DANGER ZONE | Kenzou Tenma

Chapter 8: Das Monstrum in mir wird explodieren

Nina and I arrived at the rooftop of the factory building that was referred to in Johan's message. What we saw there was not a person, but a second message. 

Hilfe! Das Monstrum in mir wird explodieren!

"Help! The monster inside of me is about to explode..." Nina gasped, her blonde hair moving in the wind. "What is the meaning of this?" Something inside of her seemed to recall something, judging by the look in her eyes. "Johan... " She squinted slightly. "Johan...!" 

She held her hands to her head, trying to keep her composure. Worried, I laid my hands around her shoulders. "Sit down, Nina."

We both kneeled on the cold rooftop at dawn with our short dresses, freezing. Again, I looked at the message Johan had left here. What was the meaning of this? Either way, I finally had proof that he actually existed - though that was not the most important thing in the moment.

"Take your time, Nina. Recalling those memories must be overwhelming." I could hear her heavy breathing. "Do you want to talk about it?"

For a while, she was silent, staring at the ground in front of her. But then, she inhaled, and eventually said something.

"He is suffering..."

I frowned. "... Johan?"

"Yes. The 'monster inside him is about to explode'... it makes him lose his mind! Now I understand how he feels... it must be terrible..."

She raised her head, facing me.

"Helene, we are running out of time. The truth is, there's a plan to burn down the Turkish district tonight." I gasped. "Tonight? How do you know about this?" "It's a long story. We need to prevent this! And I know who I have to find to set an end to this... but I don't want to drag you into this." I stood up, then reached out for her hand and pulled her on her feet. "Don't worry about dragging me into something. This is my job, Nina. Thank you for entrusting so much to me. I will do my part to make sure this plan won't be executed."

We walked down the external staircase and arrived at the bus station nearby. It was still cold, the street almost empty. 

"So...", I started, "I guess you know where you need to go." Nina nodded with a faint smile. "Yes. This particular task is something I have to deal with alone." She reached out for my hand, then shook it. "I wish you the best of luck, Detective. Perhaps we'll meet again tonight." "I would love to. Hopefully, it will be under good circumstances." I waved goodbye as she left the station, heading over to the next underground station as I stepped into the bus heading towards my hotel.

My next goal was the police station. But before I went there, I needed a change of clothes. I kept my hair as it was, because the process of colouring my roots blonde every time to fit my blonde clip-on ponytail was too time-consuming, but I could definitely not stay in this tight dress. Within ten minutes, I took a shower, changed into a black suit, and left the hotel again.

Finally, I arrived at the police station. I told them about the upcoming disaster, that the right-wings intended to burn down the Turkish district, and that we needed to take every precaution. The officers in front of me stared at me like two idiots. Then, they burst into chuckling.

"Dear colleague, we appreciate your dedication, but we get these warnings every time. Don't take it personally, but you shouldn't believe everything you hear." I stared at them in confusion. "I'm not kidding. And even if this is just an empty warning, shouldn't be prepare any countermeasure possible to prevent such a disaster, even if the chance of it happing was little?" "No, we have other things to do." The second officer gave me a cold glare. "I don't know who you think you are, but just because you're some successful detective, you won't get everything your way. You may be a star in Düsseldorf, but in this city, you're a nobody." "This is not about myself, damn it. It's about the lives of a whole district in this city!" I sighed, keeping my calm. "I don't get it. What is wrong with you?" Without waiting for their answer, I left the station. 

Insufferable!

How terribly unprofessional could an officer be? Had they been paid to turn a blind eye to this matter, or were they just stupid? 

In that case, I had to take the matter into my own hands. How strange that I ended up with a district about to be burned down, when I was simply looking for a wanted doctor... and now, I had run into the sister of the actual criminal - Anna Liebert - who had disappeared after her foster parents had been murdered in Heidelberg. To think that my trip would take such a turn... I did not see this coming. And what was I supposed to do now? I could act on my own, or call my very own colleagues from Düsseldorf to help me with this  - but if I were to do that, Inspector Lunge might catch wind of it, and that might turn into a worst case scenario. I couldn't trust him with this.

No, this was something I needed to solve on my own.

Eventually, I made my way back to the hotel again. I was feeling terrible - terribly tired, above everything else. My head was aching badly, and I had trouble keeping my balance, which was nothing new to me, admittedly. Thus, I decided to sleep for a couple of hours, and to get up in time to prevent the attack.

But when I woke up, the sky was coloured orange already. Shocked, I sat up, looking at the clock. Why had I been sleeping for so long? I didn't even hear my alarm...  Quickly, I dressed up in my tight dress again, redid my make up and headed towards the Turkish district.

The first fires were burning already, but there were lots of people to put it out. I was hurrying through the streets, trying to get an overview of the whole situation, but it was no use - and my head still hurt a lot.

Then, when I was about to cross the road, I saw a child walking next to a short man. I stopped and looked at the boy... it was the boy from yesterday!