After the meal, the group headed to the military airport near the 88 outer walls.
This is a landing site for helicopters and VTOL aircraft (Vertical Take Off and Landing). It had a wide open space.
The airport beacon lights were already activated, The large concrete area had been cleared of snow but there was still a lot of snow around the perimeter.
Being an airport inside the enclosed 88, the noise level was one of the major concerns, so it was constructed with noise suppression in mind, and at night the place was almost deserted and very silent.
-- hoots hoots -- an owl's voice rang from somewhere in the distance.
The new meeting location was in a hangar.
The man waiting there was Wakefield of the Romeo team. A tall man.
InoRyder calls out to him as he leans against the transport helicopter slow tortoise while chewing gum.
"So? what's up with the location change?"
"You know how every secret meeting always comes with a last minute change of location, right?"
"I guess. But it's a pain in the ass."
"Well, Just kidding, What really happened was because I need to go out on a quick sortie after this, and I don't have much time. So, I asked you to come here."
"I don't feel sorry for the Special Forces because you guys get paid a lot."
"Romeo ain't so different from you Fox ...... Hey, InoRyder. Aren't there too many people here?"
Wakefield looked over at Natsuki and the others and raised an eyebrow.
"There's a lot of stuff going on over here too. We'll just leave those kids in the corner, so I hope you don't mind."
"...... what the hell are you getting yourself into?"
Wakefield laughs bitterly. InoRyder shrugged and replied.
"I guess it's called cleaning up the mess."
"Hah ...... well, I guess I kind of feel you on that one."
Wakefield said, looking at Abigail.
"Actually, I heard about you the other day when you met Eriksen. It's about Nigel, isn't it?"
"I'm Abigail, nice to meet you."
"I'm Wakefield. Not that I've had that much contact with Nigel, but what do you want to ask me?"
"I'm here about the 89 defense."
"She wanted to know Nigel's last moment."
Abigail nodded.
"But why would you want to hear that? I'm sorry to say it, but kill in action seems like an acceptable explanation to me. What's the point of trying to dig it up now?"
Wakefield chewed his gum and looked at Abigail, sizing her up.
"I talked to Garnier about it, but I still wasn't convinced."
"Convinced?"
Abigail mentioned that she had a conversation with Garnier the other day. She also said that it was unnatural for Nigel to have stayed there alone.
"--Ho. So, if you find something ...... suspicious, what are you going to do about it?"
"I'm going to make them pay."
Abigail's unhesitating declaration made Wakefield's eyes widen.
They stare at each other in silence for a while.
As the distant noise echoed through the hangar, Wakefield was the first to break his silence.
The corners of his mouth curled up in a grin as he said, "So similar....."
"I've only had a few encounters with her, but she's saved my life twice. I should think this is a chance for me to settle the bills....... Hey, give me a shot when I come back alright, InoRyder."
"By any chance......Are you trying to flee from 88 this night?"
"I don't like how 88 is doing now. I want to go out and refresh a bit"
"You know something, don't you?"
"...... Abigail, I've made up my mind after I saw you."
Wakefield's expression tightened and became serious.
"Here's what I reported to the higher-ups after I returned from the 89 defense - I heard the gunfire and ran over to find Nigel lying on top of an alien in black armor with a knife in her chest. When I picked her up, she was already gone. And you see, this revolver--"
Wakefield tapped the gun on his hip.
"This gun was actually in Nigel's hand at that time. I got it from her as a memento. The gun is said to have been blessed in the church after it was assembled. So I thought I'd try to take advantage of its blessing. I've been in good health ever since, aren't that miracle?"
"Hey! That's the first time I hear that!! give it back!!"
InoRyder demanded.
Wakefield shrugged "I'll give it back ...... to you." and handed it to Abigail,
"This is Nigel's gun ......."
The Wolf's bane--a heavy revolver that Fox's crew carries. By the looks of it, there is no difference between it and the gun InoRyder has.
"I didn't see any human survivors other than me in the vicinity. I immediately sensed the aliens approaching, so I left the bodies and retreated. That's all."
"...... In general .......it's the same story as Garnier."
While Abigail could not hide her disappointment, Wakefield added, "However--"
"I do recall something that might relate to this."
After he said this, his gaze became distant as he searched through his memory.
"---- That day, I had infiltrated deep inside alone to carry out orders to blow up 89 command centers and main defense systems. The operation was a success. So I was on my way to the exit. Suddenly, there was a ridiculously loud gunshot echoing in the sky over 89."
Abigail nodded silently and urged him to continue.
