TRIGGER: CH 14

Chapter 14

The ensuing events happened in a fairly quick succession. But thanks to the hidden cameras, they managed to catch everything. The suspect is undeniably stealthy and smooth. It's no wonder that normal people would miss the little things he does when their eyes weren't on him.

The moment Ryuga looks elsewhere, he immediately slips the drug into his drink. The action was so discreet it almost looks like he was just passing his hand over the glass. Fortunately, nothing escapes Aguri's eagle eyes, and they were also able to record all of that. Though they were definitely stunned when Ryuga actually drank it despite having been warned.

 

"O-oi, he drank it..-"

"..That idiot."

 

Naturally, the drug kicks in. Sigh.

Takeru was this close to bolting over to the crime site if not for Rian strictly telling him to stay put. She herself appears wired over the situation but still she held herself very well.

A few gruelling minutes passed by; according to what was written in the documents, the drug takes about five minutes to work. From the time of ingestion, it will slowly take effect. First, the victim will start to feel drowsy, followed by body weakness, and lastly loss of consciousness. More sensitive people would even feel difficulty breathing before passing out completely.

And within those five minutes, the suspect carried him off to the bedroom, set him on the bed, and begin his preparations.

 

Exactly at the five minutes mark, Rian taps into the comm device, calling for response.

"..-Ryuga, can you hear me?"

 

Shortly after, right when the suspect was facing away, Ryuga winked towards the surveillance camera facing the bed, followed by that cheeky smile of his.

From how it looks, he's not affected at all. As if he just drank a placebo instead of the real thing.

"But then again, the doctors did have to give him 'a horse's dose' of sedative to knock him out that one time.." So muttered by Takeru in a reaction over the entire scene.

 

Sigh.

 

If only he'd stop giving them jump scares like this..

 

Putting that aside, the suspect really loves taking his time. Since then another five minutes have passed and his preparations are all done. The tools used, possible techniques, method of operations - they're all caught on cameras. It also didn't pass Aguri's mind over how systematic the layout is. The person is used to it, yes, but he's also quite meticulous. Almost clinical.

He knows what he's doing. And that is the most unsettling fact about him.

The man stands up from the chair, getting ready for the real job.

 

---

 

Being dragged or carried around by someone wasn't something foreign to him. Although he rarely needs carrying, he did have his moments (though the strange floating sensation brought to mind something similar from weeks ago).

His first thought when the play starts was 'wow, it actually worked'. He did went through the documents over and over before going off to watch videos for extra guidance. Naturally, he tried his best.

The man does seem a bit nervous tonight. Or was it excitement instead? Maybe somewhere between the two. He's noticeably jittery compared to the usual. He was rather eager over the development that it's not strange if he overlooked some odd parts to the situation. Anyways, it played right into their favour.

It's nice when works goes well. But that's no excuse to be relaxed. There's still the final plot twist waiting.

So he lay on the bed, emulating the effects of the drug.

To say that it didn't work at all is probably a lie. It did work, a little. He does feel some of the expected effects. Surprisingly, it wasn't as strong as he had been expecting.

Something feels off about this.

The man doesn't suspect anything, yet. Could it be that he's not aware of this?

 

"..-Ryuga, can you hear me?"

 

A buzz followed by Rian's clear voice reached him. Right on time.

As he feels the other man facing away, quickly he sent a sign to the nearest camera, telling them he's doing fine over here.

Thank goodness his threshold is higher than normal.

Also, the weirdly tough training Burai put him through all those years ago really works wonders now.

 

And now what?

He can feel the other man looking right at him in deep contemplation. At times like this, he wished he can read thoughts. It'll be quite helpful in his opinion. Not everything is put to words, some remained kept inside.

The anticipation is steadily building.

 

"Shall we start now?"

 

Unfortunately, it's already the end of the line for you.

 

---

 

Just right before the man made contact with his skin; Ryuga caught his wrist and flip their position over. Everything happened in a blink of an eye. The rush of adrenaline through his system really gave an advantageous boost. In a second, the man is slammed face down onto the bed, arm twisted behind him with Ryuga firmly keeping him in place.

