Brinus was in Harper’s hospital room, Sleeping on a cot. Harper vomited into an emesis basin. The IV in his right wrist said, "Dextrose 5%, normal saline .9%." The hospital room was dark, with city lights shining through the windows. He was experiencing the worst of the symptoms as he shook from tremors.
Harper finished dry heaving. Brinus stirred once the sound stopped. “I’m callin’ a nurse. You’ve been dry-heavin’ fer the last hour.”
“Hon, it’s alcohol withdrawal. Have you ever seen it before?”
Brinus rose from his bed ignoring Harper and clicked the button for a nurse. She arrived in three minutes.
“Did you call?”
Harper dry heaved again and then joked, “I’m fine. Brinus is wasting your time.” He laughed heartily.
Brinus rolled his eyes and spoke over Harper’s objections. “He has been dry heaving for an hour nonstop.”
“Your nausea meds must be wearing off. I will be back in a moment.”
The nurse came in with a needle and injected him with some fluid in a syringe.
Brinus left the hospital room to smoke and returned a few minutes later. He put on his socks and skateboard shoes and went down to the cafeteria. It was around 4:00 am, and he couldn’t sleep with Harper dry heaving.
Brinus turned when he heard the elevator ding and footsteps. Two magi agents approached him from the other end of the hall along with six cops. They surrounded him as he yelled, “What the fuck?!” The suddenness took him completely off guard.
“Brinus Helios, we are arresting you for suspicion of violating Section 4 of the Terrorism Act. Under the National Security Act, we will not read your rights and detain you for 36 hours.” They put him in handcuffs.
"This is bullshit! I ain't done nothin' wrong! I kept to the terms of my license in that job!"
They tased Brinus and forced him downstairs and into an unmarked detective car. Inside was Briggs in the driver’s seat. Brinus growled. “I fucking knew you were behind this! I will fucking kill you you fucking fucker!!” Brinus kicked the steel cage while in handcuffs between the front and the back.
Brinus was handed a pack of cigarettes from his glove box and he looked at Brinus through the mirror. “You belong in prison or the military. I want to see you join the Navy but I will settle for your being in Jail.”
“Fuck You!” Brinus kicked the steel cage again.
“Do I need to shackle you?”
“FUCK THE POLICE!” he kicked out the car window with his feet and it shattered into a thousand shards all over the pavement. Two cops opened the door and they sprayed him with mustard gas. He screamed in pain, curling into a ball. They then tased him and put shackles on his ankles, shackling him to the seat. He fought the cops so they tased him again and they chained him to the seat.
Briggs ordered the car to start driving. “Are you going to be a good boy?”
“GO FUCK YOURSELF!”
Briggs sighed as the convoy headed to Magi headquarters. “You know, the Navy is accepting recruits like you.”
Brinus laughed. “I already spoke to a Navy recruiter.”
“The magi will likely file a complaint for destruction of city property and resisting arrest. Why do you insist on picking up so many charges.”
He laughed manically and then yelled as loud as he could, “Because it’s fun!” However, both Briggs and Brinus knew he wanted out of the life.
“Then why did you speak to a navy recruiter and take their entrance exam on Monday? If you love being a criminal so much, why do you want to join the military.”
Brinus said nothing. The mustard gas had caused some chemical burns on his eyes and mouth so it was painful to speak.
“We will be at Magi headquarters in ten minutes. Food thought on the way there, maybe crime is not your style. Maybe you can be a rebel in other ways.”
Brinus rolled his eyes and relaxed in his seat.
----------------------------------------
Brinus was sat in the interrogation room fifteen minutes later. He pulled out the cigarettes Briggs gave him and put one in his mouth. He lit the other end with a lighter despite the no-smoking sign in the interrogation room and the lack of an ashtray. He also put his feet on the table and stretched out. It felt nice to him so he took off his shirt. Briggs and a special agent were behind some magic-resistant glass. The room was square-shaped, with a table with four chairs, a mustard yellow carpet, and a no-smoking sign on the wall.
Briggs looked at the special agent with wide eyes. “You set the room at 600 degrees, right? how is he alive?”
“I don’t know. There is no way he should be alive. We will cool off the room in a few minutes.”
“He definitely has magic.”
“Samantha was right. Only a dark fire mage could survive conditions like this.”
Brinus heard someone open the door once the room felt cooler. He put his shirt back on and it was Briggs and Colletta.
"How are you? Do you need something to eat or drink?"
"FUCK YOU!"
They pulled out their TriQuarters. Briggs asked, “How did the room temperature feel to you?”
“Lawyer!”
"Where were you on the 25th?" asked Colletta.
"I want a lawyer now!" Yelled Brinus putting his feet on the table.
Briggs sighed and then made some notes on his TriQuarter. “You’re being detained under Section 4 of The Terrorism Act. You have no right to legal representation.”
Colletta snapped angrily, crossing her arms in front of her chest, “Get your feet off the table now!”
“I will not answer questions without an attorney present!”
Colletta pulled out her wand and flicked her wrist. Brinus’s feet were knocked off the table and he was forced to sit upright. “You’re not getting a lawyer so shape up.”
