Isaac knew it was important to be confident in situations like these. Despite the cultivation-powered knife pointed at him, despite the destruction of his room, despite the bloody decapitated head on the floor at his feet, Isaac took a deep breath and collected himself.
“No,” he firmly answered. He half-expected the Ka-Bar to elongate in length; while red sparks continued to run through it, the knife remained its normal size. Henry brought his free hand to his chin, rubbing it in thought.
“Interesting,” he merely said. “Why did Connor show up in your room, then? Maybe you talked to him about something in the past.”
The members of Henry’s goon squad leered behind him, the red lights running through their body illuminating them in the darkness. A big flash sent a spark of red into the sky, briefly giving Henry the appearance of an angel with crimson wings. An intimidation tactic like that might’ve worked on Isaac when he first joined the military, but he had seen too much to allow cheap tricks to scare him.
“Not sure. He was crazy.”
That last part wasn’t even a full lie. Time once again stood still; Henry and Isaac stared each other down, spotlights roaming behind Henry. More warplanes flew overhead; Isaac couldn’t see them, but recognized their particular propeller noise. The unseen planes flew closer, the drumming noise drowning out everything else. Spotlights and propellers, red sparks and bated breath, Isaac and Henry.
The warplanes flew off. And then a new noise arrived - the sound of a car pulling to a halt. While it seemed like any other car to Isaac, Henry must’ve recognized its sound, since he spun the Ka-Bar in his hand before holstering it on his side. Just like that - the game was up. The red lights flowing through the bodies of Henry and his squad in time to their heartbeats disappeared, the red receding into nothingness.
Isaac heard approaching footsteps from down the walkway. The goon squad turned and gave crisp salutes; Henry brought a hand to his forehead, flicking his cap up his blonde hair. Someone high-ranking must’ve arrived; Isaac hoped for Stockham. Instead, he only left the frying pan to end up in the oven.
Vice Commandant Spinelli opened the door to the room with a light touch. He glanced at his son, who came in through the wall, and then at the layer of plaster and dust at his feet. He looked back at the squadron of Naval Police who arrived with him; they entered the room behind him. Isaac could only watch as the additional squadron Spinelli brought with him collected Connor’s head and body, grabbing them neither gingerly nor cruelly; they retrieved them with a doctor’s detachment.
“Midshipman Isaac Spallacio,” Spinelli greeted with his deep voice. “Designation |Eightfold Fist|.”
It took Isaac a moment to remember formalities. He gave a haphazard salute, keeping eye contact with Spinelli the whole time; the Vice Commandant’s eyes were gray and cold. Now that he stood next to his son, Isaac could see the resemblance - the large frames, the angular features. Though Spinelli’s hair was gray below his cap compared to Henry’s blonde, the resemblance between father and son was uncanny.
Spinelli’s man hauled Connor’s corpse and head away, disappearing down the walkway with them. After they left, the Vice Commandant remained quiet, and when he remained quiet, everyone did. Henry radiated power, but Spinelli radiated authority. Henry had powerful abilities; Spinelli had the authority of the Arcadian government behind him. Within this room, he was king. Henry looked equally miffed with someone upstaging him and excited to see what his father would do to Isaac.
“I want to ask you if Connor said anything to you,” Spinelli said. “But I suppose Henry already asked you. And I suppose you told him no.”
Isaac slowly nodded in agreement.
Spinelli sized him up for a moment. “Very well,” he concluded. He raised a finger and gave it a twirl. “Take him to the brig. We can find out for sure once he’s there.”
Isaac took a step back, only to bump against the wall behind him. Henry already had the Ka-Bar pointed at him; even though he was on the other side of the room, one spark of Rddhi would send the blade through Isaac’s torso, stomach, arm, anywhere that could disable him and make him easier to capture. Held at knifepoint, Isaac gritted his teeth, considering his options as Spinelli’s squadron moved into the room, their rifles raised.
Should I fight? Should I run? Shit, there’s no time-
“Hey!”
The squadron stopped at the call of the authoritative voice. None other than Mackenzie appeared on the walkway, dressed in her crisp uniform. Isaac only now remembered that she lived in the same complex, in a luxury room on the other side of the second floor with its own balcony. Her blonde hair rolled down her shoulders as she gave both the Spinelli father and son a glare to end all glares. The sight seemed imposing…just for a moment, until everyone remembered that Mackenzie was just a Chief Midshipman while Spinelli was Vice Commandant.
He adjusted his cap, eyeing her with muted amusement. “This is Naval Police business. I suggest you stay out of it.”
She crossed her arms. Her stare never wavered. “He’s a cadet. That makes it my business. If you imprison him, I’ll speak to my father and get him released at once.”
Henry snickered. “Going to run for daddy’s help?”
Mackenzie appeared undisturbed by his taunting. “Yes.”
Spinelli’s Naval Police officers still had their guns pointed at Isaac. Yet they were also distracted by the spat on the walkway. If Isaac went for it, he could easily disable them. But if he did, violence would surely break out - it would be him and Mackenzie against eight or nine officers. And considering how much of a danger just Henry himself posed, let alone the two squadrons, let alone the entire Naval Police branch behind them, Isaac decided against any sudden movements.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“You think your father would force us to free Cadet Spallacio here?” Spinelli inquired incredulously.
“He would,” Mackenzie answered coolly. “I don’t ask him for much. So when I do, he listens.”
Mackenzie looked as though he had him in checkmate. The officers holding Isaac at gunpoint looked unsure of what to do. But before they could retract their guns, Spinelli raised a hand. He just gave the elder Cartwright sibling an amused look.
