American Devil

Chapter 7: The Man Behind The Gun

Sitting on the edge of a building, legs swinging, Kyro rests, sipping on his second can of Red Bull. lamenting the fact that he did not have the foresight to bring a third one. So far, the two have not been able to help him shake off the weariness plaguing him. Vanessa would probably tell him that if two didn't work, a third one probably wouldn't work either, but he couldn't know that without conclusive evidence. which he can't obtain because he didn't bring a third can. He sighs.

It's not just the missing can of Red Bull that bothers him. Life would be so much easier if he could search Donovan's apartment through legal channels, but that's just impossible. He tried just walking up to the apartment to enter but was first turned away by the landlord. Even after managing to avoid her, the police on the scene discouraged that avenue. It's been several days, and they still come back, to move around the scene to see if they missed anything. It isn't the first time that he regrets not becoming a police officer or a detective. However, while being a P.I. has certain limitations, his freedom as a police officer would be even more limited. Plus, that lifestyle just isn't for a free spirit like him. He wouldn't be able to work like that, stuck behind a desk filling out pointless paperwork and only truly seeing the sun when it was time to poke around a crime scene. Besides, whatever he can't do as a P.I., he can make up for it in his nightly extracurricular activities.

While occasionally he gets to enter a crime scene early, largely thanks to his newfound fame, or after detectives get their look over, allowing him to enter afterward is not legal. Back when he had first started working as a P.I., a new face with a positive attitude and a desire to catch all the criminals, he had made many attempts at convincing the police to let him into an apartment or a house they were going through and conduct his research. He had spent plenty of time begging and bargaining.

It was all in vain, of course, as the police officers were always adamant that it would be against the law to let him in. Now he usually just skips that part entirely, seeing no reason to waste time on an effort that is going to fail anyway. He spares a brief thought for Marcus and wonders if the man would let him search the apartment if he were there. But of course, he isn't, so there is no sense in pondering over that.

It is time for the Phantom to enter, the porcelain mask-wearing vigilante. Vanessa had given his alias a dumb nickname, both affectionately and mockingly, as she handed him the white mask as a birthday present. She said it made him look cooler. She was right, of course, and it was miles better than any balaclava or hoodie with a bandana he had been using before it. It gives him an edge. The blank mask always manages to instill fear in criminals, clouding their thoughts and impeding them just enough for Kyro to easily deal with them.

After another ten minutes of reminiscing and complaining in his head, Kyro decides that he has waited long enough. He stands up and dusts off his pants, sparing another glance at the building across from him and the apartment that he is going to break into. Is it breaking in if I don't technically break anything to get inside? " He ponders for a moment before he pushes that thought away and puts on his mask. "There'll be time for such a silly line of thought later, once this is all over." And with that, he teleports.

In the next second, he is on the balcony of the apartment. Looking through the window confirms that the coast is clear, the officers gone, so he teleports inside. The first thing he notices is the general mess of the apartment; furniture moved around, everything emptied, papers in a pile on the coffee table, probably already read. The officers had been quite thorough in their research.

Kyro looks around and observes two doors leading from the main space, a fact that he finds strange knowing that the apartment is listed as a studio. Before looking into the two rooms, he decides to search the living space first.