Its been a long time since I set foot into the Academy, much less think about my time there. But there's one thing I learnt that I have always kept in mind. And that little teaching whispers inside my head as Holt opens and shuts her mouth in front of me like a stunned guppy.

Know yourself. Know your enemy.

Lots of students think this saying is a dumb platitude and in many ways, it is. Its one of those 'duh, of course' kind of things that students roll their eyes at whenever the lecturers begin blathering on and on. But you'll be surprised how many people forget about it and pay the price later on.

"I don't understand, Lieutenant." Holt grumbles, "We've determined Kuat is the killer. Why aren't we not going to arrest him?"

Because I don't want to arrest Kuat, at least not yet, I think to myself. Of course I can't say that to Ms Highest Top Scorer Ever From The Academy. I need some time to think in peace, to straighten out my plans.

"Are you hungry Holt?" I ask.

"Huh?" Holt mutters as the sudden change in topic.

"I haven't eaten dinner." I explain, "And I saw a coffee place just round the corner. So are you hungry?"

"No. I'm not hungry." Holt scowls, "I want us to carry on the investigation, Lieutenant."

"I'm hungry." I dismiss Holt's complaint while walking away, "I'll order something to go and be right back. Stay with the car. You want anything?"

I hear a defeated sigh from Holt as she replies, "Just a hot coffee. Thanks." I give her a thumbs up as we temporarily part company.

So where was I ? Right, knowing your enemy. I had been assigned to investigate a murder most probably committed by Don Kuat, an Operator under my watch. Holt, the Highest Top Scorer Ever From The Academy had been nominated as my partner. The Militia's investigation report strongly implicates Kuat. Our inspection of the crime scene confirms this suspicion. But all of that is irrelevant as far as I am concerned.

Because my enemy isn't Kuat. Its Holt.

The easy way to proceed with this investigation would be to do as Holt suggests. Haul in Don Kuat into the Garden's dungeon. We have more than enough circumstantial evidence to get the people on top to approve this course of action. We interrogate Kuat until he breaks and spills the beans. Then depending on what exactly he confesses, the Garden will send him to the Prosecutor's Office for sentencing. The end.

But I cannot afford any of that to happen. The real problem for me isn't the citizen that Kuat killed. Its the illegal immigrants that wound up dead in the crossfire. Most of them were shot. One of them was shot and stabbed. Meaning Kuat almost certainly had a hand in their deaths. Right after he bullied one of their number at Club Loveless and the illegal immigrants decided to get a little payback.

From the Militia's case file, the illegal immigrants were shot by a T-25 Skirmisher's guns. Meaning Kuat was never in any danger from the migrant gang. He over escalated and conducted a massacre, when he could have just taught the illegal immigrants a lesson by breaking their bones. And this is the reason why I am experiencing such a headache.

Kuat's not a dissident. He's an operator and a veteran, meaning the Yellow Roses can't disappear him just like that. The government will demand we perform a psych eval on Kuat the moment we detain him since his out of control behavior points to some kind of mental instability. I was the Yellow Rose that certified that Kuat was stable enough to keep working as an operator. Even the chorus mainly uses his transmitter. And if the psych eval shows that Kuat was going violently insane on the job ...

I would be finished. My career, already in the doldrums would be sent straight into the dumpster. I would be lucky to be dismissed from the Yellow Roses without any further repercussions.

I cannot allow Holt or the Yellow Roses to detain Kuat. Period.

I absentmindedly open the door to the coffee shop and a pimply teenage boy greets me from over the counter. I place an order for two coffees and a bagel to go and sink back into my thoughts as I wait for the food to be prepared. During the meeting the senior officers already knew, or at least suspected Kuat of going on a rampage against the migrants. So what does that tell me?

Number one. As far as the Garden is concerned, this case has a foregone outcome. Kuat is brought in and eventually proven to be a psychotic madman. Regardless of the actual offence on the file, meaning the murder of the citizen, I am taken off the case because now I become a person of interest as a negligent Yellow Rose officer.

Which leads to point number two. Holt was assigned as my partner to take over the case once I have been dropped as the lead investigator. As the Highest Scorer Ever, she is probably being groomed by the leadership for the fast track career path. Solving a murder and uncovering a case of incompetence within the Yellow Roses would be a major push for Holt. From the disrespect Holt treats me with, I can guess that the leadership has filled her head with all kinds of stories about me. Highest Scorer Ever probably thinks she has been assigned to keep a burnout on target. Holt was also most likely not told by the Leadership that they were throwing her a bone.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

But in this battle, I am not without advantages of my own.

Firstly, Holt is addicted to the smell of her own farts. I did that little show at the crime scene as a test for her. And for all her grades at the Academy, Holt was not sharp enough to avoid falling into the trap I had laid. Secondly, I may be out of favor at the Garden, but I am the lead investigator for this case. Holt can't detain anyone without my say so. I could stymie Holt indefinitely, but I need to use my authority carefully. Holt would not hesitate to make a complaint against me if I allow the investigation to go cold, however much I want to do that.

