Nevertell: IV

Nevertell IV - The Chief of Nevermore


"Well~?" a smooth voice slithered out of the radio static. "Sssomething wrong~?"

The cop in the driver's seat glanced at his partner nervously. "N-No, sir! Everything is just fine!"

"You sure? That'sss a pretty nasty dent in your car~"

The poor man's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. Slowly, he poked his head out of the window. He looked back to the car behind, and saw none other than his superior, who raised his hand and waved daintily at him. His skin turned pale and clammy, he quickly brought his head back in and stammered into the radio, "S-Sir! I'm very, very sorry! I didn't know it was you! I-"

"GET OUT OF THE CAR."

"…Y-Yes, sir." Both he and his partner, who was just as shaky, stepped out of the tarnished vehicle, out into the middle of the road.

There, they waited for the leader of Nevermore. Their eyes shifted around at the now closed-off area, observing the damage of the chase. Damaged cars littered the road, frantic and dazed witnesses were being gathered, and the rest of Nevermore was doing their best to free their comrades from their icy prison. All this mess and they weren't even able to capture the culprits. And now, they have to answer to the most powerful authority figure of Nevertell.

His dark green leather boot was the first to step out of the car. His starch white gloves that reached half way to his elbow, pushed the car door open wide. Then, out stepped Snake, adjusting his stiff moss green collar. He surveyed his surroundings with naturally half-closed eyes, a listless smile on his thin lips. He walked over to the two awaiting officers, debris and pavement crunching under his boots. Approaching the two, he said simply, "Get everyone here."

"Honest, sir," one of the cops started, "I'm so sorry, I-"

Then, without warning, Snake took out his gun and shot him in the leg. "Imbecile," he muttered as he rolled his eyes. As the other cop stared at his partner in shock, Snake readjusted his dark green cap; a sash labeled "NEVERMORE" wrapped around it. He then pointed his gun at the other cop. "Be a doll and assemble everyone, pretty please."

"…."

"NOW."

With a fidgety salute and a, "Y-Yes, sir!" the cop rushed off and had everyone lined up. That is, after they got the officers on the rooftop unfrozen.

A moment later, all of the officers were in a row, side by side. Snake strolled in front of them, observing each and every one of them carefully. "Now… which of you failuresss would like to tell me what happened?"

All the men of Nevermore exchanged glances with one another. Not one of them dared to speak up.

A silent moment later, Snake tilted his head as he smiled listlessly, looking nonchalant. "No one? No volunteers?"

All of them still remained silent.

"…You there." He moseyed over to one of his men, standing face to face. "Care to tell li'l ol' me what went down here~?"

The young man was reduced to shaking in fear. "U-Um…. W-W-Well…"

"I'm waiting~"

"…Th-They…. There were these two kids-"

"Kidsss?"

"Y…Yes…."

"How pathetic. Continue~"

"Y-Yes, sir. They were robbing a store… a-and we tried to chase them down… but-"

"But you and the rest of you peonsss were not able to catch them. You all failed to apprehend two mere children, and allowed them to escape for another day." He leaned in, his tall, lanky figure looming over. "That isss correct, yesss~?"

"S-Sir! We didn't mean to let them get away!"

"But you did. And now they could be running amok somewhere else while we all stand here like a bunch of potato sacksss."

"O-Our deepest apologies-"

Immediate silence followed as Snake fired a ringing shot into the air. "I do not want excusesss or apologiesss. Now…" He strolled down the line of cops. Each one was standing rigid. Snake then sharply turned to another officer, looking right in the eye with his own heavy-lidded ones. "You. Tell me, how old did these… children look?"

The young man gulped. "U-Um…o-one was a boy…he looked like he was in his late teens…m-maybe even early twenties…and…" He hooked a finger into his stiff collar, trying to breathe, "the other was a…a girl. She looked very young; not even twelve."

Snake eyed the officer, as if something is ticking in his mind. "Describe them for me."

"Th-The young man had dark, messy hair…down to his chin, I think. He had pale skin, and looked to be taller than six feet. A-As for the girl…she had black hair tied up into a ponytail. And a red braid! She looked like she barely reached five feet and had pale skin as well…"

"Did they look related?"

"…S-Sir?"

"You heard me, stupid. Did they look related?"

"I…I think so…" The young man watched his superior contemplate on this for a long while, not a word coming from him. The silence soon became uncomfortable. Hesitantly, the Nevermore spoke up hesitantly, "Sir… are… are you all right?"

Snake was in deep thought for a few more seconds. All of his men couldn't help but look at their leader in nervous curiosity. But then his listless smile returned to his face, a new spark in his dark eyes. "Yesss. All of you, clean up this mess."

All of them saluted. "Yes, sir!"

The chief of Nevermore turned around and walked to his car. He chuckled. "So the Valentine kids have finally come back home~" Almost unconsciously, his gloved hand reached up and touched a gory scar along his neck. It was a dark, crusty red, and none of Nevermore dared ask where he got the wound. "It's been a long time, junior."