After the dinner, the group returned to hotel in order to ready up for departure. Since the factory Ken learned about was located on the way towards the place they were supposed to meet their contact at, he decided to drop by to check it.
It was still the afternoon, yet looking at public transportation and taxis, they had serious doubts about such solutions. With public transportation, they would have lost a lot of time, while taxi drivers could have gotten interested into why would they even wanted to approach the premises of the abandoned facility, where quite recently, there was a series of gruesome events.
By pure coincidence, they learned about a small used cars dealership nearby, where one could got a car at a really low price. Initially, Kenichiro was sceptical about this idea Stella broought up, but after reading through some local laws concerning car purchase, he had to agree such move made the perfect sense in their current circumstances.
In the end, they went to the dealership and spent around thirty minutes to find a decent car with a local registry plate that would meet their requirements and was not too eye-catching. The car they selected was an old Subaru Forester - a car Ken knew quite well and was personally calling it a "sturdy Japanese engineering piece", but what also mattered was its capacity combined with its cheap price, solid engine and four-wheel drive.
Getting to the factory took them maybe maximum of thirty minutes, including the time needed to find a good spot to leave their car out of view.
Back when still on the way by a car, they already noticed a high number of policemen and Perseus' soldiers allocated around the complex - this made Kenichiro quickly understand why Stanisław suggested them to meet the owner beforehand.
Ada was the one who contacted the man. The call took several minutes and only after a thorough explanation they received a permit do get into his office, located in a new building next to the main gate of the complex.
As they walked through the street, they were stopped by policemen, who were suspicious of their presence there, especiall Ken and Kyoko who clearly appeared as foreigners to them. Ken automatically took out the cross, a symbol of their organization, which was used as a sign for everyone associated with the brotherhood, but policemen obviously did not get what it was as the only thing they did was making the sign of the cross before letting them through.
"Ken-chan, did they take you for a priest or something?" Stella asked, snickering.
Kenichiro shrugged in response.
"It's not like being a priest is offensive. Though, if I were them, I wouldn't even dare to think that if I saw three ladies like you with me. Let's be real, none of you gives a nun vibe."
Stella's face was pretty much saying "why you...!?", yet before she said anything, they had to face another problem after meeting with curious policemen. It so happened that the gate was guarded by the group from Perseus. Despite explanation Echo V provided about having an appointment, those people did not want to let them through without a consultation with their leader, for whom they had to wait for several minutes.
"I must say, I didn't expect meeting someone from Shadows here" the man, who introduced himself a bit earlier as major Albert Serkas, spoke to them "What are you looking for? If it's a contract you want, you need to know this area is already clear."
"We have an appointment with director of this place" Ken explained "We need to talk with him. Since we don't have a lot of time to spare here, it would be much appreciated if you could check with him and let us through."
Unwillingly, major called the director, who obviously confirmed the version people from the brotherhood provided. While Serkas and his men continued to look at them with suspicion, they let Echo V through.
The group went straight to the building they were directed to - a tall office building towering above the whole area. Next to the front entrance, they immediately noticed highly-advanced defence systems, including automatic heavy chain guns, which were enough to take out a tank, and heavily-armed men standing a few meters away.
Just after entering the main hall, they had to leave their equipment before being led to the director's office.
"For a moment there, I was worried they would not let us through" Stella mumbled as they followed the security guards.
Before they entered, Ken fixed his clothing a bit - thigh-long coat with kevlar reinforcements and a similarly enhanced golf he had underneath.
"Take a deep breath. Inhale, exhale, inhale" Kyoko said jokingly, patting his back.
Doors leading to the director's office were clearly different from any other on this floor - the sole ones that were not see-through, contrary to other rooms which seemed to be conference rooms. Instead of reinforced glass, these were made of wood, which appeared to be a sturdy oak with a gold plate having director's name on it - Krzysztof Markowski.
Once one of the security guards knocked, the doors opened automatically.
"I'm rather busy man, so let this thing sorted out sooner than later" a man wearing a well-fit suit, director Markowski, said to them "Please, have a seat. I must say, I didn't have a chance to speak with anyone from the brotherhood yet" he added, while showing a smile to his guests "Either way, how may I help you? I guess, you are here about the recent incident, correct?"
"Indeed" Kenichiro confirmed "We have a couple of questions related to that."
Director clasped his hands and rested his forearms on the desk.
"Honestly speaking, I was hoping that notifying police and Perseus was enough to take care of this problem. Could you please, explain to me, why would I need to reply to the same questions again?"
Members of Echo V looked at each others - they understood this real well that members of Shadows are intruders around here, but they thought the owner of this complex would be more interested in carefully investigating the matters in this circumstances, and yet the man seemed eager to just close the topic as soon as possible.
"Leaving aside the part you expect us to ask the same questions, what was happening in here was not a regular demon activity case, even in our standards" Kyoko started explaining "The sole fact of demons being here and someone taking care of them is one thing and not really relevant part. What we want to check here is the reason...
