3 bar menu

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Part 04

“Oops, almost forgot.” Anaconda straightened and turned to Kazuya and Nico. “The editor-in-chief has a message for you two newbies.”

Cherry snapped back into focus. The two women exchanged a brief glance before turning to Kazuya and Nico.

“The message is: ‘Finish gathering info on the Lion Boy quickly!'”

“And after that: ‘Go cover the bank robbery!’ Honestly, Dad’s instructions are so vague. Reporters from the Daily Road are all over, but we’ve got no clue where Kid is.”

“Basically, he thinks if we have enough reporters wandering around, one will run into Kid.”

“It doesn’t even qualify as a strategy,” Cherry said. “But lo and behold, the NYPD’s doing the exact same thing, just tossing cops everywhere.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Well, later, you two.”

“Message delivered!”

They strolled off, chatting.

“Wanna stop by the sandwich shop in Central Park?”

“Sounds good. Let’s grab some champagne, too.”

Victorique, holding the pipe in her mouth, muttered under her breath, “Spider girl?” Her eyes were still damp.

Kazuya frowned. “A sandwich shop in Central Park… with champagne? Some kind of speakeasy?”

Nico popped up from behind the bicycle. “Taverns are everywhere. But more importantly, what’s with these weird nicknames?”

“Taverns are everywhere, you know. Anyway, what’s with these weird nicknames?”

A shadow fell on Kazuya’s face. “I’ve been wondering about that too… since yesterday.”

“Ugh. I bet it’s because I got paired up with you. Now they’re making fun of me too.”

“Excuse me? Why would you put that on me?”

Nico grumbled, “Well, I… don’t really work well with a partner,” before trailing off into silence.

Kelly Sue, completely oblivious to the tension brewing between Kazuya and Nico, casually opened a box of AtoZ chocolates and started munching on the colorful heart- and star-shaped pieces. Victorique watched enviously.

Noticing her longing look, Kazuya whispered in her ear. She nodded, then went to the snack stand, turning red and then pale.

“A-A box of chocolates, please,” she ordered using the money Doug paid her, then returned with her change and a smug look. “Got it. That was easy.”

Kazuya watched her with a grin. Victorique began nibbling on the colorful chocolates, while Kelly Sue, not to be outdone, shoved more into her mouth. A chocolate-eating contest quickly ensued between the two.

Afterward, Victorique eagerly hopped back into the front basket of the bicycle, her eyes locked on Kazuya and Nico. “In short,” she said between munches, “looks like you two are to search for Public Enemy No.7 too.”

Kazuya gasped. “Yeah, I guess.”

“I finally got it. Absolutely,” Kelly Sue said, casually popping a chocolate ball into her mouth. “You two are a pair of reporter and photographer from the Daily Road. And you’re looking for a real lion. I smell a big adventure. Grr! First, you catch the lion. Then, bang! You catch Kid.” She mimed shooting a shotgun, then handcuffing someone.

Nico eyed her skeptically. “Do you actually get it, though?”

“Of course I do! So, here’s an idea. I’ll help search for both the lion and Kid. Those are more urgent anyway. But once we find them, you have to help me with my map search. Deal?”

“Hmm?” Victorique’s green eyes narrowed as she glanced at the Federal Reserve Bank building in the distance. Her silvery hair fluttered in the wind. She looked down briefly, then lifted her head again. “Very well. Kujou, Nico, Kelly Sue. Let us work together.”

“Leave it to me!” Kelly beamed.

“Wait, I have to help too?” Nico groaned.

“Of course you do,” Kazuya snapped.

“Now, now. Think about it,” Victorique said. “What would you do if you were Kid? Look around. With all this security, where would you hide? How would you raid the bank? It wouldn’t be easy, would it?”

They scanned the area. Police swarmed the streets, pedestrians milled about, cars were parked, reporters clustered.

Kelly Sue shook her head. “I’ve got no clue.”

