"Investigative Journalism"

Chapter Six - Stake-Out

Or would you prefer a steak-out? A little confrontation finally happens with someone of "real" importance.

The rest of the evening passed by quickly enough, with Gordan having needed a bit of downtime to rest both his mind and body after a day of walking around under the summer sun and moderately intensive thinking. Just a few minutes before it was time to leave, Gordan unwrapped the package of steak he bought, cranked on the old fire-burning stove and set the meat down on a pan to cook it. He flipped it after only a minute or two, knowing his partner liked her meat rather on the raw side, and added just a touch of seasoning before grabbing a couple utensils and placing the complete package into a container to eat later that night.

'I swear I'm picking up on her taste preferences, would always have this sorta thing well-done...'

Speaking of Noirallé, the smell of one of her favorite foods slowly roused her from her slumber, which Mason felt as a slight rising pressure throughout his body, most prominently in his head. This sensation always caused a bit of aching at first but it passed soon enough.

The first thing she said was, '... You actually got some steak and made it. You madman.'

'I take my jokes very seriously, thank you very much! Also you may've be right, some good food'll hopefully keep us awake if we have to wait around for a while. Hence, this.'

'... But does taking jokes seriously not-'

'Shhh.'

A playful grumble capped off that little conversation. Gordan re-equipped himself with his hidden tools and a briefcase that had a replenished supply of fresh papers and pencils, as well as a pillow and a pair of binoculars, 'Because a' course we're gonna need some distance and comfort.' He also put on a dark-colored overcoat and an equally dark hat, feeling a bit satisfied at knowing that this seemingly random choice of clothes for this trip for these what-if scenarios was potentially going to pay off.

With all his stuff packed into a small backpack he had picked up at the store earlier, the dark-haired man left the hotel, noting the slow creaking of the grumpy Gigan's chair just out of view behind the counter as he pushed open the door and exited.

The night was a crisp one. The temperature had certainly cooled from the day earlier but was still a bit on the hot side, particularly given Gordan's outfit. The cloud cover was also practically nonexistent, the stars faintly twinkling overhead, obscured somewhat by the air pollution of this massive city but thankfully not entirely.

The man couldn't help the sigh of pleasure that escaped his throat at the pleasant circumstances the weather was giving, slight abundance of heat aside. His partner's own exhale would have been audible as well were it nor for her lack of physical presence.

Mason walked over to a decent-looking hiding spot he had observed on his way out of the restaurant two city blocks' worth of distance away, near a bridge over one of the city's many canals. He put down his pillow behind (relative to the restaurant, that is) a rusted and warped metallic bump near a pier that had evidently seen better days, unpacked his stuff and got to waiting.

The dark-skinned man took to occasionally looking through his binoculars to try and spot some details around the restaurant's windows and back entrance. He had to resist Noirallé's want to eat the cooked steak right off the bat, wanting to save it for at least another hour or two to stave off his imminent sleepiness with savory delights until at least one o' clock or so.

Nearly two whole hours of peace and quiet passed, the normal discomfort of being alone in a city commonly known for its criminal activity during the night aside. It was as that mark in the pair's wait neared that Noirallé pointed out, 'The window up top just opened.'

Surely enough, Gordan put the binoculars to his eyes and looked toward the building's upper floor and noted the window that was not open a few seconds ago. The blue-eyed man could clearly see the azure eyes staring back at him. The face itself was a bit more obscure because of the lack of light in the room but that was soon resolved as Gordan's "head renter" enhanced his vision.

'Yu-Wan has a natural squint and Minette's pupils are unmistakably a bright magenta.'

'We got a stranger maybe living in their place, then.'

The two pairs of eyes competed in a short-lived staring contest before the one in the building turned around and left Gordan's sights. Noirallé promptly rounded out her observations and asked a question.

'Tanned skin, black cat ears. Mostly human but obviously part Feral. Face looked feminine enough but no concrete way to tell gender with what we saw. Anything else to note?'

