Léon: The Cat Killer

Seeing Nana dump all the contents of her backpack into another messenger bag with a medical-marked Velcro strap, Colt quickly stepped forward:

"You haven't answered my question yet."

"Under normal circumstances, I would set aside my desire to help others and respect individual choices... but I must remind you that not all choices will lead to the desired outcome..."

"So, you mean... you agree with what I'm doing?"

Despite the boy's persistent pestering, Nana finally adjusted the shoulder strap of her crossbody bag, and then a gleaming silver gun appeared in her hand—which she gripped and whistled past.

With a muffled thud, the other two children stared in disbelief as their brother was knocked unconscious on the ground.

Kevin looked up in alarm, immediately meeting Nana's unfriendly gaze:

"Don't tell me you're also going to try and kill yourself?"

"This... my brother was just worried about Mom and my sister..."

“But Cole and Kate were led there by Mr. Andy and never came back, right… How could I let you go under these circumstances?”

"He just... thought that 'Nana-neechan' would probably accept a slightly tougher approach..."

As he spoke, he turned his gaze away and touched the corner of his mouth. Kevin clearly had some communication difficulties; after all, when the twins were together, he was usually the one who just agreed with them.

“I accept the rational advice to act, deliberately courting death… is acceptable… but only after I have fulfilled the contract…”

It means, if you want to die, then go ahead and die, but don't let it affect my performance.

As she spoke, she pulled out a suitcase, selected a suitcase of a suitable size, opened it, and took out a mask, placing it on Colt's head... While the other two children were looking at her with either fear or interest, Nana gently picked up the unconscious child, put him inside... She 'snap' the lid shut and then locked it.

"...This looks like it was specifically designed to house people?"

Even as an assassin herself, Nana felt that Matilda's focus was misplaced. But focusing on her assassin's tools was better than worrying about her mother and sister, whose situation was beyond her control and might already be too late… So Nana nodded in agreement.

"Yes, this is a specially modified armored cargo box for transferring VIPs. The mask is connected to the external gas shield, so that he won't die from suffocation in the sealed environment, while also providing a certain degree of immunity to possible tear gas, poisons, and Originium dust..."

"Is Nana-neechan planning to use this to transport us out?"

Nana nodded at the little white cat's words at first, but then realized what she meant and corrected it:

“Yes… but I’m not ‘Nana’… I’m just… a ‘salesperson’ who’s here to carry out the contract.”

Watching the female doctor begin stuffing cookies, water, and some kind of convenient resealable bag into the box, Kevin, who had lost his connection with his brother and seemed to have lost even his ability to think, could only tug at his sister, whose expression remained normal.

"Is Mia sure that really was Nana? Or has Nana already left, and that was indeed an assassin disguised as her?"

"...Even though her appearance and temperament are completely different from Nana-neechan's usual self, her thoughts and feelings haven't changed...Why do you guys always think Nana-neechan is untrustworthy, Kevin-gege?"

Kevin opened his mouth but said nothing to his sister, who had trusted him completely from beginning to end.

After all, like his brother who had been knocked unconscious, he didn't know what else he could trust now that he couldn't even trust a laboratory like the Loken Water Tank.

We can't really believe in 'Nana's' 'good intentions' like Matilda did... Her mother and Kate, who had the same abilities as her, are both gone forever... If the ability to see through good and evil were truly useful, things wouldn't have turned out this way...

Seeing that Matilda was still carefree playing with the puzzles in her older sister's old backpack, Kevin silently went to the kitchen and bedroom to get food, water, and clothes to change out of his pajamas.

Meanwhile, Nana had settled Colt in. To prevent the boy from waking up and struggling in the box, Nana had secured him with the same restraints as a kidnapping.

Although Nana had considered that if Kevin remained conscious, she wouldn't need to restrict the boy's movements with the straps... but given Kevin's communication skills, Nana worried that once Kevin woke up, he would get Kevin on his side in just a few words.

After checking one last time, the children started eating obediently and prepared to leave. Nana took out her phone... After turning off the stylish tablet phone used by 'Salesperson Nana', Nana switched to the bulky communicator she used as a doctor, which had enhanced communication and Originium interference resistance and could be used in the wilderness, and connected it to her still-style ear-hook headphones:

"Agent, how long will it take for the employees who will help with the move, including Yi Lin, Yi Qi, and Wu Jiu Jiu, to arrive?"

