The sound of gunfire stopped as instructions came from a man on the side after the fifth bullet was fired.
"Stop!"
Noel stopped, and removed the earplugs he had been wearing.
"Try not to shake your hands when you shoot!" pleaded Gregory.
"It's hard," Noel said.
Gregory sighed lightly in response. "Give it to me!"
Noel handed over the gun, and Gregory started aiming with one hand. "Calm yourself, try not to shake your hand, focus on aiming at your target and shoot."
In one shot Gregory managed to hit the bull's eye. Noel immediately wore an amazed expression for a few moments. "It's still not much, for beginners it will be more difficult if the target moves."
It had been a week since Noel had practiced under Gregory's guidance. He was able to shoot at the target even though there were some misses. Noel's development in the field of shooting was a little lacking. When compared to fighting, Noel's progress was quite rapid. He was able to nimbly dodge and parry every offensive Gregory gave him. However, for offense Noel had a weakness in power.
"Are we going to fight someone in the future?"
"Certainly so."
"I don't think I'll be able to do it." Noel looked down to disguise the doubtful expression on his face.
***
Yuri Viktorovich walked through the corridors of Mount Sinai Hospitals to a room most people avoided, the morgue. He bumped into a coroner. "Do you know where the body of the man who was lifted from the riverbed two weeks ago is?" he asked the officer.
The corpse guard man seemed to think, and said, "Yes, come with me."
When Yuri arrived at the morgue, a man about the same age as him was waiting. It was Dmitry Vorobev, a colleague of police detective Yuri Viktorovich.
The man lay in a metal drawer in the frozen morgue. Dark-haired and in his late thirties, his body was bloated, some parts like fingers and toes and the surface of the skin had begun to disintegrate from being submerged in the water for so long.
Yuri was used to seeing many bodies of murder victims who died in various ways, so he didn't feel sick with disgust or anything like that. Even so, Yuri is still a human being who sometimes feels imagined by the condition of the corpses he sees. Once he found the condition of a corpse that was horrible, the stomach was gaping, with intestines that stretched out until the ribs were visible, the body around the thighs arms and face were perforated, releasing maggots that wriggled inside the rotten body, the animal was eating it from the inside.
Well it can't be helped, it's part of the job, Yuri thought.
"I've examined the body, and found no signs of physical bruising, only a single gunshot wound, can a single gunshot kill a person?" Dmitry started the conversation.
"Probably so, I have also read the report from the autopsy of this man, The results say the culprit only shot him with one bullet right in the vital organs, after death this man was thrown into the river along with the car belonging to the perpetrator." Yuri explained. "Have you seen this man before?" He asked Dmitry.
"No, but he's a member of the mafia."
Yuri sighed as he shook his head slowly. "More mafia... more mafia."
"Other members have already examined the crime scene where a brutal shooting took place at the Cock and Ball club. All those found dead there were members of a mafia group led by Vincent Basciano."
"Vincent Basciano? Shouldn't he be ..."
"He's free."
Yuri was surprised to hear Dmitry's words.
"After going to prison for several years for murder, smuggling illegal firearms and heroin into Europe, a year ago he was released unconditionally. I don't know who released him, but the law can be bought these days, it's no wonder he got off so easily."
"Were there any victims other than their group?" Yuri asked for confirmation.
"No, those who died were all Donnano's mafia bodyguards, including this man."
Yuri seemed to think for a moment until finally a conjecture came to his mind. "This murder seems to have been planned."
"How is that possible? We don't know, it could be a coincidence." Dmitry was still in disbelief.
"Coincidence or not, we won't know the answer until it's all over."
Yuri gasped as his cell phone vibrated, a second after the man answered the call, a voice rang out.
"I've found the information."
"Alright we'll be right back at the office," Yuri replied with a sigh.
"What happened?" Dmitry asked.
Yuri put the phone back in his pocket. "Gina already got the information about them, let's go back!" he said as he turned away and left the room, followed by Dmitry with his mouth forming an O.
***
"We've gotten information from the owner of the super car that was sunk into the river with a corpse inside."
In a room that was the criminal headquarters in Manhattan, a young woman in her late twenties with an identification card that read 'Gina Martinez' on her chest was explaining with several sheets of paper on her desk and hands.
"Who's the owner?" asked Dmitry.
Gina handed over a sheet of documents along with two photos of a man she had been holding. "This is data information about them, you know? I had a hard time looking for it."
Yuri looked at the person in the photo, then read the profile. "Nathaniel Baluev and Gregory Illéa?" His eyes narrowed as he looked at the photo of the two men named Nathaniel and Gregory.
"A Sheriff on patrol claimed to have seen them the morning before the night of the shooter incident, but..." the woman's words trailed off.
"But what?" Yuri lifted her face to stare at Gina with a puzzled look.
"The fingerprints on the car don't match the fingerprints of the two people on this document."
"No way..."
