The Children Of Thalia

Cleaning Operations - 3

Natalie Hirtzel, a young teacher who has just entered Helder for three years. Helder graduates also, continued college until graduating doctoral at the age of 27. Teachers are talented, kind, beautiful and charming. Gianni, who in student life usually has a stint as the extracurricular chairman of the juvenile red cross, is so close to Natalie Hirtzel who is the extracurricular builder.

That's why, when Gianni finds Natalie Hirtzel lifelessly lying in a smelly bin in a dirty hallway muddled by the rain, with bruises all over her body, some of the missing limbs, as well as the deep incision that left him bleed to death, he could not help but get angry. It was the first time, and perhaps only then in a year, the famously merciful Gianni looked so enraged that Ansel himself had to use the gift to stop him.

"Maybe this is the reason why we can never find the real mastermind." Kuro said as he pulled the photo of his late teacher from the dirty wall. "These cases may be connected to each other, controlled by the same person."

"People who are too smart to Wild Dogs can't do much either, right?"

"I can't deny it." said Kuro. He did not deny it, because it was all true. Wild Dogs don't dwell in front of the mastermind. The case of Natalie Hirtzel was the case that also led Ansel to form Wild Dogs. That case ultimately made two friends Ansel killed. Even so, until now Ansel has not found a bright spot. "Say, you still have a grudge against them?"

Kuro's question made Gianni chuckle. "Why do you think my anger can go out?"

"I know it won't go out, I just want to make sure." He retracted one more photo, somewhat on his tiptoes as he grabbed it. "Look, here's the lead."

It was a picture of a girl. Dark blue-haired and golden-eyed, circled in red ink that spilled like blood.

"She...if I don't remember wrongly, she's one of the examinees, isn't she?"

"Not just a participant, she is No. 308, a participant on behalf of Estrellita Lorena DiMichelle."

"DiMichelle!!" Gianni. "I understand. This is the child Eli and the others mean."

"Fright." Kuro walked over again, approaching the body of the woman he had shot with a pushy bullet gun. "Commander, may I say that this case will be our greatest case, of the Wild Dogs, Merlins, or the entire Security Division."

He reached into all the pockets in the woman's clothes. Pocket pants, jackets, shirts, to check his shoes. After finding nothing, he took the woman's phone.

"This woman isn't the real leader, is she?" ask Gianni.

"Yes, I think so. Estrellita Lorena DiMichelle is a target that is still being targeted, maybe that's why in her photo there is a circle. However, the photo was placed in a place that I myself had to tiptoe. If this woman was the real mastermind, why would she have to stick a photo of the target still being hunted in such a hard-to-reach place?"

"Wait, the circled one is the target still being hunted?"

"It's just a reasonable explanation, right?"

"That means...." Gianni looked up, spinning around looking at the whole photo of a red circle stuck all over the room. "There's over a dozen more people they're hunting?"

"It's our job to stop it." Kuro got back on his feet after successfully hacking the woman's phone, making all the data in her phone displayed to Kuro's phone. "Commander, take a look at this."

What was displayed there was a series of messages. The messages were sent through a homemade app, with a private server that was impossible to track. It was the woman's conversation with someone, about their plan to kill Ellis Grant.

"This woman is an executor!" gianni insisted after reading those messages.

"seems so. This guy called Myling is the real mastermind. See, the plans are detailed in manipulative words. It could be that this woman herself was not aware of what she was doing."

"At the end it's just another pawn, huh?"

"What a shame, Commander. That guy's one step ahead of us."

Gianni's fist was tightened until it looked trembling. Disillusioned. That was what was clearly plastered on his face. He had to accept the fact that he lost again to them.

"Check out if there are any photos that support the investigation. Maybe the target will be executed after inu or whatever."

"All right, right away."

While Kuro checks the woman's phone, Gianni, who feels his mind is so raging, tries to calm himself by circling the room while closing his eyes. He set his breath, calmed his heart rhythm, tried to clear his mind. He looked at the photos on the wall again. These are pictures of the dead, or of people who will be killed later. They were not ordinary people, instead there were some celebrities and important people that Gianni knew. It's a little hard to believe the group wasn't discovered until now.

