Hive Mind [07]

-- (Manipulator) --

- When did you arrive?

Tak and Daven were in one of the parking lots on the upper floors of the casino. By then it was closer to sunrise than sunset from the previous day.

- I just arrived in town, I heard about the attack a couple of days ago and wanted to check if everything was okay - Daven answered.

Tak watched him carefully, from what he understood of the plan. Annie, Conrad and he were the only ones in charge of scouring the city, outside of the mob gardener, but Tak didn't even remember him at that moment. He scanned Daven's gestures for any clue as to what he was really doing there, something felt... out of place with the ever impassive fellow.

- What, didn't you miss me? - Daven gave him a mocking gesture.

- I missed the tranquility of not having to follow your orders. On the other hand, today's money came in handy, thanks, old man. - Tak mocked him back.

Daven snorted. 

- 'What, I didn't send you to lose, it's my money now.

- Don't get drunk on money either. I know it's important but it's not what you should be constantly looking for. - Daven replied.

Isn't it? I thought this whole plan was about money - Tak replied securing the suitcase full of chips he had taken from Daven playing poker - So what is it that you constantly look for?

Daven could only remain silent as he looked up at the unhelpful lights in the parking lot.

- Hey, old man... Why are you here?

- I already told you. I came to see that everything was...

- No." Tak interrupted him by stepping back. - Not why you came all the way to the casino, but why you're doing everything you're doing.

Daven pondered the answer for a moment before continuing.

- I've always enjoyed learning new things. I'm not a scholar by any means, I'm closer to a know-it-all than a scholar - Daven paused again - What better thing to learn than a new language, and I mean really new, new to me, to you, to everyone.

Tak was still staring completely into the hunter's eyes, he could no longer tell if he felt discomfort with having him there in front of him or was it more a curiosity to know the history of the man who was recruiting him. Maybe both, maybe... Just maybe, it was admiration.

- This text I'm looking for is really unique, I don't know if you ever looked up what a panagram was since I told you about them the first time, but in reality a panagram is nothing more than a sentence containing all the possible letters of a language. If it really is a dead language, it will be impossible to know how it sounds, but if I find the text with all the letters of that dead language maybe together with Monique's help I can discover something, at least we would have its alphabet....

Daven stopped and raised his head. Tak noticed an expression he had never seen before on that man, he was blushing. 

"He's telling the truth, or so it seems."

- I'm not going to lie to you, if we find that text and it turns out to be authentic then both you, Monique and I will be fucking rich. But for us hunters the real value lies in authentic emotions.

Tak opened his lips to articulate words, but nothing came out of his lips. They had been getting to know each other for a little less than a month and really the Emitter, Specialist and Manipulator's Club spent a lot of time together before going to Padokea, still, he knew nothing about Daven, after all most of the time they were fine tuning details about what each was going to do once they reached their destination.

- Thank you, you know... For telling me about you.

- I told you we would be allies. Eventually we would know more about each other. - Daven replied. - And so far I've learned about you that you don't even trust yourself.

- That's the thing about being a thief," Tak replied.

Daven gave a chuckle as he walked towards one of the sections of the parking lot. Tak fixed his gaze on the man's movements, as he remained motionless leaning his back on one of the concrete columns that supported the structure, to eventually follow his steps when the view from that location did not give to follow Daven Nightshot among the sea of vehicles.

- What do you know about the rest, you know, Annie and Conrad? - Daven asked who slowed his pace to stand next to Tak.

- Annie was the day of the incident here in the casino, a couple of men flirted with her at the roulette wheel, Conrad I haven't seen since the incident, I heard that a lot of the casino security was moved from the general area to the VIP area - Tak further lightened his pace to keep up behind Daven.

- Good to know that, it might be helpful if Conrad is reassigned to the VIP area and gets to hear the right conversations, on the other hand...- Daven let a grimace of curiosity creep in - The men approached him one after another, do you know who they are?

- Well... The truth is I don't know who they are, but some time passed between one and the other, I would think about an hour or more so maybe they are not related.

Daven stopped in his tracks.

- Interesting... Do you like Annie?

Tak blushed slightly, Daven teased him provoking him.

- She's not my type, but I have to admit she's cute.

