CHAPTER 420: MADE YOUR CHOICE.

"Mr. Starmer. I see you have finally arrived."

Dressed in a sharp blue suit, the skull-faced man walked to the front porch. Under the dim orange lights cast on the area, that tattoo of his depicted the very meaning of unsettling, the effect made worse by his smile warping the whole thing. He looked like a charred corpse dressed for its funeral.

"Jason! Ma man!" Spreading his arms wide, Ceir Starmer walked over and shook the ink-faced man’s hand. "Been a while! Where have you been?"

"That is my question. When was your last visit? Two months ago?"

"You know I have been busy with that mess at the city hall and the Stahlwölfes scandal." Said Starmer. "I also have the next elections to worry about. You know how I’m planning to win this time around."

"Must have been tough for you."

"That couldn’t even begin to describe it."

"Well, you are in luck." The skull-faced man motioned for the mansion’s front entrance. "We have just received a fresh batch, and I saved the one that exactly matches your taste. Of course, you are free to look at the others and make your own choice..

"Well, ain’t that the news one just loves to hear?" Said Starmer, his pearly whites showing through his nasty grin.

He was led to one of the many waiting rooms on the first floor, where they were served some wine by another group of maids, most of whom looked like they had missed their bedtime. Once done, they all went to stand side by side at the end of the room.

Starmer watched them as he sipped from his glass, his eyes having settled on one particular girl with long blond hair. She kept her gaze down, her already pale face losing more of its color. For some reason, that only caused his smile to widen.

"I see you have made your choice." Said Jason.

"You know me. I’m pretty consistent." Shrugging, Starmer drank some more of his wine. His gaze then shifted from the girls, his smile dimming a little. "I have heard you are having some trouble lately."

"Just the usual," Jason replied.

"Are you sure about that? Because from what I have heard, it’s anything but the usual."

"You don’t have to worry. We can handle it just fine."

"Forgive me for saying this, my friend, but I’m going to need a lot more than just that."

The tension seemed to rise within the room, and the smiles the two men shared were suddenly gone. Jason turned to the girls. The door opened a moment later, and they walked out without being told to. Once only the two of them were in that room, the skull-faced man turned to his guest.

Swirling the wine in his glass, Starmer heaved a long sigh.

"You heard about the church attack a couple of days ago?"

"Of course," Jason replied. "That wasn’t us, though."

"I already know that much," Starmer replied, then sipped from his glass. "Apparently, someone has been going around stealing from them, so they set up some traps and waited. The bastard walked into one of them, but he still managed to get away."

"Are we talking about the same guy?"

"There is no evidence that points to that being the case, but it seems likely."

A brief moment of silence settled between the two.

"Do you have anything else about him?" Jason asked.

"That is what I came here to discuss with you." Said Starmer. "It’s not looking good, Jason. If this guy is capable of half the stuff I heard, being on his radar means we’re done."

"Aren’t you... Aren’t you reaching a bit?"

"I sure hope I am." Said Starmer. "They say he can open doors to anywhere. Guards can’t top him, neither can walls. He can just decide to walk in on you, and since cameras can’t capture him, you won’t realize he was there unless you catch him with your own eyes."

Starmer revealed more of the details he knew about, including the investigation progression and the name the NVPD has given to what they believed was at least a Level 4 Enhanced Individual.

"This is sounding a lot more troublesome than we thought..."

"Tell me about it."

Another moment of silence settled between the two, but then Jason turned to his guest with a smile.

"You said this Ghost can appear anywhere, any time, right?" He said. "Are you sure you want to be here? He might walk in on you at any moment."

"You said it yourself earlier." Starmer chuckled. "It has been some time since I last relieved myself. There is no way to tell when this one will go down, so we have no choice but to risk it."

"Good thing we don’t store anything worth stealing in here." Said Jason. "Well, if he’s going to target anyone, it’s definitely going to be me. I can’t even imagine how I’m supposed to defend against something like that."

"Don’t worry, my friend. I have already taken that matter into consideration."

Reaching into the inner pocket of his jacket, Starmer took out something and placed it on the small stand between them. It was a small gray box. Jason reached out and took it, and once he had a look at the contents, his brows furrowed. Inside the box, five blue capsules were arranged side by side.

"Catalyst..."

"Indeed," Starmer muttered. "And not just the free samples that have been going around. Each of these pills will give you superpowers for a few hours. You can’t really choose what you’ll get, but you won’t have any trouble using it."

"This is... this is quite the expensive gift, Mr. Starmer."

"Don’t sweat it." Waving a dismissive hand, Starmer pushed himself up. "I would like for our friendship to continue, so ensuring it lasts is something I have to do."

~[ ]~

Done with their talk, the two men went their separate ways. Starmer followed one of the maids to his usual room on the second floor. The furnishing and decor matched that of the best-rated hotels, but it was the special service that drew him to such a place.