Episode 5: "The Cleaner Wears Cologne"
[Scene: Bookstore. Morning. The team is tense. Yui is sharpening pencils like they're kunai. Toma triple-locks the front door. Rei waters a cactus in total silence.]
Toma(paranoid):First a sniper. Then a guy with no pores. Then that woman. Who's next? A mime with a bazooka?
Yui(calmly):If it's a mime, we're all dead. You never hear the countdown.
Rei(dryly):Next one's different.
Toma:Different how?
Rei:He talks too much.
[Cut to: A luxury perfume store downtown. Shiny floors. Elevator jazz. In the center: a well-dressed man in a velvet blazer, swirling a glass of sparkling water. Handsome. Hair slicked back. A wall of expensive colognes behind him.]
Store Clerk(whispering to coworker):That's him… The Cleaner.
Coworker:What's he cleaning?
Clerk(shivering):Whatever they point at.
[The Cleaner — Lucien — steps forward, selects a bottle, and sprays it on his wrist. He inhales.]
Lucien(softly):Oud, vetiver, a hint of finality.Perfect.
[His phone buzzes. He reads the screen.]
"Target: Specter. Proceed.""Keep it public."
Lucien(smiling):Time to make a scene.
[Cut to: Bookstore. Afternoon. Yui is reading a crime novel, eyes darting to the window every five seconds. Toma tapes a steak knife to a broom handle. Rei sips tea without blinking.]
Yui(suspicious):It's too quiet.
Toma(panicking):He's gonna explode through the floor, I feel it—
[Suddenly: door chime. A massive floral scent rolls in. Overwhelming. Elegant. Sinister.]
Lucien(stepping inside):Bonsoir. Smells like ink and fear.
[Rei slowly sets down his teacup.]
Rei(without turning):Lucien.
Lucien(grinning):Ah, you do remember me.Your senses are still sharp.Shame about your sense of smell.
[Yui starts coughing. Toma staggers back, eyes watering.]
Toma(gasping):Is he wearing... napalm?! What is that cologne?!
Lucien(proudly):Custom blend. A hint of vengeance and a splash of bergamot.
[Rei stands slowly. Lucien unbuttons his jacket, revealing throwing knives shaped like perfume bottles.]
Lucien(low voice):Let's not wreck the place. One clean shot. You fall. I leave.No broken spines. No shattered shelves.
Rei(calm):Tempting. But I just mopped.
[Lucien throws the first "bottle-blade." Rei grabs a dustpan and deflects it into a display of romance novels. They explode in glitter and pink shreds.]
Toma(screaming):NOT THE LOVE SECTION!!
[Rei charges. Lucien counters with a compact mirror — uses it to blind Rei momentarily, sweeps his leg, tries to pin him with a cologne blade. Rei rolls, grabs a bookend — slams it into Lucien's arm. Lucien winces, then smiles wider.]
Lucien:Yes! Yes!Now you're awake!
[The fight is smooth, stylish — almost choreographed. Lucien spins, whips out a belt laced with needles. Rei dodges — kicks a bookshelf, sending it collapsing between them.]
Yui(flatly):That was the New Releases shelf.
Rei(dusting off his shirt):They weren't selling.
[Lucien emerges from the dust. Cut on his cheek. Laughing.]
Lucien(wiping blood):Oh, Specter…You're not just alive. You're still art.
[He steps back toward the door.]
Lucien(to the group):They'll send worse, you know.But none of them will smell this good.
[He tosses a bottle toward Rei — who catches it.]
Lucien:Keep it. I call it "Inevitable."
[Lucien disappears into the street crowd. The shop is a mess.]
Toma(collapsed on the floor):I'm gonna have PTSD.Perfume-triggered stress disorder.
Yui(fanning the air):We need a priest. And a ventilation system.
Rei(examining the bottle):No bomb.Just expensive.
[Far away, in a room filled with monitors. The Organization watches footage from the bookstore.]
Voice 1: "He's adapting."
Voice 2: "Then we escalate."
Voice 3: "Bring in the twins."
Next Episode: "Two of a Kind"