Witch Hunter Robin Fan Fiction ❯ Into a corner ❯ Puzzle pieces ( Chapter 13 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Karasuma arrived at work that morning. She had parked her car in the sub-basement lot and stepped out of the vehicle, wishing that she just could have stayed in bed with a good book and a steamy hot cup of whatever for the day. She looked tired, but was very determined to do her job.

The hunter woman noticed that no cars were parked in their lot yet. Even Haruto’s motorbike was not parked in the usual spot . She just sighed, knowing that she was most probably the first one in, again. Shrugging it off, she headed to the elevator for the long ride up to the main area.

It seemed that the elevator was taking its time getting her up. She wondered why she was feeling so anxious to get up to the offices like this. She did want to look up some things pertaining to the disappearance of the young Robin and her man, but it seemed that it was not what was driving her. It was almost like something was trying to tell her something. She just shrugged it off, thinking it was al due to a lack of sleep on her part.

The main area was dark when she stepped from the elevator, not a single light was on anywhere in the place. Even Michael was not at his terminal, the place was as dead as a mausoleum. She felt irritated, thinking that she might had come in too early or something.
“Did the power go out at home, or here?” She asked herself that, as she looked around at the room cloaked in the gloom.

She went over to the wall and flicked on the light, figuring she just as well get started on her own since she was there. The sight she found when it was illuminated, made her gasp in horror.

Paper was strewn everywhere, desks had their drawers pulled out and the contents unceremoniously dumped out. Files were scattered among everything else. She walked through the mess, trying to figure out just what was happening.
“ What the hell...” She commented to the stillness, as the scene was almost surreal in nature.

Behind a desk, she came across Michael laying in a heap beside his desk. He seemed to be knocked out, a huge gash on his head that was bleeding quite badly told a story of what happened to him. She dropped her purse on the floor and raced to the young hacker’s side.

She shook the youth a little, as she cradled his head in her lap, trying to bring Michael out of his unconscious state. She pulled out one of her hankies and held it against the gash to stem the flow of blood. The lad moaned when she started to minister to his wound, seemingly coming around. She sighed with great relief, as that was a good sign.
He moaned, and opened his eyes, squinting as if trying to focus on the lady’s face.
“ Oh fuck...” He said, hoarsely. “ Who’s playing with a sledgehammer on my skull?” He mused.
“ Michael, you alright?” She asked, the first thing that came to her.
“ Aside from a damned headache from hell, I am fine.” He said, his eyes becoming clearer.

Miho took a sigh of relief again, as the humor that the lad was throwing out said he was not injured too badly. The lad sat up, propping himself against the side of the nearest desk as she took over holding the bloodied handkerchief to his head.
“ What in hell happened here?” She said, moving to the most obvious question to her.

The lad took a deep breath in, as if reorienting himself. He looked at the lady, as he seemed to get some clarity.
“ I was at my computer late, and the man from SOLOMON came in.” He said. “ The man wanted me to check on something in the data base about the explosions at the Mortgage brokerage and Nagira Syunji’s law firm. I turned to begin his request and then... wham... out went my lights.”
“ He hit you over the head?” She asked, listening to the young man.
“ I guess so... he was the only one here, and I know I never cracked myself on the head.” Spat the lad, as the memory of what happened flooded him.

The lady moved the mouse on the lads terminal, and the screen saver went off. A large warning window was up in red. She looked as it said ‘no access to terminal’ in bold lettering.
“ What is this?” She asked.

The lad looked up from his place, and saw the screen.
“ Someone was trying to access something on my CPU, but did not know the password.” He said, adding in a rough voice. “ Then the system locked itself up, just like I have it set up too.” He got to his feet, actually seemingly fairly steadily despite the wallop to the noggin. “ Let’s see just what this man was up to.”

After a few keystrokes, he grunted loudly in anger.
“ Seems like he was trying to get into the SOLOMON main witch data banks.” He said.
“ Should he not have all access to that, being he is from SOLOMON?” Asked Miho.
“ He should have, but it seems that this man did not.” He said, realizing what he had figured out.
“ He’s not from SOLOMON... is he?” She said, deducting the situation.
“ That would be my next guess.” He said, nodding. “ Now is the question why pose as one of SOLOMON’s main men?”

Karasuma stood silent, as she mind tried to put together everything.
“ What about the chief?” She asked, clicking on the chief’s face in her mind. “ Did this man dupe him too?”
“ I have not seen the chief since yesterday afternoon sometime.” He said, thinking out loud. He suddenly gasped. “ He had left with this man too.”

As the lad checked his computer more thoroughly, Miho got on the phone quickly. Minutes passed, and she turned off her communicator.
“ I phoned the Chief, and there was no answer- only a message manager came on, and that seemed to be full right up.” She said, her mind thinking the man was in trouble. “ You get a hold of Haruto, I will get Dojima in here too... there is something that is not right going on here.”
“ Perhaps after we contact the others, you should take a ride out to the Chief’s home?” Suggested the youth.
“ I am way ahead of you on that one.” She said, sitting down at her desk. “ I will wait until we can get them both in, so Haruto can come with me, though...”
“ I understand that.” Was the only thing the youth said in reply to the girl’s statement.

The lad nodded, and quickly put on his head set. Miho punched in Dojima’s emergency code and waited for an answer.

After they both had gotten a hold of their respective people, the looked at one another.
“ Now is the question also...” Started Miho, pondering quickly on everything that had came to light. “ Why was Robin attacked then, and who was it...if this is not SOLOMON doing this?”
“ We need to find that out... and fast.” Michael said. “ Robin, and the others are in danger more than what we were thinking on.”
“ Could she be dead by now?” She asked, her voice wavering with the thought that assaulted her. “ Could Amon be too?”
“ We can’t go there right now... Warned the youth, but his eyes told the story that he too, had it cross his mind.

Miho just nodded. She knew that would be a all too horrible fact. She began to sift through the mountains of stuff that had been thrown around while waiting for the arrival of the others, hoping that a clue to what this man was after, would spring out and eventually lead to who this man was.