Dean packed his backpack. He wore the ballistic vest right beneath his white shirt so no one would notice. He also hid a pistol right on a concealable pocket of his academy jacket and put a razor blade right beneath his shoes. No one had ever searched him, so it would be a safe bet, more or less.
Other than that, it was just business as usual with Orion and Andre being unusually close to him as he walked towards the military academy. Ever since the delivery, they became close. Both because they wanted to protect Dean and the other was because Dean could protect them.
"Dude, I don't think you need to be that close to me," Dean said to Andre.
"Oh, we need to, or you'll get shot again," Andre teased him.
"Man, don't jinx me," Dean replied.
"BANG!" Someone put his finger right behind Dean's coat.
In reflex, Dean put his right hand into his coat pocket and almost pulled the pistol out until he knew who pulled that kind of prank. It was none other than Aveline, that person that seemed to be Andre's in another form.
Dean took a deep breath. He almost killed an innocent friend of his. He could have sworn more pranks like that and he could accidentally kill someone in the school from his paranoia alone.
"Morning, Dean," Aveline said.
Dean couldn't control his breathing. He was smiling, but he was panicked as well. Not because he couldn't react to the threat, but the fact that he reacted to the false threat kept him on the edge. "Morning, Aveline." He pulled his hand out of his coat's pocket, slowly.
'Dean, you need to lax a bit, damn,' Myra suddenly appeared again, this time, she was on his right side, as if they were walking together to the academy. He didn't need to pull his gun this time. Cathleen had suddenly appeared too many damn times for his standard.
'How can I relax?' Dean asked Cathleen.
'Take a deep breath or something. I don't know, I ain't a consultant. I know about your power and your goal, not your mental health state.'
'Thank fucking you.'
'You're welcome,' Myra disappeared into thin air again.
Dean walked towards the academy as nothing happened. Still, with an unhealed hole in his chest that was covered with a bandage, Dean was still pretty much in minor pain. Not that kind that burns your chest, but definitely was annoying. He didn't dare to touch it with a healing spell either, he could end up jeopardizing the whole fix.
Dean just sighed, accepting his current fate. As long as he didn't have the evidence that Mick was the shooter or the opportunity to ambush Mick without his own escort, he could forget the idea of safety in the academy. Safety was not possible at this point. Right now, only one person he could reliably ask for safety, his senior, the newly promoted Corporal Adams.
=============
Adams and Dean arranged a meeting in the empty classroom right after the class ended, just before Dean went into his patrol routine. He wanted to know what Adams knew and Adams would be able to help Dean get back at his own killer.
Adams was pretty much expecting Dean for his help, considering that the teachers weren't exactly military personnel and the military police were far too stretched for this kind of ordeal. They already had their hands full with other stuff, let them do it and let Dean handle this thing.
"Yeah, I understand about your concern, at the very least, now the police got their hang of things and they indeed asked the military to kindly back up and let them do their thing," Adams said.
"Still, not the MP?" Dean asked.
"MP also took part in this, but the homicide unit in the police department led the investigation while the MP would be there to make sure that no military secret suddenly leaked out of nowhere," Adams said.
"Is that so, sir?" Dean asked.
"I think so, yeah. Still, I really feel bad for your shooting. Though, I got a leak that someone barged into the principal's office around a week ago, right before your murder attempt. There was nothing stolen, but thinking about it, they weren't after anything but a piece of a formal envelope from the 120th," Adams said.
It made sense then. Someone forged a letter, send it to Dean and Dean would gladly accept that since he was really hunting for a scholarship to the medical school and that scholarship just happened to be directed towards the medical school.
He needed to take a look at a letter more carefully in the future. He neither wanted to get killed nor miss any scholarship just because of his overly careful attitude. Even though he wore a ballistic vest at the moment, he still needed to be careful of bullets.
As far as Dean knew, there might be a scope pointed right on his head at the moment and all of this meeting with Corporal Adams was an ambush opportunity for all that Dean cared about, to be honest.
"How is that even possible in the first place?" Dean asked Adams.
"Most likely, someone who benefits from your death," Adams answered.
"Mick?" Dean mentioned a name.
"He has his motive, but his alibi is quite solid. When you are killed, Mick was in his apartment according to his servants. So, pretty much, he is untouchable at this point," Adams said.
"Thank you, Corporal, I really appreciate it," Dean sighed since there was nothing he could do about Mick.
"No problem. By the way, remember, meet me at the park at 1800 hours. You want to continue duty for today, right?" Adams asked.
"Yes sir," Dean said.
"I'll take my leave then."
Adams stood up from the chair and left the classroom. Dean then sighed again in the loneliness. And where the hell was Orion? Dean just gave him the money to buy himself a cup of coffee alongside two other cups for both Dean and Adams.
'Investigation going nowhere?' Myra appeared out of nowhere again.
Dean sighed, it looked like the only advisor was Myra, 'Yeah, more or less. The investigation is going nowhere at this point. Now, almighty demon lord, do you have any suggestion?' Dean asked.
'Well, I'll say we kill him,' Cathleen suggested.
'Even if I can, it doesn't mean I should, understand?' Dean asked.
'Wait, I'll have an idea.'
[Gain Information]
My guess? You should ask Mick's servant about his whereabouts when he is not around his apartment. You need to get one of his maids to spill the beans and record it before bringing the evidence to the MP.
[Ask For Admissible Evidence] [0/1]
Rewards: +2,000 XP | +10 Skill Points
'You really want me to go black-ops, do you?' Dean asked Cathleen.
'I want to see what you're capable of, Dean Barnett,' Cathleen added.
'For this one, I'll take it. His servant would be equally scared, and if I manage to put up an intimidating aura, I think I can handle it. I think I know where he lives as well,' Dean said.
'Finally, I know you'll come to your senses.'
Myra disappeared into thin air again as Orion entered the room with three cups of cold coffee from the nearest coffee shop. He seemed to be confused when he only saw Dean inside of that room. He put the three cups on the table.
"Where's Corporal Adams?" Orion asked.
"Gone, call Andre, let's drink." Dean opened a straw and put it into that coffee cup.
"Right, on it." Orion pulled his smartphone from his pocket.
Orion and Dean waited in the classroom until Andre came just for the sake of free coffee that Orion bought with Dean's money. Well, it was not like Dean wouldn't do the same if Andre did the same thing. Still, this was a better place to ask.
"Andre, we need to talk," Dean said.
"Go ahead, I'm all ears."
"Listen, can you search for any address of Mick's servant?" Dean asked.
"Sure, but for what? Don't tell me that one of them is involved," Andre said.
"They can be an accessory to murder, that's what I know, but I don't have the evidence about it. For that, I need a witness, at the very least, something credible that can convince the MP to search his apartment," Dean said.
"Risky territory, I like it. Sure, I'll get to it. Do you think Mick is the perpetrator?" Andre asked.
"Highly likely, I remember hearing his voice at that room, alongside with the voice of some people before my body is thrown into the ocean. The shooter was a Menkaid, not Mick," Dean said.
"Very well. I'll keep my eyes on it. Dean, take a rest, we'll handle this for you," Andre said.
"Yeah, you still have business with Adams, right?" Orion asked.
Dean nodded, "Thanks, guys."