- Look, you've only known her for a few days. There was no time for formal introductions. But she's single, try something if you want a beau....

- Yeah whatever you say - Tak interrupted him as he took long strides reaching Daven's side.

- Although... Well, maybe it's more of a fetish of mine than anything else, but the women who work with me are usually... Interesting. You'll find out.

- On a scale of 1 to Monique...? - Tak threw the question in the air.

- Ah, you really like them all! Leave some for the rest - Daven teased - Well, it's a different kind of danger. Monique is more cunning, but Annie knows how to use everything she's got.

"Everything she's got... You mean...?"

As if she had read his mind, Daven stared at him with intrigue and then gave him a soothing gesture. 

- If you get to that thing you're thinking, then you've already lost. Ah here we are, catch!

By the time Daven finished saying the above, there was already an object flying in the direction of Tak. With a quick, but graceful gesture he reached up and caught some keys, giving it a second glance, they were the keys to the motorcycle in front of him.

- What is this, old man?

- Don't you know what a motorcycle is? Look, it's like a bicycle, but....

-Yes yes yes yes," Tak snorted, giving a snort. - Where did you get it? 

- I stole it - Daven said with no change of tone or alterations in his voice.

- Ah great! Not only do you send me into the lion's den, but now you want to put me in jail.

"Indeed, hunters are nothing more than more experienced thieves, or at least this madman seems to be."

- Calm down, kid... It's stolen, but it was originally from a thief, those people won't bother reporting a stolen vehicle, besides, look. - Daven said as he pointed to the back of the bike. - The plate is modified, I made a couple of changes on the way here to avoid risks. I have no way of knowing if that bike is on any criminal record so the best thing to do was to camouflage it.

"At least"

- You'd think Tak the rogue wouldn't be afraid of jail," Daven scoffed.

Tak rolled his eyes.

"This guy is funnier than usual today."

- What do you want me to do with her? - Tak asked already impatient.

Daven looked at Tak with a disapproving expression and then raised his shoulders.

- It's yours, you can have it.

The confusion on Tak's face was quite noticeable. He was now absolutely certain that this guy was up to something.

"In light of this, he probably did intend to come to the casino, but I'm also pretty sure that this bike is only going to make me his patsy, I'm not Monique, I'm not a ward, nor am I his people, why would he give me something if it's not with a double intention?"

- You're going to need the bike to get around," said Daven.

"Aha, there it is, he did have plans to use me for something else."

- I knew it, I knew there was some trick.

- Well... You don't want to walk to a motel with the girl from the casino, do you?

- You're all jokes today, aren't you, old man? - Tak replied, shooting him an intense look.

- It's my way of getting even for losing money, for giving you money. Anyway... If you don't want it, then leave it parked here and let it rust. I'm going to see about getting in touch with Annie and Conrad if possible. - Said the hunter as he turned and waved goodbye to Tak.

When Daven finally left the apartment, and Tak made very sure of it, he scanned the bike to check its condition. It was in good condition, if what he had said was true then it should have plenty of use behind it, mostly over short distances, if it was used for theft, so it was a bike with good acceleration. Speed, he could only check it one way.

"Well, the truth is, I can certainly use my own means of transportation."

Tak bent down to reach the bottom of the bike and analyzed the plate, Daven had done a rudimentary but functional job, on the bike's plate the letters and numbers had several tapes glued to them that converted some characters into others, Tak played a little with the tapes until he left a credible plate number, but, above all, different from the one he had entered with Daven before. He turned it on and once he checked that it turned on and worked he turned it off again to go down to the casino, making sure to put the keys in one of his pants pockets.

As he descended floor by floor down the building's elevator Tak realized the reason for the gift, or at least one of them.

"Wait a minute, that idiot gave me the bike so I could pay the parking fee!?"

Still irritated, he kept his gaze on the elevator buttons as the part that indicated the current floor he was on lit up, the elevator seemed to get slower and slower as it approached the middle floors of the building which allowed Tak to take a quick look at the various intersections and grids in the elevator.

"The steel plates seem to be well bonded, and the floor is well taken care of, there's no rust or any indicator that this might wear out." 

At the same time, Tak spun around on himself turning around so his back was to the elevator door, facing the mirror behind him earlier and rested his arms crossing them over the metal railing pretending to see himself.

