They're finally getting somewhere and apparently have gathered quite a bit already, but will it be enough for the investigation?
Rosalie: "Hmm."
Fiona: "Good..."
Lina: "Now we just need to meet this woman... Bianca Barberon."
(Meanwhile)
Sophie: "Four days ago, huh... Before he died... He withdrew ten thousand within two days."
Siegfried: "Why?"
Marcus: "And what does that possibly have to do with the case?"
(Meanwhile)
Violet: "Hmm."
Hosenträger: "This is strange... The kingdom is bigger than I thought."
Violet: "What if... the killer isn't from San Madrid?"
Hosenträger: "Yeah... True..."
(Meanwhile)
The Joker: "We need to find eight keys... to open the labyrinth..."
The Glove: "I think some of the keys are already here in San Madrid."
The Joker: "No..."
The Glove: "Hmm?"
The Joker: "Villicia consists of several cities... More precisely, nine major cities."
The Glove: "Hmm?"
The Joker: "Nine major cities. Eight keys. That means each city probably has one key except one. Though it's possible every city has two, which would make it five cities in that case... But I don't think all the keys would be here in San Madrid..."
The Glove: "So?... What do you suggest?"
The Joker: "I suggest we gather information first... We need to uncover the documents of Mayor Gonzales and Mr. Blanco... Look for other people who play important roles... There's also the head of security services... Celia Carmelia Jimenez..."
The Glove: "Good. Then I'll kill her."
The Joker: "No... We can't kill any more people right now. That would make the security measures stricter and create more unrest. That must not happen... Don't kill her... Killing isn't always the solution... The best thing would be..."
She leaned against the wall and pulled out a map.
The Joker: "The best thing would be... to do this in a way that nobody notices us. You're good at sneaking around... And don't you dare try to fight again. Don't test my patience..."
She stared at him seriously.
The Joker: "Don't forget... The boss... If he gets angry, even I can't do anything..."
The Glove: "Noe?"
The Joker: "A piece of advice... Don't call him Noe. Call him Blade. Just a piece of advice. I'm loyal, sure, but hey... Maybe you didn't know this, but... We call him Blade because Noe doesn't particularly like hearing that name from people he doesn't really know. The only people allowed to call him Noe are The Finger and me... We've known him for quite a while... And well, he trusts us... Not you. Especially not if you keep endangering our plan... The Finger wants either him or me to kill you... But I stopped him. You deserve one chance... So don't make me regret it... Otherwise I'll make you regret the very hour you were born... Now get lost."
The Glove: "Okay. One more question."
The Joker: "Hahhhhh... Fine... What?"
The Glove: "How is it that you're so good at planning and things like that?"
The Joker: "Hahhh... As you know, The Finger, Blade, and I come from the same kingdom... San Guimeres... A kingdom connected to Villicia and the Basque Kingdom... Though that connection only existed about ten years ago... The government of San Guimeres had a secret organization dedicated to killing. Rodrigo Conceico, the former king, wanted a lot of people trained for assassination... The secret organization was called Dark Officers, Oficiais Sombrios in the Guimarese language. Well... That ended after his resignation and after all his controversies came to light... I was one of the people trained there too... The others left, but Blade founded our organization afterward... The Hunters. Every one of us was trained according to what we were best at. I was apparently considered intelligent, so... They trained me to become smarter... Smarter and smarter... So that's your answer."
The Glove: "Yeah..."
The Joker: "Good." (Smiles) "Then you can leave now... Be a dear."
The Glove: "...Sure."
He walked away.
The Joker: "Hmmm... Well then... I have work to do as well..."
She put on the same glasses she used at the bank.
The Joker: "Good... Then let's get started."
She went to the bank.
Eliska: "Psst."
The Joker: "So... Did anything come up?"
Eliska: "The Dark Umbrella came here."
The Joker: "I figured... But why?"
Eliska: "They wanted to learn some things about the mayor."
The Joker: "Hmmm... And? What did you tell them?"
Eliska: "Only that he withdrew money during his last few days..."
The Joker: "Hmmm... They're better than I thought..."
Eliska: "Well, we should have expected that, right? They're a very famous detective organization."
The Joker: "Yeah... Good... Apparently they still haven't figured anything out, but... We need to be careful... Good thing you were here. Good work. You can go now."
Eliska: "Okay."
She left the bank.
The Joker: "Hmmm... Wait a second."
Eliska: "Huh?"
The Joker: "Who was it?"
Eliska: "The red-haired woman was there, and the red-haired young man, and the tailor boy."
The Joker: "I see... Fiona was with the other group... But why? Usually she's always with Sophie... It must be that woman... Rosalie... Hmm... Okay, you can go. Thanks for the information."
Eliska: "Mhm."
She walked away.
The Joker: "Hmmm... So they brought in two people who are actually good. Rosalie is good with tactics and strategy, and Marcus is someone who observes well... Hmmm... I wonder what they're like... Fiona was already difficult to fool... But because she's emotional, it wasn't that hard... But with those two... It'll be difficult... I need to be careful... Hmm... Ahhh... I might actually have something..."
