「Good grief, it feels like I am an actor in a B-class movie here.」
While Emily and others were in the middle of discussion, Kimberly who was leaning on the wall at the corridor while staring at his smartphone was letting out a chuckle that he couldn't keep restraining inside himself. It seemed that what he was watching in the smartphone was something that really pleased him.
Kimberly moved his fingers quickly across the display several times. Then the display displayed Kimberly's bank account. When he saw the amount of money that was displayed there, he let out his chuckle once more. Seen from the side he really looked like a dangerous character. How his expression was dyed with greed that was unthinkable coming from an agent of the security bureau also encouraged such atmosphere.
「This much just from acting a little as agent. Really, this make me feels that risking my life fighting criminals is really stupid.」
Kimberly put back his smartphone inside his pocket while saying that to himself. At the same time, he recalled his schedule from here on inside his head. ――Due to his real employer's request, it would be a schedule where he would risk his life kidnapping Emily Grant and then bet his life to pull the carpet from under security bureau.
Kimberly was making show of standing guard outside the room where Emily and others were inside while actually he was confirming his betrayal toward his comrades and his criminal act. It was at that time, *kii* the door's room made a sound and opened.
Dennis and Rod came out from inside.
「Hm? What's the matter? It will still be a while until the pick-up time you know?」
「We are thinking to make the final check of the things we are going to bring.」
「Sheesh, you guys already made that check a lot wasn't it?」
「That's just our nature. This kind of confirmation won't be enough no matter how many times you do it.」
Dennis shrugged while pushing up his glasses sharply. Kimberly nodded「Is that so……」to that before he turned his gaze to Rod at the side and asked「And you?」.
「It's this for me.」
「Smoking huh……. Well, fine. But, don't move away too far okay? After all you guys are also protection target here.」
「Yes sir―」
Rod jokingly returned a salute while lazily dangling the cigar he grasped in his fingertips. Like that, he and Dennis disappeared together further in the corridor while receiving Kimberly's gaze.
Of course, Dennis and Rod's words to Kimberly were lies. They were planning to raise commotion after this so that it would be easier for Emily and Professor Down to escape. The specific plan was to raise a commotion nearby the laboratory where【Berserk】was in safekeeping by taking other harmful chemicals before yelling「We made a mistake and it got scattered~」.
Of course, what they would scatter was harmless chemical, but if they made commotion saying that 'It would affect life if you don't take medicine right away!', the agents of security bureau that couldn't confirm the authenticity should be panicked. The other would use that opening to try escaping from the research facility.
Surely the bodyguards from security bureau would never think that the people who requested protection by themselves would actually escape by their own decision. On top of that, this research building was already like the back garden for the researchers who often spent the majority of their day inside. There was a high possibility they would be able to escape.
And, at that time the door of the room opened once more. Who came out were Sam and Jessica. Jessica was leaning coquettishly on Sam's arm, generously pressing her voluptuous body that peeked out from her clothes that had intense exposure.
「So you guys too……what's your business?」
Kimberly talked to them while still leaning on the wall.
「Ee~, you understand just by looking right~? We are going to where it will be just the two of us~. It seems like it will be difficult in various things after this~, so while we still can~」
「Ye, yeah, that's right. Si, sir, it's fine, just for a bit right?」
Jessica was leaning even more on Sam while her way of talking was stretching even longer. Sam's eyes were swimming around, but he somehow responded to Kimberly.
In reality, Jessica and Sam were just friend, they weren't lover or anything, they were just getting out of the room to be distraction like Dennis and Rod. They pretended to be lovers with the motive of trying to find an agent somewhere and trick him into something like a blackmail scene using beautiful girl.
However, for Sam it was unexpected how passionate (?) the acting of Jessica was. His unrest was fierce from her way of talking that was completely different from usual and the soft sensation that his arm was feeling.
「……Yes, yes. Do whatever you like.」
「Ye~s, we will do whatever we li~ke. Rather, I'll be made to do whatever Sam li~ke」
「……」
Jessica grinned widely while waving her hand at Kimberly who gave his permission with an exasperated expression. Sam was feeling a bit of terror from Jessica's acting while nodding wordlessly.
Like that, Jessica and Sam's figure vanished at the turn of the corridor.
Kimberly kept leaning on the wall with his arm crossed while waiting silently until the time came.
Some times after that, when Kimberly was starting to want for at least a glass of coffee, an abnormal event happened.
