"My men will be in place when you give the signal," Masumi told him over the phone. "Let's hope this ends tonight."
"It will," Adler answered. "One way or another. We will not fail."
"I've heard that before," the horse retorted.
Adler remained silent, not caring for the police chief's cheek.
"Just do your part and I'll do mine," he said.
"Let us hope we meet under calmer circumstances," she said before Adler hung up.
He put the phone down and looked at the suit in the armoire. The storage unit had kept their word on their policy. He paid, and they held his property with zero questions. The vigilante looked at his own sagging form in the wooden closet. Juno was being driven to the pick-up site by Yuta. Adler would join them once he was prepared. Maybe not join, but follow them. Then again, Juno would be in a car with strangers, possible criminals. Louis didn't want to seem over protective, but he didn't feel okay leaving her alone with unknowns.
Adler snatched up his uniform and pulled it on. He strapped the sword to his back and holstered the gun behind his hip. He loaded up on throwing knives and resupplied his small, homemade first aid kit. He looped his grappling hook and cable through its loop and readjusted his prosthetic. He took up the mask and placed it over his face, clamping the bottom jaw shut and locking it in place on his head. He pulled on the wide brimmed hat and felt the power surge through him. This was ending. For real. Tonight. Even if he died in the process, Adler would kill Razor if that's what it came to. He breathed deeply and stepped from the storage unit. He closed the door and locked it, standing up straight and looking to motion in his right peripheral. Another customer of the storage facility just looked in stunned silence at the vigilante before him.
Adler raised a finger to the teeth of the mask with a grim 'hush' look. The iguana nodded and the deer spun to the fire exit out the window. He climbed up to the roof and looked over the city as the sun set, casting purples, oranges, reds, yellows and blues against the sky. He looked at the watch on his wrist. He had thirty minutes to make it to the pick up point before he lost his chance to follow the limousine. He threw his grappling hook and jumped into a swing to the next rooftop.
~~~~~
Legoshi looked at his reflection in the window and loosened the collar of the buttoned shirt. It was a tad bit too small, but manageable. He looked himself up and down. He looked good. The black suit actually looked good on him. It felt a bit odd that it was Razor's suit, his scent was all over it and that made his skin crawl. He reached up and loosened the strap of the muzzle that ran across the back of his head. It was biting into his skin. He looked into the reflection again and reached through the metal cage, lifting his jowl and picking something from in between his teeth.
He was the first one at the pick up spot, so he was just standing around awkwardly. He could smell the police force. They were keeping their distance, but were at the ready if something went wrong. Legoshi wasn't sure of who else to expect, but he felt out of place. Even though no one was there yet. What made it even weirder was that Legoshi and Razor had only met once, and the wolf had almost been killed at that meeting. Knowing their shared father didn't help ease things in his mind. And the fact that Razor was now inviting him to a private event seemed out of place for the hybrid serial terrorist. But Legoshi knew the real reason he was being invited. Razor had a pest he needed to get rid of, and his half brother, who had a connection to said problem, was pest control. Haru's kidnapping was just a catalyst he was taking advantage of.
The sound of a car pulling up caught Legoshi's attention and he watched the dark grey sedan pull up behind him in the window's reflection. A sheep stepped from the driver's side and walked over to open the rear door on the sidewalk side. As soon as the door opened, the scent caught his nose.
"Thank you Yuta," Juno said to the sheep. "Hopefully, I won't die tonight."
"I hope so too, miss," the sheep smiled gravely. He gave a raised eyebrow to Legoshi, looking him up and down, before stepping back into the vehicle and driving off.
Legohsi just stared as Juno walked up and stood next to him, facing out towards the road and leaning on the glass. She wore a nice black dress embroidered with glass? Crystal? Diamond? Either way it made it look expensive, which was probably the point.
"Juno?" he asked.
She simply looked at him, as if she hadn't noticed his presence.
"Oh," she said. "Hi Legoshi. Long time no see, huh?"
Legoshi still couldn't believe she was here, now, in front of him. 'Why?' was the only question running through his mind. All iterations of it. He was just dumbstruck.
"Yeah I don't know why I'm here either," she said. Could she read his mind? Or was he that easy to see through? Most likely the latter.
"But how are-?"
"I was kidnapped by Razor and held at the power plant before it blew up," she interrupted, knowing his question. "That's how I'm back here in the city now."
