A Problem in the Capital

Two men were walking leisurely on the cobblestone road of Texel, sightseeing as they went. Water puddles dotted the road, mud splashes covered the surface of everything they managed to reach. The sun was shining brightly above while the gentle breeze was gently swaying: it was a beautiful day on the small island.

"What's your plan for today, Mr. Hymes?" Luuk's eyes were brimming with excitement as he was looking around the place. The sight of the people in strange clothes and them running around busily hadn't ceased to amaze him.

Graham, despite it not being his first time there, was still somewhat captivated by the view and the sounds around him. Although Sloten was as noisy, if not noisier, the kind of ambient sounds he heard surrounding him was different. The waves in the background, the whistling of the port workers in the distance, and the sounds of activities around him reminded him of the first time he had been there.

"I plan to walk around this place. Not the whole island, mind you; it's still too big to do so," he replied. There was a smile of contentment on his face, like someone who had got no worries in his life, "But before that, I will need to buy supplies before we actually go to the island. Coming?"

"I guess. I've got nothing better to do," the young medical student replied, "Besides, you're the only person I know on this whole island," he then shrugged nonchalantly.

...

"Acco, you seem... different somehow..." a girl's weak voice resounded in the white hospital room.

A big and muscular man with a threatening face was sitting next to the girl who was lying on the bed. It seemed that to the girl, the man didn't appear menacing but instead, the most caring and loving person in the world.

"Different how Dada?" asked Jacco, confused. He smiled awkwardly and began checking himself like a lizard had just crawled up his body.

A soft burst of laughter came out of the girl's pale lips as she saw what her brother was doing.

"Haha... Not like that..." she placed her hand gently on top of his hand, "It's just that... you have this kind of magnificent aura. I don't know what I'm even saying," Ada looked at her brother straight in the eye. There was a seriousness in them, coming as prominently as the dimness that was clouding her blue eyes.

"You can see things like that?" Jacco was slightly taken aback.

A gentle smile appeared on her lips as she shook her head.

"No, it's not that I can see it. It just feels like so," she then smiled wider, "Maybe because I'm closer to death, now I can feel things no humans can," her voice was full of humour mixed with bitterness.

Jacco raised his eyebrows and his expression sunk.

"Don't speak like that, Ada! You're not going to die!"

The girl then began rubbing her brother's hand tenderly.

"Shh shh shh... it's alright, Acco. I was just kidding. I know I will get better soon, especially with you supporting me," she maintained her smile, "Anyway, your business partner from before has never come here again," she said, changing the topic.

"That guy is out of town for a few days. It's also lucky that he's not here. All he's brought me is trouble."

Ada laughed.

The two of them then stayed quiet, enjoying each other's company. The bright afternoon sun shone through the window on the girl's right, sending its warmth to her weak body. Her eyes were staring outside, at the trees whose leaves were blown gently by the breeze.

"Acco, when I get out of this hospital, I don't want to go back to school yet. You must promise to take me traveling first!" requested Ada passionately. Her grip on her brother's hand became stronger.

"Of course, Dada, I'll do it. We'll go to Hoorn first, and then Rijssen, and then Venlo, and then we'll go to other countries like Rodin and Favara!" Jacco replied with conviction, his eyes brimming with desire. After that, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "But then I might need to ask that guy first. He seems to know more about this kind of stuff."

"That guy? Your business partner?"

Jacco nodded.

"Yes. He is a detective so he knows everything. I've never been anywhere, you know that, right, Dada?" he smiled embarrassedly.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Suddenly, someone was knocking at the door, interrupting the siblings' moment.

"Is that him, Acco?" Ada gave a glance at the door.

"I don't think so. He should be far away now. Let me have a look. If it's not important, I'll make sure they regret disturbing us!" Jacco cracked his knuckles.

Ada held her brother's arm worriedly.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The knocking came back.

"Acco, please don't fight. Besides, I'm starting to feel tired, so maybe I can use the rest," she spoke calmly.

Jacco nodded and then stood up, leaving his sister who had closed her eyes. He watched as her breathing became more and more regular before going for the door.

Click!

"Boss!!" a man with blonde hair suddenly shouted just as Jacco closed the door behind him.

"Ivo, what the fuck? Don't shout like that! This is a hospital!" Jacco replied with a matching loud voice, causing the people around to look at them.

"I'm sorry, boss, but this is urgent! It's Louis! He's dead!"

Jacco tilted his head. There was a confused look on his face as he was trying to digest what Ivo had said. He remained speechless for several seconds while Ivo was wearing a terrified expression on his face.

"What the heck do you mean?! Speak clearly!" Jacco finally responded.

"It's just as I said, he's dead!" the blonde man replied.

"How did he die? And is that really our Louis? Calm yourself and tell me the detail!" Jacco clenched his fist.

The man took a deep breath and then placed his hands on Ivo's shoulders. With his strength, he easily pushed the man across the room like he was dragging a toy and sat him on an empty waiting seat.

Sitting for a few minutes in silence, Ivo's complexion gradually became better. He was also no longer panicking like before, although he wasn't perfectly calm either. It seemed the news was too shocking for him.

Finally, he looked at Jacco and opened his mouth. "Yes, boss, it's our Louis. The boys found his body this morning. They've also called the Police," he said heavily.

