Chapter 113 - Acting on a Hunch

Char Char blinked as she immediately recognized the name of the shop that had issued the contract.

“Lucky Pawn Shop… and it was signed by Yuzu too!” Char Char said to herself as she felt like she had stumbled across a significant clue.

She glanced over to Finn and Dr. Ilec, who were still conversing about the circumstances of Hakuya’s disappearance. They hadn’t noticed that she’d found something interesting in the pile of belongings. In a split second decision Char Char folded up the scroll and tucked in discreetly into her pocket.

“Thank you, Doctor.” Finn said, finishing up the conversation, “I’ll take these belongings to the station and start investigating into his disappearance.”

“No, thank you.” Dr. Ilec said, catching Char Char’s glance back to them, “And you too, Char Char.”

“Of course.” Char Char smiled, “Don’t worry, we’ll be coming back shortly with twelve cured patients! I promise!”

“Lord Noga bless you.” Dr. Ilec couldn’t help but smile back.

They left the tent and walked across the field toward the exit out of the fenced off area. The grass beneath their feet was damp and soggy from the previous night’s rain. The hastily erected tents covered the field and formed a small, cramped town that was already bustling with the activity of doctors and nurses. There was a muted sense of exhaustion that pervaded the grounds. It was clear that many of them had worked through the night.

When they returned to front of the clinic the patients were already climbing up into the carriages with the help of the officers and several nurses. There were also two other individuals present and waiting to set off.

The first was a tall lady with tanned skin and long black hair. She was dressed in a black and red uniform similar to Char Char’s, though she also had additional gold embossery that indicated her higher status in the company. She had an exotic beauty to her and gave off a mature and capable air.

“Firuzeh!” Char Char waved enthusiastically, breaking off from Dr. Ilec and Finn to run ahead to Firuzeh.

“Good day, Char Char. I see that I’ve arrived at the right time.” Firuzeh said, “How are you finding the uniform?”

“It’s fine.” Char Char replied with a bit of hesitation, “I’m not used to wearing the sword, though. It gets a lot of attention and I feel a bit awkward, especially since I don’t even know how to hold it properly yet.”

“That’s fine.” Firuzeh replied, “Getting accustomed to carrying it - both physically and socially - is an important part of your training.”

Char Char nodded. They had gone over the topic during the previous training session. Char Char’s role was purely to attend functions and act as a mouthpiece for the company, so strictly speaking such training was unnecessary. but her training was broader in scope. After all, she was now an Exalted, one with powers that needed to be cultivated and refined.

To her surprise, her grandfather had requested the Red Lion Security Company to give her a full training complement, including weapons and combat training. Char Char hadn’t expected him to allow her to take such training, but happily agreed.

Sansen Zhao only had two stipulations. The first was that Char Char was to never actually be placed on any assignments involving an actual chance of danger. The second was that during her training she was to always be accompanied by a chaperone from the Zhao estate.

Today, as with yesterday, her assigned attendant was Sansen’s personal maid Chloe. She was standing next to Firuzeh wearing a simple black coat and long skirt. She was petite, with slender limbs and shoulder length brown hair. She wore a perpetually calm expression, never expressing her own thoughts unless directly prompted.

Chloe listened to Firuzeh and Char Char’s conversation without any reaction. She had also been present during the previous day’s training, standing silently and attentively to the side. At first Firuzeh had tried to involve her in conversation, but she never got far. It was as if Chloe were a doll whose only interests were to watch over and cater to Char Char’s needs.

“Are we ready to go?” Char Char asked, seeing that the last of the patients had boarded the carriages.

“Yes, it looks like it.” Finn answered as he walked over. Beside him was an officer who at first glance appeared to be a young man with short brown hair and a clear complexion, however closer examination showed that she was actually female. She was tall, with an athletic build and broad shoulders. She carried a metal baton and a pistol, which hung off of her belt.

Finn gestured towards her, “This is Officer Wren. She will be in charge of the operation in my stead. She’s agreed to allow you three to go with them, on the stipulation that you listen to her commands.”

