DANGER ZONE | Kenzou Tenma

Chapter 7: Old and new Names

A couple of days later, I arrived in Frankfurt, hoping to find new clues on the case with Doctor Tenma. A couple of Turkish people had told me where I needed to go to find the Baby, who Roberto had mentioned, so I disguised as a prostitute again to enter the bar - the bar named Candy.

I crossed the street, intending to enter the bar. But when I was about to open the door, I heard someone gagging in the narrow alleyway next to the building. Taking a step back, I looked who it was, and I was shocked when I saw who was coughing so much.

"Oh my. Are you okay?"

I walked towards the child. He wiped his mouth, then looked at me. "Y-Yeah, it's alright." His breath smelled like alcohol. "Were you at the bar just now?" He looked away and nodded. "These drinks are disgusting. I don't understand how adults can drink something like this..." I chuckled. "That's what I thought too, before I became an adult." I offered him my hand. "Let's go find your parents. It's late already, and this area isn't safe at all." "I don't have parents." I looked at him in confusion as he continued. "But I have Tenma. He went missing all of a sudden... I don't know where he went from here." His words caught me by surprise. "Tenma, you say? Do you mean Doctor Tenma?"

The boy spotted a wooden box near us, then pulled a jacket out of it. "This is Tenma's! He must be here somewhere. Tenma, where did you go?"

He proceeded to walk down the stairs behind the building. "Don't go there, this is dangerous." I followed him quickly, attempting to change his mind. Finally, he turned to me. But when he looked at me again, his eyes widened. "Behind you, Miss!" I was caught off guard. That was all I could remember, and everything faded to black.

When I next woke up, the first sun rays shone through the window. Slowly, I opened my eyes, accustoming to the light. I was laying on something soft and comfortable. When I sat up, I realised it was a bed, and that I was sitting in a luxurious room of a building I had never entered by myself. Alarmed, I slid my hand underneath my dress, feeling if my gun was still there. Surprisingly, it was - but where was I? And where was the boy from tonight? Was he alright? How could I be so careless and let myself be kidnapped? I stood up from the bed, checking if someone else was in the room. I should have been more careful... how could this happen to someone like me?

I opened the door of the room, looking through the hallway. It was a mansion, a place unlike anything I've been at before. Drawing my gun, I walked down the hallway - it was dead silent. Too silent, for my instincts. And when I walked down the stairs, I knew why.

Corpses everywhere. All the people who were probably supposed to guard this mansion were shot to death. Holding my gun upright, I entered the large dining room. Everything else seemed to be normal here. But when I turned around to the wall behind me, I gasped. Huge letters, or more precisely, a message, was on that wall.

Komm zum Platz in Romberg, wo früher das Lagerhaus der Hilden & Engels GmbH stand!

I frowned. "What is the meaning of this...?"

Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me, and the sound of a gun. Quickly, I turned around, drawing my own gun. But I was left speechless when I saw the person behind me.

"Huh?"

It was a beautiful girl with blonde hair in a tight, purple dress and a white fur jacket, pointing a gun at me, with a look of both fear and determination.

"Who are you? Did you kill all those people?"

She didn't seem like the type to shoot me just like that. I lowered my gun to gain her trust and turned around to her.

"No, they were already dead when I arrived. I have no idea what's going on here. And to be honest, I don't even know where I am."

"So you aren't a guest of the Baby?" Surprised, the girl slightly lowered her gun as well, looking at me in curiosity.

"No. I think I was drugged tonight and brought here by someone. I woke up fifteen minutes ago." I pointed at the message behind me as the girl walked towards me. "Do you have any idea what this means?" She stopped next to me and read aloud. "Come to Romberg, where the old warehouse of the Hilden and Engels company used to be!" Her eyes widened. "Johan!"

"Johan?" I stared at her in confusion. Was I being delusional, or did I hear that correctly? She ignored my question. "I need to go!" "Wait!" I reached out for her arm, making her stop. "You said the name Johan, right? Do you mean Johan Liebert, the son of the deceased politician?" The girl frowned. "How do you know about him...?" "I'm a detective. There is a man who claims that Johan exists, but my colleagues don't believe him. So Johan does exist?" The girl nodded. "He does. He... is my brother." Shocked, I stared at her. "So you are his twin sister? Your name was... Anna, correct? Anna Liebert." She gave me a faint smile. "I go by Nina now." I reached out my hand. "Nice to meet you, Nina. I go by Detective H, or Helene. Though that is not my real name, I have to admit." Nina shook my hand, still smiling. "You don't have to tell me. If you chose to go by another name now, that's fine. Some things are meant to be left in the past." I couldn't help but smile back at her understanding reaction. "Thank you, Nina. Shall we find out the meaning of the message together?"