'Don't think so. Mind enhancing my ears, something tells me she's gonna try something sneaky.'

'Very well.'

The dark-skinned man's world momentarily got uncomfortably loud, and he grunted at the sudden explosion in his eardrums. The pain again faded soon enough, though, and Mason resumed his visual surveillance of Yu-Wan's restaurant, paying careful attention to his surroundings with his now-improved hearing.

Gordan couldn't help but look around every now and again, his enhanced hearing making him aware of many more little goings-on than the average person would notice. The occasional creak of an opening door. The sounds of trash cans and their bags being messed with. The pressing of shoe heels into concrete and wood. Even the constant, gently flowing water below, usually a rather calming sound, caused him to look into the canal every few minutes.

The man stiffened up a little at the normally inaudibly quiet sound of feet and hands padding against the concrete a short distance behind away, as if someone was climbing a wall. Almost immediately after that, Gordan's slowly rising state of paranoia seemed to convince him that the footsteps approaching behind him were closing in with a slow cautiousness and an aggressive swiftness simultaneously, like he was prey being stalked by a predator.

'Noir', get ready to use my body, we may need to react quickly.'

'Hmm!'

A slight feeling of numbness spread throughout the blue-eyed man, which he brushed aside as that was very much an expected consequence of his partner's preparations. He rigidly maintained his posture as the person behind them grew closer, unwilling to show any sort of reaction so as to give away the fact that he was not being taken by surprise.

The steps soon halted, probably about four meters away and around a corner. Gordan carefully maintained his breathing until the sound of a wet schlick entered his ears, his eyes opening up a few degrees in shock while he internally gasped at that entirely unexpected noise.

The tense silence that lasted for the next several seconds was practically palpable, broken by a war cry from the stalking stranger:

"Hope ya like to play catch!"

There was a slamming sound along with a noise that vaguely resembled a running faucet, and Gordan lost control of his body entirely as Noirallé took the helm, his friend reacting near-instantly as she brought up his arm to block.

It ought to be said that the first slamming noise was like a face being slapped, flesh-on-flesh. This second noise was instead flesh-on-metal as the projectile bounced harmlessly off of sheeted steel, positioned over Gordan's elbow under his sleeve.

Their shared body shifting to a lighter skin and their eyes going teal, Gordan and Noirallé instinctively looked down at the thing they had blocked.

"Yo, what the fuck!?" Gordan couldn't help but shout, with Noirallé giving a similar but vocalless internal reaction. This was understandable given the noticeably animated severed head that was currently wincing in pain at being thrown at high speeds against solid metal, a trail of blood forming a line behind her. Gordan would have assumed a body would be at the end of that trail but it was conspicuously absent. Before he had the chance to think about that, the head began talking to him.

"Nyow, man, what the heck! I didn't think you'd react that fast! What are you, some kinda cheetah?"

"Cheetahs are known for their sprinting speed, not their reaction times," said Noirallé using Gordan's mouth, unable to help herself.

Gordan followed up on that little correction in a marginally more normal fashion: "You are a talking severed head."

"And you're tryin' to clamber all up in my friends' personal business! 'Fraid I can't let ya do that, Mister!"

Noirallé reacted again, barely noticing the footsteps behind her just in time to leap away and over the head on the ground. The partners' shock was doubled as what was clearly the head's body, mostly concealed beneath a thick black trench coat, leaned back from its attempt at grabbing them, claws retracting as it stepped forward and picked up its head to reattach it.

"Okay, I have so many questions about how you function, but before that: who the hell are you and why are you attacking me?" Gordan questioned, mostly recovered from his shock after Noirallé gave him a mental slap to the face.

The Feral grinned slyly, putting her arms at her hips and smiling proudly. "Miss Fortune, Fish Bone Gang member and thief extraordinaire, at your service! I'm not here to steal your stuff, though; Imma havta turn you into my next scratching post unless you gimme a really good explanation about why you're pawing at Yu-Wan and Minette!" Her grin transitioned into a fierce frown as she entered a fighter's posture, one arm extended to scratch while the other was levelled closer to her body.

