The clamor of the city became muted as the door to the incident response trailer drifted closed behind Duval. Inside, his fellow captain, Anderson, and Roy, one of the detectives, are sorting through remaining reports while the three other people are in the process of packing up their stations. To be honest they all expected worse when the calls started rolling in about a demon attack. He had immediately cut the combat training from the seminar short and headed out to the reported location. Military presence is still high after Friday’s shitshow but everyone almost panicked at the thought of a resurgence event. Because surely the patrols around town should have caught all the remaining demons. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the pieces were put together that it was an isolated event with only two victims. But the lingering thought of the demons managing to stabilize a part of the breach or worse, open a portal locally, still sent chills up his spine. He fought enough demons on Friday, one would have been more than enough for his lifetime, as opposed to the half a dozen he killed taking Reina and his wife to the bunker. So Duval was double relieved when the word came down on his way to the incident that the demon had been neutralized.
That was until he got to where the attack had occurred and saw who was involved. One of them being one of the girls he had pulled Reina away from. Specifically the one who looked like she was about to knock his baby girl’s teeth out when he came around the corner. Some of the soldiers were already tending to her wounds, so it was clear she had taken a hit. But when Duval looked over at the dead demon, something about the situation didn't make sense. The wolgi demon, if Duval remembered the type right, was a decently powerful demon type. Powerful enough that it should have been able to rip the arm off of a newly minted defender. And he was sure she was new, having seen her slip away after being one of the first to complete her paperwork. Clearly opting to skip the optional combat training. Unless she didn't actually need it. And just like that doubt set in, along with the realization that his baby girl was almost hurt, badly. If the girl could take a hit from a wolgi demon then she could have tossed Reina down the hallway hard enough to break bones at a minimum. But she only registered today, meaning she shouldn't be that powerful. The timeline didn't match up.
But he knew he couldn't just interrogate the girl, not when matters involving demons were technically military issues. He was only here in case their guns couldn't bring it to heel. But that gave him an idea, one that his fellow captain will no doubt curse him out over later. He offered his departments assistance in the matter for crowd management, as a few small groups of gawkers were starting to form. And most importantly, in questioning those involved. Something his department was better equipped and trained for when it came to civilians. The local commander happily accepted on the condition they stayed involved. And so Duval called in asking for assistance. Anderson was pissed he had to deploy, the new chief was annoyed but ultimately didn't care as he was stuck in a council meeting. So Duval had Roy 'question' the girl after telling him his suspicions.
Two hours later word came through that Roy was done and the girl had been sent home. So he cut his reassurances to the public short and headed back to the trailer to hear the results.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"Well, how did it go?" Duval asked Roy directly.
"That girl is a world class actor or I'll eat my own shoe." Roy replies.
"Oh, that bad huh?" Duval replied.
"Not everyday you see Roy walk away with nothing gained like that." Anderson says aloud, causing Duval to look at the man in question and raise an eyebrow.
"Girl was a rock, I tried everything, leading questions, backhanded questions, even off handed questions that seemed related but were really just tangents to try and get her to slip up and spill something. Nothing, none of it worked." Roy said while folding his arms with an annoyed look on his face.
"That's why we sent her home?" Duval asked.
"That and the public optics of it. If word got out we held a supposed victim of a demon attack for too long it would have looked bad. We're already on thin enough ice after that fiasco with the mayor and previous chief. I'm no expert but I agree with you that the timeline doesn't add up." Anderson says.
"Then we get some warrants and investigate. Should be easy enough." Duval says.
"Yea good luck with that. People normally get magic in their thirties or later. For a seventeen year old to have it isn't unheard of but you know how it is. The younger someone is the less likely they get magic access. Good luck convincing a judge that the girl actually got it before last Friday, especially with the attack." Roy retorts.
"Moreover she is still technically a minor. I know kids sometimes get up to stupid things, but I don't think she is up to anything nefarious. I listened in on the whole questioning session, she didn't come off as a trouble maker, just standoffish. But when aren't teenagers standoffish with authority figures? I think you were right, but not as right as you think Duval. Yea it doesn't really add up but defenders are weird, and nothing else insinuates she's up to no good. She's got a clean record." Anderson cuts in.
"Roy, can you at least do a little more digging? This just isn't sitting right with me. We have enough issues right now, I don’t want some defender gang banger wannabe running around under our noses.”
“Pffff, first off, that's why the department hired you. To deal with ‘gang banger’ wannabe defenders. Second, I’ve got too many cases that already need attention, on top of the fiasco going on with the mayor and old chief. Did you know some coke brained nitwit tried to fight a soldier in one of the bunkers? Oh, there are also the loitering incidents we need to look into. And there’s that guy who somehow got drunk and tried to kill another dude. Then there was the…”
“Enough, I think he gets the picture, Roy. We don’t have the resources or public image to risk taking this any further. I’d advise dropping the matter until something more concrete pops up.” Anderson says in a stern tone.
“Alright fine, but I don’t like this. It’s going to come back to bite us in the ass, mark my words this is …….”
Duval was cut off as a almost panicked voice called out over the police radio.
“All units! All units! Code 112 at city hall! Repeat code 112 at city hall! ”
“Fuck, not again! Duval go!” Anderson screamed as a gust of wind blew through the trailer.
But Duval was already out the door and in his patrol car and burning rubber, his inhuman speed making him barely perceptible to the eye. He blows out onto the street and takes off at breakneck speeds. But now isn't the time for road safety, because code 112 means a resurgence event.