Detective Leacock walked into the police station. The chilly morning air following him inside. Its cold bite digging deep into his old bones. The warm coffee in his hands was doing its best to counter the weather, yet without help it was a losing battle. As it was, only the detective’s fingers were spared from the chill.

Noticing the new arrival, the eyes of the guard behind the glass moved up from her paperwork, while the rest of her body remained frozen. Searching to see who entered the building. Recognizing the detective the woman’s hand moved to a green button on the desk which she clicked three times. In a pattern of short, long, short.

“Mornin,” Detective Leacock said.

The woman at the desk nodded her head a fraction of an inch. Her eyes darted back to the paper in front of her while her hand moved back to her side. Saying nothing, she allowed the detective to move along.

It’d only been a few days since the station was attacked. And already several security measures had been implemented. The receptionist’s reaction to his arrival was only one of them. The officers flanking the doors leading from the entryway, rifles in hand, were a more obvious one. Detective Leacock knew this particular change was for display only. What would the officers do if a Cowl came in? Many Cowl’s had the powers to make them invulnerable to bullets. The officers could fight, but it’d do nothing when facing that. This display of force was a ‘no walking on the grass’ sign, with no real bite behind it.

The little code the greeter used was the real security in the room. He wasn’t sure exactly who it’d call, but if things got dicy, that was their first chance to call for help. Bringing in the Heroes to counter whatever threat had stumbled in.

With a shake of the head the detective carried on. The additional guards in the room made some of the police force feel better and that was worth something he supposed. Other than pointing out the stupidest amongst them.

Walking through the building proper the detective found one of the more serious changes to the station. The door in front of him led to the security office, inside he saw several officers working away. After Liam broke into their computers in mere moments, the force decided it was time for an upgrade. The room inside was still being fitted with new equipment, but the detective wouldn’t have been surprised to see a replica of it in the next space opera. The room appeared to be plucked from the bridge of a star ship. He could only hope the new equipment was as high tech as it looked. Facing a techie like Liam the detective had the sinking feeling they would find the new stuff lacking.

Detective Leacock continued his walk through the building until he found the highlight of all the changes. The hallway his office was in was getting new wallpaper. Such a great thing could only happen after the foam cement refused to come off the last one. It’d meant the dry wall had to come down before they could get the new stuff in place.

It was a huge waste of money in the detective’s eyes. What better way to remind the officers of their failures than leaving the old wall as proof. It was a missed opportunity to teach future generations of their mistakes. Given ten minutes he could’ve figured something better to do with the area.

Moving through the construction the detective reached his office. The plain wooden door was standing ajar. It wasn’t often that his two office mates beat him to work. Those two were on the lazy side of things and he’d be lucky to see them in before nine. It was more likely one of them left it open when they went home for the evening. He’d have to talk to them again about doing that or it’d become a habit.

Walking into the office Detective Leacock was surprised to find someone already in the room. But what was even more startling was the man’s attire. The person was covered in tight fitting green clothing. From the back, the detective could see the person’s head encased in the same shade of green. Brown accents decorated both the body and head. Even from behind the man’s well defined muscles were visible, rippling under the costume.

What better way to start his morning than talking to a Hero the detective thought with a silent curse. This one didn’t even understand boundaries as he let himself into someone else’s office. One day he’d have to teach these self righteous people a little humility.

The man turned around, having heard the detective enter the room. Seeing the mask the detective’s mouth twitched, then he broke out in a pleasant laugh. He’d have to put that last thought on hold.

“It’s great to see you as well,” the masked man said. His own smile, though hidden, brightened his voice.

“I thought I was getting too old for a minute there and the young guys beat me to work.”

“Oh no, you’re not old. If you were, what would that make me?”

Detective Leacock skipped that question and said, “It’s great to see you Nudge, wow it’s weird to call you that to your face.”

“What, you don’t like the new name?”

“No it’s not that, it’s just…”

“Sometimes I miss the old ones as well, but they carry so much baggage.”

Nudge scratched the back of his head as his eyes started to lose focus. No, Detective Leacock thought. He would not ruin this reunion.

“I’m surprised you were able to make it. I thought your team wouldn’t let you come.”

“That was the plan except last night’s little incident changed a few minds. Surprising what a nationally televised riot can do to motivate people.”

“I’m sure you were in their ear the entire time. You were right after all.”

“No, that’s not my style. I wasn’t with them, but I was waiting in my suit for the order to come.”

“That does sound more like you.”

