A clever scheme

Detective Chang approached a rusty pulley that was close to the entrance of the building. He untied a rope that was tied down to a metal handle on the side of the wall.

After being untied the rope whizzed into the air as a figure began to free fall towards the ground. Luckily for the figure he landed into a pile of empty cardboard boxes that helped to cushion his fall.

The sorry looking figure was officer Mark. His face was covered in bruises, his eyes were covered with a blindfold, his entire body was tied up with rope, and there was a cloth gag in his mouth.

Chang pulled Officer Mark up and guided him to a support pillar where he then tied him to. He then stared at the tied up officer.

'Hmm I was able to restrain him and knock him out with one clean blow to the back of his head so I wasn't able to see what his ability is.

But seeing as he's now conscious and yet hasn't freed himself from the ropes he must not have a transformation type ability such as turning his body into a beast or changing the state of his body to an element such as fire or ice.

I can probably cross out enhancement type abilities such as increased strength. Seeing as how he stayed a good distance from his partner it wouldn't make sense unless his ability was a suppression type or an emission type.'

After coming to a conclusion he inserted some rubber earplugs into his ears before walking in front of Officer Mark.

"I want you to listen and listen closely because I will only say this once. I will ask you some easy questions and all you have to say is yes or no.

If you can cooperate with me I guarantee that I will not hurt you. But if you so much as utter a sound besides the yes or no that I am looking for I will have to punish you.

Now before I take out your gag nod your head if you understand "Seeing Mark nod his head Detective Chang began walking towards him.

"Good, I like quick learners the best" When Chang reached Mark instead of pulling out the gag as expected he walked behind Mark to where his hands and arm were tied to the pillar.

He then pulled out a six inch knife in a black leather sheath from his coat. He unsheathed the knife and swiped down in one fluid motion.

"Mmmhffff!" the gag muffled the noises coming out of Mark's mouth but the puddle of blood on the floor surrounding his detached pinky were enough to convey the pain he must be in.

Chang then wrapped the wound tightly with a cloth "Lets get that wrapped up. Wouldn't want you bleeding out now would we?"

He then patted Mark on the shoulder "I want you to know that you didn't do anything wrong. You followed the rules just as you were supposed to.

What I did just now was a quick demonstration of the kind of punishment you can expect if you do break the rules.

But starting from now you can be assured that you won't experience any pain as long as you cooperate. Nod again if you understand."

This time being visibly shaken by the cruelty of Chang's actions Mark's entire body trembled as he nodded.

Chang pulled out the gag before then walking to a spot ten feet in front of Mark. He shined the flashlight he confiscated from Officer Joe onto Mark's face.

"First question, are you and you're partner really LAPD officers?" Although the earplugs blocked any sound from entering his ears with the flashlight providing enough illumination he was able to read Mark's lips "No".

After a couple of questions Chang was able to confirm a few things. First was that both Mark and Joe were not LAPD officers.

Second of all was that they belong to an external organization that had been called to the city to get rid of him. But most importantly for right now Chang was able to make some headway into identifying Mark's ability.

'He keeps claiming that he's not an N-Type and that he doesn't have an awakened ability but I highly doubt that whatever organization he belongs to would send one N-Type out on an assignment without another one to cover his back.

The only scenario that would make sense would be if the normie was highly proficient in a skill set that was extremely useful to a field operation such as this.

But his hand to hand combat ability was rather poor and he doesn't seem to posses any special capabilities.

So for sure he must be a N-Type. Seeing as how he has obediently followed the rules answering with only a yes or no his ability can't be a vocal hypnosis type or an emission type dependent on his mouth such as fire breath or sonic screech. I guess it's time to move onto stage two.'

Mark panicked after his finger was cut. The pain drove the fear of death deep into his bones. But even scarier than the prospect of death was that man's cruel promise of even more maddening pain if he didn't cooperate.

His mind was in disarray and his spirit was about to crumble. But right before he was about to go over the edge his elevated heart rate began to return to normal levels and his mind began to calm down.

This was the results of three years of training. Although this was the most dangerous situation he had faced since he began working for the organization the training and experience he had accumulated over time gave him the mental fortitude to stop himself from falling to despair.

'Just look for your chance. Keep cool and focus man you got this' Mark pretended to be panicked as he obediently answered Kim's questions. He answered everything honestly except for when he was asked about his ability.

He insisted that he was just an ordinary human a 'normie'. He hoped to take Chang off guard with his ability but for that to work he needed Chang to believe that he didn't have one.

Finally his chance came. "Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. Now were moving onto round two of this interrogation, I'm going to ask you questions that will need complete answers not just a yes or no response.

If you give me what I want this could be your chance to get set free. Now as a show of good faith I'm going to take the blindfold off you, next up could be your arms or legs."

Mark felt something touch his head for a brief moment. Then he estimated the location of his target to be somewhere ahead of him by the sound of his footsteps.

After a force whipped his head to the side the blindfold flew off as blinding light assaulted his eyes. Momentarily dazed by the large influx of light and the burning pain in his eyes his vision gradually returned.

