Laith hissed as Warda pressed the antibiotic ointment onto his neck, wincing at the sight of his sutured skin almost imperceptibly. “That bad, huh?” he asked lightly, and Warda gave him a look that told him he had a lot of explaining to do – as soon as they were alone again. For now, she wrapped a bandage around his neck. Around them, the forensic analysts were packing up, having completed their investigation of the scene and found nothing of particular note – really, it was mostly to document what had happened for the official report. Captain Olivia Fox was there too, arms crossed as she watched her people move in and out of the apartment, and Laith could see that she, too, was waiting for a moment where the two of them could speak alone.

For his part, however, he was drenched in both immeasurable relief at having somehow survived that night’s ordeal and terrible horror at the realization that he’d also somehow managed to paint even more targets on his back. He bit his lip and wondered what in the world he was going to do now. He’d been thinking about this for a while now, while Warda had treated his wound and stitched it up, and while the forensic analysts had gone about their work, and while the patrol unit that had responded asked him questions about what had happened.

He had a plan, but he wasn’t altogether sure he could make it work. It felt like a pretty long shot – like something he read about in those sensational thriller novels but never actually saw happening in real life – and that was only the first part of his plan. The second part of his plan felt like an impossibly long shot. He wasn’t sure he had it in him to actually do it. But if he didn’t, who would?

Who else knew the extent of their corruption – the extent of their crimes? Only a few people, himself included, had any idea what was going on behind the scenes of their so-called peaceful and safe communities.

He was deeply immersed in his own thoughts, going over his hastily-drawn plan in his mind again and again, when the last of the forensic analysts and patrol officers left his apartment, leaving him with Warda and the Captain.

“So,” Captain Fox said, and he snapped out of his thoughts. “You want to tell me what the hell happened here tonight?”

“I already did,” Laith said automatically. “You were here when I gave my report.”

“Yeah – you said that someone broke in, went through your library, got into a scuffle with you, and ran off before the police could arrive. But PATET doesn’t have a record of a break-in. Your wife manually reported the break-in. Highly unusual for PATET to be so oblivious,” Fox said, narrowing her eyes.

Laith nodded. Captain Fox was as sharp as ever. “This killer we’ve been investigating – he’s not exactly playing by the rules here, is he? He keeps setting new ones. He’s rigged the game so that he has admin privileges. One measly security system is nothing for someone like that. Of course, PATET didn’t notice anything. It thought whoever was entering the apartment was me or Warda. But you know what that means, don’t you?”

“You’re saying that the man who broke in tonight was the killer,” Captain Fox said, and Warda stopped fussing over Laith’s wound. “But why would the killer go after one of the detectives investigating his case when we don’t even have any evidence – any proof – that links the murders to any specific person?”

“Well, Captain, that’s where you’re wrong,” Laith admitted quietly. “I do have evidence. I spoke to Pheonix Zamarad earlier this evening – or, I guess, yesterday evening, since it’s almost morning now. Anyway, and he told me that he’s been collecting evidence against Aster Lockwood for years. He was hiding it in his house in The Hills, so I went to retrieve it right after I spoke to him. It’s a gold mine, Captain. The stuff that’s in there – this is much bigger than we thought. With that in our hands, we can put Lockwood and his friends away for a long time.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Warda interjected, her voice wavering slightly. Her hand, which had been resting on Laith’s shoulder, squeezed slightly. “Are you saying that the man who broke into our home is a murderer?”

Captain Fox took a seat on the couch to Laith’s right. Laith took Warda’s hand in his in reassurance, though he knew there wasn’t much to be had. “Yes,” he said honestly. “I’ll explain everything – I promise – but I need you to do something for me right now. We need to pack a couple of suitcases. We’ve got to get out of here as soon as possible. It’s not safe anymore.”

Warda hesitated for a moment, glancing curiously to Captain Fox, then nodded and hurried off to their bedroom to pack. Laith turned back to the Captain. “I also need something from you, Captain,” he told her. “The evidence that I found – I have it in a safe location. I’m the only person who knows where it is. But I’m not exactly a free agent. Lockwood and his buddies will stop at nothing--”

“His buddies?” Captain Fox interrupted him, leaning forward. “What do you mean, his buddies?”

“That’s another piece of the evidence,” Laith explained. “Apparently, Lockwood’s not the only rich kid with too much time on his hands. Seems certain members of the wealthy elite have a particularly dark and bloody hobby. They like to play hunting games out in the Ruins – but they don’t hunt animals, you see. They hunt people. They make a game out of the whole thing. They like to compare numbers, keep trophies, that sort of thing,” he said, and felt the bile rise in his throat. “So, you see, it’s a heck of a lot bigger than just Lockwood, and now they all know that I know.”

“How do they know?”

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“Lockwood found out because I baited him,” Laith said. “It was just an experiment, to see if he has eyes on PATET all the time. I half-expected it to completely fall through, but it really did draw him out. He must have read the report I submitted last night. In that report, I mentioned that I found some evidence, but that I didn’t think PATET was secure enough, so I was holding on to it in a safe location. He came here tonight to look for that evidence. The only reason I was able to stop him was because I bluffed and told him that if he killed me, the evidence would be shared with everyone in the morning. Those documents have more than just evidence that incriminates Lockwood. They incriminate a number of big names – and I mean big names, Captain.”

Laith paused for a moment, his hands reaching up absentmindedly to touch the freshly-stitched rip in his neck, feeling the bumps through the fresh bandage Warda had put on him. “I bluffed my way out of being murdered tonight. I don’t know how the hell it worked, but somehow it did, and I’m still alive now because I was able to scare Lockwood into thinking that if he killed me and the evidence was released, he’d be blamed for it. All his hunting buddies would start hunting him instead. That’s the only thing that got him to stop. It’s the only reason I’m alive right now. But that also means that I’ve jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.”

