The SongBird's Love

Intro

The end of the gun was still hot when he lowered his weapon and put it down on the table. His long fingers traded it for the cigarette, bringing it to his lips. He pulled on it, the end turning fire red for a second. Then, he sighed and walked back to the large leather chair, sitting in it like a king on his throne.

Everyone else in the room had gone religiously silent. The pool of blood was slowly growing under the body, but no one moved to do a thing about it. Instead, one of the men cleared their throat, bringing the general attention back to the screen on the wall. The white silhouette had been captured in a single shot, frozen in movement from a weird angle, crouching against a wall. The lighting wasn't great, and the image was blurry. The man clicked his tongue, slowly rubbing his index finger against his lower lip. His upset expression was frightening every man in the room. They were all standing tall and straight like soldiers, impeccable in their dark suits.

"...I suggest anyone else think twice before giving me any more bad news."

His deep and cold voice sent another shiver down their spines. No one dared to look his way, but his amber eyes were riveted on the screen. It was his current obsession, the little annoyance he couldn't get rid of.

Finally, one of the younger men in the room stepped forward, the same one who had cleared his throat earlier.

"...We couldn't find any more information on Ghost, Sir, but we managed to narrow it down to a location at least."

The Boss' eyes went to him.

The young man suddenly felt all the pressure of that gaze. It was like facing a dangerous beast, those golden eyes were absolutely terrifying. Those were the eyes of a killer, an apex predator. A tiger.

He had never been in the presence of the Boss himself before, but now, he could see what all the others meant. He was on a whole different level. Some people in this world carried something in them that made them stand out, something that screamed to others they were different, powerful, and fearsome. The Italian Tiger was one of those people. He had just cold-bloodedly killed their latest hacker for one failure. It was hard to be in the same room, to dare look his way. It was like a threat hanging right above their heads, called death.

The young recruit could feel it at that moment; He had felt confident, cocky even, to be going higher and higher in their organization, but that confidence had just been thrown on the floor and wrecked to pieces with one glance. Now, he could feel that cold drop of sweat going down his spine, and the cold spreading around him. The others almost stepped away from him, to avoid whatever he was about to suffer. He took a deep breath, gathering all of his courage.

"I-in the Dragon's Area. Each time they appeared, the beginning and end signals were emitted around the Dragon's Area..."

He pulled again on his cigarette, the plume of smoke going up in the air. The room was dark, making the white smoke appear even clearer, like a ghost in the air.

"...Find him."

Everyone in the room felt the pressure increase drastically. One of the men shook his head.

"Sir, we have tried already. Can't we just find someone else to..."

Before he had finished his sentence, the Boss' eyes were glaring at him already, and this large, strong man went mute. It was like facing death itself. He could feel those eyes like a blade held against his throat. The man in the leather chair tilted his head.

"How many times have those 'someone else' lost to Ghost?"

"E-every time, Sir..."

"What does that mean?"

"T-That person is the best hacker..."

"That's right," whispered the Italian Tiger. "And the best have to work for me or die. This is the last time I hear we lost information to Ghost."

The big man who had dared to raise his voice gulped his saliva down and kept his mouth closed shut. The gold eyes were not going to allow another word, he could tell.

Another man, with white hair, who was the only one not looking distressed, sighed.

"We have tried offering money to Ghost, but it seems they refuse to work for one person only. They take the highest bidder and the highest risks each time. This means our enemies can employ Ghost against us too, Sir."

The Boss remained silent.

His golden eyes had finally let go of the poor man, who regretted opening his mouth, to go back to that picture. He slowly scratched the little scar on his neck, where his SIN was implanted. It had been corrupted and modified long ago, but sometimes he still felt an itch from that thing.

"... Isn't there anyone better?" Asked the middle-aged, white-haired man.

"No, Sir. In terms of statistics, no one on that market has been as good as Ghost. The speed of execution is exceptional, and they always keep it under twenty-seven minutes."

"That's extremely short..."

"Yes, Sir. Ghost always completes their theft in less than half an hour, from the moment they appear on the Dark Reality to when they go off the grid. They vanish as soon as the transaction is complete. No other Hacker has been able to beat their record, even those who competed directly."

The Boss suddenly took a big breath in and stood up.

Everyone else in the room immediately lowered their head, getting tense again. He slowly walked up to the screen, as if he could see better from up close. Squinting his eyes, he stared at that white silhouette.

"...Why can't we get a better picture?"

"T-they probably use some sort of jammer to prevent others from tracking them, Sir. This is the best we've gotten in months... We are doing our best to get any information, but no one has been able to get any data. The age, size, race, and gender of Ghost are still completely unknown. The prices on the black market for any information are still high, but everything we've bought so far turned out to be fake..."

"Raise the price."

He turned around, facing his men with his golden eyes shining dangerously.

"Spare no means and no money to find Ghost. I want that hacker in my office, dead or alive."

"Yes, Sir."

Dante brought the cigarette back to his mouth as most of his men used the occasion to leave the room in a hurry. He turned around, watching that picture again.

Ghost was going to be his or die.