(A few minutes later)
Sophie: "Hmmm."
Marcus: "Good... He withdrew money, so..."
Siegfried: "Shortly before his death... Do you think he was planning something?"
Sophie: "No idea."
Marcus: "That's not enough information to move forward. Maybe he simply needed something... What about your side?"
Rosalie: "We learned that he once had a wife... And had an affair with another woman... We wanted to talk to Bianca Barberon... But nobody answered. The door was locked, and when we looked through the window, nobody was there..."
Marcus: "Wait. What's the name of the woman he had the affair with?"
Rosalie: "Mona?"
Marcus: "I think we should learn more about her first."
Sophie: "Hmmm."
Lina: "Strange."
Fiona: "Hmm."
(Ring)
Sophie: "Huh?"
Fiona: "Hmm?"
Fiona and Lina came out of the room when they heard the call.
Fiona: "Isn't it a little late for that?"
Sophie: "I guess."
She answered.
Sophie: "Hello..."
The Joker: "Help... Sophie... Help me!"
Sophie: "Ugh... Sandy... What's wrong?!"
The Joker: "Someone is here... Someone is here!"
(Bang!)(Bang!)
Sophie: "Ugh... Sandy!"
Fiona: "Huh..."
Lina: "Gunshots!"
Marcus: "What are we waiting for? Let's go to her!"
They ran quickly toward her.
Sophie: "Hahh... Hahhh..."
Fiona: "Let's hurry."
Marcus: "There!"
(Crash!)
They opened the door.
Sophie: "Sandy!"
Fiona: "Sandy... Hey... Ughh..."
Sophie: "Huh!"
She was leaning against the wall... Covered in blood... With multiple gunshot wounds.
Sophie: "No... No... Sandy!"
Marcus: "Damn it!"
Rosalie: "Quick, call an ambulance!"
Fiona: "Hey, Sandy."
The Joker: "Urk..."
Sophie: "She's still alive..."
The Joker: "Urk... Ghhhh..."
She slightly opened her eyes.
Marcus: "Move aside..."
He had a breathing device and placed it over her mouth.
The Joker: "Hhhhh... Hhhhh."
Marcus: "Where's the damn ambulance? No wonder people die so quickly around here!"
(Woooo... Woooo... Woooo)
Marcus: "About time... Damn local ambulance service."
Sophie: "Hahh... Everything's going to be alright... Yeah... Yeah..."
She stroked Sandy's head.
Fiona: "Hang in there, Sandy..."
They came out and placed Sandy into the ambulance. It drove away.
Sophie: "Sandy..."
Fiona: "Hahhh... Damn it..."
Marcus: "Hmm."
(Meanwhile)
The Joker: "Hhh..."
She removed the breathing device.
Doctor: "No, you mustn't—"
She stabbed him in the neck.
Doctor: "Aaarghh."
He fell dead to the floor.
The Joker: "Perfect... So... How was it?"
The other doctors removed their masks. They were The Finger and The Glove.
The Glove: "What was the point of all this?"
The Joker: "So they don't suspect a setup... Take me to the hospital. By the way..."
Blood was pouring from her head.
The Joker: "Tell Undertaker that if he ever aims at my beautiful face again, I'll make him pay for it... I killed this doctor out of anger because of him... Hahh... Take the body and hide it... Give it to Undertaker. He knows how to hide corpses without leaving traces."
The Glove: "Okay."
The Finger: "Don't forget, Glove... Take off your doctor clothes. Otherwise it'll look suspicious."
The Glove: "Yeah... Okay."
He got out.
The Finger: "Does it hurt?"
The Joker: "Yeah... It's manageable... The idiot hit my brain. That makes the regeneration much slower than it should be. Not a huge deal, though. He only hit a small part, so it looks like I survived through pure luck... Since I'll be in the hospital for a while and can't leave anytime soon... It means you'll have to handle the rest without me for now. Sorry."
The Finger: "That's not a problem... I can do it without help... Honestly, I think you should rest now and stay out of sight."
The Joker: "You're probably right."
She lay back down on the bed.
The Joker: "Hahh... But it was cute how they reacted... Hehehe... Sophie and Fiona are really cute."
The Finger: "Hmph... Good. Once I get you to the hospital, I'm leaving."
The Joker: "Okay..."
(A few hours later)
Sophie, Fiona, and the others were worried about Sandy.
Rosalie: "We should have known. Damn it..."
Marcus: "Yeah... The bank probably knows too much for those people... Really bad luck that it happened during her shift."
Sophie: "...Do you think she's okay?"
Fiona: "Hmm... I don't know."
Sophie: "Hmm."
Lina: "Miss Sophie..."
Siegfried: "She was shot multiple times... It'll be close."
Marcus: "Yeah... She was lucky the bullet barely missed her brain..."
Sophie: "Hmm."
(Ring)
Sophie: "Ughh... Yes, hello?!"
She answered quickly.
Sophie: "Hmm?... Yeah, we... We called the ambulance... Did she survive?!"
Rosalie: "Put it on speaker."
Sophie: "Oh."
She pressed the button so everyone could hear.
