Continental

"Ah, New York, I'm back." I said, inhaling the nasty New York City air.

After beating up DK and his goons, I went back to the hotel and looked through Han's memories. Experiencing Gisele die was a very sad moment, and the feeling Han, and I, felt was very excruciatingly painful. But other than that, the rest of his life was pretty boring, if you don't take into account his criminal life running with Dom. Of course, his knowledge of drifting, racing, and driving, in general, was the biggest reward.

The next morning I told Masato I was ready to leave. An hour after that and I was already on the plane back to New York. Unfortunately, it was yet another grueling flight that once again reminded me of how much I needed to create technological breakthroughs.

'It's been a week since I got the hotel room, so I need to find someplace to stay. I could just rent another room for a day or two while I look for my own place to buy considering I'm flush with cash at the moment. Sounds like a plan.'

Exiting the airport terminal, hopping in a taxi, and heading towards the same hotel I stayed at, I was looking at apartments for sale in the area near where I stayed.

'I do still plan on traveling as a doctor, so I don't really feel like spending an egregious amount of money for an apartment I'll barely use. I'll buy a small but nice apartment, 2M max should be fine. Wait, Robin makes Barney sell his apartment because it's so gross. I could just buy that. I don't really mind that he's slept with dozens of women there. Sounds good, I'll just wait until she makes him sell it.

Guess I'll be staying at a hotel for longer. But I kind of want to stay somewhere else. Let's see some fancy hotels.' I thought before searching up 5-star hotels in NYC.

'The Continental looks good. Good reviews. The rooms look nice. Good view also. Not too unreasonably priced either. Their second best suite isn't all that much more expensive than the one I was staying at either.'

After telling the taxi driver my new destination, it only took a few minutes for me to arrive. Paying the man, and getting out to look at the building for a second, reminded me of the Flatiron Building with how similar its shape was.

Entering the building, I immediately notice there were a lot of security cameras, more than at the other hotel I stayed at. I also noticed a lot of gazes looking me up and down before looking away.

The interior of the hotel was very classy. A bit old-timey but still classy nonetheless. As I made my way to the front desk I noticed that a lot of the people in the lobby looked like they had seen combat. After having lived in the world of Berserk for so long, along with House's observational skills, it was easy to tell who had experienced combat or not. And my observations told me that a lot of them had. The way they walked, the way their eyes moved, the way their bodies were positioned, they all screamed to me that they had seen combat.

'Is this a front for some criminal organization? Now, I'm curious but I'll wait until I'm in a room before hacking this place.'

"Good afternoon, sir, and welcome to the Continental Hotel. How may I help you today?" asked the man who was at the front desk, whom I recognized from seeing him in a Key and Peele sketch. Thus further confirming that this hotel had some story to it if an actor was at the front desk.

"Afternoon to you as well. I was wondering if your second best suite was available to stay in?"

"One moment, sir." he said before checking something on his computer, "You're in luck. The room is available."

"Fantastic. And how long is it available for? I may need it for an extended period of time."

"The suite is available for two weeks at the moment, sir."

"Sounds good. I'll take it for the two weeks."

"Of course, sir. Will you be paying cash or card?"

"Cash." I said since my account still needed another day before it was set up.

"For cash-only transactions, we have a 5% discount. So, this will be your total." he said, showing me on his screen before I reached my hand into my pocket and pretended to rummage for the cash while I just summoned it from my inventory.

"Thank you, here is your key. I hope you enjoy your stay. Would you like help with your bags, sir?"

"No, thank you. Is there room service?"

"Yes, sir. I can take your order here and have it sent up to your room if you'd like sir."

"Great, cheeseburger medium, fries, and a bottle of Glen McKenna if you have it."

"Of course, sir."

"Appreciate it." I said to him before placing a Ben Franklin and sliding it to him.

"Thank you, sir."

After that, I went to the elevator and made my way to my suite. It wasn't as nice as the one I had in Tokyo, but it was nicer than the one I had stayed in while in New York.

'Not bad. I'll wait to hack the hotel until I get my burger. Time to relax for now.' I thought before I threw my body on the bed and began to watch television, waiting for my food.

~~

'That burger was good. Must be a Totsuki graduate or former student. Anyways, let's see what secrets are hiding here.'

Hacking the camera, I followed the connection to the other cameras and started to look through each one. Not finding anything interesting in any of them, I left the cameras.

'Nothing? Not a single thing to piggyback off? So this whole place is old school. The cameras are probably a facade for their normal clientele. Interesting. There's no reason to really explore further but my curiosity has been piqued. The best course of action would be to use my stealth suit and explore the hotel. I'll fake leaving though, just to be extra safe.'

Leaving the hotel, ducking into an alley, and going invisible, I then made my way back to the hotel while flying just to be extra careful not to tip anyone off.

First, I watched those who looked like they had seen combat to see what they were doing while making sure not to stare at them too long. Right as I was about to move on, I noticed one of the new guests that were about to check in handed the front desk employee a gold coin.

'That's the gold coin I found on those Russian mobsters a while ago. So, it's a currency used in these hotels. Interesting.'

Keeping my eye on the new guest, I noticed he was headed to the elevator so I decided to follow him. He pressed the basement button on the elevator, and once out he began to navigate his way through the basement before we came upon a door where he inserted another gold coin. The door's window opened before the door opened. Taking the chance now that it was open, I slipped inside.

'Cool.'

The room I had entered was a bar that was full of people, and I could tell they were all experienced killers. Paying attention to the conversations that were being had, I was able to piece together that everyone in the room was a criminal of some sort, assassins, mobsters, etc.

'So, it seems The Continental is some sort of neutral ground for criminals and the currency they use is those gold coins. Fascinating. Well, my curiosity has been sated. And not like I can do much, not that I want to. Something this elaborate has to have certain powerful people behind it. If I cut off the head here, another will grow elsewhere. Still, though, I should check in on this place every now and then just in case they decide to upgrade from assassination to fall of civilization.' I thought before waiting for someone to leave so I could exit through the door and make it seem like I was returning to the hotel.

As I was relaxing on the bed, I got a call from an old friend.

"Steve, what's up bud?"

"We're in New York. Let's meet up."

"What? How?"

"We flew here. With our powers."

"What?!"