210 The Last Targe

The sound of an elevator stopping filled the air. It was the highest floor in the newspaper company that was standing tall on Rotstraat. On the corridor where the elevator had stopped, there were men in coats and sunglasses whose hands were concealed as if they were holding weapons ready to be drawn at any time. Their expressions looked serious and full of expectation.

The door slowly opened, and they were holding their breath. Their hands were itching to draw their weapons right away, but they had to wait for the command from their boss, who was standing behind them calmly.

"There is no one!!"

One of the men shouted as the door fully opened. The elevator was empty!

"Search the elevator! Don't miss any corner!" commanded the boss from behind. His deep voice didn't show any sign of surprise.

Three men quickly entered the elevator while four others surrounded the door. They had now drawn their guns and were ready to shoot at any time.

"Negative! There really is no one here, Mr. Wagner!"

The boss that was addressed as Mr. Wagner looked at the man standing next to him. It was the tall mayor of Hoorn, Hank Krammer, who had a disappointed look on his face.

"It's apparent that our target is also a divinator, so we're going with plan B,"

"What's plan B, Henrich?" asked Hank calmly.

Henrich Wagner smiled meaningfully, then looked at his men.

"Search this whole building, especially the floors below this one! Do it the usual way! We've relocated everyone else besides us here, so if there is anyone, it must be our target! Always go in pairs, never allow yourself to be alone! Come back here in ten minutes if there is nothing!"

Once he had finished his command, most of the coated and sunglassed men ran downstairs. The other two stayed behind to guard the tenth floor of the building.

"So your plan B is to just blindly search this place? How are you even sure he is here today?" asked Hank skeptically.

"I'm not. I just have a hunch that he'll be here. And no, I'm not just blindly searching for him. Just trust me in this, Hank. Have I ever failed you?" replied Henrich with confidence. He then looked at the young man standing beside the mayor, "You can just go back to your office, little Derrick. Leave this serious business to us adults,"

There was subtle annoyance that was quickly hidden away on Derrick's face. The tall young man didn't say anything and entered the office that was at the end of the corridor after nodding at his father.

"We can easily crush that person once we find them. Judging from the way they've done things so far, it can be concluded that they are not Marquis rank yet," added Henrich. His hands were resting casually inside his pockets.

"That, if we can even find our target," Hank responded, still as skeptically as before.

Eight minutes had passed since the men went downstairs in search of their target, and none of them had come up yet. In fact, there had been no sound of fighting so far despite them being armed with guns. It made those waiting upstairs anxious. Hank Krammer was standing impatiently. His hand gripped the handle of his cane tightly.

Step! Step! Step!

The sounds of boots hitting the hard wooden floor were heard as the man that went on the search returned. They came back to the tenth floor without any result.

"Mr. Wagner, we found no one, and we searched all the way to the third floor," reported one of the men. He and two others had approached Henrich to give the report.

Henrich raised his eyebrow. He looked carefully at the three men standing in front of him to find any abnormality. They still looked perfectly the same as when they left earlier with no sign of someone in disguise.

"Are you sure guys have carefully searched every corner? You didn't miss any suspicious figure hiding in your blind spot?"

"Yes, Mr. Wagner!" replied the man firmly.

Hank looked at Henrich and spoke, "Maybe he just left once he noticed the abnormality. Assuming he's a careful type, that's most likely what he has done,"

"That is also possible, but I still have the feeling that he is here. You know, call it the hunch of a Burgher,"

"But your hunches only usually work with money involved," Hank shook his head slightly and then left Henrich's side. He walked into the office where his son was.

"What a cynical old man," Henrich jeered.

His men chuckled but quickly repressed it.

"What do we do now, Mr. Wagner?" asked the man who had reported the situation to him.

"We stand guard here. Don't lower your guard no matter what!"

Henrich then leaned against the wall and stood casually while observing his surroundings. He was still not convinced that his target wasn't there, since his hunches were never wrong. He also had an uneasy feeling that he couldn't explain. However, nothing seemed out of place, so he couldn't help but watch for now.

With his hands inside his pocket, his eyes were scanning all of his subordinates. Their brown trench coats could potentially hide something, but with his sharp eyes, he would be able to notice something unordinary with ease. So far, everything seemed safe. His men's faces looked serious and intimidating as they were standing tall with their guns ready.

After standing guard with nothing happening for five minutes, Henrich suddenly had the urge to search the building again, but this time, he would go with his men. He felt that his subordinates might have missed something that only he could find.

"We're going down again!" commanded Henrich, and then looked at one of his men who was standing closest to him, "You stay here. If there is anything, just shoot and we'll come running back here!"

The man nodded.

After taking out a gold coin from the pocket of his cotton pants, Henrich Wagner chanted something and tossed the coin on the floor. The golden object magically stood on its edge and started rolling.

Henrich and the rest of them all went downstairs following the small gold coin, walking past the elevator that was still staying on the tenth floor for some reason.

The subordinate that was tasked to stay on the tenth floor carefully walked towards the office where the mayor and his son were and knocked on the door. The coat that he was wearing gradually became bigger somehow.

Knock! Knock!

"Who is that?" asked a voice from inside that was muffled by the door. It sounded like the mayor's son's voice.

