Rise of the Darkness Tycoon

Chapter 32- Through the Front Door

‘The Simon family is far more powerful than I expected. At least, in this part of the country.’

That was Calvin’s line of thought as he recalled the squad of B-Rank elementalists in suits who had shown up at the police station at Ashley’s command and, within a few minutes, taken the police captain and several other officers into the interrogation room.

He’d wanted to talk to Ashley about the matter of getting into the illegal fighting ring, but she had gone straight to her car and conked out within seconds, sleeping soundly for close to an hour before being woken by a knock on the door from the driver, who had come to inform her that the guards were done interrogating the police captain.

The end result of that interrogation, which left the buff-looking police captain shivering in the corner of the interrogation room, was that the man was indeed connected to the organisation.

Calvin took one glance at the men and women in suits, noting that a few of them were water elementalists, and after noticing the police captain’s wet hair and face, he could guess that they had unconsensually helped the man discover how long he could hold his breath underwater.

He looked away from the man and focused on the guard reporting the results of the interrogation.

The officer’s connection to the organisation was fairly high up, as he had helped them cover up other incidents involving their members before, high enough that he had records of some of their activities and access to invitations, which would provide a path inside for them.

‘That’s a stroke of good luck, I guess.’

Meanwhile, the police scouts sent to the two locations obtained from the trailer driver finally reported back with evidence of continued activity at one of those locations, the trailer’s intended destination.

They discovered several buildings in that district of the state that were officially listed as construction projects and unfinished residential developments. However, after investigating them, they found that the electricity and water consumption were far higher than those of some fully occupied buildings.

They also observed several truck movements, implying transportation and logistics activity, and the EMA agents among the scouts detected a high concentration of elementalist presences both above and below ground.

All of this evidence pointed toward hidden operations.

“If the organisation is still operating there despite the truck incident, then they likely believe that the trailer driver revealed nothing and we have no meaningful leads,” Morris said. “From their perspective, the trailer driver is now in critical condition and unable to speak. What they don’t know is that we already have information on their location.”

“However, the truck activity is concerning,” Calvin muttered as he looked through the pictures the officers and EMA agents had sent. “The organisation might be moving their assets and clearing evidence even as we speak.”

“And we don’t know how far along that process is,” Ashley added with a light yawn.

She rubbed her eyes lightly, then looked at her guard and asked, “When did that guy say their next gig was again?”

“Tonight,” the guard responded. “They hold fights every Monday and Friday, and the next one is tonight.”

“How terribly short notice,” Morris grumbled. He glanced at Ashley, who silently rubbed her chin, before looking toward the police captain still shivering in the corner.

“He can get us invitations, right?”

The man initially didn’t answer, but the moment one of the women in suits walked up to him and summoned a ball of water in her palm, he flinched and immediately began nodding repeatedly.

Ashley turned away from the very obviously traumatised man and continued speaking.

“In that case, I have a plan.”

◇　◇　◇

The Essence Nightclub

Drateallin Road

Dand City

May 9th

Year 2020

The club was packed to the brim with people. Coloured lights flashed across the room in constant patterns, painting the walls, floor, and crowd in shifting shades of red, blue, and purple.

Loud music thundered through hidden speakers, its heavy beat vibrating through the floor beneath their feet. People danced in groups around the central floor, some moving with wild enthusiasm while others simply swayed to the rhythm.

Looking around at the waiters weaving through the crowd carrying trays and the patrons laughing, talking and wandering from one section of the club to another with glasses and bottles in hand, Calvin frowned.

‘This place is very loud.’

He glanced at Ashley beside him, who was looking around with an expression of wonder in her eyes, making it obvious to anyone watching that this was her first time in a place like this.

“We really shouldn’t be here,” he said, his voice louder than usual.

When he spoke, Ashley, who was close enough to hear him despite the loud music, turned her gaze toward him.

“Why shouldn’t we? We’re both 18. There’s nothing stopping us from entering a nightclub.”

Calvin shook his head at her words and replied, “I’m not talking about us being in a nightclub. I’m talking about what’s going on in this nightclub.”

He leaned closer and gestured toward several corners of the club where groups of people occupied various sitting areas.

“Drugs, drugs, and even more drugs,” he said, pointing at each location. “I detest all forms of narcotics, and I’d love to be as physically far away from them as possible.”

At this, Ashley blinked and looked toward the places he had pointed out. However, she couldn’t see anything that suggested drug activity was taking place.

Seeing her confusion, Calvin said, “Why are there syringes on the table? There are also syringes with their needles removed sitting inside some wine glasses.”

Even after he pointed those things out, Ashley had to squint before she finally noticed one of them.

She then looked back at him, the incredulity in her eyes clear as day even through her shades.

“How the hell did you notice that?”

Pointing at his eyes, Calvin responded, “I’m a darkness elementalist. I have a certain level of night vision.”

He then glanced around the club once more before asking, “So, where’s the contact we’re supposed to meet to get into the fighting ring?”

Ashley looked up toward the club's balcony, focusing on the door at the left end.

“Apparently, the contact’s supposed to show up by 8 p.m. at that door,” she said, but then paused, glanced at her watch showing 7:30, and shook her head. “We’re early.”

Her response made Calvin sigh heavily.

“Oh well, can’t be helped,” he said with a resigned tone. “If we want to go with the cover story you prepared, then we’ll have to be here for a certain amount of time before that contact shows up, just in case they already have someone on the ground.”

The cover story Ashley had proposed was that she and Calvin would enter as the children of wealthy families, thrill-seekers looking to watch elemental beasts duke it out and possibly purchase some of those elemental beasts for themselves.

Essentially, they planned to walk in through the front door rather than sneak in, while a mixture of Ashley’s guard detail and several officers, including Sergeant Morris and Detective Bruce, all dressed in plain clothes, would follow them in as their private security.

Calvin glanced around and spotted Detective Bruce making his way toward one of the edges of the club, specifically one of the three corners Calvin had just pointed out as having drug activity.

‘I guess he’s found his next case then,’ Calvin thought, turning his attention elsewhere.

Just then, Ashley tapped him, and when he looked over to her, she said, “Um, Calvin, we’re going to have to spend the next half hour or so…”

She trailed off, glanced around at everyone surrounding them, and then continued,

“Clubbing. But before that, I need to go to the powder room.”

Calvin silently nodded, and she immediately turned around and slipped into the crowd, while some of her guards, now dressed in plain clothes instead of their usual black suits, followed right behind her.

Ashley heard loud, shrill laughter echoing from inside the restroom as she approached, and a few young women dressed rather scantily staggered out, talking amongst themselves while completely ignoring her as they passed.

One of them almost bumped into her, but Ashley simply evaded her and continued into the restroom, immediately turning toward the mirror and placing both hands on the sink as she heaved light breaths.

A moment later, one of her female guards stepped inside, a small pulse of wind spreading outward from the woman’s feet, sweeping through the restroom and confirming that there was no surveillance present before she spoke.

“Lady Ashley, there's a matter that we need to bring to your attention.”

Hearing this, Ashley turned toward the woman with a raised eyebrow, and taking that as her cue, the guard continued.

“We seem to have picked up a tail these past few days. The individuals in question have also followed us here.”

Upon hearing this, Ashley's expression turned incredulous as she asked, “The past few days? Why the hell haven't you eliminated them already?”

At that, the woman replied, “Because we discovered that the tail may not exactly be after you, Lady Ashley. But…”

The woman trailed off, and Ashley frowned lightly before asking, “But what?”

“The tail might actually be after your friend, Mr Calvin.”