***
“Lady Islingtee, it is a pleasure to see you.”
Dereniik smiled, and it was a pleasure. The ladies round happy face was unmarked. With her halo of bright orange hair, she had to have at least some inherited Endurance. At her age, if she had also inherited Invisibility, combining the two fractal powers would increase the amount of time she could spend in an altered state. He had learned long ago not to dismiss women as perpetrators of serious crime. Drugging a person before murdering them was a possible indication of somebody not confident their physical skills to do the job without assistance. Both men and women were candidates for that scenario.
“Deputized Operative Commander Dereniik, the pleasure is mine. To what do we owe this visit?” She eyed Jieleen with open curiosity.
“This is my friend Commander Jieleen, and we were wondering if your life partner is at home and if we could have a word with him, please.” Dereniik replied.
“Of course, you're welcome, please come in.”
Dereniik wasn't sure if he was welcome, Lady Islingtee had tempered her usual enthusiasm with caution.
Commander Yashoof, enthroned on the same chair as when Dereniik had last seen him, was also polite but cautious.
Jieleen court sight of the man, strode across the room while simultaneously reaching for the aether.
“Jieleen stop.” Dereniik barked.
“He’s injured, it’s gotta be him.”
Faster than Dereniik could blink the big man tapped Manipulative Phasing. With I swoosh, Yashoof was thrust back into the soft cushioning of his chair, pushed by an invisible force.
Face contorting in pain.
Lady Islingtee gave a strangled yelp as God’s Fire leapt in massive arches around them, her halo of hair standing on end.
Commander Yashoof simmered out of sight. The altered state surprising Jieleen and providing wiggle room for the older man to almost escape his grasp.
Jieleen took his other hand and with another blast of Manipulative Phasing slammed Yashoof where his solar plex would have been.
Yashoof lost centres, winded and gagging, returned to sight.
“Commander Jieleen, I demand you stand down. The bruising is more than nine days old. He was injured when I saw him last. I say stand down!”
Yashoof’s muffled protests were cut off, asphyxiation rapidly turning his face red.
Dereniik swung his crutch, striking Jieleen’s raised hands.
The resulting crack registered where the words hadn’t.
Jieleen deflated. Crumpled to sit on one of the couches and put his head in his hands.
Dereniik half fell, half sat on a couch himself. It wasn't protocol, the offer to lounge hadn't been extended, but the required balance to remain standing proved beyond his ability. He took a shaky breath then another.
“Commander Yashoof, Lady Islingtee, on behalf of my overwrought friend I offer a humble apology.” This was the problem of using untrained help. Jieleen’s shoulders softly heaved, overwhelmed with emotion.
A couple of young D’char had heard the commotion and tentatively entered the room.
“What, Commander Dereniik what is this about?” Lady Islingtee was the first to recover.
Dereniik sighed. “My Lady, your life partner is one of some thirty men I need to question in relation to a violent crime. In afternoon of the eighth day, in the second nine-day of this month, when he visited the Odontology Wing of the Healing Hall Commander Yashoof may have been a witness to a theft. My inquiry is in relation to anything suspicious he may have seen on that day. My young friend is not a trained Deputized Operative Commander. He is the life partner of the victim and as you have witnessed, emotionally involved. We know the perpetrator of the violence against the young woman was injured about the face in the altercation. Commander Jieleen saw Commander Yashoof’s injuries and jumped to an incorrect conclusion. My apologies for his behaviour once again. I'm sure when he recovers himself, he will also express his sincere regret.”
“You sure it's not him?” Jieleen said, tear-stained face looking up.
“Commander Yashoof, for the records, do you have any knowledge pertaining to the attack of lady La’navikyya?”
“No none whatsoever.” Yashoof’s voice was husky.
“Have you been involved with the theft of any items in the last four nine-days?”
“No absolutely not.”
“Thank you for your cooperation.” Dereniik gave the hand signals for respect, acknowledging the interview is over.
Tense heartbeats passed as Jieleen absorb the information. Dereniik hoped for an apology without prompting, but the large man put his head in his hands and continued to sob. A thin trickle of blood was ignored as it meandered across the purple bruise developing where the crutch had struck.
