Firstly, his intuition that pointed to the cigar in the abandoned apartment is indirectly related to an individual who was close to him. This individual is most likely Donnie Shelby. And secondly, the cigar endpoint is intimately tied to the Albert Francis case. That is, the person related to him also happened to be connected to this case in one way or another.
In this matter, Ulrich was very confident. After all, the symbol of the black hand was very direct since it belongs to Donnie Shelby—the blackhand gang, hence the appearance of the black hand on the table in the dream-scape. Other than this, he couldn’t quite come up with anyone else who bears these connections.
However, what he could not understand is how Donnie Shelby is related to the kidnapping of Albert Francis. No matter how hard he thought about it, it shouldn’t be possible. And yet, it was.
Is it because of another factor that he hasn't considered yet? For example, a tussle with an external organization that happened to be linked with the Shelby family? This was likely.
However, it is also possible that someone in the Shelby Family is connected to the case directly, personally involved. Ulrich believed the latter was extremely unlikely given his understanding of the family’s head, Donnie Shelby. The man that he knew acts and handles the matter of business extremely thoroughly. Such a man will never drop his pride and dignity into mud just to make pennies.
As for the matters relating to his encounter with a Great Leviathan in the dream realm, it had to stay a secret between him and heaven as witness. Regarding this, he used a rather reasonable excuse of being spiritually drained while navigating the dream realm for the first time. This, in turn, caused his violent and abnormal reaction upon returning to the real world.
The truth of his encounters in the dream realm must be concealed—otherwise, it is impossible to explain how he escaped unharmed. In that case, the matters relating to his special dream, as well as that mysterious white space, will inevitably be brought forward. This was an outcome that he wished to avoid at all costs.
While bearing these thoughts, they made their way to the Slough house on 75th Dudley Street. This time, Ulrich was accompanied by Victor. As they entered the bar, Victor’s appearance raised a few eyebrows, and yet, no one spoke out of turn the moment they saw Ulrich.
Victor stared at Ulrich, lost for words. Finally, he took in a deep breath and inwardly mused.
Quite the flair from our newcomer, eh?
When they entered the back room, a group of people greeted them. Billie, he’d seen before, as for the rest, Ulrich had no clue, nor did he care to give it a thought.
With his entrance, Adeline was the first to notice as her hand waved in the air.
“Cousin!” She shouted, then dashed toward him. Ulrich helplessly shook his head and spread his arm wide.
“Addy, how have you been?”
“Great!”
At this moment, Victor took a step back, though there was a trace of skepticism on his face as he glanced between Ulrich and Adeline.
“We’re not actually family, but close enough,” Ulrich whispered to reassure his fellow senior.
At the same time, Donnie Shelby gestured for his men to leave, which left the back room rather empty. Hesitating for a moment, he took out a cigar and lit it, then took a deep puff.
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“Cousin, I heard you got a new change of career, how is it?”
Ulrich's brow furrowed, though given the Shelby Family connections, it was no surprise they knew.
“Good, it's been good,” He said. The image of Dulvis's mutation, Victor’s charred eyes, Rosaline’s ‘blessings’, and his recent encounter with a certain creature made him shudder.
“Good?” Adeline narrowed her eyes, then bumped his chest with her slim fist, “Anything repeated twice by you is definitely contrary to its meaning, you still think I'm a kid!”
“So tell me, what problem do you have at your new job?” Her eye was fierce, as though they wanted to scold whoever was giving Ulrich a hard time.
And in that moment, she noticed Victor standing behind him. Unknowingly, Victor had become her target. Seeing this, her eyes lit up with a radiant glow, “It’s not him, right?”
Ulrich turned to Victor and let out a wry smile, “He’s a blind man, what can he do to me?”
A blind man, right. . . Victor held back the urge to smack this person on the back of the head and forced a smile.
Adeline waved her hand in the air to see how Victor would react, “Hmm… You’re right, he’s blind.”
At this moment, Donnie interjected with a low voice, “Addy, don’t be rude to our guests.”
With that said, he let out a deep trail of smoke, turned to stare at Ulrich, then inquired in that familiar accent, “How may I help you today?”
As he was speaking, Ulrich noticed his eyes were darting at Victor. Clearly, Donnie did not trust his colleague, though given his cautious nature, it was only natural. If he were not wary of Victor, Ulrich would've believed that the man in front of them was possessed by some evil spirit rather than being the Donnie he knew.
“A simple inquiry.” Ulrich grinned.
“It’s never simple from you.”
At the same time, Donnie pointed at Victor and raised his cigar, “You’re fine with him being here?”
“My colleague and I shared the same inquiry; he’s fine to stay.”
Adeline noticed the shift in the air and took a step back to sit on the barstool. She didn’t speak out of turn, realizing that the nature of this conversation was a serious matter.
“If you say so.”
“So, what do you want to know?”
Hearing this question, Ulrich grew silent and gave it some thought. Eventually, the name mentioned by Rufus Bradley appeared in his mind.
“Terry Mondie, have you heard of him?”
In that instant, there was a reaction, one that Ulrich did not expect from Donnie, not to mention Adeline, who gasped loudly.
Her face was a little twisted, one that didn’t quite fit that radiant and cheery appearance prior. She wanted to speak—her jaw was already clenched, but, Donnie stopped her.
“How do you know this name?”
Their reaction… they know this person? No, not just that, it is likely they are working with this person personally, but to what extent?
Given the nature of their investigations, as well as the matter of confidentiality of the Ministry, Ulrich couldn't give out a clear reason without bearing even a slight implication. So he could only present the matter as vague as possible. and with Donnie's wit and intelligence, the meaning behind his words should be clear as day.
“Let's say that he may or may not be involved in a serious problem. If you know anything about him, I’d like to hear it. If it involves matters I shouldn’t know, considered it as though I didn’t ask in the first place.”
This time, it was Donnie's turn to grow silent. However, he didn’t take as long as Ulrich before speaking, “Remember the deal I mentioned prior?”
The package of weaponry that’s supposed to be traded with the Resistance?
Ulrich nodded.
“The leader of the Resistance, his name is Terry Mondie.”
Immediately, Victor and Ulrich exchanged a mutual glance of understanding. That date of the Resistance's first arrival mentioned by Donnie appeared again—May 1st, Year 1329 of the Third Epoch.
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