Kazuya groaned, staring at the bank. “If I were Kid and his crew… with all these cops watching, I’d give up on trying to break in through the front.” He paused, then had an epiphany. “Unless… one of them was disguised as an officer. But if they don’t have an inside man, I got nothing.”

Kelly Sue pointed up at the sky. “What about attacking from above? Zoom zoom!”

“But you’d make too much noise with an airplane or helicopter,” Victorique pointed out. “You’d get caught at the rooftop.”

Kelly Sue let out a disappointed sigh. “Right.”

Kazuya looked up. “If they can’t come in from above…” He turned his gaze to the ground. Suddenly, something clicked.

A hot summer breeze tousled their hair and clothes. Green and pink frills flared in the wind, as if they might scatter like petals.

Victorique crunched on some chocolate. “From below, then.”

“Ah, yeah. If they moved underground, they could reach the bank’s basement unnoticed.”

“Yes. If they dug a tunnel from a nearby building’s basement to the Federal Reserve’s basement, it’s doable. But all the buildings around here are locked down, and there are policemen everywhere.”

Kazuya looked around and sighed. Police officers were gathered in front of every building, entrances sealed off with tape, and they were constantly going in and out.

“Even if there was a tunnel connecting a building to the bank, using it would be tough,” he said.

The group fell silent.

“You’re missing something,” Victorique spoke. “There’s actually one place nearby that hasn’t been locked down.”

“Where?” Kazuya asked.

“A large facility right next to the Federal Reserve,” she explained. “As a matter of fact, it hasn’t been checked, hasn’t even been noticed. It’s just across the street. Well, it’s just one possibility.”

“Wh-Where? What are you talking about?” Kazuya’s eyes darted around frantically. Kelly Sue scanned the area as well.

The Federal Reserve, the nearby buildings, the chaotic street, the crowded sidewalk.

Victorique stood up in the front basket, her silvery hair flowing as she turned to face them. The ruffles of her dress billowed.

She pointed to the vast green expanse of Central Park across the street.

Kazuya’s breath caught in his throat. “Are you saying Kid will raid the Federal Reserve through an underground passage from Central Park?!”

---

Victorique and Kazuya passed through the wide iron gates.

Victorique sat in the front basket of an old black bicycle, her silver-white hair, streaked with gold, fluttering in the wind. Kazuya gripped the handlebars, pushing the bike forward, while Kelly Sue sat sideways on the rear rack. Nico, crutches in one hand and camera in the other, trailed behind them.

The four of them entered the sprawling urban park. The sky stretched wide above the thick canopy, summer sunlight filtering through the dense foliage. The moment they stepped in, a sudden gust howled through the trees. Victorique’s hair whipped wildly, and for an instant, it felt cold, as if snow had fallen in the middle of summer.

New York’s Central Park, the largest in the United States of America, was a mix of deep green wilderness and cold, unyielding stone, like an ancient forest preserved through time.

They moved forward slowly.

Kazuya glanced at the ground. The soil beneath his shoes felt soft, unlike the paved walkways arranged in a precise grid. They had already stepped into the heart of the forest.

He tightened his grip on the handlebars, scanning the surroundings. The dense woods were steeped in ancient stillness, as if untouched by the passage of time and the hands of settlers. Beyond the trees, a vast carpet of grass stretched toward a dark green hill that loomed ominously. Cold stone chambers dotted the woods, evoking a lunar landscape. Along the path, huge heads of ancient heroes, carved from rock, lay scattered, their faces half-buried in leaves. Toward the grassy area stood a stack of stones, Celtic in design, that glowed white like an old temple.

The wind stirred the trees. Thin branches swayed overhead, moving like human arms, reaching out and pulling back.

Amid the greenery, New Yorkers began to appear. An immigrant couple strolled along a path. A young man in a tattered shirt jogged by, throwing occasional punches into the air like some aspiring boxer.

Laughter rang out from the stone chambers hidden among the thick trees. A large immigrant family, dressed in colorful traditional clothing, sat together, enjoying lunch. Squirrels scurried up the ancient stone heads, squeaking.