27. Chapter 26: Trouble in Elbian town

After leaving Elyzee's shop, Yuna quickly received a translation from Alnus of the shop's ledger. Finding the name of the person who bought in the largest quantities charcoal, saltpeter and sulfur had been easy enough, and with Valère's help (along with a few coins), placing a location on that name was done swiftly.

It turned out; a woman named Osgarda Ro Bourdon was the one leading the operation. According to Valère, she was a court wizard, specializing in alchemy. When Taketa, Yuna and Myuute went to the noble district to find her workplace, they couldn't enter the building pointed by the inn owner. But the extremely heavy guard presence, the smell of gunpowder lingering in the air and Myuute's acute hearing allowing her to overhear their conversation, making the conclusion that this was where the ammunition was being produced came naturally.

That meant that the policemen's task was over. They now just had to go back to the Sun Wheel inn, tell the special force team where to strike and then wait.

Late in the night, a light knock sounded in the mostly silent room. Recognizing the pattern of three knocks, a short pause then two knocks, Taketa picked up a lit candle and went to open the door, leaving Yuna to help Myuute to learn how to write in Japanese.

On the other side of the door were two of the members of Bowman, and if Taketa recalled correctly, their code name were Archer and Arrowhead. However, no other member was there.

"Did something go wrong?" He asked.

"They were prepared for us." Answered Arrowhead with a sigh. "Although we completed the objective and destroyed the machines, we got a casualty and three wounded…"

Yuna dropped the pencil she was holding upon hearing the sentence, startling Myuute who was completely focused on the sheet of paper in front of her.

"I know." Continued Arrowhead with a frown. "And I'm not losing another soldier today, help me get them on the cart and we move immediately towards Alnus. We'll get a med-evac once we're far enough from the city."

"Of course!" Answered the chief inspector.

Followed by Yuna and Myuute, he packed what little things he had and followed the two soldiers outside. As the siren went to fetch the horses in the stable, the two police officers followed the soldiers to the shed where their cart was.

They were ushered in and the door closed in order for outsiders not to see the strangely dressed soldiers, or at least that's what Yuna assumed. But the only source of light in the shed was a lantern near the entrance, and as much as she looked, she couldn't see a body or injured soldier.

"Hey, can you give us… Some… Light…" As she turned to the soldiers, she found herself looking at the black mouth of two silenced Glocks pointed in her direction.

"Sorry girl…" Said one of them. "You're just at the wrong place at the wrong time…"

"SENPAI!" She screamed, her brain immediately going into panic. Her muscle memory threw her to the ground, making the first two bullets targeted at her harmlessly fly over. She then scrambled to cover, a third bullet punching a hole into the dirt floor at her feet.

The dress she wore as her disguise impeded her movements, but ironically saved her a wound as another bullet tore through the cloth between her feet.

She got behind a short stone wall, originally intended to separate the carts of each merchant but now giving her much needed cover. Raising her skirt, she grabbed the New Nambu M60 revolver strapped to her thigh and cocked the hammer, before assessing the situation.

She was crouched behind a wall, merely a few meters away from her two assailants. The shed was dark, but not enough to hide her completely. Thankfully, the only lantern was behind the soldiers, making it easy for her to spot them and hard for them to aim at her.

As she was now in relative safety, she glanced at Taketa and panic froze her heart. He was on the ground, moaning and clutching his belly, a blood stain spreading larger every second on his disguise. Contrary to her, he didn't see the two soldiers aiming at them and didn't get to cover in time.

She was no doctor, but she knew how to treat basic gunshot wounds. If she couldn't heal him in time, then it was likely he was done for.

Unfortunately, she was alone. A single police officer, who knew how to shoot yet wasn't an expert, against two experienced special forces soldiers who were ready to kill.

To say the odds weren't good was an understatement.

But they weren't zero either.

They expected an easy kill. She wouldn't give them one.

Undoing the tight cloth on her hair, she threw it in the air. Just like she expected, the white cloth drew the attention of the gunmen and was immediately punctured with two holes, while she peeked out of cover.

She spotted one of them crouched behind a crate and fired twice in his direction. In comparison to the subsonic ammunition and silencers the soldiers had, her revolver sounded like a roar of defiance, one that also most likely woke up the whole inn and nearby houses this late in the night.

Before seeing if her shots were effective, she saw the other soldier aiming at her, and ducked just before a bullet whizzed above her head. However, now another problem presented itself.

She only had three bullets left in the cylinder of her gun. She had a few additional rounds on the belt at her thig, but the reloading process would be way too long.

She cursed both at the Ministry of Justice for insisting on keeping such obsolete weapons in this day and age, but also at her luck as she heard footsteps closing in, while the second soldier was probably ready to fill her full of lead should she try to get out of cover.

