During the daytime, Detectives Lennie and Anna and the new addition to the team from the K-9 unit, Doggo, arrived at the crime scene. Stepping into the familiar alley, they prepared to reexamine the area. With Doggo by their side, they were ready to approach the investigation with renewed focus and determination.
Doggo began sniffing around the crime scene, his nose diligently scouring every corner for clues. Detectives Lennie and Anna exchanged puzzled looks as they observed his behavior. This was their first time witnessing Doggo in action. They watched anxiously, hoping his sense of smell would lead to something.
Suddenly, Doggo announced that he had picked up the scent of the suspects, but it ceased within the confines of the alley. Detectives Lennie and Anna exchanged bewildered looks, puzzled by the peculiar turn of events. "So the scent of the suspects only ends here, in the alley where the crime took place??" Lennie clarified, his voice tinged with disbelief. Doggo nodded solemnly, his canine intuition offering no further explanation. With the scent trail abruptly ending, Lennie and Anna faced the unsettling realization that their investigation might hit a dead end.
Doggo attempted to reassure them, suggesting they could canvas further and see if he could pick up the suspects' scent somewhere else. Detectives Lennie and Anna nodded, relieved by the prospect of continuing their investigation. Encouraged by Doggo's optimism, they set out to explore other areas, hopeful that they might uncover new leads beyond the confines of the alley.
Early in the afternoon, a young woman hailed a taxi after finishing her shopping at the mall. Settling into the backseat, she glanced at her phone, noticing her mother's missed call. After reassuring her mother she'd be home soon, she ended the call. The ride was peaceful, with only the sound of the engine and occasional horn breaking the silence. Then, out of nowhere, a violent explosion tore through the calm, engulfing the taxi in flames, claiming the lives of the taxi driver and the unknown young woman.
Continuing their canvassing efforts in other areas, Detectives Anna and Lennie, along with Doggo, hit dead ends with no promising leads. Frustrated, they decided to call it quits for the day.
Doggo apologized to the detectives, but Lennie reassured him it was fine. However, their conversation was abruptly interrupted as both Lennie and Anna's beepers sounded simultaneously. Beepers are devices that they wear that alert them to emergencies or urgent cases, demanding their immediate attention.
Upon returning to headquarters, Lieutenant Hodge briefed them on the situation, and they wasted no time heading straight to the crime scene.
As they arrived, greeted by the scene of a taxi blown to bits, they engaged with the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team leader, also known as the bomb squad leader. The leader's assessment was grim; the explosion wasn't triggered by a device but possibly by an individual wielding a special superpower.
"He's at it again," Lennie said, his voice filled with suspense. Anna asked him who he meant, but instead of answering, Lennie reached into his belt pocket and pulled out a remote-like device. With a swift movement, he activated it, projecting an image of a sinister-looking man for Anna to see.
Lennie replied, "We call him Inferno Ghost. He's a well-known assassin who's behind at least a hundred assassinations that we know of within the past 10 years. His ability is volatilokinesis."
Anna asked why he's nicknamed Inferno Ghost. Lennie explained, "Because he kills by exploding his targets and disappears without a trace."
"Wow, that sounds really awful," Anna said. "So we've got two victims killed by a phantom assassin we could never find, and not to mention the incident that may involve Rendgen and HAKER to deal with, What a day…"
"Where are the heroes when you need them?" Lennie expressed with a tired yet sarcastic tone.
In a secluded area surrounded by trees with hardly any buildings in sight, a hidden underground door creaked open, admitting two masked figures. As the door closed behind them, they navigated through a concrete hallway until they reached a sturdy green steel door. Upon opening it, they were met with a sprawling space teeming with a boisterous crowd. At the heart of the room, two individuals engaged in a savage brawl, their bodies covered in blood, within an open ring devoid of any barriers.
As the two masked men strolled across the balcony, they spotted a sharply dressed man with stylish glasses amidst the cheering crowd.
"Yo," one of the masked men called out, tapping the man on the shoulder. "Is the boss here?"
The man in the suit turned to them, a grin spreading across his face. "Ah, he's upstairs," he replied, pointing towards the upper levels of the building.
As they left, the man in the suit continued to cheer on with the crowd.
Approaching the boss's door, one of the masked men gave a gentle knock. From inside, a voice said, "Enter."
Upon entering, they found the boss seated in a chair and a tall female giving him a massage, observing the lively crowd and the ongoing fight displayed on multiple monitors.
"How did it go?" The boss's voice was both raspy and chilling as he posed the question to the two masked men.
Author's Note: "Volatilokinesis" combines "volatility" and "kinesis." It refers to the ability to manipulate the volatility of objects, causing them to explode or combust at will. This power grants the user control over the explosive potential of various materials, making them a formidable force in battle or in other situations where controlled explosions are advantageous. In simple terms, "Volatilokinesis" is the power to make things explode by controlling their volatility.
Extra details: Volatility refers to how easily something can change or explode, like how gasses or chemicals can quickly turn into explosions under the right conditions. So exploding a car might be easy ;)