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The Silence of the Monkeys	By : MzD Category: Dragon Ball Z > General Views: 3535 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or Silence of the Lambs. I do not make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 27
- 28
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Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. I do not make money from this story.
Warning: Slight gore and descriptive corpse scene.
Chapter 28
Clipped Wings
It took one minute of Bulma focusing and trying to calm herself before she hit the call button. She hadn't spoken to Launch for a few years. All she received from her now was the odd letter or e-mail updating her about her life. Tien believed the stories about her and Vegeta or thought she was to blame for his escape. It didn't help that Launch had sided with her man over her and had basically cut ties and had reduced it to such a vague contact.
The phone began to ring and Bulma tried to clear her mind. She didn't need to think of the past, or whatever Tien had thought. He was dead and Launch needed to know.
There was a click and a light sob. "Launch here… who's speaking?"
Bulma's heart broke, she was obviously crying. "Launch honey, it's Bulma. I guess you know the terrible news."
There was a garbled reply that she guessed was affirmative. The Police must have already gone to deliver the bad news.
"I'm on the case to find the guy who did this." Bulma said. "I'm in North City just now, you have my number, call me tonight and we can meet up."
"Go find him and kill him." Launch snapped.
Bulma gasped at the change of pitch, the gentle sobs had been replaced with a more fiery voice. It was Launch's alter ego, or her other self. It was a weird mental health issue she had hidden for so long during training. "I can't promise that, you know it!"
"I'll kill him too if I could." Launch snarled. "Call me later B, we'll catch up. I may want to pump you for info."
"You know I can't…" She was cut off midway. Launch had hung up on her. She tried to redial but it was a dead line. Bulma could only guess that she was going to have to tread lightly. It was her duty to tell her friend she was here to investigate her lover's death. Though she knew she would be making herself too involved in the case to make a clear investigation. She was here as bait after all, the real investigator was Viola. That was clear as to why she had been assigned someone to work with her. She sighed deeply again, there was another phone call she needed to make, to Director Piccolo or even Special Agent Yamcha. She opted for the easier option and decided to tell Agent Viola later at the hotel. The coroner was getting agitated and giving her looks as she had obviously made a private phone call on his work time.
Bulma shoved her phone back in her bag and went back into the ambulance. She never glanced at the crowd or even seemed to notice that one of the rowdy mass was quietly staring directly at her. A sly smirk crossed his face and he turned around to leave, pulling his cap down further over his face as the cold North City winds through the docks. The chaos of the event that had happened there still shaking the city.
000
Far away in the Gero Mansion an old man was watching the news seething with anger.
"The body of a man was found today in North City docks. The body was suspended from a crane and his skin flailed. Viewers are advised the following scenes contain some graphic images."
"That's HIM!" Dr. Gero snarled… "I know it… damn…"
The nurse rushed to his side as he violently rocked his body to try and sit up. Marron did her best to hold him up and adjust the pillows. She tried to keep herself as quiet as possible. She had a bad habit of saying what she thought and it was hard for her to control herself. If she wasn't careful with her words, he would find a way to make her pay for any impertinence towards him.
"Who… V-Ve…" She struggled to say his name. "The Saiyan…?"
"Yesss. Alsso… our little rat hasss been caught…" He was gasping for breath.
"The man that was killed?" Marron asked. "You think he was the bounty hunter?" The nurse turned to the news and looked; there was nothing left to see any details of who the person was. It just looked like some hanging flesh in her eyes. She wanted to turn it off but she knew she would only risk his anger. For the nurse the past few years of taking care of the man had taken their toll. It didn't help that she was constantly reminded of her previous trauma with the Saiyan Prince. She had lost an ear because of him. She wasn't allowed to cover he scar. She had to show her mangled side. Her beauty she felt was ruined forever.
"Get Black in here…we need… to check on those… rejectsss of mine!" Gero hissed some more. His anger only rising. "Vegeta will know… he'll know they're … coming… It'll make… it all… the more interesssting…."
"Please Sir, I'll get Black, just calm yourself." Marron pleaded. "Save your breath."
"Don't tell… ME…. Wha… t'… do…I'll… gaa…" He struggled to continue his threat but his eyes glared at her as she squealed and left to find Mr. Black. "I'll…. Cut …. That… other… ear…maybe… your tongue… TOO…"
The nurse had already left before he was finished but his voice echoed down to hall after her. He would follow up with his threats, the scars on her arms and hands told her that. He may be physically unable to do it himself, but he found ways to get his staff to do as he pleased. She wanted this nightmare to end. Once Vegeta was captured, his revenge, her revenge too would be complete. She could run away and never come back. He could rot in this mansion and all his robot toys till he died a lonely death.
000
For Vegeta though, he knew he had very little time in North City. It was his farewell party after all. The city had suited him more than most. The weather made wearing hats and scarves covering your face a very necessity of life. He was glad he could give them such a memorable send off. The Crane that had been caught by him seemed to have frozen beautifully by weather. The skin strips of feathers and knives seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. He had noticed how Bulma had looked at it with not a shed of disgust in her face. She was a mask of no emotions. She had changed a lot since he'd last seen her.