Sweat appeared on her forehead. What was she supposed to do in this situation? Darting desperately her eyes around, she looked for an escape, anything that could turn the situation around.

And she saw one. From his position on the ground, Taketa was fiddling in an inside pocket with one hand, maintaining pressure on his wound with the other. In the darkness, she saw him pull out his own gun. He was in no condition to aim or fire, both were aware of it. But Yuna was, and he readied himself to slide it to her. Fortunately, while not undercover at all, the two soldiers probably thought of him as dead or didn't see him moving in the dark.

The atmosphere, as thick as it was, was strangely silent. Yuna didn't speak in order to not have her precise location revealed. The soldiers didn't too. The only sounds were the steady steps of the approaching soldier and Taketa's occasional painful groan.

Raising her gun hand above cover, she fired her three remaining bullets randomly, forcing the soldier that was advancing towards her to dive to the ground. Taketa used the noise to slide his gun towards her unnoticed. She gripped it tightly, waiting for the right occasion.

"I count five shots, girl! Make this easy for us and you won't suffer!" Said the soldier behind cover.

Yuna didn't answer. She steadied her breath, preparing herself to possibly kill for the first time in her life. She knew that it might happen someday in her career as a police officer, and there was no way to prepare for it. She caught her shaking gun hand with the other hand, firmly holding the firearm and mentally repeating to herself that everything would be fine.

The soldier that was advancing towards her, now close enough, peeked over the stone wall, gun first.

Before he could react, he found himself staring at the black mouth of a revolver.

"Son of a-"

Taketa's revolver roared, sending a bullet straight through the man's throat. He dropped his gun, wordlessly putting his hands at his throat, before making a strangled noise and falling back.

"I count two guns!" She said, picking up the soldier's Glock who had fallen on her side of the wall. She trusted Taketa's revolver enough, but there was a reason such weapons were almost never used nowadays. She was way more comfortable with a larger magazine and rate of fire.

"You bitch!" Was the only insult the other soldier could muster.

Yuna felt strangely alive. She had just taken out a life. It was to protect her own, but still. She could feel the blood pumping through her veins, the air flowing through her lungs and the seemingly heavier weapon than before. She was high on adrenaline, and raw energy coursed through her muscles.

The doors of the shed brutally opened, revealing the inn owner armed with a wooden club in one hand and a lantern in the other, followed by Myuute who had a green glow coming from her hands.

"What's happening here? Thieves?!" He roared.

Just as the soldier turned around, the glow in Myuute's hands intensified, turning into a violent gale. The wind was so strong, it sent the soldier from its prone position crashing straight into the opposite wall. Immediately, Yuna raised out of cover and aimed at him while he was incapacitated. The gun jerked in her hands thrice, and the soldier fell dead with a gargle, three crimson blossoms appearing on his chest.

As soon as she confirmed the kill, she dropped her gun and ran to Myuute. The confused Valère and even more confused Siren didn't know how to react when Yuna tightly hugged her. As the adrenaline died down, the trembling in Yuna's arms grew.

Despite their time together being short, Yuna had grown fond of the Siren. To her, she was kind of like a little sister. She was young, she was learning how to write and she was unbearably cute to the earthling. In a sense, it replaced the little sister Yuna never had. And right now, her adorable little sister had saved her life.

After about a minute, Myuute gently patted Yuna's shoulders. Smiling, Yuna separated from her and patted the Siren's head in return.

Now, time was for her to put her limited medical skills to use.

Valère had been kind enough to provide a room for her to do what she could with Taketa's wound, along with clean water. Still, Yuna didn't trust the cleanliness of the fluid and had asked Myuute to boil it before, and the siren was also entrusted with a few silver coins for the inn owner for the commotion.

Pulling out her bloodied hands from Taketa's belly, Yuna sighed and put back the remaining bandages on the nightstand nearby.

"It's a gut shot, senpai. No internal bleeding but you will need a doctor, we'll radio Alnus for a helicopter."

"N-no…"

Puzzled, she looked at her superior. Amongst the first aid supplies they had a little amount of painkillers, enough for the pain to subside for some time but not much more. Considering her skills and what she had, all she did was to assess the damage, remove the bullet and put a bandage over the wound.

That's why she was surprised he was still conscious. His pale skin, ragged breathing and glazed eyes suggested he needed rest more than anything. And yet, he was conscious and refused the med-evac.

"The soldiers…" He said, between two cough fits. "Probably haven't destroyed the… Machines… For the ammunition. You need to… Do it. Also we need to… Know, who's behind all that… Or all of… This… These deaths… Will be for nothing. I have… A few days before… The infection sets in…"

And before he could finish his sentence, he finally fell unconscious.

