Omen's house had disappeared. There were no signs of movement or damage or anything similar on the property—just an empty plot of land.
It took half an hour for Christine to get her bearings back. Ajax recovered faster, at least as far as outward appearances were concerned.
He was squatting down near the boundary where the house used to be, seemingly veering at something that wasn't there.
Christine was calling anyone she could to look for Omen. He knew better than to try that, but he didn't stop her from trying.
In moments like these, doing nothing is worse than doing something. Substantially worse.
"D-did you find anything?" Christine asked in between her teary hiccups.
Ajax stood up, and let out a forced smile, "It's complicated. We'll discuss it later, okay? But for now, go wait in the car."
"W-what?" Her eyes widened, "w-hwy? What can't you t-tell me?" Christine asked, as Ajax held her by the shoulder and took her to his car.
"I am a bit overwhelmed right now, and I can't say anything for certain. Give me five minutes to sort my thoughts, then we'll see, okay?"
"O-okay," Christine let out a small whisper. Her usual lively voice barely felt alive, "It's going to be a-alright, right AJ?"
Ajax's chin quivered slightly, to not let Christine see him, he pulled her in a hug. "Of course," His voice cracked, "Ofc-ourse, it'll be fine Christy. It, it has to be fine." He felt her grip around him tightening.
When they separated and Christy was inside his soundproof car, Ajax distanced himself a bit, catching a glimpse of a wandering police vehicle.
They hadn't called the cops, but someone from the neighborhood might have. He needed to hurry.
Whipping out his phone, he quickly dialed a number. Moments later, an awe-inspiring voice picked up. It was a deep, resonant voice that carried authority and dignity.
"Haven't heard from you in a while," the voice on the other side said, exuberant.
"No time to waste, Manfred." Ajax curtly muttered, "Omen had disappeared."
"Your handler, Omen?" The man on the other side—Manfred—inquired.
Ajax gritted his teeth, "My family, Omen."
Manfred scoffed amusedly, "Are the perps dead already? Who were these bold fellows?"
"I don't know, I can't tell." Ajax closed his eyes in resignation, "I thought it was a forced teleportation, but there are no signs of that. Whoever did this, however they did it, they left no footprints."
There was a short silence from Manfred's side, before he asked with shock and a rising sense of panic in his voice, "Can you repeat that? Maybe I heard you wrong."
"You didn't hear me wrong Manfred. I…" Ajax's voice lost its firmness gaining a hint of desperation instead, he quietly muttered to Manfred, "I am lost without her. I don't know what to do. How to even find her. I need your help, old friend."
"Don't worry, Ajax. You'll be fine, Omen will be fine. I will make sure of that." Manfred said, compassionately. "For now, tell me what you see. There is no such thing as a perfect crime, there has to be something there."
Ajax looked at the house, reminding himself of everything he had looked for in the area after the house disappeared, and then it occurred to him, "There is this strange entanglement of different energies here that I have never seen before."
"...That's concerning," Manfred said with intrigue. "Can you hold on a bit, I will have to check something."
"O-okay," Ajax nodded nervously, and the call was put on hold.
"Hey," Manfred spoke again, "would you say the entanglement looks like a multicolored woolen yarn? Exceptionally intricate. Yet so convoluted that it's impossible to make heads or tails without actively untangling the yarn?"
"...How did you know that?" Ajax frowned when he heard him, "What do you know about this Manfred? I want in on everything. Right now."
"That's… problematic, even more so on the phone." Manfred said, "But rest assured, this just became the Vatican's top priority. I'll be there in an hour, and members from the nearest church will be there in minutes. However, until I get permission from the higher-ups—which is only a matter of time with me by your side—I can't share anything at all."
"Did you seriously just say that you know what's behind the disappearance of my love, and you're going to tell me nothing about it." A guttural sound escaped his lips, "How dare you, Manfred."
"Listen to me very carefully Ajax," Manfred said with an even tone, but there was hesitation in his voice. "First of all, I am not the enemy here, neither is the Vatican. Understand that my hands are just as tied as yours, and the Vatican can't trust top-secret information with anybody, let alone someone like you—someone too self-contained to have exploitable allies, too much of a bigshot for them to pressure you into silence, and with too much at stake to not have the potential to act unpredictably."