“That is fine.” Firuzeh nodded, “Thank you for your consideration.”

“Not at all.” Wren nodded with a smile. “Char Char seems to be the mastermind of all this, so it’s only fitting that she joins us.”

After a short exchange of farewells, Finn took his leave, taking one of the carriages back into the city. The rest of the ensemble finalized their arrangements and before long the three police carriages began rumbling away towards the forest.

~

“Where to?” The driver of Finn’s carriage asked him.

“Central Headquarters.” Finn directed as he sat back in his seat.

He had a busy day in front of him. Today was the last day he had in his three-day assignment to investigate the entities responsible for the death of Chief Yun and his team. Despite having a lot of leads, though, he didn’t feel like he had anything substantial enough to report.

His main theory was that the Marked Devout, who were Demonic Life cultists, were trying to resurrect their God, and that the monks from the Cloud Peak Monastery and the Heavens Gate Monastery were assisting them. He had proof that the Marked Devout was connected to Cloud Peak from the leather wristband that he had snatched from the guest room. From his research he knew that the weapon that killed Chief Yun was a signature of the Heavens Gate Monastery.

Edwin was a young monk from the Heavens Gate, told him that his master was in the area and had recently advanced. Thus, it was highly likely that Edwin’s master was Chief Yun’s murderer. Finn had intentionally kept Edwin in the dark about this detail of the case to maintain the young monk’s support and get a lead on the whereabouts of his master, Ming Ru.

Edwin was to inform Finn as soon as he heard anything about his master and report it to Finn before taking action. Given that the master was involved in this mess though, Finn only gave Edwin about a fifty percent chance of following through on his word. If Edwin’s master told Edwin to meet him in secret and not tell anyone, would he really go straight to the police? Probably not. That would be a new level of naievity.

Thus, his best lead was likely a dead end. Finn sighed in irritation as he stared out of the window, watching but not watching the city pass by from the shadow of the carriage.

His next best lead was Minnie, his colleague from the DVMP. She’d told him she was going to investigate the cabin, and was supposed to meet up with him last night to discuss her findings. However instead of meeting with him she’d sent a hasty message that she’d found a lead. Hopefully she found something and would share her results with Finn today. This was why he was now headed towards the headquarters to see if she had returned with new information.

The final lead was the most tenuous - it was the white maiden at the shrine. This mysterious deity had appeared out of nowhere and saved many lives from the Devileyes plague. Furthermore, she directly healed Char Char and offered to help people who were suffering from the infection. Though he didn’t know her motives, at the very least Finn could tentatively assume she was not supporting the Marked Devout. This made her a possible ally to Noga and by association, himself.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Her connection with Finn’s investigation had been revealed when Edwin had blurted out that the maiden had helped his master deliver the catalyst that advanced him to Candidate. Was she allied with the monks, then? Or perhaps they had made a deal.

If his other leads turned out to be dead ends, Finn could consider returning to the maiden’s shrine and praying to her. Perhaps she would help him. Or, in the worst case, she was actually working against the police and he’d be walking into his own doom. Still, that would be better than showing up empty-handed tomorrow…

He was so deep in thought that he didn’t notice that the shadows in the dark carriage had started twisting and coming to life. They emerged from the corners, spilling out like an infestation of insects. They skittered across the floor and walls of the cart’s interior, constantly shifting in shape, sometimes long and stretched, sometimes radial like a ball of hair. They churned about, forming spirals in the darkness, their illusory bodies lined with thin, segmented legs. They had no volume, only existing on the surfaces that were draped in shadow.

The whispers began softly, so soft that they were drowned out by the rumbling of the cart. The shadow insects crawled up Finn’s legs and arms and tangled themselves in his ash grey hair. As they crawled up his skin the whispers rose in volume, ebbing and flowing in waves. These mutterings were filled with the sounds of chittering and the buzzing of wings, interspersed with dry, hoarse laughter.

Finn’s eyes clouded over as he lost himself in the rhythm of the whispers, losing himself in the flow thoughts. His mind spiraled inward as he went over the facts of the case over and over again.