*Bii―, bii―, bii―, bii―!!*
A warning sound suddenly echoed. Kimberly made a faint smile and then he brought his mouth closer to the communication device attached on his sleeve.
「This is Warren. All members, situation report.」
Kimberly wasn't shaken. Everything was just as planned. He had already seen through the ulterior motive of the students exiting the room. Therefore, he expected for the report that reached him from each bodyguard to be「Nothing strange」or「The students are~」.
Yes, everything was just as planned――was how it should be.
「? Oi, Clayton, Muller. Respond. Oi, what's wrong?」
All bodyguards that reported to him said there was nothing strange. Kimberly thought that there would be reports coming from at least two place telling him that some kind of commotion happened, but he got doubtful when until the end all the reports that he got told him nothing strange happened.
Furthermore, there was no report at all coming from the last two people he called. There was no reaction no matter how much he called into their communication device.
「……Oi oi. Don't tell me, they got caught off guard by mere students.」
Kimberly's cheeks convulsed from imagining the unimaginable development. But, the moment he noticed that the place that the two bodyguards he lost contact with was where【Berserk】was deposited, his face complexion changed right away.
「-, Dickson! Russell! Come here right away! Take over me for guarding the missy!」
『Haa? Warren, what are you saying? Just now two of the kids came here. They are surprised by the alarm but――』
「Just leave that alone! A different lot might be coming! 【Berserk】is stolen right now!」
『Wha-, wait a second! Something like that is not in the pla――』
「There ain't any time for chatter! I'm going to take a look at the place of Clayton and Muller! Just in case of the worst case, you mustn't let the missy got snatched away!」
Kimberly roared angrily. Right after that, the door of the room opened slightly and Professor Down's face appeared from there.
「Did something happen? We――」
「There might be someone infiltrating. I'm putting two guards here, so don't come out of the room.」
「No, but――」
Kimberly turned his back toward Professor Down who was going to object while saying this.
「Someone is aiming for【Berserk】!」
「!? Co, could it be, Dennis and others」
「No! Those guys are confirmed to be in another place! That's why I'm panicked here. Just listen, stay quietly inside the room!」
「Go, got it.」
Professor Down returned inside the room while feeling shaken. Right after that, two bodyguards dressed as garbage man came running.
Kimberly entrusted them to be the guard in that place before running through the corridor with fierce momentum.
「Dammit all. Please let it be just some kind of mistake. My livelihood depend in this plan here!」
Kimberly was cursing while rushing up the emergency stair. 【Berserk】was four floor above――inside the chemicals vault that was strictly managed at the tenth floor, but if there was intruder, then there was high possibility they would use the emergency stair, and this stair was also simply the closest to Kimberly's position.
The vault at the tenth floor could only be opened using ID card, fingerprint confirmation, twelve digit password, and voice recognition, those four locks. In addition there was also security camera.
Therefore, it was unthinkable that the drug could be stolen in so short time but……
Although they weren't agent that received training, but the men standing guard there were muscular and armed, yet they might be neutralized already without even given time for calling help.
If, this wasn't some kind of mistake, and there was really intruder, then that intruder must be a considerably skilled one.
Kimberly was feeling cold sweat while rushing through three floors in one go, and stepped on the stair landing between the ninth and tenth floor. It was at that moment,
「Oops」
「A? You……」
Ahead of the gaze of the shaken Kimberly, was a man that was just going to go down the stair from tenth floor. It was a man without any peculiar trait. He looked like he was in his twenty or even at his forty. He looked flat, medium build body, and brown hair that wasn't long or short. His suits didn't look like high-class or a cheap one. And then, a doctor robe.
The man raised a really light voice when he saw Kimberly. If they met in a normal situation, then Kimberly would surely think that this man was a researcher here, he might even say「Excuse me」while passing through the man and like that he wouldn't even recall back about the man for the second time in the future.
But,
「You, what is inside that suitcase?」
The lack of any peculiarity, the handy suitcase, and then Kimberly's instinct as an agent, made him be conscious of the man.
「It's just a research document though? Rather, I should be the one asking who are you? I have never seen your face here, and you also don't look like a researcher……eh, don't tell me you are related with this alarm? Could it be, I'm in a pinch here?」
The man's face was convulsing while he took a step back on the stair without turning around. Looking from the man's speech and gesture, in a glance he looked like a simple researcher encountering someone suspicious.