Wrinkles started appearing on Markowski's forehead - his eyes were carefully examining the whole Echo V team.
"Why should I care about it?" he asked "Just to be clear, my contact ensured me that I'm hiring one of the best professional hunters and now you come suggesting there may be more to it. Are you saying that man could have done something wrong?"
Echo V's captain quickly shook his head.
"I can ensure this is not the case. Quite contrary. In order to handle such a case - if everything we heard about is true - one needs to be an extremely skillful hunter to pull it off. The thing is, Garths are coordinating such activities and we are worried they may again try something here."
Director took his hands off the table and leaned back in his armchair.
"In other words, you say he took care of whatever was there at the moment he arrived, but there is something that may still come there?" he summarized and stood up.
"We assume they wanted to perform a large scale ritual here" Ken continued the explanation "We don't know how well the policemen and Perseus soldiers are informed, but demon rituals are extremely dangerous, even if done on a lower scale."
"What are these rituals even used for?" Markowski asked, tinkering with a cupboard in the corner of his office.
"Most commonly, it's to create a rupture between the worlds."
Something loudly hit the floor and shattered. They could only here how the director curses before returning to them, holding something in his hand.
"So they wanted to bring in more of their own?"
Ken nodded in confirmation and said:
"That's what we thing, at least."
Markowski put his hand on the desk and moved an envelope towards them. Stella looked inside and noticed a bankroll.
"What's this about?" she asked.
"Your fee. If there is any doubt, any chance demons may appear here again, I need to be sure this matter is resolved, once and for all."
"Why did you act so indifferently then? You seemed to want us out from here..."
"Apologies, but I had to test you out. Let's be blunt, many people in this line of work are just fraud, so it's not uncommon for people to be scammed."
Kenichiro pushed the envelope back to him.
"We didn't come here for money" he told the man "Of course, if people decide to support our organization, we don't decline and it's much appreciated. However, we only had one goal for coming here - to be allowed to investigate the area, that's all."
"Also, if you had any kind of lead for contacting that hunter who cleaned the place recently, we would appreciate that information" Kyoko added "You see, we are gathering information for our organization and someone like that would have been a great asset."
Businessman smiled.
"Ok, then. You can enter the building. When it comes to a lead for finding the man, I need to make some calls, so it will take a moment. Leave me some contact info, I will let my secretary know to pass whatever I manage to get."
"Thank you."
Whole Echo V team stood up to leave. Just as they reached the door, the director called to them:
"One more thing. In case of future trouble, I would like to have an option of using your services. With a discount, if possible."
"We've never been expensive. Our mission is more important than money,"
The face Markowski made as he bid them faewell seemed to disagree about the weight of money, but Ken had no intention to argue - after all, they got what they wanted and only that mattered.
Once they walked outside, Serkas was already waiting for them with four of his men.
"We've received instructions" he informed them "You can investigate the building, but be swift about it if possible. If there is even a slight chance what you are saying is true, we need to take appropriate measures."
He turned on his heel and showed them to follow with a hand gesture. His men were walking arm-in-arm next to them on each side, carefully watching the suroundings. Shadows did not trust this new creation named Perseus, still considering them to be amateurs in their understanding of Garths, but Echo V members had to admit that their organization based on military was making quite an impression.
Soon enough, they reached their goal - a sole remaining building in the middle of huge, cleaned site.
A red glow could be seen in the sky already, announcing dawn was near.
The soldiers led them directly to the entrance, where they could only see open path as the doors lied several meters away and only hinges were left in the wall. Major led them inside and ordered his men to get out with another hand gesture.
"It would have been best if you could get this done withn an hour" he informed four hunters from the brotherhood "For your information, the investigation is still ongoing and you are sure to meet people who are gathering evidence, so please follow their instructions when you are there."
After these words, he also got out, leaving Echo V group inside. Since the building no longer had its own power source, whole lighting was produced by battery-powered reflectors.
As they were walking through the main corridor, everyone could notice traces of a tarry and scarlet blood, hardly coagulated on the walls, meaning at least a day passed since these were left. Aside from blood marks, Echo V also continued finding body parts scattered around on the floor. All of this, though, was nothing compared to omnipresent stench, momentarily so strong to make a person teary-eyed.
"Ugh! It smells so bad" Kyoko kicked a fur-covered paw with huge claws "What are they doing here? How's it no one taken care of it yet?"
Ken caught her arm.
"Remember, we are not supposed to touch anything" he told her "They allowed us to come here, so we'd better not do suff they may be unhappy about. And, about the remains - he pointed at the paw - did you notice that all the ones we found so far belong to demons? I've seen no human bodies here."
"You are absolutely right, I also could not see any" Ada confirmed "Maybe they are taking care of their own first? I doubt Garths are priority for them."
"Not a surprise" said Stella "They are intruders here and waging war against us, so why would humans worry for their dead?"
Kenichiro shrugged.
"We are not here for talking about politics and world view topics, so let us focus on finding traces and ensuring if it's really safe here."