"Hm?"

The young man drew his face closer to one of the photos. The face there was a face that really felt familiar, a face that she felt like she had just seen.

"Commander, look at this." exclaimed Kuro, making Gianni distract him from the photo for a moment.

"Find something?"

"Yes, look at it." Kuro shows a photo that seems to have been taken secretly. It was a picture of a man discussing with two other men. The man's face was thick, his eyes were soft, his hair was dark brown. He was wearing an ash suit, also leaning on the hood of an old car. The faces of the two men discussing with her were nowhere to be seen as they turned their backs to the camera, but they seemed to be important when viewed from the way they dressed.

"I've never seen this guy. Is he a target too?" Ask Gianni.

"I thought so, too, but look at this." Kuro zoomed in on the image, focusing on the blurry figure inside that car. Sitting leaned back with a sour face, it was the face of the young man Gianni was truly familiar with. The face that made Gianni aghast once again.

"Difficult to believe!"

"That's my reaction." Kuro closed the photo. Now everything is starting to clear. "Commander, if our guess is correct, then the examinees are in danger!"

"That's obvious. Call Ansel immediately. Have Wild Dogs make a move. Oh, report this to Squirrel, too, it seems we need a little help for-"

Unfortunately, Gianni's words were cut off by a small radio noise in their ears. Without further ado, Gianni immediately pressed a button on the radio, connecting the limited connections between Tetha members.

"Gianni's here, what's up?"

The person in the connection, the one who sounded panicked was Noe.

"Here Noe. Commander, this is bad. An extremist woman we arrested has died suddenly!"

"What!?"

Gianni had not yet processed what he heard, another report came.

"Liv's clearance to enter the connection, Commander. Our truck experienced the same thing. A man suddenly died with a chest that exploded!"

"Wait, what? WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING THERE, HUH!!!??"

"Next is a woman." Kuro said calmly, making Gianni suddenly turn his head. Gianni beleum asked anything when the report came back in again.

"Here Magz, permission to report. A woman we've secured has suddenly died with an exploding heart, Commander."

"Tung-"

"Next old man." Kuro continued again regardless of the confused Gianni.

"Here Alp, reports the old man on the third floor killed with blood-stained eyes, nose and ears."

"Next redhead girl." He continued again.

"Commander, permission to report again that the woman in the basement also died with her chest blown out!"

"Next-"

"Pacify yourself, Commander." Said Kuro, which even makes Gianni more upset.

"Silent. You'd better explain quickly how you know who's gonna die."

"This is one I found again." Kuro stepped back a little, letting Gianni see what he saw. Photos attached to the wall, which was once just wrapped in red ink, have now turned into a cross. More horribly, Kuro and Gianni see the sign slowly changing on its own without anyone erasing and redrawing it.

"It's...."

"It's Gift." Kuro continued firmly. "There's no other explanation."

Gianni looked up, looking at each photo with a red circle that slowly turned into a cross. Every photo, every face, a familiar feeling, finally Gianni understood.

"Now I remember. The faces in this photo are the ones I shot anesthetized. They're the people in this apartment!"

"To be more precise, the people who were once in the apartment." Kuro. "Now there's only one left."

Kuro suddenly pulled out a sword. Not the hilt of a black sword, but a real sword hanging at the waist. He swung the sword quickly backwards with a diagonal slash upwards, then continued with a powerful vertical slash downwards.

"That's the last." Kuro.

The woman fell. His face slammed to the floor. Blood slowly seeped, flooding the floor of the room.

"He... rise again?"

"Controlable, exactly. Look at that right hand."

All they saw was a tube. Smaller than the first tube, also different function.

"It's detonator!?"

"He wants to blow something up."

"Don't tell me he wants to attack Helder?"

"There's a possibility, but I don't know. Let's report it."

However, before Kuro had time to press the buttons on his phone, a small radio sound was heard again. It was not long before Gianni picked him up, nor was it long until he gasped at what he was hearing.