「I am an agent from security bureau. There is a possibility that an important medicine is stolen. Sorry, but I'll confirm the content of that case.」
「No, no, it's impossible to let outside person to see research data I told you. How suspicious, are you really someone from security bureau?」
If Kimberly took a step, the man would also take a step back. Kimberly narrowed his eyes slightly at the man's attitude, then he said「I'll show you my badge then」while his hand moved to take out his proof of identification as security bureau agent from his breast pocket……
In order to took out and fired a gun.
「Ah maan, this person is sharp. You are really a dangerous man, trying to shoot someone so suddenly like that.」
「……You yourself, you bastard ain't normal. Who and where are you from?」
Kimberly's gun muzzle, was pointed at the temple of the man from point-blank range. At the same time, the neck of Kimberly who had the distance closed instantly got a knife pressed on there.
Yes, the man in doctor robe closed the distance faster than Kimberly could take out his gun and shoot on an unstable place like the stair. Furthermore, surprisingly that knife flew out from the man's sleeve, it was obviously a knife with launching mechanism.
Kimberly felt cold sweat drenching himself. He planned to be a wanted man in this case anyway, so he wouldn't shirk from cleaning up one or two researchers that might be unrelated rather than risking his important money tree got stolen. But, when the lid was opened, what he was confronting was actually someone far more skilled than him.
'This is bad, bad, bad' His instinct was ringing the alarm bell loudly like that.
In an instant,
「Warren!」
「Kimberly-」
Voices that called Kimberly's name and gunshots roared. Bodyguard agents had gathered below. The man said「Whoops」still with a light tone while instantly pulling his body back. The bullets hit the wall a slight distance away. The shooters didn't plan to hit right from the start, they fired only to separate the man away from Kimberly.
The man seemed to give up going down the stair, he tried to climb up the stair.
「I won't let you-!」
Kimberly pulled his gun trigger continuously. The fired bullets passed through beside the man who twisted his body right away and opened up holes on the wall.
「Are you sane!? You are firing at someone carrying a case filled with hazardous substance here!」
「That thing cannot infect through air! Even if anyone get hit with droplets, if it's just a little then it cannot cause secondary infection! It's better to destroy it rather than have it stolen!」
Indeed, 【Berserk】wouldn't infect someone without injection or contact, regarding secondary infection from a person that had been【Berserkification】, if the intake amount was only a little, then even if other person came into contact with body fluids of the victim then they wouldn't get infected.
Even so, Kimberly who dared to brave the danger of scattering around the extremely dangerous chemicals caused the man's expression to cramp a bit while he finally took out a gun from his breast pocket and returned fire. While Kimberly leaped aside, two bodyguard agents that had climbed up the stair got their legs shot through and they crumbled down.
Kimberly cursed while aiming his gun muzzle at the man, but right after that, his eyes opened wide.
「Are you bastard ninja!?」
The man unexpectedly jumped off the stair, he then kicked on the handrail and leaped further and passed through above Kimberly's head. Furthermore, he then kicked on the wall to turn around and attacked Kimberly.
Kimberly changed the direction of his gun, but the man's flying kick hit Kimberly's chest faster. An impact that caused him to hallucinate his ribs breaking made the air in his lung to be forcefully ejected out. Kimberly groaned「Gahah」and got blown away.
In no time Kimberly was sent flying and he would be struck on the stair behind where he would be neutralized, that was how it appeared it would turn out……but, Kimberly was a former military and an expert at military hand-to-hand fighting. He immediately discarded his gun and caught the kicking leg, dragging the opponent into the momentum that sent him flying.
「Guah」
「-kh!?」
The man made Kimberly as his stepping stool and somehow evaded being struck on the stair, but his balance was broken and he fell.
Even so, Kimberly still got the bigger damage, and different from the man who immediately stood up, Kimberly became unable to move from the impact.
The man shrugged as though to say 'oh dear' before trying to leave that place.
It was at that time. An incident that could only be said as a devil's work happened in succession, which would lead to tragedy.
「Agent Warren!」
「This bastard! That's Emily's! Return it!」
Dennis and Rod appeared. They heard the alarm and saw the agents going off somewhere. They became worried that【Berserk】would be stolen again and came here to look at the situation, using elevator they came to the tenth floor and there they listened at gunshots from the stair. And then, the two caught sight at the man's figure and guessed the situation. When they saw Kimberly and other agents were defeated, their sense of justice came out. It came out fiercely.
