Published at 28th of October 2025 4:24 pm

Chapter 30 Night Mission (V)

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Tonights the night. Santiago Skull has committed the crime of running his mouth, and were going to make that punk regret it. Its my fault that we got kidnapped, and its my fault were in this mess. Nobody only killed Murmur to protect me. Now Santiago Skullfuck has to die. Nobody has placed his trust in me, and I wont let him down. This mission will be another success. He said I did great last time, and this wont be any different.

I pull up to the base, excited to see all the changes Kai has made, but it doesnt look much different than before. He has had three days to transform it, and I expected at least something wouldve changed. I dont see Isaiahs car anywhere. He ditched the stolen truck a couple of days ago. Hes got connections to a chop shop, and he sold it to them. He told me that after he took care of the truck, he was going to retrieve the muscle car hes got in storage. The more time I spend with that guy, the less I understand him. I thought he was a hired muscle like me, but he has so many weird skills that make me wonder about him. What is his deal?

I push on the door bar, but it doesnt budge. And thats not the only sign that things have changed. There are two home security cameras above the doorway. I hear them zooming in on me, so I flash a smile and flip my hair. The door makes a thumping sound and swings open. Thats cool as hell. I walk on through, and my jaw drops to the floor. The warehouse doesnt even resemble the place I saw a few days ago.

Kai removed all the loose and mismatched welding I did on the windows. The walls are now uniform and go straight up. The warehouse is divided in half by a giant wall with a set of double doors big enough for my shifted form to go through. There are a bunch of windows set into the top half of the wall, so there must be a second floor on that side. All of the broken lights have been fixed, and the holes in the concrete from my fight with Isaiah have been filled in as well. There are two rooms built onto either side of the front of the warehouse. The one on the right has a glowing restroom sign, and the one on the left has a spray-painted piece of plywood that says break room. Everything has been repurposed from the surrounding warehouses. Well, I was completely fucking wrong.

HEYYYYYY! ANYONE HOME? I yelled out.

Why are you yelling? Kai said, his voice coming from a speaker on the ceiling.

Arent you gonna come give me a tour? Come on, its the big night. Dont be a dick, I said.

Kai sighs into the speaker and, a minute later, comes out through the double doors. He always looks like a cross between a TV magician and Willy Wonka. After my conversations with Isaiah, Ive been paying more attention to the way people dress. Hes got white overalls, a sleeveless yellow crop top, black mesh sleeves, and black slip-on sneakers. Do I really look worse than him? Im wearing leggings, a gym tee, and a hoodie. Oh, fuck, Isaiah was right.

"Why are you yelling? I let you in; now leave me be, Kai said.

Dont be so grumpy. I wanted to come by and see what youve done with the place. It looks fucking sweet. The other two wont be here for another hour at least, so why dont you show me around to kill time? I asked.

No. Unlike you, I have stuff to do. I dont need to kill time. I have plenty on my plate, Kai said.

Come on, dont be a shit, I said.

I said Im busy, V, he said rudely.

Kai, I know it sounded like it was a request, but I was not asking.

He makes a face but relents. Little prick. Kai leads me toward the double doors, and behind them are the biggest upgrades to the building. He walks me around, showing off the much nicer side of our base. Its mostly empty, with three doors leading to who knows where. There is a metal staircase to my right that leads to the upstairs. The ceilings are lower due to putting in a second floor, but theyre still taller than my shifted form.

Welcome to the office. This is where the important people within our group will be and serves as a command center, he said.

Whats up with the raised ceilings? I asked.

The raised ceilings, as well as the mostly flame retardant materials used in making the office, are because of you. Obviously, Kai said.

Thanks, man. You didnt have to do that, but its nice, I said, smiling.

Anyways. From left to right: my operating room, a storage closet, and the underground lab. Ive moved most of my TinkerTech down to the lab, but it isnt even close to being finished. The construction drones are good, but they need time for more precise creations. I had to make do, given the little time I had. Upstairs is a conference room and a couple of private offices for all of us, Kai said.

Where are your drones? I havent seen a single one, and I thought youd be dying to show off, I said.

