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"Wait Izumi!" Kundiman stayed the agent. "She's still human. A crazy witch but human, we can't kill her." Plus we won't get paid if she dies! I'm lucky enough that she ate mermaid flesh and didn't die in the fall.

The woman stood up and shook herself up, while staring daggers at the both of them. It was eerie, the way the wound seemed to be healing and bleeding at the same time. Blood covered half of her face and stained the dress she had on. The tight bun she had tilted to one side.

The sound of music coming from somewhere inside the boat broke both their stares. The party was beginning, the rather jazzy band beginning with a lively tune. Donna seemed to realize that she had to be ready for that and stalked off... presumably to clean up.

Kundiman breathed a sigh of relief. She faced Izumi. "I think we need to regroup and share information, this is more complicated thatn I thought. They did not only catch Ariel and ate her, they repacked her and now they want to sell her."

"What's worse is that they'll all want one. There'll be a large scale harvest. What do we do about that?" A voice told them. They turned to face the speaker.

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...some people are only alive because it is illegal to kill them...

Nicky eyed both women warily as he took tiny steps towards them. He was scouring the seas when he heard Kundiman yell. He rushed forward only to see Donna mutating - maybe not exactly mutating, but more like regenerating ... like some species of vampires. She reminded him of someone he knew but that was an entirely different matter for another time.

"Whoa, Nicky did you just see our hostess turned sea witch just now?" Izumi joked.

"I saw her just before she left. We can' just think of pay today ladies. A line has to drawn right here and now." Nicky asserted.

"Wait a minute, it's not as if I was thinking about the money. That bitch ruined my hair and is threatening to wipe out an entire species," Kundiman retorted.

"I know you Kundi, but I need to know where we stand right here and now. Donna will obviously be preparing for her guests right now. We can't let her take the stage. Her guests won't believe her claims as of the moment but once she takes the stage..."

"there'll be no stopping the bloodbath. All these guests have power to do the hunting themselves if they are convinced." Izumi interjected.

"Wait, we need to regroup. Where are the others?" Kundiman demanded.

"I sent Lucien to tag along with Stark, it'll make him buy the Vatican cover even more. Don't involve him now, Kundi - both those factions are trouble to the agency as is. Croix is guarding the stash of weapons. You can grab a few guns when you've met with him," Nicky said particularly eyeing Kundiman who was still clad in her bikini.

"You're one to talk," Kundiman snapped back referring to Nicky who was also clad in his trunks. "This is big. I have to contact the people on what we have to do."

"No, if we take too long Donna will start the show and it'll be hard to deal with the Morgans then. My cabin's nearby remember? I can easily change into something and grab my pistol before you even get to Croix." Nicky put in.

"Nicky, that is not a plan, we need to..."

"Kundi, there's not much time for planning right now. If I stall Donna then we'd have the luxury." Nicky cut in. "Izumi, if you can find Richard and make him indisposed that'd be great."

Izumi nodded but looked hesitantly at Kundiman. Nicky sensing agreement within the group sped off towards the cabins, paying no heed to Kundiman's demands for him to stay put.

The sound of both a general fight and gunfire had been fairly obvious even after the music had started, to the trained ear anyway. Lucien had ignored these as, with the team dispersing around him, he was left leaning on the yacht’s guardrail, examining the passengers on the upper decks. Just behind him, one of the Agency was watching over the stack of weapons, all this going on just out sight of the dozens of rich and famous a few feet above… The Captain sighed, it was just like being on one of his own operations.

He was, of course, on an operation himself anyway. He still wasn’t sure what but that made little difference now that the interruption of meeting this Agency and observing the ‘sushi’ transfer taking place. Something about all of this was a little fishy, and it wasn’t just the fact that there were literally dozens of people onboard a relatively small ship all illegally poaching sea-creatures. He frowned and glanced to one side where yet another Agency representative had been left, presumably, to keep watch and ensure that SORA didn’t try to take their own limelight out of whatever was going on. A private Agency versus the world’s most secretive intelligence task force… Now there was one for the bookies.

In his casual clothing, Lucien realised just how easily he could slip into the crowds of the wealthy clientele and simply vanish from the sigh of his watcher and he steadily started to slip away, foot by foot, down the edge of the yacht until a door was within reach. Wherever it led, it was preferable to being held as a semi-prisoner out here that was for sure.