He paused at the corner looking back at the docks. The crowds were being dispersed and the police were pushing people back. It was time for him to leave the cover of the crowd was being lost.
The ambulance that had taken Bulma away was heading downtown. There was no doubt that was where she was going. He got into his car and started the engine.
'This game is really only just beginning.' He thought. 'I never actually thought they would send her, but here she is. Right in front of me…'
It was too tempting, she had to be there as bait, there may be other opportunities for him too get closer to her. The chance was too good to pass up. He would play along with their game for now. As he had his own game to play along.
000
In the Police morgue Bulma sat on a seat waiting for the coroner. She had hoped it would be a quick job, one where he would take the body in and do it all quickly in front of her. She however was told to wait while he made the preparations. Bulma took out her phone and checked her messages.
"Okay Agent Briefs, we're ready for you." Chu-hi said as he looked down at her phone.
Bulma nodded and put her phone away.
"Do you have any recording devices?" He asked.
"Only my Dictaphone, standard FBI issue." Bulma replied. "Would it be okay to use?"
He smiled at her for the first time. "Sure, that's just what I hoped you'd have."
He seemed like the old fashion type. Bulma could have done it with her phone but at least with her old Dictaphone she could count the amount of recordings easily.
"This is Agent Bulma Briefs in the North City Police Morgue." She said into her device. "The coroner, Mr Chu-Hi Lime, is present for the autopsy of Detective Tien Crane,"
"Very Good, I shall begin." Chu-Hi nodded as he unzipped the bag. There was the surge of meat smell, it hadn't yet decomposed but the smell of human flesh was not pleasant. The body had defrosted on its journey and the skin flaps that had formed the feathers were turning to mush. "The death is most likely from suffocation and blood loss. The cuts are strange… the knives seemed to all have been imbedded in the flesh. Take a photo of this part here."
Chu-Hi motioned to his silent assistant who moved in on command and there was a flash. Bulma kept her hand steady as she recorded the autopsy. She tried to trace the face of Tien to see if she could see any resemblance of what she remembered. It was all vague memories of photos but she did notice the lack of hair and sharp features. They were the only things she really remembered about him. His face now was slack and his tongue poked out of his mouth. There was another flash as another angle was selected for a photograph.
"The bruising and ropes on the neck are all connected to the knives by small threads and strings. This wouldn't have enough force to pull out the blades when he was swung over the make-shift gallows of the crane."
"Was he hung or cut first?" Bulma asked. "Maybe the knives were pulled out of him before he was hung?"
"If that was the case… why are they all done in the same fashion, the same angle? The person who did this had some good surgery skill to accomplish this especially since they were a hundred feet in the air. The skin though is ripped as well as cut… I'm not sure what to make of this."
"That's why the FBI is here Sir." Bulma said. "Please, some more detail about your first impressions."
"Very well, before we get to the main autopsy. The body was restrained, bruising at the side and his arms show this. He would be aware of his capture. There must have been a struggle for him to get out. There are rope burns on this scrap of skin here. There seems to be some unknown trauma across his face, almost like a burn but no fire could do this type of skin damage…" Chu-Hi was deep into his talk while Bulma zoned out.
Tien had hung like a frozen bird midflight, now he was just a mess on the table. The feathers were now bloody scraps that were being cut now as Chu-Hi decided to look at skin cuts under a microscope later. It seemed unreal to Bulma that this dead body in front of her used to be a full man. He looked like a slab of meat on the butcher table. Only his head and legs gave away his human form. It was hard for her to imagine him alive, making Launch smile. The body seemed so far away from an actual living person.
She was slightly worried in the back of her mind she would have to meet Launch and try to consol her. All the while having this nightmare image of her friend's dead lover flashing in her head. She tried to bury it down and continue with the investigation. It was clear this death was done by a warrior, once she took all this back to the labs in the FBI they would have a quick break-down of the events. For now Chu-Hi struggled to understand what was in front of him and could just make descriptions of what he saw. The ki burns Bulma saw clearly on the skin were noted down by the doctor as unknown trauma and she had to stifle her voice.
The FBI kept this kind of death under deep secrecy. The less the general public knew the better about the greater threats in the Universe. She'd done this type of investigation many times before but this was the first that had hit close to home.
An hour later and Bulma was out of the morgue and trying to hold in her shaking. No matter how much training she had it was still harrowing to see the mortality of humans. She made her way to the ladies restroom and checked it was empty. She held her Dictaphone up to her mouth to make one last comment. There were some things that common officers and doctors were not allowed to hear.
"This is now 3pm after the autopsy of Detective Tien Crane. My first impressions must be noted that this is a code 3 death. Ki burns were on the body, inflicted by the Detective or from contact with another ki user. I would recommend the body be placed in FBI custody and a full analysis of any residual energy readings be made. Blood and tissue samples were also taken and should be taken under FBI jurisdiction as well. I would also recommend checking if Detective Tien was a listed warrior. I cannot comment further on the matter as I have found I am acquainted with the victim. His life partner was a very close friend of mine. Autopsy report end."