They probably set off when you used the bomb, so they should be arriving soon, right? Should we give them some detailed instructions?

"Um... because of the previous explosion, the walls were damaged, and we plan to renovate the house later, so we're having people move our things out first..."

[Okay...entered...good reasoning, the explanation has been sent to them...but, will the directional bomb you made really damage the walls in the non-lethal zone?]

Hearing her manager's reminder, Nana glanced at the wall in the direction of the balcony... Just as her manager said, even though half of the walls of 'Salesperson Nana's' house above had collapsed, the ceiling on the fourth floor, which served as the 'ground', seemed to be completely unaffected.

This kind of obvious mistake won't do. Nana thought for a moment, then made a 'shooting' gesture with her hand, and black mist gathered at her fingertips... Then a flash of black light appeared, and a crack suddenly appeared in the ceiling. The sound of paint peeling off the walls made the children who were eating perk up their cat ears.

"Nana-neechan?"

"It's alright...you guys continue..."

After doing all this, Nana patted Kevin and Matilda's heads again, and soon their hair quickly turned back to its previous misty black color... Kevin was also covered up with the wig that Colt had used before to hide his cat ears...

Speaking of which, I've always felt that your black hair might also be a result of your Originium Arts, otherwise you wouldn't have had the problem of not being able to get the color from any hair dye.

'...Spells are tiring to cast on things other than oneself, and I don't know if it will affect the hair itself over time...Matilda's long white hair is like her mother's...very beautiful. I don't want her to end up like me, all dark and sparse.'

The manager clearly understood Nana's unspoken meaning, and the two fell into a silent silence... Not long after, there was a knock on the door.

Nana's eyes immediately changed, filled with irritability, anger, and exhaustion... emotions that were completely absent before suddenly appeared on the black-haired woman, as if she had truly become a troubled housewife:

"Soldier?"

"Ah...we meet again, madam. May I ask if you called that moving company outside on the street?"

"Yes, I didn't notice it during the previous search. I only discovered the large broken section of the wall on the balcony after you left..."

As Nana spoke, she led the soldiers into the house to inspect the wall on the balcony. Fine cracks stretched from the outside of the house all the way to the ground.

"This place is uninhabitable. I plan to hire a renovation team to clean it up properly... The moving company came to help move the furniture first... It's an old house, so I'll just renovate it all... Hey, this house was suddenly bombed out of nowhere. Has the government said who will pay compensation?"

"Well... I don't know, maybe you should ask the landlord if they have insurance... But was there such a big crack just now?"

"It wasn't there at the time; it seems to have spread slowly over time. I only discovered it after you left."

The female doctor chatted familiarly with the soldiers about renovations and compensation, while two short, dark-haired figures, engrossed in their hearty breakfast, devoured a large suitcase on the table...

If you ignore the fact that the little ones deliberately turned their heads to avoid the soldiers' gaze, then this scene really does look like a discussion in an ordinary family.

Under the persistent insistence of the 'medical lady,' even the squad leader who had previously accepted three large coins couldn't resist taking out his communicator:

“Um, Captain… It’s confirmed here, it really was this family who called the moving crew… Huh? Ask them to cancel? But the fourth floor is… um… um… it’s really badly damaged… Huh? Ask them to stay where they are? But, this is a doctor…”

As he spoke, the squad leader stuck out his tongue at Nana, then deliberately lowered his voice with a helpless expression and said:

“She said before that she’s a member of the crisis contract. Those people not only have their own landships and media circles, but they also get louder and louder when they’re wronged… It’s not appropriate to offend them for the sake of CASA’s mission… Yes, the damage to the building is clearly visible… Yes, yes… As you said, it’s indeed inappropriate to leave a highly educated doctor and her family in such a vulnerable place… So I’ll let the moving company in…”

As he spoke, the soldier gave Nana an 'OK' sign, and Nana responded with a thumbs-up. Then he pulled out three large coins... This soldier received a week's wages from Nana today, the wages of an ordinary worker. Even the most serious person would have a smile on their face.