Legoshi was still speechless. He wasn't sure what to even ask and just stood there awkwardly.
"You look good in a suit," Juno said, trying to break the tension. "The muzzle's a bit much though. It's strange, it accentuates your jawline by covering it up. That and it makes you look like a bit of a weirdo."
Was she still hitting on him?
"God," she muttered to herself. "Can I say anything complimentary to anyone anymore without them thinking I'm hitting on them?"
"I'm sorry," Legoshi apologized. "It has been a while since we last saw each other and-"
"I'm pulling your tail," she smirked. "Relax."
He did. At least now he knew where they stood in relation to each other. She was over him and he had nothing to worry about.
"So what are you doing here?" she asked.
"I was invited," he answered. "Same as you."
"But what is your connection to him?" she asked. "I was a hostage and...for another, more likely reason."
Legoshi wanted to press further, but thought better of it. He stayed silent.
She didn't want to press either. And she didn't need to. She saw a darkness in his eyes. It matched the shadow in Louis'. It was like a demon transferring between the two. Louis' eyes were getting brighter with the events accumulating into tonight, and Legoshi's eyes were darker than she had remembered. She looked up to the rooftops and saw the shape crouched down on the corner of a building across the street. Legoshi was so tunnel visioned on his own vendetta he didn't seem to notice the extra scent on the air. Louis probably wasn't expecting to see Legoshi there as well, and she smirked at the thoughts running through his head.
~~~~~
This fucking dumbass better not ruin everything, Louis thought in controlled rage behind Adler's cool control.
~~~~~
"I guess people will assume we're together again," she said.
"We're not," Legoshi pointed out. "I'm married."
"I know," Juno smirked. "Still, you can show respect to a lady you're not romantically involved with. It's called being a gentleman."
She looped her arm through his and he was going to pull away, but she locked in tightly. He felt her pulse, which wasn't as calm as she appeared. She was scared, and this "pairing" was more for comfort than anything else. The contact made the awkwardness more so, but he settled into it quickly, bending his arm and lending her his elbow. The other invitees started to arrive a few minutes later.
A small trio of weasels arrived in black, grey and white pinstripe suits, talking amongst themselves. They would occasionally look up to the wolves from under their fedora's before looking down and chattering with each other again. A large, silent polar bear stepped from his own white limo followed by another bear in a matching suit. It took Legoshi a moment to realize the real invitee was an old shrew, smoking a cigar in his executive chair, held by the first polar bear.
"Don Riviello," someone greeted from over Legoshi's shoulder. He was startled a little by the flying fox hanging from the lamppost over his head and stepped to the side a little with Juno, just so the bat wasn't directly over their heads.
"Roelof!" the shrew greeted back, ordering the polar bear to raise him up to the chiroptera. "Good to see you my friend. How long has it been?"
"Oh, a few years," the bat said, extending a wing to shake the hand of the smaller eulipotyphla. "Business is running smoothly. What of you? How are things in the flower selling business?"
"Can't complain," the smaller mammal answered. "I have a few competitors, but when those winter months hit, no one keeps the flowers alive and looking beautiful better than the Riviello family."
"Good to see some new faces," a fox said, walking up the sidewalk with a badger at his back. "Now the real question. Do they talk to strangers?"
"I know you, don't I?" Juno asked.
"Depends," the fox answered. "Do you watch a lot of late night television? Or drive on route 243 coming from Brauding? Cause that's where my advertisements are."
"Yeah," Juno nodded slightly. "You're the phony lawyer on tv."
"Uh-huh," the vulpine laughed nervously. "Phony is relative. I would like to say I have an eighty-five to ninety percent success rate so...maybe check your facts before saying things. But that's neither here nor now. What is your relation to the groom? And I'm talking about the taller one that started all this, running around killing people left and right with a mask on."
"And you're his lawyer," Juno frowned.
"Peter Vaasman," the red fox said with a bow. "At your service."
Juno pulled out of Legoshi's arm and landed a fist in the vulpine's face as he straightened up from his bow. The fox took the punch full on and stayed standing, only turning his face away to avoid another attack. He held up a hand to the badger, keeping him back.
"I'm one of his victims," Juno growled.
"I deserved that, didn't I?" the fox asked his companion. They nodded in agreement.
Peter turned back and straightened up, rubbing the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his wrist. He looked up to Legoshi and nodded at him.