"The only thing I can exploit seems to be the sliding door... I must watch out for the surveillance camera."

Tak cocked his head to the side pretending to look at his haircut as he expanded his [En] across the elevator and the floors it traveled. Meanwhile he located a small group of scout ants loose in an employer-only area, he raised his now nen-laden hands to comb his hair. He hadn't paid particular attention to the surveillance camera as he didn't know whether or not they could detect the use of nen but it was a risk he was willing to take. With the gentle backward movements of his auburn hair he was subtly indicating the path that the ants controlled by his [Hive Mind] ability were going to follow. Then he took from one of the pockets of his blazer a small bottle of perfume, small enough to pass for a sample or even an exclusive limited edition, whatever it was, Tak sprayed a little of the lotion into the air while still controlling the ants took a step forward being immersed inside the cloud and closed his eyes generating a chain of facts that seen from the outside was nothing more than a handsome young man applying cologne to impress and wanted to check his scent.

Little did the watchful chamber staff know that what was really happening was that Tak had closed his eyes to feel his ants during the tour. And that really that vial was pheromones imperceptible to humans, but which would attract his new colony, Tak had gotten behind Daven's back, although he had told Monique a little about it.

By the time the elevator had passed through the floors of the VIP area, the ants were already in position inside the elevator, and in one swift movement, turning once more to come face to face with the sliding elevator door, Tak signaled his scout ants to infiltrate the lowest floor of the VIP area.

"It will be easier to control them if I have them closer, although I doubt I can get much relevant information out of these first few floors, the juicy stuff must be higher up... Well, I can't do much, let's see what or who I run into."

6 ants walked from Tak's body to the slits of the sliding door achieving a successful infiltration of the lowest floor of the VIP area, Tak waited only a few more seconds and by then, the elevator had stopped again on the second floor of the casino.

The Manipulator exited the elevator as a group of people passed behind him in the direction of the upper floors. He gestured to one of the casino workers who was holding a tray with some cocktails on it, she approached the young man and with a rather deft movement offered him one of the martinis on top. Tak thanked her and put on his tray, in the same place where the drink rested before, a chip he had won earlier, the waitress gave him a big smile and then returned to the center of the casino.

Tak took a sip from the cup as he found himself leaning back a few feet from the elevator. Daven and Monique had their codes. The former didn't drink while on a mission no matter what, the latter only drank if necessary to keep a low profile. Tak on the other hand, always enjoyed the company this one provided. 

He took another sip from the cup and let out a happy sigh, relaxed his body and closed his eyes once more.

"I can feel it, they're already in, they're about...5 floors above me way beyond what my [In] reaches, they're scattered across the floor so...Wow! No doubt this place is...different!"

Unlike the large open space that was the first floor where everyone could interact with everyone, talk to everyone, or at least, see everyone, the VIP area was different, for Tak it held an aura of mysticism and secrecy, the ants were scattered all over the place so different sensations flooded Tak's mind and heart. 

"It feels damp, cold and dark, there are slight cheerful touches, probably flashes of positive emotions from when some VIP wins his bet, but overall the place exudes an aura of loneliness and distrust. It is as if in every corner of the floor there is at least one intrigue, a stratagem, an economic power struggle. But besides that the most interesting thing is the betting parlor... The betting parlors."

The vision through the 6 ants was blurry but what I could notice was that the floor was divided into different rooms, most of them closed, but freely accessible.

"So that's why the aura of mysticism, they are separated from each other, interesting, let's do a quick scan.".

The ants were advancing from the periphery of the room towards the center, the humidity and coldness was constant, but as they advanced, Tak was invaded with a great sense of fear, then a deep pain filled his insides, he felt like his head was about to explode, his hands loaded with Nen began to sweat and his heart rate gradually increased.... from one moment to the next, all the emotions were amplified all at once, his senses sharpened and he began to distinguish voices, intelligible and subtle, but there they were. Then the pain subsided, leaving an agitated Manipulator.

"One ant down, 5 left... What a shame..."

That was the bad (and dangerous part of his ability) he felt what his scout ants felt, pain included.