Brinus leaned forward and slammed his hands on the table. “I want a JAG officer to represent me as defined under Section 10 of the Terrorism Act.”
Briggs cussed and then said, “Section 1 paragraph 4: The police, if a suspect is being detained for acts of suspected terrorism, can hold a person of interest without a bond hearing, charges, or legal representation for up to one cycle of a planet’s rotation.”
Brinus sneered and laughed at the cops, “Section 2, Paragraph 5, a legal warrant must be issued before an arrest is made. Probable cause must be established before a warrant for terrorism is issued in a probable cause hearing. Under the Constitution, a suspect cannot charged for the same crime they have been charged and prosecuted for already and the case is closed. I want to see the warrant or I am walking out of this room as I am being illegally detained without probable cause.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Colletta produced the arrest warrant and Brinus looked over it.
Brinus smiled and then asked, “What three-step process did ya’ use to establish probable cause and what specific Crime code am I charged under?”
“We’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Brinus smirked even bigger and then asked once more, “I will ask again, What three-step process did ya’ use to establish probable cause and what specific Crime code am I charged under?”
“Just sit tight. We will get a JAG officer in a few minutes.”
“Fuck you!” Brinus yelled as he gave the two cops his middle fingers.
Briggs and Colletta got coffee from the coffee vending machine outside. Brigged pulled out his vape pen from his pocket and took a hit.
“I didn’t know you smoked.”
He took another hit and blew the vapor into the air. “Dealing with kids like Brinus is not the highlight of my day.”
“You know what we need to do next.”
Briggs took another hit and sighed. “He will kill us if we try to take his cigarettes. You do it without me.”
“Fair. Did You give him the pack I handed you?”
“Yes ma’am. They only have five in them. The cop who shackled him took his smokes from him. But… this seems unnecessary, you could just give him a vape. You realize it is the chemicals in cigs, not the nicotine that blocks magic.”
“He needs to be under stress for the test to be successful. We need to see if he just has heat and fire resistance or magic as well.”
“Don’t you already know he is a fire mage?” Briggs crossed his arms in front of his chest and growled, “he’s only a kid and this is wrong.”
Colletta flicked her head and sneered, “He’s almost an adult and needs to face the consequences. You can leave if you want. This is now a magi matter.”
“I’m invested. I want to see how this plays out. How long have you worked with me?”
Colletta rolled her eyes and snapped, “Then don’t whine about our methods. You know we have over 400 years of experience doing this. Let the professionals do their job.”
In the interrogation room, Brinus reached into his pocket and saw that his pack of cigarettes was empty. His heart rate increased as he looked for his other pack and saw it was gone. He figured it slipped out when the cops restrained him.
----------------------------------------
Brinus shook his leg after 20 minutes and tapped his fingers on the table. He became edgy as he walked up to the camera in the interrogation room and yelled. “I need a pack of cigarettes.”
A voice came over the intercom, “Minors don't get Nicotine Products.”
Brinus began biting his nails as he sat down. He shook his leg and rocked back and forth after forty-five minutes. He stood again and spoke into the camera. “Come on man, it’s just one cigarette. Can’t you give me a break?”
“No. I will say again You're a minor and kids don't get nicotine products.”
Brinus cussed and kicked over the chair. He began pacing back and forth.
The intercom voice said, “Please do not destroy the furniture. This is the first warning.”
Brinus picked up one of the chairs and threw it on the ground, smashing it to pieces. “There you go. Happy bitch?! Get me a smoke!”
“I will call the SWAT team if you continue.”
Brinus gave the camera both middle fingers and began pacing throughout the room.
Briggs and Colletta watched from the observation room. Briggs asked, “Are you going to file charges for the chair?”
“That’s kind of overkill at this point. The chair is forty credits and he is already facing criminal charges for resisting arrest and destruction of city property. At this point, all charges are fruit from the poisonous tree. Once he does magic we will wipe his memory and let him go. If anything we could face charges for kidnapping a minor, assault with a nonlethal weapon, and false imprisonment because of the gas spray, the tasing, and illegal arrest.”
“So the charges are bullshit?”
“The arrest warrant was fake because we never filed a court case. We used magic to forge the document. If he finds out we can argue we were doing a magic test for public safety. We could go to jail if word gets out. I should have done this properly but there wasn't time.”
Briggs shrugged his shoulders. “I still say he is a kid. He isn’t even 18 yet.”
“Squeamish much? If you can’t take the heat don’t get in the kitchen. Besides, you and your officers are guilty by association and will be charged alongside me.”
Briggs bit his lower lip and pinched the top of his nose. “I said I would stay so I’ll stay. If I go down so will you.”
"No one must know about this."
Brinus paced back and forth. After an hour He knocked over the trash can and looked for cigarette butts. He searched for a few minutes. He looked into the camera. “It’s just a cigarette. Come on! Just one smoke! How much harm can it do?!” There was no response. “Can I have a vape at least? Please! I’m beggin’ ya’! At least a AA-nicotine patch?! Somethin'?! I need a fix!”
