Scarlet was tapping her fingers on her desk slowly, thinking about everything Drake had told her. His last proposition had been bold, but that wasn't her main focus at the moment. She was more worried about the implications of an investigation being launched. Secret Service, military, Barbarians... It was all way above her paygrade.
"This is going to be a pain to deal with. But, if he is telling the truth..."
The police chief had the habit of talking alone, which had been more than once pointed out at her. She didn't care. She was the police chief, so she could talk to the walls all she wanted. But this time, her ramblings were brutally interrupted. A series of loud snaps and pops she was all too familiar with resounded just outside the police station. Gunshots.
Swinging open the door of her office, Scarlet ran outside just in time to see every cop in the building holding their pistols. Some were waiting in the front door, while others peeked through the windows. Two or three of the oldest policemen were grabbing vests and handing them out, following the guidelines set in case the station was attacked.
Still, after a mere twenty or thirty seconds, the commotion outside died down, leaving only a few gasps from civilians now and then. Holding her gun up, the police chief gestured at the doors with her head, and two cops got ready to open them.
"On three. One... Two... Three!"
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Drake certainly wasn't expecting to be shot. Although the streets were somewhat empty, there were still many pedestrians walking around, enjoying the setting sun. There was even a mother carrying a small child, just mere meters away from him.
Falling from his Yscalent, he quickly scrambled to take cover behind the Ifere. Feeling something on his left cheek, he touched it, only to see blood. It was a shallow cut, and didn't even hurt, although it surely would when his adrenaline ran off. Sneaking a glance over his Yscalent, he saw the wooden pole that Kniivar had created. If the bullet hadn't hit it, and deviated from it's path, he would be dead. How the tiny Ifere had felt someone aiming at Drake, and reacted so fast, he had no idea.
Leaving that for later, Drake's eyes focused on his assailants. A man and a woman, wearing ragged clothes, were aiming their guns at him from the other side of the street. Somehow, Drake was sure they didn't even know who he was. They had to be just two lowlifes that were hired to take care of him. He had an inkling by who, and that almost made him pity them. Almost.
Feeling his Yscalent shudder and collapse as two bullets hit it, Drake got up and returned fire. After pressing the trigger thrice, he hid again, but still had time to see two of his shots hit the woman on the forearm, and then her chest. His third bullet missed the man by a few centimeters, and lodged itself on the building behind him.
"Frainer, stay down. You too, Kniivar. You did well."
Shushing his companions - their skills didn't have enough range - Drake crawled until he was near the head of his dead mount. That was the second Yscalent he lost, and he was enraged. Although he didn't have feelings for a mere mount, it was an unnecessary loss of life from an innocent creature that had no fault other than belonging to him.
Still on the ground, he quickly took aim and squeezed the trigger again. The man had been so focused on Drake's previous position that he didn't notice him until it was too late. In a split-second, half of his jaw disappeared, and blood splattered on the wall being him. Drake heard a civilian screaming in horror.
"Hands in the air! Now! What the..."
He heard the doors of the police station being kicked open, and Scarlet yelling at him. Closing his eyes in relief, he dropped his pistol. There didn't appear to be any more attackers.
Without complaining, he raised his hands above his head. He might be on the right side of the conflict, but no cop would let him free after he killed two people. And, looking at his calm face, he didn't look like a victim at all. Turning around, he opened his eyes to face Scarlet. The police chief was livid.
"Wha... What the f*ck?! You better give me a good f*cking reason not to throw you in jail right now, Stronter!"
"Err... I just defended myself. Any of the people around can confirm I was attacked first. Besides, we have a date, don't we?"
His mouth moved before he could control himself. His heart was pumping, and he was still on high alert, so he was more prompted to bullsh*t, which was just what he did. He saw Scarlet get even angrier, and kicked himself mentally before quickly apologizing.
"Sorry, Sca... Chief Illoer. Just... A lot of things happening, you know?"
His face was starting to hurt now. A lot. Every time a breeze brushed past the open cut, it was as if someone was rubbing ice in it. It was at the same time painful and relieving. Scarlet's gaze relaxed slightly when she saw the wound, plus the bystanders nodding to confirm Drake's version of the story. She put her pistol away, and gestured at the two bodies.
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"Porter, Xan Li, take them away. As for you, follow me. Unarmed."
Drake had just killed two people, but there were no emotions on his face, and that showed the police chief that he was used to it. That made him even more dangerous in her eyes, and she pointed explicitly at the knife in his belt. She didn't want him to have any kind of weapon.
"Scarlet, I still want to go take that bath, and then have that drink, you know? The whole being processed thing is going to take a lot of time. The situation is pretty clear already, isn't it?"
The woman stumbled to a stop when she heard Drake. His voice was deep and low, and he sounded tired, as if all that happened was an inconvenience more than anything. She immediately turned around to snap at him, only to find that he was occupied whispering to one of his companions, the Kniivar.
"What? You do realize you just killed two people, right? And yet you consider the legal procedures bothersome?"
Drake shrugged, and got up. Pulling out a piece of cloth and a bottle of water from his saddle, he started cleaning his wound. Later he would find an Arton, but for now he wanted to make sure the wound wouldn't be infected. Brushing his hand against the soft feathers of his dead Yscalent, he sighed.
