Chapter 160

"Hmm"

He smoked thoughtfully.

"Since Touya's Quirk is very conspicuous and extremely famous, I estimate that - in the worst case - it will only take seven minutes for the next heroic patrol to arrive at the scene. Again, at best, Touya will have melted the entire building (which frankly would surprise me in such a short amount of time, but let's imagine), and at worst, he'll have made it hot enough to obliterate all DNA evidence and imprint the soles of your shoes in cement. By the way, what shoe size do you wear ?"

"Forty-three"

"Our scapegoat is a forty-six : I'll provide you with the appropriate shoes and outfit, which will include a pair of gloves and a hat"

As well as clothes purchased at a shopping mall outside the city, perfectly identical to those worn by our sloppy killer.

"I need a special sweater", he said "For my wings. You can only get that kind of clothing on demand"

I shook my head.

"You won't be able to use your wings. You'll have to get rid of all your feathers before you get to the roof"

Hawks was puzzled.

"How am I supposed to defend myself against a pyromaniac without using my Quirk ?"

"It's possible to extract DNA from ashes, Hawks. All it takes is one charred feather in the wrong place for all our careful planning to fall apart"

I said 'our' - even though I meant 'my' - to make him feel included in the planning process.

It wouldn't be good for me if he started having second thoughts and got the impression that I was treating him as an interchangeable variable.

Which he was.

Sort of.

"You won't have any trouble killing Touya, I promise"

Hawks leaned over and picked up a closed box of noodles.

"Just because I can't feel anything doesn't mean my body won't suddenly shut down if it takes too much damage"

He swallowed a mouthful of noodles, then shook his chopsticks to emphasize his point :

"And frankly, I've had enough of hospitals and rehab centers"

His tone was light, but I knew from the way he looked at me that this was non-negotiable.

"I've planned ahead", I said. When he sees you, he won't be able to do anything to you"

As if I would leave Hawks alone with Touya.

"Why ? You're going to drug him ?"

He swallowed another mouthful of noodles.

I didn't answer.

His eyes widened.

"Wait, are you serious ?"

He set the box down on the coffee table and leaned forward.

"Where did you get the drugs ?"

His tone wavered between concern and disapproval, between worried big brother and pissed big brother.

I shrugged.

"Let's just say I have a friend who has friends..."

I smiled and Hawks shook his head in disbelief.

"You know what ? I don't even want to know"

"He can't hurt you", I insisted. "By the time the product kicks in, he'll feel like he's looking at ten of you. He'll barely be able to use his Quirk"

Hawks gave me a sharp look.

"If you really thought he wouldn't be able to use his Quirk, you would have decided that our little 'meeting' would take place indoors, where no one could see us"

Touché.

"I plan the situation with the worst-case scenarios in mind", I said "I choose the roof to prevent the worst. Removing your feathers is also a way to avoid getting caught in the long run"

Hawks wasn't convinced.

I tried a new approach.

- "Your wings are more than only a Quirk : they're the trademark of a hero known throughout the country. If anyone sees the smallest red feather that morning, then..."

Hawks arched an eyebrow.

"Can't I just fly away ? No one should see me"

I shook my head.

"It only takes one person to look up at the wrong moment and it's all over"

Flying heroes weren't a common sight, especially winged ones.

Hawks picked up his cigarette left at the edge of a cardboard used as an ashtray.

"How have you planned my extraction, then ?"

I pushed my dissatisfaction with the haphazard explanation of my plan to the back of my mind.

"On a bike"

Hawks, stubbing out his cigarette, laughed softly, his eyebrows raised.

"Well, that's certainly not something you'd associate with the great Hawks, since he can't ride a bike"

It was my turn to be surprised.

"You don't know how to ride a bike ?"

'I'm a competitive swimmer but I can't get my legs to move properly to turn those little wheels"

He didn't seem embarrassed to admit such a shortcoming.

"Besides, the Commission didn't have the time or inclination to teach us trivial things like that, so..."

He shrugged casually.