Metal touched metal with a gentle ringing sound as the door swung open and the Captain stepped through into what at first glance appeared to be a kitchen. A clean-scrubbed, white and metallic finish glared back in a brilliant light as Lucien turned around on the spot. About halfway through he noticed that just one of the work surfaces was coated in what could only be Clingfilm and he steadily, the officer edged forwards until the pungent odour of dead fish was almost unbearable. “Sushi.” Despite the lack of people around his tone was sarcastic, there was no way that this could be identified as raw seafood, and this was most definitely not the standard yacht galley.

He frowned and, completing the turn, found himself face to face with a man who looked too intelligent to be a chef but was carrying a large carving knife. The Captain smiled somewhat pathetically and looked up into the eyes of the towering figure for a moment.

“You’re not going to believe me if I tell you I was looking for a restroom, are you?”

“No.” The reply was simple and accompanied by an intimidating twirl of the large blade held in the over-sized, probably-not-a-chef’s hand. The Captain started to back towards the door on the wall opposite to the one through which he had entered, at the same time the other figure grew closer towards him. The Captain’s hand eased slowly up the back of leg as he held his gaze with the other man, a few seconds later and his grip tightened around the edge of the Kahr PM, the compact weapon he had concealed under his shirt earlier that morning. It was only just as the Captain was about to draw his weapon, the words ‘armed police’ forming in his throat, that he recognised the figure in front of him.

“What the hell are you doing here?...Actually, no, don’t answer that. Just tell me if I’m right about something here.” The Captain side-stepped his old acquaintance and took a seat on the edge of one of the counters. “I’ve walked in on an illegal poaching ring that’s selling this meat to the rich morons up on deck, the Agency have been ‘hired’ to remove the problem of our friends in the sea but are in fact only here so that they can be got rid of. Does that sound about right to you?”

"Quick on the uptake as always." Loren muttered in a predictably dry, sarcastic tone. His face was twisted into a crooked grin, his flourishing the large knife in his hand clearly having been nothing more than something for his own entertainment value. Soon as he'd finished his little twirling movement, though, he stowed the oversized blade in a rather heavy looking sheath of sorts attached to a belt loop on his slightly torn, black jeans.

"I shoulda figured I'd run into you here, nothing attracts Lucien Hawker faster than some mythical crap I'm not even sure I believe, eh?"
Loren let out a breif chuckle and hoisted himself up onto a counter a short ways away from his law enforcing acquaintance. People had likened him to Lucien before in previous situations, even confused them for partners in some sort of business, but no one seemed to see the fine distinction between the two men. Lucien upheld the law, protected the innocent... Well, he was a cop for god's sake.

Loren, on the flip side, or 'Blaze' as he was known by some for his pyromaniacal obsession, was intimately tied to the underworld - something Lucien managed to blissfully ignore nine times out of ten. He wasn't so much trying to uphold the law as he was simply interested in checking out something that might be worth a thrill. Granted, he also had a sense of decency, and if there was anything shady indeed going on there, he would be more than happy to help stop it. There was a big difference between an honest criminal and a bastard, Loren hated the latter, they made him look bad.

"We keep ending up in the same places, y'know. Doesn't it bug you at all that you've become associated by most with an extremely dangerous, wanted psychopath?" He continued, though it seemed more rhetorical than anything, because he didn't give time for an answer to be offered before whipping his blade out again and beginning to twirl it between his fingers with an accuracy that, had he been lacking, would guarentee his fingers be severed from his hand. It was a nervous habit of sorts for him, though right now he wasn't so much nervous as he was bored, and waiting.

"Anyways, that all sounds pretty accurate. Personally, all I heard was talk of man eating mermaids, and I like my women a little violent, but hey, we all have our own agendas, right?"

As soon as Noelle and Seth came back from the car, the clients' ship had begun it's voyage and was already some ways ahead of them.

Ri had been clutching her shirt to herself the whole time their leader had passed by. Kundiman's surprise jump had made her grab for it earlier. Thankfully, she hadn't seen. Not even when the ship that rescued her passed by heading for the docks. Kundiman being Kundiman had waved them that up and down fingers motion wave that reminded Ri of herself dusting off food powder from her own fingers.

After checking that Kundiman was too far away to notice Ri in her gift, Ri lowered the shirt from her chest. Sara started their own boat and soon enough, the agents were catching up to the bigger vessel. Ri went to sit at the back of the boat. The others too were seated by the stern watching the ship or the sea.

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Sometime later, Ri was feeling murderous. She going to murder the two. Firing their guns in the open, in daylight and within earshot of their clients' boat was not a good thing to do. She had limitless patience most times, but right now, she felt she was being tested by some malevolent trickster somewhere way up there.

