"You wanted to see me?" asks Inspector Scott as she walks into the psychologist's office without knocking, one hand stifling a yawn. Its been a long day and its already after working hours. but this meeting had to take place on her own personal time. After all, Inspector Scott has been seeking counseling to get over her depression arising from a disastrous marriage.

The middle aged, balding man at the large desk looks up from an open file and gestures for Scott to have a seat on the chaise longue in the corner of the room. As Scott makes herself comfortable, the middle aged man heaves himself up from his seat, his large belly shaking with the effort and makes a circuit of the room with the file in his hand. After satisfying himself, he settles into a seat beside the chaise longue, ready to begin the session.

"Now, Ms Scott, how are you feeling today? Any problems with your new job?" The fat man asks.

Inspector Scott rolls her eyes before responding, "I know that this room is secure Hartley. No need for the playacting. You are a lousy actor anyway."

"That's Senior Inspector Hartley to you, my dear." The fat man says with a friendly laugh, "but, seriously, how are things with your new job?"

"Undercover work is tough," Scott grumbles, "I have no idea how to teach and Tensei keeps getting himself into trouble. Did you know that he just had a duel with the Matsui heir? Something, something honor they were saying." Scott waves her hands about vaguely in emphasis.

Hartley frowns and asks, "I hope that you did put a stop to that foolishness. The P5 has made it very clear that the von Amsterg successor is not to meet with any harm. Especially now. A message may need to be sent to the Matsuis telling them that Tensei is off-limits."

Scott sighs tiredly, "That's the thing though. Tensei and Ken have become friends after the whole thing. So no harm seems to have been done? I doubt the Matsui family is going to be a problem from now on."

Hartley nods silently to himself. The Person of Interest does have a way of making friends where ever he goes. Not charisma per se, more like force of personality.

Scott continues, "I am more worried about that new hire, Mr Greer. Any updates on your end about him?"

Hartley leafs through the file before handing a few pages to Scott for her to refer, "I have checked out that Greer fellow. The records we have on him confirm what he told Constable Naiberg during the interview. Refugee, got a job with the Academy, applied for and received new ID from The City. Everything seems to check out."

"You don't find it suspicious?" Scott says as she narrows her eyes, reading the documents, "A sudden hire with no past, obviously trained in combat, all of a sudden showing up like that, with the war of succession over the von Amsterg family about to start? Its too convenient."

Hartley makes a motion of dismissal as he responds, "Of course its suspicious. But that's all it is. I cannot authorize taking action against Mr Greer with what is before me. You need to bring me something more substantial than your suspicions. Anyway, I called you here because I wanted to talk about the warehouse incident."

"There has been a lead? You were looking into the Judecca Militia right?" Scott asks.

Hartley shakes his head, "Not precisely. You hear about the Highway Hell incident? Fake ORPO officer flags down a vehicle, gets into a fight with the driver and passengers?"

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Scott shifts into a more comfortable position saying, "Sure. Its been all over the news. Multiple civilian casualties, battle magic being thrown about. What about it?"

"The driver and passengers, they were part of the Judecca Militia." Hartley explains, "The fake ORPO officer did not linger after he attacked them. No valuables were stolen either. We have concluded that it was a targeted strike against the Militia."

"Well, with all the magic thrown about, identifying the mystery man should not be difficult." Scott remarks, "He should have left his spiritual signature all over the scene."

Hartley smiles before saying, "Here's the kicker. Forensics could not find a single speck of the attacker's spirituality. We combed the entire area and examined the corpses inside out. Zero identifying traces of the attacker. Sound familiar?"

"Just like the warehouse." Scott gasps.

"Of the driver and 7 passengers in the vehicle, we have 1 survivor, 1 injured, 3 in critical condition and 3 dead." Hartley continues referring to the file, "The two survivors who could still talk report that they were attacked head on by the fake officer and were overwhelmed either by his physical strength or his magic."

"The unknown attacker at the warehouse," Scott breathes, "Its him."

"Its likely," Hartley cautions, "but we don't have any real proof of that yet. The survivors also say that the attacker was wearing a helmet the whole time, so that won't be able to identify him. A pity, but expected. Also there is the ORPO connection to consider."

Scott raises her eyes in surprise, "What connection? Didn't ORPO issue a statement that it was just some fake wearing their uniform? Also, since when did ORPO have battle mages in their ranks?"

Hartley glances about the office before speaking once again, "This is confidential, so keep it between us. My, uh, source in ORPO tells me that ORPO was scrambling a squad to assist the attacker while the ambush was taking place. The attacker radioed their dispatcher with a valid officer number and everything. ORPO has been keeping this a secret ever since the news of the attack broke."

Scott stares speechless for a moment before finally remarking, "But ORPO's taking Legion money now. Why would they assist in a strike against a Legion backed PMC?"

Hartley raps his knuckles lightly on the file before admonishing the inspector, "Think Scott. The Judecca Militia are linked to the Von Amsterg family through their old ties with the Iron Octopus. Does that automatically mean that they are a Legion backed PMC?"

Scott falls into silence, reflecting on the implications of what Hartley just said.

"Now lets say that the Legion has its own ideas about how the succession of the von Amsterg family should play out," Hartley continues, "Wouldn't the prudent first step be to declaw the von Amstergs before laying down terms?"

Scott sits up from the chaise longue and looks Hartley in the eye, "You think ORPO is assisting the Legion's interference in the succession dispute?"

Hartley nods solemnly, "Its the thread I see tying all the events together. And Tensei is standing right in the middle of everything. That is why I called you here today Scott. There is a strong probability that you will sooner or later meet up with the mystery attacker."

Scott snorts derisively, "I can handle him. I am one of the strongest battle mages in SOPO."

Hartley smiles, "No doubt, but remember, our man is very likely receiving help from ORPO as well. As long as ORPO is shielding him, he will be able to freely move about The City without hindrance, hide in plain sight and most dangerously, strike when you least expect it. With that ORPO getup he would even be able to openly gain access to the Academy without you being the wiser. Do not let your guard down." Hartley jabs his finger at Scott for emphasis.

Scott eyes flash with a moment of inspiration before asking, "If he has been registered with an officer number at ORPO, wouldn't that mean we have a means of working out our mystery man's true identity?"

Hartley takes out another set of documents and hands them to Scott, "John Doe. That's the name the officer number was registered under. More worryingly, there is also complete set of legitimate City ID issued under that name. Whoever is pulling the strings has strong connections with both ORPO and the government."

Scott sighs, leafing through the set of documents before handing it back to Hartley, "Well, I will keep what you said in mind. Is there anything else?"

Hartley shakes his head before gesturing to the door, "No, Ms Scott. Remember, divorce does not have to mean the end of your life."

Scott gets up from the chaise longue and gives a tired wave, "I will let you know if I find any mystery men worth talking about."