Akira City 3 Years Ago

“I still say this was a mistake. If they find out, our whole plan is toast.” Cassandra’s voice was firm, devoid of all emotion as she spoke to the man sitting across from her. It was about 2:30 in the afternoon, and she had gotten a call about 2 hours earlier from the man sitting in front of her. He was probably in his early fifties, with dark hair and wrinkles around his eyes that showed his age. His expression showed clearly that he was not impressed nor amused. 

“We needed to speak, you are getting way off track!” he hissed as Cassandra rolled her eyes. 

“You and I never have, and never will, see eye to eye on this, Dad. Now listen carefully. To get what we want, we have to get Haruka on our side.” 

The man who was Cassandra’s father narrowed his eyes at his daughter. “He’ll never join us—he has given his loyalty to that disgusting organization!” 

Cassandra merely rolled her eyes while taking a bite out of the hamburger she had ordered for lunch. “A little more time and I can convince him,” she said. A smirk crossed the corner of her lips as she removed her jacket showing off her bust. 

With another roll of his eyes the man grabbed a fry from the basket in front of him. “Your womanly wiles won’t get you everything. If only you had learned that earlier.” 

With a huff she stood up from her seat, grabbing her burger and stuffing the last bit into her mouth. “Thanks for the invite, Dad, it’s been a real blast,” she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “Oh, and by the way, you think I’m crazy, but who’s the one going along with the plan of the filth of the planet?” she snarled.

Mr. Thomson stood up and struck Cassandra across the face. Rubbing her cheek, she glared at the man before grabbing her coat and walking out of the restaurant. She clenched her fists at her sides. I’ll show that old coot, she thought to herself as got in her car and headed back to the office. 

The VHA

It was a good thing the restaurant was only about a five-minute drive from the office. Ms. Hinata had called her in for some last-minute briefings before sending them overseas. She knocked gently on the door as she regained her composure, silently reminding herself that it wasn’t her old man she was dealing with now. At least for the moment, she needed to stay on this woman’s good side. 

“Come in,” she heard Ms. Hinata’s voice call out from the other side of the door. As she opened it, she saw Ms. Hinata shut the laptop on her desk.

“Good, you made it,” she said, looking up at the younger woman. “Akio should be here anytime, but I need you to take care of one more mission before we send you on your way, can you do that?” Ms. Hinata asked, her voice calm and smooth.

“Of course Ma’am, whatever you need,” Cassandra answered. One more mission and we’ll be out of here, then he’ll be in my world. 

Snapping out of her thoughts, she noticed Ms. Hinata shuffling in a drawer. 

“Permission to speak freely Ma’am?” Cassandra asked. Ms. Hinata gave a small nod. “You really need to get more organized.” 

The older woman picked her head up and handed Cassandra a manila coloured folder. “Everything is in its place, Ms. Thomson. One person’s mess is another person’s order, remember that.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Cassandra said with a nod. 

“Now, head outside. When Akio arrives, I want to speak with him privately before I send you two on your way.” Cassandra tucked the folder under her arm, turned around, and went out the door. 

Mai Hinata stood up from her desk and walked over to the door, checking to make sure no one was around. She picked up a black cellphone with what looked like an extended battery attached and dialed a number, putting it to her ear and waiting. 

“You’re outside, right?” She listened for a moment before hanging up the phone and putting it into the same drawer the folder had been in before. A few seconds later there was a knock on the door and a man about Mai’s age walked in. 

“You’re sure she’s not within earshot anymore?” 

Mai gave a nod. “Yes, Klein, what did you find out?” 

He sighed, rubbing his eyes as he sat down in the chair in front of her desk. “She met with him. We can pretty much guarantee she’s not truly on our side. We need to move forward and tell Akio the situation.” 

Mai drummed her fingers on the desk as she leaned back in her chair. “He’s coming in about 10 minutes—I’ll explain the situation to him then.” 

The man nodded, getting to his feet and walking to the door. “Do it fast,” he said as he went out, shutting the door behind him. 

***

It was just as Mai had said. Cassandra was waiting for him outside the building with a manila folder in her hand. Before she noticed him though, Akio could see that Cassandra had a nervous expression on her face. 

“Hey, so what’s the deal—another mission before the transfer?” 

Quickly she closed the folder. “Huh? Oh, yeah…I guess.” 

Akio raised his eyebrow slightly. “What have we got, then?” 

She shoved the folder into his chest as she turned and headed for the car. “Vampiric cult, trying to get humans and other supernaturals to conform to their cause. And they’re kidnapping in order to do it.” 

Akio tucked the folder under his arm. “Okay then, whose car are we taking, and where are we going?”

With a smirk she turned to look at him with her gray orbs. “Mine. We need to show a little class. I hope you know how to play the cards, buddy-boy—we’re going to the Casino. You have a tux, right? According to the file, 21-year-olds are being taken after playing a specific poker game. We have to look the part.” 