Her phone had rang earlier with Nicky talking about some person and about the guns Croix had brought on board. Why'd he bring it out in the open anyway?

Typing up the papers for said guns, she was getting even more annoyed when Nicky stopped speaking and seemed to be talking back with the dude who had caught Croix and was also speaking back at Nick.

Men! Ri was praying for them to stop when she heard Kundiman's voice through the now forgotten phone. Ending the call herself, Ri had been startled with the sudden gunfire. Sara, Noelle and Alicia were also staring at the two men. Their entire species are so damn annoying!

Closing her laptop and putting it aside, Ri was about to go to them when a sudden splash came. Her jaw dropped. The figure that had jumped over the water was a thing to behold, blue skin and all, but the eerie face and razor sharp teeth made the effect more in the macabre and horror category than beautiful fantasy.

Damn! A mermaid! A mermaid with ugly sharp teeth! Ri turned and ran to get her own weapon from somewhere on the deck. The agency always had them on hand just in case no matter where the agents where even if some of them, including herself, had little to no training with firearms. Where the hell is the friggin' gun?!

A bump to the boat made her slip. Things weren't getting any better. Where the hell is the gun? Ri could hear the others shouting at the mermaids (does that even help?) or was it at each other?

Another hit, this time stronger than the last and Ri found herself flying away from the ammunition she'd finally located. Hitting the side of the boat, Ri felt her breath knocked out of her. She could, however, see that everyone was hanging on to something.

Awkwardly standing, she didn't see the dark shadows beneath the water arrowing itself at the boat. Barely hearing the splashes when they rammed the boat again, Ri felt only the pull on her hair and arm before falling into the water.

The sudden plunge left her no time to take a deep breath and she struggled to get free. Biting at the hand that held her and momentarily feeling disgust at what she just did, Ri used the mermaid as a launch pad and propelled herself to the surface.

Breaking water, Ri gulped in as much air as she could, coughing and gasping at the water she'd accidentally swallowed. She could see the others leaning over the side of the boat, holding out their hands to her. The rest were aiming at the water but weren't firing.

She swam hard for the boat. Between strokes and kicking away hands that grabbed at her, Ri shouted, "Just fire! Dammit!"

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Oh God everything was going wrong. The clients were killing then eating mermaids. Now the mermaids were eating them back but that was something to be expected, what would you do when people killed off your family or something? Kill them too right? Or in this case, eat them too. Kundiman shuddered and walked cautiously towards the cabin.

In their cabin she flicked open the switch to connect them to the other side. She stared at the computer screen who was showing an empty room. She pouted. Ri told her that the switch automatically connected them and that she would always be around to answer things. How come no one was answering? She wasn't hiding the fact that she wasn't wearing the swim suit right?

Kundiman sat on the bed and flipped open her phone and dialled. It wasn't connecting. "Nick! Can you call Ri? She's not answering her phone!" she called out. "Has anyone seen Croix? The knight and the squire? Izumi?" She called out from the bed but everyone seemed preoccupied.

She huffed. Everything was starting to be like their previous mission. God, please, let no one die and get injured this time. Please. You've scared me enough already, you've let them ruin this vacation already, please don't let everything be ugly too.

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...some people are only alive because it is illegal to kill them...

A sweat drop formed on Izumi's head. " Y-You want me to go... distract... Richard Morgan? "

She shuddered at the idea at even going near the man. Izumi looked at Kundi and sighed. " Fine. Fine. If only you weren't my boss Marie, I wouldn't do this. " The maid walked off to look for Richard Morgan, the husband of Donna Morgan.

Izumi finally found Richard talking to a bunch of clients. She scanned the area for something suitable to distract her target. One of the rich visitors happened to have a number of maids along with him. Izumi made a rather sickly smile. She waved at one of the rather cute looking maid girls and the girl went to her. Izumi then grabbed her around the corner and knocked her out.

A minute later, Izumi popped out of the corner, wearing a maid outfit. She took out a pair of glasses and wore them. Her hair, whatever was part was long enough, was braided and adorned with ribbons. The maid Izumi then walked over to a tray of drinks and took them. She headed for Richard and purposely tripped near him.

Richard Morgan looked at the maid who fell beside him. Izumi's plan was working. She placed her hands near her eyes, rubbing them. Tears ran down her cheeks as she looked at Richard. " I-I'm s-sorry sir. I didn't mean to trip. I'll go get something to clean this up. "

Izumi stood up and fell down. " Ouch... I think I sprained my leg. " She lifted her skirt up and rubbed her leg. Most of the men around her started to turn red in the face at the sight, Richard being one of them. Before anyone else could step in to help, Richard did and carried Izumi.

