Night was quickly approaching and Troy found himself back in Heaven, the bar, not the afterlife. He sat at a small table near the men’s room with Papo and like most nights, they were the only two there. Troy was back in his civilian clothes, sitting backwards in a wooden chair, his arms folded atop the back as he continued his conversation with Papo.
 
‘So let me get this straight, you didn’t get the briefcase? That’s not like you...’ Papo stated while taking a sip of his drink.
 
“Well it’s not really my fault, the briefcase exploded so there was nothing left to get…” He responded pensively. 
 
‘You think someone set us up?’ Papo asked.
 
“I don’t know. Maybe? But there was something definitely kinda weird about this job.” Troy responded.
 
‘What do you mean?’ Papo asked with a cocked brow.
 
“For starters, the mark seemed to have been expecting me. They had their own guy there guarding the briefcase and from the looks of him, he could’ve snapped me in two if he got his hands on me. But then why go through the trouble of arranging for an armored transport, with armed guards and a paid mercenary in a soup can, just to have the briefcase be rigged with explosives? That Campbell’s Soup guy they paid had the briefcase in his possession while I was busy taking out the guards. I bet he took whatever was in there and rigged the briefcase to explode, especially since he refused to open it when I asked him too... but was more than happy to hand it over for me to do it.”
 
‘And then there’s what happened at the bank this morning…’ Papo added.
 
“What?” Troy asked trying not to sound so confused.
 
‘I thought it was a coincidence but after hearing your little conspiracy theory, maybe it’s somehow related?’ Papo said cryptically.
 
“Uh…what the hell are you talking about?” Troy asked, finally showing his ignorance.
 
Papo exhaled. ‘Two supers robbed a bank this morning at the exact same time you were supposed to retrieve that briefcase…it’s been all over the news…hold on…’ Grabbing the remote he turned on the TV behind Troy and flipped through several channels before landing on one of the local news channels and adjusting the volume. A well dressed middle aged woman in a red suit and blonde bun was already delivering the story, while video clips took over the screen and her voice explained what had happened.
 
{...o’clock this morning, two supers robbed Wentworth Bank. Although the robbers were met with resistance, the two managed to escape with at least $100,000 in cash and jewelry and cost nearly as much in damages. This amateur video taken by an onlooker shows the two criminals fleeing the scene and according to witnesses, the one on the right was responsible for the brutal murders of 5 guards on duty at the time. Both the Mayor and the Police Commissioner are expected to make a statement later tonight. In a seemingly unrelated incident, Elm Street was rocked by an explosion today. Apparently the explosion came after an altercation between two men who are believed to be supers and involving an armored vehicle. Several men riding in that vehicle were left severely injured but we’re glad to report that miraculously there were no fatalities. A witness who was nearby gave a description of the two men and while one remains unidentified, the other is believed to be the super who calls himself The Executioner. In other news…}
 
“So The Executioner huh…where have I heard that name before?” Troy asked while tapping his jaw.
 
‘Damn! Don’t you watch the news? You heard about the maniac who busted into that prison and slaughtered all those people? Yeah, it was that guy.’
 
“Well he just sounds like a bucket of Sunshine.” Troy teased before standing from the table and started walking towards the door.
 
‘Wait, where are you going?’ Papo asked.
 
“To find out more about what happened today.” Troy said buoyantly. 
 
‘Curiosity killed the cat Troy…’ Papo warned.
 
“Oh don’t worry, I’m sure I still have about six or seven lives left…ciao!”

By now darkness had settled over the city, making it much easier to get around unnoticed. Black Jack changed back into his costume but he wasn’t sure where to begin his investigation. He didn’t have the intel that others had access to, so he had to rely on his own sleuthing abilities and of course a bit of luck. Remembering the bank robbery from this morning, he thought that might be a good place to start. 

From his hiding spot in a series of nearby alleys, he could still see the media and police presence surrounding the bank, which meant snooping around inside was out of the question; however that didn’t mean there wasn’t anything to be found nearby. While scouting around the area, he kept his eyes peeled for any clues or information that might link him to the robbers or anything of significance really. Other than a bunch of trash and stuff he’d rather not touch, even with his gloves on, there didn’t seem to be anything of interest lying around. As he searched, he caught the report of a journalist nearby. If he didn’t find anything in the alley, maybe the news could shed a little more light on what happened and potentially point him in the right direction.