Beastars: A Symphony of Life

Chapter 116: One Fateful Night, One Decision

"My men will be in place when you give the signal," Masumi told him over the phone. "Let's hope this ends tonight."

"It will," Adler answered. "One way or another. We will not fail."

"I've heard that before," the horse retorted.

Adler remained silent, not caring for the police chief's cheek.

"Just do your part and I'll do mine," he said.

"Let us hope we meet under calmer circumstances," she said before Adler hung up.

He put the phone down and looked at the suit in the armoire. The storage unit had kept their word on their policy. He paid, and they held his property with zero questions. The vigilante looked at his own sagging form in the wooden closet. Juno was being driven to the pick-up site by Yuta. Adler would join them once he was prepared. Maybe not join, but follow them. Then again, Juno would be in a car with strangers, possible criminals. Louis didn't want to seem over protective, but he didn't feel okay leaving her alone with unknowns.

Adler snatched up his uniform and pulled it on. He strapped the sword to his back and holstered the gun behind his hip. He loaded up on throwing knives and resupplied his small, homemade first aid kit. He looped his grappling hook and cable through its loop and readjusted his prosthetic. He took up the mask and placed it over his face, clamping the bottom jaw shut and locking it in place on his head. He pulled on the wide brimmed hat and felt the power surge through him. This was ending. For real. Tonight. Even if he died in the process, Adler would kill Razor if that's what it came to. He breathed deeply and stepped from the storage unit. He closed the door and locked it, standing up straight and looking to motion in his right peripheral. Another customer of the storage facility just looked in stunned silence at the vigilante before him.

Adler raised a finger to the teeth of the mask with a grim 'hush' look. The iguana nodded and the deer spun to the fire exit out the window. He climbed up to the roof and looked over the city as the sun set, casting purples, oranges, reds, yellows and blues against the sky. He looked at the watch on his wrist. He had thirty minutes to make it to the pick up point before he lost his chance to follow the limousine. He threw his grappling hook and jumped into a swing to the next rooftop.

~~~~~

Legoshi looked at his reflection in the window and loosened the collar of the buttoned shirt. It was a tad bit too small, but manageable. He looked himself up and down. He looked good. The black suit actually looked good on him. It felt a bit odd that it was Razor's suit, his scent was all over it and that made his skin crawl. He reached up and loosened the strap of the muzzle that ran across the back of his head. It was biting into his skin. He looked into the reflection again and reached through the metal cage, lifting his jowl and picking something from in between his teeth.

He was the first one at the pick up spot, so he was just standing around awkwardly. He could smell the police force. They were keeping their distance, but were at the ready if something went wrong. Legoshi wasn't sure of who else to expect, but he felt out of place. Even though no one was there yet. What made it even weirder was that Legoshi and Razor had only met once, and the wolf had almost been killed at that meeting. Knowing their shared father didn't help ease things in his mind. And the fact that Razor was now inviting him to a private event seemed out of place for the hybrid serial terrorist. But Legoshi knew the real reason he was being invited. Razor had a pest he needed to get rid of, and his half brother, who had a connection to said problem, was pest control. Haru's kidnapping was just a catalyst he was taking advantage of.

The sound of a car pulling up caught Legoshi's attention and he watched the dark grey sedan pull up behind him in the window's reflection. A sheep stepped from the driver's side and walked over to open the rear door on the sidewalk side. As soon as the door opened, the scent caught his nose.