"One more fact, the apartment on the fifteenth floor where the shooting occurred yesterday is the apartment where they have been living for the past three years." Dmitry said this time talking about the incident two weeks ago, because at that time he went straight to the scene when a woman called 911.
"What about the CCTV at the club?" Yuri put the papers back on the table.
"Shot, the perpetrator shot the CCTV from afar before he entered the club," Gina replied.
"Well, well, well... it looks like we'll be investigating the case of a professional killer this time." Dmitry said while clapping his hands, he would get a troublesome task this time.
After hearing Dmitry Vorobev's words, Yuri immediately massaged his forehead, his brain still focused on focusing on this case. There was silence for a while before Yuri's voice was heard sighing. "Alright, I'm investigating this person named Nathaniel to further this case."
Hearing the decision of his partner, Dmitry also sighed, which meant that he would return home with his partner.
The evening Noel returned to the apartment where he and Gregory lived, Nate was surprised by a man standing waiting for him in the main room.
The stranger was sitting on the couch staring at the television showing Happy Three Friends, a carton of strawberry-flavored milk in hand.
Not long after, Gregory followed, appearing from behind Noel. "Why don't you come straight in?" His forehead frowned at Noel who was silent in the doorway, while his attention was fixed on the sofa. Following the direction of Noel's gaze, surprise seemed to fill Gregory's facial expression although it did not last long.
"Forst!" Gregory exclaimed in annoyance at the person he called. A person who could be considered an intruder for entering someone's apartment secretly. Meanwhile, the one who was called only showed apathy. He who was busy sitting on the sofa ignored the approaching steps, his attention was only focused on the Happy Three Friends cartoon that was on television.
"How did you get in?" Gregory asked, once he was standing next to the sofa Igor was sitting on.
Instead of answering, the man said, "Don't look at me like you're looking at a robber, isn't this not the first time I've broken into an apartment?" The contents of the strawberry-flavored milk box were then sipped.
"At the very least, can you let me know when you want to come?!
"Do I have to? Didn't you say, just make yourself at home—" his words were cut off as soon as he saw the figure of a cute man standing looking at him behind Gregory, unconsciously his eyebrows arched slightly, there was an overlapping expression of surprise and confusion. "Ah forgive me for almost forgetting your existence, Senior Nate." Igor Forst looked intensely at Noel as he grinned.
In Igor Forst's tone, Noel found a hint of admiration and fear.
Oh, even this charcoal-black haired man with pale white skin and thick eyebrows called him senior. Conscious of his role as Nate, Noel immediately returned the gaze of the man who was a few inches shorter than him with an expression that was as cold as possible. And there was a staring match for a while, they stared without blinking at each other. Noel who felt his eyes starting to burn tried to hold on until after the next three seconds he could no longer blink.
Gregory who witnessed it just commented 'silly' inwardly.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Noel finally opened his voice.
"You seem different from usual, tell me... did you really get caught?" Squinting, Igor asked between his still smirking lips.
Caught? Noel thought for a moment and finally he remembered, he remembered this man. Noel was sure that he was the one who called him when he first woke up in Nate's body. "If I get caught, who's in front of you now?"
Igor just nodded silently after Gregory finally finished. "So, Forst. Do you have any important information to tell me?"
Recalling his purpose, the man grinned and handed something to the man he thought was Nate.
"What's this?" Noel asked.
"A banquet invitation from a Chinese company, Bai Group." Igor replied, the man frowning as Noel accepted somewhat hesitantly. "I thought you'd come to get information on the people who are coming there." he continued.
"Apparently not, if it's an invitation organised by one of the owners of a big company, we can't dismiss the probability that there will be some state security people there." Gregory asserts.
Igor replied, "I don't think so," He shook his head. "Did you forget that the Bai Group has also cooperated with the underworld, there's a good chance that people who are his colleagues from the mafia will also come. So there's no way they'll use the State Dog's security."
While Igor explained, Noel opened the invitation and read. "The event is next week."
"So you guys are going?" Igor asked, causing Noel and Gregory to glance at each other.
"We're going."
*
The front of the building, a branch of Chinese electronics company Bai Group, was already filled with a line of luxury cars and a red carpet laid out several miles long. Both sides were packed with journalists who had come to cover the event.
Noel thought Gregory would pull up in front of them, and they would get out of the car, walking on the red carpet waving like celebrities, illuminated by the white light from the reporters' cameras. That thought vanished as soon as Gregory continued to drive the car around the corner to use another road that was as far away from the reporters as possible.
The two cars entered the basement of a large parking lot in a magnificent building that stood next to the Bai Group building. The basement of the building looked more crowded than usual. Right at block 23, near an intersection not far from the exit, Gregory stopped the car because he thought the area looked deserted.
After turning off the engine, the man glanced at the person sitting next to him while exhaling heavily. To be honest, Gregory was a little hesitant to bring Noel along. The three weeks of training he had given him was not enough time to take him straight into the field. Gregory tried to make sure that everything he was going to do with Noel would go smoothly.
