While Scott attempted to lay claim to the police station, another conversation took place on the opposite side of the building. Sonja sat across from the doctor who had both experimented on Ashton and managed to keep her alive in the process.

“So, you still believe that they are some sort of monster?” asked Sonja.

The doctor nodded her head slightly. “They are not human, at the least.”

“What does it matter?” Sonja leaned back slightly and squared her shoulders. The motion, though subtle caused her chest to rise in an imperious manner akin to a warship cresting a mighty wave. “Do you think that humans are the only ones worthy of living?”

The motion in that imaginary ocean did not go unnoticed by the doctor. Her own battle ships were far more modest in scope and intensity. Yet, that was only a thing of momentary interest. She could not help but notice the almost obscene beauty of the woman who sat across from her. Much like the creature known as ‘Scott’ and the curvaceous fox girl beast, this Sonja was inhuman in her standards of appearance.

“I have lived my entire life in a world where the standard of intellect is set by humanity alone,” replied the doctor.

Sonja snorted at her. “It is no wonder that you lack common sense.”

“Oh? You speak as though you did not know this already?” asked the doctor.

“Where I come from is none of your concern.” Sonja casually raised one hand up into the air then gestured toward the other woman. “Explain yourself. What did you do to my sister?”

“Sister…” The doctor made a curious noise then lifted her chin a bit. “Primarily, I took samples of her blood and DNA while I kept her sedated.”

“What is this DNA?” asked Sonja coolly.

“You don’t know what DNA is?” inquired the doctor aloud. Quietly to herself she mumbled the word, “Interesting.”

Sonja lowered her eyelashes a bit while she continued to gaze coolly at the doctor. “Do not take me for a fool.”

“Right… Of course, I will not do such a thing,” replied the doctor.

She then took a breath and continued, “DNA is the building block of all life, as you know…” she began, only to stop and look at Sonja for a moment. When Sonja said nothing, she made a curious noise then continued. “I performed cheeks swabs and took samples of her hair to test for divergences in her genetic structure.”

Sonja crossed her arms over her chest then looked down her nose at the doctor. “What did you discover?”

“I have not been able to send the materials off to be checked at a proper laboratory. Even then, such testing can take weeks,” replied the doctor. “That is during normal times. As things stand now, I don’t even know if I will ever be able to send them off for research purposes.”

The room grew silent as her words hung in the air. Sonja, uncertain of what to say, merely continued to gaze coolly at the woman. The doctor, uncertain of why she even needed to be interrogated when that overtly masculine creature had robbed the thoughts from her mind, continued to sit in quiet confusion.

Eventually, the doctor asked, “When may I go home?”

“I’ll escort you home, if you like,” said Sonja.

“I see… You don’t seem to understand that I do not live in the area,” replied the doctor. She adjusted her glasses briefly but did not change her expression otherwise.

“Ah. In that case, I do not know.” Sonja relented slightly by dropping the coolness of her gaze. “I have it on good authority that the world has become dangerous for travelers.”

“It has indeed,” replied the doctor. She showed the slightest hint of an actual emotion not long after that point. She sighed softly then asked, “Did I trade one forced incarceration for another?”

“As far as I know, you are free to leave once this meeting is adjourned. I am merely asking questions because my master has tasked me with something called ‘On the record interrogation’,” said Sonja.

“Ah,” said the doctor. “That is something at least. Also, you have referenced this master of yours before. It is the creature known as ‘Scott’?”

“I believe that it is my task to ask the questions,” said Sonja, “You should not ask any.”

Sonja stopped speaking then looked over to one side. “Is that not correct?”

Rifle Guy nodded his head. “That’s how this works. Though, they can ask questions. You just don’t have to answer them and will need to try to keep the interrogation focused on only facts pertaining to the investigation.”

“I see,” said Sonja. “Is there anything else that I should be aware of in this regard?”

“The doctor has waived her right to have an attorney present given the current situation, but normally we cannot do more than a cursory interrogation if someone requests a lawyer,” said Rifle Guy. “For instance, the guys that your… Scott brought in refused to speak without one present.”

Rifle guy took a sip of water while he considered the woman who questioned him. He had never seen someone so beautiful in his life. Frankly, it made him sweat a little just to look at her. Whether it was arousal, or simply his nerves acting up he could not be certain.

Sonja nodded silently. It was a strange, the sort of justice that existed in this world. “Would it not be simpler to beat them until they admitted their guilt?”

He spat his water out while his eyes went wide. Laughing, he waved his free hand around a bit. “It would be nice sometimes, but that’s illegal. People are supposed to be considered innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.”

“If they are innocent, why are they locked in cages?” she asked curiously.

“I’m not sure I follow,” said Rifle Guy. “You don’t know any of this?”

“I am not from around here,” she replied simply.

“Foreigner?” He eyed Sonja briefly. “Makes sense…”

“We assume they are innocent, but they might be guilty. We have to detain them until a judgment is made,” said Rifle Guy. “Sometimes they are released after a few days and told to report to court. Sometimes they must pay bail before they can be released. Though, if they report to court on the proper day then whoever paid the bail gets their money back.”

“Interesting,” said Sonja. “A bit convoluted, but interesting.”

The doctor adjusted her glasses once more. Something about the way this woman questioned basic concepts that anyone, even a foreigner, should easily understand seemed quite intriguing. The more Sonja spoke, the more the doctor began to suspect her origins to be other than normal.