She sighed, it was over. She'd done the horror part of the investigation which she always got lumped with. This was one reason she had become such an Ice Queen. She'd seen some worse things than this and it had always chipped away at her armour. Bulma knew she could recover; she always bounced back. Her expertise on alien attacks and ki related injuries had been what had kept her ahead of the rest of her fellow investigators.
She dumped her bag by the washbasin and went into the toilet. There was no time to get sentimental about things. As she sat she switched on her phone. It only took a few minutes before it buzzed alive with missed calls and messages. She took the time to flick through all the mail messages. The voicemail ones could wait till she was in a less echo filled place. She heard the door clatter and someone went into the next cubicle. Bulma remembered she was in the lower part of the police station and made her move out. She checked her bag and tidied herself up.
As she walked slowly out and up to the first floor she listened to the voicemail. One was from Launch, the usually more calm side of her. She told her to meet her in a bar after 8pm. She had a strained voice of one that had been crying too much. It wasn't a meeting Bulma was looking forward to but she had to go. She just needed to shake off her watcher, Viola.
The front of the police station was busy and Bulma was knocked aside by someone rushing past. She saw Viola by a desk looking through paperwork.
"I'm back, it over with for now." Bulma said and looked at the desk. "Was this Detective Tien's desk?"
"Sure was, he left a few paper trails of what he's been up to." Viola said proudly. "How did your side of the operation go?"
Bulma looked around, Viola had deliberately not said 'autopsy' in front of the other officers. This woman knew when to be sensitive, Bulma felt like she could learn a thing or two from her.
"I called it code 3." Bulma said. "We need to get the lab boys to work on this."
"We'll make the calls when we're out of here." Viola whispered. "I've got the hotel name where we're staying."
"Great, I could do with a hot bath." Bulma sighed as she checked Viola's notes she'd been making. "I really hate the winter here, it lasts 8 months of the year."
"Some people get used to it." Viola said. "I personally have two hot thermos packs stuck to my back. Take a seat I'm going to be another 20 minutes."
"Fine, I'll get started on my own paperwork."
Bulma sat down at a spare desk and fumbled through her huge bag. A piece of paper dropped out and Bulma almost ignored it except she knew she never put loose paper in her bag. Especially not ones shaped into origami. She picked the strange object up. It was a small blue paper crane. Her stomach sunk in an instant and she looked around the busy office. No-one was looking at her. It was too much of a coincidence. She'd only let her bag alone for a second. She checked for her notebook and other more importantly her Dictaphone. It was there, the recorded message counter had increased by one.
"I just need to go to the restroom." Bulma snapped and dashed back down to the basement. Her senses were in full impulse mode as she followed her instinct.
"Sure girl, just don't be long." Viola said confused at Bulma's sudden franticness. "She must have got a hideous case of the runs." She said to an officer that had been trying to do work nearby.
Bulma burst into the toilet unsure what she was looking for. The place was empty again. She pushed open the door that had been closed when she left. There was nothing inside. She didn't know what to expect as she held the Dictaphone up to her ear to hear the last message. There was a chance she had miscounted. Maybe she had just made a simple mistake.
"Tell me Agent… Did you really give up your dream?" The crisp voice hissed at her from the small machine. "Dreams are what makes us and pushes us onward… Take back your dream… Bulma. Learn to spread your wings and fly."
Bulma looked up to the mirror, her pale face looked back. She half expected the shadows behind her to warp and produce the monster Vegeta. He had been here, it was him. It really was his fault that Tien was dead and her friend Launch was now in mourning. He was hunting her, for what reason she was unsure. She was just another face in the crowd of the FBI. She wasn't anything special, at least she didn't think so now. It was true of what he said. Her life before, her dreams, her goals. They were all changed.
'Stop messing with me…' Bulma thought to herself and her imaginary Vegeta. 'I don't want to remember my past.'
'I'm only following my instincts; don't you love to follow yours?' Her ghost Vegeta taunted back.
"My dream now is to see you in Hell Vegeta!" Bulma spat out loudly hoping he could hear. She kicked open the door of the room to see an empty corridor. He was long gone. She looked at the small crane and wondered when it had been placed in her bag. He must have been close, she was too wrapped up in her job she'd not been observing her surroundings. She never thought he'd have the gall to break into the police station. She clenched her fist and wondered how much she could tell her partner. How much Viola would believe her and how much she needed to conceal.
000

Author's Note: It's getting to the good bit so I'm able to push through and I managed to write this chapter in a few weeks; (Which is good for me.) I expect the holiday off work helped a lot too.
I don't know if you get thermos packs were you are but they're really good! Just like a warm band aid you just stick them on your undershirt and it's like a mini-heater. I need them in winter as I'm such a wimp with the cold. Not sure of the real name as they're called Hot Karero or pocket warmer in Japan. I think it might be an Asian thing, never seen them in the UK.
Bulma is so messed up right now, she really does have an imaginary Vegeta running around in her head, trust me it's going to get worse for her as she's going down a dark path. We'll find out exactly what the real Vegeta has planned for her eventually; though you'll all just have to wait and see.
Thanks for all the kind feedback!
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The Silence of the Monkeys