are two more in the kitchen." The chameleon reached for something in his cloak. With tension suddenly rising find yourself reaching for your gun.

"They're also with me. Look, no offense but we've been having a lot of problems in this neighbourhood lately. If you're planning anything this'll be the 3rd home invasion this month. We have to take precautions." You say.

Tabi adds, "I'm sure you understand," with a grin.

"Oh, geez. Sorry. W-we didn't know this was a tough neighbourhood. Just a few questions, honest!" The bee said, bowing. You give Tabi a nod who pockets his gun.

"Go on then."

Now Playing...

Artist: Noriyuki & Yashuko Yamada

Song: Confrontation Allegro (Moderation)

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNBgKVtfJZM

Vector cleared his throat and began. He seemed the least bit worried about the situation, fully confident in his position.

"Displo, a bartender and restaurateur was murdered approximately 10 days ago. After killing him the murdered set fire to his restaurant. Can you tell me where you were on that night? And you too." He pointed to Tabi.

"What the hell is this?" Tabi asked, perplexed.

"You too buddy." Vector asked, finally acknowledging Tabi.

"Tabi." Your partner said.

"Tabi. Right. We gotta ask you too. Where were you-"

"Hold on. Hold on." You butt in. This was making little sense. "If you aren't IRIS, or the cops, or even Updike's people, then why are you even looking into this?" You ask.

"We have been hired to look into Displo's death. I'm afraid we cannot say more than that." The chameleon said.

"Well it's obvious who did it-" Tabi starts to say but you stop him. A thought hit you that this could have been a 'Family-aligned' group looking in to what you thought the 'real story' was. A test.

Tabi glares at you but seems to come to the same conclusion and shuts up.

"Oh?" Vector asked. "You have an idea don't ya?" He had a glimmer in his eye.

"Wait a minute. I want to ask you a question. Then we'll answer whatever it is you want."

Vector pondered it for a second before nodding enthusiastically.

The Family knew all about Displo and his connection to IRIS. The only people with that info were the core team, The Family and TGG. And TGG was already here. The cops might have known but you didn't recall ever revealing that info to them.

"What was Displo's relationship to IRIS? And who did he work for?"

You waited for his answer. It should reveal who they were working for.

"The hell's IRIS? You keep saying that." He asked. He looked to Charmy and Espio who just shrugged. They had no idea. "Displo managed his own business." Charmy piped up. "He was his own boss. Just like we are ours!" He smiled innocently.

So they didn't know. Or they were lying. Or they were hired by an outsider. But who wou-

"So who hell the sent you?" Tabi asked, completely confused now.

"Hey that's enough questions pal. We ask them here. So where were you on the night of the murder?" Vector asked. He was starting to get annoyed now.

You wrack your brain going through the possibilities. Trying to recall who would even be looking into Displo's death. Maybe an employee. Maybe Static? His 'nephew'. No, he was with Pompom that night. He has to know. Cyrix? Couldn't be. If he was so concerned he would have just asked. Plus he said he was confident Displo would come back. Shoot. You know realize you forgot to ask Cyrix about that. Maybe this was related to the messy investigation around IRIS and they somehow didn't even know who killed Displo. No. Not possible.

It was clear that line of reasoning wasn't going to work. You recall what Vector had said already, comb through. It didn't add up. There had to be some group or person you either weren't aware of or didn't know who had a vested interest in Displo.

While thinking on it you gave your testimony.

"Alright. After finishing work for the day, I picked up Tabi and drove home." Vector started writing stuff down. Espio and Charmy watched closely, no doubt for any lies or ticks.

"We settled in, watched TV, had dinner, and chilled. Just before I was going to bed the neighbour came by asking if I could help set up some security cameras. I did so and went over. Tabi went to bed. While over there we had a home invasion. A serial killer broke into my house looking for me. My er, dog and Tabi confronted him. There was a struggle, neighbour and I came back and long story short managed to subdue him. Cops showed and I took Tabi to the hospital after." Some of that was a lie, but you weren't going to reveal Updike yet. You still had no way of telling what Chaotix knew.

Vector had stopped writing when you mentioned the home invasion, a look of doubt washing over his face.

"You were attacked too?"

You nod.

"Huh. And I presume you have an alibi for that?"

