James Act 1 Chapter 19 A Ghost Named Zeno

....Heh...

Ten bucks? Seriously? There wasn't any special papers or identification I could use to identify him by. Damn it....so that strategy was a failure...

It doesn't take much to know that kid had a counterfiet wallet on hand for situations like this. Subtle colored clothing and a small satchet bag. Just these two things alone can help a person blend into the crowd and attract less attention.

At that point the chance of becoming a pickpocketed victim becomes random and minute but not absolute. To help with this, if you knew how, you can readdress your walking and standing posture to present more striking weak spots which, when weaponized, will serve as 'bait points'. Place an empty counterfiet there and you just redirected the attention on to a fake out decoy.

And since pickpocketers don't check the contents the exact second after they stole something, they fall for the illusion and flee the scene afterward. By that time they check the goods, you already became a forgettable face that blended into crowd again.

While it may not be common knowledge taught in public schools, its the most simplest and oldest trick in the book. And yet its been effective even on other like minded thieves. Today....I was no exception. Just like I assumed, Zeno sure is a difficult person to approach.

Gotta hand it to em'. The higher brass sure did pick an interesting target for me this time....still though.....who the hell is the guy?

Back during the briefing I got from my "loving pet owners" the only thing they could really give me a rundown on him was a mere report on his body features and speculation on possible habits. Any juicy details, such as backstory or current relationships was nothing but a mystery. Hell we don't even know anybody he is associated with.

To put it bluntly....like me the guy is a ghost.

"Lets see.....Letter Z...E...N...Ah!" A few minutes ago I had lockpicked my way inside a archive closet by some faculty lounge room. Its been an full ten minutes since I pickpocketed Zeno. And since the break period was still running a bit longer then scheduled a majority of the teachers and staff was still busy out and about.

Avoiding the rest didn't even deserve to be called 'lightwork'. Jumping at this opprotunity I began skimming through some old school records. To my surprise, Zeno's information was relatively new. The papers it was printed on was still fresh...perhaps two days old?

To make matters worse the record didn't have anything I didn't know. However after glossing over the info a couple of times I noticed a glaring contridiction in the facts. From what I know Zeno is sixteen and was liscensed to be a 'sophomore' on papers.

If you take into account of the date these papers was first printed, one would assume he was a transfer student from elsewhere. Even if there was vague details or even counterfeit documents, I could still dig up something if I ran them through the proper channels. However to my surprise there was no documentation of the sort...these papers were rushed and tossed together at the last minute.

Zeno's a blank sheet.....with no history to be recounted. When it came to schools this shouldn't be possible.... the only thing I came up with to explain this paradox was that he had somebody working on the inside. Somebody who the power to make this gap of information seem irrelevant.

.....If they was on the level of teacher or perhaps Principal, then it could work. However that would mean they probably was covering his back even up to now. If they was truly serious about keeping things under wraps then I better be cautious of how I move. One misstep and they could be onto my scent.

Meanwhile totally not me getting accustomed to the silence and the lack of secruity. I allowed myself to lower my guard. Considering my train of thought,that could have been an amatuers mistake....and possibly fatal.

"Oh? Looking for someone~~?" Said a milf like voice.

!? My senses shot up, every inch of my being sounded the alarm. I jerked about, facing towards the open office area. I already planned an escape route should on the unlikely chance I got caught arrived. Unfortunately I couldn't even see the full field of area in the front. A single shadow towered above me, and before I could react my eyes faded to black. Damn it! I got careless! Who was they!? And how did they get past my sixth sense?

My nose and face got lodged into some large cloth as something of medium size grabbed the top of my head. Was my attacker forcing me into a suffocating chokehold!? I wasn't expecting them to be employ brutal tactics in a place like this! Wait but if they wanted me dead, then why not strike me down right now!? Was they planning on torturing me for information then!? Damn it all!.... I should have expected that there was other capable 'dogs' playing hide and seek in this school...

.......

.........

.............

.....wait...

Why did the objects my face was burried in felt so soft? Almost like jello.....The object on top of my head oddly felt similar to that of a hand. "Honestly... Sneaking around school...you're being a verrry naughty boy.....James~~" and this voice.....this fucking voice...of course.....now it all makes sense.

"Goddamn it.....how many times I told you not to sneak up on me!" I cry out though my voice was muffled. Immediately understanding who my 'assailant' was, I smack her hand off me and pushed her stomach back. Her center of gravity becomes disrupted as she shoves back a few steps, allowing me to breathe.

