From my preliminary examination, Florian has been labeled as superstitious, with good hunches. I hear he was a candidate for the Order of the Exalted, as well. He declined the offer and instead spent the time working on community programs in Oakside. I’ve heard that he hasn’t made many friends in Oakside since, and after he took the position of Chief of Department.

Shaun Ortega has been described as the more grounded of the two. He has no ties to the Sect of the Cosmos or the Humanist Administration. Though he also has no ties with the Traditionalist Administration as well, as far as I have been told, he has no political ties. Nor does he have any ties to the Sect of Cosmos as Florian does.

Troy Holland is a seasoned officer, he has some credentials under his belt. Sounds like he was vying for Chief of Department at the same time as Florian Lysander. He lost his partner a few years ago. A case of self slaughter.

Lacie Holland is the daughter of Troy Holland, she’s an up and comer. She’s well liked within the community. She is a contributor to community projects, helping high schools with community activities. Florian says what she lacks in experience, she makes up for good instincts.

She’s the first to approach me. In fact, she gives Wolf a challenging smirk. Wolf raises a brow and smiles, but lets her approach her closer. She’s built, a woman made of muscles, bulky, and auburn colored hair burning red.

“Hi!” she smiles brightly.

“Hello,” I respond.

“Do you have a shield thing?” Lacie asks me curiously.

“My Shield, yes, I have one,” I look over at Wolf.

Wolf smirks.

“Go ahead, show her your Shield,” Wolf tells me.

Wolf looks amused. Lacie continues to smile brightly. Lacie is to close for my liking, or maybe I am paranoid. Wolf doesn’t seem to have an issue with her closeness. I need to relax, sticking my hand in my pocket. I notice Troy watching. Staring at my hands. I wonder what he’s looking for. It’s pretty obvious that he’s fishing for something.

I take out my Shield, “Here.”

“Wow!” Lacie grabs it, “It’s so pretty.”

“It’s a little old fashion,” Troy mentions.

The older gentleman cracks his knuckles, Troy stretches out his arms. He’s also built, with soft muscles, and board shoulders. His hair is dark brown with streaks of white as well, he’s still watching me.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“It’s historical, I admit maybe by today’s standards it is ostentatious,” I respond with a smile.

Shaun clears his throat. He’s the tallest in the group, with dark black hair. Strong jawline. Wolf would likely say something like, typical dark and brooding type.

“Can we move onto the subject at hand?” Shaun asks, “Tell me you have a better idea than some ochus bochus bullshit.”

“I can assure that everything in the world has a rational explanation,” I state.

Although I am not so certain of my answer. Thinking about it gives me some anxiety. Am I going about this the wrong way?

“Good,” Shaun shoots a glance at Florian.

Florian hands me a disappointed look.

“What have you determined?” Florian asks me, trying to shift the subject.

“Here,” Lacie hands me back my shield, “Thank you for letting me look at it.”

“Not a problem,” I state, “I may have something, looking over the details of the case. Looking over what little information I have. There is something that stuck out to me between the scenes. There’s an odd camera distortion in the security footage. I haven’t looked over the camera in Zoe’s room.”

“An odd camera distortion?” Florian asks curiously.

“Right, either from a jammer device or something else that might cause the distortion,” I suggest with a nod.

Troy huffs.

“Do you have any proof?” Troy asks.

“Is there anyway we can go over Zoe’s room’s camera, here?” I ask.

“Yes, we have a tech department down the hall,” Florian responds, “Use whatever resources you need here. This is your office now.”

“Thank you,” I nod.

I look over at Wolf.

“Oh, sorry, was I too serious about the situation?” she asks me, raising a brow.

“We have a restroom down the hall on the left,” Florian teases.

“Oh well, so I won’t be locked in a room to hold it in,” Wolf laughs.

“No, I mean unless you want to be,”

“I rather not die from my bladder poisoning,”

Troy continues giving me an intense expression, “Evidence. Proof.”

“Right, all I have right now to go by is the video from the bar,” I state, “However, if we can look over Zoe’s security footage, perhaps we could make a connection. I admit I cannot declare with certainty that this is a connection until we comb through it.”

“I understand,” Florian nods.

Taking out my tablet, “Do we have a projection?” I ask.

Florian nods. While fiddling with a cabinet where the projection is being stored in. He grabs it and sets it on the table, “There should be a USB around here.”

Being handed the USB cable, I plug it in, not without struggle. I admittedly feel like I am being watched by a lot of eyes.

“Is it working?” I ask.

Florian nods, looking at the screen, displaying my folders.

I play the security footage.

Letting it play through. As I had played it originally. The odd distortion seems so much more distinct to me now, what am I missing? Where am I going wrong? After the video is played through once, there’s silence in the room. Though I feel Troy’s eyes on me again. What is that about? Replaying the video, but this time I slow it down closer to the weird distortion. It’s not like a glitch. I am wondering if this is just distortion is something else. It doesn’t feel like a distortion of the camera. Of the - environment itself? That sounds strange to consider. I’ve always relished the concept that I have a rational mind. That I don’t dive into these kinds of superstitious ideas.

It’s like an opening? Letting something in? A doorway?

That’s - I cannot allow myself to consider irrational thinking like this. I have to remain level headed. When people claim magic is the cause of something is often because they haven't looked at all of their avenues.