That scenario was still unlikely.
There were still countless more probable options.
Worrying that much was still pointless.
But... Not as much as before. Not with this glaring hole in his understanding of the situation.
No matter what, something was going on. And Baoba had never been the type to rely on luck.
He was a bit paranoid, after all.
'Yeah. Just a bit. Just some reasonable concerns here and there.' He thought, sprinting down the downhill street at dangerous speeds.
His shift had just ended, and he had took the ruined ring before leaving, not wanting to lose it. He wanted to hide it in a place where no one would find it and where it wouldn't do too much damage if it ever exploded or something like that.
And naturally, he would prefer not holding the ring while it did, if it did.
So, really, this was the only choice. The better choice. There was nothing strange about it.
'Now how ever will I stop...'
He took the widest turn into a deserted alleyway, and, still at full speed, sped right towards the narrow entrance. Soon it was apparent he would slam in a wall if he continued on course.
But he didn't slow down at all.
Still running, after checking there were not too many witnesses, he thrust his right hand forward as a light blue glow danced around his arm.
Right before contact, a mattress appeared out of nowhere between him and the wall, softening the impact.
Baoba was still thrown right off and fell head first into the floor.
A couple mattresses later, he was finally stopped.
'Capcsium was right, they don't hold a candle to royal beds... I would have just sunk in the first one instead of.. Ow.' Lying on the last mattress, inert, Baoba reminisced once again about his former glory.
Even through all the beds, he still reaped his fair share of contusions from the impact.
But that only held him for a little.
He quickly jumped to his feet and, after a quick search of the alley, hid the ring underneath a brick underneath a trash can.
'This is only a temporary solution. It should be safe for a few days. I don't even really need the thing, so I won't be taking any more risks.'
With that, he ignored his burning lungs and charged out of the alley.
***
The door to their apartment slammed open, giving way to the leg that kicked it.
"Pando ! Tell me about the shady organisations from before !" Baoba yelled, only then allowing himself to heave and double over.
Meanwhile, the scout had not needed to be asked, she was already close to the entrance and had mentally prepared all the information required.
"I truly don't know much. One of them seems to fit in this case. It's a small gathering every time, they cover their faces and the frequency seems random. They've never done anything significant, in fact, if not for the next detail, I would not consider them suspects at all. However, I've noticed a mannerism unique to them : before each member is accepted into the room, they show their hands."
Still doubled over, he closed his eyes and pursed his lips, as if he had been slapped.
'Damnit ! Why does it have to fit together ? Why can't I be wrong for once ?'
Indeed, this peculiar habit worked quite well for a group with magic rings.
'...Wait. I've been wrong a lot before. Well, what's one more then ?'
"I've never bothered to investigate more until now, but I won't let anymore intel slip next time they meet." She concluded her report.
In the short time it took for her to explain that, Baoba had mostly recovered. He stood up and talked in a sort of shaky voice : "Was there any suspicious movement from anyone anywhere ?"
Pando rolled her eyes -a move she had learned these last few months- and replied professionally : "While the scope you are asking for is out of my abilities, I can tell you that no one on this neighborhood or the church has made any move suggesting they might know something."
The captain exhaled a big breath. 'Okay... Okay. It seems we're safe for now.'
It had already been several hours since he had worn the ring. Since no one was supposed to know about Pando's blessing, this meant they had no reason to hide, and he could take all the info she got at face value. No one close or in the church knew of them.
If course, that left the possibility of a faraway pursuer, but even such a person would have come closer to investigate by now.
It seemed they really were safe for now.
He exhaled again.
The whole team had long been gathered into the living room, arms at the ready, waiting for his orders. It looked like Pando has passed on his message well.
After a short moment, just enough time to remember to plan he had previously come up with for this scenario, he explained everyone's roles, frowning. ".... Venus, for the next three days, you'll have to be somewhat battle ready at all times. Capscium, start setting up traps around. Pando, you... Well, just keep doing what you're doing. As for us who regularly go out, we have to act as normal as possible, like nothing happened at all. So, Urtica, you get to keep leaving whenever you want."
The purple blade looked like he wanted to retort that he didn't actually want to go out and fight monsters, but after a barely perceptible glace across the room, he ultimately decided to hold his tongue.
"Aye aye, captain !" said Capcsium, doing the salute with her fist on her collar. "Though, if I may... Could you tell us what actually happened ? Pando only said you panicked after breaking a ring, and we had to go on lockdown. So, like... what's up ?"
'Oh, right. She probably wasn't watching me in detail since the beginning, was she ?'
Pando's blessing did give her the possibility of sending any shape in her surroundings, but it wasn't always on. She had to concentrate to feel things. And the more she concentrated, the more precise she would be. So, because she wasn't usually focused on Baoba's every move, her assessment of the already strange situation was lacking to say the least.
So he gave them a quick crash course.
After he explained how the ring looked suspiciously similar to the ones Urtica found on corpses, and how it broke spontaneously after just wearing it, they were pretty much caught up to speed. There was really not that much information at all in the first place.
"It broke on its own ?" Pando looked deep in thought. "It really is serious."
"I thought you were just imagining it again." Capcsium had melted on the sofa at some point during the explanation. "To be honest, I'm still not convinced. I know it's fishy, but.... wouldn't exactly hold up in court, y'know ?"
"And that's why you're not the captain. We need to be prepared just in case it's true, and find out if it is. So that's why I'm asking you all to be careful. Pando, please tell me when they next meet, or the identity of one of them. We need find out more, and some info will not go through just feeling shapes."
She shook her head. "I've never observed them that closely. I don't know when they will next assemble, and their identity remains a mystery. But they don't know they're being watched. We can wait for the next time."
"Then we'll do that." He then properly settled into the apartment, taking off the earrings, his coat, and his shoes, before joining Capscium on the sofa.
And closing his eyes, seemingly starting a nap.
"Uuuhh... Captain ?" Venus was perplexed. "What do we do now?"
Without opening his eyes, he replied : "Exactly what I told you. Stay alert, and beyond that, act like usual. Remember, there is most likely no threat at all. We're preparing for the worst case, that doesn't mean it'll happen." He yawned. "And I just got off work. So I'll rest for a while."
Right as the giant woman started relaxing, Baoba suddenly stood up with a gasp, eyes wide open.
"I just thought of something !"
Venus darted to her weapon, ready for battle. "What ?"
With a devilish grin, Baoba reached over and created a hide chess board on the coffee table.
"Who's up for a game ?"