The young man took a sip of his Martini and walked towards the slot machines, he didn't want to look suspicious so he resumed playing without paying much attention to the spinning figures on the screen. Once again, he closed his eyes.

"I can... I can hear it, it's a little hard with the noise in the casino but I can hear it" Tak once again lowered the slot machine lever and lowered his head. Before he could understand a complete sentence Tak caught several words in the air: spiders, Yesterday, Missing, VIP, Business, Partners, Dimecci. Then he could understand one sentence.

- Well, did you see anyone interesting down there? - the first voice almost sounded like a whisper, it came from the VIP area, in a room far inside and to the left of the floor, only one ant had managed to get there, the rest were still on their way.

- ...Long hair... 4 hours - Tak could not identify the sentence completely. - Yesterday...black dress.

"I must send them there, soon. Finally got a lead on something, can't miss this opportunity."

- Did any of us get in touch with any of them? - asked the first voice.

- First...Boy...poker... 

- ...Didn't want...attention...difficult...short hair...mole. - replied a third voice.

"Quickly, quickly!"

Once again Tak felt a stab of pain that almost made him vomit, he opened his eyes suddenly and leaned on the lever. His heart was thudding and the sweat on his forehead was dripping on the wood that adorned the corridors.

"I don't have time to waste!" He pulled the machine once more and closed his eyes.

Two more ants were out, there were only 3 left, to his fortune, another ant had arrived at the front of the room. Now Tak could see more clearly what the inscription carved on her door said. Sweet Bets. 

"It makes all the sense in the world, surely they were talking about taking girls up there."

- The girl in the black dress didn't come back today, sir. - Replied the third voice. Either she was closer to the ants or having twice as many ants helped a lot.

- Gambling... lost... - Even with the presence of the second ant Tak could not yet understand everything the second voice said. - ...kidnapping.

Tak swallowed dryly as he lowered the lever once more.

- ...Dimecci - He heard a fourth voice say.

- The girl from a few hours ago left but we have people watching the area in case they see her, as for the boy she was with, he disappeared with a man towards the parking lot, we lost sight of him. - Said the third voice

Tak opened his eyes once again, he doubted if what he had heard was real. He took some time to think about the situation and pulled the slot machine again.

"Shit, shit, shit, they're talking about me. No, not exactly about me, about Lucy. Wait, do they know I'm..." 

Tak closed his eyes.

- ...Dimecci... Carlo... black dress - said the second voice.

- ...Boy... robbery... Yorkshin. - said the first voice

Tak was startled.

"I'm dead." 

Tak sent his ants into the space between the door and the floor of the room to hear better. The third ant had arrived.

- If we want to have Carlo's favor we must find the girl in the black dress, he has an interest in her. As for the thief... Poor idiot for coming straight into the lion's den, find him and kill him. - said the first voice as he opened the door. - You see? Our gambling business is going so bad that we even have ants in here already.

Tak opened his eyes to avoid feeling the pain. When he closed them again, there was no scene playing in his mind, no voices from the VIP area, just darkness. He opened his eyes and looked up at the slot machine.

"Yet another attempt where I win nothing... is it worth exposing my life working with this madman? Well... at least I can learn some tricks from the hunters, they're the ones who know."

Tak was in a difficult situation, on the one hand, if he exchanged the chips for money, he ran the risk of being detected by the security cameras and being taken to the upper floors by the security personnel... Which would not end well for him, on the other hand, if he didn't exchange the chips and walked out the front door with them, he was going to look suspicious, and he might not be allowed back into the casino in the future.

Tak stood up, cleared his thoughts and mingled with the crowd on his way to the roulette wheel, made a couple of safe bets to end up with a little less money than he had before, and when he thought he had turned his attention away from himself, he headed for the parking lot.

"The bike. A back and fast exit may be my only salvation... Did that guy know this could happen?"

Nervously, the manipulator exited the elevator on his way to the section where his getaway vehicle was parked, taking careful steps avoiding making noise as much as possible and with his head held high trying to look past the crowded and crowded aisles of vehicles. 

"If they saw me go up to the parking lot with Nightshot earlier then they may have some trap ready."

He walked around a couple of times without becoming suspicious and then came to the bike. It didn't seem to have anything unusual on it. He hopped on it, fired it up and headed for the exit without looking back. When he came out onto a side road to the side of the hotel, he finally got his breath and wiped his forehead, it was a cold sweat, and started on his way to the motel where he was staying for the time being.

