CHAPTER 187(Cold Leads)
Discord: https://discord.gg/t7bHrdRY7Y
pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene (Unlimited chapters ahead)
CHAPTER START---
"So how do you feel?" Horizon asks.
He was currently sitting in a high end hotel room in Musutafu, looking at UA in the distance atop its hill while listening to some news reports on his phone.
"I still can't believe this is happening," a woman says as she takes the seat opposite him. An older woman approaching her sixties, hair already grey and face wrinkled, but dressed in a suit.
"That didn't answer the question."
"I'm feeling better than I have in years," she takes a deep breath. "I can finally breath freely again, and my back pains are gone...I can probably keep up with my grandkids now."
"Well, I'm good at what I do, I promised a full checkup and to fix whatever I found, and I delivered."
"Yes, but honestly when the big bad Horizon came knocking, I expected to be dragged off in cuffs, not negotiating a deal."
"Well, I can always do that later, but that doesn't get me what I want."
"Not like I could stop you, not like anyone could. The information you requested is in my car downstairs."
Horizon puts his phone down and looks toward the car, through the floor, "the papers?"
"Yeah."
SHAMBLES!
He warps away for a moment the reappears with a thick stack of papers.
'No wonder villains have their head in the sand, kids a monster,' she thinks but wisely doesn't say aloud.
"Handwritten, why?" he asks, already skimming them.
"You asked me for the manifests of all my clients hidden airfields across Japan, that's not something I'm willing to just download to give you a backdoor into my system. I have a business to run."
"Fair enough."
"How'd you find me by the way?" She asks. "I made sure the Pro Heroes and Police didn't even know I existed, but you just called my phone like it was nothing."
"Maybe you aren't as invisible as you thought..."
"Bullshit," she scoffs. "Someone talked, so who's the rat?"
"Everyone talks when I put hands on them, but all that matters is you're useful to me, so I'll keep you around."
"Was useful, I'm leaving Japan. I'm not foolish enough to stick around when UA's golden boy knows my address, that's not how I lasted this long."
"Nezu's system is the most secure in the world, it'll be fine if I just scan these files," he mutters while taking out his phone.
---10 Minutes later...
Standing in front of a hologram being projected in his room, he sees a map of Japan with dozens of small dots across it.
"Too many places, Wolfram can use any of these as a cover if he cares about a place with a lot of metal that nobody would care about if it went missing."
He swipes his hand and the map refreshes, now completely blank.
"Ok, if I were him, then I'd assume that Horizon is protecting the Shields so I could just team up with the league, but the league hasn't shown up in weeks so that doesn't give me any new leads either."
He thinks for a moment, then opens the Hero Network on another hologram and gives a command, "map the most recent Nomu sightings."
Three dots appear on the opposite side of Japan, to the southwest shore, "been weeks since the last one...dead leads.
Well, atleast I know Wolfram is in Japan. No face or description, like hunting a ghost, but the only thing I can confirm is that my bait works. But he won't strike unless they leave UA or I'm not around. So best to just stay put and hope he gets impatient, then I'll kick his teeth in when he shows his face."
With an annoyed grumble he sits back and looks at the map.
"So much bullshit to deal with, all to play the perfect hero role...but I'll have this world groveling at my feet in no time.
Save the Shields- get David and Melissa Shield in my pocket, and instantly have All Might's most famous and outspoken supporter in my corner. Almost guaranteed hall of fame potential in that alone from the credit he'll bring me.
Maybe find a way to reverse the Nomu operation...unlikely, but atleast make an effort. Having Eraser Head on my side makes UA a lot more tolerable already, and hell a Nobel Prize could be fun to have.
Same with this," he raises his hand and activates his Quirk, allowing the energy mist to waft off his hand. "Figure out a way to cure things without being there and suddenly I'm at the top of the world...and I'm never coming down.
And they won't have a choice but to give me everything I want, and then some."
He then looks back up to the map, "if only I could make progress on this idiot first."
'Maybe if I just dip into Arsenal or Law Matani's resources,' he genuinely contemplates this. 'No, keep all three separate. Law is a businessman, Horizon is a perfect Hero, and Arsenal's connections are for criminals only...the only way I win is to have the world in my hand, then leave.
Give it all up and disappear to live a peaceful life somewhere. I almost can't wait for that day... But I will somewhat miss people tripping over themselves to reach me, this Pro Hero gig has its uses.'
With a wave of his hand, the map goes away as he neatly stacks up all his papers.
Then he taps his phone a few times, and another map of Japan shows up. This time with red lines covering some of the roads to blinking red nodes in major cities and some smaller towns. Even some places just off the shore were blinking.
"Orca and Edgeshot must have updated my map today, some of these routes are new," he can't help but chuckle at the absurdity of it. "First-year UA student, leading his own independent takedown of major contraband distribution lines across the country, so successful that even Pro Heroes jump onboard to get a piece of the action, Rank 1 here I come..."
And just as he's about to review their updates, a knock on his door pulls his focus away.
He expands his Room enough to sense Momo anxiously waiting outside his door.
A folder in her hands, wearing a sweater dress, and nothing below it.
'Huh, guess Mina got into her head, I'll need to thank Pinky later...now to check one item off the to-do list...'
END CHAPTER---