Akio shook his head. “I only found out about the mission an hour ago, but there’s a department store right next door that takes care of the agency pretty well. We can rent clothes from there.” 

Opening the door, Cassandra got in before stretching her arms. “Good, I can’t believe I didn’t think about it before. I even read the file before you...” 

Closing his door Akio crossed his arms looking at her. “You do seem like you’re having an off afternoon.” 

Cassandra sighed, gripping the steering wheel. “My father is in town. He’s stuck in the old ways that haven’t worked for like 100 years. Dealing with him is basically the equivalent of pulling teeth at the dentist.” She looked down at the key slot for the engine before starting up the car and pulling out of the parking lot. “Come on, let’s get this over with,” she said as she put the address into the GPS.

Akio really wasn’t sure what was going on. At that moment, the way she was talking, she seemed sincere. He was honestly starting to believe that maybe Ms. Hinata and her resource had been wrong. He shook his head. He couldn’t afford to overlook any possibility. 

“Hey, space cadet, we’re almost there so get your head on straight.” 

Akio shook his head again as the car came to a stop in front of the department store. 

“You coming or what?” Cassandra asked as she got out of the car. He nodded, jogging over to her. They entered the store, which was a small place—probably no more than a few hundred square feet—but it had clothes lined up for almost every occasion. 

“Hmmm...a cocktail dress should do the trick,” Cassandra said before turning to Akio. “You make sure you find a tux that will make me proud to have you as my date, you got it big boy?” she asked as she pushed her bust up against his chest then gave him a sneaky smirk and walked off. He would have liked to say it never affected him when she did things like that, but the truth was, despite his cool composure, each time it left him a little flustered. 

Sighing, he started down the aisles looking for a good suit. He ran his fingers along different types of fabric, from soft material to the more heavy-duty cotton. He pushed a few different ones across the row before he finally found a tux that he thought would look perfect.

It was a double button jacket with a thin, expensive, dark-red pocket handkerchief and bow tie. He picked it up and looked around for the checkout counter. Once he found it, he went up and handed the suit to the cashier.

“The shadows hide many secrets,” he said to her. The woman nodded, pushing a few buttons on the cash register to fake a transaction. She handed him a bag from under the counter that would keep the suit from getting wrinkled. “Thanks. There’s also a woman that came with me, about my age. Make sure she gets her dress.” The woman nodded and got on her walky-talky. 

“Done,” the woman said with a smile. 

“Thank you,” he said, walking towards the bathroom to change. 

Just as he was about to enter he saw Cassandra coming towards him. Apparently, she had already changed because she was wearing a strapless, dark-red cocktail dress that went down to about knee length. 

How did she do that? he thought. Even though they had looked for their outfits separately, she had still managed to get a dress that matched his tux perfectly. He waved as he entered the men’s room. Once inside, he donned the tuxedo and then with one more look in the mirror he walked out of the bathroom, joining Cassandra at her side. "Ready?" 

She looked him over before giving a satisfied grin. “Let’s go,” she said, wrapping her arm around his as they walked out of the store and across to the casino. “You ready for this?” Cassandra asked as they stood in front of the building. “Follow my lead.” Akio nodded as Cassandra turned, pushing the door open and walking inside with him following right behind.

The inside of the casino did not disappoint, looking like a mansion lined up with slot machines and card tables. As they entered, Akio noticed there was more of a sway in Cassandra’s step, her hips swinging back and forth. He got in close and whispered, “Okay, we’re headed toward the elevator. The report says that there should be a man with a tattoo of a dragon on his left eyebrow.” 

They walked together to the elevator, which was located all the way at the other end of the casino. They pushed past a few nicely dressed people as they finally reached the elevator doors, and Akio pressed the button to call it down to them. 

“It really is a nice-looking place. I mean, the golden sheen on the walls, and the white chandeliers with actual crystal hangings look great. When the laws changed, I guess they really did their best for this place,” Akio said. 

“Come on, stay focused,” Cassandra said as the doors slid open. Even the elevator was large with lots of room. As they entered, the doors slid closed and Cassandra pressed the basement button. The elevator jolted a bit as it started its descent, and then again when it stopped and the doors slid open. 

This level was much different than the level above. For one thing, it was darker. The lights seemed to have either been turned down, or the bulbs they used had a much lower wattage. With every step Akio became more and more uneasy, as though a shadow was following them. He had been fine on the top level, but now... He felt a lump form in his throat as they continued down the hall. Suddenly they saw a figure in dark glasses round the corner.

Wait...dim lights, men in dark glasses...damnit, this is...

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his lower abdomen. He gasped and dropped to his knees, clutching his stomach as red crimson liquid poured from him. He could feel a pressure in his lungs as he collapsed, and the last thing he saw before his vision completely went black was Cassandra, standing near the tall stranger, a dagger in her hand covered in blood.