He smiled at Izumi and looked at her. " Don't worry young lady. I'll get you to a medical facility in tis boat. " With that, he walked off to bring Izumi to this so called " medical facility ".

The man brought Izumi to his room and placed her on the bed. Richard went into the bathroom to get something there. Izumi frowned and looked at the window then at her watch. " Just a few more minutes... Damn it Kundi. If you weren't my boss... "

She looked around the room. It was a fairly cozy place except for the stench of sea water and the thought of people eating mermaid flesh inside. She stood up and looked around the room. It was taking Richard some time to take his medicine kit. Izumi sat back down bored. The bathroom door suddenly opened and Richard came out with ice. Except for a few problems, the ice was in a cooler with a champagne inside and the man was wearing a bathrobe.

" My dear. Here's the medicine I've brought for you. " He winked at Izumi. A feeling of dread filled the maid. This man was no gentleman. He was a sex hungry maniac. Richard smiled at her. " Don't worry about my wife. She won't know a thing and I can give you anything you want. " He placed the champagne and sat on the bed. Richard slowly crawled towards Izumi...

A few happy minutes later...

Izumi came out of the room, her hair a unkempt and her clothes a bit wrinkled. She did a little stretch before dumping the maid costume and returned to her suit. The cleaner fixed her hair, clapped her hand, and went off.

Inside the room, Richard Morgan had his mouth gagged and was suspended in the ceiling by wires which were tied to nothing but a hundred knives.

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Nicky quickly changed into a luxurious tuxedo he had brought specifically for this trip. He swept his hair back and brushed it twice before leaning over to holster a pistol in his pant leg. He checked the mirror twice and glanced at his watch. Three minutes – to fully dress and look snazzy. Not bad.

Still one thing kept bothering him throughout the entire process. It wasn’t about how to take down Donna but rather on how to torture the damn bitch. She wasn’t just taking one person down but actually taking down a whole species. In his book, that was liable for major retribution. And thanks to her dietary habits, she could take on a lot punishment. She was asking for it.

The question for later would be about that line. When and where is the line crossed and can the line be crossed with Donna. Nicky knew a number of ways to make people talk, more so with supernatural creatures but Donna was one haughty bitch and he actually didn’t know whether he knew enough. Fortunately, the agency had Croix in its employ. When you throw scars, black, and a whip in the mix, you know you’re getting a sadist or a sadist in the making. Nicky could count on Croix for that specialty.

Nicky tugged at his jacket before resuming the hunt. Donna was an easy target given her penchant for leaving droplets of blood on the floor. The trail actually ran past his room. But even if it wasn’t there, the destination was pretty obvious.

Hostesses can’t be expected to woo audiences especially the snobby kind with blood stained dresses. So naturally she had to change into something more agreeable. And how else could the gabby, crabby crone be satisfied other than with dresses of her own choosing? Nicky followed the trail into the Morgan’s cabin and carefully peered into the window.

Donna was there and was apparently in a new skimpy outfit. And as much as Nicky wished that the view was enchanting, the dress didn’t exactly complement her chunky figure. She was adjusting the straps of her dress to compensate for the lopsided manner of her breasts. Nicky shook on the spot. No wonder Richard was married to the woman.

She was busy re-applying her make-up when Nicky burst through the door. Donna shrieked when lipstick smudged skin inches from her lip.

“You idiot! What are you doing here? I pay you to secure the boat and not the other way around.” She turned around furious. Nicky slid his hand into his coat brought out a pistol which he pointed at her.

“I’m sorry ma’am. I just found the assignment somehow unsatisfying and not conducive to our company’s policies so I’m afraid we have to renegotiate our mutual goals.” Nicky said nonchalantly.

“Idiots! The whole lot of you. We’re your employers get it. Do anything funny and you don’t get paid, ass…” She snapped.

“Listen, you bitch! Oh, I’m sorry … ma’am, I could just blow your head off right now and we could both see how effective mermaid flesh really is or we could talk reasonably here,” Nicky asserted calmly.

“All right, we’ll talk but put your little toy down.” Donna raised her arms in surrender. Nicky slowly went towards her slowly lowering his weapon along the way.

“That’s better, now let me just…” Nicky rammed the hilt of the pistol on her head causing the woman to collapse on the floor. “Make sure that everything’s set up for negotiation,” Nicky uttered.