"Reinaaaa! How many times have I told you not to shove me in your fatass tits!?" I exclaimed in a whispering tone. Still gotta remember I'm on a stealth mission so I can't allow my rage(?) to get the best of me.

"Not my fault your such a perfect fit between these mountains. So why don't you shut up and cuddle with me?" I roll my eyes at her and turn towards the closet again. "If there's anything thats going to get me killed in this line of work... its going to be your 'cuddles'." I replied, harshly refusing her offer.

She made a small moan of disappointment while running her hand through my hair. Again I smack it away, but with added power.

"Besides its not the time or place for this." Reina sighed in displeasure. "Good point...." She readjusted her glasses before addressing me in a mature tone fitting for her age and her business woman like 'assets'. "Seriously though. Why are you in here? At this rate you'll draw unwanted attention." Yeah as if my "muzzle" doesn't do that enough for me.

"Just doing some recon. What of it?"----"You're searching for that boy Zeno I assume?"-----"According to the brass, he's a high priority target. They want every detail we can salvage..... and they want it fast."----"I know that much, but don't you think your timing's a bit off? We can do all of our precious research later can't we? Class is about to go back in session you know."

Tch....I guess she has a point, but I disliked being in classrooms. Why? I rather not go into that can of worms right now...or ever. Besides most of the stuff they was teaching the seniors was stuff I had to learn when I was just twelve. Sitting there relearning the same lessons would only bring up unwanted PTSD.

"Fine, but let me look through something for one more minute."----"Why?"----"Its something about these papers....everything is coming up empty...."----"Nothing on your front huh...."

I shook my head and scratched my scalp. I think back to the orders I recieved a couple days ago. It was the very reason why I'm stuck in this predicticament.

[ "Investigate the circumstances of Zeno Walker. You are permitted to build close relations with the target if deemed necessary. Report back every week. Failure is not to be tolerated." - 'You Know Who' ]

You Know Who...A codename used to refer to the higher brass as a whole. I just like to call that shapeless entity Mr. Who. It makes things easier for everybody. Now I'm not sure why Mr. Who wanted me to research him, but one can assume it must stem off from how mysterious he is.

He probably is highly dangerous if they calling upon me to maintain close survelliance. And if they don't got anything on him, how the fuck am I supposed to get something? Besides a part of the reason why I was in such a hurry was due to the last line of the message.

'Failure is not to be tolerated'. In my line of work this is equivalent to them saying 'We will beat your ass if you fuck this up.' I don't mess up on the jobs often and I have built a reputation for being a 'loyal dog'. But that doesn't mean the pressure is gone, and I get special treatment.

"Hmm....Zeno you say..." Reina got lost in thought again. With one finger she twisted her silver hair into a makeshift braid. For a moment I think I noticed some sort of familiarity strike across her face. "There a problem?" I asked. She snapped back to reality, breaking her thinking posture.

"If the boy is such an enigma on papers then we're just going to have to ditch the technical standpoint."----"Technical?" She dragged me out the closet, reorganized the papers I shifted through before sliding the door back into place. "They said relations are fine right?"-----"Yeah....? Where are you going with...wait you can't be serious about this."

"Come on. Don't give me that glare. Just hear me out." I crossed my arms, already fed up with the thought she was proposing. Though knowing her I probably just looked like a cute child with an adorable scowl. Reina looked down towards me with a small grin. "We won't find nothing on records. We know that. So we just going to have to get more...personal...is all."

"Nope. Not happening. Call me Rohan because I refuse."----"Ugh....." she groaned at me. Well guess what. She can suck it up and hold that. This is 'business' we're talking about. In the eyes of a greater power he is a 'target'. For my own safety I can't risk getting caught up in his affairs from a personal standpoint. Its just how I do things.

Before I could voice that rebuttal though, I heard the front office door slide open. Looks like a couple of teachers and other workers was coming in. "Guess we're cutting this short." I said to Reina before disappearing into the shadows.