“Forget the cult…” He muttered quietly, “Due to various factors, the person who killed Chief Yun was most likely a monk - Edwin’s master. Moreover, all of the officers suffered similar wounds. Forensics determined that they were all killed by a single person.”

“How can one monk defeat the entire team of Exalted? Weren’t we the ones on the offensive? The operation took only seconds. Literally, less than thirty seconds. How could the enemy be so prepared? Luck?”

“No. Not luck.”

He spoke to himself in a daze, muttering his thoughts out loud as if he were in a conversation with himself. The coarse illusory laughter echoed in his ears.

His brows furrowed as he looked down and saw the shadows that were squirming across the shadowed part of his arm. He did not panic, but kept repeating to himself in a trance, “It wasn’t luck.”

The carriage slowed to a stop as it pulled up outside the police station. There was a jostle as the driver hopped off his perch and went around the coach to the door. It opened with a clatter, letting the morning sun stream into the dark interior, chasing away the illusory forms from the shadows as Finn broke out of his reverie.

The driver looked at Finn expectantly, waiting for him to leave the carriage. To the driver nothing was amiss in the carriage.

Finn’s eyes regained some of their clarity as the illusory whispers vanished. He rotated his forearm, confirming that the shadows had disappeared.

“It wasn’t luck.”

~

With a look of conviction on his face Finn walked across the stone tile path towards the building. The thick round pillars that lined the outside of the building cast long shadows across the entranceway. Though the sun was shining brightly, a shadow seemed to be cast across the headquarters.

Finn walked into the main doors with a brooding look on his face as he headed to the DVMP office on the third floor. Though he wasn’t officially a part of the department anymore, he had been directing people to the office - specifically Anne, the receptionist - to contact him on matters regarding the case. This was both convenient and discreet, since the news of Finn’s transfer had not been publicly announced. Therefore only Anne and Chief Luan were officially aware of his change in duties.

As he climbed the stairs a familiar lanky officer caught his eye - it was his partner, Zwei Xing, who was slightly ahead of him and had not noticed Finn’s presence. The young officer had a tense look on his face as he took a turn off of the stairs on the second floor and headed down the hall. Finn paused at the landing for a moment before following behind Zwei without announcing his presence. Halfway down the hall Zwei stepped through an open set of doors.

Finn was familiar with this area of the headquarters, though he had only visited once on a brief tour. This was an office of another department - Organized Crime, led by Chief Bear. Since the doors were open Finn stopped outside the door and pretended to be waiting for someone, taking a quick peek inside to see what his partner was up to. Similar to the DVMP, there was an attendant at the desk and a waiting area with chairs, though it was smaller than the former’s reception area.

“Good morning,” Zwei said as he walked up to the counter, “Is Chief Bernier in?”

“Do you have an appointment?” The man behind the desk asked, adjusting his glasses as he flipped through a planner in his hands.

“No.” Zwei said.

“What are you looking for him for?”

“I’m conducting an investigation related to a case he headed.” Zwei said.

“An investigation-” The receptionist paused, “What department are you from?”

“I can’t say.” Zwei said, “Here’s my badge, if you need to check.”

“Zwei Xing. Investigator.” The receptionist read from the inscription at the back with a look of disinterest, “Never heard of you.”

“Does that matter?” Zwei asked.

The question seemed to irritate the receptionist, who placed the badge on the table in front of Zwei, “Tell you what, when I see him next, I’ll let Chief Bear know you were looking for him.”

“Is he not in right now?” Zwei pressed.

“Who knows?” The officer shrugged, “He’s a hard man to get ahold of.”

At this point Finn decided to walk into the room. He strode up to the desk, taking a spot beside Zwei without acknowledging him.

“I’m here to see the Chief.” Finn said.

“You too, huh. Do you have an appointment” The receptionist said with a frown.

“Tell him Finn Mackenzie is here to see him.” Finn said firmly, “I have a report to make.”

The officer paused, glancing towards Zwei with a frown.

“You’re busy?” Finn asked, making a motion to step past the desk, “This is urgent. How about I just go back there myself?”