Seeing the squad leader's jubilant expression, Nana's heart was not as joyful as her face.

Generally speaking, expenses for this level of task are considered normal... but the problem is that this task for Bruce's family was commissioned by Nana herself, which means that the money spent on this task is a pure loss... To be honest, Nana is starting to regret meddling in other people's business.

"Okay, the people you called will check at the checkpoint and then let you through... As for you, the officer has approved your request to leave... Of course, all the goods you're moving out will have to be inspected."

“That’s to be expected… However, should the precision gem equipment also be checked? Some surgical instruments require a sterile environment to be used.”

As she spoke, Nana pointed to the pile of boxes she had just dragged out.

Ninety percent of them were genuine medical devices, after all, Nana's special medical device operation license was a real and authentic document... It's just that the hostage box containing Colt and some of Nana's own valuable equipment cases were also mixed in with medical device labels...

"If it's just a spot check, that's fine... but if we check everyone, it'll take until very late..."

"Well..."

Seeing the soldier hesitate and unwilling to refuse completely, Nana didn't know whether her heartache, impatience, and slight annoyance were acting or genuine... But in the end, Nana pursed her lips, narrowed her eyes, and pulled out a 1,000 Lungmen Dollar banknote from her messenger bag.

“Those things are what the Cataclysmic Messenger will need later… If this place is opened, my mission will be delayed… You know the rules of the Crisis Contract; delays in equipment really have a huge impact on my work… Please try to smooth things over…”

"Hmm... I'll try my best... For example, how about I have my team help you get the sensitive items out of here first?"

"please."

As she spoke, Nana handed the box containing her valuable firearms and Originium Etched Bullets to the arriving soldiers.

After telling Matilda and Kevin to get ready to leave, Nana herself carried a medical supply box containing synthetic jade parts, and the three of them, along with the two little ones, dragged the two suitcases, one large and one small, toward the door.

The moving company ICA, which the agent called... Nana rarely faces these guys who might also be on murder contracts, but as an international platform that prioritizes efficiency and service, communication with these helpers called by the agent is quick and pleasant.

Omitting the details of them actually helping with the move, Nana, with the help of the moving company, diverted most of the military's attention...

Putting aside the fact that more than a dozen people had to be searched one by one, the fact that suitcases covered with labels indicating fragility, radiation, and biohazards was also a source of annoyance for the National Guard was another matter.

"...Medicines, equipment...and even Originium products...Madam, you've always kept these dangerous items in your home?"

"After all, we're taking these guys across the wilderness, and maybe even through disaster zones to get food... Survival and caution are the top priorities... Unlike the military, we don't have land-based ships to provide logistical support at all times."

As if it were true, Nana readily displayed medical supplies befitting her status to deal with the military's inspection, waiting for them to run out of patience.

Previously, Nana had the squad leader deliver an ammunition box for cover purposes, intended to arouse suspicion within the army...

If their bribery was a deception, then the 'prohibited firearms' strictly forbidden to be sold in Lateran and generally only available on the Sarkaz black market would probably be enough to dispel their suspicions about them in this bombing.

It's just illegal possession of a weapon; who hasn't committed that these days?

Furthermore... what does the Colombian National Guard have to do with Colombian citizens violating Lateran laws?

The worst-case scenario would be the loss of those valuable large guns... Nana was mentally prepared when she analyzed that the Bruce family's contract would make all public authorities hostile to her.

……OR

As the soldiers gradually lowered their guard against the incomprehensible yet delicate medical equipment, Nana opportunely suggested, "Why don't we just have the movers load duplicate items onto the truck?"

Of course, the already impatient soldiers readily agreed, and things proceeded very smoothly. (Qi)

Nana didn't even need to use the two suitcases, one large and one small, that she and Matilda had been dragging around to prepare for the final inspection.

These two boxes were never out of sight of the inspectors during other item checks; they appeared to be valuables, but one was actually full of intimate apparel, and the other was completely filled with unopened sex toys… Using such items to wear down the inspectors' patience and then using them as a pretext for further investigation was perfectly appropriate.