“Enough about me. I see you’ve been busy since I was last here?” Nudge said as he pointed to a plaque on the wall. It commemorated the day Leacock became a detective, almost twenty years prior. Nudge continued, “I remember when you were still a rookie. Times have certainly changed.”

With a laugh, the detective said, “What can I say. It’s been a journey.”

“I’m sure it has. You should be proud of the accomplishment,” Nudge said. There was a swelling of joy in the detective’s chest like he hadn’t felt in years. A simple compliment and he was acting like a rookie again. “The other desks in here are for your-,”

“They are for some of the other detectives in the department,” Detective Leacock said. A little ding to his pride as he pointed out how brass treated him. A not so subtle sign of his standing in the department.

“Ah, I find telling it straight, regardless of the consequences is the best strategy to take. Unfortunately, the people at the top don’t always agree with that sentiment.”

As if Nudge could read his mind, he’d already found Detective Leacock’s shame. Then done what he could to smooth it out. The detective found it surprising, he’d talked to Nudge a few times over the years, but this was the first time they’d seen each other in over a decade. Yet Nudge could still read him like a book.

“Well as much as I want to catch up with you, your town has found itself in an interesting situation.”

“Whatever the Lord of Plants needs,” the detective said, his smile growing all the wider.

“Please not that one. It’s not even official, and it’s been years since someone used it,” Nudge said. The same laughter sounding in his voice as was shown on the detective’s face.

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“I’ve been waiting so long to use it,” the detective said with a laugh, “Here, take a seat.”

The detective pulled out his own chair and offered it to Nudge. As Nudge sat down, he grabbed a spare one and pulled it to the corner of the desk. He had to move a few files out of the way to make enough space for both of them.

“Sorry about the mess in here, things can get a little hectic.”

“I like it,” Nudge said as he looked at the clutter on the detective’s desk. “It’s a clear sign someone was working here. My base is never like this. Half the time I wonder if people do anything except clean up messes over there.”

“I’m sure it’s not that bad.”

Nudge leveled a stare at the detective. One that spoke volumes about his thoughts on that. Breaking the stare Nudge asked, “So tell me, any idea who played that video of Gladius?”

“It was Liam. It had to be,” Detective Leacock said without hesitation. He’d thought about that question over the last few days and Liam was the only person who made sense.

“Can you be sure?” Nudge asked. Turning to fully face the detective. His attitude changing from the joking man a moment before to one who was ready for business.

“No, but he broke into the police security system a week ago and that same system was used to broadcast the video. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“How was the police security system used?”

“That’s not my specialty, but from what I understand everything broadcasted at Gladius’s rally ran through our security to prevent outside influence.”

“That worked well.”

“True enough.”

“Is the same security setup used often?”

The detective found it strange Nudge never wrote anything down. It was the same when they first met. The detective wouldn’t go anywhere without his notebook so he didn’t miss any new piece of information. But not this Hero. He was like a sponge, tell him something once and he’d never forget it.

“At every event the city runs.”

Nudge rubbed his chin as he turned from the detective to stare at the wall. Detective Leacock could see pieces falling together in the man’s mind. He was onto something, that was the reason he was here.

“It’s strange Liam used this moment to speak out like that. He could’ve used it to do any number of things like trying to convince people of his innocence, but he chose this,” Nudge mused.

“I’m sure we would’ve found out about his tampering sooner rather than later. From what I understand there are experts on the way to look into that.”

“Maybe he knew he was pressed for time and this was the best he could do? However I’m not sure I believe that. It’s almost like the entire attack on the police station was to get into the security system. He had to know people would come to see what he’d done afterwards.”

The detective thought about that for a moment. The entire attack never sat right with him. Why go through all that trouble to look at files the police had poured through already. If that wasn’t the real reason he was here, and it was in fact what Nudge was suggesting, then it all made more sense. He’d only used the files as a distraction to throw people off his scent.

“Meaning he knew this was his only chance to get a message out and he used it to expose Gladius,” Detective Leacock said.

“Nothing going on here feels right,” Nudge said as he turned back to the detective. Detective Leacock nodded to that. The entire case was strange, from Liam’s betrayal to him staying in the city when he could escape. None of what was happening spoke of a criminal on the run. The moves being made were too choreographed.

“I’ve been thinking the same thing.”

There was a knock at the door and both turned. The door creaked as an elderly woman stuck her head in. Her hair pulled up in a messy bun with glasses slipping low on her nose. She looked like a grandmother from down the street, not someone you’d see in a police station.

“Mail’s here for you Detective Leacock,” The woman said as she handed the detective a newspaper and a few letters.