"So, which way are we going?" Noel looked around.
Gregory seemed to think about something a bit and started guessing. "I'm sure there will be many people who were once Bai Group's co-directors coming to tonight's event."
"Did they identify Nate? Does this guy have many acquaintances?" asked Noel as he pointed to his face, Nate's face.
"Not really, but try not to be recognised."
"Do I have to wear a mask?" Noel asked again innocently, making Gregory laugh. "No need, if anyone recognises you you just need to be apathetic and shoo them away. Trust me, it'll help you handle situations while wearing Nate's identity."
Noel nodded. "Alright."
"After entering the lobby we will split up. Try not to be seen by Walther Zwick if that man does come to this party, do you understand?"
"I understand." Noel tried to build morale.
"Good, thirty minutes from now we will meet at this place." Gregory felt a little relieved to see the enthusiasm that Noel showed.
The two walked into the crowded hotel lobby. Gregory showed his and Noel's ID cards to a large man who was the guard there. Of course, the cards had been carefully forged, and signed off on the guest register. Once they got in, without a word, Gregory signaled with his finger that it was time to split up, leaving Noel still staring at his departure.
During these three weeks, Noel had been taught a lot about how to shoot, infiltrate, mingle with people at an event including events like this. Many important figures were here now, but the most important thing was that he had to find Walther Zwick first. In the midst of this tense scene, Noel was like a newly rich man wandering around alone. He glanced at the faces of everyone who was there. However, he didn't find anyone he was looking for.
Squatting in the corner of the hall, his eyes scanned the neatly and elegantly dressed guests. All the men wore after fancy suits, and the women wore elegant and sexy dresses. Almost every one of them held champagne in one hand. Noel wanted to try the drink too, but when he remembered that in his previous life he was intolerant of alcohol, he could only refuse when a woman in a waitress uniform offered him a drink.
Noel was still inexperienced with this kind of situation. Searching for someone in a crowd was difficult, let alone searching while hiding from the person you were looking for was many times more difficult. As he stepped lightly through the crowd, his eyes carefully swept the surroundings, scrutinizing that there was no one who might recognize Nate other than Walther.
As he looked around, Noel spotted Gregory in the distance. The man was enjoying a conversation with a beautiful woman. Gregory saw Noel waving at him, but he tried not to respond and continued talking to the woman. Not getting a response back, Noel just shrugged his shoulders, heading towards the row of tables with various foods neatly arranged on them. He popped a grape into his mouth until a startled exclamation was heard.
"Director Zwick!"
Hearing that, Noel accidentally took out the grapes that were already in his mouth. Walther Zwick arrived, wearing a black suit with neatly combed hair. His arrival was highlighted by dozens of cameras like a rising celebrity. While everyone else was mostly clamoring to the front to interview take pictures or just to see the current Director of Zwick and Sons, Noel was deliberately inching backwards to hide himself in the crowd.
From the side, Noel could hear some beautiful women commenting on Walther's figure which they thought was handsome, charismatic and perfect. Like a fangirl looking at her favorite idol. After answering some media and reporters with a faint smile, Walther left the crowd accompanied by the screams of the women.
Noel quietly followed Walther from behind as he secured himself behind a table occasionally ducking between guests. As Walther walked into the hotel corridor it became increasingly difficult for Noel to hide himself. And that forced him to keep a few meters away from the man. Until finally Walther entered a room where several people were waiting for his arrival.
Because his stalking of Walther had been going so well up to this point, Noel had forgotten that he had to contact Gregory when he found the man he was spying on.
Noel peeked through the crack of the open door, he couldn't hear what topic Walther was talking about with some people there. However, he thought it must be something important. After casting his eyes around the room, Noel cheered inwardly as his attention found a bookshelf not far away. It was safe enough to hide and listen to the topic the people were talking about. Just as Noel was about to step towards the row of shelves, Walther turned to head for the door.
Panic setting in, Noel quickly turned around, walking away before Walther could see him. However, just as he turned around, Noel accidentally bumped into a figure and fell down. But the figure he hit managed to hold his balance so he only took a few steps back. Noel looked up to find the figure he had bumped into looking at him meaningfully.
The man stood up and asked, "Are you okay?"
Noel couldn't continue his question when he realized who he had hit. It was a teenage boy, Noel remembered this boy, the boy who had hit him in front of the Time Square area.
"There you are, Rolan." A baritone sounded from behind Noel.
"Walther ..."
Hearing his name being called, Walther's attention turned to the man who had just said his name. Seeing who had come to follow him, the corners of Walther's lips were immediately drawn upwards in a grin.
"Looks like we have a special guest tonight."
Noel's gaze shifted to the teenager called Rolan. He didn't know how long it had been since the teen had grabbed his wrist, but now it was too late for Noel to run.
"Long time no see, Nate," Rolan greeted, flashing his biggest smile.
[]