"Even better", I said "If someone passes a guy on a bike, no one will be able to make the connection to you"

The murder would have to happen very early in the morning, when those who live during the night have gone home and those who live during the day haven't woken up yet.

A bicycle would be less suspicious and harder to trace than a car or a guy with wings.

"Problem is, I still don't know how to ride a bike"

I dismissed his remark with a wave of my hand.

"If you can use two limbs that the rest of the population doesn't have, then riding a bike isn't any more complicated"

Then, feeling his steady gaze, I added : "Okay, I'll just have to teach you, say, tomorrow morning ?"

Hawks took another cigarette from his pack to keep his hands busy, but I didn't miss the uncontrollable smile that lifted the corners of his mouth.

"If you want"

Way too much happy for someone helping me plan a murder.

I couldn't help smiling, feeling Hawk's good mood infect me.

"For your wings", I said "I insist you remove all of your feathers and come to the rendez-vous point without them. You can hide a few in a corner before Touya arrives, if it makes you feel better"

"If I didn't know for sure you wanted him killed, I'd almost believe that you want me dead", Hawks said sarcastically.

"He won't be able to fight. I guarantee you, even without your feathers, you'll have no trouble beating him"

Because I'll be there.

"By the way, what's the Quirk of the guy we're going to incriminate? Is it something he could use to attack someone ?"

"No, it's a computer thing"

If he had the drive, this guy could be the greatest hacker of all time.

Still, I found it odd that something as volatile and unpredictable as a Quirk could evolve to adapt to the human creation that are computers.

"Anyway, back to what I was saying earlier. DNA, crime cover-up, post-crime"

"Wait a minute," Hawks interrupted. "If I'm not supposed to use my Quirk and the guy I'm impersonating doesn't have an offensive one, how am I supposed to kill Touya ?"

I blinked.

"With a good old-fashioned knife"

Hawks blinked.

" ... For your sake, I hope he's so drugged that he won't be able to remember his first name..."

"Powerful Quirk or not, it only takes one stab to the throat and you'll never hear from him again"

People bled the same way, no matter what they'd done with their lives.

"Hmm"

"Getting back to what I was saying..."

I crossed out the word 'DNA' and then wrote 'crime cover-up' next to it.

"Most murderers get caught because they try to conceal the crime. They try to hide the body because they think 'no body, no crime' and they throw it rolled up in a bin bag in their car and they drive to a rubbish dump where they've never been and where the attendant will remember them because who seriously goes to a rubbish dump at two in the morning and-"

I met Hawk's gaze.

"...that is to say, most killers get caught because they're trying to conceal their crimes. What we have to do is hide any connection to the murder. We've already got our scapegoat and your method of escape. What we need to discuss now is the murder weapon"

- "I assume you're thinking of a weapon easy to conceal, not one that can be traced back to the seller by serial number and so on"

"Yes, but we also need something that wouldn't require any effort on our part to destroy"

"Such as ?"

"An ice stalactite"

I turned my right hand to the ceiling.

Immediately, a thirty centimetre long ice spike sprang from my hand, pointing skywards.

"When they do the autopsy, they'll only be able to conclude that it was a sharp object that killed him. All you have to do is leave it on the roof and the heat from Touya's flames will turn it into vapour"

"Who's to say the stalactite won't melt before I can use it ?"

"It all comes down to a moment of surprise : no one's asking you to confront Touya. All you have to do is stab him as soon as he arrives, when his back is turned. He'll be so stunned of bleeding to death, giving you enough time to leave the spike and run : by the time he attacks you with his flames, you should be out of danger"

"But will the stalactite be strong enough to pierce him ?"

The ice pick exploded in a shower of snowflakes.

"I'll make it myself," I said. "I only need to change the density to make it more than impervious"

The perfect murder weapon.

As soon as Touya sees it, he'll know who's behind his murder.

"And the computer guy? How will he get there ?"