Juno looped her arm through Legoshi's again.
"And who's he?" she snapped, referring to the badger.
"Oh he doesn't speak," the fox said. "Man of few words, unless he has something on his mind he can't keep inside."
The old mustelidae stayed silent and just looked at the gathered group with indifferent silence. He raised his eyebrow once upon seeing the bat hanging upside down from the lamppost, but it was only for a second. He was the only one not dressed up in a suit like everyone else. Something told Legoshi he wasn't planning on staying long. Either that, or he just didn't care for formalities. At all.
~~~~~
The limo pulled around a corner. Black with tinted out windows. Adler couldn't see inside, but that wasn't what concerned him. He had a vehicle to follow. If either of those two canines didn't leave that car, he was intervening at that moment.
Legoshi, Louis thought in the passenger's seat of Adler's mind. If you let anything happen to her before I jump in, I'll kill you.
The driver opened the door and let the guests file into the limo, closing the door behind them. The driver looked around before turning their head up to the building rooftops. Adler pulled back a little, but not enough. The driver caught his antlers over the edge of the ledge and locked on. But he didn't get the response he was expecting. The tiger walked to the driver's seat and gestured for him to follow before sitting inside and taking off.
This is a trap, Louis thought to Adler.
"I call it sport," the vigilante said before jumping from the roof and swinging after the limo into The Drusk.
~~~~~
"Adler's on the move," the officer said. "He's entered The Drusk, following that limo."
"Now we wait," Masumi said. "Keep everyone ready."
"Yes ma'am."
~~~~~
Shoon stood on the balcony of his apartment, looking down over the city. The wind whipped through his quills, the rustling sending shivers down his spine. He sipped the liquor from his glass and rechecked his cuff-links. He felt stiff in the get up and pulled at the collar again, trying to loosen it. He didn't like these formal clothes, but Shoji had insisted. His fiance had at least allowed him to not have to wear anything around the collar, so that was a plus. He was also allowed to pick the outfit colors; black on black on black. Plus the red of the ruby cufflinks he had "borrowed" from one of his hits. The jacket was black as well. No vest either, so that was also a plus. Meant less layers to restrict his movements. He didn't like being unable to move.
The elevator behind him dinged.
"We've swept the building," Reina said. "No sign of him."
"I know he's in the butchering room and that you specifically checked there to make sure no one found him," Shoon said, turning to his childhood friend. "You can stop lying to me."
The panther just stood in silence, like she was staring down a gun barrel.
"You've been feeding supplies to him for the past few days," he continued, stepping forward. "Keeping him hidden from me."
He was toe to toe with his friend, and stared her down. This close to him again and she was reminded of why she never got too close, ever. He was a good half foot taller than her. That, and their history would usually make it awkward. But there was no awkwardness in this encounter. There was slight fear on one side, and on the other, to her surprise, in the place of anger, disappointment.
"You're not going to do anything?" she asked.
Shoon shook his head before pulling out his automatic revolver. He opened the chamber and emptied out all but one of the bullets and handed it to her.
"You are," he said.
Reina just stood there in shock.
"You have two choices," he continued. "Shoot him. Or shoot me."
Reina's stomach started to twist. Shoon grabbed the panther's hand and forced the gun into it.
"Don't make me do this," she pleaded.
"You don't have to choose now," he said. "But you have to make a choice. Are you loyal to me? Or that scrawny nobody."
"Why-"
"Because I have to know," he said. "I didn't think I had to worry about loyalty with you, but it appears I was wrong."
Reina looked down at the gun.
"Of course if you can't choose," he said. "You could always take the third option and shoot yourself."
She looked at him.
"You're cruel," she said.
"You're just getting that now?" he asked. "I'm a cold blooded serial killer. I've killed more than I can count just because it was a fun rush to me. That should have been obvious."
She looked back to the gun and gripped the metal.
"Make a choice before the end of the wedding ceremony," he ordered.
She stood there, knuckles going white from the grip.
"Are we all set?" he asked as if nothing had happened, breaking her concentration. "Everything good to go?"
"Yeah," she answered through fear, her brain reeling and only half working. "The guests arrived a few minutes ago."
Shoon entered the elevator leaving Reina alone in the apartment as the door closed on his word.
"Showtime."
She jumped at the suddenness of the gun barrel clicking fully into place.