"Actually, that would be stealing Gordan's life," Noirallé piped in, unable to help the use of Gordan's eyes to stare as this "Miss Fortune's" tendons and ligaments holding together her thoroughly cut-up legs and neck as she energetically bounced on her feet.

'Not now, Noir'!"

'Ah, sorry!'

"And what's up with your skin 'n' voice changing like that?"

Gordan cleared his throat, asserting most of his physical control back from Noirallé while still giving a bit of leeway for her in case their shared body needed to act fast. "Well, again, I have so many questions, but so do you, apparently, though I think we ought to clear a few things up first. Can we maybe not fight? I was never intending to get your two friends hurt, and I didn't even know about you until, like, a minute ago."

The Feral's eyes narrowed in suspicion, her tone reflecting that emotion. "And why should I believe you?"

Gordan and Noirallé had to have a brief back-and-forth to supply a reason, which only took a few real-time seconds. "Well, first of all, you can probably tell that I was staking the restaurant out, yeah? Passively looking out for weird stuff as opposed to, I dunno, assassinating everyone inside? Do these shields look like they're meant for killin'?" Gordan rhetorically posed, pulling down his sleeves and dragging his shirts upward just after to let Fortune gaze at the old but still firm sheets of metal. They were a rather aged gray and had a trio of oddly glowing teal circles that were set at equally ratioed distances from the center. The ones on his arms, as well the ones still concealed at his knees, were about half the size of the torso plate, and all of them protruded outward slightly in a rounded design.

Fortune's eyes squinted further. "Hmmm, I guess not. Could still give someone a concussion, though!"

"Hey, you're the one who threw your head at a stranger with no idea what he could do! Still not over how weird that is, by the way."

The woman sighed before saying, "Same here, but that's not impawrtent right now!"

'If she keeps doing that I swear to the Trinity!'

"I still can't exactly trust you easily with how you came asking around about me when you did! It was just a few days ago when I got turned into this, you know! How do I know you aren't some Medici goon out to get on my good side and claw me and my pals in the back when I least expect it?!"

Another couple of seconds of thought later and neither Gordan nor his partner could come up with something to win her over immediately. Instead they settled on trying to explain the power coincidence and bluffing held over this series of events.

"Well, I can't give ya anything concrete, I'll admit. I can try and explain myself, though?"

"Hmm... Fine. Better make it snappy, though." The Feral's claws extended in what was clearly a gesture of intimidation.

"Alright, alright. First of all, how much did Minette or Yu-Wan tell you about my time in the restaurant?"

"That you came in and asked about some screaming you heard and said you were a "journalist,"' she said with air quotes. "Which, incidentally, were coming from me, but you only would have heard me if you were right nearby."

Gordan couldn't help but smile amusedly. "Heh, well, would you believe me if I told you I was just bluffing?"

"What?" The women's shock was obvious.

"You see, thanks to my partner's help - she's a Theon, by the way - my senses can be enhanced. She's got some real keen intuition, too, and she was getting some weird feelings about the restaurant, so he took some sniffs around with my nose and she smelled blood real thickly from the back of the place. On Yu-Wan and Minette, too. Said it was oddly fresh, there was probably a lot, and that it smelled mammalian, which was definitely weird considering Yu-Wan's is a fish place. So we asked 'im an intentionally vague question, we got a suspicious response, and here we were, on a stake-out, when you came along. The fact that I asked specifically about screaming was just a coincidence, as we thought a murder had happened or somethin' and that seemed like a decent thing to ask about with that in mind. Ya got me?"

The other person thought for several minutes before heaving an aggravated sigh. "I guess that makes sense! Ya could still be lion about certain parts but a lot of it seems to add up. The heck is a Theon, though?"