"The cops were here yes. Plus I have surveillance video of the actual attack." You motion to outside where some of the cameras were. "And my neighbour does too."

"I was stabbed and beaten." Tabi spoke up.

"Really? Can we see it? You don't look very injured for someone who was stabbed a week ago." Vector said, noting Tabi.

"And where's your dog?" Charmy asked.

"We sent him to the farm."

A look of horror flashed on Charmy's face. "Why?" He asked, innocently. "W-was he old? Or got injured in the invasion?"

"What? I mean he was injured but-"

"He lives on a farm." Tabi cut in. "He is shared between us and a farmstead up north. He's not dead."

Charmy let out a sigh of relief. "Oh goodness."

"And what about your 'wounds'. You look health to me." Espio spoke up, glaring at Tabi.

"I heal fast."

You recall one line that did seem interesting Charmy had said actually. I think this is one of other people she said to look out for. So they were looking for people then? You, Tabi, and maybe other team members. So then who the hell was their client?

The possibility of Static or Cyrix arise again. No. It still doesn't make sense. IRIS had to know it was The Family. Vector's questioning snaps you out of it.

"And what did you do after the attack?"

"Tabi, my dog and the neighbour were picked up and taken to a friend's place where we got medical attention."

"Hold on." Epsio said. "You said you took them to a hospital. Which was it?" He now had a gleam in his eye.

Vector raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't go to a hospital? I mean, if I was attacked and heavily injured I would like to go there." He said slyly.

"Said friend runs a private hospital. Tabi has legal issues. We couldn't bring him to a regular one." You say slowly, trying best not to say he was a wanted criminal.

"Did you go anywhere else?"

"This is so stupid." Tabi muttered.

"We went to Displo's with that friend on the way to the hospital. The restaurant was already blown up."

"Oh?" Vector said as if he had solved it. "And what time was that at? And describe your friend." He looked to Espio and Charmy knowingly.

"Big cloud guy." You say. A quick glance to Tabi shows he was still completely confused.

"Big...cloud guy? We're gonna need his testimony too." Vector wrote that down.

"Yeah! She asked us to find him-" Espio nudges Charmy to stop speaking.

Wait. Their client was close with Updike. Then who the hell was their client? You try to think, unsure if any other TGG operative was relevant during Earthquake. Maybe Displo made a friend during it. No because if some operative cared they would have just asked Updike the official story. Maybe Ayana or Dalia? No. They would have just asked Tabi wtf happened.

Still dwelling on it you hit Vector with a question.

"Wait, did you guys jump one of the TGG workers?

"Jump is a harsh word. We barely touched 'em.'"

Before Vector could accuse you, you strike first. "You said earlier there were other people. Who else were you looking for? Me, Tabi, Updike, who else? I used to work there you know." You ask Charmy specifically.

"A few people actually. A doppelganger, a cat, a magic girl and a gangly freak."

Kapi. Pompom. Huggy. "I know them but I don't know who the doppelganger is." So they were looking for the team. Someone on the team was similar to their client clearly. Or a mimic. Or...

"Who is the doppelganger?" Tabi asked.

A girl with the same voice-"

"Don't tell him you dolt!" He chastised the bee, pushing him aside. "We still don't know these two are innocent. Could have planted the bomb. Or even faked the attack."

Tabi just stared at them dumbfounded, growing bored of this dialogue.

"Girl with the same voice..?" You mumble. That was it. It was someone you had forgotten.

"Tess."

"Hm?" Tabi asked.

"You guys were hired by Tess."

"I-I'm not sure who that is." Vector said. Checkmate.

"Cut the crap. I know Tess. Why the hell is-She hired you to figure out why Displo was killed didn't she?" You accuse.

"Who's Tess?" Tabi asked.

"That waiter from Displo's. Green robot, android, something girl. Always on roller-skates." Tabi shrugged. He had no recollection of her. "They bombed her restaurant too." Tabi shook his head.

You relax, now having an idea what this was all about. Your mind fills in the rest. Thinking on it, Tess, like the rest of the employees probably had no idea what happened. Just that one day their boss was murdered and works gone. But Tess knew more about IRIS than any of the employees. She knew Displo was in charge of something but refused to join. And she couldn't have known if IRIS was actually the ones who took out Displo because she didn't trust them.

"Who is 'they'?" Charmy asked surprised.