“I’ll take my chances-”
More cars slid to a halt down on the road below. From where he stood, the occupants were just barely visible to Isaac - he couldn’t believe his eyes. General Stockham himself exited the car, flanked by cultivator marines and conventional marines. The latter aimed their rifles at the Naval Police on the walkway while the cultivator marines took up combat poses. Stockham, dressed in a long coat due to the evening chill, walked confidently next to them.
“Evening, Vice Commandant,” he greeted, looking up to the walkway.
The amused look disappeared from Spinelli's face. “General.”
“I will not allow your own failures to result in the imprisonment of one of my cadets,” Stockham called up to him. Isaac almost laughed at the sight - the beefy Osip stood next to Stockham, his muscles bulging. Even Shokahu, his classroom teacher who had been overshadowed by everything else going on in Isaac’s life, had arrived as well. Isaac almost wanted to see them fight. Almost.
Henry definitely wanted to see them fight. He lowered the Ka-Bar away from Isaac and laughed. He stepped over the broken wall and back out onto the walkway. “The desk jockey who calls himself a General,” he greeted. “Will you stop us by force?”
Stockham just shook his head. “I’ll kick your ass myself, if that’s what you mean.”
Henry just laughed, then aimed the Ka-Bar at Stockham.
Things moved fast. Osip immediately stepped in front of Stockham and activated his cultivation powers. Since Isaac and his friends were only Circuit 1 or 2, they only gave off small light shows when they activated their powers. Not so for Spinelli or Osip, who activated theirs at the same time. Two beams of crimson lightning struck down from the sky, the electricity arcing and flaring as they ensconced the two in their glow. The shockwave sent the men standing nearby stumbling; Isaac felt himself pinned against the wall by the power of Spinelli’s activation. The officer himself was just barely visible through the glow.
And then Spinelli struck his son across the face. Despite the power of the activation, despite his men struggling to stand, Spinelli calmly remained in place and rebuked his son. Henry touched his face in disbelief; an angry purple splotch slowly appeared where Spinelli hit him.
Osip, fortunately, never went on the offensive. He never revealed his power, either - he just remained in place, his large body shielding Stockham from any harm. The General placed a calming hand on his shoulder; when Henry no longer showed any inclination to fight, Osip finally stood down.
“The man is a general!” Spinelli reminded his son. “He has many faults, but the man is still a general.” The Vice Commandant looked over the walkway. “There will be no further quarreling tonight. We’ve recovered Connor. We have no further business here at the moment.”
Spinelli gazed down at Stockham; after a moment, the General nodded back. Spinelli waved a hand and his men withdrew. Isaac finally sighed in relief once they no longer pointed their guns at him. They followed Spinelli out the door, and Henry and his squadron followed after them. Mackenzie stood against the railing to let them pass; needing to get one last dig in, Henry gave her a taunting look. But Mackenzie stood her ground, so the Naval Police officers continued on.
On ground level, the opposing factions kept their eyes on one another, but nobody made any attacks. Henry must’ve come here on foot since there was no car waiting for him, but Spinelli forced him in the backseat of his own vehicle. As the remaining officers walked away down the road, the Vice Commandant’s car drove off, a spotlight illuminating the father and son in the backseat one last time before they and their officers disappeared into darkness.
Isaac took a deep breath, then exited his destroyed room. Between the missing wall and gore covering his bed, he probably wouldn’t be able to sleep there tonight. But considering all the adrenaline, he probably wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight anyways.
He arrived next to Mackenzie on the railing. She gripped the metal tightly; it was only now that Isaac realized her hands were trembling.
“Thank you,” he offered.
Mackenzie looked away. “I didn’t do it for you. It would be a stain against my honor as future commander of the Cultivator Marine Corps if I allowed my own cadet to be imprisoned under false pretenses.”
“Yeah, I bet.”
Despite her bluster and bravado, Mackenzie cracked a small grin at that. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“The cavalry is here!”
Babs and Reed suddenly emerged from Reed’s room on ground level. Red lights ran through Babs, while Reed struggled to remain on her feet.
“It’s too late,” Stockham answered, unamused by her late arrival. “The Naval Police have already left.”
“Damn,” Babs muttered. “Guess we overslept.”
Whatever they were previously up to left Reed dead from exhaustion; she leaned on Babs to keep herself upright. She opened her mouth to say something, but only answered with a yawn. Isaac looked at Mackenzie and supposed it was a good thing he had friends in the other squadrons.
Friend. Could he call her that? After tonight, he decided he could answer that with a positive yes.
“Isaac, we will have to discuss the events of tonight on the morrow,” Stockham called up to him. “I see your sleeping arrangements have been destroyed. I can arrange new ones for the time-being.”
“Someone has to keep an eye on him for his own safety,” Mackenzie answered, the authority in her voice at odds with the grin poking through her serious face. “Isaac will sleep with me tonight.”
Isaac just let out a sigh, especially when he saw the dumbfounded look on Babs’ face (Reed just started chuckling). Compared to all her previous prim and properness, Mackenzie now gave him a small smirk out of the corner of her eye. She was exposed to Isaac’s memories - unfortunately, that probably included Isaac thinking that Mackenzie was the most attractive of the female cultivator cadets. However, the smirk simultaneously suggested she didn’t mean that literally. And furthermore - Isaac had business he needed to attend to. Between Dan’s theorizing and the conversation with Connor, he had made a huge breakthrough tonight regarding the conspiracy. Literal or not, sleeping with an attractive woman came second to the fate of the country.
“Isaac will not be doing that,” he clarified. Mackenzie placed a hand over her mouth to hide a chuckle. “If it’s alright, I really would feel the most comfortable sleeping with Squad 3 tonight.”
Okay, he could’ve worded that better. Babs’ face now turned a light shade of red (Reed just kept on chuckling). But Stockham understood what he meant.
“Very well,” he said. “You three can spend the night in a spare room in the barracks.”