“Oh, you poor little love,” Lady Islingtee said, going to sit by Jieleen and patting his heaving shoulder. “You must be worried half out of your mind.”
“Little love.” Yashoof snorted. “What about me, he's the size of a Great Broong Tree.”
Yashoof turned to Dereniik. “Women, always a sucker for tears. The Lady, is she alright?”
“She is for now; we need to find whoever is after her before they try again. I am truly sorry for this disturbance, but did you see anything suspicious while at the Odontology Wing?”
Lady Islingtee instructed servant to bring refreshments.
“Sorry, love to help. Can't say I did. I was in a fair bit of pain, the tooth had broken, they knocked me out, removed it. I was there for a few hands-breath and woozy when I left.”
“Do you know what they used to knock you out with?”
“No, can't say I do. They did have trouble finding the anaesthetic though. The Healer had to send a D’char to the Healer in the next room because his bottle of the stuff was missing.”
Jieleen sniffed, Yashoof glanced at him. “You think the lad is going to be, okay?”
“He will be better off if you don't report him.” Dereniik raised an eyebrow. It was illegal to use fractal power outside of training or commissions.
Yashoof glanced at the bruising on his own knuckles. “Did you report me?”
“No, safeguarding women is our sacred duty. Caring enough to be protective should not be a punishable crime.”
“Then, I'm not going to report him, but a word to the wise, it might be best if you don't bring him with you on too many inquiries.” Yashoof gave him a smirk.
Dereniik shrugged. “In my current condition, on my own, what sort of chance do you think I'd have against a murderer?”
Yashoof scratched at his beard. “I can see your point, but the way you waved that crutch around, I think you'd give any murder a run for his money.”
Dereniik wasn't so sure, and hoped that theory would not need to be tested.
***
Stolen story; please report.
Viky paced, wearing the path Jeileen trod only hands breaths before. She needed to move, two days without training and the inactivity was driving her crazy. She warmed up and stretched but needed more room for anything serious or strenuous. What she wanted to do was visit Lady Briziit but had no idea where she lived. Considering the options, as much as she hated to admit it, it was necessary to ask for help.
Ly was her first choice. It was possible that Maddie would loan her the servant. But knowing Maddie, a long explanation would be expected, requiring more information than she was prepared to give and whatever she said would be spread about the sisterhood in the next few days. Didn't know who was better with the sling, Sheeli or Shaar, but she thought either would be up to the challenge, but they would still ask more questions than Ly. Jess having Reading may have been good backup if her skills had not been so widely known. As it was, it could just make people more cautious, defensive, or antagonistic. Sorting through a few scenarios Viky came back to Ly and a plausible short excuse. Sitting and doing nothing was intolerable so she packed a satchel and took the double ring Maddie had given her from its beautiful little box.
*
“Viky how delightful is to see you, please come in?”
Viky accepted the greeting and kisses, stood inside the entry, and shut the door.
“Maddie, I need your help.”
Maddie's smile morphed into an expansive beam. “I'd love to help, what can I do?”
“Is Ly available at the moment?”
“Yes, of course they can look after the children. I can come with you and do whatever you need me to do.”
Maddie wore an inquisitive, expectant look, brimming with excitement. How had she jumped to that conclusion? Way to misinterpret a question.
Viky paused, unsure how to continue. “Do you know where Lady Briziit lives?”
“Yes of course, I’ll just get myself a wrap and give Ly instructions, not that they need directions, Ly has been looking after children before we were even born, knows more than I do. You can explain to me on the way what we are going to do when we get there.”
She darted off before Viky could compose a reply. Well, this scenario had not followed any of her carefully constructed plans. Maddie was a current out of her control. Did it matter? She was only going to ask a few questions. Nothing much was going to happen.
“I know why you asked me,” Maddie whispered conspiratorially as they left the enclave, arm in arm. Again, not Viky’s choice.
Viky nodded, happy that Maddie was talking. The longer she kept it up, the less Viky would need to say.