He saw the blindfold at his feet with a rope tied to it going in the direction of the figure ahead of him.

The figure ahead had the other side of the rope by his feet and a bright flashlight in his hand aimed in his direction.

The light pointing directly at him hindered Mark's sight but it was enough that he could make out the general outline of the figure ahead of him. 'Now!'

"I would like to ask you a few que-" The voice was interrupted midway as 2 silver lights shot out of Mark's eyes towards the figure in front of him.

The lights wrapped around the figure completely encasing him in a silver cocoon "ha-haha….Hahahahaha!"

First a nervous chuckle followed by a maniacal laughter Mark laughed uncontrollably as tears streamed down his face "I did it. I did it".

His body trembled in joy until his vision went dark as he felt something cover his eyes from behind "Check-Mate".

The blood chilling voice instantly shattered Mark's spirit. If the new blindfold were to be removed you would be able to see a pair of glossed over eyes that had lost all hope.

"It's amazing what you can do with a mannequin, a cellphone and a bit of duck tape isn't it?" Mark's body limply fell to the floor as Chang cut the ropes binding him with his knife.

"Now I'll be having you answer my questions if you don't mind."

A few minutes later Detective Chang stood over Mark's lifeless body. Besides a stab wound directly over his heart and the missing pinky finger Mark's body didn't have any noticeable wounds indicating that no further torture was needed for Chang to obtain the information that he needed.

A grim expression could be seen of Chang's face as he contemplated 'Shit. According to that guy the governments been gathering N-Types for at least five years, maybe even longer.

And their supposed to have a grand cause that they were kicking into full gear this year. Does that mean the N-Type suppression rumors are more than just that? Fuck! I need to warn them…I need to warn her.'

As Chang began to walk away his left leg shook violently before breaking into an awkward L shape. "Ahh!" He fell to the ground 'Is this from three days ago when I jumped out of the fourth floor of the hotel?' Kim then recalled the words that the Professor had left him.

- - -

A week ago Detective Chang dropped by the university to visit the Professor in his office. Behind a desk filled with scattered papers and books sat a wrinkled old man with a head of unkempt white hair.

He fiddled around with some doodles and sketches until he noticed the man that had just walked in, Detective Chang.

The detective was dressed in a semi casual attire consisting of black slacks, a white collared shirt with the long sleeves folded at the elbows and some black leather shoes.

He smiled at the Professor "Looking good as always Professor. I especially love what you did with your hair today, very stylish"

After hearing the man's words the Professor went back to his doodles "You know that I am not one for small talk Detective.

If your purpose for today was to merely exchange pointless pleasantries I would kindly appreciate it if you would show yourself to the exit."

The smile on Detective Chang's face slowly retracted as he said in a serious tone "I need those boosters Professor, a lot of them."

The Professor turned to the Detective with a sigh "I think I'd rather return to the pleasantries Detective"

The Professor asked "Are you sure about this?" Chang nodded "I'm sure Professor" The Professor looked worriedly at the young man.

"Can I ask for what purposes you will be needing them?" Chang shook his head apologetically "I'm sorry Professor, I can't tell you right now. But I can promise you that what I am about to do is for the benefit of N-Types"

The Professor stared at the young man in front of him for a few seconds before deciding to relent. He reached underneath his desk and typed in a code into a hidden key pad.

A secret compartment popped out from the side of the wall. After a red laser scanned the Professor's left eye the door of the compartment opened up.

The Professor pulled out ten thin silver cylindrical items which he then held out in front of him.

"With how much you've done for us I would never harbor any doubts of you bringing harm to innocent N-Types.

I know that you'll always be there to protect N-Types but Alex…Who will be there to protect you?"

Detective Chang let out a small chuckle "Hehe you're so easy to read Professor, you only use my first name whenever there's something troubling you.

Don't worry I'm only taking these for insurance, in case anything goes wrong. I don't even know if I'll really need them.

It's more of a better safe than sorry kinda thing okay?" Chang reached out to grab the cylinders from the Professor's hand only to realize that the Professor was gripping on to them tightly.

As both of them held onto the silver cylinders the Professor grabbed Chang's outstretched hand with his other hand.

"Just remember that there is always a limit to what one man can accomplish by himself. Stubbornly trying to tackle an insurmountable goal isn't courageous, heroic or any other lofty noble ideal.

Instead it is a mere exercise in futility. These are the first batch that I have finished cultivating. Once injected they will cause rapid correction and healing.

But these are not some miracle medicine, they don't just magically heal wounds. They exponentially increase the speed of cell growth while reading the target's DNA to ensure accurate reproduction.

Every time it is used you burn off the lifespan of your cells. So before I can hand them to you I need you to promise me your safety."

Detective Chang looked at the Professor straight in the eyes "I promise Professor"

- - -

Now back to the current situation. Chang laid on the ground as old wounds re-emerged all around his body.

His blood leaked through his clothes pooling into a small crimson puddle. He pulled out another silver cylinder from his coat as he then stabbed it into his chest.

The wounds then began closing up one by one as he laid on the floor gasping for air. 'Looks like I don't have time left… I need to get this information to them. I need to warn her.'