"How did he die?" Asked Jacco with genuine concern.

Louis was one of his men, so the fact that one of them had died so suddenly also shocked him.

"It's... The boys said he looked like the people from the newspaper," Ivo troubledly said. It seemed that he more or less knew about the serial murder case, now being a Contractbound himself. The fact that someone could easily be killed without being able to do anything seemed to have terrified him.

The information that he had just received from Ivo struck Jacco like lightning. He instantly connected the people mentioned in newspapers and the death happening recently.

Pravitatem?! They got one of my men?! I should tell Hymes about this. There's no way I can deal with this alone.

Jacco clenched his fists again, his veins showing on his arms.

"Has his body been taken? Who found him first? Take me to them!" Jacco commanded.

"It's Carel and Guus. They're being questioned by the Police right now. As for Louis, the Police have taken his body," Ivo explained.

Feeling frustrated because he couldn't do anything, Jacco wanted to punch the white wall of the hospital. However, when he remembered his sister was staying there, he quickly suppressed his emotion.

"Then take me to Louis's apartment!"

Ivo nodded.

Before leaving, Jacco checked up on Ada first, only to find that she had already fallen fast asleep. Not wanting to disturb her, he closed the door very gently before running outside, following Ivo.

The two men waited for a while by the side of the street and quickly waved their hands the moment a public motor carriage approached. Seeing the two people waving, the driver pulled over in front of them.

Without wasting time, Jacco and Ivo quickly got in.

"Where are we going, Sirs?" asked the driver, a thin man in his late thirties who had a tired look on his face. However, the man was somehow brimming with positivity despite that.

"Take us to Oostparkstraat, Groen Apartment. Quickly, please!" Ivo said.

The driver nodded and spoke, "It will be seven Pennings. You are not going to try to bargain, are you?"

The two men shook their heads in confusion.

The driver, after getting reassurance from his passengers' expressions, quickly hit the gas pedal on his motor carriage, driving away from the hospital.

At that hour, the street around Sloten was busy with people going out for lunch, so it took them to arrive at their destination longer than usual. On top of that, the street of Oostpark was unusually busy because of the murder case, making it even harder for the driver to drive around. The apartment was still way ahead, but the traffic forced him to drive slowly.

"Why is this street very busy? And why are there a lot of Police vehicles around?" asked the driver curiously.

"There has been a murder here," answered Ivo gravely.

The driver seemed surprised and looked at his passenger through the rearview mirror, to see if he had been joking or not. Seeing the seriousness on Ivo's face, the driver believed him.

"Is it one of those serial killer victims? Why have I been dragged into one again..." the driver said weakly as he was following the traffic.

Noticing what the driver said, Jacco's attention was caught.

"What do you mean 'again'?" he asked inquisitively.

The driver rubbed his forehead.

"Something similar happened in The Concrete, near where I live. A detective whom I was guiding around dragged me into the case. I even got questioned by the Police and had to stay around until late because of that..." he said.

The short description of the detective somehow sounded familiar to Jacco.

"Is the detective by any chance Graham Hymes?" Jacco asked.

The driver seemed surprised that his passengers knew about the detective.

"Yes! The stingy detective who's always brought me nothing but trouble!" the driver seemed to have blurted out without thinking. He then suddenly regretted saying such a thing because he didn't know his passengers' relationship with the man.

"Hah! Yes, that stingy and troublesome man cannot be anyone but Graham Hymes. How did you know him?" Jacco asked.

Sigh...

Egon breathed a sigh of relief that his passengers were not angry. He even felt some sense of camaraderie with them, fellow humans who were on the receiving end of the detective's mischief.

"It was by chance, really. And after that, he's come to me with unusual requests, like taking him out of town and coming back in the middle of the night. Although he actually pays good money, sometimes I think if it's just not worth it. But then, he's always kept his words, so all is good."

"That sounds like Hymes alright. I'm Jacco and this is Ivo. What's your name? Hymes' friend is definitely our friend as well."

"My name is Egon, sir," he replied rather hesitantly, worrying that his troublesome customers might have just increased.

Finally, the black motor carriage arrived at the destination: Groen Apartment on Oostparkstraat. There were a lot of Police vehicles parked in front of it, so Egon had to drop off his passengers a little further ahead.

After paying through the gap in the glass separator, Jacco and Ivo got out of the vehicle and walked back towards the apartment. It was already crowded with people, both residents and curious passersby, who wanted to know what was going on.

Stopping in front of an old-looking apartment with peeling brown pain, the two men tried to get a look inside, through the numerous people flocking the six-story building. The Police seemed to have set up a parameter somewhere inside, but other than the restricted area, people were free to come and go.

"Why don't you use your new ability to create chaos here, boss? That way, the people will go away," Ivo suggested.

Jacco squinted his eyes and looked at Ivo with disbelief.

"Do you want me to get caught by the Police Contractbound? I've just recently become a President, I'm not strong enough to deal with them," he refused.

"If you say so..." Ivo shrugged, "But why do you want to come here anyway, boss? Louis's body is no longer here, and Carel and Guus are at the Police station," Ivo asked curiously.

Jacco looked up ahead with fiery eyes.

"I just think that maybe with my new abilities, I'll be able to learn something," he said, his voice full of doubt, but it was something he wanted to try anyway.