If you must insist, then I guess I can show you a bit of razzle-dazzle. Come to me, my pretties, he shouted with a witchlike accent.

At the sound of his voice, I hear tip taps coming from upstairs. All at once, eight backpack-sized robots come rushing down the stairs. They have bulky, garbage can-like bodies with four spidery legs. The front of them has the same camera I saw above the entrance to the warehouse. They all have the same murky steel color to their body and limbs. Each one has a spray-painted number on it, surrounded by a heart. His artistic skills clearly dont match his engineering ones.

Behold! My glorious creations! Arent they cute as heck? He asked me.

I guess? I dont know, they kinda look like trashcans with legs, I said honestly.

Oh, fuck you. What would you know about aesthetics? He said, eyeing me up and down.

Great, another person insulting the way I dress.

Sorry, I wasnt trying to be a bitch. I guess theyre kinda cute. So what do they do?

These are just construction drones. I havent had much time to really go all out on designing new drones for other purposes. I cant wait to start attempting to integrate the TinkerTech Ive acquired with my own creations. Theres also the lack of materials. Theres just so much I want to do and experiment with. Sorry, forgive my excitement. You said that the others are coming soon. Is Nobody arriving as well?

Nope. Bossman says Im in charge of the mission. Itll be just me, Hotpants, and Rorschach. You said there was a conference room upstairs, right? Im gonna go up there while we wait for them, I said.

Sure, Ill show you the way, he said, leading me up the stairs.

The second floor is a long hallway with six doors on the right and a single door at the very end. The entire left side of the hall is glass panes with a glass door located right next to us. Behind the glass is an incredibly long conference table made of mismatched wood types, accompanied by twenty office chairs. The robotic arms that I saw inside Kais hospital have display monitors on them and are hanging from the ceiling. This looks professional as shit.

And with that, the tour is done. Now, if you dont mind, I'll take my leave, he said.

You arent staying for the planning meeting? Rorschach is going to give us all the info shes found in the last week on that gang, I said.

V, respectfully, I dont give a fuck about whats going down later. It has nothing to do with me in any capacity. Nobody brought me on for R&D and medical expertise, not to be an enforcer, Kai said.

Were all part of the same team. Dont you wanna hear what she has to say? I asked.

Yes, but also no. Nobodys goal is some kid of company, right? That means hundreds of moving pieces and plans. We cant all work on everything. I wouldnt ask you to help me with building drones, and you shouldnt ask me to help with this. Im not a fighter, and Id be all but useless in a shootout. All of us have our responsibilities, and mine isnt out there. Its in here, getting the lab built for Nobody, Kai said.

I didnt think of it like that. I guess Im still thinking of this in terms of a crew, I replied.

Thats probably because thats all youve known. I, on the other hand, have never been part of a crew and only worked as a business. I bet youll have to correct me at some point, Kai said.

I hope not. Because youre right about everybody having their specialty, and mine is violence. So if I have to correct you, itll mean I have to hurt you, and I think Im starting to think I could grow to like you, I said.

Kais face pales at my words, but he recovers and walks away. I dont like having to threaten him constantly, but he will definitely step out of line at some point. Crews cant function without respect or fear. He needs to respect Nobody, and if he doesnt, he will learn to fear me. Im alone for now, so I carefully open the glass door to the conference room. The last thing Id want to do is break something, especially before Nobody can see it. The chairs are all comfy and well-made. I take a seat and test out the rotations of it, spinning around till Im laughing out loud. This is fun. Im part of a team of Cowls, and we have a lair. I fought two Capes at the same time and came out on top. Ive possibly made two friends who dont think Im a psycho for liking fighting so much. Im going on a night raid to teach some skullfucks a lesson. Im happier than Ive been in years. From where Im standing in the conference room, I can see the rest of the warehouse. I dont have anything to do except wait.

Theyre here. Im letting them in, and theyll meet you in the conference room, Kai said through the speaker system.

I stop pacing and take a seat at the table. It only takes a few minutes before I see Isaiah and Rorshach come up the stairs. Isaiah is completely decked out in tactical gear and has a black beanie on. For the first time since meeting him, hes dressed appropriately. He looks bigger than the last time I saw him. His power is clearly having an effect. Rorshach is wearing a short, strapless, half-black, half-white dress that shows off every inch of her body. Her lips are a glossy black that matches her manicured nails, all while strutting in stilettos that I cant even dream of attempting to wear. Damn. Do I wanna be you, or fuck you?