Noirallé was positively seething, now for two reasons instead of one, to the point where Gordan began to feel her anger bleed over into his own emotions. As such he clarified and then politely asked, "Theons are called Parasites nowadays, her being with me is why my skin and stuff keeps changing. She prefers Theon because not all relationships between host and "Parasite,'" air quotes, "purely benefit the Theon, it's an objectively false and insulting label a lotta the time... Anyways, she's literally and figuratively in my head. Also, she has an irrational hatred of puns, to the point where I've, ah, started feline a lil' angry too. I find them funny but she sure as hell doesn't. So uh, can we ask ya to stop?"

Mason's own pun and opinion seemed to appease the Feral, who shrugged. "You tried one yourself, even when we're being serious like this, so you can't be all bad... Okay, fine. So, here's what we're gonna do if you wanna avoid us two fighting. You're gonna get all your shields and whatever else off ya, gather your stuff, we're gonna go to the restaurant, I'm going to wake my friends up, and we're all gonna sit down and have a nice little chat. Capiche?"

After a brief chat with Noir', the blue-eyed man reluctantly agreed, having to debate with Noirallé for a bit about whether to blindly trust this admitted thief before doing so. "... I'd rather not, 'specially since you straight-up admitted to being a criminal, but if it'll maybe get both of us outta this unscathed and help clarify the situation for everyone, especially about how you ended up like that and are still alive, then fine, I guess I'll do it. You keep your distance, Imma take these things off and carry them with me."

The cat-girl nodded, deeming his "weapons" not being properly equipped as being disarmed enough to safely work with.

Slowly so as to not startle Miss Fortune, the dark-haired man reached under his shirt and took off the largest shield. Curiously, the thing wasn't physically bound to him, appearing to float just above his chest as if it were drawn to his body magnetically. The same was done for his elbows and knees, and he tucked all five of his armaments under his shoulder as he pointed out his being done.

When Mason reached down to get everything into his backpack and grab his food, he did so just as slowly as the previous task, picking up every item to show his to-be "hostess" there was nothing off happening. As he moved to tuck the container under his opposite shoulder, the young woman commanded, "Open that thing up."

"'S only steak, Miss," the man said as he complied. Fortune approached and took a couple curious whiffs, actually purring lowly when she looked into the container for confirmation and realized how good the meat smelled.

'If you offer even a bite of that stuff for her, I swear-"

With the most miniscule of smirks, "You can have some if ya want. Freshly and lightly cooked steak, with just a pinch a' seasoning. I was 'bouta start eating when you came along. I can try some first, show you it ain't poisoned or something?"

'Oh by all that is divine, why.'

Miss Fortune contemplated that for several seconds, a finger at her chin as her mouth bemusedly scrunched up in thought before nodding with a light smile. The dark-skinned man grabbed his pillow and binocular and jammed them into the backpack as the woman with a tail curled her finger a couple times, gesturing for Gordan to follow as she turned around and headed for the restaurant. Said tail was gently waving back and forth, giving away the fact that the Feral was likely looking forward to her surprise meal.

Gordan attempted to placate his friend. 'Don't'chu worry, I'll grab some more steak next time we're out 'n' about. How's about we eat two cuts when that's done with?'

'... Hmph. Fine. I suppose it'd be best to try and win her over however we can, regardless. That was admittedly a decent ploy on your part.'

'My thoughts exactly, and thank you.'

After that moment's delay to internally converse, Gordan promptly followed his new acquaintance to Yu-Wan's restaurant, fighting off his and Noirallé's apprehension every step of the way.

Notes:

Had a bit of a scare today with my laptop, hah. Some boot-up error or other that nearly stopped me from uploading. Everything appears to be fine now, though.

Anyways, thanks to Ailing Loran (shout-outs to Bloodborne, love that game too!) for the Follow and The wanderer354 for the Follow+Favorite+Review 3x combo. I appreciate your words, and rest assured that I will continue taking measures to flesh out this setting and its history, as well as its characters. You both have my appreciation for going beyond simply viewing, 'cause to an amateur writer like me, even a view alone means a fair bit.