Beastars: A Symphony of Life

Chapter 68: Meetings For The Future

"I will add that to our calendar," Azuki said. "Just to double check and make sure I heard properly. The twenty-fifth of next month?"

She had been calling old contacts and family friends, trying to set up meetings for both her and Louis. They needed allies and partners if they were going to rebuild a business. The new D.A. was persecuting the few remaining board members for conspiracy, kidnapping, money laundering and tax evasion. So far there was no evidence to hold the remaining members on such charges, but he would find them. Louis had been able to avoid the accusations due to the fact he honestly had no idea what was happening until a few weeks ago. The CEO was shouldering most of the charges, and rather well Louis thought. He did have a degree in law, so he knew his way around a courtroom but the former chairman couldn't help worrying for his board members. Shukishi Yamamura was relentless and determined to sweep the streets clean of both his business partners and the Jade Hybrids. The civet and the oryx would have many faceoffs in the future, Louis was sure.

"Perfect, we'll see you then," Azuki continued. "Thank you. Take care."

She hung up the phone and turned to Louis.

"That was the CEO of Moonlit Media," she said. "We have an appointment scheduled for the twenty-fifth next month at twelve forty-five. It was the earliest they'd see us."

"Also gives them time to see out the court's verdict and deny us if possible," Louis responded. He was being very pessimistic about all this. Sure they were lucky to be having meetings, but he was sure it was all just a ploy by the companies. Just watch, if one board member was found guilty the majority of their contacts would pull away and claim they overscheduled, or something like that.

"It's a start," she said. "I've got one more number to call then my list is done. How's yours coming along?"

"I already called all of them," Louis said. He was surprised at how many people Azuki actually knew. It was most likely due to the fact she got out and socialized more than he did. Her friend group also must have a few contacts of their own. The wonders of networking.

Azuki dialed a number and held the mobile device to her ear.

"I'm going to go grab the mail," Louis said, standing. He walked out the door of their apartment and turned down the hallway. His request to have the protective custody officer taken off him was accepted by the chief of police. She would need all the men she could get, and it seemed pointless to have one guard look after him when the damage was done. Razor hadn't expressed any interest in him after the massacres, so it seemed a safely reasonable request.

He took the elevator down to the ground floor. And stood alone in his thoughts. It would feel weird to not take on Adler for an entire week. He didn't know if he would be able to suppress his alter ego, now that his brain had been wired into a schedule. He remembered the night two, almost three weeks ago. He should've gone out, but didn't, and he almost lost control. He just needed to reassure himself that he was Louis, not Adler. The elevator dinged and he stepped into the lobby, walking up to the mailboxes. He pulled the key from his pocket and unlocked the little door, pulling it open. A letter was all that sat in there. He pulled it out and looked at it. In blue pen, in a handwriting all too familiar to him, was his name. No return address, and no sense of what was inside, aside from the metal blade he felt through the paper. It was at this point he became distinctly aware of the feeling he was being watched. A deep, primal instinct specific to herbivores. He closed the mailbox, keeping his composure, and turned his back to the wall of little doors.

There was only one other person in the room. They sat on a window sill and looked at him through sunglasses, which he took off with leopard print hands to reveal his predatory pupils. He smirked a little through his mask before standing and walking towards him.