The detective scanned over the envelopes and noted none were for him. All mailed to his office mates instead. He threw them on the proper owner’s desks before looking at the paper. He scanned the front page. ‘Update on Police Station Attack’ the headline read. Quickly reading over it the detective found an interesting tidbit ‘Reports now indicate those injured in the police station attack fell on ice running away from the explosions, not from the blasts themselves’.

“Thanks Barbara,” the detective said without looking up as his eyes darted across the rest of the page.

“Of course dear,” Barbara said. Turning to Nudge she continued, “If you need anything sweetie, come find me.”

It took all of Detective Leacock’s willpower not to cringe at the old witch. She was decades too old to be hitting on people and there she was. Going after one of the strongest Heroes in the country and arguably the most deserving of the title Hero. He would have kicked her out in a heartbeat if he hadn’t heard Nudge laughing good naturedly.

Once the door was closed, the detective turned to Nudge to apologize, but the Hero beat him to it.

“I like that one,” Nudge said.

What the detective was going to say died in his throat. Not wanting to dwell on what just happened he changed the subject.

“Do you like the headline?” he asked. Turning the paper for the other man to see.

Nudge read it over. His eyes sweeping through the page faster than Detective Leacock could follow.

“That only makes things muddier. Didn’t The Hunt say those people were injured in the blasts?”

“Yes they did.”

“Why would The Hunt lie about something like that?” Nudge wondered aloud.

“I don’t have a good answer to that.”

Nudge continued to read through the paper when the detective remembered the thumb drive he’d found on his desk after the attack.

“I almost forgot to tell you. When I came back to the office after the station was attacked this was on my desk.”

He held up the thumb drive. The simple device was nothing much to look at, it was the same as its cousins you’d find everywhere else.

“Let me guess you plugged it in without knowing what was on it?”

“Caught me,” Detective Leacock said as his cheeks flushed a bright red. It’d been years since he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Yet Nudge in minutes had made him feel like a little kid again.

“Find anything good?”

“Well, I’m not sure what to make of it. Want to see?”

“Do you have to ask?”

The detective plugged the thumb drive into the computer. He’d half expected Nudge to say something about that, but he remained blessedly quiet. His curiosity must have gotten to him as well.

After the drive loaded, a process that took only moments, he played the video. Nudge watched on in silence, his eyes never leaving the screen. The now familiar scene of the bus pulling up to the gas station, filling up, then leaving played on the computer. When the video finished, the detective spoke up.

“A text file with a date and location was also on the drive.”

“Does it help explain anything?”

“Not really. The only thing I could find of importance on that date was Liam’s first murder. As for the location, it’s a gas station a few hours from here. I traveled there yesterday. From what I can tell this video was taken from one of their security cameras.”

“Now that’s interesting. Play the video one more time.”

The detective complied. Unsure what Nudge found so fascinating about the footage. Half way through the recording Nudge sat up in his chair, his body ready to pounce.

“Stop the tape.”

The detective followed the request, freezing the recording. He looked at the screen. His eyes wandering over everything in the picture. From what he could tell there wasn’t anything interesting happening there. The only thing he could see that was different was the driver leaning against the bus as he filled it up, and a few of the passengers had already returned from the station. What had Nudge so interested?

“Look at that face,” Nudge said as he poked one passenger on the screen, “It almost looks like Liam.”

The Detective leaned forward, squinting at the person Nudge pointed out. His frame was that of a lean athlete, even covered by a jacket that couldn’t be hidden. His unkempt brown hair was the same as he’d seen on the pictures in the news. The details were blurry, but the longer he looked at it the more he realized the Hero sitting next to him was right.

“I see what you’re saying,” Detective Leacock said.

“Where was this taken?”

“The East side of Iowa City.”

“You went there yesterday and checked the recordings. This one looks real?”

“As best we can tell. The station keeps six months of recordings. When I asked for the date from the USB file, they said it was missing. It was the only day missing from the entire set. I also talked to the bus company, they have a route that stops at this gas station to fuel up every day at the same time.”

The two sat there for a moment. Digesting the new find. If this was a video of Liam, did the man himself leave it on the detective’s desk? But what did he hope to gain from that?

“When was the video taken compared to the time of the first murder?”

The Detective frowned. Going over to his notes he found the times. Now this was interesting.

“The video was taken during the murder window. Around thirty minutes before we found the body.”

“And you said Iowa City is over an hour away. Yet Liam couldn’t be in both places at once,” Nudge leaned back in his chair. Hands reaching back behind his head, “Now things are getting fun. I’m glad I took a chance and came out here.”