The hot-blooded Rod leaped to the man, while Dennis threw the harmless but smelly chemical they had prepared.
Naturally, the man easily kicked away Rod, but the chemical vial accurately hit the ceiling and broke apart, throwing out its offensive smell. Naturally, the liquid fell like shower at the man below, Kimberly, and the agents.
The man immediately lifted his suitcase over his head to protect his body from the unknown chemical.
Instantly, along with a single gunshot, the suitcase was shot and sent flying from his hand. The one firing was one of the agent that was shot in the leg and fell. That agent was crawling slowly toward his gun that was sent flying, before his hand finally reached it and he aimed at the head of the man whose attention was taken by Rod and Dennis.
Therefore, it was a coincidence that it was the suitcase that was hit. Rather it was because the man was holding the suitcase with his hand lowered that the agent aimed at the man's head. But, the unexpected situation where a chemical was thrown at the ceiling caused the man to make an unforeseen move.
And then, there was one more devilish coincidence. The bullet hit the lock of the suitcase with pinpoint accuracy.
As the result, the suitcase that had its lock broken flew away from the man's hand, it crashed on the wall which caused the suitcase to be opened.
Yes, the vial of【Berserk】that was put inside the suitcase, was exposed to the open.
The people in that place sent their gaze pursuing the falling suitcase in slow motion. Obeying gravity, 【Berserk】flew out from the suitcase that fell on the ground. There were two vials in the suitcase.
One vial flew out from the impact and broke at the center of the landing stair. The content scattered out.
「Don't get hit!」
「tsu」
Kimberly roared angrily. Ahead of his gaze was the figure of the other agent that was still lying on the floor.
The agent covered his face with his arms right away but……he was too late.
「a, a? Gii! aAAAAA―――!!」
The splash of【Berserk】flew into the agent's eye and mouth, a beat later, the agent screamed thunderously, *beki baki goki* his body began to transform along with raw sounds.
「Now that it's like this, he is beyond help, eh.」
The man, with expression as though he was chewing something bitter aimed his gun muzzle at the head of the enlarging agent. And then, he fired without hesitation and blew away the head. If the person only came into contact with small amount of splash, then there would be no problem if he was killed before transforming.
The agent easily crumbled down.
Dennis and Rod were greatly shaken seeing a person died before their eyes, even so they felt relieve the same like Kimberly and the man that the Berserkification was stopped.
It was at that moment,
――aAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!
The first cry of birth came from downstairs. The birth cry of Berserk.
「-, the other one!?」
「Not here……shit-, it fell down! We got too distracted with this one!」
Yes, the other vial wasn't anywhere here.
The other vial had fell downstairs from the gap between the handrail's railing. And then, midway it crashed on the railing and its content was thrown out. If it was just that then there would be no problem. However, in a stroke of bad luck, no, perhaps in a sense it ought to be said as inevitability, downstairs there were a lot of people that stuck out their head from the handrail to look upstairs.
The alarm and the gunshots that came from upstairs. There was no way that those would go unnoticed by the students and professors who were staying behind in the research building, the security guards, and others.
That was why, the drug that gave birth to berserker raining down from upstairs showered them plenty. It wasn't in the level of splash anymore. It was the whole content of a bottle. Even though, it actually didn't even take a full injection at that time of【Berserk Case】.
「Aa, geez-. This is really an awful failure-. The luck of me today is undoubtedly the worst!」
The man cursed out like that while jumping down the stairs.
「Guh, fuck-. Stop damnit!」
Kimberly's face distorted due to the damage that was still remaining in his body while standing up somehow, he then chased after the man by rushing down the stair.
「Rod! We are going back!」
「Eh? A, Dennis? But, something like this……」
「Get a hold of yourself! We have to let everyone know! Besides, that man might be going to where Emily is!」
「ts. Tha, that's right.」
Dennis scolded the greatly shaken Rod and made him stood up.
And then, they turned a pained expression at the agent's remain that got his head blown off, before they rushed out toward the room where Emily and others were waiting
While listening to the countless roars and continuous gunfire resounding downstairs.
AN: Thank you very much for reading this every time.
Thank you very much too for the thoughts, opinions, and reports about misspelling and omitted words.
Even though I planned to finish the reminiscence at two chapters……
Seriously I got no time for writing. This time it stop at incomplete point too
It will be a bit harsh for the update for the next Saturday.