Where did I hide and how did I escape? As a smart magician never reveals his secrets, a well trained professional never reveals his tactics.

~~~

Still though Reina wasn't wrong in her suggestion. Changing up my tactics maybe wasn't a bad idea so to speak. But its not like I can just straight up approach him with an extended right hand with the wishful words of "Hey there. Wanna be friends?" Besides I wouldn't be surprised if he remembered my face from the earlier collision. Guess I would need other ways to approach him.....

I allowed myself to become lost in thought for awhile. I placed my legs on auto-pilot and just let it take control. In the meantime I racked my head for different ways I could safely approach him.....every option came up fruitless.

There was something I seemed to be missing to make things work. That key element was a "motive". If I had a legitmate reason to approach him, I could pass it off as a natural encounter and build it up from there. I did of course consider using the counterfiet as a medium. However this is the same wallet I stole from him. Anybody normal would be suspicious of why I would bring it back on my own volition. But if I play my cards correctly, it might work as a useful element.

Right now I'm walking through a couple of hallways on the first floor past some classrooms. Foot traffic was eventually getting lighter by the minute. With the break time a few minutes out from ending it wouldn't be surprising if they was rushing back into class. Eventually feeling parched, I decided to go grab me a quick pick me up by some vending machine.

Before long I walked into some lounge area by the cafeteria. There was a bit of a mess here. Scattered tables, broken chair parts and chipped glass on the vendor. There was other students here who seemed to be fuming. They was even debating over something. Guess there must have been some sort of fight here either today, or yesterday. Well whatever its none of my business....I took my chances on one of the broken glass vendors.

"That damned Ohgi man...." One groaned aloud, rubbing his aching neck. "Who knew he had in him to get rough and rowdy?"----"Don't give the bitch credit! He just.....caught us off guard is all!" There was a bit of hesistation in that sentence.

"Next time this happens we'll jump his ass!"---"Did you already inform Vylad of the sitatuion?" Vylad? Ah so these guys are with that Orion gang. Now these outbursts started to make a bit of sense. Whoever this Ohgi guy was had crossed them."Yeah I gave him the whole rundown. Including his friend Zeno."

I was minding my own business, occasionally listening in because they was so loud....but now they had my absolute interest. I turned about and started approaching them. "Good. If everything goes well we should have enough numbers to bury those fools."

"You said Zeno right?" I asked, inserting myself into the converstation. "Huh? Who the hell are you?" The group were already irritated, even trying to rally morale by speaking violence. Approaching them so casually would get you caught in a bad situation. However there nothing but salty chumps whose mad they got their ass handed to them.

"I just want to know want to know more of this Zeno character is all."----"And whats him to you? Some friend?" Nope. Not yet anyways. Two of them started cracking knuckles. You really don't want this to turn into a fist fight....."Lets just say we share a common interest in him." I followed up with a simple glare, showing I wasn't playing around with this matter.

They exchanged glances with each other. From the looks of it they was aware I was not to be crossed. One of them sighed, and their upbeat attitude dropped by a bit. He looked like the most reasonable guy to talk to right now. "We actually don't know the guy. Kid's a whole new student from what we know. He just gave us the hands yesterday. Me and my boys just mad...."----"That's it? Nothing else stood out?"

They started thinking again.

"Didn't the dude say some shit about being kept to himself?"---"What you mean by that?" I asked the third guy. "I don't know. When we tried recruiting him, he just shoves us off without an ounce of fear. I guess he plans on flying solo like some emo kid." Flying solo.....I can see that being a behavior pattern of his. But that doesn't help my case if he doesn't have anyone he keeps in contact with...

"Does he have any friends?"-----"You're getting a bit pushy with these questions man. You trying to write up some school papers on him?" I rolled my eyes and increased the glare's effect by a smidge. "Sure.... lets go with that. Now answer the goddamn question."

Gotta be careful with how I stress my 'expressions' these days. Last thing I want is for my azure eyes to become bloodshot.

"....hm...If I remember correctly, that boy did seem all chummy with Ohgi during the encounters didn't he?"----"Yeah...yeah you're right!"----"Lets not forget Shayna who jumped in outta nowhere either." When those words was said, shivers ran down their spines. All of sudden their will to even speak gone out the window. Shayna must have sent them packing to the E.R.

At this rate unterrogating them further would be pointless, but that doesn't mean this wasn't worth it. I just got three valuable tips that could help me get somewhere. I already know who Shayna was since he is quite popular here and getting contact with him wouldn't be difficult either.

The bigger problem lied with this Ohgi character. As much as I love to sneak back in and search for more records, I rather not be 'the thief who returns back to the scene of the crime'. Atleast not right now. Which means I would just have to call in a favor with Reina. Order her to dig up some dirt on him for me, and then just sit patiently for awhile.

Then there is the third 'tip'. The guy said he wants to be kept to himself right? Most likely he doing this just to focus on graduation before he can safely disappear into the shadows again. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if he was anti-social when it came to making friends.

Well if thats the case then he would try to be cautious of who he approaches and what matters he gets involved in. If I'm reading my target's thoughts correctly then he would try to avoid becoming directly part of any matters he can't safely detach from.

But that makes me curious about something....

How would my target react if I was to say oh I don't know.....

force his hand?