The 5 detectives left the interrogation room and walked somberly across the hallway. They met Kyong’s group from the other side.

“Hey, you done interrogating Salim?” asked Kyong brightly.

“Yeah. He didn’t admit to much. But I think it’s pretty clear that he did his actions because he was ordered by Fareed. Did any of the other two spill some beans?” asked Klancy.

“Harjal is being quite silent. But Nate finally admitted to working with Salim when we offered him the life sentence over execution. Apparently, Salim was in charge of the operation, according to him” said Kyong with a smirk.

“But do head detectives have authority over the sentence?” asked Hellen.

“Haha. Yeah, that idiot sure doesn’t know the law. Of course, head detectives don’t have authority over that. Our job is to solve mysteries. It’s the politicians and judges who determine the sentence” said Kyong with a laugh.

“That was quite unprofessional of you. Lying like that.” said Klancy.

“Oh don’t be a pansy, what is wrong with lying anyway? So long as you lie to reach the truth, everything is fine, right? I’ve used lies plenty of times to further a case. Captain Maksym knows my methods pay off.” said Kyong.

“But lying about the accused’s rights is different. Plea bargains are between the defendant and the prosecutors.” said Klancy.

“I didn’t lie about any rights. Just said that he may have a chance to get a life sentence over an execution if he simply started talking. It’s just a suggestion” said Kyong with a sly smile.

Kyong sighed and walked away with his squad members.

“But it’s true, I sometimes lie as well. Lying is fun. And it’s so sad that politicians are trying to erase any possibility of lies existing in witness testimonies and detective investigation. Pointing out others lies is pretty fun, lying yourself also can be fun too.” said Fushichin.

“Of course, you would say that. Suspects lying hampers the investigation greatly and in case of detectives lying, it could lead to the witnesses being at a major disadvantage.” said Juniper.

“Yes yes. The fear of what will happen if everyone keeps lying all the time. But your fears are so pathetic and weak. Life will go on as it always went on, people will lie regardless of what you do. The only thing you people do is punish others out of spite for lying to you.” said Fushichin happily.

The five of them entered their squad hall and packed everything up to go home. Klancy was not one of those people as he lived there. But Juniper was also not one of those people. She got up from her chair and went towards Klancy’s desk. She looked sad and miserable.

“Sir…can you, demote me back to being a cop?” said Juniper.

“Hmm?” said Klancy.

“I…I don’t deserve it. I didn’t tell you about losing my gun. I didn’t help during the investigation. When figuring out Salim was the thief, I couldn’t face the truth. And top of that, I let my guard down and allowed myself to be a hostage. I’m not ready.” said Juniper, tears in her eyes.

The others looked at her in a moody way. Klancy sighed and said “But you learned, right?”

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“Huh?” gasped Juniper.

“This case was a very valuable experience. Especially for you. You learned what it feels like to be framed for murder. You learned what it feels like to be a hostage. Instead of looking at what happened as a tragedy, you should also look at the positives. Realize that this type of experience is exactly what is needed to be a detective. Throwing out accusations without concrete evidence, letting your guard down next to a suspect and not caring about the hostage’s lives are mistakes many detectives make. In my time, I have seen fellow detectives lose their job or even allow someone to die because of mistakes like that.” said Klancy.

Juniper’s eyes lit up. Klancy nodded and continued “You’re young. Obviously, you’re not experienced. But you will never learn if you never allow yourself to make mistakes. All you have to do is look at what happened with a deep understanding. Don’t feel sad or guilty about what happened. Just…learn from it. You have a bright future. But it is true that you have to remain calm and vigilant to not make the same mistakes.”

Juniper looked at the ground and nodded.

“Right. I won’t make the same mistakes again.” said Juniper.

********

While on her way to the bus stop Hellen looked down as she strolled along the road.

“Heyyyy!” said Fushichin and slammed her back with his palm.

“Why do you look so down, girl? Always looking down as if you’re carrying a large burden” said Fushichin with a smirk.

Hellen didn’t respond, only kept going forward.

“What is there to be happy about? We lost a friend. Salim is going to be executed. Just like how Hori is going to be.” said Hellen.

“Look, there are things in life we obviously can’t change. I know it’s hard but desiring things that you can’t reach creates stress. In fact, that’s the only reason for stress. Regretting the past mistakes, stressing over it. If you’re so concerned about the past just create a goddamn time machine and fix it. But nobody can create that. The past is in the past” said Fushichin with a plain tone.

“Hmph. You’re more compassionate than you look. You kept arguing with Salim about religion and beliefs, because you knew something like this would happen?” asked Hellen.

“Hell no! I only figured it out when you started talking about the motive of the final culprit. How would I have known that the bastard would actually massacre an entire family because of muh religion. Believing in superstitions has many other stipulations aside from being coerced into murdering someone. You have to attend those annoying meetings and ceremonies that are boring and tedious. You have to constantly repress your doubt cause doubting is sin! If you sleep in a certain way, it’s sin! If you scratch your ass in a certain way, it’s sin! So annoying!” said Fushichin with a grumpy tone.

“It’s just like…laws made by politicians, huh.” said Hellen.

“Pretty much.” said Fushichin and sighed.

He looked at the sky and said “Honestly, I can’t fault Layla for having a dream. I guess, my vision and dream for the future is a little different from Layla’s.”

“Heh, tell us mister visionary. What is your Elenrago dream?” asked Hellen with a smirk.

“It’s not just an Elenrago dream. It’s just a dream for the world. That one day, we will get rid of all rules. Get rid of all these churches and governments. Everyone will be free to do as they want. There won’t be any rule makers and rule followers, no kings, no slaves. Just free people who work together.” said Fushichin.

Hellen looked at the ground and said “Well, your wish has been granted. Everyone has been doing what they want. They want to trust in laws because they are afraid of what will happen if they start trusting themselves. They want to execute criminals and killers because they enjoy the sweet release of vengeance.”

“Pretty much. But…do you think Hori trusted herself? She wasn’t religious and certainly she didn’t follow the rules. She trusted her feelings and murdered Tenma. Was her feelings right, I wonder” said Fushichin.

“She said…she was a slave. A slave to her hatred. Maybe slavery isn’t just about external factors. If anything, it’s always been internal. Slave to my anger, slave to my prejudice, slave to fear and hatred” said Hellen.

“Yeah. Which is why meditation is necessary. You gotta observe your own thoughts and emotions. And settle them to become quiet and peaceful” said Fushichin.

“Meditation huh. You said you have a master. Did you learn meditation from him?” asked Hellen.

“Yes. It has helped me become a better person and a better detective.” said Fushichin.

“Huh. Well, you better let me meet that master of yours. I’m really wondering if he was the one who filled your head with the ridiculous things you say” said Hellen with a smile.

“Haha. Hmm, actually he said he would be available today. Maybe if we go fast, we’ll make it. You wanna go?” said Fushichin.

Hellen nodded.

*******