“You have guessed I've got inherited Strength haven't you. Don't worry, I’ll help you out if you get attacked again. I haven’t done a lot of official training, but my parent made sure to teach me the basics of the Lan’sho method. He told me how important it was to keep it up, and in his memory, I practice every day. Also, one of my favorite Aunts, I can’t tell you which one because I’ve been sworn to secrecy, inherited. She trained me in hand-to-hand combat. So, I’m very useful. Stephaan and I wrestle for fun, and I can generally beat him.” She glanced at Viky for confirmation.
“Thanks, hopefully it won't come to that, but it's good you're prepared.” Maddie could beat Stephaan? That didn’t seem possible, feasibly the big dork was letting her win. That had to be it, the man had orange and pink fractals and was the size of a small giant.
“You’ve inherited Speed haven't you, and maybe a little Strength? I couldn't help but notice some of your hair is dyed. I do the same, dye the colours that aren't pink to match the bulk of my hair. I have some red, a couple of different shades, but nowhere near as many as you. Some of the drills I practice have increased my reach, but I was thinking I should ask you if you know how far I should extend myself. My parent had some awesome Phasing abilities. I don't let them grow out, but I'm sure my purple streaks have matured since I've been in the capital, particularly since I've had the girls. I've asked Stephaan, but he has Carving and Manipulation. Thinks from the colours I probably have Bolt and Stream. Murro and Jieleen have Bolt, but they have been mostly training with Manipulation. Rohaan has Stream, but Stephaan thinks it's better I don't train with my Phasing talents until I have a lot more control with Strength and Speed. What method do you use to train?”
“The Lan’sho method is good. I wasn't anticipating this conversation, it's great to be able to have someone to talk about training with.” How much could she learn from this woman without giving too much away? Possibly a great deal, her life partner’s teammate’s skills were news to her. Maddie’s unfiltered discourses was finally fulfilling a useful purpose.
Maddie gave herself a little hug, “We turn in here to get to lady Briziit’s suite. I should warn you, she only has two young servants, and they are not well trained, so the house is a bit cluttered. I haven’t been inside since, well before the girl’s births. So, why are we going to her place?”
Viky frowned, unsure where to take the conversation, so she took a leaf out of Dereniik’s manuscript.
“We have about 30 suspects, twelve primary ones. We know lady Briziit didn't steal the body chains. She has been asked directly and wasn’t lying when she denied it, but we haven’t asked her daughters. They can’t be responsible for the attempt on my life, it’s not possible at their age to have the skills that were used, but Lady Briziit could have. If either of her daughters is the thief, she would be motivated to protect them. We're not going to accuse any of them, we just need to ask a few questions and see if we can eliminate the twins from our large pool of suspects.”
“Oh, that's not as exciting as I was hoping it was going to be, but as Aunt Lillian says, you can’t harvest eggs without stirring the nest.”
“Yes, this is necessary, and the more people we eliminate, the closer we are to finding out the truth. And I guess I should warn you, whoever attacked me had Invisibility. Did your parent give you any instructions on how to defend yourself from a person with that skill?”
“No. No my training didn't cover that.” For the first time Maddie looked unsure of herself.
“Well, if we do meet someone with Invisibility, throw dust over them. Then you can see their outline and will know where to throw your Strength enhanced punches.”
“OK that sounds simple enough. Yes, I can do that.” She paused, thinking. “Except what if there is no dust? What if we're in a clean house?”
Viky had a brain wave. “Next time, we can be better prepared. You can fill your ring, the one with the secret compartment, with white chalk.”
“That's so exciting, yes that's what we can do. It's possibly what it was made for.” Maddie added a little skip to her step.
Viky’s heart sank, she hadn't meant the ‘next time’. Still what Maddie didn't know couldn't hurt her and the woman was obviously enjoying herself. It would be dead boring stuck at home all the time with two babies. One alone was labour intensive enough, two so close in age would be a nightmare. No wonder she had been so keen for excitement. It was almost a pity to hope that the visit was going to be boring.