A little bit shocked, Yuna stood a few moments unmoving. She was woken up by the noise of the small radio hidden in Taketa's hat coming to life.

"Gennosuke? Chief inspector Gennosuke? Answer me, Superintendent Junichi Kastuo here!"

Bringing the device closer to her face, Yuna flicked its button.

"Inspector Kanamori here, Superintendent. "

A sigh of relief passed through the radio.

"Thank the gods, it's not too late! Kanamori, is everything alright over there?"

"We've been attacked, sir. Chief inspector Taketa is currently incapacitated, he's resting. The special force team turned against us, or at least two of them. I don't know what's happened to the four remaining members."

"Damn it all! So it was too late after all… Listen, Inspector Kanamori, I guess you deserve to know considering your relation with Gennosuke… Someone just tried to murder Hazama! The base is on full lockdown, and there's been a firefight at the Gate! Hazama did get some wounded, but no casualties yet. The people who began all of this are becoming bolder by the day, and I wouldn't be surprised if such actions were to take place more frequently unless we find the culprit. Did you progress on the case?"

"Yes sir! We found the place, but since the special force team was supposed to destroy it, I don't know if they could be trusted."

"So it's only you and the Siren?"

"Yes"

There was a short moment of silence.

"Inspector Kanamori. You're the only asset we have at the moment. It pains me to ask this of you, but you MUST find the culprit. Politicians are going crazy, accusatory fingers are already being pointed and it's only a matter of time before the media gets a hold of it. The ammunition for the Gatlings isn't even that important anymore, but you have to find a name, a clue, ANYTHING that would help us find the culprit and stop all of this madness. Because if we don't, we'll become the world's punching bag…"

This was a proposal Yuna could hardly refuse. Not only because it came from a superior, but also because the fact that, like the superintendent said, she was the only asset they had available. Granted, they could send in another commando team, but by the time they came and clues about the culprit, who knew what the mysterious enemy was capable of doing?

Taking a deep breath, she gave her answer.

"I'll do it, Superintendent."

"Good, good. Now, I know this is far from your usual duties, therefore you can take whatever you want from the equipment the commando brought with them. The code to open the case is 34589. I'll be counting on you tonight, . All of the people on this side of the Gate will. Good luck."

And with that, the device went back to its inert state.

Yuna sighed. At the same moment, Myuute came back into the room.

"Ah, Myuute, you're here! Perfect. I…"

Now that it was time for her to announce the news to Myuute, the words got stuck in her throat.

How was she supposed to say to her nominal little sister that she might not come back? A question that was asked by hundreds of thousands of soldiers throughout history, with none of them having the right answer.

"Yes? What is it, Yuna-san?"

With a sigh, the inspector admitted defeat. There was no roundabout way to say what she was about to announce…

About an hour later, Yuna found herself in front of the building Taketa, Myuute and She scouted earlier in the day.

In the end, she said what she had to do to the Siren, and while she maintained her composure, Yuna could see the sadness in her eyes. The sadness of saying goodbye to one of her best friends, just like before the bandits attacked her village.

Yuna had closed her heart, lest emotions took hold of her body.

For her mission, she didn't take that much equipment. After all, she still had to pass the checks to enter the wealthy district where her target was.

She passed the check by posing as a slightly drunk noblewoman going back home, with a beautiful frilly dress under which she hid what she would need. The guards didn't even stop her despite the late hour, merely wishing her a good night.

Before going in, she went in an alleyway, tearing off the stuffy dress and unveiling the mainly dark blue and black clothes she had underneath. Courtesy of the late Bowman team, the light Kevlar chestpiece would protect her at least from pistol rounds, should there be a need to.

All she had at her belt was a knife, a silenced Glock and two magazines for it. Not that she planned to need it at all. She was still shocked at the fact that she took a life, she didn't know if she would be capable of doing it again. She also had a police baton. While far from an ideal weapon in a lethal scenario, she's rather use something she was used at.

In a backpack she had managed to sneak through the check were two loafs of C4. Back in training, she took a course on hostage situations, which included tactical breaching lessons and the use of breaching tools. She was confident enough that if she ever found the machines, she would be able to arm the explosives just like she did with the breaching charges.

Sighing one last time, she tried to control the shaking in her hands, and took a firm step forward.

Hello there, author here.

Thanks for the reaction to the last chapter!

BigBadAud666: I must say it's the first time I've read that spelling for "Russian", hehe. Nevertheless, I tried to be more original when it comes to the bad guy.

Kiyone4ever: Well, Hazama knows about this, Pina does too. Doesn't change the fact that he'll try to convince her.

MadClawDragon: I'm as surprised as you lel

See al of you next week!