Act III: Splinter
Daryl's Side (April 9, 11:00 pm)
When they separated from Megumi and Norah, Daryl's short-term goal had been to run away and avoid getting caught, but he actually didn't have anywhere to go. Luckily, Hikaru knew a place in the Sunset District where they could hide out for the night, so Daryl decided to head over there, taking long detours to lose anyone who might have been tailing them.
Eventually, the two of them finally arrived at the Bomber, a small dive bar located in the Sunset District's poorer downtown area. Daryl parked on the curb some distance from the bar, and the two of them walked up to the bar and headed in. The bar stood out quite a bit from its bleak grey environments, as it pulsated with colors and lights from inside.
"You're sure this is a good place to hide out? It seems quite... attention-grabbing."
"There's no need to worry. This place is popular, but mostly with rejects and rebels without a cause. Authorities don't usually bother with a place like this."
Daryl stepped into the bar and was blasted with the sound of hardcore punk music. The bar was small, but it was crammed with people from all walks of life. Everyone was dressed in a variety of bizarre fashions and dyed hairstyles, making Daryl feel out of place in his plain jacket and jeans.
Hikaru walked up to the counter and spoke to the dark-skinned, androgynous bartender, who was busy handing out drinks to the many guests clamoring by the counter. "Hey, Angelique. Hope you're not too busy right now."
"Hikaru!" Angelique flashed him a bright smile. "Haven't seen you in a while. Come to have your usual?"
"Not exactly. I can't give details, but I need a place to stay for a night or two. Can you spare the room?"
"Anything for an old friend. Go on upstairs and set down wherever there's room."
"Thanks. I promise I'll pay you back for tonight."
"You can pay me back by buying some drinks, honey."
"Alright. Two beers, then."
Angelique laughed and poured out two beers. Hikaru took them and handed one to Daryl.
"Oh, no thanks. I'm not really up to a drink right now."
"Just let loose for a bit," Hikaru said with a smirk. "You won't gain anything by stressing out constantly."
Daryl was still a little reluctant, but ultimately he gave in and took a seat while Hikaru went off to greet some of his old friends. His table was instantly crashed by a couple of lightly-dressed girls with spiked-up hair and pierced tongues. The girl with pink hair addressed him first.
"Hey there! Haven't seen you around before."
"You come out of curiosity?"
Daryl stammered as he tried to make conversation with the two girls. "My friend brought me here to let loose. I was let go recently, so...."
"Oh, you got fired? That totally sucks!" said the blonde-haired girl.
"Yeah. So I guess I'm drinking my sorrows away today."
"Well, you can't do that on some basic beer. Angelique! Can we get three glasses of tequila?"
Angelique quickly came by with three shot glasses filled with tequila. "Don't go too crazy, kids!"
Daryl anxiously picked up his glass as the other two girls shotgunned their drinks in an instant. "Come on, bro! Do it in one!"
Daryl chuckled uneasily and drank his shot as quickly as he could. The sweet taste of the tequila was quickly accompanied by a harsh burn. Daryl coughed as he tried to keep his drink from coming up. He wasn't used to strong alcohol, and he had certainly never had tequila before. As the burn slowly went away, Daryl's vision began to blur slightly.
"You good, bro?" The pink-haired girl asked as she gently shook his shoulder.
"Y-yeah... I'm fine."
"Sorry, didn't know you were a lightweight. Guess I shouldn't have started you with the tequila."
"I bet it feels good to let go a little bit though," joked the blonde girl.
She wasn't wrong. Daryl had spent the past couple of days on edge, and while the tequila did take him for a loop, he was feeling a bit more relaxed. He grabbed the beer that was still on the table and downed it in one gulp.
"Woah, slow down a second! You gonna be okay, bro?"
"Who carresh?" Daryl slurred as he put down his mug. "Not like I got work anymore."
"That's the spirit!" cheered the blonde girl as her hand shot up into the air. "Three more shots of Tequila please!"
Daryl sank back into his seat and sighed as more drinks made their way to the table. Come to think of it, it had been a while since he had just let go like this. Worrying about the debt and the necklace had basically absorbed his whole life. It was nice to just get some R & R and just forget his troubles for a bit.
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Daryl woke up on the floor of an unfamiliar room, head pounding. He sat up and found himself in a room full of men and woman passed out wherever there was space. Confused, he picked himself off the floor and gingerly stepped out of the room, taking care to avoid waking the others.
He stepped out into a hallway, with stairs that seemed to lead down to what appeared to be the bar. He started to understand what must have happened; after passing out while drunk, either Hikaru or one of the girls he was drinking with brought him up here above the bar after he'd passed out. He was grateful for their consideration, though he wished they hadn't simply left him on the floor.