"It's me. We need to talk!" replied the man standing in front of the door. His voice was deep and sounded cheeky.

Click!

The door was unlocked and opened from inside. Mayor Hank Krammer was standing in the gap, looking at the man behind the door.

"What is it, Henrick?" he asked. His eyes were squinted as if he was scanning the man.

"We found something. Come with me,"

The mayor followed the man outside the office and entered the room next door. As Hank entered the room, he suddenly became a little sleepy. The man in front of him then muttered something inaudible that made him become even sleepier. It felt like he hadn't slept for three whole days and now his body was not able to hold on anymore.

Hank was about to chant something but it was too late. His eyelids were too heavy and his consciousness was quickly fading. Just like that, he collapsed to the floor and started snoring loudly.

Derrick Krammer was sitting in his office with some documents in front of him. His expression looked serious but there was no worry on his face. He was only focused on working, and the whole stuff about catching the target was not something he was interested in. He needed to keep on working and making his father proud.

His hands were moving very fast across the documents that he needed to sign. His eyes were scanning the words very quickly like a machine.

Creak...

The door was then opened and the mayor returned to his office.

"What was it, father?" asked Derrick. His tone didn't show curiosity. It was as if he was asking just for the sake of asking.

"They've found evidence of the opposition group being here. We need to leave the building now," said Hank Krammer coldly. There was genuine anger in his voice, which made Derrick understood the severity of the situation.

"Alright,"

He quickly tidied up his desk and grabbed his briefcase with him. He followed his father out of the office and down the corridor where they took the elevator. After pressing the number 1, the doors closed and the metal box went downstairs quickly.

Meanwhile, on the ninth floor, Henrich had just found the unconscious body of one of his men who had been stripped out of his clothes. His face was red because of anger.

"Fuck! We've been had! How come no one saw this?! Who was with Lorry?!" he shouted.

"I-it was me, Mr. Wagner. But I swear he was with me the whole time!" replied one of them.

Ding!

They heard the sound of the elevator opening in the corridor and quickly ran to see. They got out of the room and in the distance, the elevator doors were already closing again, giving no time for them to stop it. Inside, the mayor was standing with Derrick behind him. There was a smile on the mayor's face that lasted until the doors were fully closed.

"Quick!! Go downstairs!!"

Henrich and his men quickly ran towards the stairs next to the quickly moving elevator. Henrich grabbed the railing and began jumping down until he couldn't go anywhere anymore. There was a blockade blocking the stairway from the third floor to the second floor! Objects like desks, chairs, and shelves were on their way, barricading them.

"Goddamit!"

His nails grew longer rapidly. After that, he injured himself using his sharp nails and let the blood flow out. The blood magically flew to his nails and fingers, coating, and extending them. Henrich now had blood claws that were at least ten centimeters long and looked as thick as the handle of a dagger.

With his monstrous claws, he began tearing apart the barricade with ease. Pieces of wood and plastic were torn to shreds as the way was cleared out for him and his men, who were watching with a mix of awe and fear from behind. Their boss now looked like a feral animal, completely different from his usual self.

Once there was a gap big enough for them, Henrich dispelled his claws and his hands returned to normal as he jumped downstairs. However, he was too late. The mayor and the son were nowhere to be seen.

"Where did Hank Krammer go?" he asked the receptionist woman.

The woman was startled by the sudden question and looked at Henrich. She had seen the man together with the mayor and her boss, so she had to show respect. Besides, the man was for some reason emitting an aura that made her unable to resist.

With her best smile, she replied, "I'm sorry, Sir, but they didn't say anything. They just went out towards the parking lot,"

"Tell me the number plate of Derrick Krammer!" urged Henrich.

The woman didn't understand why the man was in such a hurry. She wanted him to stay longer so she could stare into those beautiful blue eyes of his that were hidden behind the big round glasses that the man was wearing.

"Uhm... it's HR-571-RT, sir," she said sensually.

Henrich didn't pay any more attention to the receptionist who was trying to show off her cleavage. The man had already left with several other people out of the building. They were heading toward the parking lot.

...

"Where are we going, father?" asked Derrick as he was driving.

The young man stole a glance at his father who was sitting mysteriously in the back seat. Inside the luxurious and spacious motor carriage, Hank Krammer remained silent, causing worry to began to surface inside Derrick's heart.

The mayor had been sitting tensely at the back without uttering a single word. Derrick just decided for himself to drive away from the building as fast as he could since his father had said it was dangerous. He didn't want to disappoint his old man. But now that he hadn't given any more directions, Derrick was at a loss.

The motor carriage that he was driving finally made it out of the busy street of Rotsstraat and was going downhill. It was still early in the morning, so the road was still slightly foggy and slippery. However, being the experienced driver that he was, it posed no challenge to Derrick.

Finally, the mayor looked up and saw Derrick through the rearview mirror.

"We'll go to your holiday house at the edge of the city,"

Derrick felt like he had been struck by a lightning in broad daylight. He hadn't expected his father to know about that place. His worry was quickly replaced by anxiety and restlessness. However, he couldn't go against his father's words, so he could only nod slowly.

"A-as you wish, father,"

The luxurious motor carriage kept on driving northeast towards the edge of the city. The more distance they traversed, the faster Derrick's heart was beating. Pearls of cold sweat began to form on his forehead.