Nicky slid the pistol into his coat and dialed Croix’s number. The hunter might be of help in changing the woman’s mind. In the meantime, Nicky had to carry the body elsewhere.

Things just weren't going well for Croix. First some douchebag jumps up from a jetty to finger his big guns, then Kundiman got into a scuffle with the target. At least he knew where the vial was, now. After his run in with Izumi and Nick, Croix stole into the party and mingled his way through the crowd, smiling and clicking. He continued this until he reached the bathroom. Heading into a pristine stall in the empty bathroom, Croix knelt down and pressed into his left ear.

"Zero, I made it to the location alright. The Helsing kids don't suspect a thing," Croix spoke softly into his secure line, untraceable to outside listeners. A gruff voice sounded on the other side.

"Good. What's your status?"

"Well, for one, this inhibitor belt makes me move like a goddamn snail. What the hell were you eggheads thinking?!" Croix growled in rage, still taking care to keep his voice down.

"I'm sorry, Croix. We're going to have to keep that on you a little longer. You can complete your mission with it, can't you?"

A brief pause.

"Croix?"

"Yes, Zero, I can. What, is my loyalty in question?" Croix continued to growl.

"It's not that, Croix. We just need to take a few...precautions. Besides, we can't risk being discovered prematurely. Now, the mission - Do you have the sample?"

"The PR lady took it from the target for me. It shouldn't be too hard to get it from her. I just need to find her."

"The copter will be there in fifteen minutes. If anyone can make the jump, it's you. And remember - don't draw any unnecessary attention. Got it?"

With that, the channel closed. Zero was gone, and Croix was left with his mission. Betraying his new comrades to further his goals. Well, 'betray' was such a harsh word. In a broad view, one could say that the Agency and Croix were working towards similar goals, but the Agency was flawed in their undertaking. How could they hope to fight against supernatural forces with mortal flesh?

Croix looked down on the belt, buried under his waist wrapped whip. He couldn't see it, but he could hear its soft hum, and almost feel its infernal, blinking light. It stood there, sapping his strength by the second. He couldn't move like he used to with it on, but maybe Zero was right. Maybe it was for the best. However, Croix was certain he could have inhibited himself by power of will alone. Maybe the boys back at central didn't want to take that chance, though.

Adjusting his cloak and washing his hands, Croix walked out of the bathroom and caught a familiar sight. A blushing maid, fanning her leg with a pulled up skirt. That was Izumi, alright. Modest as a nun. The slayer watched from the crowd as one suit picked her up in a very chivalrous manner, then carried her off. Croix stalked after them up until they entered a rather lavish-looking room. The slayer leaned casually next to the door, expecting Izumi to come out a few minutes later. And come out she did.

The maid's hair was scuffed, and her clothes a bit unkempt. Croix grinned.

"Catching a little carnal pleasure while the rest of us are on duty? Don't worry," Croix said with a wink. "I won't tell.'

"Speaking of which, do you know where Kundiman is?" As Croix spoke, he noticed his phone vibrating in his pocket. Briefly laying out his pocket to see the screen, he turned it off when he saw that Nick was calling. His bet was on Izumi.

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I'm just a guy who's ill at ease and only knows how to write.

Madness - simply no way to live.

Izumi smirked at Croix's comment. " I was just doing what Kundi asked. " She opened the door showing a tied up Richard Morgan suspended on the ceiling. " So, what brings you here, Mr. Slayer with a large gun? Did Kundi call again? "

Before Croix could answer, Izumi's cellphone rang. She took out a gray cellphone with a miniature accessory of the hero in D*** Ma* Cr* hanging at the phone's side.

" Hello? "

( the following dialog is in Japanese, kay?)
A female voice answered at the other line in Japanese. " Nee-san! This is Hitomi! Me, Hayate, and Manami-nee are here in Chicago. "

" Oh. Mom and Dad finally gave you a vacation? That's good. Just don't get into trouble till I come back. You do have my apartment key right? "

" Yup. You have a really neath place here nee-san. Where are you anyways? "

" I'm at work. My boss needed me here in the Caribbean. "

" Carrie bean? Hey. Just a heads up, I heard there were lots of shark attacks there. Be care full Izumi-nee. "

" Yes. I'll keep that in mind. "

" And don't get into the water. You know how much of an iron hammer you are. "

" Yes Hitomi. I know that. I have to go. Work called. " Izumi clicked her cellphone off.

She turned towards Croix. " Yes Croix? "

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