The Reincarnated Hitman

"I have reasons to believe that you are Zero," Michael said with a serious expression.

Liam silently stared at the man for a while before putting on a confused expression and asking, "Who?"

Michael continued studying his expression for a moment longer, then with a sigh, he said, "A grey market mercenary who recently began making a name for themselves."

"And you said you have reasons to believe we’re the same person because?" Liam continued his clueless act; after all, even the slightest bit of change in his expression would give the Senior Investigator all the advantage he needed.

"You see, I did a bit of digging and found out that Zero’s first appearance was in Westfield High," Michael explained, "a few minutes after a call was made to you by your sister from within the school... coincidence?"

"My sister called me because she was scared, and as her big brother, I ensured she remained calm until the heroes arrived," the hitman answered, "was that not the right thing to do?"

"It is," Michael nodded in agreement, "hence the reason I was a bit doubtful, so I looked into your sister’s kidnapping."

The man then leaned back, continuing to look directly at the calm Liam before adding, "Again, according to the official reports, Detective Riley was the one who led the rescue mission."

"Hmm," the hitman simply nodded in response.

"Wanna guess who else was involved?" The Senior detective smiled, enjoying this game of theirs even more. "Zero."

"You said it yourself, detective; he’s a mercenary for hire," Liam responded.

"That still doesn’t answer the question of why your sister specifically targeted him," Michael said. "It also doesn’t tell me where you were during the event."

"..."

Liam turned silent, not because he didn’t have an answer, but because he was trying his hardest to hold in a smile.

He was really enjoying this exchange; after all, it was exposing how sloppy he had been, but it wasn’t as if he wasn’t ready for it.

The investigator watched him carefully, clearly waiting for him to say something, and he did.

"My sister had been kidnapped, and I had no way of rescuing her, so I did the only thing I could," Liam paused and looked directly into the man’s eyes, "I paid someone who could do something."

"That person seemed to have hired Zero since I probably could only afford a new agent."

"And you didn’t think to wait for the HA to do something?" Michael asked, but it was obvious enough that even he was now confused since the certainty he had walked in with was slowly fading.

"According to Detective Riley, the Villain group has been kidnapping kids for years, yet the HA hadn’t managed to do anything against them," Liam’s grey eyes seemed to let out a slight glow as he added, "What makes you think they would do something now, when a nobody’s family is kidnapped?"

"..."

Michael couldn’t answer that.

Of course, he knew the Ring’s track record and the HA’s inaction towards them, as they were directly related to Ouroborus.

So the kid’s actions made sense.

Slowly, he let out a sigh and stood back up as he said, "That’ll be all, Mr. Bennett. Thank you for your time."

"Glad I could help," Liam answered with a smile.

The Senior Investigator walked towards the door before stopping and turning back to the kid. "If you don’t mind, may I ask for a favor?"

"Can you set up a meeting between Zero and me?" He asked.

"That’s quite the strange request," Liam answered, "after all, I still don’t know who this Zero is."

"I know," Michael said, sounding completely unbothered, "but you said it yourself: you paid someone who could get to him. Whoever handled that transaction has a line to him. I’d imagine you still have it."

"..." Liam silently stared at the man for a while before sighing and turning around.

"I met him by chance, but he calls himself Sable," He explained as he picked up a pen, wrote something down and then tossed the paper to Michael. "he was the only one willing to help, and although I’m not completely sure, perhaps he knows this Zero person."

Liam knew that Sable wouldn’t mind his number being given to the police since, unlike Zero, Sable was a known grey market operative.

Besides, it wasn’t as if Michael could get him arrested, even with the suspicion of Torque’s death on Zero.

"Thank you," Michael said as he caught the paper and calmly walked out the door.

Liam watched the door close behind the man before smiling and turning towards the corridor that led to his room.

The detective was definitely going to be a headache, but it would be fun messing with him for now.

***

"Did you confirm your suspicions?" A woman waiting by Michael’s car asked the moment the man walked out of the apartment building.

Michael was silent for a while before turning towards the building again and smiling, "The kid is an interesting one."

"Does that mean he’s still not in the clear?" The woman asked again as she opened the car’s door for him.

"No," the Senior detective shook his head, "but we’ll find out tonight if he really is Zero."

Michael then got into the car, took out his phone and looked at the paper Liam had handed him.

He then dialed the number written on it and placed the phone to his ear.

The phone rang only a couple of times before someone answered on the other end, "Yes?"

"You must be Sable," Michael said with a small smile still on his face, "I am Senior Investigator Michael Owens, and I’d like to have a meeting with your newest agent, Zero."

Sable, on the other end, was silent for a while before asking, "And what makes you think I’ll grant that request?"

"I believe you’ll want to," the Senior Investigator responded, "especially given that the HA will have more than enough reason to come after you if you refuse."

"Now then, Sable, will you grant this request of mine?"