So that leaves me with a handful of options. The best one would be for me to conclude that Kuat had nothing to do with the whole affair and close the file. I would prefer to do that as well, since I do see Kuat as a sort-of friend, him possibly being barking mad notwithstanding. Unfortunately, the circumstantial evidence against him is too strong. Holt would immediately object and I would not be able to get away with it.

"Here's your order Ma'am." the server hands me a brown paper bag loaded with the drinks and food. I grunt and take the package, preparing to leave.

"Is anything wrong?" the server asks, probably because of the black look on my face.

"No, nothing." I mutter, "Just a long day at work with a difficult colleague."

"Don't I know it." the server says with a smile.

"Yeah. Keep at it." I smile back.

....

Both Holt and I stand outside my car. Holt ignores the coffee I had bought for her as she glares at me, waiting for me to say something. On my part, I pointedly ignore Highest Scorer while munching on the bagel.

"Well?" Holt challenges.

"Well what?" I shoot back between mouthfuls, "Didn't you say that you wanted to arrest Kuat?"

Holt perks up at my statement but I quickly continue with a rider, "I'll agree to arrest Kuat if you can prove that you can handle the interrogation."

Highest Scorer looks at me warily, asking, "How am I supposed to do that?"

"Pretend I am Kuat." I say while wiping my mouth with a serviette, "You arrested me, now I am in the dungeon. Start interrogating away."

"Uh. OK." Holt murmurs, somewhat stunned but quickly gets into the gear, "You killed a citizen."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I reply drinking the coffee while doing my best Don Kuat impression.

"The Militia places you at the scene of the crime." Holt presses, "We discovered evidence that you were there, fighting."

"Still no idea." I say, slurping my coffee. Holt gives me an annoyed look.

"You need to present the evidence to Kuat to force him into a corner." I explain, "Otherwise all you're going to get are denials."

"Oh! Right!" Highest Scorer Ever cringes with a red face, "I present the evidence in the investigation report."

I nod, channeling Kuat again, "None of that proves I did anything."

Holt smirks triumphantly, "Did you go to Club Loveless that night?"

"Yes." I confirm.

Holt continues the questioning, "Do you possess a deployment ring for a T-25 Skirmisher bulwark?"

"Yes." I say, gesturing at Highest Scorer to continue.

"You came back here last night to pick up your car, right?" Holt queries. Wow, she's really getting into the role.

"Yes." I reply with a thumbs up.

Holt smiles happily, "The citizen was killed last night by handgun fire from a T-25 Skirmisher, a bulwark that you own, at the time you were supposedly at the crime scene. Check mate."

"Use the citizen's name." I suggest, "Makes the statement more powerful when confronting Kuat."

"Stop nitpicking." Highest Scorer complains, "You get the idea anyway right? So how about it, did I pass?"

"No." I smile back, "Kuat says he didn't do it and your so-called evidence proves that it was impossible for him to do it."

"What? How?" Holt exclaims in surprise.

"Check Kuat's war records." I answer while finishing off the coffee, "Kuat's a D ranked Auxilia. It would be impossible for him to score the hit rates that you're talking about with a T-25's guns. Kuat also used to be a conscript, he never got extensive training on par with Battle Lords or Valkyries."

"But that just makes it unlikely, not impossible that he committed the murder." Holt protests.

"Alright. What model of bulwark was the citizen using?" I quiz.

"T-40 Stormer." Highest Scorer recalls after some thought, "Standard bulwark for the Auxilia serving in the line of battle."

"A T-40. Which is stronger and better armored than Kuat's T-25." I comment, "You're saying a conscript could take out a tougher bulwark than his own in melee combat?"

"That still only makes it unlikely, not impossible." Holt insists.

"Then how about this." I conclude, driving the final nail home, "A T-25 is not physically capable of breaching another bulwark's core through melee combat. The Skirmisher just isn't strong enough to manage that."

Holt is quiet at this last piece of information. I press the attack, "Once is unlikely. Twice, you could still explain it away. But three times? Kuat's going to walk. Guaranteed."

"But we concluded that Kuat was the murderer just now!" Holt cries out in distress.

I pat her reassuringly, gradually seizing control of the situation, "We did. But we can't actually nail Kuat with conjecture alone. There are still too many loose ends."

Then Holt says the words I had been longing to hear, "So what do we do next?"

"We are investigators. So we keep investigating." I say, "Remember. You said this was a botched ambush right?"

Holt merely nods in silence.

"We need to investigate the murdered citizen." I conclude, "And the migrants as well. They may be connected to what's happened."

"The Militia has not returned with any news about the citizen." Holt replies, "They are still piecing the body back together after it was torn to pieces during the crash landing. All we have is the name from the ID card the Militia managed to recover from the wreckage."

"Frederick Laver, right?" I grunt, "Let's wait for the Militia to get back to us about him. We can check out the migrants in the meantime. Finish your coffee. We're heading out."

"Where to?" Holt questions as she frantically gulps down the coffee.

"Club Loveless."