---------------------------

- Your head is all over the place, little Tak. - Monique said as she read a book titled Historical Frontiers of the Kakin Empire. - Your [Ren] is unstable, he has improved, but he is still very unstable.

Tak collapsed from exhaustion. He felt his lungs expanding and contracting violently, he could barely breathe.

- 27 minutes and 20 seconds. Interesting. You have a Hatsu, a nen ability of your own and yet your grasp of the basics is quite poor. Remind me one more time how you can use nen.

- I... my nodes... forced. - Tak gasped with his head down.

Monique made a disapproving gesture. As she turned the page she took the opportunity to peek at Tak over the top of the book.

- If you weren't so hard-headed you probably would have been a better thief, but most of all, you would have been much more advanced in nen handling by now; Just ask Daven to teach you.

- ...No. I don't...trust...him. 

- Well, that's too bad, he's been a hunter a lot longer than I have. To tell you the truth, I still don't get this nen thing. - Monique let out such an overwhelming burst of [Ren] that Tak had no choice but to raise his head and admire her. - I just know I'm really good at this.

Monique laughed.

- Honey... We've been in your training for a few months now, every chance I get I try to come to Hakone to check how your progress is going, but for a delicate woman like me it's quite exhausting to go back and forth from one city to another. - Monique said airily.

"Delicate my ass" Tak swallowed his thoughts.

After a few minutes had passed, Tak finally rejoined. The dark-skinned woman still kept her eyes glued to the book. Tak for his part took the opportunity to replenish his fluids and then grabbed the laptop Daven had given him to check the chat. To Tak's surprise, the gardener was proving to be useful.

Scotch: The masters believe that the attack near the hotel was planned by the spiders...

Scotch: The guards' units at the mansion rotate more frequently. I haven't seen young Conrad around yet.

Scotch: The cleaning and kitchen staff say they have not seen or attended Master Carlo for 3 weeks. He doesn't regularly go that long without returning to the mansion.

Of course, the idea of having Conrad as a member of the casino security was that he could eventually infiltrate the security of the Dimécci family home, however, for a cadet it was quite difficult to gain that trust.

"One thing worries me more though... Carlo Dimécci hasn't been seen in three weeks, would he have gotten his hands on Lucy and the woman in the black dress?" 

Tak noticed Monique peeking at him over the top of the book.

- What? - Tak asked the exhausted Tak.

Monique took a pause to think, glanced at the pages of the book briefly and then closed it focusing her attention on Tak.

- It's not like you to be such a reader.

- I have to keep up with the information. Know how the plan is going.

Monique was surprised.

- And I thought you were the least intelligent manipulator. 

Tak rolled his eyes as he shook his head. Monique walked over to Tak.

- What are you reading? - she asked as she stood in front of the laptop screen. To her surprise, Tak seemed to be telling the truth, he was in the group chat and had no extra tabs or apps open.

- The bible. - Tak replied without looking away from the screen.

Monique grimaced to which Tak let out a short chuckle.

The huntress picked up a chair and placed it in front of Tak, sat down resting her chest on the back of the chair and let her arms fall over the chair. In the same graceful motion, she rested her chin on her arms and tilted her head slightly.

- Yo, seriously, you've got your head in so many places, what's up?

"God, she sure is sexy."

The woman in front of him could have been about 10 years older than him, maybe a little more and still maintained an admirable bearing. Her frizzy hair highlighted every line of her diamond shaped face, it was a perfectly outlined contour that ended in a long neck and well-defined collarbones that brought out the natural glow of her skin. Monique wasn't much for plunging necklines, still, I always saw her in outfits that gave a glimpse of her muscular, outlined collarbones and shoulders.

- I..." Tak swallowed dryly, trying hard to look back into his teacher's eyes. - Do you remember when I was at the casino the day after the incident? There was something I didn't tell the rest of the group. Besides the fact that they were looking for a woman in black and the girl I was with that day. They were looking for me. They knew who I was, and that I was there.

Monique tilted her head even more.