The only potential loss is the social aspect of the disguised identity… but as for social death, Nana isn't afraid of that… at worst, she can just change her identity again. (Leek)

However, just as Nana finished dealing with the army, and the National Guard and police were completely drawn to the porters' extravagant spending, the items containing one of the twins were easily smuggled out. As the three were about to get into their vehicle and leave… a voice once again made Nana the focus of the soldiers at the outpost.

That was Mrs. Jackson after her checkup. She hesitated, watching Nana lead the child away.

"Good morning... Um... Eh? And you are?"

The old man's voice made the soldier beside him raise his eyes and place his hand on the weapon at his waist. After several choices flashed through Nana's mind, she finally responded with a bitter smile:

"Good morning, Mrs. Jackson. The explosion was really scary... Mia, don't hide behind me, come and say hello to Grandma."

With Nana's half-pulling, half-dragging reminder, Matilda reluctantly poked her head out.

Although the old man looked at the assassin with great suspicion, when he saw the emerald-eyed, black-haired kitten with teary eyes, clinging to the girl's waist and unwilling to let go, he immediately showed a wistful expression.

"Ah...you are that..."

"I'm a doctor, from the fourth floor, the one who's always on business trips for crisis contracts... Yesterday's explosion was really powerful; the corners of the walls are cracked all over..."

As they chatted about everyday things, Nana noticed that the soldiers around her still seemed suspicious. So, the girl took Matilda's hand with one hand and put her other arm around Kevin's arm... Although it looked like a harmonious family talking with their apartment manager, Nana was actually ready to grab the two little ones and run away at any moment.

To Nana's surprise, the old man, who had clearly recognized her and the two children, did not reveal the truth that the three of them were actually residents of the fifth floor... Instead, he smiled and echoed Nana's topic of 'being a resident of the fourth floor'.

Even when other residents were going to work or elderly people were out for their morning walks and saw Nana dressed strangely and looking odd, Mrs. Jackson would be the first to help greet her...

Amidst sighs of "the doctor is about to leave" and "we'll probably have to travel a long way to the hospital from now on," Nana, surrounded by neighbors, was forced to continue acting as the "doctor," offering "consolation," "comfort," and "medical instructions" to these people...

Quite counterintuitive... before Nana lost her patience, the military started to expel people first:

"Alright, alright, stop crowding here! Disperse, disperse... Um... Mrs. Nana, your examination is finished, please stop blocking the road."

Whether the crowd was genuinely interested or just there for the spectacle, they were all driven away... And as most people quietly dispersed, Grandma Jackson, with a look of pity, took a paper package from the vegetable basket in her arms and stuffed it into the arms of Matilda, who seemed completely bewildered and unaware of what had happened.

"...Come here, child...You're about to go on a long journey. Grandma doesn't have much for you, but make sure you eat well on the way...This is from the bakery across the street, made by that pretty lady. Apparently, it's one of her masterpieces..."

As he spoke, the old man sniffed... Fortunately, the soldiers around him had long since lost their patience, and no one noticed this unusual behavior from the old man.

"I wonder if she can still become the top-notch baker that old Hawke praised..."

"……Will do."

Nana's forced smile as she gave the somewhat heartbroken old man a hug was probably not a pretense.

“That person, no matter where she is, will be a first-rate baker… just like her mother never abandoned her family…”

Shaking her head without continuing, Nana adjusted her headband, perking up her cat ears again. After gesturing for the children to grab their suitcases, Nana formally bid farewell to Mrs. Jackson.

"Well, it's getting late, we should head out now."

"Hmm, Doctor Zero One Instrument Five Wine Si Wine VIII, please be careful on your journey... and come visit us old folks again when you have time~"

As she spoke, the old lady stroked the two kittens that still refused to speak... and turned away... The old woman still had her own life to live.

But just as Nana was about to get on the bus, she discovered that the van that had been loading suitcases had disappeared... Only two porters who had finished unloading their belongings were left behind, slacking off.

"...Where's the car we haven't boarded yet?"

Upon hearing Nana's question, the employees of both moving companies responded with equally bewilderment:

"Huh? Didn't you tell the driver to go first? He said he'd take the things to...the hotel first..."

Seeing the employer's face darken instantly, the movers fell silent.