"KURO, DOWN!!!!!!"

Right after that shout, the sound of an explosion suddenly sounded from below. The powerful explosion, made the photos stuck to the wall fall inundated on the red of fresh blood. The fire quickly struck, apparently already blazing on a pillar of support in front of the apartment room where Kuro and Gianni were located.

"They want to eliminate the evidence!" yup, Gianni realized what happened.

"Floor one was engulfed in flames, evacuation routes were closed. Commander, there's no other choice!"

"I know!"

Gianni took off his gloves, mask, mask, and bulletproof vest. He set the horses, breathing even though the air was hot. Slowly, his body emitted a red glow. The incandescent that made both of his hands glow hot.

"I'm going to destroy this wall. KURO, BACK OFF!"

Without much further ado, Gianni responded by clenching his hands tightly. He launched a powerful fist on the flat wall behind, directly pointing outward.

"YINYAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The flaming red fist touched, hitting the wall with an active gift, creating another huge explosion that knocked down the thick walls of the apartment, exposing the outside world that was instantly covered in black smoke of fire.

"KURO, JUMP!!!!!!"

"GOOD!!!!!!!"

The wide steps they took as a swipe. At the ruined end of the apartment room, Gianni and Kuro take a skinny leap outside. They're on the second floor, they know that, but there's no other choice. The fire came from downstairs. If they forced it to break through, they would be roasted until only bone was left.

Their bodies landed on the grassy ground. Somewhat violently hit the ground, then rolled up to be stopped by the wall surrounding the apartment as a high fence. Kuro stared at the apartment building in front. Another explosion occurred, spitting out a stinging heat that immediately made his face sore. His entire body was in pain, there might be some cracks, but he was also grateful to still be able to survive.

"Smart dirty tricks." Praise Kuro while staring at the flame tongue licking the blue sky. "If the woman's control is successful, the bomb explodes through the detonator button. If it fails and the woman dies, the sensors will detect if her heartbeat stops and send an explosive signal to the bomb below." He giggled, laughing at his own stupidity that was not immediately aware of the trick. "Commander... Are you alive?"

"Still... shit...." Gianni replied, annoyed and relieved because the evacuation plan was successful. "What about the information?"

"It's a shame."

Kuro showed both phones in his hands. Both dead. Even after Kuro pressed the buttons a few times there, the phone remained unresponsive.

"Impossible......"

"This is the fact."

Kuro had just thrown the two phones when the spark happened. When the phone hit the ground, a small explosion immediately made the bodies of the two phones scatter with smoke soaring.

Lost the information that exists. The phone had been sabotaged to be destroyed after meeting certain conditions. The apartment is also likely already set to disintegrate after Team Tetha gets a bit of information without evidence. From the beginning, they were framed.

"Damn it!" Gianni pressed a few buttons on his helmet, then threw the helmet to the side. The main frustration he felt. He leaned against the cold wall, contemplating, cursing himself. The messy hair marks his mind off, but he's still trying to do his job. "I've sent a signal."

"Good job, Commander."

"I don't know if you're praising or insinuating me."

"I'm seriously praising."

"Then thank you, it makes me a little better, even if we fail to get what we should."

"Oh, it's not that bad either." Kuro reached into his vest bag, taking out two photos. It was the photo he had pulled out earlier, the photo with the cross and the circle mark. "Submit this. Ansel will understand."

The face that was plastered there was the face of two women. Their late teacher, Natalie Hirtzel and number 308 participant, Estrellita Lorena DiMichelle. As soon as he saw the photo, Gianni's tangled face improved slightly.

"I get it, that's a good message."

Kuro opens his phone, writes a brief report of the Cleaning operation that will be sent directly to Ansel's personal contacts, accompanied by a photo of two pieces of evidence that he managed to secure. "Ansel must perform some checks on the people in Helder."

Gianni sighed. "DiMichelle, huh...." He also opened his phone, writing the same report. "I also asked Eli and Sean to investigate the man in Helder. They'll be surprised."

"obvious. He's DiMichelle's guy, too."

...* * * * *...