"Save your diplomacy for another day, Manfred." Ajax growled, "Give me what I want, now, or I am coming to the Vatican."
At Ajax's words, Manfred's voice turned nervous, "Ajax, listen." He said, chewing his words to think of anything to appease the powerhouse he was talking to, "Doing things by force is just not the way Ajax. This is far bigger than you or me. The Vatican won't back down from a fight, and nothing good will come as a result."
"I don't ca—"
"You will lose one of your greatest allies," Manfred interrupted him, his voice high by an octave, "we will lose one of humanity's greatest allies, and there will be a level of bloodshed that could've been entirely prevented had you just shown some restraint," he spat with indignation. "Think about it, and know this: if you still want to have your way, in the end, the Vatican is very adamant about their stance on this matter; they won't back down, not this time."
Ajax stayed quiet, listening to Manfred's words as blood dripped from the lower lip he had bitten to calm himself.
"...I am not saying you should just give up on Omen," Manfred continued this time, his voice softening, "just give me enough time to convince them that you can be trusted."
"How long will that take?"
"Give me a week, and I think I can get things done by then," Manfred said with a contemplative tone, before his voice turned cautious, "But until then, Behave. Keep your head down, and leave town."
"What?" Ajax asked in shock, asking me to wait was one thing, telling me to leave was another matter entirely. "I AM NOT LEAVING ANYTHING!! Not this place, not Omen's investigation, none of that!"
"Ajax, you're not listening," Manfred sighed sympathetically, "The longer your stay near the site the more followers from the Vatican will be there to observe you. Under their watchful gaze, if you do something, anything out of line, I won't be able to cover your ass. Trust me, leave town, take a breather. Do something else other than sticking your nose in my business."
Ajax practically screamed, "There is a limit to your bullsh—"
"Even if you ignore the Vatican angle for a moment, do you know how much attention an entire unit of The Vatican will bring along with it?" Manfred reasoned, "And, once they figure out you are connected to this, things will only get more heated. If you do anything on impulse when all the spotlight is on you, well, I'm sure you can imagine how the vultures will stop at nothing to exploit your vulnerabilities. I can give hundreds of reasons like this one, Ajax. Listen to me. Take a vacation."
"Tell me," Ajax asked with a sober tone. "Do you genuinely think I can just leave town like this, Manfred?"
"No, I don't Ajax," Manfred said without skipping a beat. "I know leaving town is the last thing you want right now, but you're not in your right mind. Get out of here, get some fresh air, and clear your head. If my hunch is correct, I am going to need you at your best when I do convince them."
Ajax said nothing, before letting out a defeated gasp, "You're right." His hand lowered the phone from his ear.
There was a moment of silence on the call. Ajax had his head hung down in a myriad of indescribable emotions as the memories of his time with Omen filled his mind.
Then, it clicked in Ajax's mind.
Abruptly, he raised the phone to his ear again, "I will leave the place, I have a step-sister to console. In the meantime, when you get here, check a few leads, will you?"
"Absolutely anything for you Ajax," Manfred said in a pleasant tone. "Talk to me."
"There were a bunch of low-level secret societies and a coven keeping an eye on her," Ajax remembered the people he tortured. In hindsight, getting information out of them was too easy. "I'll send you the details later, but for now, look at the secret society of the Indigo Sphere, Reeferrandoes, and a barely passable coven of witches called Vomit Pigs. I have a feeling that these factions are fronts for bigger organizations."
"I see," Manfred said. "I will immediately mobilize manpower on the matter. Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"
Ajax said nothing and simply closed his eyes, Omen's voice repeatedly rang in his head as he let out a silent wail.
"...Once we meet, maybe we should go for a beer, buddy," Manfred said, somehow sensing Ajax's grief. "But for now, if that's all, I will talk to you later–"
"Wait," Ajax muttered with a deep, reminiscent frown. With an aching heart, he remembered something Omen said to him not long ago.
I have told you that I like to call you Vince. It has a nicer ring to it than say, Ajax. Augh, Ajax. It sounds like Jackass. You aren't a jackass, so why would I call you something like that.
"Call me Vince from now, Mandred. Just… Vince. And see that our friends know it too." Vince said, softly.
"Very well, Vince," Manfred replied before Vince hung up the call.
He made another call after that, before entering Cuddleberry and driving off.