Hotpants, I barely recognize you when you arent peacockin it up, I said.

You flatter me. If only your brain were as sharp as your tongue, Isaiah replied.

I just know hes smiling in his head. Rorschach, thats an interesting outfit choice, I said.

Im recon; I dont fight. I am here to find out if Santiago is lying or if your boss is. Then Im going to kill whichever fucker murdered my friend, Rorschach said.

Do not threaten him. Sit down and tell us what you learned about the gang, I commanded.

Easy, ladies, were on the same team. Rorshach, would you mind telling us what you found? The sooner you do, the sooner we can bring the man responsible to justice, Isaiah said.

He knows as well as I do that Nobody killed her friend. Its like everything is a joke to him. I might be working with a psychopath. Its like Isaiah said. Were all after the same thing. Nobody wants this handled, so please tell us all about the skullfucks.

Skullfucks suits them better than their actual name, which is Pandilla de los Muertos. Exactly the kind of edgy shit youd expect from a Halloween-themed gang. They operate out of Broekam Boulevard. Its several abandoned homes that theyve transformed into trap houses. There are thirty-six members, including Santiago, and they arent big enough to have lieutenants or anything like that. Its strictly the leader, Santiago, at the top, and everyone else is equal. They believe theyre safe, so there arent any guards or anybody scouting. There are no Neuvohumans, only normals, and there is a wide variety of weapons. A total of fifteen semiauto AK47s, twenty glock 45s, and then every member carries at least one hand-to-hand weapon. Some of them have knives, brass knuckles, baseball bats with nails, crowbars, and sledgehammers. The gang doesnt have many killers. From what I found, only ten of them have bodies. Those ten are the ones allowed to get the body mods and skull face tattoo. Those are the ones that wont hesitate to shoot. With that said, even as a noncombatant, I wouldnt consider any of them to be all that dangerous to your shifted form, V, Rorshach said.

Theres nothing they could do that could harm her, Isaiah said.

Good to know. They have a few rival gangs that they compete with for products, corners, and customers, but there wont be any reinforcements coming. They are strictly drugs; they dont do prostitution or protection. They deal in weed, molly, coke, and heroin. All of it is cut, and its the cheap shit too. The gang does like to party. They throw one nearly every night: drugs, liquor, and groupies in copious amounts. There wasnt one last night, so dont be surprised if there is one tonight. And thats what I found. When are we leaving? Rorshach asked.

Wow, you are good. What, its like eight? We can leave now if you two are ready, I answered.

Rorschachs a bit of a bitch, but shes one of the best at what she does, Isaiah said as he winked at her.

I liked you better when you looked like you belonged in a pet shop, you scaly dickhead, Rorschach fired back.

Please, formerly scaly dickhead. Im as smooth as your head, babe. And dont lie to yourself. Im beautiful, Isaiah said.

Whyd you have to be the only one who survived? I mean, you are somehow more insufferable than Rushdown. And that guy hummed his own theme song on jobs, Rorschach said.

As much fun as Im having watching you two make sexually charged barbs at each other, we have a mission. Lets go, I said.

Ew. Constrictors not my type, Rorschach said.

Im everybodys type; look at me, Isaiah said. I must be making a face because he quickly adds. Sorry, everybody who likes mens type.

Okay, enough stalling, let's do this, I said, walking out of the conference room.

The two of them follow behind me. I go to shout out to Kai that were leaving, but I remember what he said. All of us have our own responsibilities. Once were outside, I see the vehicle Isaiah brought for tonight. A deep blue painters van that will blend in under the cover of night. There isnt a single doubt in my mind that he stole it. Hopefully, he didnt murder the original owner. Isaiah and I sit in front, and Rorschach sits in the back, along with several gallon jugs full of ink. When did they get that stuff? I know she needs them for her little creatures. We got the car, we got the ink, and I got cans of whoopass to hand out. I will not fail.

Share