“You can’t go back there without someone from the team escorting you.” The attendant rebutted as he stood up quickly to intercept Finn.

“Then be my escort. Or go and tell him I’m here.” Finn frowned, “Or I’ll let him know you delayed my report.”

“Let- let me go check if he’s in.” The attendant said, quickly weighing the risks. “Stay right here.”

Finn watched with amusement as the receptionist passed through the doors leading deeper into the department. The officer was so flustered he nearly tripped as he passed through the doorway.

Zwei raised an eyebrow at Finn, “You’re looking for Chief Bernier too?”

“No.” Finn shook his head with a sigh, “What are you doing flashing your badge? That’s like day one rookie stuff. You’re not going to get anywhere trying to push your weight with that hunk of brass.”

“I was managing just fine.” Zwei glowered.

“Right. Good thing I just happened to pass by to save you from captain stonewall there.” Finn shrugged. After a moment he added carefully, “What are you looking for Chief Bear for?”

“I found some restricted files, but they can only be accessed with his approval.”

“Does it have to do with… that?” Finn asked carefully. He was hesitant to directly make mention of the twisting shadows and whispers that they’d both been hearing.

“Yes, but… This isn’t the place… I’ll tell you later.” Zwei said with a frown. He glanced towards the office doors that the attendant had passed through. With a casual tone he asked, “Is your name really enough to grant a meeting with the Chief?”

“We’ll see.” Finn said succinctly, letting Zwei fill in the blanks himself.

Though Finn had postured like he was someone of importance, the truth was he barely knew the Chief at all. He had only been introduced to Chief Bear by Chief Yun, back when he had joined the force and was trying to get accepted into the Forensics or Homicide departments. Chief Yun had given Finn a tour of the station and even arranged a meeting with Chief Vox and Chief West to introduce him to them.

As for Chief Bear, they bumped into him in the hallway by chance. The large, tan-skinned man with a heavy black beard had appraised him with cold eyes as Chief Yun cheerfully introduced Finn to him. Finn only managed to say a word of greeting before the Chief grunted that he was busy.

“Bear, if my mentee here doesn’t get assigned to Vox or West, you’ll take him, right?” Chief Yun had grinned, not minding the other Chief’s standoffish mood.

“Send his file to my receptionist.” Chief Bear said, brushing them off and heading down the hallway.

Chief Yun had looked at Finn with a wink, “Don’t worry, I’m meeting up with him for drinks later. I’ll make sure he remembers you.”

Finn had never heard back from Chief Bear or Organized Crime, but Chief Yun’s promise was what Finn was banking on from dropping his name. If Chief Bear remembered Finn at all, he’d link him to Chief Yun. From the sign in sheet at the morgue, Finn knew there were two Chiefs that had visited Chief Yun’s body prior to Finn: One was Chief Fang, the other was Chief Bear.

With Chief Yun now deceased, a spontaneous visit from his ‘mentee’ would perhaps be curious enough to grant them a meeting.

After a few minutes, the receptionist returned. With a polite nod he held the doors open as he gestured for Finn to enter. “Chief Bear will see you. Go down the hall and turn left at the end.”

“Ah, he is in.” Finn nodded, then gave Zwei a small shove forward, “Officer Xing, go and deliver the report to the Chief for me.”

“Wait,” The receptionist frowned, casting an aggravated look at Finn, “I didn’t say he could go. Chief Bear only agreed to meeting you.”

“Yeah, well, we’re both on the same team so it’s equivalent.” Finn nodded for Zwei to go ahead. “Unless you want to go back and explain to the Chief why you didn’t let my partner through.”

“But- You can’t-” The officer trembled as his face started turning red, at a loss for words as Zwei approached the doors. He could only hold the door open for Zwei, who nodded to him with a polite, ice cold smile.

“Thanks.”

The receptionist could only fume silently to himself as he watched Zwei proceed down the hall towards the chief’s office. Unable to stop Zwei from going, he turned back into the reception area, slamming the door behind him.

“Alright, you-!” He yelled, pointing his finger in accusation.

His words were cut short as he found himself shouting at an empty room.