Daryl grasped his forehead as his head continued to pound. He had drank just a little too much, and it was killing him now. He noted that there was a door opposite the stairs. He opened it and realized that the door led to the roof of the bar. He walked outside and let the cool night air blow into his face. It alleviated his hangover a little bit.
He took out his phone and glanced at the time. 4:00 am. He hadn't been asleep for that long. He noticed as well that he'd had a few missed calls from Norah. That was bad. Right now, he was still under the surveillance of Hayasaka Security, and he didn't want to do anything that would draw their suspicions. He dialed up Norah, who answered the phone fairly quickly.
"Ugh, finally!" Norah groaned the instant the call connected. "Where have you been? I've been trying to get a hold of you for hours!"
"Sorry. I've been asleep, so I didn't get your calls."
"Well, aren't you taking it easy."
"What is it?" Daryl asked, getting annoyed. "If you need something, hurry up and say it already."
Norah hesitated before answering. "It's Megumi. She's run away."
"She ran away?" A flash of realization hit Daryl in an instant. "Did you do something to her?"
"That's not important right now. She has the necklace, and that means we need to get her back as soon as possible!"
Daryl understood Norah's urgency. The two of them were both under the surveillance of Ingrid Hayasaka, the captain of Hayasaka Security, and their freedom was predicated on them finding the client who ordered the theft of the emerald necklace. Megumi had the emerald necklace, which the client was looking for in the first place, so naturally losing her meant losing face in front of Hayasaka Security.
But Daryl wasn't actually interested in cooperating with Hayasaka Security. After all, he had more to gain by helping out Megumi and getting the necklace back for himself. However, he couldn't just come out and say that. Hayasaka had a pin on his location and was listening to his every word. He needed to be very careful about how he spoke.
"Where were you when you lost her?"
"We were in the Horizon district. She ran out while I was sleeping."
"Sounds like you screwed up."
Norah simply grumbled under her breath.
"Anyway, I'll keep an eye out for her. I doubt she's gone far on foot, so you probably have a better chance of finding her than me, honestly."
"In theory, yes. But Megumi is a skilled thief. She won't let me find her so easily."
"I bet. You really screwed up by letting her get away."
Norah hung up with an annoyed grumble. As Daryl put away his phone, he started to understand just how inconvenient it was to be under the Hayasakas' surveillance. Before he could help Megumi in any way, he needed to figure out how to get rid of the trackers on his person.
As Daryl walked back into the building, he noticed a room opposite the one he woke up in. Curious, he glanced inside and found a room filled with papers and a couple of computers. It must have been an office. Even a bar like this had to balance its ledgers, after all.
Daryl looked around the room for a bit when he spied a notepad laying on a nearby desk. He was struck by a flash of inspiration and grabbed the notepad, as well as a pen sitting in a nearby cup. He then headed downstairs to the bar, which was starting to wind down quite a bit. The loud music and blaring lights had been turned down, although it looked like the place was still open for business.
To Daryl's slight surprise, Hikaru was still awake, chatting with Angelique at the bar. There weren't that many other patrons, making a private conversation fairly feasible.
"Hey." Hikaru gestured towards Daryl with a half-empty glass of beer. "You're up already?"
"My head still pounds quite a bit."
"Want a drink?" Angelique asked.
"Just water."
Angelique poured out a glass of water and handed it to him. He sat down next to Hikaru and quietly placed the notepad onto the table. Hikaru opened his mouth to ask about it, but Daryl quickly put a finger to his lips, a clear sign to not say anything right now.
"Angelique, can I get some breakfast?"
As Daryl spoke, he wrote lightly on the notepad with the pen he had obtained, taking care not to make too much noise so that it didn't get picked up by his mic. He tried to explain about his situation as much as he could. He finally finished and passed the pad over to Hikaru.
"This is a pretty nice bar. Never been to a place like this before."
"Yeah?" Hikaru said as he looked at the notepad. "Glad you like it."
Daryl watched as Hikaru's expressions changed as he read through the notepad. During that time, Angelique came by with some eggs and sausage, giving Daryl a reason to not be speaking. As he ate, Hikaru finished reading and scribbled out another note and passed the pad back to Daryl.
Is this true?, read the note.
Daryl nodded. Hikaru flipped the notepad and wrote another note.
What do you want to do then?
Daryl took the pen and silently wrote his answer on the pad. I want to get rid of these trackers ASAP. Can you help?
Hikaru nodded.
Daryl put away the notepad and went back to eating his breakfast. He didn't know what he would do once he was free from Hayasaka Security's surveillance, but he wasn't going to be doing much of anything until it happened. He was tired of being thrown around by people more powerful than him. It was time to start fighting back.