"I'll take care of that", I said. "All you need to know is that two days from now, at 4:44 in the morning, you'll stab Touya to death in one of Tokyo's slums, then get on your bike and ride for almost three kilometres. You'll ride the bike while smoking, or - if you have to - you'll hold the handlebars with a lit cigarette, making people think you've gone out to buy cigarettes. You'll need a plastic bag in which you'll put your cigarettes (not your usual ones, the computer guy's). You'll then puncture the wheel of your bicycle near an old park in a deprived area, whose address I'll give you, and leave it abandoned among other rusty bicycles. It'll only be a matter of hours before someone comes along and steals the second wheel and saddle. As it's raining, you won't have to waste time cleaning the bike to remove your DNA. You'll walk quietly to a bus and take it until the train station"

Due to the storm, the station's surveillance system will mysteriously fail.

"Once there, you'll take off your clothes and put them in a backpack that I'll have left in the third stall of the women's toilets, the stall furthest from the door. You will go out dressed differently, with a mask and sunglasses of the 'celebrity who doesn't want to be recognised' kind. You'll go to a dog park three minutes away, and then you can discreetly ruffle your feathers and go home. By then, the our scapegoat covered in blood will have been spotted by the police patrol, or the nearest Hero"

Hawks was silent.

"It's... yeah"

He lit another cigarette.

"You've thought this through"

"I had - and still have - no intention of getting caught"

He didn't answer.

"You know, you can always quit"

It was an idle suggestion, one I hoped he wouldn't accept.

"How could I leave after such a beautiful presentation ?" He spread his arms, pointing to my plans, his living room, his entire apartment

He inhaled several puffs of smoke.

"Don't worry about me, kid. I may be a hero, but killing is hardly new to me"

He was calm and mischievous, as usual.

"This reminds me of a book I read a long time ago", he said. "It was about some students who had decided to kill one of their friends to cover up another murder. He was going to expose them, and since they didn't want to end up in prison..."

His sentence hung between us.

"I suppose killing someone as a group brought them closer together ?"

At least the fear of exposing each other would have kept them together.

"You'd think so, yes, but it only drove them apart"

Hawks continued to smoke thoughtfully.

"For our alibis" I said, "The most logical would be you at home alone, since that's where you spend most of your free time. You don't want to look suspicious if you're suddenly busy on the night of a murder, which is something you never do"

Things would be a lot easier for me.

"And for you ?"

I shrugged.

"My father always comes home very late. I'll stay up, pretending to have insomnia or something"

Because of Hawk's persistent gaze, I added:

"I had a lot of them when I was younger, and he'd always tell me to come and see him if I wasn't feeling well"

He exhaled a puff of smoke.

"Most parents would have told you to go back to bed"

"Most"

I reasoned that he let me wake him up even when he was exhausted from a day's work because he must have felt guilty about what I was going through at the time.

I looked up at Hawks : he was already looking at me.

"Come on, enough of this murder business. I started that series you recommended the other day and-"

I muted Hawks, heard him without listening, looked at him without really seeing him.

I burned all the paper on which I had drawn my crime.

Keigo was a good man.

I liked him in a different way to the way I liked my father and (sometimes) did Katsuki.

Sometimes he treated me more familiarly than I deserved, making me feel more like a cousin or brother than a student he'd been forced to look after because of his job.

Asking him to help me with Touya...

Making Touya disappear would have been an option, if only I had been sure that my father wouldn't try to hunt him down until his death. Discretion and secrecy wouldn't work with him.

Touya's killer had to be someone my father would be satisfied with ; he'd never be satisfied with the idea that someone as random as that junk computer guy had gotten lucky.

My father would want a real culprit, someone with a motive and the means to kill his son.

Hawks was not only my partner in crime, he was also the man I wanted to frame for Touya's murder.

*

NDA: * INSEE statistics on homicides committed in France between 2016 and 2020.

Author's note :

You think you're ready for the next arc ?

You're not.

Things are gonna get another level of crazy.

If you want to read ahead of schedule (and see for yourself what are the crazy stuff I've cooked) you can check the story's P@treon, Nar_cisseENG

And as always, see you in the next update everyone !