"I knew right away that it was Nigel's. Because that fellow's gun wasn't a normal gun. At first, I didn't think much of it ....... but after that, a second shot went up This was unusual. It is usually a one-shot kill. Then came the third, and forth, and I thought, oh, She's going to need some support, so I went to the scene, following the sound.
Wakefield cleared his throat.
"There was even a huge explosion on the way. It sounded a little strange. It wasn't the sound of gunpowder, but more like a weird, heavy sound, as if the air was vibrating and shaking. I think it was alien magic. The gunfire stopped for a while. At that time I thought it killed Nigel. But then the gunshots sped up and were mixed with multiple rounds. Well, it certainly sounded like a fierce battle."
"Multiple."
"It wasn't just the sound of Nigel's sniper rifle."
"......"
"I got stuck with some aliens on the way. It took us almost twenty minutes to get there. At some point, the gunfires stopped, and by the time I got there it was already over....."
"You mean there was another gunshot, yet there were no other people on the scene and no bodies?"
"No human bodies, I didn't see any."
Wakefield said thoughtfully.
"I reported that because there were pieces of flesh scattered around the area that I couldn't identify."
"That's--"
"I don't know. Maybe it was alien, maybe it was human. But it's such a mess. The amount was also unusual. I can't put this into words, but it was a massive amount of shredded flesh as if a whale had burst open. And--"
After some hesitation, Wakefield continued.
"--There were also the remains of a monster that I have no idea what it is and have never seen before."
"A monster ......."
"How to tell you........ I still don't know to this day, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't human. It looked horribly intimidating, but it wasn't any kind of magical beast or alien creature I've ever seen."
"Then another thing", He took a deep breath.
"Nigel was definitely stabbed through the chest ----- but from behind."
Pulling a blade from his hip, Wakefield looked at it with sadness.
"This was stuck in her chest - probably a knife. I haven't seen it in a while. ......"
"......"
Abigail gasped and stared at it.
It is a strange blade, pitch black with no metallic sheen. If Wakefield had not told her it was a knife, she would not have immediately recognized it as such.
The shape of a knife is, in a sense, perfected, and it would be the same for both aliens and humans. Despite this, the knife felt out of place at first glance. There was a sense of strangeness in the knife that was different from the kind of functional aesthetic that a knife should have.
InoRyder immediately stepped forward with a threatening look. "You're kidding right?"
"Senpai has the instincts of a wild animal, She shouldn't get stabbed from behind like that so easily."
"I completely agree with you."
Seeing Wakefield's straightforward affirmation, Abigail asks with a stern look on her face.
"Why don't you report it?"
Then he turns his head down and says
"--The air, the situation, and I felt it would be the same whether I said it or not, and Garnier, who is much closer to Nigel than I am made a similar report next to me, and the higher ups didn't ask any more questions. I figured it was all right. You know, disposition and all that. But--"
He looked up and sighed heavily.
"It's been stuck with me for a long time. ...... I didn't think I'd have to let it out like this."
"......."
Seeing Abigail's silence, Wakefield stepped forward.
"Abigail, I know what you're thinking. I've occasionally pulled this knife out from my desk just to look at it several times. And I've been thinking about those scenes ever since. Each time I did, I always had some excuse to convince myself. Like I didn't see it in person, or if only there was a chance or something. And now that chance has appeared right in front of me."
"This could be dangerous, you know. Is justice enough for you to help us?"
Then instead of answering, he huffed and laughed to himself.
"- Actually, I've been trying to get in Nigel's pants for a long time."
"What?" InoRyder hissed.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't have, well, ulterior motives for trying to go and help her that time."
"Sorry, you're not my type."
Abigail said jokingly, and Wakefield smiled a little and held out his hand.
"First, let's go talk to Garnier again together. A guy is a blunt man, but he doesn't lie. He doesn't ask questions, so he just keeps quiet. Maybe there's some influence or something, but Nigel certainly admired Garnier, and Garnier treated Nigel especially well. If we could get that guy on board, it would be a big step forward in the process."
After some hesitation, Abigail shook the offered hand.
"You can call me Wake----."
Almost simultaneously, there was a thud and Wakefield's body shook.
A sharp impact pieced her ear and shook Abigail's vision violently.
The next time her vision adjusted, Wakefield's head was gone, revealing his white teeth in a clean U-shape.
On his pink tongue was a bit of green gum that he was chewing.
The head of the man disappears, leaving only his chin and the lower part of his jaw.
Abigail's train of thought skipped for a moment.
Her breath caught in her chest, and every muscle in her body stiffened, unable to move.
Abigail was already tackled and pushed down by InoRyder when the sound of gunshots reached her ear.
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