"Don't move. You are arrested under suspicion of committing serial murder."

"Shit-"

The man unsuccessfully tried to buck him off. "Stay put, it'll be easier on you if you do."

After a while, he starts to deflate. Glancing towards the camera, Ryuga signals for the next step. The momentary calm gave him enough time to slap the hand cuffs on.

 

"..So, you're a cop?"

"Unfortunately, yes." A heavy pause follows, full of anticipation and silent questions.

"Heh, sorta had a feeling."

"Then why did you stay around?"

"I lost to the temptations." He's rather calm despite the situation. Resignation? Or perhaps arrogance instead?

 

"..But how?" The sudden disconnected question disrupted Ryuga's flow of thought. He had to give it a few seconds to process. The man shifted slightly, twisting his head to the side to look up towards Ryuga from the corner of his eyes.

"Ever heard of 'drug tolerance'? My body needs more than the regular dose to get affected."

"Even so-" his words cut off abruptly. "Aah, I see it now."

Ryuga remains silent, watching the shift in the other's expression.

"They meant to cut me off. Last time it got too close."

"So they purposely reduced the dosage. That's it?" It was strange; the effect wasn't even strong enough. Even with his tolerance, it should have at least weakened him a bit.

The other man only levelled him with apathy.

"How unfortunate."

To his surprise, the other responds with a grin.

"Oh, I wonder."

"What do you mean by that?"

A chuckle. "The one who hired me is powerful enough to control the city from the shadows. The law ain't gonna do a thing."

"You're telling me to give up? Not a chance."

"Thought so. But no one would be able to save you from them. Not even your partner."

That had Ryuga roughly grabbing him by the collar.

 

"Ryuga, stop! Don't get riled up."

Rian.

 

"Oh, did I hit a nerve?"

Willing his anger down, he pushes the man back down. No, don't. You'd be playing right into his hand.

"Say whatever you want, you've already lost."

"Well, it was fun playing with you, Ryuga."

 

 

*

 

She sat back into her chair afterward. That was close. Had she be slightly slower,  things would've gotten messy. It's his bad habit. Ryuga is emotional, and usually it's not much of a problem, however that also means he get ticked off easily.

 

Tapping into her comm line, contacting him. "Stay there, Ryuga. Takeru and Aguri are already on their way up."

"-Got that." His voice sounded tight.

Immediately she gives the go sign to the rest of the team.

 

Heaving a long sigh, she allows the tension to gradually slip away from her body.

Well, at least they're done for the night and for this case too. She can leave the more complicated stuffs for tomorrow. However one thing refuses to leave her mind.

 

Partner.

 

What does he meant by that? From how he said it, it doesn't seem to be pointing towards them. A harmless sounding term, but there was something in the way it was said - the connotation, and the way Ryuga reacted to it.

Something isn't right. Something doesn't feel right.

 

 

"Ryuga, what is going on with you?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

 

When he came to, he's already face down on the bed with no way to get out of his current predicament. How did it get to this point? The reason is one - it's all because he refused to listen to his guts. Though oddly, he doesn't feel too disappointed. Rather he felt quite glad. Strange indeed.

One could say that in some way, he saw this coming. Of course he didn't expect it to be this early but it's pretty inevitable. Really.

So why is he glad that it turns out this way? Is he feeling guilty over what he did?

 

Of course not.

 

He's only glad because the last one was a thrilling experience. However it is the most obvious of lie to say that he's not unsatisfied. It would've been better if he could complete the last one.

Such a beautiful thing he is.

A spectre shrouded in mystery. The captivating smile, you won't even realise that you've fallen into his trap.

And now he finally understood this feeling. The feeling that he got ever since the first time he saw the man that fateful night. The feeling that never fails to nag at him again and again. The curiosity, the sense of danger, the foreboding feeling.

 

You're not a fallen angel, but a grim reaper disguised as a man.