"Look, Scarlet, later I will tell you more, okay? I was already expecting something like this to happen, although I didn't think it would be so sudden. And I can guarantee you this won't be the last time. So, yeah, I consider it a waste of time. I acted in self-defense, that is pretty much obvious, so I have no reason to run away. I will be at the Velvet later tonight, In case you still want to make me file papers."
Having said that, Drake picked up his saddle and walked away, leaving behind a very stunned group of cops. They all looked at their boss, but since Scarlet said nothing, they didn't dare to stop Drake.
As for her, the cop was staring at his back as he walked down the street. The few civilians that hadn't run away after the short battle stepped aside for him to pass. There was fear, but also admiration, in their eyes.
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"Ahh... That's good."
Stretching, and letting out a moan of relief, Drake let the warm water trickle down his shoulders. He hadn't taken a shower since he left Park, and he missed it. He could feel the filth and dry blood being washed away, and his sore muscles relaxing.
He touched the newly acquired wound on his cheek, but retracted his fingers as a sharp pain stung him. Although the cut was shallow, he probably would have to find a medic with a life-type Ifere to have a look at it. He didn't mind a scar being left behind - in fact, he quite liked the idea - but it would take days for the gash to close, and he wasn't sure he wanted to deal with it for so long.
A few uses of Light Curtain could easily heal most scars, and make them disappear. The catch was that no matter how many times it was used, it would only have a limited effect during a certain amount of time. For that reason, the scar on Drake's shoulder hadn't vanished as soon as an Arton healed him, but only became fainter. It would take a few more sessions for it to completely disappear.
After getting out of the shower, Drake wrapped a towel around the lower half of his body, and laid on the hotel's bed. Kniivar and Frainer were both sleeping peacefully - in Frainer's case, that meant his eyes were nowhere to be seen, having sunk into his body - on one of the pillows. After ruffling Kniivar's fur with a caring smile on his face, Drake picked up his phone.
Scrolling through his contacts, he soon found the one he was looking for. Dialing the number, he waited for a few seconds until the call was picked up. Celia's cheerily voice came through.
"Drake! How are you doing? Are you staying safe? Caleb told us that you made friends with a ranger! How did you do that? Are you eating properly?"
He was showered by questions before he could even open his mouth to greet her. A grin appeared on his face, as he could feel her concern for him. Unknowingly, his hand reached for the Ifere fang hanging on his neck, a present Celia gave to him before he left Blue Coral City. The researcher was almost a motherly figure to him, having cared for him ever since his mother died.
"Calm down, Celia. Hahaha... I'm okay. And yes to most of those questions."
After another flurry of questions was thrown at him, the researcher finally calmed down. There was some hesitancy in her voice, and Drake knew that she was worried about his mental state after becoming a killer. Smiling to himself, he comforted her.
"Celia, listen to me, okay? I did kill those people, and it was really bad at the start, but it was them or me. I've already come to terms with it, so don't worry."
"Are... Are you sure?"
"Haha... Yeah, I am. But that wasn't why I called you. I want to ask something."
"Oh?"
There was an exclamation of surprise on the other side of the call. Drake was unsure if it was because of how quickly he dismissed killing another human being, or if Celia was simply curious.
"I discovered something... Interesting, the other day. I had the chance to observe some Ricianides very, very closely, and..."
Drake went on for almost twenty minutes, describing what he saw to her. Celia would sometimes interrupt him and ask a few questions, or clarify some doubts. After he finished explaining all the small details to her, she was silent for a long while.
"I don't think I've seen any articles regarding this. A unicellular creature which is able to change it's shape and size at will as long as it has enough water... I've never considered the common Ricianides like this. You have a sharp mind, Drake. So, how do you want to work on it?"
"Err... Regarding this... I'm in the middle of something right now, so I don't think I will be able to sit down and research it. Those things take a lot of time, you know it better than me."
"But! It's a unique opportunity! Think of everything we can discover! Sure, I don't know what good that can do for us, but just thinking about all the new knowledge!"
Yep, Celia was a researcher all right. Instead of thinking of money or fame, she went straight to all the new information she could acquire. Drake wasn't much different than her, but his mind was occupied at the moment.
"Look, Celia, that's why I told you. I knew you would be interested in it, and would keep it going even if I can't. Even if I can't take part in the project, just being the one to suggest it already makes me happy."
"But... Ah, forget it. You were never one to sit down in a lab chair all day. But now I'm curious. What is so important you can't do what you studied for?"
"Hey, that's a low blow! But, uhmm... Well, I kinda got entangled in a situation here, involving Barbarians, Secret Service, and the army. Don't worry, I'm just a mediator, nothing more."
He could feel her shock by the lack of reactions Celia presented. Well, he too would be surprised if he was in her position. Although he felt bad for lying to her - or hiding the truth - he didn't want to make her even more worried.
"So, you will keep me posted, right? Although I won't do much, I would still like to follow the research."
"Of course! And, Drake? Stay safe, okay? Don't forget to use the necklace I gave you, it's a lucky charm."
"Haha! You got it. See ya!"
After hanging up, Drake jumped out of the bed, and stretched. Putting on some nice clothes - and by that he meant a slightly cleaner jeans and shirt - he looked at his companions and snuck out of his room quietly. By now, both Kniivar and Frainer were old enough to not panic if they woke up and didn't see him.