“Why is that?” the Captain asked after a moment of silence.

“Because, Captain,” Laith said, “now they’ll all know that I know. Now they’ll all be out for this evidence. They’ll all be out for me.”

☀️ ☀️ ☀️

Laith paced back and forth in the office, deep in thought. “This is ridiculous,” he gritted out, running his fingers through his hair. They were still shaking with – anger, fear, frustration – he couldn’t quite tell. “How am I supposed to catch this man if PATET is being manipulated by him? Now I have to worry about attacks on my person – on my family? Captain, there has to be something we can do.”

Across the room, Captain Fox was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed as she stared down at the courtyard of the Heliopolis PD headquarters below. She was chewing on her lip, deep in thought. She did not respond. She doesn’t know what to do, either. This is her first time dealing with this kind of thing. We’re all at a loss.

Laith sighed dejectedly, glancing at the closed door with a twinge of paranoia. They had left their Slates outside, just in case they were being used to listen in on them, too, but he figured it wouldn’t stop anyone set on spying on them. It wasn’t like it would be some terrible stretch that Lockwood’s rats in PATET HQ would find a way to gain access to Captain Fox’s computer.

That was why the two of them had effectively dismantled and disconnected the computer. Its pieces were now strewn unceremoniously across the floor, and Captain Fox’s desk was more disorganized than he had ever seen it, the battered shards of the main computer box a mangled mess against the smooth, metallic surface. It had been hard work, and Laith still wondered if maybe they were being too paranoid, or if there was such a thing anymore.

All of this weighed on Laith’s mind, but what weighed on it the most was the fact that he and his were in danger now, all because he had tried to do his job and solve a heinous crime.

“At this point, Lockwood won’t stop until I’m dead,” he said. “Of this I am certain. It’ll get even worse now that he knows just what evidence I’ve been able to compile against him and his friends.” Then, realizing that they’d forgotten something of great importance, he rushed to add: “We should keep track of Pheonix Zamarad. Get him out of that hospital and to a secure location. He gave me this evidence. Lockwood and his friends are going to want to get rid of him, too.”

Captain Fox exhaled slowly, pulled out her chair, and sat down. “Pheonix Zamarad checked himself out of the hospital earlier this morning.”

He blinked. “Checked himself out?” Laith cried. “What do you mean – where were the officers on duty?”

“Apparently, they received an order via their Slates to abandon their posts,” she replied, her voice tight with anger. “He doesn’t have a Slate we can track, and he’s been effectively erased from PATET. We won’t be able to find him.” She groaned in frustration, rubbing her temples. “I should’ve had him chipped the moment we realized something was up with his identity.” Laith had never seen her as helpless has she was at this moment, and he felt exactly the same way.

“He’s messing with our people,” she mumbled, brow furrowed as she glared at the mess on her desk. “We’re all pawns, and now we can’t trust anything that passes through PATET.”

“Which is everything,” Laith said grimly. This was becoming repetitive. “If only I could work outside of PATET’s restraints… If only I could just… hide from it while I investigate.”

“Aster Lockwood did a pretty good job of hiding from it,” Fox said. “Maybe we should get our own agent inside PATET HQ. Someone who can monitor the place, help us play the game, level the field a bit. Maybe they could even weed out the rats.”

“It’s a good idea,” Laith said, “but PATET HQ doesn’t start recruiting for another few months. If we try to push someone in there before then, it might look suspicious. Besides, I don’t think I have a few months here, Captain. I have to find a solution today – now.”

He might have bought himself some time with the doubt he’d planted in Lockwood’s mind – about how the evidence would be made public if he killed him – but that had only worked in the heat of the moment. Given more time, Lockwood might have realized that Laith was bluffing. He needed a real strategy. He needed to buy himself time, and he needed to get himself the chance to investigate without Lockwood and PATET on his tail every moment of the day.

A plan was starting to form in his mind – a plan that he had thought about in passing before, but which now crystallized with a frightening certainty. A plan which might just get him killed. A plan which just might not work out, despite all of his efforts.

But it’s worth a shot… I can’t let this man run around killing whoever he wants. I’m not that person. That’s not what I’ve been taught. I have to do what’s right.

“Laith, I think we need to come to an understanding about something,” Captain Fox said quietly, resting her chin on her intertwined fingers. “If we do this – if we work outside of PATET – we work outside of the law. Even if we succeed, there will be people who won’t like how we did it. I can’t guarantee that this will turn out well for us even if we can get Lockwood and his friends put away.”

“That’s alright,” Laith said. The world will be better off without these Devils in the Ruins. I don’t care if this means the end of PATET. If the system doesn’t work, then the system’s got to change. That’s how it’s supposed to be. “I’m sure there are a lot of big names that know about PATET’s inner workings. There’s no way Grot Antrum figured it out on his own – he can’t be the first corrupt PATET Specialist on the roster. So, I think it’s safe to assume that there will be people who don’t like getting seeing their edge get destroyed. But that’s a small price to pay for the safety of millions. Isn’t that what Heliopolis is meant to stand for?”

“Meant to isn’t always what ends up being,” Captain Fox muttered. “But you’re right.” She straightened her back and met Laith’s eyes. “All else put aside, this is our job. We have some serious cleaning up to do.”

“I have a plan,” Laith said carefully. “Someone like Lockwood can move around in broad daylight, even though he’s killed dozens of people. The irony is not lost on me, but I don’t have the luxury of believing that the system will protect me or my loved ones anymore. I think I know a way I can avoid him – and PATET – but… it’s a long shot.”

“Everything’s a long shot at this point,” Captain Fox said. “What are you thinking?”