***
Dereniik’s sense of urgency kicked up a couple of notches. Lady Islingtee insisted they stay for refreshments. Jieleen composed himself enough to offer a beautiful apology. Pouring out his heart he explained he had lost his first life partner last rotation in childbirth. Viky held his heart in her hands. Only recently discovering she was with child, he was worried sick. He was a big man; she was a little woman. What if she had the same complication as his first life partner? Those thoughts were disturbing enough but now she was being attacked.
Commander Yashoof informed Jieleen he hoped their own beloved daughter would one day be bonded to a man who would treat her with the same devotion Jieleen demonstrated for Viky. Their daughter was in First City, visiting grandparentals, and before Dereniik dragged Jieleen away the older couple had revealed the entire family history.
“I apologize Commander Dereniik. Thanks for getting me out of that, I don't often lose my temper, swear by all the Gods I’ve never attacked a person before.” Jieleen was contrite.
“Do you want to tell me what it's about? You and Viky were both upset before I arrived this morning.”
“She doesn't like Isobeel flirting with me. But I didn't know, and Isobeel flirts with everybody.”
“How would you feel if Viky flirted with somebody else?” Dereniik asked.
“Well, that's not the point, Viky wouldn't do that. Although, she seems to like your company and gets on alright with you.” Jieleen shot him a sideways glance.
“Jieleen, what did you think of my questioning techniques with Commander Yashoof?”
“They are OK I guess; you've got the information you needed.”
“Yes, I was satisfied with his answers, but don’t you think Commander Yashoof could have been lying to us?”
“He could have I guess, but you'd be able to tell, wouldn't you? That's part of you being a Deputized Operative Commander.”
“It's not quite as simple as that, but yes. Part of my skill set includes being able to distinguish the difference between Truth and Lies. I can also discern the difference between authentic emotions and those that are artificial. When Viky speaks of you it is with genuine affection, when she speaks of me it is with kindness and compassion. Emotions that I believe most decent human beings would feel when thinking of a person in my situation. She feels sorry for me, and I feel sorry for you if you can't recognize the difference. It's not something that you should need a fractal enhancement to understand.”
Jieleen stopped to think. “Okay, I’ve been an idiot. But did you know Viky’s parentals had died?”
“She used past tense once when referring to her mother. So yes, I knew her mother was dead. From the intensity of her emotions, I considered the possibility of her being an orphan. So explicitly no, she had not told me, but I had surmised that was the case.”
“Surmised, does that mean your guessed?”
“An educated guess, but yes.”
“See, I'm not clever like you, we've been life partners for the last seven months and I never had a clue. What do I do? How do you give someone comfort about something like that? I tried, and she just got cranky.”
Dereniik sighed. He had a mystery to solve. His teammate Fhraan had being brought up in the Chopiic’s Faith, and had been able to sprout platitude and life advice in his sleep. This wasn't his area of expertise. But he had been bonded for four rotations, seen his parentals and team-mates navigate successful relationships, so had to have something to share.
“I don't consider myself an expert, but talk to her, ask her how she feels. Then listen, really listen. Don't offer advice unless it's asked for and let her know why you love her and what you value about her. But now, right now, we need to eliminate a few more people from our suspect pool. I'm heading back to my suite. I'm going to identify the people seen earlier in the day by the Healer who treated Commander Yashoof. The baesthetic might have gone missing the day before, but I will start with the ones that fit our age criteria from earlier in the day. Do your teammates take a break for lunch?”
“Yes, why?”
“Would you mind going to them and seeing if you can eliminate Commander Faizeen? Ask if any of them knew what he was doing when Viky was attacked. Do you think you can do it discreetly without causing any problems?”
“Yeah, I can do that, and thanks. For everything.”
“OK, is it alright if we meet back at Viky's suite to compare notes as soon as we have the relevant information?”
“Yeah, I shouldn't be long.”
“Good, I may be longer, but I'll see you as soon as possible.”
Dereniik needed to check, but most of the people seen in the morning of the fourth day had been from the Continuum Council. Narrowing the list to one primary suspect.