Doctor: "Yes, she survived... Barely. The bullet narrowly missed her brain... She's unconscious and lost a lot of blood... It was really close... But hopefully the worst is over."
Sophie: "Hahhh... Thank you, Doctor."
Doctor: "No problem... But you still can't visit her."
Sophie: "Okay... Yeah... I understand."
She hung up.
Sophie: "Hah."
Fiona: "Ohhh... That's a weight off my chest."
Sophie: "Yeah... Me too."
Rosalie: "The girl was really lucky... I'm glad. She seems like a nice girl."
Sophie: "Yeah, she is."
Fiona: "Too nice."
Sophie: "Hehehe... But she's okay."
Fiona started walking away.
Sophie: "Huh? Where are you going?"
Lina: "Huh?"
Fiona: "To the bank. I want to investigate a few things."
Sophie: "Hmm."
She left without taking anyone with her.
Fiona: "Hmm."
The police were there as well.
Police Officer: "Stop!... Oh, it's you. Dark Umbrella Agent Fiona, right?"
Fiona: "Yes."
Police Officer: "We're still investigating."
Fiona: "Could I ask for a favor? I'd like to investigate myself for a moment... Preferably with nobody else around."
Police Officer: "Sure... If you say so... Since you're a Dark Umbrella agent. Then we'll check the back entrance. Maybe the attacker came from there."
Fiona: "Great idea."
She went inside after the police moved to investigate another area around the bank.
Fiona: "Hmmm... Something... doesn't feel right."
She looked around.
Fiona: "Hmmm... Hahhh..."
She continued investigating.
Fiona: "Why only after she arrived?... Coincidence?... They got the information from the other employee... So is she in danger too?... Maybe I should ask the officer... Something isn't right... Wait... There's a camera over there."
She went to the surveillance room and turned on the equipment.
Fiona: "Let's see... Hmm?... That's yesterday... The day before... And today... Hmmm..."
It was blank.
Fiona: "The camera was turned off exactly when she was shot."
Fiona looked serious.
Fiona: "Hmm... Something tells me I've missed something... Hmmm... Sandy was shot at least six times... Surviving that isn't impossible, but it's rare for someone without abilities or curse powers... So... Hmmm... The ambulance... Arrived faster than it should have... In most cases an ambulance takes ten to fifteen minutes... This one got here in... Eight minutes... And the hospital isn't actually that close... Am I overthinking? Thinking too much? Or... Is something really wrong?... Hmmm... The strange thing is... The bullets aren't here..."
Someone appeared behind her.
Fiona: "Hmm... Officer?"
She was struck in the face.
Fiona: "Urk!"
She fell to the floor.
The Glove: "Hahhhh... You again... You're such a nuisance..."
He pulled out his weapon. It was a large spear.
The Finger: "Stop."
The Glove: "Huh?"
The Finger: "What is this crap now? What are you doing here?"
The Glove: "What does it look like?... Getting rid of her."
The Finger: "Hmmm... Honestly, I understand that... But more incidents like this will only create confusion... As your leader, I say no."
The Glove: "Tssss..."
He approached her.
The Glove: "Hehehe..."
The Finger: "Ughh..."
The Finger quickly walked away.
The Glove: "Huh?... Where did he go? Hi—"
Fiona: "Hey!"
The Glove: "Ugh!"
(Bang!)
He was shot in the head.
The Glove: "Urk..."
He staggered backward.
Fiona: "Well, look at that... You're the one from Demari... Are you... behind all this? You Hunters... Officer?"
She walked outside, but the police officers... were dead.
Fiona: "Hahhh... You damn asshole."
She shot him in the head again.
Fiona: "That definitely won't kill you, you monster... Come with me..."
She grabbed his arm and dragged him along.
The Finger: "Damn it..."
He appeared behind her.
Fiona: "Ughh!"
He covered her mouth.
The Finger: "Shh. Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you... I don't like killing women... You can endure this, right?"
He pressed on her neck until she lost consciousness.
Fiona: "Mmmm..."
She collapsed unconscious onto the ground.
The Finger: "Huhh... That was close."
(A few minutes later)
Sophie: "Fiona! Fiona!!"
Fiona: "Ughh!"
She opened her eyes and saw Sophie looking at her with concern.
Sophie: "Hahh... What are you doing on the ground?!"
Fiona: "What... What happened?... I only remember trying to solve the case."
Sophie: "Hahhh... Looks like the shock made you forget what happened... Hahh... The important thing is that you're okay. I was worried, dummy."
She stroked Fiona's head.
Sophie: "Hahhhh..."
Fiona: "Where am I?"
Sophie: "On the ground near the bank, dummy. Hehe... You took forever to wake up... My foot fell asleep."
Fiona: "Ohh..."
She was lying on Sophie's lap.
Fiona: "Oh... Sorry."
She slowly stood up.
Sophie: "Hmm... Are you sure you can stand?"
Fiona: "Yeah... Urk!"
She nearly fell, but Sophie caught her.
Sophie: "Hey..."
Fiona: "...I just need help walking."
Sophie: "Mhm... Okay."