"We'll get to that. Why did...Does she thinks I did it?" You ask, surprised.

"Well, not fully. She asked us to find you first." Espio said. "Suspected you of taking out Displo but wanted to be sure." Espio confirmed. Vector shot him a dirty look but he shrugged. "What do you mean bombed her restaurant too?" Vector asked.

"Tess' restaurant was bombed months ago...or years. Displo hired her recently and she worked there till his demise."

"If you're telling the truth you'll have evidence to back it up. Displo texted her the night of the murder-"

"And he texted me and Tabi too."

All three of them stepped back.

You sigh. "I'm sorry you had to track me and all this. Displo, myself and Tabi...we all got involved in some messy stuff. Tell Tess it was the same people and she'll understand. And here. Give her my number. Tell her to call me asap."

You give them your number.

"So who killed Displo then? Who is 'they'?" Charmy asked. "I'd rather not say." You glance to Tabi who nods in agreement. "Just tell her what I said. She'll know who it was. And tell her I'm sorry too."

"So what about the girl with the same voice? And the magic girl?" Espio asked.

"They were customers who frequented the store." You say, not wanting to explain the team.

Disappointed their 'murder mystery' ended so soon` they left in a funk. They looked more than prepared for a whole goose chase but as you learn, Tabi and yourself were the first suspects they interviewed. As they walked to the car they mention how they now had tons of questions for Tess. That they would still get to the bottom of this.

Thinking on it you weren't sure if they would do good in the team. They didn't seem that smart. Though, like Updike said, Mobians were ruthless. Maybe they would make a good addition. You figure to think on it, ask Tess when she calls you.

You still felt bad for her, though hoped this would give her closure. The last year had been unfair to her.

The TGG agents left as well, more relieved than anything.

As soon as they were gone, Tabi muttered something about them being buffoons and ripped his paper of the wall, turning the TV on instead. Hearing your computer active you tell Tabi you'd be there in a sec and check what S was doing.

Sure enough your computer was on, the background set to a stock picture of a spa. S was sitting in a hot tub relaxing, back to the camera. Like many times before, the picture was warped to S' twisted appearance, with the water a deep bloody colour. The other people in the photo were motionless, horrified expressions on their faces.

"Enjoying yourself?" You ask.

"Very. Today has been a good day on Mobius. Lot of good victories." S brags. "I thought you moved out."

"Bah. Her computer isn't strong enough to run this. It'll be a couple of days before the new super-powerful machine arrives. Then we'll do some crazy stuff! Until then I'll be in and out."

You take a seat at the computer, noticing another open window. A ton of files were transferring over the internet to a remote computer.

Still curious about this so-called Mobian agency Tess hired, you open a browser and search them up.

"Whoa, whoa! Why are you looking them up? No need!" S blurted out suddenly from behind the window. From behind he jumped up and pushed the window aside, now wearing a towel.

"Chaotix? I can tell you whatever you need about them. What do you want to know?"

"You know them?"

"Know them! They took on Sonic and his team forever ago! They're a detective agency from Mobius. Vector, Charmy, Espio and formally, Mighty. 'Are You Sure You Want To Know?' is their slogan. Why're you curious about them? They're a much better investigator than you of course. I wouldn't mind doing some crimes. We can practice on m-"

"Relax. Someone I knew hired them. They were just here. That's all."

"HERE? You can't just drop a bombshell on me like that? What do you mean? Charmy, Vector, Espio? Here? On this planet? In this part of the country? Localized entirely in your house?"

"Yes."

"Well why didn't you tell me? I thought they were-" Some windows appeared. Never mind the relaxing, S was pumped now. He started doing all sorts of web searches. "Oh my god! They are in the city. Left Mobius cause of the war! AHHH! I'm going to be right back I gotta find them. Get their autographs. I gotta ask them about Sonic!" S shouted before warping out. He even shut your computer off in such a hurry, cancelling the transfer.

"You alright over there?" Tabi shouted.

"Yeah, just. Typical eldritch stuff." You shrug and go join Tabi.

Tabi asked. "This Tess person. What was she like?"

You still find it hard to believe Tabi didn't know Tess. You try to remember if they ever even interacted.

"You really never saw her?"

"No. Should I have?"

You sigh. "I'll explain later."

The next chapter will be called Those We Lost.