- That... is that all? - she asked confused. - I mean, you broke into the casino yourself, and you know they gave home to your whole gang, it was obvious or at least normal that they recognized you. Still, you did a good job, it's more than Conrad and Annie have managed. Although I think that from now on they are going to take the role of infiltration in the casino, the best thing is for you to stay on the sidelines and act with your ants from the outside, from as far away as you can.

Tak nodded reluctantly. To which Monique responded by giving him a small smack on the forehead.

- Well, I must go. - Monique said, jumping out of her chair. - I promised Daven I would give him some updates.

Tak could swear his heart skipped a beat.

"You were betrayed, it was secret training, and you were betrayed."

- I won't tell her anything about your training, there are some...curious findings I need to tell her about. - Monique looked at Tak who was somewhat confused by her comment - What? You have information you're hiding from the rest of the group too, kid. 

"Stop with that calling me a kid."

- Also, remember who the leaders of this plan are. - Monique said as she closed the door behind her.

Tak tried to activate his [En] as soon as Monique left in search of ants, but the wear and tear was so great that his aura simply expanded a few inches away from him and then dissolved.

"If I end up this exhausted after every workout, I won't be able to spy on her ever!" Tak cursed into the air.

He waited a few minutes and looked around his makeshift shelter making sure Monique wasn't in the area and pulled out his phone to text Lucy. There was no reply, the woman hadn't even received his messages for a while. Chances where he had been blocked. But if that wasn't the case....

Tak went to the shower, took a revitalizing bath, and dressed in khaki pants, his only formal shirt with the sleeves folded to the elbow and stolen loafers. Then he set off on his motorcycle bound for the Dimecci family's casino. Annie and Conrad would take charge of infiltration and intelligence gathering, Monique had told him....

"But I can't sit around doing nothing, not knowing that there are people in danger, I won't leave them behind again."

To be sure of not being identified, he left the motorcycle in a private parking lot a few blocks from the casino and entered on foot. The landscape had not changed much, it was bright red adorned with dark brown tones topped with lighter browns. Elegant, classic, and above all, attractive. Emotions of euphoria and despair flooded the casino in equal measure, and in that sea of gamblers, the young Tak, who carried with him a third of the chips won in his last gambling foray, only wished to rest after an exhausting training and an even more exhausting trip. He sat at the bar and gestured to the bartender. 

- Tequila Sunrise. It's early let's start smooth to warm up.

The bartender nodded and after a few minutes placed in front of him the drink that depicted the sunrise in front of him. Tak pulled out a low value token and placed it in front of the bartender who took it in a nimble gesture and pecked his customer's eye. 

Tak took his first sip.

"Sweet. Who knew the sunrise would taste so sweet."

He set his glass down on the bar and scanned the rest of the patrons seated on the bar, men and women of varying ages, all well-dressed except for a few rowdies who were damaging both the view and the ambiance of the most privileged casino in town. 

And then he saw her.

About 10 chairs away from where he stood.

"Black dress, short hair, slender figure, enough to attract the attention of a high command in the mafia, matches the description!"

Tak only had to check one more aspect, as he didn't see the mole he heard about. Although maybe by then they were no longer talking about the same woman. His memories were hazy as the ants' information at the time was limited.

He lifted the glass from the table and approached her slowly, he didn't want to seem like a man desperate to get the lady's attention...At least not for the reasons one would expect.

"Hi, excuse me, you're about to be kidnapped...I certainly shouldn't tell her that."

With every step Tak's heart was racing, he still hadn't decided on the best plan.

"What if he turns me down for the conversation?"

Another step.

"How will I be able to protect her like this?"

Another step.

"Do I want to protect her?"

Another step.

"If I couldn't protect Lucy, I'll at least make sure she doesn't fall."

Another step.

"What if it's a trap...?"

Tak stopped dead in his tracks about five steps away from her. He swallowed dryly and continued walking towards the woman. The manipulator noticed that the girl had the same drink he was holding in front of her.

"You have good tastes."

Another step.

"I at least need to know who she is."

Another step.

Then, the girl turned her head slowly in Tak's direction.

"Black dress, short hair, slender figure, just enough to catch the eye of the mob leader, a mole adorning the lower corner of slanted eyes."

The woman scanned him from the bottom up.

"Is it...her?"