The intercom crackled, “Please stop kicking the furniture. This is the last warning.”
Brinus dropped his pants and mooned the observation room.
Colletta laughed and handed Brigs some coffee. “It will be a long night. He has a lot of drugs in his system.”
Briggs took the coffee and smiled. "He’s a rebel to the end."
Five hours into the test Brinus vomited into the trash can. He was too weak to keep pacing and sat in the chair with a trash can over his mouth. His head hurt like a thousand strobe lights shined into his eyes and he started shanking and having cold sweats. He wanted to murder every last Magi and was not in the mood to negotiate with anyone.
Colletta smiled as she looked at the computer. “We should have some pay dirt in a few hours.”
“I hope he doesn’t blow up the whole city.” Briggs looked worried.
“We have done this countless times.” But not for a dark fire mage. I really do hope he doesn’t blow up the city.
At the six-hour mark, Brinus had his pupils dilated, covered in cold sweat, and paced back and forth. He walked up to the door and banged on it. “Give me a cigarette now, or I will blow up this room!”
Briggs and Colletta looked at each other while sharing glances. They were both worried.
Brinus conjured a fireball and threw it at the solid steel door. It sent orange and red metal sparks in all directions. He walked out of the interrogation room. A red sirend blared as Brinus looked for a cigarette vending machine.
He came up to an energy barrier and walked through it. The Shield generator exploded in a shower of white sparks, causing the lights in the hallway to pop and scream making it go dark and causing fires to pop up throughout the electrical sockets. Brinus shorted out the entire electrical system of the Magi Headquarters. The Computer Terminals were shorted out. The holographic books were useless. The server room was now on fire. Millions of credits in property damage had been done to this building.
He felt like he had more energy as he conjured a fireball to see through the smoke and fire; most of the building was on fire at this point. He came up to a vending machine and put four credits into it. Without electricity it didn't work so he melted the glass by snapping his fingers and grabbed a pack of Carolina Tea Leaves.
He put a cigarette in his mouth, snapped his fingers, and lit with magic. He smiled as the smoke filled his lungs and mouth. He moaned with pleasure as Magi agents surrounded him with their wands drawn.
Colletta stepped forward. “Sastified?”
“Very.” Brinus took a drag and blew smoke into her face with a smirk.
“Do you know how much damage you caused?”
“That sounds like a you problem.” Brinus blew more smoke into her face and laughed.
Colletta sneered, “Let him finish until he isn’t in withdrawal anymore and then modify his memory. Modify Harper’s memory, and the hospital staff’s memory as well. Find anyone who was there at his arrest and modify their memory. I want no public record of this. Records will say the damage was done by a training accident. You have cost us hundreds of thousands of credits Mr. Helios. I hope you’re happy.”
----------------------------------------
The next morning Brinus woke up in the hospital with Harper. He was in his pajamas on top of the cot. His body felt like complete hell, he had chemical burns on his face and eyes as he lit his morning cigarette. His feet and legs felt like lead weights, he was covered in sweat. Brinus smelled like he’d been to the gym. On his shoes was broken tinted glass. However, he had been asleep all night. Overall despite know being asleep all night he felt like his body was dragged through the wars.
Brinus came up and rang for the nurse. She came within three minutes and gasped screaming, “Oh my temple spirits!” when she saw the chemical burns on Brinus’s face. She left and came back with a burn kit. She cleaned the burn and then used the dermal regenerator to regenerate the damaged tissue.
“I am so sorry Mr. Helios. How did you get this burn?”
He shrugged. “Hell if I know. I woke up this morning and it feels like my body has been through the wars and yet I was asleep all night.”
“Do you need to go to the emergency room?”
Brinus shook his head.
The nurse crossed her arms in front of her chest and frowned, “If you’re having unexplained memory loss then you should get your brain checked out.”
“I’m fine. I have community service in two hours.”
The nurse rolled her eyes and put bandages over the healed blisters.
Brinus looked at Harper. “Why do you look so scared?”
“The Magi came in yesterday and arrested you. You don’t remember? You raised all kinds of hell. I even saw you kick out a police car’s window in the parking lot. There was something on the news this morning about a power surge in the Kamos Sector of Saffron. That's where the magi headquarters is.”
“Whatever. don’t talk bullshit. See ya this evenin’.”
Brinus kissed Harper on the forehead and left for his apartment.
The District 12 Magi Council room was opulent. It had gold leaf baroque-style paneling with mirrors inside each panel. The ceiling was twenty feet high and dome-shaped with a giant skylight. The floors were orange and white marble with a mahogany and pine wood compass rose in the center. The chairs at the edge were baroque-style couches.
The District 12 magi council was in a meeting. The room was silent as Colletta presented her findings to the council.
Finally, the Magi grandmaster spoke. “This is troubling, a dark fire mage in the criminal underworld? And in a romantic relationship with someone like Harper Mangus? No, we cannot allow this. What is the plan for dealing with this?”
“Our first plan is to eliminate Harper and pin the blame on his handler.”
One of the Magi Masters leaned forward. “How do you plan on doing that?”
Colletta smiled. “I thought you would never ask.”